Another summer flying by

Well I am way behind on posting this update, but 12-16 hour training weeks, plus a full-time job, a little bit of traveling, and general life stuff (why is there always so much laundry?!) doesn't leave much time for blogging.  So, for the four or five of you who actually read this, here's what I've been up to for the last few months... 

May
Swim - 17.9 miles
Bike - 361 miles
Run - 76 miles
Total time - 42:37:42
Total distance - 456 miles

June (vs 2015 140.6 training)
Swim - 22 miles (12)
Bike - 593 miles (382)
Run - 70 miles (101)
Total time - 55:29:10
Total distance - 685 miles

July (vs 2016 70.3 training)
Swim - 21.7 miles (8.9)
Bike - 690 miles (293)
Run - 114 miles (117)
Total time - 65:31:20
Total distance - 826 miles

I realized on June 30 that I only needed 8 more miles to get to 600, and actually considered just doing easy loops around the neighborhood, but 592 was a month-PB for me, so I decided I'd just wait to see what happened in July.  With even more miles, including a two weekends with back-to-back metric centuries, I not only broke 600, but came pretty darn close to 700! 

Blowing Rock

Running with the fam

First century of 2017

Jordan Lake
Lil Uno one mile swim

I'm loving these rides in the mountains!

My first bike race!
Asheville Gran Fondo
1st Female

Cup n Cone tour with Lindsey
It's exciting to have another Dark Horse to train with!

Marching forward

After February set the bar pretty high, I was aware that March could bring somewhat of a let down.  To my surprise, that didn't happen, and I logged another solid month, including finishing 2nd overall female while doing a scheduled workout of 12x800 at the Crystal Coast Half Marathon, crushing my 10 minute time trial on the bike, swimming my fastest 50 yards in the pool, and setting a new half marathon PR at Tobacco Road.  

Swim 17.1 miles

Bike 86.5 miles and 11+ hours on the trainer

Run 98.6 miles

Total time 39:26:36

Calories 26,046

Average of 250 watts in my 10 minute time trial,
with the last 5 minutes slightly faster than the first 5!

Half Marathon PR at Tobacco Road
Still a long way to go to sub-1:30, but making progress

First time I've ever cracked 40 seconds for 50 yards

Special delivery from Ironman...
Up from silver to gold status!

Crystal Coast Half Marathon

I had 12x800 on the schedule for Saturday and after last week's 8x800 was a huge suckfest, I wasn't looking forward to it at all.  Then on Wednesday the Crystal Coast half marathon popped up on my Facebook feed, and after realizing that it was only 3 hours away with a 9am start time, I decided that if I had to run a 12 mile workout, there was no harm in running an extra mile for the added benefits of having people around, a nice flat course, a change of scenery, and bathrooms along the way (which I could have used during that aforementioned 8x800 suckfest on the ATT).

I headed out around 5 am on Saturday morning and even with a coffee + bathroom stop and a gas + bathroom stop, I arrived with more than enough time to spare.  Parking was really easy, and I found a spot a block from the start/finish/registration area.  I walked the block to get my bib and shirt and then went back to the car because it was cold (temps in the 30s with 15-20 mph winds) and waited until about 8:45 to make my way back over to the start.  The park has bathrooms, so I made one more stop (3 bathrooms stops on race morning is usually a good sign, so I was optimistic that the workout was going to go well).  

I met a girl who was planning to start out in the mid/high 8s, which was right around my planned warm up pace, so I asked if I could tag along with her for the first 2 miles.  It was weird lining up for a race start having done no warm up at all, but since it was built into the workout, I didn't do anything prior to the gun.  And after what felt like a long wait because of the cold, we were off.

I ended up running my first two miles with Kristin and Kaz (the director of the Tobacco Road marathon, which I've run several times and is my early season A race), and the miles went by pleasantly and quickly, even if they were a little faster than advertised (8:15-8:20).  As we finished the second mile I wished them luck with the rest of the run and took off to complete my workout (2 x building 400s on 400 recoveries + 12x800s on 400 easy).  

Nice conversational warm up miles

Going into the intervals I was a little worried that I would be playing leapfrog with some people and annoying everyone with what would probably be perceived as my inability to maintain a consistent pace, but it wasn't a huge race and it actually worked out that only a couple of the people that I passed on an interval caught back up to me on my recoveries.  The course is all flat, with the exception of one bridge that you cross around mile 4 and then again at mile 11.  My goal was to keep all of the 800s around 3:15 (Yasso-esque since I'm hoping to break 3:15 at CIM in December), and not worry about the pace on the jogs.   A nice strong tailwind helped me keep my pace over the bridge, and the first 10 splits ranged from 3:11 to 3:19, so I stayed pretty consistent.  I felt like I was running easy in between, but my recovery jogs were all in the high 7s/low 8s, which is about a minute per mile faster than I usually do them.  I was really surprised to be feeling so comfortable, and attributed it to race adrenaline, which was unexpected given that at no point did I have any intention of "racing."  

Up the bridge and into a headwind at mile 11
(It looks like I'm walking, but I really wasn't)

The 11th split was back over the bridge, this time into the headwind, and I gave up on trying to maintain pace on that one (the recovery jog down was actually faster than the "fast" run up), then finished my last 800 and tried to just run easy the rest of the way.  It was tempting to try to catch the guy up ahead of me, but I stuck to the plan (more or less) and finished in 1:35:10.  Results were available immediately, and I learned that my time was good enough for 2nd female and 11th overall.  In hindsight I wish I had gone after that guy to nab a top-10 finish, but I'm still happy with the result.

In the finisher area they had the usual bananas, trail mix, and peanut butter sandwiches, but also oreos, fig newtons, twizzlers, sour candies, jelly beans, animal crackers, etc etc etc. Plus two tickets for free beer and food at the post race party, which was thankfully out of the cold at a bar/restaurant about 2 blocks away.  

My prize was 50% off entry for next year, and I have already registered for 2018. The post-race party was well attended, and people who didn't like the free beer (Goose Island IPA) were giving away their tickets, so by the end we had a pile of them on the table.  Unfortunately I had to drive, but next year I will probably stay at the host hotel so that pile of free beer tickets does not go to waste.

I spent the night in Atlantic Beach, and though it was too cold to spend much time outside, I was treated to a beautiful sunset and a nice relaxing evening, so all in all I am really pleased with the last minute decision and may have to work on turning more of my workouts into adventures :)

A fantastic February!

February is usually one month where I think "Gah, is it over yet?!" but despite a few cold, dreary days, February felt more like spring than winter, training went very well, and a few nice surprises made it a really good month!

Swim 17.9 miles

Bike 74.5 miles + about 11 hours on the trainer

Run 111.6 miles

Total time 48:02:43

Calories 29,864

The biggest and best surprise of the month came on February 6, when I opened my inbox to find a message titled "You're invited to the 2017 Ironman 70.3 World Championship!"  Anyone who knows me or has seen any of my posts on social media, knows that my biggest goal for 2016 was to qualify for the IM 70.3 Championship, which will be held in Chattanooga in September.  Unfortunately I fell just short of this goal, finishing 4th at IM 70.3 NC with only 3 slots available in my age group.  Though I was mostly pleased with the season, failing to meet that goal kind of cast a shadow of disappointment over it.  So when I opened the email and read "As one of the top-ranked female Ironman 70.3 athletes in your age group in the word, you are one of 200 women who will race as part of the Women for Tri Initiative" I almost fell off my chair!

With my two 6th place finishes in Raleigh and Augusta and the 4th in Wilmington, I earned enough points to place 37th out of 5,461 in the world in the IM 70.3 female 35-39 standings. Several of the women ahead of me have already qualified (including the 6 who accepted spots in my two fall races), and the cumulative performance garnered me a spot in this new Women for Tri initiative.  It's a new program, so I had no idea it was a possibility, and I was SO EXCITED!  I had decided that even if I qualified at my race in May, I was not going to take the slot because the goal was to qualify in 2016, not 2017, so the feeling of gratification just wouldn't be the same.  But it turns out that my 2016 performances were enough to get me in after all, so I will be making a second trip to Chattanooga this year to race at Ironman 70.3 Worlds!  Did I mention how excited I am?

The rest of the month continued along with consistent training, spring-like weather, and even more good news and happy surprises!

Took over a second off my 100 PR

Made the most of a beautiful 70+ degree day
with a bike ride out to the lake

More outdoor cross training:
Hiking the New Hope Overlook trail

Good News, Part 2:
Moved up to 3rd in my age group in the USAT rankings for NC,
and earned All American status for the second year in a row

Good News, Part 3:
Was selected to continue my ambassadorship with Salming for 2017!

I absolutely LOVE the apparel, and the shoes got me to big PRs in 2016,
so I am thrilled to represent Salming again this year
Pictured above: Salming Race 5, EnRoute, and Speed 5

Good news, part 4:
Selected as a PowerTap Grassroots Athlete

Using a power meter has made a HUGE difference in my cycling,
and PowerTap is the best in the business so I am excited to share
my passion for this with the local cycling community

Good news, part 5:
Selected as an ambassador for the California International Marathon

This will be my first open marathon since Berlin in 2014
and I'm looking forward to sharing this experience with friends!
If you're interested in joining us, leave a note in the comments
and I will share a promo code for $10 off the registration fee

Good news, part 6:
Won this awesome prize pack from Team HotShot and Trisports.com

Hopefully this will set the tone for the rest of the year! 

Back to work

After taking December off from structured training, I was ready to get back to it in the new year!  I started out with a cold, drizzly Commitment Day 5k and then picked back up with my coach on January 2.  I guess my "do whatever I feel like" approach to December was enough to maintain at least some level of fitness, as my return to the track went better than expected (6x400s all under 6:00 pace), I swam new 50 (40.2) and 100 (1:27) PRs, and set a 20 minute max average record on the bike (232W).  I guess there is some value in rest after all ;)

Swim: 17.4 miles
Bike: 13+ hours on the trainer
Run: 121 miles
Total: 53:09:47

My first all-green month in TrainingPeaks!

3rd female/6th overall at the Cary Commitment Day 5K

January 8:
Snow, ice, and a "feels like" temperature of 17 degrees

Perfectly runnable in Yaktrax!

Five days later...
January 13
Sunny with temps in the mid-70s

Sunset on another spring-like January run

My first-ever trail race:
UGTB Grind'n 5 mile run at Harris Lake

Spending a lot of quality time in the pain cave
Thankfully I really enjoy riding on the trainer
(as opposed to running on the treadmill - yuck)

20 minute time trial on the bike to close out the month
225W for the first 10 minutes, building to the 240s
This is the first time I didn't run out of steam and taper off!

Overall I couldn't be happier with the start of my 2017 training cycle.  I think that both my training plan and my approach to each workout (doing "hard" intervals HARD) have been more aggressive and so far it seems to be paying off.  Coach added a 15-20 minute daily functional strength training routine and I had a minimum of one swim, bike, or run workout every day in January, and I am definitely feeling stronger for it.  As a result, I've been putting my Normatec recovery boots to more early-season use than ever before, but overall I am feeling good and growing more excited about the year ahead. 

Still a work in progress

It's been a busy couple of months, including a trip north to visit my family, two Ironman 70.3s, and a quick weekend trip to Colorado.  Even with the travel, taper, and recovery, I managed over 30 miles in the pool, over 700 miles on my bike, and 150+ running miles.  Though neither of my races worked out perfectly, I have positive takeaways from both and overall it's been a good fall.  That said, I am looking forward to taking a little break after MiamiMan!

September
Swim - 16.6
Bike - 361
Run - 86
Total time - 42:34:00
Total miles - 470

October

Swim - 18.9

Bike - 350

Run - 68

Total time - 44:40:10

Total miles - 467

Not all of my travels are race-related! ;)

Sunset on Lake Champlain
Burlington, Vermont

Hiking in Colorado

Blue Lake - Above 11,000 feet

Adventure, beer, repeat

The heat index is somewhere between OMG and WTF

Despite not being able to swim for the first week of August thanks to the bruised ribs from my crash, it's been a really solid and productive month.  The heat has been miserable, even for North Carolina, but I've checked off a 100 mile ride, a time trial on the bike and corresponding new 20 minute max power PR (220W), and some really good speedwork on the track and the trail.  My only disappointment was to have finished one week with 198.5 miles... had I realized that I would have at least gone out for a short easy run to hit 200!

August
Swim - 18.3
Bike - 581
Run - 113
Total time - 60:09:33
Total miles - 719

It's crazy to me that I (1) survived the entire month without a rest day and (2) actually put in more miles on my bike than I did last August (while swimming and running only slightly less) even though this year I'm only training for 70.3s.  Hopefully this means that 5 hours on race day won't feel that long :)

Tarwheels Bikefest Century

Sunrise at the track
2 x 400 @ 1:25
6 x 800 @ 3:05-3:10

A few screenshots of the weather
at the end of my August bike rides

Five-0 Memorial Ride