Key Workouts

Key workouts are done and in less than 5 days I will be jumping into the Hudson River.  They feel like the distant past.  But these two weekends were hardcore in sweat, effort, and fun times and are worth mentioning.

Brick to Boilermaker

I had signed up for the Boilermaker on July 8th months ago.  At the time, ducking out on a workout and altering my schedule to fit it in didn't seem so bad.  I love this event and have done it the prior two years.  I'm hoping to never have to end that streak, really.  But then Coach Scott sent out a summary of our key workouts and on the same weekend as the Boilermaker was this:

Friday: 2 mile swim
Saturday: 70 mile ride/18-21 mile run BRICK (on Ironman course)
Sunday: 50-60 mile ride

Holy Shit. This would be are biggest brick of the training period and our best chance to mimic the course and race day.  My heart sunk into my stomach.  How could I possibly skip this workout or even consider doing it elsewhere?  I really shouldn't do the Boilermaker.  I have to stay here and do this workout.  For me, this workout was imperative.  Still, I wasn't about to give up on my Boilermaker dreams.

So this is the plan that I hatched...

Friday: 2 mile swim
Saturday: 70 mile ride/18-21 mile run BRICK (on Ironman course), drive 5+ hours to Utica, NY arriving around midnight.
Sunday: awake at 5am, race the Boilermaker 15k, drink beer, go to Kristen's parent's house and drink more beer, make s'mores.
Monday: drive back to Brooklyn.

Great idea right?  Especially when you also factor in the aweful cold I had gotten from sharing a tent with Casey and the gang (not to be confused with K C and the Sunshine Band) the weekend before while camping.  I had skipped all my workouts that week, including the 2 mile swim, hoping to recover, but by Friday night I still seriously doubted I'd be able to pull off any part of this weekend.  Of course, I had to try.  Even if I had to cut mileage short, I had to try.

I dragged my ass out of bed Saturday morning and drove up to Ross Dock to meet the team.  Throughout the workout I was a snotty mess, stopping often to blow my nose.  I think I had more snot on my jersey than salt stains which was remarkable given that it was 95 degrees and horribly humid that day.

But all in all, things went smoothly.  My legs cramped up at around mile 16 of my run (a familiar thing to me, unfortunately), which had me worried.  What was the cause?  Conditioning or not enough salt?  It was probably both.  I ran through the cramps and housed that workout.  I was pretty shocked at how well it went, given my condition and the weather that day.  Coach Scott spent some time riding along side me hammering home the importance of nailing my nutrition plan down.  That was great.  That alone was worth waking up, and hauling my ass to New Jersey.  As for the rest of the weekend, I'll let the photos do the story telling.

SCBkR celebrating after completing the Boilermaker.

With Hollie and Ed.

Enjoying a "ron" fire.

Lounging poolside at Kristen's parent's house.

Monday morning breakfast.

Lake Placid Ironman


Our last big workout weekend was a couple weeks ago and it coincided with the Lake Placid Ironman.  At the coaches' suggestion, a bunch of us went up to Lake Placid to do our workout there and to view the event. And when I say big weekend, I mean just that...

Friday: 6+ hour drive to Lake Placid, arriving  at midnight
Saturday: awake at 5am, start workout with a 1.8 mile swim in Mirror Lake, complete 100 miles on the bike, and top it off with an hour run.
Sunday: awake at 5 am, watch IMLP swim start, 20 mile run, nap, watch IMLP finish until midnight
Monday: up at 7am (slept in), 1.2 mile swim in Mirror Lake, drive 6+ hours home.

I spent most of Saturday with Yvonne and was glad to have the company.  We are about the same pace on the bike, though she's a stronger hill climber, and I'm more daring on the descents.  I had wanted to do the full 112 miles and skip the brick 1 hour run after.  I've been confident about the running, but the nutrition on the bike is what has had me nervous.  Can I really eat that many calories, drink that much water, and take in enough salt over the span of 8 hours?  The coaches convinced me that 100 miles in Lake Placid would basically be the same as 112 miles in NJ, so I stuck with their recommended brick plan.I was happy with how my nutrition went.  And the run was cake.  I felt so good, I wanted to just do the 20 miles right then and there and take Sunday off.

Sunday's run, started out rough.  My legs were very sluggish and felt heavy.  Again Yvonne and I started out together which was nice.  After watching the swim start, we ran from town out on Route 73 and turned around after about 10 miles.  On the way back, I took off, feeling much more loose.  And when I arrived back in town, I happen to run by Matt Long, who said to me, "How's your day going?" as I zipped by.  I responded, "My day is going great, thanks."  There wasn't enough time for me to also say, "Hey, you're Matt Long!  Your story is quite inspirational to me.  Also, I was volunteering at the last aid station the year you returned to Lake Placid after your accident in 2009."

I finished off that run, grabbed a cheeseburger, hot dog, protein shake, and V8, then went back to the hostel we were staying at, showered and napped.  We headed back to town in time to see Maureen, fellow TNTer and honored teammate, run into town (completing her first out and back).  I was very happy to catch her and she looked great- strong and smart.  I was encouraged.

We hung out at the finish line for 4 hours, watching competitors come in.  As the day got later, the athletes looked more beat up.  An Ironman finish line is quite a dramatic thing, especially because of the cutoff time.  I was glad to see fellow teammates Maureen and Dave Dorfman (another honored teammate) finish this epic event.

This was home for the weekend.

Yvonne and I during the ride.

Fuel! Courtesy of Rachel.

Swim start.

Maureen looks great.

Monday morning swim with Yvonne and Hamsi.

Monday morning breakfast.

So now I'm well into my taper and I'm thinking about this thing all the time, visualizing the feel of the course, thinking about what mile two of the swim will feel like, walking myself through the transition areas, and pacing myself over the hills. I imagine feeling good at mile 20 of the run and also consider what I'd feel like if I start cramping early.  I visualize eating four potatoes, one Gu, 14 ounces of Ironman drink, and two salt shots per hour on the bike.  I picture the aid stations, taking a bottle of water and racking it, then taking a bottle of Ironman drink and racking it, then refilling my Jetstream bottle for easier hydration. I go over this over and over again as I ride the subway, lay in bed, or sit at the dinner table. It's meditative.  I remind myself to be mindful and I know that I can deal with all that comes.  I'm excited.