IM Training... Let the taper BEGIN!!

[Running Mommy]

Yep, that's right.. FINALLY! ALL HAIL THE TAPER!!
And MAN do I deserve it after 100 miles on the trainer..
I kind of feel like a cheat because I did the 100 miles in 5.5 hours according to my computer, but then again I don't usually pedal the ENTIRE 100 miles, so I'm sure the coasting slows me down. Well DUH!! But on the trainer if you stop pedaling you come to a screeching halt, so I pedaled the entire 5.5 hours. Well, to keep myself sane I jumped off after every hour for 30 seconds. Just a quick stretch, bag balm re-application, or a bottle swap out. I had quite a setup going..
So I don't know, maybe the calibration is off a bit on my computer, but man I FELT like I rode 100. At least my legs did.
Oh and I had put the new Selle SMP strike TRK saddle (ladies version) on a few weeks ago. I'm happy to say that she kept my tushie reasonably comfortable the entire time. I mean NO saddle is going to be perfect, but I'd give her a big thumbs UP!
Anyhoo... So my husband comes home at 95.5 miles! "I'm home honey so you can finish up outside if you want". I was like "yeah, not worth the bother". So I'm pedaling away- DYING over the last few miles and he looks over at the computer and remarks "Boy, it sure does take a long time to go a mile"!
I reached over and whacked him!!
So then I get off and I am SO not feeling like running. I stretched my legs and whined to my husband " I don't feel like running. Should I run? Do I HAVE to run? Maybe I'll just run long tomorrow".... He shrugs his shoulders and says " I don't know?" with that "I'm not you coach" tone in his voice... So then I thought to myself *what would an IRONMAN do?... You know what an Ironman would do. An Ironman would stop whining and get herself on the treadmill*....
So a quick change of shorts, on w/ the shoes, grabbed a bottle of water and cyto cocktail and hit the treadmill. My plan was to do 3. I did 5. I was feeling GOOD! No- GREAT!! Nothing like hearing some key songs on the ipod to get the juices flowing. I finished in :57, but walked to make it an even hour. I jumped off the treadmill, looked at my husband and said " bring that MF-ing race ON!! I'm READY!!!" (excuse the french- but I couldn't help myself). He then laughed and said "yeah. Lets get the thing over with" to which I replied "Your just jealous cause I could kick your as... BUTT"!!!!

So after all I've gone through the last few weeks it was nice to have a good last long effort. But now it's time to get good and healed up and ready to roll. I'm going to do a couple more long swims, as they don't fatigue me as much. But the long stuff is done. I had hoped to get another 15 mile run in, but unless I do it in the next 3-4 days it won't get done. And that will be ok. I may live to regret that come mile 16 of the marathon on race day, but so be it. I'd rather be a bit UNDER trained than OVER.
So here is my log from the last two weeks, as I don't think I posted anything last week. I'll start from two weeks ago.

MON: Off- fighting fatigue from long weekend
TUES: Still very tired, fighting fatigue BIG TIME! 30 min swim; 62 min ride
WED: 7 mi run in 1:19- walked to 1:21; 60 min spin in evening
THURS: 60 min hard ride. BON JOVI CONCERT!
FRI: Recovering from concert... off
SAT: BAD weather! 2 hour trainer ride/ 3 mi run brick - run in :34
SUN: Again, bad weather... 3 hours on the trainer. Hard effort.
MON: Woke up sick! Sore throat, coughing stuff up. UGH! 3 mi run in :33; 30 min swim. Threw up when I emerged from pool. UT OHH!!!
TUES: 1 hour trainer ride. Tried to push pace but not feeling well. COuld not push over zone 2 without feeling like the death.
WED: SICK! Day off. No 15 mi run as planned...
THURS: 6 mi run in 1:06. Feeling better, but still coughing stuff up..
FRI: 1 hour swim. Had 2 hours planned but kept having to stop at wall to hack. Figured it just wasn't worth it. Took kids to zoo. Does walking the zoo for 4 hours count as training? There are hills.. Also hiked up hole in the rock after. Thats a steep climb. Short, but steep.
SAT: See above 100/5 ride/run brick...
SUN: to be determined???

Ok ladies... Thats it. Thanks for reading! You really are IRON readers!!!

Oh and one more thing... I'm making bracelets for my Ironcrew to wear on race day. It's so that even if they can't be there they can look at the bracelet and channel some energy my way. They are just silly little beaded bracelets that say either "Be Iron" or "Ironman AZ" on them. I also have some say "ride girl ride" and "run girl run" and a few that say "tri me". Anyway, if you would like me to send you one, send me a PM w/ your address and I'd be glad to send one your way. I'm already planning on sending one to the Chicago contengent of my Ironcrew *Lise*...
Oh and don't worry Tracy and Melisa- you will get one too!! Because your my Ironcrew captains!!!

Well, thanks again for all your support, concern, and encouragement. It means the WORLD to me!! Y'all have a GREAT week!
CIAO!
Denise

[bluedress]

YOU GO, GIRL! You are ABSOLUTLEY AMAZING! I will think of you often as I start to build up my training. (I am shooting for two each sprints and olympic distances this summer--alternating distances each time).

I am so glad you are feeling better now, too.

[han-grrl]

Wow! Way to go! Man, i just spent 2 hours on the trainer and that tough...not only are you getting stronger physically, but you've got mental toughness to stay on for that long. congrats!

so...did you watch TV, listen to music? what does one do for 5 hours on an indoor trainer?

Smile

Han

[Running Mommy]

Han- I watched mostly " the top 100 celebrity slimdowns" on the E network. Trash tv for sure. I alternated between that and "cheerleader nation"- oh what we are teaching our girls!! UGH! And believe it or not... The WEATHER CHANNEL!! ha ha ha I wanted to see what we were in for. Also today was the Ralphs half IM in Oceanside and I heard it was going to be bad down there.
Oh and thanks Marca! I got your pm so you will be receiving some of my handiwork soon. What part of OR are you in? My parents live in Southern OR, and my SIL lives in Eugene.
denise

[tprevost]

Anyone who can ride a trainer for that long can complete an Ironman... NO question! Good Girl!!! I'm so excited, I get a bracelet! Whooo Hooo!!!!

And, see... rest is good - see how strong you felt! I'll write more later; just wanted to say GREAT JOB!!!

Trac'

[Grog]

you're amazing RM!

Enjoy the tapering, get a massage. I'm sure you'll do wonderfully well. You already know you can do it.

Best vibes your way.

[bluedress]

Denise,

Hillsboro is a NW suburb of Portland. Where in southern OR do your folks live? Did you grow up there? We have been here a little over four years—transplants from Texas. We really enjoy the more temperate climate and the fantastic scenery here. While the wet springs are a bit trying, the explosion of flowers and green make it worth it…most days.

Be good to yourself.
--Marca

[Lise]

Whoo-hoo! Bring on the taper! I continue to be impressed and delighted by your tales of iron-training. I love the question, "What would an Ironman do?" Reminds me of when I ran the marathon and wanted to stop running many times. I just kept saying, "It's a marathon. You might as well run it."

I am psyched to be getting my Ironcrew bracelet!!! I will be wearing it in the labor rooms here in Chicago on the day of the race, showing it off and bragging about Denise to all the docs and nurses. If I catch any babies, it'll be securely tucked away under a sterile gown, but it will be there. Thank you again for including us in your journey. How I wish I could be there in person...but imagine how strong the support will be, radiating toward you from all over the globe. That map of TE members? Just draw lines of energy from where we are to Tempe AZ on 4/9. You'll fly.

L.

[Nanci]

I'm so excited!! Tapering is _hard_, though. It's hard having that energy build up and resisting going out and spending it.

So what's next after IM??? It's so early in the season!

Nanci

[Running Mommy]

Yeah it's early in the season for most... But in AZ this *is* the season! ha ha
I'm prolly going to do some short races over the summer. The Sahuarita sprint on memorial day, some races in so cal, maybe a few organized rides, but really I'm going to take it easy. My next real big race on the docket is the WDW marathon next Jan. It's always around my b-day (jan 10th) and I've always wanted to do it. Well since we are planning a big family vacation w/ my cousin and her son, we figured we would put a race in there as well. God forbid I take a vacation that is NOT centered around a race!

When I signed in this morning I have 5 pm's wanting an Ironcrew bracelet, so I'm going to busy myself w/ sending those out this week and making a bunch more. It's a great taper craft! ha ha!! POWER CRAFTING!!!
So if anyone else wants one, get those pm's to me!! Keep me crafting so that I stay off the treadmill!

[mommelisa]

Denise - you are my IRON IDOL!!! I am so psyched for you - now you can taper!! You'll probably go nuts the next couple of weeks as things wind down toward the race, I always hate the taper time - I look forward to it, but then I drive myself crazy over-analyzing everything during that time!!

Are you all set? Clothes, nutrition, gear, etc? I think it helps to write it all out and I'd like to know what your plan is (cuz I'll be taking notes :-) ) so if you get a chance, will you indulge me and put it down? When I did my 1/2 I wrote everything down, when to eat, when to drink, and then just followed it religiously and it really helped. I didn't have to think about it - I just had to do it.

As a side note - I watched that same show on E! yesterday!

Tracy - are you going to be at the swim start? We need to decide where to meet up!
- Melisa

[Running Mommy]

Thats funny that we were at opposite ends of the valley watching the same show!
Yes, we need to coordinate w/tracy on when her and the kiddies are hitting town. I want to be sure to hook her up w/ my family. I also have some zoo tickets in case she needs them.
I'll be at the race site saturday afternoon for the pre race meeting. Hopefully we can meet up then and set our plans for the next day. I want to make sure everyone meets up. can't have my ironcrew in a disarray!

I'm making a list for each bag on what needs to be in it. Still haven't started it, but I will this week. Still not sure what I'm wearing on the run. I bought a red coolmax from RRS, but I don't really like it. It makes me look fatter than I already am! So I may look around the TE site and see if anything strikes my fancy. But I'm wearing my fave shebeest jersey that I got for 5 buckd from a swap meet. It's a toss up between my shebeest shorts w/ the shelastic or the sugoi shorts that I got on sale at the old supergo-now performance. I also have a minnie mouse baseball cap for the run. but I look super silly in it, so I may ditch it for a regular hat before I hit the finish chute.. I'm SOOO vain that way! I just thought it would be something different, and you would be able to pick me out in the crowd easier. Not that there will be a crowd by the time *I* get to the run!! lol
I do have my nutrition plan down though...
Before the race- drink ensure try to suck down a couple of pria bars. And if I'm lucky a banana. But will prolly drink my calories as I know my stomach is going to be too jittery.
on the bike. Start w/water for first 20 minutes, then switch to water and cytomax/carbopro cocktail. I'm going to have my cyto in my aerobottle up front and refill from my two bottles on the back. Water will be in my camelbak. Will refill water at aid stops. I'll have two spare cyto bottles in my special needs bags. Also will carry nuun caps in case I should run out or something should happen w/ cyto. In my bento I'll have my pretzels/gummy bears/ and thermolytes. Will take thermolytes every 30 mins until the 80th mile then will take them every 15 to 20. I really have to watch my salt. Will also eat a cliff bar at my special needs stop.
This is what I've been doing, and it's worked so far... Hopefully it does race day.
As for nutrition on the run, it's going to be total aid station support. gatorade, water, and broth. After my previous marathons I always craved chicken broth- and it always brought me back to life, so I'm stoked to be able to have it IN the race.
Anyway, so thats my plan so far. It is a work in progress though, so I'll keep you posted.

[tprevost]

Oh my gosh, its coming up fast!!! Melisa, I will most likely try to get there about the time Denise will be coming out of the water. With the two boys, I don't know how well they will do 'hanging around' for long periods of time so I'm trying to be smart and make sure I'm there at the important times! I will definately hook up with Denise Saturday at the pre-race meeting (if not before) as we will be arriving on Friday and leaving Monday morning. I hope to catch Denise at the transitions and at the finish so we will be going back and forth either to the zoo (Thanks, Denise!!! ) or to the hotel pool (depending on the weather) etc. We're at the Holiday Inn, not that close but an okay distance (1.75 miles away) I would just walk back and forth but I don't know if the kids are up for that so I think I'm going to borrow a wagon or take a cab.

I'll PM you with all of my contact info as I want to make it as easy as possible to find each other given the expected confusion and chaos!

Denise, I'll PM you my info for the bracelet! COOL!!!!

Enjoy your taper and resist the temptation to go use that energy!!!

Tracy

[Running Mommy]

Hey Tracy, I'll ask around and see if my neighbors have a wagon we can borrow. I have lots of neighbors w/little ones.
Since you are going to be there Friday I may be able to meet up w/ you friday night?/ What time are you coming in? I take it your driving the 10?? I'll have to make sure that I give you my cousins cell # as well because she will also be driving in from LA. Just in case something happens you know.. It's always good to have contacts!
WOW. It's getting SOOO close! And yeah, hopefully it is warm enough to swim come 4/9. It was 80 the other day. But we keep getting these rogue storms from CA. Lets hope the trend ends here soon! We go for months w/ no rain then it all hits right before the race- JUST TO STRESS ME OUT!!
Esp. because w/ the storms comes WIND!!

[tprevost]

I'll probably leave here in the morning Friday - I think it'll take me 6 hours or so since I'll have stops w/kids. I think I've got a wagon that I can borrow here, not sure yet though. Anyway, I'll probably get there sometime after lunch on Friday.

Sorry, I'm distracted, I'm watching the LA Marathon on TV - my old broker is running and I'm trying to find him in the crowd- I know, good luck!

more later...

T~