Week 9: Angel Island Trail Run

Saturday's workout was a Marker Set Ride which I completed in 1:28, 2 minutes slower than last time. I'm going to say that the wind factor is the only reason I wasn't able to shave off time (and forget about the 2 week holiday hiatus).

On Sunday, I joined Dennis and the Team Modified crew for a trail run on Angel Island. In 3 words I can describe the experience..."It was Stunning!" OK...I'll elaborate. We got on the ferry from Tiburon to Angel Island. It was an absolutely beautiful January day - sunny and a perfect 60 degrees. I ran in the 8K or 5 mile distance race. Looking back, I should have raced the 16K, but at the time I registered I wasn't sure where I would be in my training.

The course wound up 2.5 miles to the summit of the island. The trail was very narrow which made it difficult to pass people. It was slow going, but incredibly beautiful which made it so enjoyable. Once I reached the summit...wow!..amazing view..East Bay, Bay Bridge, San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge, Marin...then time to head back down. This was the best part of the run. The soft trails allowed me to really unleash my legs going downhill, I was flying. At one point I thought to myself "This must be what if feels like to be an Olympic Marathoner". Based on my time, this was clearly not the case, but it felt unbelievably fast to me. At one point, my competitve edge got the better of me. I didn't want to person behind me to catch me so I turned my pace up a notch. I went down some steps, saw the trail markers to my right and took off. After a minute or so, I realized that not only could I not hear the person behind me, there wasn't anyone on the trail ahead of me either. I stopped, paused, did a 180 and start running back where I came from. Sure enough, I saw the large group on the trail that I'd worked so hard to pass, head down another trail that I hadn't noticed. Now I was with the pack again. Oh well.

I finished 10th in my age group, not bad considering my detour. The real superstar of the day was Dennis. He had wanted to finish in the top half of his age group, but he did even better. He finished the 18K in 10th place overall (out of 150 people). This is his finishing photo...

Condition: Very Proud of Dennis :)

Breaking News: It's not like your coach rides your bike for you...

So who cares if he quits?....um, I do!



If you remember from my first blog entry as to why I drank the kool-aid, the final factor in this decision to dedicate 10 months of my life to training for an Ironman was that Wayne was coming back to coach another season of Ironteam. Why such a big deal? Because I whole-heartedly believed in his coaching style and my ability to perform based on his guidance. 3 years ago, I felt like I was jumping off a cliff by signing up to do the Wildflower Half Ironman. Wayne coached me to swim, bike, and run farther than I had ever gone and not to mention drop an impossible 8 lbs. If Wayne tells me not to eat for 18 hours, then I wouldn't eat for 15 hours (any other coach would have only gotten 3 hours). I'm certainly not the only person that felt this way. A large portion of our team are Ironteam 2006 Alumni who came back just to race under Wayne's leadership. I can't believe the man that preached Commitment and Consistency bailed on us...



Ok, now that that's off my chest, I can say that his departure has really forced me to reevaluate why I'm doing this. Being coached by Wayne was a false sense of security, because come August 30th, I'm the one that's going to have to jump off the dock and find a way to cross the finish line in under 17 hours. If anything, this may just make me a little tougher. Our new Head Coach, Dave, is super enthusiastic and determined to make this a great season for all of us.



Condition: Dissappointed but still Determined

Week 7 & 8: Holidays & Michigan Weather...Excuses, Excuses

Condition: Lazy

Week 6: Calorie Depletion and Training the Mind - Coach Wayne's World is not so excellent

Unless you have less than 2% body fat, Coach Wayne guarantees that his calorie depletion workout will not kill you. He was right, but I was lucky Dennis didn't kill me when I got home, because calorie depletion makes me very very cranky, even after I've eaten.

We were instructed to stop eating after 6pm on Friday evening, and skip breakfast on Saturday morning. Workout part 1 started at 9 am and ended at 12 pm. We did a 3 hour brick workout (Bike 40 min, run 20 min x 3) on nothing but water and electrolytes. The intention of the workout was to creat a 'bonk' scenario (condition when an athlete suddenly loses energy and becomes fatigued, the result of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles becoming depleted.) We were instructed to take note of how we were feeling mentally and physically. At first I had a growling stomach, then I felt really tired - like I could lay down in the grass and take a nap, then I felt really annoyed - like this sucks, then I felt a little dizzy - nothing serious, but equilibrium was a little off, then I couldn't keep track of what number interval I was on or how many I was supposed to do. During the workout, I tried not to think about my lack of food, but it was pretty much impossible since everyone around me kept saying things like "I'm so f*ing hungry" or "I can't stop thinking about cheeseburgers".

At noon, we took at 20 minute break for lunch, Yes! Unfortunately, due to poor planning, all I had for lunch was a whole food whole meal bar and more electrolyte drink, bummer! This was enough to replace the missing calories, but it didn't do much for my emotional need to eat real food. Lesson learned, I'll be packing turkey sandwiches on race day. Again, we were instructed to take note of how many calories we were consuming and how we felt physically and mentally. The point of the calorie depletion excercise was to 1) train our bodies to continue physical effort when our mind is telling us to lay down and take a nap and to 2) train our minds to recognize the symptoms of calorie depletion and to take in measured calories with the confidence that we will recover.

After our 20 min lunch/bathroom break it was back in the saddle for Workout part 2. Cycling clinics and drills followed by strenth training. The drills and clinic were really helpful. I seriously need to work on my bike handling skills. I can ride my bike for 56 miles, max out at 40 miles per hour, and climb a 5 mile 1,000 ft grade - but I cannot ride my bike with no hands. Lame!

Strenght training was a blur. I did all of my crunches, squats, push-ups, etc. but my mind was on the prize - pizza and a beer!

Condition: Hungry like a wolf

Week 5: Giving Masters Swim the Ol' College Try

Swimming has always been my most comfortable discipline of the three (swim, bike, run), but I was greatly humbled this week in the pool. My friend, Steven, talked me into giving Masters Swimming a try. I hesitantly joined him at the Temescal Pool in Oakland and spent the better part of an hour trying not to get lapped by the much faster women in my swim lane. [It was anyting but comfortable.] The focus of the workout was hypoxic or breath control. Coach Monica screamed "I want to see your lips turn blue!" as I attempted to breath every 9 strokes, but never made it more than 6 without sucking wind. As challenging as the workout was, I loved it! Everyone in the group was very friendly, and as loud and aggressive as Monica was from the pool deck, she was equally as warm and encouraging to come back for another workout. So I went ahead and registered myself with the USMS and bought a Master Swim Pass. No pain no gain!

Condition: Out.....of.....breath.....

Week 4: Getting into the Swing of Things

Week 4 rocked! Our IronTeam spin session made all the difference on my Marker Set Ride. Pushing hard gears is helpful when simulating hill climbs :) I completed the 3 Bears loop (19 miles) in 1 hour and 26 minutes. Throughout the season, I will do this same route and benchmark myself against my original time. Hopefully I get faster.

We also had a Swim Market Set. I completed 900 yards in 15 minutes. Woohoo! I hope I can beat it next time...

I made a guest appearance to a Team Modified workout at the Piedmont Track. Coach Claire's 400 interval workout helped me get out of my slow running pace slump. It's amazing what a difference track workouts make on distance running. [This would be a good time to mention that Claire Blaney is my hero...her time for the Philadelphia Marathon was 3:19:08, she came in 68th out of 3,000 women. Amazing!]

Condition: Pumped!

Goal: 140.2 Miles in under 17 hours