Rest & Recovery

My coach has a quote on his website “The proper combination of stress and rest leads to success.”

After a long, hard run it is important to recover so your body can start to heal before the next swim, bike or run. I am very fortunate to have an incredible recovery crew.

When I stumble in the house after a long run I am asked immediately if I would like water and do I want ice in that water (Kerianne & Avery) followed by “How was your run Mama? Last night I came in to see the boys in the kitchen making dinner. I make my way to my bathroom and start the cold water running for my ice bath. The ice from our automatic ice maker is brought to me by one of the boys. Then the girls come in to check on me to make sure I am OK and ask if I need anything else.

I have a hate/love/hate relationship with the ice bath. I HATE being cold, hate it! But I know the ice bath helps my legs recover quicker. I start the water and shed my clothes except my sports bra. I have found that keeping it on helps me stay warm on top and not shiver as much.

Once the water is covering my legs I pour the ice in. I have a good size tub and long legs but I am able to straighten them so they stay submerged. The very important part for me in tolerating the ice bath is keeping my toes out of the water. My meaty parts can handle the ice cold but my bony toes cannot, having them in the water is painful and makes me want to get out sooner. I stay in the bath for 15-20 minutes, at least until all the ice is melted.

Then I get out, dry off and get some clothes on, log my run on BT and it is time to eat! I do my best to make sure I get protein, carbs and plenty of water. When I am done eating it is time to get wet again but this time it is a hot shower. I get dressed again, have a beer and then a date with my foam roller before hitting the sack.

Last night I had an 8.59 mile run at an 11:35 pace which is very good for me, I met or exceeded all my goals for this run. Tonight I have my first bike fitness test. I will put Dori on the trainer in the garage with a fan in my face. Warm up and then go as hard as I can for 20 minutes, recover a bit and then go as hard as I can for 5 minutes before the cool down. The purpose is to measure the amount of power I put out during times of stress to help my coach set power goals for me in an effort to improve my bike intensity and speed. I will admit I am a little skeered but I hope to get through it without tossing biscuits. Knowing my recovery crew is on hand to help me after makes it so much easier!

The great news is Friday is an OFF day for me. These are very rare since my coach thinks swimming is an OFF day (that’s what happens when you are coached by Aquaman). So and honest to goodness off day is very rare when there is a race on the horizon. TGIF for sure! 4 weeks and 3 days till Kemah Olympic!         

Halt!

Yesterday for my long run from the house I took a can of Halt! Dog spray. It is basically mace for dogs. Since the pit bull incident I have not run much in my own neighborhood. I usually drive to the YMCA and run from there. I am glad I have that as an option but it’s not always convenient. When I got to the Y the girls want to go and checking them in and out of childcare adds a good 20 minutes.

Over the weekend we were at Bike Barn, I saw a can of Halt and thought this just might be what I need to feel more comfortable on my runs. I took it with me for the first time yesterday. I have this awesome Zoot running skirt that has pockets on the sides of the shorts, a perfect spot to keep my Halt handy. I wasn’t expecting to use it and hope I never have to but I have to say it made me more comfortable while running past the homes I know have large dogs. I don’t run by the house anymore where the dog that approached me lives but I do run down a street where another pit bull lives and is usually in the back yard. I have only seen this dog on one occasion when it was in the front of his home. When I run down the street behind the home the dog always barks. Hearing him always send my heart rate up and I slow down looking behind me after I have passed. Yesterday while passing the back of his home I actually had the Halt in my hand for added piece of mind.

I had a very good run. I felt less anxious having the Halt with me so I would say it was well worth the $5.99!

Cliche'

Consistency is key. We all know it and yet it remains elusive when we are not ready to commit 100%.

I get asked often how I have time to train for triathlon with 5 kids. The answer is I have to make time. Nobody is going to hand me a pretty wrapped box full of time. When I let things happen rather than make things happen my training gets spotty. February is not pretty. Of the first 20 days in February I have completed 15 workouts. For most folks that would be great but if you are a triathlete you know I have missed workouts.

I could give you a long list of the things that have gotten in my way but that doesn’t serve a purpose other than me trying to justify and make excuses. Yes, there were days workouts were not possible but there were also days I could have made something happen and didn’t.

I am also realizing fear is a great motivating factor. When I was training for the half ironman distance there was a good amount of fear motivating me. My next race is a repeat, I have an idea what to expect, I have completed all the distances so I know I can do it. The motivation has to be improving on what I have already done and trust me there is plenty of room for improvement. I want to be prepared for the distances and conquer them rather than feel conquered by them. I have done too many races where I felt the race chewed me up and spit me out. I need to be consistent if I want to feel good during and after the race.

Time to make it happen and get ‘let’ out of my vocabulary.

Eviction

I am a slow runner, this is the box I have put myself in.  This box is better than the ‘you can’t do that’ box I was put in years ago.  This box has lots of room and is comfortable.  I look at other people in their boxes that are a bit smaller and sleeker but I tell myself that I won’t fit in the smaller, faster box.  I will feel pressure in that box.  But the women in those boxes aren’t that different from me.  Some are shorter, thinner which makes their box a tiny bit easier to live in but there are also women who are taller and weigh more than I do getting along just fine in smaller boxes.

For years I was told I couldn’t do this.  Then I started doing it.  I told myself I could, my husband told me I could and I did it, I really did.  But what now?  I have a triathlon coach with the best disposition known to man.  When I was training for my Half Ironman he doubted me.  He didn’t doubt me as a person but with my injuries and lack of run training he wanted me to wait, he didn’t want me to hurt myself.  I’m not a waiting kind of girl.  I used that doubt on many a long bike ride and on some of my very hot runs.  I’ll show him! 

My coach writes up my workouts.  In life I am not a good little sheep, I do not do as I am told.  When it comes to triathlon and my coach I am a pretty good sheep.  He writes it, I do it.  I don’t usually look at my workouts before I have to, I guess I like the surprise and spontaneity of looking and then doing.  The other day I looked at a run workout and the target speed wasn’t anything I had ever done for more than a few minutes.  My first feeling was confusion then I got angry.  WHY would he tell me to do something I CAN’T do?  As if this is personal.  I sent him an e-mail and a text demanding an explanation.  This is where his perfect coach disposition comes out.  He simply told me to do what I can and then even told me to make it a moderate run. 

I went for my run and found myself pushing for the original numbers I thought unattainable.  I realized during this run I had gone from ‘you can’t do this’ to ‘you can do this’ to ‘I expect you to do this.’  I wasn’t raised with much in the way of expectations so this is somewhat new to me.  I think my coach is sending me an eviction notice from my big comfy slow box.

Sunrise Swim

On days like today when I really don’t want to get in the pool I think of this picture.  Those tiny specs off in the distance are boats that have just dropped some slightly unbalanced triathletes a mile off shore to swim to the ramp you see at the bottom of the picture.

I keep reminding myself that I thought this was a fun swim last year, challenging but fun.

All the women were on the same boat and while we were shivering and chatting you could feel the anticipation.  I’d be willing to say everyone was a bit anxious and some were downright terrified.

We were told to get off the boat before the wave ahead of us had even been given the gun.  We jumped off and started towards the buoys when the wave of red caps ahead of us was given their start.  We got to the buoys we were supposed to start at and tread water for 5 minutes when the gun went off!  The water was a bit choppy from a Friday evening/Saturday morning storm and the current was pretty strong left to right.  Once we took off there was nothing in the water we could see to sight off.  I was glad I had picked out the blue and white lighthouse while still on the boat.

I remember having to turn further to breathe because of waves so I was able to see the sky and thought ‘today is a great day to be a triathlete’! 

58 days and counting!!!

Elevation

Elevation is hard to come by here in supa-flat Houston.  I can feel my HR climb when I use the little ramp from the street to the sidewalk, that tells you how much I love FLAT.  I was hopping (only one good foot) when I found out the run for my Half Ironman had become more flat than the run in previous years.

We have a great race director and series of races here in Houston OnUrMark puts on a helluva race!  My 2010 season started with their Gateway to the Bay Olympic distance where they took us a mile into the gulf and we reluctantly jumped off a boat only to swim back to shore.  This little dip was followed by a challenging bike ride where the race director, felt compelled to challenge us with man made elevation, going over the Kemah Bridge FOUR times!  The run that followed was beautiful and fun with the locals hanging out in their lawns cheering us on. 

Imagine my dismay when I recently learned we would be RUNNING over said bridge, TWICE!  My knees started crying and my hips locked up in an effort to boycott my 2011 tri plans.  Apparently now the bike is nice and flat but the run not so much.  The thing is I like a hilly bike.  When you ride your bike on a hill you get to enjoy the Weeeeee all the way down.  When you run up the hill you have to first try not to die by cardiac arrest on your way up and going down you're trying not to die via asphalt.  As much as I don't look forward to the ascent it's the descent that is scaring the poo out of me!

Hiatus is over

After a much too long post Half Ironman hiatus I jumped back into training this week.  Yesterday I had a short 25 minute run on the calendar.  I waited until later in the day and it was getting a little dark around 5:30pm so I made the decision to run in my neighborhood to keep it safe.

The beginning of the run felt good though I knew I was going too fast to hold the pace very long.  Then out of the corner of my left eye I see dog running at me.  It’s a pit bull and he is not in the mood to play.  I just started yelling at him STOP!  He kept barking and lunging at me, frozen in the street.  I screamed STOP and HELP ME over and over hoping the owners would come out, nobody, nothing.  I took a few steps and he followed barking, started walking faster and didn’t hear hoping he went back to his yard.  Then I heard him charging and barking until I could feel his breath on the back of my legs.   My hope was at some point I would be far enough from his home and he would let me go.  He did.  I continued to walk fast.  I had to circle the neighborhood and come back onto his street to get home but I was further down.  I kept looking behind me but thankfully didn’t see him again.  A few minutes later I started running again and ran home as fast as I could.

Once in the door I fell apart.  Ken asked me what was going on and when I told him he told me to get in the car.  We drove to their house, he knocked on the door.  At first they were not going to come to do the door, they have a glass front door and they could see him.  Finally they answered.  The husband was rude and curt.  Fortunately the wife was more understanding and apologetic.  Obviously the dog was put away at this point.  It makes me sad that I cannot run safely in my own small subdivision.  I wish dog owners were more responsible.