Du the Lakes Duathlon

Week 1 of my bike block ended with my first duathlon ever.  It was a very tough week with lots of miles on the bike and I was super tired by Saturday night.  The girls had been with their dad all week for spring break and they were wiped out too.  So much so that Maggie fell asleep under her bed at 5pm on Saturday.  I tried to wake her for dinner but she was out.  So, Scott lifted the bed, got her out and put her under her covers for the night.

At 1am, Phoebe came in to my bedroom to tell me Maggie needed me.  Phoebe went back to sleep but Maggie was wide awake.  She chatted with me for at least an hour and then told me she needed “brefast”.  I got her some cereal, set her up with a video and I went back to bed.  Then she came up to tell me she needed another video. I got up again and got her another video.  Finally by 5am I got back to sleep only to be woken up by the alarm at 6am.  Not the best start for race day but what can you do!  Of course, when we came downstairs, Maggie was curled up asleep on the chair in front of the TV.

OK – back to the race.  Rain was predicted but held off for the entire race.  It was about 50 deg and perfect racing weather.  We met the babysitter at the race, got our race numbers, set up our transition and were ready to go.  Scott was in wave #2 with me.  It was fun starting together.  We led our wave for the 1st 200 meters or so and then Scott took off ahead with a few other guys.  Karen’s plan for me was to take it easier on the first run and 1st half of the bike then work it for the 2nd half of the race…unless I was way out in front. She told me to shut it down and conserve my energy for the tougher workouts coming up.  I did not wear the HRM but went out at what felt like tempo pace.  I hit the first mile in 6:17 and the second in 6:23.  I felt extremely relaxed.  I could see Scott the whole time and just kept him in my sights.  I finished the run in 19:46 (7th fastest OA and 1st fastest female).  I later found out that the guy that came in 2nd overall was using me to pace himself on the run.  I thought that was totally cool that I am considered strong enough for a guy to pace himself off of me!!

Next transition – UGH!!!  Scott and I had horrible transitions.  We decided we definitely need to work on that.  I was 41sec and he 46s (16 and 26th OA). We lost a good 30s right there.

I mounted my bike right behind Scott and we took off.  Again, I could see him during the whole ride.  I just tried to stay close.  The ride felt great.  I just focused on staying strong.  In the back of my mind was that 2nd run that I still had to do.  Only 1 rider passed me during the bike portion.  He joined Scott and 1 other guy as they battled each other.  I was really encouraged that I was able to stay so close to them…even closing the gap a bit on the bigger climbs at the end.  Unfortunately, the guys pulled ahead of me on the downhill (I think because of their weight!!).  I did still fly down the hill into transition. I finished at 22.2mph (7th fastest again) – huge for me!

Transition sucked again and then it was on to the final run.  My legs felt awful!  They were dead…I couldn’t believe I had 3 more miles to run before I would be done!  I dug in and shuffled along.  I passed the rider that had passed me just as we passed the playground.  Phoebe came out and gave me a high five and even ran with me for a bit.  Maggie yelled go mommy and that put a smile on my face for the remaining 2.5 miles!  I hit the first mile in 6:20 – just seconds off the first run.  I was psyched.  Even though I felt bad, I was still pushing a good pace.  I caught Scott with 1 mile to go.  After that there was no one in sight so I just took it easy…still running hard but not killing myself.  I finished that run in 19:58 and place 4th overall, 1st female.  As I crossed the finish line I could see Phoebe out of the corner of my eye with a huge smile and arms out ready for a hug.  I am so glad they were able to come watch me race.  It is just more fun when they are there.  Scott came in 12 secs behind me for 5th overall.

I was happy with my race.  I don’t feel I went all out on any part but gave myself a good workout.  Obviously the transition times were my downfall here.  I can’t afford that in Texas.  I spoke with Karen about the race and she was extremely pleased.  She said her area of expertise is transitions so we would work on those asap!!  Scott compared my results to the National Duathlon Championship Race that was held the same weekend and with the same times, I would have place 1st age group and top 5 overall.  Pretty cool for my first duathlon ever!

The Du the Lakes Duathlon was an extremely well organized race.  This was its first year and the race directors put on a great event.  I will definitely plan this race again for next year.  Hopefully they will draw a larger crowd with even stronger competition.

Scott had to return to Virginia that evening ( ) so we headed out for an early dinner at Dinosaur BBQ.  Major protein replacement!!

Tests!

Since this is rest week, it also means testing week.  Once every 4 week cycle, Karen has me do a test in each of the 3 disciplines. This week there is no run test (YAY – because I hate the run test.  Try running a 5K race alone…totally painful!) but I did the 1000yard swim test and 30 min bike test this morning.  I must be really rested because they went better than I could have hoped!!!

I was not even going to do the swim test until tomorrow but the lanes were clear at the Y so I figured I’d go for it.  I felt tired and sluggish during the warm-up and the 5x50yard sprints.  I decided I would just take it out hard and see how I can hold on.  I wanted to just focus on “long and strong” – pulling all the way through and kicking with straight legs (Scott noticed I bend my legs a lot when I kick). 

I went through the 1st 100 yards in 1:11 and I knew I was on.  Every lap I checked the clock and was way ahead of my usual splits.  I hit 500yds in ~6:35 and brought it home in 13:15.  A PR!!!  The straight leg kicking has really made a difference for me lately.  As I cooled down with an easy 200 yards, my mind was already turning toward the bike.

The bike test consisted of 10 min warmup and cool down with a 30 minute all out effort.  After some easy high cadence spinning I was ready to go.  I had found a route that was generally flat with just a few small rollers out in Minoa.  I took off and pushed as hard as I could.  I got through 11.3 miles in the 30 minutes (that is 22.6 mph for those of you that are math-challenged!!) with an average heart rate of 142.  YAY ME!!!  Scott told me I am not allowed to be jealous of his cycling speed anymore .

After the ride I raced in to Target with minutes to spare before picking up Maggie at preschool.  I grabbed a bunch of new summer clothes for the girls plus a birthday present for a party they are going to tomorrow.  I ran into another mom and we agreed that whomever got to the school first would watch the kids until the other mom got there.  Nothing like getting the most out of every minute!!  I made it first, hung out on the playground and then took Maggie home.  I showed her all of the new clothes and in typical Maggie fashion…frowned, told me she didn’t like blue, said she wouldn’t wear them and crossed her arms on her chest with a hmpphh.  Even though it is frustrating, I wouldn’t change that personality for anything! She is just so Maggie!  Oh well, maybe I will have better luck with Phoebe.  Otherwise it’s back to Target for me!

Skunk Cabbage 1/2 Marathon, Ithaca, NY

Sunday, Scott and I and the girls traveled down to Ithaca to run the Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon.  This is pretty much an annual trip for me…being a Cornell alum, I love running this race.  Just being on campus brings back lots of memories!  On top of that, it is an extremely well organized, fun and challenging race.  They offer a 10K, too, that has a much flatter course for those of you not quite ready for 13.1 miles.  It is also a nice local race with LOTS of friendly runners.  At one point during the race a guy just blurted out to me “Does Wegmans have a team this year? You had a great race at the Finger Lakes Tri!”.  We chatted for a few but I wasn’t able to hold much of a conversation at that point.  I found him at the finish and apologized for not talking much!  I also ran into a couple of Cornell guys that we had met at the DC race.

This was Scott’s first time running it so I made sure to describe the course, including every hill…all 15 of them!!  It was a beautiful day – sunny and 50 degrees…perfect racing weather.  A co-worker of mine has a friend that goes to school at Cornell and she agreed to sit with the girls while we ran.  I was so excited that they were finally going to get to see us race and cheer us on.  Not half as excited as they were, though!!

My plan was to hit 6:30′s in the beginning and then pick it up once the big downhills started around 5 miles.  I hit the first mile in 6:31, second in 6:30 and third in 6:25.  The fourth mile has a bigger uphill (and I think it is long…every year ) so I hit that in 6:52.  Scott took off ahead of me but I could see him the whole time.  I caught him at 4 miles and knew something must be up.  He said he was having trouble breathing – he couldn’t get a deep breath.  He also gave blood 3 days before the race which I don’t think was helping his cause any, either.  I passed him and continued on.  I led from start to finish so my only motivation was to try and catch the guys ahead of me (or at least stay with them).  Usually I know I have a run a smart race if no one passes me during the 2nd half of the race.  And no one did so I was happy about that.  I was not thrilled with my finishing time 1:24:55 – about 2 minutes slower than in DC.  But I did feel good the whole way, it was the end of a 3rd hard week AND it was 20 secs faster than last year.  SO all in all, a successful race.  Scott finished 2 minutes behind me and was happy to just have finished.  He said it was mental for him the whole way – he wanted to drop out so badly.  I was proud of him for pushing through.  Not every race has to be about a PR.

Of course the best part was coming into the finish and hearing 2 little voices stand out above the rest – Go Mommy Go Mommy!!!  They both ran up to hug me until they saw all of the sweat.  I got high fives instead .  Maggie was so sweet.  Some of the older kids were handing out cups of water at the finish.  Well, 4 yo Maggie jumps right up with them, grabs 2 cups and patiently waits for someone to take water from her.  It was agonizing for me as runner after runner passed her by.  Finally a woman crossed the line and came right at Maggie.  She took a cup and the smile on Maggie’s face was bigger than mine when I won Chesapeakeman!!  Even some of the the spectators clapped when the woman took the water.  After that, we headed to the showers so I could get my hugs from my babes.

I won a $50 gift card to the Finger Lakes Running Company store in Ithaca, so we headed over there to spend it.  I found an awesome Prana top and pants.  Very comfortable and stylish.  Right next door was a great pizza place so lunch was there before heading back home.

Altogether a great day!

Blueberry Pancakes

The best thing to eat after a long run is pancakes, in my humble opinion .  I want to share the best recipe I have ever found for pancakes – thanks to Family Fun Magazine.  This is one the girls and I LOVE to make together.  Enjoy!

1 3/4 cups flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup melted butter or vegetable oil, plus extra oil for the pan

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed

Instructions
Place a sifter or sieve in a large mixing bowl and measure the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg into it. Sift the ingredients into the bowl.

In a separate large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the milk, sour cream, melted butter (or oil), and vanilla extract and whisk to blend.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour the liquid mixture into it. Vigorously whisk the ingredients just until blended (about 10 seconds).

Add the lemon zest and the blueberries and gently fold them into the batter with a rubber spatula.

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Then pour in enough cooking oil to coat the surface. Using a pot holder to grasp the pan handle with both hands, gently swirl the skillet around to evenly distribute the oil.

For each pancake, ladle about 1/4 cup of batter onto the hot skillet. You should be able to cook 3 or 4 pancakes at a time.

Cook the pancakes for about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 minutes on the first side. Then flip and cook them about half as long, until the second side is golden brown.

Serve the pancakes at once, preferably on warm plates. Top with butter and maple syrup or homemade blueberry syrup. Makes about 12 pancakes.

Maggie “Armstrong”???

REST WEEK!!  Yay – I made it through another 3 weeks of hard training and get an easier week to kick back and relax.  I love this week because I get to spend even more time with my girls, I have some energy to do things around the house and I get some nice easy workouts (well, not really…none of Karen’s workouts are easy…they are just shorter this week so you are in pain for a less amount of time!).  BUT I hate it because I tend to feel lazy and sluggish and eat too much!

Yesterday was a prime example of both love and hate.  I had an awesome workout in the pool…I hit 5×50 in 33 secs and 5×100 in 1:10.  Those are the fastest times I have ever posted for those intervals.  I was psyched!

When Scott was here over the weekend he fixed Maggie’s training wheels and she was itching to get on the bike and try it out.    We had a “spring party” planned for 4 of her friends so trying it out had to wait a bit.  I’d like to say she was patient but…

At 1pm all of the girls came and they played hopscotch, rode scooters, bikes and played on the playset.  They decorated cookies with more icing than I thought a cookie could hold (and this is where I ate too much…I managed to taste lots of the cookies…too much sugar for me ).  We all went for a walk and Maggie rode her bike – tentatively and slowly.  The girls finished their party with a little Strawberry Shortcake video.  There was lots of giggling, but also the inevitable arguing and tears you get when five 4yo are thrown together for an afternoon.  I spent the 2 hours refereeing, doing underdogs, cleaning up sprinkles and drying tears (actually Maggie only had 1 tantrum…a big improvement over last year).  They had a blast and the party was a success! Still, I was exhausted after the 2 hours were up!

After dinner, Maggie, Phoebe and I decided to go on a bike ride.  Phoebe, as always, is a speedster on her 2 wheeler. I love watching Phoebe ride…she is such a natural athlete.  Maggie again started slowly but after just a few minutes her legs were pumping up and down like mad, trying to keep up with her big sister.  Phoebe was awesome, slowing down so that Maggie thought she was keeping up.  We had such a great ride together.  Maggie asked me if she could be in the “bike race” (triathlon) with me “another day”.  On the way back home we were riding side by side (and she was up at 9mph!), and she said, “One day I am going to ride like you.” It totally brought tears to my eyes.  I told both of them that one day soon, I would be trying to keep up with them.  This brought huge smiles to their faces!  Phoebe asked how soon she could get a bike like mine.  I am so proud that I can be a good role model for them when it comes to exercise and staying healthy and fit and that they emulate that in me.  The night ended with a girl’s night watching The Biggest Loser.  I got to cuddle with both of my girls on the couch under a fuzzy, warm blanket.  Heaven.

2:37/1:32

Easter Sunday  – the girls were with their dad, Scott was with Daniel and I didn’t have to work.  I was looking forward to the super long workout Karen had planned and then crashing after for a nice nap.  The workout was to be a 1/2 IM simulation – 56mile ride followed by 13.1mi run.  Karen said to go fairly easy (but that word is just not in my vocabulary).  The day dawned sunny, 60 degrees and absolutely beautiful.  I was nervous for the workout because I hadn’t done anything this long since Chesapeakeman.  I hopped on the bike at 9:45am and I was off.

Immediately I was flying!  The Trek was smooth and quick.  I almost felt like I was cheating by riding this bike.  It was so much less work than the LeMond!  I rode my favorite loop – a 56 mile ride out to Truxton and back.  I felt good the whole way.  The hills were a challenge but so much easier than in the past.  I made sure to stick with my nutrition – a Power Bar before the ride and then a gel with water every 30 minutes.  I also drank Gatorade every 30 minutes staggered on the “15/45″.  When I returned to the car I checked my stats and saw that I had gone 21.3mph for the 56 mile ride.  That worked out to about a 2:37:00…faster than my ride at Musselman!  I was ecstatic.  I didn’t even feel as though I rode that hard.  I stayed controlled and within myself – not pushing race pace at all.

I had a quick transition which included packing the bike into the car, drinking some Gatorade and of course a shoe change and I was off.  The run was to be a 3.3mi out and back that I would do twice.  This way I could grab a drink at the car halfway through.   There was a long steep hill that I would have to climb twice (which I hoped mimicked the Texas course).  I took a gel with me for the run and left the water bottle behind the tire of the car.  My legs were tired for the run but I felt OK.  I had the gel and some Gatorade halfway through and managed an uneventful 1:32:25 for the 13.2 miles (which worked out to just around 7 minute pace).  I think I could have run faster but wonder if I may not have drank enough and was suffering from some dehydration.

I was a little disappointed with the run.  I really want to get under 1:30 when I race in Texas.  Looking back to Musselman 2009 when I posted a 4:44, I realized that I biked and ran faster than at that race – and this was alone on a windy day not rested.  Not bad!  I called Karen right when I got home to give her the results.  She scolded me first for not taking the bike easier – not surprising.  Then, however, she said that I am right where she wants me to be and sees no problem with me qualifying for Kona in June.  I know these are just words and that anything can and will happen on race day but WOW – what a confidence boost!!

When I got home, after some chocolate milk and peanut butter and honey English muffin, I grabbed my book, bikini and sunglasses and went outside for some rest and relaxation until the girls returned.  We had big plans for baking and decorating a bunny cake that night and I wanted to be sure to have lots of energy for that so I could enjoy their enthusiasm.  Happy Easter!

Vacation!

The week in Myrtle Beach flew by – beautiful weather!  I fit in all of the workouts plus had lots of extra time to spare for tanning, reading, eating out, playing on the beach with Mima (my mom), Pop-pop (my dad) and the girls (paddle ball, making millions of sand castles, sea shell searching, taking lots of pictures), feeding the seagulls, swimming in the indoor pool, having the Easter Bunny come early, miniature golfing, etc. So besides spending every day at the beach, here is what I did:

Sunday I went for a super windy ride along the ocean for my 20min ez, 20min aero, 20 min ez ride.

Monday I went to the pool for the 4300 yard workout (100s in 1:15, 1000s in 13:50), lifted and then ran the 45 minute tempo run.  I averaged 6:35 pace and 155 heart rate.  It was flat but still a bit windy (no hills in Myrtle Beach!). I was wiped out after that!

Tuesday I rode 2 hours up the coast towards North Carolina.  It was super bumpy with lots of traffic but I felt really good.  I did 20.2 mph for 44mi and it felt easy.  Tuesday afternoon we went down to Murrell’s Inlet and visited the Grand Strand Bike Shop.  It was an awesome store with really friendly employees.  It reminded me of Fleet Feet – same personal service.  They invited me to ride with them the next morning.  They were doing about 35mi at 20-25mph pace…an easy day, they said.  I decided I would definitely ride with them so I juggled the workouts around to make them fit.

So, Wednesday I got up super early and did the 3400 yard swim workout (200s in 2:42 and 500s in 6:45) and then headed out to the shop.  I rode with 4 local guys and 1 other out of towner. It was an awesome ride!  The time went by so fast riding with other people.  We drafted and were hitting 25-26mph on the straightaways! We ended up at 34mi at 21.0 mph.  I was so proud to have kept up with them.  I hate to hold people back and was glad no one had to slow down for me to stay with the group .  Visit the shop if you are in Myrtle Beach! Thanks Tim, Chris, Dwayne, Todd and the older guy from Poughkeepsie (didn’t catch his name)…I wish I could ride with you guys all of the time!!

Thursday I headed over to the place where I had been swimming (Pepper Geddings Recreation Center) because Kayla at the bike store told me there was a track over there I could run on.  I parked at the rec center and started my warm-up looking for the track as I ran.  There were professional looking athletic fields behind the center and the track was as beautiful as the fields!  Wow – this was an awesome track!  It was an 8 lane, newly surfaced track surrounding a pristine turf field.  I had to go early and was concerned about seeing my splits for the interval workout – no need to worry.  It was completely lit up 24/7…I was running under the lights!  Only someone as obsessed with working out as I am would be literally giddy running on this track.  I had an awesome workout, too – 5×400 (86,86,86,85,85), 2×800 (2:57, 2:57) and 3×1600 (6:03, 6:03, 6:02).  Last week I did the same workout (but only 2×1600) and could not get the miles under 6:14 so I was super happy with the improvement.  I called Scott after to brag about the workout.  I am pretty sure he thought I was nuts when I started going on about the beauty of the track!!

That afternoon, Phoebe saw a girl running on the beach with her mother.  The girl was about 11 or 12 years old.  I told Phoebe it would be fun for us to run together sometime.  That, combined with the report from Scott that Daniel (his 11 yo son) had run 20 minutes a few days before must have fueled a fire inside Phoebe.  She asked if we could go for a walk.  Right after we started she took off at a sprint.  I caught her and slowed her down and we settled into a rhythm.  She told me to start timing her because she was going to run for 22 minutes.  She wanted to turn around after 11 minutes so that she would do a little more than Daniel.  After 11 minutes, we turned around and she wanted to walk.  So we walked for a minute and I asked if she wanted to walk more.  Her answer was to start running again.  After a few more minutes she informed me she was going to run for 8 more minutes when we got back to do a total of 30 minutes.  She did the whole run and even sprinted to our blanket at the end.  Then collapsed.  She insisted that I immediately text Scott after to tell him of her accomplishment.  She was super proud of herself but not nearly as proud  as I was.

I know there is sometimes some controversy about how far kids should run and at what age they should be doing it (see www.kidsrunning.com for some good information on this topic).  My feeling is let the child run at any age, when they want and how far they want.  Don’t force them to do more than they are willing to do and praise whatever effort they give. My goal is for my girls to view running as fun and approach it enthusiastically.  One of the coolest things Phoebe said to me on this trip was “how was your run, mommy?”