Epic Training Weekend in the Mountains

Holly (me) and Beth arriving in Blowing Rock NC

This past weekend was our team's Epic Training Weekend in the Blue Ridge Mountains in Blowing Rock NC. What an experience - there was laughter, there were tears, there was exhaustion and self doubt and yes, there was wine but no whine (a team rule for the weekend). Beth (in the purple) was my roommate for the weekend and was a good sport about wearing the Hello Kitty gear my daughter Brooke picked out for us. I really had so much fun with Beth over the weekend, THANK YOU for being a great roomie, co-pilot in the car and just partner in crime in general. I've got lots of pictures for you on this entry from the weekend.

We drove from Atlanta to Blowing Rock on Thursday afternoon. Grabbed a nice mountain top dinner on the porch with Beth, Chris H and our Coach Mike prior to check in. Off to a great start! Settled into our 'rustic' accommodations thursday night, good night sleep and up and at 'em to ride at 7:30 Friday morning. 

My riding partners- Wendy, Beth, me, Dori, Rachel, Sally and Amy

Wendy and me

We rode from our hotel to the Blue Ridge Parkway for our 6.5 hour ride. No mile expectation, just time. On my GPS, I got up to 41mph on some of the downhills and crawled up the mountains like a turtle. I can't pull up my account but I remember something like a 6500ft elevation gain from the ride. It felt great though it took me all of that time to just get 80 miles. Yes, that's how tough the ride was - 80 miles in 6.5 hours. Dori and I took a wrong turn on the way back to the hotel and ended up downtown Blowing Rock. We were definitely lost. Mike came and picked us up thankfully otherwise Dori and I would still be out there saying, 'I think this is right'. 

Dori and Me

We got back, had some lunch around 2:15p, couple of hours off and then to the pool for an hour swim practice/drills. Dinner and to bed.

Yep, I'm hiding in the back!

Saturday morning started with a return to the Blue Ridge Mountains for 3 hours of trail running. Again, no mile goal really, just 3 hours on the mountain trails. You can tell from the group picture above how excited we were... It was absolutely breathtaking I have to say, same as the ride. Hardest thing ever but the scenery keeps you going. 

My Pre-run curtsey- water and gel, check!

We ran about 4 trails I think, some looped into others so we started on one of the easier trails and ended on one of the shorter but harder ones. The great thing about our last trail was that it was a good incline to the top (we walked a good bit) but when you turned around it was a beautiful downhill for about 3 miles. Well worth it to end the 3 hours on a 3 mile downhill. 

After our trail run, we went back to camp and had an hour stretch clinic, lunch and then break time. About 4p we headed back to the pool for an hour of swim drills and land based exercises. Back to the camp, dinner and then visualization techniques from 7:30-8:30p. 

Regina, Beth, Karen and Me (my FAB midtown ATL running partners)

After our visualization time, we all just grouped up and laughed, drank wine/beer, took pictures and just bonded. This weekend was great for bonding and amazing team spirit. Such a cool, cool thing to be a part of let me tell you. I got to know some teammates that I didn't really know well and the ones that I did, well we got even closer. In the famous words of John Dapper, Proud to be your teammate!

Sunday we got up and were supposed to catch another 1.5 hour ride in the mountains but the winds from Hurricane Irene were too strong so we skipped it and packed up to head to TN for an open water swim. We drove for about an hour and then got to the Lake. This was great, I got to try out my new full wetsuit so thankfully the water was a little cold. I definitely got warm in it but was determined to leave it on to make sure it would work for a good long swim.

Me and Abby

We jumped in the lake and swam out and around the island, just doing that loop for an hour and a half to an hour 45. I felt pretty strong during the swim. The first loop I sighted horribly but did better on the next 2 loops. I heard it was around 2 miles if you did the 3 loops so I felt good about that. 

 Me, Amy and Jane post swim

After that, we jumped in our cars, grabbed lunch and drove 6 hours home. Got home Sunday around 6p or so and then back to work monday morning. Needless to say, it's been a bit of a sleepy week. We're now on recovery week and will ramp back up next week. We're definitely getting close!

Thanks to all for reading, donations and support. This team has raised over $200,000 for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society but we're still trying to get to our goal of $250,000. Please consider helping us with a donation - you can click the tab on my page to donate!

Phew, Am I back in SE Asia?

 

My running path in Cyberjaya Malasia

I've been having flashbacks to working and running in Malaysia given the heat here in GA. Though I miss working in Malaysia and Singapore, I don't miss the heat and running in it. Can we be done with it please? On a HUGE note, our Ironman team has raised over $200,000 so far and we are well on our way to raising $250,000 for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society!

Go Team!

Lately I definitely haven't been pulling my weight on the fundraising side - I'm stuck at $6300 so if you were waiting for another blog post before donating, here you go! Seriously, thanks for any amount you're able to donate. 

I know I'm way behind on my blogging and weekly updates so I apologize for that. Between working full time, taking care of my family and training 12-14 or so hours a week I've been a bit strapped for time. I got my new bike recently - it's a Look 576 and it's absolutely beautiful. Thanks to Podium Multisports for getting me on a great fitting bike and putting up with my emails everyday asking when it would be coming in. 

Ricky Bobby

I have this weird thing where I have to name my bikes. I feel like it needs an identity - after all, we spend a lot of time together so why wouldn't I name it? So I'm pleased to introduce you to Ricky Bobby. Yes, I'm a huge Talladega Nights fan. What can I say, it cracks me up. I figure that when times get tough riding I can try to think about some ridiculous parts of that movie and crack myself up. Plus, it reminds me of running my Ragnar legs with Paige and having a great girls vacation in Key West afterward drinking wine, sailing and quoting the movie. 

Cal Naughton, Jr.: Shake and bake! 
Ricky Bobby: What does that do? Does that blow your mind? That just happened!

On to training. The last few weeks have been regular training weeks and then recovery week so last week was back to pushing ahead. Here we go:

Mon: 3500m. Off to a good start - long workout of drills but it went well. Got to the pool right at 5am to have enough time to get it all in.

Tue: 22 mile bike. Listened to music and jammed on the Trainer. Started to feel a little puny though, sore throat, stuffy nose.

Wed: 20 mile bike. Supposed to swim today but couldn't breathe through my nose. Opted for the bike again. 

Thu: Rested... Supposed to run 8 miles but took a nighttime allergy pill and just couldn't get up. Also sound like Stevie Nicks so probably best to rest vs. push it.

Fri: Rested... Same deal, still not feeling well but better. Supposed to swim 2850 but had taken another nighttime allergy pill and tried to sleep off the funk.

Sat: 78 hot, hilly miles on the bike at the Blazing Saddles Century. Had such a great time with my friend Paige. I had no idea how up and down the course was and it was about 100 degrees so I felt badly about pulling poor Paige into my crazy training for the day. She did awesome, such a rockstar!! 

Sun: 13.5 mile run, or should I say run/walk. Sooooo hot and such tired legs for my run. Tried to gear up with a little Common, Universal Mind Control. Such a great song to get going. I don't run outside with headphones so I have to get my music fix on the way out the door.

See ya next week!

Work That Body Girl, You Look Gooooood!

 

As I was running my 12.5 mile run this morning a random guy says, 'Work that body girl, you look goooood'. Just cracked me up - first it's like 7:30 in the morning, second, I'm so far from looking good at this point. My clothes were SOAKED from the humidity to the point that I had to keep yanking my shorts to keep them in place since they were sticking to my legs. I have to say though, it did make me smile for a few blocks. 

Mon: 6mile run. 4th of July! Went to the Peachtree Road Race to see some of my teammates run. I didn't get in to the race, it looks cool though. It's got about 60K runners and is an Atlanta tradition for the 4th. I volunteered last year and thought about getting in it this year but I generally don't like huge races like this, too many people, too much traffic. This one ends by my house though so I think I'm going to do it next year.

Tue: 22 mile bike - threshold ride. Good ride, feeling strong this week coming off of recovery.

Wed: 3500M swim with the team. Bit the bullet and went to the evening swim to be with the team. I love swimming with everybody so it was great to be there. For this kind of distance it's just so nice to swim in a 50M pool too. It's a pain to do 3500 in 25m that's for sure. There's a huge temp change between my normal pool and the team swimming pool. It's so much colder swimming with the team, I always end up getting a foot cramp of some sort right when I get in. Had a coconut water right after swim and some greek yogurt when I got home. Trying to fuel better so I can recover by the early AM run. Got home about 10:05pm from the swim and have to leave at 4:45a thursday AM

Thu: 5.5 mile run. Having some really strong workouts this week, really excited about that. This was a fairly short run so just had some water during. Was listening to Kesha Blow on the drive in. Cheesy I know but for some reason it got me jazzed up to get going after such a small amount of sleep:

This place about to blow
Blow
This place about to blow
Blow
This place about to blow
Blow
This place about to blow
Blow
This place about to-

Now what (What)
We're taking control
We get what we want
We do what you don't

Fri: 2700m swim. Tired but got it done. New suit seems to be better on the shoulder thankfully.

Sat: 70 mile Bike/2 Mile Run Brick. Coconut water, steel cut oats/granola/cranberries pre ride. Testing out EFS nutrition and did the electrolyte drink and the liquid shot during the ride. Felt really good the whole ride. I had a little cramping when I stopped but not riding so not a bad first test. This was obviously a long workout so I wouldn't say my stomach was perfect but it held up pretty well. Didn't eat or drink anything other than the EFS throughout the workout. A little spent for the run but it was blazing hot by then. 

Sun: 12.5 mile run. Got out around 6:40a to try to beat the heat. Ran from Midtown up Peachtree into Buckhead. Had a pretty good start out and ran into 2 of my teammates, Karen and Regina, running the opposite way. Stopped for a quick second and said hello, it was fun to see them out there. Pretty much ran the Peachtree Road Race course - up 6th to Peachtree and then straight up P'tree turned before Lenox and ran it back. Had to walk on some of the hills but ran Cardiac Hill on the way back. Saw Karen and Regina as I was running up it and that gave me a little boost. It's definitely a good workout running P'Tree. I usually run from our house around Piedmont, Monroe and the Park but this was better to just run a straight out and back vs. loops. I'm sure I'll be bored of it soon enough though. As you saw from my title and story, I had to laugh at the comment. I just said good morning to him after he said that and kept on runnin'. Never know where a response can get you some days so thought I'd tear off before he said something else. 

Til next week!

Are you walking Santa? C'mon, pick it up!

GA Peachy Runs

Walked down to the Peachtree Road Race 10K this morning to see some teammates running and ran into this GREAT EMS who was heckling the racers at the finish. One of the things he said is my title this week. A santa look a like was walking about 2 blocks from the finish and so he yelled at him, 'Are you walking Santa? C'mon, pick it up'! It was classic. Anybody that was walking that last 2 block section to the finish he would yell, 'Stop walking, you're 2 blocks from the finish!','Unless you've got a pacemaker, you have no excuse to walk right now this close to the finish','Stop walking, pick it up, it's 80% mental at this point'. Total entertainment value let me tell you. The number of people that started running after he'd guilt them into it was amazingly high.

Here's training for last week - recovery week:

Mon: 2900m swim. This workout was primarily a kick, pull, swim workout that I really enjoyed. I don't know what's wrong with me but I'm really liking the kick pull swim repeats. I need to get a new suit though. I just bought one a couple of weeks ago and I think the strap is hitting my shoulder in a bad place that keeps making it click and hurt. Never had that until I switched suits so off to buy another new one.

Tue: 20 mile bike/2mile run. Pretty uneventful.

Wed: 2500m swim. Really like a speed workout, lots of distance with negative split then 100 fast. Took it out of me for sure. Neck sore from trying to keep my head pressed down. Focused on keeping my head very low in the water and only one eye coming out of the water when breathing.

Thu: 8 mile run. So far this week my workouts have been really strong. I've had a lot of recovery weeks that seemed really more difficult than they should've been but this recovery week has been great so far. Was listening to Temper Trap's Sweet Disposition for this run:

So stay there
Cause I'll be coming over
While our blood's still young
It's so young, it runs
We won't stop 'til it's over
Won't stop to surrender

Fri: 2200m swim. I'm trying to stretch after swimming now, haven't been doing that. Grabbed my IPOD and listened to Robert Plant Big Log for stretching today. Hadn't heard it in so long and it was AWESOME - totally relaxing:

My love is in league with the freeway
Its passion will ride as the cities fly by
And the tail-lights dissolve in the coming of night
And the questions in thousands take flight
My love is the miles and the waiting
The eyes that just stare, and the glance at the clock
And the secret that burns, and the pain that won't stop
And it's fuelled once again
Leading me on - leading me down the road
Driving me on - driving me down the road

Sat: 50 mile bike. No formal team ride this weekend with the 4th of July holiday weekend but about 10 of us met up at the silver comet and had a nice ride. I'm looking at a new bike since mine is about 2 sizes too small. I'm waiting to hear from the bike shop about a LOOK 576 to make sure my dimensions look good for it. I'm really uncomfortable on my bike so can't wait for my new ride! Switching nutrition from Hammer to EFS since the last long ride we had my stomach was cramping and screwed up. No cramping with EFS but it was an easy 50 so the true test will be this coming weekend with 70+.

Sun: 2mile fast run. Was supposed to be a rest day but I got myself worked up about something and had to go out and run to clear my head. Working on picking up my feet and butt kicking more which definitely increases my pace but I'm having much harder runs cardiovascularly. I watched a lot of runners at the Peachtree today and the faster people were definitely kicking up towards their butts more. The slower the runners, the more the shuffle look. Very interesting. Don't think I can keep that kick up for 10+ miles though so maybe a kick shuffle until I get it together.

We're about halfway through training now. Hard to believe. Please consider helping me raise $10K for Leukemia and Lymphoma. I haven't had any donations in a month so if you're holding out to see if I'll make it, I've made it halfway!! Thanks for making your tax deductible donations and supporting our Teams efforts to raise $500K. We're at about $180,000 as a team so far I think. Have a safe holiday!

Are You Crying?

There's no crying in triathlon...

Coming off of the Death Valley 3K Open Water Swim Meet I was feeling pretty good about my training. It was a nice confidence boost knowing that I could do 3k in a murky lake, sight well enough to stay on course and do it all without my binky, AKA my wetsuit. If only that feeling would've lasted.

Mon: 3700 swim - Not such a fun start to the week. Warm-up: 6x75 as odd DPS, even build* Main Set: all on :20RI, 4 x 200 IM race pace,1 x 100@T-pace +2, 3 x 300 IM race pace, 1 x 100@T-pace + 2, 2 x 400 IM race pace, 1 x 100@T-pace +2, Cooldown: 6 x 75 as 25 free, 25 drill, 25 free

Tue: 6mi run - Fartlek. I'm so accustomed to doing bike on Tuesday I hadn't even looked at the schedule. Woke up, put on my cycling gear and checked training peaks for the workout and realized it was a run instead. Nice run since it was unexpected.

Wed: 3400 swim. Managed to get to the team swim tonight. Horrible storms so thought we'd get kicked out but we got it in. Just spaced out for some reason so not sure if I got all of the meters in - lost track and just swam continuous with a rest here and there. Sore shoulder...

Thu: 18mi bike on the trainer. Kicked some old school Rush on the IPOD - Distant Early Warning:

An I'll wind comes arising

Across the cities of the plain

There's no swimming in the heavy water

No singing in the acid rain

Red alert

Red alert

It's so hard to stay together

Passing through revolving doors

We need someone to talk to

And someone to sweep the floors

Incomplete

Incomplete

I admit it, I've got strange music taste. 80s rock and hip hop from the 80s to current. What can I say?

Fri: 10 mi run. Woke up not feeling great. Got to the gym and tried the new honeystinger gel I had bought. Squeezed the whole thing in my mouth before I really tasted it and then had that, 'Oh wow, that really sucked' but it was too late, had to gulp it down. Definitely didn't have a happy stomach. Slugged out 5 miles and then had to walk at the top of every mile for 1-2 minutes and then run the next. It was a long, defeating workout. Kept getting the sweats/chills at work until about 1p

Sat: Epic training weekend! From 11:30a to 4p we rotated between swim, bike, run clinics being evaluated by each other and our coaches. Learned a lot about my form. Thanks to teammate Ann for your run form suggestions and to Katie for your swim suggestions. I think my work is cut out for me on the swim. The videos were great for evaluation. Long day though.

Sun: 30 min Lake Open Water Swim, 59 mile bike on NGA mtns and 1.5 mile run. Was supposed to do 30 OWS, 70 bike and 2 run but it just wasn't my day. I think the 90+ degree heat, bad nutrition and not enough sodium/hydration took me out. Swim went great, got to the bike and started hitting the bike. It was definitely a tough course and I was still feeling a little puny physically so around 40 miles, I had stopped at a SAG vehicle in the shade and was shaking, dizzy, not good. My coach Mary had said I should stop there and SAG in. I started to cry. Yes, I said it, I cried over not being able to finish the ride. Watched that group take off as another group came in with my other coach. I was feeling a little better as I stood there cooling off and taking a break. By the time they were taking off, I decided to try to go on - Mike my coach agreed to stay with me no matter what so I felt safe that he would be there. We took off and I had turned the sorrow into rage so I took off like a bat out of hell. He caught up and was cracking up about my speeding off fueled by anger. We got to mile 59 and I was having really bad stomach pains, was dizzy again. SAG vehicle was there waiting so I got in the car with 2 other teammates as my coach took off. 

It was the first time that I had to SAG in on a ride ever. Sunday I'm not sure how many on our team caught a ride back and couldn't finish the ride but I think it was the majority. I'm trying not to let it mentally get to me and just call it a bad day but that's hard. I tried every affirmation, visualization I could and no luck beating the physical and mental issues. Got back, unloaded all of my stuff and stretched out under a tree for a few minutes. Got up and went for a 15 minute run after a mental battle of whether I was going to get up and do it or not. So thankful that I did. On the drive back with my fabulous teammate Karen, I had some pringles and a diet coke and instantly started to feel better. Maybe that's the secret!

No matter what I go through during this training, it doesn't compare to those battling cancer and their journey through treatment. I hope that you'll continue to follow my training through all of the ups and downs and will consider making a donation to Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

My longest OW Swim- Death Valley 3K

Lake Hartwell Pre Race - Clemson University

This week was a recovery week leading up to the Clemson 3K on Saturday. It was a really strong training week for me but even given that, I was really freaked out about swimming a couple of miles in the lake, especially with no wetsuit. Yes, I know Ironman is 2.4 miles but it's still 5 months away so mentally I wasn't confident in this distance in the lake. Take a look at Saturday's writeup for details. Cool thing was I met with a sports nutritionist this week who told me I'm not eating nearly enough so green light to eat more, woohoo! Here's my training:

Mon: 2100 swim. Loved this swim, it made me miss short workouts. Here was the drill - WU 400, as build by 100 (0:30 RI), 4 x 100 as descend 1-4 (0:20 RI), 4 x 50 sprint (1:00 RI), 200 Moderate (0:20 RI), 4 x 50 sprint (1:00 RI), CD 100

Tue: 18 mile bike, 1 mile run.

Wed: 2800swim in the am. Still swimming in the am vs pm with the team. I had to facilitate a late meeting at work so couldn't have gone in the pm anyway. Miss the team!

Thu: 7 mile run. This was a GREAT run. Ever since I met with the nutritionist Tuesday I've been really trying to up my calories (good calories, not junk) and I've felt so much stronger. I took a gel pre run and kept water on the treadmill with me so I finished nice and strong and happy.

Fri: Off day to rest pre swim meet. Retail therapy with a teammate and picked up some new goggles (barracuda tinted)

Coming out of the water at the end of the race

Sat: 3000m/1.86 miles Time to face my fears. Loaded up the family at 6am and drove to Clemson University to meet the team. Even though we've had swims longer than 3K in the pool, they're (a) in the pool, (b) broken up with drills and short rests so I was really not feeling confident going into this swim. This race was my 3rd open water swim in 7 years which also was sticking in my brain. Our race started at 10am so tried to stay hydrated and fueled from 6am til 10. I entered the water and was still swimming up to the 'official' start of the race when the cannon went off, whoops. Had no problems with panic, yaya! It's crazy what your mind will do for that long. Thought about work, thought about my family on the shore, thought about my teammates and LLS, repeated my affirmation - all that I need is within me now - and of course, Beyonce's 'Who run the world, Girls!' was on a loop non stop. Brooke LOVES this song now so I kept picturing her singing it laughing. The course was an out and back and the lake was pretty flat until the turn and part of the swim back. Got a little nausea with the rocking but kept it together. No ocean swims for me apparently. Took it very slow, really in hindsight probably too slow as I had a good amount of energy left at the end, especially since this wasn't a tri, just a swimming race. I haven't heard my time yet, I think it was around 1:15:00. You couldn't wear watches and I didn't see the clock when I finished so we'll see. Definitely slower than normal but I got the whole distance in feeling really good so that was my goal. Mentally it was a boost for sure.

Sun: 50mile bike. Did it on the trainer again. Brooke started swim lessons on Sundays at 10am so I've got to get my workouts in before her swim lessons.

Ramping back up this week on the training.Thanks for your continued support everybody!

Holy Heat Batman!

 

Yep, this is how I must look training in the heat right now

We've now switched to a 2:1 schedule - 2 weeks hard, 1 week recovery. It was 3:1 so it's nice to get a little step back a week earlier than we've had. The recovery is leading up to the Death Valley 3K open water swim this weekend. Death Valley, geesh, not thinking I like the word 'death' in the title of the race as I go for my first 3000 in the open water next week. Send some strong swim vibes for Saturday - to say I'm scared of this race is an understatement. Take a look:

Mon: 600y Open Water, 2500m pool. Met the team out at Mary Alice Park. I brought mini me with me just to go out and watch the team but my fabulous teammate Sally, offered to watch Brooke after she finished her swim so I could do a swim too. THANKS SALLY! I did just one loop so Sally didn't have mini me for too long so I ended up going to the gym later to get the rest of the distance. Amazing what holidays used to be compared to now - gotta love it! Thanks to all of our men and women serving and those that have served in the past- Happy Memorial Day!

Tue: 22 mile bike. Power intervals again.Hard workout...

Wed: 3600m swim. Tasted perfume the majority of the swim. The lady next to me must have had a ton on for me to smell and taste it in the lane next to her. It definitely didn't diminish in chlorine so that is some serious scent! WU 500 as: 300 Moderate / 200 build by 50, 1000 Moderate (0:30 RI),2 x 500 as build by 100 finishing last 100 at T-pace effort or faster (0:30 RI), 10 x 100 as: Odd: Moderate; Even: Fast (0:15 RI) CD 100 EZ. Yikes, right?

Thu: 6 mile run. Pick ups throughout, serious panting going on around here. 

Fri: 2500m swim. Kicks, drills, stroke counts. Not so exciting really.

Sat: 70 mile bike. On.the.trainer.A good percent of the team rode the gaps (N GA mountains), but Brad had to work so there wasn't going to be time for me to drive up north, ride the mountains and then get back in time without hiring a babysitter so I had no other choice. The trainer really, really isn't fun for that long of a ride. I did watch my DVR of IM to try to keep my spirits up but that didn't work for the whole time so just watched trashy reality tv after the inspiring IM coverage.

Sun: 11 mile run. This was a challenge after having some dead legs from Saturday. I ended up having to do this on the treadmill at our gym where we live (not my 'real' health club). I'm not going to lie, there was some walking happening, I couldn't run the whole way. The treadmills are the old school Landis so they're like running on a surface harder than asphalt, just no give at all. I ended up feeling like I had shin splints on my right leg afterwards. Iced it, rolled the 'stick' over it a lot and then slathered it up with some ben gay type stuff. Our daughter didn't want anything to do with me given the medicine smell on my leg. I'll have to remember that next time I need a little red wine and quiet time alone. Cooled down to Collective Soul - Run:

Is there a cure among us

From this processed sanity

I weaken with each voice that sings

In this world of purchase

I'm going to buy back memories

To awaken some old qualities

Have I got a long way to run

Have I got a long way to run

Yeah, I run

Have I got a long way to run

Yeah, I run

Have I got a long way to run

See you next week everybody!