Stayin' Alive, in Week Twenty-Five

The IronMaiden has completed her maiden ride on the trainer, and I think she's gonna be a great bike. I had a 2 hour ride on Friday night and while the time didn't exactly fly by, it was better than the 2 hour ride I had last Sunday. I looked at the forecast for the week and it looks like spring is starting to creep into Iowa. The highs for next weekend might be close to 60, so if the winds are less than 30mph, I may get to venture outside for a ride! Along with the new bike, I also bought a new helmet and pedals (but no shoes to use with the new pedals...). When I've got everything, I'll post a picture of me in action!

My running group (Team 12.4) started this Tuesday. It was a rather exciting start as the heavens opened late Monday night and dropped about 6 inches of snow. I almost thought I was going to have to cancel the first night, but in true Iowa form, it warmed up throughout the day and we had a really nice evening for our first run. I have about 20 people signed up this year - wide age and ability ranges. We met again on Saturday morning for our first "long run:" 4 miles. That was the upper limit for at least half the group; some of them will be setting PR for distance on every weekend for the next 10 weeks. It's exciting to be helping people do something they never dreamed they could accomplish. However, for me, 4 miles is just a start, especially for a long run... so I got to run home after the run to get another 2.5 miles.

The Parks and Rec is also putting on a triathlon training group for beginners this spring. Although I am not leading this group, it is great for me because I can get a little extra pool time on Tuesday mornings and help spread the love of the sport at the same time! Three people showed up on Tuesday morning this week, even with all the snow coming down. I think it will turn out to be a very good program, but this is the first year and it's hard to get something like this started.

Sparkle and I were trying to get out of town as soon as possible on Saturday to get to Kansas City for a show put on by the big distributor we use at the shop, so the week's training schedule had to be rearranged a bit. Sunday's long ride was done on Friday night and that makes Sunday a rest day! Probably one of the only times that will happen until September.

I bought another ticket to Colorado to see Lauren & Sophie and Steve & Tina. I'm gonna head out on April 15th and come back home on the 18th. It will be a really quick trip, but I've got it timed that I won't miss any of the Team 12.4 group runs and can still fit in most of my training. I'm so glad that I get another chance to see the girls in person as they are growing SO fast! I just got some new pictures today and there is such a change in them. Here are a couple of the new ones:

Lauren and Sophie waving at Aunt Julie

Lauren lounging with her friend, Cooper

Sophie lounging with her friend, Mr. Bear

Weekly Round-Up (Sunday thru Saturday):
Swim: 5500 yards
Bike: 5 hours, 10 minutes - all on trainer
Run: 19.5 miles
Cross-Training: 12 minutes on Elliptical Trainer and about 30 minutes of lunges, squats, and core with various clients throughout the week.

The IronMaiden!

Here she is, folks! May I introduce to you, the IRONMAIDEN:

It's really quite a sharp bike, and I'm glad that I got the 2006 model rather than the 2005, 'cause, as Ronn sez, "It's HOT!" Tonight is my maiden voyage on the IronMaiden. Full report on both the bike and "Ladder 49" (the movie I'll be watching as I ride) on Sunday.

Learning New Tricks, in Week Twenty-Six

Sorry, no pictures of my new bike yet. I don't think it has come in yet, but I should have it in my hot little hands by the end of the week. I went shopping for new shoes this week in Des Moines. My intention was to go visit a bunch of bike shops in DM so that I could try on various brands and sizes, then take that knowledge back to Skunk River and have Ronn order them for me. A little shady, I know. But how else I am supposed to know what feels best? However, my plan did not go as well as I had hoped. Had I known that there was a big sale last weekend on shoes in DM, I wouldn't have been surprised when I got to the store and they were all out of my size - in EVERY SINGLE shoe model that they carried! At the second store, I had just slightly better luck. They hadn't received their spring shipments of shoes yet, but the ones they did have in my size were north of $200! Granted the $200 shoes fit like a glove and had a cool ratchet-thingy on the side, but still, $200 is $200 and that is way out of my budget. I'm pretty sure that $200 shoes are not gonna get me to the finish line THAT much faster than something in the $100 range.

I can't complain at all about my running right now. I am finding the time to fit in the weekly runs as well as shooting over my mileage goal for the "long" run on the weekends - thanks to Team Vardo. These guys are all training for a spring marathon and are in the midst of ramping up their mileage. Good for them, great for me. I get to run a bit longer than my schedule dictates and I have a great group to help keep me motivated. The biggest bummer with that comes this week when my new running group starts. Every year I get anxious about this time. Will this year's group come together like groups of the past have? Will they be as much fun as last year's group? Will one or more of them drive me nuts (there is always at least one per year...)? Worst of all, will they get my sense of humor? My anxiety usually lasts no more than about 10 minutes into the first run, but it gets me every time. As added pressure this year, the weather forecast for the first night (this Tuesday) is for snow showers and a daytime high of 31. Yuck.

I am surviving my trips to the pool. This week I did both swims at 5:30 and I think getting up like that gets easier every time. Not more fun, just easier. But even with all the drills and the sets to keep me occupied, my mind can just wander all over the place and I have a hard time staying focused on the job at hand. It is especially important to keep engaged in the process of swimming because it is so technique intensive. That will become a major goal for the future.

Speaking of goals, I've had to stop and remind myself of some of the previous goals I had set for myself. First, I had originally thought that I would try to keep up some sort of strength training program during at least the first 10 weeks of training. I can already see that that ain't gonna happen. The timing of those workouts and the extra hours in the weight room just make it too difficult to fit into my schedule. So, with a little bit of extra creative planning, I'll be able to sneak a bit more strength work into the classes that I teach. My other goal that hasn't been as good as I'd have hoped is my stretching. I usually do a very good job of putting in at least 10 minutes of flexibility training if I run on the treadmill at work. But if I run outside, it doesn't happen. So, again I resolve to make that more of a priority.

On the injury front, I am happy to announce that my hamstring no longer bothers me when I run!! I get a twinge or two if I sit one way or another for too long, but I am basically pain-free!! I think that the massages are really starting to pay off. For the next 5 weeks, I think I'm gonna stick with the every other week massage, but I may have to get more aggressive with 20 weeks to go.

Weekly Round-Up (Sunday thru Saturday):
Swim: 4200 yards
Bike: 2 hours, 15 minutes - all on trainer
Run: 19 miles
Cross-Training: 10 minutes on Elliptical Trainer and about 60 minutes of lunges, squats, and core with various clients throughout the week.

Finally, because everyone asks about them all the time, here are a few more pictures of the girls. Tomorrow they will be 10 weeks old (but these pictures are from their 8th week):


I am trying to figure out (training-wise) how to fit in another trip to Vail to see them in April. I know I couldn't get away for long, but a long weekend would give me just a little more baby-time until I can see them again in May.

Nearly in Heaven, in Week Twenty-Seven

I had a big week! Sunday I had my swimming lesson with Trip Hedrick. Aside from being an accomplished masters swimmer and coach of the Iowa State Cyclones and other teams, he is a great teacher! The gift from my massage therapist (Amanda) was an hour session with Trip to improve my freestyle and help me become a more efficient swimmer. We had the entire Beyer pool to ourselves, which was great as I was expecting to have the rest of the lap swimmers to contend with and navigate around. He surprised me after he had me swim a 50 just initially just check out what needed work. He said I was the first triathlete he's worked with who hadn't been ruined by Total Immersion. I had to laugh to myself because I knew I had used some of the TI principles to develop my stroke to where it is... But, what he really meant was that I didn't have a problem with excessive body roll. As we got more into the lesson, I realized he was actually re-introducing some of the TI techniques into my stroke but controlling the extent to which they affected it.

I've always done drills in my workouts, but this was an entire lesson of just drills. He introduced me to some pool toys I had not used before (because I really had no idea what to use them for...), and at one point, found myself swimming down the pool with my feet tied together, a pull buoy between my legs and a weight belt tied around my waist. Thankfully the pool wasn't very deep or I might have been slightly more concerned for my safety! I came away from the workout with a lot more clarity:

1. I am a better swimmer than I thought.
2. I know what is wrong with my stroke (and now some idea of how to correct it).
3. I can use "pool toys" without fear.
4. If I'm ever thrown into a lake with a weight belt on and my legs tied together, I'll be a better swimmer when I finally reach the shore.

It was a great hour (plus some), and I will probably be trying to get back into see Trip again in a few months to get a check-up on what I've been working on. Although I estimate I only swam about 1000-1200 yards, they were some of the most valuable yards I've swum all year. For that reason, my weekly yardage was down, but my swimming is better!

Because I keep switching which workouts I do on which days, I got a lot more running in this week than was scheduled, and lots less cycling. Actually, as of Friday night, I had only been on the bike a grand total of 30 minutes, and that was at the gym (not on a real bike). As this is a step-back training week and a very busy personal week, I cut out a 30 minute recovery ride on Wednesday.

The weather forecast for Saturday was 65 and mostly sunny, but it was still in the low 40's when I got up. I headed out for the 8 mile run with the running group and quickly realized I was over-dressed for the run. I basically cooked myself in sun for the remainder of the run, went home, showered, then put on shorts for the rest of the day! When Sparkle got off work we headed to Skunk River. She wanted to test ride a couple of new bikes as Ronn had sold her old bike last week. And I wanted to try out the Cannondale Ironman again. We used the weather to our advantage and took the bikes out on the road. The wind got progressively stronger throughout the afternoon and soon, it was no good for riding - more hazardous to our health and well-being than beneficial to training. And the wind shifted to blow out of the north, which meant the temperature dropped as well. We did two test-rides of about 40 and 15 minutes each. Sparkle rode a Cannondale R900 and a Cannondale Synapse. Both are really nice bikes, but pretty distinctive in their feel. Less than 5 minutes into the second ride (on the Synapse), she knew which bike would be hers.

We got back to Skunk River and told Ronn he'd sold 2 bikes. Sparks got the Cannondale R900 outfitted with a new computer and some cool water bottle cages. It's a red and black/silver bike that just looks fast! I told Ronn I was ready to sign up on the Cannondale too, and that's when he dropped the bomb - he'd already sold the bike to someone else. I was bummed, but now I'll get a 2006 model, with better specs and a pretty cool, but simple paint job:

So, my new bike is a 2006 Cannondale Ironman 3 Aero Slice in Race Red. Further specs can be seen at: http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/06/CUSA/model-6RM3.html (link displayed especially for my Uncle Jeff who nearly weekly asks if I bought a new bike yet...). I decided on the Cannondale over the Quintana Roo for a number of reasons. Both bikes have nearly identical geometry. The component specs are pretty similar - actually the QR is slightly ahead in this category, but that also increases the price... Cannondales are made in the USA and have a lifetime frame warranty as opposed to the overseas construction and 3 year warranty of the QR. Last but not at all least, the Cannondale just looks cooler and I know that every other person in the transition area won't be riding the same bike! I've even started thinking of some pretty cool graphics that I may add to the frame to make it more "mine." Ronn is ordering the bike on Monday and I should have it by the end of the week or start of the following week! More pictures to follow when I get it home! I've picked out a new computer, saddle, and pedals. My next goal is to get some new shoes. The only left after that is to just get on and ride!

Running is really going well. It's still what I love to do most. My hamstring still gives me some fits, as does my right foot (that's a newer pain, but nothing to worry about - I think...), but the regular massages are making such a difference. My IT bands are really painful at best, but Amanda does a great job of freeing them up while I practice Lamaze-type breathing to get through the agony it causes. I don't fear the weekly longer runs like I thought I would. Actually, they are where I get to de-stress from all the stress caused by trying to fit in all the other training! Tuesday night I found a new route for a 6 miler, and I'll be using it a lot more this summer. It's a perfect loop that sends me through town and then north of town about the right time to watch the sun set over the cornfields with nothing else on the horizon but blue skies. Anyone who thinks that Iowa cornfields are lame, needs a reality check. There is really nothing more beautiful than an Iowa sunset.

Weekly Round-Up (Sunday thru Saturday):
Swim: about 3700 yards
Bike: 75 minutes (about 45 of that was outside!!)
Run: 24 miles
Cross-Training: about 60 minutes of lunges, squats, and core with various clients throughout the week.

Not a Minute Late, in Week Twenty-Eight

I still don't have a bike. After my visit to the DM bike shop last week, I kinda thought I had my mind made up about what I wanted to do. But then I went back to see Ronn at Skunk River and he's got me convinced to give the Cannondale another try. But, he also said he'd see if he can get a Quintana Roo as well. So, I'm basically back to square one on the bike purchase, but this week I'm going back in to see Ronn and we're gonna have an after-hours bike fitting marathon to see if we can make this Cannondale work for me.

When I rode the QR in DM last week, I thought it felt more compact, which felt good for my body. But when we actually sat down with the numbers and frame geometry, it turns out that the two bikes (the QR and the Cannondale) are nearly exactly the same... So, I'm willing to give the Cannondale another try. And, I know Ronn will treat me right on which ever bike I go with, and it will also relieve some of the guilt of going somewhere else!

Other than the trauma of buying a new bike, everything else is going well. I don't feel like I'm doing that much more training than I have been the last couple of months, but when I sit down with the numbers, I realize that I am. I'm spending more time on the trainer in the basement (btw, "Top Gun" is 109 minutes long... perfect movie when doing a 105 minute ride). My runs feel great. I'm used to doing one "long" (6+ miles) run per week and a bunch of shorter runs (3-4 miles), but now I'm doing longer runs more frequently, and I find I like it! My swims have increased about 50% from a month ago, and although the transition was hard, I think I'm gonna live and be glad I'm adding the extra yardage.

Speaking of swimming, my massage therapist gave me an awesome gift. Since I'm planning on keeping up the massages for the whole training period, she arranged for me to have an hour-long one-on-one "swim lesson" with a former Iowa State swim coach. Roehr will remember him as the coach in the DVD we "watched" after the Logansport Tri last summer (granted, we slept through most of the show, but that was a product of doing a tri and then driving back to Chicago rather than the content of the DVD). So, my lesson with Trip is this afternoon. I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe there is hope for me yet!

Weekly Round-Up (Sunday thru Saturday):
Swim: 4700 yards
Bike: just under 3 hours on trainer
Run: 19.5 miles
Cross-Training: 50 minutes (Core & Strength class), 10 minutes on elliptical trainer, total of about 60 minutes of lunges and core work with various clients throughout the week.

As I look to next week, I notice that it is a step-back week, but this early in the game that only decreases my weekly hours by one, so not much in terms of rest, but I'll take what I can get! I also have my informational meeting for the running group. It's always an interesting time of year for me to see who will show up for that!

Also, I can't let another post go by without showing off a few more pictures of Lauren and Sophie. The girls will already be 8 weeks old tomorrow! Grandma and Grandpa Hall just returned from another visit:

Lauren (above) and Sophie (below), 7 weeks old