It took me a little while to be able to sit down and write without completely breaking down but here goes nothing.
The days leading up to race day were pretty stressful. I booked my ticket to Wisconsin for the wrong day and had to rebook it for Thursday (thanks Sunjum for pointing that out!). I ran my rental car into a cone on a construction site on the highway, causing some damage and had to deal with reporting it and exchanging the car. Between packing all my bags, making sure I rested and ate, trying to hang out with my friends and mom, it was pretty hectic.
Race day was upon us pretty quickly and I was nervous and had gotten pretty much no sleep the night before. After putting my wetsuit on, I saw my teammates who have been so supportive throughout the entire year and broke down a little bit but I had to keep it together so I wiped my tears and kept going. Val walked down the helix with me and lent me her Shuffle for a few minutes. We both love dance music to keep us going during workouts, so that was pretty perfect.
SWIM
Getting into the water took a little while. I think I had maybe 3 minutes in the water before the gun went off. I waited about 10 seconds and went. I kept to the side and just kept my strokes consistent. Yeah there were the few pushes and kicks but overall, not such a bad experience. The second loop was a lot easier for me because there were fewer people to deal with and I was able to sight without too many issues. The water was absolutely beautiful. I got out and knew I needed to be on the bike by 9 AM to have ANY chance of finishing the bike.
T1
The volunteers are amazing. That is pretty much all I have to say about that.
BIKE
I was at 4 hours and 5 minutes for the first 56 miles. It went pretty smoothly but slowly and was uneventful. Those three hills that are the hardest on the loop were lined with people, Tour de France style. It was pretty awesome and even though I was going slowly, I felt like a rockstar. The only two people I remember for some reason on the entire ride are Donna (passing me on the bike at the very beginning) and Mike Stevenson passing me on his way to the bike finish...DURING MY FIRST LOOP. I just kept thinking "how in the world do people get that fast...and how can I get there??".
My second loop had to be perfect in order for me to get through the bike on time. At this point, I had convinced myself that I most likely was not going to make it back to Monona by 5:30 but I had accepted the possibility of not making the finish months ago. After speaking to Ed one day on the phone, I knew that the time cutoff is not something I can worry about. It's about doing my best and I did do my best that day. Most of all, I was having fun...on the bike....wait what?? That second 56 miles was difficult but I knew each turn from having done the loops 3 times before during training.
That second loop tested my patience a couple of times. At around mile 70, I stopped quickly to ask a volunteer how I was doing in comparison to the sweep vehicle. There were two guys waiting there and I figured that it couldn't be that far behind. That was dumb on my part because this woman (unlike every other volunteer out there) was not very positive. She told me I was pretty much last out there and that the sweep would catch up to me soon and I should probably just wait. I asked if I could borrow her phone quickly because at this point, I thought the sweep vehicle would make me get off the road. I tried calling my mom to tell her I might not make it to the Team Z tent. I waited a couple minutes and just decided I would keep going until the sweep stopped me. So off I went.
Mile 75. A SAG vehicle pulls in front of me and the driver gets out of the car and says "Okay you ready to pack it in...". I told him I guess I had been waiting for him to catch up with me but after a little discussion he told me I didn't have to get off the road...I gave him a confused look and said "Well I have somewhere to be! Until that Sweep vehicle makes me get off the road, I'm gonna keep going".
I broke down when I saw the Team Z tent at mile 82. I wasn't crying out of sadness, I was crying because I actually didn't feel like crap. Because my mom and two of my closest friends were watching me do something athletic for the first time in my life. Because she was proud of me. Because I couldn't stop thinking about how amazing all my teammates and Ed are. Because for the first time in a long time..I was proud of me too! Everyone thinks I was crying because I probably wasn't going to make it but that really wasn't the case. I had two hours and 20 minutes or so and 30 miles but I knew that last 30 miles was the toughest on the course. Jill, Mary, and Cat ran with me and told me to ride like I've never ridden before. And I did. Until I got to the hills. The ones that had been covered with people were completely empty. Not a soul was out there except for a racer in front of me. I had to get off and walk my bike a couple of times because my leg was cramping so badly I couldn't get it to unbend enough to complete a stroke. At the top of the third hill, the sweep vehicle caught me. He was going the other way and stopped me to ask if I'm ready to pack it in. I still had an hour and had 20 miles left. I thought maybe miracles can happen so I told him when he turns around and comes back, I'll get off the bike. I booked it. The whole time I kept looking behind me because I felt like a fugitive. The Wicked Witch's theme music kept playing over and over in my head. I think I maintained around 17 miles an hour, even uphill but it wasn't enough because finally at mile 107, he stopped me and told me it was 5:30. I accepted the fact but told him I wanted to finish the ride. I wasn't going to get a ride back in the truck...I actually felt physically okay and felt like I could keep going. I signed the waiver, he gave me directions for riding on the road because the course had been taken down, and off I went.
By now, almost everyone knows my (first) Ironman journey did not end with "Rohini Kashyap....You Are An Ironman!!". Instead it ended with me walking barefoot up up the Monona Terrace helix, with my shoes in my left hand and my bike in my right. I came to the top of the 3 level parking garage only to find that a gate had been put down preventing me from getting to the bike transition area. A few guys were tearing down a stage and helped me get my bike over the gate while I climbed under. I walked to the right and my mother and friend Sunjum were waiting for me with the Race Director. My mom ran to me...and my mom does not run...screaming 'Henna I'm so proud of you!" and hugged me for what seemed like hours until I stopped crying. But I kept telling her that I wasn't crying out of sadness. I was happy that I tried. That I didn't give up. That I gave it my best and above everything, that she was there to see it.
The week after was hard. The sadness of not finishing settled in and I cried at least 3 times a day for almost a week. I am trying to keep the feeling of pride with me but there's always that uneasy feeling that something was not completed. However, I know I'll try again. I'm going to spend the next year getting faster. I'm going to continue training and do shorter races so I can push myself with speed work. I can't gain the ability I need to get faster if I continue training at such long distances. 2012 will be my year to get that medal.
As for this year...I would not be the person I am today without the journey. Ironman is about a medal at the end BUT that medal it not rewarding only the race...it rewards countless hours of training and emotional exhaustion and physical pain. Not just one day.
Congratulations to every single one of my teammates. Whether you made it or not, you all are an amazing group of people. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of my journey and supportive. I didn't know if I would finish when I signed up last year but in the wise words of our fearless leader Ed....
"You Never Know Unless You Tri". :-)
Rohini
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Crisis Averted
Already! I can't believe I did this, but apparently I booked my ticket for FRIDAY not THURSDAY!!
Thank you Sunjum for noticing!! Phew. That would have been quite disastrous. Re-booked for tomorrow afternoon. Baltimore to Milwaukee then driving to Madison. Woohoo.
I also got two cards from Holly and Emily. Thank you so much ladies. I will be putting both of them into my special needs bags. :-)
Rohini
Thank you Sunjum for noticing!! Phew. That would have been quite disastrous. Re-booked for tomorrow afternoon. Baltimore to Milwaukee then driving to Madison. Woohoo.
I also got two cards from Holly and Emily. Thank you so much ladies. I will be putting both of them into my special needs bags. :-)
Rohini
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Nightmares
I'm starting to have nightmares. The other night I dreamt I left my T1 and T2 bags at the hotel room (which was a 20 minute walk away) and that I forgot to rent my Wetsuit. I realized this all 45 minutes before the race while everyone was lining up to get in the water.
I kept running to get everything together but there just wasn't enough time.
Not gonna lie...I'm scared shitless.
I kept running to get everything together but there just wasn't enough time.
Not gonna lie...I'm scared shitless.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Thank you.
As Sept 12th creeps closer and closer, I cannot help but keep reflecting on a year of self-imposed mental confinement. I exposed myself to mental feats I thought I would never get through. It was just me and my thoughts for hours upon hours of running, biking, and swimming. I know I will cross that finish line on my own, with the sheer mental and physical power of my own mind and body, but I am not crossing that finish line completely alone.
I will have with me the memories of countless friends and family who have provided me support and guidance throughout the year. I know I've stated this multiple times but one can never say thank you enough to people who voluntarily give their time and energy in helping you realize a goal.
So thank you to:
1. My mother. Although I know sometimes it's hard for you to express how proud of me you are, I looked forward to calling you and shocking you with my latest bike and/or run mileage. I don't think you can ever understand why I do this, but part of it is due to the determination you showed me growing up. Love you.
2. My friends. How am I so lucky to have friends who think I'm crazy but yet still accept that I couldn't go out on the weekends or meet up for dinner/coffee because I literally couldn't walk or keep my eyes open.
3. Team Z. Ultimate support system for such a lofty goal. Especially when I don't think I'm capable of finishing. People on the team, both friends and acquaintances, have picked me up countless times, helped me brush myself off, and made me keep moving.
4. Last but not least...my fellow Ironman trainees. You all have shown me the true meaning of determination, strength, courage, and dedication. Thank you for waiting for me as I came in after 9.5 hours on bike rides. Thank you for the pats on the back. Thank you for cheering for me even when you have as much, if not more, to think about than I do. While I will be behind you for most of the day, I look forward to crossing that finish line and congratulating you all!
You all have given me so much strength. And I can only hope to repay a fraction of the kindness you have shown me.
Race day is now 8 days away. I've completed my packing plan, nutrition plan, packing list, to do list, race plan, and finally, post-ironman plan. Bring it on IM Moo. I'm ready.
Rohini
I will have with me the memories of countless friends and family who have provided me support and guidance throughout the year. I know I've stated this multiple times but one can never say thank you enough to people who voluntarily give their time and energy in helping you realize a goal.
So thank you to:
1. My mother. Although I know sometimes it's hard for you to express how proud of me you are, I looked forward to calling you and shocking you with my latest bike and/or run mileage. I don't think you can ever understand why I do this, but part of it is due to the determination you showed me growing up. Love you.
2. My friends. How am I so lucky to have friends who think I'm crazy but yet still accept that I couldn't go out on the weekends or meet up for dinner/coffee because I literally couldn't walk or keep my eyes open.
3. Team Z. Ultimate support system for such a lofty goal. Especially when I don't think I'm capable of finishing. People on the team, both friends and acquaintances, have picked me up countless times, helped me brush myself off, and made me keep moving.
4. Last but not least...my fellow Ironman trainees. You all have shown me the true meaning of determination, strength, courage, and dedication. Thank you for waiting for me as I came in after 9.5 hours on bike rides. Thank you for the pats on the back. Thank you for cheering for me even when you have as much, if not more, to think about than I do. While I will be behind you for most of the day, I look forward to crossing that finish line and congratulating you all!
You all have given me so much strength. And I can only hope to repay a fraction of the kindness you have shown me.
Race day is now 8 days away. I've completed my packing plan, nutrition plan, packing list, to do list, race plan, and finally, post-ironman plan. Bring it on IM Moo. I'm ready.
Rohini
Monday, August 9, 2010
'Manifesto'
Sunday's ride was a long one...115 miles. The ride was nowhere near as hard as the 101 miler the week before (Culpeper) but just the sheer distance is overwhelming. We did two loops. 65 miles and 50 miles. The 65 miler was tough but I finished in a tad under 5 hours. There were NOOOO bathrooms the entire way and I think I had to pee for like 55 miles of the entire ride. As soon as I took a pit stop at a gas station towards the end, the 50 miler didn't seem too bad. The second loop was much easier than the first. I think I did the first 25 miles in an one hour and 50 minutes which was AWESOME. I was flying (well felt like I was). The last half was not so great. The heat and wind were getting to me but I pushed through and finished.
At about mile 76, I started crying....what a shocker I know...but this time it was different.
By mile 76, I had been in my own head for almost 6 hours. Once I had gotten through the 'to do' list, 'goals' list, 'crap I forgot to _____' list, I got to, 'thoughts on the last year'. This weekend was the culmination of a year of training so it was actually a good time for that last list to pop up.
First on the list..."Why I signed up for Ironman"
I thought about the dark place I was in when I signed up for Ironman. I had gained a lot of weight, my ex had just broken up with me, I felt like my dreams for my career were going nowhere, I hated DC, I did not like my job, and physically, I just felt like I wasn't capable of doing anything. Above it all, I missed my family terribly and hated being so far away. I think I hated everything at that point. It was horrible.
Second on the list..."How I feel now"
I can't say it was all solved because of Ironman, but I thought about all I've accomplished. I was at mile 76 of a ride and I wasn't in pain...I wasn't exhausted. It feels so good to feel alive and one with my body (as cheesy as that may sound). Being active has always been meditative for me and I finally had that feeling again. It was amazing. I was crying and smiling as I kept pedaling forward. I've lost almost 15 lbs, I have a renewed sense of optimism with my career (and future goals), and while I still miss my family, I know one day I'll be able to be close to them again. And DC, well I've started to love it again especially since I know so many amazing people in the area.
Third on the list..."The amazing person I've met"
That's right! During the last year, I met someone I am absolutely in love with. Beautiful. Kind. Forgiving. A good friend. Intelligent. A work in progress...but hey who isn't? That person is...me.
I think that's why I was really crying. Because I've finally accepted myself for who I am and can finally see what my friends and family see. I believe in myself as much as they do....And I could not have gotten to this point without them. So thank you. Thank you for saying 'I belive in you', 'I'm proud of you', and of course, my motto for the year, 'HTFU!'.
Thank you for being such wonderful people and being part of my entire Ironman experience.
I don't know if I'll make the time cutoff. It's not really something I can worry about on race day bc I have no control over it. However, I can leave it all on the course and do whatever I need to do to make the cutoff. I will have no regrets either way.
Okay enough. Stop making me cry! :-)
Next up. I should probably sign up for Luray Sprint on Sunday..... :-)
Rohini
At about mile 76, I started crying....what a shocker I know...but this time it was different.
By mile 76, I had been in my own head for almost 6 hours. Once I had gotten through the 'to do' list, 'goals' list, 'crap I forgot to _____' list, I got to, 'thoughts on the last year'. This weekend was the culmination of a year of training so it was actually a good time for that last list to pop up.
First on the list..."Why I signed up for Ironman"
I thought about the dark place I was in when I signed up for Ironman. I had gained a lot of weight, my ex had just broken up with me, I felt like my dreams for my career were going nowhere, I hated DC, I did not like my job, and physically, I just felt like I wasn't capable of doing anything. Above it all, I missed my family terribly and hated being so far away. I think I hated everything at that point. It was horrible.
Second on the list..."How I feel now"
I can't say it was all solved because of Ironman, but I thought about all I've accomplished. I was at mile 76 of a ride and I wasn't in pain...I wasn't exhausted. It feels so good to feel alive and one with my body (as cheesy as that may sound). Being active has always been meditative for me and I finally had that feeling again. It was amazing. I was crying and smiling as I kept pedaling forward. I've lost almost 15 lbs, I have a renewed sense of optimism with my career (and future goals), and while I still miss my family, I know one day I'll be able to be close to them again. And DC, well I've started to love it again especially since I know so many amazing people in the area.
Third on the list..."The amazing person I've met"
That's right! During the last year, I met someone I am absolutely in love with. Beautiful. Kind. Forgiving. A good friend. Intelligent. A work in progress...but hey who isn't? That person is...me.
I think that's why I was really crying. Because I've finally accepted myself for who I am and can finally see what my friends and family see. I believe in myself as much as they do....And I could not have gotten to this point without them. So thank you. Thank you for saying 'I belive in you', 'I'm proud of you', and of course, my motto for the year, 'HTFU!'.
Thank you for being such wonderful people and being part of my entire Ironman experience.
I don't know if I'll make the time cutoff. It's not really something I can worry about on race day bc I have no control over it. However, I can leave it all on the course and do whatever I need to do to make the cutoff. I will have no regrets either way.
Okay enough. Stop making me cry! :-)
Next up. I should probably sign up for Luray Sprint on Sunday..... :-)
Rohini
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Just going with the flow
Warning: it's a long post because I have a lot of notes that I need to keep track of. :-)
So last week was pretty stellar...I came back from a wedding and something just clicked with swimming:
Tuesday - 1950 yds/55 minutes
Thursday - 2100 yds/55 minutes
I only did one bike ride last week - on Thursday - because of mechanical issues (I had to get a new tire and apparently my chain was stretched which explains a lot - my chain got stuck the week before when I was on the Crit and I fell over not once but twice). While it wasn't much at all, 3 loops at Hains Point, it felt pretty good and I could really feel a difference in my bike! I still need to get the handle bars wrapped again but I'll do that after the long ride this upcoming weekend so she's all shiny and new for Ironman!
Moving on to Saturday's long ride. A lot of this is boring nutrition stuff but I need to document it so I can keep it in mind for race day.
I'd been having stomach issues the entire week and it was hard to eat enough food so I was a little nervous that I didn't get enough calories in on a daily basis to support the approximately 9 hour ride I was going to attempt the next day. I went to bed at 6:00 PM on Friday night. I know it was a little overkill but I needed the sleep so badly so I popped a Unisom and off to bed I went. Got out of bed around 4 AM.
Pre-ride Nutrition: I had an Almond Butter sandwich on the drive there and a bottle of gatorade. Right before I left I had a bowl of cereal. I think the calories were just right. (Probably around 400-500).
First loop. 16 miles (Culpeper Triathlon course). It felt pretty good. I passed a couple people, people passed me. It was just a warm up loop and then towards the end I actually kept up with people I know are faster than me without feeling like I was going too hard. So I was feeling pretty pumped. I didn't think the hills were too bad except that first hill right when we rolled out of the parking lot. It was tough mainly because I wasn't warmed up yet. Took a couple wrong turns but nothing too bad.
Next, the Old Rag/Culpeper ride. Susan G. sent us an elevation chart that looked like this:
73 miles. 6370 feet of climbing.
I basically said 'shit' and cried myself to sleep. Jk. :-) I was excited for the challenge.
Madison elevation chart.
Total climbing: I can't seem to find it anywhere....but I know it's less than Culpeper.
The Culpeper ride was....exhausting, hard, but I did it. Now I'm not gonna lie, some tears came out at one point (Mile 74ish of the entire day) and I thought I wouldn't make it. Ed had just passed me so I got him to come back and he talked me out of quitting by pouring ice water on me and giving me coke and chocolate.
I finished. That's what I was happy about. That even with thoughts of quitting, I pushed through with Jodie and we came in together.
Then we went out and did another 10 miles. :-) For me, that was a total of 101 miles. The longest ride I've ever done.
Nutrition: Almond Butter & Jelly (changing this to PB & J) every 15 minutes every other hour; shot blocks on the even hours; gatorade throughout; Cheetos at rest stops; and coke for the final 2 hours. I tried pretzels but they just taste gross to me while riding.
Things I need to put into my special needs bag:
Coke, Cheetos, Chocolate (mmm Snickers bars!), extra PB&J
Today I'm going to order the PowerBar perform and see how that works out for me because it'll be on the course. This will really save me from having to mix my own gatorade.
Next up. 120 miles on Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed for me! :-)
Rohini
So last week was pretty stellar...I came back from a wedding and something just clicked with swimming:
Tuesday - 1950 yds/55 minutes
Thursday - 2100 yds/55 minutes
I only did one bike ride last week - on Thursday - because of mechanical issues (I had to get a new tire and apparently my chain was stretched which explains a lot - my chain got stuck the week before when I was on the Crit and I fell over not once but twice). While it wasn't much at all, 3 loops at Hains Point, it felt pretty good and I could really feel a difference in my bike! I still need to get the handle bars wrapped again but I'll do that after the long ride this upcoming weekend so she's all shiny and new for Ironman!
Moving on to Saturday's long ride. A lot of this is boring nutrition stuff but I need to document it so I can keep it in mind for race day.
I'd been having stomach issues the entire week and it was hard to eat enough food so I was a little nervous that I didn't get enough calories in on a daily basis to support the approximately 9 hour ride I was going to attempt the next day. I went to bed at 6:00 PM on Friday night. I know it was a little overkill but I needed the sleep so badly so I popped a Unisom and off to bed I went. Got out of bed around 4 AM.
Pre-ride Nutrition: I had an Almond Butter sandwich on the drive there and a bottle of gatorade. Right before I left I had a bowl of cereal. I think the calories were just right. (Probably around 400-500).
First loop. 16 miles (Culpeper Triathlon course). It felt pretty good. I passed a couple people, people passed me. It was just a warm up loop and then towards the end I actually kept up with people I know are faster than me without feeling like I was going too hard. So I was feeling pretty pumped. I didn't think the hills were too bad except that first hill right when we rolled out of the parking lot. It was tough mainly because I wasn't warmed up yet. Took a couple wrong turns but nothing too bad.
Next, the Old Rag/Culpeper ride. Susan G. sent us an elevation chart that looked like this:
I basically said 'shit' and cried myself to sleep. Jk. :-) I was excited for the challenge.
Madison elevation chart.
Total climbing: I can't seem to find it anywhere....but I know it's less than Culpeper.
The Culpeper ride was....exhausting, hard, but I did it. Now I'm not gonna lie, some tears came out at one point (Mile 74ish of the entire day) and I thought I wouldn't make it. Ed had just passed me so I got him to come back and he talked me out of quitting by pouring ice water on me and giving me coke and chocolate.
I finished. That's what I was happy about. That even with thoughts of quitting, I pushed through with Jodie and we came in together.
Then we went out and did another 10 miles. :-) For me, that was a total of 101 miles. The longest ride I've ever done.
Nutrition: Almond Butter & Jelly (changing this to PB & J) every 15 minutes every other hour; shot blocks on the even hours; gatorade throughout; Cheetos at rest stops; and coke for the final 2 hours. I tried pretzels but they just taste gross to me while riding.
Things I need to put into my special needs bag:
Coke, Cheetos, Chocolate (mmm Snickers bars!), extra PB&J
Today I'm going to order the PowerBar perform and see how that works out for me because it'll be on the course. This will really save me from having to mix my own gatorade.
Next up. 120 miles on Sunday. Keep your fingers crossed for me! :-)
Rohini
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Two things that are awesome about today
1. Size 8 pants. woot.
2. 1950 yards in 55 minutes last night and I didn't feel too tired. :-) Best swim I've had in a LONG time.
2. 1950 yards in 55 minutes last night and I didn't feel too tired. :-) Best swim I've had in a LONG time.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Optimistic
So I got yelled at by a certain woman...ahem Es...to HTFU after my last post. I decided to post some positive things about training and the last few weeks.
A. I've lost a total of 13 pounds. Holy crap. :-) Another 3.6 to go and I'll be at my goal weight for Ironman :-)
B. I took a small hiatus from training over the last week due to Nazia's wedding and it really helped put things in perspective a little bit. I think I just needed to get away from everything for a little while and be completely engrossed in a different world. While I didn't have an huge revelations about training or myself, I think it just quieted the doubt in my mind a bit.
C. I have absolutely the most amazing support system. Between my friends and Team Z and my family, I could not ask for anything more. Some friends do give me a little crap about not being able to do things, but I know at the end of the day they understand how important it is to me to get across the finish line.
On my plate for this week: It's recovery week (yay!) so I have low key workouts. Need to get a new tire for my rear wheel because I keep getting flats...boo!...I get to swim with Meg, bike with Jacquie, and Sat is 110 miles on my bike! Including Saturday, only three more extremely long rides (110, 120, 80) and then it's taper time. Holy crap.
As Cat told me: 1) Just keep my head down and keep swimming 2) Just keep pedalin 3) Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Laters,
Ro - getting it done - hini
A. I've lost a total of 13 pounds. Holy crap. :-) Another 3.6 to go and I'll be at my goal weight for Ironman :-)
B. I took a small hiatus from training over the last week due to Nazia's wedding and it really helped put things in perspective a little bit. I think I just needed to get away from everything for a little while and be completely engrossed in a different world. While I didn't have an huge revelations about training or myself, I think it just quieted the doubt in my mind a bit.
C. I have absolutely the most amazing support system. Between my friends and Team Z and my family, I could not ask for anything more. Some friends do give me a little crap about not being able to do things, but I know at the end of the day they understand how important it is to me to get across the finish line.
On my plate for this week: It's recovery week (yay!) so I have low key workouts. Need to get a new tire for my rear wheel because I keep getting flats...boo!...I get to swim with Meg, bike with Jacquie, and Sat is 110 miles on my bike! Including Saturday, only three more extremely long rides (110, 120, 80) and then it's taper time. Holy crap.
As Cat told me: 1) Just keep my head down and keep swimming 2) Just keep pedalin 3) Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
Laters,
Ro - getting it done - hini
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
When it comes to Ironman training...
...I'm the fat kid at recess who doesn't ever get picked to be on someone's soccer team because they suck.
(side note. I'm not saying I'm actually fat, just saying that I kind of suck at all things triathlon...except for transitions which are my FAVORITE)
The 100 miler on Sunday was not so good. I did the first 62 miles in about 4.5 hours. I started at 5:45 AM and rolled in around 10:15 or so. When I rolled in, I threw up. Which was awesome. The heat got to me, the nutrition I switched to (perpetuem and gu) was not working. Jacquie came out to ride the second loop of 42 with me so I cooled down a bit, got some electrolytes and carbs in my body, and went back out with probably the most amazing cheerleader and riding mate ever.
Now, I'd like to point out, yet again, that I'm a pretty positive person. My friends come to me for advice, to feel better, to vent, to talk, etc. But every time I get on my bike, I have a breakdown. EVERY SINGLE F-ING TIME. Jacquie says I just need some cheetos which could be the case because at Mile 72, I stopped and sat under a tree while awesome saggers Mary and Roy gave me coke and cheetos. After that, I picked up the speed. Still had to stop once to cool down again, but I felt like I was going a lot faster. Granted I had a certain lady behind me 'yelling' at me (thanks J :) ). I got to mile 85 and called it quits.
In talking to Jacquie post ride and having a couple of days to think about it, I'm not pushing myself hard enough on the hills. I coast when I'm tired which is not good and doesn't bode well for IM Moo.
I'm really losing sight of why I signed up for this race. Training isn't fun anymore. I'm a huge mess emotionally and mentally I can't seem to get past the block I have on the bike. All I keep envisioning is being pulled from the race course and it just really sucks. I can't sleep at night because of that constant thought. Maybe I'm just not meant to do this. And even above that, I don't even think I'm capable of it at this point.
Ro
(side note. I'm not saying I'm actually fat, just saying that I kind of suck at all things triathlon...except for transitions which are my FAVORITE)
The 100 miler on Sunday was not so good. I did the first 62 miles in about 4.5 hours. I started at 5:45 AM and rolled in around 10:15 or so. When I rolled in, I threw up. Which was awesome. The heat got to me, the nutrition I switched to (perpetuem and gu) was not working. Jacquie came out to ride the second loop of 42 with me so I cooled down a bit, got some electrolytes and carbs in my body, and went back out with probably the most amazing cheerleader and riding mate ever.
Now, I'd like to point out, yet again, that I'm a pretty positive person. My friends come to me for advice, to feel better, to vent, to talk, etc. But every time I get on my bike, I have a breakdown. EVERY SINGLE F-ING TIME. Jacquie says I just need some cheetos which could be the case because at Mile 72, I stopped and sat under a tree while awesome saggers Mary and Roy gave me coke and cheetos. After that, I picked up the speed. Still had to stop once to cool down again, but I felt like I was going a lot faster. Granted I had a certain lady behind me 'yelling' at me (thanks J :) ). I got to mile 85 and called it quits.
In talking to Jacquie post ride and having a couple of days to think about it, I'm not pushing myself hard enough on the hills. I coast when I'm tired which is not good and doesn't bode well for IM Moo.
I'm really losing sight of why I signed up for this race. Training isn't fun anymore. I'm a huge mess emotionally and mentally I can't seem to get past the block I have on the bike. All I keep envisioning is being pulled from the race course and it just really sucks. I can't sleep at night because of that constant thought. Maybe I'm just not meant to do this. And even above that, I don't even think I'm capable of it at this point.
Ro
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Musselman - Half Ironman
I’m a Half-Ironman!....sort of
Race: Musselman
Location: Geneva, NY
Time: 8:16:52 (Cutoff – 8:00:00)
I hadn’t slept for days by the time we drove into Geneva, NY on Friday evening. The only thing I had done properly was eat. I went to see Becky a week and a half prior and we discussed my ‘bonking out’ during the longer rides. In conclusion, I was eating about 500 calories less a day than I should have been during the week. I was feeling pretty good about nutrition because my long run/ride the weekend before went MUCH better after eating more during the week and I was maintaining nutrition (even with the 100 degree weather) during the workouts as well. I had a goal…to finish. But I also had a secondary goal…to finish somewhere in 7.5 – 7.75 hours. This would give me a good gauge on whether or not I could complete Ironman within the allotted time (double the time and add an hour).
Morning: I got about 6.5 hours of decent sleep which is a lot considering it was raceday eve. Ate a piece of bread with almond butter before I left. I had everything ready to go and Kerry B. and I got to the race site around 5 AM. Set up was smooth. I didn’t forget anything and had it all ready to go around 6:15. I saw Mary and Tina. :-) Big hug and I'm ready to go!
6:30 AM – Gatorade + banana
6:45 AM – Wetsuit is finally on
6:50 AM – They’re corralling the athletes…and I’m about to puke in the grass.
6:55 AM – I’m with the pink swimcap ladies and I see so many Team Zers. We all gave each other high fives, hugs, words of encouragement, etc. We can do this….still about to puke in the grass.
6:59 AM – Es says ‘Count your first 30 strokes…best advice Ed ever gave me’
7:00 AM – First Wave
7:03 AM – Second Wave…we start wading into the water.
7:06 AM – And we’re off.
Swim: 51:51
Here’s the actual course.
Here’s the course I took. :)
I was hoping for 45:00 or less but I’m just glad I didn’t freak out. I counted my first 30 strokes, and every 100 after that. I kept counting. It was the only way I could get through it and keep calm. The water was clear and VERY shallow but they said if we stood up, our feet would get cut up by the Mussels at the bottom (hence the name of the race…Musselman) so I made sure to keep kicking no matter what. Got pushed back into the group quite a few times by kayakers because I was off course (see red line).
Things to work on: Staying straight! And pushing myself a little harder. I can swim decently so I should go a little bit faster to save time during Ironman.
T1: 3:34
Hey! I wasn’t last in at least one category! YAY! :-) Felt good coming out of the water. Walked to bring my heart rate down. Calmly got my wetsuit off, bike stuff on, drank some EFS, got on the bike. And I’m off. Hammer gel in the first minute. And I see Ed, Mary, and Jacquie as I roll out of the park.
Bike: 4:02:14
For the first time, the bike felt good for most of the ride. I kept looking at my garmin and was shocked at my lightning speed of 16-18 mph going uphill considering to this point, my average pace has been 12 mph for most of the rides. Z2 TRAINING WORKS! I was getting passed by a lot of people but I was passing a few here and there. At one point, I passed a 21 year old guy and was very pleased with myself. We went back and forth the entire race. I passed him on the uphills, he passed me on the flats. I stopped to stretch my hip out which started bothering me around mile 40 while he passed me. I got back on, passed him going uphill and he screamed “and she’s back!” Me: “I’m an old woman compared to you…had to stretch my hip out”. We both had a good laugh and kept going. Around mile 50, I got stung in the face by a bee and holy crap did that hurt for a few minutes. I had to stop and happened to come across a few cars parked at an intersection…oh hey, they’re the 21 year old’s family (his name is Gio in case you’re interested)! I’m guessing it was his father who looked at my face, made sure the stinger wasn’t in the spot where I got stung, and off I went. Gio had stopped too. He wasn’t looking to good and I think he got sick. But he sped by me and I never caught up with him. So I was happy for him when I saw in the results that he got to the finish line.
All I could think of was Jacquie telling me to HTFU during the last few miles. So I did. Last 6 miles were a little rough, but nothing undoable. And I finished 20 minutes before I thought I would.
Nutrition went perfectly. No stomach issues. 1 bottle of EFS/hour, 1 swig of EFS gel at the 45 minute mark of each our for a total of 300 calories/hour. Drank almost 4 bottles during my time out there. I saw so many Zers on the ride and it felt good to see some familiar faces (shout out to Emily and Tracey who looked great out there).
T2: 4:35 (not last AGAIN! I like transitions)
Biking shoes were off as soon as I got to transition so I could run to my spot and get my running gear. I initially forgot my race belt and yelled “SHIT” really loudly which I did not mean to be rude. Other racers just laughed a bit. Just a little upset with myself bc I had to back to my spot, grab it, and then run out of transition. I ran out of transition and heard a HUGE "GO ROHINI" from Mary (I think).
Run: 3:14:38
It felt AMAZING to be off that bike. I ran the first 3.5 miles without stopping except at the stops to get some ice and water. I was SO thirsty. I think I drank too much water because after those first few stops, my stomach started feeling a bit weird. It felt almost distended, like I had entirely too much in it and I was starting to feel heavy. The first 3.5 miles were really great actually bc I got to see racers coming the other way. Yes, I was a bit envious at their amazing abilities to finish the distance so fast, but I got to cheer my friends on as they passed by me. I saw Sue which definitely made me go a little harder for a little while (until I got tired). She has so much faith in me, probably more than I have in myself and she looked great out there. Still running strong even towards the end of the race. I couldn’t be more cheesy when I say she’s definitely one of my role models on the team. :D
(It was also in the first 3.5 miles that I spoke with Amy. Amy had two flats during the bike and all I could say is keep going. One foot in front of the other and you'll get there. She was so upset and doubting herself, but she had trained hard for that day. So proud of her for getting through the tough points and finishing up the Half-Ironman!)
First obstacle. That damn hill. I roll up to it and a volunteer tells me I can choose the hill or the staircase. “Which is the lesser of two evils I ask” and she says probably the grass. So up I go. At the top, two volunteers are yelling “ YOU NEVER KNOW UNLESS YOU TRI”. Damn straight. So I ran up it. At the top Meagan and Talia came speeding by and gave me high fives. Off I went. More Ice and Water and Gu. My stomach is really not feeling good at this point.
I kept going, and started running the downhills, walking the uphills. There were SO many of them. Up and down. Up and Down. I asked myself why did I sign up for this? But surprisingly it wasn’t my legs that were the problem. It was my stomach. Then the gravel road came. 1.5 miles of gravel and two big (at the time) hills. Had to walk a lot of it. Got some ice, portajohn stop. I lost almost 10 minutes. At this point I had 4.5 miles left and under an hour to do it in order to make the cut off. I ran, Z4, sped down the hills and walked up as quickly as I could. I knew I wouldn’t make it but I wanted to finish as quickly as I could after. And I thought just maybe, I had a few 9 minute miles in me (not likely but hey, here’s to dreaming). I passed a woman who was probably around 80 spraying us down with her hose. She asked me if I was last and I said nope, think there are a few people behind me. “DOES THIS THING EVER END??”.”I don’t think so ma’am”. I just laughed it off and kept running.
Get through the tunnel and a volunteer walks TO me with water and ice. I had a mental breakdown at this moment. I knew I was getting in after the 8 hour cutoff and felt like a failure. But I had to get to the finish no matter what. Get the miles in. So I kept walking after she gave me some words of encouragement. Ran. Walked. Ran. Walked. It was embarrassing in my head, to still be out there while athletes were coming by me on their bikes with their gear and telling me I could do it. I was counting again. To 100. 100 counts running, 50 walking. Repeat. I ran the last .5 mile and booked it when I saw the Team Z tents. I started crying but for two reason. 1. Everyone stayed. Ed jumped out to hug me. And even though I didn’t come in the official cutoff time, I finished the distance. 2. I didn’t make the 8 hours and felt like I didn’t deserve the medal. I even asked Meagan if I should take it even though I didn’t finish. Her and Melody came up to me and hugged me as soon as I crossed the finish line. Thank you for talking me out of my mental state at the time. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy AND unhappy to finish a race at the same time.
Two days later, I still feel like I can’t call myself a Half-Ironman because the official race cutoff time was 8 hours. I’m just praying that come September, that 17 hours time limit is enough.
Thank you to Team Z. Thank you to the most amazing course volunteers ever. Thank you to Coach Ed. Thank you all for having faith in me that I really can't seem to build up for myself.
Here’s to working even harder for the next 2 months.
P.S. I AM proud of myself for finishing regardless of the 8 hour time limit. :-) I pushed through the pain and the mental break. I did it.
Race: Musselman
Location: Geneva, NY
Time: 8:16:52 (Cutoff – 8:00:00)
I hadn’t slept for days by the time we drove into Geneva, NY on Friday evening. The only thing I had done properly was eat. I went to see Becky a week and a half prior and we discussed my ‘bonking out’ during the longer rides. In conclusion, I was eating about 500 calories less a day than I should have been during the week. I was feeling pretty good about nutrition because my long run/ride the weekend before went MUCH better after eating more during the week and I was maintaining nutrition (even with the 100 degree weather) during the workouts as well. I had a goal…to finish. But I also had a secondary goal…to finish somewhere in 7.5 – 7.75 hours. This would give me a good gauge on whether or not I could complete Ironman within the allotted time (double the time and add an hour).
Morning: I got about 6.5 hours of decent sleep which is a lot considering it was raceday eve. Ate a piece of bread with almond butter before I left. I had everything ready to go and Kerry B. and I got to the race site around 5 AM. Set up was smooth. I didn’t forget anything and had it all ready to go around 6:15. I saw Mary and Tina. :-) Big hug and I'm ready to go!
6:30 AM – Gatorade + banana
6:45 AM – Wetsuit is finally on
6:50 AM – They’re corralling the athletes…and I’m about to puke in the grass.
6:55 AM – I’m with the pink swimcap ladies and I see so many Team Zers. We all gave each other high fives, hugs, words of encouragement, etc. We can do this….still about to puke in the grass.
6:59 AM – Es says ‘Count your first 30 strokes…best advice Ed ever gave me’
7:00 AM – First Wave
7:03 AM – Second Wave…we start wading into the water.
7:06 AM – And we’re off.
Swim: 51:51
Here’s the actual course.
Here’s the course I took. :)
Things to work on: Staying straight! And pushing myself a little harder. I can swim decently so I should go a little bit faster to save time during Ironman.
T1: 3:34
Hey! I wasn’t last in at least one category! YAY! :-) Felt good coming out of the water. Walked to bring my heart rate down. Calmly got my wetsuit off, bike stuff on, drank some EFS, got on the bike. And I’m off. Hammer gel in the first minute. And I see Ed, Mary, and Jacquie as I roll out of the park.
Bike: 4:02:14
For the first time, the bike felt good for most of the ride. I kept looking at my garmin and was shocked at my lightning speed of 16-18 mph going uphill considering to this point, my average pace has been 12 mph for most of the rides. Z2 TRAINING WORKS! I was getting passed by a lot of people but I was passing a few here and there. At one point, I passed a 21 year old guy and was very pleased with myself. We went back and forth the entire race. I passed him on the uphills, he passed me on the flats. I stopped to stretch my hip out which started bothering me around mile 40 while he passed me. I got back on, passed him going uphill and he screamed “and she’s back!” Me: “I’m an old woman compared to you…had to stretch my hip out”. We both had a good laugh and kept going. Around mile 50, I got stung in the face by a bee and holy crap did that hurt for a few minutes. I had to stop and happened to come across a few cars parked at an intersection…oh hey, they’re the 21 year old’s family (his name is Gio in case you’re interested)! I’m guessing it was his father who looked at my face, made sure the stinger wasn’t in the spot where I got stung, and off I went. Gio had stopped too. He wasn’t looking to good and I think he got sick. But he sped by me and I never caught up with him. So I was happy for him when I saw in the results that he got to the finish line.
All I could think of was Jacquie telling me to HTFU during the last few miles. So I did. Last 6 miles were a little rough, but nothing undoable. And I finished 20 minutes before I thought I would.
Nutrition went perfectly. No stomach issues. 1 bottle of EFS/hour, 1 swig of EFS gel at the 45 minute mark of each our for a total of 300 calories/hour. Drank almost 4 bottles during my time out there. I saw so many Zers on the ride and it felt good to see some familiar faces (shout out to Emily and Tracey who looked great out there).
T2: 4:35 (not last AGAIN! I like transitions)
Biking shoes were off as soon as I got to transition so I could run to my spot and get my running gear. I initially forgot my race belt and yelled “SHIT” really loudly which I did not mean to be rude. Other racers just laughed a bit. Just a little upset with myself bc I had to back to my spot, grab it, and then run out of transition. I ran out of transition and heard a HUGE "GO ROHINI" from Mary (I think).
Run: 3:14:38
It felt AMAZING to be off that bike. I ran the first 3.5 miles without stopping except at the stops to get some ice and water. I was SO thirsty. I think I drank too much water because after those first few stops, my stomach started feeling a bit weird. It felt almost distended, like I had entirely too much in it and I was starting to feel heavy. The first 3.5 miles were really great actually bc I got to see racers coming the other way. Yes, I was a bit envious at their amazing abilities to finish the distance so fast, but I got to cheer my friends on as they passed by me. I saw Sue which definitely made me go a little harder for a little while (until I got tired). She has so much faith in me, probably more than I have in myself and she looked great out there. Still running strong even towards the end of the race. I couldn’t be more cheesy when I say she’s definitely one of my role models on the team. :D
(It was also in the first 3.5 miles that I spoke with Amy. Amy had two flats during the bike and all I could say is keep going. One foot in front of the other and you'll get there. She was so upset and doubting herself, but she had trained hard for that day. So proud of her for getting through the tough points and finishing up the Half-Ironman!)
First obstacle. That damn hill. I roll up to it and a volunteer tells me I can choose the hill or the staircase. “Which is the lesser of two evils I ask” and she says probably the grass. So up I go. At the top, two volunteers are yelling “ YOU NEVER KNOW UNLESS YOU TRI”. Damn straight. So I ran up it. At the top Meagan and Talia came speeding by and gave me high fives. Off I went. More Ice and Water and Gu. My stomach is really not feeling good at this point.
I kept going, and started running the downhills, walking the uphills. There were SO many of them. Up and down. Up and Down. I asked myself why did I sign up for this? But surprisingly it wasn’t my legs that were the problem. It was my stomach. Then the gravel road came. 1.5 miles of gravel and two big (at the time) hills. Had to walk a lot of it. Got some ice, portajohn stop. I lost almost 10 minutes. At this point I had 4.5 miles left and under an hour to do it in order to make the cut off. I ran, Z4, sped down the hills and walked up as quickly as I could. I knew I wouldn’t make it but I wanted to finish as quickly as I could after. And I thought just maybe, I had a few 9 minute miles in me (not likely but hey, here’s to dreaming). I passed a woman who was probably around 80 spraying us down with her hose. She asked me if I was last and I said nope, think there are a few people behind me. “DOES THIS THING EVER END??”.”I don’t think so ma’am”. I just laughed it off and kept running.
Get through the tunnel and a volunteer walks TO me with water and ice. I had a mental breakdown at this moment. I knew I was getting in after the 8 hour cutoff and felt like a failure. But I had to get to the finish no matter what. Get the miles in. So I kept walking after she gave me some words of encouragement. Ran. Walked. Ran. Walked. It was embarrassing in my head, to still be out there while athletes were coming by me on their bikes with their gear and telling me I could do it. I was counting again. To 100. 100 counts running, 50 walking. Repeat. I ran the last .5 mile and booked it when I saw the Team Z tents. I started crying but for two reason. 1. Everyone stayed. Ed jumped out to hug me. And even though I didn’t come in the official cutoff time, I finished the distance. 2. I didn’t make the 8 hours and felt like I didn’t deserve the medal. I even asked Meagan if I should take it even though I didn’t finish. Her and Melody came up to me and hugged me as soon as I crossed the finish line. Thank you for talking me out of my mental state at the time. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy AND unhappy to finish a race at the same time.
Two days later, I still feel like I can’t call myself a Half-Ironman because the official race cutoff time was 8 hours. I’m just praying that come September, that 17 hours time limit is enough.
Thank you to Team Z. Thank you to the most amazing course volunteers ever. Thank you to Coach Ed. Thank you all for having faith in me that I really can't seem to build up for myself.
Here’s to working even harder for the next 2 months.
P.S. I AM proud of myself for finishing regardless of the 8 hour time limit. :-) I pushed through the pain and the mental break. I did it.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Kinetic Weekend
Kinetic Half Relay – Bike
There are things I never thought I’d be doing because I never really believed in myself enough to do them…one of them is training for an Ironman. Up until a few years ago, I don’t think I even knew what it entailed and here I am, 4 months away from my first attempt starting with IM Moo.
I decided to be a little conservative this weekend after the winter we’ve had so I signed up for a half-iron relay with Tracey F. and Joe W. and the full sprint for Sunday. The longest distance I’ve ever done on my bike is 40 miles a few weeks ago and I was in excruciating pain. Not because I’m not physically fit enough to complete the miles but because the fit on my bike is just not right so needless to say... going into the 56 miles, I was REALLY nervous. I hadn’t slept very well the night before and was not ready for the type of heat we experienced on Saturday (or the wind). But I had a goal of 4 hours which kept me at about a 14 mile pace.
T1. I was ready to go. Tracey came up the hill, I grabbed the chip, strapped it on, and off I went. As I came up the curve, Ed said “Go for it out there today, Rohini” and I had already planned on it. :-) “See you guys later”.
There was a U turn at around mile 4, and the first loop started. I felt pretty great. I was hitting the downhills at around 30-35mph, averaging between 14-15 mph which was the pace I wanted. The uphills were difficult but I handled them and moved on to the next one. I was told to just keep pedaling - and my mantra was "Every stroke gets me closer to the end". As a former rower, that thought process was familiar and comforting. Best of all, my back wasn’t hurting. At mile 29, I passed my fellow BOP-ers who cheered me on. The last thing I heard around the bend was Jacquie M. yelling that I was doing great and I smiled as I continued on to the next loop.
At the end of the loop, I refilled my bottles, drank some Gatorade, ate a few crackers, and got back to it. This is where things started going wrong. I noticed my chest was a little tight when I went uphill and it was getting harder to breathe. At mile 35, I started getting kind of queasy. I saw Sally at this point and she gave me some of her Cheez Its along with words of encouragement. This was after the the longest part of the loop. The wind gusts were probably up to 40 mph at this point, and I kept getting pushed around on my bike by both the wind and truckers alike. It was getting rough. At mile 40, I threw up…oddly enough I felt better and thought, “Okay, here is where I need to HTFU and keep going”. So I did. I kept going and going and going and it just never ended. Mile 51 came along and at this point, I was looking at my Garmin and measuring each quarter mile. I couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen or drink any water because it just made everything worse. The sag motorcycle came up next to me and startd following me, notifying me that I was the very last rider out there. This is where I lost it. Mile 52. I got off my bike and asked him to call someone to pick me up but when I sat down, I had to lay down. Everything was spinning, and I could only take shallow breaths. I even put myself on my side in case I got sick (old lifeguarding habit) and ask him to call the medic. Ambulance. Paramedics. BP 80/50. Next thing I knew I was on my way to the hospital and the only names that came to mind were Ed and Jacquie. I didn’t have a cell phone or anything so off I went to the hospital where after some loud laughing with Jacquie and Tracey who came to pick me up, fluids, and a breathing treatment, I was released.
Lessons learned:
1. ER Trips are bad, but I HTFU’d and did what I could. I hit my longest mileage on a bike by 12 miles even with all things fighting against me.
2. Listening to my body is a good thing because I was experiencing an asthma attack, heat exhaustion, and dehydration at the same time. Sometimes it is okay to quit!
Kinetic Sprint:
I signed up for the Sprint the next day but changed it into a relay with Chris W. and Barbara. We came in 6th and I had a great swim minus a couple of minutes of chest tightness towards the end. So I’m glad I got out there and didn’t scare myself out of racing from Saturday’s events. Chris even came in first for the bike section among all the relays and Barbara raced in her first triathlon event (and finished the 5K in great time!).
Overall:
Generally speaking, I could not do this without Team Z and the support I get out there from everyone. Thank you to my fellow BOPers for being so supportive both on and off the race course and to Jacquie and Tracey for saving me from the Free Standing Emergency Room.
As for Musselman…well I plan on kicking that course’s ass.
There are things I never thought I’d be doing because I never really believed in myself enough to do them…one of them is training for an Ironman. Up until a few years ago, I don’t think I even knew what it entailed and here I am, 4 months away from my first attempt starting with IM Moo.
I decided to be a little conservative this weekend after the winter we’ve had so I signed up for a half-iron relay with Tracey F. and Joe W. and the full sprint for Sunday. The longest distance I’ve ever done on my bike is 40 miles a few weeks ago and I was in excruciating pain. Not because I’m not physically fit enough to complete the miles but because the fit on my bike is just not right so needless to say... going into the 56 miles, I was REALLY nervous. I hadn’t slept very well the night before and was not ready for the type of heat we experienced on Saturday (or the wind). But I had a goal of 4 hours which kept me at about a 14 mile pace.
T1. I was ready to go. Tracey came up the hill, I grabbed the chip, strapped it on, and off I went. As I came up the curve, Ed said “Go for it out there today, Rohini” and I had already planned on it. :-) “See you guys later”.
There was a U turn at around mile 4, and the first loop started. I felt pretty great. I was hitting the downhills at around 30-35mph, averaging between 14-15 mph which was the pace I wanted. The uphills were difficult but I handled them and moved on to the next one. I was told to just keep pedaling - and my mantra was "Every stroke gets me closer to the end". As a former rower, that thought process was familiar and comforting. Best of all, my back wasn’t hurting. At mile 29, I passed my fellow BOP-ers who cheered me on. The last thing I heard around the bend was Jacquie M. yelling that I was doing great and I smiled as I continued on to the next loop.
At the end of the loop, I refilled my bottles, drank some Gatorade, ate a few crackers, and got back to it. This is where things started going wrong. I noticed my chest was a little tight when I went uphill and it was getting harder to breathe. At mile 35, I started getting kind of queasy. I saw Sally at this point and she gave me some of her Cheez Its along with words of encouragement. This was after the the longest part of the loop. The wind gusts were probably up to 40 mph at this point, and I kept getting pushed around on my bike by both the wind and truckers alike. It was getting rough. At mile 40, I threw up…oddly enough I felt better and thought, “Okay, here is where I need to HTFU and keep going”. So I did. I kept going and going and going and it just never ended. Mile 51 came along and at this point, I was looking at my Garmin and measuring each quarter mile. I couldn’t seem to get enough oxygen or drink any water because it just made everything worse. The sag motorcycle came up next to me and startd following me, notifying me that I was the very last rider out there. This is where I lost it. Mile 52. I got off my bike and asked him to call someone to pick me up but when I sat down, I had to lay down. Everything was spinning, and I could only take shallow breaths. I even put myself on my side in case I got sick (old lifeguarding habit) and ask him to call the medic. Ambulance. Paramedics. BP 80/50. Next thing I knew I was on my way to the hospital and the only names that came to mind were Ed and Jacquie. I didn’t have a cell phone or anything so off I went to the hospital where after some loud laughing with Jacquie and Tracey who came to pick me up, fluids, and a breathing treatment, I was released.
Lessons learned:
1. ER Trips are bad, but I HTFU’d and did what I could. I hit my longest mileage on a bike by 12 miles even with all things fighting against me.
2. Listening to my body is a good thing because I was experiencing an asthma attack, heat exhaustion, and dehydration at the same time. Sometimes it is okay to quit!
Kinetic Sprint:
I signed up for the Sprint the next day but changed it into a relay with Chris W. and Barbara. We came in 6th and I had a great swim minus a couple of minutes of chest tightness towards the end. So I’m glad I got out there and didn’t scare myself out of racing from Saturday’s events. Chris even came in first for the bike section among all the relays and Barbara raced in her first triathlon event (and finished the 5K in great time!).
Overall:
Generally speaking, I could not do this without Team Z and the support I get out there from everyone. Thank you to my fellow BOPers for being so supportive both on and off the race course and to Jacquie and Tracey for saving me from the Free Standing Emergency Room.
As for Musselman…well I plan on kicking that course’s ass.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Things I should do better.
A) Recovery Week
I was exhausted but I should definitely be doing the recovery week workouts. I did TWO runs and that's IT last week. I'm pretty sure I'll pay dearly for it
B) Sleep more on the weekends
Enough said. I was so exhausted from this past weekend that I got a little sick and took today off. Not a good thing at all.
C) Eat better
While I've been losing weight (-5 lbs woohoo!) it's not nearly at the rate it should be for how much I'm working out. To mediate this concern, I've joined a calorie counting service and will start tracking everything I eat and my workouts. I'm actually pretty excited about this!
It has a graphing function...so I'll occasionally post those because I'm a huge nerd and like visual representations of anything...
D) And finally, get better at riding my bike :p As usual. I hope to get a new bike in June! So psyched for it! :-)
Rohini
I was exhausted but I should definitely be doing the recovery week workouts. I did TWO runs and that's IT last week. I'm pretty sure I'll pay dearly for it
B) Sleep more on the weekends
Enough said. I was so exhausted from this past weekend that I got a little sick and took today off. Not a good thing at all.
C) Eat better
While I've been losing weight (-5 lbs woohoo!) it's not nearly at the rate it should be for how much I'm working out. To mediate this concern, I've joined a calorie counting service and will start tracking everything I eat and my workouts. I'm actually pretty excited about this!
It has a graphing function...so I'll occasionally post those because I'm a huge nerd and like visual representations of anything...
D) And finally, get better at riding my bike :p As usual. I hope to get a new bike in June! So psyched for it! :-)
Rohini
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Today sucked
After a horrible evening, and getting horrible news, I went for a run thinking it would clear my head.
Well it sucked too.
1:21, 6.77 miles
Well it sucked too.
1:21, 6.77 miles
Thursday, April 15, 2010
I'm tempted to quote Jay Sean
Down.
I like going down hills. I feel fast and I think I'm pretty decent at it.Now if only I could get up those hills a bit faster.
Something I've realized over the bootcamp-ing, swimming, running, and cycling....it's very internal. Ironman training can be lonely because everything is individual, even when training with a team. I'm so lucky to have a great group of people to train with but at the end of the day, I'm in my head. If I'm not sleeping or eating or working, I'm training or thinking about it. I don't mind it right now. It's nice to be alone after the last year of ups and downs.
Tomorrow's an off day! Two more workouts this weekend and then it's recovery week. Woohoo!
Ro
I like going down hills. I feel fast and I think I'm pretty decent at it.Now if only I could get up those hills a bit faster.
Something I've realized over the bootcamp-ing, swimming, running, and cycling....it's very internal. Ironman training can be lonely because everything is individual, even when training with a team. I'm so lucky to have a great group of people to train with but at the end of the day, I'm in my head. If I'm not sleeping or eating or working, I'm training or thinking about it. I don't mind it right now. It's nice to be alone after the last year of ups and downs.
Tomorrow's an off day! Two more workouts this weekend and then it's recovery week. Woohoo!
Ro
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Cherry Blossom 10 miler.
I seem to be writing only after I have a race and then recapping the past few weeks. Bad plan on my part. I want to keep track of what I'm thinking during workouts so I can accurately track my training. Oh well. I'll just have to promise myself to be better about it.
Cherry Blossom 10 miler rocked! Until between miles 7 and 8 when I kind of broke apart a little bit. I pushed myself today which felt great but my knees are pretty sore. Otherwise I feel okay. It's nice to race a route I know pretty well. I know which landmarks to look for and the crowd is great because so many people run it. While I wasn't really fast, I wasn't the end of the pack for the first time. I actually finished with a crowd! I know...what a shocker. A little recap of the 10 miler over the last three:
2008 results - 1:59:01;
2009 results - 1:56:57;
2010 results - 1:52:53
I've cut almost 7 minutes off in two years. It's not a huge amount, but I'm proud of myself. :-)
Last week was our first week back after transition and recovery week post half marathon. I felt strong but I was definitely sore.
The bike scares the crap out of me. During yesterday's ride, I had a freak out moment and cried because I just felt like I will never get good at the bike. Coach Ed told me that I'm strong and that he knows I can do this, I just need more practice. I felt a little bit better after speaking to him, but I still have so much doubt in myself. I don't know if it's just a first time Ironman thing, but I often think I've taken on more than I can chew by training for IM Moo. Oh well. Just gotta get out there for the workouts I guess and hope that faithfully following the training plan will get me to that finish line.
On deck for this week.
Bootcamp, Running, Swimming, and Biking.
Bring it on.
Ro
Cherry Blossom 10 miler rocked! Until between miles 7 and 8 when I kind of broke apart a little bit. I pushed myself today which felt great but my knees are pretty sore. Otherwise I feel okay. It's nice to race a route I know pretty well. I know which landmarks to look for and the crowd is great because so many people run it. While I wasn't really fast, I wasn't the end of the pack for the first time. I actually finished with a crowd! I know...what a shocker. A little recap of the 10 miler over the last three:
2008 results - 1:59:01;
2009 results - 1:56:57;
2010 results - 1:52:53
I've cut almost 7 minutes off in two years. It's not a huge amount, but I'm proud of myself. :-)
Last week was our first week back after transition and recovery week post half marathon. I felt strong but I was definitely sore.
The bike scares the crap out of me. During yesterday's ride, I had a freak out moment and cried because I just felt like I will never get good at the bike. Coach Ed told me that I'm strong and that he knows I can do this, I just need more practice. I felt a little bit better after speaking to him, but I still have so much doubt in myself. I don't know if it's just a first time Ironman thing, but I often think I've taken on more than I can chew by training for IM Moo. Oh well. Just gotta get out there for the workouts I guess and hope that faithfully following the training plan will get me to that finish line.
On deck for this week.
Bootcamp, Running, Swimming, and Biking.
Bring it on.
Ro
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Shamrock Half Marathon and much much more
The last few weeks have been absolutely nuts. Between training and work, I've barely had time to sleep. I've received a job offer with another company and am so excited about the opportunity but more on that after I put in my notice, etc.
Tuesday weigh-ins are still happening (although I did forget today).
3.9.2010 - 165.4 (whoops)
3.16.2010 - 163
I'll weigh in again tomorrow morning.
I've been really good about keeping up with swims and runs. I'm leaving town this weekend so I won't be able to ride but I'm going to try to get on my trainer tonight or tomorrow.
Shamrock Half Marathon -
I went into it thinking I didn't train enough..which ended up being the case. But I think I could have PR'd had my foot not fallen asleep. EVERY TIME I race, one or both of my feet fall asleep and it drives me nuts. I don't know what the problem is but I have to figure it out. I ended up running most of the race without my socks. At least it was only about 9 miles vs running 22 miles without socks like I did with the Pittsburgh marathon.
I met a team z'er named Adele who was SOOOO great when she saw me. We got into the groove of running 3 minutes, walking 1 for a few miles before she said she can't run anymore and told me to go ahead. I have to find her last name and say thank you. It really got me through. The race was pretty, the weather was great (although a little warm after the weather I've been running in). The beach was AWESOME and I got a little tan ... like I really needed that. :-)
The best part of the trip was hanging out with Pam and Emily. We watched a LOT of movies after spending 3 hours on the beach and drank wine, ate a lot, and made fun of the funny little place we were stationed. After turning our key in to the housekeeper's son ( a man named Chuckie with dreds...as she explained it), we hopped onto 95 and headed for home, sweet, home.
Woot.
Good job to all my teammates who ran this past weekend. I couldn't be happier to be a part of such a great group of people.
Ro
Tuesday weigh-ins are still happening (although I did forget today).
3.9.2010 - 165.4 (whoops)
3.16.2010 - 163
I'll weigh in again tomorrow morning.
I've been really good about keeping up with swims and runs. I'm leaving town this weekend so I won't be able to ride but I'm going to try to get on my trainer tonight or tomorrow.
Shamrock Half Marathon -
I went into it thinking I didn't train enough..which ended up being the case. But I think I could have PR'd had my foot not fallen asleep. EVERY TIME I race, one or both of my feet fall asleep and it drives me nuts. I don't know what the problem is but I have to figure it out. I ended up running most of the race without my socks. At least it was only about 9 miles vs running 22 miles without socks like I did with the Pittsburgh marathon.
I met a team z'er named Adele who was SOOOO great when she saw me. We got into the groove of running 3 minutes, walking 1 for a few miles before she said she can't run anymore and told me to go ahead. I have to find her last name and say thank you. It really got me through. The race was pretty, the weather was great (although a little warm after the weather I've been running in). The beach was AWESOME and I got a little tan ... like I really needed that. :-)
The best part of the trip was hanging out with Pam and Emily. We watched a LOT of movies after spending 3 hours on the beach and drank wine, ate a lot, and made fun of the funny little place we were stationed. After turning our key in to the housekeeper's son ( a man named Chuckie with dreds...as she explained it), we hopped onto 95 and headed for home, sweet, home.
Woot.
Good job to all my teammates who ran this past weekend. I couldn't be happier to be a part of such a great group of people.
Ro
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Saturday - March 6, 2010
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3521072
7.8 miles or so - including a snack break at the Lincoln (about 5 minutes) and a couple walk breaks here and there, I was out for a total of 1'55''. Pretty slow pace but I'm just glad I got out there. I haven't run that far since marathon training!
My body just can't get back into the long distances. I dreaded it ALLLLL week. Oh well. At least I know I can get through it regardless of how long it took me. Sorry for slowing you down Pamela!
Next week I'm going to try for 7 miles at a little bit faster pace. And then the half marathon on the 20th.
~Ro
7.8 miles or so - including a snack break at the Lincoln (about 5 minutes) and a couple walk breaks here and there, I was out for a total of 1'55''. Pretty slow pace but I'm just glad I got out there. I haven't run that far since marathon training!
My body just can't get back into the long distances. I dreaded it ALLLLL week. Oh well. At least I know I can get through it regardless of how long it took me. Sorry for slowing you down Pamela!
Next week I'm going to try for 7 miles at a little bit faster pace. And then the half marathon on the 20th.
~Ro
Friday, March 5, 2010
Weigh - ins
I've really struggled with putting my actual weight up but ... I don't think too many people read this and honestly, whatever. It's just a number, right?
Weigh-ins are Tuesdays.
Tuesday - February 23, 2010 - 166.4
Tuesday - March 2, 2010 - 163.2
Weigh-ins are Tuesdays.
Tuesday - February 23, 2010 - 166.4
Tuesday - March 2, 2010 - 163.2
Thursday - March 4, 2010
I took my bike to the mechanic for a tune-up so I went to a spin class at my gym instead. I showed up about 10 minutes early and got in my warm-up. I couldn't do the single leg drills, but I did do 15 minutes out of the saddle followed with 25 minutes at a perceived Zone 4 sitting down. I didn't do the class workout because it definitely was not the type of ride I was looking for. The Top 40 music was key. ;)
During the ride I was paying close attention to bringing my knees up which is much harder to do without clip in shoes (I had cages) but definitely made a difference in how my legs feel today.
After the spin, I went swimming - ummm that was a ROUGH swim. There were moments where I thought I wouldn't finish specific sets but I did and was so proud of myself when I got out of the pool. I want to ask people in the next lane up how many yards they swim in an hour on average because that will help me gauge when I'm ready to move up.
Workouts:
Spin - W/U, 3 x 60''/60'' SLD, 25' Z4, W/D
Actual - W/U, 15' Out of the saddle, 25 minutes Z4 in the saddle, 5 minutes cool down
Swim - 250 W/U, 600 Z2, 200 build by 50 to Z4, 50 Easy, 500 Z4, 200 Easy, 500 (250 Z4, 250 Z5a)
Total Yards: 2300 Yards (~1.3 miles) :-)
Getting there. It's an uphill road.
~Ro
During the ride I was paying close attention to bringing my knees up which is much harder to do without clip in shoes (I had cages) but definitely made a difference in how my legs feel today.
After the spin, I went swimming - ummm that was a ROUGH swim. There were moments where I thought I wouldn't finish specific sets but I did and was so proud of myself when I got out of the pool. I want to ask people in the next lane up how many yards they swim in an hour on average because that will help me gauge when I'm ready to move up.
Workouts:
Spin - W/U, 3 x 60''/60'' SLD, 25' Z4, W/D
Actual - W/U, 15' Out of the saddle, 25 minutes Z4 in the saddle, 5 minutes cool down
Swim - 250 W/U, 600 Z2, 200 build by 50 to Z4, 50 Easy, 500 Z4, 200 Easy, 500 (250 Z4, 250 Z5a)
Total Yards: 2300 Yards (~1.3 miles) :-)
Getting there. It's an uphill road.
~Ro
Wednesday - March 3, 2010
Track.
Workout - W/U, 3 strides, 15' Z3, 10' Z2, 15'Z4, W/D
What I actually did - 10' W/U, 3, strides, 15' Z2
Then I gave up. I was just tooooo damn tired.
~Ro
Workout - W/U, 3 strides, 15' Z3, 10' Z2, 15'Z4, W/D
What I actually did - 10' W/U, 3, strides, 15' Z2
Then I gave up. I was just tooooo damn tired.
~Ro
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Tuesday - March 2, 2010
Swim -
Didn't go as well as I'd hoped.
I'm tired and my shoulder still hurts from the fall off the trainer. I was also in the lane below where I usually am because no one else would move and there were too many people in the lane.
Workout:
100 warm up
6 x 100 - Odds are weakside breathing, evens are tarzan, catchup drill, finger tip drag, normal by 25
500, 400, 200
1800 yards in 55 minutes
Didn't go as well as I'd hoped.
I'm tired and my shoulder still hurts from the fall off the trainer. I was also in the lane below where I usually am because no one else would move and there were too many people in the lane.
Workout:
100 warm up
6 x 100 - Odds are weakside breathing, evens are tarzan, catchup drill, finger tip drag, normal by 25
500, 400, 200
1800 yards in 55 minutes
Monday - March 1, 2010
1 hour run - 5.2 miles.
From my office I took the Mt. Vernon trail. A really nice out and back.
From my office I took the Mt. Vernon trail. A really nice out and back.
A weekend of false starts
Do you ever have those days where you try to start multiple things but get nothing done? Saturday was one of those days for me.
I got half my laundry done, cleaned half my room, started a trainer session and couldn't finish, didn't go to the place I wanted to go to for dinner, and had a half-ass night out (I planned for a better evening than that but alas, plans don't always go your way do they?).
Let's start with this trainer session. The weekend before, I sat on the trainer for 1 hour and 50 minutes with my favorite training buddy, Pam. Went great. We watched a silly movie, talked, kicked it into gear for a few movie scenes here and there but then it came time to take my bike off my trainer. My rear wheel came entirely off the chain because when I loosen up the bolt on the trainer, it tends to loosen up the spoke on my rear wheel as well. I was tired and frustrated so just attempted to fix it at home. I thought all was well until Saturday. I'm sitting on the trainer and it feels a little off...a little tilted to the left. I live in an old apt and the floor does have some uneven spots so I blamed the angle on the floor at first. Then I unclipped after I realized my brake was rubbing against my tire and needed a little adjusting. Unclip the right foot, lean a tad to the left, and bam! I'm screaming as I fall and my poor roommate who thought something serious happened ran out in her towel after getting out of the shower to make sure I was okay. I fell pretty hard on my left shoulder and the bike and trainer were on top of my leg. I got up and tried adjusting my bike, but it's just not working so I'm taking it in for a tune-up tomorrow. It is pretty funny so go ahead and laugh. :-)
The only thing I did well on Saturday was swim 2150 yards in an hour.
100 warm up
800 yards straight Zone 2
3 x (25, 50, 75, 100, 75, 50, 25), 25s kick, 75s weakside breathing, 50s and 100s Z2 regular swim
50 cool down
Sunday. I did not get a run in but I did eat a lot. :-)
~Rohini
I got half my laundry done, cleaned half my room, started a trainer session and couldn't finish, didn't go to the place I wanted to go to for dinner, and had a half-ass night out (I planned for a better evening than that but alas, plans don't always go your way do they?).
Let's start with this trainer session. The weekend before, I sat on the trainer for 1 hour and 50 minutes with my favorite training buddy, Pam. Went great. We watched a silly movie, talked, kicked it into gear for a few movie scenes here and there but then it came time to take my bike off my trainer. My rear wheel came entirely off the chain because when I loosen up the bolt on the trainer, it tends to loosen up the spoke on my rear wheel as well. I was tired and frustrated so just attempted to fix it at home. I thought all was well until Saturday. I'm sitting on the trainer and it feels a little off...a little tilted to the left. I live in an old apt and the floor does have some uneven spots so I blamed the angle on the floor at first. Then I unclipped after I realized my brake was rubbing against my tire and needed a little adjusting. Unclip the right foot, lean a tad to the left, and bam! I'm screaming as I fall and my poor roommate who thought something serious happened ran out in her towel after getting out of the shower to make sure I was okay. I fell pretty hard on my left shoulder and the bike and trainer were on top of my leg. I got up and tried adjusting my bike, but it's just not working so I'm taking it in for a tune-up tomorrow. It is pretty funny so go ahead and laugh. :-)
The only thing I did well on Saturday was swim 2150 yards in an hour.
100 warm up
800 yards straight Zone 2
3 x (25, 50, 75, 100, 75, 50, 25), 25s kick, 75s weakside breathing, 50s and 100s Z2 regular swim
50 cool down
Sunday. I did not get a run in but I did eat a lot. :-)
~Rohini
Sunday, January 31, 2010
2:34 AM
I'm having some trouble sleeping...what better time to write a blog?
I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. How horrible is that? Life is so good right now that I can't believe it's this good! While work isn't the greatest, I'm taking some steps to establish myself and pursue my dreams. And I'm okay with that. Friends are unbelievable. I've finally found a few ladies I can call my friends. I hang out with them on a regular basis and enjoy their company. They are unbelievably beautiful and strong women who add value to my life in a many ways. The reason this makes me so happy is that for a while I felt really lost here, which is easy to do in a city like DC. Constantly changing, people seem to move here and leave quickly. However, during the last year, I also evaluated the people I had in my life and those who were no longer positive influences or toxic in any way, I let slip away. It's very hard for me to let people go, but it has definitely gotten easier as time passed (and as I've gotten older).
Finally, I'm getting into a groove with the work outs. I try to go to a majority of the workouts during the week and it's much easier to get them done. I was sick (again) this past weekend, but I'm starting to see changes in my body (-5 lbs in 2 weeks...woohoo!) and it is definitely motivating. I definitely need to "use" the team as support during this whole experience. I feel like I will miss out on a lot if I don't. One thing I'm definitely finding hard to do is give up my social life buttttt I can always replace outings with hang outs and just find healthier ways of spending time with friends. This week is recovery week and I plan on doing every single workout. I'll add a couple of miles to my run tomorrow because I missed the long run. I might even do an extra spin on Tuesday (but that might be a little ambitious :p).
So yeah. It's 2:47 am now and I think I'll go to sleep.
Happy Monday!
I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. How horrible is that? Life is so good right now that I can't believe it's this good! While work isn't the greatest, I'm taking some steps to establish myself and pursue my dreams. And I'm okay with that. Friends are unbelievable. I've finally found a few ladies I can call my friends. I hang out with them on a regular basis and enjoy their company. They are unbelievably beautiful and strong women who add value to my life in a many ways. The reason this makes me so happy is that for a while I felt really lost here, which is easy to do in a city like DC. Constantly changing, people seem to move here and leave quickly. However, during the last year, I also evaluated the people I had in my life and those who were no longer positive influences or toxic in any way, I let slip away. It's very hard for me to let people go, but it has definitely gotten easier as time passed (and as I've gotten older).
Finally, I'm getting into a groove with the work outs. I try to go to a majority of the workouts during the week and it's much easier to get them done. I was sick (again) this past weekend, but I'm starting to see changes in my body (-5 lbs in 2 weeks...woohoo!) and it is definitely motivating. I definitely need to "use" the team as support during this whole experience. I feel like I will miss out on a lot if I don't. One thing I'm definitely finding hard to do is give up my social life buttttt I can always replace outings with hang outs and just find healthier ways of spending time with friends. This week is recovery week and I plan on doing every single workout. I'll add a couple of miles to my run tomorrow because I missed the long run. I might even do an extra spin on Tuesday (but that might be a little ambitious :p).
So yeah. It's 2:47 am now and I think I'll go to sleep.
Happy Monday!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Recovery Week...Yay!
This week's workouts are limited and light. Tomorrow morning I'm gonna go for a 40 minute run and then hopefully get in a swim after work.
Not much else to say.
~Rohini
Not much else to say.
~Rohini
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Counting Sheep
I haven't slept a full night in 4 days now and I'm a zombie. Today wasn't a bad day but I am just so tired so needless to say I'm going to bed, didn't work out, and had chocolate cake after dinner.
:-) Goodnight.
Ro
:-) Goodnight.
Ro
Do I still have 10 fingers and toes?
I spent almost 2.5 hours outside last night for my workouts. Yes, I said workouts. I had track practice that smoothly transitioned into a bootcamp session led by two of my teammates.
Track sucked. It was so cold that my lungs felt constricted and I ended up using my inhaler. (I prefer to to run inside when it's below 32 for this exact reason, but I didn't want to skip out on bootcamp because I know I would have just gone home after I completed my run.) The inhaler didn't help all that much so I ended up just doing what I could on the track...I think I maybe did 2 miles?
Bootcamp was smoother. I was warmed up and ready to go. There were a lot of power moves (burpies, squats to jump extensions, skaters, bunny hops) similar to those I did on the crew team. It definitely took me back to those 5 AM practices in Skibo Gym and I loved it. It felt so good to be working out in a group like that and when we did supermans, it reminded me of how much I loved the crew team.
I had a few ladies over for dessert last night after working out and my friend Ru inspired me to "Live for the Story" this year as much as I can and I plan on it!
I woke up exhausted but happy this morning.
Ro
Track sucked. It was so cold that my lungs felt constricted and I ended up using my inhaler. (I prefer to to run inside when it's below 32 for this exact reason, but I didn't want to skip out on bootcamp because I know I would have just gone home after I completed my run.) The inhaler didn't help all that much so I ended up just doing what I could on the track...I think I maybe did 2 miles?
Bootcamp was smoother. I was warmed up and ready to go. There were a lot of power moves (burpies, squats to jump extensions, skaters, bunny hops) similar to those I did on the crew team. It definitely took me back to those 5 AM practices in Skibo Gym and I loved it. It felt so good to be working out in a group like that and when we did supermans, it reminded me of how much I loved the crew team.
I had a few ladies over for dessert last night after working out and my friend Ru inspired me to "Live for the Story" this year as much as I can and I plan on it!
I woke up exhausted but happy this morning.
Ro
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
My ears are blocked...
with water from my swim! booyah! I'm not really sure how many yards I swam but I worked on my technique with our coach a little bit so that was good. I gotta get my lift back on. Bootcamp tomorrow after a session at the track.
I realized I'm inherently lazy. I'm not saying I AM lazy, however, I am naturally inclined to just sit on my bum and watch TV after work. It takes soooo much effort to get up and do something in the evenings. Well at any time for that matter. Weekends, mornings, afternoons...it's quite a disconnect because I'm driven, but lazy. Weird.
Off to watch the new season of Biggest Loser....why why why am I addicted to reality television?
Happy working out!
Ro
I realized I'm inherently lazy. I'm not saying I AM lazy, however, I am naturally inclined to just sit on my bum and watch TV after work. It takes soooo much effort to get up and do something in the evenings. Well at any time for that matter. Weekends, mornings, afternoons...it's quite a disconnect because I'm driven, but lazy. Weird.
Off to watch the new season of Biggest Loser....why why why am I addicted to reality television?
Happy working out!
Ro
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