BeWare, Read lightly

Its early morning and I am highly caffinated. So, beware. I left for early morning masters and it was dark and very brisk; I had a great swim thanks to Carla's good workout and my lane mates pushing me, but once done I was headed for caffeine. I have some bike hill repeats to do and thankfully the sun is out but we'll be wearing layers for sure. I tend to put away a little more caffeine than usual when its cold out so.....read cautiously as I am not sure what may wind up spilling out of my mouth (fingers) this morning. My normal ability to keep my opinions to myself might be lost!

I think Ironman fever has hit the entire tri-city area and all of Chicagoland. It is everywhere. I turn on my computer and there are 57 messages a day from the club about who is in, who signed up for 09; I show up to swim and there is more talk of who is in, who signed up for Ironmoo. It was a 2 day process for some of determining how to sign up and get in because the race fills so fast. Madison, Louisville? Early a.m. road trips were planned to be in line first, some volunteered to get early registration, some were talking community fund..a whopping 1300$ just to get in.......its Ironman mania! At one point in my life I was there, and did 1 Ironman a year for 3 years in a row, chasing that perfect Ironman. Then you actually had time to think through what you were signing up for. I believe I signed up for Ironman FL once in Jan.! Then I did 3/4 of an IM in Madison the year it was 107 degrees and ended up in the gutter with my insides coming out. I admit I was even caught up in some of this mania last year as I signed up for Lake Placid sending poor Papa Joel Zucco to stand in line for me! It was suggested that since I am older, longer races would be my thing as the high end speed starts to go! Ha! That maybe so, I bought into it, but the parts that were forgotten were the 6 hr bike rides, the 7 hr bricks, mostly solo becuase of my crazy schedule: the fact that hard intervals, hard track workouts, triple bricks ...the fun stuff really isn't included in Ironman training. Just go ride in zone 2 for 6 hrs, run 2 hr s and......have fun! Turn into a slug, then go to work and be professional the next day without falling asleep!

Ironmania is in full swing at home. There are times when I"m talking to the Hot, IRON MAN at home when he'll say "so here's my plan>..." and I'll think he means about dinner, or what to do tomorrow, but instead he starts giving me his run pacing plan. When in full Iron mode it is always on your mind, and, it needs to be, because it is huge. Not to mention when you spend 6 hrs with yourself you might think about the race a little. And, if you've done an Ironman before... you know you can do better if you just tweak this or that, or just eat this or that. That is what sucked me into do 3 in a row , then a 4th A.J. (after Jack)

All kidding aside. Yes, I am exaggerating (some). Mostly poking fun at myself for starting out to do an IM this year than completely switching gears. Who decides not to do an Ironman 4 weeks before, unless injured? Ironman North America made $$ off my mom guilt and me deciding to follow what I like doing most. I have said before my Ironman Florida training was the most fun training and racing I have ever had. And, I love coaching my athletes to finish their first or improve on past Ironman performances. Crossing the finish line at an Ironman is a huge accomplishment and by far some of the most memorable triathlon experiences there is.

1/2 Madness Weekend!

The starting line/ look for the Madness
Mark Dzubian, course marshall on his spiffy Vino scooter
Race Director, Danny
Pre-race, Carla was in charge of volunteers (yes that is a beer in her hand early morning, Megan was the lead runner escort on her bike




Multisportmadness put on the Batavia 1/2 Madness 1/2 marathon yesterday. I know many club members and friends worked very hard all year organizing this; congrats to them for putting on such a well run 1st time event. Trainingbible was a sponsor and the finish line had a big mat to cross and banners with Trainingbible on it. Very cool. I think there were about 900 runners who showed up to run. I had several athletes, many friends, 1 husband running, and I was a volunteer along with many other club members. A big heck ya, out to Andy Wellman who PR'd in the midst of his huge bike training to get ready for Fall Fling.

I have never volunteered at a race before. I have thanked many myself along the way at a zillion races I've done, and it was probably about time to volunteer myself. My job yesterday was chip removal. On a hot day, it was interesting. Mark Livesay, timing specialist of Ultramax events offered us surgical gloves to use. I raised my eyebrow, really? But once the finishers starting coming across, I quickly saw why. ( I guess crossing the line myself, I never noticed they wore gloves) Wow. Some people can really sweat. I had other people's sweat drip all over me. I felt like I needed a shower when I was done, but still had to run and ride myself. Even so, it was great to see so many racers out there giving it their all and having fun. From what I hear the course was really nice, with great aid stops.

Now this is true Madness..... keeping food in my house during Adam's Ironman training. He is in big time Hawaii training, and is always hungry, or always tired, or always hungry and tired! I can't keep food in the house. Help! I try to buy healthy food of course, and its gone fast because you can't buy bulk or it goes bad. I buy the junk food...gone even faster and expensive. I've gone domestic, even and made homemade cookies or brownies. He came home bonkish today after a big ride, the cupboards were bare once again. Nothing to fuel the bonk. So today I went back to the store, once again. 3rd time this week I think. I really dislike grocery shopping. I would rather scrub toilets, clean up dog poop from the backyard than go grocery shopping. But I have become very familiar with Jewel and Fresh Market lately and I love keeping my Ironman fed and happy :) But, have you noticed how many times you handle the food in just one trip the the grocery store. It seems so inefficient. You pick it off the shelf, then put it in the cart. From the cart it goes on the belt to check out, then bagged and into the cart. Then from the cart to the car and if your lucky they put more than 1 thing in the silly sack.( those sacks drive me crazy, yes I am a little bit "green". I think I buy too many things to use the cloth sacks. Once home you get to take it from the car to the counter, and then again, from the counter to the cupboards.

My friend from work uses Peapod. Now this is a great idea! I love it. She informs me they bring the food right to your counter for you! They give you the prices, deals and specials and the cost is apparently quite similar to going to the store. My friend however, lives in civilization. I live in Bumbleburn, land of corn. Peapod hasn't made it this far west yet. I am patiently waiting their arrival!!!!! I don't know if they'll make it out here by the end of Ironman training. In the meantime I'll look for ways to be a more efficient grocery shopper and haul my loads of "jewel sacks" back with me to try to re-cycle them. They have started spewing out of the drawer I store them in making it hard to shut!

I am open to any tips on more efficient grocery shopping or saving of jewel sacks!!!
Have a great week!

Just good stuff!

Just a random sample of all the good stuff that's been going on!

**First, a very big congratulations to my athletes who raced at Chicago this weekend! John C. broke 2:45, Kristi R. and Joe B. also both PR'd ! Great work and what a beautiful day to race, I wish I had been racing. Great job to all who have been working hard all year!

**Jack started kindegarten and is loving it. It is a fun next step but wow has time flown by. It seems like not long ago I was pushing the baby jogger, and now he can cruise fast on his bike and participate in the Multisportmadness kids team practice every now and then! What a change! sniff sniff!

**Training is going great for me. I have been getting some great workouts in in the pool, (thanks to dragging my butt to masters), biking hard, and definitely, finally, on the run. I have been so diligent about doing my core/ strength/ stability and stretching. I have to say it hasn't only helped my leg, but I feel stronger and more balanced swimming, even on the bike (not sitting off to the side), and can keep good posture running. It is amazing practicing what you preach every day! I will be ready for Nationals Sept 20. This is a tough hilly course, but I love it and can't wait to race it again.

**When my clients at work/ get better! This week discharged a guy who had been with me for months. The reward of my job is seeing someone walk out of the clinic normally, when they started leg in brace, on crutches and in extreme pain. Its a good feeling knowing you helped them get their day to day life back.

The moon and stars must be aligned just right because all is good. Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket!

Already?

Yesterday my training venue was Johnson's Mound Forest preserve for some hill repeats. This is home of one of the largest hills in the area right here in Elburn. A whopping 750 ft elevation! Yea whatever, it is still a hill. It is the best sled hill in the winter and lots good hill repeat workouts of all sorts and types over the past few years. Luckily my recovering hip is happier doing hard efforts on hills vs. flats where you stride out more. The workouts are always tough there but I love running there where there are no cars, and very few people. Its sort of like being in the mountains? (not quite but I pretend) Driving up there I actually saw some red and yellow leaves on a few of the trees. Can that be so? Already? I love this time of year late summer and early fall; but already?

Here are some sure signs summer is coming to an end:

1. Being stopped by school buses on the way to work

2. Having to turn the lights on earlier in the evening

3. Chicago Accenture Triathlon is this weekend. Back in my early days of triathlon that used to always be my last race and I would actually take significant down time afterwards.

4. Halloween stuff and scarecrows in the stores. Now I love fall and its probably when I get into the "home stuff" the most but........really already. For sure one of our neighbors will have the scarecrows and hay bales on the porch Sept. 1

5. A bit more stiff and achy in the mornings getting out of bed... a sure sign of late triathlon season!

6. The corn fields are very tall and smellier.

7. The butterflies are out and yes....and I've started seeing the caterpillars and grasshoppers out crossing the roads when i'm out riding

8. Clients are thinking about next year's races and goals (thats a good thing :)

9. Jack starts kindergarten on Monday.

10. The closets and cupboards have gotten completely out of control. They need my desperate attention once tri season ends

Survival Mode

I am in survival mode this week. Adam is gone to Boulder to train with the big boys, so I am flying solo, working 30 hrs still trying to train, and rehab a sore hip and trying train like an Olympian :).( I can try anyway, its hard not to be inspired by all the great displays of athletism on right now)

I've been in survival mode in races; that point where you are just hanging on. Survival can be you are hammering with all you've and hanging on to all you've got to keep your pace, hold off that competitior until the finish, or sometimes it means, hanging by a thread just to finish (Blackwater this year, ick). You are done physically and mentally but there is still a ways to go until the finish line. I have experienced both so far this week. Its mid week and feels like it should be Fri.

So I am just hanging on to get it all done. This is that point where laundry piles up, dishes pile up (yuck). Getting up early trying to get workouts done before work and Jack wakes up (although its been tough because I have been staying up too glued to Olympics), resorting to the trainer when its gorgeaous out, squeezing in runs on lunch hour, putting stim on the hip during any free time at work. I think all Moms become masters at multi-tasking. Especially ones who are triathletes. Sometimes I don't know which is harder, the actual workout, or figuring out how I will get the workouts done. It would be too easy to say, I am too busy I can't do this today, no I have been getting it done. Its times like this I chose quality over quantity any day ! I want to be ready for Nationals so not doing workouts isn't an option, and not doing rehab, isn't an option. Some days just doing the workouts are the easy part when you're in survival mode.

In true multi- tasking fashion Becky our massage therapist makes house calls, and is coming over tonight, and I won't even have to miss any of the Olympics. :)

**Amazing Olympics**

I love the Olympics. I love seeing athletes compete at their best and hearing the stories about their training, and competition, defying odds and overcoming obstacles and find myself watching sports I normally wouldn't care much about, but the theme is just the same. These athletes have given all they've got to make it to the olympics no matter what the sport. I admit I am a sucker for those inspirational stories.

Of course I love watching the swimmers, runners and triathlon.

Dara Torres is truly inspiring. Being 40 myself and still competing (I am not going down easy!!)I think she is amazing. Last night I saw an interview with her and they were showing some of her training..holy core stability workouts, OMG. Needless to say, I found myself getting out my physio ball and started doing some more crunches and planks. And, I will be glued to track and field when it comes on. I love watching the runners and at all distances but especially the mile, 5000 and 10,000. I look forward to watching Shalane Flannagan and Kara Goucher run. I was in awe watching them run at the trials in Eugene OR. They run blazing fast and make it look effortless.


But yesterday I did watch women's volleyball, and some beach volleyball. Growing up, I was the team sport chick. I played volleyball, basketball and track through high school and then played college volleyball all before learning how to swim bike and run. In college we played sand ball in pre-season to get in shape for the indoor court. Some of the sorest legs I have ever had were from pre-season sand ball. Lunges and jumping in the sand for a couple hours is brutal. There was a day I had a very high jump reach. Being only 5'6" my volleyball days didn't last long after college. I think the US women's team has a girl who is 6'7"!! Team sports are great and it was fun having team mates to push each other and work together with towards a goal. What I didn't like about team sports was that if someone was having an off day, or didn't care as much as you, or have the same work ethic as you....the whole team could suffer. What I love about triathlon and what has kept me in the sport since about 1990 is that (oh my is that right?) is that your success or failures are a result of you alone. A great season, or race is due to the work you've done yourself, and you can always come back for more.

Happy Training!

Moving on>>

I have been so busy since coming home from Michigan, plus our crazy late summer storm killed our internet for a day that I am way past giving an update.

I was unable to finish the race because of what I thought was a pulled hamstring, but as I've been doing therapy it is from a pinched nerve in my hip/back.

Race morning at Steelhead was beautiful but we quickly noticed that it was windy and cooler (nice cool like normal perfect temps). But the water was wicked, very choppy, but whatever I was ready to swim. My swimming has not been where it usually is this year, for the simple fact I do not swim enough, or with masters enough. ( I miss Waves!) but even so, I did not want them to cancel the swim. No swim would totally change the dynamics of the race.

As it turned out no swim and a 2 mile first run. I think it should have been more like 4 miles to spread the field out more, but I am sure they just wanted to get everyone out on their bikes. The first 2 miles consisted of running through a wooded park up a big hill and back down, then past the 2000 people waiting for their turn to run and as we rounded a turn we hit sand and ran through a sand dune before entering transition. I ran hard and strong and Adam said I was only 30 sec back from the lead girls. The bike seemed tough, it was windy and the roads were crappy, but I was riding strong, catching girls and no one from our age group catching me. Until about 10 -15 miles to go, when my hamstring started protesting being in aero positon. The rest of the story is not worth sharing. Mentally I have moved on from this, and am focusing on getting this better. (maybe this is forced motivation to get my butt to the pool more since I can't run as much right now)

Luckily I work in a PT clinic and have been doing therapy every day and thanks to Dave my boss he has mobilized my hip and SI joint into place taking the pressure off the nerve. It was like a vice grip let go on my leg. So thankfully it is getting better because I am still planning on racing at Nationals Sept 20. Thanks also to Carmen for making her special homeopathic massage oil for me !!!

Once cool thing though, check out this link from Ironman.com They decided to show the 40 yr old women starting the race!!!

http://ironman.com/events/ironman70.3/steelhead70.3/with-a-canceled-swim-whirlpool-steelhead-70.3-let-the-runners-shine.-story-by-betsy-redfern-photos-courte