Saturday, July 16, 2011
You can't put the icing on until you build the cake!!
I have plenty of cake (base) now I need the icing (speed)! I don't have much time...but I need to get my speed back for National's next month. I can't give up any time between now and then but I do want to race...so I will be racing pretty tired for the next few weeks. I'm planning to head up to Vermont tonight to race Fairlee Olympic tomorrow. I'm not expecting much...just using it for training. I do want to try my best to win the fastest transition contest. Jet Blue is giving away free r/t airfare and I could maybe use it for Vegas!!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Going to Vegas!!
Well I did it!! Thanks to all who said I could and especially to those who said I couldn't! Six weeks after breaking my collarbone I did what I had been training for... I qualified for Worlds 70.3 in Las Vegas. It certainly wasn't my best performance but I'll take it. The swim was non wetsuit legal which was good for me. It still hurts my collarbone to get the wetsuit on and off and I swim relatively well without it. My swim wasn't stellar by any stretch but all things considered, it wasn't too bad. I was 11th out of the water. The one thing I absolutely couldn't do was swim after the injury. I just started swimming easy last week to make sure I still could.
I loved the challenging bike course (except for the last few miles!! How many double railroad tracks were there?? At least 3 or 4?) ....Just wish my chain didn't fall off at the top of every hill!! Ughhh! I looked at the file at estimate I lost more than 4 min... but who knows because my heart rate also recovered over 30 beats, which helped me, so I can't really say for sure how much time I would have gained if the chain didn't drop. I managed to move up to 5th off the bike.
The run....well that just plain sucked!! I saw that hill and the cramps set in just looking at it. I started walking about one mile in and I swear for about two minutes I was going to drop out. I took some pickle juice and then shortly after that I started running again. Things got a little better but not much. I took sips of pickle juice in anticipation of every hill and every slight incline. It kept the cramps just under enough control to allow me to finish the race...still in 5th place. Like I said...... I'll take it!!
I loved the challenging bike course (except for the last few miles!! How many double railroad tracks were there?? At least 3 or 4?) ....Just wish my chain didn't fall off at the top of every hill!! Ughhh! I looked at the file at estimate I lost more than 4 min... but who knows because my heart rate also recovered over 30 beats, which helped me, so I can't really say for sure how much time I would have gained if the chain didn't drop. I managed to move up to 5th off the bike.
The run....well that just plain sucked!! I saw that hill and the cramps set in just looking at it. I started walking about one mile in and I swear for about two minutes I was going to drop out. I took some pickle juice and then shortly after that I started running again. Things got a little better but not much. I took sips of pickle juice in anticipation of every hill and every slight incline. It kept the cramps just under enough control to allow me to finish the race...still in 5th place. Like I said...... I'll take it!!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
That did not just happen!!
That did not just happen...those are the words that ran through my mind as I lay in the street with pain in my shoulder. I jumped up and thought if I can just pop my shoulder back in I will be fine. I quickly realized that my shoulder was not dislocated. I could feel my collarbone sticking out and it hurt like hell to move my neck in any direction. I wish I had a horrific bike crash tale to tell but the truth is I just tripped while running. I was only a mile or so from home. On the walk home I got extremely dizzy and sick and almost passed out but luckily I made it home still standing. I'll spare you the long drawn out version of the story.. I went straight to the ER and bottom line is my clavicle is broken..one look at the x-ray and you can see that wasn't too hard to diagnose. The next day I took a trip to the orthopedic doc where he confirmed the fracture and offered surgery.... I declined. He didn't push the surgery he basically said it was pretty much a toss up on weather it was worth it or not. If I let it heal naturally there's a chance of a non union and a chance the shoulder will always bother me but there was also a good chance it will be just fine. On the other hand the surgery will make it heal quicker but there will always be this large metal plate that shows and your skin may occasionally get caught on the screws and then there is also a risk of infection. Hmmmm... what to do? That decision took all of a few seconds....I'll take my chances and see how it heals. The clavicle is the most frequent bone in the human body to brake. It's seems to me in this day of modern medicine we should have a better way to fix it. It seems like some sort of super glue with a little dowel to hold it in place would work much better than some 6 inch plate!!
The prognosis.....If it heals well it will be fine in 6 weeks and until then don't do much. But doc I have a 1/2 Ironman in 6 weeks...His reply..."Yes, you'll probably be good by then" Doctors never understand!!...What about my training until then? "No you probably shouldn't do much until then. Ok...good luck...oh and no work until you come back and see me in 6 weeks." No work, no training!! What will I do? My life went from 100 mph to 5 mph. One positive thing ...I'll get to spend some quality time with the family.
The prognosis.....If it heals well it will be fine in 6 weeks and until then don't do much. But doc I have a 1/2 Ironman in 6 weeks...His reply..."Yes, you'll probably be good by then" Doctors never understand!!...What about my training until then? "No you probably shouldn't do much until then. Ok...good luck...oh and no work until you come back and see me in 6 weeks." No work, no training!! What will I do? My life went from 100 mph to 5 mph. One positive thing ...I'll get to spend some quality time with the family.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
2010 Season Wrap - Up (Very old news)
Life is so busy!! This is so late I don't know where to begin. I guess I'll start by suming up the end of my season.
Aug 28/29: The weekend after my disapointing race at Timberman 70.3 was the Cranberry Sprint and the Cranberry Olympic. I really wasn't sure how It would go, being one week after my first 70.3 and then doing a sprint and olympic back to back.
I knew I would finish but I didn't know how fast I would be. The sprint went surprising well and as soon as I crossed the finish line I signed up for the Olympic for a chance to win "Queen of Cranberry" (lowest combined time of both races). The next day I felt stronger than ever and had a PR Olympic run time and was able to take home the "Crown".
Great weekend....local race with lots of family and friends....... Soooo fun!
Sept 5th: The next weekend I raced the Mayflower Sprint. The race was postponed one day due to large swells from an off shore hurricane. Again, I had a great race feeling stronger than the previous week and took 1st female overall. With almost six weeks of tapering I would have thought my "Peak" should have been winding down but I felt as if it was just beginning.
Sept 12th: Do I have it in me to do one more 70.3? I was feeling strong physically. Mentally though, I wasn't sure I could do it. Could I really do another half iron? I hadn't planned it and I hadn't run long in weeks or even rode longer than an hour. My head was saying..."You've lost so much fitness". Can I even run 13.1 miles? But a little voice was was nagging me. All that training for what? .... A dissapointing race that I'm not happy about. No....no way. I decided to do Firmman 1/2 IM in Narragansett.
I drove all the way down the day before to sign-up (3 hours roundtrip). I got there...and missed the sign-up! They said just get here at 5 am and you can sign-up then. Oh.... sure I'll get up at 3 am. No problem!
The next morning when that alarm went off....I said f that I'm not going! Then that little nagging voice.... your season will not feel complete. You will never forgive yourself. Get your ass up! So I dragged myself out of bed and headed out.
I decided that the race didn't really matter. I didn't know anybody at the race. No one I knew was watching and no one I knew was participating. I felt no pressure. No one really even knew I was doing it.
I didn't have much of a race plan other than to go faster than my previous half and hoped the experience I gained there would guide me. I decided to go off feel and not be a slave to the power meter. If I blow up after the bike then so be it. I'll walk the run. I practically had to walk the last run anyway. I rode the bike exactly how I felt I should ride it. I didn't care what the watts said. I occasioanlly glanced at it but didn't back off much. I passed several girls on the bike but really had no idea what my place was. I got off the bike and was pleased with my time as it was several minutes faster than previous. The spectators told me a was in 3rd place and 2nd place was just a few minutes ahead. 3rd place... wow. Will I hold it together for the run? Did I ride too hard? I'll soon find out. I put 8 oz of pickle juice in my pocket (per my coach's advice) and off I went.
One mile into the run....cramps all over!! Ok...time to try the pickle juice. Will it make me sick? A few sips.... nothing!! This crap doesn't work. Fast foward 20 seconds... wait no more cramps!! Wow!! Ok maybe David isn't so crazy. About 7 miles into the run I can start to make out a girl in front of me. Is there time to catch her? Slowly and I mean ever soooo slowly she starts to get closer and closer. At mile 11 and after several bouts of cramps and pickle juice ingestion I catch her. We run neck and neck up the last hill and then I was able to pull away for a 2nd place finish.
I crossed the finish line in 4:54 (23 min faster than Timberman). I was thrilled!! My season was now complete and I was so happy!
Next Post: My "Off Season"
Aug 28/29: The weekend after my disapointing race at Timberman 70.3 was the Cranberry Sprint and the Cranberry Olympic. I really wasn't sure how It would go, being one week after my first 70.3 and then doing a sprint and olympic back to back.
I knew I would finish but I didn't know how fast I would be. The sprint went surprising well and as soon as I crossed the finish line I signed up for the Olympic for a chance to win "Queen of Cranberry" (lowest combined time of both races). The next day I felt stronger than ever and had a PR Olympic run time and was able to take home the "Crown".
Great weekend....local race with lots of family and friends....... Soooo fun!
Sept 5th: The next weekend I raced the Mayflower Sprint. The race was postponed one day due to large swells from an off shore hurricane. Again, I had a great race feeling stronger than the previous week and took 1st female overall. With almost six weeks of tapering I would have thought my "Peak" should have been winding down but I felt as if it was just beginning.
Sept 12th: Do I have it in me to do one more 70.3? I was feeling strong physically. Mentally though, I wasn't sure I could do it. Could I really do another half iron? I hadn't planned it and I hadn't run long in weeks or even rode longer than an hour. My head was saying..."You've lost so much fitness". Can I even run 13.1 miles? But a little voice was was nagging me. All that training for what? .... A dissapointing race that I'm not happy about. No....no way. I decided to do Firmman 1/2 IM in Narragansett.
I drove all the way down the day before to sign-up (3 hours roundtrip). I got there...and missed the sign-up! They said just get here at 5 am and you can sign-up then. Oh.... sure I'll get up at 3 am. No problem!
The next morning when that alarm went off....I said f that I'm not going! Then that little nagging voice.... your season will not feel complete. You will never forgive yourself. Get your ass up! So I dragged myself out of bed and headed out.
I decided that the race didn't really matter. I didn't know anybody at the race. No one I knew was watching and no one I knew was participating. I felt no pressure. No one really even knew I was doing it.
I didn't have much of a race plan other than to go faster than my previous half and hoped the experience I gained there would guide me. I decided to go off feel and not be a slave to the power meter. If I blow up after the bike then so be it. I'll walk the run. I practically had to walk the last run anyway. I rode the bike exactly how I felt I should ride it. I didn't care what the watts said. I occasioanlly glanced at it but didn't back off much. I passed several girls on the bike but really had no idea what my place was. I got off the bike and was pleased with my time as it was several minutes faster than previous. The spectators told me a was in 3rd place and 2nd place was just a few minutes ahead. 3rd place... wow. Will I hold it together for the run? Did I ride too hard? I'll soon find out. I put 8 oz of pickle juice in my pocket (per my coach's advice) and off I went.
One mile into the run....cramps all over!! Ok...time to try the pickle juice. Will it make me sick? A few sips.... nothing!! This crap doesn't work. Fast foward 20 seconds... wait no more cramps!! Wow!! Ok maybe David isn't so crazy. About 7 miles into the run I can start to make out a girl in front of me. Is there time to catch her? Slowly and I mean ever soooo slowly she starts to get closer and closer. At mile 11 and after several bouts of cramps and pickle juice ingestion I catch her. We run neck and neck up the last hill and then I was able to pull away for a 2nd place finish.
I crossed the finish line in 4:54 (23 min faster than Timberman). I was thrilled!! My season was now complete and I was so happy!
Next Post: My "Off Season"
Friday, November 19, 2010
Timberman 70.3
It's been a while since my last post...I was so busy racing I didn't have time to write and then I was so happy to be done the last thing I wanted to do was write! I guess I'll just start where I left off.....Timberman 70.3
It was not not the race I was expecting. I was a little more than disappointed with my performance. I still don't know what really went wrong. I felt great in the swim. No SIPE. I kept my power exactly where it was suppose to be and followed the plan to the "T" both pace wise and nutritionally. Despite that, I had terrible cramps about 15 miles in on the bike. I've never had cramps on the bike!! Maybe it was the hills? I'll never know but they continued and when I hit the run they we're brutal. The last couple miles of the run I could have sworn I had picked up the pace. I thought I had finally gotten a rhythm going. I looked at my watch only to see > 9 min pace. At first, I thought there was something wrong with the GPS. My perceived effort was telling me I was running at least 7 min mile.... maybe it was the tree cover. But no, not so....my perception was so askew I was truly running 9:45's. It just hurt so bad it felt like 7:00's.
Oh well..... Like it or not, The first one is in the book.
The best part of the race was staying with friends and teammates. We rented a fabulous house for the week and we all just had a great time. I had the pleasure of meeting a Power-Tri teammate Mr. James Lawrence who by the way is now the official world record holder for the most 70.3's in one season.....22!! He does it all to help build dams in Africa. You can check out his website www.triandgiveadam.com
Great guy!! I can't wait to see what he does in 2012. He's planning to break the world record for the most Full IM's in one season. One month he will have to do four in a row....Ouch!!
Thanks to all my friends and family who donated almost $1000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Those donations also allowed me pre and post race access to my own private bathroom. Let's not kid ourselves people, we all know this was a huge motivator! But as I was sitting in that deluxe private port-o-potty, I looked around at all the pictures. Sweet innocent children whose last wishes were being granted...It brought tears to my eyes.
It was not not the race I was expecting. I was a little more than disappointed with my performance. I still don't know what really went wrong. I felt great in the swim. No SIPE. I kept my power exactly where it was suppose to be and followed the plan to the "T" both pace wise and nutritionally. Despite that, I had terrible cramps about 15 miles in on the bike. I've never had cramps on the bike!! Maybe it was the hills? I'll never know but they continued and when I hit the run they we're brutal. The last couple miles of the run I could have sworn I had picked up the pace. I thought I had finally gotten a rhythm going. I looked at my watch only to see > 9 min pace. At first, I thought there was something wrong with the GPS. My perceived effort was telling me I was running at least 7 min mile.... maybe it was the tree cover. But no, not so....my perception was so askew I was truly running 9:45's. It just hurt so bad it felt like 7:00's.
Oh well..... Like it or not, The first one is in the book.
The best part of the race was staying with friends and teammates. We rented a fabulous house for the week and we all just had a great time. I had the pleasure of meeting a Power-Tri teammate Mr. James Lawrence who by the way is now the official world record holder for the most 70.3's in one season.....22!! He does it all to help build dams in Africa. You can check out his website www.triandgiveadam.com
Great guy!! I can't wait to see what he does in 2012. He's planning to break the world record for the most Full IM's in one season. One month he will have to do four in a row....Ouch!!
Thanks to all my friends and family who donated almost $1000 for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. Those donations also allowed me pre and post race access to my own private bathroom. Let's not kid ourselves people, we all know this was a huge motivator! But as I was sitting in that deluxe private port-o-potty, I looked around at all the pictures. Sweet innocent children whose last wishes were being granted...It brought tears to my eyes.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Ready for Timberman 70.3
It's been a while since my last post. Training, work and life doesn't leave much time to write. I'm getting ready to head up to New Hampshire after work tonight. And it never fails... the day you want to get out of work early, is the busiest day of the year.
I've worked hard to prepare for this race. It's not easy to do 3 1/2 hour bricks several times a week when you work 10 hours a day and have a 1 hour commute each way. Some of my long bricks have gone exceptionally well. I'm starting to think I may be more cut out for distance than sprints..... but time will SOON tell.
There are so many things that can go wrong!! All the hard work I've put in and if I get SIPE (swimming induced pulmonary edema), my day could be over before I hit the bike. I've made the decision not to wear a wetsuit. I've done a lot of swim tests and I'm only about 12 seconds faster over a mile with the wetsuit...and it takes 20-30 sec to strip it. So it's pretty much a wash. The risk of SIPE is too high for me to wear it.
I'm going to trust my coach and follow the race plan to the "T". He hasn't let me down yet!!
I'm not going to lie and pretend I don't want to win....that's what I'm racing for.... I WANT TO WIN!! Wish me luck!
I've worked hard to prepare for this race. It's not easy to do 3 1/2 hour bricks several times a week when you work 10 hours a day and have a 1 hour commute each way. Some of my long bricks have gone exceptionally well. I'm starting to think I may be more cut out for distance than sprints..... but time will SOON tell.
There are so many things that can go wrong!! All the hard work I've put in and if I get SIPE (swimming induced pulmonary edema), my day could be over before I hit the bike. I've made the decision not to wear a wetsuit. I've done a lot of swim tests and I'm only about 12 seconds faster over a mile with the wetsuit...and it takes 20-30 sec to strip it. So it's pretty much a wash. The risk of SIPE is too high for me to wear it.
I'm going to trust my coach and follow the race plan to the "T". He hasn't let me down yet!!
I'm not going to lie and pretend I don't want to win....that's what I'm racing for.... I WANT TO WIN!! Wish me luck!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Minuteman Race Report
Raced local this past weekend, which is great! Anytime you only have to drive 20 min to race, it's a total bonus. Minuteman Sprint is run in-conjunction with the Patriot Half Ironman distance race. And as an added bonus my husband decided to give it a go, he hasn't swam or run in months, so I thought I'd give him a good butt kickin!
Started in the Elite wave, first to go. A bunch of men dressed as minute men (revolutionary war style) fired their guns with no warning guess that was the start, so off we went. Had a good swim. Got on some fast feet and relaxed the whole time. Fast transition and onto the bike. Good bike too, although not great. Flat course, not my strength. I need some hills to spread things out. My husband started 3 min back in the age group field, with about a mile to go on the bike he comes screaming by telling me to push a bigger gear! No worries, I'll get him on the run. Another fast transition, and we start the run together. I feel good and he is behind me struggling. (We are both in the front, I think like 6-7 overall. He then says to me "can I win my age-group at this pace?". He's not a triathlete or a runner, so it was highly unusual for him to be on the front of the field. I told him "yes", but I really thought there was no way he could keep up this pace. Sure enough about 1/2 mile in he says "I can't keep up this pace, if I back off can I still win?". I tell him yes but really... how the hell should I know? We kept going and I started to pull away. At that point, about .65 mile into the 4.0m run, two of the other leaders come running toward us waving their arms- "We missed the turn, turn around!!!". I can't believe it, I didn't know it at the time but we ran 1.25 miles off course!!!! I was little upset but I figured I still had a decent chance for a good result. My husband was pissed! He can barely run 4.0 miles, and has never run 5+ miles, ever! We both lost the race right there. Totally disappointing. Turns out he would have won his age group. He did come in 3rd despite an extra 8+ min's on the run.
I don't know if I would have won. Turns out there was a fast women there and we we're pretty dead even going into the run. I would have had to have a fabulous run. I'm looking forward to racing next weekend in Stamford, CT. First Olympic distance this year, maybe this time the course will be marked and I'll run a real 10k.
I spent the rest of the day volunteering at the 1/2 IM handing off water bottles trying not to complain about my disappointing race.
oh...... and I would never forget to congratulate my friend Tony Thissell for completing his first Triathlon!! I knew you could do it Tony!!
Started in the Elite wave, first to go. A bunch of men dressed as minute men (revolutionary war style) fired their guns with no warning guess that was the start, so off we went. Had a good swim. Got on some fast feet and relaxed the whole time. Fast transition and onto the bike. Good bike too, although not great. Flat course, not my strength. I need some hills to spread things out. My husband started 3 min back in the age group field, with about a mile to go on the bike he comes screaming by telling me to push a bigger gear! No worries, I'll get him on the run. Another fast transition, and we start the run together. I feel good and he is behind me struggling. (We are both in the front, I think like 6-7 overall. He then says to me "can I win my age-group at this pace?". He's not a triathlete or a runner, so it was highly unusual for him to be on the front of the field. I told him "yes", but I really thought there was no way he could keep up this pace. Sure enough about 1/2 mile in he says "I can't keep up this pace, if I back off can I still win?". I tell him yes but really... how the hell should I know? We kept going and I started to pull away. At that point, about .65 mile into the 4.0m run, two of the other leaders come running toward us waving their arms- "We missed the turn, turn around!!!". I can't believe it, I didn't know it at the time but we ran 1.25 miles off course!!!! I was little upset but I figured I still had a decent chance for a good result. My husband was pissed! He can barely run 4.0 miles, and has never run 5+ miles, ever! We both lost the race right there. Totally disappointing. Turns out he would have won his age group. He did come in 3rd despite an extra 8+ min's on the run.
I don't know if I would have won. Turns out there was a fast women there and we we're pretty dead even going into the run. I would have had to have a fabulous run. I'm looking forward to racing next weekend in Stamford, CT. First Olympic distance this year, maybe this time the course will be marked and I'll run a real 10k.
I spent the rest of the day volunteering at the 1/2 IM handing off water bottles trying not to complain about my disappointing race.
oh...... and I would never forget to congratulate my friend Tony Thissell for completing his first Triathlon!! I knew you could do it Tony!!
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About Me
- Kim
- The beginning.... Back in Nov 05 I was probably the most out of shape I'd ever been in my life. I really wanted to change my body. I wouldn't even wear shorts. I thought my legs were too fat. I ordered an exercise program I saw on an infomercial called The Firm. It arrived the week of Thanksgiving. The day it arrived my husband happened to be home and when I got home from work I got an earful. "Why did you order that? You'll never use it! It's just a waste of money." That's all it took!! I made a commitment to myself to start the day after Thanksgiving. All week he kept taunting me.. " When are you going to start? I told you it was a waste of money ".... blahh ..blahh..blahh. Well, the day after thanksgiving I started and haven't stopped. I did it three times a week.... and I never missed a day.....no matter what. I don't mean to make him sound un-supportive. He's really my biggest fan. He's been a competitive cyclist for years and that spring I told him I was thinking about getting a bike so I could start riding a little. I think within an hour we were leaving the bike shop with my new bike and helmet. More to come...stay tuned.