Triathletes, Please Don't Play With the Snakes on the Swim

Pictures from Peachtree City International Distance Triathlon - May 14, 2011

You think I'm kidding on the title but I'm not. That was actually one of the announcements right before our swim start. I heard it and was laughing when someone asked me what he said. I told him and then he said, 'Oh yeah, that's true, but usually when everybody gets in and starts splashing they swim away'. Um, okay, good to know that the lake is full of snakes...Guess what I did - splashed a lot just to make sure it was clear to the snakes that I had no interest in playing with them.

This week was a complete rest week so NO TRAINING AT ALL. What? Really? Yes, really. We were told not to do anything tri related so my entry this week is the week leading up to my first triathlon in 7 years, the Peachtree International Distance on 5/14/11. Race report is under Saturday - tapered as you'll see below:

Monday - 1700y swim

Tuesday - 17 mile bike

Wednesday - 1800y swim

Thursday - 4 mile run. Had an appt at the bike shop that night to change my cleat placement and adjust my fit if necessary. If you remember, I've been having massive knee pain on the bike so when I was evaluated, basically everything was wrong. He added a shim to one shoe (one leg shorter than the other), changed my cleat position, told me my bike was way too small for me (great...) and that I lean to the right when I cycle so unless I correct my biomechanical issues, he forsees more injuries as I increase my mileage. Lovely. He changed just about everything you could on the fit, seat height and tilt, stretched me out more in my upper body and moved my cleats so I was completely freaked out about what would happen during the race since I had no time to ride with all of the adjustments he made pre race.

Friday - off, drive to race to check in and spend the night. First Ironman nightmare since I've started training. In my dream, I didn't finish the bike portion in AZ. It was never revealed in my dream why I didn't finish the bike but I was out of the race, crying on the sidelines as everybody was finishing. I blame my anxiety over my radical bike changes and knee pain pre-race for the nightmare. Had a blast otherwise, with two of my hilarious team mates, Rachel and Karen. So glad to be with them and laughing!

Saturday - RACE! As I mentioned, I hadn't done an open water swim, triathlon or had my wetsuit on for 7 long years so I did have some nerves going into this race. Particularly when I saw that it was the Southeast Regional Chamionships so there were lots of fast looking people and bikes competing to make Nationals. I was a little out of place with that crew. Here's how it all came together:

Swim - .93 mile 33:37 minutes

This was a rectangle Lake Swim. Water temp was 72 so I wore a sleeveless wetsuit. On the swim, I felt pretty good right when I got in (no warm up, just into the water as the time started). Had a minor panic attack about 2 markers in. Don’t really know why but I just started to get the gasping feeling and really short breathing. Did some screaming in the water and then worked through one of my affirmations, ‘all that I need is within me now’ and just kept repeating it until I calmed down. It actually worked and I didn’t have to stop swimming to calm down, just kept trying to stroke through the panic and repeat my affirmations! Finished the swim but definitely need work on sighting. Was WAY wide and swam a good amount of extra distance I suspect.

T1 3:26. Did a hammer gel and water pre bike.

Bike - 25 miles 1:29:38

I tried to hold back since I had no idea what my new fit, cleat position and body would do. My knee hurt a little bit on some of the climbs but really not bad at all. It was a rolling course with a few good climbs but nothing horrible. I’m still a bit hesitant in saying the problem is fixed though as my knee didn’t start hurting the last time until 35-40 miles into the ride. This was obviously shorter. When I used to do tris several years back I would go out way too fast on the bike and then have nothing left for the run so I tried to stay a little reserved for this reason too. Drank Perpetuum aero bottle on the bike (finished it) but nothing else.

T2 2:21. Another hammer gel and water pre run

Run - 6.2 miles 1:01:36

Run was really nice, all on golf cart paths so closed to traffic. Again, hilly but I don’t think there really are any flat courses around GA. Took me the first mile to get my breathing in a normal range. I tried to follow an old guy that seemed to be paced evenly and not too fast, not too slow. I stuck with him for the first couple of miles to keep from pushing too hard since I was breathing so hard and needed to get my HR down. Definitely didn’t get enough bricks pre race which I think was part of my breathing issue in addition to some good hills right off the bat. Drank water at mile 2 or so, Gatorade at 3.5 or so and water again around 5ish. Can’t remember exactly where the aid stations were but I did 3 drinks (about half a cup each) total on the run. Skipped one of the stations they had. I felt pretty comfortable on the run for the most part. I walked quickly while I drank the fluids but other than that, ran the entire course. Knee felt fine on the run!

Race: 3:10:37

Driving back from the race I had on some Nicki Manaj, 'Moment for Life', some of the lyrics that made me smile:

This is my moment, I waited all my life I can tell its time

drifting away I'm one with the sunsets, I have become alive

I wish that I could have this moment for life, for life, for life

Cuz in this moment I just feel so alive, alive, alive

What a gift it is to be able to physically compete in triathlon, no matter where you place, how long it takes, it's just an amazing feeling to be out there doing it. All in all I think it was a good day, especially for my first tri in 7 years and breaking the ‘nothing new on race day’ rules with all of my bike changes and no open water/wetsuit swims. It definitely could’ve gone the other way rolling the dice like I did. The only soreness I had was in my calves which I’m not sure if it’s from the race Saturday or running around all day on Sunday volunteering at Iron Girl triathlon. Knee is hanging in there so we'll cross our fingers. Tomorrow training ramps back up!

Are you in the pain cave?

Paige and Me right after the Lula Ride

Up until Saturday, this week had been great for training, mentally and physically. Not sure what switched from last week but all of my workouts were much stronger than they had been, whew!!

Monday: 3000y. Pool was packed today. Rarely have I had to split a lane at 5:30a but this week it happened. I think everybody is getting ready for tri season! Here was my workout - W/U: 400 SW 300 PULL 200 K,1 x 400 IM race pace (:20RI),2 x 200 (:15RI),1 x 400,Half IM race pace (:20RI),2 x 200 (:15RI),1 x 400 Olympic distance race pace,CD 100

Tuesday: 22miles bike, 2 mile run brick. Did the star trac spin bike followed by a 2 mile run on the 'mill. I'm probably getting too used to riding the spin bike with the ipod attached but it sure is fun I must say. Hit up on an 80s mix with a little Journey, Wheel in the Sky to keep cranking -

Sent a letter on a long summer day

Made of silver, not of clay

I’ve been runnin’ down this dusty road

Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’

I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow

Wheel in the sky keeps on turnin’

Wednesday: Had a stomach ache so not looking forward to Wed night group swim. Met the team and we convened outside in the grass at the swim center to talk about practice and recommitment. Had the hood of my hoodie up trying to get myself mentally into the swim when our coaches told us we weren't going to swim but were going to grab dinner, drinks at Taco Mac. Can I get a woohoo?! Had a beer and appetizer and just laughed with the team. GREAT! No swim!!

Thursday: 7 miles. By the time I got home and finally fell asleep Wed night, I got about 5.5 hours of sleep before I had to get up to run. Forgot my gel so had my doubts based on past history with lack of sleep and food prior to run. Turned out it was a really, really solid run. Heart rate under control, felt good. I think I'll write a book now that I've discovered this new training secret. Less than 6 hours of sleep, beer and cheese sticks and you'll improve your run performance - it worked for me!

Friday: 2600y. Lots of kicks, lots of pulls. Swim was much quieter today. Funny how the gym really clears out by the end of the week.

Saturday: 52 mile bike. Was supposed to be 66miles and a run but here's where my title comes into play. Had a great ride planned with the team and my Ragnar Relay best partner and friend in the whole world, Paige. Couldn't wait!! We headed out to the North Georgia Mountains in Lula GA. Knew this would be a challenging but fun ride. First thing that happens is Paige's spoke breaks about 20 miles in to the ride. So we tape it like MacGyver and keep going. Now it sounds like she's got a deck of cards in her spokes, just making a ton of noise as a piece is stuck inside her wheel banging away. About 35 miles in, my left knee twinges (did it last week too but with only 5 miles to go) and I feel it hurting but not horribly. We stop at 40miles at a rest stop and as we're leaving my knee really hurts now. Keep going, focus on something else. We go past the 50 mile turn off and I get another sharp pain that brings tears to my eyes. We stop for a second and decide to turn back around and join the last bit of the 50 mile course. I really didn't think I could pedal anymore, let alone up the final climb that was 5 miles long and crazy steep. Felt like a weenie and was so disappointed to bail out prior to 66 mi but now know it was the right decision. Paige looked at me and said, 'Are you in the pain cave?' which just cracked me up. We finished up at 52 with a broken spoke and a jacked up knee. Ice bath when I got home but no improvement.

Sunday: Was supposed to run today but my knee is still really tender so took Brooke to the park and that was it. Last week when it twinged at the end of the ride, it felt totally fine by Sunday so I have to admit I'm a little worried that it's still in pain. Doesn't hurt when I walk, it's really on the bend and it's the medial side, mid to upper knee. Thankfully this is a step back week so I'm going to take it easy and just baby it a bit to make sure I don't damage it any further and it heals.

Head Games & an S on my Chest

The amazing Iron Nun, Sister Madonna Buder

This week is all about head games - remember the Foreigner song by that name?

Head games, it's you and me baby

Head games, and I can't take it anymore

Head games, I don't wanna play the...

Head games

It is the epitome of my week really. I hit a mental slump this week where I really didn't want to work out most days. It's interesting to me that people think that I just can't wait to work out every day and just love it all of the time when really, I've got to haul my lazy bones out of bed fighting the same mental battle of staying in bed or going to get it on at the gym just like everybody else. I won the get out of bed battle this week but had a pretty bad attitude with my workouts until Saturday when I was named the weekly spirit cape recipient for our team. Check out Saturday below for more on that. About 12 hours of training again.

Mon: 3000y. Main set was 12 x 50 swim descend 1-4, 5-8, 9-12 (:15),6 x 100 swim as 50 easy/50 moderate (:20), 3 x 200 swim moderate (:30), 1 x 600 swim, every 4th 25 fast, the rest swim moderate. Thank goodness I had this written down and remembered my paper. Never would've remembered all of it.

Tue:22 miles on spin bike. Again, probably not 'real' miles since I did the spin bike again so compensated with a 2mile run afterward.

Wed: 3100y with main set - Man oh man does it take a long time to do this when you're an average swimmer. I need to get faster just to get to work on time. This upcoming week I'll be at Group Swim again, it's time for us to sign our recommitment papers to continue training and fundraising so I'm going to have to put on my big girl pants and stay up late and swim (late being til 10pm).

Thu: 6 miles hill repeats and strides. Yuck. Hung in there with a little Snoop From the Church to the Palace, Fa shizzle dizzle!

Fri: 2400y. Thankfully this was a short swim, there was a swim meet at my club starting at 6:30a which I had no idea that was happening. Swam quickly to get the heck out of there.

Sat: 62mile ride, 3 mile run brick. I really didn't want to go this morning. Over and over in my head while I was driving I kept thinking about how much time I've missed with my family and I was tired and it was cool and I hadn't brought any warm riding gear - pretty much any reason I could think of to turn around. I kept looking at the clock thinking I would be late and they would ride without me so I should just go home - head games... I was about 10 miles away and one of my teammates passed me driving. At that point I knew I was going. No way I could turn back since she saw me, :-) Got to the ride and started unloading, still in a bad mood then we all came together for our quick meeting and I was honored with the team spirit cape this week. It's was such a surprise and really it couldn't have come at a better time mentally as I was feeling so down and then that happened and things just started to brighten up! Great ride and run after that. Weird thing was that I had an allergic reaction with my right eye sometime after training. I didn't notice it until I got home but I had a big fluid lump under my right eye and it was swollen. I iced it the rest of the afternoon and evening but it didn't go down much.

Sun: 6mile run. Was supposed to do an open water swim and 9mile run but I woke up and my eye was still swollen so definitely didn't want to put goggles on it and didn't want to make the swelling get worse by running so just settled on 6miles.

I'm looking forward to a fresh week and hopefully a more energized mental state. I got the Iron Nun Sister Madonna Buder's book, The Grace to Race' and am hoping it gives me some new inspiration.

I'm not an ambi-turner

As Derek Zoolander said, " I'm not an ambi-turner. It's a problem I had since I was a baby. I can't turn left". I confess, I can't bi-lateral breathe....How can I call myself a triathlete and not be able to breathe on both sides right? I've been living with the secret ever since my Half Ironman, but it's time to come out and admit it. I've been working on it, but there's a distinct possibility that I may be the only triathlete that does Ironman breathing on one side. Guess I'll have to work on my Blue Steel look to make up for it.

Huge news, I've made my fundraising minimum for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!!! Thank you so much for your generosity - I definitely will keep fundraising but am so thrilled to have raised just over $5200 so far! Training for a higher purpose helps get me through the rough mental patches so thanks everybody! Training for the past week is below - about 12 hours of training (hour of it STrx):

Mon: 3000y Starting to work a bit more on speed with some shorter drills with quick rests. Here was some of the main drill: 2 x 200 (:20), 1 x 100 (20), 2 x 300 (30), 1 x 100,2 x 400 (40), 1 x 100. Felt pretty good!

Tue: 6 mile run, Fartlek/strides intervals. This was a gut buster at 5am but now I'm sucking down a hammer gel pre run so I'm not bonking as badly as I was with just running on an empty stomach. Still isn't fun but ya just gotta do it.

Wed: 2700y. I did this on my own and skipped the group swim. Still trying to work out a schedule to make the group workouts but for now, still missing most of the Wednesday night swims.

Thur: 20 mile bike. I did this at the gym, my bike was in my car with it's front wheel off and all of my gear in it and frankly, I was just too lazy to go get it, put together, hook it up on the trainer and ride in my living room. Sad but true. I think it's a good indication that I'm totally over the trainer at this point. Rode the Spinner bike (the cool one that has the spin class programmed into it or you can ride with your mp3 player). I jammed music and did intervals.

Fri: 2900y. Wrote my program for the swim down, conveniently forgot it in my car and didn't feel like going back out to get it (see LAZY above). Just did a wing it routine since I remembered the distance but not the actual program. I keep trying to get the left breathing down but it's bad so I worked on that a good bit. I don't know what my deal is. I can do it but it's so incredibly awkward and ineffective that I wait for almost nobody to be in the pool to do it. I'll keep working on it but don't know that I'll get it enough to actually try in a race. We'll see.

Sat: 62 mile bike, 2 mile run. Great ride with the whole team. I'm not a big talker when I ride or run so I usually just kind of hang with people. Not draft but just stay with the crew that seems to be about my pace for the day. It's not that I'm so intense I don't want to talk. It's really that I'm wanting to connect in with my surroundings - the landscape, the sounds, everything. Not to mention, I value silence living with a 4 year old daughter! I punked out on the run, was supposed to do 3 but did 2. Was running with a teammate and we made the executive decision to do 2 instead. I haven't been good about getting in my bricks so it was painful.

Sun: 8 mile run. Nothing remarkable to report here. Just another run on a holiday but dang those caramel filled chocolate easter eggs make it all worthwhile! Pre run was Run Like Hell by Pink Floyd:

Run, run, run, run

You better run all day

And run all night 

Love it!

Suck it up Buttercup!

Some of the Team!

Cyclists lining up

Looking back from the start line

These are a few pictures from the Tony Serrano Memorial Ride on Saturday

This was the week before recovery week so really feeling the miles and ready for a reduction in miles/time. Just a little over 12 hours of training again this week including ST.

Monday: 3500y - WU 600 as 50 Drill/150 swim, 2 x 300 as build by 100 (0:20 RI), 3 x the following: 400 negative split on T-Pace + 35 secs, 4 x 75 as 25 EZ / 50 Hard on T-Pace, CD 200. I keep my training in training peaks and had written that this workout rocked! It was definitely time consuming but I really like the variety of it. Good swim for sure.

Tuesday: 21 mile trainer ride. Training in HR zones 2&3 so pushed it at times for zone 3. Not much to report here - trainer rides are boring and I watch the dvr to occupy myself. It is nice to get ready at home though since I ride my trainer at home.

Wednesday: 2900y. Went to the pm group swim finally. It was so good to be back with the team and see everyone again. Tonight we were in the 50M pool which is a switch from 25y. We did another long continuous swim, this time 2000M. Every 2 lanes of swimmers combined into one lane to do a mass start and race simulation so lots of practice getting kicked and mouth full after mouth full of water. Combining 2 lanes of similarly paced swimmers, you have a good number of swimmers at about the same pace. Never was alone the whole 2000 meters for the continuous.

Thursday: 6.5 miles. As the title says, Suck it up Buttercup. Thursday has long since been my crappy workout of the week as far as results but probably the best training on running when I'm tired and not fully recovered. I really could've stopped at 3 miles because my head wasn't into it but I just kept thinking of all of the people that would love to be able to run and can't because of cancer treatment or injuries or whatever. Suck it up buttercup, you've got it pretty dang good so get 'er done and turn your brain off. Turned my IPOD up and finished ugly.

Friday: 2200 yards. Thankfully made it to the gym in the early AM again so didn't have to deal with the PM scene at the gym. I got there a little later than normal so at 6:30am I was getting out of the pool as a huge amount of people were coming in. Not sure what the group was but note to self to be there and done by 6:30am unless I want to swim circles.

Saturday: 62mile ride. What an awesome day. I mean REALLY! Got to ride with the team and do the Tony Serrano ride out in Monroe GA. Tony Serrano was training for Ironman when he was hit by a car and killed leaving behind a wife and 2 small kids. This is a ride that is in his honor. There were probably 500 riders. Gorgeous day, nice clean road, rest stops that were awesome. As I was driving to Monroe from Atlanta, the sun was coming up burning off a little fog - had to listen to a little Van Morrison, Into the Mystic:

We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won as we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic

Sunday: 9 miles. See thursdays Suck it up buttercup message. Today was another one of those. Could be the tired legs from yesterday but started out too fast and then got irritated by someone that kept trying to race me it seemed. Would pass me, I'd pass her, then she'd pick up her pace, pass me again... Meanwhile my pace stayed the same the whole time. You get the picture. I finally dropped her going up a hill for good. Though my pace was consistent mile to mile, it was too fast so I was hurting by the end. I kept looking at my HR and pace and telling myself to slow down but my legs wouldn't cooperate. When in doubt, blame the legs right?

Recovery week starts tomorrow, can I get a Woohoo?! This is going to be a busy week at work so it's good that training chills out while my work ramps up. Please consider making a small donation to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!!

This week our daughter Brooke turned 4 so here I am with mini me. We did a 5K with me pushing her in the jog stroller so this was taken right after the race. She took my race belt as you can see. Happy Birthday Brooke!

Bring on the training for the week (12 hours of training this week including Strength Training):

Monday: 20 miles. Horrible thunderstorms and lightening in the morning so no swim. I did my trainer ride that was scheduled for Tuesday instead.

Tuesday: 3300y swim. Nice swim this morning. I really like this scheduled workout. Good amount of 50y drills but then also had 4x500y.

Wednesday: 3300y AM swim. Ladder workout which was pretty tough especially doing back to back 3300s. I skipped group swim in the PM since it was Brooke's birthday celebration. I have to admit, it's so hard to do the late PM swim followed by an early run so it makes me want to keep with the early AM swim vs. group PM but I get so much more out of the evening group swim and coaching that I just have to suck it up for the most part.

Thursday: 6 mile run. This morning it was Kanye - Bigger, Faster, Stronger:

n- n- now th- that don't kill me

Can only make me stronger

i need you to hurry up now

cause i can't wait much longer

Good run again. I suspect that it's because I didn't do the late swim again but who knows. Our bodies can be good or bad with little explanation sometimes. My garmin battery died unfortunately so I didn't get my HR so that may have been why the run was so good too. I couldn't obsess over my HR and keeping it low.

Friday: 2200y swim. Had to do this after work again. Brad had an away match so couldn't go to the gym in the morning but luckily he got back early enough to pick up brooke and watch her so I could get my swim in. Funny, it was pretty much the same scene as last Friday PM.... gray guy frog kickin' and the rest.

Saturday: 60mile ride, 1 mile run. So yes, I skipped the group open water swim followed by the long run - I was planning on doing it but when one of my teammates mentioned riding with the Summer and Spring training teams to get our long ride in vs. the open water swim, I jumped on it. First, the water temp was around 54 degrees and the air temp was around 45, second, I've only gotten one ride in outside, all of my other rides are on the trainer so while I had the Saturday to train as long as needed, I opted for the ride. Don't worry I'll get in some open water swims, just really needed the ride outside. It was pretty hilly and definitely windy (wind advisory for the day) so I think it was good practice for AZ which I've heard is super windy on the bike. GREAT ride, fueled with Hammer gel, Hammer Perpetuem and a granola bar. Hit up on oatmeal and peanut butter pretzels pre ride. Did a quick 1mile post ride just to get a quick brick in. No run scheduled post ride but had to do a mile at least.

Sunday: 9 mile run. Wow, who turned on the heat?? Hot run today around Piedmont Park and Midtown. This is going to be some tough training in the summer in Atlanta. I know it's always hard the first few runs in the heat or cold so this was one of my first really hot runs. No doubt the pollen is ugly too but it's all good training right? I don't run outside with music so last song I listened to before heading out the door was Unchained by Van Halen. Yes, I admit it, I'm a child of the 80s so sometimes a good classic rock song can work wonders:

Change, nothin' stays the same

Unchained, and ya hit the ground runnin'

Change, ain't nothin' stays the same

Unchained, yeah ya hit the ground runnin'

I dare you to listen to that song before or during a run and not get a little energy jolt.

Til next week! Thanks for your donations and for following along on the training!

Shift Happens

Holly and Paige before 12 mile night run (Our 2nd Leg - Ragnar) 

This picture was taken right before my ultra super cool friend Paige and I took off to do our 2nd leg of Ragnar in Jan 2011 (Miami to Key West) - 12 miles starting around 9 or 10pm. We had on our headlamps, blinkie butts, reflective vests and were ready to go. We ran single file on the side of the open highway, mostly in silence other than the occasional, "what was that noise?" and laugh. It was one of my all time favorite runs EVER. We ran under the most beautiful sky, just full of bright beautiful stars and so quiet and dark when there were no cars. It was like it was a dream where you catch yourself running and think, am I really on the side of the highway in Florida at 10pm running or is this just a crazy dream? This week we're trying to gather those 'thoughts' that will carry us through the tough mental spots of Ironman. This is one of mine - thanks Paige!

As the title this week said, shift happened. One thing I've learned is not to be obsessive about my schedule. I've got a full time job, family, life and training doesn't always intersect perfectly. This week I really had to change things around based on Brad being out of town a lot and my not being able to go to the gym.

Monday: Swim scheduled but rode the trainer instead since I couldn't go to the gym. Did 1:15:00 on bike. No idea on speed since my cateye needs a new battery. Felt good though.

Tuesday: Bike again (on schedule). Did 1:15:00 again. 15 minute warm up with a good bit of pick up intervals. Again, nice ride. Caught up on real housewives dvr..

Wed: Swim - 3300y. Now technically I could've made it to the group swim. I had a late meeting that I was leading from 5:30-6:30p at work and by the time we finished, re-set the meeting room it was about 7. Group swim starts at 7:45p so I was going to have to hang around work to waste time before it started. I thought about it... Thought about it... Then I decided I would go to the gym to swim on my own so I could get home earlier. I was super crabby from so many meetings on M-W so it was probably best I protected the team from being subjected to my bad attitude

Thur: 6 mile run. This was finally a good run for me, about damn time. 15 minute warm followed by 7x1 minute pickups, 3 minute recovery jog between. I end up doing the majority of my runs on the treadmill since it's just not safe for me to run alone at 5am outside so I get the bonus of music when I run on the tmill. I have some songs that I listen to working out because there's just something in a lyric that makes me push. This workout it was part of Foo Fighters Pretender:

I'm the voice inside your head, you refuse to hear

I'm the face that you have to face, mirrored in your stare

I'm what's left, I'm what's right, I'm the enemy

I'm the hand that'll take you down, bring you to your knees

So, who are you?

Yeah, who are you?

Yeah, who are you?

Yeah, who are you?

Keep you in the dark you know they all pretend

What if I say I'm not like the others

What if I say I'm not just another one of your plays

You're the pretender

What if I say I will never surrender

I kept thinking of the doubt in my head about training and the race and those lines were just killing it for me.

Friday: Swim - 2000y Slept right through my ealy workout time. I was just wiped and by the time I woke up, it was too late to get it in before work. So that was not fun having it just loom over my head all day. I left work right at 5p and got over to the gym. The gym is a different place at 5p vs 5a. Packed with people - locker room full. Got a lane to myself most of the time but of course had to share at one point with Captain breastroke with the massive frog kick and 75 year old body in a tiny speedo. Head back to the locker room and my locker is right next to the completely naked woman practically doing calisthenics while I stand there waiting to get a slice of space to open my locker. She finally finishes and takes her towel, throws it over her shoulder and walks off to another area of the locker room, yes, still totally naked. I don't know, maybe its me but I thougth the towels were for your to wrap around your body to cover it up a bit.

Saturday: 2:30:00 bike trainer. We were supposed to do 50miles out in Cartersville but the weather was not looking good so hit the trainer instead. Watched my dvr of IM Kona to keep myself occupied. I watch that and just can't believe I'm going to be doing IMAZ. Really?

Sunday: 8 miles. Today just rocked. Even though I didn't get to run until lunchish. Had a hammer gel right before starting since I didn't really get lunch and had a fantastic run. We have time and distance goals on our training schedules and you basically go by either unless noted not to exceed the time. Today I went on distance so went a little over our time but I just couldn't stop - in the zone baby!

On the fundraising side - I was number 5 on our team last week for total funds raised thanks to some personal and corporate donations. BUT! This week I haven't gotten any donations. Please consider donating any amount - $10, $25, any amount helps with research and treatment of blood cancers so please keep donating! Also, I love to see the comments so please keep commenting and letting me hear from you, it helps keep me going on this journey to Ironman and raising funds for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!