There is nothing quite like speeding down a hill at 40+ mph, going aero with the sun reflecting off of your sunscreen and sweat-licked face while breathing in the fresh air and smell of evergreens. There is also no feeling similar to the leg fatigue one feels after an eight mile climb up a mountain. The descent makes it all worth it, though.
How do you build up a base strong enough to make those climbs that lead to such glorious descents? A couple things are key in endurance sports like cycling or running: strong leg muscles and a high lactate threshold (LT).
When training for an event your workouts can be divided into categories - interval and endurance, i.e. weekdays and weekends. Busy schedules during the week usually leave us with less time to workout, but it is still important to get in workouts during the week. The good news is you can get in extremely beneficial workouts in a little time during the week by doing interval training and weight training. Keep your long rides and runs for the weekend, and during the week go to the track and work on speed intervals, find your favorite hill and do hill repeats or hit the gym and work on your squat and deadlift. This will increase your LT and make your long weekend workouts easier by easing the burning that you feel from the lactic acid build up. Use the weekdays to build up a tolerance and everything will fall into place on the weekends. It will also boost your performance come race day. That is the day that you can breath it all in and remember why you worked so hard.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Racing in Rain
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Off. 6:00am was when I woke to the sound of rain and a chill. Fall is here. What a great time for a race. This would be my first triathlon, and the nerves and excitement were all fusing together to form a knot in my stomach. I jumped out of bed pretty quickly and started prepping for the event. I had gotten together most of my things the night before, so that I would not stress out in the morning. But, there was still a pre-race check that I needed to do. Helmet - check. Cycle shoes - check. Running shoes - check. Pump bike tires with air - check. Eat - check. Energy gels - check. Race bib - check. Husband awake - check.
Although I had ridden in several bike rallies, the idea that this was a race got my nerves going more than usual. The rain wasn't helping. It was starting to downpour as I loaded my bike into the car and we headed on our way. It was still dark when we arrived and the water was flooding the parking lot. I checked in, got my timing chip, placed my items in the transition area and got my swim gear out. In the transition area I ran into a friend that I did not know would also be competing. I saw some other familiar faces there, which was fun and reassuring. And, I had my fans on the sidelines. Daniel was there to get all of the photo ops and some of our friends from the bike shop were there to cheer me on as well.
At 7:45 the participants gathered for the pre-race meeting to get all of the course details and rules from the event director. He explained that unfortunately the bike portion was cut in half because the low water crossings on the course were flooded. But, I'm glad they didn't toss out the bike altogether. He finished going over the race details and it was time to start lining up for the swim. I was in the second group, so I had a few minutes to figure out where in line I needed to be.
And, then, it was go-time. I started my stopwatch, stepped over the timing mat, jumped in and off I went. I got through the first two laps without having to pass anyone, but then started catching up to people. I was ready to make my first pass in the pool. All clear. I went. Then, I got behind a few more people, made sure the pass was clear and went for it. I passed a couple more people going into the final lap, got to the ladder and jumped out quickly. I exited the pool and made my way to my first transition. It was bike time and that was good. I knew the first two events were my strongest and that I'd be able to make up some time by getting ahead on those. I geared up, made my way to the transition area exit, crossed over the timing mat and mounted my bike. The bike portion was only six miles that consisted of one loop which was to be completed two times. I made my way through the first loop pretty quickly, keeping a consistent 20mph pace. I decided to lay off a little on the second loop and catch my breath for the run. I had sprinted in the pool and on the first bike lap, so I wanted to make sure I had my breathing under control before the run. I completed the second loop feeling very good, dismounted my bike and ran it back into the transition area.
My second transition felt a little faster than the first. The first time, I sat down to put my cycle shoes on. That was a mistake. For the run transition, I remained standing while changing my shoes. My socks were soaked and I thought they would be more likely to give me blisters in that condition, so I lost the socks and quickly put on my running kicks. I threw my helmet off, quickly pulled off my gloves and started running toward the transition area exit to the run course. Over the timing mat I went and I was on my way for the last leg of the race. The run would be the most challenging and my slowest time. Luckily, my legs felt strong and fresh. My stomach was a little sloshy because I had not had much time to digest the fluids that I took in on the bike, due to the short distance of the ride. I just kept telling myself "Don't stop running."
There were four legs of the run; the longest took us to a dead-end by the lake and it was very nice and peaceful. I chatted with a few of the other ladies on the run and it was nice to hear other people's tri stories. As I made my way up the final leg of the run, back uphill toward the finish line, I decided to pick up the pace. My stomach was feeling better and I was ready to finish with a good time. I quit my talking and sped ahead of the women that I had met. Then, it started raining again. While I was glad that I was almost done with the race when the rain hit, it did feel nice. It was cooling and also gave me a sense of pride to have still gotten out there and done this race in suck yucky weather. I crossed over the top of the hill and into the parking lot. This is where I made my final sprint to the finish. I saw another participant up in front of me and I thought she would also speed up to cross the finish. But, she actually slowed down and I almost ran right into her. I darted off to the left of her to cross over the line and hit the final timing mat. I had done it in under an hour (54:21): 300m swim, 6 mile bike and a 5k run.
I am now a triathlete and my road to the Half Ironman feels real. Best of all, it was fun!
Check out the video of the finish line:
Although I had ridden in several bike rallies, the idea that this was a race got my nerves going more than usual. The rain wasn't helping. It was starting to downpour as I loaded my bike into the car and we headed on our way. It was still dark when we arrived and the water was flooding the parking lot. I checked in, got my timing chip, placed my items in the transition area and got my swim gear out. In the transition area I ran into a friend that I did not know would also be competing. I saw some other familiar faces there, which was fun and reassuring. And, I had my fans on the sidelines. Daniel was there to get all of the photo ops and some of our friends from the bike shop were there to cheer me on as well.
At 7:45 the participants gathered for the pre-race meeting to get all of the course details and rules from the event director. He explained that unfortunately the bike portion was cut in half because the low water crossings on the course were flooded. But, I'm glad they didn't toss out the bike altogether. He finished going over the race details and it was time to start lining up for the swim. I was in the second group, so I had a few minutes to figure out where in line I needed to be.
And, then, it was go-time. I started my stopwatch, stepped over the timing mat, jumped in and off I went. I got through the first two laps without having to pass anyone, but then started catching up to people. I was ready to make my first pass in the pool. All clear. I went. Then, I got behind a few more people, made sure the pass was clear and went for it. I passed a couple more people going into the final lap, got to the ladder and jumped out quickly. I exited the pool and made my way to my first transition. It was bike time and that was good. I knew the first two events were my strongest and that I'd be able to make up some time by getting ahead on those. I geared up, made my way to the transition area exit, crossed over the timing mat and mounted my bike. The bike portion was only six miles that consisted of one loop which was to be completed two times. I made my way through the first loop pretty quickly, keeping a consistent 20mph pace. I decided to lay off a little on the second loop and catch my breath for the run. I had sprinted in the pool and on the first bike lap, so I wanted to make sure I had my breathing under control before the run. I completed the second loop feeling very good, dismounted my bike and ran it back into the transition area.
My second transition felt a little faster than the first. The first time, I sat down to put my cycle shoes on. That was a mistake. For the run transition, I remained standing while changing my shoes. My socks were soaked and I thought they would be more likely to give me blisters in that condition, so I lost the socks and quickly put on my running kicks. I threw my helmet off, quickly pulled off my gloves and started running toward the transition area exit to the run course. Over the timing mat I went and I was on my way for the last leg of the race. The run would be the most challenging and my slowest time. Luckily, my legs felt strong and fresh. My stomach was a little sloshy because I had not had much time to digest the fluids that I took in on the bike, due to the short distance of the ride. I just kept telling myself "Don't stop running."
There were four legs of the run; the longest took us to a dead-end by the lake and it was very nice and peaceful. I chatted with a few of the other ladies on the run and it was nice to hear other people's tri stories. As I made my way up the final leg of the run, back uphill toward the finish line, I decided to pick up the pace. My stomach was feeling better and I was ready to finish with a good time. I quit my talking and sped ahead of the women that I had met. Then, it started raining again. While I was glad that I was almost done with the race when the rain hit, it did feel nice. It was cooling and also gave me a sense of pride to have still gotten out there and done this race in suck yucky weather. I crossed over the top of the hill and into the parking lot. This is where I made my final sprint to the finish. I saw another participant up in front of me and I thought she would also speed up to cross the finish. But, she actually slowed down and I almost ran right into her. I darted off to the left of her to cross over the line and hit the final timing mat. I had done it in under an hour (54:21): 300m swim, 6 mile bike and a 5k run.
I am now a triathlete and my road to the Half Ironman feels real. Best of all, it was fun!
Check out the video of the finish line:
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