I'm Tri'ing

I decided Ironman Texas will be my only triathlon this year.  My goals for the rest of the year: 1.  Get to goal weight - have yet to do this yet! 2.  Build strength 3.  Build speed in swim, bike and run 4.  Run my 1st Marathon (Rock n Roll, San Antonio - December 4, 2016) I already plan to run Iornman Texas next year and will consider other races but don't need to figure that out right now. The goals I set for myself are achievable when training for triathlons but I have found it very difficult and thus feel it will be better to focus on these areas to prepare me for 2017 race season. Training for an Ironman is not easy, lots of time away from family and limited time to do much of anything else.  November will be here before I know it.  I will try to do a better job of maintaining a solid base so when the training officially starts I'm prepared.  I want to put myself into a position that I can race stronger than I have in the past. S...

Two weeks post Ironman and I need to get back on track.  I have done nothing, and I mean nothing for 2 weeks......well guess that is not completely true, I have eaten everything in site and and consumed many alcoholic beverages. My feet and saddle sores are healing.  All blisters have been popped and dead skin cut away.  The toe nail I thought would fall off finally fell off this weekend and well the saddle sores.....probably better not to share :>) So I'm getting back to the gym this week, I'll jump on the scale and see how much I actually tormented my body.  As I had planned before Ironman, my new focus begins Wednesday with a 12 week dedication to strength training.  I'll still be swimming, biking and running but 3 times a week will be dedicated to strength training.  I think this focus will provide lots of improvement in other aspects of my training.  I promised myself I would dedicate 3 months to focused strength training.  It won'...

I did it!!! - I finished my 1st Ironman. I know I said I was disappointed that the bike was reduced by 18 miles because of road damage, but after the crazy weather I definitely feel that I overcame a huge challenge. Overall - 15:16:48 Swim - 1:48:51 Bike - 6:06:59 Run 7:01:23 Pre-Race We arrived in the Woodlands on Wednesday.  Athlete check in was Wed/Thur so I thought getting there on Wed was a better idea - less crowded and would give us more time to spend with family when they started to arrive.   Our hotel room, Marriott Residence Inn, was nice, a bit small considering we were going to have one of my BFF's staying with us on the couch and the bed was only a Queen (we are use to a King).  But it was very convenient to the event and the staff was great.  Upon arriving we went straight to Ironman Village so I could check in and attend athlete briefing.  You want to talk about organized, impressive.  I decided to buy an Ironman TX tshirt and w...

5/2/16 - 5/8/16 Swim - 2 Bike - 2 Run - 2 Strength Training - 0 Weight to lose - 15 lbs Mileage (weekly / 2016)   Swim - 2900yds / 74,250 yds miles      Bike - 47.7 miles / 791.2 miles   Run - 9.75 miles / 160.27 miles ONE week left.....training is done, taper is here.....are you ready????? Only 2 days of work this week, then we head to Houston.  My plan is to check in and go to the mandatory briefing on Wednesday when we arrive, Thursday ensure all my stuff is ready, get to see hang out with visitor 1 of 5.  On Friday, I can swim in the lake and then check in bike and T1/T2 bags and get to see visitors, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of 5 and then we are all together.  I'm hoping that we can hang out most of Friday and family dinner in the evening before heading back to the room. Freak out mode has started and I told the hubby I loved him because I know I will be an even larger PITA than I am on a daily basis. I will admit I'm scared but ...

4/25/16 - 5/1/16 Swim - 2 Bike - 0 Run -  Strength Training - 0 Weight to lose - 18 lbs Mileage (weekly / 2016)   Swim - 5600 yds / 71,350 yds miles      Bike - 40 miles / 743.5 miles   Run - 16.92 miles / 150.52 miles This was a pretty crappy week - I swam twice and that was it!  Not good for 3 weeks out from my race. Work was pure hell - I worked last Sunday all day, worked late every day last week except one day and worked all this weekend.  This job is getting old and quite possibly I'm not the right person for this role. The other crappy thing that happened this week was that the bike course finally came out and then they announce that they are cutting it my 20 miles because of the damage to the roads from the flooding.  Don't get me wrong, I have seen the devastation in Houston and I feel horrible for the loss of life and property.  But, I can also be upset because this was suppose to be...

4/18/16 - 4/24/16 Swim - 1 Bike - 1 Run - 2 Strength Training - 0 Weight to lose - 20 lbs Mileage (weekly / 2016)   Swim - 3800 yds / 65,750 yds miles      Bike - 40 miles / 743.5 miles   Run - 16.92 miles / 150.52 miles I really sucked this week - I thought I did better than that but clearly not.  DAMN.  I did hit my 2.5 hr run yesterday and was glad that I decided to run outside.  I was able to enjoy and focus on the run. A year ago I don't think I would have said I enjoyed a 11 mile run but work life has really SUCKED and lately when I'm training I try very hard to stay focused on what I'm doing.  I try not to let my mind wander to work related stuff, I just enjoy what my body is pushing me to do and mentally I remind myself that I can do this.  Ended up being a pretty good run, no major foot issues. Today I was suppose to do my 5 hr bike ride and I was super excited BUT we had a major maintenance window last night and...

4/11/16 - 4/17/16 Swim - 3 Bike - 3 Run - 2 Strength Training - 0 Weight to lose - 19 lbs Mileage (weekly / 2016)   Swim - 5500 yds / 61,950 yds miles      Bike - 88.4 miles / 703.5 miles   Run - 11.54 miles / 133.6 miles In regards to the the pain I was dealing with when riding, I had reached out to Cobb Cycling for assistance.  Their website provides a contact, Rachel, for women to reach out to that are experiencing problems with their saddles.  I have a Cobb saddle so thought I would give it a try.  Honestly I was not thinking I would hear back as soon as I did but I heard back from Rachel the very next day.  She asked specifics about the pain and asked for some photos.  I sent that to her and she came back with some additional questions, which I answered and at the end of the week she indicated that the photos show that I ride with my knees turned in towards the frame of the bike and that might be adding to the pain I exp...