Twenty Weeks Out

On Sunday, I completed a 60.7 mile ride /  5.3 mile run brick workout and felt awesome.  Tired and starving, but awesome.  Then the realization that this wasn't even half of what I need to do crept in.  This is the fear I was looking for when I signed up.  This is the fear I've been missing since my first marathon with Team in Training.  I'm twenty weeks away from this Ironman, and shit, the fear is here.

Poll: Sunglasses make be look like a badass or a big dork?  I'm ok with either.

But while I was having a minor freakout on Sunday night, Monday night brought a couple of swimming gems.  The coaches had us do a 15 minute continuous swim where we swam in a circle and were not allowed to touch the sides of the pool.  With about 20 swimmers attempting this all at the same time, it had the feel of a wave start at the beginning of a triathlon event (I mean, I'm guessing so- I've never actually done a tri).  People were bumping, I definitely kicked a few people and almost got kicked a few times.  I had to weave around people and slow down/speed up to avoid collisions. It was tiring, both physically and mentally, but after about 10 minutes, I seemed to find my pace, get more relaxed, and by the end, felt that I could have kept going if I had to.

The key to getting over panic in water is to relax.  Yup, easier said than done.  Like a car accident, if you see it coming and you tense up, you are actually more prone to injury than if you just stay relaxed.  In water you float easier when relaxed.  It's as simple as that.  All throughout training I have been reminding myself about the "dead man's float" I used to do as a kid. Was that just me?  Well, it was easy.  All you have to do is relax.  I'm getting better at doing just that.

The other swimming gem I picked up was another improvement tweak to my timing.  We did a drill called the "finger tip drag pause".  I'm not going to try to explain this drill other than to say that it seems to have flicked a switch with my "gliding" issues.  "Reaching for the jar" has helped, my hand reentering the water more ahead has helped, and now this.  I was pulling off 15 to 16 strokes per lap a few times during this drill, which was quite remarkable for me- and that was with alternate side breathing.  I just have to work on consistency.

DUGWBOBP (down under george washington bridge on bike path)- I hear it's the next up-and-coming-neighborhood.

But back to Sunday before the fear set in...  It was a glorious day for a bike ride, though the threat of rain made me second and third guess my gear (jacket or no?  arm sleeves? tights?).  In the end, I didn't see any rain.  What I did see were some killer hills on Henry Hudson Drive in the Palisades Interstate Parkway, potholes too.  And some great views from the George Washington Bridge and from the bike paths around the island of Manhattan. My legs are still tired today (Tuesday) and I skipped my planned morning bike workout.

From the George Washington Bridge, looking down river at dusk.

My bridges at sunset.  Yes, they're mine.

 In total, I was out for about 6 hours on Sunday.  That included traffic stops, getting lost a couple times, a couple pee breaks, and some photo ops.  It also included coming home to put my bike away and get into my running gear.  Watching the Ironman competitions live an on TV, I always see competitors running in their tri shorts.  That doesn't look very comfortable and I don't understand why they don't just take the extra twenty seconds to throw on running shorts.  I did.  And I think it was worth it.  Maybe this is something I'll learn along the way.

After 61 miles of cycling, I was still able to bust out a loop of the park from my apartment and back in 41 minutes.  That's a 7:45/mile pace.  It was hard, but I didn't hit any kind of wall- I could have kept going longer (probably not faster) if I had to.  My biggest distraction was my hunger.  I wanted a cheeseburger half way around the park.  The biggest difference between Sunday and my other long outings had to have been my nutrition- I took in more calories and sooner than I have been. The coaches recommended 200 calories per hour.  This is what I took on my ride/run:

• Pre-workout salt shot (for electrolytes)
• 3 Gu packs (3 x 100 = 300 calories)
• 2 PB&J sandwiches (2 x 400= 800 calories)
• 24 oz of Gatorade (150 calories)
• Total of 1250 calories in 6 hours of workout

So by this calculation, I pretty much hit the mark.  But it seems my stomach could handle more and wanted more.  I think that's a good sign.  We'll see what happens at race pace, though.

Emily made me dinner: baked hominy with bacon, quinoa salad, sauteed asparagus, salmon, and crispy salmon skin.  Yum.

Benchmarks

A couple weeks ago, phase #2 of Ironman training concluded and along with that, the coaches had us benchmark our swimming progress.  They asked us to time our one mile swim, including 200 meter or 200 yard splits.  The pool at my gym is 25 yards long, rather than 25 meters, so I went with the yards.  I think I did 64 laps in about 29 minutes.  I'm still having trouble counting.  Those 64 laps account for 1,600 yards, or about .91 miles.  If my pool was 25 meters long, 64 laps would have been just about a mile.  Another issue to contend with is that I have a 30 minute cut off time in the pool.

Takeaways:

• My breathing every two strokes (same side) timing is getting better, but I need to practice my breathing every three strokes (alternate side).  I'm much less efficient that way.  Really, I'm a mess.

• Overall, my technique is still sloppy.  My stroke counts per lap varied between 17 and 20.  The coaches say it should be more like 12.  Also, they should be consistent.  Last week, coach JP described the arm extension to me like reaching for a jar. And Coach John pointed out that my hand is entering the water too soon- I'm not reaching forward. This has definitely helped. Last Friday my stroke count was more like 16 to 18.  Closer.

• I have to get better at body sensing and pacing in the water.  That will come with experience, I assume, just as it does with running.

• I could have kept going, but I don't have a sense of how much longer. That was nice to feel.  I'm going to have to deal with that 30 minute limit eventually.

Speaking of benchmarks, I squeezed in six Yasso 800s the day after this swim test.  My times were 3:14 (oops), 2:59, 3:00, 2:58, 2:59, 2:58.  Ideally, I will put myself on track for a 3 hour marathon.  What that translates to for the Ironman, I don't know.  But I'm hoping for under 4 hours.   I also did a 5k test with James in Prospect park and pretty much guessed my pace- 6:30s.  It was a PR, but well off where I want to be. I've got plenty of time, though.

Surprise, surprise... Cycling is now the biggest concern.  I need to make time.  Honestly, I should stop with the running speed work and do a cycling workout instead.  I don't want to- I want to just run, run, RUN!.  To be fair, it's not the running that has interfered the most with cycling.  It's normal life.  I struggle to give up my Sundays- especially the sleeping in aspect.  I'm determined to actually make cycling GTS this Sunday.


I've been fortunate that this has been a mild winter.  But even still, it's been cold for cycling.  Getting outside to do 4 hours is rough and I'm usually freezing by the end, even with all the layers I have on (see below).

It takes me like 30 minutes just to get out the door...

The rollers I purchased have been awesome.  My stability has greatly improved.  And it is quite convenient to simply throw on some bike shorts, a headband, and my bike shoes and go.  I'll definitely post some videos of me on this thing soon.

A couple Sundays ago, rather than doing 15 laps in the park, I ventured out to the Bay Ridge Greenway and Coney Island.  I intended to continue along the Beltway, but started to get cold.  I'm sick of getting cold on the bike.  I know, I know... I say that now, but wait til August, right?  I headed up Ocean Parkway back to the park, thinking that I'd do half a loop and go home.  But it is warmer in the park, so I finished off my 3 hour and 20 minute ride there, again doing loop after loop after loop.  It's probably great training for the IM course.  I'll be biking on the Palisades Parkway, which isn't exactly flat.

Verrazano Bridge sunset

My long rides seem to be at about a 14.5 mph pace.  I'm not really happy with that, but it is what it is.  I also am hitting a wall at about 41 miles in.  It's gotta be my nutrition.  On this ride, I decided to start taking calories sooner rather than later and it seemed to pay off.  I didn't ride more miles- Emily had made dinner and was waiting for me- but I felt I could have gone on without my normal struggle.  After swim GTS on Monday, Yvonne and I walked with Coach John toward the train a bit and picked his brain about this topic.  He was against eating solid food on the bike.

I was devastated.  There goes my dream of eating pizza and the rice balls from Zitos mid-ride.

Apparently, solid food is harder to digest and takes water to break down.  And that's no good if you're already dehydrated.  Ok, ok, I kind of knew this and it makes sense, but I figured the need for calories would outweigh the dehydration issue.  I'm not completely sold on this yet.  Perhaps my stomach is tougher than his and the average person (I think this true).  Regardless, I'll be experimenting with that Ironman fuel stuff soon.  Liquid calories... that only sounds good if it's beer.

Coney Island boardwalk

2:45 is the new 2:55

At some point in 2010, I told myself that I would try to time qualify for my next NYC Marathon rather than do a 9+1 or lottery.  I would need a 2:55 marathon to accomplish this.  And though my current PR is 3:29, with some more training, and a speed-friendly course, I really do believe I could reach that 2:55 mark.

But then NYRR lowered the time to 2:45.  Two-freakin-forty five.  What.  The. Hell.

I'm not going to get into this.  I'm just gonna let it stew in my gut for a bit.  Plus, I have other things on the calendar- goals that I seriously cannot take my eyes off of.  Like the Ironman.  And speaking of getting distracted, I've registered for the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon again this year.  My pal Mark will running it, after missing out last year due to an ankle issue.  Fellow SCBkR runner and TNT alumni, Matt, will be coming up to run it and maybe some others will join us.  Should be fun.  And I hope to PR the hell out of it.

Last weekend, while up visiting my parents, I decided to visit the Mohawk Hudson River path, one of my favorite running routes, and home to the above sited marathon.  What I got was another snowy run.

The sign that greets me, in the parking lot across from the L&M Motel.

I drove to the closest access point to the path, across from the L&M Motel, and parked.  I brought my light weight Sauccony Kinveras, but it was immediately obvious that I'd once again be wearing my Gortex lined Salomon XAComps.  Not just snow, there was a lot of ice out there.  I generally stay on this path, turning around and going back the other way rather than running through the Schenectady Stockade area, but sidewalks were clear of snow and that was a strong selling point.  Plus, I had my iPhone on me and thought it'd be nice to share some highlights of this route.

Apparently the oldest house in the city, built in the late 1700s.

After pausing for the photos, I popped out the other side (the neighborhood is like 5 blocks long) and found the rest of the path.  It was deceivingly clear for about a mile or so.  I soon encountered more snow and ice. It wasn't the fun light snow, it was crusty and icy.  It's ironic that this has been the most mild winter I can remember in NY, yet I'm tired of doing long runs in the snow.  Yes.  Ironic.  But hey, it's kind of pretty, no?

Somewhere in Niskayuna.

General Electric turbine factory.  My dad used to work there.  Until they laid him off and shipped his job across the border... to Pennsylvania.

Lock 8 on the Mohawk River, part of the Erie Canal.

For fun, I decided to do 13.1 miles.  It was kind of hard.  My legs were still recovering from the Thursday weights session and again, it was hard running on that snow and ice.  I managed to crank out an average 9:10 pace, but on the clear patches, it seemed I could hold a steady 8:30ish pace. I'm looking forward testing that this snowless Saturday.