Wednesday, October 31, 2012

18

...days until Ironman. 18 is also the day of the month that the race is on (November 18th). Don't forget to track our results on race day.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Last Long Run


Monday night was a perfect night for a long run. Normally my runs are done during the day, pushing a stroller, pulling a dog, and in a hurry. And lately they've been super slow (thanks to Ironman training). It was so nice to finally do a peaceful run. Carrie and I started at 8pm and ran for almost two hours. We charged up Canon, which is a mile-long steep hill. The downhill was sweet. I'm going to miss my "therapy sessions" over the next few weeks, but I'm kinda relieved there are no more long runs in my near future.

19

...days until Ironman. 19 is also the speed Skyler would like to go on the bike portion (19.5 mph).

Monday, October 29, 2012

20

...the number of days until Ironman Arizona. I have a lot of mixed feelings about this. I'm excited that the end is near and that I get to show all the hard work I've been doing. I'm nervous that something will go wrong during the race. I'm happy to spend 5 days with Skyler on a mini-trip. I'm sad I will be away from Desmond for 5 whole days! I'm tired from putting so many miles in these past few weeks (over 180 last week). Most importantly, I feel ready.

Friday, October 26, 2012

I Love You, Kids Club




To get my swimming done, I used to get up super early to go to the gym before hubby had to leave for work. If you know me, you know I hate getting up early. About three months ago I decided it was time to introduce Desmond (and me) to the Kids Club at 24 Hour Fitness.

Hallelujah!

And just like that, life got so much better! Well, it took a while, but we are getting there. The first few times little D cried the whole time he was in there. But with the help of Wanda (the morning babysitter), I am learning how to make the experience better for D.

I know he needs a pacifier strap, a bottle, and a blanket that smells like me. And of course he loves Wanda because she will hold him the whole time. I've also learned the best time of day to go (around noon) because that's when it's almost empty and Wanda has the time to give all of her attention to him.

Wanda is super amazing because she understands that parents are at the gym to work out and need that time. So even if a kid is crying, she will do her best to soothe that child instead of immediately paging the parent. They have only had to come get me twice and that was because Wanda wasn't there.

Today I picked up D and he was happily playing with Wanda's hands as she held him. It made me so happy. And I got 3000 yards in so that made me even happier!

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Ironman Fears

It's hard to believe that Ironman is less than 4 weeks away. At time I feel ready and at other times I wish I had had some time to do this or that. It's too late to do any training that will really affect my race positively, so I just need to bank on the fact that I've done the work and hope that it's enough.

My biggest fear for the race is that something mechanical happens to my bike and it can't be fixed. If I don't finish, I want it to be because I physically can't finish, not because of a bike issue. That would be so frustrating and disappointing.

Another issue is my bike fit. I didn't get professionally fit and I feel like I don't fit correctly. It's very painful to sit on my bike for any time longer than 30 minutes, both in aero and upright position. This is something to worry about because I'll be sitting on my bike for almost 7 hours on race day. I haven't figured out exactly what is wrong, but it's probably too late by now.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

90 miles

Skyler and I used to both ride on Saturday mornings and would have the rest of the day to relax and hang out. Now we have to do a lot of planning to get our long rides in so that our baby boy has somebody babysitting him.

Skyler knew we both needed super long rides, so he took a day off work to give us more time. It took a lot of time managing, but we did it and I got a 90 mile ride completed.

I started my ride going up Katella to Jamboree. Just 6 miles into the ride my chain got jammed. Luckily I was able to call Skyler to come help me out. It rained while I waited for him, but luckily that was the only time. 45 minutes later I was back on the road. I worried this was a sign of a bad ride, but fortunately nothing bad happened for the remaining 85 miles.


I rode about 50 miles to Yorba Linda where Skyler joined me. He had dropped the baby at my parent's house for a few hours. We rode together (something we haven't done in a long time) out to Corona. We did a lot of climbing. It was great riding with Skyler. I wish we could do it more often. 


Around mile 80 we separated and I rode 10 more miles to finish off an even 90 miles (he had to get back to the baby). I felt like I could have ridden further, but I was chasing sunlight to finish 90. I felt great after I finished. My longest consecutive ride ever. Ironman, I'm ready!

Monday, October 15, 2012

Working (Out) Together


Training is a family event at our house. It won't get done if we don't do a little planning and work with each other. Sometimes that requires getting up extra early to swim so I don't miss out on family breakfast. Sometimes Skyler runs during lunch so we can spend the evening together. Sometimes that means Skyler and I get a babysitter so we can ride together. We make it work so that everyone is happy.

Most of the time I run with the jogging stroller. Thankfully, Desmond is loving the stroller more lately. A few months ago he would cry the entire run, which makes for a miserable run for mom. I think he's starting to enjoy looking around and being somewhere different than stuck in the house all day. I can't wait for him to cheer me on and tell me to run faster.

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

My First Road Crash

Last weekend Skyler and I raced Orangeman in Dana Point. This was just a training race for both of us, so I wasn't too concerned about time. Plus I knew the bike course was killer so it couldn't be compared to Oceanside.

Well, three miles from the finish of the bike I got in a crash. The yellow caution tape got tangled on my handlebars and pulled me down. I crashed hard on my left side. My elbow got the worst of it. I got checked by the paramedics and cleared to finish the race, which I did, but not very fast.

The past 9 days have been extremely difficult because I want to train but I'm hampered by my injury. I can run relatively fine. I can bike on the trainer so I can lean on my right side. But swimming in out. I've done two very painful workouts and it just isn't working.

I got checked on in urgent care this morning to make sure nothing is broken and I'm ok. But I'm not supposed to swim for a while. Well, Ironman is in 6 1/2 weeks and I kinda need to swim. Ahhhhh!