A New Year - Bite-Sized Goals

I love the beginning of a new year.  It's a chance to look back on the good and bad of the previous year, refocus and start anew.

Nobody is perfect.  I am certainly far from it.  I love listening to others resolutions, soaking in suggestions and making my own lists and goals.

In reflecting on my goals for 2013, my past achievements and failures, I concluded that I do not do well with lofty big idealized and unfocused goals.  They aren't concrete enough for me and don't have immediate deadlines.   And, consequently, I don't necessarily achieve them.  I like a methodical, black and white, scientific approach to things.  Schedules written out and plans.  I was a science and music major in undergrad.  Both disciplines suited me just right.  Enough creativity to satisfy my need to explore and enough rhythm and routine and right answers to satisfy the type A side of me.  On the contrary, economics was not my forte (kind of interesting since now I use economics a lot in my line of work).  It was abstract, fluid, and I often had difficulty finding my way from point A to point B, wherever that may be based on factors x, y and z.

This year I'm taking a methodical approach to my goals and breaking them down in tiny bite-sized pieces.  I got this idea from the nutritionist I'm currently working with, Kim Mueller.  At the end of each food log page, she asks me to list 3 goals for the next day.  They don't have to be food related or major life changing events.  They can be repeated.  They don't have to be perfect.  BUT I do need to write them down and they do make me reflect on my current day, my larger goals and what small steps I can take the very next day to move myself forward.

I haven't eliminated my lofty and bigger goals for the year and I plan to list those at the front of my journal so that I can keep them in mind and check in on them on a regular basis.  Those are still a work in progress, but here are a few:

1.  Practice 10 minutes of yoga or reflection/meditation a day.
2.  Journal EVERYTHING I eat for the month of January.
3.  Read 20 books this year.  10 must be non-fiction and 5 of those can't be related to health or sports. (Thanks Caroline for this suggestion).
4.  Prepare for a move to the fan in 2014.
5.  PR my A race in June and FINALLY break that 6 hour half ironman barrier.

HAPPY 2013 everyone!  Off to write my bite-sized goals for tomorrow.

Still Alive

This blog post is dedicated to my fellow Tri-campers Caroline and Angelina who may have slight heart attacks when they see that I have blogged.

My last post was a promise that I would post my entire race report from CDA. So much for that. Post Ironman, work life flourished and my free time was well just enjoying free time. I didn't do any other triathlons post Ironman, but rather just enjoyed goofing off, training for "fun" and spending time with family and friends.

Since CDA I have raced... On the road and om the trails. I have this birthday this year--yes it is my 40th-- so I decided that I needed to do something different and a big challenge. So I decided I would challenge myself to my first Ultra. A 50K+++ in the western part of Virginia.

So this fall I started with the Maymont 8 miler (my first trail race), continued with the Richmond Half Marathon, then the Bear Creek 10 miler (another trail or trial race as our shirts said), and in January a 35K back at Bear Creek but on a different and VERY muddy and wet course. The finale was in February, a 50K plus plus or just under 34 miles of trail running fun outside of Appomattox, Va.

The trail running and the experience of the Ultra was a challenge worth taking. I enjoyed so many great long rambles through the woods with Kate, Molly, Jill, Lynn and others and got to run for running's sake, not for a fast time, or an interval but just to run, see new places, and enjoy being outside. The 50K itself was a challenge... Both physically and mentally. More so because I had a major wipe out at mile 6 resulting in an instant swollen and badly bruised left quad muscle. Having running partners and knowing all of the miles I put in training kept me putting one foot in front of the other. Thankfully after some advil on course and some time, the miles got better and the end came sooner than I had planned. We all finished the task that day and I was thrilled with my sub-7 hour time.

After a bit of R&R plus a trip to Germany for work, I've been back focusing on tris and trying to get myself in some semblance of shape before TriCamp in Tucson-- where I am headed now! My fellow JHC athletes are inspiring me to keep my schedule a little closer and see what happens when you complete all the training as written in your plan.

IM CDA Race Report - Part 1 - Pre-Race

At the start of race week this year, I made a promise to myself that no matter how I did in this IM, I would write and publish my race report.  I did not after Placid.  Not sure exactly why but I think it was a combination of anger (at my terrible bike leg) and embarrassment (at my crappy bike leg).  That, and by the time I was finished with IM Placid, I was fried, terribly fried and not wanting to thing another thing triathlon for quite some time.

This year, as I was preparing to race, I wished I had that report.  I remembered many of the feelings and parts of the day and was able to dig up my old race plan, just for comparison, but I really wanted to read the raw truth.  And, I didn't have it.  

So here is my attempt at my first IM Race Report.  I apologize for the length, lack of pictures (will post some eventually but have yet to download) and hope I don't bore you to tears, but this report is really for me.  So that next time (and there will be a next time) I will be able to look back on this report and see how I've grown, and changed and more importantly, reflect on the emotions of the week that make Ironman week so special and unique.

Starting at my pre-race week thoughts . . . 

This year, I was a mix of calm (I amazed even myself), worry (that I was a bit unprepared), and excitement (I was ready to put it out there).  Placid I think helped with the calm.  This time, unlike the last, I knew that I had it in me to finish.  It may not be pretty, but given my last experience - my horrible bike leg, the side cramps, walking my bike and how terrible I felt getting off that bike - and then the amazing gift of one of the most fun and enjoyable long runs in my life, I knew that no matter what the day threw at me, it was a long day out there, things change over the course of the day, and I would persevere.  In fact, the best Ironman advice I ever had from Pro K, to hang in there, assess how you feel, fix any problems immediately and hang on - things will change - was certainly the lesson learned from Placid.  Unbeknownst to me, it would also come in very handy on IM CDA race day.  

The worry part - well, I guess that's only natural.  This year I switched coaches to fabulous Jen H (YAY!) and while I felt very confident with her abilities (she coaches some amazing athletes) my volume and training was very different.  And, on some levels I worried - is it enough?  In fact, I was the one who asked for a true 20 mile run (versus a run for time) and snuck in one last LONG swim of the IM distance the week before the race.   

At the same time, I felt ready.   Very ready.  My body felt strong, uninjured and not compromised.  I felt alive, was able to sleep and didn't feel like a walking zombie.  There were no thoughts of getting sick the week of my taper or being too run down.  And, I was able to hit my last hard training block with confidence and vigor.  I wanted to do that last tough climb up Wintergreen mountain on tired legs and I was ready to do my last long long run - even though it was HOT and very humid at 5 am in the morning that day.   This I attribute to the wisdom of my coach.  The great part of this year's training was that I was excited for the race - and ready to go do it.

Race week, I fine tuned my race plan and goals with Jen.  It was lengthy and detailed - what I would eat, what I would wear and some positive self talk in there to encourage me to be strong, cues of things to think about while on the bike or run.   I read it every day pre-race that week and committed those thoughts and plans to memory. 

We arrived in CDA on a beautiful sunny Wednesday.  CDA had unseasonably warm temperatures that day and the lake was glass.  Our copper roofed house was situated right on the run course and lake.  While a bit eclectic inside, and completely lacking of all window treatments, making for some early mornings, it was beautiful and perfect for the week.  Bart and I lucked out with the first floor master and the view out our bedroom window was stunning.    

We all took a dip in the lake that afternoon (without wetsuits), did a little grocery shopping and enjoyed steaks on the grill and a few glasses of wine.  I felt remarkably calm and a little like I was on vacation.  

My stomach, however, knew I was there to race and so from Thursday until race day, my body was pretty much like a sieve.  I could eat anything and everything, because well, it just didn't stay with me very long.  So I ate.  

Each day leading up to the race, we swam in the lake to acclimate to its cold temperatures.  And each day the water got colder and colder.  In addition to being in the mid 50s, the water was choppy and had white caps most mornings.   After my 20-25 minute swims, my feet and hands were frozen, and I had to concentrate on not feeling seasick.  With each practice swim, my thoughts of a fast easy swim went out the door and my thoughts instead turned to survival and what am I going to wear?

We drove the bike course twice in the days before the race.  I was SO pleased that it was flat or at least fairly flat for the beginning and end sections of the bike.   And from the car, the middle section was definitely rolling but lacked the long steady climbs of Placid.  I was encouraged and felt my 7 hour bike split goal was definitely within reach.  

We did all the usual things pre-race - spent too much money at the IM store, packed our transition bags, ate, went for a little spin on the run course, went for a little shake out jog, ate some more, relaxed with our feet up, racked our bikes, got a little tune up ART (for my neck/shoulder that I tweaked on my last self induced LONG swim the week before IM), slept, visited Jamba Juice, bought toe and hand warmers and gloves.  In fact, the most stressful part of the week was figuring out what to wear race day.  The week was much colder than I had expected and due to the freezing water temperatures, I was really concerned that I would be cold on the bike.  Ended up not using any of my newly purchased warm gear, but better safe than sorry.

For the most part, I did well pre-race.  My anxiety levels were fairly low and I only had one break down - the night before, when we all went to bed.  I must confess I cried a few nervous tears to Bart.  He did a great job of calming me back down and telling me it was okay if I was last to finish in my group of training buddies but that he certainly had all the confidence in my goals and me.  With my cry out of my system, and a myocalm to help me sleep soundly, we went to bed early and, for the most part I slept.  A definite first for me.