Musselman 2013, my first 70.3: Part 1 - Practice, preparation, and a friend by your side

Me after the Musselman Triathlon with the greatest medal ever.
Photo by the wonderful Victoria Freile. 

I AM A HALF-IRONWOMAN!! Part 1.

(Related: I am a marathoner, I am a duathlete, I am a triathlete.) See part 2, about the race itself, and part 3, about the aftermath.

After I set out to do this in earnest almost a year ago, I completed the Musselman half ironman, Geneva, NY in 7:18:15. It broke down like this: 1.2 mile swim in 49:17, T1 6:21, 56 mile bike in 3:42:36 (included an 8 minute wait for an accident to clear), T2 8:02, 13.1 mile run in 2:31:59. This put me far under the 8 hour cutoff that I was so worried about making. 

This came almost three years to the day after I completed my first 5K in Columbus, July 17, 2010, so it was only fitting that Musselbaby, the little stuffy they gave all of us, now lives inside the beer glass I got from that 5K (if I ever travel to the top of Mount Everest or the bottom of the ocean, I need to take Musselbaby, get a photo, and then I'll win a prize.)

All in all it was a phenomenal experience. Geneva is a wonderful and welcoming town, and the race was top notch. My personal experience was all about planning, practice, and having an unbelievable support system to see me through.

But there was a cloud cast over the race. This year's event was in remembrance of Heather Boyum, who participated last year and two weeks later was killed while riding by not one but two drunk drivers, who were later cleared of the top felony charges.

This year, during the Saturday sprint race, a cyclist was killed. On Sunday, the bike portion of the race was held up because a cyclist was critically injured. Everyone participating walked away with a heavy reminder to be careful on the road. I'm buying a new helmet soon -- I learned this weekend that they do wear out. I am going to join a group here to learn more about cycling safety.

I'm seeing now that the triathlete community is very small, and has become a wonderful group of people to be around, so these losses ran deep.

This race report will be divided into three parts: Leading up to the race, the race, and after the race. As usual, I'm setting them up to autopost late at night, so I'll probably find a million typos in the morning. This focuses on my experience in Geneva. Part 2: The race. Part 3: The aftermath, and the crazy things I'm thinking about now.

GENEVA

DeCordova Hall, where I stayed.

Like the Keuka Lake Triathlon, you got to stay in the dorms, this time at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, for cheap. I came into town Friday evening intending to get some R&R and escape the Corn Hill Arts Festival, which would involve someone selling watercolors on my front lawn, a beer garden 30 feet from my door, and good luck trying to leave.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges is a lovely little private campus in the heart of Geneva. The camaraderie built through conversations in the shared bathrooms helped ease me into the event, and into what I was about to do.

The volunteers were wonderful and accommodating from the start. I got checked in, and put my yogurts and bag of ice in the secret fridge in the dorm.

Wine ice cream on Seneca Lake. As wonderful as it sounds.

I walked down Route 14 to the water, where I got some wine ice cream. That's right, it exists, and it's delicious. I had half Cherry Merlot, half Chocolate Sauvignon.

I ended up at Microclimate, a cozy little wine bar in downtown Geneva. I ordered a flight of Riesling and chatted it up with some other folks in town. Very friendly place.

I fell into bed that night feeling calm and ready. I only had forgotten one thing -- sunglasses, easily remedied by a trip to Wal-Mart after realizing it halfway to Geneva. (The Canandaigua Wal-Mart is a somewhat scary place.)

Musselman swag.

Saturday I was up early, went to the expo, did some yoga outside and took a nap.

I bought a plant stand and old National Geographics at The Second Hand Shop in Geneva. The clerk gave me the wrong change, and made me feel like a good person, thanking me for being honest when I corrected her. I took it as good race karma.

At 4:30 was the pre-race meeting.

Race director Jeff Henderson did a great job explaining the course. USA Triathlon has so many rules. The USAT race official demonstrated what constitutes drafting. Strict! She also asked us to check our helmets to make sure they were legal. I didn't know there was a such thing as not legal helmets, but there were! Mine was good.

But still, the nerves were back in full force.

VICTORIA ARRIVES

Pre-race cuddles from Victoria. 

I'm used to doing these events by myself, and I was content to go to Geneva on my own. It's freeing to not have to worry about someone else's schedule or travel arrangements, and the racing community is wonderful -- so you're never really by yourself. But Victoria wanted to come -- and still wanted to after I made it very clear that it would mean getting up at an ungodly hour then eight hours of waiting around while I was out killing myself.

"Sure, if you want to," I said.

Victoria is a marathoner, and knows how races work. She blogs for the paper, and also at Scootadoot. She also knows how race brain works, the crazy things we do like swing back to the room for something I forgot -- and almost forget to grab that very thing (I should note: In this situation, that thing was my bike.) Earlier in the day I almost left the room with my toothbrush instead of my room key.

I was a bundle of nerves as I left the pre-race meeting, and met Victoria back at Hobart and William Smith Colleges.

I cannot put into words how wonderful it was to see a familiar face. Not just a friend, but someone who understood exactly what I was going through.

Next up was a delicious pre-race meal at the college, where we met another friend, Solveig, who was doing the aquabike. Then we dropped Flower off at the transition area at Seneca Lake State Park.

Seneca Lake State Park.

When I practiced the bike course, I debated whether paying $7 to get into the park was worth it. I was so glad I did. Sounds silly, but knowing what the park looked like, the layout, approximately where transition was, helped me. I joined the steady stream of triathletes walking their bikes in and leaving empty-handed.

I bid Flower goodbye. We stopped at another lakefront park and put our feet in the water. The temperature was a little chilly at first but then perfect.

Back on the fourth floor of DeCordova Hall, Victoria helped me pack the rest of my stuff. We packed a swim bag, a bike bag and a run bag. We sorted my nutrition, laid out clothes and went down to put the bags in the car. We checked everything twice.

We walked down five steps. "Wait, did I get my goggles?'

Victoria: "Yes, we put them in the bag, but look we'll check, see?"

A few more steps. "The envelope with my race number, where is it."

"We'll check, yes, it's in here," Victoria said.

That's how pre-race brain works.

Everything was good to go. The next morning I just had to remember six things, which were on a list.

I tossed and turned all night. When I started getting nervous, I'd grab my phone and reread all the well wishes from friends on Facebook and that calmed me. The alarm went off at 4:45 a.m., and I joined the other weary eyed athletes in the dorm bathroom.

It was go time.

See part 2, about the race, and part 3, about the aftermath.

Review: Garmin 310 XT

After my Garmin Forerunner 305 died, I just used an iPhone app to log my miles. But in half-iron training, the long rides eventually tested the battery life, so I was back on the market for a GPS watch.

I ended up with the Garmin 310XT, and two weeks in I have been very happy with it. I still use the Runtastic app on the shorter runs.

I paid $179 for a refurbished model on Amazon and I'd never know the difference between that and a new one.

Eventually I'll upgrade to the Garmin 910XT, which can do more, especially on the swimming front, but it was out of my range so I know I'm doing without a few features.

I'm a data junkie so it's nice having all the numbers. Sometimes I have to force myself to not look at it though! I was psyching myself out by staring at the settings during the Quakerman Duathlon.

Setup: The 310XT is very similar to the 305, so I had no issues setting it up. It's really easy to customize the data fields and you have a lot of options.

Swimming: The watch is waterproof, so you can wear both it and the heart rate monitor under water. The vibrating alerts freaked me out a bit at first but it's nice for being in the water when you can't hear it beep. The distance on the swim is by far not accurate, but in the watch's description it never claimed to be. Someday I'd like the stroke counts on the 910XT but this works nicely for now.

Multisport mode: I used this for the first time during my event Sunday. When you turn on multisport mode you can customize which sports you'd like to use and whether or not you'd like transitions. This made it really easy, I just hit the lap button as I was running in and out of transition so my times were accurate. It kept a total time in addition to a lap time, and you could see the details of each leg.

Size: The watch is a little bulky and bothered me during my first long run with it. I got used to the Forerunner though, which was the same size.

Bike mode: There are more than one bike categories, so you can set a different profile depending on what kind of cycling you are doing.

Battery life: Great! It is supposed to last for 20 hours. The most I've ever used it for is 5, and the battery life only went down slightly. The charging clip was a little weird at first, but I figured it out.

Accuracy: Any GPS watch will be slightly off, and the distances Sunday were very close to the course estimates.

Heart rate monitor: I love it! If you leave the watch on, it also gives you a resting heart rate a few minutes after you hit "stop".

Satellites: Compared to the iPhone app, it does take awhile to find a signal. If I'm starting out at a different location than where I finished previously, I do need to turn the watch on 5 to 10 minutes beforehand so it can find a signal.

Syncing: Sadly, I haven't been able to sync it up yet. I don't have a home computer and I can't install new programs to my work computer, and there's no way to get the data directly onto the iPhone without a $40 ANT stick.

Musselman: One month out

The half ironman I committed myself to doing August 9, and formally solidified my fate on March 21, is one month away. Why did I think this was a good idea again?

A few thoughts as the day impends:

• The longest training day so far has been just under five hours, 40 minutes in the lake, 3.5 hours on the bike, 33 minutes running. I'll probably have two more longish days like this before taper.
• My first Olympic distance is Sunday by Buffalo. The only thing that scares me is the swim.
• The 8 hour cutoff still scares me. Right now I'm looking at an hour in the lake, 3.5 to 4 hours on the bike and 2.5 running. That cuts it close!! 
• I'm getting better at fueling. 
• I'm still really bad at open water swimming. I zigzag like crazy!
• I'm exhausted by all this, seriously exhausted. I don't know how people do fulls!! 
• At Boulder Coffee Company working on some of the blog updates I've been meaning to do. Slow but sure progress. I enjoy the South Wedge. 

Three more races on the schedule: I must be a madwoman

I pulled out my credit card to register for one race, and ended up registering for three.

This is what my inbox looks like right now:

Yes, the race calendar is indeed filling out!!

QUAKERMAN OLYMPIC TRIATHLON JUNE 16 (in a week and a half)

This is an Olympic distance -- double what I did at Keuka Lake, but still half of what I'll be doing at Musselman. It's in Orchard Park, south of Buffalo.

It's a 1500 meter (.93 mile) swim, a 40K (24.8 mile) bike and a 10K (6.2 mile) run. The only hesitation I have is over the swim, but I better get used to it and quick! I'll be headed to Canandaigua Lake Sunday, and maybe Friday, to practice.

I've got the bike and the run! I'm nervous though, because I'll probably come in at about 3.5 to 4 hours, near the back of the pack :(

FLEET FEET FIRECRACKER 5

A five-miler on July 4 in Fairport. It will be hawwwwtttttt!!!!!

SENECA PARK ZOO JUNGLE JOG

A fun little 5K through the zoo. The week after Musselman, I won't be taking it seriously, but I get to run through the zoo!

Other races on the calendar:
July 14: Musselman half iron
Sept. 7: Highlander cycle tour
Oct. 6: Wine Glass marathon

Race report: Keuka Lake Triathlon

I am a TRIATHLETE!!!

For reals this time. It's not really official until you breathe into a wave, get kicked in the face and feel the clock ticking in transition... that indoor stuff didn't count. (Related: I am a duathlete and I am a marathoner)

The Keuka Lake Triathlon was a fantastic whirlwind kinda weekend. All in all, I'm thrilled not only with my results but by the fact that I felt SO prepared, and feel like most of the decisions I made were the right ones.

The blow by blow in a sec (you folks get the rambling, I'm already halfway through the bottle of wine I bought in wine country version. Should have bought the big bottle. I'll do a more coherent version using a couple of those professional writer skills for Scootadoot later this week!)

First and foremost, the results! The goal I told everyone else is: Finishing not last. The goal I secretly told myself: 2 hours.

• Overall time: 1:47:21
• 820 yard swim: 24:00 (3:12 per 100 yards)
• T1: 3:12
• 13.6 mile bike: 50:00 (16.56 mph)
• T2: 2:00
• 3.1 mile run: 27:40 (8:55 minute mile)
• 168/260 overall, 55th of females, 12/20 in my age group

Ok now the play by play:

SATURDAY

Philip and I went down to Penn Yan Saturday afternoon with Flower in the backseat and way too much stuff. (Only let him navigate if you have plenty of time to spare.) Got there in time for the clinics. Bummer that more people didn't go... they were excellent. Got some great tips on my running form and felt much more prepared. Chugged lots and lots of water.

Had a burger and fries (what I was craving) at Timmy G's, a cozy little restaurant downtown, and a glass of Hazlitt Cat red wine. 

Stayed in the dorms at Keuka College. It was definitely... a dorm. Ahhh, a plain white room with three twin beds and sandals in the shower. 

Far from a hotel, but a cheap bed for the night, and the best part: I could see the lake (and transition) out the window. I sprung for air conditioning, and burrrrr, it sure was air conditioned!!!

BEFORE THE RACE

The alarm went off at 5, and I commenced the: Peek out the window to see how crowded transition was, set alarm for ten minutes, go back to bed. I finally got Flower out of the car and claimed my spot (third bike in, perfect) at 5:45. 

I set my transition the way Mary taught us and put some plastic bags over it to keep it dry, and got marked. I found Sarah and Kelli who were also doing their first triathlons, it was so wonderful to know people there. In addition, the two people next to me in transition were from the Rochester-Area Triathletes!! I am totally joining. 

I went back up to the room to foam roll one more time, and made my first big mistake, I forgot transition closed an hour before my wave!! I smiled, gave the "it's my first time" plea, and got the crew to hand me my swim stuff. 

I doused myself with cooking spray, put my wetsuit on over my spandex shorts and sports bra, and went down to the water.

SWIM

I watched the olympic tri folks take off, then waded into the water as soon as they let us.

It. Was. COOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!

I slowly inched in, finally sucked it up and put my head under. Came up in shock. BURRR!!! I didn't want to be That Person Who Runs Out Of The Water With Her Tail Between Her Legs, so I stayed in, and slowly acclimated. The water was never nice, but it was tolerable. I did some swimming back and forth a little, then met Sarah on the shore. 

We met a girl from Buffalo, Katie, and us three first timers waited nervously until our wave was called. We filed through the chute, and then it was our turn. One minute. 30 seconds. 10 seconds. Horn. 

During the transition clinic, Mary told us some swim horror stories that left me wondering if I should have been taking the aqua kickboxing class at the Y to prepare. 

Fortunately, my wave was cool. Everyone spread out, and I was only kicked twice, and kicked someone else once. So water combat skills weren't necessary, but I employed her spitting in the goggles to get rid of fog strategy.

I liked the buoys because it split the swim up. I probably still zigzagged a lot, but when we practiced at Canandaigua Sarah told me her strategy, breathe three times and spot, and it worked. 

I found myself out of breath at the first buoy and my heart sunk a bit. Maybe I was too dependent on having the wall to pause at. We turned, and I settled into a nice rhythm, switching to breast stroke a few times. I had to straighten out a couple times but I felt smooth up until the next turn around point. 

Getting back was rough because there were no buoys, I was just sighting the arc in the distance. I psyched myself out a few times thinking I was closer than I was and ending up tired. Then there was someone I just couldn't get around. But I made it. 

I stripped off my cap and goggles, ran up the stairs, and peeled off the wetsuit as I ran into transition.

BIKE

I was prepared for the transition. I got my padded shorts and tank on (a tri suit would be nice), took a honey stinger, remembered the helmet before unracking the bike, and took off. I wish I would have done gloves too, but that's ok. 

Mounting the bike was a little rough, so was unmounting, but no embarrassments. The hills weren't bad at all -- all the practice on Route 65 and spinning paid off! I passed people uphill, got passed downhill. 

The only flub, the velcro strap on my saddle bag was cutting into my shorts and I ended up with a bruise and a hole in them!!! 

The ride was smooth, we rode through some rain and headwinds but nothing I couldn't handle. Average pace was 3:34, close to my 3:30 goal. 

RUN

Another smooth transition. I got the clips off, Asics, knee straps and compression sleeves on, and was out through the gate in two minutes, slurping a Gu as I went through. 

I had used the iPhone with the Runtastic app on the bike, but my hands were shaking so bad as I came through transition that I couldn't unlock/reset it, so I just left it behind and ran naked.

I feel like I started off too fast. Calves started to ache, so I backed off the second mile, then picked it up at the end. 

It was hot, and I dumped water on myself at the second water stop. I ran in hard, and finished dripping wet and grinning as Mary, who was announcing, called my name. Wonderful!! 

I finished exhausted, but probably could have handled a longer race! 

AFTER

Another perk of staying at the race site: A nice shower after. Then I inhaled all kinds of yummy food, sat in the sun for awhile, and headed home, doing a little wine tasting on the way in at Yates Cellars... yummmm Reisling. Shoutout to Philip for driving home... I was beat (though I should have taken advantage of the situation by stopping at a few more wineries on the random backroads he turned down...)

Lizzie and Brandy stayed with a sitter who had a big yard, so we're spending Sunday night laying around lazily and fighting for leg room on the couch.

I'm sad I don't have any photos from the race :( It looked like there were official race photographers there though!! 

Much more confident for Musselman!!

Keuka Lake Triathlon: What went right, where I could have done better

My results... what went right, where I could have done better (nothing went wrong), and should I do another in two weeks?

The Keuka Lake Triathlon, in a word: Awesome!!

I felt strong the entire way. The full report.

As I approach a race three times the length, I need to think about where my strong points are, and where I need to improve.

I also need to decide, very soon, if I want to do the Quakerman Triathlon olympic distance in two weeks near Buffalo. The pros and cons later in this post.

But first, the results!!

• Overall time: 1:47:21
• 820 yard swim: 24:00 (3:12 per 100 yards)
• T1: 3:12
• 13.6 mile bike: 50:00 (16.56 mph)
• T2: 2:00
• 3.1 mile run: 27:40 (8:55 minute mile)
• 168/260 overall, 55th of females, 12/20 in my age group

What went right:

• I felt very prepared with the transitions, and was pleased with my transition times! I was expecting at least 5 minutes in T1 but I was just over 3 minutes. Used some tips from Mary Eggers that helped! 
• Running was my strong suit of course!! I finished very strong.
• Glad I did so much spinning and practiced hills on the bike. The hills on this course were nothing!!

Where I could have done better:

• It was my third time in open water, so clearly I need more practice! I was happy with my time, I was hoping for under 30 and I did that. I need more practice spotting, I felt like I was zigzagging a lot and probably swam much further than 820 yards! 
• Again more open water practice! I missed having that wall where I traditionally take two pants on before I turn around (maybe I should have learned flip turns...) I found myself out of breathe a few times and switched to breaststroke. 
• I could also stand to practice more swimming with other people. There were no unfortunate incidences, the people in my wave were wonderful, but I could definitely stand to work on it! 
• Had some calf pain on the run. Need to foam roll and stretch like a madwoman this week. 
• I should practice mounting and unmounting on the bike some more. It was a little hairy, not terrible.
• I should probably get my bike form evaluated. I was fitted on the bike, but I've gotten off the past few times with slight back aches. 
• I should have warmed up more. I thought two and a half hours before start time would be a long time but it went fast!!
• I didn't get any photos! Jealous of everyone else's! 

Rookie mistakes:

• I forgot transition closed! I had to ask one of the guys inside for my swim stuff. Fortunately he was cool about it! (And I knew where my bike was, third from the bag drop, yay!)
• Bringing too much stuff. Now I know what I'll need and what I won't need. 

So, the Quakerman Triathlon is in two weeks, there's an olympic distance, and I need to decide quickly if I want to do it or not. The pros and cons of another race...

Pros:

• More race day transition practice! 
• More open water swim practice with other people in open water
• It looks like a smaller race

Cons:

• I'll lose another week to taper, and another weekend where I could be doing a long ride
• I could use the registration fee elsewhere!

Of course, since the part I really really need practice on is the swim, maybe I could get a relay team together and just do that part! Or the aquabike... hmmm..... 

I'll think on it a little bit! 

Musselman 70.3: How to fuel this beast?

I did my first swim-bike brick Sunday. I swam 1500 then rode 54 miles.

Every long run/swim/ride has left me positively famished by the end, so now I'm grappling with how I'll get through this event with enough energy.

Before I went to the pool, I had a Greek yogurt and a banana. This was enough for the entire swim, which was about 20 minutes. Then I did a Honey Stinger when I was out.

Once I was on the bike I consumed sport beans and one of those PowerBar fruit squeeze packs, and I mixed just a little bit of Gatorade powder in with my water.

By Mile 25 I was crashing hard. I stopped at a gas station and partially out of desperation, partially out of knowing from previous times that a salad and trail mix weren't good options, I snagged some pretzels and an ice cream sandwich. Surprisingly this didn't hurt my stomach too much, and I bounced back instantly and finished the ride strong but completely famished, topping it off with a DFC protein shake then grazing on nachos from Moe's Southwest Grill for the rest of the evening.

How would I sustain myself with a slightly longer swim, two miles tacked onto the bike, and a half marathon after all that?

So, it's mission find some easy on the stomach, gluten free (or maybe I should go ahead and do gluten and accept the tummy ache the next day...), portable, real food options for the race. I do like dried fruit, I'm going to make some quinoa bars to experiment with, hmmmm...

Other suggestions?

Triathlon packing triggers OCD tendencies

Ok, longtime followers of my blog (both of you) may remember my finicky-ness in packing for my first marathon.

Add in two more equipment intensive sports and an overnight and... that's why I'm writing this a week in advance.

The Keuka Lake Triathlon is a week from tomorrow!

I like to make lists, and this one requires categorization. 

I got some ideas from this site. They thought of everything. 

(Why a bucket when a perfectly good patch of grass will do?)

(Yea, I do...) 

My list will only grow.  

Swim

• Wetsuit
• Sports bra and shorts to wear under
• Goggles
• Ear plugs
• Swim cap (yes I know they give us one but this is me being... me)
• Stuff to help me put my wetsuit on

Bike

• Flower
• Helmet (forgetting this is my biggest fear for some reason)
• Unique something to locate my bike
• Clip-in pedals
• Padded shorts and shirt for bike
• Two water bottles, full
• Extra tube (I will be so sad if I get a flat)
• Bike gloves
• Body glide
• Plastic bag for seat
• Bike pumps, both portable and floor
• Sunglasses
• Tire lever
• Heart rate monitor + strap
• Tape (to attach bike number)

Run

• Asics
• Knee thingys
• Calf thingys
• Extra calf thingy
• Hydration pack, full
• iPhone arm band
• Hat
• Socks

Transitions

• Honey stingers and chews
• Towel
• Sandals and comfy clothes
• Snacks (See note after swim cap)
• Rain gear?
• Garbage bag
• Sunblock
• Baby wipes

Overnight

• Comfy sleeping clothes
• Extra pillow
• Shower stuff, etc
• Pepto and S caps and Vitamin I and, well, pretty much a mini pharmacy because I never know
• Cooler full of water
• Almond butter, gluten free bread and jelly
• Basic workout clothes for Saturday clinics
• Casual clothes for Saturday night and hopeful winery visit
• Phones (plural) and chargers

Finally

• Money because I will still forget something. 

Planning on a full MUSSEL experience!

This is getting really real, really fast... the Musselman halfiron is in less than TWO MONTHS! 

Plus my first triathlon, the Keuka Lake sprint triathlon, is in 11 days. Eeeeeep!!! 

For the half iron, I have all the pieces in place, I can do the swim, bike and run, I just need to put them all together. I'm planning on a swim then a long bike ride Sunday. 

I've been thinking logistics. One thing I love about these two events is that they let athletes stay in the college dorms for crazy cheap. I was especially worried about Musselman, I wouldn't want to make the trip driving in that morning and leaving in the evening but they let you stay in the dorms at Hobart and William Smith Colleges for $35 a night! Hotels there were crazy expensive, so now I might as well take a mini vacation while I'm at it, I'll be staying three nights, coming in Friday and leaving on Monday. My free time will be spent basking at Seneca Lake state park, hopefully the weather will say that's ok!

It's the same deal at Keuka Lake, you can stay at the college, so I'll be staying there one night. 

So now I won't have to worry about accommodations.

My plan is to come in Friday afternoon, scope out the scene and do the µMussel, a fun, mini mini triathlon, where the bike portion must be done on a tricycle or Big Wheel (currently scoping out Craigslist). 

There's a breakfast the next morning, and then I can either kill some time (the college is just a few miles away from Seneca Lake State Park) or relax hopefully outdoors somewhere. Maybe if I manage my finances correctly I can find a place to get a massage. 

There's also the multisport expo that day, and a mandatory meeting for those doing the half iron. The lovely Victoria Freile has agreed to come down and be my transition crew! Lastly, a dinner (with gluten free pasta!) 

I'm sure it will be off to bed early.

On Sunday, the race starts at 7 a.m. and I hope to be done by three. GULP!

From then, it's the post race party and some sleep, then a whole day Monday to visit some wineries and bask by the lake!!

Strength on the road: Spring forward 15K

As any runner knows all too well, race registration fees add up. So I had full intentions of sitting out the Spring Forward 15K Saturday.

But Friday I stepped out to walk Liz, and I saw that strange bright yellow shiny thing in the sky that we haven't seen much of this winter. So I drove over to Fleet Feet and wrote out a check.

It was freezing Saturday morning in Mendon, but the sun was shining which instantly put me in a good mood. I ran most of the 9.3 miles with Traci from work, which was great motivation to keep going up the hills (of which there were many.)

We kept a steady 9:50 pace that I felt comfortable with, further proof that I'm speeding up, yay! I still like training at a slower pace, but enjoy being able to race faster.

Since I have two half marathons back to back, I'll take one at a 12:00 pace.

Getting prepared for another long week of training, adapted from Beginner Triathlete:

MONDAY
S: Warmup 5 x 50
Main: 2 x 1000, both are RPE 4
Cool down: 250 easy
B: 45 minutes easy
MAYBE DFC Athlete

TUESDAY
10 mile run with Megan


WEDNESDAY
Cycle, sculpt and center class
S: wu: 300 continuous- (alternate 25 swim, 25 kick)
main: 20 x 75 hold constant pace for each-so judge pace in the first few,
cd: 200 easy

THURSDAY
OFF

MAYBE DFC Athlete

FRIDAY
Performance cycle and core - teach

S:  wu: 200swim, 200kick, 200pull, 200swim
main: 1 x 1500
cd: 4 x 50, each slower than last


SATURDAY
B: 2 hour long ride, hopefully outside!
R: 6 mile easy run--not immediately after the bike

MAYBE DFC Athlete

SUNDAY
OFF