Lessons in Prioritizing

When I set my sights on qualifying for Kona, I never thought that I would struggle with the task of training for 2 Ironmans in one season.  I mean how can you NOT be motivated when you have Kona on your horizon?

So, I am not going to lie...I am not superwoman.  What?  It's true!  I am just like everyone else who works full time.  It is always a struggle each day to fit everything in. Sub-optimal recovery makes for some dead legs, long warm ups and a tired body. Over time, I have learned to outsmart myself.  I do my workouts early, I pack food for the entire day so that I am not tempted to go home when I should be swimming/biking/running.

It really is about prioritizing my day and getting the hard stuff done early.  I have also figured out to block out the "not so important" tasks.  Some of these tasks will be SUPER important in a few weeks time, but right now...I have pushed them to the bottom of the list.  So, my house might be a little messy,  the garage still needs to be cleaned out, clients need to be invoiced, and the gutters need some attention...but it will get done in due time.

For now, I am going through the motions, checking off the workouts, daydreaming about the ocean and maybe catching a glimpse of some dolphins on my practice swims:)

My immediate focus is the 70.3 Ironman World Championships in 2 weeks (in Las Vegas). There is so much to do between now and then, but I am excited to share the experience with my mom, Patrick, Judy and Mindi!  We are going to have an amazing adventure on a challenging/brutal course.  Training is on target and I am feeling strong. I am praying for some hot summer days here in Indiana, so I can adapt to the heat!

Happy Training!
Whitney

Everything you could want to know about my Ironman Coeur D Alene experience!

This is really long, so be prepared!

Days leading up to the race:

We arrived at the airport in Spokane at 1:00am our time!  That didn’t matter much, because we had an incredibly relaxing morning/day planned for Thursday.  We stayed in Spokane that night and I had a fabulous morning working out in the hotel gym, eating a good breakfast and gorging on coffee.  We took our time getting out the door, did some ($175 ) worth of grocery shopping and began the 30 minute commute to Coeur D Alene.  It had been pouring rain for 2 days in this area, and the expo was a mess.  It was cold, muddy and miserable.  We snagged my registration and got the heck out of there.  I used tri bike transport to get my bike to and from...and I will continue to always do that.  Worth every penny!

Let’s talk about food.  I stayed in a house with my friend Joe, my mom and a new friend (that I just met) Susan.  We ate all day every day!  Our kitchen was full of almond milk, almond butter, bananas, apples, sweet potatoes, all natural breads, organic this, organic that.  No starving athletes in this house.

 

Some thoughts before I get into the nitty gritty:

 

I am not going to sit here and talk about the “what ifs”, the “would haves” and “should haves.”  I executed my race plan perfectly, pretty damn close to my ability level.  I, like most people had a few things happen that could have lead to a better time, for me a 2^nd place finish.  So, I will just highlight those areas throughout my blog and leave it at that.  An ironman is a long day.  I have finished 8 of them…I know all of the really bad things that can go wrong.  I am sure the 2^nd place chick had issues as well.  After seeing the 4^th place girl, she definitely looked like hell.  So, truth be told it was a battle out there. The good news is that I had enough things go right to snag a 10:27 race and a 33 minute PR on a hilly course and on a beautiful day.

 

The Swim

 

I was a little freaked out about 1 thing: FREEZING and being cold on the bike.  I was not cold out all!  The water temperature was 61 degrees, and I had a neoprene swim cap and swim socks.  I had a great experience with the rolling start and I think it is a great addition to Ironman swim starts.  There was still a monumental surreal feeling at the start, but just not AS many people fighting for the same water.  I probably started a little too far back, but that’s because I was doing my dynamic warm up exercises before the spotJ  I’m getting old, I have to warm up the rusty abductors and glutes!

 

The swim went very smooth and the water was calm.  We had a perfect sun rise and it was very peaceful out there.  I glanced down at my Garmin and it said I was swimming at a 1:30 pace for the first lap.  That should have been a 1:04 pace.  Apparently something was wrong, either didn’t swim straight or the course was a bit long (maybe a bit of both).  I came out of the first lap at 35 minutes which is awesome for me.  I had a huge smile on my face and I felt like I was getting stronger as I went.  I glanced down again, and now it said I was swimming at a 1:25 average pace.  Rock on sista!  And then…I turned around a buoy and couldn’t see anything because of the sun.  So, I followed the group I was with and we ended way out in the middle of nowhereL  I probably lost 3-4 mintues in that move alone.   However, 2 years ago, I was a 1:19-1:19 swim finisher, even without going off course.  Believe it or not, I was 31^st out of the water.  Oops, but making progress…  I know I am capable of a 1:07-1:10, I just need to do it.

TOTAL SWIM TIME: 1:13:54

 

T1

I did not have a fast transition, but the reason is that I had to pee!  I cannot pee while swimming or moving.  So, the volunteer handed me my bike and I said excuse me while I sit here and stretchJ  Ha Ha.  It was so obvious that I was peeing in the grass!  Total amount of time to pee in the grass :30  Other than that, it was fairly seamless. 

 

Bike

 

So the whole reason I picked this course was because I was sick of “bigger/more powerful” girls getting the best of me on flat courses.  So I said fine, I will find a race that goes up hill AND I will lose 10 pounds on my already petite frame.  And, that I did.   Thank you to Lindsay Langford for keeping me on track with my bod pod assessments at St. Vincents!  I got down to 13.5% body fat and gained 2 pounds of muscle in the process.

I trained my ass off on the bike, not with volume…but with intensity.  I did a lot of strength work/high zone 3/low zone 4, more v02 sessions than I can remember and whole lot of threshold workouts.  Here are some key things to note about my bike training:

·         I never rode more than 90 miles.  But, that 90 miles was brutally hard (thanks Scott Bond!)

·         I did intervals of some sort 3 times a week. 

·         I only rode 3 times a week (Tue/Thur/Sun)

·         I did a few bike races this spring/early summer

·         I focused on strength intervals on one of those interval days

·         I lost 10 pounds of body fat

·         I never did a long brick or did a training session that put me so far over the edge that I needed more than 2 days to recover. 

·         I rode with purpose, and rode the computrainer a lot for most of my sessions.  I probably rode outside 1x a week.

·         I always train with power, and new just what I was capable of if my stomach cooperated.

 

First Loop:  Everything went super smooth and I nailed my nutrition.  My goal power for this race was 160 norm power.  Side note: Everybody likes to keep their power numbers a secret, but I am a coach and  a teacher.  I think that it is important for people to understand why I use power, and    why training with power is such a training and racing advantage. 

I hit 165 norm power on my first loop (my average was not that far off, because I am fairly efficient at pedaling the downhills and not coasting to drink, eat, ect… That is over a 3.0 power to weight ratio.  Hell yeah to healthy eating and discipline.  I did get stuck behind super slow people on the no pass zone.  It only affected me three times out of the 8 no passing areas.  Total time lost in the no passing zone (about 1 minute).  I also missed a bottle hand up, because there were kids handing them out and the bottles  were super slippery!  So, I stopped very quickly, to grab the bottle (about :30)

 My second loop was 162 norm power.  So, I held it fairly steady, but coasted a bit more towards the end to let my legs flush out before the run.  I did find myself out in no man’s land for the first time ever.  I figured that was a good sign and that I was at least close to the front of the race.   Although I’m not a great bike racer (relatively speaking to steady state triathete), I could tell that I had an advantage over a lot of people through the turns, down hills and technical sessions.   I tried to pee on the bike, but it wasn’t successful.  One day, maybe I will figure that out. 

Total Bike Tiime: 5:33:28 and PR by 10 watt average and 11 minutesJ 

163 Norm Power/ 154 Average Power

TSS = 368

IF = 81.5%

KJ = 3,085

I had the fourth fastest age group bike split. 

 

T2

Fairly uneventful.  I passed a few girls in the tent and never looked back.  I did pee in transition (porta potty this time (:30 seconds)

 

Run

 

This is where it gets rough out there, for all of us.  I felt GREAT for the first 10 miles, averaging 7:40s on the flat sections and 7:50-7:55 on the smaller uphill sections.  The big hill was a beast, but the downill on the back side helped to even out the paces (as long as you ran the damn thing).   The running/bike path that we were on was off camber.  That will mess with tired legs.  I feel bad for anyone who had right leg IT band issues, because it made things a bit rough.

 

At mile 11, my stomach started to get gassy.  At mile 13, I started looking for a porta potty.  At mile 14, I found one and had to wait in line.  We were in a neighborhood and it wasn’t like I could just pop a squat anywhere.  Total time lost (2 mintues), but I really had to go or would not have been able to keep on running.  When I crossed the dreaded “turn here for lap 2”, I was getting nervous about my stomach.  But, when I looked at my watch I had come in around a 1:43 ½ marathon time.  Helz yeah!  System shut down came 1 mile laterJ  But, I rebounded thank God.

After the bathroom stop, I was ready to roll again and feeling much much better.  I wasn’t clipping a long as fast as the first ½, but I was still running 7:50-8:15 pace (except for the big hill section).  I drank coke and water at every aid station, power bar perform drink at every other.  That worked out well for me, although I could have used another gel.  That might have given me an energy boost on the back half.  But honestly, I couldn’t imagine choking that thing down with my queasy stomach.  The coke tasted amazing!  Best tip ever from Maccas book!

Let me make it clear that my previous Ironman marathon PR is a 3:49 and I thought that was awesome.  So, imagine my surprise to see a 3:31 when I looked down at my watch…even with the bathroom stop and a mother trucker of a hill that I had to climb a few times.  This ended up being the 2^nd fastest age group run time!  My goal time was a 3:30, if I had a perfect day…pretty damn close to hitting that very optimistic  goal. Here are some fun facts about my run training:

·         I never ran more than 18 miles in training.  My focus was on race intensity and recovery.

·        Every long run had race pace intervals included (7:25-:45) For example, my longest run was 6 x 15 minutes at race pace with a 4 minute RI

·         I never skipped a long run or key run workout. 

·         I never did a long run after a long bike.

 

Post Race Recap/Awards Ceremony

 
10:27: 40
3rd place 30-34
5th place overall amateur female
15th place overall female

What can I say, I have been working really hard the past 2 years, and I would say that it paid off.  I have been using Justin Trolle, with Vanguard Endurance, as my coach and professional coaching mentor.   It has been a great experience and I have learned a lot personally and professionally.

After doing some math on race evening, I realized that there were probably only going to be 2 Kona slots.  With all of the Ironman races popping up, slot allocation has been shrunk down to 50 for most US races.  I headed to the Kona tent anyhow, to see if there maybe…just maybe was a 3^rd slot.  THERE WAS!!!!!!!  I laughed, I cried, I jumped up and down…every emotion possible took over me at that moment.  This has been a dream of mine for a very long time.  The Hawaii Ironman is a bucket list item for me.  I have been to Hawaii for a vacation once before (in 2005), and I told my mom that the next time we go it will be for the Ironman.  It’s been 8 years since we had that conversation.  I can’t believe it took me this long to qualify!   BUT IT DID!

I cried twice out there on the bike because I was so happy.  LAME!  I wished my husband was there like none other.  He would have been so proud of me for passing so many people and racing my bike!  I cried again when I saw that I had a slot.  I cried again during the Kona roll down because it was CRAZY intense watching everyone’s  Kona dreams come true.   All of my tears were tears of happiness this weekend. 

The most ironic part about the whole slot allocation process was that there was 1 roll down slot in my age group.  The girl who I thought won my age group, was actually in a different age group.  So, long story short I would have gotten to go to Kona even with 4^th place.  I am happy that I get to go, 100% on me.  No roll down, no lottery, no legacyJ  Not to say that I wouldn’t have taken any of those opportunities, but I knew I had it in me to qualify based on my performance ability and my speed.  It will be a great feeling to be in the Pacific Ocean, waiting for the gun to go off, knowing that I earned my place amongst my competitors.  With that said, I am going to Kona to race my ass off…to kick it with the best in the world.  Game on!

Until then, I am still racing at the 70.3 World Championship in Vegas on September 8^th.  Both of my goals for this year are achieved, so I had to make some new ones.  One of those goals is to actually RACE, not show up to both of these events.   

I’ve eaten my weight in sugar today (Monday).  I’ve eaten so much candy and chocolate that I don’t want to even look at it anymore...for a good long while.  I am well on my way to making up for my 8000 calorie deficit from yesterdayJ 

Thank you to everyone for cheering for me from all corners of the US.  I could feel your energy out there!  Here are some special shout outs, although I won’t get everyone covered:

My mom – she has never missed an ironman…the ultimate ironmon…hands downJ

My husband, Chad – as much as he probably hates it, he has been very patient this year with my training and racing.  It takes a lot of compromise to be married to a long distance triathlete.  Early morning swims, an out of control appetite, early nights and a lot of structure.  Combine his elite level of racing, and we are two very busy people.

My coach – Justin Trolle, this guy has lots of great training ideas and methodologies.  I have learned so much from him and his training has obviously worked for me.

My friends and riding buddies – Melissa, Joe, Polly, Patrick, Lynn, Andie, Tina, Brian, Kyle, Suzanne, tamara, Carla, Cyndi…you guys sure helped me get through those tough day on the bike (indoors and out)!

My good triathlon and swim friends/cheerleaders – Britta, Dave, Bentley, Noah, Kevin, Catherine, Craig, Dee Ann, Marci, Joe, Sharon, Jan, Matt E., Sean E., Lindsey L., the list goes on and on.

Scott Bond and Brad Demott for dragging my ass through that last long hard ride…that paid huge dividends, you have no idea.

Indy Aquatic Masters – Mel, George, Ben, Todd and Kris for taking extra time with me to help me work on my swimming and providing a great group training atmosphere.  One day I will make you swim proud:)

Nebo Ridge Bicycles – A great bike shop with a solid support system for me as a coach and racer.

My clients – especially Sandi, with Blue Ridge Designs, for being a sponsor.  I have an amazing support system with my clients.  I love them all so much!  They are all more than just clients, they are great friends!  Thanks for all of your kind words and messages while I have been in Coeur D Alene. 

Lisa and Pat –Thank you so much for watching my babies while I was gone and for designing my kit!  Love you guys!

My friends and family – Brittney, Dad, Erika, Susan, Willy, Lindsey…you have all been so supportive even though I know you have to think I am CRAZY.  I love you guys.

 

Event Photos (more to come!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Whole lot of Racing and Hard Work!

It has been a while since I updated this blog, so I am going to do a cram session.

Carmel Sprint Triathlon (2nd place overall):
I had a really bad head cold leading up to the race.  I am fairly certain that everyone at the race thought I was crazy for racing!  My voice was gone on race morning, but my legs showed up for the occasion.  I had gone to masters swim practice the day before, so I knew that my swim was going to suck.  I could not swim to save my life at practice and I showed up to the race with an equal swim performance.  But, once I got on the bike, my legs were at full power and I managed to run at my capability.  I think the course was a bit short on the run, but I still would have had a great run split, whether it was a 5k or 3 mile run.  This race was a great confidence booster leading into the New Orleans 70.3!

New Orleans 70.3 (2nd place 30-34 age group)
I will leave out the details of our trip to Nola, but I had a great time with two of my athletes!  I even managed to have some baked oysters! The trip was seamless, and my stress level was fairly low.  I love driving to races.  I feel so much more relaxed and prepared.  I don't get to travel much, so I am not a very efficient packer!
The race went really well.  The swim was a wetsuit swim, and was M shaped.  I felt like I was swimming really well, but my time didn't really show my hard work in the pool.  I seem to be a better pool swimmer, rather than open water.  I am going to add some open water races into my schedule this year.  Unfortunately, they don't start until after my Ironman. 
I came out of the water 12th with a time of :36:07.  I am capable of a 33:00 swim, but I just haven't had that day yet.  One day....one day:(  Heading out onto the bike, I just focused on hitting my goal wattage.  I have also failed to do that in a 70.3 race lately so I was very happy to stay within my range.  I still need to add about 10 watts to that average, but I was stoked too have maintained throughout the whole bike.  It was windy on the way out (about 30 miles), and I was so bummed that my average mph was going to be low, but once we turned around my average creeped up to about 21mph.  The course, although windy, was very flat.  Although I love flat courses, I am a smaller athlete and need the hills for my power to weight to help me distinguish myself on the bike. 
But, it sure paid off being light on the run, because I had the run of my life and ran a 1:32:44.  Yep, me...I ran off of the bike faster than I have ever ran before.  Honestly, I just felt great.  I had hit all of my nutrition goals on the bike, and it set me up for a solid run.  I smiled every time I crossed a timing mat, because I knew that my family and coach were cheering for me from their computers. 
I crossed the finish line 2nd in my age group, and with a great big smile on my face:)  I had finally put together a solid race that showcased my capability.  Thank God!  I was starting to wonder if all of this work was ever going to pay off!  With my 2nd place finish, I punched my ticket to Vegas 70.3 World Championship on September 8th. Man, they are getting stingy with slots, because there were only 2 in my age group.  Next year, the race will be rotating around the world, so that will throw a twist into the slot availability.  My guess is that most Americans won't travel around the world to race a 70.3, but what do I know.

What's  next?  Ironman Coeur D Alene!  I am officially 3 weeks out ya'll!  I have managed to stay at my "race weight", and I am raring to go.  I have worked my butt off in preparation for this race. I can't wait to get out there and I am praying that my body cooperates and I can have the race I know that I have in me. I've been training fairly low on volume so I feel like a race horse, getting ready to be released from the gate.  Weeeeee!

I've also been entertaining myself with a strength training challenge.  I have been doing pull ups and push ups almost every day.  I have made my way up to 50 REAL pull ups and 100 push ups.  I do a whole lot of other core work, but these 2 exercises are my bread and butter.  My goal is to be able to do  5 sets of 10 pull ups.  I did 8 in a row yesterday, and I could probably squeak out 10 if I really had to.  Why am I doing this?  I think it is because I need a fitness goal that is not swim bike run related.  Strength training is something that I look forward to and I feel really good while I'm doing it and when I'm done! 
 
Here is an example of a full strength training day for me:
(note: I do not do legs during the race season, except for bridges and abductor/glute work)

Repeat 5 times through:
1 x 10 pull ups
1 x 15 oblique reaches on back extension machine
1 x 20 push ups
1 x 15 overhead tricep extensions (3 times through)
1 x 15 bicep curls (3 times through)
1 x 10 TRX V-Ups
1 x 60 second TRX Plank
TRX Side plank with 3lb dumbbell (dropping arm to floor and back up) x 10-15
Reverse Curls
Bicycles
Teasers
Lumbar Roll Downs with all sorts of twists and leg lifts

Spring Update!

A lot has happened since cyclocross season, so let the updating begin!

Work:
We had a very successful winter training program at The Fitness Lab Cycling Studio.  A lot of triathletes and cyclists will be excited once they hit the pavement in 2013!  We ended up not keeping the additional space, but we are looking for a new one for this coming winter.  I am hoping to find a bigger space (and maybe one with a shower!).

I am doing a lot of coaching as well and have taken on a few new athletes for 2013!  I am very excited to be a part of their journey as the.y reach for their goals this year! 

Racing:
I started off the spring with a few bike races, and have the Carmel Sprint Triathlon and the New Orleans 70.3 Races coming up!  They are a week a part and I am excited to dust off the cobwebs and race!  I am using the Carmel Sprint Tri as a tune up for the 70.3, so I am sure I will be wondering around the transition area trying to remember how to do this thang! All of this is in prep for Ironman Coeur D' Alene, which is at the end of June! 

I picked Coeur D'Alene, because it is early (I race better earlier in the year) and it is hilly. I lost a few pounds over January and February so I can't wait to see if it helps! I tell you what, there is nothing more annoying than trying to keep weight off!  If I lived in a bubble, it wouldn't be so bad.  I would have no idea what I am missing.  But, instead I am surrounded by juicy hamburgers, chicken wings, pizza and breadsticks.  I can't say that I miss eating nutella bagels all day long, but I do miss my local pizza joints.  Now that I have reached my "race weight", all I have to do is stay there!  Folks, I hate to break it to you but the maintenance phase is the hardest part! So, let's see if I can do it...only time will tell!

I will try to update after my April races!  Ride safe!
Whitney

Upgraded!

After racing 80% of a cyclocross season as a cat 4, it was time to make the jump to cat 3.race.  My cat 3 debut was at Brookside Park in Indianapolis.  About 3 years ago, Chad and I went to watch the cyclocross race at Brookside, and it was very foreign to me.  I had never seen a cx race and I never thought that I would be racing at that same venue just a few years down the road.  I was really nervous, because the course was muddy and I really didn't want to come in last.  I had to start in the back because I wanted my cat 4 points to stay in cat 4 so that I could be eligble for the overall at the end of the year. I didn't think that it would matter, but it did.  Being last became a distant memory once I realized that I was stuck behind 10ish girls that were slowing me down from making contact with the group I wanted to be riding with.  Everyone around me kept crashing and I had to get off once to go around a pile up on a muddy hill and then I crashed once when a girl in front of me crashed on an off camber section. 
During the crash, about 3 girls passed me and I never saw them again.  I was too far behind by then to see them and I was riding by myself between the 2 groups.  That was kind of boring and I was pissed that I missed the girls directly in front of me.  Lesson learned...ride my ass off the first 1/2 lap to get in a good position. 
As I learned in the cat 4 races, position matters to an extent, but it is not a deal breaker.  If I were strong enough and didn't crash, I would have been fine.  Next year, I will make it a priority to start and race up front in the elite race. 
Only 2 more races left and then I will be back to Ironman focused training!  I am going to miss all of this cyclocross madness and I have learned a lot and enjoyed this new experience!

Where in the world is Whitney?

WOW!  It has been a crazy year!  I have been really really busy lately, but it is all self inflicted.   2 years ago, i was sitting behind my desk at the JCC (miserable) and now I own my own personal training studio AND... I have expanded!  On October 29th, we opened The Fitness Lab Cycling Studio!  I have had computrainer classes the past few winters, but now I offer 2-3 classes a day!  It is a lot of work, but I love what I do and love teaching people how to train smarter with power! I am working really hard, but I am sure that it will all pay off, and I will eventually get in a rhythm! 

Speaking of power,  I discovered that I love cyclocross (when I am not crashing)!  I have been coaching cyclocross racers the past few years, and I thought that I would give it a try (there had to be a reason why my athletes love it).  Yep, one race and then I was addicted! I secretly knew that would happen.  So, now I am chasing the OVCX cyclocross series around the midwest, trying to win the Cat 4 title.  I am really excited to start racing Cat 3, but I am going to upgrade once I get in my 7 points races in the series.   I am making a video to document all of my off road fun, I will post it soon!  I am already excited about next winter.  It will give me something to look forward to once the triathlon season is over. 

Once the cyclocross season is over (December), I am full throttle Coeur D' Alene Ironman training, which is in June! 

Bad Blogger

Hey World!  I have not done a very good job blogging lately, but now that I have internet at home...maybe I will manage to get in a blog or two a month:)
Here is a recap since I last  blogged:

1.  Ironman Louisville went perfect and I set a new PR of 11:00:19 seconds.  Yes, those extra 19 seconds bother me but it does provide a bit motivation for next year:)
2.  I did sign up for Ironman Louisville 2012. 
3.  My business is going great and I am crazy busy with work.  I probably work too much, but I'll deal with that later.
4.  I am now coaching with the Personal Best Triathlon Team along with Sean Edwards and Matt Ebersole
5.  Everyting else is the same!

This is my busy season at work.  Computrainer classes have started, most of my personal training clients are in town and I am trying to squeeze training in whenever I can.  It's a bit crazy and sometimes overwhelming, but I am a multitasking ninja and I somehow manage to get it all done by the end of the day.  Good thing I LOVE my job.  Starting my own business was the best thing I could have done for myself. 

I have started working with a new coach and I have set my triathlon goals a bit higher than last year.  My thought is this:  We never know how many opportunities we will have to live out our dreams.  I don't want to wake up one day and feel like I should have, could have but I didn't and now I am full of regrets.  Right now is always the BEST time.  So, I am forging along working on my weaknesses and hoping for a successful 2012 season.  WOW!  2012!  I can't believe how quickly time flies. 

Happy Holidays!