October 2009

October 2009 was a little less intense than I would have liked it to be. I am still struggling with recovery but seem to finally be able to find a good scenario where I am not sore all of the time any more. I am finally running more distance, not fast at all, but running more. I feel like after this week I will be ready for the Philadelphia, not the day I was expecting it to be, no marathon, no PR but it is ok. At least I am trying to get back to where I need to be so that I can start Ironman training this month. I started lifting weights and doing ab work too. I always slack off in the biking and swimming after my last triathlon of the year and start to focus mostly on running so it wasn't so surprising that I did it again this year. I love running in the fall though. So, even though my stats aren't great for the month, they are ok. November will be even better! Question though, once you have done an Ironman, can you ever feel like you are doing enough when you are not training for an Ironman (I used to do these times and distances on a good month before training for Ironman now I feel like I am soooo out of shape). I just want to be happy with not killing myself in the gym and on the road. Be ok with taking 2 rest days a week so that my body can heal and recover normally. Be happy with a run of 1 hr instead of thinking that it isn't long enough. Some day I think I will be normal again!

October 2009
Swim distance: 0.76 miles
Swim time: 32 min
Bike distance: 47.52 miles (on the trainer again so the distances are lower)
Bike time: 4 hrs 3 min
Run distance:43.78 miles
Run time: 8 hrs 21 min
Total distance: 92.06
Total time: 12 hrs 55 min (I used to do that in 1 week!!)

It's been a while

I know I haven't blogged in a really long time but life has been interesting. After Ironman I took 1 full week off and then started to bike and swim and then about 3 weeks later I felt up to running. I felt ok during the summer when I was exercising but that is about it since I was in Keene Valley and on vacation too. I have since gone back to work (teaching) and my legs did not like to stand all day and then go out and exercise. My body did not like to run at all once I went back to work. The North Elba 1/2 marathon was put on hold. The Lake George Triathlon was not done. I have had to change the Philadelphia Marathon to the half marathon in November. I have really raced (except for the Rutabega 5K in Keene Valley) since Ironman. My upper back has been really effected by Ironman and I still have knots under my shoulders. The cut I got on my leg the Wednesday before Ironman isn't completely gone - still in healing/scarring mode. I gained 8 lbs in 10 weeks (not sure why), finally I am down a couple now which is great. I was not recovering from workouts the way that I used to and I just felt horrible when I was exercising. I decided that maybe if I started eating meat again I would feel stronger muscularly. 3 weeks later, I am not sure if it is making a difference yet since my intestines don't like meat very much and I hate the taste of it. So, I am basically taking one day at a time, listening to my body, and hoping that all will be ok. I would like to start training for next years Ironman in November so I am training and trying but now I am lifting and trying to get my legs and momemtum back. It will happen, I just need to be patient. I am excited to get back into yoga and have been doing much more in October after taking an entire week off again in September. I will be stronger and I will be better next year. I will be great.

Here are August Stats and September stats:
August:
swim distance: 2.1 miles
swim time: 1 hr 30 min
Bike distance: 129.39 miles
Bike time 9 hrs 13 min
Run distance: 13.75 miles
Run time 2 hrs 29 min
Total miles: 149.24
Total time: 18 hrs 57 min
September:
Bike distance: 56.14 miles
Bike time 3 hrs 57 min
Run distance 35.16 miles
Run time 6 hrs 34 min
Total miles: 94.3
Total time: 12 hrs 7 min

Total mileage through September:
Swim distance 67.01 miles
Swim time: 45 hrs 38 min
Bike distance: 2002.13 miles
Bike time: 150 hrs 5 min
Run distance 445.91 miles
Run time: 84 hrs 54 min
Other distances 12.01 miles
Other time 18 hrs 22 min
Total miles 2527.06 miles
Total time 298 hrs 59 min (about 12 1/2 days)

Wow!! That is a lot of working out. More to come to.

In the news

http://www.altamontenterprise.com/Weekly%20Pages/Feature_Story.html

I was interviewed and was the feature story!!! Crazy!!! I don't even know how they knew about me or how they knew I did the Ironman!

Video link of Ironman Weekend

Here are the links to two videos on youtube that my father edited together. It shows the weekend and the chaos that surrounds it very well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFkxlCM6cws

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIUPgPJMtC4

July Stats and recovery update

So, after Ironman was just a huge feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. Like our new shirt says "Life is better after 140.6 miles." It is just an amazing feeling that you can do anything. Legs one week out are feeling better but I am missing the training. I went out for my first workout post-Ironman yesterday and it felt horrible. My upper back still has a lot of muscle soreness and pain but I am stretching regularly. Hopefully this week will allow for better active recovery. I can't expect much as I did do 140.6 miles in one day and I need to heal.

Here are my stats for the month of July and overall stats for the year (it is amazing that one person can do all those miles). If you had asked me 4 years ago if I could do this, I would have said it was impossible. Remember for July, 2 weeks were for tapering and I took an entire week off after Ironman and 140.6 miles of that was done in one day, crazy:
July stats:
Swim 10.66 miles
Swim time 7 hrs 7 min
Bike 413.99 miles
Bike time 30 hrs 7 min
Run 96.12 miles
Run time 19 hrs 16 min
Total miles 520.77
Total time 56 hrs 30 min

2009 year to date stats:
Swim 64.91 miles in 44 hrs 7 min
Bike 1816.6 miles in 136 hrs 55 min
Run 397 miles in 75 hrs 51 min
Other 5.01 mi in 11 hrs 1 min
Total 2283.51 miles in 267 hrs 55 min (a little more than 11 days of working out)