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October 30, 2010

More Off-Season - In Pictures!

The last couple of days have been busy but fun! Lots of off-season activities! :)

On Thursday I went back to masters for the first time in a while and LOVED it. Oh how I missed you masters swim! I was rusty though and messed up the workout within about the first 2 minutes (I swear I need my own little chalk board to write these workouts down on so I can remember them :).

Then I went home to do some work before meeting Oscar in the afternoon for the high school district cross country meet!

Lead pack in the girls race. The district meet is held about 40 miles north of the city and it was cold up there! And most of the leaves were already gone.

Coach Shutt wishing he wore more than just a thin windbreaker! :)

I love cross country and running in general because of the simplicity. Follow the white line. Run as hard as you can. First to the finish wins!

Both of Oscar's team qualified for state! Here are the girls - only one senior should make for another great team next year. Way to go Lebo!

On Friday after work Oscar and I went to the Mt. Lebo vs USC football game. It was a big matchup because both teams were undefeated in the section. Mt. Lebo won to take the section title - onto the playoffs!

Friday night lights! High school football (and football in general) is big in Western PA.

Ben (who can be located in this picture with the big red arrow) is an awesome triathlete and one of my favorite training partners. Triathlete (and math teacher and husband to Laura and 10,000 other things) by day and football coach by night!

Then this morning O was running a 10 mile race so we headed to Moon, PA!

Down closer to the city, there are still some pretty colors on the trees!

When you are waiting for everyone to finish you take pictures of stupid things (like your feet). And this was only a 10 mile race - I can only imagine what watching an IM must be like!

You also take pictures of planes (Moon is near the airport, hence lots of low-flying planes).

Our cousin Karen wins the 5K!

And despite a wrong turn and a super hilly course, O finishes strong with a great time (and 6th overall! :)

Off-season is fun! Tonight we are off to dinner with friends. And then tomorrow, my first run in 3 weeks. I CANNOT WAIT! :)

Hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!

Posted by beth at 4:54 PM | Comments (10)

October 27, 2010

A Little Of This And That

I feel a list coming on!!! :)

1) Back to training and feeling good! I was so happy to get to the pool Monday morning. Swim in my favorite lane and talk to my favorite lifeguards! Happy day. Tomorrow is back to masters. I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW HAPPY THAT MAKES ME! :) I've also ridden my bike twice, both short, easy sessions on the trainer. Feels so good to get the legs moving again.

2) Besides s/b/r, I decided this off season I was going to try something new - TRX! I've been wanting to try TRX for a while now but it didn't seem to be the kind of thing that you started mid-season if you know what I mean. I asked my coach about it, of course, and he was agreeable with the understanding that I would also be doing my usual weight lifting regimen and that I wouldn't go crazy with the TRX. Deal! I have a friend that is a personal trainer and has the TRX system set up in her home gym so yesterday I had my first session with her learning how to use the thing. FUN! And painful I might add! The planks were the hardest hands down. OUCH! And this morning when I woke up? Legs a bit sore, arms a little more sore...but core...OH MY. OH MY! It was the type of sore where you can't sit up out of bed. The planks did me in! I guess you can tell where my weakness is. :)

3) Right now I am teaching two nutrition classes, one of which is to a group of newspaper reporters. I love them. They are a funny and responsive group and we have a good time each Wednesday afternoon. But they are always asking me if I've read this book or that book. People - I don't read books! (kidding, sort of...) Anyway, one book they did ask me about that I had read was this one:

I haven't thought about this book for a long time but it is such a good one. I recommend it to you all - honestly it will only take you and hour or two to read it. Of course it simplifies eating and food choices more than they can probably be simplified. But that's what I like about it! Anyway - get it and read it and let me know what you think!

4) Roxy is cute (would this be a list without this statement?).

5) We have been having the best weather known to man and I love it! If anyone ever wants to visit Pittsburgh, I recommend fall as the time to come. Our colors are amazing and the weather is cool but still somewhat warm. I promise to take lots of pictures tomorrow at the cross country meet so you can see our fall beauty!

Have a great night everyone!

Posted by beth at 7:14 PM | Comments (10)

October 24, 2010

Back On The Horse (bike) Again!

Yahooooo!! I survived my 2 weeks of time off and it's now time to get moving once again!

My swim bag is packed.

Petey is back in his rightful position, on the trainer and in front of the TV. :)

All is right with the world! :)

I'm glad I took 2 weeks totally off. It gave me time to totally catch up on life. Catch up on sleep. And most of all, my body got a chance to heal. All the little aches and pains melted away.

But now I'm really glad those 2 weeks are up! Back to training! But not really, because I don't think you can call 3 swims and 3 bikes (over 7 days) with nothing longer than 45 minutes "training". :) Back to "moving" is more accurate. Still, it's something and I'm excited! I mostly REALLY want to swim. Man do I want to swim. I CANNOT wait to get back to masters!

I also really, really want to run because, um, there is nothing better than fall running! But I decided to give myself one more week before I add that back in for 3 total weeks off from running. It's killing me but I just feel like it's the right thing to do and listening to my gut feeling is a good thing (even when I don't like what it tells me).

I did get new running shoes though so I am ready to go! Yesterday after work O picked me up and we headed to Fleet Feet. I haven't bought a pair of running shoes at an actual store for YEARS! It was great because the sales lady took time with me and I tried several different options. Very nice. I think I want to quit all my jobs and work at a running store for the rest of my life. How fun would that be? :)

Speaking of running, I am very excited because this Thursday I get to go to watch the high school district cross country meet. This is the meet that qualifies schools and indivduals for the state championships. Big deal! Both the boys and girls teams that Oscar coaches have a good chance of making it to states.

Anyway, in anticipation of this event I decided I should dig through some of my old photos from when I ran in the very same meet. Try not to laugh too much at the big yellow basketball shorts...

I have no idea which year this is but it's definitely the district meet. The girl right in front of me in blue and I were big rivals and then we both went to Penn State, became roommates and became great friends. Oh, and she introduced me to Oscar. :)

My freshman year in high school my team won the state championship. That was SEVENTEEN years ago. 17. Oh. My. Lord. This is us, all looking about 12 years old. Such great memories though and friendships that last a lifetime. I'll let you guess which one I am. Man, braces were not a good look for me. :)

And finally, I couldn't help but scan this one in. These were two of my HS teammates and although I can't be certain, I think we dressed up funny on purpose. Or at least I hope! (oh my) Anyway, I'm laughing because I noticed the high socks. Early signs of compression socks? I was destined to be a triathlete!

FUN TIMES!

More fun times in the pool tomorrow morning. Yeeeeeeehaw! :)

Have a great week everyone!

Posted by beth at 7:12 PM | Comments (8)

October 19, 2010

Dietary Supplements: Be Safe, Beware

So today I listened to a webinar about dietary supplements. It was actually quite good, which made me happy that I took the time and spent the money on it. Because I think we all know some CEUs (for our various professions) are more about checking off a box than actually learning something.

I heard more about USADA and WADA than I ever wanted to know. I also heard more about creatine than I ever cared to hear (YES, it works - I get it! :). And my eyes turned a little buggy after looking at chemical structures for more than a few slides. I felt like I was a sophomore in college again, sitting in organic chemistry and wondering how in the world I was going to remember all that stuff! :)

One really interesting part of the lecture though was the information about the laws regulating dietary supplements in the US (there are none) and about the safety of what's out there. After a while I was starting to become convinced that every supplement is contaminated. There was definitely a lot of doom and gloom.

Of course I knew that the FDA really has no power to prevent any old product from popping up on shelves. But it was a great reminder to me. Which made me want to remind YOU ALL that dietary supplements do not undergo the rigourous testing procedures that drugs and/or our food supply does and therefore you have to be very careful. Remember that if a product claim sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Remember that supplements interact with medications and foods and other supplements so if you are someone who takes a whole fistful of pills (or even just more than one) be careful what you are doing! And most of all, remember that many of the companies that produce these supplements are less than reputable and know and understand that they aren't closely regulated. Which means there are some products out there that are downright scary.

As a professional I have always been somewhat anti-supplement. EAT the nutrients that you need. Pills don't solve the world's problems. But at the same time I do have to admit that there are some truly worthwhile supplements out there. No, not supplements that are going to make you lose 15 lbs in 1 week or improve your mile time by 15 seconds. But supplements that through time tested research have proven to be of some benefit.

Anyway, after posting something on FB about the webinar I listened to, I got a few comments and about 10 emails wanting to know which supplements were safe and which weren't. Hmm...don't these people know I have tv to watch and I don't have time to be looking up every single supplement in the book? (KIDDING!) But seriously, I wanted to provide a few reputable websites where you can do a little research on your own. And that's the key. There isn't a regulating body out there doing the research for you BEFORE these products hit the market, so you have to be the responsible one and look it up yourself. And if you need help, don't hesitate to ask. :)

http://www.consumerlab.com/
http://www.nsf.org/consumer/dietary_supplements/
http://www.usp.org/USPVerified/dietarySupplements/
http://naturaldatabase.therapeutic...research.com/home.aspx?cs

The last one is probably the best and of course that's the one you need a membership to, of which I have. So let me know if you can't find the answers you are looking for and perhaps I can assist you. :)

What supplements do I take? I take a multivitamin and vit D (because my serum levels were low-normal). Pretty benign stuff. But I'm also strongly considering glucoamine sulfate because I'm pretty sure I have some osteoarthritis in my right knee and I still need these knees of mine to be fully functional for a loooooong time to come. :) And also because glucosamine is one of the most heavily researched supplements and has very positive results. I looked it up and feel good about it. Now I encourage you to do the same if there are supplements you are wondering about.

One supplement that I was actually asked to test out and evaluate (I seem to get a lot of these requests) recently was Recovery e21. As full disclosure (I got scolded for not doing this before :), I received some free Recovery e21 product to test but I am not sponsored by the company and nor will I be.

So what is this stuff? Well you can read about it on their website but basically it's an organic electrolyte supplement marketed towards athletes for recovery. It contains a micro-algae known for it's anti-oxidant activity - Dunaliella Salina. It can be used much like you would use electrolyte tabs (before, during, after training, especially training in hot/humid conditions).

Of course I first checked out if it was safe. Kind of rude of me to yap on about supplement safety and then recommend a product that wasn't. ;) And indeed Recovery e21 appears to be a safe electrolyte replacement. Now how about effectiveness? Well we all know (at least we all SHOULD know :) about the importance of nutrition in recovery. I harp on my clients about getting in their carbs and protein within 30 minutes (blah, blah, blah) but what is EQUALLY important is fluid and electrolyte replacement. Replenishing the fuel is key but also keeping on top of and replenishing the fluid and minerals lost - just as important. And this is where I think a product like Recovery e21 comes into play. Especially for those that train/race in hot conditions and for those that are less than diligent about eating well after workouts and races. It's definitely a product I would check out!

Safe supplement taking to you all! :)

Posted by beth at 8:02 PM | Comments (13)

October 17, 2010

Off Season!

I am the kind of person that doesn't really like the off season...at first. I love to train and I REALLY love to race and I'm always a little sad when it comes to an end after the last triathlon of the season. I don't get to race again until April. APRIL! But I know the importance of rest and recovery and I understand that without doing this part of the year properly, there is no way for me to achieve the goals I am already excited about for next year. So rest it is.

The thing is, after a while, I really start to like the off season too! Like this weekend for example. I didn't set an alarm for either Saturday or Sunday and both days I slept 11+ hours! ELEVEN hours! Whoa, my body must have needed that! I can't remember the last time I did that. And boy did it feel good.

I've also been getting the little things done now that I have time - things that kept getting put to the bottom of the list while I was training and racing a lot. (and the list is still long, so it looks like the off season will continue for a while :)

Things like:
1) pulling out all the old dead flowers in our flower beds (okay, I guess technically Oscar did that :)
2) going to Target to get all those little things we've needed for a long time
3) catching up on all the CEUs I have been putting off all year (oops!)
4) dentist, car, vet appointments (!)

And the list goes on...

Also, last night at church Oscar and I picked up our box to fill for Operation Christmas Child. This is one of my very favorite things to do each holiday season. And this year we will be able to see where our box goes!

We filled our box with bouncy balls, a stuffed bear, socks, a wash cloth, stickers, a tablet, a ruler, pencils, a sharpener, toothbrushes and toothpaste. And Oscar insisted on a solar powered calculator (it was on the suggestion list). Once a math teacher, always a math teacher! :)

As for training - I haven't done any! I promised myself I would take 2 full weeks off of swim/bike/run/lift before I started back slowly. So far so good! I want to let all the aches and pains heal. But I have been doing some walking because how you can NOT get outside during this beautiful fall weather!

This morning Roxy and I took a walk on my favorite trail while Oscar did his long run.

When the tail is curled and the nose is to the ground, the Roxy Dog is happy!

Beautiful blue sky on an awesome fall day! Fall in Pittsburgh is one of my favorite times of year! One more week and the leaves will be at their very peak of color. Lots of green ones still at this point.

My kind of trail!

Might have to check this race out! :)

Oscar finishing his run. He's got one more race this year - a 10 miler in late October! :)

Someone needed a bath when we got home!

Hope everyone is enjoying fall!

Posted by beth at 2:33 PM | Comments (8)

October 14, 2010

Ironman Odds & Ends & More Pictures

I promised more pictures - so here they are! :)

But first, a few things I forgot to mention in my race report:

1) It was really cool to watch the pro race unfold with my very own eyes. I turned into a spectator there for a little bit on the run. Oops! :) All I can say is Mirinda Carfrae can run like the wind. Holy moly. She looked faster than anyone out there, pro men included! :)

2) I didn't talk much about the conditions of the day in my race report. Mostly because, I didn't really notice them too much! And I think that's due to two things: (1) I think it might have been a relatively mild Kona this year (although of course I have nothing to compare it to) and (2) I think I had prepared myself for something MUCH, MUCH worse so when it was just "kind of" bad, I was mentally okay with it. Yes it was hot (the paper the next day said temps of 102+ degrees were measured on the Queen K) and yes it was windy (getting nearly blown off bike is evidence of this) but the conditions did not dominate my race thoughts like I thought they would. I was just so focused on the distance and getting through the LENGTH of the day that I didn't quite notice all the outside factors.

3) The volunteers were just so darn amazing. I think I already mentioned this but it's worth mentioning again. They lifted my spirts on more than one occasion!

4) After the race my ankles disappeared. But I can seem them again! Yeah! :)

5) I already can't wait to do another one. I am so, so satisfied with my race BUT of course my little pea brain is already working on what to improve and how I can get faster. Oscar always does this thing for me where he sorts all the times for each discipline and ranks everyone in everything and after looking at that my heart is on fire for more! Call me greedy but I am so excited! And P.S. - after some analysis I've determined the run is WHERE IT'S AT! The top AGers weren't bad at anything but they all had really good runs. Hmm...my race was pretty much the opposite... :)

And now some more pictures:

One of my favorite things about Hawaii was the beautiful flowers:

And also seeing so many friends including Angela and Zach!

And my teammate Kelly!

My grandfather's favorite place to hangout - the condo's lanai:

I can always spot Oscar on race day with his bright yellow shirt!

LOVE the ocean:

The END! :)

Posted by beth at 9:34 PM | Comments (8)

October 12, 2010

Kona - The Race Report

Oh my. How does one even begin a race report such as this? I'm sure I could write an absolute NOVEL, but I know nobody wants to read that so I'll try to be brief. Actually, I could sum it all up in one simple sentence: it was truly all that I ever imagined it would be PLUS 10,000 times better and I feel INCREDIBLY grateful for the entire experience!

But since I don't want to unpack, do my laundry or start answering all the emails in my inbox, I think I'll procrastinate it all by going into a little more detail. :)

The week leading up to the race was awesome. My parents, grandfather and I got into Kona on Sunday mid-day. We spent the afternoon/evening learning the lay of the land, getting groceries, getting settled and I built up my bike in anticipation of riding on Monday.

I think I did a pretty good job during the week of resting up and relaxing but also experiencing at least SOME of the awesome opportunities that are offered during the lead up to the race. My gosh - there is so much out there to do! Things on the island to see and do, this lecture and that party and this breakfast and that autograph session. Overwhelming! Of course I wanted to do it all! But I also wanted to be alive enough to race on Saturday. :)

I also had some training to do, of which I was very thankful to get to do with my teammates! I cannot tell you how happy I was to have both my coaches at the race in addition to 29 other MAO athletes. A HUGE wealth of knowledge to say the least and for this first time IMer, invaluable beyond words!

Swimming at the pier in the mornings was so awesome. I could literally swim in that ocean all day, every day! It's like a real life aquarium - the water is so clear and you can see all the fish going about their business right below you! Words cannot describe! I also had two rides with a few of my teammates - one on the Queen K, closer to town and then one out towards Hawi so I could experience the cross winds before race day. Yipes - those winds are scary!

Oscar arrived on Thursday afternoon and I was so excited! I couldn't wait for him to also see it all and of course, be reunited with him in general. Team Shutt is not a very good team without him. :)

My mom and I sitting by the swim start after I registered for the race on Tuesday.

Best team ever! The 30 MAO athletes that qualified for Kona this year after our team breakfast. Hearing Mark talk about some of his Kona experiences over the years never gets old.

O and I at the welcome dinner. Poor guy had been up for like 3 days straight at that point. ;)

Friday at the bike check in. It truly took me most of Friday morning to figure out what to put in all those bags! :)

The race started to become very *real* for me on Friday at the bike check in. Hey, I wasn't on some Hawaiian vacation - I was here to RACE! :)

On race morning I simply felt EXTREMELY excited. It was almost surreal, that I was finally going to get to do this! And that I was fortunate enough to do it on triathlon's biggest stage. I have to admit that I was always one of those people (prior to doing IM myself) that always thought "what is the big deal about this race?!" There are plenty of other big races in the sport too you know! But all I can say now is, I totally get it. I think it's hard to explain or understand unless you see it and feel it yourself, but Kona lives up to all the hype and more. As my coach Luis said, it's not just a race, it's an event. And it's the grandest event of them all!

And now it was time to race!

Saying goodbye to Oscar before I get in the water is always the hardest part of race morning for me. And this time it was REALLY hard because I wouldn't be seeing him again for a long time! But luckily I found Chad and Matt, two other Pittsburghers doing the race, and my teammate Kelly, to sit with in transition before we were permitted into the water.

Once we were allowed in, I swam around some. PRAYED. :) And tried to soak it all in. With 15-20 minutes to go they started to line us all up as everyone piled into the bay. Oh my. LOTS of legs and arms and bodies in a small space. The tension was building to say the least - the drums were getting louder, the pack was getting tighter, the paddle boarders were pushing everyone back. INTENSE! Again I found Chad in the water and thanks to a lot of great advice made perhaps the best decision I made all day by lining up FAR left (like even beyond the floating car).

And then BOOM! Canon went off and I was starting my very first Ironman at the World Championships!

I expected the very, very, very worst from the swim. I thought I was going to get pummelled endlessly. Get kicked in the face. Goggles torn from my face. I expected to fight for water every inch of the way. But you know what? It wasn't bad at all! I'm telling you - if you ever do this race - START LEFT!

Not to say I didn't take a few blows, of course I did. But I also had a lot of clear water and even getting around the turn buoys wasn't bad. I'm sure I ended up swimming a little further because I wasn't taking THE most direct route to the first turn but let me tell you, it was worth it!

I LOVED the swim. The entire time I just couldn't believe that I was getting to do this! It was so fun. I felt good and strong. When I would get kicked or get in a tight spot I could usually find a way out. And honestly, the swim went by fast. Not something I expected at all.

Just as I was nearing the swim exit I looked over and wouldn't you know it, CHAD! I couldn't believe it. We swim masters together week in and week out at home and now, here in Kona, we swim together again. :) I thought we had just swam the last little bit together but Chad later told me we swam the entire last half of the race together (I obviously just didn't see him until the end). He was kind enough to let me "win" as we both came out of the water in a little over 1:02. I was thrilled with the time as I thought at best I could swim a 1:05.

To the bike we go!

Hmmm...what to say about the bike? Well first of all, I'm pretty sure the ENTIRE field passed me within the first 15 miles. Oh my gosh. DROVES of men and of course some women also passed me. I don't think I passed one person! But I wasn't concerned. I knew what I had to do - keep within myself, get started on my nutrition plan, relax. This was going to be a long day afterall. :)

The first half of the bike went by fast. I was doing well taking my fluids in. The aid stations are just AMAZING. They yell encouragement and run along side of you to make sure you get what you need. I'm telling you that job has to be so hard and tiring! I was enjoying the ride and smiling and truthfully, getting to see a lot of friends as they rode right on past me! Oops! :)

My teammate Kelly rode past about an hour in and smacked my butt. Made me laugh! My teammate Diana shot past like a rocket (she rode a 5:15 and ended up 5th in her AG - I seriously want to be like her when I grow up :). I was smiling but of course working. All was good.

The cross winds going up to Hawi weren't bad but coming down - SCARY! I'm sure they weren't as bad as in years past but still to me, they were worse than anything I had ever ridden in. I was definitely getting blown around. I stayed down in aero the entire time just because I didn't feel too safe about getting up out of aero! And I just gritted my teeth and pedaled hard. When I was finally through those, I definitely breathed a sigh of relief. :)

Back onto the highway and things had really spread out. Now was where the race would really begin (something Mark and Luis told me earlier in the week) - from mile 75 in the bike on.

I was still feeling pretty good but man does it get lonely out there! Now nobody was really passing me, nor was I passing anyone. The fatigue starts to set in. It's getting hot. And probably the hardest thing - the realization that you still have a LOT of hours of racing to do! :)

I had my only bad stretch on the bike during this time - from about mile 85-95. I felt like I was going uphill into a headwind and getting NOWHERE! At times I was going 10 mph. Really? What is going on here? My saddle felt uncomfortable. My neck hurt. You know - all those things that you start to notice after a while... :) But I got through those miles and once I got to that 95-100 mile mark it was almost a complete mental turnaround. YES - I was getting somewhere and soon I would be off this bike! And to make matters even better I started to do the math and I realized I was going to ride much faster than I thought I would. I thought at best I would ride around 6 hours but instead I rode 5:40. SWEET! When I saw town I was so happy. I couldn't believe it - time to run a marathon!

See that smile? It's because I can see transition up ahead. :)

I got through T2 relatively quickly. Per many people's advice, I asked for LOTS of sunscreen again for the run which the volunteers did a great job of applying. And away I went!

My legs felt great staring the run. They really did. And trust me, I was surprised but very HAPPY! Of course my stomach did not feel great. Not surprised but SAD. :) Actually, I knew that was probably going to be the case because that's usually the case for me (and many others I'm sure). I did throw up once about 2 miles into the race and that certainly helped some.

Starting the run is so exciting though and I think I had the biggest smile on my face EVER! The first 10 miles of the marathon are out and back on Alii Drive through town and there are so many people cheering. It was so spectacular. Between the awesome volunteers and all my family and friends and coach Luis and then just all the awesome people out there screaming your name (whoever thought to put the names on the bib numbers is brilliant), you totally feel like a rock star! It was so encouraging and I was so thankful. And I just kept thinking "I am doing this, I am really doing this!"

I saw my mom, dad and these three awesome ladies:

In case you can't tell, their shirts say "real Ironmen come from the Steel City". They are Chad's wife and Matt's wife and sister-in-law. So fun. They were waving Terrible Towels and were quite a riot! :) And of course Oscar was there too. It makes my day every time I see him during a race.

And so many others! Because of the out and back I could see my teammates tearing it up and other friends in the race also. And I heard Michelle and D and Kristen and Cathy Y all cheering. They all lifted my spirit beyond words!

And then you run up Palani and out onto the highway and there is...silence. Hmmm...where did everyone go? :)

I now realize the one BIG mistake I made in this race (I'm sure I made many other mistakes also) was that when my stomach hurt during the first part of the run, I didn't take in any calories as I was trying to give it time to settle. I do this all the time in half ironmans but I now realize I can't get away with such things in a 11 hour race. :) I settled into a nice 8-8:15/mile pace during the first 10 miles, feeling under control and keeping my HR in the 150s. But once I got out onto the highway, I felt like I was putting in the same type of effort but I was most certainly not getting the same return. After about mile 13 or 14 I could not get my HR over 140. In fact at times I couldn't get my HR over 135. And instead of running 8 min pace I was now running 9 min pace. UH-OH!

About this time I came up on my teammate Kelly. I was very sad for her because I knew if she was in my sight she was not having the race she wanted. She routinely goes in the low 10's in Kona and has won her AG here in the past. Indeed, she was having serious stomach problems herself but she was hanging tough. We ran together for a while and that helped me a ton. I eventually dropped back again because I had to stop to throw up but before I did so, she confirmed that not being able to get my HR up was certainly a sign that I needed calories and I needed them STAT!

So I started drinking coke and man was I sucking it down. At every single aid station. Water, sponges, COKE! COKE! :) Mark had told me before the race that coke had gotten him out of more than a few rough spots in Kona so I figured it was worth a shot. And sure enough, that stuff is magic. It definitely settled my stomach (I only needed one other pit stop the entire rest of the way) and I think it started to give me the calories I needed.

But before it really started to work it's magic I hit my very lowest point during the race - the energy lab. I saw coach Luis entering the energy lab and that gave me a boost but as I ran on I was hurting. HR was so low (at one point I looked and it was 132 and then I just couldn't look any more) and no matter what I did I couldn't get it to budge. Legs. Won't. Move. Right before I made the turn-around in the energy lab I finally gave in and walked. I had been trying not to because I know how hard it is to start running again once you stop but I was desperate. I took a banana half and told myself that I could walk while I ate that but then I HAD to start running again. I then proceeded to take THE SMALLEST bites of banana ever so I could make it last. :)

I did start jogging again though and then right after the turn-around got my special needs bag and took some salt. I was willing to try anything. :) I kept moving foward and was finally out of the energy lab and back onto the highway. As I made that turn back onto the Queen K, I saw Luis again and yelled "man, this is hard!". Um yeah...well duh! :)

Just a bit further and I think the coke and/or salt started to kick in because I finally had a mile under 9 minutes! And then, the TRUE turning point for me - at mile 20 I allowed myself to look at my overall time for the day. Up until then I had just been looking at my splits for each mile but when I looked at mile 20 and saw that with just 10K to go I was at 9:47, it was like a flipped switch. I WAS GOING TO DO THIS. I had 1:13 to run 10K and still break 11 hours. I WAS going to do this!

And off I went. Now I was busting out 8:50 miles! HAHA!! Which tells me that the disaster that was the middle 5-6 miles of the run was physical yes (low on calories) but also very mental. It's hard to wrap your head around running 8-10 more miles when you have already gone so far. Welcome to Ironman right? :)

I was on a mission now. I did have one mile that slipped over 9 min again around 23 but then I could start to see town and OH MY! What a great feeling!

Before I knew it, I was running down Palani and it was getting so real. I saw Cathy Y right after mile 25 and she yelled at me "Beth, you are going to be an Ironman!" and I almost started to cry! I made the turn onto Kuakini and saw O and my mom and then I really did start to cry!

And then, the final turn onto Alii and honestly, I cannot put into words what that stretch felt like. I had imagined myself running down those final few meters HUNDREDS of times in the past couple months and of course I always imagined it being so awesome. But it was 10,000 times better than I ever thought it would be. I never wanted it to end. That stretch alone made every early morning wake up and long, lonely training ride by myself worth it 100x over. And in years to come I'll probably identify it as the moment I fell in love with Ironman.

Crossing the finish line was one of the best experiences of my life.

I was so tired. My feet were on fire. My legs ached. My stomach had had enough (to say the least!). But it was such pure bliss. You could not have wiped the smile off my face no matter what!

I found my mom and O after the race. Dunked my head in freezing cold water. Saw Chad and got to hear of his awesome day. Got my medal. And PIZZA! And that was that. Ironman over. In the end I went 3:54 for the marathon for a total time of 10:44:30. Not exactly the run time I had hoped for but not everything can go perfectly on the first shot...or ever. :) And by breaking 11 hours, I achieved WAY more than I thought I could so I am not disappointed. Only excited to have another shot at some point!

That night we went back down to watch the final finishers cross the line. Other than finishing my own personal race, this was probably my most favorite part of the whole trip! What an awesome scene! And what an inspiration. You can say what you want about Ironman but there is something magical about the challenge of finishing that distance in 17 hours.

Mark had told me that one of the things that he loved most about Kona was waking up the next morning know what he had just accomplished. And indeed, that was a pretty awesome feeling! But I don't think I ever really fell asleep on Saturday night. I just laid there aching and smiling all at the same time. :)

Our final days on the island were awesome. We went to the awards dinner and hit up Lava Java (yet again!) and on Monday before Oscar and I caught our flight back home we went swimming in search of honu! And look what we found!

Seeing this guy seriously completed the entire trip!

I know I've said this a million times already but I am so, so, SOOOOOOOOO thankful to so many people for helping me to make a dream come true.

These two guys for preparing me to get the job done and of course for all the encouragement and support along the way.

My mom, dad and grandfather and of course Oscar who took the time out of their lives to support me and cheer me on in person!

My friends and fellow Pittsburghers who raced - so great seeing you out there. I truly appreciate all your help (and the fact that you endured all my questions and more... :)

And everyone who sent a message or a note or kind word. I thought of you out there all day long!

Now we are back home! And fall has definitely arrived in Pittsburgh. The leaves are changing and the weather is cool. And now it's time to rest up and relax and spend time doing all the things I can't do when I'm training a lot. Like get work done! (haha!) And go watch Oscar's high school team run. And clean out the refrigerator. :) My to-do list is a little long. Which is good. I want to make sure I do this recovery thing right so next year I can tackle many more goals! The bar has been raised! :)

And now I really have written a novel. Sorry about that. ;) More pictures in the days to come. After I unpack. :)

Posted by beth at 2:37 PM | Comments (43)

October 7, 2010

Day #109 - The Thank Yous

Aloha! (see, I can even speak the language now - so I HAVE to stay! :)

Hawaii continues to be awesome. I still don't want to leave. And my excitement to race is starting to reach an all time level of HIGH! It's easy to score free stuff here, even when you aren't trying. Oscar is coming tomorrow! Tonight my parents, grandfather and I went to a luau and I've decided that in my next life I want to be able to dance just like those guys/gals we saw this evening! Also, today my teammate Kelly and I drove out towards Hawi and I got to experience the famous cross winds. Yipes. Kelly says the winds today were really quite calm. It was then that I started to pray that race days winds would also be calm. Or else I might be walking my bike back down that hill. :)

I LOVE THIS PLACE!

But really the purpose of this blog entry was to say thanks. Bear with me now. I'm not trying to get sentimental or wishy-washy, but I truly do want to say some thank yous before the big day! As anyone who does the sport of triathlon knows - it takes a villiage to raise a triathlete! :) And I feel so incredibly blessed to have so much awesome support, of which I could not live without!

1) Friends (real and otherwise :) - I have been truly OVERWHELMED with how much support I've gotten from bloggers, FBers, twitter(ers), etc... It is so, so appreciated and it really has been so much fun to meet some of these people here in Kona! I have made many great friends via internet (sounds so wrong but it can't be denied!) and for that I'm thankful! I will be thinking of you all on race day for sure!

2) Coaches and teammates - I know I say it all the time, but I REALLY enjoy being on the MAO triathlon team - for the awesome coaching and support we receive and for all the awesome teammates I get! Their support is year round of course but has been extremely evident this week in Kona! My teammates (and coaches) have taken me, a first-timer, under their wing and have showed me around, given me endless pieces of great advice and have helped me to realize what an awesome experience this is. And in many ways, I owe even being here in the first place to the great coaches who supply with me an awesome training plan! I have steadily improved year in and year out, I've stayed (relatively) healthy and the training has never gotten old. I don't know what more you could ask for from a coach!

3) The support crew - massage therapist, ART guru, bike shop/mechanic, awesome masters swim team. Everyone is so supportive and so helpful and without any one piece, I'd be in some serious trouble!

4) My family - not only do they put up with this triathlon stuff, they've put up with me my whole life! :) My parents and grandfather being here in Kona has been awesome and is so appreciated. But more than just coming to races, I've always truly appreciated the support my family has given me. They have ALWAYS encouraged me to follow my dreams and have ALWAYS told me that anything is possible with hard work. And never once have they batted an eye when I tell them of my latest scheme. Without them I would be lost.

5) Oscar. Well what is there to say? Without a doubt, my biggest fan, supporter and cheerleader is my husband. He's not just there on race day or to wish me good luck for the big one. He's there EVERY day. Through the good days and bad. Through the meltdowns and the triumphs. And he truly is unwavingly supportive. Triathlon is expensive and time consuming and he NEVER gripes or complains about the committment it takes. Part of that is because he knows himself what it takes to succeed in a sport such as this. But an even bigger part of that is because Oscar is truly the most un-selfish person I know. I couldn't be doing this without him. I know that for sure.

I'm truly grateful for ALL the people in my life (many who are not even mentioned here) who have given me this opportunity. I have no idea what is going to happen on race day and I can't guarantee anything. But I will say that I will do absolutely EVERYthing in my power not to waste the chance. Many, many thanks to all - from the very bottom of my heart!

Posted by beth at 3:56 AM | Comments (15)

October 5, 2010

Day #107 - I'm Never Going Home

Well I've only been here one full day, but I've made several observations:

1) Kona is paradise. I really think it is. It's amazingly beautiful but in a different way then I've ever seen. It's lush with flowers that are too awesome for words! And the ocean is so blue and deep. But that is all contrasted by the vast emptiness of the miles and miles and miles of black lava fields. Holy moly, I'm never going home. :)

2) We swam this morning and I didn't want to get out. EVER! I could see fish! And coral! And the deep ocean floor below. I just couldn't get over it. Too hard to swim and pay attention to what you are doing when there is a real live aquariaum below! Holy moly, I'm NEVER going home!

3) Then we rode on the Queen K. We rode close to town past the airport so I didn't get to experience the winds of Hawi (saving that for Wednesday) but still, I thought it was windy. On the way back there was a headwind, although I didn't feel it too much hiding behind my awesome teammates' wheels. Maybe I can do the same on race day? ;) (KIDDING!)

In case you've never been to Kona and wonder what the bike course looks like. This pretty much sums it up.

4) I feel so lucky to be experiencing this amazing beauty and this whole entire EVENT! Even after only having been here one day I can easily see why Kona gets the hype that it does. And it's well deserved hype for sure! This isn't just a race, as my coach said, it's an EVENT! Wow. Just wow.

5) I'm never going home.

6) My parents were nice enough to drive the ENTIRE bike course with me today (I always drive bike courses, what can I say) and we saw...wait for it...WILD LAVA GOATS! I kid you not. I spotted this coal black goat standing upon some lava rock and at the top of my lungs screamed GOAT! My father saw it too and then, a whole pack of goats! We didn't think to take pictures then and on the way back, we couldn't find them again. Why in the world have I never been told about these goats before?! Where do they live?! In addition to these wild lava goats, I've seen weasels (I don't really know if they are weasels or not but they are long, low to the ground and furry), lots of strange birds and cows. And my coach confirms there are also donkeys and wild pigs. What the heck? Makes me love this place even more! Which means...I'm not going home!

7) Words can't describe how blessed I feel to be here.

8) Words also can't describe how awesome my team is. Really love these guys. Like I said, a group of us swam together this morning and then Diana, Debbie, Cary and Kelly were nice enough to show me around on the bike today. Because I'm such a slacker when it comes to taking pictures, I stole some from Cary's FB page:

Apparently putting my swimskin on is funny. :) I do have to say though, the smile is now likely on my face for good.

Cary and I. Cary is awesome. She once did Kona with a broken arm. Who does that?! :)

I may not love it on Saturday but I sure did love it today - riding on the Queen K with my teammates.

This picture was stolen from the Kiwami photographer. :) Kelly, Diana and I after our swim with the fishies!

9) I'm never going home. ;)

So, to sum up my Kona experience thus far:
1) I'm never going home.
2) Love my teammates and coaches and team in general.
3) Kona is awesome and deserves all the hype it gets.
4) I can't wait until O gets here to see everything and help me pick out or condo because...I'm never going home.
5) My parents and grandfather are awesome and my mom is actually very good at putting my bike together with me.
6) Wild lava goats just about made my day.
7) The flight to Kona was so long I thought I was getting a pressure ulcer (ie: bed sore) which just further validates the decision to...never go home.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! :)

PS Can't thank everyone enough for all the awesome support you've given. I have no idea what is going to happen on race day but I do know for sure that I will be thinking of you all!

PPS More to come - especially if I can get pictures of the lava goats!

Posted by beth at 3:11 AM | Comments (18)

October 1, 2010

Day #103 - Goals

Well here we are! I leave for Kona in 2 days and of course I haven't started packing yet. But I'm going to start tonight, I promise. Seriously. Really. First though (OF COURSE) I have to write a blog entry!

So for a looooong time I've been thinking about what my goals for Kona are. Like since I qualified for the race. I would go back and forth - some days (probably after some great swim or run I'd just had) I'd think maybe I could get this time or this place. Other days (probably after some ride where I felt like pooh) I'd think, heck, let's just make it our goal to finish this thing. And then some days I wasn't even worried about finishing, rather just making it to the starting line in one piece! I suspect that's how it usually goes... :)

I know I've said this before, but I am HUGELY goal driven. If I have it in my head that my goal is XX, well than I will do whatever I need to do to try and achieve XX, or I'll go down in flames trying! :) I know everyone has different motivations, but goals are definitely mine. So as you can imagine, I don't take goal-making lightly.

Setting a goal for Kona has been hard for me. I think in my heart I knew that my #1 goal and ONLY goal should be to cross that line upright and smiling. But I'll admit it took some time for me to wrap my head around that. I've just never gone into a race with "finishing" as the goal. Of course I've also never done an Ironman in Kona. So there. :)

At first I thought maybe I was taking it too easy on myself. Really? Your goal is "just" to finish?! But then I had to get realistic. Like for the fact that I'VE NEVER EVEN DONE AN IRONMAN BEFORE. I mean that's huge. I have absolutely NO IDEA how this is going to go, what it's going to feel like at mile 105 on the bike or how painful the blisters might be at mile 20 of the run. I have no idea how battered I'll get in the swim or if I'll be able to keep myself hydrated enough to avoid collapse. I'm sure I've never dealt with heat, humidity and wind like I'm about to feel in Kona.

You get the picture, there are a million different things that could go wrong on such a long day. And trust me, I've thought about close to all of them (although I'm sure there will still be some surprises :).

But through this whole process I've tried not to dwell on what could go wrong but rather thought of the "what ifs", tried to come up with solutions to those potential problems and then moved on.

I've trained very hard for this race and I feel fitter than I ever have in my entire life. So I wondered if it was a disservice to put in all this work and then "just want to finish"? Until it finally hit me that "just" finishing WAS quite a noble goal! And if I could do that, with a smile on my face, I would achieve all that I wanted and more from my first Ironman and my first Kona experience.

So for once in my life I don't have time goals. I don't have place goals. I'm not trying to qualify for anything. My goals are much different this time around - to take it all in, to remain positive no matter what the day brings, to be thankful for the amazing opportunity, and to learn what this IM stuff is all about.

Mark and Luis asked us to make some home videos talking about how we got to Kona, how long we'd been trying to qualify, what are goals are, etc... So here is mine:

Like the video says, I simply want to cross that finish line and get that medal. Upright and with a smile on my face. :)

Posted by beth at 3:24 PM | Comments (16)