All Registered!

Registration Confirmation for:

2010 Ford Ironman World Championship

Dear Kristin,

Congratulations! You are now registered for 2010 Ford Ironman World Championship. Please check the event’s official website for updates: http://www.ironman.com

View your complete registration details »
Please notify the Worldchampionship@ironman.com immediately if any of your information changes.

Date & Time: 10/09/10
Location: Kailua Pier (Map)
Purchased at: 07/28/10
Team: Kristin White
Category: CAT 1
Name: Kristin White

Plans…

Over the last few weeks I have come to find out that people are actually reading my blog! It’s kind of exciting and intimidating at the same time. I have even heard that other bloggers are reading my blog and commenting on it! I think it’s great that other athletes are interested in what I am doing but it really upsets me when they feel it is OK to judge me. I am writing this blog and sharing my workouts for fun and for those enjoying reading it. I am not saying what works for me is what everyone should do. This is just a glimpse of my life and how I fit everything in. Maybe it’s different than how others would do it…well viva la difference! I have learned a great deal in my 39 years and one thing I religiously adhere to is not judging others unless I have walked in their shoes. Anyway, I’ll get off my soapbox now…

I had a really nice talk with Karen yesterday regarding the plans for the rest of the year. The main focus is obviously Kona! We discussed some time goals and what she had up her sleeve for my training in these remaining weeks. Finally we planned out the few remaining races for this year and started looking ahead to next year.

Karen is really adamant that I not only have a good chance of winning my age group at Kona but being the first female amateur finisher overall. While I don’t share her confidence, I do have to admit that she has never been wrong about my ability so far. My main goal at Kona is going to be to focus on running the marathon in 3:15-3:30 and making sure I negative split the run. If I go out easy off the bike, I think I have a good chance of doing this. To reach this goal, she has planned a combination endurance/speed focus for the next 4 weeks. After that, the focus will be on long bricks and then of course, the taper. I will be racing in the Cazenovia Sprint Triathlon August 15th, The Skinnyman I’m All That Event Labor Day weekend and the Syracuse 70.3 September 19th. Watch for me in those races and check back here for the race reports.

Next year may end up being a very exciting year for me. My finish at Buffalo Springs Lake qualified me to go Pro next year. Karen and I have been discussing the pros (no pun intended ) and cons of this decision for a month now. I am still not sure what the final decision will be but stay tuned! We are looking to focus on the 70.3 as the full ironman training is more than I am interested in devoting time to next year. I am tentatively looking at St. Anthony’s, Buffalo Springs Lake (really want to go back!!), Quassy Rev 3, Syracuse 70.3, Steelhead, Florida 70.3, maybe a few local ones…obviously these are NOT set in stone. We are just starting to brainstorm a bit!

Finally a friend at work videotaped my stroke at the Y and I sent it out to a coach to have my stroke analyzed. His report basically states that my ankles could use a little more flexibility so they are more like flippers when I kick…my stroke is flat and so I need to work on rolling on my side more and I need to continue to catch water when I get tired instead of letting my hand slip through it. I sent the report to Karen and she is hoping to get me up to her pool so she can watch me swim also. Here’s a video of my stroke and then another of Grant Hackett swimming the 1500.

Made It!

I believe I was way more stressed about this morning’s run than I care to admit! Let me back up a minute. Yesterday, I was supposed to meet bike shop guy to go for a 90 minute tempo ride. The alarm went off at 5am and I swear it felt like I had only been in bed for about an hour! I am not sure what possessed me to check my email on my phone before rolling out of bed but, boy was I glad I did. Bike shop guy had emailed saying something on his bike was broken and he was going to have to miss the ride. YAY…more sleep!!!! was all I could think. I immediately reset the alarm for an hour later and fell back asleep. Well, one more hour didn’t really do it but I got out of bed anyway. My plan was to swim this morning and then bike after work. So I went to the Y and started my swim workout which was basically a disaster. I was doing a ladder and all of my times were 10-20 secs slower than normal. I finished the 4300 yard workout anyway and headed to work. After basically sleepwalking through the first few hours, I finally got smart and had a cup of coffee. THAT WOKE ME UP! I felt really good and managed to stay awake until closing time at 6pm. So now it was time to bike. It was getting late so I figured I should get home right away and go. As I drove past my neighbor’s house, I saw she was out. After 3 minutes of chatting I decided it was way too late to go for a bike ride so I pushed it to today. At the moment it seemed like a great idea!

After hanging out and then tossing and turning for a few hours, I finally got a little sleep. At 4am the alarm went off and I thought “this is it”. Time to get this crazy 3 hour run over with. I was really dreading running this long when I knew how exhausted I had been all week. I was also a little annoyed (OK, a lot) at Karen for making me do this. But, the OCD kicked in, I got on my running shoes and headed out into the dark. I had planned to run an 8 mile loop three times. The first loop was so slow, I think I was sleepwalking again! The second loop was a much more reasonable pace. As I started the last loop, I knew I was going to be able to finish strong so I picked up the pace a little more. I ran the last loop 8 minutes faster than the first and ended up at 7:49 pace for 24 miles. Not bad considering the last 3 weeks! I finished at 7:45am, jumped in the shower and pulled into the Wegmans parking lot at 8:10am – only 10 minutes late…not bad for me…I consider that almost on time . I must have got some decent sleep last night because I was much more awake today. So when 4pm rolled around, doing a bike workout didn’t seem as objectionable as it did the day before. I was headed out to a movie (Eclipse) at 6pm so I had to race out the door as soon as I got home. The ride was supposed to be a tempo but just ended up being a 90 minute easy pace ride. As always, I did not factor in time to eat so my friend brought a slice of leftover cold pizza for me and I got popcorn at the movies (because they were out of soft pretzels)…again – great post workout food (yes – this is sarcasm) !

My friends and I made it to the movie on time and then headed out to Chili’s for a margarita and sliders after. Finally I was able to get some real protein in! I finally collapsed into bed around 11pm and was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

FOOD

Nutella on a multi-grain english muffin. That is my newest food obsession. I go through these phases of food obsessions every once in awhile. Previous to nutella it was Panera’s Fuji Apple Chicken Salad. I had to get one at least once a week. Just last week, however I had one and it just wasn’t the same.  Time to move on…

Whatever the latest fad is, my co-workers tease me relentlessly. This is, of course, because I stand at the computer snacking all day. I try to explain to them that after riding 90+ miles, I just can’t seem to get enough to eat! The combos are always a little crazy.  For a long time it was pretzel rods dipped in raspberry jelly.  Then I went with Wegmans pistachio blend with sourdough pretzels. For about a year I would drink a peach smoothie with whipped cream (actually, extra whipped cream) every time I worked. They know me well at the coffee bar at Dewitt! For another few months, at least, it was macaroni and cheese with applesauce.  I got a lot of strange looks at work with that one.  Peanut butter and honey on english muffins worked for me for all of last year as a post workout food…along with chocolate milk. The chocolate milk actually is still a part of my daily routine.  In college I went a whole year eating boiled Mrs. T’s pierogies with applesauce every night for dinner. My senior year of HS it was apples and cheese with unsalted matzoh for lunch and rice with raisins for dinner (my parents were thrilled ).  Before the girls were born it was a homemade strawberry smoothie every day…made with strawberries, plain fat free yogurt, orange juice and LOTS of sugar!

Obviously, I find myself thinking about food a lot lately!  And it’s not that “hey what new recipe can I try” thinking. It is the “how fast can I get something with lots of salt and calories into my system” thinking.  I  know some athletes out there follow a prescribed diet…counting carbs and proteins…sticking to whole grain foods, fruits and vegetables.  Not me – I like sugar and fat WAY too much!  Fortunately, I can basically eat what I want, not gain weight and still perform.  I am sure riding 80-90 mile rides each week contributes to this situation.  I remember when I did the Team in Training century ride and they told us to make sure we ate while we rode because we would be burning 5000 calories over 100 miles.  (This was before I started tris or even knew anything about biking. I did the whole ride on 2 power bars and 2 bottles of Gatorade…dumb!!).  When I did the Vermont Marathon, their athlete’s guide said that you burn 2500 calories running 26.2 miles.

I think I have mentioned this before but it floats back into my mind once in awhile…would I be that much better if I was more scientific about my diet? I don’t even weigh myself to see how much fluid I have lost.  Sometimes I don’t eat until a few hours after working out (drives Karen crazy)…depending on what my schedule is like. Eating does not usually fall at the top of my priority list.  Picking the girls up on time, not being late to work, taking care of Phoebe’s and Maggie’s needs, showering, etc …. these come first.  I am always asked how I fit it all in.  Well, I prioritize and some things don’t get done or get done later.  Yesterday after riding 97 miles and running 4.5 miles, I did not have time to eat because I had to go get the girls. After getting them, we ended up at Sno Top for ice cream. It was the best I could do to please them and get some post workout food.  (Hey – I got the turtle sundae…ice cream (carbs) and pecans (protein) and chocolate syrup (antioxidants??))!

So back to my obsession…for now, it’s nutella on an english muffin.  Give it a try!

Hills and Wind

I was able to hook up with Eric, a friend of Karen’s, for my long ride this week.  Since I always ride the same route pretty much, I decided to let Eric pick where we would go. Never again! We were to meet at his house and ride out to Marcellus, Skaneateles, Auburn then Geneva and then head back. We chose this route over the pending Syracuse 70.3 course because it would not be as hilly.  He said it was a basically flat ride with some gentle rolling hills. He lied.

We headed out at 9:15am, planning on riding 97 miles in about 4.5 hours. The first 6 miles were up hill into the wind. And since we were riding that direction for the first half, we were going to be into the wind for the next 2 hours. Long story short, there were LOTS of climbs, lots of wind and lots of mumbling comments like…what is with this f’ing wind and why the f*** are we doing this ride and I hate you Karen and Eric. Finally we made it to Geneva, turned around, and somehow we managed to be headed into the wind again. Many more comments… a little louder now.  I did manage to do a lot of complaining about the course and the wind in between gasping for air. Basically, the ride just hurt. I am seriously wiped out physically and emotionally and this ride turned into just getting through it rather than how well did I get through it.  We finished in 4:50…just around 20mph…and then Eric left me alone for my run. I negative split the 30 minute run which was the main goal. I actually felt pretty strong on the run which gave me some confidence.

Eric actually was awesome during the ride. I felt terrible because I had told him that I had done a 21mph 95 miler the week before. I like people to know ahead of time what I can do so they can make the decision if they want to go with me or not.  He is a super strong rider and I didn’t want to hold him back. So when I was struggling at 19.5mph on the way out, I felt terribly guilty about screwing up his workout. He said I didn’t and he was fine going my pace but I still felt bad. Anyway, he gave me some pointers on climbing the hills and is confident he can get my bike time down 5-15 minutes depending on the course. So hopefully he will ride with me again!

This morning I was planning a nice 70 minute swim out at Deruyter. I was picturing a nice smooth lake on a sunny day. Well, I awoke to torrential downpouring rain and high winds.  “The (lake) was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli!” LOL!!!  I managed to complete the swim but was starving and exhausted by the end. It was sooo choppy! I had waves breaking on top of me.  All I could think was that if it was going to be like that at Kona, it was going to be a loooong day!

Now it is on to Sunday…a 3 hour run that I failed to talk Karen out of. Then Sunday night a bunch of my girlfriends and I are headed out to the movies to see Eclipse. I have not become obsessed with the series but a night out with the ladies…who can pass that up? I hope I can just stay awake!!

Another week down

WOW – I forgot how tiring training for an Ironman can be! I just finished week 2 of Karen’s “Road to Kona” training plan. This week involved a 3 hour brick, a 5 hour brick, some 3 mile swims and a 20 mile run, as well as some easier workouts. My plan was to get most of teh workouts done during the week because I was taking the girls down to visit Scott on the weekend. I knew I would have limited workout time once we got to Virginia. I was fortunate that this was cheerleading camp week so the girls were at camp 3 hours in the morning and then another 2.5 hours in the afternoon. Monday, I did the 3 hour brick in the morning and a 3 mile swim in the afternoon. I don’t even think I ate anything solid until about 4pm! The brick was crazy – I headed out for the 2 hour bike ride into the wind. At the halfway point I was averaging about 17mph. I hate averaging anything under 20mph (even though I know it doesn’t matter) so I planned to haul ass on the way back. I couldn’t believe I finished up at exactly 20mph. Karen has me working on negative splitting on the runs now (because of my dying at BSLT and Chesapeakeman) so that was the main focus of the hour run.

I finished the swim in time to watch some of the cheerleading and I have to brag that my girls are so damn cute! Phoebe really loved doing the cheers and I couldn’t get Maggie to stop cartwheeling. This is the 4th year we have done this camp and Tami, the FMHS cheer coach, does an amazing job with the girls. On Friday they showed off their stuff – they did lifts, cheers and a dance.

Wednesday night I got out of work and headed to the Y for a 4800 yard workout and then raced home to bed because Thursday was the 5 hour brick. I rode 94miles and was reminded of what a beautiful area we live in. I was able to ride by 3 lakes – Oneida, Cazenovia and Deruyter as well as Chittenango Falls. The ride from Canastota into Chittenango has some of the best views of the rolling hillsides. LOTS of time to think when I am out there alone. It amazes me the people that listen to ipods when they workout. Aside from being unsafe if you are outside, when do these people ponder life??

After the ride Thursday, I got to work for 9 hours. It is so funny how my co-workers are unable to grasp the concept of riding 94 miles on a bicycle! Friday morning, I was so excited to do the 2.5 hour run Karen had scheduled (yes…this is sarcasm). I was so exhausted and calorie deficient from the day before that I was dreading every minute of the run. But, being OCD, I knew I had to get out there. I headed out with a water bottle (a first for me!) and started the run. By the end, I had covered 19.6 mi at 7:42 pace. Not bad considering the week so far!

Saturday, the girls and I drove down and visited Scott. They had not seen him since before the accident and both were a little nervous about what he would be like. Maggie was especially interested in all of his injuries. She wanted to know if she would get to see the holes in his “lumbs” (lungs!). I am happy to report that he is progressing very well and the girls responded as if they were visiting an old friend – a little shy at first and then as if nothing had happened. It has been 3 months since the accident and Scott is now eating regular food (and hoping to have the GTube out this week), practicing walking with a walker, going up and down stairs, writing poems, reading, playing UNO (much to Maggie and Phoebe’s delight) and having more moments of clarity than not. Although this sounds great, there is still so much further for him to go. He still requires 24 hour care, he cannot get out of bed on his own or go anywhere alone, forgets people’s names, has trouble remembering what day it is and gets tired often. It’s encouraging, frustrating and sad all at the same time (for him and me). There are moments when we look each other in the eye and I know “Scott” is in there and then there are other times when he is like a young child that I recognize but don’t really know. Continue your prayers for him!

To end the week, Karen had me doing a 90 minute run with 5 miles at 6:45 pace within the run. Saturday night, I hung out with a friend and drank WAY too much vino! Another friend kept me on the phone until super late so when the alarm went off Sunday it was a definite struggle to drag myself out of bed and out the door. The first few steps were awful (headache, nausea, sluggish) but by the time I hit the first mile repeat, I was kicking some major ass! I hit all of the repeats in 6:30 and then finished off the run with a 15 minute cool down around 7:30 pace. It is really strange but consistently I run better after drinking wine the night before!

So now, back in town (after a nightmarish ride through the hell they call dowtown Baltimore after my Garmin died) I am ready to start the final hard week before I get a rest week. I just have to hold on for 9 more workouts! Hopefully the heat and humidity will go away soon. I don’t know how people live and especially train in places like Florida where the weather is always like this! I think they are nuts

SUMMER

We are now 2 weeks into summer vacation and I have been having a blast hanging out with Phoebe and Maggie. They started playground camp this week at the elementary school they attend. Maggie was SUPER nervous the first day. The day before she whined endlessly about how she didn’t want to go to camp. Phoebe has been going for years but this is Maggie’s first year. She will eneter Kindergarten at this school in the fall so I thought it would be a good experience to get to know the school ahead of time. Plus, ALL of her friends are there, too. It’s kind of the “in” place to be around here. Their dad dropped them off the first day and texted me that Maggie was having a really hard time, sucking her thumb, hiding her head, not speaking. He felt awful because he had to leave for work. Well, I picked them up 3 hours later and Maggie would not stop talking about it. She was sooo excited because her counselor’s name is “Maggie.” She chattered away so excited. I am glad I went with my instinct and signed her up! She has happily gone every day since. Phoebe, of course, loves it too because all of her friends from school are there. Next week they will both attend a week of cheerleading camp. Again, Phoebe is a veteran but it will be Maggie’s first time. I expect she will be just as shy the first day and then love it just as much by the end!
Because of the heat wave, our pool has been getting a ton of use. I am so proud of how well the girls have been swimming. I stopped their swim lessons at the Y for the summer because I figured they would get a ton of practice in their backyard and that is just how it has been going. Just last week, Maggie would not enter the deep end without a life jacket on. Now, she jumps off the diving board doing tricks and then swims to the shallow end. She also goes down the big slide without hesitation. Phoebe has started doing her own tricks off the diving board…cartwheels and spinning jumps. She also basically taught herself how to dive after watching a friend. She even runs up, bounces and dives right in…no belly flopping!
Phoebe has really gotten into reading this summer. One day we just relaxed on the swing outisde and read our books while lying next to each other. Maggie was inside watching Grease. This, by the way, has become their new obsession (after, of course, the first time when I suggested watching it and they insisted it was a terrible movie and they wanted nothing to do with it). I have now seen Grease so many times I could recite the whole movie! Fortunately, it is due back at the library Monday. This weekend they are with their dad camping in Hammondsport. I am so fortunate that he is such a good father and that they love to be with him. It makes it a little easier when it is their time with him…knowing they are enjoying themselves and in a loving, caring environment. I am looking forward to Sunday night when they are back home with me, though!!

Mountains and Molehills

I am now halfway into week 1 of training for Kona and I am exhausted and convinced that I cannot make it through the Ironman there. We have now had 5 days of 90+ degree weather. I feel like I am back in Lubbock! Actually, I think it is worse than Lubbock. Yesterday I was smart and got my workout started at 5am. My new riding buddy (local 20 yo cyclist – funny story…he was listening to an iPod while we road (and yes I yelled at him) and I asked what he was listening to. He said country – mostly the older stuff. I just looked at him and laughed. I was like what is “older stuff” to you??) …anyway, we headed out for a 4hour ride just as the sun was coming up. We had an incredible ride through central NY. We both agreed that we have the absolute best cycling roads and terrain anywhere. But bad news for me – he picked the route..and he likes HILLS. We did a lot of climbing and all that kept going through my mind was …”and you still get to run after this!” As we hit the 3 hour mark, he started complaining of tired legs. I knew if we went long enough I could outlast him! Seriously, he gave me some good tips on climbing hills and riding faster, in general. Hopefully we can ride more this summer so I can be even faster when I get to Kona.
SO, in general, on the bike, I tend to avoid hills. I don’t like slowing down. I hate the way my quads burn by the time I get to the top. I hate that they slow down my overall average mph for the ride. They hurt!!!! Last year, I had Karen’s blessing to ride flat because Chesapeakeman was a flat course. Her opinion is that you should practice the terrain that you will be racing on. I am not sure I agree with this. I could ride flat forever. I love hitting 25-30mph and just going. Karen says that riding flat is tough because you have nothing to break up the monotony. I guess I do agree with the boring part…there’s nothing like flying down a hill at 45mph with the wind blowing through your helmet. But I still think riding hills builds strength that will carry through those boring rides.
Before I moved to Syracuse, I lived in FLAT Buffalo, NY. I tried for years to break 18 minutes for a 5K. I was being coached by Owen Anderson but could just not get my time down. I ran a lot of 18:10′s, though!! I moved to Syracuse in May. After about a month, I went to the doctor to be tested for exercise-induced asthma. I was sure something had to be wrong because I was exhausted on every run. Needless to say, I did NOT have asthma but was just adjusting to the new terrain. I ran my first 5K here in August and shattered my old PR with a 17:24!
Now I am hoping riding the hills will do the same for my bike speed. My goal for this summer is to get a new attitude towards the hills. I am going to embrace them (and let me say there are plenty of them here in CNY to learn to love!). Heading out to ride mountains…not molehills…

Rest Week?

Now that the race is over, Karen has instructed me to take a week of rest. Unfortunately, I don’t really know how to do that. Around here, I don’t think it is even possible. Monday, I did go out for an easy hour run just to loosen up my quads. They were super tight from the race. Then I spent numerous hours on the plane flying back to Baltimore…and they tightened right back up! Tuesday I drove back to Syracuse. The plan was to arrive around dinner time so taht I could meet Phoebe, Maggie and my mother for dinner. It hit tons of traffic and didn’t make it back until around 7pm. About 10 minutes before I got to Panera (my fave fast food eatery…their Fuji Apple Chicken Salad is the best), my mother calls to tell me that Maggie threw up and has a high fever. Well, so much for dinner.

As soon as I arrived home, I got Maggie out to the car and took her to the Immediate Medical Care in Manlius. A few chest XRays later, the doctor announced that it was probably just a virus on top of the ear infection she already had. We finally got home at 9:30pm and collapsed into bed. Wednesday I had the good fortune of working for 11 hours. By Thursday, I was itching to work out. I was able to sneak an hour in over at the lake and even did a little swimming sans wetsuit (like it will be in Kona). I just love swimming without a wetsuit…it just feels good. Then again at the pharmacy for another 9 hours. Today, I tried to get a little housework in before work. BUT I had the exciting task of booking the Kona trip which took up my whole morning (and all 3 of us slept in past 8am) and then I had to work from 10-7. Then I fit in another easy hour running. I was amazed how much better felt compared to Monday. I was still slowish but my quads were not sore at all.

I talked to Karen and she is going to send me just 1 week of workouts. Then we are going to meet to discuss where my weaknesses are and what races to do and then she will finalize my training plan for Kona. I am feeling very ready to start some hard training. I can’t wait to see what I can do on the course in Hawaii.