Get a New Plan, Stan

The minute I finished my half ironman, my motivation went into the toilet. There is something about my Type-A, uptight, over-achieving personality that likes to have a plan. Give me a plan and a goal and watch the hell out. But, once I reach that goal and have checked off the last “to-do” on the plan, I’m like that show I never watched but a lot of people liked - “LOST.”

I’ve still been trying to do some sort of workout be it swimming, biking, running or yoga everyday. Running has taken a back seat because my ass hurts, but the other disciplines are alive and well.

Funny how when you get up everyday at 5:00 a.m. to workout you get very used to and it seems like no big deal. Funny how when you work out for 2+ hours per day you get used to it and it seems like no big deal. Funny how when you get out of this routine for just a week or two, suddenly getting up at 5:00 a.m. seems very painful, as do long workouts. Easy come, easy go.

The other issue with early waking is it is darker later in the morning. When it is dark my body likes to be where it should be: in bed.

So, when the alarm went off at 5:15 a.m. today for my cycling group, I was kind of pissed.

Tired? Why? Emma saw a spider in her bed two days ago and has been refusing to go to sleep. She has been sleeping on top of her covers and needing some reassurance. In the parenting world, a child needing reassurance means that the parent becomes sleep deprived.  When she first saw the spider and asked me to look for it, I did a Dumb Ass Parent Action (DAPA) and told her I could not find it. Ken looked at me like “WTF?” and reminded me I should have lied and said I found it so the drama could be put to rest. BAD, DUMB PARENT!

So, I was tired. So what? A workout is a workout and should NEVER be missed unless the worker-outer is vomiting or has profuse diarrhea or has a trache or something extreme going on.

I thought this would be a stinky morning and I would tire easily. Nope. My energy was off the charts. I felt so damn good. It might have been adrenaline, it might have been taking it easy for the week, it might have been thoughts of a spider in a bed somewhere, or it might have been my new, fancy jersey with matching arm warmers (review/giveaway coming soon). Funny thing is, I thought it was a jersey, but it is actually a running shirt. My bad. I never said I was smart:

Whatever the case, I was reminded that for me there is no better feeling than getting up early, sweating, working hard and getting it done. I was so jacked this morning it was a drug. So, when you debate your workout, remember that euphoric post workout feeling. Make a decision and follow through. Keep at it and who knows what can happen.

Iron Girl I’m coming for you sister!

After you complete a race you’ve been training for do you lose motivation? Do you need a plan/goal to keep your head in the game?

Would you have lied to your kid about the spider?

Do you like where the arrow on my “jersey” is pointing?

SUAR

Ironman Boulder 70.3 Race Report

Race day started like every other race day: getting up at some ungodly hour (4:00 a.m.) and making it a priority to poop. The pooping did not happen as my body isn’t used to evacuating at 4:00 a.m. I am more of a 6:30 a.m. type of girl.

We got out the door by 4:30 a.m. and I felt like crying. Sometimes when my nerves are really off the charts, the only thing I can think of to do is cry (I’m such a girl). Or throw up. I didn’t do either. We got to the reservoir in darkness, pumped up tires and I carried my bike to transition (yes, I am that nervous about some errant goat-head or piece of glass messing up my day).

Transition was nuts. I set up my spot.

I was happy and comforted to see Nora right behind me in the transition area. I managed to clean my colon in the port potty and then the volunteers got very bossy yelling at everyone to get the hell out of the transition area (about 6:30 a.m.). I ran into Stacia from Twist Yoga Wear, good to finally meet her (and she kicked some Twist Yoga wear ass by finishing in 5:17!). Also saw my friend, Dana, and blogger friend Julie.

We walked to the beach and the buoys were so far out we could barely see them. This was a one loop, 1.2 mile swim and it looked freaking far. Somehow seeing it laid out in one big lump made it look too far for me to swim even though I had done the distance in a pool countless times since April.

We watched the pros set out, then got into the water for a 6:45 a.m. start. I put myself towards the back and side wanting to avoid dying as much as possible. I had no clue what to expect as this was my first open water tri. There were about 250 of us starting together.

I found the swim to be annoying. All of the grabbing and splashing and kicking. I would have none of people grabbing my feet and would violently shake them off. I tried to stay even with the buoys and did pretty well. I took it very easy on the swim, using it as a warm up for the day. I kept my kicking at a minimal to save my legs. Hell, I had at least 5-6 hours to go after the swim was over, so no need to go balls out.

Swim: 1.2 mile in 41:07

I peeled off my wetsuit and tried my best to dry off while getting ready to hop on the bike. I popped 3 Hammer endurolyte tabs and put on more sunscreen. It was going to be a scorcher with projected temps up to 96 degrees.  

The first 5-6 miles of the bike were relatively uphill, so it is kind of a grind. I kept a decent pace, but let my heart rate settle down. I knew I’d be out there a long time and that pacing was crucial. After about 20 minutes I started eating. I had packed my Bento Box full of Fig Newtons, Stinger gels and Stinger waffles with peanut butter (broken into pieces). I was determined to eat it all (I didn't quite succeed, but close), which would give me about 330 cals/hour and 40-50g carbs/hour. I had scotch-taped six endurolyte tabs to my bike as well. Need to get dehydrated out there.

The bike was fast. I was passed by 6 million of those intense dudes on tri bikes who have the really noisy wheels. I never felt tired on the bike, never stopped pedaling. I stayed in my aerobars 98% of the time. I was able to get comfortable and just do my thing. I was having a great time. The scenery was amazing and I felt good. At every aid station I took a new bottle of water. I knew the bike was my chance to hydrate and fuel.

On the second loop at about mile 30 I saw I sign that said, “Don’t burn up your legs, save some for the run.” This was my main concern. There are some pretty big hills on this course and I worried my legs would be burned out for the run. I tried to keep some in reserve.

About 30 minutes before the end of the bike,I stopped eating to let my stomach settle. I started mentally preparing big time for the run, remembering my strategy to go at an even pace and one that I could sustain in the heat for 13.1 miles. By this time it was really warming up into the 90s.

Bike: 56 miles in 2:53 (19.34 avg pace)

I started running and my stomach was so cramped up. Like that kind of cramping that proceeds a major explosion. Shit, I thought. SHIT! I know it was from all that food on the bike, the exertion and being bent over for so long in aero position.

I didn’ t know if I would crap myself, throw up, need to walk, cry or all of the above simultaneously. I was terrified to eat anything. The waves of intense cramping continued for about five miles. The last episode nearly brought me to my knees, but I kept running. I was scouring the landscape for somewhere to squat if need be. This was my low point of the race. Because you have to have at least one, right?

The thing about stomach cramping is that running makes it  worse and we all know that. Yet, I would not give in. I pretty much surrendered to the pain and decided I would have the rest of the day to spend on the toilet, but I needed to keep moving forward.

Then, guess what? The pain went away. Just like that. I never ate a thing during the run for fear it would return. I took a gamble by not eating, but it’s what I had to do.

I made it through loop one of the run and was feeling great. My friend, Joie, was waiting with more endurolyte tabs, cold water, sunscreen and her smiling face, which helped my mood so much.

Mile 6.5 of the run

Here I go for loop two, then I’m done!

Loop two was a war zone. People were grunting, moaning, walking. It was hot. As in, the kind of hot where you’d prefer to not walk to your mailbox let alone run a half marathon. I stopped each mile at the aid stations to pour ice water on my head and stuff my bra with ice. I took sponges and cooled my whole body. I drank small sips of flat coke and water. I pushed on. I passed lots of people at this point. At mile 11, I could not believe I felt as good as I did and I only had 2.1 miles to go. I did not have on a Garmin, so I had no clue about pace. I just kept moving.

As I got within a mile of the finish, I started to cry. Not an all out ugly sobbing cry (that would be stupid), just some soft tears. I had almost done it. I would do it. 15 hard weeks of dedicated training. Lots of uncertainly about my abilities.

Run: 13.1 miles in 2:00 (9:12 avg pace)

Yes, my slowest half marathon ever, but I usually don’t do those after swimming 1.2 miles and biking 56 miles. I also don’t do them when it’s freaking 95 degrees!

I crossed the finish line in 5:43. I hoped to be under 6:30 and dreamed of getting close to 6:00. I had smashed my goal. Now I need to take a class in how to not underestimate myself.

I was 18/74 in my division (40-44), 198/449 for women and 565/1327 overall.

Best part of the finish besides finishing was getting a Boulder 70.3 hat soaked in ice water. Oh, and a medal.

Joie was waiting for me at the finish, looking like a tourist. Love her!:

Then my mom, dad and the kids got there. Sam might get beat up for wearing those glasses:

Surprise of surprises, my friend Clair showed up, the one who wrote me the amazing email the other day. She lives in Virginia and I knew she was out here on a family vacation. No clue she would be at the finish or that I would see her before next week. Incredible, uplifting surprise!

I got to watch Ken finish in 6:32.

Many of you know Ken and I have done most our training together and that this was a first half ironman for us both. So, obviously the dude in this video was not meant to represent Ken! It meant so much to see him finish so strong! I mean, we used to sit on the couch, drink Budweiser and watch Beverly Hills 90210 back in the 90s, so we've come a long way. (Although  still do those things, I just train early in the morning and sit on the couch at night).

Whew! That was a long ass report. Almost as long as my race. And, probably kind of boring, but it’s my story and I’m proud of it. It’s one more example of how we have to set our sites HIGH and never stop believing. In the end, we are so much stronger than we think we are.

discipline + passion + no excuses = success

SUAR

PS: And huge thanks to the volunteers like Laura and Becka. You were AWESOME!

Comic Relief from SUAR

I dare you not to laugh at my creation.

Did you laugh or are you too cool and stoic?

SUAR

Get a Room

Early this morning we headed out for the last brick of our 70.3 training this morning.

The plan was to ride from our house and do one loop of the 70.3 course (about 33 miles) then come home and run for an hour (6-7 miles).

I also wanted to experiment with race day clothes. I wore my swim bottoms under my bike shorts. Since Ironman doesn’t allow nudity (no fun), I won’t be taking them off. For the bike run transition, I will do a quick change to a running skirt because I hate running in my shorts. For a sprint, it’s fine, but for a half marathon, I want to be comfortable and am willing to sacrifice 20 seconds in transition.

Heading out on the bike. Someone please remind me to stop doing that weird head tilt in every picture

If you really give a crap and looked closely at my photo, you will see aero bars.  Price tag is still on in case I decide I don’t like them. I’m weird that way. I return everything including used sheets. Ewww.

Yes, I drank the aero bar Kool-aid. They are just clip-ons and nothing fancy because I don’t have $3,000 laying around to buy an tri bike right now. $100 sounded better. A few adjustments to seat position and height and voila!

All I can say is: where have you been all my life? I was worried about adjusting to these things and normally I wouldn’t make a change so close to race day.  But I thought I’d try them to see if I could get into more of a groove on the bike and just be more comfortable, overall.

Settling into my bars was effortless and made riding so much more natural for me. We kicked out the 33 miles in 1:51 which meant a 18 mph average. This is faster than I’d normally do the loop, so I was thrilled about that. I fueled with my Honey Stingers/peanut butter sandwich, gels and Cytomax. I felt energized the entire time. 

I had a run-in with bike etiquette along the way – kind of confused me, so tell me what you think.

We were cruising down Highway 36 at a nice clip. A man and woman passed me single file, looking strong. I stayed with them at a comfortable pace. I was tempted to pass again after a couple of miles, but didn’t. I was with them for maybe ten minutes when we got to a hill. I noticed that the guy moved over beside the woman to take up the whole shoulder, which was very wide. I didn’t get why he was doing this since he was a stronger cyclist than she was and they had been single file until this point.  It made it impossible for me to pass or to even try.  The woman was breathing hard, struggling a bit. I was not.  I wanted to pass just to keep my pace even and to not lose momentum. But, the dude wouldn’t make room.

When we got to the top, he looked over at her and laughed and that’s when I realized it might have been a deliberate attempt to keep me from passing her on the hill. Dick. Maybe I’m wrong, but it seemed pretty purposeful. I mean, who cares? If you’re going slower, let someone pass you.  So, I blew by them as I expelled all kinds of gas and never saw them again.

What’s your take? Glad I got that off my chest. Okay, I’m over it.

I call this elevation chart “mountain town with two nips pointing down.”

We got home and headed out for the run.

It was only 8:30 a.m., but temps were heating up nicely. We did an out and back for a total of 6.7 miles in 59 minutes, 8:53 min/mile average. Total workout time: 2:50. Total miles: 39.7.

I got so hot the last mile and ran out of water. We both got a bit terrified realizing we would be running later than this next week, with no shade and twice the distance. It will be a hot, slow grind to the finish and will probably cuss and cry but I will do it.

Looking quite ugly afterwards if I do say so myself.

Now headed out to get some donuts and coffee. Think I earned it! Filled long john is calling my name. TWSS.

Ever had a run in with questionable bike race etiquette? This is my first one.

Do you use aero bars? I love mine so much people on the road were screaming, “Get a room!”

What’s your donut and donut shop of choice? I like Daylight Donuts – a franchise, but family run and inexpensive. I usually get the cinnamon roll with a circumference of 12” or the filled long john.

Do you return a lot of crap to the store? I’m the queen of this. I will tell you a story one day about returning a coffee pot, still wet.

SUAR

Dead Camels

A day of perfection was kicked off with a “delicious” (I love how people use that adjective not to describe food so I thought I’d try it, feels weird) 7 mile, 60 minute run.  It got me in the best possible mind space for the day. Cool air, quick turnover, feeling strong.

Emma and I set off for Denver.  I couldn’t resist taking this picture because by this time next year she will hate me and that doll and we’ll be fighting about how much make-up she is not allowed to wear. I’ll hold onto these moments:

First stop, the zoo. We saw some dead camels. or maybe they were just laying down, but I’ve never seen a camel lie down before so I alerted the zoo officials that they were dead, just because it was my civic duty. I also screamed “DEAD CAMELS!” in front of the crowd of little kids at the exhibit. I did not, however, see even one camel toe on  a human. Just the one on the dead animal’s foot.

In the Lorakeet (kind of like a Parakeet) feeding area, a reader, Malisa, recognized me and said, “Hey Shut Up and Run!” That was pretty cool. I don’t know how she knew it was me, I was not wearing a SUAR shirt and my shorts were clean. Maybe it was the temporary SUAR tattoo I had on my forehead. Hello fine reader!

Meanwhile, Ken and Sam were off on their own little adventure climbing two, yes two, 14,000 foot mountains, Grays and Torreys. It was a five hour pretty strenuous trip. Here is Sam taking a piss. I love this picture for obvious reasons. No, he did not crap his pants, he slid down some dirt, but I like to think it is my role model status as a pants crapper that came into play here.

My boys at the top of one of the peaks. It was a tough ass climb. I am proud of Sam. He is showing some real endurance and perseverance at the ripe age of 13. Ken does pretty well at the ripe age of 45, too.

Meanwhile, Emma and I headed to the American Girl Store. She’s not big into these dolls and doesn’t own any, but we wanted to see what all the hoopla was about. We both found it a bit creepy. Cute, but creepy. You can bring in your dolls to a hair salon there. It freaked me out. The dolls sit in little chairs and get hair styles. It costs like $15 per doll. Imagine going on a date and being asked what you do for a living – “Oh I am a hair stylist for dolls.”

And who knew a doll could ride a contraption like this?

We stopped at Yogurtland, which has just become my new all time favorite place. I mean what’s not to like about a squirt of yogurt topped with 5 pounds of candy and brownies? I know, Janae has been telling me this forever and now I get it!

Our last errand was to “TriBella” the coolest tri store in Denver. I talked to James, the bike mechanic about fueling on the bike. His suggestion was two Honey Stinger Waffles glued together with a fine schmear of peanut butter. I am ALL OVER THAT.

Now it is time for some Chipotle and wine (Cupcake Chardonnay anyone?)

Any plans this weekend? We are going to the parade that kicks off the Boulder County Fair tomorrow. Nothing like a small town parade to get your juices flowing. Sunday we have our last brick – probably 2:15 hour bike ride and 45 minute run. Stingers and PB here I come!

Happy weekend!

SUAR

Hope She Didn’t Drown ‘Cause She Was Cool

I so love starting out the day inspired.

Don't get me wrong. It wasn’t like I jumped out of bed feeling that way. In fact, when I got up at 5:30 a.m., pushed “start” on the coffee maker and prepared to hit the road for an open water swim in Boulder, I tiredly tried to count just how many early mornings I have put in since starting my half ironman training. Probably over 80 in the past three months.

Training has been incredible, but for someone like me who loves lazy mornings with the Denver Post and a cinnamon roll as big as my head, this has been a different sort of summer. That said, I’m the type who needs to get it done first thing, or it ain’t gonna happen. Mornings are best for a lot of things (TWSS).

Back to what inspired me. The inspiration I’m talking about came in the form of a 61 year old woman with a Southern accent. As we arrived at the reservoir, she was putting on her wetsuit. She came over and asked for a friendly hand in zipping up the back while I put on my wetsuit, Xenia from Xterra.

I tried to ignore how Xenia grabbed for my Body Glide and spilled a tampon on the ground. So embarrassing in front of my new friend!

Ken commented I should use the tampon just for extra buoyancy.

Finally I stopped the shenanigans by just putting her on:

My 61 year old friend told me she was doing her first half ironman in California this weekend, Barb’s Race, a women’s only HIM put on by Vineman. She said today was her third open water swim and that the first one she did was last week. She had a panic attack and had to be rescued by a kayaker. She said her second time went better and was we entered the water, she said, “And today I’m not scared at all.”

As we prepared to start swimming, I looked her in the eye and straight from my gut and heart I said, “I am so impressed by you.” It’s all I could say. To have the guts to do this race at her age is nothing short of amazing to me. At the age of 61 she believed she could do something that 99% of people her age think is outrageous and out of reach.

As we started swimming I lost my friend (I hope she didn’t drown, I was kind of self focused), but I will think about her for a long time. Especially when the going gets tough in my race. If she can do it, I can do it. If she can do it, we all can do it.

Anything inspire you today?

SUAR

70.3 Taper & Winner

 

Week 12 of 14 and taper has arrived for a two week visit. Usually tapers make me mad and restless, but I’m welcoming this one.

I’ve been putting in 11-12 hour training weeks. Just a drop in the bucket for some and way out of reach for others. For me, trying to fit in workouts has been challenging. If training was all I had to do it would be a piece of cake, but like all of you, I’ve got a job, a family, a life that needs attention as well.

A typical week for me looks like this:

This week I’ll taper to an 8 hour week, next week will be 4 hours. The Boulder 70.3 is in 13 days. Butterflies for sure. This reminds me of my first marathon in 2009 when I had never done a long run of more than 20 miles in training. Could I go 26.2 miles? Yes, I could and I did.

This time, I have never done the full 70.3 distance at once because that would be stupid and my body would hate me. But, this leaves my pea brain wondering if I can go the distance. Let me rephrase that. I know I can go the distance, but can I do it the way I want to do it? Of course I have goals in mind.

Goal A: Finish the damn race in one piece
Goal B: Finish in 6:30
Goal C: Finish sub 6:30 with goal of 6 hours

My ideal breakdown is:

Swim (1.2 miles): :45 mins
Bike (56 miles): 3:20
Run (13.1 miles): 2:00
Transitions will probably total 6-7 minutes

This equals 372 minutes or 6:12.

Yes, this may conservative or it may be lofty. I’m not sure.  The weather will be reaching into the mid-90s by the time the run starts and there is little shade. I’ve never done a race this long before in terms of time. Just not sure how I will hold up.

But, I have trained hard and I need to trust that. Could I have done more? Absolutely. Could I have slacked off more, you bet. When pre-race nerves get the best of me, I need to remember to:

• Trust my training
• I can do anything I set my mind to
• Run my own race
• I am stronger than I think I am
• It’s just a race, not the biggest deal in the universe

How do you pump yourself up the weeks before your big race? For me it is all about getting in the right mind space and not psyching myself out.

Any 70.3 advice for me?

SUAR

PS:  Amanda from Runninghood is the winner of the Special Hidden Talent Contest with 35 out of 77 votes! That girl can stretch her tummy skin like a mean piece of taffy. Amanda – email me and let me know if you want a small or medium SUAR shirt.

Nipple In the Middle

Right now I smell like an armpit that has been rolled in ass. At least Lucky’s not scared off by the stench. I think he rather likes it. Dogs are weird that way. He’s probably eat my poop if I let him.

Today’s brick started bright an early. The plan was to ride for 2:45, but we were faster than expected and ended up with 44 miles in 2:35 with no stops. I’m getting GOOD at eating on the bike!

There was 1,500 feet of elevation gain, so definitely some hill work involved. I like the perfect nipple in the middle of this elevation chart. The white dips look like a pair of 80 year old boobs.

The kids were just rolling out of bed when we walked in stripping off our helmets and lacing up our running shoes. I think they think we are crazy.  They’d rather eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch and watch Sponge Bob. Damn normal kids.

I really wanted to get in in an hour run so I could make this a 3:30 brick. When I get stuff in my head, it is very hard for me to NOT do it. About a mile in my left side (stress fracture side, eek!!) started feeling kind of wonky. Not major discomfort, just some slight pain in the hamstring and left butt cheek. But, this is the type of aching I had prior to my injury, so I don’t want to mess with it.

I played that internal game of, “Am I just being paranoid? How bad is this really? I’m sure I’m fine. No, wait. It’s not worth it. I should stop. Blah, blah.”

This is the very moment that separates a smart athlete from a dumb-as-shit-athlete (DASA).

I have fallen into the DASA category a few times. Pushed when I should not have. I am convinced that it is one of the most difficult challenges we face in our training when we need to back off due to potential injury, fatigue, overtraining, illness. Most of us runners and triathletes are not good at this. We think it makes us inherently weak if we don’t finish our workout or training hours for  the week. We think it means we will not perform well in our race.

Bullshit. Taking care of yourself makes you strong, not weak. It should be priority #1. There is nothing superhero about pushing when you shouldn’t. It  just makes you a DASA.

This doesn’t mean you don’t kick ass during your workouts and reach your limits. There is a time to push because that makes you stronger. But, you have to give your body time to adapt to what you are putting it through. Usually, this is in the form of recovery days. Stress your body, but then give it time to adapt. If not, you may run the risk of overtraining and being injured.

As I continued running, stuff swirled through my head. Crutches. Not being able to race. Crying. Pussy posse. Water running. No eff’ing way. Not going back there.

I stopped. I walked. I was pissed for a minute because I wanted the hour long run, and what I got was a 3 mile run and a .5 mile walk. But then I was proud of myself for knowing when to say when. It might not sound like a big deal, but this was HUGE for me. I am such an overachiever, I never cut myself a break. By the time I got home it was all good.

On top of all the biking and swimming, I ran 30 miles this week. I’m going to rest from running for a few days and focus on bike, swim and yoga.

That’s my wisdom for the day. Now I’m off to mail off all these babies:

And, maybe to watch more of the crazy side-line people chasing the Tour de France riders. It’s one of the only time you get to see full naked butts on daytime TV:

Do you pull back in your training when you need to? Do you always incorporate recovery weeks into your training? I have a recovery week every 3-4 weeks. I usually decrease my training volume by about 20%-30%.

Are you watching the Tour? I’ve been in and out of watching, but it is so motivating!!

SUAR

PS: I know you’ve got a special hidden talent (SHiT) to share. You could win a Shut Up and Run shirt! Check out my contest/giveaway HERE, or at least go read the comments, they are hilarious!!

I Did Not Climb that Penis

The margaritas by the pool yesterday might not have been a good idea. That situation morphed into 20 of us on an outdoor restaurant patio stuffing ourselves with pizza and Lefthand microbrews. A crazy Saturday knight for a bunch of 40-something parents.

I kind of sort of paced myself with the food and drink and figured I’d get to bed early enough to get up at 6:00 a.m. for today’s brick. The reality was my body was not happy with the mixture of alcohol and greasy pizza and I could not get to sleep. I watched the clock creep from 10:30 p.m. to midnight and on to 2:00 a.m.

The longer I was awake, the longer I thought, “NO! this can't be happening! I will not physically  be able to to do the brick without enough sleep!” Then all my freaking out would keep me from falling asleep and so went the cycle.

I got up and read emails. I got up and had a few Tums. I got up and checked on the kids, the dog. I worried about things I haven’t worried about in awhile. I kicked Ken when he started snoring and later at 3:00 a.m. he kicked me when I was at last asleep and snoring my ass off.

The plan was to ride for two hours, then run for one hour.  We rode up to Carter Lake which is about 17 miles northwest of town. To get up to the lake you climb for about 1,300 feet. Unlike the chart below, the climb did not look like an erect penis.

We stopped at the top to take in the sites:

I always say this: CO is a sucky, no good place to live.

I did much better fueling on the bike this week.

Before I left I had a huge PB&J sandwich (390 cals, 45 g carbs)

On the bike I had 1 cut up Powerbar (250 cals, 44 g carbs), 1 gel (100 cals, 25 g carbs), 24 oz of Cytomax (100 cals, 24 g carbs).

Before starting the run I had 1 gel (100 cals, 25 g carbs) and I had 10 oz of  Cytomax during (100 cals, 24 g carbs)

Total for three hours (not including breakfast):
650 calories
142 g carbs
68 oz liquid

Total brick - Bike: 34 miles in 2:01. Run: 6.6 miles in 1.0.

Ken is telling me that I stink. I am telling him it’s his fault for marrying stink.

This was a good confidence builder for me. I felt really strong the whole time even with the steep climbing on the bike. The run felt almost effortless (except when it got really hot at the end) and I know I could have run 13.1 miles today if I needed to. I paced myself well, knowing I did not want to run out of steam or feel awful at the end and for the rest of the day. I hate those long run/workout days when your kids are orphans because you have been gone for hours training then you get home and you’re too tired to yell at them or braid their hair or go get ice cream.

Right now I feel like superwoman! Or at least pooper woman. During the run I reminded myself that 8 months ago I was still on the couch nursing a hip stress fracture and using crutches (I call them “crotches” because they stink and are ugly).

Do you ever feel like a loser parent for doing long workouts then spending the day recovering? Typically my kids are just getting up when we get home (they’re lazy asses) so I don't feel bad for being gone. I do feel a tad guilty if I’m irritable or overly tired during the day. I try to make sure we will do stuff together. Like I lay on the couch and they rub my feet or bring me chocolate milk with a straw. That is together time, right?

When you can’t sleep at night, do you make yourself crazy because the more you can’t sleep the more you get stressed about not sleeping and then the more you can’s sleep? I’m a pretty good sleeper these days, but every once in awhile I get into that stupid cycle. Then I just take a bunch of valium with a  whiskey chaser and I’m good.

What do you grab right after a workout? For me – chocolate milk all the way. Tons of protein, some hydration, and some calories. Tasty too.

Ever climbed a penis? No comment.

SUAR

Purple Orgasm

There was a party here last night that included some good old fashioned gambling around the pool table (don’t be jealous of my wood siding):

My dad was stressing out because he just bet all his retirement money:

In the end, Emma’s best friend won all the cashola. I hope she takes me out for sushi. I like unagi and spider rolls.

There were a few Jell-O shots for the mature people in the crowd.

This level of imbibing and debauchery made for a terrible night’s rest, but I dragged my ass out of bed at 5:30 a.m. anyway. The house was not a total wreck, although there can never be a party without a sticky floor the next morning.

My plan this morning was to run for an hour (6.5 miles) before meeting up with my son’s middle school cross country team for a three mile run. I like to run before I meet people to run. It’s how I am.  Only a few kids showed up (slackers), and of course one of them was my kid because he knew he would be grounded and spanked if he didn’t. 

That made for 10 miles of running for me this morning. At mile five I saw two peacocks cross the road which really freaked me out because I did not know Colorado had peacocks. Maybe I was hallucinating due to the Jell-O shots. Tomorrow I might see giraffes.

I came home and chugged a huge glass of chocolate milk which has become my favorite recovery food/drink. It is like crack to me. I will actually fantasize about chocolate milk while I am working out. The cute milk delivery person brings it to my house on Monday mornings and I love him for it.

I am doing double workouts today. Tonight I have my first ever open water swim at Union Reservoir:

Actually, I am lying. I have swam in the open water before when I took trips to the beach with my family when I was twelve. Yes, I have procrastinated on getting into the open water, but I can no longer deny that my race is fastly approaching and if I have any hope of not drowning, I need to get out there and get out there fast. The other thing I need to do is find a damn wetsuit. I am hoping someone will leave theirs at the reservoir and I can adopt it as my own. Actually, maybe I will just make my own wetsuit out of an old tent and some yarn.

Not long ago the reservoir was closed because of poop in the water. Ick. I’m going to do my best to avoid oblong brown things.

What kind of wetsuit do you use? Do you buy or rent? Do you pee in it?

Do you ever do two-a-day workouts? If so, do you shower between? I just started doing two-a-days with this HIM training. I sometimes shower, depending on how bad I stink.

Do you eat sushi? What are your favorites? I love sushi and Boulder has some awesome spots. Sushi Hapa is my favorite. It is the one food that never upsets my stomach and never disappoints. I go for the eel (unagi), the spicy tuna, the California rolls and the fancy ones like the purple orgasm and the sticky erection.

SUAR