Ko'ox tun (let's go)

the aftermath and goals

2011-12-02T06:27:00.001-06:00

OMG I did a MARATHON! I still can't believe it. That was such a HUGE obstacle in my head that I'm not sure I'll really believe it until I run one outside a triatlon. Yup, that's MY logic. It isn't real after 180km bike and 3.8 km swim, but done all by itself it would be real. Go figure.

I want to lose the flab I have on me - that will help much more than any toys, and work on an aero position on the bike. I want to make 30, 60, 90 (minutes) my "normal" ratio for weekly running (30min 3x, 60 min 2x and 90 min 1x) and I need to work on my swim. A 1:17 is just shameful especially on a "fast" course.

I got wicked sick afterwards (due no doubt to the norte that rolled in) and yesterday was so achy and feverish I didn't think I'd ever train again. Today I'm thinking seriously about a run. Just a very short 5k, but still something. I should probably swim too. I also need to figure out my race schedule (dayum but does that sound professional?) for next year and I really want to participate in all the great aguas abiertas (OWS) we have down here.

I don't think I could ever thank Jamie, the kids and my sister enough for the gift of their support and encouragement as theirs was over the top. I know I would not have been able to do it without them, so they are the real champions. Mil gracias familia mia.

Swim, Bike and Run, 3.8+180+42 equals LONG.

2011-11-30T13:46:00.004-06:00

I actually was nervous about the swim. I had planned to start my swim training at the point that Jesse got sick so that was out and I ended up with a short season (5 weeks) of swim. But back when dinosaurs roamed the earth I swam (AAU) so I figured that would have to do. I had done one 3000 m swim and felt strong and figured that was a good sign. I jumped into the front group hoping find a spot to avoid and melee and on the way there was a giant eagle ray in the water. I must be jaded cause I was thinking it wasn't that big a deal and when they are a meter away from you (as they are in our bay) they aren't quite THAT neat looking. :) As I started the swim it occurred to me that I had no idea where I was going. I really should have looked at the swim route more carefully if for no other reason then to know about where I was in the swim. I tried to remember to finish my stroke but honestly it was insanity out there. There were few opportunities for clear water and I mostly was looking at bubbles or scuba divers or boats. I don't think I saw more than 1 fish. It was alternatly long and short - by the end it felt shorter than 1:30 (it was 1:15ish) but I was ready to be done with swimming. Getting out was interesting but I had read it was "interesting" so that wasn't a huge surprise. My legs were more wobbly than I thought they'd be though.

I WALKED to T1. I wasn't having any of the run to T1 madness - I was there for the experience and not to make a certain time. Course that didn't last long with all the spectators egging us on so I jogged the almost .25 km to our tent. Dumped out my bag (I'd read of others doing that and it seemed to make sense) and stripped. I really brought a lot of stuff in my jersey and at the last minute had stuffed my camera in there too. I had a numbing (lidocaine) cream (which became a lifesaver on lap 2 and 3 of the bike), a normal chamois cream (which got lost) 3 packages of Perpetuem, camera, Endurolytes, GU, etc. My jersey pockets were LOADED down. I took around 12 min in T1 and it flew by. Before I knew it I was headed out, one leg down but that marathon still looming out there.

I enjoyed the HELL out of the 1st lap. I had energy and was egging on the spectators trying to get their energy up. According to the stats I was still in 3rd place after the 1st lap but got slower on the 2nd lap. I started USING the spectators then as my stomach went from bad to worse. I couldn't stomach the power bars or their gels so I stuck with my Perpetuem and GUs until I knew something had to change. I saw the family both loops which was awesome. I tried to do a bike-by kiss with Jamie and I think I managed it. I saw Zach on this loop also (he was finishing up and lapping me) and cheered him on. The last loop was harder. It seemed like everyone in the world was passing me (only 400 people, it turns out) and here I dropped from 3rd in my AG to 18th. I also lost out on the tailwind this loop as the rain hit and down here when the rain comes you're looking at serious wind. So a bit dejected I came into T2, knowing my goal of a 6:30 bike was going to be more like 6:45 to 7:00 (it was 7:00 with all the stops included).

The T2 tent had potties so I availed myself and was glad to see I was still peeing. I had been taking 3 Endurolytes each hour on the bike but there was no way I wanted to carry those on the run so I tried something brand new - GU fizzy stuff. I am frugal enough that I refused to throw away my water bottles on the bike course but instead saved them up to throw to Jamie when I saw him and picked up a course bottle for the run. I changed, vaselined my blistered toe and headed out, glad to be out of the cold downpour and worried about the run. Course the picture (coming out of T2 shows I wasn't showing that worry).

The first lap was demoralizing. I tried to go 15 min run then 1 min walk but my feet would have none of it. I was soon down to 10 min/1 min. I was worried I wasn't going to be able to run and would have to walk the entire thing. I'd finish but I really thought I should be able to do 15-16 hours and didn't want to be slower than that. I also was wearing the colors so I didn't feel like I could walk in town at all but once I saw other (obvious) Mexican athletes walking through the cheers I gave myself permission to walk when I needed to. I had never run further than 21 km and the signage was weird beyond belief. To either cut down on signs or cost and to include the Luddites using miles, the laps would have signage with mile 4, km 15, mile 25 etc. all on the same leg. I tried to convince myself that it *could* be only a 2-lap course but adding things up (I figured each lap had to be 14km) made it 3. The people lining the course, however, MADE the run. I had 2 waiters and a cook run out of their restaurant each and every lap I did to cheer me on. Wearing the colors means you get NOTICED and cheered like nobody's business. And that really carries you along and allows you to keep on keeping on. The crowd support of this event is mind blowing.

The 2nd lap was really hard. I was a bit down knowing how far I had to go and the huge doubt I had that I'd make it. I totally expected myself to be walking. My hips started hurting bad towards 21km but it actually was a good thing as during my 21km at the HIM my hips had been very very painful from way before the end, almost from 15km so I figured that was a good thing. I got bags of ice for my hips and as I started the 3rd lap got ibuprofen and hoped for the best. I tried to tell myself it was only one 4 mile lap and one more 4 mile lap and I certainly could do that. I've read enough marathon reports that I knew there was a wall out there waiting for me also and I was really worried about that. However, as I passed through the throngs (the crowd pumped you up SO MUCH) and danced with the locals (under Punta Langosta?) I started to get a 2nd wind or something. I felt strong, I felt good and I wanted to run as much of the 3rd lap as possible. Once darkness settled I had given up on 10/1 as I couldn't see my watch so I'd run from aid station to aid station. And more. This lap I wanted to maximize the run and I did it.

Until 40km. Something about knowing I had only 2 km to go and I KNEW I could do it - but man oh man, those last 2 km were the longest of the race. I had been mentally adding up the hours and my suspicion of my run (I figured the swim was 1:30, transitions were :30 total and the run should have been 2 hours a lap) I figured I was in for a 15 hour time. I thought it could be as long as closer to 16 hours and I was pretty depressed about that but just kept running, just kept running, that's what we do, we run. So I did. And I finally came to the Most Amazing Finisher's Chute in the free world. I high-5'd everyone possible and picked up the pace and then I saw the clock. I don't think I even heard the announcer as the 14 or 15 I had expected to see was a THIRTEEN! I was so stoked about my time I forgot where I was. I crossed the line and thankfully my son taped it because I didn't remember any of it other than that beautiful clock.

I couldn't believe I'd run a marathon. I wasn't that impressed with the swim or bike but the accomplishment of the marathon is something that kept coming back to me over the next couple days. I ran a MARATHON! oh yeah, and other stuff too. :) I decided as we got off the ferry that I'm in for next year. I want to take an hour off. I'd love to see a 12 on the clock. :) I think I'm addicted.

We had such an amazing time with Zach and Kristin and headed to the east side the next day as a trip to Pig Island (that is what we call Cozumel in our family, due to the wild pigs on the east side) is not complete without a trip to the east side. We are going to miss them greatly. What lovely folks. And Zach got FOURTH. In the whole damn thing!

prerace crap

2011-11-29T17:20:00.003-06:00

I really should have done this yesterday because I'm already in the post-race glow/haze and everything is already a rosy, fuzzy memory. I was really worried that Zach would be overwhelmed and freaked out by the chaos that is our family but that man and his woman, the amazing Kristin were able to roll with each and every punch (and boy did we dish them out). We had saved them some turkey day leftovers in the fridge and left them to sleep and next morning (Friday) we were headed to the island. Zach and Kristin went, accompanied by the girls, to the beach for a swim and a run while the girls hung out with Kristin. No, we didn't ask if she was okay with that. I was working and Jamie was getting shit ready to go. We planned on the 3:30 pm ferry so I was able to work until noon and then we turned into tornadoes of packing.

We teased the hell out of poor Zach. He is a professional triathlete and we gave him No Respect at all for his elite status. Kristin is no slouch either as a competitive swimmer, accomplished triathlete in her own and a RAAM rider. But since Zach is a pro, he got all of our teasing. They really rolled with it though and took it all and Zach even got a couple little zingers in on his own but the poor man was completely outnumbered and didn't have a chance. On Saturday, as we were headed out to take our bikes and bags to the dump off place (T1 at the swim start) Chris and I pretended we were paparazzi and pestered him with photos and questions as he tried to escape us down the exit to the street. I never called him his correct name until probably the last day. Jamie then started messing up Kristin's name. They either think we're insane or senile. Both are probably correct.

As the days passed, however, they really stole our hearts with their sweetness and quiet acceptance and openness and we are all of us, even the kids, missing them now that they're headed home. We hope they know that they will always have a home here whenever they decide. There aren't many people who can roll with 2 adults who can't seem to call you by your name AND 4 kids and a dog and the chaos that surrounds us. They not only rolled, they grooved. What incredible ambassadors for their support, strong competitors and just great all around human beings they are. We are so lucky to have had the opportunity to get to know them.

And yes, I will be starting a Zach Rubble (but we'll call it Nate, natch) fan club.

So, thanks to Kristin and Zach I figured out where to put the numbers and what to put in the bags and what to bring and had a plan which pretty much worked out. We all loaded up to go to package pickup where I got a cap, metal water bottle and a jacket. I think I got the Mexican special for either being an old fart or competing for Mexico. Jamie was drooling over all the expo stuff but the rest of us were just DONE with the car and the event and wanted out so too soon for Jamie but not soon enough for us, we headed to Chedraui for provisions and home. Zach was leaving 20 minutes before I did so we had to be at the start the next day really dark (as it turned out) and early.

The kids did GREAT getting up the next morning and after driving all around the closed streets (with Zach no doubt getting more and more worried we'd never arrive and visions of DNS dancing in his head) we finally made a quick stop for Pepto and Jamie dropped us off, hoping to find some parking somewhere to rejoin us. Zach and I headed in to the secure area but his bike was (pro, natch) right up by the "commoners" fencing (to keep the commoners away from the elites) so the whole famdamily (Kristin included) was right next to Zach as he readied his bike. I TOTALLY did not fit in with the pros gathered around and the TV guy was eyeing me nervously as I handed Zach the bike pump (he used OUR PUMP! We have his sweat on our PUMP! We'll NEVER wash it!) and kept looking at Zach for the slightest sign of "get her the HELL AWAY from me!" but I must have pleased the pro as he never gave the signal to cart me away with the rest of the riffraff. The kids were egging me on to go make funny faces or something more rotten behind the athlete being interviewed on TV but I (being the adult here) declined. Kinda wish I hadn't though.

Then it was off to the 45 minute portapotty line, I totally missed the Mexican national anthem (which I had MEMORIZED DAMNIT) did a quick undress and headed off to the water. I was shocked (but I had been looking for them) to find the whole famdamily (which now includes Kristin, natch) right alongside our walk-the-plank start and I got so surprisingly emotional I started tearing up. I had been avoiding thinking about the event the last week or so as I had trained thinking about it all the time and just didn't want to deal anymore. I was a little worried about the swim - I knew I could probably do it no problem but I didn't want to fail at any point. Before Jesse got sick I had specific times I wanted and after taking 8 weeks off I had to throw those expectations away but really, I never did. They were just my A goals and I was really hoping to attain them, lack of training or not. Still that marathon had me super, super worried, never having run farther than 21 km (half a marathon) ever. I tried to just be in the moment and experience each moment and not worry about the next. But that marathon was like a dark cloud looming over me and it was hard to avoid it.

I wanted to get out in front not because I expected a strong swim but because I wanted to find a spot out of the melee. Ironmans are notorious for WWF-like swim starts and I did not want my goggles ripped off, bloody appendages or broken bones, after all blood + bull sharks just couldn't be a really good equation. I wanted clear water and I figured that being up front I could scout that out. I think I would have had to go about 2 km out to sea to find it though. I was way in front but since the field was so stretched out it wasn't the bloody melee of normal swim starts, just jockeying and thumping and bumping. I did get one particularly nasty blow to my quad which made me wonder if I'd be able to bike, but that was around a buoy and not the start. So the start was good.

I really should have gone to the "mandatory" meeting though because I had no idea what the swim course was. Zach and I both figured in Mexico, where we ignore the cops and stoplights are mere suggestions, the "mandatory" meeting wasn't really all that mandatory after all and he'd rely on past experience and I'd rely on....well...I was screwed. The swim started and I figured it was probably a big rectangle and I'd just keep the buoys in sight and since there was no chance I'd be leading the field I'd just follow everyone else. Like follow the leader.

a 3 hour tour...

2011-11-25T21:00:00.002-06:00

So we took a little trip on a barco (larger than the Minnow) and ended up over here on Cozumel. For some strange reason that are lots of REALLY FIT people here! and lots of super expensive bikes! And people with weird helmets. and lots of athletic stuff for sale along the malecon. It is a strange place. Not our usual Cozumel. Oh, and there's this guy with us who says he's a "pro" but I forgot to ask pro WHAT? and yeah, forgot why we're here.

I'm on that lovely river...de Nile.

Feels like I've been going a million kph between work and getting palapas ready for people and cleaning and working and a teensy bit of training (forgot why) and packing half the palapa for a long weekend and today I figure out where all the outlets in the new construction go.

We picked up Nate (damn, I keep calling him Nate but his name is really Zeke. No, not Zeke; it is Zach) at the airport late Thursday after having a nice potluck dinner at home. Their plane was a little late and Jamie and I were incredibly entertained with the "invisible man", the planeload of Germans from Frankfurt and the Panamanians who were obviously athletes and carrying 6 large bike bags but assured me they had no idea what "Ironman" was and no, they had no bikes. Shrug. Today I was up early to get some work in before packing like mad and manuvering the power brakeless van onto and off of the ferry. Poor Nate/Zeke/Zach must think we're trying to kill him. Got to the house we usually stay at here and headed down to check in. I am pretty much relying on my sister and Nate to keep me informed as to what to do and I'll just translate as I'm too Mexican to be bothered with knowing what needs to be done and when. I figure everything will sort itself out evenentually and what will happen will happen. Got a cap and a metal waterbottle gift at checkin along with a nice Iwanman jacket.

My sister is documenting everything so lots of pictures to follow (most are on Facebook now). Zeke wants to bike tomorrow - he swam and ran at our bay this morning - so that's what we'll do. I'll figure out bags and T1, T2, whatever tomorrow. I guess I also need to figure out what I'm supposed to put in the bags at some point too. BAGS? We don't need no stinking BAGS!

Between the jungle and the road

2011-11-20T09:01:00.003-06:00

Pike (15yo) has been riding with Jamie recently and the other day I was able to join them for the first part of my ride. We have now nicknamed him "El Zorro" as he tends to wait and then jump, very predictably, on certain parts of the route. He is a little hammer and just needs some endurance now. I've been wicked tired lately and last night finally got a solid block of sleep - I passed out around 7pm, woke at 3am and managed to get back to sleep (!!) around 5am and finally got up around 7 or 8 am. I'm hoping that will help with the washed out feeling I've been having. I also have been using the rescue inhaler much more often than usual and doing 2 puffs on the long-acting one. I wish Dr. Google would diagnose me already and put an action plan together. I think once the IM is over I'll drop the Advair and then get some PFTs. I recently read that swimmers have a higher rate of asthma and wonder if that is what is going on - all those hours as a kid in pools and with the recent storms I've been swimming in the pool more than the sea.

I went for a run the other day and finally identified the weird sound out in the jungle I've heard before - I wild pig. The next day I smelled a smoke fire and I'm hoping someone roasted that big bad boy and are enjoying a tasty dinner. He was not too keen on backing down but when I made weird guttural noises took off into the jungle but each time I go down that stretch of path I think of it as the "pig's home." Just like the crocodile stretch (got turned around once during a storm by a croc who was snapping his jaws at me) and the snake stretch - well the snakes own the entire path but I almost stepped on one hiding under a palm branch. On my last ride with the boys Pike managed to run over a snake (on his bike) and almost immediately afterwards we all had to avoid a croaking, jumping frog. I was waiting for locusts, but instead I got RIDERS. For the first time in a year we came across riders! They were going pretty slow (at that point) so we chatted for quite a while and I found out one of them had won the Veracruz HIM (I later googled him and found he came in 2nd in his AG at the Miami HIM). It was such a treat to ride with others and 2 of them are training for Cozumel.

The cudda chased me out of the water again the other day - I hate that damn cudda - but for some reason swimming in the sea is much easier on my old shoulder injury than the pool. Can't quite figure that one out at all. I'm beginning to wonder what the hell I was thinking earlier this year in signing myself up for this - I've never run a marathon - what makes me think I can do one at the end of an IM? and also worried I've lost all my "distance" bike fitness by not having done anything longer than 120km for weeks but then I got such a sweet email from the pro we're picking up on Thursday that I got a ray of hope.

I had a massage yesterday to try and work out the scar tissue in my calves and was sorely disappointed. It was a 2-hour massage but each and every time she came close to the pain she would back off. Incredibly frustrating. I wanted the pain, I wanted the knots worked out, I was ready to suffer, but she was all "energy" and "center" and "light" and "negative" and whispers and scents and woo woo. I should have known; she lives in Tulum. :) Jamie and I are off on a 90km ride and now I will be adhering to the real plan and go into serious taper next week. I've been going over the plan up to now but next week will be serious sloth taper week.

Caught between denial and dread

2011-11-15T08:55:00.004-06:00

So I finally got the courage, after almost the entire season, to go topless. It finally got warm enough (we've been hit with norte tras norte) and I've slimmed down enough to wear just a jog bra. Well, maybe those around me didn't agree wiht the jiggle. :) I'm starting to realize that the long brick I did the other weekend is what has put me into the blahs. It was just too much I think. I just hope I recover in time to do Cozumel. All my big talk about a short taper turns out to be just that, talk. I rode only 5 some hours last week and ran only 4 or more and with only 3-4 hours swimming that made for a short week of training - lowest in at least a month. So much for taper. Fortunately I think I have the saddle issues on the run (so to speak) and will find out for sure today. Jamie also fixed my lack of shifting and what a nice surprise to be able to shift again!

So this week I think I'll adhere to the taper schedule and really back down on the running as I think this is where I really need to be careful. I'm alternately scared about what to come and excited (as my sister is muling down a SHITLOAD of crap), oh and there is that Ironman thing too (lalalala I can't hear you). I know it is going to hurt. I know it will be awful (Jamie keeps telling me about his horrific Terrible Two experience) but I'm hoping it won't all be hell. After all, I'm planning to do it again next year. (the ignorant are so cute, aren't they?) Yesterday I swam a straight 3000 m set and I was surprised at how strong I finished. Hoping it all holds together. Maybe duct tape?

Taper but not like the worm

2011-11-13T10:11:00.002-06:00

because here, we definitely got the worm part DOWN!

This last week has been hard. Either the long brick I did last Saturday did me in or all the training has caught up with me because I was hard pressed to hit any of my workouts this week except swimming (which is coming along....(yes) swimmingly!). Run is always good after the first 20 minutes. Bike is hard. I don't want to and yesterday I was so tired after the 1st loop I came home, lay down (in the dust, still under construction) and waited. Then joined by my 15yo (and Jamie, again) I headed out for loop 2. I have some open sores and sitting on that seat was just torture. So I only did 4 hours and headed out for a run. I was STARVING hungry when I got back - I figured out I way underfed myself (630 cal for 5+ hours) and it took a croissant and a bowl of rice with avocado to bring me back to human. It was scary and I almost took off my 15yo's head with my insane rantings at one point. I've never been so hungry before in my life.

I'm pretty much resigned to the fact that I probably have some kind of asthma. I used the rescue (albuterol) inhaler before yesterday's ride and got great relief from it - I've been doing the long-acting stuff (Advair) since my last attack (2-3 weeks ago?) and had one instance in the pool where I needed albuterol. I need to find a good lung doc and see what is what. For now, I think I'm doing ok with 1 puff 2xday of the Advair and albuterol when needed. I'm starting to think my triggers are common cold/respiratory illness and exercise but only together as we're all fighting some cold right now and my first attack (4 days hospitalized) came on the heels of a really bad respiratory illness.

Cozumel is 2 weeks away. That alternately bores me (denial) or terrifies me (no denial). I am looking forward to meeting seeing my sister (who is coming down for the event) and have been busily sending her all kinds of stuff to mule down. Poor dear will be loaded down like a sherpa.

Confidence

2011-11-08T07:52:00.002-06:00

that last long training session was probably the most important one I have done to date. I totally expected that my legs would not be able to handle 2 hours of running after the 180km ride and I would immediately realize I NEEDED to walk/run the marathon in the IM. What I found was that my legs were GOLDEN. I held 32 min for each 5k until the last one (33min) but found afterwards my feet were mashed meat. I have Morton's neuroma with both feet but haven't been bothered (yet) this season. I'd also done a stand alone 2-hour run with no problem so I was pretty convinced that I *should* be able to run the entire marathon in the IM but needed a solid brick to prove it (or not) to myself. I found my legs were great on the brick but I'm going to have to run/walk the marathon and stifle that ego to get through it. Maybe next year. Yeah, I'm already planning for a do-over for next year. :)

Before and After

2011-11-04T10:50:00.004-06:00

Gawds it has been forever and so much has happened and I can't even hope to catch up. Getting nutrition nailed down - will do a 2-hr run after ride tomorrow to see if I want to contemplate NOT doing run/walk (my head keeps telling me to go for it - i.e. no walk - so I need to show it how wrong it is) and I think I will do another 6-hour ride next weekend too. Most plans start the taper (3 weeks) after this week but I would like another long ride under my belt (in my head - I really have become to dread them but since I learn something new each and every ride I know they are good for me). So now the 90km Tulum ride is no longer that big of a deal but every time I go for a short (40km) ride I worry about nutrition (so NOT necessary).

I've been chasing cramping issues and it happens mostly at night or in the water. I had one DISASTEROUS swim around the hurricane where my hands were so frozen that they stayed numb for hours afterwards. I was dreading the next swim So MUCH that I stayed away from the pool for almost a week (well, there were other pressing reasons to miss the pool also like a HURRICANE) and day before yesterday had a good swim (except for the damn cramping). I have GOT to get my mule list together as I think the answer just might be electrolytes. We'll see tomorrow.

We're going to help a profession triathlete come to Cozumel - we'll put him (and his fiance) up here Thursday night and then we'll all head over to the island on Friday. Yikes! The event is creeping up on me. I'm starting to envision parts of it (visualization used to be big when I was a swimmer) but I still have so little hope. I figure 1:30 for the swim (hoping for 1:15 but I've been out of the water so long it isn't funny), 7-7.5 hours for the bike and the "run" is going to be a HUGE question mark. Doubling my HIM run I should be able to do 5 hours but I highly doubt that. HOWEVER, my runs off the bike are getting faster. Weather is changing and midday runs/bikes are not even a second thought. It is still nice (warm) but no longer too hot to go out.

There was a thread at BT about weight loss and since I've lost weight over such a long period of time that I've never really had the opportunity to see the change. I've been around 70 all week and today hit 69.8. I still have some to go but nothing like before. The pictures really kinda shocked me - I had no idea my back end had lost so much. Kinda scary to put the photographic evidence out there...

long ride finally done

2011-10-22T21:20:00.005-05:00

Today my goal was to finish 180km and dial in nutrition. Last ride I'd found the Perpeteum and Cytomax were a bad mix and I dumped all the Cytomax (powder) with Jamie when he rescued me from the flats/no spare/unable to patch due to rain. But I was cramping horrifically last ride and wanted to address that. I'm getting there. I headed out this morning, after waiting for it to warm up a smidge as we're under frente frio No. 6 (!!! already, and it is only OCTOBER) and wasn't sure where I'd go. I'd mapped out the distance to Coba and there and back was a neat 180km but I was worried about the dogs along the route. I considered doing Tulum twice (another 180 km) but I am so Sick To Death of riding back and forth to and from Tulum I might die of boredom. I also considered going past Tulum for 45 km and turning around but I had no idea of what the abarrote support was south of Tulum and I knew I'd need another liter of water at the turnaround so I finally nixed that. I also considered 3 loops of Xel-Ha becasue the Ironman course is also 3 loops of 60ish.

In the end I went with Coba, mostly because I told our abanil I was going there (and his eyes bugged out) and because I've not been there yet. I was right to worry about the dogs but after I figured out to stuff rocks under my shorts and throw them at the dogs it got easier. I was pretty done at 4-4-1/2 hours and super hungry at that point. For some reason I hate using GU (I take it for emergency) but couldn't find candy anywhere until Tulum the 2nd time (135 km) and by then I was doing better.

I had 2 packages of Perpeteum (270 cal each), 1 Cliff Bar (240?), 2 GU (180), 1 bag of lifesaver gummies (180) and half a PB&J and a Poweraid. I figured it was about 1000-1100 calories at the 4.5 hour point and I'd probably burned about 3000 cal so maybe that's why I was hungry. Who knows. I scarfed down some lifesaver gummies and than added a GU and all of a sudden I was bloated. I worked that down and took only Poweraid and water for the rest of the ride (almost 2 hours) and was almost better when I got home. So I found I can do real food and bike+run. It was super duper low humidity today (60ish and temp only got up to 29) and I was covered with powder when I got home, so apparently the humidity hides all the salt. I took Endurolyte tablets - 2 whenever I thought I needed them - and never cramped and am only very minimally cramping now at home.

So a good day all around but TBH, I'm not looking forward to more 6-hour rides. Tomorrow is a 2-hour ride and then we're off to Home Depot to try and stay ahead of the construction.

lack of planning or trying?

2011-10-16T16:53:00.002-05:00

We're under all the red/pink/white. I suppose I should have put on my big girl panties and gone out yesterday because I'm not sure the winds and rain were any better today. The traffic must have been less today though. I had a pretty good first 2.5 hours and then flatted and my spare was a dud. So I tried to patch the original (spare already had 1 patch) in the rain and finally gave up and called Jamie. Like a knight on a white horse he showed up with the heater blasting and gave me 2 spare tubes AND changed the bad tube. He then headed back home to meet me at David's with a new bottle with Perpeteum (I'm loving the caffe latte flavor) and a Cliff Bar and water and he'd accompany me for the first 18 km of my 2nd 90km loop. Unfortunately he was running late so I headed back to the palapa only to find out work was screaming for help. I was really pissed I was going to have to cut short my ride (the flat and coming home put me 1.5 hours in the hole) and was a lousy companion for about the first 18km or so. Since I decided to cut my ride short to get home in time to help work out Jamie decided to come with and we slogged through the wind and the rain together. Except the rain was somewhat acidic and he couldn't see. He had to stop occasionally to clear his eyes and I just tucked my head down and rode. If you can call 22-23 kph riding. I was so discouraged. I was going to miss out on my 6-hour test ride AND a brick run AND I was going slower than molasses.

I finally got my head together and got out of the 21-23kph doldrums and headed home. Once home I found work didn't need me after all! ARGH! So I went for a run and walked the puddles (our puddles get super slick with the limestone+flour sand) and came home to a wonderful meal - jamie had made salmon, potatoes and broccoli. I'm not sure about the Perpeteum. It totally worked today but I'm not sure it would work on a hot day. I'll just have to try again and see. I had 2 envelopes of Perpeteum (540 cal), 2 GU (180 cal), 1 Cliffbar (240) and 3 scoops of Cytomax (270 cal) over 6 hours (bike+run). I was not starving at the end but I definitely was hungry. According to BT I only burned around 3700 cal and at 1230 cal taken in that averaged about 200 cal/hr. That Cliffbar went down REALLY well at about 2 hours in and I think I should probably try for 225-250 cal/hr average next time. So while I didn't hit my goal of 180km and 6 to 6.5 hours, I did get 150 km in and that's pretty close. Next weekend will be the ticket. I think I'll head to Coba.

Invest 95

2011-10-15T17:55:00.004-05:00

Whenever we got more than an hour of rain there is a good chance it will become "something." So after a full day of rain I figured we were under "something" and unfortunately it came during my Cannot Miss Another workout due to the 8 weeks I took of during Jesse's illness so I have to get it in somehow. I have 6.5 hours of riding to get in and it is looking like it will be tomorrow. I (stupidly?) believed Accuweather and Wunderground who pegged tomorrow as less rain and half the wind speed but looking at the current map, I'm not so sure. If nothing else tomorrow will be a day of less traffic as most don't work Sundays and with the weather people will likely be staying home. So if nothing else there will be fewer cars on the road. Only road around here for hundreds of kilometers. Last night I learned a good lesson in swimming - I've gone from 0 to 9000 meters this week and my old shoulder injury came out SCREAMING last night (with 2 days in a row of 3000 m). This is so sad as when I was a kid I did 10K a DAY during long-course season. How far we fall when we age. So no more back-to-back days of swimming. But the stroke that is there does feel good. I'm feeling positive about that aspect of the IM but I STILL don't even know how far we're supposed to swim but figure it has to be double the HIM and the HIM was 1.9 so the IM must be 3.8, right? I'm pretty solid on 3.8 km so I'm feeling confident on the swim front. Just have to keep the shoulder healthy.

Running is going well enough so far but I'm trying hard to restrain myself. I keep wanting to pile on the distance but I know I really shouldn't. I finally thought during today's (very wet) run that I can probably double my workouts by adding water running, but I'm not sure I'm up for 2 hours of water running (to add to my 3 hours of land running). The boredom might kill me but being more prepared for the IM just might be the tipping point. But the boredom. Geez.

So tonight I'm going over nutrition (Cytomax, Cliff Bars and GU) and figure I'll go with 2 loops of the Tulum route (90 km) instead of going out to Coba (180 km RT) for an increase in available abarrotes for water/Poweraid and easier pickup (should I need a rescue van). I've done Tulum about a million times so the boredom might kill me (beginning to be a common theme) but next long ride I'll try for Coba. Course that's assuming I'll be able to make it 6.5 hours on the bike. Big question in my mind but it will be a relief if/when I get her done.

the secret to ironman

2011-10-10T09:20:00.004-05:00

is that you look forward to the marathon after being on the bike. This past weekend in the space of 23 hours I put 8 hours in on the bike. Yowzers my delicate lady bits are complaining this morning. AND I was SHORT by 1:20. No way I was going to do more than I did. :) Saturday late afternoon I did the Tulum (88km) ride and early next am I was up for another round of Tulum and then back to the palapa to celebrate my youngest hitting double digits. Once she dedicated herself to the computer for the day (on their birthdays they get to do whatever they want) I headed out for another 2 hours and finished a hour shy of 23 hours. I was never so happy to set out on a run than I was for the brick (30 min) after that last ride. And I think that is the secret to Ironman. You're so happy to be off the bike you look forward to run. Sickos. :)

Today I'm supposed to put in another hour. I don't think so.

Got back from Merida on Friday and it is good to be home but I do miss living indoors. Now I need to really buckle down with training as October and November will be my last gasps. Next weekend I want to do 5 hours straight (or 6) on the bike to see if it would be possible. After this weekend I'm pretty sure it is. In Merida I know I got to a new weight low but without a scale I had no idea what it was, so this morning when I saw 69.4 on the scale I was really quite excited.

Picture is from the pool at Dolores Alba. On the way home from Merida we stopped to let Mom and Dad visit Chichen Itza.

Haven't done this for a while...
August totals (boy went in hospital 22-Aug)
Bike 17 hours 533 km
Run 7.5 hours 15.5 hr
Swim 45 min 20,400 m

September totals (left for merida 8-Sept)
Bike 15 hours 425 km (I have already equaled this in October)
Run 7.5 hours
Swim 45 min
17 days without any training at all

October totals (last week with food poisoning, etc.)
Bike 417.25 km 15 hours
Run 3.5 hr
Swim 1800 m

adapting

2011-09-28T09:45:00.004-05:00

So I'm starting to get exercise back in. I don't go for a ride unless is it 2 hours and have been trying to hit 30-45 min runs every day. I can't begin to hope for swimming - that will have to wait until Jesse is either out of the hospital or I am back at home. We need to stay in Merida another week after discharge (hopefully today if fever stays away) so I won't be back to the Caribbean waters for at least another week. Probably week and a half.

I've been either riding the periferico (not preferred) or out to Progreso and back. I prefer the Progreso ride as the carretera is THREE LANES wide and a big shoulder and seems like no traffic compared to the carretera at home. I exit for each overpass as there is always a lot of crap on the roads there and I don't like merging over to the right through freeway entrance traffic. It isn't a bad ride and Progreso is rather colonial in places. I don't think they get a lot of cyclists in there though but at least I'm not looked at as an alien. I take a quick turn along the malecon then back to the zocalo (through throngs of kids getting out of school (they run 2 turnos - one am and one pm) and then back to the carretera. I'm starting to like the ride.

I've lost around 3 kg since we left - when Jesse was hospitalized the last time we both weighed 71.8kg. Yesterday Jamie weighed him at 66.5 (he has not been eating at all) and I checked myself this am and with a jacket and all my clothes (and shoes) I was at 70.5. So I'm thinking around 68-69kg. I can definitely tell a difference and even had my sister buy me some smaller jeans as none of my old "skinny" stuff fits. I'm hoping I can keep those kilograms off as it can only help running and biking. I don't think swim cares. I know Jamie is still against me participating in the Ironman but I honestly don't think I can NOT. I have to try. If nothing else it will give me something to overcome next year. Oh yeah, unless I die out there I am sure I'll have something to prove to myself next year that, due to lack of training, this year I won't be able to achieve.

Big change in plans

2011-09-24T11:50:00.002-05:00

I had time hopes for IM Cozumel but now I am just hoping to finish. My practice has been almost nonexistant most of august and all of September. I'm really worried. I was totally on track with 2 sports a day and now I just hope I can get something in on the weekend. My son developed a collapsed lung August 22 and we've been chasing that down, eventually ending up in Merida, a city 5 hours away from home, for surgery. I'm going to finally dust off the old blog and update there on that. But that leaves me with 3-4 missing weeks of training, weeks 8, 9, 10 and 11ish and I'm really really really worried now just about finishing IM Cozumel. Jamie is suggesting I don't even try to do it. I don't know what to do. I'm going to get a ride and run in today and tomorrow and the rest of the week is up the in air. I was used to doing 2 sports a day. Now I don't know. I'm plenty worried about what this means come the end of November. right now the picture above has been my life 24/7 (I literally do not leave the hospital for 2-3 days at a time)

2 hour run

2011-08-29T20:01:00.002-05:00

My longest run prior to my HIM had been 90 minutes and I was sore beyond belief (quads and legs) after my HIM so I imagined I'd need serious recovery time if I went over 90 minutes again. I was a little freaked out at all the training time I lost out on last week so I decided to go for a 90 min run yesterday and shoot for a full 2 hours if I felt good enough. I had no problem with a 2-hour run and it is still blowing my mind a little bit that I ran that long. It was super overcast and cool and I think that's the reason it worked so well. I followed the run up with a tropical ice-bath which is radically different from those north of the border, I assume. First off, bathtubs just do not exist here. I've never seen one anywhere in Mexico. I assume some really touristy places might have them but I've never seen them.

So I headed over to the pool, restaurant and dive shop and got my favorite waiter's attention to bring me the paper, a cup of coffee and a bag of ice. I sat myself in the foot bath for the pool (to clean off your feet before getting in the water), donned my sweatshirt and sat in the ice water. But since it is rather warm down here, it was just cold water. Maybe next time I'll try 2 bags of ice. It certainly was not the horror that everyone writes it up to be but it was coldish water.

Today I went for a short (28 min) run and had no soreness and no stiffness. I had tried to swim earlier but between work, the rough seas, and the pool cleaning, I was never able to get a chance. I'll have to double up one day this week to get it done.

a side of HFTU

2011-08-28T07:45:00.002-05:00

I spent the last week (6 days) in the hospital with my son. It is very common here to have at least one family member stay with the hospitalized person the entire time but not really that necessary in the private hospitals here. As Jesse isn't quite fluent I wanted someone there the entire time until he was stable and also since I have a little medical background (from work) and these were totally new doctors to us I wanted to make as sure as possible that he was getting the correct care (as best I could determine). I was able to get a ride and run in on Monday but that was the very last workout I got in until Friday night when I was able to get a quick run in while Jamie and the kids came to sit with Jesse for a bit. Jesse came home yesterday afternoon and we both went right to sleep. So today I need to try and catch up a bit. It is storming a bit so no ride but I can run and probably swim (stormy seas make for hard swims but empty the pool normally so it should be a win-win either way). In the picture, one of his meals. Hospital food is really Very Very Excellent here - always fresh - never packaged and always whole.

I keep reading on the triboards about how everyone's workout are getting postponed or wiped out due to Hurricane Irene and all I can think of is, "welcome to my world." All summer we have tropical storm after tropical storm roll through and the seas are not the safest place to be. My alternate is a pool which is either 10m or 12m long and mentally draining to put in a workout. Biking during storms is very dangerous as when the summer rains come down, most cars will actually pull over to the side of the road and wait out the deluge. When it rains, it dumps so hard the visibility is none. Running during storms only brings out the snakes and crocodiles along the path and rivers of water (I run between the jungle and the beach), but if I waited out each and every storm I'd never be able to train. Tropical storms don't compare to the strength and destruction of a hurricane (though they are what hurricanes are made out of) but they are just as disrupting.

Course those north of the border do have winter to deal with (where it is possible to dip below 12C apparently! The HORROR!!!) and I will be the first to admit that if I had to train below 15C I don't think I'd ever go out. I'm already suffering at 20C and can't imagine month after month of that kind of insanity.

So now I need a little HTFU to get my ass out there today as a week (I literally have not been home since Wednesday) of sitting in a recliner in a hospital room somewhat messes with your motivation in getting back into the swing again. I tend to be either 0% or 100% involved in training - once I back off to 0 it is hard to get back to 100 again. And ick, how I hate training in that tiny pool. Sigh.

xmas in august

2011-08-22T09:43:00.005-05:00

OMG, I have to laugh at how "Mexican" I've become - down to the no smiles in pictures. :)

We recently had some mail shipped down and a mule delivery (and another mule delivery this Saturday). It is JUST like Xmas, actually BETTER because we actually get more than Xmas. :) We got mail, I got shorts and 3 new (to me) running tops, 3 DeSoto tri tops (I only wanted one and have already someone waiting to take the other 2 off my hands in Cozumel) and MAIL! We have had a TON of credit card fraud and had to cancel 2 credit cards so we have been waiting for the new ones. I even had my folks buy some stuff for me as I couldn't wait for the new cards to arrive (so the package would get to my mule). I also got SWIM SUITS! I've been using tankinis to swim in up to now and wondered if a "real" swimsuit would make a difference. Dunno about time but it is sweet to have a "real" suit and I love the patterns!

AND the recent muling brought Expresso flavored GU, Caffe Latte flavored Perpeteum, 2 boxes of chocolate Powerbars (for Jamie), 2 sunglasses (safety glasses but they ROCK for cycling), Jesse's new laptop (and my backup for work/travel) and electrolye tablets. I tried out the GU on my brick yesterday (65km ride + 48 min run) and I must have taken it way too late in the bike/too early run as I got a bit sick to my stomach about 1/2 way through the run. I'm up to 2 scoops of Cytomax per bottle now on rides but had ordered the Perpeteum before I was able to handle the 2 scoops of Cytomax (and despaired of ever being able to handle anything on the ride).

I took an unexpected rest day the other day and by the end of the day I was depressed (without knowing it). I just felt really OFF and wrong. I always feel this way on a rest day, but I had no options for workout any of the 3 sports. Next day was a 72 min run and although it was incredibly hard (I'm getting faster) I felt So Much Better afterwards and realized I'm more than a little bit addicted to my training. My running is coming along, getting faster, and I'm staying healthy. I'm happy every time I get a swim in as if the sea hasn't been stormy then the pool is full of tourists. I hit every swim the past 2 weeks and I'm very happy about that. This week will likely be a wash as my eldest is in the hospital with a pneumothorax and today I've already missed swim and run.

Going well

2011-08-14T19:26:00.003-05:00

The last couple weeks I've stuck to the bike schedule on my plan and finding my legs aren't quite as dead as I remember from HIM training. Next week has only 3 hours for the bike on schedule (my guess is it is a recovery week) and I already know that isn't going to fly. I'll need to do at least 5. Running is going well - I'm bumping up to 24, 48, 72 next week and hit 3 hours 40 min this week of running. So far, the injury gods have left me alone and I really think it is all due to the BarryP plan.

We went to Cozumel a couple weeks ago to ride the bike route but I've decided I really need to run the run route. It is the run that really has me scared. I figure 1.5 hours (actually 1.25 if all goes well) for the swim, 7 for the bike and 6 for the run and that should allow me to come in under 15 hours. I have a feeling the Veracruz HIM was really easy and this IM will be more than 2xHIM+1 hour (which would put me at 14 hours) so we'll see. I'm starting to come around to the idea that I'll be doing a marathon at the end of the bike and not freaquing out totally at the idea.

I had some swim to make up (from Friday's aborted swim) so I did a short triathlon today - 90km bike, 22 min run and 900m swim. In that order. I needed to get out on the bike early and beat the worst of the heat (32-33C and 65% ish) and the plan called for 1 hour zone 1, 2nd hour zone 2 and 3rd hour zone 1. I was surprised how hard it was to get and hold zone 2 (and honestly I wasn't exactly sure of my Z2 cutoff HR so I'm off to figure that now...) and it turns out I was right around Z2 for the 2nd hour but I had to work to get there. Unfortunately (or not?) I stayed in Z2 for the 3rd hour also - but it wasn't hard at all. :) Must have hit 33C that hour.

I really wanted to experiment with nutrition this ride and did 2 scoops of Cytomax in each bottle for the first time. It worked well enough - I wasn't starving hungry when i got home but took Electrolit and Cytomax (1 scoop) out on the run and before the swim. So, I didn't really eat until 2pm and had 7 scoops of Cytomax, 1250 mL of Electrolit and I wasn't starving. In calories that was only 880 calories and I know I would have needed more to go longer. I'm thinking that for a long brick I'll need 2 scoops/bottle AND a GU each hour. I was also really thirsty and found 4 bottles (3 L) was not enough hydration on the bike. As a matter of fact, I've had countless refills of my 625 mL bottle of Electrolit all afternoon and just now, at 7:30 pm, peed for the first time since 2pm. So a little work to do there too. But it was a good day for getting information.

We had hopes to head down to Laguna Bacalar this weekend but girls got sick and Ellen got injured (horse) so we're home for now. We had hoped to do a mini-vacation each weekend of August and will try for Bacalar next weekend. I have a huge itch to swim in both the laguna (site of OWS competitions) and Cenote Azul.

Pretty happy with the training so far - now hoping for calm seas tomorrow so I can get my swim in. Picture is rainfall seen from the car ferry heading home from Cozumel.

Cozumel preview

2011-07-31T10:54:00.009-05:00

IM Cozumel is closed (as per Slowtwitch). We had already decided to come over to the island as one of our mini vacactions (we'll also go to Bacalar (Cenote Azul), Boca Paila (after the 10K in Tulum next Sunday) and Merida during August. We can't leave for many days at a time due to my work constraints and the girls' horseback lessons so we'll do long weekends.

We decided to head over yesterday afternoon but go figure, showing up 15 minutes before the ferry leaves (car ferry) during vacation month is actually a laughable event. The ferry guy suggested showing up at 3:30 for the 6pm ferry. I had planned to work as soon as we got to Cozumel but decided I'd blow off work and suggested we head to La Floresta for some fish tacos as Jamie and I had not eaten at all and had a 40km bike ride we'd just finished. The family didn't have to be convinced at all and we stuffed ourselves silly at lunch. Jesse (who is intent on breaking every teen boy stereotype there is by never eating anything) had 3, I had 2, Ellen had 3 (camaron, much smaller than fish), Jamie had 5 and Sissy had 3. Thus sated we headed home so I could work a tiny bit, get the contact info for the house we were renting (I'd previously forgotten it) and headed back to the ferry terminal. We're pretty much used to just showing up and doing stuff so it was a bit weird to plan to be somewhere at a specific time, and we managed not to go too insane waiting. At 5:30 we got our ferry papers and at 6:00 we were still waiting to board for the 6:00 departure. It ended up being over an hour late and we got to Cozumel at 9pm instead of 7:30 pm. The owner of the house had given up waiting on us but he was quickly located and came by on his bike, showed us in and around and even called us later with the clave for the internet. SWEET! Unfortunately, there are only 2 king beds instead of 1 king and 2 twins so I'm not sure this will work for the IM. Boys will NOT share bedspace with ANYONE so I'm thinking for tonight we'll have to find some colchones for them. At any rate, Jamie and I provisioned up with Ellen this morning. We have water, cawfee, breaky and enough to last the kids until we get back from our ride. Because we're circumventing the island today, loop 1 of 3 for the IM in November. I'm really glad we came over now - I was starting to wonder on ferry last night. Kilo has been a great traveler and he is such an easy dog it isn't funny.

It's not the sharks, it's the PELICANS!

2011-07-26T20:05:00.003-05:00

I finally figured out my run plan for IM training. I only do BarryP (as it has kept me injury free all year and after 2 years of constant injury, I'm a TOTAL convert) but that is a LOT of running (frequency) so it took some juggling to get it in there. And I wanted to add some longer runs towards the late middle of the training.

I finally got off my butt and started looking for accomodations during the IM as our usual place now has a very territorial cat and our dog would not be welcome. We're going to head over to the island this weekend and check things out and have a nice vuelta of the island. Looking forward to it. Next weekend is the Tulum 10K (or an unofficial Sprint in Cancun) which reminds me to register before the inscription bumps up (until today you couldn't register). ARGH. I have been looking EVERYWHERE for info on this 10K and until today there was nothing published. I now find that inscripciones were open June 1 and the fee is already up to $200. Yuck. I'll still do it though. :) So typical here.

So the other day I finally manned up and got in the sea water. I really dislike swimming in the sea, especially after being "dogged" by that damn cudda, so I'd try to finagle a way to get in the 10-12m pool before cleaning and definitely before hotel patrons strolled over for a dip and kept getting kicked out for maintenance. Since Jamie requires that I do not swim solo, swimming in the sea in the early morning doesn't work out very well. So last week I started running early morning and swimming afternoon when my babysitters were awake. Finally got some distance in. I really don't worry about sharks much but my last swim SOMETHING was hitting my feet intermittently. There is little debris in the sea and I couldn't figure out what it could be until after the last "hit" I saw a pelican heading skyward. Apparently my slow 2-beat kick looked too much like a fish to that pelican until he got close enough to see the leg and body of the large animal and aborted dinner.

I'm learning to listen to my body - the last 2 rides before today were hard, PR rides and today I put on the brakes and rode SLOW. It was actually hard to ride slow. I worked on cadence and got bored but my legs thanked me. Thursday's ride will thank me. I'm not sure how it was possible but just before heading out on Sunday's ride, I clipped in and immediately fell over. I've got good road rash (gravel) and am soaking with tea-tree oil to stave off infection.

I think I finally have a handle on the training and am looking forward to seeing what happens in the next weeks.

Day in the Life

2011-07-17T21:00:00.017-05:00

I can't believe I haven't updated in so long! I finally threw caution to the wind this week and got in the water. I still have that damn ear blockage but I'm done waiting for the TM to turn right side around. Everyoneceandawhile I think I can hear but then it is gone again.

So I decided to do a DOTL. It's not super accurate because I forgot various times throughout the day but this is a pretty standard day. I'm the first one up and Jamie and I have been sleeping in the recamera with the girls since we tore the trailer apart. I tend to be eaten alive by mosquitos so after the first bloody night I strung up curtains around our bed. Ellen sleeps on the floor and we have STUFF stacked everywhere.

I normally get up, get online, start downloading work and then head outside to the kitchen to start a pot of cawfee. To the right here you can see the almost complete absence of trailer, pouring calica (fill) and the surrounding block to form the base of the floor of the new area (bathroom, recamera and office). To the left is the kitchen before the destruction which will be brought about by the family throughout the day. The kids are responsible for nightly kitchen cleanup so this is how it is left when they are done. Pretty nice, eh? They do good work.

So I gets my cawfee and works until Jamie wakes and we then watch the tour. How much depends on how much work I have. When the tour finishes for the day Jamie heads to the kitchen (girls are likely still asleep, but not always) and makes cawfee and I keep working. Today is a ride day so when I find a good stopping point we get ready for a ride while the girls do some schoolwork. All my riding and running stuff fits in this drawer. We've become more Mexican in our clothing habits and both the girls and I can fit all our clothes into 2 drawers. Big drawers, but 2 drawers. Ellen takes only one. Boys probably take 1 to 2. Jamie is the clothes horse and I have no idea how many drawers he'd need.

We have pretty much only one choice in ride, either north or south, and traffic is always less south so we head down to Akumal and back for our ride. This is our (short) bread and butter ride. We have a medium (58-60km) and a long (90 km) but this ride is standard for us and we do it 3-4 times a week. We have our favorite sprint areas (living on a flat peninsula any rise is the road is a "hill" and serves for sprints. By the time we get back the laundry is either ready to be hung or brought in, but that's not my job - I head back to work in my makeshift office (recamera) until construction gives me a real office. It has been a bit cramped but I'm finding I really enjoy having the kids around all the time. I was really isolated in the trailer office and I'm wondering how much I'm really going to enjoy being way over there again (once construction is done) after enjoying their company all day here in the recamera.

After eating, someone else doing housework and me working some more it is time to take the girls to horse lessons. Sissy is sick so it is just Ellen today.

The drawer of run and bike. Nike tempo shorts, Target socks, Champion bras, tops, 1-2 bib shorts, and 5-6 jerseys. I have to be honest that I'm pretty sure I have more in a duffle somewhere.

I was supposed to go for a run but I'm so used to bricking my rides (and I ran out of time in order to get Ellen to her lesson) that I totally forgot to run when I got home, but instead worked a little more, ate and went to bed. I just finished week 1 of IM training and just like with the HIM I'm wondering if I'll ever be able to do the workouts in the middle but will just have to trust the training. Like the HIM, I'm padding the cycling a bit again. Now to hunt down mozzies before heading off to bed and starting it again tomorrow.

glory days

2011-06-26T23:20:00.004-05:00

I'm convinced that these are my glory days. I swam competitively as a kid and even did a triathlon when I was around 25, but these 50s? They are the glory days. I'm in better shape (or senile, either one is really a very good possibility) than I've ever been and stronger than I've been. And looking back at the beginning of this month, I'm thinking, those were my glory days BECAUSE I'M STILL NOT WORKING OUT!!! I can't swim (had to blow off the Aguas Abiertas at Bacalar this weekend) due to the ear, and the chest gunk is Just Now starting to fade. I'm not alone - the entire family (except Ellen - go figure on that one) got sick and Jesse missed the last 2 weeks of school. So it hit All of us Very Hard. But dayum, are my glory days over? Will I ever hear again on the left side? Will I ever NOT be dizzy? I can't ride because of the dizziness and today I decided I'd run. Except I forgot to check the weather. Tropical disturbance and waves of storms chased through all day. So, maybe tomorrow? This picture is from the HIM - apparently there are supposed to be lots of pictures of me (I guess I was the only broad with braids as the photographer commented that he recognized me because of the braids) and this is one freebie. I was looking through pictures today and feeling nostalgic for the glory days of 3 WEEKS ago and boy, I really need to get out more. Tomorrow to run. Or buried in a tropical thingie. Actually this tropical wave is supposed to organize in the Bay of Campeche and I'm hoping good thoughts for Texas.

crawling towards the light

2011-06-21T08:00:00.002-05:00

For the first time in 11 days I'm looking forward. This sickness has totally hammered the entire famdamily except Jamie and Ellen. Sissy has been in bed for a week, Jesse is missing all his exams (and on the 4th or 5th day of school missed), Pike might be coming out of the woods today and even Kilo (the dog) has been off. Maybe just because nobody has been well enough to walk the poor guy. I had an appetite 2 days ago. I had energy the day before yesterday. Yesterday sucked but today I'm starting to feel good again - and just in time as I have a (forgotten) open water swim competition this weekend! Ack! I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about that as my left ear is totally blocked with blood behind the tympanic membrane. Docs at the clinic are stymied and gave me a last ditch dose of dexamethasone yesterday to see if that would help but it doesn't seem like it has. We have all been dozing and recovering for what seems like the entire month of June, but I know I did a triathlon back at the beginning of the month so it can't have been a month, but dayum, it sure feels like it.

I had visions of going for a run yesterday but the dizziness (from the ear issue) made it difficult to walk and then I had a little tiny relapse of the "sickness" so that was out and then I passed out for my daily nap(s) and that was that. Today I'm hoping for a run. I need to get on my bike. I've lost 3 kg (which is good) but it is probably all muscle mass. You know your priorities are weird when you're not happy with weight loss (even though it is a "good" thing) because it is likely muscle mass. I still have 3 kg I'd like to lose before I decide what I want to weigh and I know I have it to lose but I HATE losing that muscle I worked so hard for.

Doctor is going to make a house (or palapa in our case) call today - no fee whatsoever (as she's still chasing down my particular problem) and we'll see what she says about the ear and the competition this weekend. If nothing else, maybe Jamie and I will just take a drive down to the beautiful laguna Bacalar for the day and pick up my t-shirt. Sigh. There is also a triathlon on Puerto Morales (sprint) I'm eyeing in a week or two so I guess that's another sign my mojo is on its way back.

Hammered

2011-06-11T14:58:00.003-05:00

I was pretty sore (quads) a couple days after the HIM and after sitting in a car for 2 days I was sure I saw edematous ankles, but now I've got dengue-like body aches, fever of 38.5 (101+), gunky chest and the energy of a nursing home resident. After my fever decreased this morning I treated myself to some Tylenol which magicked away the horrific body aches and head-in-a-vise headache, but I'd like return the liquid shit that seemed to come with it. Is there another symptom I'm missing here? I've never had so many symptoms of so many illnesses (dengue fever, flu and gastroenteritis). I had hoped to be back training again by now.

Good thing IM training doesn't start until July.

Day before triathlon and triathlon

2011-06-07T20:21:00.007-05:00

Saturday morning I was up early and working and decided to forego the planned swim of the triathlon as we'd found out the night before that not only had the bike course been changed but that the swim would not start from the island (due to unanticipated early turtle nesting) so there ended up being no swim familiarization anyway. When I was done working for the morning, everyone but Jesse (as it turns out, the smart one) headed down for package pickup. I had No paperwork whatsoever, not even my emails but somehow my mind remembered my FMTri number and they located my information and package. If you hadn't affiliated with the national triathlon federation you needed to pony up an extra $100 ($8USD) and affiliate for the day and fill out all kinds of computer stuff and the wait for that was rather long, but I just needed to photocopy my ID (FM3) and hand it over for pickup which inlcuded....SALT TABLETS!!! The girl handing them out acknowledged that they indeed, were NOT available anywhere in Mexico so they must have imported them. With the forecast for 38C for the day I was over the moon and Very excited to get such a treat.

We ended up timing package pickup with the first junta previa and since the meetings were obligatory I headed out for it (at a different hotel from entrega de paquetes) while Jamie, the girls and Pike hung out at the beach at the first hotel. The meeting was super long as the first order was a long drawn out apology and explanation for not leaving from the Isla de Sacrificios. I was okay with it and it seemed like most were and then there was the bike re-routing explanation and once we got to the run route explanation (don't think there was a change there) I pretty much understood the bike route. They said they'd let us know if the swim was clockwise or counterclockwise the morning of the event. They'd wait for the capitania del puerto to decide which would favor us best. It was a long meeting with lots of questions and that is where I found out they were Very Serious about no drafting and that Jamie would not be able to hand me Electrolit on the course BUT they would have Powerbars and GU for the bike and run. Except they really didn't. Luckily, I had accidentally planned for that.

I tried taking a nap in the midafternoon and I'm pretty sure I got some sleep in as I had been getting up at 5am to work and going to bed at 10pm or later by this day it was really catching up with me. I know your taper week is supposed to be a resting and hydrating week but mine was pretty much the opposite. That night as Jamie and I headed out for dinner (the kids stayed in the hotel) and found The Best pastor tacos we've ever had I got hit with incredibly awful stomach cramps and diarrhea and I was worried enough for the next day that we headed for a farmacia and got cramping meds.

I then had to figure out what I was going to wear for the triathlon. I really wanted a swimsuit for the swim, bib shorts and jersey for the bike and shirt and shorts for the run and got everything together. I had purchased some wide elastic and sewed it to make a belt for my first sprint triathlon in March and pinned this to the elastic of my shorts to change into in T2. I wasn't sure if there were bathrooms at transition for changing so I brought a large towel along just incase. I filled my bike jersey pockets with the salt tablets, a cliff bar and 2 GUs along with a CO2 cartridge and probably more. I refrigerated 2 750 mL bottles of 1-scoop Cytomax and got to bed.

I was up at 4:45 am without any alarm. I made coffee and completely changed my race wardrobe and dropped the swimsuit and bib shorts for tri shorts and a run top over a running bra. Jamie was up a little before 6am (transition was open from 6am to 6:45) and we squeaked into transition at 6:30. there was absolutely No Place to put my stuff - the ladies on both sides of me had taken all the space. So I put my bike shoes in front of my bike, hung my sunglasses and helmet on my bike and left 2 bags of my stuff directly under my bike and behind my bike and headed out of transition to the beach. We had to get out behind the sets of breakers to see the course and I finally decided I had pretty much the gist of the course and as all the women started together (and dead last) I'd just follow the waves of men ahead of us. The elites were off first and while I didn't see any women there were apparently 2 elite women in there. One finished just over 5 hours, the 2nd in 5:25ish (and I beat her bike time).

I'd had a cliff bar back at the hotel around 6am and since I'd actually tested this nutrition on my very last brick at home I knew it would work and was happy with the choice. I tried to swig some Electrolit, expecting a very hot day but had to leave it all in transition. The swim wasn't bad once we got past the breakers and I think I swam through 2 waves of men before exiting but my time wasn't all that hot (41 min) and I know I swam way wide for open water. I thought I had taken a short cut (direct line) at the base of the triangle (300 m) but maybe I was actually way off course. Hard to say. It was GREAT to have the swim over and one part finished and done with. Bike was next.

I ran into transition (not far from swim exit) and took off the run top which had chafed me badly under each arm and stepped into my bike jersey and headed out. While on the swim someone had dumped all my bags of stuff on the ground under my bike and taken the towel (we weren't supposed to have backpacks or any bags there but I had no room to put my stuff so I left everything in bags) and I figured I'd figure out the run stuff in T2 and headed out on the bike. It turned out I was 21/68 women and I thought sure I'd done better than that so definitely room for improvement there.

It apparently had rained HARD during the swim and the roads were very wet and full of large deep puddles. I found it impossible to keep my HR under 150 for the first 18km lap and durin gthe 2nd couldn't keep it under 140 so I just gave up and in the headwinds took it easier and tucked tight on the downhills. I ended up averaging just under 30km/hr at 3:01 for the bike. Exactly where I'd hoped I'd be. Jamie was on the course for at least the 1st lap and maybe then 2nd and then headed to the hotel to get the kids. I saw them the 4th and 5th laps and drank both water (1L) and poweraid along with the Cytomax I'd brought and 1 Cliff bar I'd brought and took 1 salt tablet at one point thinking I'd save the last 2 for the run. I never saw those again.

The bike really was very good. I didn't suffer at all and I did not let 1 single female pass me from any age group. I was very happy with my bike portion but I was really worried I had not left enough for the run. I knew I'd worked hard - not ridiculously hard - but hard and I was shocked at how high my HR had been because in training I had to work So Hard to get it that high and during the race I just could not bring the intensity down at all but it wasn't really hurting. I guess that means I trained well.

When I came into T2 I had an amazing sight - 3 racks of bikes, mine, the one to both left and right were EMPTY! I'd beaten at least 3 age groups of females into T2. I grabbed my run shorts, stripped off my jersey, put on my run shirt and ran to the bathroom to change and tentatively headed out for the run. I knew it was going to hurt and it was a huge question as to whether I'd actually be able to do it or not. I had not gone further than 12 km in training and this was going to be 22 km. I was scared.

My plan was to Gallowalk - 9 min run and 45s to 1 min walk. I spotted a guy in front of my coming out of T2 who was shuffling quite a lot like I was and I wondered if I should just shuffle with him or Gallowalk but after 3 Gallowalks I had left him quite solidly behind me. I expected to start feeling worse and worse but by 30 minutes (5km ish) I was feeling better than expected. Not great by any stretch but not like I was going to die and I started thinking I just might be able to finish. I kept looking for "U" on calves but never saw one the entire race. I was sure I had one of my age group ahead of me but wasn't sure. I kept to my 9m:45s and found that not only did the promised Powerbars never appear on the bike leg but that the promised GUs never appeared on the run leg. Luckliy I had brought 3 GU with me just in case and stashed them in my bra coming out of T2.

The rest stations along the run were heaven. They had pretzels, coke (not defizzed but I drank 2 anyway) rasins (I was afraid to take these that they'd give me gas), ice, Poweraid, water, oranges and bananas. They had a fire truck throwing a DRENCHING shower at one end of the course. They had a water tunnel at the other. On the 2nd lap the rest stop volunteers poured ice cold water in a shower over you if you so desired. There were private citizens along the course with ice cold baggies of water, gatorade, oranges, other drinks, coke and incredible spirit. They MADE the run course. Towards the end of the laps there was one guy who was VERY LOUD and YELLING at you, encouraging you, calling you out by number and what an inspiration. There was one family with empty water bottles filled with rocks shaking and yelling "VENGA VAMOS" and encouraging us. By the 2nd lap I really looked forward to all the little groups of people yelling for their own athlete and the rest of us as well. By the 2nd half of the 2nd run loop I knew I was going to finish. I decided to stop run/walk and just run but stop in the rest stations to pick up ice and poweraid. I had to stop taking in liquids a couple times on the bike due to sloshing but paced myself well enough on the run that I never got bloated or sloshing tummy thankfully but I really wish I'd had more solid food available. I did take pretzels 3-4 times on the course hoping for the salt to kick in.

Jesse ran the last 6km wiht me (in CROCS!!) and talked me as I shuffled along. Sometimes he walked while I "ran". I was very happy to be done as those last 6km my hips were KILLING me - I'm used to running on non concrete and this was all concrete and asphalt. Plus there was the lack of training and distance. So my first 1/2 marathon was at the end of a triathlon. :)

I finished in 6:22 and ended up winning my age group. We never were able to find the prize ceremony but honestly I was very happy to finish, to win my AG and to have my family around to celebrate with. I could not have asked for more. But honestly, an IM is TWICE this? ACK!!! NOW i'm REALLY worried!

Got to Veracruz and only stopped by each and every military checkpoint.

2011-06-07T18:48:00.003-05:00

We got stopped by all but 2 military retenes but I was thankful for the 2 that they were actual military retenes and not fake retenes. Pike was rather bothered that we were constantly targeted by the military for revision and we had a good discussion about the drug trade and why it would make sense to pull us out of line for revision. I was a little apprehensive (to say the least) going through Cardenas, Tabasco but we had no problems going through. I won't say why but Google might give info. I was pretty sure I spotted spotters along the road into Cardenas though.

The road was quite familiar from our previous journeys through this area and looked forward to the pineapple plantations of Veracruz but by the time we got there we were too worried about finding a hotel in Veracruz to stop for the glorious cold juice. This is a usual stop for us and as pineapple is pressed fresh from the field and iced, it is quite a treat on a hot day. When we had left Frontera I had looked up the hotel we'd planned to stay at on Google Maps and found they located it nowhere near the beach (and thus the triathlon route) but way in the middle of the outside of the city. The hotel website, however, showed it much closer to the beach and specifically said it was on the street name of the malecon (Google locating it on the same street name in a radically different location) so we were not sure if we'd have to find a dog-friendly hotel once we got to town or not. Mexican sineage is challenging at a minimum and were it not for our "friends" in the black truck we might still be on the road. We were very happy to find that our hotel was, in fact, right on the malecon and the projected triathlon route. Well, except not really.

We quickly got rooms on the THIRD FLOOR and headed out to find something to eat. Jesse was hoping to revive an old (ridiculous) tradition of KFC on some traveling nights and off we headed for the worst the Coronel had to offer. It was truly The Worst Chicken in the world and even the coleslaw (what I had to eat) was only barely edible. Jamie and I then headed out for water and breakfast supplies and we were in bed by very late o'clock.

On the road again...

2011-06-06T17:12:00.011-05:00

(picture is at the Tabasco border where the military asked for car papers but I told him we didn't have them, had FM3s and the permit was valid. He gave a cursory glance at the permit and waved us on)
So in order to get to the HIM in Veracruz I'd either have to try and figure out shipping the bike, pay upwards of $1200 airfare for the family and rent a car or we'd take a 2-day drive. Drive won out very easily. The girls weren't all that happy about missing out on horse-riding time (as their lessons are on the end of the week and weekend but Jesse was happy to miss out on some of the more boring classes. Pike was looking forward to a change of pace. So pretty much everyone was looking forward to the drive. I had thoughts of leaving super early (like 5am) to get most of the drive done early in the day but Jamie had remembered that the last time we drove to Frontera (our first planned stop) we got in sometime in the early afternoon and didn't really need to leave all that early. So it was only left to find an internet solution so I could continue to work. Telcel has been advertising their G3? USB stick for a good year now so I figured the bugs would have been worked out by now and thought it would allow me to work while on the road. Unfortunately, Jamie and Jesse were never able to either get the red tape worked out (turns out they wanted a CURP as I'm not a Mexican national to register the USB) or availability worked out to purchase one, so the afternoon (like 5pm) the day before we planned to leave I headed into town to get one. (picture above is lunch stop in Escargeca Campeche) Chedraui had one but they wouldn't register or activate it, the Telcel distributor next to Chedraui did not have the stick but they could register one if they had one to sell but she located one at another distributor and we headed off there. (picture to the left is of the Tabasco/Veracruz border where there was a multikilometer backup southbound - you can see in the background)

It only took about an hour to purchase, activate and register but I FINALLY had internet and could work as we drove. I was up at 5 am next morning to get some work in before we left and we were finally on the road at 10am. We drove through many fires in southern Qunitana Roo and upon hitting the state line (QRoo and Campeche) we passed through an Aduana stop which I don't ever remember hitting before. Course it has been a few years since we've gone out that way so it is possible it isn't all that new. Unfortunately she wanted our car permit paperwork - the permit itself visibly portrayed in the correct spot on the front window was apparently not nearly good enough - and when I told her we didn't have it she had us pull over. I told her we had FM3s (though mine in in tramite) so the permit didn't really expire but she said she wanted to see the paperwork that we'd actually purchased the damn thing. If one thing I've found, patience is really key so instead of getting upset I just had Jamie pull over and I brought over his FM3 and we chatted a bit and she decided that I really did just need to go to Cancun next time I was there and get the paperwork. We were off to the next state border. (picture to right is not forest fires but "controlled" (questionable) sugarcane harvest fires - quite normal here. This completely obscured the roadway - there was NO visibility under out of the smoke.)

Work was going rather well - there were a number of dead spots where I had no internet but anytime we were at a new town I was able to either upload or download. Work was also a bit slow and I was able to keep up with no problem and I was really happy about that. Somewhere in Campeche the car's vacuum pump began going out (again, Jamie had the foresight to bring a spare as we seem to be going through vacuum pumps like air) and braking became difficult (i.e. no power assist). We had stopped in Escacega for tacos but were getting quite hungry again by the time we finally rolled into Frontera - some 12 hours after leaving home. It was a Very Long Day of travel. We quickly hit our favorite taqueria for 20 pastor tacos for $80 and giant tortas for $20 and by the time we were back at the hotel it was 10pm or so. We had a kingsize bed and a double and we got 3 in the king, one in the double and two on the floor. (to the left is the island the HIM was supposed to leave from in Veracruz. down and to the right is the truck we spotted along the road in Tabasco and them leading us, unknowingly, through the roads of Boca del Rio to Veracruz city)

I was up at 5am again next morning to work as the day before I'd used an entire month's worth of bandwidth between downloading, uploading and roaming charges and got about 2/3 of a day's work in by the time we left (again 10am). We had a shorter drive that day to Veracruz and somewhere in Tabasco state we found a black truck full of tri bikes following a little while car loaded down with more tri bikes - they both carried Campeche plates. They were doing about 120km/hr though and we watched them head out down the road. We were hoping for a 6-hour day that day and took the cuota the whole way. Expensive but definitely got us to Veracruz in good time. I wasn't sure exactly where the hotel was as Google Maps was giving very conflicting information to the hotel website. Incredibly, right when I was trying to figure out which way to go in the maze of Veracruz streets I spotted the black truck and white car and told Jamie, "FOLLOW THAT TRUCK" and enjoyed stress free meandering through the maze of Vercruz/Boca del Rio streets. We finally lost them very close to the malecon and Jamie had to completely round a glorietta in order to try again at hitting a street but it was an easy journey. (picture to the left is Jesse and Sissy racing Kilo at the beach across from our hotel)

I was so nice being on the road again and once I figured I could get a day's worth or work by getting up super early, working 4-5 hours and then working again when we got to the hotel I realized the USB stick was never a necessity in the first place.

ONLY 38!!!

2011-05-30T09:40:00.000-05:00

New prognostication for partially cloudy and high of THIRTY TWO (heat index 38C)! The race is ON baby!!

oooh, I'm getting antsy and scared

2011-05-29T21:22:00.002-05:00

i keep watching the Veracruz weather and they seem to be running 5-10 degrees (Celcius) higher than we are (YIKES) except my thermometers are running about 5 degrees higher than WUnderground so who really knows. Well, I do know one thing - I'm pretty scared about the heat. I tried a last 3-hour ride on Thursday or Friday or something and just about died. I decided to try Real Food (pancakes) for nutrition and they SUCKED and it was 34C and apparently 43C with the heat factor or whatever they call it and I came home and totally bailed on the run. So today I had a 40km ride planned and very spontaneously decided to make it 60km and bricked a 1-hour run onto that. Except, I didn't actually PLAN any of this and it was 33C 65% (no clue on the heat index but Jamie's thermometer on his cycling computer (in Luddite) said 109-111 F so who knows.

So I bought about 400 mL of Gatorade and took in 1.4 L of fluid but still lost 2 kg of weight so that is a 3.7 L (or kg - isn't the metric system NEAT?) net loss over 2 hours (1.7 L/hr) which is pretty much not so good as I'm pretty sure I can only absorb about 500 mL/hr. And it wasn't really all that hot today (compared to other days) BUT I was feeling pretty fresh off the bike and quickly slammed down a GU (as I still had not eaten anything yet) and headed out for a run using an old bottle of something I found in the fridge. Really, very much a very bad idea with absolutely no planning. You know where this is headed, right? About 30 min into the run I started bonking. Headed home, got a can of coco water and another GU and headed back out. I stopped at about 1 hour 4 min (and about 9+km) and walked it in. Jumped immediately into the sea and cooled off but was still really dehydrated and even after 1200 mL of Electrolit, 500 mL of soy milk, much more water, coffee, etc., I've only peed once all day long. Still slamming the liquids even now at 9pm.

BUT, now I have a nutrition plan. I will be doing Cytomax and Electrolit on the bike with GU and Electrolit and GU on the run. And I will not fall to temptation of running off the bike (like I did today) at a good clip, but instead Gallowalk. That was another thing I wanted to figure out today - feeling good off the bike I hit the run at a good clip but after 30 min I was toast and started Gallowalking, so I now know I really need to Gallowalk from the start. I'm still not confident about the HIM but I do know I'll finish. I had plans to actually race (I was hoping to take my age group) but now I'm not sure. I think I'll just have to see.

We'll leave Thursday early and head for Frontera Tabasco and then hope to be staying in Veracruz Friday night. Package pickup is Saturday along with swim practice along the route. I have the hotel figured out and we're within walking distance to Costco and a block from the beach. If absolutely nothing else it will be a nice trip but I'm skeered enough that I kinda just want it to be over already. I'm really worried about their 46C heat index temps. I had hopes for a swim under 40 min (I've been hitting around 9 min for 1000 m in the pool), a bike around 3 hours (under would be perfect and about what I do here) and run of 2.5 hours or so. Not so confident about the run - it will be during the hottest part of the day. The only HIM I've done was likely 25 years or more in the past (can't honestly remember WHEN I did that HIM but it was likely 1984 or so) and all I can remember is that my time doubled would have been around a 14-hour IM so I did at least a 7-hour HIM. I'd really like to beat my 25-year-old self. :)

counting down

2011-05-14T20:08:00.004-05:00

So I made another big leap and paid for Fuga (get bank account info from website, go down to bank, deposit entry fee in bank account of hopefully the right entity, come home and email pics of receipt and email personal info, get number, 498, and assume I'm IN!). I'd missed the first deadline for the $1350 price but I wasn't that worried as I was more concerned I'd be paying for an event I couldn't finish. So at the last minute I paid for entrance to Fuga ($1500) and now I'm committed. Or should be. :) I am pretty sure I'm going to have to Gallorun the run. I honestly have NO idea how long the swim is (I could check the site, I suppose) but I'm not worried about it. It should be pretty exciting - we're taken by lancha (or panga or something) to Isla de los Sacrificios...HEY, the swim is only 1900 meters? WOW! I thought it was much further having no idea how far 1.2 miles is...hmmm...maybe that means Ironman is less than 5km swim? That would be SWEET (talk about the ignorant, but I like it that way). Anyway, somehow we're taken to Isla and from there we swim to Veracruz and I've been wondering what to wear. Cause I REALLY want bibs for the ride (90km) and my running shorts for the run (21km). So 4 weeks out and I still dunno.

Um, make that THREE WEEKS out. YIKES! I ran 1:30 today, well, Galloran, just to get mentally prepared for the distance (I'm guessing it will take me 2:15 or more) since I've not yet run (or Gallorun) that far before. Today's run was Amazingly Great and I was so stoned afterwards it wasn't funny. Man, I hope my calves stay healthy.

I finally touched base with the PT and am hoping to get an appointment next week. I really do need to do that. I've been getting more swimming in, even with the hated cudda, and finally figured out to cut each lap short (to just 100m each lap) and that way I haven't seen the cudda lately. Course, I'm not really sure I'm actually getting in 100 m (it could be more or less) but so far it is working to get me in the water. For IM I'm going to need to do 8K/week at a minimum and if the cudda will just stay out by the reef this should help immensely. Pike is still out of the water due to the cudda and the water has been wicked rough. I'm almost hoping for rough seas at the HIM as that is all I'm used to. I'm not sure I'd know what to do with flat water.

I'm in the homestretch now and week before last was my longest in cycling. Next two weeks max out at 4 hours each week (not sure I'll know what to do with all that extra energy) and then around the 2nd or so we'll head out to Veracruz. I've been trying to find an economical hotel with a pool that takes doggies but so far only without a pool. We'll be there Thur or Fri, Sat and Sun nights and I know the kids will need swimming/cooling off or they'll just want to be inside. So we'll have to see. I'm also really glad we have the vehicle we do, which is not at all Cartel-attractive, so the drive should be relatively easy. Oh, I do need to renew my FM3 before we leave and hope to do that next week so it will be ready for state border crossing. You just never know who will want to see your paperwork.

trying new things

2011-05-01T11:17:00.007-05:00

So I've been focusing on riding the drops lately. We had a visit from my sisters and my BIL brought a bike mag (actually a SLEW of them! :)) for my husband and I saw pics of pros (well, ads and such) and they were riding the drops. DOH! What a concept! So I've started riding them more and more and getting more comfortable with them. I suspect that they are a savings in the wind but I find I can actually go faster riding the brake hoods (I think I use more of my quad). But I still think it is a good thing and I'm keeping at it.

I had a nice run of swimming until we got tropical storm-like seas and I'm hoping to salvage this week's planned 7000 m with a 4000m hit today. I took the kids to a cenote yesterday and hoped I could do something of a workout there but it is the end of Semana Santa and the cenote was PACKED. So today is my last hope for getting in the water this week. I made a radical change to my stroke from the "S" under the body we learned decades ago in AAU to high elbow something and I can feel a distinct power difference. Unfortunately my swim partner (Pike) is still land-bound due to the cudda that scarred him (not physically) and I'm hoping he'll be back in the water soon. He has a birthday coming up and was certain he'd be getting a Quinceañero this year. I had to be the breaker of bad news to let him know only girls got Quinceañeros. Poor boy.

I've been dodging a GI virus that has had us all down for multiple days at a time but still running sporadically enough to know the bike calf muscle thing is now fixed. For now. I do need to find that PT though and am Going To Call Her on Monday or die trying. It has been heating up; the humidity is finally back, but I'm still able to go out in the heat of the day and workout so that's good news.

I had 7 hours of biking on the schedule this week but was sick for 3 days of it so I did 2 monster days. I'm getting more used to the 90km ride (3 hours) and that went rather well. I was tired at the 70km point but my legs felt really pretty good throughout. Then the day before yesterday I did a 120km ride and rather than heading out the Coba road (from Tulum) to get in the distance, did 2 loops of our medium ride. I really thought the 2nd loop was suck but my water stop was David's store and I realized I could leave Cytomax powder (and maybe Electrolit) there if I do this again AND the 2nd loop was not the mental drain and mess I thought it would be. So that was excellent news. I also managed to average 4:10 for both loops riding time (with an additional 8 min of water purchase and refills) and I found I really needed 4 liters for the ride. I'm also looking into electrolyte replacement as the Cytomax was useless there (at 1 scoop/750mL water). I was quite dehydrated and cramping afterwards. I bricked a 20 min run to the end of the ride but I was in such pain from the neuroma flare I didn't think I could run. Strangely I was more able to run than NOT to - the pain went away running. Dr. Google says I need to move my cleats back and so that's next on the list. So I made some findings with nutrition, found 2 loops aren't completely evil (IM Coz has 3-60km loops so this is perfect for me) and my legs held quite strong for the ride. They were heavy the day after and I'm not surprised as I did bonk on the run (but expected it, I didn't want to deplete my GU so I rode the last hour + run without). All in all a very good experience.

Lastly, the girls have finally decided they're okay with missing riding (horse) lessons so I can do the HIM in a month (ACK!) so that's back on the front burner. I still need to get a USB Telcel stick so I have internet on the road (and can work while we're traveling to Veracruz) but I am almost certain the HIM is back on the calendar. Now I just need to convince myself I can run the 21km at the end. I'm thinking of Gallorunning as I am only at 3 hours/week running with all the sickness and injury. Not sure what to do there. I experimented with a Gallorun my last long (hour) run and it didn't totally suck. I ended up with 8 min run 45 sec walk and that seemed okay. So that's what I'll be working on this month.

April totals:
Swim 14264 m
Bike 857 km, 29.25 hours
Run 10 hours.

Pics are of me on the 120km ride at the XpuHa Maya ruins (background) and the kids at the cenote.

skeered

2011-04-18T13:56:00.002-05:00

So my calf hates me. Pretty sure. I went to bed the night before last with a (rather) healthy calf and woke to incredible pain and a knot in my calf I could neither find nor get rid of but one that wouldn't allow me to walk much. I'm guessing I got dehydrated with the GI virus and 650 mL of Electrolit/day didn't do the replacement.

I've never had an injury that wasn't completely debilitating so this one is really throwing me for a loop. I did my swim (longest yet at 3000 m) and figured I'd walk my "run" as I was pretty sure a run wasn't in the leg. I warmed it up for 5 min and took some precautionary jogs and found as long as I went super slow it felt like I could run forever. There was a point I felt would be very damaging and painful (the pain was a great warning sign) but as long as I stayed away from that point (slow) I was good to go.

I checked the stats for last year's Coz IM and there was not one finished in my age group from Mexico. I also checked the top 3 times and each of their splits. Wondering. I think today I crossed the bridge from "just finish" to "do well".

squirts and time off and I'm mellltttting.

2011-04-16T15:47:00.004-05:00

So is it possible to lose all fitness in a few days' time? I've been taking rest day tras rest day tras rest day. Getting a lot of work in but reinjured my low hammy/high calf and then got the GI virus making its rounds.

What is it with vehicles that drive in reverse on the carretera? It is so common here it isn't funny but as a cyclist now, it freaques me out each and every time. If they're on the other side of the carretera I'll race them, otherwise try to avoid them.

I have 7 weeks (now) to Fuga (HIM). I'm not sure I'll be ready. I have until the 15th to pay (before the price goes up) and still haven't pulled the trigger on Cozumel (though I'm just a click away from paying right now, 1 tab over).

Summer is in full swing and I'm loving the heat. Jamie, not so much. Rides are now at 30C but humdity has been low this week - 65-70%.

Oh this update sucks - too much GI upset to make any sense whatsoever. But I'm still alive. This week starts 2 weeks of Semana Santa and even though we live at the beach (where everyone heads at SS) I think we might head to Valladolid or Merida for a few days. I have my eye on a jersey over there... :)

pulled the trigger. EEEK!

2011-04-06T07:19:00.003-05:00

So family had all but staged an intervention to get me to take a rest day. I posted on BT as well and was told it was most likely a good thing so I figured I'd give it a try. I expected SUPER legs the next day (as it had been around 6 weeks since my last rest day) but really, all I got was lethargy and depression. I hated how I felt the rest day - I kept thinking there was something that was missing and I ate pure crap. AND I didn't even have super legs the next day. So pretty much a FAIL in my book. I did, however revamp my training so I could theroetically take one should it become necessary.

I put 9 hours in on the bike last week and have also been playing around with zones. Well, I've finally figured out what they are and have been applying them to cycling. I'm not much liking that idea. I prefer to ride how I feel and go with that as obsessing over a number is killing my cycling joy. One ride I had to turn off the clocks and immediately it was fun again. I've been piling on the cycling kilometers as the sea has been wicked rough AND we had another shark attack. Decades upon decades of no attacks and 2 in the last short while and you know I'm staying out of the water when it is not crystal clear. However, my arms are getting super saggy and I'm getting worried. Not worried enough, however, to swim a bazillion laps in the pool (10 m pool I think). Jamie and I did another Tulum ride on Sunday and this one was much more tolerable than the last one AND I took 8 minutes off our ride time and 15 min off our total time AND we found a great water refilling spot (abarrote outside the Coke factory).

I am up to running almost 3.5 hours a week and feeling pretty good about that. I am crossing fingers I've hit on my injury solution but still have yet to see that PT. I really need to get my ass out there but it is such a hassle - 1.5 hours just to make an appointment. For now I'm trying to trigger-point roll my legs at least once a week.

I've also been thinking hard about the races to come and have pretty much decided against Guatemala in August. The entire triathlon is in a container port like area, 2 loops for swim, 5 loops for bike and (I think) 4 loops for run. Not the least bit scenic and it really COULD be as Guate has some amazing country. So I think it is going to be Veracruz 5-Junio where it will be a 1st triathlon but on the island reported to have ruins from Cortez (and protected, noone allowed) will be the swim start - we're taken by boat there and I assume swim to land. No idea of the Hotel sede, bike or swim routes yet. maybe a week before the event. :)

Now I need to find my training schedule the kids must have run off with so I know what I'm doing today. I really do need to get back in the water though. Still thinking about the sprint on 17-Abr but at $600 I think I might be saving my pesos for Veracruz instead.

Right now I'm running at about 12 hours/week training and I'm thinking that's a bit heavy but I honestly don't want to decrease it. I hope I'm not headed for burnout.

March numbers:
Bike: 28h 12m 45s - 857.12 KM
Run: 7 hours.
Swim 19,500 m.

Umm, a leetle heavy on the bike there.

i RAN!

2011-03-25T06:54:00.002-06:00

So I have this little "thing" with my leg where I suspect chronic microtears. I've tried so very many different things I can't keep track, the last being BarryP's 1:2:3 plan and I had really high hopes. I have been VERY conservative in my mileage, sticking to 5% increases and looking longterm (November) not shortterm. And I really thought it was working. Until my sprint tri last (a couple) Sundays ago - coming off the bike I knew it was going to be a problem but it was up So High (in comparison to other times) I was hoping I could just power through it. This, quite frankly, is how I usually get into trouble. I figure I can just THIS TIME (because I've conveniently forgotten all the Other Times I've done it) I'll abuse it and THEN I'll take care of it. Didn't work this time either. So I finished the triathlon barely able to walk (but HEY, I finished) and 1 min out of 1st place in my AG (yeah, that still rubs me raw cause it was MINE damnit :)) and thus it was worth it. Or so I let myself believe.

The last 2 weeks have been rather joyless as I am getting more and more resigned to the fate of Injured Runner Syndrome but I've continued to push the leg on the bike and after a hard ride yesterday I had no twinges, no pain, no discomfort and as such decided to run after the bike. Just a short run to check things out. Normally, when I get this injury running it takes a good 2 weeks off running and then a couple weeks easing into the run (4 min at a time) to be able to do it but yesterday I had no problems at all. So I'm hopeful there.

Secondly, I might have found a PT down here but unfortunately I have to go to the clinic (about 45 min away) just to make the appointment (for another day). I can't afford to take that much time out of my workday just to make an appointment so I'm going to ask an acquaintance to do so. And when/if I go to the PT I'll have a bit more hope that some day I won't have that constant threat of injury over my running head.

On the bike front the kilometers have been low (160-200) but I'm still way ahead of the training schedule there so I'm not worried about that. I did have a weird day yesterday in that I just wasn't into the ride mentally so I decided to work it really hard. I averaged a 136 hr but my time was pretty much the same as usual (with a mid 120s hr) but at least I powered into the workout and didn't let up the intensity. We normally work the outbound side (tailwind) and slack the inbound. Yesterday the wind was pretty much nonexistant and I really worked both out and back. Pretty happy about that. Swim feels pretty strong - rough water (beginning to realize that is the norm) and my stroke feels strong.

Still not sure what my next triatlon will be, there are a couple sprints coming up soon (3-Abr and 17-Abr) but I might just save my pesos for the HIM. Except now I'm looking at 3 different ones so I guess I should just decide already. Oh and the offroad (about sprint length but takes the elites 3.5 hours to finish) in May. Hmmm.

Ok, race report

2011-03-14T08:41:00.005-06:00

I was really surprised by a LOT of things. This is my first triathlon in 25 years or so and my 2nd ever so I was really pretty much a tri virgin. I was up (without alarm) at 4:15 as the drive back home from package pickup took an hour. I wasn't sure how long it would take us to get there and knew we'd have to park out away from the site and walk in so we left at 5:00 am. Had 2 pancakes (thanks sweetie!) and cawfee for breaky. Had just about pulled up to the parking when I realized I'd forgotten my goggles. I've tried OWS without goggles before and it is pretty much impossible so I was begging in the parking area. No-one had any to spare. I rode my bike to transition and begged there and some Very Prepared (#76) individual had brought a spare pair and seriously saved my life. It turned out that he was in the next bike rack from me - almost neighbors and it was easy to drop the goggles off out of the water.

Looking back I realize now they racked us according to age and I could have taken that opportunity to check out my competition (4). I think there were only 38 women total and 148 that started. Not a bad showing for our area and a first race and super easy to get a 1st, 2nd or 3rd with the deepest category (femenil) with 8 and most with 4. So super easy to place in your AG. I setup transition as best I could (taking example from those around me) and then Pike and I headed out to the beach. I'd already scoped out the funky swim the day before so I just tried to warm up a bit and then waited. Finally we were off and I was glad I'd gotten in to warm up as when I'd gotten in to warm up the cold of the water had taken my breath away. At the last minute (literally) they put all the womens in the same wave (I was at the very back as we were supposed to have our own wave (the green hats) and I scrambled to get the goggles to fit and we were off. I just kept trying to keep swimmers in sight as the visibility was absolutley ZERO. I don't know what they have up there at Tres Rios but is isn't the clear water we have here in PaaMul. At any rate I was swimming hard - over the breakers through the chop, to the bouy and then running over the sandbar to the laguna to go up river. EVERYONE was bitching about the river afterwards. I'd swum up through the yellows, greens, blues and blacks and was battling all the black caps in the river along with manglar roots (at one point I had to stop swimming and just pull myself out of them) and at one point almost lost my goggles - had them smacked off my head and I had to retrieve them. I thought we were relatively close to the finish of the swim so I didn't bother to put them back on but at a body jam (where you literally could not move) I put them back on. Coming out of the swim one of my steps went round and round - perfect finish to that swim. Oh, and did I mention we were going AGAINST the current? Can't wait to do it again. :) I was working HARD on the swim though and was breathing every stroke - it's a sprint, right?

Transition was a fracaso. I need to practice that. Sand everywhere, lots of bikes still on racks (I was 3 minutes slower than the fastest female) and it looks like I was 5th female out of the water (out of 38 total). That is surprising to me as I felt completely underprepared for swimming. It was at this point that I really missed a water bottle but the fresh water of the river was nice to "clean up" with.

Bike was uphill to the carretera and then 3 laps on the carretera and then back down and 250 m before and after running with the bike. I HAMMERED the bike. At first I let a couple guys pass me but then I latched onto the wheel of one guy and then traded him for a faster guy on the 2nd loop and the 1st guy and I held his wheel until the last half of the 3rd loop. I honestly thought I'd have to let go of the guy's wheel - my HR was mid to high 150s the whole time, I was working hard and starting to loose it on the last half of the last loop. I held on though and on the 2nd bike run (250 m) realized my leg and I had a problem. I was pretty sure I was still 1st in my AG (and I was) and just wanted to try and hang on for the win. The leg got worse and worse and when I was passed I just couldn't limp fast enough to keep up (and eventually, as with my plan) to pass her and she ended up finishing a minute ahead of me. Our (old) age group beat the entire 40-45 AG and much of the previous. We were 17 and 18 out of 38 so we beat half the field (all younger than us). Can't complain about that.

During the bike I wasn't sure I'd want to do this again, but now I can't wait to do another. Just have to figure out the leg issues. I also need to remember to bring goggles and a waterbottle. Oh and start my watch. Well, maybe WEAR a watch! :)

Sad and happy

2011-03-13T13:21:00.002-06:00

I killed the swim, I killed the bike but me lastime on the run. Coming off the bike I could feel my calf in a knot and I was surprised it lasted the entire 5K. Lost to 1st place in my categoria just before the finish (12 seconds?) as I was heavily limping and unable to push any harder.

Results

It is so quaint...

2011-03-12T15:19:00.003-06:00

A lot of people, when they first move here, will remark in the "quaintness" of Mexico, how things are just done Differently and isn't that cute and all. After a few years here we started using "isn't that quaint" to mean "aren't we fucked". So I paid my moneys and I got my reciept and I knew that today was supposed to be package pickup for the triatlon tomorrow. Except the receipt says nothing except pesos paid and the web site is just an advertisement. But I'm used to this in the land of quaintness so I started googling and finally on a site completely unrelated to the triatlon, I found TONS of info. Package pickup is today from 2pm to 5pm (which means I'll get there around 5) and body marking is today (we can't do it OURSELVES?) and while drafting is allowed, no MIXED drafting is allowed. HUH? So no females with males. If I'm going to draft it is going to have to be off another female. Hmmm...

So I've been doing recovery this week and while it was Really Hard at first to dial the intensity meter down, by today I started thinking I'll never remember how to hammer or go hard again. And while I got 3 swims in last week I was totally unable to do any hypoxic sets (3.5.7) unlike before. So I'm starting to have grave doubts as to tomorrow's race. I was really thinking I could actually race it (funny as it will be my FIRST tri, full of myself, yes I am) and now I'm thinking maybe I'm living in the land of quaintness.

At any rate I'll find out early tomorrow or freeze to death trying. We got hit with a norte yesterday and it was FREEZING this am for the bike. I can't imagine being WET and doing the bike. If I don't die of frozeness tomorrow it will be from exploding swelled head or from the quaintness.

Didja know the 20km bike has THREE LOOPS? And the 5km run has TWO? Now THAT is quaint. :) I'm not sure but I think that either we will swim from the sea up a laguna and river or will be running a fair amount from the swim to the bike. SO quaint.

Double oh, I was down 2 kg last week but the legs were dead so I increased my food intake and plopped on another kilo. Sigh. Was hoping for less rolls of fat tomorrow. Now I totally need to rethink my wardrobe choices for jiggle AND frozeness. Sigh.

Coming out of the closet

2011-03-06T18:39:00.003-06:00

So I finally came out to my husband and it did not go well at all. He found the entire idea completely laughable and pooh-poohed the idea I would attempt it. This was coming off a week of doubt and discouragement as I compared current speed and ability with November. Well, even June. I talked to him a couple days later (on our 90km ride) and he confessed that he was so flabbergasted at the idea and knew HE wouldn't be able to do it, he couldn't imagine anyone doing it. Even though MANY do. But he totally does support me. I did know it all along because the man has a mouth/brain with absolutely NO filter whatsoever. Normally I don't let stuff like that get to me because he is really very Homeresque in his talk, but it had been a tough week for me mentally. Physically I'm great. Runs are increasing at 5% weekly, bike has been over 200km/wk for the past 3 weeks and we're just going to ignore the swim portion. The sea has been wicked rough, then the sea lice came to visit (baby jellies which sure do sound cute but give you a 2-week rash) and that put a stop to most swimming. This week I was supposed to concentrate on swimming but the baby jellies came to town so next week, PROMISE must be a swim day every day before I forget how it works.

Next weekend I lose my trivirginity with my first tri in 25+ years, and as such, I'm reinstating tri-virginity and calling it my 1st triatlon. It is a sprint and I have no idea what I'll be doing but I will be having fun (unless I'm battling sea lice or puking). Pike is going to come with me and I'm going to make this a recovery week. Except I really can't imagine DECREASING workouts when I've been on a mission to INCREASE since November. "They" say it is a good thing though, but it sure will be weird. Another reason to push the swim next week. :) I'll run as usual and just decrease the bike (though that might kill me). Jamie and I did a new long ride - down to Tulum and back - some 90km and it only took 3.5 hours (ouch, yes we were on couches for the ride and took 3 stops (pee, pee and store for Poweraid). We have a lot of work to do there. So now we have short (40km), medium (60km - our old "long" ride) and long (90km) rides. I was humbled at the end of the 90km ride to realize I'd only done 1/2 the ironman length. yikes. Very scary. Almost as scary as the snake in the picture. Yes, that is from our Tulum ride and I have more respect for the jungle (looks out the back window at said jungle). Today I saw a dead coral snake but this road kill was so impressive that it took us a bit and then I told Jamie we HAD to turn around and go look at it. It was amazing in a very weird way.

February totals:
Swim 17.5M +
Bike 770km
Run almost 8 hours.

Last pic is Xel-Ha ruins along the medium (60km) ride.

quandry

2011-02-24T12:36:00.002-06:00

I got maybe 2 hours sleep last night and then another (maybe 1.5 to 2). I had 40 km bike and 13 min run planned for today. I'm thinking of blowing off the ride and moving my 39 min Friday run to today and doing today's run tomorrow, or I could take the day off. Looking over my calendar my last day off was 2/5 (I only ran 10 min).

Should I do Friday's run today, do today's run and skip bike, HTFU and do both run and bike or take a full day off? (last full day off was Jan 24th - when I was recovering from my hospital stint)...

FEN and me inscribi!

2011-02-23T08:15:00.005-06:00

I'm not sure why all the neonatologists use that abbreviation for Feeding and Nutrition, but I hear it all the time. Some use it for Feeding, Electrolytes and Nutrition and that makes perfect sense and it is a huge challenge for me. I figure out finally I need to eat before a bike ride. For some reason I don't bonk, but I have little to nothing left in the tank on the backside (return) of each bike if I don't eat first (and we always ride first thing in the am) so I started experimenting. I found 1/2 a scoop of Cytomax does nothing. I found eating right before exercise is a bad idea. I did, however, find that a bowl of oatmeal (or cereal) 1-2 hours before a ride gives me energy (or at least, I'm not STARVING and dead) on the backside of rides. Which makes the bricked run all the better. I tried yesterday eating too close to the bike and only puked a little bit but was nauseous the whole time. So now I just have to get the electrolytes dialed in. All our water is dead here (purificada) so when we sweat a lot we have to take in some kind of suero to replenish the electrolyte deficiency. Jamie uses Cytomax but my stomach can only handle 1/2 scoop per bottle of that stuff and that is not enough. I am going to experiment with Electrolit (along the idea of pedialyte) and see how that goes.

I FINALLY got signed up for the triatlon! So now I can officially worry. It is only a sprint (750m, 20k, 5k) so it should be a blip on the radar but the weather has been so awful this last week I've only been in the water twice. And I have no idea WHAT to wear. I'd love to just change clothes for each event (swimsuit, bibs and jersey, running shorts) but I think I'd get laughed at for that and the event is so short (just over an hour, I'd guess) it really would be laughable to do all those clothing changes. But I'm horrified at the spectacle of my ass jiggling all over in spandex on the run. Sigh. Yes, these are the important things. :) I'm thinking of using the top in this picture but (and thus the reason for the blurred pic) is that headlights seem to be an issue with this one and I wonder about chafing during the swim.

Today should be medium run and swim day but the sea is still a whirlpool and wind is super high (so you actually get a "current" both ways - wind pushes top water one way and current takes you the other) so I have my doubts. Also Jamie insists I should be taking 1 day completely off everything (and I have my doubts about that also) but he's a cyclist so that probably applies to cycling but I'm not sure about triatlon.

kilometers under the bridge

2011-02-21T11:10:00.006-06:00

That was a long week of riding for me, and I feel like such a poser for feeling like that. I see other workouts/weeks that are much harder than mine but all I can do is to continue to plug along. I don't know what happened to swimming this week - Jamie talked me into an extra day of riding and by the 4th day (in a row) my legs were pretty dead but I could also feel added strength that had not been there before - like stressing them with hard days (I had 2 days were I PR'd the turnaround each day) only made them stronger. Weird. I feel like I *should* make up my swim workouts this week but during my run this morning I decided to just do my normal 3 and see if there is time on the weekend for a 4th. So I'm "behind." Who really is keeping count? We're into our windy season too which makes the cycling a challenge. Pic below is from the "long" ride turnaround (59 km RT) and shows the wind (which is a headwind on the returns). Jamie had a challenging week with 2 flats and a broken seat rail.

I had been a bit worried that I wouldn't be able to FINISH the sprint coming up (and finally, last week they got inscripciones so I just need to pick one up now) but my running legs made an appearance last week and I started negative splitting runs again. Nice to find those guys again. I missed them. I've been keeping it super slow - last week was 12-24-36 and this week will be 13-26-39 but the legs are feeling much stronger and I think I'm probably picking up the pace. Running with a purpose instead of just plopping along.

It has been alternately cool and dry (desert dry - hovering between 40-65% humdidity - INSANELY dry) and we're finally getting some warm weather. We had some days where I had for it to warm up to exercise and a couple days I was sleeveless. Must be spring. Mozzies are coming back and the DDT truck has already made an appearance.

Hoping to bring swimming back this week (the water is UGLY though) and keep the cycling strong and keep the running strong. I've also been rolling my legs once a week in the hopes of preventing another tear.

Stats:
Swim: 2487 m
Bike: 212 km, 7 hr 18 min
Run: 2 hr 12 min.

the earth is flat!

2011-02-12T06:37:00.005-06:00

because for about a week I fell off the end of it! I think I've exhausted my picture options and can't think of different ones to take so I had no reason to post. My swim partner (my 14yo) had been sick earlier and missed a few swims, but he did go out on one very rough sea day. We've had (actually typical for this time of year) rough seas far too often that make for really squirrley days. First and foremost in my mind is the recent shark attack and when the seas change from crystal clear (normal) to anything non-crystal clear (what I would call murky but the tourists claim is clear) I get super squirrley.

We had a ray on one swim that really drove my son nuts. He HATES those rays. I've seen super giant eagle rays and a baby ray, but this was just a normal either manta or sting ray and we saw him on 3 or 4 laps. He was just swimming (flying) around and I'd always see the long tail first. These days with these old eyes, I see lots of "tails" that turn out to be simply floaters in my eyes. Yesterday we had a baracudda follow us one lap to the reef (6th of 7) and my son was REALLY freaked at the cudda. I've seen them a number of times before but this one was swimming with his mouth closed and didn't bother me that much. I hate it when they just hang out in the water with their mouths wide open, showing off all those terrible teeth. I make a HUGE detour (even though they supposedly don't bite) and always make sure I'm not wearing anything that sparkles.

So yesterday when we got a calm day in the water (the photo above is from my morning run and it was a little more choppy when we swam but nothing like the huge waves and chop we'd endured the past week) it was absolutely lovely. My shoulder has been bothering me the more mileage I add and I finally figured out it must be an AC separation. However, since it happened decades ago I don't have much hope of 'fixing' it so I guess I just keep the swim mileage down as much as possible while continuing to train.

We never made it to the Operacion Periferico - last weekend Jamie's back was too hurt for the 5 hour drive to Merida and this weekend just doesn't work so it is looking like that will be a bust. I'm also not going to register for the 5K swim on the 26th, but have been patiently waiting for the inscripciones for the triatlon on the 13 of March to arrive. Even though it has been open to inscripciones since beginning March, they just don't have the paperwork here yet. All pictures are from my run route. It is always a crapshoot if the shot will work or not so I just take 3721 pictures and hope for the best.

I've also had my first week where I wasn't chomping at the bit to go out. I'm not sure what I would have done yesterday if my son hadn't come down to drag me away from work and hit the water. I just wasn't looking forward to it. Too many injuries - shoulder for swim and 2 weeks into my BarryP plan I'm waiting for the ax to drop on my calf. I've stopped expecting I will be injury free for the run, but keep hoping.

So, this week by numbers (I'll add in today's workout even though it is early):
Swim 8840 yd.
Bike 180 km 6.5ish hours
Run 107 minutes.

I finally looked at training plans and I think I'm going to loosely combine Trifuel and BT HIM plans and then see what happens after June's HIM.

total bummer, dude

2011-02-05T12:03:00.004-06:00

So the ice storm (or whatever) that hit somewhere up north apparently pretty much closed down all consultations at the hospital I work for so Tuesday, Wed and early Thursday were such busts in work volume that I added some more workouts. I did a full triatlon on Wednesday and it really hammered home the realization that maybe I bit off a LOT more than I can chew. I have to keep reminding myself I'm no longer in my 20s or 30s (or even 40s) and can't expect my body to do now what it did then. Then I smack myself upside the haid and tell my self to stuff it.

We were supposed to head to Merida this weekend for Operacion Periferico (80km bike) but Jamie's back seized up last night and he can't even tolerate the 5 hour drive there. Jesse is off school on Monday (signing of the constitution today so holiday is bumped to Monday) and it would have been a great long weekend. Plus there is some athletic event to be watched via satellite (we don't have here) in the middle of North America or something - I'd have to ask the Wisconsin-born husband exactly what it is. :)

I'm really surprised that I'm bummed about missing etapa dos of the ride (they'll have stages 3, 4 and 5 on the weekends to come) but I didn't want to go by myself as I was looking forward to a family weekend and I need a driver so I can work on the drive home. So I'm hoping for next weekend.

January wrap up

2011-02-02T09:01:00.007-06:00

I'm very slowly finding local events and adding them to the sidebar and wishing there was a central location for all this. I just today found a swimming event that apparently has been open for a while and the price has jumped $50 after 1-31. Swimming season apparently runs Oct to something here. I've been out of swimming so long I don't even know what it used to be when I was a swimmer in the US. I'm also having a really hard time afiliating myself. FMTRI has a website for afiliacion but it isn't working. The local QRoo contact says it should be working yesterday. The national site doesn't work at all. I asked them for bank info (it is very common here to make a purchase by going to the bank and depositing the price of the item in the holder's account and then sending them the transcription info) and am still waiting. I think I'm going to have to try loading the site on my laptop (and XP versus W7) and see if that does the trick. Meanwhile I'm still pondering the 5K on 2-26 as the incripcion price is $450 now, $100 to FMN as I'm not affiliated (but an aguas abiertas or masters afiliacion would cost $300 anyway) and that is a far cry from the usual under $100 I am used to for 10K runs. Running is definitely cheaper here than swim or tri. Course, Jamie and I are planning an 80km ride this weekend in Merida and that is only $40 so I suppose both bike and run are cheap here. I have to be honest that I'm a little skeered of the bike ride - it is a 5-stage event and I'm worried they'll all be fast pro boys and I'll get left in the dust for 2 hours.

I'm a mess of nerves lately - can't inscribirme, worried about that ride this weekend and most recently we had a shark attack 80km north (Cancun). SO not looking forward to today's swim. Pretty much all we have here are bulls and they are territorial and I'm really hoping they AREN'T temped to head into our bay (though they tend to like shallow water). Now I'm really obsessing.

So, January by the numbers...
Swim 16,380
Bike 231.23
Run 2 hr 45 min
Super low numbers but I do still have that hospital card...
lastly yesterday reached 77.5kg (from 80kg roid weight)

Heading out for my run and since it is only 29C I just can't justify sleeveless. Since all the nortes the warmer weather feels so much warmer than it really is. Should hit 33C today though.

Can someone do me a favor and see if you can get this to load? I cannot select "selecciones" there is nothing to select (and thus I cannot afiliate myself)
FMITRI afiliacion

swimming monday

2011-01-31T18:43:00.005-06:00

Today was my longest swim so far and my first foray back into something other than freestyle. Robin posted a "swim meet workout" and I thought it sounded fun. I had to give up after about 2400 yd as the fly was destroying my bad shoulder but the workout sure made the time FLY! I had to rely on Pike to remember how many laps (9) as they were flying by for me. Water should have been calm with the lack of wind but it was medium choppy and a challenge for backstroke. Still an good workout followed by a 20 min run. This was much better than yesterday's run - it always takes me around 1-2 miles to warm up and my legs were just feeling good when I had to stop. To be honest though, my legs are so out of shape that I was READY to stop (after only 20 min. sob!) Picture is of my swim partner, my 14yo. He has a really nice stroke - we just need to work on his breathing. Feels like the last norte is on its way out - warmer today and it was warm enough to run sleeveless and swim sans t-shirt. Hoping we'll get a few more days before the next norte. Actually ran the AC today.

old skool or senile?

2011-01-30T09:11:00.009-06:00

After my last post I decided to suck it up and schedule out my runs. I have had 2 years of injury with running - tearing my calf muscle every 3 months like clockwork - and finally decided to do BarryP's 1:2:3 program to try and avoid that. However, I managed to tear one last time, then we had an international trip, then we all got sick (due to airplane air, I'm guessing) and then I ended up in the hospital. So while I ran a week in January, that was my first consistent week since November. And honestly, I'm scared to get excited again just to get injured again. HOWEVER, I do have a plan and I have a trigger point roller (much easier to use than the fire extinguisher I was using before our stock-up trip to the US) so it is time to suck it up and deal.

So I planned running out to May. And I'm excited again. So excited that I'm going to run today BEFORE cycling if I can time it right between work and Jamie waking and temperatures. He hates riding in the heat and it looks like today the last norte (#24?) is leaving us (and we'll finally be able to thaw out a bit). I also scoured the web for local events and FOUND some. This is pretty rare as for running events, we generally get the convocatorias about a week before the event. So that was pretty exciting. I added them to my sidebar so they wouldn't be lost and now I have RACES!

So then I figured I'd look at IM plans. I mean all the cool kids do them and there seem to be a LOT of them out there. But honestly, they are doing Nothing for me. I looked at a few and they are Very Specific (and maybe this will come back to haunt me) but I ride hard when I want to ride hard, I swim hard when I want to and well, running, I'm just trying to stay uninjured. I can't imagine doing the intervals and times and sets and blah. I enjoy riding, I enjoy kicking Jamie's ass (VERY INFREQUENTLY) and I enjoy looking at the fishies and hoping the Big Giant Fish Who Will Not Be Named leaves me alone when I swim. I enjoy increasing the effort and increasing the distance but I'll be damned if I start doing cadence this and one-legged spinning that. Yuck. I'd rather not even train if that is the training. I might really regret this come November, but I've found some earlier races (and even an HIM in June over in Veracruz) so I can see how things stack up. My first (and only) triatlon was an HIM and I did not train more than 1 sport a day and refused to train running. Yeah, WHAT WAS I THINKING? But it was okay (okay, the run SUCKED ASS) but I did it. And I wasn't dead last. I'm only doing Cozumel for myself and I really have no desire for X time or placing - it is the most local race around here and very easy for me to get to. Plus I'm looking forward to challenging myself.

I got out on the run today and 10 minutes about killed me. Jamie and I WORKED the last 2 days on the bike and I'm totally feeling it now. Tomorrow to swim and 20 min run.

This week by numbers:
(did nothing Sun or Mon)
Swim: 5440yd (around 2 hr)
Bike: 160km (5:20 hr)
Run: 10 min.

Looking forward to next week.

too skeered to run

2011-01-29T16:17:00.008-06:00

My first love, rediscovered, because I started swimming at 11 (in my mother's swimsuit) on the Auburn Tigers' swim team and kept at it until my early 20s and discovered cycling in my mid 20s and triathlon was a natural extension of that (but I hated to run) so I never ran until my first triathlon (Santa Barbara in the mid 80s) and hated the run (half marathon) so much I stopped running until I hit middle age. Gawds. I guess I'm middle aged. So a couple years ago I decided I finally wanted to lose all that baby weight. I was around 90kg and I eventually lost 15 of those (but those days in the hospital on 'roids have added 3 kg I'm trying hard to lose, and honestly I could stand to lose another 5kg on top of that) by walking and then running. I LOVED running. Until I started cycling again. And now that I've added more laps to my swims (I do 8 laps now - just under 3000 yd per Google Earth) I'm starting to enjoy swimming. And poor running, which was my absolute new found joy is now the black sheep of the family as it causes me one injury after another. I think I'm skeered to run. Right now I'm using the excuse that I am now just a week out of the hospital and one sport a day is enough. That and all that extra jiggly weight and I don't want to scare my neighbors or the palaperos or workers here with my jello flesh all to obvious in shorts.

I had a great ride today - totally worked the outbound (with tailwind) and hit 32:30 at the turnaround which Jamie thinks might be close to a best time. Expected the return to be a huge fail as we're all still sick, I have that lovely hospital excuse (riding that train all the way) and the headwind should have been brutal. Except it wasn't. So either the tailwind we had going out died as we turned around or it wasn't the tailwind I thought it was. Came back just under 19mph average for the 40km.

Tomorrow is the Copa Gobernador but I'm not sure we'll head over. I thought we might ride the course in our new jersey (well *I* would) especially since work is so slow and we still might. I found a nonprofessional cycling event over in Merida I've talked Jamie into doing (didn't take much) and although it has already started (it is a 5-stage event complete with stage, point and overall jerseys) but they'll let us in. Sweet.

Tomorrow I run. Only 10 minutes,but I've officially run out of excuses. Hard to believe I was doing 10 mile runs last fall.

Pictures from the end of yesterday's swim and today's bike. I had a weird swim - really rough at the start but by my last lap it had totally calmed down. Swam late - I hate swimming in late afternoon/feeding time. Last couple laps had me looking over my shoulder to the deep blue and hoping for no company.

Grey and cloudy sea swim

2011-01-26T20:56:00.008-06:00

I didn't want to go out today. It was cold and grey. I did it anyway. Another 2740 in the bank (8 laps to the reef and back). I had a lot of trouble coughing and tight chest but an hour or so after exercise was fine. Ended the swim with 3 x 170. Funny set. Got my HR up though. How about my "poor man's" wetsuit top? Cold days I wear a tshirt over my grannysuit. Nice for insulation.

Languishing in indecision

2011-01-25T07:20:00.005-06:00

So yesterday was a GOOD day. I was up all day, took at walk with Jamie and the dog on Janten and had no lung issues. Up at 6am today and still waiting for the work to come in, and am waffling about exercise. Docs said to wait a week - it has been 4. I have the desire to head out now but (excuses) flat tire on bike and scared to run or swim. It is definitely the temperature for both - (our thermometer walked off a week or so ago so I have to go with Accuweather which says 23C but I'm sure it is warmer than that) but I don't want to land back with issues again. So I'm waffling. DOG doesn't even want to go for a walk. Sheesh. Aren't dogs supposed to LIVE for walks? He wants to sleep and maybe, when I'm mired in work and homeschooling, later on today will be DYING for one. Um, who's the alpha here?

Too many choices perhaps.

If I ride Jamie will totally freaque out so no riding. I should get out there and swim then. I was bursting at the seams to exercise while hospitalized, so why the indecision now?

Oh, and yes, the dog chases coconuts. He wouldn't know what to do with a ball if it came covered in peanut butter and flew in front of his nose. Born in Belize and reared on the Caribbean, he's a coco dog.

Update - I did it! I got super freaked when my hr rose and it took about 45 minutes before I felt comfortable with the (normally) elevated hr and I had to keep taking experimentation deep breaths to make sure I wasn't going to have a recurrence. I guess I was more freaked out than I thought. By the end of the ride, however, (40km) I was VERY comfortable riding and are our jerseys gorgeous or what? Not sure if I'm going to run or not, but tomorrow is definitely on for a swim. I am pretty sure I'm back and glad of it.

Progress?

2011-01-22T16:19:00.003-06:00

So I was upright all day today! Woohoo! (snark) I gobsmacks me that I have gone from 2 sports a day to considering the day a success because I wasn't horizontal all day. I had hopes for a walk today but I wasn't up for it. I had very few episodes of coughing today and did some light cleaning so I'm hoping for a walk tomorrow. No meds today - I think getting a good night of sleep has restored more health than any meds could. Lung function seems to be almost completely back. Still a bit lightheaded but that's to be expected after 4 days horizontal. I have to wonder if I would have been hospitalized in the US and if the docs here are just more conservative with treatment.

tired lungs and hospital stay

2011-01-20T19:18:00.003-06:00

So Tuesday Jamie and out headed out for our 40km normal bike and about 23 minutes in I had to stop and eventually ended up in the ER and then admitted for 3 days. It wasn't until today, when I could take a full deep breath without coughing that I realized it hadn't been all in my head (psychosomatic). I'm still not sure what happened but the docs called it bronchospasms secondary to hyperinflation. I was unable to get more than 1 word out at a time before dissolving into coughs and was only able to take half breaths. After a full day with Dr. Google, I'm thinking it was exercise induced bronchospasm due secondary to a respiratory viral illness and I'm really hoping it just goes away. I've been home for a full day now and I'm totally wiped. For some reason I had it in my head that once I was released from the hospital I'd be jumping right back into my training program but right now I'm just working on being upright without lapsing into fast breathing and coughing.

And our glorious Mexico jerseys got here (actually on the 18th but they couldn't figure out where we live so Jamie picked them up at the office yesterday). Jamie headed out for a ride this morning and I was jealous beyond belief. Hoping for walking tomorrow. Well, hoping for upright and walking maybe. This is insane.

rough seas, long swim

2011-01-17T19:59:00.003-06:00

(pic is from the "military point" on janten - point in the picture is end of Janten and beginning of Paamul bay - almost home)

I have been feeling the need to increase my swim workouts. I usually aim for 6 laps (1920 yd) but was thinking on the run today that I really need to aim for 10 laps (3400 yd). So as I was doing my longest run this year (30 min!) I figured I'd go for 10. The water looked a little choppy at JanTen but I wasn't sure if it would hold for PaaMul bay also.

As I started my run I was wondering if I should do 10 (since I didn't run yesterday) or 20 (planned) or 30. My reasoning for 30 was that I was going to do it some time this week and I was already a bit nauseous so in the event I got too sick to run I'd at least have gotten in my "long" run. I found it incredibly ironic during the run that last year I was running 10 miles and now my hard, long run was 30 min. It was nice and warm today - low 30's I'd say and the sweat was ROLLING off me after that 30 min run just like in the summertime. Looks like this past norte is HISTORY.

I was hoping my stomach would cooperate for the swim and as I headed out to the beach I realized the water was much rougher than I expected. I then scaled back my expectations and figured I'd figure it out after a couple laps. It was actually easier swimming directly into the waves than coming back with them - there were times it felt like my feet were going to summersault me over as the wave would pick them up and my arms tried to keep going forward. Good times. Pike was too sick to come out with me and it gave me a chance to really work the swim. I ended up doing 8 laps but I was D.O.N.E. after the 8th one. I'm hoping that with calmer water I will be able to handle more because if 8 laps are my limit I'm in SERIOUS trouble. So, this next week will be 8 laps each swim (or 10 if it isn't rough). My bad shoulder was starting to twinge so 8 was a good time to stop. Oh, and a couple swims ago I found my seabed landmarks again so I don't zigzag across the bay. Oh x2 the tourist boat is back. Kinda slows down the swim as I wait for it to come across the reef and then again to drop anchor but nice to see the guys again.

It's those changes in latitude

2011-01-16T08:13:00.004-06:00

I don't know how people from northern latitudes do it and I'm growing a batch of kids who think the same. We've had 2-3 days of grey and rainyish weather and after about 4 hours of grey the entire household (palapahold? we don't really live in a house) fell into a funk that was not removed until the sun peeked out. I've been on a swim strike since early December (when the thermometer fell to the teens (Celsius) but finally sucked it up (literally, I'm carrying about 5kg of holiday "cheer") and the 14yo and I headed out. THREE TIMES this past week. I had to wear a shirt one day (poor man's wetsuit) but it was definitely tolerable after the first 1/2 lap.

After the swimming success I headed out for a ride yesterday in a drizzle! Normally we just don't ride here when it rains - there is only 1 road to ride on (the carretera) and it gets slick with rain (concrete) AND when it rains here it is a tropical rain normally - a HUGE DUMP of water in a short period of time. It is very common for cars to simply pull over until the deluge is over and wait it out (rarely more than a few minutes). But this looked like it would be a short drizzle and by the time I got to Pto Adventuras (4 km south) it was dry. I've seen rains where one side of the carretera was dry and the other side had rain. It is amazing rain here. I was feeling really good on my ride but ever since this norte came to town the winds have been back to tailwind out and headwind home and it seemed like I was flying at around 30kph average on the outbound (and 35:30 to turnaround) but I only averaged 25kph for the ride, so the headwind coming home must have been worse than I thought.

My long (20 min) run this week gave me the feeling that I'm finally getting my run mojo back - I wanted to keep going and went long on the outbound forgetting I had to turn around at 10 min. I really hope this program helps me to stay healthy. I also picked up a trigger point roller in the Huenited States and Really need to get using that RIGHT NOW. I still haven't done a long (30) min run yet as due to sickness, injury and travel (the trifecta?) this is the first week I've put in a regular routine. But if nothing else over the last year I sure hope I've learned not to push the miles, instead I need to back off more. It is killing me to see the tiny amount I'm running but if I'm going to get over this chronic injury and run a marathon in Cozumel (YIKES!) I really need to get this under control. So 10-20-30 it is.

This week by the numbers:
Swim 3840 yd
Bike 63.44 m
Run 1 hour
Probably well under 10 hours. I'm guessing around 6.5 hours (2 hours swim, 3.5 bike, 1 hr run)
next week planning:
Swim 1920 x 3
Bike 160 km
run 1:30ish
so, 2.25 + 5.5 + 1.5 = 9.25

And since the GD raccoons woke me at 3something am getting into my neighbor's garbage (right next to my head) and I finally gave up at 4:45 and got up, it is time for another pot of cawfee before heading out on today's 40km bike and 10 min run.

Holy frack I broke my clit!

2011-01-13T18:33:00.004-06:00

Well, it sure FEELS broken. I had Jamie (well enough to ride today! YAY!) raise my seat a smidge as when I was riding my Medici in CA it felt higher than this bike and felt better. It took less than an hour to find it was Too High and I was in serious pain. Peeing and showering are now torture sessions. I found some bag balm he'd snagged from somewhere and that is helping but Oh My Gods and Goddesses HOW DID I blister THAT? He thinks maybe the nose is too high. YA THINK?

We had a short ride today because it was FREEZING (as evidenced by the picture - see Jamie (furnace) and see me (knickers and 2 top layers)) and this norte has screwed with my wind pattern. I've been getting headwind going out and tailwind coming home (opposite of all of fall and winter last year) and I much prefer that to the summer and spring winds (from the north). Plus we're deep into a norte and FREEZING.

There is a bike race (60km) over on Cozumel at the end of the month. I might actually consider it. Still thinking. Course, I'm about 5 kg over my preholiday weight and I'm not feeling like exposing all that flubber on la isla. But it should be pretty.

Oh, and remember those beautiful jerseys I planned to surprise Jamie with at Christmas? Well, I FINALLY got around to paying (go to the bank and deposit in their account) and turns out Multipak doesn't deliver to Quintana Roo (which I'm suspicious of as I've seen their trucks around) and they want $90 (MN) more to get it down here. What to do...

getting my swim mojo back

2011-01-11T15:49:00.004-06:00

I'm starting to think December was an anomaly. We've had regular winter weather in January (low 30s C midday) so you can exercise at midday without killing yourself (unlike summer). Right now it is 27C with humidity in the mid to low 70s and I've got sweatpants on - very nice weather. Had a good swim today - I was jonsing to ride but I've been out of the water way to long and I really needed to get some km under my legs also so swim and run it was. My 14yo was not at all animated to go out in the water but once he was out there he LOVED it. A little rough out there but the biggest thing was the freezing cold currents about 1/2 way to the reef. Put in 6 laps (6x340) and by the 5th lap I'd finally found my stroke again. Not a bad afternoon. Looking like a system coming in now and that explains my wicked pressure headache on Sunday.

run to that point is 1.5 miles from our palapa (house like thing).

31 celcius

2011-01-10T16:52:00.007-06:00

It was a little too rough to swim today,

so I rode instead.

Triciclo. Handy for hauling around the Mrs and a few kiddos along with shopping goods. Very common sight. This guy was unloading a truck.

I was pretty roached after recovering from sickness still so I only rode. No swim. No run. Maybe tomorrow.

solo cyclist

2011-01-09T16:45:00.004-06:00

I don't think we've been back to the Bay Area in December since 2004 or 2005 and I honestly did not realize how cold it got. A week home and Jamie and I are still gobsmacked at how cold it was. We absolutely ALWAYS get sick going to "el otro lado" and this time was no exception. Due to unseasonable cold (14C one day) here, we started out sick, picked up something on the plane going out and now seems we picked up something coming home also. So going on a month straight of sickness.

I kept meaning to try bike shorts while we were in the US but I never made time to do it, so again, I'm trying to find something long distance. I like wide waistbands (like the De Soto Carrera) and hate silicone leg grips. I bought a pair of KB shorts off Ebay to try and now I really hate them. I'm looking at Louis Garneau, Sugoi, Pearl Izumi and maybe Orca. Sigh. I hate shopping for shorts to minimize sausage legs without being able to try them on. I've heard there is a bike shop in Cancun and maybe we'll have to head up there so I can try shorts on. Course, that would involve taking a day off work.

Jamie has been too sick to ride so I've ridden the past 2 rides SOLO! I really didn't think that possible even though I trained for centuries solo for many years before kids and rode into my 5th month on the road (and then on rollers) with my 1st pregnancy. It has been a LOT of years since I have been on a bike and having Jamie there just made it easier and I really didn't think I'd push myself or enjoy myself without him there. But I did and I did, though I definitely REALLY enjoy it more with him.

Got back in the water for the first time since November! Saw the cudda and Pike saw a ray but the seafloor has changed so much I was totally lost 1/2 way to the reef. There is also a new bouy at the reef to replace the one a hurricane (that didn't even hit us) took away this year. I've decided I'm only going to swim 3 days a week though and hopefully not burn out. I also started running again and really need to do the trigger point stuff so I don't tear again. I had planned to ride and run today but my head hurts so much (sinus headache) that I'm just trying to keep it from exploding, though I kept watching the clock all day trying to figure out WHEN I could get a ride and run in but never got well enough to do so.

Next week ride T,Th,S,S; run M,T,W,Th,F,S and swim M,W,F. I'm sticking to 1:2:30 for running, M 20min, T 10min, W 20min, Th 10min, F 30min, S or S 10min. Good to be back in the warmth.

26 Celcius baaabaaaay

2011-01-05T14:13:00.002-06:00

Oh man, back from the land of death. I've got to stop visiting the US in winter. I think we all died a little in California - it was absolutely FRIGID but since they're on Farenheit I have no idea what the temps were - 50's. Pilot announced it was 14C yesterday when we left DFW for CUN but upon landing it must have been low 20s. Just lovely!

Woke to 26C this am and I'm actually thinking I could swim. Just have to convince the 14yo of that. Back from a run now - I've already altered the schedule and will do 10-20-30 (or more accurately 10-20-10-20-10-30-10) instead of straight 10s. Course trying to decide during such a short run made it a 14:30 run. Go figure. :)

Now that my brain is unfreezing I'm feeling optimistic again. Tomorrow to cycle and run and I still have half a day of work to do.

Nothing says winter like listening to the cackles of drunk Canadians.

absolute insanity

2010-12-18T08:31:00.002-06:00

I don't know how you people north of the border do it. I haven't been able to even think of a run or ride in this weather. All I can do is huddle in my folks' RV, park myself under a heater and wait for the day we go home. The sky is grey, there is no blue, there is no joy, it is depressing as hell and I think I'm slowly going insane and I've only been 'in country' 2 days. I don't even want to THINK about exercise and going outside in that frigid weather - how do you people stand this? I'm frozen at 20C - I'm not sure how the temps compare because the US is not metric but the rental car shows mid 50s - OMG I just want to huddle in warmth and count the days until we go home. Luckily I'm working so I can excuse my lack of exercise with work but hell, at home, I was counting the hours until I got my first bike ride or run in and midday meant swim (with my 14yo) and hope no rays or cuddas but now my clock is all messed up (we went from Central to Pacific) and I'm depressed as hell. And it rains All The Fucking Time.

Geez, you people are gods to exercise in this weather. I need to find some motivation and figure something out as my ass is just spreading wider and my belly is growing to meet my "desk." One of my daughters said something cute the other day - our first day? - as she filled the bath (which she hasn't had in over a year) she remarked that "Aunty Chris must be really rich to use drinking water for a bath!"

el otro lado

2010-12-14T20:05:00.003-06:00

Gawds I'm scared to death. It has been FREEZING here (15C one morning) and I wore a down jacket all day today (I don't think it got over 25C and I even wore a turtleneck and knickers on the bike - if I'd had tights I would have had those on too. I FINALLY saw the dead coral snake today on the road. We have a LOT of road kill - snakes, raccoons, dogs, bats, birds - but the coral snake was an enigma to me. I kept missing it over and over. Today I decided if I had to go back to see it, I'd turn the damn bike around and do just that. Thankfully I didn't need to turn the bike around as the wind was WICKED today. It was so hard - we had wind both ways - and demoralizing. But since I'm injured (I tore my calf muscle REALLY WELL last week) I don't worry about anything but getting my butt in the saddle. Today I took it super easy and really did not push much at all.

But yeah, I'm scared. We're headed to el otro lado tomrrow and while it won't be snow we visit it may as well be. Most Mexicans go to the beach over vacaciones. We are instead headed for frozen California. I am scared to death I won't leave my sister's guesthouse the entire time we're gone, too afraid of the frigid, frozen freezingness of coldness.

Pic is from my last run - the one where I tore my calf muscle. Yet afreakingain.

Oh, and if you see a family without shoes (who needs shoes where we live - SERIOUSLY WE DON'T HAVE SHOES) but chanklas and a dog and shivering, huddled under a heater at either DFW or SFO, throw us a blankie, K? And I may as well apologise for our return - this is our stock up trip so we're heading out with empty suitcases and will bring them back full (although the last 2 years here have brought so many changes you can get so many more "things" than ever before, but you can't beat thriftstores for clothing 4 kids). Now I guess I'll see how all of you guys deal with training in the winter (ooh, I'm so SKEERED!)

la virgincita otra vez

2010-12-14T07:15:00.003-06:00

So, for some reason I figured everyone would know exactly what I'm talking about but I guess I've been out of the US culture too long. :)

Here are photos from 2007 (I think) You will note that the weather was much more normal. We might have just hosted a conference on global climate change and everyone complains about the heat storms but we have had very mild summers and wicked cold winters for the past 2 years. It is disconcerting at the least.

My friend Joanna just posted on celebrations in Merida for la virgincita and here is my post from a few years ago with even more virgin links.

This year I got very few pictures but I attached one here - the camera sucks so you can barely see the group huddled at the side of the road. Our last ride we saw a giant group with ropes and they were walking but by the time we'd gotten to our retorno and headed back they were long gone. I suspect they were headed for Pto Adventuras and not PdC.

It is FREEZING here. More freezing than freezing on el otro lado as we don't have any source of heat other than the sun or the car heater. So we are freezing. Frozen. Icicles. People in the jungle die from the cold, so it really is serious and we're lucky to have 4 walls we can huddle in. That reminds me to check and make sure Don Beto has blankets.

la virgincita

2010-12-10T20:20:00.003-06:00

Every time we get out on the carretera (pic is Jamie headed out ahead of me to the carretera) I'm reminded how lucky we are to ride here. Even though the roads are FLAT and we're only able to ride the carretera (only paved road for hundreds of kilometers) the drivers we share the road with are amazingly polite. The doble semi-remolques (I'm not sure what they are in the US - 2 18-wheeler like trailers pulled by one semi) will always pull into the next lane to pass us and oncoming traffic will wait for us to pass at retornos before making their retorno (so as to not interrupt and make us stop). We're always given wide berth by all cars and it is hard to imagine the rage that cyclists in the US get.

We're deep in the season of pilgrims for La Virgin and they're all over the carretera going both north and south, running and cycling. I hope to get some pictures tomorrow assuming my leg will hold up to a cycle since I tore it pretty badly last run. It was acting up and I decided to stretch it, but a stretch was the WORST decision I could have made. I then walked around on it all day today at the COP 16 climate change exhibition and that was another bad idea. Since Jamie absolutely trashed himself today trying to attain a 22mph average I'm hoping he'll be tired enough tomorrow for an easy day on the bike. I'm not sure what this calf has in it for cycling when I'm hobbling on foot.

lessons in either futility or patience

2010-12-05T20:52:00.005-06:00

Wholee fuck but I was pissed during the ride today.

Running wasn't bad. (pic is from my only run route)

How is it possible that I was regularly hitting under 1:18 for the ride, getting faster and faster each ride the first two weeks and plateauing a bit the 3rd week, but this week has been just AWFUL. I had a 1:30 ride and yesterday just squeaked under 1:19 and today was 1:21. I'm getting slower and slower and I Do Not Like it Sam I am.

I've decided to run out towards Janten again even if I can't run my usual mileage (I stuck to 10 min runs this week), even though I have to pass the palaperos each time (and I'm sure they're wondering WTF this gringa is doing running out and then (seemingly) turning around immediately and going back. Is she too much of a pussy for a REAL run? Gawds. They probably don't even notice me.

So Jamie says from now on, no timers allowed on the bike. I tried today to make it Not About The Time and really succeeded until I got near cenote row and realized just how slow my time was going to be and lost it. I had planned to enjoy the ride, look down the dirt paths (off the carretera), wave to the taxistas, wave to the vigilencia at the compounds (they must be at compounds, I mean really, what ELSE are they there for?), find the coral snake (road kill) Jamie saw last time and ignore the clock. I think I would have been a LOT more successful had I not STARTED the damn clock to begin with. And I did pretty well for the first hour. I waved to the taxistas, waved to the vigilencia, missed the fucking snake (but saw all the dead raccoons) and then got pissed.

I can't figure out why I'm going backwards but Jamie says I'm not. He also says the wind patterns have changed and we're getting a constant headwind all the way back and the week I was doing 1:13 and 1:14 was an anomaly. I'm not sure I believe him. Oh, and my legs are ALWAYS sore. Ugh.

I guess I could concentrate on taking pictures and ignore the fucking clock. I hate being so slow. Hmph.

I got my ass back! (in more ways than one)

2010-12-04T18:13:00.002-06:00

I didn't have to ice my ass after today's ride!!! However, I've been eating us out of house and home and my ass is bigger than ever (as evidenced by the 2 kg gain this past month).

I honestly thought I had something wrong with that sit bone but either it is converting to standing desk (last week only) or just time in the saddle - either way I'm no longer in pain. Such sweet relief. Unfortunately I had a horiffic ride on Thursday (just slow and no reason for it) and tried to redeem myself today but could only squeak out 1:18:50. Sigh. at least it was 10 min faster than Thursday's epic but nowhere near my fastest at 1:13ish.

Jamie says I've only been on the bike almost a month and not to worry about it and that I should be getting a new feel for the bike and not even thinking about time. So that's what I'm going to start doing - not even starting the timer and just go with heart rate. We'll see how that goes.

I got 3 runs in this week (10 min each) but slacked seriously on Wed and Fri - I did NOTHING (but stuff my face) both days. I just had no desire to swim, yoga or run. I need a serious kick in the ass. The weather has been so cold lately that I just loathe to get out in the water and since I'm only running 10 min it just doesn't seem worth it to even go, but I know that will get me nowhere. So sigh double.

Both boys are sick with the death cough, fever, aches and yuckiness and I am hoping the girls and I can avoid it. Course, we'll probably come down with it right in time to travel (going back to the US for Xmas). Pounding the vitamin C and getting lots of sleep and hoping for the best.

Se me lo perdio el animo.

2010-12-02T14:14:00.002-06:00

Seriously I have NO IDEA what was wrong today. My affect was depressed the whole ride and my legs were sore but not the deadest they've been - I just had no animo, no heart, no ganas. So have a new personal worst. It didn't help that the wind was BLASTING at us coming home (but that is par for the course) but I rarely went over 30kph going out. It was an awful ride and I would have turned around 100 times if Jamie had not been with me. I have no idea what to blame this awful performance on. Well, other than myself. Ugh.

Oh, I almost forgot - it was FREEZING the whole way - 22 or 23C and I just wanted to curl up and die.

BUT, the new Pto Adventuras Chedraui looks OPEN! I've never seen such construction here in Mexico. They worked Saturday afternoon, Sunday AND MOndays! We're looking forward to checking it out and only going 6km (one way) instead of 15 for market.

The weather has turned - it was lovely for the IM at Cozumel but now it is dreadful and 23C. UGH. I fear a repeat of last year's winter and am depressed just at the thought.

Now that I've sat a bit and thought, I think I'll do my run later this afternoon. It is only 10 minutes so I hate even getting dressed (which is why it is perfect after a bike ride) but now that I've gathered strength there really is no need to lop it off the schedule entirely. Just need to get the 14yo going on his algebra first. :)

My legs are ALWAYS sore. I wonder what to do. I started taking magnesium about a week ago but that's really not doing anything.

things that make you go hmmm...

2010-11-29T19:26:00.006-06:00

I'm starting to wonder if this sit bone pain is not muscle related or something. I have converted my desk to a standing desk (I work at a computer all day so I've changed from sitting at my desk to standing) and while sitting tonight the side of my thigh got numb. If cycling is giving me injuries I might need to go bionic. I started cycling to give my chronically injured calf muscle a rest (a year of tearing the calf muscle every 3 months) but the sit bone pain seems to be radiating outwards but I can't reproduce it on palpation so that says likely not muscle. Sigh. Tomorrow is another ride day so we'll see how it goes. It is always worse when I ride two days in a row and this starts my 4th week of cycling (since 1994 or so) and I'm hoping it gets less painful sooner rather than later.

I futzed around enough today that it was just about feeding time by the time Pike and I headed out for a swim. I was shocked to see that the tourist boat (we usually see at midday) was still there when we got to the beach. The tourists were still in the restaurant eating so either they were running as late as we were or they run twice a day. The water was SUPER rough - in the trough of the wave you could see neither the waves crashing on the reef nor the shore and murky. I really hate murky water. I had thought of doing 6 laps but I really hate being out there at feeding time also so we did 4 (probably took as long as 6 as the water was So Rough) and called it a day.

I then celebrated with a 10 min run. I'm back on the wagon trying to run again and had planned on a week of 10 min runs but wouldn't you know it, half way through I was already planning on skipping this week and just going straight to 10/20/10/20/10/0/30. I wonder WHY I keep getting injured? Geez! So slapped myself around a bit and will hold firm to 10/10/10/10/10/10/10. But after 3 weeks of cycling and 2-3 weeks of NO running, the legs felt Very Very Weird on the run - stiff and not really working well. It took almost the entire 10 minutes to feel "right". I'm hopeful that this plan will keep me injury free but I REALLY have to rein myself in and stop pushing and learn to hold back. You'd think by my age I'd have learned and if not you'd think I'd want to avoid injury but there is no logic when I have a number (goal) in my head.

I've been buying jerseys and shorts (well just one pair) on Ebay for a couple weeks and can't wait to get to the US to get them. Right now Jamie holds all my stuff as I have no pockets and usually just wear a t-shirt or running top. Luckily I was able to get some De Soto Tri shorts to him just before he came back from WI so I do have those and I'm sloshing around an old pair of his shoes (after he got sick of me wearing my running shoes on the bike). I also have my eye on a pretty local jersey. When we get back from our US trip I should be styling on that bike, assuming my sit bone finally adjusts.

Sunday was Cozumel. I really wanted to go over and had planned to volunteer but I just couldn't. Jesse was sick with a ton of homework and taking the whole famdamily over there would have run upwards of $720 MN.

It seems like all the cool tri kids sum up their week in numbers, so as I'm always one to join the latest fads (my family members, if they even know of this blog are vomiting now) here is the last week in numbers:

Swim 5440 yd (only 2 workouts, I was just Not Into Swimming last week) prolly 1.5 hours.
Bike 112.91 m (4 bikes) and 6 hours 4 min.
Run: Injured.

This week I have 4 swims planned, 4 bikes and 6 runs.

the difference between 25 and 50

2010-11-26T20:27:00.003-06:00

Back in my 20s and early 30s I wouldn't think twice about a 40 mile bike ride or any athletic event whether I was training or not. I could abuse my body and not worry. I did a half Ironman and I'm not sure I even trained for the run. I remember biking (mainly because I liked to bike) but I never had a plan and I'm not sure I spent much time even thinking about the run.

I did 40 miles yesterday with Jamie after 2 weeks of cycling which had followed some 15+ years of sedentary lifestyle. Today shows me that I'm 50. My quads are STIFF. My ass HURTS. I'm not able to just throw down mileage like those young pups. But I can still kick my 14yo's ass swimming. Well, for now anyway.

My first long ride

2010-11-25T17:29:00.002-06:00

When I realized that today would fall perfectly in the *training* schedule (MWF are swim and TThSS are ride and SMTWThS are run) AND the US had a holiday on Thursday I figured we could make a long ride and I thought I might add in a swim afterwards. Jamie took Jesse to school (and then to their overnight field trip, camping at X'calcel) and I worked, getting in half a day by the time he got back. I also managed to wake up at 3:30 am thinking it was 5:00 as the full moon bouncing off the jungle made the sky look lighter than it really was. Yawn.

So we headed off and I held the pace back for the first 8 miles or so but then the cross and headwinds started so it wasn't all that hard to hold back at all. Our pace was miserable for the first half. We knew that it was 12 miles to our normal turnaround so I checked the highway markings and counted down 13 more km and we made today's turnaround there - a little over 20 miles. I was feeling pretty good. We made it to the retorno just after Hidden Worlds and I think it was around 1:11.

Coming back towards Akumal we got our promised tailwind (sometimes we can get headwind both ways) and the road was much flatter between Akumal and Xeh-Ha. I got to look forward to our little rises to get out of the seat but after Akumal (about 12 miles from home) I was looking for any excuse to get out of the saddle! I wasn't dead when I got home but I was sure glad to stop. This is my 3rd week of riding and I just don't think my ass is ready yet. But a good ride all in all. We're thinking it was around 41 miles and maybe an 18+mph average. My one index finger is still numb and Jamie says they make gel gloves now so I'm DEFINTELY going to look for those. I'll also get some cycling shoes and clip in pedals (or whatever).

Cozumel is on this weekend and I'm hoping to get over there but ferry tickets will be $120 each (about $10USD each) so that would be an outlay just to watch. We'll have to see how the workload is also.

After I came home, scarfed down pasta and meatballs I had a nice nap. (after a bit of work). Jamie is in town now with Pike at the orthodontist and promised to bring tamales from our favorite vendedora.

It's coming along

2010-11-23T20:49:00.002-06:00

I had a great ride today. I just started my 3rd week of riding and my ass (really, just under my sit bones) seems to be getting worse instead of better. As a matter of fact, when i sit anywhere it feels like a bump there. I'm thinking something like bursitis. I'm hoping another week or two will calm it down.

It was finally warm - 28C to start and it was LOVELY to be warm once again. We've had such an unnecessarily EARLY winter that it was lovely to feel warm air and hot sun again. Jamie hated it of course but he's almost always hot. I pushed the out and was disappointed to be at 32:30 at the turnaround (as I think my record is 31:30) but very pleased to find I had not, in fact, been riding in a tailwind but a crosswind and hammered home. I'm only tracking time so when we were approaching Pto Adventuras at 1:03 I knew I was going to hammer the PR. I took another 4:20 off my previous week's PR and we averaged 19.4 mph (I think) and I'm pretty happy with that. My legs felt much better today also - last week they were shaking.

I'm trying to get Jamie to go for a longer ride on Thursday as work for me will probably be light due to the US holiday and I can most likely afford the time.

Denial

2010-11-21T17:21:00.003-06:00

I think I might be training for Ironman Cozumel. I know I can do the swim and the bike, but I'm not sure, with my constant calf injuries, if I can do the marathon. But hey, I really like the Iron La'ak uniformes so maybe that is reason enough?

I've checked out the Mexican circuito nacional and it looks like we've got a few in the southern part of the country - Veracruz and Mazatlan and there is a HIM in Guate (Guatemala) I might consider also.

I'm in my 2nd week of Do Not Run after trying a 10-min and 20-min run last week. I knew about 10 minutes into the 20-min run it wasn't going to end prettily but could I just STOP and avoid injury? I think we all know I'm too hardheaded for that. So another week off the leg. Next week I'll only do 10 min runs. I PROMISE. And I'll stop if it gets wonky. No, BEFORE I injure it again. Sheesh.

I have having a great time on the bike though and have PR'd pretty regularly. Even today's ride (I have not been updating DM lately) even though we were going slow PR'd all of last week's rides. So there's that.

and I'm very seriously thinking of doing Cozumel next year. I did an HIM way back in the VERY early 80s (like 81 or 82?) when I was in my early 20s and remember hating the run and really walking most of it and I think it was a 7:30 time or so. I'm thinking that even if I walk the entire marathon (and I've run up to 10 miles when not injured) I could still finish. And hell, it is right across the channel. It couldn't be any closer unless I lived on the island. Ten miles by sea. If I register by the end of the year it will be cheaper than registering next year. I think I'm already decided,I just like living in denial. :)

So this week was 8K of swimming and 160K of riding. Pretty happy as I'm not really training for anything right now. I missed all the runs I wanted to to this year (the marathon or 1/2 in DF for the Bicentennial was tops on my list) due to injury so I'm just exercising to keep the muscles alive right now.

Oh, and did I mention my training (bike) partner and coach? None other than the esteemed Jamie (DH). Sweet.

Oh and lastly, I'm planning on dragging the boys over to the island next Sunday to work the Ironman. Looking forward to that!

ahm tah-ared

2010-10-23T12:05:00.002-05:00

Oh my aching knees. I had great hopes of gradually increasing each week, from 20mpw to 22 mpw to 23 to 25 to 27.5 and then then to plateau at 30 for a while. It seems my knees might have a different thought on that plan. The KoolAid plan says to pretty much listen to your body and advance as it allows. Dayum, that making sense business again. I really hate that. This week was great for swimming - Pike swam with me 3 days (counting today, hopefully) and I did 1800, 1500, 1800 and have 2100 planned for today. Nothing compared to my old swimming days but I never had to deal with currents in pools either (at least that's MY excuse).

So this week was 2.5, 4.5, 2.5, 4.5, 2.5 and 6.5 (tomorrow will be the 6.5) but since I have been running since Sunday, but not counting that day in my total (I know, it is insane) that's another 6 days in a row for me. Since I used to have trouble with my knees after 2 days in a row but after implementing Chondroitin and glucosamine at first 1200mg/day and then at 1800mg/day to banish the painful knees, I wonder if I just need to up the ante again. I like the logic of the Koolaid program - lower daily mileage to allow bones and ligaments to adjust but frequency to get just as high mileage as 4d/week program but I wonder if my knees are cut out for it. One big hmmmm.

We've got Hurricane Ricardo gunning for the southern area of the state (and Belize) and yesterday the water already showed the effects of this much larger than Paula cane. Still no worries, the tortugas have us covered.

I'm still up in the air on the Xeh-Ha triathlon but definitely will do an HIM (70.3) next year. Just not sure if it will be Cancun, Mazatlan or Veracruz.

Drinking the Kool Aide

2010-10-10T07:18:00.002-05:00

So I've been bouncing along on my own program (4 miles every other day for a week after the medicinal runs, bump up to 5 miles and then jump into a marathon training program - Hal's, natch, Novice 2) and getting my ego stroked with multiple longer (to me) runs (8, 8, 9, 9) and dropping my average pace (9:40mm last 5K - still can't commit to metric 100%) but starting to get niggings of patellofemoral syndrome and plantar fasciitis. Hmmm... As if the calf wasn't enough. So I stopped going around barefoot (for PT) and iced the heels after each run and the PF pretty much went away until my last 9 mile run. Hmmmm... The PFS seems to ebb and flow so I just kind of kept it in the back of my head and started looking around the web.

and I found the Kool Aid.

So last week I jumped into the first week (supposed to be 2-4-2-4-2-0-6 and instead went 0-3-3-3-4-0- and today should be 6. AND I'm dropping my speed. I was holding 10:00 mm pretty easily for 4-5 mile runs but according to the Kool Aid and McMillan, my recovery (MWF) runs should be crushingly slow at 12:18-12:48 (have not yet been able to run that slow), long runs 11:18 to 12:18 (I am pretty sure I can do that) and easy runs (TTh) 11:18 to 11:48 (again, might be able to bring the pace under 11:18 but it is not easy to run that slow). My ego has taken a HUGE hit from running 10:00 to trying for 11:00. But I'm looking long term now and if I manage to get to the end of the year without injury I'll be a total convert. And it does make sense - I've been pushing my ligaments prolly before they were ready (post injury) and I'm hoping this might do the trick.

medicinal runs

2010-08-28T09:09:00.001-05:00

8/17 Another 3 miles in the rehab bag. 4 min run, 3 min walk. Last one was 6 min run. Starting to get hopeful. Will roll the leg again tonight and break up more scar tissue. Swim: Storm came up 1/2 way through and while I waited out the initial first impact (wind and driving rain) the wind after the rain passed was enough to exhaust me. I kept wondering if I would be swept down the coast or not - the currents were really weird and pulling south. Glad to be done.

8/19 run 5 walk 3 run 5 walk 3 ... it's getting there. Apparently there are DEER in the jungle. I've heard it but never believe it until I saw Bambi venado today on my run. Weird. I've got Bambi, manta and sting rays, baracuda, crocks, snakes, iguana and crabs. Oh and tortugas everywhere nesting. Swim: got in a really quick 2 loops before the storm came in. Lightening flashing and thick black clouds all around and the manta ray is bag. Dayum but he is BIG. :)

8/21 10 run 3 walk 7 run 2 walk 7 run 3 walk 7 run 3 walk 6.5 run. I had to slow it down seriously on the last 3 runs and I've finally figured out it is my peroneus longus not my soleus that starts the downward spiral. Tortugas are still laying feverishly and I saw tracks this morning from one who headed off the beach onto the "road" (sand and "dirt") before heading back through the bushes to the beach. Two new nests night before last on our beach and a couple hatchings. Looks like we'll have hatchings really late into the year this year - October to November. Wonder what that says about winter?

8/22 Water felt great. After 2 really rough days we finally caught some good weather. Stroke felt really good today and it is starting to come together.

8/26 run 10 walk 3 run 10 walk 3 run 10 walk 3 run almost 8. This is what I had planned last run (Sunday?) but my calf just didn't feel right after the first 10. I think I'm done with medicinal runs now and can move back to running again. Went out at midday and it was rather hot. Looking forward to Saturday's early run - I'll go for 5 and see how that feels.

8/28 It felt incredibly slow (and it was) but at least it isn't a medicinal run. Back to full on running (albeit slow) again. Was going to do 5 but figured I'd be conservative (for once). Back on the train again. Let's see how long I can go without reinjury.

return?

2010-08-15T09:08:00.001-05:00

8/9 Did my own injured "brick". Swam 1200 yd (4 out and backs) but that barracuda still had me worried and then I saw a somewhat large stingray and I finally figured out how I must have gotten bloody that one time and that was it for swimming. So I then did 25 min of water "running".

Yeah, I'm a real pussy. Oh, the water was choppy so 1200 was enough for me (though I definitely could have done 2 more loops but since I'm going every day now I want to try and keep my shoulder healthy - yeah, that was the other "reason" - save the shoulder). Still unable to walk without limping so 2 weeks just doesn't seem enough now. I'm hoping maybe next week....sigh...

WooHoo! I ran! Well, I walked for 12 min, stretched for 5, then ran for 3 min then walked, ran 3, walked 3, and was amazed I didn't tear the calf again! I'm so happy to finally make it back to medicinal runs. So now I'll do medicinal runs instead of water running. I had totally lost ALL motivation to run in the water. So happy to be back on land again. Broken toe still letting me know it is there but I'm not listening. :)

8/10 Well, now that I see the future devoid of running (I'm not yet walking without a limp, so this is going to be a LONG rehab).

Today was 1500 yd swimming in some serious chop. It was tough on the way out but sweet on the way back. Did 2 laps (300 yd) of one-arm fly drills and that was a challenge considering the chop. At times I'd totally loose the buoy (my marker) in the valley of the wave. No stingrays, no barcudda today. Nice. I actually ended up done 300 yd more than yesterday but in the same time as I was so distracted looking for the cudda yesterday. I still don't know what got me bloody that one time but my bet is off the cudda.

Finished with 15 min of water running alternating x-country and normal every 5 minutes.

8/12 1/2 primary Ashtanga in the early morning and then 2100 yd swimming afternoon. One-armed fly drills and 300 yd kicking drills. No cudas, no rays. Lots of fishies and wicked, horrid, awful kelp messing with me.

I am NOT limping today!!! First time in over a week!

f*cking calf

2010-08-06T09:08:00.002-05:00

Managed to damage the calf again just before I headed out to the beach today. Ugh. I'm starting to think this (2nd original injury) will need a full 2 weeks to recover. I'm starting to wonder why even bother if I'm never going to run again. Sigh. I also managed to BREAK MY TOE walking to the beach!

40 minutes (I was only going to do 30-mind-numbing minutes) of steady stupid f*cking water running. No intervals today. Didn't want to stress the calf further.

8/3 The water was rather rough today but it was the wicked current that worried me enough to cut my swim in 1/2. I didn't want to get tired enough to get dragged over to Cozumel ;).

8/5 Didn't get attacked by anything today - that's a plus! :) Yesterday I came out the the water bloody with no idea how or why. Decided to increase the swim a bit today and my shoulder is not happy with me. I guess I need to start PT for it if I'm going to continue swimming. Did IM stroke work today. Big black clouds on the horizon all swim. Water super calm today - calmest yet, and I was constantly distracted by all the pretty fish.

8/8 No, I really DON'T like barracudas. So I was 1/2 way through my workout when I saw this GIANT barracuda hanging on the sandy floor, his mouth nicely open so I could see all the rows of sharp teeth. I swam FAST back to shore (at least 100 yd) and ran up to John (divemaster) absolutely ready to cut the workout short. He goes on to tell me that barracudas are not agressive - they are so strong and so fast that if they were, I'd have no hope. Um, thanks for the pep talk?

So I make it for 2 more taps (300 yd) and see him again. I've now swum over him 4 times. I am not going for 6. So I cut the swim short. Yes, I know I'm a baby. A baby will ALL my toes. for now...

Swimming and aqua running

2010-08-04T07:53:00.000-05:00

Tried to swim without goggles. I almost ended up on the reef in front of Don Pepe's haus so back to the middle I went and absolultey zig-zagged myslef to the reef and back again. It was insane. I tried both breast and back but I wasn't going to do a full mile of breast and back so I bagged it after one loop. 300 yds.

Finished up with 39 min of water running. I was DYING today. I wanted to stop after the first one (I did 6 x 5:00 with 1:00 between each one) and had originally had plans for 8 but I was dead after 5 and getting to 6 was about all I could do. I dunno why my legs were so dead but they were. I had NOTHING out there. Hoping for a better day tomorrow - I really didn't even feel like going out there; I should be back on the roads today. big sigh.

water baby

2010-08-02T20:07:00.003-05:00

Oh man. I never imagined I'd fall back in love with swimming again and I'm not sure if it is the calm seas (versus the rough chop of winter) or the fact that I'm FINALLY losing that hard-to-lose belly fat or the fact that swimming is toning my arms like Ashtanga never did (that BITCH) but after totally burning myself out in AAU (yeah, back with the dinosaurs) and masters competitive swimming) I'm starting to come back around. I'm doing 6 out and back loops about 150yd each out (or back) to just about the reef and getting stronger all the time. I enjoy the tropical fish and even saw a ray one day. Thankfully, the sharks stay on the OTHER side of the reef (we have an agreement).

After breaking my toe and being totally unable to walk for a while I was finally able today to do Ashtanga (yoga) though it was a bit painful at times. It is amazing how often we use those toes. And tomorrow, I'm hesitantly going to run 3 miles (and swim at noon).

If the cost were not so high ($250USD) I'd seriously consider Cancun 70.3 (1/2 Ironman) in September, but I just can't justify that kind of money for a hobby. So instead I'm looking at marathon training and possibly a sprint tri in November at XelHa. But we are also thinking of a US trip in Oct/Nov and I might miss the tri.

At any rate, I've endured 2 weeks of water running and I have no idea if it kept anything in running shape or not, but I definitely have refound my joy of swimming. Enough that I now need to look for shoulder injury prevention exercises. And tomorrow I'll start week 5 of Hal's marathon plan and we'll see what happens with the calf. If nothing else, I have my sights on a Campeche 21K in early September.

oops I did it again

2010-07-25T22:46:00.002-05:00

I am really getting sick of this. Back to the water - calf tear on Tuesday. I water ran Wed, Thurs and Friday and then walked 3 miles today. I am so fucking sick of this injury. I can't imagine what else to try other than The Stick each and every day.

I just can't seem to lick this stupid fucking injury. I had just begun to think I could plan a race (September 5th - Campeche 21K) and now I have no idea if I'll be running that day - who knows when this will pop up again.

So very sick of it.

But apparently, not sick enough to stop running. Next week I'll walk and water run again (oh, poor me, I have to water run in the Caribbean - life is SO rough!) and then next Tuesday try it again.

One weird thing is that this time I had bottom of the heel pain in the opposite leg (as the injury). I've made a handmade lift (as that leg is short) and I wonder if the gel of the lift is too hard...

Amazing week

2010-07-18T10:39:00.002-05:00

After the week before I really wasn't expecting much this week. I almost had decided on a step-down week (I really DO need to do that soon - maybe the week to come?) and figured I'd just start the week with my usual 4.5m run. It is an odd number but because of my route (I have the choice of, oh, ONE route) which is 3 miles out-and-back and I only know where the .75 and 1.25 miles locate to on the route. It wasn't a bad run as the temperature had plummeted to around 25-26C with 90% humidity. Sweet weather. Tuesday I managed to break the 10-minute barrier with a 9:45 average for me 3-mile run. That was amazingly sweet and I felt really good the whole run so it seemed that my week was turning around (due to the cold weather no doubt) and I nixed the idea of a step-down week. Today I wasn't sure if I'd do 8, 9 or 10 miles but by morning had figured out how many loops I'd need for 10 and how to structure the hydration and I had a great 10-mile run. The last mile was heavy but I certainly wasn't dead at the end - just glad to stop. Now that I'm in double digits I feel like a "real" runner. I'm guessing that I should probably make next week a step-down week.

2010-07-10T07:54:00.002-05:00

I don't know what it is about yoga that kills my back, but for something that is supposed to be so good for you, it sure screws up my back, at least in the beginning. I think I'm trying too hard for the jump-throughs (Ashtanga). I backed off them on Thursday and had a much better practice today. I've moved down to the beach and do my practice there - I don't really see the sun come up as we've tilted too far south, but I do watch the sun creep across the sand and light up the bay. It's pretty sweet.

Running is going well other than a death march on Friday. I had a great 5K for a dailymile challenge that seems to have screwed up. It was supposed to be a 4-week challenge with the opportunity to win a Timex Ironman watch but apparently it ended with the fastest 5K in the first week. Shrug. Tomorrow I have another 8 miles /13 K on schedule and after Friday's "run" I'm really dreading it. I've been hydrating like mad, hoping that it will help my dead legs but I doubt it will.

I've been having weirdness with my head lately - I have been with vertigo since the beginning of the year but certain poses (yoga) or positions will drastically cut off blood flow and boy do I get dizzy then. Yeah, I know, just DON'T do it. I've started tracking food again as I've been moving UP the scale and I would REALLY like to go DOWN but 75 seems to be an easy weight to hold. I'm hungry All The Time though, so it is hard. I've decided to work only on tracking food and stop eating at night. So hard not to though...

I really really really hate thinking up a title

2010-07-01T22:21:00.003-05:00

So, long story short, life pretty much stopped when I got injured. I spent most of March and April trying to come back and reinjuring myself. I was SO fracking sick of my fracking calf I can't tell you. But I finally found the magic and I really wish it was something other that just freaking rest that damn calf but apparently it is a 2-week minimum rest when i tear. Body keeps getting older.

I have been holding steady with 20 mile weeks and recently decided to jump into Hal's 1/2 marathon training program at week 7. All the long races here aren't until Fall (November/December) so there is really no point in training for a race now. I might take in a 10K over in Merida one of these days but for now I'm thinking of Carrera de las Tres Culturas (run through 3 archeological sites 21km) and maybe a 16km in Uxmal beginning October. I was seriously thinking about a bicentennial run in DF but I think it will just be craziness cubed and too expensive so I'm sure I'll find a slew of local races to celebrate the bicentennial.

I ran through Tropical Storm Alex's winds the last few days - we got the dirty side and we've had day after day of brutal seas (no swimming) and brutal winds. The rain was neverending and I found that the cold water really kept my neuroma to a minimum on the long (7mile) run day. Interesting. Today the winds had finally died down enough for me to do 1/2 primary Ashtanga (yoga) without getting sandblasted. Dunno when I'll ever get back in the water. I'm tenatively thinking about the 1/2 Ironman (apparently all the kool kidz call them 70.3 but since I was doing the Santa Barbara 1/2 Ironman back when those kool kidz were in diapers I'll call it whatever I damn please :)) in Cancun. Course that means more water time and definite bike time. We'll see.

like a very strange fish

2010-04-19T11:15:00.002-05:00

I think it has been 2 months - honestly, I've lost count. Torn calf 3 times - never fully reovered. It has been a very dark time. I'm now 1 week from the last tear and heading out, finally, to try aqua running.

5 min w/u
2 x 5 x 1:30 hard with 2 min between sets and :30 between intervals.
5 min w/d.

We'll see if I encounter sharks or turtles as the pool is not deep enough. Gawds I'm not looking forward to this. I've gained something like 5 kilos and it is ALL fat.

Sigh.

Going to try 2 weeks of this and then hope to return to running.

an update of sorts.

2010-03-16T21:59:00.002-06:00

Q. Where have I been?
A. I have not been posting.

I hope this clears everything up.

When things aren't going well, I tend to clam up. Two Saturdays ago (or something like that, it was a Saturday anyway) I tore my soleus (calf muscle) (say it with me now...) A Freaking Gain. Yes. The injury that will not die. I thought I was doing everything right - increasing mileage by 10% or less per week, increasing the long run by 10% or less weekly, and walking 3/4 mile before every run.

Well, it turns out that maybe I wasn't replacing electrolytes well, and I DEFINITELY should not have increased mileage and number of running days at the same time, and oh, all along, I should have been doing or getting calf massage. Oops.

I was about 3 miles into a 5 mile run and luckily Sixto was out on JanTen with his ATV so I was able to get a ride back home and hopefully no do more damage. During this recovery, however, I've realized that the endorphins were masking a good tear and it is taking a LOT longer to recover. But I found a chiro and masseuse and have been getting muscles and bones taken care of. I had my first medicinal run on Monday (run no longer than 3 minutes) and realized I am pretty screwed. I'll try again tomorrow and have resigned myself to using the chiro to finally kick this injury to the curb.

I was thinking about a 10K in Merida on the 21st, but we'll have to see what the soleus has to say about that. In other news, I gave myself two new poses (Ashtanga) and for the first time today, made it through a practice without injuring my back. Only I could injure my back (over and over again) doing Yoga. Ugh. I think the constant attempts at jump throughs did it.

boohoo neuroma

2010-02-22T14:19:00.002-06:00

Well, either my 7.5 miles on Sunday or the long week of 25 miles plus 3 days officiating at the Mayakoba PGA golf tourney inflamed my (Dr. Google diagnosed) Mortons neuroma hugely. I've never had trouble walking - just running over 5 or 6 miles and I just tough it out and it is pretty much gone by the next day. From the research I'm doing, however, it looks like this is the WrONG way to approach this injury. So I've got a piece of foam stuck between my toes and I'm trying to keep the foot bones off the nerve and hopefully decrease the swelling. Cause really, I'm just looking at my next run. Damn the torpedoes, I'm all about the run these days. I guess if worse comes worse, I can try aqua running (though I'm not sure that will really do any good).

So I'm looking at shoes and orthotics and hoping the swelling goes down enough for a short (4 mile) run tomorrow. I need a better pair or shoes though and I'm hoping I find a mule to bring me a couple to try on.

Last week was my highest mileage week - 25 miles of running and another 4-5 of walking. The best fix for the neuroma seems to be cryosurgery and there are only 3 doing the "gold standard". One in AZ, one in FL and one in TX (Rio Grande Valley). Just 4 days away by car. Might be an option if the orthotics, et.al., do not work.

Boys Africa

2010-02-22T12:53:00.005-06:00

Read on Timbuktu http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0522_030527_timbuktu.html
Read on 3 ancient African cultures - A Glorious Age in Africa
Follow links http://www.africaaccessreview.org/aar/Bibliographies/African%20Kingdoms/Timbuktu%20Manuscripts/mali_2009.htm
More on Africa http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/specialprojects/africa_access/AA_Research_Projects/Mali/mali_empire.htm
Read on Dogon culture http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0529_030529_dogon.html
Read on salt-hauling camel trains http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0528_030528_saltcaravan.html
Follow Mr. Dowling's AFrican history links
Research Mansa Musa

Chilly penguins

2010-02-13T15:29:00.003-06:00

So, today I had my longest run, 8.5 miles. I'm not as over-the-moon as last week because I kind of knew I could do it from last week. I'm not sure how much more I have in me at this point - I was thinking, about the 5 mile point, that maybe I could do the Guad 21K on the 21st, but by mile 7 I knew that stuff like that is for young kids, not old farts like me. So I'll keep looking and maybe I can find a 21K closer than Monterey by the end of April or so. Stuff down here happens so quickly that I wouldn't be surprised if a 21K just popped onto the calendar with 2 weeks to go.

I was REALLY happy with my HR (136 average) and the fact that I kept it slow as I wondered if I'd be able to run this at a 12 min/mile pace. My HR has been much higher this past week, but I'm thinking now it was just heat-induced. I'm very happy with the 11 min/mile pace and really very happy with 8.5 miles. I think I was a little high at the end but my feet hurt so bad I'm not sure. :) It has been a little warm here lately (between nortes) and we've had a couple days of high 90'sF with the heat index. I was hoping the rain last night would bring cooler weather for this morning's run but I had no idea a norte was coming in. It was FRIGID this morning!

It was FREEZING this morning - 70F and 69% and I seriously considered gloves. As it was, I had tights and a long-sleeved shirt over a drythingie shirt. It was perfect. I froze once I stopped running so if it is ever this cold again I'll know to run directly to the palapa instead of stopping at Don Pepe's. All in all, I'm very pleased, I had energy and I know I had more in me. I'm going to stay at 8 miles for hte next couple weeks, I was really very fine through mile 7. Ball of the foot pain began about mile 6 and was bad that mile then went in and out the rest of the run. After run, right ankle was VERY sore. Weird.

Next week I'm going to start Art's base mileage plan at week 10 but I'll probably make that 7 mile run an 8 miler. http://www.marathontraining.com/marathon/m_mile.html I also think my Asics are about done. I've only got 80 miles on the Nikes so I think I'll start using those more often and find someone to mule me down a new pair of shoes. I can't decide if I want Brooks Gylcerin, Defyance or New Balance 1063's.

SEVEN BABAY!

2010-02-07T13:12:00.002-06:00

Two weeks ago I tried running in Playacar (cement roads) and suffered and blew up horribly. I posted at Daily Mile and the consensus was that I was probably dehydrated. It was a warm day that day and I had no electrolytes with me - just a scoop of Cytomax before I left home. I remembered that around 6 miles I was trying to run and my hamstrings, from my ass to my ankle began to cramp up so I stopped. I felt really awful afterwards, I've run 10Ks so I was pretty sure it was physically possible but I was really wondering if I'd ever be able to run anything longer than a 10K. Also, my (Dr. Google-diagnosed) Morton's neuroma reared its UGLY and DEAFENING head around 5 miles and I was DYING from the pain, so that made it really hard to run also.

So today I had another 7 mile run to attempt. I honestly had no idea if it was even possible, but I was going to try. I took a camera out, a waterbottle with water and a prepared bottle of Poweraid. I've got to say, i was loaded down for the first .5 mile. It was COLD this morning - 84F with 48% made for a really cool start. I wore shorts, dryfit shortsleeve and long sleeve over it. I have to thank Angela, one of my neighbors for muling down some running stuff for me. I got 4 Nike Tempo shorts and 5 dryfit shirts off Ebay and now I feel like a REAL runner. Before I was using the boys cotton shorts and Tshirts.

Took off the long sleeve at about 1.5 miles in. This was almost 3 complete out-and-backs of JanTen and I'm shocked at how lovely the run was. Up to the 5 mile point I was still wondering if I'd make 7. Used the Asics and loosened the forefoot laces and had burning ball-of-foot only around 5.5-6 miles and then It Went Away! I couldn't believe it. I've NEVER had that pain LEAVE during a run and now I"m really encouraged that maybe I can run long runs!

I'm really so psyched I actually made the distance after failing horribly last time. the weather and electrolytes really made a difference. I barely made my last (Friday 4 mile) run but today I totally could have gone longer. I had a bottle of Poweraid the first 5 miles and then switched over to water. No idea of my max HR but I finally felt like I was settling into a pace somewhere around 4 miles and I really never looked at my watch for splits or HR info. It was an AMAZING run. I could get used to running in low humidity. :)

I brought a camera along and tried to take some pics as I ran...

moderation...when will i learn?

2010-02-01T13:45:00.002-06:00

I think I figured out how people can talk themselves into more mileage too soon. I was sick on Sat and Sun and about every couple hours I'd try to convince myself to go for a (reduced mileage) run even though just doing dishes and laundry was exhausting me. Today I had a reduced mileage week on tap, but since I didn't do the 7 mile long run yesterday (or the 10K I'd had planned) I figured last week could be my rest week and I'll repeat last week's mileage this week. I'm just in a base mode anyway. So I was supposed ot do a 2 mile run this am, but was feeling so good I made it 4.

I've also been snacking VERY POORLY with cookies and brownies (made them for the palaperos, but they got very few in comparison to how many we ate) and have gained about 2 kilos over the last week. Some of it is cycle-related - oh, I guess I shouldn't be doing Ashtanga tomorrow, but I'm so crim I will probably ignore that also.

I think I will try for the Feb 7th 10K in Merida (I loved the feeling of running the last one so much am dying to do another) but we'll see how it goes.

Resting HR holding steady at 48-49; weight up to 75.6 today. Ugh. I didn't even wait for the fat % as the scale was bad enough.

new widget

2010-01-29T21:21:00.001-06:00

winter weather = good run

2010-01-27T22:26:00.002-06:00

Well, I think I've found the perfect running weather. I looked through my spreadsheet/training log and found the best runs were at 73Fish and 77% humidity (or thereabouts). Had a GREAT run today - 5.25 miles and I left the gadgets at home. Course, for me, that means watch and HR monitor. No Garmin here. :) I brought the pace down a couple times, just based on how good I was feeling and the "need" to push the pace, and ended the run ready for more. If the 10K this Sunday is in similar weather (I doubt it - this weather is solely due to a norte blowing through) I think I have a great run. Either way, I'll be happy to run in Merida again.

I'm looking at shoes again. The Nikes I picked up in the US to replace my Asics are just not working out and Dr. Google has diagnosed me with metatarsalgia. It really only rears its head after 4 miles or so, and I'm not sure what to do to "cure" it. The only real problem is the real possibility of stress fracture and I really don't want that - I've read enough running blogs to know how to avoid those with the 10% rule - but I am NOT going to stop running. So hmmm... At this point, I'm not sure a marathon is in the cards anymore, but I'm going to try either a Brooks or New Balance shoe and see what happens.

I hit 73.5 kilos this week but after eating 1/2 my weight in brownies (I baked them for the palaperos) I have a feeling that I'll be ballooning up overnight. I'm really happy with the weightloss so far - I took 15 kilos off the last 1/2 of 2007, kept it off last year (well, I ping-ponged with 5 kilos for a while) and am finally continuing to decrease.

I have 4 miles on Friday and the 10K on Sunday and then next week is supposed to be a "rest" week with 3 mile runs and a "long run" of (I think) 5 miles or something.

In homeschooling news, Jesse has jumped into a schedule and I'm really proud of him. He has quite a bit of catching up to do with his younger brother, but man, he is QUICK when he wants to be.

ugh. I'm such a wimp

2010-01-24T12:31:00.002-06:00

Dayum. I headed to town today to meet up with some local runners who didn't show up. The loop I had planned to do is all concrete although I occassionally ran on pavers and some grass. The first loop (3.6m) wasn't bad - 42 minutes - I was trying to keep my HR under 150 and succeeded. It felt like a Really Long Loop though, but it could be I'm just used to having a turnaround every 1.25 miles.

I headed out for the 2nd loop and really only made it another 20 minutes before I had serious thoughts of stopping. I tried a Galloway and mentally chastised myself but only made it 8 min before wanting to stop for a walk break. My stomach was not good, but I did eat a banana and had 1/2 scoop cytomax before I left, so I'm not really sure what the problem is. I think next time I'm going to try Cytomax DuRING the run and see if that makes a difference. I just couldn't convince myself to power through and then got sick to my stomach. I KNOW I could have just sucked it up and worked through it but I'm just a wimp. Ugh. I'm so disappointed in myself.

first tempo except not

2010-01-23T18:41:00.002-06:00

So, yesterday I attempted a tempo run. Unfortunately, I didn't check to see what exactly a tempo run was BEFORE I ran. After I got back I researched and found I did it all wrong. But anyway, I decided to go out hard and hold on. My HR was over 160 the last 2 miles and I was hurting pretty badly from mile 2.75 on and the entire 4th mile I was running from landmark to landmark. "Ok, just to the palm tree. Ok, now to the turnout. Ok, now just to the log..."

I made it home and had my highest average pace AND my fastest mile (9:30) but I was D.E.A.D. Strangely, about 15-30 minutes later I was feeling absolutely GREAT and looking forward to the next one. This was the first time I've pushed myself this hard in running and now the mental block is over. It was weird how good I felt the rest of the day - even my knees stopped aching!

Tomorrow I have a 7 mile run planned. I'm kind of nervous about it. I'm planning on running in town with a group and maybe that will make the miles go faster. If nothing else, I might find I need to get an MP3 player for the longer runs. It will be really nice not having to do umpteen (seriously, about 6 loops of the same old same old).

I've also revamped my training schedule and picked NONE. :) I meshed together a few programs and this is the week to come:

Monday (I'm going to make my back-to-back days a long run and recovery run) 2 miles recovery

Tuesday: 1/2 primary Ashtanga (eventually I'm going to xtrain with swimming)

Wednesday: 5 miles tempo - 5x3 min tempo pace with 60s jog between

Thursday: 1/2 primary Ashtanga

Friday: 4.5 with 11 min/mile pace (10:45-11:15)

Saturday: 1/2 primary Ashtanga (this might be my first swim day)

Sunday: 10K in Merida. This time I'm going to time myself. :)

training program, CHECK

2010-01-20T10:27:00.002-06:00

I think I've finally made a decision. I'm not going to try to do the Ironman cozumel even though it really intrigues me because I'm just not sure my body can do a marathon. The entry fee is GIGANTIC, at $525USD so it isn't anything you can do on a whim. I will DEFINITELY volunteer though and maybe, in 2011...

So, that decision made, I figure that with cross training I should be able to do the Cancun 1/2 Ironman pretty easily (though in September it is going to be scorching) so I might do that on a whim but I will definitely just make my main training marathon-related. As such, I settled on a training program. I was really leaning towards Hal Higedon and while I'm doing base miles I just might waffle around, but starting next week, I'm going with Santa Clarita and next week will move from 4 days/week of running to 5, but lower mileage each day. My lower back is starting to complain about back-to-back Tues and Wed, so I'm not sure that is such a good idea, but I do need to figure out if I can do 5 days/week or not. Argh. Maybe once I lose another 5 kilos my body will be able to handle the frequency. If not, I'll go with Hal and do longer days with less frequency.

Week 6 probably

2010-01-19T20:48:00.004-06:00

I had a somewhat horrific run on Sunday. Since I had run the 10K in Merida last sunday I figured I was up for another 10K. It was warm (77F with 89% humidity IIRC) and I wore short sleeves for the first time this year. We've been hammered with one norte after another lately and I've been in shorts and long sleeves so it was nice to finally strip down a little. I had a good 5.5 miles and then I just wanted to stop. I was super nauseous and D.O.N.E. so I kept going for another 1/2 mile to get my six in and threw up. Jamie says I need nutrition before I run - I can't run on an empty stomach and 1/2 a scoop of Cytomax. So, I'll try more Cytomax and/or a banana on Tuesday.

I had an awful first 3 miles today - my legs felt like lead and it was 82F/77% humidity but felt cooler for the first 2 miles than Sunday. Somehow I was able to suck it up for the 4th mile and hammered out an average 10:45 pace. That last mile hurt like hell but I was really glad I hammered it out. Got up to 168HR too!

I've been finding some local runs - a 10K on the 31st in Merida and another on Feb 7th. I'm also close to picking my marathon to shoot for and thus, arrange my training. I had some dreams of an Ironman or even 1/2 (I think I could probably phone in the swim and bike but the run would kill me) but I think I'm just going to focus on the marathon this year and maybe do the 1/2 Ironman in Cancun. I'd much rather do Cozumel (prettier and better spectators) but I really don't know if I'd be able to do a full Ironman AND it has a $525USD entry fee!!!!

I also really need to pick a training program - I know what I'm doing this week (same as last week, probably; 4 on Tuesday, 2 on Wed, 4 on Fri and 6 on Sun) but I really need to get that in gear also.

Dusting off the old blogger

2010-01-14T14:16:00.002-06:00

I'm starting to wonder why I've separated the blogs (hopalog and this one) and can only figure that I don't want to clutter the blog with running stuff. Because that's pretty much all this will be about is running.

I recently decided to train for a marathon. Well, first I decided a 1/2 marathon would be good. Then I figured, what the hell, why not go for broke? I'm only at 4mile runs anyway, so it's not a big deal yet. No pain yet. We'll see if I can stay injury free and then whether or not I actually go through with it. I once did a 1/2 Ironman length triathlon but that was some 25 years ago. I started running as an exercise I realized I enjoyed, that would help me lose weight. I lost about 15kg by December 2008 and kept it off last year (through running and watching what I eat). I probably have 5-10kg more to take off but now I'm just maintaining. I really thought I could just keep running as exercise, but found I enjoyed the challenge of adding more mileage. I then ran a 10K as a spur of the moment thing (Jan 10th) and had such a fun time that I decided I wanted to do more.

So I'm looking at training programs and trying to pick a marathon that I might like. I'm leaning towards Mazatlan, DF and now see that Acapulco has one (but so far, little info). I'm doing a base buildup (basically training for a 1/2) of 16 weeks or so and am currently on week 5. Well, it is a bastardized training program as I'm jumping in at week 5 or so. I also haven't picked one training program and I know everyone says to just PICK ONE and stick with it, but I haven't yet.

Yesterday was my first foray into running 2 days in a row. Seriously, I've never run consecutive days. I know most runners do 5 days a week but I'm not sure I'd be injury-free if I did that. I'm not really into Galloway either; I don't like the idea of walking while I run but more importantly, I HATE how I feel when I walk/run. I've done it when doing the C25K program and it really messes up my stride, flow and head. Course, if I ever get to mile 20 of a marathon, I might be feeling differently.

I know I should be doing some core today but it was just too cold at 70-75F. Yikes! I also need to figure out WHAT to do for core exercises. :)

Girls' schedule

2009-05-05T18:51:00.009-05:00

Daily (M-F) : Math (Singapore), Sissy reads from a book and alternate days does ETC, Ellen does Reading Game and/or ETC, copywork, read one Chapter from "Summer Moon"
Monday, Wed, Friday: FLL (we ended on lesson 5), read from "Tales of Ancient Egypt".
Wednesday: Chemistry Pre Level 1 (we've done chapters 1 and 2), read TM and get lab ready, world culture (India)
Tuesday, Thursday: SOTW/History (see link), read from Gilgamesh epic (3 books)
Saturday: Art (Artistic Pursuits - we have already done Units 1-3), world culture (India), geography

Updated Pikey daily flow

2009-04-25T14:50:00.004-05:00

He will start on his own with Teaching Textbooks. He generally does at least a page of work; I shoot for 30-45 minutes of dedicated work. If he is not using the computer, but the workbook, remind him to check his answers.
He will journal (you need to remind him) nightly. This is a private journal.
He or I will read the daily Writer's Almanac. Pike then does dictation or copywork from WA. I use either the "I Have a Dream" speech or a piece of history from the WA or a poem he particularly enjoyed. After dictation discuss the punctuation and any new grammar you might have come across and introduce any new punctuation and/or grammar ideas which come about from the dictation.
I read a chapter from a living history book relevant to (right now, "The Cat of Bubastes") the period of history we are reading about.
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday we are using the Susan Bauer book as the history spine. As I read I frequently summarize and ask him questions to see if he is understanding and getting it. When something piques my interest (or his) we'll also discuss that too. After each 5 chapters of Bauer's book do a written timeline and character summary - who was in power where and when charted and who begat whom so the history is easier to follow.
For Spanish I speak Spanish all day MWF and we are doing as much from "So You REally Want To Learn Spanish" (SYRWTLS) as he is up for. I supplement SYRWTLS with Sr. Jordan. You need to prepare daily the day before.
He will read from a book he chooses daily that is usually relevant to either current world culture or history (right now "Golden Goblet").
Sunday he adds critical thinking to the mix. We are working through "The Art of Argument". He also does Art (choose a project from the Artistic Pursuits book) and world culture. We are currently working on China.
Monday he does no daily work but does an art project of his choosing.
Tuesdays he does Geography. Right now he is working on Asia. He picks an area of Asia and reads the information about each country and then plays the game to identify each country. Each couple weeks I have him go back a week and see if he still recognizes where that week's countries are. We also work on the "Geography Through Art" book. You should prepare for this the day before. We also work on a writing assignment this day (from Bravewriter) and history spine.
Wednesday we work on Chemistry (Real Science for Kids Chemistry 1) and he picks a science experiment (if he wants to, in addition to the experiment from the RS4K Chemistry 1) and we read and discuss Sociology. He picks from the World Religion book, the "Teens with a Courage to Give" book or the "Save the Children" book. Today is also a World culture day.
Thursday we do Sociology (see Wednesday), History Spine and world culture.
Friday he takes the day off daily subjects. He and Jesse watch a lecture from the "Ancient Cultures" DVD and do Friday Freewrite (Bravewriter)
Saturday he does critical thinking and History spine.

getting back into the swing

2009-04-25T11:00:00.003-05:00

After Jamie leaving in February (to be with his dying mother), visit from my folks, sisters and their families, we're getting back into the swing. thankfully I have this blog to see what we're supposed to be doing. :) The last family left yesterday and Jesse and Pike (and maybe a girl, not sure) said they wanted to start back to school today. This morning Pike says it feels "good" to be back at his math, so I'm seeing that as a good sign. Jesse wants to start TT7 from the beginning and we'll see what he's going to do.