Monday, August 31, 2009

First 14-ers, Part I: Mt. Elbert















We set off on our journey to hike Mt. Elbert--the highest point in Colorado--around 6:45am. This was a little later than we had planned on, but more on that later.
















Once we got above treeline, there was a great view of Twin Lakes - gorgeous!















The trail was basically up, up, and more up. Steep and challenging aerobically, but nothing technical. Just walking, no scrambling.

































Yeah! Made it to the summit around 10:30am. My first time ever at 14,000 feet and atop the highest peak in Colorado!




The main mystery of this hike was the reason we got started later than planned. When we pulled up to the trailhead, we saw smoke, red embers, and a few flames. When we got closer we realized that the sign marking the trail was on fire! We grabbed some jugs of water to douse it and so did the car in front of us. Upon closer inspection, it looked to be intentional. There were logs set up directly in front of it and a few beer cans and empty bags of chips. We hung around awhile to call 911 and let someone know what was happening. While we were waiting we met these two guys, who eventually became our main suspects. At first they said that they had showed up at 2am and saw the sign engulfed in flames and moved some of the logs to keep it from burning more. They claimed, "Yeah, dude, it must have been some drunk college kids or something. We did our best to put it out." Once we realized how much these two reeked of alcohol, we were pretty doubtful that it was, in fact, "drunk college kids" who started it. The sheriff called us back later to get more information once he got to the trailhead and realized how bad it was. By the time we got down at the end of the hike, one of the three signs had fallen.

After this hike, it was on to the campsite to rest up for Mt. Massive.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

What's Next?

Now that tri season is over and I no longer have to wake up at the crack of dawn for racing and training, the main advantage is . . . now I can wake up at the crack of dawn for a day of hiking!

One thing I've regretted about being so into triathlon since moving to Colorado is that I haven't had as many opportunities to enjoy the natural beauty of my own backyard. As a first step in making more of an effort to get out in the great outdoors, yesterday I joined two friends and hiked 13,375 feet to the top of South Arapahoe Peak in the Indian Wilderness. I was worried about the elevation and that even though I'm in shape, I'm not really in "hiking shape," but I did just fine. Even though it was chilly and very cloudy, the scenery was beautiful and it was great to spend my Friday off in the mountains.

It is supposedly very normal to feel a sense of let down once you meet your major race goals for the season. Last year, I was not sad about the end of tri season, but I was completely burnt out. This year, I feel neither let down or burnt out. I'm not struggling with "what do I do now?" nor does the sight of my bike or the thought of running make me want to vomit. Since I purposely divide my year between "training for a goal" season and "exercising for the sake of exercising" season, I'm content to arrive at the latter. Since I'm a gym rat at heart, I'll happily go back to Zumba, hip hop, spinning, lifting, step, yoga, and Pilates. And, now that my weekends are free from long runs and long bike rides, I'm going to try to get more into hiking and outdoorsy stuff. Also, I'm planning to combine gym work-outs and the great outdoors by trying out Boot Camp at Red Rocks.

Even though this feels very "cart before horse," I'm already thinking about my triathlon goals for next year. Since they are bopping around my head, might as well write them down. I suppose the only post-season disappointment I feel is that I really loved the Half-Ironman distance, but I know I can't commit to training for them too often without burning out. I really want my summer back and I want next year's to be significantly more unscheduled. It would be so nice to be able to say "yes" to an invitation for camping without hesitating because I need to do a 60-mile bike ride or be able to zip down to Austin for the weekend without having to squeeze in a 10-mile run at Town Lake. Therefore, the current plan is to do two triathlons early in the season and then have the rest of the summer to do whatever I like. I'm thinking of doing the Cap Tex Tri (Olympic distance) in Austin on Memorial Day and TriathlON Friday in early June - a new sprint distance in Denver that is on Friday evening so you don't have to wake up at 4:15am!

I'm also thinking of a vague three year plan. I would focus more on biking next summer and maybe train for the MS-150 or some other multi-day rides or centuries. The following year, I would focus on doing 3-4 half-marathons and some 10Ks and see if I can improve my running. The next year, I would put all three sports together again and go for another Half-Ironman or other challenging race. One race I'd really like to do in the next few years is Escape From Alcatraz. It looks like so much fun and is theoretically a good one for me because the most challenging leg is the swim.

And now back to enjoying the rest of my first post-season weekend! A mani/pedi is in order!

Monday, August 10, 2009

TriathLONG!

It's done - I finished the 5430 Long Course yesterday with a total time of 6:55:07! It was a great experience and surprisingly doable (though definitely a challenge). The key factors seemed to be pacing myself, staying hydrated, taking in enough calories and electrolytes, and keeping a calm mind.

Pre-Race

The night before, I had one of the best nights of sleep I've ever had before a race and probably the best night of sleep I'd had in the last couple weeks. Perhaps I owe this to my plan of taking care of all logistics the day before, so I didn't have do much besides pick up my race packet and lay around watching The West Wing. My brain wasn't still reeling with mental to-do lists and reminders, so it was easier than usual to fall asleep around 9:30. I woke up once at 2:30, but went right back to sleep and didn't even hit snooze when my alarm sounded at 4:15.

I got to the transition area and found a spot in the racks for Wave 10. It was right near the Porta-Potties, so it didn't smell that great for 5am, but at least it made it easier to find my bike during transitions. The girl who racked her bike next to me tied a fake Gerber daisy around our rack as a marker. Gerber daisies are my favorite flower, so this was a nice addition to the transition set up.

For a race of this distance, there was more transition gear and steps to think of - mostly related to food and staying comfortable. I was afraid of forgetting something important, so I decided to stuff the transition items I was most afraid of forgetting into my shoes. Going on to the bike, I didn't think I would forget my socks, helmet, sunglasses, or bike gloves, but I was worried I would forget to put plenty of Cliff Shot Blocks in my back pockets. Likewise, going into the run, I knew I could remember my hat and race number, but I thought I might not remember to throw on more sunscreen, apply anti-chafing lotion, and grab more food. This strategy worked pretty well.

Here's me in my Porta-Potty-Proximate transition slot. I usually wear this same T-shirt before all of my races - the big, important ones anyway. This shirt was from the Corpus Christi "Swashbuckler's" Beginner's Triathlon, my first ever multi-sport race. It wasn't even a full sprint distance - just a 200 yard swim in a pool, a 10 mile bike ride, and a 2 mile run. I did it with my helmet on backwards and almost no air in my tires (this was before I realized you were supposed to pump your tires before every ride). I wear it as a little security blanket and a reminder of how far I've come.

Swim - 1.2 miles - 42:26

My wave (the very last) didn't start until 7:15, forty-five minutes after the gun for the first wave. This gave me plenty of time to put on my wetsuit and mill around on the beach before getting in the warm-up. I was chilly so I was excited to finally warm-up in both senses of the word and plopped in the water around 6:55. This is the point when I usually start to get nervous, sitting in the water, anticipating the start. But yesterday, I felt remarkably calm. I've done rehearsals for this distance twice before (though, never with the full run) and both times I remember sighing to myself while waiting in the water, "Man, this is the beginning of a very, very long day." My mind didn't go there Sunday and, while I'd like to think it was because I felt so confident in my training and preparation, I think most of the credit goes to that FANTASTIC night of sleep.

Women 30-34 shared a wave with Men 20-24. I'm not sure I've ever started in a wave with guys before, so I wasn't quite sure where to place myself. I put myself about mid-pack, slightly further back than usual. Although it was nice and cloudy for the earlier waves, the sun came out just in time for me to spend yet another morning in Boulder squinting in search of the buoys. The start was a little more chaotic than I've had in awhile. For the first 50 meters there were people on top of me and all around me. I eventually carved out spot for myself and felt pretty good. The water was calm and I didn't have any panic attacks that my wetsuit was strangling me like during last month's Boulder Peak. Swimming is by far my strongest of the three sports, but I didn't think it would be worth it to spend too much energy hammering out a super-fast swim time. Mentally, I thought of the swim as a warm-up and made a conscious effort to cruise through the swim and feel fresh going on to the bike. The one positive to starting last was that I didn't have to worry about different-colored swim caps from later waves creeping in on me - if I saw another colored cap, it meant I was catching them. By the last stretch of buoys, I was almost completely surrounded by red and blue caps (my wave wore white) so I figured I was making decent time. I cranked the speed a little for the last stretch and ran up the hill to the transition area.

Bike - 56 miles - 3:26:09 (16.3 mph)

The bike started out with a slight hiccup - I had barely turned out of the reservoir when I switched gears and my chain fell off. I might have jinxed myself the day before when I thought to myself that I hadn't had to adjust my chain in awhile and maybe I should practice that before the race. I did not end up practicing and instead got to practice right there on the course. Luckily it only took about 30 seconds to fix and, since I was just getting started, I didn't lose much rhythm or momentum.

My main goals on the bike were to stay hydrated and re-fuel regularly and to push it as much as I could without killing my legs. I set my watch to beep every 5 minutes to remind me to eat and drink - I drank water at every beep, drank Gatorade at every other beep, and ate a Shot Block at every third beep. I doubt I kept that rotation exactly, but overall it worked pretty well. The first 12 miles (of the 28 mile loop) are mostly a steady incline, then a few miles of awesome downhill, then it flattens out with a slight incline towards the end. I had an easier time with the uphill part than the last time I practiced it. I was able to stay in my big ring almost the entire time, dropping into the small ring occasionally to get up some of the hills. At one point during the second loop, I realized that I hadn't switched back to my big ring once a hill had flattened out and I was so annoyed at the speed I must have lost that I stayed in the big ring, stood up, and powered up the next hill. This was probably a mistake as it resulted in a cramp that lasted the remainder of the bike ride. I spent the rest of the time trying to make it go away. A cramp isn't so bad on the bike, but I knew it would be really uncomfortable on the run. I stopped taking in calories for awhile and just focused on small sips of water and deep yogic breathing. It didn't feel completely gone by the time I dismounted, but I didn't notice it at all once I started running.

Even though my second loop was much more uncomfortable than the first, I managed to keep a pretty consistent pace, finishing each loop with an average speed of 16.3 mph. The last time I did this ride at race pace, it took me 3:33, so I was happy for the 7 minute improvement and for an average speed above 16 mph.

Run - 13.1 miles - 2:35:44 (11:54/mi)

My quads were definitely feeling the burn as I got ready for the run. I headed out of the transition area trying my best to ignore the many people already finished and finishing and focused on the task at hand. My absolute only goals during the run were to (1) stay sane and (2) keep cool. I had planned and practiced running 5:1 intervals -- run for 5 minutes, walk for 1 -- and set my Garmin to beep accordingly. I adjusted the display so it only showed me how long I had left in each interval. I didn't even want to think about my pace. Although I felt a little sheepish stopping to walk midway through mile 1, I was happy to have the break. The first couple miles were tough, but eventually I settled into it. I drank water and Gatorade at every aid station and also grabbed ice to put in my hat and ice water sponges to stick inside my sports bra.

I could tell I was keeping a pretty good pace on my run-intervals, but I kept doing the walk-breaks nonetheless. I adjusted the timing of the walk-breaks occasionally, mostly to accomodate hills and aid stations. I felt so strong that I wondered if it was silly of me to walk periodically. But, I decided that this was cocky - the reason I felt so strong was because I was taking the time to walk. I'd much rather walk on purpose throughout than go to hard and be forced to walk out of necessity. Plus, the mental benefit of breaking the run into six-minute segments was incalculable.

Finishing the first loop and going into the second was a little challenging, just because most people running around me were on their second loop and going into the finish. The crowd was cheering, "Keep going - you're almost there," but I still had 6.5 miles to go. I had prepared myself for this and kept my head high when asking a volunteer which way to go to continue for a second loop. I was totally fine, but then someone in the crowd recognized that I was still going, yelled out my race number and told me I looked strong. It sounds silly, but that random support from a stranger made me so emotional I thought I was going to cry and was fighting back tears for the next mile.

I think I enjoyed the run more than any other leg, which is surprising because it was the one I was most terrified of. I just couldn't believe how strong and capable I felt for most of the half-marathon. It did get hard again towards the end - I thought I was going to cry again at mile 12, half because I couldn't believe I had run that far and half because I didn't want to keep running to the finish line. Once I got off the dirt trail around the Rez and hit the parking lot for the last three-quarters of a mile, I wouldn't let myself take any more walk-breaks. At long last, I veered into the finishers chute and saw my awesome cheering section of friends and family as I crossed the line. Awesome feeling!

I finished with an overall time of 6:55:07. I was predicting a time of around 7 hours, but secretly worried it was going to take me closer to 7:30. I was delighted to come in sub-7.

When you cross the line at an Ironman, they announce your name and say "You . . . are . . . an Ironman!" They don't say anything like that at a Half-Ironman, because the rhetoric doesn't quite work. But hey, I'll say it. I'm half an Iron(wo)man, and that ain't bad!

Friday, August 07, 2009

Pre-Race Prep and Food

As I type, I am 1 day, 8 hours, 20 minutes, and 55 seconds from the start of the 5430 Long Course - my first half ironman!

In order to be as rested and relaxed as possible for the big day, I'm focusing my entire weekend around it. Basically, I'm trying to get every little chore and errand done today so I don't have to worry about anything Saturday but picking up my race packet, hydrating, eating well, and getting to bed early. Right now, I'm watching DVDs of The West Wing (late to the party, but glad to be here!), folding laundry, laying out all my gear for Sunday, and doing some cooking.

I've been cooking a lot of vegetables in the oven lately. It all started when I got a craving for Parmesan chicken a couple weeks ago and tried a recipe I found online. I like to overcook and have plenty of leftovers to re-heat the rest of the week, so I made four chicken breasts. While it was great out of the oven, the chicken was not nearly as good after being nuked (way too dry). I love eggplant, and figured it would hold up much better in the microwave, so I applied the same recipe to eggplant. It was AWESOME! Very yummy without much effort. The only problem was that I wanted to eat it all and it was much harder to save any for leftovers.

After making that a couple times, I decided to branch out to other vegetables. Here's what I made earlier:



















Eggplant, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, and Brussels sprout parmigiana! I'm not sure how healthy this is, but at least I'm getting my veggies. And making it was really easy. I just chopped everything, dipped each piece in butter, and lightly coated each with a mixture of breadcrumbs, grated Parmesan cheese, dried parsley, and garlic powder. I baked them in the oven at 350 for about an hour with foil covering the pan.











This was my first time eating Brussels sprouts and I thought they were quite good. Neither they nor the cherry tomatoes really needed the crusting (nor did it stick well), but it was a fun little experiment.

For my "last supper" tomorrow evening, I'm opting for something a little healthier. I'm making eggplant and zucchini again, but no butter or Parmesan crusting. I tossed them in the oven with a light coating of olive oil and a sprinkling of parsley and garlic powder. In addition, I'm going to have some ground turkey and tomato sauce with whole wheat pasta. (I'm staying at a friend's house in Boulder tomorrow night and bringing my pre-race meal with me, ergo the need to cook it tonight). The experts say to have a big lunch the day before a race and then a modest-sized dinner. This meal should give me some vitamins, some lean protein, and some "good" carbohydrates and (I hope) will leave me feeling energized Sunday morning!