Winter

Feeling sort of depressed. Lots of immoral things like jealousy but maybe more clinical things like lack of daylight. Keep getting distracted by skis. Alpine touring skis. However, the cost is pretty big and the time etc.  Ran on Saturday 12/22 in the sun. Felt much better and got some things worked out which I should be honest with.  I want to try my hardest to qualify for the world championship this year at Wisconsin. Do you think I can get at least 30 minutes faster this year? Hopefully it will happen. If it doesn't happen I am okay with that because I have lots of other dreams. Note: not trying to make excuses, just put a "race" into perspective.

Swimming- I thought about it and do feel stronger in the water. The Swim Center is a couple of degrees too warm and I used to feel like there was gelatin in the water. I haven't felt that in a while. Also, I think backstroke is getting easier. The swim can be so demoralizing though. Friday (12/21) was pretty miserable. I felt slow and like I couldn't get my right arm to work. i guess i sort of feel like i keep working and working at it but nothing changes. Sort of like beating my head against a wall. My body felt really tight. Not wanting to move. Maybe I need to think about doing some more stretching.

Schedule- we are going to Kalispell for the new year weekend. Leave Friday and come home Tuesday. You can hike up at big mountain and ski down, for free. That sounds like fun to me. I can swim in a pool up there, either in kalispell or whitefish. The state swim meet is in the summit pool in kalispell.
Monday- Went for a run at lunch. It was pretty cold and windy out and I wasn't a super happy camper. I was ready to be done at 30 minutes, but still had to get home. Oh well. Got it done and it doesn't always have to be pretty.

Lots of blog for you to read if I just keep writing each day. Followed the plan. A few questions/comments about gift. You overestimate my power of a pull up. Only 2 the first time and only 1 the rest. He bar is really high and I was completely hanging. Then this buff guy comes and does multiple pull ups with kettle ball attached. Demoralizing.
Explain the wide jumping back and forth? Not sure if I was doing that right.

Tuesday- 30 minute run followed by gfit.

Wednesday- Stumbled out of bed and down to the garage for a roller ride in the am. Rode and hour and got off. Got some new music which makes it more fun.
Swim was good, good, good. I could actually start to feel slip when my right hand wasn't working right. It probably took 3 sets of paddles to no paddles to figure it out, but I really felt like I had a breakthrough with it. Yes!!!

Thursday- Got in 35 minutes of a good run in and then did gfit. One legged plank nearly killed me. We do a lot of one legged plank (called plank torture) in the Amy/Megan workouts, but only hold each side 30 seconds. One minute was a lot.

Friday- Good swim. Staying on time with those 1k efforts isn't working. I can do the first but the 2nd, 3rd, 4th get slower and slower. I was surprised, but I could generally do the 2/3 breathing for the fast swimming. I might have cheated a little and done more on the left coming into and out of the wall. Definitely felt my form completely fall apart though. Next filming session, I am going to have Lawrence film me trying to go fast.

Saturday- Went up to Bozeman Creek with William. Skied for a couple of hours. Went a couple of miles past the bridge. Felt really good. Felt like I got to blow out the pipes, a lot. Skiing was pretty awesome too. Good base and nice fast snow. Did a little bit of concentrating on my right leg. I definitely am not as stable on it as my left. The glide is usually shorter. Maybe work on some stabilizing muscles in my right leg too?

Sunday- Couldn't resist getting back on the skis. Also, it was cold and windy in town. Didn't feel like running or riding my bike. Skied to the cabin. Around 9-10 miles up. So probably got in around 20 miles. Pretty much devastated myself. Felt really good. I needed a devastation. I looked at some picture of my gluteus medius so I could think about it when doing gfit, biking, and running. Skate skiing really works the gluteus medius. Hard to walk down the stairs this morning.

Saying goodbye

This was a sad weekend. My dad's dog of14 years had to get put down. She had stage 4-5 lymphoma. My dad didn't tell anybody that he was taking her to the vet and we all knew she had lymphoma, it just wasn't confirmed. None of us (mom,me,sister) got to say goodbye. I wasn't ready or prepared to say goodbye. Sweet, sweet Kia. You were a good friend and you will be missed. Very missed.

Feeling a little unfit. This week wasn't all that hard but I sure was tired. Regardless i felt like it was a good solid focused week of getting the workouts in.

Schedule I have a meeting on Thursday. I missed it last month so better go this time. Not sure about work. Probably not much on the agenda until at least late next/t week.
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Wed-got up in the am and rode the rollers. Rode pretty hard. Broke a good sweat (in the garage,it was cold out there). Went to masters swim in the pm. Breathed 2/3 most of the time. Even had some stroke maker paddles that I used a bit. Got in 3400. Was pretty tired this pm. This was kind of a big day compared to what I have been doing.

Thursday - ran on the treadmill for ~ 50 minutes. Legs didn't want to turn over too quick. Seems harder to run fast on the treadmill. Did your gift workout after. Good hard workout. My back was tired the next day.

Friday-tired this day. Yawning big at work. Did I mention I stayed up late sitting in Marta's hottub and drinking some wine. Came home after work and rode the rollers. Nothing special just got the workout in.

Saturday- Erik's brother stayed with us after the football game. He and his friend stayed up late and woke up early. It was also pretty cold and really gray outside. Finally got motivated and did the run outside. Swam right after. The swim was harder than I thought. It looked fine, but the key word there was continuous. I haven't swam that far continuous in a while. Good focused workout though. Felt it was good for my swim.  Question-using fins when I start to get tired and lose the form I am trying to get or have? I have zoomers. A good swimmer suggested it. Thought I should get your input.

Sunday funday- masters- I think I did about 1500 fly. Fly day. Fly drill and fly swim. We did most of it with fins. Actually felt a lot like yesterday but with fly.
Met and had coffee and lunch with a bunch of swimmers to talk about our new pool options. I just love the community here.  Really great people. Got a lot of Christmas shopping done.
Rode the trainer to Dexter. Do you like Dexter? So weird that I kind of like him even though he is a serial killer. Good workout. Legs got a little tired after about 4 each time.

Please excuse the typos. Just typed all of this on a tablet.

Missoula weekend

Swim clinic- First, thanks for organizing that and motivating me to do something. Jen definitely told me what I already knew, but was better than anybody at trying to help me fix it. It was fun to see you too. I think the number one thing that Jen said that will help fix my problems is the bilateral breathing. Breathing every three is too difficult for me, so the 2/3 breathing will hopefully help. Nobody has ever suggested that and it seemed to work.  I am excited to get in the pool and do a workout breathing 2/3. I am going to order those paddles today too. I was thinking that I would try the bilateral breathing and using the paddles and then maybe in a month get Lawrence to film me again and see what has changed. Who knows a whole new list of issues will probably pop up. I talked with Jen too about how much to actually think about my technique. She said for about 800 a workout. That way I can incorporate working on this with Masters as well as on my own.

Think I am getting sick. Scratchy throat and a little achy. Think I am going to skip Monday swim and try and kick this cold. Will update this on Tuesday morning. I might just be tired from the weekend. Socializing wears me out and then last night Erik made us salad since John, Lisa and I were all feeling fat . We then  drank a couple of beers and started playing a game we made up called Pass, Fail or Booze. Pretty funny. That lasted later than I would have liked so again maybe I am just tired today.

Schedule- Not much going on for work in the next week or so. So pretty open to lunch time swimming or running. I am staying home this weekend so no special plans there. Made plans to meet a friend and talk about what we as Park and Recreation Board Members want as a new/remodeled pool. Basically, I would like to go to Masters on Sunday morning and then get coffee and breakfast with him after. Maybe one Gfit workout for the week and I will try and meet the girls for the Tuesday workout.

Wednesday
Swim-Went to Masters after work. It was the only thing I could do to get the swim in with my work schedule this day. Started work around 7:30 had a 30 mouse takedown and finished at 6pm. Actually went really well for how many mice we had and the results turned out good too. Good week for work. Anyway, back to swim. Sort of combined your workout with Masters. Did your warmup and the first set of kicks. Then do 6x200 IM / free. The IM was kind of nice. I can get 50 fly in a lot of the time now.

Thursday- Met Lisa at Megans and did your workout with her. She was in a time crunch so we did gfit first. Afterwards I went on a run. It was dark out and I almost got run over my another runner. 45 or 50 minutes of a really good run. Weather was nice and legs felt good.

Friday- Got the swim and run in. I need about 45 minutes to get in a 1500. Maybe more like 35 so I was a few 100's short. Tried as hard as I could. The pool closed at 1 and I got in at 12:30.

Saturday- Kind of a bust. With the rain we just went back to John's moms and sat around for the afternoon. I did hike up a little past the M that morning before we met for swimming though.

Sunday- Kind of a bust as far as bike riding too. We did a little hike up behind John's Mom's house in the am and then went and climbed the steep way up Mt Sentinel in the afternoon. We ran down the switchbacks on the side where the trail pops out on the Kim Williams trail. It was a good workout. We hiked hard up and ran fast down.

Monday- Feel like I am getting sick. My throat is scratchy and I am kind of achy. Think I will go home early and try to get some rest.

Thanksgiving

I would love to come to Missoula for a swim clinic with you guys. I have to be in town for the next couple of weeks because of experiments. Would Friday December 14th work?

Lawrence took video of me which I just looked at. Wow, it is one thing for somebody to tell you what is wrong, but totally different to see if for myself. Look at that right arm.

Thursday
Happy Thanksgiving. I am thankful that my Grandma is 88 years young and that she is such a kind person, but can be a total spitfire.
Got up early and went on a run. It was so windy. I ran a couple of mile stretch with the wind in my face. At times it was all I could do to move forward. I kept making little goals, like get to the next power pole. After that stretch I was pretty worked. Deserving of a big meal.
We rode horses after dinner. Fun. Haven't been on a horse in a long time.

Friday
Return from Powell. I was tired. It was cold in Powell and gray and windy in Laurel. Kept putting the run off. Finally got out when we got home. I know that I feel better getting it done than not.
Saturday
Got up and talked to Lawrence. Planned to me at the pool in the late afternoon.
Rode the trainer. Like the 30 minute ramp up. Felt good on the bike. Actually felt a little tired later. Got in my episodes of Parenthood.
Went to work and infected mice.
Met Lawrence at pool. Got there a little early to get most of the workout in before he got there. He gave me tips on flip turning and suggested I break it down a bit. Drill the flip going down the pool, practice the push off from the wall and being aero (I know that isn't the word, but I can't think of the right word), and then practice coming into the wall. I have a hard time with timing and breathing, but Lawrence said everybody does. I just need to keep practicing.
He also watched me swim a little and filmed me. My right arm is still doing something funky. Later I realized that I might be turning my right hand out I have been concious about keeping that hand straight. Lawrence suggested going to the gym and using a band that I could pull at me and would go back straight, the motion would basically represent the pull. He says my recovery looks good. Right now I am doing some weird motion with my arm/hand but to me it feels straight. I think the band would help adjust my brain.

Sunday- Masters swim- Swam about 3400. Got in and got started right away. It helps for the yardage. Got the whole warmup done. Did two 50s of fly. I think I am rested from swimming. Had 5x100 fast followed by 200 recovery swims. I was doing the 100s on 1:40 in the 50meter pool. It converts to a 1:30 25 yard time. That was encouraging.
Called my sister to go on a run with me. Thank goodness she replied yes. The weather was yucky. It had snowed so it was cold and wet and it was very gray. We ran town trails up and down hills for 1:20. I really love to be outside when I am warm. Took a while for my feet to get warmed up. Jenny took me on a new route which was nice.
Made cranberry chutney and canned it. Had dinner with parents and new brother in laws parents. Nice evening.
Monday- Going home to go and do the trainer workout. It is cold out today, but nice and sunny.

Birthday week

I have been stewing over my race season. I would really like to do Wildflower except the cost and the logistics are rather difficult. So I was thinking of St. George? It would be easy to get there. Erik would have a great time because of all the mt biking. We know where good campgrounds are to stay. The course is hard and Art is maybe doing it too. Also, I would really like to go out to Wisconsin for a training camp in early summer/spring for at least a week so going to St.George would save me some vacation time. What do you think?
Kind of a crappy write up. It has been a busy week.

Training this week.

Tuesday- Gfit followed by a little run. Is it okay to run after? I know before is ideal to get a warm up, but is sometimes doesn't work out.

Wednesday- Trainer ride? Can't remember. I think Lisa came over and we rolled those wheels in place for a while. She left after ~45 minutes. Rolled for another 25 or so.

Thursday- Uggghhh. What a day. Made a giant blunder. One of those things that is going to stick with me for a long, long time. After work went over to the gym and ran and did the gfit workout. Met Lisa for some much needed wine and Broad Comedy- Learned a great new saying "Fuck that Shit". Sorry about the bad language. I wish I could apply that to my blunder this day.

Friday- Pretty proud of myself. Woke up early and rode the rollers in the garage. Listened to music and the hour went by pretty fast. Went to work and did the swim at lunch. Worked out pretty well to get workouts in and leave Bozeman by 5 for the weekend.

Saturday- Found a sweet hotspring. It was two miles up a canyon on a pretty not well trodden trail. Saw nobody the whole time. Hiked in and hiked out. Fun afternoon of exploring the North Fork of the Salmon River and finding the hotspring. Found some great roads for some future bike touring/riding. I think I should do some cross bike dirt riding in the spring. Got to get ready for the Speedwagon :).

Sunday- Found another sweet hotspring. Different from the day before but equally good. Got home from our little road trip and went on a run. 1:10 or so. Felt good. This dark weather makes it hard to motivate even at 5:00pm. Went to see Twilight with Lisa.

Monday- Going home to ride rollers and drink some champagne for my birthday. Went to lunch with my sister and mom. Mom bought me a new pair of running shoes. Sweet. Definitely on my list of needs for this year. Those old ones are going in the garbage. Big experiment tomorrow.

Losing My Marbles

This was quite the week. I felt really disorganized with training, work, and life. I think that one multifaceted problem is that I am working on a project with an undergrad  in the lab. My first problem is that she is going to be first author on the paper and I do all the work. The second and actually probably the more prominent problem is that I try to accommodate her schedule to much. It keeps putting me in a bind and then I get annoyed with her and crabby with her for putting me out. For the next experiment, she is going to plan it out, she can ask me if I can help, if I can't she will have to adjust her experiment or ask somebody else for help. I don't have the patience or the flexibility to let a snotty 21 year old walk all over me.

Gfit
Okay, now for gfit. the gym at MSU has pretty much everything gfit related. Kettle bells, a hanging bar, a machine to do assisted pull-ups, exercise balls, medicine balls (and walls to throw them at), big to small boxes to jump on, all the other weight equipment, and hmmm what else important. You will have to ask me.

Also, with gfit. Both days are getting moved to the evening. 5:15 on Tuesday (I hope, since I have seminar until 5) and on Thursday 5pm followed by SPENS(the ski conditioning thing they are doing) in lieu of legs.

So I am thinking that I can do the Thursday one and go to Spenst, except that I am not super interested in it. Or I can do the Thursday gfit on my own at the gym. That would be a lot easier for me to get the run in too. Maybe on the Tuesday gfit, I can run at lunch instead?

I think I need to work on my glutes and hamstrings. At Ironman my glutes got really tired and I notice that if things hurt after gfit it is my ass and my hamstring.

General schedule
Now that gfit has moved to the evenings I think that the schedule will be a bit easier for me to manage. I can get away at lunch most days, it is just hard if getting away has to be at a certain time. The easiest thing for me to do during lunch is run. I am not fixed to any particular time. Swimming is also doable, but the pool is open from 11-1, so like last week my boss decided to go over to campus with us to look at the new lab right at 11. I couldn't say no, and by the time we were done it was to late to get a swim in. Also, swimming can be difficult in the evening. The pool is open from 3-6 and then again at 7:30 or something. That means I have to leave work by ~4:20 to get over and get a 2500 swim done by 6pm. There is room in that schedule, but it is still close. I guess on those days I should come in to work by at least 8:30. I need to make some accommodations for  my schedule too.

New work place
The above being said once the lab moves getting those swims in will be easier. I will be on campus and a quick jaunt over to the gym will be less time consuming than biking or driving there and back. I am actually really looking forward to being on campus for that reason. I don't expect anything else about my schedule will change much.

Okay, now on to the week

Tuesday
gfit- Did the workout you prescribed with my co-worked. Cool workouts because anybody with any fitness level can give them a go. I had a really hard time with the bar. It is really high and I though I was going to fall off doing Rocky style situps. So I just did crunches the next time. Same with the other bar exercise. Next time I might try bringing my bike gloves. So fail on the bar, but everything else was good. Even got in a good run before.

Wednesday
Failed on the swim
Rode the trainer. Felt good to sweat and pedal. My bike was feeling neglected. Even had to use some bike mechanic skills to get it going. Had to take cassette off of one wheel and put it on another. Success!!

Thursday
Gfit and run. Good session. Cold outside but braved it and ran anyway.

Friday
Swim- did the workout. Feel very rested (as far as swimming goes). Maybe that day off was good. Feel strong in the water when I am rested.

Saturday
My sister came over and she rode our trainer and I rode the rollers. 90 minutes. Again, felt good to pedal and sweat. Only fell off a couple of times. Always a little terrifying.

Sunday
Had wine club (changed from book club) Saturday night. Got up for swimming but stayed up late the night before and was tired. Had a good workout at the pool. Jamie even had us doing sit ups and push ups. Got in ~2800. Felt good today too. Felt recovered, for once, to have a strong swim.Went home and took a nap. Thought when I get up I will try and run (the try is a key word here). I should have know, I don't do well with naps and usually feel worse getting up than going down. Ended up not running. So again, fail. I don't really feel that bad about it though. Haven't had many lazy days.

Monday
Veteran's day- Working to get some comp time for days I want to take off this summer. Am heading over to the gym to run. It is cold out and I am feeling like a wimp. Then later go back over to swim.

Lots of swimming

Finally got around to making Erik fish and chips. He helped cook and said "if Elliot is as good of a coach as I think he is, then you are going to get in trouble for not cooking all of it alone." In the end he approved. The texture of the breading could have been better though.
My four swims this week have equaled more than I have done in a long time. 3x at Masters ( I guess one day was last Monday) plus a couple on my own. My arms are worked. Feel like my swimming is coming along. Last winter a 3500 would have really worked me.


Wednesday-
Ride with Lisa and Dave. Left from home and rode to Leverich. Made it 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up and decided to turn around. It was getting dark. Rode home in the dark. It was Halloween and traffic was crazy for us to be on bikes. Almost ran into some kids dressed all in black on the bike path. Went for traditional Wed. night nachos after ride. Back and shoulders tired the next day. Not used to lots of riding. Went for at least a couple of hours. I didn't check the time.

Thursday
Kind of a big day
Ran 30 minutes before gfit. Gfit was good, light on the legs and heavy on the arms which isn't exactly what I want if I am swimming, but those girls are do SPENTS or something like that. Ski training and they don't want it heavy on the legs.
Master's- 3500 total. Can't remember now what we even did.

Friday
Swim- Got in and got er done. Tired this day. Fell asleep on the couch early and slept in on Saturday.

Saturday
Well a 2 hour bike ride just wasn't on the agenda. I think it ended up being five hours and 65 or so miles on rolling dirt terrain. Another Curry adventure. We paralleled the Bridgers going north for probably 25 miles and then went west and south to Benders house. His mom fed us salmon and crackers and wouldn't take the bait for a ride home so we had 20 more miles home. Wow, I felt out of biking shape. Sooo tired. We were all sucking wheel so bad on the way home. It is funny how I don't care on the way out, but you just hunker down and stare at the road and the person's tirefor those last miles home. My legs have never hurt that bad while riding.

Sunday
Thank god for the extra hour. I 'm not sure if I would have made it to Master's without it. Workout was good, had a day where positive thinking was very important for every 100. Felt good, arms a little tired. The other people in my lane are so much faster than me, but I was able to hold the intervals all day. I did cheat and not do fly on the 6x100 IMs . There is no way I would have made the interval. Missed a lot of the warm up so probably swam 2500-3000.

Hiked Drinking Horse and part of the M with Jenny. She just got back from their wedding and trip south so it was fun to chat with her about everything.

Monday
Had one of those days. Was heading over to the pool at 11 when the boss decided we should all go look at our new lab space.(Side note: My lab is moving in the next few months. We will be on campus which I think will make my life easier. I will be a few steps from the pool and the gym rather than a 10 minute bike ride or have to deal with parking) So I missed the plan of swimming at lunch. Headed over to the pool at 3:30 but had to pick up some stuff from people at 5. So, the swim was a little short. Didn't do the 200's at the end of the workout. Was so tired though. Swim speed was only one yesterday. Slow.
Got  my errands run and did the run. Felt good for that and ran for about an hour. In general pretty tired though. Not sure why.

back to FOCUS

Race schedule
January 27th- National Championship Winter Triathlon. I would like to practice riding my bike on snow this year!

MuleX and GASX a success. (Except we lost the keg for a few hours, turns out it was in Curry's garage. I think it is still there.)
Raced both days. Saturday, I just jumped on the bike. Didn't get much of a warm up. Rode one lap on the course. I like not training and then racing because I don't get nervous. But, I think I hate not training and not doing as well as I think I should. 4th both days. Worst place to be. Right off the podium. I raced on Sunday too. Got a better warm up. The course this day was a Lisa Curry course. Technical, punchy, and a few times with a little pucker factor. Fun racing, but not my forte. I was 4th by a long ways. Tired too. Monday my legs are tired. So is my brain.

 Strider course only had 2 participants, but it was worth it. 

 Thanks Pascal, again, for the great photography

Jazzercise with Richard Simmons and the damn Mormon. He chased us around all day.

My hubby had lots of mechanical problems

The rest of the week has gone as planned. Not much to say about training. Thankful that MuleX is over and that Jenny's wedding is over. I feel kind of fat and have been afraid to step on the scale. I am excited to clean my house and get back to a schedule. This is terrible, but I am kind of excited for the time change because I kind of enjoy riding the trainer in the evenings. Also looking forward to some snow and some night skiing. Have a buddy for this year.  

 Had a meeting with a special sub-committee of the Recreation and Parks board today. We want to do a flagship project. After lots of discussion it sounds like we might focus on water recreation. Bogart pool is falling apart, so to alleviate some of the stress on the facility and provide Bozeman with some more water recreation we talked about bring in sand and revitalizing the East Gallatin Rec area. Make the swimming safer and the beach nicer. We are also going to build a splash pad (fountains etc.) in a different part of the city. The developer of Moonlight is on the committee. I think he has connections to lots of contractors etc. I am very excited about this project. Everybody on the committee is a lets get er done kind of personality. We might even try and develop a foundation for Recreation and Parks so that we can generate our own income based off of donations. (Not sure why I put this in here. You appreciate community development, right? Now I just need to figure out how to get paid for it. )

Monday- Good swim. Only 3 of us at Masters. 3500 total. Feels good to feel good doing 3500. Fun workout too. Main set- 100 IM on 2:15, 200 build on the 50 (4:00), 300 pull (6:00), 200 negative split (4:00), 100 IM (2:15) - Do this 2x. Second time on the pull I used paddles. That worked my arms. Was right on the intervals, so not much rest. I would stand up, take a few breaths, and go again. 

Anyway, that seems to be all I have for now. Not a lot of focus, but getting there.

o/o 

Wedding Fun

This week. I would like to race MuleX and the state championship. I need to be there both days. MuleX might be hard if we don't have enough help. Going form 8000 ft to 5000 might be beneficial. Thursday we are having a meeting at 7:30 at our house. I can go swim, but will have to cut it short. Friday might be really busy organizing for the race. I think that I should not actually get back to a good schedule until next Monday.


The wedding weekend was pretty amazing. Jenny and Aaron are one lucky and beautiful couple. I am so glad they got married. We had a great weekend. The bike ride that they all did on Friday and Erik and I hiked was really fun. We started at 10,000 ft at the ski hill and climbed up to Deception Peak at 12,000 ft. Gorgeous. Then they rode down and we ran down. Erik beat them all down on his feet. Pretty funny. They are all a different crowd of bikers than we are used to. Full suspension heavy bikes, no helmets on the way up, elbow guards on the way down. I think Erik would have schooled them on his rigid.

The wedding day was a blast, beautiful, and very precious. Had a great time and was about to fall over from being tired at 9:30. Emotionally tiring and way too much small talk. Exhausting.

Sunday was another day of socializing. I was done after that. Not into small talk anymore. Went to the pool to stick my head in the water and ended up chatting with a guy who was Able and Audrey's (Aaron's grandpa) housekeepers lady. Funny. Small world. We then went to a place called Bandalier. It is where the Pueblo lived in houses on the cliff wall. It was really cool. Erik and I ran the trail to try and get some workout it.

On Monday Erik and I drove over to Taos and climbed the tallest peak in New Mexico. I chuckled because you said to get out in the boonies and we walked right into wilderness about 100 yards into the hike. I think the hike was only about 3.5 miles one way, but we climbed from ~10,000 ft to 13,000 ft. It was gorgeous but sooo frickin cold on top. This sweatshirt thing I bought at Ironman is windproof, I learned. Way more practical than I thought. We ate dinner that this great place in Taos. Good day. Nice to spend some time with my husband.

Tuesday
Gfit and a 30 minute run. I didn't get the swim in. Just didn't work. Gfit was hard. Flew home. Exactly opposite weather in Bozeman than Santa Fe. Really like it down there.

Wednesday- Back in Bozeman. Transitioning from vacation to work is pretty hard. Especially with MuleX on Saturday. Life will be hectic for another few days.

Fun

Wednesday
Had an awesome race. Got there early enough to do a lap and a few hard efforts. Wasn't actually feeling super hot in warm up. Amy F and Megan showed up. Damn. I had to ride hard. Started awesome. Was the first up the hill and onto the main course. Of course I immediately got passed by a few guys but not many. After lap 1 Megan did pass me. Then Alex L. rode with me for three laps. I followed his line the first, he followed me the 2nd, and the 3rd he yelled at me to pedal and told me where to look. Basically coached me the whole time.Finished the race without getting lapped by the A guys. First time this year. Must have been faster. It was really cool of Alex to do that for me. Helped with my skills a lot.

Thursday
Yoga at 11 followed by gfit at 1pm. Yoga was good but we did a lot of inversions using the shoulders, so gfit was kind of tough.

Friday
Went and did the swim you wrote up. Feeling good. Did a 30 minute run post swim. Had to distribute fliers for MuleX so sort of multitasked and got that done too.

Saturday
Amazing hike/run with Lawrence. We got to the base of the saddle of Sacajawea on the west side. Probably 4500ft of climbing. It was pretty straight up too. Hopefully I can get a few pictures posted. Hiked up and ran down. Quite the adventure with big cows with horns.

Focus

Excited about this year. The first year of Ironman I just wanted to see if I could finish one. The second year I struggled with the goal, probably because I was a little afraid of not making my goals. This year I think I already have a theme. FOCUS. I know I can do the distance, now it is about seeing how fast I can go, again, but I think I have a little more confidence this year. It may seem weird, but I can feel a change in my fitness.

I hate to do this but I feel like I have a laundry list of aches and pains that I need to take care of. Maybe if I write it down I will actually do something about them.
1- Achilles sore- lots of scar tissue on my right one
2) Arch (plantar fascia) on my left foot really, really sore. Hurts and feels good when getting out of the pool and your stand on the edge with your arch.
3) Right should acting funny. Sometimes when swimming it kind of pops and hurts. It is usually when I am trying to do drills and really work on my hand placement. Not sure if it is because I am crossing to much inside or outside, or maybe neither.
4) Right knee sore and stiff. It hurts to sit cross legged on the floor. Feels much better straightend out. Can't pinpoint a place of the pain, just the knee. Hurts to bend and unbend.

Don't think I am going to Hawaii for work, so putting Wildflower on the schedule. Hopefully I can figure out a good way to get there.

Wednesday
Race- Got a great start. It was a big start with guys and girls. Anna, Lisa, and I were probably in the top 5 people to the first turn. Then I blew up! Just kidding, a little bit. I did get passed by a bunch of guys after that. Then my chain guard started making this horrible sound so I stopped. Managed to curb the noise a little bit. John wouldn't give me the option to quit. He said I had to earn my nachos. Spent the rest of the race seeing how many girls I could pass. It was a cold day and a huge day at work. Rode directly back to work after the race to finish my experiment. Didn't get that run in. Sorry. Had nachos with the crew after that.

Thursday
Your gfit workout. Oh, that was a doozy. We had 5 people so added one extra thing to the core and arms workout. Big gfit day.
Swimming- lots of IM. 400 IM's. Wow, those hurt especially after the sledgehammer. My back was so tired and while doing fly my arms pretty much crapped out on me. Got to 2400 and called that swim a day.

Friday
Ran at lunch on hills for 45 minutes. Did a little run that I used to do on Pete's Hill. I go along the top and run up and down all the side trails. Takes 45 minutes exactly. One cool thing I noticed was that I think I have more power. I could really drive up those hills vs. a couple of years ago just trying to make it.

Saturday
Raced the MSU cross race. I felt pretty chill about the whole thing. We started with the Cat4 and Master B guys. The start pretty much sucked. Usually I get a good start, but this time didn't even try. Ended up having to get off my bike on the first hill because some guy couldn't make it. Oh, well. Rode really, really hard for the whole time. Ended up 3rd girl. The whole women's field was pretty big. Maybe 15 or 20 of us. Hurt really bad in places. I guess that is what I wanted to do. Ride as hard as I could. Passed a lot of people the first few laps in the sand pit, running!!

Sunday
Had a late evening drinking wine with book club friends on Saturday night. Missed Masters swimming and thought swimming was a was. Ended up going to MSU and doing the prescribed workout. I am starting to like the ankle band thing a bit better. I think it helps me with my rotation. I think one of my problems is that my hips and shoulders don't turn together. It makes me wiggly and lose speed. The band forces that or you sink.
Run- Went up New World Gulch. It is a lot steeper coming down that it seems going up. I wanted to take pictures of how flat it looked in one direction, but not the other. It was a nice run and has the potential to be a really good run. 5.5 miles to Mystic lake. I made it 1.5 miles or so from the lake and turned around. Run/hike time was ~2hours.

Monday
The air is really smoky today.
Legs are tired. I think I need new shoes. They were feeling a little sore in not the right places. Achilles is a little sore and so are my arches.
Warmed up for 30 minutes and did those 10x200's. They didn't feel super great. Got em done though and am glad for an evening home. I need to get on those achilles streches a little better.

Still fall in Montana.

Had a hectic week trying to do stuff with my sister, family, and friends. Erik and crew went to Butte for cyclocross racing. I just couldn't muster the energy. In my head I have to have things planned out and organized. I like knowing what I am doing and when. This week was rough because Jenny is so fly be the seat of her pants that I can't keep up.

Another thing I like (and don't like based on the above paragraph) about the off season is that I feel okay when I am a total shit show. It is okay to go to the cross race and not ride the course because I didn't get there early enough, or forget my swim suit and have to find time later in the day to swim. If fully exhausts me, but so does being very organized.

Tuesday
Gfit- I sent you the workout and I am going to try and run for 15-20 minutes before from now on.
Skills practice- Went to the cyclocross skills practice. I definitely need to work on my skills. On Saturday as I was doing an awesome run I was thinking about my biking skills. It seems like skills come with practice and with triathlon my practice is less that everybody else i.e. Lisa. Erik was giving me crap about mt bike riding when I bought her bike because she rides so much even her seat was worn out on the edges. I just don't have enough time right now to ride that much. Maybe in a few years.

Wednesday
Shit show Julie. Showed up a couple of minutes before the race. The course was backwards from the last two weeks. Didn't get to pre ride. I was also on my cross bike. Bumpy. I think I was faster on the mt bike. A few of the laps my skills really sucked, but I was trying to focus, and I think I was getting better on the corners. Going wide, taking the apex, going wide. Practice helped.

Had dinner right after the race with the parents and sister and fiance.

Thursday
G-fit- Oh, this is the workout I told you about. Can you write us a gfit workout for this week? Amy and Megan are gone.

Really wanted to do a mt bike ride with Jeny. Ended up hiking. I hate hiking. I like to run a trail and if it gets to steep then hike, but just hiking. Yuck. We trucked it straight up the M then over towards Sypes. Jenny is a firefighter and can walk really fast. I was having to run just to keep up with her on the downhill.
With Gfit and that hike I was pretty pooped that night. Went to happy hour with her friends and drank too much. IN bed early though.

Friday
Swim- forgot suit so had to go back. Therepeutic swim. Last set of 400's were pretty hard.

Saturday
am wedding shower for Jenny.
pm Went on a long run/hike. This time I started in Middle Cottonwood and went to where the trail drops down to Truman. Could make a seriously good loop out of this, going back down and then running on dirt over to the car. Wish I had thought of it before I left, but wasn't really sure how long it would take. Didn't really want to get lost by myself. Maybe I will do that or Cottonwood to the M next weekend. Just keep connecting more and more trails. It was so pretty out. Lots of leaves falling at the bottom, but still blooming lupine at the top. I guess the trail is 5 miles out and back with lots of climbing. Total time was 2:15. Had to hike a bunch after probably ~3miles.

Sunday
Master swim- kind of a fun workout. A lung buster.
10x50 on 1:10 breast stoke underwater for 3 off the wall. I couldn't do this. Would just pop up.
10x50 on 1:00 50 free with fins/50 breast with hands, dolphin kick. Could not quite get on 1:00. This was a lung buster.
3x 300 swim at 5:15. Couldn't get this either- came in on 5:36 and then 150 breast with 3 kick one pull. This was so slow. I had to swim 3 and then do this just to not have them wait for me too much. This was a lung buster too.

Run- Afternoon run on the trails around town. Legs were really sore from Saturday so went slow, but steady. Pretty flat. No major hills. Ran ~1hr.
Made some more pickles.

Monday
Going to head over to the track for your mile lung buster and Masters swim this evening. I hear it is a 4000. We'll see if I can get it in.

Fall in Montana. What a Wonderful Life

Tuesday- Masters swim. Really tired for some reason. I think the smoke is affecting my breathing. Having a hard time cardio wise at swimming. This usually isn't the case. Got out early. Had MuleCross planning meeting. Did I mention I am the race director?

Wed.- Little run at lunch. The lab seems really hectic and crazy right now. Need to get out to clear my head. Ran ~30 minutes.
          Cross race- Did the Wednesday night series again. Fun little race. Hard.

Went home after to eat a good dinner and get some sleep.

Thursday- Gfit at lunch
                 Swim after work with Masters. Good swim but boring. 2x300 descent, 4x25, 2x200 descend, 4x25, 2x100 descend, 4x25. Then work your way back up the ladder. Uggh. Stayed for the whole workout though. I think got in 3700. Annoying day. I hate it when really fast people swim in our lane. I was racing just to not get lapped and then they start their interval without waiting. Sandbaggers.

Friday- Swim after work. Did your workout. Like your workouts.

Saturday- Big run in the mountains. It is so beautiful right now, except for the smoke. Ran the M over to Sypes and back. Big uphill that requires some motivated hiking. Took ~2 hours. Maybe more like 1:45.

Sunday- Adventure ride. .Went over to the other side of the Bridgers. The theme of the day was "another good ol game trail" I think that is mostly what we rode (tried to ride) all day. This was a lot of carry the bike day. We saw a bear!!!! A deer and some very fresh elk poop. It was fun and tiring. Trip took about 4 hours.

Monday- My legs are killing me from the up and downhill on the run on Saturday. Am going to go on a little run today and then hit Master's this afternoon.
Run ended up being over an hour. It was so nice out and felt so good I just kept going.

So, it looks like I may have missed one ride and substituted it for a swim. I think I want to swim on Monday and and Thursday so I can ride on Tuesday and Wed but the change over got my all mixed up.

A few weeks post IM and on board for another one

Here is a list of races I would like to do:
Maybe some nordic ski races. Get my butt kicked by little kids. Nothing with a lot of pressure though.
National Championship Winter Triathlon- Looks like it is going to be at Homestake again this year. Not Sure on date. January?
Grizzly- For sure!!
BigHorn Canyon Triathlon- Same one we did in Lovell WY this year.
Wildflower- Still need to ask the boss about conference
If I do Rev3, then Bozeman Sprint? (it it happens again)
Rev3 Wisconsin followed by some time in Madison training on the course?? This might cost a lot and take some planning, but it would be a fun adventure. Or another thought would be to skip the actual Rev3 race and go to Wisconsin for a week or so for a training camp. I think it is worth it to know the course. My mom has some timeshare options and if this was flexible it could be affordable and comfortable. I could KOA it too though.
IM Wisconsin

That is as far as my thought process has gone this week.


This week- Not sure why running has seemed so hard. Haven't gotten much in.
Tuesday- Garage fit and Masters swim. I got demoted to the lower lane. It was kind of annoying because there were lots of new people and it was hard to figure out the pecking order. Not staying demoted. Going to the upper lane again.

Wed.- Well wasn't really planning on this, but jumped into the cross race that has now become a weekly series. Rode the mt bike which was probably faster since the course basically sucks. It was fun but not every week. More like a circuit race than a cross race. I was pretty pooped after. Got a couple of cool photos from Pascal Beauvais though.

                                        (yes my seat is too low, I never remember to fix it before I ride)
Thursday
Garage fit again and then hmmm. I think all I did on Thursday was garage fit. Can't remember what went on though. My ass was really sore for the next few days though. I think I was sort of tired from the race the day before.

Friday- Swam at lunch. Swam for an hour. Just did sets of 300's of things I could think of. Lots of drills and a few harder efforts.

Saturday- Had to do a little work and then Erik and I went on a ride on our cross bikes. Smoke had really settled in and it wasn't a lot of fun. Didn't ride super hard. Total time ~2.5 hours.

Sunday- Masters swim. Hard workout. Got myself up in the next lane.
              Run- Ran up Sypes Canyon. I don't think I ever went there last year. I really like running in the fall. It sort of sprinkled on my all day which was so nice since the smoke was so awful the day before. Ran all the way to the T. I think it is 3.5 miles. Have never actually ran all the way there before. The trail is pretty steep and consistent.

Sunday evening: Pickled and canned some beets. I feel like a fat cow. Did two inches grow on my stomach? Okay, I am sick of this resting thing. Lets get going on something now.

Monday- Ran at lunch for an hour. Like running in the fall. Legs were sore from the trek up the mountain.

Off season

Had a good week. Again some more stuff that I can't usually do. Also, had some more time to reflect on last years season and a little bit on life too.
I went to garage fit on Tuesday and Thursday and swam  with Masters in the evening. Thursday I was hurting at Masters. I don't think all the arm and back stuff along with a 600 pull at Masters followed by a big workout really went well together.
Thursday and Friday were both really busy at work so I didn't do anything on Friday. Left work at 8pm and my brain felt pretty worked from the day. Saturday I got a call from my parents in the morning and said they were going over to the Lewis and Clark Caverns to visit my cousins and their kids that were camping there. I went with them with the intention of going on a run on the trails. All the little kids wanted to go with me and we had quite the adventure. Isaac lugged  his bike up the trail and had a blast going down. He squealed all the way. We stopped and looked for bats in a mine and we saw a rattlesnake. I therefore got another crossfit workout carry kids down the trail. It ended up being really fun and I think the kids had a good time. Sunday I went through the two year pile of paperwork that has been building up on our hutch. Felt good to get organized but was very ansty to get outside. It was a beautiful fall day.  Went for a pretty long mt bike ride. It was either 3 or 4 hours. I can't remember what my watch said when I left. I have really been enjoying the 29er, if I could just get some decent tires I would be set. I was pretty pooped after that ride. I guess not in mt bike shape. Funny though how 4 hours seems like not much when a couple of years ago that would have been a huge ride. Kind of felt sad all day. My good Ironman friend called me that morning and said he and his wife were going their separate ways. Very heartbreaking. They were a really good couple. This is the 2nd friend I have to get divorced this year. It makes me hurt for him, but also very grateful that I have a wonderful hubby. I didn't think Lawrence would do another IM because of Carrie, but now I think he is on board for Wisconsin so that is good for him and maybe a little selfishly, me.

I also had some time to think about this years race season. In the end I am very happy with it. IM Canada was the ultimate goal and that turned out to prove that I can get faster. Not just that though, it was a great race, I was able to push myself farther than I thought, it was also the icing on the cake for a whole season training, racing, etc.  It is amazing what anxiety and the unknown can do to one's psyche. All the other races this year were great too. Looking back I feel like the season was successful. I actually won a couple of races and placed better than last year at others. Erik got after me after one race when I wasn't super happy with it and said "a few years ago you would have been so happy". So I need to think about that. Being more positive.

One week post Ironman Canada

Not a lot of adventuring. A lot of hanging out and doing things I normally don't have time to do, like stuff in the kitchen. Drank a lot of beer. Oops. I think I am getting over that now.

We have a new swim coach for Masters. She is also my Ironman training buddy and friend. She is interested in trying to get the swim clinic to happen sometime. Are you and Jeff still on board if it works out with the Masters board? I sent her all of the info that I got from you last time.

Didn't do much this week.

Wednesday- Picked up my boss's CSA. Made pesto from the huge basil plant.

Thursday- Rode bike to stadium to tailgate with Erik's family. Rode home. Legs didn't want to go around. Went to Plonk with Lisa.

Friday- Drove to Flathead. Long drive.

Saturday- Funeral. Wow. Funerals are exhausting. Met up with Curry's when they got done with race and drove down to Polson to see Lindsy.

Sunday- Pretty long bike mt bike ride. Really like new bike. Legs and lungs felt great. Not so skilled but wasn't too tired. Layed around on the dock with Lindsy and her family. Hung out with them that evening.

Monday- Drove back to Bozeman in the am. Went in to work to start and experiment. Canned some pickles. Really tired from everything over the weekend.

Tuesday- Garage fit. I am not going to be able to walk tomorrow. Want to swim after work with Masters.

IM Canada Race Report

Okay, I'm going to be honest here. I sat and stared at numbers from last year's race and stewed over them. I knew also knew I wanted to get ~11 hours. Except a few weeks ago Lisa asked me if I could qualify for Kona. I blew her off except she kept asking what kind of time I would need to get. She planted a seed that kept growing so I really had 10:51 in my brain. I also thought if I could run an 8:30/mile on the run I could get pretty close. I didn't know if I could do it (the run), but Kona would be pretty damn sweet. Also very scary so I didn't say anything. It was just in the back of my mind.

Okay, some race highs and lows without too long of a race report.

On Saturday I went out on a little ride and run. On the run I listened to this song on the album by Foster the People that has Pumped up Kicks on it. The main line of the song was "Don't stop, don't stop, don't stop" with a fun little beat to it.

Anxiety was super huge on Saturday and Saturday night. I was so nervous. Nervous for everything. The swim and then the length of the swim, then the length of the bike, and then the length of the whole day. Uggh. I kept thinking in 24hours this will all be over.

Sunday morning. Jamie and I went down to the start together. It was great. We chatted and I think just turned each other off from the nervous energy. We got our wetsuits on and as soon as they said we could head to the beach we did.

I wanted to get over to the other side before too many people got out there and I couldn't get through the crowd. I sat on the concrete step with this guy who gave me the rundown on how to start the swim. We were way over on the edge. Once the gun went off we waded out a little ways further to the edge. He also did Mont- Tremblant the week before and was a super chill guy. Great! Swim start was great. No people around me at all. I don't think it was the straighest I have ever swam. I think I kept veering towards the buoys then I would run into people so I would veer back to the edge. The water also got pretty choppy and it was hard to even see the bouys. The water was awesome though. Not cold and so clean and clear. I actually really enjoyed the swim.  The last 500 or so was pretty strange though. I think you were right, I was right in the middle of the pack because that is where is go sooo packed with people. I kept swimming from one open space to another. IF I put my head up it was more scary than keeping it in the water because there were so many people. I was comfortable by then though and just decided to go with the flow and get the swim done.

T1- Scooted through there as fast as possible. Transition makes me edgy. Saved a few minutes compared to last year.

Bike- Followed the plan. Got my butt up Richter Pass nice and quick. That pass was awesome. Like being the the Tour de France. The fans at that race were absolutely amazing. The big downhills I took a little conservatively. I didn't want to crash or hurt somebody else. Scooted my butt over the rollers. Then crap I ran out of water and went into a hole for a little while. I think that is where I felt the worst the whole day. Finally got out of that right before the next pass. Scooted my butt over that pass. Had a little less umph than going over Richter and the final 200 meters was just about getting the pedals to go around. Uggh. That hurt.
The next worst part was going into town. We had a headwind and a slight uphill. It was a lot of work for very littel gain. Also, not part of the plan.

T2- Scooted through that pretty quick too. Again, transition makes me edgy.

Run- I have to say I was pretty tired from the bike and coming into the run I was not really looking forward to it. I still had a long way to go. Running through transition really helped get my legs worked out though and by the time I started the run I was feeling better. I knew my time from the bike but I didn't look at my watch at all on the run. I wanted to just go as hard as I could and see where it took me. I thought settle into that pace that you can go forever at for the first 4 miles and then see what happens. Well, before 4 miles I was already out of that pace. I was age group girls and sped up to pass them. Kept the speed for a little while and then slowed again. At the aid stations I had that song in my head "Don't stop". I only walked a few steps in one aid station because I was dying for a few large drinks of water. I took it easy with short steps down the hills to keep from cramping and I just kept running up the hills. At about 6 miles to go I heard at an aid station someone say it is just 4pm. After that I couldn't resist, I had to check my time. At that point I knew I could make 11 hours it I just kept going. The last 6 miles seemed longer than the first 20. Every mile hurt worse and worse. I remember thinking come on fans I need some help here. They seemed to have moved on by that point. A girl, my age, passed me at mile 20 too. I had already passed her, but she must have run the 2nd half faster than the first. I tried so hard to stick to her, thinking that if I could just hold on a little longer than her she would crack. It didn't work. I faded. Bummer. I think she is the only girls that passed me.  My Dad was right at the 1k out and back and so proud, it made me cry. I finished in 10:52:50. Not good enough to podium. 10th place in my age group. I am a little disappointed to not have been higher, those girls are fast.
I felt okay after the race. No medical tent needs. Very tired that night though. I had wanted to go back down to cheer people on at midnight, but couldn't. It made me realize that for me, this year had been about my race and how fast I could go, not about the Ironman experience. Our hotel was right on the run course, so we did see the final runners go by though. How amazing for them. Those people worked for so many hours.

Really, really sore on Monday and Tuesday. Almost sick to my stomach sore. Tired too.

Let the tapering begin

This article is so good. I love knowing that even amazing athletes can have this kind inner dialogue.
http://www.cyclingdirt.org/coverage/249608-2012-London-Olympic-Games-Mountain-Bike-Event/article/14072-Georgia-Gould-Olympic-Race-Report

The week went as planned for the first week of taper. My work week was a little hectic and I was pretty fried on Friday night. The weekend was also kind of hectic. I was kind of crabby about it and trying to really focus on my taper was hard. Erik was gone this weekend, so finally on Sunday I was able to get up kind of early and get the ride and run done, then I stayed home and relaxed. Fell asleep on the couch for an hour or so, got pretty packed etc.

Okay, so now I am kind of freaking out a bit. I think I need Erik to come back and hang out with me. Get me to stop constantly thinking about the race. I also think it will help that my parents, Erik and I are driving together. Sort of a distraction.

You are going to think this is weird, but I don't have a ton of questions. I have my race day nutrition strategy figured out. I have my bike and wheels and repair system figured out. I have my clothes, shoes, socks etc. figured out. If it is hot I have a pretty good plan for taking care of that (on the run anyway). I sent you last years race plan. I modified it, but really want to talk about execution and strategy. (That part I left from last year)

Swim- I would like your input on where to start and how to execute the beginning. I am terrified of feeling like I am going to drown. I get really really panicky. Just for that reason I think I want stay off to one edge or let the huge wave start before me. What do you think. I know swimming in the race in not my forte and I am willing to give up the time.

Bike- On Sunday I rode up Hyalite for part of the interval. I rode hard, but was within myself for a hill. I know that going downhill I just don't ride that hard and that could give me a little break from the uphill. So, do I push it up the hills? I know pace over the race will change, but should effort too?

My run for this year too has a lot different feeling than what I wrote last year. I don't think that just finishing the race will take everything I've got. I have more in me than to do a casual run. Hopefully :). So when should I start to feel like I should push it? I want to settle in for a few miles. Adapt my legs, adapt to the temperature etc. It is sort of a gift that I want to give myself. An easy first few miles. I also think I want to give myself a few aid stations to walk through. I am thinking mile 4, turnaround, and mile 18?

Two weeks to go

This was a big week!  This was a good week! My whole mentality about the race has really shifted.  After talking to you on Tuesday I have been doing a lot of thinking. 1) I think being sick was making me feel a little like I wasn't ready, but now that I am over that I feel much stronger. The Bozeman Half I felt worse than I realized. 2) This week was good. Long swim, long run, and long bike. I have a lot more confidence. After my ride on Sunday I lost a lot of the freaking out nervousness and now am getting pretty excited. 3) Was that a lot of work this week? I thought it was but at the same time felt like I could do everything strongly so I was probably recovering well. I really think I would call this a breakthrough week for me. Part of me keeps telling myself that this is almost over (for now) just push a little harder.

My right knee has been sore coming off these rides. I think I should go and get a look at the fit again at some point. It doesn't seem to be the knee itself, but the back of the knee where the muscle is attached. Rolling it over a foam roller helps a lot
Also, two times this has happened. Coming out of the swim onto the bike the back of my leg cramps up. It is maybe my hamstring, but is seems like a muscle more on the inside. On Saturday it took a good 30 minutes to work out and was sore for the rest of the weekend. Thoughts? Maybe I should be stretching more.

Tuesday
Long swim- Okay, I guess I can swim that far. Thanks for settling my fears. There were a few breaks but I wasn't even that worked after this swim. Even did the different intervals at faster speeds.

Wednesday
Executed exactly! How did you know exactly how long that ride would take? I was impressed. I tried to run hard. The run was hard.
Thursday
Long run. Ran up to Mystic Lake. Does a little uphill all the way there and a little downhill all the way back equal flat? Once I got to the trail to the lake I knew there was no turning back. Total time was more like 3hours. 17 miles or so including jumping in. That was so fun. Did a lot of good thinking on this run. I have been able to sort through so much stuff this year on these long runs.

Friday
Missed the swim. Huge work day. Party afterwards for the coolest couple in town. Yeah Megan and Steve!

Saturday
Swim- Thought a lot about settling in and going for a really long time. After 30 minutes I was fine. The race will be fine.
Bike- As I was riding I found Jamie. Rode with her for a while.
Run- definitely didn't eat enough on the ride etc. and was pretty hungry at this point.
Workout seemed like no big deal, but I sure was tired when 11pm rolled around. I felt bad but wasn't so into the dance party. Amazing wedding, amazing people, good friends!.

Sunday
Did the ride by myself. 1st 18 miler I went up Hyalite. 2nd came down (easier one). 3rd rode back into town. 4th went up Sypes Canyon (last one on a climb). Fell apart halfway through 4th 18 miler. I think a layer of smoke rolled in, going up Sypes I started coughing and couldn't stop. Then I ran out of water and food. Wasn't super good about eating on this ride. Made it home though. Stopped at gas station for ice and water. This was probably one of the best rides of the year. Others were hard for other reasons, but this one was really focused. I'm glad for doing a few of these last rides by myself.
Run- Did the first 35 minutes fast. I would love to run the race at that pace, but not sure how long I can hold it. Lucky for me when I slowed down my legs felt great. I can always run slow. For some reason this was a huge confidence booster. I can try and run fast but I know I can run slow.

Monday
That dang swim that just doesn't want to happen. Left work a little after 5, at 5 when I had a couple more things to do realized it would take me longer than an hour to do the swim. Got up there as quick as possible and busted it out. Didn't get through the whole second set. Missed the 400 and the 200. My arms were soo tired though. This swim did not feel good.

3 weeks until IM Canada!!

Okay so I have some thoughts.

I was riding with friends the other day and we were talking about training and racing. Ryan said he likes to race but doesn't really like to train. It got me thinking. I think I like to train. I definitely train for a purpose, but racing freaks me out. I was doing my post long ride run the other day. It was supposed to be at IM pace. I was scaring myself thinking I can't run this fast for the whole race. It is really going to hurt and I don't want to hurt that bad. So why can I hurt that bad in training, but am scared to do it in racing? I feel this way about cyclocross too. Sometimes I just can't stand the pressure before the race and think about just letting go. Like last year at Rolling Thunder having Lizzie English on my tail all race just about killed me. I am also reading Apolo Ohno's book and he keeps writing about mental toughness. I just sit there and read it going I can't handle that kind of pressure. So, I am wondering, as a coach if you have ever worked with people on this. How can I get mentally tougher? Have more drive and an actual race situation to go beyond my comfort zone to win or at least pass that one last person in front of me.

Okay, now scheduling. My good friend is getting hitched on Saturday. 3pm is the bike decorating party so I want to be done training that day by then. I was thinking of taking a day off of work this week, if I have to. It would have to be Thursday because I have a huge huge day on Friday. I could also take off part of next Monday, but I would have to come in for at least half of the day.

When would be a good time to get a massage?

Wednesday

OMG. Huge work day. I did not see this one coming. Forgot how long a 5 hour incubation can take and then I had to do a timecourse which meant working every hour on the hour. Didn't get out of work until 8:20pm. So crap. I guess I missed this day too. Went home and did a 30 minute run. It was getting dark so riding was kind of out of the question and my energy level was so low at this point I just called the workout for the day a wash. .

Thursday

This was kind of a fun day. I got up and got and early start and rode around town. I rode for ~ an hour including a coffee and scone stop. Had a busy day at work so didn't get out at lunch, but got out after work. Stopped on the way and picked up the Advair.

Masters swim. Lots of people in the pool this day. Probably 4-5 per lane. I like it when there are lots of people there. We did a workout like the one you wrote for me a couple of weeks ago, except it was longer. 6x100 on 2:05, 6x100 on 2:00, 6x100 on 1:55, 6x100 on 1:50. I could barely make the 1:55 so only did 4 of them. I liked your workout better. Maybe better catered to my fitness. 6x100 is a lot of swimming and you just get worn out trying to go faster and faster. I think I should have started the interval on 2:15 or something. Anyway, I swam ~2700. Didn't push it too much.

Friday

Went to the pool and did the swim. It felt good. Still coughing a little bit.

Post swim run also felt good. My legs are finally starting to come around.

Went up to the parents house after work to see my Grandma and sister. Didn't get home until late and still had to pack and get ready to leave early the next morning. I don't know why I always wear myself out on Fridays.

Saturday

Flying solo for my bike and run. Erik, John, Lisa and crew did a bike mt bike in the Beaverhead mountains while I rode. Left Jackson, rode to Wisdom, did a little out and back out of Wisdom, and rode up to Lost Trails Pass. Put my bike on the Idaho border sign and rode back. Total ride ~96 miles and total time ~6 hours.My bike computer stopped working then came alive again but was screwy on the MPH, so I don't know ride time, average speed etc. Post ride run was good. Legs had a good turnover and felt pretty good. Met a few people touring on the route I was on. Kept smiling on the run about the interactions. I think this guy told me I was fat. He said I had big legs and asked me if I watched my diet. Ha Ha. Lisa got a kick out of that one.

Met up with the crew and had dinner and soaked at Jackson. Drove up the road a ways and camped out. Didn't get to bed until ~midnight. We were all so tired. Pulled into camp, set up our tents and passed out.

Sunday
Got up and ran. The crew were up making breakfast and had it ready for me when I got back. Legs and feet were stiff for the start of the run. Took a good 20 minutes to warm up and feel like running. Just ran up the road where we were camping. Nice and quiet. Good run.
Car tire almost blew up on us. Had a hole in it that we didn't know about. Had to put the spare on and drive really slow home. The crew went to bike  up Curly Lake and my mission was to drive home and head up to Hyalite. Got home ~4 and was so tired. Still planned on doing entire workout. Loaded up other car and headed up to the lake.
Swim- Good swim. When I first looked at the workout I thought "oh, that is a piece of cake". Then I got to calculating my time and probable distance. You are sneaky. Good workout. Hyalite was nice. The water was cool but not cold and it was pretty clear. The only problem is that there are lots of boats up there and some have motors. It was good practice for my sighting. I was especially glad when I scull almost ran me over. I headed up one direction next to the shore and came back the same way. Coming back there was definitely a wind or current or something because it took a lot more work. Good practice. Hopefully I can get in a couple more swims up there. Way better than the pond.

Run- Fail. Did not get run in. Bought a salad at Rosaeurs, went home and layed on the couch. Went to bed early.

Monday
Run- Glad I waited. Had a really good run. Kept a good pace the whole time. Went up South Cottonwood. A pretty gentle slope going up and a gentle downhill down. Run was very therepeutic. Felt really lucky to be in such a beautiful place doing what I am doing.

Tuesday
Looked at the workout this morning. Wow, big day.

Thanks Pascal Beauvais for the sweet photos!!

Oh, what a week.

Well this isn't going to be much of a training diary this week. There wasn't much training even going on. Tuesday I took off, Wednesday I took off, Thursday I rode to work, walked, and did some yoga. Friday I rode to work and didn't do anything else. Saturday I swam a lap, rode for ~40 minutes, and did a 20 minute run. Sunday, despite the week I raced.

Race report
Bozeman Tritons Triathlon
So Saturday I questioned racing. I didn't feel especially well in the swim, I coughed a lot on the bike, and my legs would not turn over on the run. I hate being in this position. If I don't race I will regret it and if I do race A) my race may not go well and B) I don't want to get sicker. I don't really know what decided it for me, but I ended up racing.

Matt Seeley was just going to pitch a tent somewhere. Since we have room I invited him to sleep at our place. Kind of embarassing since our house is such a wreck. Mister keeps bringing mice in at night and letting them go. I hope a mouse didn't run over his face in the middle of the night. Anyway, it was nice to have someone else there to get up at 5am with and also have a legend and a really nice guy staying at our house.

Swim
The swim was a 3 loop swim with a little run on the beach. The night before they told us we could use the whole beach, so I planned on running all the way out to the end so I had a straight shot at the bouy rather than swim at a diagonal. (See I was listening at your clinic). I was so disappointed when I got out on the first lap to see that they had coned off an entry into the water and people were standing in the way. I thought about trying to pass them and run down the beach anyway, but didn't. Swim was fine. 3 laps was kind of annoying and I was definitely ready to get out. I felt okay other than having to try and swim and cough or clear my throat while swimming a few times. It is kind of gross to be feeling a little ill and then swimming in water that seems like it could contain some nasty stuff. I was okay with my time. Right on the lower end of what I would expect, so that was good.

Bike
Settled in pretty quick. Got the timer for feeding going and started heading uphill. Thought about what we talked about and tried to get out a little harder than I normally would have. I knew Jamie would be out of the water first, so when I passed her right around Bohart I knew I was golden for the big W unless something happened. She was sweet, she said unless you do something stupid you got it. Kept the pace up over Battle Ridge and all the way to the turn around. Did the same coming back. Got a little distracted a few times trying to take care of myself. Tried to really get down the electrolytes and had to get those tabs into the water bottle. (Maybe endurolytes are better) Better than bonking though right. Coming down Battle Ridge I went into a coughing attack and out of nowhere totally threw up all over myself. So disgusting and worrisome. Trying to take in food ect and it just goes right out. Kept going. Went easier on the downhill. The Tritons need some help with instructing their volunteers. Uggh. That was hard. Nobody at Olson Creek with water. Also, flying downhill at 35 miles an hour. Maybe need an aid station in a different place. Amy Qqlo was awesome. She drove down and gave me a bottle. Came into the bike finish, lost my shoe and bottle. Uggh. So much for a nice graceful transition.

Run
The beginning of this run hurt more than usual. My stomach was kind of weird on the bike and despite needing nutrition my gag reflexes were super high and it was hard to take it in. I had a sort of stomach cramp/side ache at the beginning. I almost stopped to walk a couple of times, but fought it and kept running. I figured it would go away eventually. Also, it was hot out there. Holy Crap. The heat was a beast. The first aid station ladies weren't paying any attention. I don't think unless I asked for cold rags they would have even seen me. They started to scramble and I went on. Next aid station. Filled my bottle with ice and water and got a cold rag. Then the hills. I didn't know how hard it would be to "run" these hills after biking the other hills. I just couldn't make all of them and had to take a few steps walking. Here is an example of my inner dialogue for the hills.
Oh, there is another aid station. Yell, "do you have cold rags"? They scramble. Fill my bottle with ice, water, get a rag and shove it down my shirt. Another hill. Feeling good, got a good grove on. What I have to go downhill? This was not what I saw on the map. Really? Maybe I will just go the other way. No, you can't do that. Okay, fine. Down the hill and loop around to go up another steep hill. Really, another uphill? Walk a few steps. I hate this triathlon. Next year they need 250 people in this race. I haven't seen anybody for 5 miles. Where is everybody. Feel like crap. Aid station. Get a handful of electrolytes with my water and ice. I really wish I could stop wasting my time stopping at these aid stations to get what I need.

Okay now almost to the top of the last hill. Two cars go by and this gopher heads straight out of the bushes to smash his head into the back of the trucks tire. The poor little animal is writhing around on the ground. I yelled at the truck to come back and hit it again to put it out of its misery. I am mortified that this poor animal is suffering so. Being the scientist that kills animals all the time I go over to it, stomp my foot on the back of its neck and give its tail a giant yank. Crack. Cervical dislocation. Okay it is dead now. Keep running. What? What the hell did I just do? My bad mood is gone. That was crazy, where did that come from? Then finally around mile 7 I have the heat thing figured out, I have eaten much yet but I start taking on gels, I pick up my pace. Feel good all the way back into the finish. First woman in, got a win!

Definitely not a very fast race. Probably one of my slowest times. Sort of think about that and am unhappy, but I think the race went okay for the most part. After the race I wasn't completely devastated, but pretty tired (actually could barely leave the couch) last night and am really sore today. Also, considering I am probably still not 100% healthy things probably went pretty well.

Also, despite my misgivings about the race and how it was put on it was very moving to be out there with all those people. Jamie got 2nd, Jo took 30 minutes off his time from last year, when Ryan finished there was a big crowd of Masters and Tritons there cheering him on. I really value the Bozeman community of swimmers and triathletes and all the support they give each other. Also, that course is tough. I am feeling very fit and had a hard time with it. Hats off to some of those people who were out there for 8 hours. That took a lot of toughness, grit, integrity (you name it). This is a race that builds character.

Side notes:
It really bothers me that I have been feeling kind of nauseous on the bike. Not in training but racing Oliver and then this weekend. I would like to feel good. Maybe this weekend was the heat. Carrying my bottle and having cold water to drink or pour on myself anytime I wanted helped so much on the run though.

Kill me now...

I think this is the biggest week I have ever had. Thought I might keel over at some point, but I didn't. Not feeling especially strong (Monday afternoon) but felt strong at points throughout the weekend.

Notes: I get hot spots on my feet on the bike and run when it is so hot. Any ideas. I think I might go back to the Saucony Kinvaras. Even though they weren't the best for my legs my feet always felt good in them. I also found that wearing compression and soaking my feet with water on the bike helps. I don't want to soak my feet running though.

Have been backordered on nutrition for the past few weeks so have been using whatever I could find. Finally got Accelerade back and even though it cost me an arm and a leg and glad to be stocked up again. Something about that drink and I work really well together. In the past few weeks have tried GU endurance (or something like that) and CarboRocket. Neither one of them works as well.

Last year Erik and I did the same loop minus a few miles (Saturday's ride). I remember starting out slow and in general just staying slow. I remember Erik commenting on my slowness and me telling him we had a long way to go and I didn't want to push it. This year I am in a whole new mental ballgame. Definitely went out going harder. The same goes for the run. Two years ago I never would have pushed a 20 mile run. I would have just gotten through it.  Feeling good about where I am right now.


Tuesday
Rode Lisa's bike around town. Had a tailwind for a long ways and had to fight it to get to swimming on time so actually had a pretty good ride.
Swim- Good swim. Included 10x150 with a short break. These were hard. People started falling off at #7. I fell apart at #8 but finished them off. Total swim for this day was 3400. This evening I about fell over making dinner. Soo tired. I thought it was from the swim workout. Part of if might have been, but I really think it was the start of my monthly burden.

Wednesday
Was so tired on this day. Didn't have anything to do at work anyway, so called in sick. Lounged around for a while and then did the ride. Cleaned the car and lounged around some more. Was nice to have a break, but sucked to feel so tired. Ride was good. Went up and over Kelly Canyon and then up, down, and back up Jackson Creek. Got in some good climbing. It was hot out and I was parched on the way home. Need lots of water on these days.

Thursday
Not feeling any better. Still very tired. Run was hard. I felt like it was hard to breathe. Got it done anyway. That's when I emailed you. Kind of in a panic. What is wrong with me. It makes more sense now. I just need to remember.
Swim- had a good swim. I decided Masters swim is like bike racing. You go and go until you get popped. That's what happened. We did a set of 8x200 with a 20 second break. I held on for 6 and then fell off. It made me realize that Michael is a sandbagger though. He always leads and can swim faster than he does. He needs to move up, but then what would I chase down. Total meters 3400.

Friday
Was super busy at work. 40 mouse takedown and I even had help. Wasn't sure if I would make the swim and tried not to stress about it. Got out of work though and got the swim in. I was tired but this workout made me feel really good. I could start out going slow or with a lot of rest and mentally and physically worked up to that 1:40 interval. I did it!! I wasn't so sure I could, but I did. Yes!!!! It amazes me how swimming 100's just doesn't even phase me right now.


Saturday
Long ass ride! It started out with a sweet tailwind. We were flying at 25-30 miles an hour. I was really trying to ride hard though. Not just let the wind push me. Sitting in the aero position for 30 miles at a time and riding steady was my goal for the day. (We had water stops ~ every 30 miles). Then we had a headwind and it seems like the plan kind of evaporated. Lawrence and I stayed together. It was nice because we could pace each other and use each other to get a little break from the wind. I have ridden to much to want to be out there all alone. Then there was all this road construction and Lawrence went down. I think some of this really ruined our average mph for the day. Once we got water and regrouped though, the ride was good again. I was feeling strong at mile 80 and really discovered what my strong was when at mile 120 on my odometer the mph said 25. Really hunkered down and rode hard for this ride. Got the 20 minute run in. The only place to go in Ringling Montana was up a steep hill. My legs were not super happy, but it was okay. Maybe it wasn't a good thing. I was so tired that night. Didn't sleep well because of the heat. Woke up feeling pretty shitty on Sunday. Throat sore. I think from asthma/hot air/ breathing.
http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/116304539- My computer said 120 miles. The map is a little short.

Much needed water stop in checkerboard

 A) We fell in love with this water spout  B) Lawrence went down in the rock garden

Two Dot Highway. Big wide paved road leading to nowhere. Creepy. 

Sunday
Slept late because of not sleeping the night before. Got up and Erik made me a huge breakfast of crepes and bacon. Watched the final stage of the Tour de France. This was one of my favorite tours. I really liked Cavendish this year. Crazy to have the best sprinter and the yellow jersey on the same team.

Went over the the pond and honestly wasn't sure how I would feel today. I decided I had to give everything a try and see how it went. I could always bail early, but I had to at least try.

The swim wasn't bad at all. I started out slow and worked harder through the 5 intervals. I think #4 was probably the best. You tricked me into 1 hour of hard swimming. Think I need to wear my ghetto farmer john wetsuit for the race though. The water is getting warm.

Went home and made something to eat. Loaded the car with water bottles and goo and drove around planting food and water ~ every 4-5 miles. Took about and hour and a lot of mental patience.

Finally started the run. Took it pretty easy as directed for the first 10 miles or so and then ramped up the pace. Honestly, when I mapped the run and it calculated my speed I was kind of disappointed. I felt like my feet were moving faster than that. Maybe if you calculate the first half as slower and the 2nd half as faster that isn't so bad. If I really could hold the pace I ran for those last 10 miles in Ironman I would feel pretty good about my run. Wish had a split time. Regardless of my concern over time I felt pretty good the whole run. Better than I thought I would. I was hot and probably didn't get enough water but no other problems.
http://www.mapmyrun.com/workout/155639427

Monday
Didn't sleep well. Hot, probably dehydrated, and I had a hard time eating last night so probably in a serious caloric hole. So, I called in sick again to work (just for the morning). Oh, well. I have sick leave and I might as well use it to make sure I don't get sick right?
Actually feel kind of sick. My throat hurts and I am very tired. Trying to take it really easy. Not even walk around much.
Am going to go meet the girls for a ride. Lisa says she is exhausted too and so if anybody goes hard we are going to bail.

45 days until race day (or something like that)

This week was good for training. Those ride and run interval workouts were hard. The weekend wasn't a wash but definitely not my most focused weekend. I learned some good lessons though. I was going to go up to Whitefish for girls weekend the first weekend of August, but I don't think I can now. I cannot fit having fun in with wanting to be really prepared for IM Canada. There really aren't enough hours in the day. Mentally I will not be in the right place and I won't get enough sleep. I can have fun the first weekend of September and I can still have fun but stay home.

Maybe I need to swim a lot this winter?

Wednesday
Long ride. This ride was good. The weather was really crappy with storms blowing in that evening. I left work right at 5 and got riding so that it wasn't too late getting home. Found a really good spot to do these intervals but the wind was at my back and felt like I was cheating. Ended up doing 4 of them on Sourdough. Good road. A general uphill with a few rollers thrown in. 6x8minutes takes a while. I was definitely feeling it on the last two.

Thursday
7x1000. Went to the track. With the 1000 and the recovery I ended up starting at the same place each time. Kept a 7 minute mile interval right on each time. Because of all the numbers and the sort of monotony of the workout I really was thinking about how I felt. The first couple I felt good until the last 200 or so when I was getting more tired. Then the good just went to not. It is strange though how my legs just kept going and I could stay on the time interval.

Swim- Micheal uggh! He likes to correct my stroke and it drives me crazy. After all the work with Lawrence I know this isn't going to happen overnight and Micheal talkes like it will. I think I just have to smile and nod. We got in ~3400 in the workout. The workout was a lot of stroke. We did a lot of fly just for the warm up. I was so sore the next day and couldn't figure out why for a while. That fly did me in. I substituted some of the stroke for free. Micheal loves breast and Julie doesn't like to free for very long so the lane does lots of IM.

Had a good talk with Jinx and the Mule barbecue this evening about stuff. One thing we talked about was recovery. I feel like my fitness is getting better because I can tell I recover faster. Not only between say intervals, but between a hard Sunday and a Monday.

Friday
Swim- got in and got er done. I really like these swim workouts better than the Masters ones. I just don't have the drive to swim a 1k pace. I was a little slow.  Drove up to Missoula with Shit Show 1 and 2 (Erik and Cory Hardy. Didn't leave until ~6:30. Got in pretty late and didn't get a ton of sleep.

Saturday
Got up late with SS1 and 2. The way those boys roll drives me absolutely bonkers. Barely got registered and ready to race in time. Long story but Cory didn't have his shoes and raced in flip flops. He must be a talented downhill rider to pull that one off.

After they raced headed over to the pool. Got the swim in. Forgot sunscreen and was anxious the whole time about burning my face and neck. Think I was okay though. I really like that pool. Swimming outside is soo nice.

Ate some snacks and then headed over the the Rattlesnake for some running. This is where I am talking about not being mentally there. This run was hard. I didn't really have a specific route to follow, so I just went up and back. My legs and breathing felt fine, but I just didn't feel like running. Ran for 2 hours and called it quits. Wasn't until the last 20 minutes that I got in my groove again. I wish I had planned more of an adventure run, but I don't know how all those trails link up and hadn't done my homework.

Sunday

Met up with John, Lisa and the Bozeman crew. I think there were 8 of us. We had a really good ride.  There is no way in Bozeman that it could rain on you and you would still be warm. When it rains here it gets cold. It was fun to ride in the rain. John let me ride his carbon Niner. Can I have one please? Actually I might buy Lisa's old bike. A 29er. I am taking it for a spin today to see how it fits. I felt really good. We did a trail that is named "unprotected sex". Going down took forever and I thought this is going to be a long uphill. It wasn't bad. John had only one chain ring on the front so at a certain steepness I had to stand up. My stomach muscles are still sore. Lots more climbing and descending. I think we rode for ~4hours. I didn't feel completely devastated after riding but felt like an old lady getting up on Monday morning. 

Monday
Tired this am. Felt like an old lady getting out of bed. Went on the little run at lunch. Legs felt like pegs to begin with, but after warming up had a nice run.

The weather was crappy (kind of rainy, cloudy, and cool) didn't motivate to get to the river. Went to Bogert and swam for 30 minutes. Just easy. Bogert is going away next year, so I might as well swim in it a few times to say good-bye. That pool has been loved to death. I think it is time for it to go away.

Look at the only clean one (Erik)

Bender- your helmet is not that cool.

 Mister finishing breakfast

Something about these long rides makes me want a Coke