I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: hills are a walk in the park compared to the prairie wind! This morning I embarked on my first outdoor ride of the season. That’s right, it’s April 18th and I’m riding outside for the first time this spring. It’s just the way it is all the way up here in Saskatchewan. The snow isn’t even all gone.

I met my training buddies and we headed due south, directly into a head-wind. We planned it that way. It’s the best way to plan a ride so that you can have the wind at your back on the way home. For the first hour, we rode at 20km/hr into a 35km/hr wind. My one training buddy remarked at how demoralizing it is to ride for so long at such a slow pace into the wind. I replied with the fact that Ironman is demoralizing and this is good practice. We decided to cut our ride pretty much in half due to the strong wind, but we still ended up doing 55km. The ride home was much nicer, but every year I forget about how frustrating it can be to ride into the wind. I have cried and yelled at the wind before. “Why, oh, why don’t you just STOP?!?” No matter what, though, she keeps blowing.

This is why I never worry about racing in places with hills. With a hill, you can go up and up and up, but you know that you’re going to go down. I have never seen a hill in a race that I have had to climb for an hour. Although, that would be one amazing downhill.

So now I’m home with a sore right knee (big surprise) and an empty stomach. I had a freezing shower for my legs and back and did my IT band stretches. I’m icing my knee and eating pasta. Ahhh, another Saturday ride done.

Getting up at 6am on a Saturday is not generally my idea of a good time, but when one is training for Ironman it just has to be done. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one and met 9 other people to get together for a 3-hour ride. One of the guys in the club has the Ironman Coeur d’Alene bike course on his CompuTrainer. So while one person road the course (this morning it was my buddy Peter), the rest of us watched the profile of the course as well as the video of the actual route that was projected onto a screen. It was pretty cool, actually, and very informative. I had been told that IMCDA is a tougher course than Ironman Canada, but today it was very visually obvious. The next months are all about hill training! While we don’t have many hills around these parts, I will be getting very familiar with the hills that we DO have.

Yesterday, I did my repeat swim workout. I really love the 200m breaststroke, 500m freestyle, 200m backstroke sets! Well, I don’t love the back stroke part of the set, but my coach says that it’s good for me. So I take his word for it! Tomorrow my buddy and I are going to do a steady 10K run and I’m hoping to get into the pool in the afternoon. There’s nothing like squeezing in my workouts on the weekend! Well, it’s nothing like last weekend and I’m anticipating a crazy week for work next week.  So I need to get in as much as I can this weekend.

Last night I got home from work exhausted and ready for bed. However, I mustered my way through making a stirfry with quinoa and had some time to hang out by myself. Somehow I got recharged enough to do my 1-hour of intervals bike workout. I used Sex and the City as incentive to get me on the trainer last night and it was quite effective. I made it through 2.25 episodes before I finished. I would say it was a successful workout. All I’m left with this week for workouts are: yoga tomorrow night, a swim with the tri club, and a long bike ride (hopefully outside if the weather continues the way it is right now).

Yesterday in the pool, I felt very strong. I did the workout my coach had set out:

300m choice
2 x 900m (100m flutter kick, 200m back stroke, 300m freestyle, 200m breast stroke, 100m flutter kick)
200m choice
TOTAL: 2300m

I do believe my coach is torturing by making me do 200m of back stroke without anything in between. I always get dizzy and am completely paranoid about hitting my head, especially at the pool that I swim in at lunch time. The pool lanes are crooked to the ceiling beams and they don’t have flags to mark the 5m-from-the-wall point. This means that I’m constantly looking behind me to see if I’m going to hit the wall, which doesn’t help the whole dizzy feeling. Also, it hurts my arms. I know that this is a good thing, but they get so SORE after 100m! I hope he reads this… grrrrr… I DON’T LIKE IT.

On the last 100m of the cool-down, I started to feel really dizzy. I thought that maybe I was doing my flip-turns weird or something, but when I stopped I realized that I was bonking. Well, I didn’t exactly know it, but I knew that I had absolutely ZERO energy left. I walked carefully to my towel, had a shower, and made my way back to work to eat. I knew that it was food that I needed and that I had maybe, just maybe, not eaten enough calories in the morning to sustain the swim I had just devoured. It seems that I also didn’t pack enough food for lunch and didn’t even think about the reserve stores I had in the refrigerator at work (this is what happens when one bonks). I went home early to eat and it took a few hours before I could complete thoughts and sentences. I slept like a log that night for over 9 hours! It felt so good.

What I have learned from this experience is that I need more food and more reserves at work. My solution: leaving bread and peanut butter at work is a good thing, Amy’s canned soup is really tasty and would totally work, and I need to buy a bulk box of Clif bars. While these are not meal replacements, they will work in a bind if such a thing was to ever happen again.

In scheduling issues, I’m having scheduling issues. Mostly with biking. The weather keeps messing with my big “ride my bike outdoors” plans. However, I might just be being a sucky baby. I do have new booties for my feet and have tights that I can use. But it’s about the planning of it and life things getting in the way. However, I’m committed to getting my rides in this week and will try to do the trainer ride after my yoga class tonight. Good times on the bike trainer!

Every once in a while during my training, I used to get occasional knee pain that I always attributed to “runner’s knee,” which is technically patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS). However, the past 6 months have told me that my most recent knee pain is different. My iliotibial band has felt tight and the pain doesn’t start right away in the run. It waits a few kilometres in to really flare up.

My RMT (ie. massage therapist) and chiropractor reluctantly agree that it’s my IT band, hips, and lower back that is causing the pain. My RMT is also my training buddy and friend, which is how this all got started. I started to complain during runs and she “checked me out.” Massage definitely helps and this summer when I took 4 weeks off of running, it all felt much better. However, the reprieve was short-lived and it is back again. Last night I went running with a buddy and, like clockwork, it started up a couple of kms in. We ended up doing the whole 5 mile run and the pain didn’t get too overwhelming, but it definitely didn’t feel good.

So this morning, I decided to check out Runner’s World just so that I could read once again about what it is. They said it really well in this article:

The iliotibial band, a thick band of tissue that runs from the hip to the knee, can cause irritation when it runs over the femoral condyle, the knobs at the bottom of the thighbone. Knee pain from a problem with the IT band typically doesn’t start until a mile or two into a run. “Because the pain is generated from friction, it releases chemicals that cause inflammation, and that takes a little bit of time,” says Sharon Flynn, M.D., a sports-medicine specialist at the Oregon Medical Group.

An IT problem or patella pain may originate in the hip, according to Michael Fredericson, M.D., an associate professor at Stanford University and head team physician for the Stanford cross-country and track teams. Runners who have IT band issues and patellofemoral pain–two common knee injuries among runners–are often weak in the hip abductors and external rotators. Strengthening the hips can help alleviate and prevent pain. “People talk about pronation of the foot, but really the whole body pronates to some degree–that’s how your body absorbs shock,” says Dr. Fredericson. “Controlling that comes down to alignment.”

Of course, prevention is always the best way to avoid these types of situations. However, since I’m already “in it,”I’m trying to figure out how to get OUT OF IT. My RMT said to “ice” my legs after I run, which I have reluctantly been doing every time I run. Seriously, getting into a freezing cold shower is so hard to motivate oneself to do. However, I very carefully put each leg separately into the ice cold shower and count to 30 and repeat 3 times. Sometimes if I’m feeling very brave, I will even ice the whole back side of my body. Trust me, it’s cold and uncomfortable, but it’s just another thing I do to stay in this crazy sport of triathlon. Runner’s World “Injury prevention” page has an article of the benefits of ice baths that tells how cold water reduces swelling and tissue breakdown. It makes a lot of sense, but it’s just not that comfortable.

Another way I am trying to deal with this situation is strengthening my lower back. Side bends, core strength workouts, and lower back strengthening exercises are in the cards for me, despite my aversion to such things. Alas, I must do them.

I am also going to purchase a new pair of shoes because the ones that I have are finished. I’m also going to run on the treadmill for a bit to see if that makes a difference. Hopefully in a matter of weeks I will miraculously be cured!

In other training news, I am fully enjoying being back into training. Last week I genuinely meant to get out onto my bike, but another flat tire put that thought to rest. It turns out that my tire is very worn and I need a new rear tire… I guess that makes sense. I’ve put thousands of kilometres on my bike , Sky, and she’s probably going to have to sustain many more thousands, unless I come into some major money and can afford the tri bike that I’ve always wanted. So I got my flat fixed and was planning to hit the road on Sunday, but it downpoured all day and the thought of putting my bike on the trainer without snow on the ground was just too depressing. Instead, I enjoyed every single moment spent having a lazy, rainy Sunday.

Since triathlon is a multi-sport, it’s no wonder that it draws people in that are proficient multi-taskers. This is definitely one of the reasons that I became hooked on this sport – not getting bored just training in one sport and when injured being able to do a different sport more. However, the past 4 weeks have involved more multi-tasking than even I, a seasoned multi-tasker, is comfortable with.  Unfortunately, because triathlon is my hobby that I do in my spare time, it has taken a bit of a back seat to a high quantity of hours traveling for work, planning to get a new puppy, planning and attending a conference (which included meeting some who I have a great deal of respect for), spending quality time with family members (including going to a wedding), and keeping up my personal relationships.

In the past few weeks, all I’ve had time to do is 2-3 swim sessions a week, one bike session (there is more on that later), and I’ve just started back to running for short amounts of time due to my foot injury. That being said, I foresee my job becoming less busy and more manageable (ie. less stressful) and spending more time training.

I’m very excited to finally be able to bike outside these days. It has only been the last week that we have really had weather that was conducive to riding outside. Up until now, it has been too wet or cold and I really don’t have the gear to deal with that… yet. A couple of weeks ago I started helping lead one of the bike sessions to a women’s beginner triathlon group called Just Tri It. I co-lead the advanced group and it is so inspiring to introduce these girls to the sport I love so much. It is awesome to pass on my words of wisdom from being a sort-of-seasoned triathlete. This week is most of their first multi-sport race – a short duathlon. I am going to volunteer at the event and hopefully be able to help them set up transition areas and calm their nerves before they set off on their race. I’m so excited for all of them!

I was planning to do an actual road ride outside this weekend, but the forecast calls for snow. So I will do my best at convincing myself that getting on the trainer is the best idea, but honestly, I’d rather bike in a blizzard for 5 hours than sit on my trainer in my basement for half an hour, even if Sex and the City is on. However, it might be my best option this weekend.

I realize that I have been neglecting this blog since I changed over from blogspot, but I’m working on it. Hopefully as I get more time at home, I’ll be able to update more. Sometimes it seems like I have a lot of blogs to update, but this one should be the first one to be updated. I’ll work on that.

While commuting to work by bicycle, it occurred to me that I have accumulated a skill I never even thought about as an actual skill before: the “farmer’s snot.” Apparently, in some places they call it the farmer’s blow, but it all means the same thing: A farmer’s snot is blowing one’s nose onto the ground by plugging one nostril and blowing the other one as hard as you can; then one repeats this with the other nostril. The result is barely any snot left at all – just enough to wipe on the back of one’s hand/bike glove (in this case).

Today on my commute, I practiced this skill many times and discovered I could do it almost perfectly, all while riding precariously on icy roads. Now that is skill, my friends!

According to my friend, Wikipedia:

During cold weather, the cilia which normally sweep mucus away from the nostrils and towards the back of the throat (see respiratory epithelium) become sluggish or completely cease functioning. This results in mucus running down the nose and dripping (a runny nose). Mucus also thickens in cold weather; when an individual comes in from the cold, the mucus thaws and begins to run before the cilia begin to work again.

I thought this was all very good to know as I always wondered why my nose ran so much when it was cold, and since my nose runs a lot anyway when I bike, it runs even more when it is cold out. Imagine something that runs so much and never gets anywhere!

Tonight I have committed to myself that I am going to get on my trainer for at least an hour – that’s two episodes of Sex and the City. I am also going to do some yoga as well. I’m officially back on the wagon!

At 3:30 today, it was at least 30oC (close to 40 with the humidex) and the wind was strong (26 to 37km/hr), but I made sure to get on my bike and get in a ride. Ironman is less than a month away and I know that I should be tapering, but I’m not quite ready. Well, maybe I already am, but it’s mostly by accident. There are many things going on with me right now and it is inhibiting my training in a major way. However, I still feel ready for the race and can’t wait for August 26th to come.

The ride today was hot and hard. I did an out-and-back ride on a route that I use often. It has some hills and it has great scenery and is relatively close to my house. Going out I averaged about 19 km/hr, which sounds more brutal than it was. In my mind, I pretended that I was climbing the huge hills that will be part of the Ironman ride. The wind definitely helped with this and I used my granniest granny gear more than once. It felt weird to use it as I hadn’t in so long, but it was good to know that it’s there when I need it. That’s why I keep my small chain ring. The ride was so hot that I drank two bottles of gatorade and one bottle of water. I had a gel before I went, but it wasn’t enough. I’m pretty much obsessed with my glycogen levels while training. It’s probably not necessary to be obsessed, but when I was coming back I felt a pang in my stomach and knew that my glycogen was low. As soon as I got home I had a smoothie with tofu, hemp, frozen strawberries (picked by my own hands), and raspberries from my garden. It was great.

While the ride out was super hard, the ride back was awesome! I was anticipating a great ride back, but this one blew my mind. I got up to 66.7 km/hr on my favorite hill to go down (I actually kind of like going up it too), which is the fastest I’ve ever went on that hill. I could have went faster, but my gears were tapped and my legs were spinning at about 113 rpm. IT WAS AWESOME!!! Such a rush! I was going 34km/hr on the flats and up to 60 km/hr on the smaller hills. It was great, just great. Felt so good.

I even wore my heart-rate monitor today, which I’ve been trying to use more lately. It’s interesting to know where I’m at, but not necessary. I think that I will wear it for Ironman just so that I can keep track of where I’m at.

So in terms of stats, my ride looked like this:
Distance: 42.63 km
Time: 1:46:04
Avg speed: 24.1 km/hr
Max speed: 66.7 km/hr
Average heart rate: 142
Time in zone: 1:44:02

On Friday I went for a 45-minute run in the heat. Basically right now I’m climatizing myself. I am quite afraid of the heat of Penticton and am preparing myself for it to be a hot day and if it’s not, I will be just as happy. It was a good run and I was drenched by the end (not really surprising). I forgot to take my stats from my HR monitor before I went for my bike ride, but I would say that I was in the same area for average HR.

I’ve still be swimming in the outdoor pool Tuesdays and Thursdays and I’m really enjoying it. I think that I’ll keep with it just because it’s so nice to swim outside. Lately I’ve been doing some intervals just so that I can remember what it’s like to push myself with swimming. I think I’m not really pushing myself because I know that during the race it’s just about getting through it. However, it would help the whole race if I felt strong in the swimming, which is why I’m doing the intervals.

My next triathlon is in two weeks and I’m pretty excited for it. This will be my fifth year doing this particular triathlon and it used to be my “A” race. It has an odd bike ride at 63km and a 13km run (usually it’s 40km and 10km, respectively) after the 1.5km swim. I’m not really prepared for such a short race, but it’ll be fun anyway. I don’t really expect to beat my PB that I set last year, but it would be cool to be close. I’ll start to taper next week. That’s kind of the beauty of putting a race 2 weeks before Ironman: it forces me to taper and recover in the weeks that I need to before the BIG one.

So the countdown begins: Ironman is a mere 4 weeks, as in 28 days, away. Bring it on!

Last week was my recovery week from the Half IM and I have to admit that I loved every minute of it! I slept in, went for walks, and biked slowly to work. I went to a concert and I watched movies with my family. It was glorious!

At the same time, I feel even more inspired to continue the building period of my training. So this week has been about getting back into the swing of training. It’s funny how I miss something only when I haven’t done it in a while. I’ve also changed my schedule to include yoga 2-3 times a week in the morning. This will work because I should be running when it’s hot out later in the day. I’m a big believer in training how one races and the run is never the first event.

So on Monday morning I did yoga, but my most favorite DVD will not work anymore! So I was thinking that I might start going out to the back deck to get in my sun salutations. Tuesday morning I went for a run, after skipping my Monday night workout due to family and home stuff. Then last night I went for a stellar bike ride! I held a 25.5 km/hr pace for almost 2 hours. It was a great ride… one of those perfect rides where the sun was out, the wind was low, and my legs were responding the way that I like. In fact, I don’t think my legs have really responded to me that way all season… this is my favorite part of training! Feeling the power build and the blood rush, and all the endorphins flow through my body and I feel free from everything, like I could fly! So good.

So today is my day off. I was going to go swimming tonight, but after last night’s workout I think it’s best to give my legs a break. But it’s back to the grind on Thursday with a swim of intervals in the morning and a mountain bike ride with my beloved women’s ride. Friday morning is yoga time and I might go for a bike ride at lunch time. Saturday I’m going to do a long-ish run and Sunday I’m going to do a 4-hour bike ride with a short run for the brick workout. I’m excited for a weekend at home!

I know it has been almost a month since my last update. There really is no excuse. However, I guess it could be seen as I’ve been training more than putting time into the internet… and I have. I have been in emotional turmoil about the upcoming Iron(wo)man and considered dropping out. Not because I couldn’t do it, but because of the anxiety that I have felt surrounding it. Alas, I decided to suck it up and push on. So that’s what I’m doing. I have a whole list of bike ride times that I’ll put at the bottom and I did half of one triathlon (it was called after the bike portion because of lightening). However, during that race I was nutritionally superior to any other race I’ve ever done. I am hoping to continue with that trend for the rest of my races.

In terms of finding a balance, I’m not sure that I have, but I have given up on a lot of things that had been weighing on my mind: First of all, I am not going to have a clean house while I’m training for Ironman and we decided to hire someone to help us with the bathrooms and floors. I think L has accepted this fact and is cool with it, but we both like a level of cleanliness that is mostly obtainable so we’re going with that. Also, I’m not volunteering for anything more than I’m already doing (this is a constant battle as I get asked to help out with something almost everyday). Laundry won’t always get done, but I will keep my workout gear as clean as possible (not so much a choice as a necessity – especially bike shorts!). And finally, my bikes get priority over my car – this is just a reality in my life and I like it that way.

This weekend is my first long race of the year – the Great White North half Ironman in Stoney Plain, Alberta. I did this race two years ago and had a great time. Well, the whole thing was great except the run, which was a little painful. I don’t really feel prepared for the run, but I am pretty prepared for the rest of it, so I figure it’ll all be fine. It’s such a great race and I’m glad to have this as my “halfway point” for the summer to Ironman.

So I’m just picking away at my training and I’m reading “Going Long,” which is an awesome book. It’s inspirational and I wish that I had read it 2 or 3 times over the winter instead of hiring a coach. If I ever do Ironman again, I’m going to shop around for a coach that works well with me. I liked my coach on a personal level, but I’m more of a “why” person and need explanations that I didn’t get. Also, I felt a little neglected at times and my questions didn’t get answered periodically. So I’m on my own until the race, but am going to seek guidance from a couple of friends and my new “bible.”

Here is what my training on the bike has been like (mostly):
June 8
Distance: 33.77 km
Time:1:31:45
Max:37.3 km/h
Average speed: 22.1 km/h

June 9
Distance: 65.13 km
Time:2:46:38
Max: 38.9 km/h
Average speed: 23.4 km/h

June 16
Distance: 15.65 km
Time: 38:11
Max: 50.4 km/h
Average speed: 24.6 km/h

June 17 (ie. Spin off Spadina triathlon)
Distance: 39.28 km
Time: 1:28:01
Max: 39.6 km/h
Average speed: 26.8 km/h

June 23
Distance: 63.19 km
Time: 2:35:19
Max: 33.4 km/h
Average speed: 24.4 km/h