An Ironman Cooks!: Non-Cooking: March/April Training/Life update

It's finally Spring!! A lot has happened since my last post, both training wise and life wise. Consider this a catch up post.

Training/Team Z

I have been incredibly pleased with the progress I have shown on the bike in the last month, and won serious badass points a few weeks ago during a ride up in Frederick, MD.

The two crazies

Spring was "officially" here mid March, but it sure didn't feel like it my last ride of the month, a 48 miler which just so happened to kick off the real Ironman training and also just so happened to be the day of the surprise sleet/snow storm.

It was a really rough winter, and I only managed a few 28 mile rides during the last three months outside (and plenty of training rides indoors). The entire week, I just had it in my head "you have to bike 50 this week..." I had been planning on riding that Saturday, but managed to catch the flu on Friday. Luckily, I managed to recover in time to ride Sunday morning. Unluckily, it was pouring rain and in the 40s, with temperatures expected to drop, as I made the long drive to Frederick.

During the drive, the rain was really heavy and my car was hydroplaning a bit. I was a bit nervous about the ride, but when I got to the start point there were about 20 other crazy fools out there with me (5 of which were really crazy and planning a crazy hard, mountainous ride in the pouring rain). The coach made the smart call to have us do two 24 mile loops versus one 48 mile one so that we were never too far from the cars and could reassess mid ride if we wanted to stop. Surprisingly, despite not having my good gloves, my hands/feet stayed relatively warm during the 24, the roads were not flooding, and I felt strong when I got back to the cars.

My group of three was the first back to the parking lot, and the coach asked what my plan was. Without hesitation, I said "another 24." It never occurred to me to stop, and I was just so happy to not be indoors. When one of the other three heard I was going out again, he decided to do so as well. It turns out we were the only two that made the decision to ride the full 48!

The coach, having nothing else to do, was checking in on us in his car every few miles and kept telling me how impressed he was with how I was doing. My favorite part was at mile 41 when he remarked, "Oh man, this is hail! It's not rain!" I had noticed. Joel and I ended up splitting up with me in the lead, and apparently the coach asked him at one point if he wanted to get in the car and catch up to me. Talk about confidence boost! I finished the full 48 with a smile on my face.

The craziest part of the whole thing is how much I enjoyed that ride. My first two weeks on Bike and Build were in the pouring rain, so it was nothing new to ride in it, and there were no big descents to make me nervous. Since I stayed warm the entire time, I was just so happy to be outside! I went to my first Team Z happy hour a few weeks later, and it was awesome for my coach to introduce me to some people with a "this is the badass that did 48 in the hail." As a note, I never felt unsafe during the ride and if I had or if it was, I would have stopped. I am not THAT crazy.

The next week was a 64 mile ride at Nokesville, during which I again felt strong the entire time, despite it being super windy. I was happy to have another strong performance under my belt, and felt like I could have gone further. Following a recover week, the next big test was the Culpeper ride.

Culpeper. Oh Culpeper. This is the hilliest/most challenging ride we do as a team by far. After Wisconsin, I was so excited that I never had to do that ride again. A year and a half later, I was part of a rogue group of Team Z'ers asking the coaches to move the ride from Sunday to Saturday so that I could do it again. I am so glad I did!

This ride is challenging but it rewards you with stunning views. It has both steep climbs, and many rollers as it passes through the countryside with Old Rag in the backdrop. The hills are relentless the entire way, with one particularly steep one and one road with a series of steep rollers. In the past this ride has left me feeling defeated, but yesterday I finished the ride feeling like it was just another training day. Now that is progress!

Most of my favorite riding buddies made the trip out there, and it was the first time this season I got to ride with many of them. As the "rogue" Team ride which only the Ironman/Mountains of Misery folk were encouraged to go to due to the difficulty of the ride and the lack of good training this winter, there was a camaraderie among us. I rode with many people I haven't seen in ages, and it was good to catch up with them.

I felt great the entire ride, and focused on just keeping my cadence high and my efforts on the hills easy. During the whole 48 mile loop, I never felt like I was having difficulty. The hills that in the past have defeated me didn't seem that bad and I steadily made my way up them. I think that having had the experience of the long steady climbs in Glacier really helped me with my patience on the hills - after the 12 mile long climb on the Going to the Sun Road, this was much easier!

The highlight was that at one point on the ride, a woman who didn't know me came up to me to comment on how strong of a rider I was! She was super impressed, and I am really happy she felt compelled to tell me. Last year, I worked really hard to lose weight. I was able to see the improvement in my running, but due to lack of consistent training I was unable to see the improvement on the bike. This winter, I committed to doing evening and weekend computrainer sessions, that were really challenging mentally and physically, and I am so pleased to see that the hard work was worth it. While I am not necessarily getting much speedier on the long runs, I am seeing that I have to work a lot less hard to achieve the same speed. Last year, I pushed myself to the limit just to keep up with my friends, but now I am finding myself easily able to stick with them. That is HUGE for me, and I can't wait for the rest of the training season. Good people, strong riding, beautiful views. What more could I ask for?

After the ride, we all made our way to the Moo Thru for some ice cream and more socializing.

Sexy Helmet Hair

<3 Ironman training nutrition

In other training & team news, I have been going to swims consistently and somehow have slowed down in the last month. I really enjoy my swim lane mates, so I need to figure out what is going on. It turns out, swimming with the team versus on my own is so much more enjoyable. Who would have thought?! (Everyone). I actually look forward to going to the swims.

My run is going well, but is a bit on the back burner mentally. I have also started doing some heavy weight personal training sessions at the gym, mostly to mix up my routine which I have been enjoying.

Socially, I went to two happy hours (crazy!) with my teammates during the recovery week, and had a really fun birthday dinner last weekend. It has been quite fun. I hadn't been to a non-work happy hour in ages, but definitely want to make them a part of my recovery weeks. Also, it apparently takes 10-20 text messages/e-mails to find a date that several triathletes can get together socially, even if they are on the same training schedule!

Dinner!

Non-training

In the last month, I have fit in quite a few fun adventures as well.

The first weekend in April I headed back to Charlottesville for the first time in 2 1/2 years to cheer on my friends in the half marathon/marathon. In true Team Z fashion, we found a spot to see all the runners and I cheered like crazy for all of them for four and a half hours. I also managed to hit my favorite dumplings/gelato spot twice (as well as Bodos), and spent some time in an independent coffee shop. It was a wonderful trip! I cannot go another 2 1/2 years without going back there.While the race was lonely in terms of spectators, I have my eye on it for next year, mainly for the stunning views.

Dumplings! My favorite!

Emily had a great race!

Then last weekend, my 6 and 11 year old cousins came to visit for the first time, courtesy of their Aunt Tracey. I cannot fully express my excitement!! I consider them my niece/nephew because of how old I was when they were born, and the 11 year old is my mini-me.

I started calling her that when she was real little because of the way she had her parents wrapped around her little finger, and it has been one of my greatest joys in life to see her truly blossom into my real mini me, personality and all. I think I am pretty awesome, and I think she is even more awesome. She is also now taller than me. At age 11. I cannot wait to see what I would have looked like tall. We spent the weekend cooking up a storm (her latest obsession as well), making pub burgers (ground our own beef), oven fries, chocolate mousse, a pumpkin pie to take to my grandma (for breakfast), a fritatta, and pancakes - all within 18 hours!

In true mini me fashion, I discovered she is not good at cleaning dishes, and is also stubborn. I messed up the timing of the pumpkin pie and when I mentioned we may not want to do it because it wouldn't come out of the oven until 11:45, she claimed "I could bake til 1am! You could go to bed!" Guess who was the only one in the house awake when that pie was done? (Yep, me.) I love her!

My six year old cousin is also super fun, and really good at any sport he plays. We threw the football, and he taught me how to throw a spiral. He also did the Ray Lewis dance for me, and told me all about his hero Bo Jackson (who last played in the early 90s). At some point I am supposed to you tube Bo Jackson and watch an hour and 59 second long video on him. I think he spends a lot of time watching old football clips on YouTube. He is so much fun to mess with too because he is not always the most street smart. He actually believes Johnny Football "hates being called Johnny Football. He is just a small town boy that loves the game" because YouTube told him so. I love kids his age! And I set him straight on Johnny Football.

"Can we stick our tongues out?"

We had my brother, sister-in-law, and baby nephew for dinner. My parents, ever the world travelers, were in Kenya and couldn't join us. Tracey and I took them to the cherry blossoms Sunday and "walked their feet off" according to my grandma. Somehow though, they still managed to notice the World War II, MLK Jr. and FDR memorials to tell my grandma all about it so I consider it a success. It was great having them and I hope it's the first of many visits! I finally felt like I fit into my neighborhood with little kids to play with.

He loves my comfy chairs

The carousel

One of many breaks - 11 year olds don't make smart shoe decisions.

Taking another break with TJ.

He really is a monkey.

They hide their hunger/exhaustion well. It was Ryan's first time on a train!

They also absolutely loved Borris (my cat). I had to make sure they didn't steal him when they left. I feel compelled to include photos of how adorable he is.