Practice Makes Perfect

Our Ironman Triathlon is only four weeks from today. I can't believe how close it is. This is our last really hard week of training which will include a 100 mile bike ride, a 17 mile run and a two mile swim...and then we start to slowly taper so we can be relaxed and ready for the race...I am not so sure how relaxed I will be but I do know I have done everything possible to be ready. Last week we decided since we weren't able to compete in an actual half-ironman triathlon during our training, we would put together our own and do it the best we could. So Saturday morning we headed up to Rockport Reservoir for the swim. My brother had reserved a camping spot for us so we could park our car, swim 1.2 miles and then grab our bikes and head out on a 56 mile ride. We had it all planned out, a gas station on the bike course where we could fill our water bottles and a place to stash a water bottle for our run. So, with Tom as our support team, we started out on our swim. Tom paddled alongside us in his kayak so we were safe from motorboats and he had our sandals ready for us on the beach. I struggled a bit on the swim...my goggles kept filling with water so I couldn't see where I was going which made me panic a bit. Note to self, don't put sunscreen lotion on your face before swimming. It will make your goggles slide right off your face...not a good thing. After the swim we headed out for our ride with Tom shaking his head and repeating over and over, "you guys are nuts". I knew we had a lot of hills ahead of us and I knew it would be very hot but I didn't anticipate the wind..and I am talking about killer head winds...in our face while we were pedaling uphill...oh well, what doesn't kill us makes us stronger, or so they say. It was a tough ride with over 3500 feet of elevation gain but we made it back, changed into our running shoes and headed out...into the same dang wind we had just ridden out of. Just an FYI, it is no more fun to run in the wind than to bike in it..and it was soooo hot! We got to the 5 mile mark and I was pretty sure I saw water coolers from an earlier bike race sitting on the side of the road but to be honest, as hot and thirsty as I was, I thought it was probably a mirage. Thank heavens it was real. I hurriedly filled my water bottle and started to dump it on my head when I realized, it wasn't water but lemon Gatorade...so now, I was hot, I was thirsty and I was VERY sticky..you gotta love it. There were a couple of jugs filled with water so I rinsed off, drank some water and headed back down the road thankful for the angels that left that water there for us. I seriously thought we would see them floating back up to heaven. The final few miles were tough, hilly and hot but we made it and I can't say that my first thought was, wow, that was fun! Let's do it again one more time. Bring it on." The fact is, It is much better if I dont post what my first thought was...but here is the short edited version. @#*€#%?

Training For an Ironman is Nothing....

This past week, my daughter, son-in-law and my four darling grandchildren are visiting and all of them are staying in our little tiny basement. I have loved having them here. We have had alot of fun from a trip to the cabin, a tram ride at Snowbird and a hike to Donut Falls, we have been very busy. Honestly, just handling the basics without all the extra activities can be very tiring: breakfast, dishes, baths, more dishes, getting dressed, laundry, lunch, more dishes, laundry, dinner, more dishes.... you get the point.  In the midst of all this, I am still running, biking and swimming... and working.  For example, Monday, we got up really early and ran 16 hard miles. Tuesday we rode our bikes from our cabin to Park City, Wednesday we swam a mile and a half and Thursday I ran 6.5 miles.  And it was while I was running that 6.5 miles I started thinking... all my running, biking and swimming didn't seem quite so difficult this week.  Was it because the training was finally kicking in and everything was getting easier?  Was it because I was getting stronger every day?  Was it because the stars had aligned this week and everything clicked?  Unfortunately, none of these were the answer. It is because training for an Ironman Triathlon is nothing compared to taking care of four children under the age of seven.  I don't know how my daughter does it.   It is exhausting!  Riding up a really difficult hill on my bike seems easy compared to her schedule.  In fact, we were planning to go on a 100 mile bikeride today and we decided to postpone it until tomorrow because we were really tired, but while I was cleaning up the dishes from breakfast and putting in a load of laundry and folding clothes and making the beds I thought... riding my bike for 100 miles would be relaxing... all you have to do is sit there and pedal.  How hard is that?  So, many thanks to my darling family for reminding me how easy training for an Ironman Triathlon really is.

What goes up can be really hard...

Tuesday John had the day off so we decided to get an early start, beat the heat and ride to Henefer. We needed to get a long training ride in so this was the perfect plan. Part of the plan was to get to bed early on Monday but that didn't happen. We didn't even finish swimming our 72 laps until 10:30 PM Monday night...so much for getting to bed early but it didn't really matter, there was no way to beat the heat. It was already over 70 degrees at 6:30 AM. By 7:30 AM we were on our way....to Henefer. I had no idea where Henefer was but I knew we had to go over several hills to get there...First we had to go up the Old Mill hill which at this point is just a good warm up to get my heart pumping. Next, we headed up to Emigration Canyon, then UP Emigration Canyon, then UP Big Mountain, then a little break DOWN to East Canyon...But we weren't finished yet..we headed UP to Henefer..but the nice thing was that I knew what goes up must come down, right? But what came down must go back up...And we started our long ascent up The backside of Big Mountain at noon! Nothing like 100 degree temperatures to make us work a little. Honestly though, I felt pretty strong. We had one last hill back UP to the top of Emigration Canyon and then it was smooth sailing all the way home. It was a really hard ride...6700 feet of elevation gain in 100 degree temperatures but I felt good which was great for my confidence. I even had enough energy to push it at the end of the ride....but to be really honest, I pushed it for one very important reason; I didn't want to wait another second for my nice cold Diet Coke.

What to eat?

One of the challenges I have run into during my triathlon training has been what to eat and drink while I am on the bike so I have enough strength to get through my runs.  It has been quite an ordeal figuring out what will work for me. The normal "foods" athletes use during endurance events don't sit that well in my stomach so I don't want to eat them which leaves me without fuel.  Let me tell you a little bit about these so called foods.  Take GU for example.  It is named that for a reason.  It is a flavored gooey substance that goes down quickly and easily to provide quick energy.  Think of a really thick, sticky, sweet, baby food and you are there.  The problem I have with GU is the sweet part of it... oh, and I am not fond of the sticky part of it either. Last time I tried it, I ripped off the top, and before I got it into my mouth, it leaked all over my hands.  I had to run the rest of  mile run with icky, sticky hands. I can handle sweaty, salty hands on a run but for some reason I was having a really hard time with sticky.  There was one nice thing about it, it took my mind off the pain of running.  All I could think about was where there was a water source along my way that I could use to wash my hands.  But, even without the sticky mess, GU was not my answer for "what to eat" so I had to keep looking for other alternatives.  I did try the new GU which was GU in solid form - GU Chomps...not good... worse than GU.  They actually made me gag which is not a good thing. It is really tough to bike and run when you are gagging on your "food".  You may ask the question, "how big of a deal can this really be?"  You have no idea. Nutrition can make or break you in an Ironman.  When you get off that bike after 112 miles, you better have something in your tank because you have to run a marathon...26.2 miles.  You now may ask the question, "why are you doing this?  Are you insane?" But since I will not be answering THAT question I do want to tell you the about one of the best things that happened this past week. John and I were planning on riding our bikes around Utah Lake on the 4th of July. It is 90 mile plus ride and we love it.  For 70 miles you have very little traffic. It is quiet, serene, and an overall enjoyable ride.  I had mentioned to someone that the biggest problem I was having with my training was figuring out what to eat and that I just wish I could take real food like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She told me about the best invention ever... Smucker's frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They are small, individually wrapped, and 200 yummy calories a piece and  I LOVE them!!  I cannot tell you the joy it brought me eating that sandwich as I pedaled through the orchards surrounding Utah Lake. It was like being on a mobile picnic.  I did have to wait until the end of the ride for my glass of milk, but hey...what to eat on the bike??? Problem solved.  Now for the run.. Any ideas?

Telling Stories

One of the things I like about writing is that no one is there to correct me when I am
telling stories.. For some reason, when I start telling about something that happened, John will correct me if I am not getting all the facts right. I keep telling him if I include ALL the facts, it won't be as interesting and no one will want to listen. He is a scientist and so facts are very important to him but let's be honest, scientists aren't the best storytellers. I don't want you to think that what I write in my blog isn't factual. I have just omitted the uninteresting details and made the interesting details more fun to read about. So that is my disclaimer.

This past week was so crazy. We had our Interform Golf tournament on Wednesday and Thursday and I was with the vendor giving out a new iPad notebook. It was a great gift and everyone was very excited about it but after hearing the same presentation over and over I lost much of my enthusiasm for the gift. The worst thing of all was that the rep had decided it was best to show the notebook with her iPad in it so people could really appreciate all it's benefits. That led to over 36 groups of golfers all saying, "Wow,you are giving us an iPad?" And the amazing thing is every group thought they were the first one to come up with that hilarious comment. I was able to pretend to laugh almost until the end of the tournament but I guess the heat or my hunger pangs got the best of me and when those last few golfers said, "so do I get the one with the iPad?" I looked at them and said, "wow, It is amazing you were the first person who thought of that!"

I know...I need to be a more patient person, but seriously, couldn't someone have come up with something original like, "what's an iPad? Or "I would really like the one that doesn't have an iPad..or "I don't have an iPad so keep your stupid gift". Now that would have been funny!!!
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