Half Finished, Two Thirds to Go

Today I welcome back my favorite guest blogger, my better half, my partner in crime, my lovely wife Melissa. Without further adieu, here is her latest triumph.

It started last summer, while I was sitting at my desk at work, thinking I had missed the boat. Jim had signed up for a 70.3 race, along with some training friends, and he emailed me one last time. “Do you want me to sign you up too?”

And I thought, “Hell, no. Is he crazy?”

But as the days passed I got to thinking about what races I was going to do in 2013, and what my next goal should be. I had done 3 more sprint triathlons in 2012, along with a few other planned running races, but I hadn't given much thought to 2013. Ironman races sell out quickly, in a matter of hours. And Raleigh 70.3, an inaugural event, was no different. So, I sat at my desk and thought it over. And over. And I thought, what a shame that I didn't sign up for that race. Lots of people we know are doing it, and I'll be there anyway to support Jim. What a bummer. For some reason I just wasn't in the right mind set when he asked me.

So, in November, when the Ironman Foundation opened up some charity slots, I jumped on the chance and registered! On November 2, I became an official registrant of Ironman Raleigh 70.3, to be held June 2, 2013-- 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. And exactly 7 months to prepare.

Thus Is Born The Half Marathon Entry

So, HOW DO I PREPARE FOR THIS THING? The immediate concern was my run training. I have biked more than 56 miles on a few occasions, and swum around (or more) than 1.2 during workouts. But, considering I had never run more than 7(ish) miles, I figured I'd better start working on my run. I discovered a February half marathon race in town that really turned out to be great timing-- the LOVE ROX Half Marathon. November through February(ish) is considered "off season" around here for triathlons, so it was a great time to build my running mileage base and train my body to carry me for all those miles. Then, when triathlon training started in earnest, I would already have a nice base to work from. Perfect. So, on November 6, I put on my best running gear and headed out in the mildly cold weather for a nice, short run.

LOVE ROX Half Marathon

I had 15 weeks to train for this half marathon, which seemed like plenty according to all my sources. Even though I'd trained for triathlons during 2012 and done a few road races, I had actually slacked off on my running August through October.

Over the course of 15 weeks, my weekly mileage grew from 8 miles to about 25. My long runs were on Saturdays. As I increased my mileage each week, I celebrated each time I hit a new milestone. First it was 8 miles. Then 9.5, then 10.5, then 12. I tracked my runs with my new Garmin 610, and looked over my mile split times each week. While my splits were uneven, they did coincide with the terrain (hills=slower pace), so that was as expected.

The coldest weather I ran in was 27 degrees, with a slight wind. I've discovered that I heat up rather quickly, though, so I wear layers in the cold and peel them off as I go. I recorded my clothing choices and the weather in my Garmin Connect log, so that I can refer back to it in the future-- I take note of what I wore, and what I peeled off during the run (usually the gloves, arm warmers, hat and extra shirt come off at some point.) I used my long runs as practice for nutrition, and experimented with using Carbo Pro in my water bottles and using Honey Stinger gels during the run as well. The nutrition plan will be even more important at Raleigh, but I figured there's no reason I can't start experimenting now.

On my long runs, I also experimented with turning off my iPod for at least some of the run. First, I would turn it off for only a few miles, usually at the beginning. Then, I left my iPod off for at least half the run, only turning it on during the second half to give me a boost. On my last long run, 12 miles, I did not turn it on at all. I ran the whole 12 miles without listening to my iPod! Why did I do this? Well, at Ironman races, using iPods or other devices is absolutely not permitted, so, I figure, I'd better start getting used to it now!

And lastly, who can forget the mantra? I have an assortment of mantras that I use. My favorite, based on a poem I wrote, is "Today is the day". But during this training for a half marathon, due to my increased mileage, I had additional time to reflect and come up with some others: "Worth it in June" is one of them, as is "It's gonna be hot in June". You see, while I was lucky enough to train in cold weather for the LOVE ROX half marathon, it will only get warmer from here on out. And, in June it is likely to be quite warm. This will change things quite a bit for me, as I have noticed that my run pace gets slower the hotter it gets outside.

So How Did the Race Go? 

Splendidly.

Two-loops to complete (potential mental obstacle for me)? No problem!

Thirty-seven degree weather? No problem!

Wet, rainy snow coming down on us? No problem!

Hill on the back side of the course (miles 4-5 and 10-11)? No problem!

I would say it went as smoothly as I could have hoped. There were so many Pro K Racing teammates (the triathlon team I train with) volunteering on the course & there were other Pro Kers running the course, so it was awesome to see everyone and cheer others on. It meant a lot to me to have that encouragement. There were also some friends who I was not expecting, who were waiting near the war memorial to cheer me on! It was so awesome to see them there too. And of course, Jim was there too, cheering for me at different spots on the course, and there to grab the gloves and shirt I had peeled off. And after the race, what a nice surprise-- Jim had bought me some flowers to congratulate me. Awesome! My first half marathon is in the books. Now what?

Oh yeah, there's that Raleigh thing. I've got two other disciplines to ramp up. I'd better get cracking.

Getting Back into the Swing of Things: Early in the Morning

What time does your alarm go off in the morning? I bet no matter the time, it always seems too early. Starting in January, I have been setting my alarm for 4:45AM twice a week and 5AM twice a week. Sometimes when my alarm goes off, I am so startled, I am not sure what is going on. But it does not take long for me to remember what day it is and why I am getting up. I just remind myself that I am training for Ironman and that getting up at 4:45 is somewhat mandatory. With a full time job and 14 hours a week of working out, one is forced to become a morning person which is something I never was until relatively recently. I blame this transformation from night owl to early morning exerciser on Mark England. He is the one who got me into my first road race back in 2006 which eventually grew from 10Ks to Ironman.

On Mondays and Wednesday, I get up super early to swim. I am in the pool by 5:30. On Mondays I do a coached swim that lasts 1 hour and is always a good, fun workout with teammates. Our coach is extremely knowledgeable about all things swimming as well as enthusiastic, funny, and creative. We do all kinds of drills to improve our swim stroke and swim fitness. People groan when she says "100 breathe away" or "50 nubby arm kicking" or the dreaded "breath away (dramatic pause) with fists." But although people grown, I am pretty sure they secretly really like these difficult drills. Why would they keep coming back if they did not like it? After all, it is hardly free. I think most of the "guppies" as we are called enjoy being challenged and know that the drills will make us all stronger swimmers. We put in the work because we know it will make us stronger. And many of my teammates are hardly guppies by the way.

My Wednesday swim is a very regimented workout that my coach gives to me. I print out my marching orders and bring it with me to the pool so I can keep on track. These workouts are usually longer than the Monday workouts and I have to stay on task in order to get the entire workout in before work. After swimming 1.5 miles or more in the pool, I always feel fantastic albeit starving. By the time I get to work, I am calm and ready to face the challenges of the day.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I am doing Craig's cycling class at Richmond Cycling Corporation's Richmond Bicycle Studio. I really love the class. It is quite challenging although anyone can to it because it is up to the individual to gauge one's perceived exertion.  You get out of it what you put into it. I feel like this class catapults my bike fitness skyward like a rocket ship. There is no way I could do these workouts on my own. I have tried to duplicate the workouts at home on my own and even though I am trying to go hard, it just seems that doing this workout in a group setting under the watchful eyes of Craig gives me the best possible workout. Plus the whole time I know I am also supporting RCC and the outreach they do. It is a win win situation. I feel good about the workout and I feel good about helping out the non-profit with my enrollment fee.

In addition to my early morning workouts detailed above, I have also been doing Physical Therapy every day. I do about 1 hour or more a day at home plus once or twice a week I go into the Physical Therapy office and do 2 hours which includes more exercises as well as ultrasound, body work by the PT, and I get to run on the Alter G treadmill treadmill. The Alter-G allows me to run at a certain percentage of my body weight. I started out at 75 percent and have worked my way up to 90 percent of my body weight. This gradual return to running helps ease my body back into it. So far, I have been very pleased with my PT at Advanced Orthopedics in the West End. I have been coming along nicely and today my PT said she wanted me to start running outside again under full body weight. I can't wait to get started although I will have to start out slow.

On the weekends, I have been doing PT, a third swim, and another bike ride. Sometimes I ride the trainer, sometimes I ride outside depending on the weather. Unfortunately, this weekend I will not be riding as I broke the shifter off my bike and it is in the shop getting repaired. In addition to all of the PT, swimming, biking, and running, I have also started back on my core work. Melissa has motivated me to do the P90X Ab Ripper with her. It is a killer workout and I expect to see results if I keep it up.

So is that enough? Not quite. I plan to add in a yoga class once a week to help me stay limber and to help strengthen my hips, glutes, thighs, etc. I seem to stay healthier when I follow a weekly yoga regimen and I just don't seem to be able to work it into the schedule without attending a structured class.

Finally, I wanted to mention that I have added two more races onto my calendar. I have decided to race the Monument Ave 10K, mostly because my work picked up the tab. Also I wanted to race again on my birthday so this year I will be doing the Kinetic Sprint Triathlon on May 12th at Lake Anna. This year my birthday falls on Mothers day (I was born on Mothers Day) so I thought it would be fun to have the whole family down to watch the race and then go out for a celebratory lunch. If there are any other triathletes out there who want to race with me, I would enjoy the company.

So that about wraps it up for now. January has been busy and February will likely fly by. Then there will just be one more month before race season starts for me. Comments welcomed and appreciated.