Week 38: Racing Weight

Oh the dreaded topic of racing weight, diet and triathlons.  Last year my friend and relay teammate, Lee, gave me a copy of the book with the title: Racing Weight.  It gave me information about the different body types of athletes and tons of useful information.  But truly it's not something that we don't already know and haven't known forever.

Calories in-calories burned-resting calories used daily=weight gained or lost.  And if only it were that simple.  My daily burn without training is about 1500.  I burn anywhere between 500-4,000 calories a day in training.  TYPICALLY, I only burn the big number, 4,000, once a week and it's the long ride and brick.  Second to that is the long run which comes in around 1,200.  It sounds like a lot but when I start adding up the food I eat, that bank of calories doesn't go very far. 

Take a long ride/brick.  Burn 4,000 cals.  So I get to "spend" 5500 cals that day.  I eat about 1,250 on the ride.  Breakfast is 500.  I get home and immediately stuff 500 cals of something down while I'm getting ready to eat.  I will eat most of a pizza and a coke.  That's 2,000.  A little ice cream or a treat and boom, the cals are all gone for the day and I have broken even.  BROKEN EVEN?  I just trained for 5 freaking hours and I break even?????  I didn't even have lunch and Gu does NOT count.

It's pretty nuts to me that despite the long hours of training, I still have to watch what I eat so that I won't gain weight.  And the hunger that is born from all of this training will oftentimes make me eat foods that I never dreamed of eating before last year.  I have actually began a search for the holy grail of tater tots.  So far the tot-chos (think nachos made with tater tots) at The Nook are tying with the Tater Tots at Midway.

The other downfall of pigging out after a long training day is that it makes me think I can eat like that every day because I train every day.  But since I am not burning those cals every day, I simply can not.

There is also the issue of when the IM training ends and the appetite continues.  But I'll save that for another blog.  Perhaps I'll use the $600 IM entry fee for lipo next year.  That'll probably get me the equivalent of 5 tater tots.

Week 37: The Galloway Running Method is working

My experience with running with tendonitis:

I am finally at the point with my running that I feel it’s safe to say I will be able to run most of IMFL.  My definition of run is not what it used to be.  To be able to run a long distance, I had to find a new way to run.  I knew the old, pound the pavement as fast as I could until I was in pain method was not going to work.

I started looking around and found The Galloway Method.  At first, it embarrassed me to run this way.  Seriously?  Run 4 minutes and walk 2 minutes.  I might be able to do this in private but what about on game day?  Wouldn’t people laugh at me?

But because of my injury I knew I had to try it or risk walking the entire 26.2 miles.  There is nothing wrong with walking 26.2 miles but at a 15 min mile pace, it would take me about 7 hours.  I was trying to avoid that.

I started back just walking at a brisk pace.  Then I added in a little running here and there.  Switched to 4 minutes of running followed by 2 minutes of walking.  Once I could keep that up for an extended distance, I changed to 6 minutes of running followed by 1 minute of walking and realized I needed more walking.  So I have settled on 6/2 and am up to 12 miles.  My schedule for my weekly long run says I should be at 16 miles so I am not far off.

I feel a minor amount of discomfort during the run but it is NOT continuous and it never gets above a 1 on a scale of 1-10.  I have some pain afterwards which I address with ice, cold baths, self-massage on my legs, compression tights, elevation, and rest.  I also roll out my legs and use a tennis ball on my glutes.  Of all of this, the leg massage works the best.  And I am religious about eating post run nutrition in the form of Recoverite by Hammer.

I am averaging about an 11 min per mile pace and do not feel the least bit of strain or push while running.  It is so slow, I feel at times that I’m walking.  I’m doing this in the heat of the afternoon around 6 pm when it is 95-97 degrees out on a flat, hard packed dirt surface.  If I get no faster than this, I’ll be able to complete the marathon portion in under 5 hours.  This pace includes me stopping to refill my bottle and eat Gu.  So far, it is working.  Jeff Galloway says come race day I will be able to go faster than this but he is only speaking of someone who is running only and not doing the two other sports. 

Mostly at this point in my training, I am worried about GI issues.  The 3 sports seem to be coming together just fine and I practice fueling on every training day.  But when you put the 3 sports together and add fuel, things can often go wrong.  I read a friend’s REV3 Portland race report and although he normally drinks an Ensure in T1, his body told him not to that day and he listened.  It worked for him rather well.  It is just going to have to be a wild card that I accept and hope and pray that I get it right that day.

Week 36: The good vs. the bad.

Taking the bad with the good.

In the 18 months that I have been training for and competing in triathlons, many changes have taken place in my life.  Some of these are good, some bad.  I thought I’d highlight the best and the worst.

The bad:

1-     My fingernails have disintegrated.  Yes, they really have.  They are as thin as paper and they shred like potatoes on a box grater.  In addition, my thumb nails have chunks missing.  I have my theories on this and I bounce back and forth from thinking it’s the pool chemicals to thinking it’s a vitamin issue.

2-     Money.  Let’s face it, this is an expensive sport and sometimes money is wasted on items you think will be good and turn out to be crap.  I have goggles and clothing and gadgets that weren’t useful but you don’t know this until you buy them and start using them.  Zoomers?  Really?  What stupid tri book told me that short fins were a great idea?  Can I have my $30 back please?

3-     My poor house.  I have gotten to the point where I completely ignore my house.  There are so many things I don’t know if I could list them all.  Cleaning, organizing, maintenance, decorating.  Washing clothes, watering plants.  All of it takes a second place to training, eating, and recovering.  I once had a magnificent collection of over 25 orchids.  They are all dead now.

4-     Oh my poor body.  Hmmm, let’s see, you’ve already heard about my fingernails.  I have also lost toenails, had IT band issues that were so painful I would go to bed crying at night.  Issues I won’t go into detail about adapting to the tri bike position including numb hands, painful sit bones, lower back problems, and other painful areas.  The ongoing bout of tendinitis that made me think I would have to withdraw from IMFL.  Knee pain.  Hip pain that had me do “needling” where a PT stuck 3” needles into my glutes.  Shoulder pain from swimming.  And overall a tiredness and malaise that often had me question why I was doing this.

The good:

1-     Number one is absolutely the improvement in my relationship with my parents.  Not that it was bad to start with but it has really been a place for us to bond.  I call them all the time and share with them my successes and failures.  My mom and dad have been so supportive and loving.

2-     The friendships I have made.  You spend so much time with your fellow athletes and although we razz each other about all of the “tri talk” we do, it’s really just a starting point for discussions that often times become much deeper than that.  As we help each other through our life struggles, we get to deepen our friendships and learn as much about ourselves as we do about them.

3-     Finally, something shallow.  Yes, if my body was one of the things I complained about, well, it’s also going to be one of the things I celebrate.  There are muscles and tendons and ligaments I did not know existed.  And I can relax a little about what I eat and have a couple of “bad” meals a week and not sweat that I’m going to gain weight from it.  I starting lifting weights when I was 15 and NEVER saw the muscle tone that I have developed from training for triathlons.  I turn 47 on Sunday and I’m extremely happy with the shape of my body.  It’s far from perfect and I don’t seem to care anymore. (Ok, that is a bold face lie) It’s strong and it gets me where I need to go.  Now, can it just get me there a little faster so I can hop on that podium one more time? J

Week 35: Wow, it's starting to come together

I have to guess that at some point during everyone's Ironman training, that a lightbulb goes on when you begin to think that you are actually capable of doing the event.  Then you do a super long swim or bike and are exhausted and wonder how on earth you will go on to do all 3 sports on your special day.  I constantly battle exhaustion and hunger and have started to plan my life around when I get to eat next and when I get to lay down.

I have four months left to train and get ready.  And although those four months will be rather hard, I've radically changed my viewpoint of the actual day of my Ironman.  Originally I thought of it as a sufferfest, and a huge unbearable day to get through.  And then my view started to change and now I see November 5th as a day of celebration.  A day where I get to enjoy myself and have fun.  Part of this breakthough happened during the Cartersville Century when there were 5 of us riding together for the last 20 miles.  Instead of the meltdown I had for the first 2 centuries, I had a great time at the end.  We laughed and smiled and told stories and joked around.  And I started thinking, what if my Ironman experience was like this? 

It means I'd need to slow down a little...not much...but just enough so that I'm comfortable...not on the cusp of pain.  And I need to add in some ways to have fun...like with the clothing I choose and the attitude I bring along.

In slowing down, I have found that I'm able to run again.  I'm running anywhere from 4-6 minutes, and then walking 1-2 minutes.  I can now do this for an hour and a half.  It seems based on the pace that I can run/walk, I think it's possible to finish the marathon in 5.5 hours.  There is quite a bit of work over the next 4 months to get me from 1.5 hours to 5.5 hours.  The run is the only place right now where that lightbulb has not come on.  It scares me.  I oftentimes think I am holding it all together with duct tape and superglue.

Yet, I am still confident that I will finish.  I will smile.  I will help someone out along the course.  Hopefully many people.  I will challenge myself and give it my all.  I will celebrate the day.

I am incredibly grateful that I have a life where I can devote so much time to adventures like this.  I don't overlook the luxury it truly is.

Week 34: The Ridges 5K Swim: Lost at Sea

Sometimes it is better to go into something blind, not knowing how hard it will be before you do it.  The Ridges 5K swim was one of those things.

On Sunday, a small group of us set out to swim what we thought we be 5,000 Meters.  I say small group because I think it was just over 100 people.  And I say THOUGHT because it ended being a lot more than 5,000 Meters.

As a triathlete, I’m used to swim courses being short or long.  Being REALLY well marked to being just so-so marked.  And you deal with it.

But the directions on Sunday were almost a joke, like “you know the Smith barn, well, you don’t turn there, you go to where that tree fell 4 years ago and you turn kind of near there but not really.”  Swim under the power lines, turn left and aim for the 2 story dock, head towards some green things and eventually you’ll see buoys.  Ok, thanks!  For the record, there are lots of GREEN THINGS near a lake.

Strangely enough I start off the day without being nervous, and even with only 4,000 yards as my longest distance (which included breaks) under my belt, I get in the water and start swimming.  With so few people, there is almost no body contact.  And I’m thankful when a large guy swims close to me so I can draft off of him for about 5 minutes.  It was probably the highlight of the day.

I follow the directions and feel pretty good about it even though I know my pace is pretty slow.  I blame it on the century the day before.  But my head is in the game and I’m happy to be setting out on a new adventure.

Under the power lines, check.  Double decker dock, check.  And then where???  Oh, is that a buoy way off?  Looks like I can see some arms of swimmers.  I’ll go there.  Out in the middle of a lake and then the waves start hitting me in the face and I am wondering how far off the finish is.  My mouth tastes awful from the lake water so I flip over and suck down the pack of honey I brought along.  Unbeknownst to me, it must have been leaking a little and some critters got in my suit and were biting me.  I discovered this when I got home.  Nasty red bites.  Oh well.

I start to lose a little energy when a kayak passes me and the girl says “you’re almost there!”  Now, my definition of “almost there” is 5 minutes or less.  Seriously, it is.  It was the cruelest thing she could have ever said to me.  It was over an hour before I finished from the time she said that.  CRUEL!

I continue to swim and I start to realize that I’d be ok if I drown and this becomes a very scary thought to me.  You don’t want your head to think that way in the middle of a swim.  It’s not a good thing.  So instead I start counting because I remember Josh saying he counted all his strokes at his last race  1,2,3,4,5,6.  Over and over.  And I keep hearing Matt tell me to glide and Trey tell me to watch my form.  You MUST have good thoughts to replace the bad ones when you get in a situation like this.

What saved me during this swim is similar to what saved me during my second century.  A girl swims up behind me and bumps into me and we both stop swimming.  And we both voice our concerns over where the hell the finish is?!?  So we keep pace with each other and stop every 500 yards or so to regroup.  I finally see what I think are red flags…they turn out to be orange traffic cones.  But it is the ending.  I show it to her and we were like horses going back to the stable and I swear at that point we race each other to the finish.  She wins and I don’t care…I am happy to be back on dry land.  I had to hold back the wall of tears that were going to spill down my face.  There was a point during that swim where I felt real fear. Uncertainty.  Despair.  When all you can see is a black abyss below you, it gets very weird.

 At the finish, I hugged the girl who swam in with me.  And thanked her.  I look up and see my time of 2:25 which is about 10-15 minutes longer than I expected.

I spent the next two days feeling down.  Not because I didn’t meet my goal.  But because of how close it came to breaking me.  And today?  Today I woke up feeling amazing and creative and powerful again.  And I signed up for another one in 3 weeks.  This one, I know is well marked.  And thank heavens, it is typically short.  And yes, there is probably something wrong with me. J

Week 33: Why do we do this?

While swimming at Red Top Mtn last Sunday, a teammate turned to me and asked "why do we do this?".  It seems to be almost an inside joke of sorts between triathletes.  On those long, hard training days, we often ask that question among our friends and to ourselves.

I find the best answers come on those long training days.  Like last Saturday when I did my second century.  I think anytime you attempt to do a super long distance (even if you have done it before), it is a bit of a leap of faith.  You don't know what the day will bring, whether mental or physical, and you just have to tell yourself you're going to do it.

My favorite part is the unexpected.  My friends often think I am hallucinating but I find that the most fantastical (yes, I know that is NOT a word) experiences happen out on long rides.  It often mirrors life.  At the beginning of the ride I had to deal with my discomfort of pushing off and clipping in while going uphill with hundreds (over 900) people around me.  "Do not fall, do not fall"...do not embarrass yourself Patti!

Not too long after the start I looked down and saw a dead baby bunny and it broke my heart.  Sometimes a long ride shows you life can be cruel.  Not long afterwards, a bull who had jumped his fence was charging down the road at us.  And the other cattle still in the fence were freaking out.  And quite frankly so was he because he wanted to be safe back inside the fence and not on the road.  The cyclists around me slowed down and let him figure out a solution and he jumped back inside the fence.  Lesson: If something threatens me, back off and it usually will pass.

I also dealt with the fear of riding in aero downhill.  And I found that if I sing to myself, very loudly, the fear passes and I enjoy it.  Yes, I was a little embarrassed when I realized there were 3 people riding my tail.  I hope they like Pink.

You also meet friends along the way on a long ride and get to discuss the most interesting subjects in life with them.  And you find that when you are melting down and freaking out that if you help someone else out in your same shoes, that you forget your problems while helping them and you both get to finish.

A century ride is a great way to discover more about yourself, more about life, more about what makes you tick.  And that's why I am doing another one tomorrow. :)  I'm still not sure why I'm following it up on Sunday with a 3.25 mile swim....but that's next week's post, right?

Week 32: Mommy, My tummy hurts

When you train for a sprint distance race, there are said to be 5 segments you need to consider.  The swim, bike, and run, of course.  And T1 and T2.  In the sprint distance races are won or lost in transition.

In training long, I could care less about being fast in transition.  I’m not going to dilly dally and get my hair and makeup done, but I’m not going to rush either.  But there is a new beast to tackle for Ironman training and it is nutrition.

You get a taste of this (pardon the pun) when you do an Olympic.  It becomes more pressing during a half ironman. Of course I have only done the first 2 parts of a 70.3 so I don’t truly know the whole feeling.  Hoping this changes as I am planning on doing Augusta employing my walk/run strategy.

The race reports I have read have listed nutrition issues as one of the main reasons someone has a meltdown during their Ironman.  Too much food.  Too little food.  Too little salt, too little water or too much water.  I’m not a scientist or nutrionist and I’m not sure even that would help me.

What will help?  Trying things out during training and racing.  To train my stomach to accept food and water while exercising.  Figure out what works and what doesn’t.

But what happens when I use the same nutrition 2 weekends in a row…Gulf Coast and REV3 and have 2 different results?  Then I have to look at what I ate for breakfast that day…what I had for dinner the nights leading up to the event.

And I’m starting to wonder if sometimes your body can accept the conditions, the stress, the nutrition.  And some days it just can’t.  I have heard athletes who actually go eat a meal they know will upset their stomach and then go run 15 miles just to get used to the feeling of racing while sick. 

Recently while reading Velonews, a cycling mag, I saw that some of the pros eat a mixture of white rice and eggs for breakfast.  I like this idea and will be trying it out.  I know those two foods work well for me.  The rice being a quickly digested “sugary” food and the eggs containing protein and fat.

The only thing I have consistently heard is that overeating during an Ironman will surely make me puke.  And not drinking enough water with the appropriate amount of salt (for me) will dehydrate me.  And possibly kill me.  So what I’m hearing is go lighter on the food and heavier on the water and get the salt correct.  When I started at Georgia Tech, my major was chemistry.  Perhaps I should have stayed with that.

So all of this thinking about food and keeping it in  your tummy brings me back to when I was 13 years old and ate Carnation Instant Breakfast in Strawberry Flavor every day before school.  One time I ate it while I was sick and had a fever.  The outcome was not pleasant and it did not stay down.  I have not been able to eat strawberry flavored items for years.  A friend recently gave me a tub of Recoverite.  Yep….strawberry flavored.  I can assure you the training has begun. ;)