CIM Training Week 5 + Heritage Half Race Report

This was a recovery week and oh did I need it.  After giving blood and running 71 miles last week, I was happy to cut back my mileage to 50 to mini-taper for my half marathon tune up race.  I didn't have a lot going on in the evenings, Monday was a holiday, and so I also didn't get up early to run -- I figured I could catch up on some much needed sleep.

So.... Monday was 9 on the Accotink Trail - ran from the gym while the kids were in daycare and Jamie was on the treadmill, then we all did family swim.  Tuesday I did 2 with the Guys on the Go team I coach (3rd - 6th grade boys... wasn't sure if I should count these miles in my training since I usually do them super slow and stop a lot to motivate the kiddos, but hey why not?) and 6 at the Tysons Running Store, Wednesday I rested for the first time in 11 days, Thursday was 2 with the Guys on the Go plus 3 miles of speed training after work, Friday I ran 6 with Brittany right after work from the marina before heading off to Pentagon City to get a new iphone (note to all:  do not put your brand new iphone in your running jacket, then throw all your sweaty clothes in the laundry without checking your pockets...) -- it is SO nice to run with someone else who is my pace, wish she lived closer -- and then Saturday was insane and all I could manage was to run home from swim lessons before jumping in the car and heading to an inservice for work.  At any rate, I felt pretty tapered for the race today.

Brittany (who was NOT tapered as she decided to run 14 miles yesterday) picked me up at 5:30am and we headed off to Gainesville.  The weather was pretty perfect for running -- 50 degrees, no wind.  We picked up our bibs and did a warm-up lap around the track, then I went to the bathroom (for the record, I went to the bathroom 5 times before the race started.  Yes, that is five times between 6:15am and 7:00am.  I am always terrified I'm going to have to lose precious seconds during the race in a port-a-potty, but I think Brittany thought this was a bit ridiculous by the 4th time....)  Then I drank a bottle of Gatorade, did one more lap, (visited the ladies room a few more times), and got in line for the race.

My goal for the race was to try to keep the same pace I did for the ten miler in June - 1:17:13, so a 7:43 pace.  I figured, hey, it's only three miles longer, I can do it, right?  So I took off at what I thought was somewhere around 7:40.  The Garmin buzzed and I looked down.  7:22.  Oops.  Anyhow, whatever. I didn't feel like I was pushing it and figured I'd settle back into a groove once the first mile adrenaline wore off.  Sure enough mile 2 was 7:44.  Then 7:42, 7:46, 7:55, -- these were all downhill and I was feeling great til I quickly realized this was going to be UPHILL on this out and back course and that the UPHILL would come when I was much more tired, AURGH - 7:44, 7:48 7:42, (and here comes that downhill-now-backwards-meaning-the-devil-uphill) 8:02, -- despite the fact that my 10th mile was the slowest of them all, I was thrilled that I crossed it right at 1:17, so I was on top of my goal - 7:59, 7:55, 8:03 (completely uphill! - elevation here if you are curious:  http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/fullscreen/68254160/), AND finally we are at the last 1.1 -- no more hills, and there was a girl who looked like she might be in my age group within sight of me... I tried to catch her, and as we made it onto the track for the last 400 meters, I ran past her.  I was a pretty good distance ahead and had my music blaring, looked back at the curb and thought I had her. My Garmin said I was running towards the finish at about a 6:50 pace... and then as I got to the last straightaway she somehow managed to kick it up to like a 4 minute/ mile pace, I swear, and she blew ahead of me by like 5 seconds.  I felt like I was going to throw up, but only for the last .15 miles.  I did the last 1.1 in 7:29, I think.... my watch and and my official time were not in agreement.  Final chip time was 1:41:05.  7:42 pace = Goal Met.

Last year the 3rd place winner in my AG was 1:43 so I decided to stick around for the results.  Brittany is in the next AG down so we were not competing, but she had finished around the same time I did.  We waited and waited in the cold for the race to end.... then we got in her car... then we got back out and waited some more.  Finally about an hour and 15 minutes later they posted preliminary results.  I was 6th in my AG and Brittany was 7th in hers.... oh well.  Guess they had a speedier field (or perhaps better race conditions) this year.

Overall I'm happy -- that was a PR by 3:49.  See happy photo:

My schedule called for 18 miles today with 12 at race pace... I counted our .5 mile warm-up, then ran from my house to Firehouse Subs when I got home to get in another 4.5.  Jamie met me there with the kiddos.  It was a slog - 10:20 pace (I walked up Pickett Hill) - but I knew if I didn't do the run right when I got home it wasn't going to happen.

Next week the training plan is back to insanity, and my week is kind of ridiculous as well.  My tenth anniversary is Tuesday so I don't think I can really run after work.... we will see how/if I get in all 70 miles on the schedule.....

CIM Training Week #4 - A Lesson Learned in Blood Donation Timing

Giving blood is good.  Giving blood when your marathon training plan calls for the heaviest volume you have ever done in your life may not be so good.  And giving blood two weeks before a key race -- definitely not the brightest idea.

You would think I would have learned my lesson after last year's 5K debacle.    The Inova Blood Center has been calling me since I was eligible in July, but I had so many races over the summer, plus the Ironman training was pretty intense, so I promised them I would give when the Ironman was over.  I meant to give mid-September before the training volume got too heavy but then work got busy and I kept putting it off.  After the 5th voicemail (Hello Mrs. Lynch, we have noted that you said you would give after August 26th... we have a shortage and you are the universal donor... please call us and make an appointment.) the guilt really hit. So after my 18 miler last weekend, I scheduled a donation.  I figured since Sunday was a rest day, I could relax and I remembered I felt pretty recovered (despite the horrible 5K) by Wednesday the last time around.  However,  last April I wasn't doing much that was high intensity, I wasn't running as much and I definitely wasn't running as far.

Monday I had 13 miles scheduled - 9 in the morning and 4 after work.  I headed out at 5am and noticed my "steady" pace was considerably slower than it normally is.  I was annoyed with myself the whole run, but I couldn't get my pace under 8:50 without feeling like I was pushing it.  The afternoon pace was no better.  The next day was even worse - 9:20 pace in the morning and so pathetic after work that I turned off my Garmin (the fact that Susanna was in the stroller didn't help matters.) Wednesday was a recovery day so I have no idea what the pace was.  Thursday was my tempo run.  I left my house at 5:20am and did a two mile warm-up without looking at the pace, then I shot off at what I thought was my Lactate Threshold.... I figured my first mile was about 7:25 based on my effort.  The Garmin clicked off and I glanced down -- 8:19.  !?!?!?!?!  I started running harder and assumed the next mile would be at least 7:50.  When the watch buzzed again, it said 8:09.  Seriously?  I decided to bag the tempo at that point and just ran to the 4.5 mile halfway point.  I glanced at my watch and saw that it was already 6:04am.  Uh oh.  How in the world did it take me that long to get that far?   I had exactly 41 minutes to run 4.5 miles and get to my front door.  Of course then I realized that I had to go to the bathroom.  I zoomed into the Exxon station, waved to the attendant (we've become 6am friends), and then booked it as fast as I could. Luckily the elevation on my 9 mile route is uphill out, downhill back.  Somehow I made it to my door exactly at my deadline (Jamie was waiting by the window.)

So how long was it going to take me to recover?  As I made the kids' breakfast, I googled "Blood Donation and Marathon Training."  Here's what I found:

When you donate blood, you give up a pint of fluid containing mostly water along with various proteins and cells in solution. During high-intensity endurance activities however, it is hemoglobin, found within our red blood cells, that is most important.  Hemoglobin delivers oxygen to our tissues, and when we exercise our muscles require increased amounts of oxygen. If we lack sufficient hemoglobin, anaerobic, or without oxygen, metabolism will ensue (producing lactic acid) at even seemingly moderate levels of intensity. Donating a pint (450cc) of blood results in a depletion of about 10 percent of your total blood volume. Of that, only about 160cc are red blood cells. The fluid component, the remaining 290cc, is replaced within hours, but the red blood cell replacement takes about two months, (which is why you may not donate more often than every two months). What then are the lasting effects of this red blood cell loss?  Assuming that your cardiac output (the amount of blood pumped by the heart) remains constant, a drop in hemoglobin concentration associated with donating blood will reduce your oxygen delivery to working muscles by 10 percent. Still, when you are at rest, or even during moderate levels of exercise, oxygen delivery, even at this decreased capacity, far outpaces demand. However, once you reach a heart rate that is around 5 to 10 percent below your usual anaerobic threshold, your body's demand for oxygen will outpace its supply. For example, if your metabolism typically becomes anaerobic at a heart rate of 170, then after donating blood you will become anaerobic at a heart rate of between 157 and 164 beats per minute. 

Well, that explains why my Lactate Threshold run felt like Death-On-Toast.

I decided to take it easy the rest of the week.  Friday was a recovery day and I did 4 miles after work at about a 10 minute pace (just guessing as I left work at 4:20 and got back at 5.)  Today, luckily, was a Long Slow Distance run -- 18 miles at 60-90 seconds above planned race pace.  I didn't look at my watch at all, told Tuan to run without me (he was being SO kind and going at my plodding pace, but since his BQ requires a 7:23 pace, I told him to run with Fast-Ethiopian-Jake.)  I could make new friends.  I met a guy visiting from Arizona who was training for his first Ironman and ran with him for awhile.  I finished the 18 miles in 2:53 - almost 20 minutes slower than last week.  Which is fine because last week was a pace run (2/3 of the run at Marathon Pace - 8:12.)  9:38 is still within that 60-90 second window, so overall not a bad run.

Weekly totals:  66 miles in 6 days.  That's definitely a record for me.

Next week is a recovery week - a drop back to about 45 miles and culminating in a half marathon race on Sunday.  And this is why I am SOOO mad at myself for the timing of this blood donation.  This race was supposed to be my crystal ball into what pace I should run on December 2.   Missing my red blood cells is not going to give me the ability to race to my full potential so the race isn't really going to tell me anything.  Apparently they have tested hemoglobin levels of those who donate blood on a regular basis and it takes anywhere from 20 to 56 days for it to be back to normal (with 36 days being the average.)  The more you weigh and the more athletic you are, the faster the recovery time.  So I've got the fitness on my side, but at 127 lbs (speaking of which, the scale did not budge this week) I lost a larger percentage of my blood volume than a 180 lb athlete such as my husband.

Don't get me wrong.  I am glad I gave blood.  If people didn't donate, the hospitals couldn't save lives.  However - I should have donated THREE WEEKS AGO!!!!

On another note, my husband also ran 18 miles today.  In 2:20.  Somehow I think he is still going to hold the Lynch Marathon Record in 2012.  Just like he did in 2011.  And 2010.  And 2009....  Sigh.... no matter how many more miles I run, he will always be faster than me.

CIM Training Week #3 Recap

61 miles this week - that's the most I've ever done.  I said I was doing 62.  I might just have to take the dogs for a one mile jaunt after dinner because I said I was doing 62.  Mileage junkie.  I know.

 This week I started doubles -- running more than once a day.  So while I max out at 10 miles in the morning, I get extra easy miles in the evening.  I can do these with the jogging stroller, which gives Susanna and I some chat time after school.  Her school is RIGHT on the W&OD Bike Trail, and it's pretty much exactly 2.5 miles to Whole Foods.  I can bribe her with a fruit leather, pick up anything we need for dinner, and get in my 5 miles all in one trip.  Nice.

Tempo pace on Thursday was about 7:35-40 and I felt like death.  I really really want to get that tempo pace down to 7:20.

I am forcing myself not to look at pace for recovery runs the  day after key workouts. It's pretty easy to do after work when I really don't need to be anywhere, but on Friday when I attempted to just go by feel I didn't make it home on time.  Granted, I was only 60 seconds late, but Jamie was in the car with it running and called me as I was turning onto our street. I guess I do need the Garmin in the mornings, though I know it probably makes me go faster than I should.

My long run today went pretty well considering I still felt like death from Thursday's tempo run when I went to sleep last night.  I started out pre-dawn to get in 5 miles before the group showed up and I got some fabulous photos:

Today was supposed to be 17 with 10 at Marathon Pace.  I did NOT keep marathon pace (8:12) for ten miles. My last mile was 7:50, but I was anywhere from 8:15 - 8:45 for the other 16.  The average was 8:35.  The issue I have with these plan-prescribed marathon pace runs is that I like to run with other people, and they don't particularly want to do what is on my plan ;)  Since I do all my other runs solo, and I really do like the social aspect of my Saturday runs, it's a training fact I'll have to accept.

I lost 2 lbs this week.  I think that losing another 8 or so is key to getting my pace a bit faster and really is the key to a BQ.  I did a great job of logging all my food M-Th but did not do so great this weekend.  I am going to track it but I know I went overboard yesterday thanks to my lovely husband who brought home luscious desserts from Whole Foods.

I also finally gave blood today, after putting it off during the heavy Ironman training.  I wanted to make sure I was fully recovered.  I felt pretty guilty going in there for the first time in 5 months... egads.

And now... if you were wondering how to improve your marathon time with hardly any training, please see below:

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CIM Marathon Training Week 2

This was supposed to be posted Saturday but Blogspot wasn't working.  Anyhow....

Marathon Training Week # 2 is complete.  55 miles in 6 days.   Here’s a quick recap:

Easy Runs on MTWF ranging 7-9 miles

Speedwork Thursday:  Mile Repeats at 7 min pace with half mile recoveries (4 of those)

Long Run:  17 miles, 2:29:40.  I ran with Tuan and Brittany.  I think my easy run pace is more like 8:50 – 9:00.  I did the first three miles on my own around 9-9:15 since they were only doing 14, and ran the rest with them.  They averaged 8:35, and were pulling out 8:15-20s at the end.  I was no longer in “easy run” mode – but it’s probably good for me since some of the long run should be within 30-60 seconds of goal marathon pace (according to the Pfitz book…)

One thing I have to address:  my weight.  I’m not sure how I managed to gain 8 pounds training for an Ironman, but I did.  Sure, I’m still in the healthy weight range, but I’d really like to get back to what I was last March – "racing weight" - since it will make the faster pace feel easier.   So how do I lose weight running 55-70 miles a week?  It’s tough because I’m usually starving.  Starting Monday I will be tracking everything on My Fitness Pal so I can get a better idea of what's going into my body.  I have a feeling I am eating pretty badly -- too much sugar.

All my runs this week were done before 6:45am (weekdays) and 9:30am (long run) – however, 5:15am is my limit for getting out the door, as I have to have a bit of buffer time for traffic lights and potty breaks, so next week when the mileage gets longer I will start doubles.  Heavier mileage in the morning and an hour or less right after work a couple days a week.

Somehow Jamie and I are managing to train for marathons at the same time.  He is doing Philly two weeks before I do Sacramento.  He runs right after work (3:00pm) and can get in 6 miles and still pick up the kids.   If he has to run longer I can pick them up.  On Saturdays I finish by 9:30am and take the kids to swim lessons (okay, I take Susanna to swim lessons, drop off Jack at the day care, and sit in the hot tub) while Jamie does his long runs.  We both get our 6 day of running in that way.  As a general rule Sunday is our family day.  I’m always jealous of people who get to run with their husbands, but without any family nearby it is pretty much out of the question for us.  

Grandpa (my dad) is coming the weekend of the Philly marathon and taking the kids because he is awesome.  I told Susanna he was coming so Daddy could go do his race.  She looks at me and says "Is his race a long race like yours, or a short race like mine?"  (She was referring to her Ironkids 1 mile run, and the Ironman I did the next day.)  "Well Susanna, his race is a marathon, so it's pretty long, but not as long as the race I did."  She says, "So he won't start when it's dark, and race all day til it's dark again, and then have to go to the doctor because the race makes him sick?"  I had to crack up.  I do try to set a good example of fitness for my kids.  Apparently ending up with in IV right after they cheer you into the finish didn't exactly make an impression of good healthy living on my three year old.  

62 miles planned for next week.  That will be the most I've ever done in a 6 day period.  

Operation Choose A Plan (Fall Marathon Training Week 1)

My original idea was to go with the plan from the book Advanced Marathoning by Pete Pfizinger. Everyone on the Runners World web forum swears by it and says that if you want to PR, you have to do it.
BUT it has a 12-15 mile run every Wednesday.  If it takes me over 2 hours to run 15 miles, and I have to be back to my house by 6:45am, that means I have to be out the door before 4:30am.  Um... no.  I just can't do that every week for 7 weeks (that's how many 14-15 milers there were in the plan.)

So then I put in a recent race time into SMARTCoach on the Runners World Website and it spit a plan back to me that looks pretty reasonable.

Then someone emailed me that he really was a fan of the Hanson plan, featured in RW.  So I checked that one out.  It has me running every day after the first three weeks.  Same mileage as the other two mentioned.

So... I think I've decided to do the Hanson plan, but with some modifications to get in some tune up races, and also start out with higher mileage on the long runs since I've just come off IM and have the endurance.  I'm using the core and weight training plan from the Advanced Marathoning  book which I love because it does not involve going to the gym.  Now that I'm back at work, I just don't feel great about sticking the kids in gym daycare much on weekdays.

I chose my tune up races -- Heritage Half Marathon on October 14 (7 weeks out) and the Potomac Valley Track Club 10K on November 17 (2 weeks out.)  I'd actually prefer the half marathon to be closer to the race -- like 3-4 weeks out -- but I haven't found one that's local and I don't feel like driving to Richmond.

Training went pretty well this week.  50 miles total.  I ran easy on M, Tu, W, and F, did a Tempo on Thursday (Tempo pace was 7:40ish, I think) and a 20 miler today.  Average pace for the 20 miler was 9, but I felt really crappy at the end.  All the plans I have looked at have a bunch of 20 milers, which is supposed to "get rid of the wall."  We shall see.

This is SO much better than Ironman training.  Every run this week was done before 9:30 a.m.  I actually have time to cook and do laundry.  :)

Race Report: Virginia Happy Trails Running Club Women's Half Marathon

I almost didn't do this one.  My legs have felt like lead since the Ironman, and I was advised not to run at all for 14 days -- wise seasoned Iron People told me that racing 13 days after crossing the Iron finish line was not a good idea.

BUT I decided to do it anyhow.  I figured I would just treat it as a training run and not really race it.  Why the heck not?

I pulled into the Fountainhead Regional Park lot and saw what looked like a lot of hardcore trail running folks.  The men in the Virginia Happy Trails Running Club serve as volunteers for the race, and I think most of them have done the Bull Run 50 Miler that I hope I get into next year.    I asked if  there was a key drop, and people just kind of looked at me funny and one of the volunteers said "Don't you have a place you stash them in your car?  I put them in my gas cap."  Hmmm.....  Ok.  Mine is electric so that wouldn't work.  I took a deep breath and put them behind the passenger side wheel and hoped for the best.

I lined up at the start -- no chip time here, just everyone off at once.   They start the race through the parking lot and paved park entrance for nearly a mile, I think so that people spread out according to pace and the trail isn't so crowded at the beginning.   In race tradition, the men serenaded us, and then the clock started.  I took off at at an 8 minute pace, which lasted until we veered into the woods.  It is single track and for the first few miles a pack of us were right at each other's heels.

I hadn't really looked at the course elevation until last night.  Once we hit the "Do Loop" it was pretty much up, down, up, down, up, down.  The "ups" were steep.  Here's a course profile:

I was definitely still worn out from Louisville.  I ran the first "up" and decided I wouldn't be doing that again.  So I'd walk the "ups" and side shuffle the "downs"  Around this time a woman passed me on a "down" and then fell flat on her face.  This trail running thing is totally different than road racing.  Another racer and I helped her back on her feet and kept going.  I chatted to the three other ladies that were on pace with me, but then I got a horrible side stitch and walked for a few minutes and let them go ahead.

A few minutes out of the "Do Loop" I hit aid station #2.  Hmm... only 5.5 miles in and my stomach was not cooperating at all.  My right side was not happy.  I came to a full stop and checked out the spread -- maybe cola would settle me.  And jelly bellies.  I know they say not to try anything new on race day, but the Heed from aid station #1 hadn't done me any favors.  I topped it all off with some Swedish Fish and headed for Fountainhead.

The next couple miles went pretty quickly, and I caught up with the folks I had let go in the first half.  As I neared them, I saw two bridges that cross a steep ravine.  They don't have handrails, and as I crossed the first one I saw one of the women lose her footing on bridge #2 and I was terrified she was going to fall straight into the stream.  She grabbed the bridge with both arms and ended up spread eagle, but safe.  Phew.  She said "Oh my gosh I was sure I was going down."  Yeah, so was I.  Again.  Phew.

Everyone was complaining about how hot it was.  It was humid, yes -- 93% in fact.  But it was only 82 degrees.  Not 94.  Personally I was in heaven, temperature-wise.

Another mile in, and I could only see one runner.  I asked her if she'd ever done this course before, and she said it was her 5th time running it.  "So what's the Wolf Shoals section like?" I asked.  "It's hell."  she replied. And then she took off.  I was alone on the trail.

I looked down at my watch and saw that I'd been averaging closer to 10:30s for the past few miles.  I already felt like I usually do at the very end of a half marathon.   As far as I could see, there was no one behind me and no one in front of me.  Had I gone off course?  I have a really amazing talent for getting lost on trail runs.  I kept going, and then I saw a sign (backwards) that said "1 mile to go."  My GPS told me I still had five miles to go, so I figured it must be an out and back.  I hadn't seen anyone heading back yet.  I had no idea where the other 200+ runners were.  I just kept moving.

Somewhere around the time my GPS hit 9.5 miles, I finally saw another human being -- coming towards me. I recognized her from the website -- she was the course record holder.  "Way to go!" I yelled.

A few more people passed by, and I finally saw the other aid station.  "Number 110!" they yelled.  "You're in 25th place."  (might revise that later once the results are up -- I think I just made up that number.) (Okay, revised, at the time it was 26th.)  I still had that stupid side stitch.  I again stopped completely and started drinking cola.  "You know, you can keep running... people are going to catch up to you.  You've only got a half mile to the turnaround." said one of the volunteers.  Really?  Cause I hadn't seen anyone for ages. Well, I wasn't going to let anyone pass me.  I grabbed more jelly bellies and took off.  Ten miles down, three to go.

Up, down, up, down, up, down. Then I finally saw more runners - a lot of runners - heading the other direction.  Guess I wasn't doing too badly.  I could see no one behind me so I wasn't really motivated to run any faster.  I still had the cramp, and on top of that, an excruciating blister on my right foot.  (I guess perhaps I shouldn't have raced in the trail shoes I hadn't worn for six months, or at least given them a test run last week.)

Then at 11.5 miles I heard someone behind me.  I'd seen her nearly catch up to me on all the "downs" but then she would slow down on the "ups."  No more walking the "ups."  I only had a mile and half left.  I started running.  And then I saw more humans!  The last third of a mile was all up, and I managed to catch them.  I crossed the finish in 2:13:something-around-close-to-the-the-next-minute-since-my-watch-clicked-to 2:14-as-they-were-writing-down-my-number: 53.

Great finish -- they had homemade smoothies and took requests!  I had strawberry pineapple and it was fantastic.  There weren't that many people who had finished, so I decided to stick around for the awards ceremony.  I doubted I won anything but who knows?

And guess what?  I podiumed!  I was third in my Age Group ranking, although the overall winner was in my AG so had she been counted, I would not have.  I won granola.  So much better than a medal.  Out of 205 finishers, I was 24th (and 214 started - 9 DNFs.)

I loved the race.  I want to do it again.  I also really loved the course and think I will be using it for some of my long runs over the year.

Why a 2013 Ironman Will Not Be On My Calendar (A Reflection One Week Post Race)

It has been a week since Ironman.  During the actual race, in the last third of both the bike and the run, I never wanted to do another one.  A few days afterwards I played with the idea, but at this point, I'm taking a break from triathlon.  Next summer I might do an Olympic or even a half, but a 2013 Ironman will not be on my schedule.

It just takes up too much of me.

It takes up time.  So much time.  I can train for a marathon with my maximum training day being around 3 hours -- I'm done around 10am and I can still spend the day at the zoo with my kids or head out to the swimming pool.

With Ironman I faced many 7 hour training days, which actually amounted to more time than that once you figured in water breaks and changing clothes.  Peak training season was ridiculous.  But yet the thought of skipping a key workout was terrifying because my body would not be prepared for race day.  There was a 14% DNF rate at last Sunday's race, and I believe many of those people were prepared.

It wasn't just time in actual training, though.  It started to take over my life.  Recovery from those big workouts wore me down throughout July.  I was exhausted and often fell asleep with my daughter after singing her to sleep... at 8:30pm.  I'm glad I wasn't working during July -- had I kept up my training and family responsibilities as well as the added work responsibilities, something would have suffered, and that most likely would have been time spent with my children and husband.

The recovery this past week has been more than I anticipated.  I wasn't very sore, but my body was absolutely exhausted.  I tried a quick 2 mile run three days after the race and that put me back at square 1.  I just have had absolutely no energy for the past 7 days.  I'm sleeping 12 hours every night.  No energy to the point that carrying my 15 month old around in the hiking backpack on our camping trip this weekend for two hours put me out of commission for the rest of the day.  The conditions of this particular Ironman - afternoon temperatures reaching 94 degrees and no shade- probably wore me out more than a cooler race would have, especially considering I spent at least two hours in a state of extreme dehydration (the combination of tingling limbs, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, double vision, vertigo, lack of urination, sweating and salivation, low blood pressure, and a pounding headache is never a good sign.)

When they put the medal around my neck on Sunday, I was so glad to be finished, but I didn't have that "magical moment" when they called out my name.  I just felt too sick.  And as I laid on the medical cot, I thought that doing an Ironman was actually a pretty ridiculous thing.  Obviously the human body wasn't really meant to do what it had just done, otherwise I wouldn't have ended up with said symptoms and hooked up to a bag of saline solution.   I had trained properly, I had hydrated properly, I took in calories properly, and I still ended my day with a fine team of doctors and nurses -- and so did close to 700 athletes.  I spent $700 to race nearly 14 hours and rip my body to shreds so I could call myself an Ironman.

But I don't regret doing it.  It is an achievement that has made me realize I can do anything that I put my mind to. My daughter sort of gets it -- she has seen how much training and effort went into this, and I think after competing in her own race last week, she sort of understands what it means to push yourself physically, even when it's no longer feeling good.

However, I don't need to do this year after year after year.  A couple days after I finished I started to wonder if I could find a cooler race and train a little harder and get closer to my time goals, but as others on my tri-team started announcing their Ironman plans for next summer, I realized I don't really want do do one. Next summer I plan to spend more time camping and hiking and less time worrying about if I'll be able to find a lap pool within driving distance or spending too much time away from my bicycle.

So what will I do with the rest of 2012?  I want to improve my marathon time, the biggest goal of all being to shave 15 entire minutes off my time and qualify for Boston.  My running has actually gotten slower in the past two months as I focused on endurance and keeping my heart rate in Zone 2, so I am excited to get back into speed training in the next few weeks.

In 2013 and beyond -- I also am hoping to get into trail racing, possibly doing some ultramarathons in the next couple of years.