How awesome is the new P4!

Its getting hot in here! So take off all your clothes or in my case put some more clothes on!

Preparation for Hawaii.....Sweating!

Yes, thats what I've been doing alot of. My husband tells a story to friends over dinner last night. How he and my son came home to a weird sound. The whole second floor was vibrating. They walked upstairs to find that it was like a sauna up there. I had turned the heat up to 92 degrees. He then opened up the bedroom door and my daughter was lying on our bed watching TV sweating. My son then opened the bathroom door to find a room full of steam and a lot of noise. There I was cycling away on my trainer..yes in my bathroom, heat ramped up, music on full blast, in a pool full of sweat! I was at an hour and was so happy to see them. I was DONE, baked, cooked...and asked them to turn the heat off! This kind of training is highly overrated and not so much fun!
I have opted rather, to run on the treadmill with a few extra layers on. Thanks to Jon Stewart and a few other comedians I tolerate the treadmill and I feel like I am adapting well and I shall be much more prepared mentally and physically for the Kona heat now! I hope!

GIVE ME A CALL!

Well my gluten free diet and enzyme taking ended tonight...or more like at 7 am this morning when my dear coach, Paulo read my blog! I guess sometimes you feel like you are in a rut and you need change. Timing is everything though and Paulo reminded me that two weeks before Kona is just not right timing. The pharmacist was telling me everything I wanted to hear, and that was take these supplements, make some changes in your diet and you will feel like a new person. Well, right now I am meant to be feeling tired and cranky as I have raced alot and am in the process of recovering. But in two weeks I shall be ready to go and it won't be because I changed my diet or started taking some pills. It will be because I have trained hard all year long, done the work and because I happen to love to race!(especially in Kona) I have one more week before I leave and I shall continue to get my workouts in and try sleep alot. I know I am ansi to leave as it is getting cold here and they are predicting rain for the next few days. But soon enough I will arrive at the Kona airport, feel the warm air, and put a big smile on my face! Thanks Paulo for being you....the snake oil cracked my husband up big time!

Day 1 of enzyme taking!

I am not a big pill taker and have never been able to stick to a routine of taking supplememts as my stomach just does not handle them well. So today I started off my day with 10 pills on an empty stomach. I broke up the first 5 and put them in a drink. My drink immedietly turned green..nice! I chugged that down. This was a combination of a multi vitamin, Coenzyme Q10,Xcellformula for a healthy circulatory system and some more enzymes for digestion. Next was the 5 others which I chose to sip and swallow. I got them all down and I have to say I felt a little queesy for about half hour. But after a little Quinou (oatmeal not allowed :-( ) with blueberries,honey and almonds for brekkie I am feeling much better.(I think) I may have to wait to after Kona to start this whole process. I will see how the pills effect my stomach.
The wind is howling outside(30mph) today and it is 58 degrees. I am contemplating
riding on my trainer with the heat turned up but I know the wind will probably be a good reality test for me for Kona. So enough procrastinating and let me get to work!

Gluten Free!

Well I have officially jumped on the gluten free band wagon. I have touched on this before and will try keep things relatively gluten free until race day and after. I finally had a long awaited appointment at the Natural Pharmacy. It was very informative like I knew it would be. After filling in a bunch of routine questions about my diet, body complaints...which I was amazed at how few I had. (or so I thought!) I then met Erik and we discussed the endocrine system which consists of your adrenals,hormones and thyroid. My immune system and what effects it We touched on my kidneys,liver,gallbladder,hips and the chinese beliefs associated with them. He explained to me about antioxidants and the belief that a slightly elevated cholestrol is neccessary for optimal health. We spoke about the concern of me being on wheat and how much better my body would respond to gluten free. I was interested to hear about which supplements I should be taking and at what times and Erik was very informative. He explained that based on my body shape,muscle type, food cravings, health symptoms and a few other factors that I was considered to be a PARA body type and given a list of foods that best suit this body type. The changes are not huge as I already tend to stay away from white flour, caffeine, sugar, desserts,fried foods and heavy oils. The new diet is perfect for me and i am excited to see how my body responds to the small changes.
Lastly I was pricked and a blood sample was looked at under the microscope. I was horrified to see what my blood looked like. Instead of the free healthy looking red and white blood cells. I had very small white blood cells, red blood cells that were all stuck together and a whole bunch of parasites...yes I said parasites. The most awful looking scary wormy like things in my blood. That right there was enough for me to say give me whatever I need. He too showed me how my kidneys were not functioning perfectly either. So it was fascinating and enlightening and I left with a goodie bag full of enzymes to get things to start running optimally. He assured me that nothing will effect me for race day and should only help me have more energy.
I shall start tonight with a whole assortment of enzymes and see how I feel in a few days. I have been feeling pretty tired and he promises me that I shall have a lot more energy in a few days!
I shall keep you all posted!

I know this is old already but I just saw it..pretty funny!

Swimming Stories!

Life has been busier than I thought! I have been going to Physical Therapy three times a week to fix some very tight muscles in my glute/hip area! This is always a three hour ordeal. Add another three hours of workouts in and a few kids activities and my day is full! Tuesdays and Thursdays I try squeeze a little nap in though which has been great! Did not get it today though :-(
Swimming has been good. They have just changed all our pools over to saline and I am loving it. No more smelling like chlorine all day long! My hair/body feels better too! Thank you Atlantic Club for making us swimmers very happy...now if you can just get the water temps right and get the ol ladies out of the pool we'll be very happy!
The classic story is my friend Maggie and I arriving for a swim workout. Maggie states," ah now for the best part of my day!" I respond..."I wouldn't say that yet!"
We go to the pool deck to find the usual water aerobics class going on and us having two lanes left. Paulo has given me a workout with alot of fast stuff and I really want to focus. So we are in the pool hammering out 100's next minute this "sweet"old lady jumps into our lane and starts swimming doggie paddle. I thought M was going to have a collision. I stop her and kindly ask her if she can doggie paddle by the aerobics ladies as she may get hurt! Her response is that we need to circle as she wants to swim too! AHHHH! That is not called swimming ....so M starts swimming some mean fly and our pace picks up as we are both a little aggravated! Hence we got our lane back...sorry ladies...we will be out of your way tomorrow as we get out quiet outdoor pool back. Yay I am so excited! Just a few of us and our precious lanes! Time to train hard with no interruptions!

I have been trying to do more of this lately!

10 days after Ironman

Timing is everything and I was thrilled to have a few days after IM to get things organized as my kids were heading back to school. Summer went by so fast this year and I was sad to have the care free days end. Summer is by far my favorite season and I love getting up at sunrise to go train and having my kids still lying in bed by the time I get home. I love the beach days, the warm ocean water, the busy boardwalk, summer parties, our pool, kayaking in the bay, bodyboarding and the long days. I am painfully aware of the days getting shorter as I took my kids for a bike ride on Sunday at 4. Due to the lack of training and feeling more recovered I just did not want the bike ride to end. We went on an adventure, biking to the beach, then to a friends, I enticed them with a burger king stop, a blockbuster stop and then when we came out it was dark...It was 7.40 and pitch black and we speeded through all the back roads back to my house by 8.15 and in time to get ready for bed. I miss the late sunsets alot!
I have been itching to get back to a regular training schedule as I know I have the biggest race of all in 1 month and I want to feel fit and fast...I keep hearing about all the great long workouts eveyone are doing in preperation for Hawaii. The PS posse are also meeting in Las Cruces for a training camp that I would love to be at. I know this is the position I put myself in by racing two Ironman within a short period of time and I know I need to recover well as I have a few nagging pains. So for now I just have to be patient and enjoy the short workouts.
Due to my kids being back at school I have decided to use the extra time to go to Physical Therapy. Jimmy Smith from Crest PT is the best and I will see him for the next few weeks to get my body in top shape again.
So I shall try enjoy these easier days and focus on eating well, stretching and getting organized.

T2

Feeling the heat!

The Battle of Louisville!

Going into this race 5 weeks after Lake Placid and 2 weeks after Timberman I knew this was not going to be easy! My body was not feeling fully recovered and I had a few issues with my achilles and my hip that were bothering me. I remained optimistic and determined that I would succeed and be mentally strong no matter what the race threw at me.
Race morning went smoothly. I headed down to the swim start which was a 15 minute walk and had a good chat with a few guys on the way. I was very calm and not nervous at all which was weird as I was up all night with a very high heart rate and the jitters. I was pleasantly surprised to have ony a few minute wait for the porto-johns....its amazing the small things that can make you sooooo happy.
At 6.45 the pro's were allowed into the water for a very quick warm up. I had tinted goggles on which was quite funny as it was still dark out and I was really battling to see. The gun went off promptly at 6.50 and I felt I had a really good start putting me up in the middle of the pack behind the fast guys. After about ten minutes I was swimming alone and I swam until the turn around by myself and then I hung wide to try get a bit of the current coming back. I caught up to two girls ahead of me and decided to swim closer to shore and stay behind them and not work as hard...I was happy with the decision when I came out of the water around 1.02....my best non wetsuit swim and in 7th place.(timing mat was a minute up making the swim 1.03)
On the bike I felt a little fatigue in my hamstrings but I knew it would work itself out. The first 25 miles are flat and fast although the east wind slowed things up a bit. The wind definitely made things a little more challenging later in the bike. I hit the out and back section, a ten mile very fun loop with a few big ups and downs. This was a slower section but you got to see how far ahead your competition was. At this stage I was still in seventh place and watched Hillary, Elizabeth, Heather and Bree Wee pass. Marie and Mariska were not too far ahead so I was excited and probably pushed the hills a little hard to make up a few minutes. Once starting the two thirty mile loops I saw Marie Danais and pushed to pass her. What was wierd about this race was due to the time trial start only a few amateur guys passed me on the bike. I kept waiting for the groups but they never came. The second loop would be a little more difficult as we were now spread amoungst alot of age groupers on hills riding side by side. It became a yellow line ride, and around the 75 mile mark I passed Mariska. We went back and forth a bit, where things got a little hairy as we were trying to pass legally, follow the drafting rules yet were jammed in between some slower riders. All the time I was trying to pay very close attention to my nutrition. One or two sips concentrate followed by water. I carried all my calories with me and picked up water at most of the water stops. Some of it I would drink but as the ride went on I would dump alot of it on my head and legs. With the wind at my back I could really feel how hot it was and my head was baking in the LG aero helmut I was using. I was happy to see the second loop turn which would mean some welcomed solo riding for the last 25 miles. As I approached the turn, it was jammed and I had to come to a complete stop as the referees almost took me out by turning right in front of me while I was heading straight. I pushed the last section back but could really feel the heat and it was hard to hold the watts. I rode conservatively the last few miles back into town. I could not wait to get my aero helmut off andmyback and shoulders ached!
A very quick T2 and I was off on the run. The only problem was my running legs were left in T2 somewhere. My legs felt very stale and I noticed instantly that I had made a bad decision to race in my training shoes. I had felt prior that they would give me more cushion. The shoes felt heavy and after a few dunks of water over my head my shoes were squelching and holding onto ALOT of water. I felt like I had weights on my feet. I think each shoe eventually held about two pounds. What was I thinking! On the out and back which are the first 2 miles on the bridge( which was actually pretty cool) once again I got to see where some of the girls were. Mariska was only maybe 2 minutes and Marie maybe 10 minutes behind. Somebody shouted that I looked great better than any of the girls up ahead. That was motivating and I instantly got lighter on my feet for a few miles. But the miles were slower than usual from the start and as much as I tried to convince myself that my legs would kick in they wanted no part of it. I would end up running whatever I could. I watched my miles progressively get slower and my heart rate increase. I tried to grab alot of fluid at each aid station but it was not enough. Mariska had passed me by mile 4 and she was moving. At the 10 mile mark the leader was 13 minutes ahead but I could not move any faster. I watched Elizabeth stop and throw up, Heather running but not moving at her usual speed. Hillary was going slow and Bree Wee had pulled over and had stopped briefly. I continued on accepting that it was going to be slow run but hoping that somehow I would have a miraculous turn around. Marie would pass me by mile fifteen and I still could not respond. I just knew that I had slipped from 6th to 8th place and I had to hang on and keep running.I saw Bree Wee at sixteen and she was walking fast and talking away. She kindly cheered me on as I passed her and I moved back into 7th. I thought boy I would love to walk too but I pressed on all the way back and managed to pick up the pace the last few miles. It was incredible all the guys walking out there. It really looked like everyone had come from a battle and they were just doing everything they could to get home. It was HOT and dehydration was everywhere. It was a great feeling to see town up ahead , the turn around and the streets filled with spectators bringing you home. I was thrilled to finish my tenth Ironman. It was once again such a test of my tolerance to discomfort and my will to succeed. I came across the finish in 10 hours 26 minutes placing 7th pro women and actually 45th overall which was by far my highest overall placing.
I am amazed at the conditions I have had to race in this year. Just when I thought things couldn't get tougher than Lake Placid and Arizona......I am so glad its over! next up KONA! YaY!

Kona Bound!

I am very happy to say that I got the Kona spot! After all the hard work this year and the three tough IM races I have done, it shall be nice to end the year off with Kona. I really love that race and being a part of it! I could not sleep last night as I was so sore but also excited to hear whether I would get the spot. So now I can finally go to sleep and relax and enjoy my next week of recovery! I shall post a race report later! I look forward to being out in Hawaii with you guys Laura, Tom, Tracy and Shawn, Sergio, Jonnyo, Danny, Will, Linsey and Paulo of course.(Jodi and Khai too!)
Thanks goes to my coach Paulo too for going with my crazy plan even though he did not like it of racing Louisville after IMLP with the possibility of Kona 6 weeks later. The day after a rainy Lake Placid while sitting in Starbucks with the crew I sprang the whole Louisville idea on him and he said no but he would think about about it. I really wanted to go and a few days later he told me he'd support my decision. So thanks Paulo!
Thanks goes to my family who I miss when they are not with me at races but are always so proud and supportive of me.
Great job to the NJ crew yesterday. Don, Jason Micheal and Mike who did back to back Lake Placid and IM Louisville races and were also part of the reason for me racing here. To Kate and Rich too great job! Way to hang tough on a HOT day!

Ironman Louisville!

The only way to describe the scene here in downtown Louisville yesterday was a suffer fest. I have never seen so many people hurting out there on the run. It was a lesson in once again respecting the magnitude of Ironman especially when backed up with a 92+ degree day and some wind. I am happy to say I battled it out and finished in 10.26 good enough for a 7th place pro finish and a spot on the podium. I am on my way down to the awards banquet and then roll down.....There is a slim chance of me getting a slot so we'll see. There are 3 girls ahead of me and only two slots so hold thumbs for me! I will post some more later!