Sorrrryy!! Long week. But my training is going well. As I was telling one of my friends this week how behind I was on my blog, they rolled their eyes at me and said that now if I don't feel guilty about working out then I feel guilty about not blogging. It made me chuckle but I'd rather feel guilty about not blogging than working out. Sorry, priorities right? :)
So recap of the previous week:
Sunday - Long run 16.25 miles. It was supposed to be a 15 mile run but I couldn't find any courses that I really loved so it ended up being a 16 miler. I always say I have to live by some body of water because it just makes long runs like this one so enjoyable. I love looking out over the water (even if it is frozen). It helps be to connect with God and center myself. So needless to say this was a great run for me. I was shocked at how well it went. I always get a competitive when I am out there running so I was planning on a RELAXING long run but then I see other people ahead of me on my path and I play the game that I have to catch them. But the problem with this idea which I never think of when I am behind them is that once you catch them well then of course you have to pass them and then once you pass them you have to stay ahead of them and you cannot let them pass you again because then what was the point of catching them. So my relaxing run somehow always turns into this faster pace running game for me. Of course until this time I think it was mile 10 and my feet started to hurt and so I switched my running technique (I will go into another time, I am trying to alter my running form to help reduce stress to certain parts of my body) which helped but my little running game wore me down by mile 15 I was tired and soar and ready to be done.
Monday - This was supposed to be a 45 min swim day. Well since I ran 16 miles the previous day I was tired and wanted to consume all food insight. It was actually very humorous if you have gone through this before you can relate. After long runs / bike rides I always get really hungry a day or two after the workout and want/need to consume every food insight. Well this was my Monday then. So I tried to go lift during my lunch hour. That turned out to be an epic fail. I was so exhausted that when I tried to bench I could barely put up my starting weight. After a few miserable attempts to get the bar back on the rack, I decided to do a light ab workout and call it a day. My body just had not regained the strength it needed to complete a good workout (or my mind had not recovered yet from the previous day).
Tuesday- Got my butt out of bed early and hit up an hour and ten minute bike on the trainer feeling completely energized and ready to go. I have found it very hard to sit on the bike in front of the TV and do nothing but bike so I have tried a few new things. First I have started reading my bible on the bike when I first start out and I get lost in the word and time just seems to fly which is a really cool way to wipe out a half hour to 45 mins on the bike and after that I turn on the morning news and get my fill for the day. I went to the gym after work got in a quick 3 mile run. Although I find it really hard to just do a short little run like 3 miles after a long weekend run. I feel like I have barely started and then I am done already. Really pointless to me but it had to be done. I am thinking of changing those short little runs to make them a little longer (part of my modification for Boston.) .
Wednesday - I saved 3 lives! Which means I gave blood! I wanted to do this recently and found out that our Student Athletes at the UW were hosting a blood drive I decided what a perfect opportunity to donate. I donated my pint of blood in less than 5 minutes ( I always make it a competition and see how fast I can fill up my bag ) . I was told i have garden hose veins :) I am proud of my big easily accessible veins. I was also told by the technicians that I have very good blood flow which I am hoping is helping supply my muscles with lots of blood during my work outs and my heart is pumping out some good volume. Anyways I like donating blood and going to the doctor because they always check your vitals and I love to see by blood pressure is and my resting pulse. I always make this into some personal competition to see how low I can get the numbers. This makes visits like this fun for me. Just reporting 112/60 ... just saying.... Okay enough about my health. I gave blood at 2:30 pm and then I wanted to get a run in before going to home group so I they give you this nice little handout when you leave which tells you to eat and drink plenty and to not do any strenuous behavior for like 5 hours or something. Well I really listen well when I have an agenda (NOT!) so I chugged two 20 oz bottles of water and then decided that I would be okay going to the gym and running on the treadmill for 6 miles. Whhheewww let me tell you, it was hard! I felt like I was dragging the whole time but till made it through the workout and ended up making a smelly appearance at home group ( a high school youth group which I help out with once a week ).
Thursday- I got up and since I had not been to the gym in the morning yet I figured I better get an early morning swim in . So I got in the pool and had a few problems. I felt like I was about to drown the whole time I was in the pool. I couldn't breathe. It was so frustrating! I have been doing a three stroke breathing pattern, alternating which side I am breathing from to get use to breathing on both sides. This is done so when you are swimming in open water, if there are waves on one side you can breathe on the other side. Besides the breathing issue there was a lady in the lane next to me and me in my competitive spirit had to race her the whole time. May have not helped with my breathing issues either. I blamed the crappy workout on my lack of blood from the day before. May or may not be true. That evening I went back to the gym and hit the treadmill for a 6 mile running while watching the Badger Men's basketball team get lit up by Michigan State. I find it so much easier to run on the treadmill while watching a sporting event... i.e. football or basketball or hockey.... a TV show though is a lot harder for me to concentrate on , stupid commercial breaks. I always catch myself looking down at the time during those. Although I’ve played this game with myself that I cannot look down for the entire commercial break and I’ve learned that commercial breaks usually last 4 minutes. Each commercial averages about 30 seconds. Any who... I then lifted machine lower body for the remainder of the night. It was a long day but I felt so good to have accomplished all of my workouts in a day and do a lift as well.
Friday - God created the world in 6 days and on the seventh day he rested. In my training program, Friday is my day of rest ... so I rested on Friday. It felt so good.
Saturday- Since I rested on Friday I felt so rejuvenated and ready to go that I woke up before coaching and did a 2 hour bike ride on the trainer. It went well. I read my bible and then turned on the TV... the only issue though is that on Saturday mornings at 4:30 am there is nothing good on TV so I biked to the country music network .. If anyone has any good movies I could pop in for my long rides I'm always up for suggestions. So Saturdays are my long bike rides followed by a short run. I didn't have time to do the short run after. They want you to get off the bike and start running so your body gets use to change over of muscle groups. This change over is extremely painful but the more your body gets use to it the better you will be on race day. Guess I will have to wait till next week to put my body through that ... :)
"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." - Psalm 139: 13-14
Monday, February 20, 2012
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Oh Mr. Sandman
So continuing on my weekend training log. After my morning workout on Friday I worked and then had the remainder of the night to do whatever I wanted. Loved having that freedom and not feeling bogged down by the pressure of having to complete a workout. I had bought fresh salmon and asparagus earlier in the week and decided that Friday night would be the perfect time to make it. I was feeling really ambitious and had also made a long list of tasks to complete as well that night. After running and around after work and picking up things from the grocery store, I finally made it home by 8:30 pm to start dinner. I always wonder where time goes while I am shopping. I'm convinced that somehow the world just speeds up or I get lost in the isles. Anyways, I ended up making this amazing Maple syrup Salmon recipe with asparagus. See recipe below:
Baked Salmon with Maple Syrup Glaze
1 lb fresh salmon
2 tsp. maple syrup
olive oil or non-stick spray baking pan
salt to taste
Salmon Rub:
2 tsp. sweet paprika or smoked paprika (don't use hot paprika)
1 tsp. chile powder
1 tsp. ancho chile powder (optional, or use another tsp. regular chile powder)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. brown sugar
Preheat oven to 425. Combine all the spices in a small bowl. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Remove the skin from the salmon (hardest part of the whole recipe). Place salmon in baking pan. Coat salmon with spice mix and place in oven for 20 minutes or until cooked to desired likeness. Remove from oven and pour maple syrup over to taste desired.
I also sautéed asparagus in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then add lemon after. Delicious. See, I do cook when I have time. But by the time I was done and had finished the dishes and few loads of laundry it was already 12:15 am. Waaaayyy past my bed time. I was determined to get up in the morning to get my hour forty-five bike ride in but when my alarm went off at 5 am, my lack of sleep from the last two days had caught up with me and I hit my snooze and slept until the last possible minute. I had to get up to coach skating all morning. After coaching all morning and then attending a beautiful baby shower for a co-worker, I arrived home at 6:45 pm with full ambitions to throw in a movie and hit the bike trainer for my long weekend ride ( very short relative to summer training rides). As I was changing into my biking outfit my bed looked oh so very enticing. I laid down and promised myself a quick power nap and then I would bounce back and be ready for my ride. I wake up to my phone buzzing next to me at 9:30 pm. Crap guess that was a long five minute power nap, kind of felt like when I go shopping and time flies. By this time I was so exhausted that I decided to stay in bed and call it a night. Needless to say the score board read:
Baked Salmon with Maple Syrup Glaze
1 lb fresh salmon
2 tsp. maple syrup
olive oil or non-stick spray baking pan
salt to taste
Salmon Rub:
2 tsp. sweet paprika or smoked paprika (don't use hot paprika)
1 tsp. chile powder
1 tsp. ancho chile powder (optional, or use another tsp. regular chile powder)
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. brown sugar
Preheat oven to 425. Combine all the spices in a small bowl. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Remove the skin from the salmon (hardest part of the whole recipe). Place salmon in baking pan. Coat salmon with spice mix and place in oven for 20 minutes or until cooked to desired likeness. Remove from oven and pour maple syrup over to taste desired.
I also sautéed asparagus in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then add lemon after. Delicious. See, I do cook when I have time. But by the time I was done and had finished the dishes and few loads of laundry it was already 12:15 am. Waaaayyy past my bed time. I was determined to get up in the morning to get my hour forty-five bike ride in but when my alarm went off at 5 am, my lack of sleep from the last two days had caught up with me and I hit my snooze and slept until the last possible minute. I had to get up to coach skating all morning. After coaching all morning and then attending a beautiful baby shower for a co-worker, I arrived home at 6:45 pm with full ambitions to throw in a movie and hit the bike trainer for my long weekend ride ( very short relative to summer training rides). As I was changing into my biking outfit my bed looked oh so very enticing. I laid down and promised myself a quick power nap and then I would bounce back and be ready for my ride. I wake up to my phone buzzing next to me at 9:30 pm. Crap guess that was a long five minute power nap, kind of felt like when I go shopping and time flies. By this time I was so exhausted that I decided to stay in bed and call it a night. Needless to say the score board read:
Mother Nature: 1 Jackie's Movtivation: 0
“Rest when you're weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.”
Monday, February 13, 2012
A Better Brand of Beef Makes A Butter Burger Better ???
So if I'm slacking on by blog that means my training is on schedule. Okay ... I'm just going to say that to make an excuse for not blogging the last couple of days.
So Thursday night I made a last minute decision to go snowboarding. I went a week ago for the first time and had a blast but only went for about an hour and stayed on the bunny hill the whole time. This time it was the whole night and I graduated myself off the bunny hill because I felt like I had mastered the tow rope and honestly felt like I was better than all the little people on the bunny hill ( ha, oh how arrogance is bliss). So I became ambitious and every time I went up the chair lift I ended up carrying a little more snow with me. The mountain and I had a mutual agreement that every time I would take a little bit of it and it would take a little bit of me. After numerous face plants and snowball rolls down the hill, I ended the night laying face first in the middle of a run calling timeout and excepting the fact I'm not perfect at everything (very hard for me to believe now) and with the complete understanding as to why when I was skiing that I always saw snowboarders sitting down on the hill. I would have been content sitting on the hill the whole night on my butt, but I was told I couldn't do that and that I had to get down somehow. After a failed argument that the ski patrol could pull me down on one of their boards I painfully tumbled down the hill and into the warming house. I remember thinking ... I'm gunna pay for this later ... So at 9 pm I left the hill and half of my body and swung through Culvers (my favorite fast food restaurant of all time). Grabbed a team Scoppie butter burger meal and inhaled the whole thing on my way home. For those of you questioning, which you shouldn’t if you know me, yes I did get the custard and after a long night on the hill this was my reward or so I thought. Now having blogged earlier that day that I was going to swim and run I forced myself to the gym at 10 pm at night ( oh so thankful at that point that I had decided to start blogging that day otherwise I probably would have been hitting the hay, way to hold me accountable! )
I hit the treadmill for a 6 mile run which was horribly painful. I thought my bum was on fire from falling on it all night long. I’ve never struggled so much through a run before, not only from the pain my body was feeling but also the pain my nostrils were going through. I decided to hop on a treadmill next to someone who could have used a little more axe deodorant, if you know what I mean. And then of course you always have to check yourself first to make sure it’s not you, which most of the time it is me. So I did the armpit swipe, nope not me this time. Anyways, I was exhausted and fatigued and was thinking how I had to do an hour swim after this too ... Ekkkkk!! Well I hopped in the pool fatigued and wanting to just float for the hour I had wondered if that counted since I was technically still in the pool. I started out with a warm up 500 meter front crawl swim. Half way through my second 500 I was burping up Culvers butter burgers and fries. It was so gross, nothing like a regurgitated burger. I have no clue how cows do it!. I was really regretting that team Scoppie meal. It was not the feeling I wanted at 11:30 at night. I also had not taken any product/supplements all day. Oh was I one hurting girl. In the middle of my second lap of my third 500 I had a swim stopping, foot cramp. I felt like my right leg was paralyzed. It was a good thing the pool was only 3 ft 6 inches deep. Yes I am taller than that and my head is above the water contrary to all the short jokes out there.. Just remember ... good things coming in small packages. Anyways, I was able to hobble over to the wall and chug some water. I decided to modify my workout to 4 x 500 and to do my 3rd 500 as a pull. When I had finished it was 12:10 am and as I was leaving the gym reviewing my workout, my nutrition background slammed in my head and I remember the importance of a good diet while training. Needless to say on race morning a Team Scoppie Meal will not be on my menu.
The next morning I was up at 5 am and took my Slam and catalyst (supplements, I will go into further detail later) and did a 55 minute Bike Trainer ride and was back at the club at 6 am swimming my little heart out and by 7:30 am fully fueled and ready to take on the world with an egg breakfast in me. What the difference nutrition can have on the body!
"Never eat more than you can lift"
So Thursday night I made a last minute decision to go snowboarding. I went a week ago for the first time and had a blast but only went for about an hour and stayed on the bunny hill the whole time. This time it was the whole night and I graduated myself off the bunny hill because I felt like I had mastered the tow rope and honestly felt like I was better than all the little people on the bunny hill ( ha, oh how arrogance is bliss). So I became ambitious and every time I went up the chair lift I ended up carrying a little more snow with me. The mountain and I had a mutual agreement that every time I would take a little bit of it and it would take a little bit of me. After numerous face plants and snowball rolls down the hill, I ended the night laying face first in the middle of a run calling timeout and excepting the fact I'm not perfect at everything (very hard for me to believe now) and with the complete understanding as to why when I was skiing that I always saw snowboarders sitting down on the hill. I would have been content sitting on the hill the whole night on my butt, but I was told I couldn't do that and that I had to get down somehow. After a failed argument that the ski patrol could pull me down on one of their boards I painfully tumbled down the hill and into the warming house. I remember thinking ... I'm gunna pay for this later ... So at 9 pm I left the hill and half of my body and swung through Culvers (my favorite fast food restaurant of all time). Grabbed a team Scoppie butter burger meal and inhaled the whole thing on my way home. For those of you questioning, which you shouldn’t if you know me, yes I did get the custard and after a long night on the hill this was my reward or so I thought. Now having blogged earlier that day that I was going to swim and run I forced myself to the gym at 10 pm at night ( oh so thankful at that point that I had decided to start blogging that day otherwise I probably would have been hitting the hay, way to hold me accountable! )
I hit the treadmill for a 6 mile run which was horribly painful. I thought my bum was on fire from falling on it all night long. I’ve never struggled so much through a run before, not only from the pain my body was feeling but also the pain my nostrils were going through. I decided to hop on a treadmill next to someone who could have used a little more axe deodorant, if you know what I mean. And then of course you always have to check yourself first to make sure it’s not you, which most of the time it is me. So I did the armpit swipe, nope not me this time. Anyways, I was exhausted and fatigued and was thinking how I had to do an hour swim after this too ... Ekkkkk!! Well I hopped in the pool fatigued and wanting to just float for the hour I had wondered if that counted since I was technically still in the pool. I started out with a warm up 500 meter front crawl swim. Half way through my second 500 I was burping up Culvers butter burgers and fries. It was so gross, nothing like a regurgitated burger. I have no clue how cows do it!. I was really regretting that team Scoppie meal. It was not the feeling I wanted at 11:30 at night. I also had not taken any product/supplements all day. Oh was I one hurting girl. In the middle of my second lap of my third 500 I had a swim stopping, foot cramp. I felt like my right leg was paralyzed. It was a good thing the pool was only 3 ft 6 inches deep. Yes I am taller than that and my head is above the water contrary to all the short jokes out there.. Just remember ... good things coming in small packages. Anyways, I was able to hobble over to the wall and chug some water. I decided to modify my workout to 4 x 500 and to do my 3rd 500 as a pull. When I had finished it was 12:10 am and as I was leaving the gym reviewing my workout, my nutrition background slammed in my head and I remember the importance of a good diet while training. Needless to say on race morning a Team Scoppie Meal will not be on my menu.
The next morning I was up at 5 am and took my Slam and catalyst (supplements, I will go into further detail later) and did a 55 minute Bike Trainer ride and was back at the club at 6 am swimming my little heart out and by 7:30 am fully fueled and ready to take on the world with an egg breakfast in me. What the difference nutrition can have on the body!
"Never eat more than you can lift"
Thursday, February 9, 2012
In the beginning
So I've never done this before but I thought that it would be good to document some of the experiences I am going through while training this year. Let me first start with what I am training for:
My major race plan for this year:
1. Boston Marathon - Goal is to improve my time from my last marathon (3:30:23 Madison Marathon personal PR): Date April 16, 2012
2. Ford Ironman Madison- Goal is to improve my time from my last ironman (13:47:41): Date September 9, 2012
My plan is to document my training log here. I hope to try to get on every day and document what I did, products I am using, suggestions to improve and etc. Hopefully I can get people to join me in my training and use this to encourage others as well.
I am using a training program for the ironman which is my ultimate goal and adjusting it currently to incorporate by Boston Marathon training as well.
A little background is needed here. I qualified for Boston by running the Madison Marathon, which I didn't train for. I was running 5 days a week last year and lifting 4 days a week. I was religious about going to the gym every day after work. So I was putting in 6 - 8 miles every day I ran. I was running with a friend at the time that was ambitious and excited about setting up his race schedule for the year. I'm not sure if he was already planning on running the Madison Marathon or if I planted the bug but either way he ended up putting it on his race schedule. I had done Madison previous years and really liked the course and local support so I remember making comments about how much fun it was but after completing the Ironman in the fall of 2010 I pledged to do no races for a year and take time off to get back into really enjoying working out. For those of you who have trained for something you might understand what I was going through. While training for something keeps you motivated, I would often feel guilty and forced into going to the gym because I HAD to do workout X to keep on my training program or I would fall behind and not be able to complete (insert whatever race I was training for ). I hated that feeling (and I am actually getting that feeling now while training for Boston and the Ironman again, partially the reason for this Blog). But needless to say I fell back in love with working out and felt great about myself and my body. So my friend was encouraging me to run the marathon with him since we were training together anyways. I kept saying “Yeah, yeah I'll sign up later maybe." In other words I would wait until the last minute, not sign up and find an excuse not to do it. I'm very notorious for doing that (Sorry if I've done that to you, you should find comfort in knowing you're not the only person I have done this to. Guess I should change that though, huh.... Later :) ) Anyways I had never planned on actually running the Madison Marathon. He would go on long weekend training runs and I would ask how they went but never joined in. Until two weeks before the race, I decided to join him for part of his long weekend run. I believe he was doing 20 or 22 (it may have been longer but I have forgotten.). I remember meeting him at James Madison Park and I ran to meet him from my house on the East side only a short warm up run for me, like a mile or 2 and he had just finished running around Monona. We did a ten mile run around campus and I felt great and dominated the run. I figured if he can do the marathon and I just kicked his butt doing a ten mile run ( yes I did realize that he did run like 13 before that but that's my arrogance coming out) that I would do just fine running the marathon. So we did the first thirteen miles of the race the next weekend and then I took a week to taper and raced the following Sunday. The race went really well and I was doing sub 8 minute miles until mile 23 and I hit my wall and wanted to sit down. So my lack of training did finally catch up with me and I wanted to sit down and have someone carry me to the finish line. I crawled (figuratively) the last 3 miles and finished in 3 hours and 30 minutes and some change for seconds. I was super pumped to have PRed and qualified for Boston. I took 3rd in my age group and was in the top 25 of all the women, all without really training.
In the fall of 2011 I volunteered at the Ironman Madison and loved watching and cheering people on. It reminded me of what I was feeling one year ago that day and how much fun I had and how I loved it. So I decided to sign up again for the following year. So I got in line at 6:30 am the morning after and waited to register at 8 am. The first time I signed up I was very intimidated standing in line with all these people around me talking about all the triathlons they had done and all their nice expensive equipment that they were going to use and the training regimen they were going to use and even some were bragging about their recent completions of Ironmans. I remember feeling very anxious and nervous for what I was about to commit myself to for a whole year. I eaves dropped intently on their conversations of how to train and what worked and what didn't, the wheels they were going to use on their bikes ( at that time I didn't even know there were different wheel types ), if they were going to use their tri bike or road bike due to Madison's bike being one of the hardest Ironman bikes worldwide. The buzz in the air was so awesome ( to someone who hasn't been to one of these events you need to experience it, it is electrifying). This last time I signed up though, I was the experienced triathlete (although my brother-in-law referred to me on race day looking like the kid with jeans in gym class, because I don't have the expensive equipment). It’s very cool standing in line being one of the younger people there and being a girl. Let me try to recap this experience for you: you are standing in line with your coffee or breakfast shake and everyone is there for the same reason. You are committing yourself to intense training, long weekend hours out on the road, painful Sunday morning runs because your legs are shot from the 7 hour bike ride you did the previous day, early morning training swims, runs, early bed times, canceling plans with friends and family because you have to train. The camaraderie for an individual’s sport is so amazing. You all realize you are committing to put yourself through hell for one day, push your body to limits it has never been pushed before, throwing yourself on an emotional roll-a-coaster, and all for what? To hear as you cross the finish line, “Jackie Uttech, You are an IRONMAN". So cool! I'm getting excited just thinking about it. Anyways, this year I was the experienced one. I start up small talk with people around me and just ask them if they have done any before and what made them want to do this one and once people find out you have done one and it was the Madison one, everyone has questions. They want to know how you trained, what equipment you used, what training program you went through, how the race went ...etc. People look at you in a new way all of a sudden and treat you differently. You become a wealth of knowledge and highly respected. Anyways, you wait in line and get excited and buzzed about the event and training and then once you sign up and leave and return to normal life, reality sinks in and the weight of training sets in. All of a sudden those long bike rides seem REALLY long and those long runs that you were looking forward to while waiting in line become those 10 degree morning runs you dread and contemplate staying in your warm bed and getting an extra hour and a half sleep and waking up at a normal time with everyone else. Needless to say that swim you thought you would get up and do every morning has somehow turned into hitting the snooze button three times and promising yourself you will do it later in the day ( yeah right ! ).
Fast forward to now. I am seven weeks into my Ironman training program, feeling bogged down by long weeks of training, feeling guilty if I miss a day or don't complete all of my workouts for the day and revamping my training program to include long runs to prep for Boston. Needless to say I'm fried mentally already... ekkkkk. Not good. I need a pick me up and I'm constantly trying to find people to join me in my training. Because honestly training with someone else even if it’s just joining for part of the run or swim is always more encouraging and enjoyable then being out there by yourself forcing yourself to do it. Ever realize how nice it is to go to the gym with someone else who will hold you accountable? So here is where I am at. I need some encouragement and motivation to help me get through this next year of long training regiments.
Now I need to give credit to some people who are already helping me with this. First of all I could not have gotten through or accomplished anything without GOD. He has given me the body and will power to do everything that I do. The first time I did the Ironman, I was in constant conversation with GOD that whole day. I couldn't have gotten through it without him. Secondly I have an amazing family who is very supportive and are with me every mile of the race. They are the best cheering sections anyone could ask for. Others even comment along the way about how awesome a cheering section they are and they wish they had the support that I had. So I have to thank them for their constant encouragement and support. And finally I have a great group of friends who are helping me out , going on runs with me and helping me with my strength training program, advising on nutrition and supporting my irrational ( in their eyes) decisions.
So where to go from here? Today my workout is a 1 hour swim and a 50 minute run. Translation: 5-6 x 500s in the pool and a 6-7 mile run on the tread mill although I'm really hoping to get outside and do some hills because Boston is very hilly and lets be real who actually likes running on a tread mill (please let me know if you do). My snooze button seemed to be working really well this morning and so this is going to have to happen after work. I am trying Advocare products right now to see what supplements I will need to use on race day. I'll go more into detail on this another day. But as for today, I just have to put my head down and push through. I will conclude with a quote or bible verse I feel is applicable for the day.
“If you are on the treadmill next to me, the answer is yes, we are racing”
My major race plan for this year:
1. Boston Marathon - Goal is to improve my time from my last marathon (3:30:23 Madison Marathon personal PR): Date April 16, 2012
2. Ford Ironman Madison- Goal is to improve my time from my last ironman (13:47:41): Date September 9, 2012
My plan is to document my training log here. I hope to try to get on every day and document what I did, products I am using, suggestions to improve and etc. Hopefully I can get people to join me in my training and use this to encourage others as well.
I am using a training program for the ironman which is my ultimate goal and adjusting it currently to incorporate by Boston Marathon training as well.
A little background is needed here. I qualified for Boston by running the Madison Marathon, which I didn't train for. I was running 5 days a week last year and lifting 4 days a week. I was religious about going to the gym every day after work. So I was putting in 6 - 8 miles every day I ran. I was running with a friend at the time that was ambitious and excited about setting up his race schedule for the year. I'm not sure if he was already planning on running the Madison Marathon or if I planted the bug but either way he ended up putting it on his race schedule. I had done Madison previous years and really liked the course and local support so I remember making comments about how much fun it was but after completing the Ironman in the fall of 2010 I pledged to do no races for a year and take time off to get back into really enjoying working out. For those of you who have trained for something you might understand what I was going through. While training for something keeps you motivated, I would often feel guilty and forced into going to the gym because I HAD to do workout X to keep on my training program or I would fall behind and not be able to complete (insert whatever race I was training for ). I hated that feeling (and I am actually getting that feeling now while training for Boston and the Ironman again, partially the reason for this Blog). But needless to say I fell back in love with working out and felt great about myself and my body. So my friend was encouraging me to run the marathon with him since we were training together anyways. I kept saying “Yeah, yeah I'll sign up later maybe." In other words I would wait until the last minute, not sign up and find an excuse not to do it. I'm very notorious for doing that (Sorry if I've done that to you, you should find comfort in knowing you're not the only person I have done this to. Guess I should change that though, huh.... Later :) ) Anyways I had never planned on actually running the Madison Marathon. He would go on long weekend training runs and I would ask how they went but never joined in. Until two weeks before the race, I decided to join him for part of his long weekend run. I believe he was doing 20 or 22 (it may have been longer but I have forgotten.). I remember meeting him at James Madison Park and I ran to meet him from my house on the East side only a short warm up run for me, like a mile or 2 and he had just finished running around Monona. We did a ten mile run around campus and I felt great and dominated the run. I figured if he can do the marathon and I just kicked his butt doing a ten mile run ( yes I did realize that he did run like 13 before that but that's my arrogance coming out) that I would do just fine running the marathon. So we did the first thirteen miles of the race the next weekend and then I took a week to taper and raced the following Sunday. The race went really well and I was doing sub 8 minute miles until mile 23 and I hit my wall and wanted to sit down. So my lack of training did finally catch up with me and I wanted to sit down and have someone carry me to the finish line. I crawled (figuratively) the last 3 miles and finished in 3 hours and 30 minutes and some change for seconds. I was super pumped to have PRed and qualified for Boston. I took 3rd in my age group and was in the top 25 of all the women, all without really training.
In the fall of 2011 I volunteered at the Ironman Madison and loved watching and cheering people on. It reminded me of what I was feeling one year ago that day and how much fun I had and how I loved it. So I decided to sign up again for the following year. So I got in line at 6:30 am the morning after and waited to register at 8 am. The first time I signed up I was very intimidated standing in line with all these people around me talking about all the triathlons they had done and all their nice expensive equipment that they were going to use and the training regimen they were going to use and even some were bragging about their recent completions of Ironmans. I remember feeling very anxious and nervous for what I was about to commit myself to for a whole year. I eaves dropped intently on their conversations of how to train and what worked and what didn't, the wheels they were going to use on their bikes ( at that time I didn't even know there were different wheel types ), if they were going to use their tri bike or road bike due to Madison's bike being one of the hardest Ironman bikes worldwide. The buzz in the air was so awesome ( to someone who hasn't been to one of these events you need to experience it, it is electrifying). This last time I signed up though, I was the experienced triathlete (although my brother-in-law referred to me on race day looking like the kid with jeans in gym class, because I don't have the expensive equipment). It’s very cool standing in line being one of the younger people there and being a girl. Let me try to recap this experience for you: you are standing in line with your coffee or breakfast shake and everyone is there for the same reason. You are committing yourself to intense training, long weekend hours out on the road, painful Sunday morning runs because your legs are shot from the 7 hour bike ride you did the previous day, early morning training swims, runs, early bed times, canceling plans with friends and family because you have to train. The camaraderie for an individual’s sport is so amazing. You all realize you are committing to put yourself through hell for one day, push your body to limits it has never been pushed before, throwing yourself on an emotional roll-a-coaster, and all for what? To hear as you cross the finish line, “Jackie Uttech, You are an IRONMAN". So cool! I'm getting excited just thinking about it. Anyways, this year I was the experienced one. I start up small talk with people around me and just ask them if they have done any before and what made them want to do this one and once people find out you have done one and it was the Madison one, everyone has questions. They want to know how you trained, what equipment you used, what training program you went through, how the race went ...etc. People look at you in a new way all of a sudden and treat you differently. You become a wealth of knowledge and highly respected. Anyways, you wait in line and get excited and buzzed about the event and training and then once you sign up and leave and return to normal life, reality sinks in and the weight of training sets in. All of a sudden those long bike rides seem REALLY long and those long runs that you were looking forward to while waiting in line become those 10 degree morning runs you dread and contemplate staying in your warm bed and getting an extra hour and a half sleep and waking up at a normal time with everyone else. Needless to say that swim you thought you would get up and do every morning has somehow turned into hitting the snooze button three times and promising yourself you will do it later in the day ( yeah right ! ).
Fast forward to now. I am seven weeks into my Ironman training program, feeling bogged down by long weeks of training, feeling guilty if I miss a day or don't complete all of my workouts for the day and revamping my training program to include long runs to prep for Boston. Needless to say I'm fried mentally already... ekkkkk. Not good. I need a pick me up and I'm constantly trying to find people to join me in my training. Because honestly training with someone else even if it’s just joining for part of the run or swim is always more encouraging and enjoyable then being out there by yourself forcing yourself to do it. Ever realize how nice it is to go to the gym with someone else who will hold you accountable? So here is where I am at. I need some encouragement and motivation to help me get through this next year of long training regiments.
Now I need to give credit to some people who are already helping me with this. First of all I could not have gotten through or accomplished anything without GOD. He has given me the body and will power to do everything that I do. The first time I did the Ironman, I was in constant conversation with GOD that whole day. I couldn't have gotten through it without him. Secondly I have an amazing family who is very supportive and are with me every mile of the race. They are the best cheering sections anyone could ask for. Others even comment along the way about how awesome a cheering section they are and they wish they had the support that I had. So I have to thank them for their constant encouragement and support. And finally I have a great group of friends who are helping me out , going on runs with me and helping me with my strength training program, advising on nutrition and supporting my irrational ( in their eyes) decisions.
So where to go from here? Today my workout is a 1 hour swim and a 50 minute run. Translation: 5-6 x 500s in the pool and a 6-7 mile run on the tread mill although I'm really hoping to get outside and do some hills because Boston is very hilly and lets be real who actually likes running on a tread mill (please let me know if you do). My snooze button seemed to be working really well this morning and so this is going to have to happen after work. I am trying Advocare products right now to see what supplements I will need to use on race day. I'll go more into detail on this another day. But as for today, I just have to put my head down and push through. I will conclude with a quote or bible verse I feel is applicable for the day.
“If you are on the treadmill next to me, the answer is yes, we are racing”
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