Breaking down walls

When I started running again, it was because I'd seen a picture of my fire chief crossing the finish line at IM Canada.  I saw it and thought "I could do that."  So I started running again.  One race after another, and I rediscovered my love of running.  And competition.

I soon found that in local races, I'd do well.  Usually well enough to place, or at least close.  But distance running, my first love from middle school, was my favorite (although, somewhat slower now than I was then).  I'd do well enough to make a ten minute mile average pace over the run, and could hold that.  By the time I ran my first marathon in 2009, I only had one goal: to run faster than a ten minute pace.  I did it.

Last year I made the transition to triathlon, and made a few breakthroughs.  With the addition of swimming and running to my training, I found both my 5k and long distance pace getting faster, incrementally.  While experts and veterans may argue whether or not the addition of other sports or simply the extra miles made the difference, I still found myself doing better.

Then, a month ago, Jeff at Apex Endurance started coaching me.  I've been self trained for the majority of my experience - picking up bits here and there, and mostly looking up to a few people who are good at endurance sports, without ever really understanding how to get better.  Prior to any formal coaching, my training usually involved running/cycling/swimming at whatever pace I could handle, for however long my training plan called for.

Suddenly, over the past week, I've started to see improvement.  Higher power numbers during cycling, faster swimming for some of the same drills.  But the best moment came for me during a hour and forty five minute run two days ago when I broke the mental and physical barriers of the nine minute mile average pace during that hour and forty five minutes. And I hold no illusions that this is a fast pace in the running world. But there came a moment when I realized I could do it, and that I was breaking down any preconceived notions about how fast I can run.  What is important, though, is that in my love of running, I'm seeing improvement.

Kirsten, at Awesomeness of You, taught me last season to break down "realistic expectations" I hold for myself.  The result is that I enjoy my sport so much more.  Essentially, Kirsten has taught me not to have limits for myself. She taught me to not believe that I can't do something, that a certain athletic capability is out of my reach, or that something is unrealistic to expect.  She taught me how to teach myself and believe that I can.  Race jitters are pretty much a thing of the past, when they used to tear up my stomach before a race.  Kirsten taught me to look beyond what my mind and body were telling me to do and find out what I really can do.

Jeff is teaching me what I'm capable of.  Every day, I look at what he has scheduled for me to do and think  "He's crazy! I won't be able to finish that!  Okay, I'll do what I can, and finish as strong as I can, and go from there.  I'll have to email him and let him know that it was too much."  And yet, every day, I find that I can finish the workouts, and finish them strong.

So here's to the future.  I don't hold any expectations, and I haven't found my limits.

My race day safety net...

So, the weather didn't really give us the cold day we were hoping for...  No biggie.  We had some good people on the problem.

My pacer, Dave, is an amazing guy.  In most of the pictures, you'll see a guy with tape on one knee running with me.  He kept me going when the going got tough (and believe me, it got pretty tough).   Let me tell you a little about Dave.  He's ex-Air Force, husband (thank you, Angie!), dad, and a type 2 diabetic.  From looking at him you'd never know he was diabetic.  He's a member of Team Type 2, a bunch of athletes that are kickin' butt and taking names.  And they all have type 2 diabetes.  Check these guys (and gals) out.  They're amazing.  Their mission is to instill hope and inspiration for people around the world who have diabetes and show that with diet, exercise and proper medication, diabetes can be controlled. In 2009 and 2010, TT2 completed the 3,000 mile Race Across America (RAAM), and continues to race in many events around the country including most local Tour de Cure events.  TT2 is part of TT1, a larger organization of type 1 diabetic racers, including a pro cycling team (who hope to debut in the 2012 Tour de France), a running team, a women's cycling team and a triathlon team.

But back to Dave.  If anyone is diabetic and reading this, Dave sets a great example of what diabetes can't do.  It can't limit you or make you weak.  Without him, my race might have been a whole lot different.

I'd been watching the weather for weeks.  When I saw that the weather wasn't going to be as cool as I needed to be, I called a doctor friend to ask his advice on how to keep cool for the race.  He referred me to a sports doctor, who gave me some really good advice, which I used.  I went to the medical tent before going home - to be on the safe side.  Blood pressure, heart rate and body temp were all normal.  As if I took a nice stroll outside kind of normal.  Kudos to the doctors who gave me the great advice.  I followed it to the letter and finished strong and healthy.

In addition, some really great people from EMS kept an eye on me and where I was during the race to make sure that I was safe.  I can't really say enough about these guys - without them on the course, who knows what could have happened.  Now don't get me wrong, they were also out there for the other amazing runners that were out there with me.  EMS really doesn't get a day off; night and day, they're always EMS.  But they were aware that I was out there, doing something crazy, and might need help.

The safety net that existed was truly amazing.  You guys deserve a round of applause.  Thank you.

But Austin, WOW.  The volunteers, spectators and runners.  You cheered everyone on.  It didn't matter whether or not you knew them.  You stood out there for hours and cheered.  And to the people who worked the water stops - you were really awesome!  26.2 miles of fans for every single runner out there, and a support crew for each one.  And you made everyone feel like it was their race, their day to succeed.  To the runners - it was a great race.  I saw a lot of you that were out there having fun!  And a lot of you encouraging the ones who weren't.  And the ones that weren't, you didn't quit.  You guys are amazing.

My race report is coming - I've got it drafted and need to put the finishing touches on it.  I wanted to make sure and highlight that this was a team effort before the race report, though.  A lot of people stepped up to help make this happen.

Thank you to everyone.  And don't forget that the point of this was to fund the scholarship.  You can donate here:
Donate

This seemed like a great idea at the time...

In less than 24 hours, I'll be finishing the Austin Marathon. This has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride; good training days, bad training days, and days where training may have defined the tenth circle of hell. I've gotten more familiar with so many more aspects of being athlete than I ever thought possible, and I've been in touch with people from all over the world and from all walks of life. I've heard many inspiring stories about people who have survived amazing things and come out stronger than imaginable.  And I've been fortunate to meet some of them.  I've pushed myself further than I thought possible.  So, tomorrow, when I'm running, I know that my journey will not be the hardest.

It's amazing how many people have come together to make this happen.  There are so many people to thank
(in no particular order):

My husband, Gabe.  He inspires me and encourages me to realize that I haven't met my limits yet.  He supports me.

Erica, my friend and training buddy. She's great company on the long training miles and helped raise a lot of the money. She also helps me not take things so seriously.

Jessica and Nathan. These two are the coolest young adults I've met. They've watched my kids when I couldn't and encouraged me to get more involved with the generation between mine and my kids. You guys do your generation proud, guys.

Chastidy. She's handled much of the social networking for me, and encouraged me to get the information out there. She also handled most of the interaction between me and Support Behind The Badge.

Bonnie. She started the ball rolling on the support during the marathon itself and got Inspire and the Gems involved. This is such an important part for safety. She also taught me a lot about social networking.

Laurie and Infinit Nutrition. These guys took the time to help me get my nutrition right, then took a chance on a crazy idea.  The one thing that I haven't had to worry about at all is whether or not my stomach was going to rebel on me.  It's probably one of the largest concerns in any race - and not something that I even have to stress about. 

Jeff Hayes.  He designed a logo for us on very short notice, that we really haven't been able to take advantage of as much as I would like to have.  And he didn't get much credit for it.

Dave and Angie.  Dave is running with me for safety, and Angie is his wonderful wife that's making time so Dave can run the Marathon.  Dave and I have been in a few races at the same time (Longhorn 70.3, Bandera 50k) but I don't think I've ever actually met him!

Johnny, Megan and Sara with the media. Thanks for the really tasteful articles, and for making sure they kept the focus on the charity.

There are many, many people that have supported me throughout this journey in countless ways that I haven't mentioned in my post.  I haven't forgotten you.  You meant something to me on a personal level that I don't think needs to be shared with the world.  But you were there for me, and it was important. Tomorrow, when the going gets tough, your voices will be there with me, keeping me going.

But most important, to my kids. Your endless imagination and spirit keeps me on endlessly on my toes and ready for anything. I love you both, and remember, you are only limited by your ability to dream. Dream big, kiddos.

Honoring a Fallen Friend

In a couple of days, a news interview is going to air about me running the marathon in bunker gear.  Before that happens, I want to highlight the person whose memory is the catalyst to so much that is going on.

The scholarship that I'm helping to fund is in the name of a dear friend. His name was Leonard A. Reed. He was a police officer with the city of Cedar Park, Texas for several years before he was lost in an unfortunate training accident. His life positively impacted countless others, and a visit to his facebook pages will show you that he was and still is a much loved man. The family he left behind is a testament to the kind of person he was. His wife, Cynthia, was the rock that everyone else leaned on to get through the hard times after his death. His sons are cut from the same cloth. I was lucky enough to run with Cynthia when she was training for her first half marathon. She gives endurance its definition in many forms.

As for the man that gives the scholarship its name, he was smart, patient, good natured, good humored and good hearted.  Someone once became upset with Leonard and snidely asked if he was having a bad day.  He simply smiled and said, "I don't have bad days."

Everyone has a story about Leonard. This is mine:
I'd been having a bad Friday during my first pregnancy, was stuck at home, and was grumping around the house. I'd seen the movie "Friday" the night before, so in my grumpiness, repeated the line: "It's Friday. I ain't got no job, I ain't got sh*t to do!" I heard my husband laughing in the other room. He'd overheard me, and when he went to work that day, repeated the story to Leonard. When the guys came by the house later, Leonard said "Hey Smokey!" and proceeded to try and cheer me up. From then on, it was Craig and Smokey when we ran into each other.

I'm not saying Leonard was perfect. He was human. But he made it his life to make others feel better about themselves. He left a legacy behind of more than public service. He left a legacy of human service.

My weapons of war (Part 1)

What do you use to train?

This is another part of my life as an athlete that undergoes constant revision.  During the ramp up to my first marathon, I had so much gear, that I remember non runner friends teasing me about the amount of technology and other crap that I carried.  And had to prepare - just to get out the door.

Now, even though I'm not a running purist by any means, I've streamlined my gear.  I'm going to break this up into three blog posts, for ease of reading (and writing), and frankly, so you don' get bored.  I don't want to turn this into a gear review.  You can head over to DCRainmaker's blog if that's what you're looking for - he has some great reviews.

Running outside:  Hat, sunglasses during the day, heart rate monitor and gps watch, non cotton low rise socks, and running shoes, foot pod attached to my shoe

Running inside: Heart rate monitor and gps watch (gps off), foot pod attached to my shoe

Whether I'm running inside or outside, I dress to be comfortable, and if I'm running for more than an hour, I use nutrition.  When that happens, I wear a running belt.
That pretty much covers my running gear, now for the pictures!
 

I use a headsweats supervisor right now.  Great hat.  Keeps sweat and sun out of my eyes.  Does its job pretty well.  I like this better than a regular hat because it lets me get rid of heat without letting me sunburn.  The downside?  Slightly too big and it can't be made smaller.

My sunglasses are the tifosi slip variety.  I just got these, so I'm still checking them out.  They came with three lenses, a hard case, and a softcase/lens cleaner.  Give me another month or two, and I'll be able to tell you more.  So far, I really like them.

I currently use the garmin 310xt with the premium heart rate monitor and the foot pod.  I calibrated the foot pod using gps (treadmills can be inaccurate).  I will be switching to the garmin 910xt in the future, just no rush to do so.  Garmin's best quality has been their customer service.  I've had a few problems with the gps watches, but nothing that would make me consider switching to another brand.

When I run more than an hour, I use the nathan elite 1 running belt.  I load up enough nutrition for two hours in the bottle, and if I'm going further than that, I make sure to have a stop on the way to refuel/rewater.

And last, I wear the brooks adrenaline when I run.  I really love their shoes.  After a brief and unpleasant affair with another shoe, I'm back in my beloved adrenalines.  I may consider getting into the habit of wearing a racing flat when I race 5 or 10 k races, but otherwise, I'll stick with the shoe that has taken the best care of my feet.

I do want to stress that just because I or any other athlete has had good luck with a certain product, it doesn't mean that you should go out and immediately change what you're doing if it works for you.

Tell me in the comments what works for you when running.

Running in firefighting gear, and sending kids to school

I guess it's time that I put down into a post exactly what's going on.  The news article should be up on the internet today, and in print tomorrow.  You can also find me on facebook and twitter as 26point2forEDU.

Basically, I'm running a marathon in firefighting gear.  No, I'm not crazy.

What I am, however, is determined.  I was once asked by a hiring board to sum myself up in one word.  I chose the word "tenacious."  The hiring board asked me what the difference was between that and bullheaded.  At the time, I didn't have an answer, but more than a decade later I can tell you the difference.  It's the difference between a strong will and a strong won't.

So, on February 19th, I'm going to run the Austin Marathon in firefighting gear.  I'm doing this to raise money for a scholarship in the name of a dear friend, Leonard Reed.  He was an amazing man, and inspired quite a few amazing things.  You can read about him here.

What the scholarship aims to do is to send kids to fire school and police academies after high school.  Support Behind the Badge is the group that formed the scholarship, and I'm running to support them.

There are several community resources and corporate sponsors that have gotten involved.


Infinit Nutrition has been amazing.  In order to do something like this, I have to have the right nutrition - customized and with Infinit's support and ability to work with me has made it possible. If you order from them, they'll give you a discount, and 10% of the sale goes back to the scholarship.   See my previous posts on nutrition for more information.  Use the code "firegirl" at checkout to get the discount.


The scholarship has been set up with Dell Cares.  If you work for Dell, you can donate, and Dell will match your donation.

Inspire Fitness has provided some wonderful people to support me along the way.  They're going to make sure that I have someone with me at all times during the marathon so I have everything I need.  I can't say enough wonderful things about the group of ladies that's running with me.  They're the Gems and you can find their running group here.

Jeff Hayes at Plasmafire Graphics did the logo for us.  He really did a great job!

Johnny at Hill Country News has been awesome enough to help us get the word out.  Thanks, Johnny!   Here's the link to the story.

Did I forget something?  Post below and I'll add it!  And don't forget to follow me on facebook and twitter!

Donation Link  Want to donate to help our future generation of firefighter and police officers?  This is a secure donation link.

A little about me:
I'm a career firefighter going on 13 years.  I'm married to a police officer and we have two great kids.  Hopefully they'll go to college and be doctors or astronauts, but for the time being, I want to show them that you can do anything that you decide you can do.  I'm not new to running, or to endurance sports.  I've been a runner for years, and started in triathlon last year.

Bandera 50k, off the beaten path...

Two days ago I completed the Tejas Trails Bandera 50k.  WOW.  What. An. Experience.

I drove out on Friday night and got in just before 10pm.  I was planning to camp so I'd get the "full" ultramarathon trail race experience.  The Lodge still had a light on, so I found my way in and found some of the crew chilling out before a big day.  They were welcoming and friendly, and flat out awesome!  I got to meet the race director, Joe, and several of the guys he works with.  Great guys.

My "tent"

Pretty soon, I headed off to bed.  I'd decided to camp in the back of my suv, so I had less to worry about on race day.

I wound down by reading some from "Hunger Games" and fell asleep about midnight. I should mention that cell service was nonexistent for most of us.

The next morning was chilly, but the day wound up being perfect for the race.  I got up, got dressed, got my cherry pop tarts, and went to packet pickup, about 100 yards from where I was camped (very cool!).  Packet pickup went fast, and pretty soon, I was back at my car getting last minute things ready for the race.  70 oz of water in a nathan back pack,  3 hr flask of Infinit on my shoulder, with a 3 hr baggie and a 1 hr baggie ready to mix at the aid stations when/if I needed them.  Baby wipes, ID card, camera, race number, hat.  And I'm off to the starting line.
We stand around in a pack until the horn blows.  And here I have to give you a visual.  Have you ever seen the movie "Hidalgo?"  Watch for 1:30.

As soon as all 200 of us hit that first narrow/downhill/treacherous footing area, we slow down and it becomes a nice stroll through the Hill Country.  As soon as we get around that corner, I can start getting around other athletes, and I'm off again.  The first 9 miles are rough.  I don't mean a bad day on the pavement.  I mean up, down, twisting, climbing, hands, feet, knees, cactus, poop of all kinds, rocks, trees, brush, etc.

Sunrise from the course

So the course is rocky, filled with a kind of mini-agave cactus plant called sotol, and there's very little truly flat running area.  You might as well have already offered your shoes to the gods of trail dust and horse poop, because you're going to step in it at some point.  And if you don't, you're going to hurt yourself avoiding it.  Either way, it's a crappy situation.  The area has beautiful vistas, but keep your eyes on the trail while you're running-it would be easy to twist an ankle, run into a cactus or a tree, or off a cliff.  So, please.  When you decide to do this race, plan to add an extra few minutes to your time to see how beautiful the course is.

At one point I heard two guys griping and I chuckled...  "What," I asked, "Didn't you read the brochure?  They said everything cuts, stings or bites."  They laughed.  Of course, the athlete guide also boasted names of hills like "Sky Island," "Ice Cream Hill," or "Lucky Peak."  Nice names that don't give you any idea of what you're really in for.  Ice Cream Hill became the subject of many jokes.  Mostly intended to keep our minds off how bad we're hurting.


"There should be ice cream at the top!"

"I know why it's call Ice Cream Hill...  Cause you eat it going up, and you eat it going back down!!!"

"Oh, I thought it was because  'I scream!"


This kind of dialogue went on the whole race.  Turns out trail runners tend to be a funny bunch. 

I want to mention the sotol.  As I said before, it's kind of a miniature agave, only not as pleasant.  You can't get tequila from it (thanks to a reader that I wish I could credit, I found out this is wrong-see the comments!).  I got warned about it.  Specifically about a small patch of it, so I wore some running pants that would protect my legs.  Well, it's all over the place.  Not just one small field, but all over the place.  And it's taller than me in some places!  Really though, it isn't that bad.

The course is well set up and well supported.  About every 5-6 miles you see human beings with food and water.  They are angels bearing manna from heaven.  The volunteers were amazing.  They knew that there were a bunch of type A athletes who were specific about nutritional needs and made the aid stations about the athletes' needs.  All the aid stations were super mellow but way on the ball, and the volunteers made the effort to be sure that everyone had exactly what they needed, when they needed it.  Essentially, the volunteers and crew made the race.  All you had to think about was forward motion.

For me, the day was a mixed bag of emotions.  I rocketed between wanting to give up or deciding that I was too tough to not finish.  Every time I wanted to stop and walk, a small but pushy voice decided that I could walk for a few yards, but I needed to start running again after that.  As a primarily pavement runner and triathlete, I came closer to my first dnf than I've ever been before.  I found that my fifteen minutes between nutrition breaks went fast, making for a fast six plus hours. At Chapas I stopped and had help refilling my nutrition flask.  For something that could have been really complicated with the help of a volunteer, it was really simple and went smoothly.  I scrounged some baby wipes just in case, and I was off again.  Just before my second pass at Crossroads (26ish miles?), I came around a bend in a tree and there was a camera.  Really, guys?  Really?  I smiled the best I could.  Grimaced, maybe.  But something happened that really made me feel great.  After the first initial rush of people, people stopped passing me.  I started passing people, and from mile 10 until I finished, I kept passing people.  What did this mean for me?  Only one thing-I paced myself just right.  I finished with very little left in the tank, but I had some.  Meaning-this race went just right for me.

And, because Infinit Nutrition has been very generous in sponsoring me for the upcoming marathon, I want to give a shout out.  You know that runner's stomach you get when you've been going too hard for too long and your nutrition doesn't agree with you?  It never happened.  Partway through (20ish miles in), I realized I needed to hunt down a bathroom.  And the cedar trees just weren't going to cut it.  Finally, after 26 miles, I found a bathroom.  And found out that the problems I'd had in my nutrition before weren't happening again. My stomach was fine and my energy level was more than okay.  My limiters in this run came down to training, never once did it come down to nutrition.  So, thanks Laurie, and Infinit.  Once again, I've put you to the test and you didn't let me down.

So, truthfully, I don't know if I'll do a trail race again. Probably, but I'm a pavement runner.  So the jury's still out on that one.  But I do know that if I do a race, it will be with Tejas Trails.  And as far as trail races go, this was an amazing one and has just about everything you could ask for in the perfect trail race. Tejas Trails put together a great experience.  I enjoyed every minute and every mile of this race, as my friend Dave put it. (Thanks, Dave!)  If (more likely when) I decide to do another ultramarathon trail race, I'll pick this one, or Cactus Rose, also put on by Tejas Trails.

I learned a lot this race:
I learned that I can put six scoops of Infinit in nine ounces of water for a three hour bottle.  HOORRAAYY INFINIT!
I learned that trail running is harder than road running if you aren't trained for it.

And I learned that I'm tougher than I thought I was.

So I'm going to end with a saying that I stole and rewrote for my purposes today (yes, I know I'm being cheesy).  I didn't write it, I only read it somewhere.

At 20k I thought I was dead...
At 30k I knew I was dead...
At 40k I wished I was dead...
At 50k I realized I was too tough to kill.

Confession: I train 15 minutes at a time

Well, that's kind of true.  Anything over an hour, I take in nutrition.  And I start taking in nutrition early.  Recent research has led me to adapt what I'm doing, and I'll be changing my methods a bit.  USAT had a good article on nutrition myths this month that is worth a read-emphasizing the importance of individual nutrition.  Meaning-don't take the cookie cutter approach to your race/training nutrition.  What nutrition works for one athlete is not guaranteed to work for you.  But this blog is less about the nutrition, and more about what happens between the nutrition...

Read on:

For a triathlon, I'll take in a half serving of my Infinit marathon formula about 15 minutes before the triathlon starts, then I'll start with my cycling formula right out of T1 and every 15 minutes after that until I hit T2, then I switch to my marathon formula.
For a running race, it depends on the distance.  I'll take in nutrition starting 15 minutes before the race starts, and nothing else unless the race is more than an hour.  If it is, I'll take in my marathon mix every 15 minutes.

But back to my point.  I train 15 minutes at a time.  I break down my 60 minute, 90 minute, 120 minute (OH MY GOSH THIS WORKOUT IS NEVER GOING TO END) into smaller, more bearable portions, broken up by my nutrition needs.  How does this translate to race day?  I swim/bike/run from transition to aid station, or from aid station to aid station.  And that's it.  I focus on each portion as one manageable bit at a time. 

And the best part?  Each 15 minute segment is different.  The scenery changes, the people change, my train of thoughts change, etc. It's like my system reboots every time I take a nutrition break and I'm ready to start again.

During a half/marathon I usually run aid station to aid station and I walk through the aid station so I don't unintentionally wear my water.  The 15 minute rule gets a little more flexible, but the concept is the same, and the nutrition still happens on the 15 minute mark.

"Why 15 minutes?" a person might ask.  I've set up my nutrition to take in about 18-20 oz of water per hour as recommended and trained for, and the Infinit as directed and trained with.  If I take it in every 15 minutes, I tend not to get "sloshy" or bloated.  So the answer is "personal choice."

Truthfully, switching to Infinit has helped substantially.  No more "What was next? Gel? Drink mix? Ugh, NO MOAR," and abandoning my plan to switch to on-course offerings. I know my stomach won't revolt.  It's simple and doesn't take any extra thought.

But the race or training session is manageable.  It's not one huge event, but several smaller ones that don't overwhelm me with the thought of completing it.  Beyond that, I take one day at a time.  Ironman training for IM Texas in May? Nah.  I entered each day from the Beginner Triathlete basic Ironman plan into my calendar, and I'm looking a few days ahead at a time.  Not weeks, not even to the race.  Just to the next day or so to make sure I have time to complete the training sessions, and switch around what I need to. I did the same for the Marathon in February, and the Ultramarathon on Saturday.

The lesson is the same whether you're training or racing.  Small, manageable parts.  I've chosen to break mine up by nutrition breaks (and sleeping at night!).

How do you break your training sessions up?

To my readers:  Infinit Nutrition has ended their amazing yearly sale, but you can still save some money.  Use the code "firegirl" at checkout to save 10% and help to fund the scholarship that I'll be running a marathon for in firefighting gear!

Evolution of Nutrition

Ugh.  I still haven't learned how to use this blogger.  I thought it was going to post this automatically-so to my readers, I'm sorry for the delay.

I'm putting off a promised blog post about taking breaks during running to post about my nutrition.

When I started running, I was clueless.  Sometimes I still am.  I was so proud of how I looked with something like fourteen packets of Gu stuffed in a running belt during the Austin marathon...

I used Gu to keep the calories in.  On my frame, however, I took in too many calories.  Now, several years and many evolutions of my nutritional plan later, I'm still running water stop to water stop, but my nutrition is different.  None of this occurred in one huge leap, but more as a series a stumbles and hops as I (eventually) took advice of those smarter and more experienced than I.

The first major evolution of my nutrition came when I moved to triathlon.  I started using a packet of Gu before my swim, then water and Gu just out of T1 and every 30 minutes for the rest of the race.  I added a half serving of Perpetuem per hour on the bike and took in water when I took in Gu.  Essentially, every fifteen minutes I was taking in Gu or Perpetuem.

Guess what?  Still. Too.  Much.  Nutrition.  At my last triathlon, I wound up abandoning my "tried and true" nutrition plan and taking in coke on the run just to try and settle my stomach.  It was a less than pleasant experience (well of course it was, it was a half ironman, silly) and I vowed not to repeat the nutrition portion.  But since I'm gearing up for Ironman Texas and a marathon and........   Anyway, I had to figure out what I was going to replace my defunct nutrition plan with.

Enter Infinit.  (Can you hear the angels singing?)  I'd been considering switching anyway.  I was tired of all the gels, all the mixing, keeping it straight on race day, and trying to figure out where to put all my gels (There's a joke there..) So I logged onto the Infinit website, ordered an initial consultation, and waited patiently.  The slider thing on the front page didn't do much for my Type A personality because (are you listening Infinit?) there are no numbers on the sliders to tell me what exactly is in my drink at each step of the way.  Okay, I'll wait for a real person.  And of course, I'm a typical athlete.  I know what I need, I know what's best for me, just set it up so I can do it the way I've been training and let me order it!!!!!!  Yeah, about that.....   I got a email from Laurie asking me some basic information about what distance races I usually tackle, how heavy do I sweat, do I have any GI issues, my, ahem, weight......  In a pretty short period of time she had two formulas set up for me.  One for running and one for cycling.  I looked at the nutritional values and (drumroll please)......

Are you kidding me?   How am I supposed to run on that?  My pet dog couldn't run for an hour on that, let alone me.  But her email was so convincing, so I decided to give it a try. I ordered my first bag, a cycling mix, and I didn't just settle for any test.  I put it to a real test.  I set out for a 52 mile bike ride.  Hills.  Sustained climbs.  Wind.  Heat.  With no backup nutrition.  Just me, my bicycle, Infinit, and of course my cell phone, just in case my stomach decided to revolt and I had to turn my bike ride into a sudden duathlon involving a run for the treeline away from the road. 

What happened next was pure magic.  No stomach upset.  No bonking.  I felt strong, I felt good and my bicycle had wings that day.  Okay...  I'm convinced...  Slightly.  Let's see what happens when I run.  Surely this is a fluke and can't happen twice. So I ordered a bag of the running mix.  Once again, a real test.  Fourteen miles in Texas heat.  Once again, magic.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not just taking my word for it.  I'm putting it to the test.  Again.  And again and again.  And we'll see what happens.  But through this whole process, Laurie has been amazing.  She's been patient with a Type A athlete who is demanding and not understanding.  I just run this, I don't do the whole microbiology thing where you need to understand exactly how muscles/cells/organs work and work under the stress of endurance exercise and then how to feed them.  I mean really, who has time to do all that?  But I'm glad someone does!

So I'm still taking in nutrition every fifteen minutes, but not at the higher levels of calories I was taking in before.  Laurie dialed it down for EXACTLY what I needed.  She seems to be an expert or something!!!  She asked the right questions and got the answers she needed so that my hypersensitive-going-to-need-counseling-before-this-season-is-over stomach could handle the stresses I'm putting my body through.

And that's the foundation behind Infinit.  The formula is designed with each athlete in mind.  How many calories, how strong you like your flavor, how much you'll be sweating, how much caffeine do you want (if any), do you have any gi issues, etc.?  Infinit knows you aren't just another athlete with a number.  You're an individual with different needs than the ones that you're racing, and I really got that feeling throughout this whole process.

So, Thanks, Infinit.  And Laurie...  Standing ovation!

Infinit has goodies like energy drink mix and recovery drink mixes, water bottles and hats.  Don't forget that when you order from Infinit, you can help to fund the scholarship by using the discount code "firegirl" at checkout.

To my readers-I hope your holiday season is going well.  Happy New Year!

Why trainer and treadmill work are (in my opinion) important to any good training program...

There, I said it.  The boring, mind numbing, OH-MY-GOSH-THIS-WORKOUT-IS-NEVER-GOING-TO-END, work that involves a treadmill or a bicycle trainer (better known as dreadmill and drainer, muahahahahaha) is important to a triathlon training program in my opinion.  With winter setting in for the Northern Hemisphere, many of us relegate ourselves to hours of indoor riding/running.  Despite the mindsuck that is trainer riding/ or treadmill running, this is something that is an important piece of the triathlon puzzle for me.  Here's why:

No breaks, unless I take them.
When I'm out for a ride on the road, even on the flats, I can get to a point where I can stop pedaling and coast for a bit.  Not true on the trainer.  If I stop pedaling, the trainer stops.  Constantly pedaling, constant effort.  It's the same on a treadmill.
Of course, there are the breaks that I take... More on this in my next blog post...

Increased resistance... (trainer)
I've found that it takes more effort to push those pedals a similar distance when my bike is properly installed on the the trainer.  And, depending on the model of the trainer, I might even be able to increase the resistance even more.
Increased speed... (treadmill)
I've found out how fast I can really go under controlled circumstances, leading to greater gains in the wild.  Ideally.
Unsolicited advice:
The biggest thing here is if you are running this seriously that you care about times and gains and are keeping track of your miles, you should consider investing in a high quality gps heart rate monitor.  One that can keep track of your mileage inside and out.  The reason here is that I started to discover inconsistencies between treadmills and their speeds.  The key is that I calibrated my gps monitor about two weeks after I buy every  new pair of shoes. I'll post more about that later this month.

Cadence:
You can keep it where you want it for as long as you want it.  Well, if your legs hold out!!!  Thanks to tougholdbuzzard for pointing out this one, you can keep your cadence where you want it for a specified amount of time.  Combined with resistance, this makes for a MEAN workout!  This goes for both the bike and the treadmill. No dodging or running from dogs, cars, geese, or snakes (Texas, remember?)  I seem to remember my running and cycling mentors nagging me to keep my cadence high for both cycling and running, and, well, my training still reflects that teaching.  So, depending on what metric you use for training, cadence can be an important factor.  It's one of the few that I look at on a post run analysis (distance, speed, time, cadence:  that's it)

Inclement weather...
Pretty obvious here.  But what sends one person indoors may just be another day on the course for another...

The pros do it...
 Do I need any other reason?  Okay, so I'm kidding.  But, the pros do it. Companies that make money producing indoor workout videos for cycling make a big point of counting how many of the podium winners at each big race use their videos.  Lately I've been hearing more and more about treadmill videos!  But pros don't typically do useless workouts.  And as I get more and more educated about the elements of workouts the pros do and why, I'm adapting my workouts as well.

I want to point out that I'm not saying take ALL your workouts indoors.  I'm saying that I think I should do a few workouts a week indoors, and that I think treadmills and trainers are valuable to a triathlon training program the way that a race belt is to a marathoner.  Valuable, probably helpful, but not necessary.

There are many more reasons...  I'll update my blog post as readers give me some great reasons.

Why do YOU take your workout indoors, and why do you believe it's a necessary part of any good training program?

Open letter to a fellow treadmill, uh, runner?

With winter setting in for the northern hemisphere, many of us are moving our workouts indoors.  Well, those of us who don't have a support crew that we occasionally, uh, need a, uh, short, period away from that causes us to occasionally have an indoor workout anyway.  I'll call a spade a spade, and admit I'm a weenie for running indoors in 40 degree weather (truthfully, my favorite is 50ish and clear) but yeah, it's for the support crew.  That's right, I'm keeping them comfortable.  Suuuuurrrreee I am......  And honestly, the whole: "He's touching me," "MAMA DAWGEE!" "He's breathing on me!" "SCREEECH!" "MOOOOMMMMMMMY, he's LOOKING at me!" wears me out more than running a half marathon in Texas heat can.

Um, so what do you do?  It's not like running faster helps much.  And I don't think that CPS would look kindly on me force feeding them cheetos to keep them happy for a two hour run.

So I move my winter workouts inside quite often.  And the cardio cinema at Gold's Gym is great.  Could you think of a better way to pass two hours than to have someone else take care of the support crew while you run on a treadmill and Indiana Jones saves the day, yet again.  I mean talk about motivation.  Could you imagine snakes and house size boulders behind you in the dark, and if you stop running or slow down, you'll get smooshed?

But this latest treadmill workout brought out something that I, thankfully, don't see very often.  So I figured I'd put it in letter form.



Dear dude on the treadmill next to me today.

1.  Axe body spray in copious amounts is not recommended before your workout.  It does not work like a magnet for the chicks to your "manliness" like the commercial says.  Please reconsider before you have to start purchasing gas masks for the people around you.

2.  The aforementioned axe body spray does not hide the fact that you are not wearing deodorant.  Yes it's gross. Yes, you need it.  Please reconsider before you come back to the gym.

3.  Sharting is real.  Yes, I can tell you did it.  No, the previously mentioned axe body spray and lack of deodorant does not hide that you (a) failed to wipe your bottom, or (b) lifted so much weight before coming over to the treadmills that you are now experiencing anal leakage.

The tears in my eyes have nothing to do with the fact that I'm so grateful that an Adonis like you had the time to run on a treadmill next to me in what you must still think is a meat market.  It has more to do with the dry heaves that your 'fragrance' has sent me into.  Frankly, I get to see people that look way better than you, and take fitness (and, to be honest, personal hygiene as well) much more seriously than you on a regular basis, but thanks again for the compliment you paid me by running on the treadmill next to the only other occupied one in the joint.  I'll remember that when I see (and attempt to avoid) you in the future.

Sincerely,
No, please, stay where you were, I'll find another treadmill.

While we're at it, what do you want to vent about now that winter is here?

Training runs and Bustin' moves...

I'm sitting here bopping to the music on one of the Phineas and Ferb shows while my Support Crew eats breakfast and bops along with me.  The music makes me think of last night's training run.

I had a great training run last night, but for one exception:  I treated myself and dusted off my poor, neglected mp3 player.

I'm not kidding that it was a treat.  I LOVE music.  It really gets me moving and helps keep my mind off the miles, which have become harder since some of the miles have recently included firefighting gear.  Since starting triathlon, the mp3 player has taken up residence in a forgotten place with the running shoes I no longer use but can't bear to throw away, race shwag I haven't found a use for yet, long expired coupons and receipts for athletic products, etc. The problem with listening to music comes when the chorus of "Bust a Move" comes on in the middle of an intersection and I have the sudden urge to stop running and literally bust a move.  Too bad I have the same dancing skills my two year old has.  It's much cuter when he does it, though. 

So, I don't doubt the the miles were slower than I had wanted, and my movements that had absolutely nothing to do with the motions required for forward progress attracted some attention.  But it was fun.  And that's really the point.  There's almost always this point in a race where I think "I don't want to do this anymore." It doesn't usually last long, though.  I won't always be (one of) the fastest in my age group and I won't always meet the goal.  But I will always accomplish something.  Even if it is just to have fun.

And to show my kids, er, I mean, Support Crew, you can do anything you want to.

Why do you run or swim or bike?

What do I wear for my triathlon?

I frequently see the question, "What do I wear for my triathlon?"

You can find many different solutions online.  Search the forum at iamtri.com or beginnnertriathlete.com and you can find this question has been answered over and over again.

Personally, I'm a big fan of the two-piece tri suit.  I have three.  I train in them religiously and I have my favorite.  One of them even matches my bike.
But I've learned several things about what to wear, and what not to wear during endurance sports.

First, the baggier your clothing is, the more likely you are to chafe.  Coming from a running background, I have all the cute running skorts.  Guess what.  I used to bathe in body glide to keep from chafing so badly that I'd walk bowlegged for a few days.  I once saw a guy during the Austin Marathon bleeding from his nipples from chafing so badly. No more cute running clothes...

Second, everyone wears tight fitting lycra, and no one cares!!!  If you catch a stranger looking at you, they're probably admiring your tri suit or jersey, and wondering what brand it is.  In one race, I saw athletes with their names on their bottoms.  Try not to stare at that!

Third, train in it.  If you wear your pretty new tri suit the day of the race, you won't know where the hot spots are.  I have one tri suit that I have to coat the inner seams so I don't chafe or blister.  I'm glad to have found this out before race day!

Unless you're doing an Iron distance event, the likelihood is that you won't have a changing tent-meaning you won't get to change.  Tri suits reduce the time spent in transition and give you one (or more) fewer thing(s) to worry about.

Since I started doing triathlon, my running gear has gotten a makeover.  I now run in either a tri suit, or compression shorts and a racerback top.

The most important thing to remember is that no two bodies are alike.  What fits one person just right and doesn't chafe may be too harsh on another person's shape.  One brand may work well for one person, but not at all for another.  Be prepared to try different things.

Kerrville Triathlon Festival

With the Kerrville Triathlon Festival on Sunday, I look at my training this week a little differently than most weeks.  How do my shoes feel?  How does my saddle feel?  What do I need to do to make sure my heart rate monitor doesn't give me blisters?  Don't go too hard this week, an injury would derail my racing plans...
All season I've been training like each day was a race; maybe not the speed or the endurance, but practicing the nutrition, paying attention to the hydration, wearing the right clothes, and working on the other major aspects of Triathlon.  This is the week to look at the little things.   The things that irritate us, but don't really derail our training.  These are the things that might derail our race.  Unfortunately the dreaded DNF comes in many forms, and even small things can precipitate the dreaded DNF.  The fourth discipline of Triathlon to master is nutrition.  And nothing ruins a good race faster than poor nutrition. Can you finish a race if you "bonk?"  Think you can run on a blister?  What about one that covers the entire bottom of your foot? 

Now is the time to notice the raw spots in the shoes, in the tri suit, in the numerous straps we wear.  I favor body glide for race lubrication, and use it quite liberally.  At a suggestion from another triathlete, I coated some problematic seams on the inside of my first tri shorts.  Ahhhhhhhmazing race.  Another race saw a band-aid wrapped around a trouble spot on my heart rate monitor strap.

My point is get familiar with your swim/bike/run.  Know how it feels.  And don't be afraid to do something about those little annoyances, because the little annoyances become big ones.

Everything is in place for Kerrville.  A few hours of training this week will focus on maintaining strength and movement, rather than any gains.  A few (hundred) prayers to the tri-gods for a swift, smooth race...

Sunday will come all too quickly.

Garmin Sets the Bar for Customer Service

I want to send a shout out to Garmin customer service.  Twice now, I've had an issue with my Forerunner 310xt.  Twice now, I've called customer service.  And twice, I've looked back at the decision to use a Garmin training device and been thoroughly pleased with it.  Fortunately, the unit is still under warranty, so the issues are covered.

Devices break.  That's the nature of sports, especially triathlon. Endurance athletes play hard, and expect that our toys will last.  Well, the reality is, we outlast the devices we use.  We beat them up in use, put them away wrong, and expect that they'll keep working.  Since the technology is computer based, you need to have at least a Doctorate in working and caring for gps devices, mp3 players, phones and their apps, and have the ability to know all about the newest gadget within two days of its release date.  DC Rainmaker can help you with education you need to keep up!  www.DCRainmaker.com  But, I digress.  We need a company that keeps up with our rock star attitudes and diva behavior, and gets us back out training yesterday!  Enter Garmin.

The first problem I had was a heart rate monitor strap that reported a heart rate of 220ish.  Ummmmmm.  I don't think so. I wasn't running THAT hard. Google the problem.  Trouble shoot on my own.  Call customer service.  Trouble shoot again with people who know what they're doing.  Didn't solve the problem.  Part ordered.  Be there in a week.  Showed up in three days.  Problem resolved as soon as I paired the new strap.  Done.  I was so pleased with the service that I called back to talk to a supervisor and let them know how happy I was.

Last night the wrist strap broke.  It might have something to do with the 9-10 hours a week of training and racing I've been doing.  Maybe.  Wasn't really sure what to expect this time.  But when a company takes the time to walk through potential (temporary) solutions in order to keep you swim/bike/running, while the needed part gets ordered.  THAT is customer service.  I've easily spoken to more than a half dozen Garmin representatives total, and the service has been equally as good with each person.

Garmin, I'm impressed.  Kudos to you for your quality customer service team.

Hydration Equation, What's Your Situation?

Hydration math...

Yep.  That's about how it can feel sometimes after a discussion of hydration math.  With the drought and the fires in Texas, I thought I'd take a moment to put a few words in on this very important subject.  While not everyone needs to worry about it during a race, everyone should be considering their hydration status during other times.  Proper hydration is important because it can affect your performance, helps lubricate your joints, helps your body recover, and even affects cognitive function.  There is so much that proper hydration does for us, that to list it here would take away from the intent of my post.

Let's start with how much fluid you lose during a training run.  I'll use an example from a discussion held a few months ago...

First, a important message from our sponsor, Water.  Water equals a little more than 8 pounds per gallon, so 1 pound is about 16 ounces...  Keep in mind, the math gets a little fuzzy and I round for simplicity and to eliminate decimals.

Say you're a 155 pound athlete that went for a 8 mile run in 100 degree heat, you drank 24 oz of water and it took you 81 minutes.  Weigh yourself naked before your run.  Then weigh yourself after your run, also naked.  For our example, you lost two pounds.  155-153 is 2 pounds of hydration loss.  24 ounces of water taken in is about a pound and a half.   Add that together and you lost roughly three and a half pounds of fluid.  3.5 divided by 8 miles is .4375 pounds of fluid.  A calculator helps me find (16 oz per pound, so 16 times .4375) that .4375 pounds of fluid roughly equals 7 ounces per mile of fluid loss.  I prefer the per mile measure rather than per minute because it tends to be more constant through the different speeds we run and easier to figure than using per minute.

So, you lost 7 oz per mile of fluid through sweat, exhalation and other normal body functions.  This is good to know.  But these numbers may change as the weather changes, as your exertion changes, and even as you become a more finely tuned athlete.  So, for endurance athletes, weight is your best measure for hydration information, and as you get more familiar with this method, you'll be able to predict where you'll be.

Okay, so I lost a billion ounces of water on my run this morning.  Now what?

Now, you replace it.  Not at once, but gradually.  Evidence shows that your body can process about a liter of water per hour.  If you drink more, you risk affecting your electrolyte balance.  Want to your body to get the most use of that expensive bottled water or sports drink?  A liter per hour, max.

So what does that mean for me?

It's all weight based. The minimum amount of fluid you drink every day should be one half your body weight (pounds) in ounces of fluid every day.  So, if you still weigh 155, then you should start by drinking 78 ounces a day.  Then, you went out and ran for 81 minutes.  Replacing fluids by weight lost is the preferred method.  If you know how much weight you lost during a workout, attempt to replace that much fluid  (16 ounces per pound) in addition to your minimum daily intake.  Since in our example, you lost 2 pounds, drink at least 32 ounces of water (at a liter per hour).
If you don't know how much weight you lost during a workout, start with the following formula:
Hours of training x 32 = total fluid.  Total hours of training is how long you should spend rehydrating following this method.  In our example, you ran for 1.3 hours, so drink at least 42 ounces of fluid at a liter per hour.

Real life application (in a bubble)

Now it's time to apply the formulas.  You got up and ran this morning, as soon as you got up.  You weigh 155 pounds, so you need to drink a minimum of 78 ounces a day of fluids.  You lost 2 pounds during your workout, so you need to replace 32 ounces of fluid (16 oz per pound), but don't forget the 24 ounces of fluid that you drank during your workout.  78 + 32 + 24 =  134 ounces of fluids.

I want to point out that recent research points to sports drinks, certain teas, juice and other fluids being acceptable for hydration.  Caffeinated drinks aren't the hydration nemesis they were once thought to be.  However, hydration math has its limits, as it cannot predict sweat rates in different weather conditions, differences in individuals and other wrenches that get thrown into the works.  Your best gauge is the color of your urine.  If you are peeing clear to light yellow, all signs point to well hydrated.

Having said all the above, you'll need to find out what works for you.


Electrolyte Replacement

I also want to mention sodium.  I've spent several years researching, practicing and seeing what works for ME.  You'll need to find out what works for you.   Don't forget potassium, calcium and magnesium either-these are also crucial to proper electrolyte balance, proper muscle contraction/release, and for life.