Pray for us!

We are on our beloved Recovery Week again. Although, it seems, Recovery Week is kicking all of our asses. Off we went for our 3 1/2 hour bike ride. As usual we felt great the first 20 minutes of the ride... it's a lovely down slope through RSM. Goldilocks, as always, takes off like a bat out of hell. We think it's because of his Ritalin Dogs. So, Adult Supervision and I chat away about the week.

Until we hit our first hill. It's really not a horrible hill. Actually it's not even one of our "noted hills" for the ride, you know like Cook's Corner Hill or Bake's Hill. But it's a hill that defines how the ride will be for us. Today that first hill predicted a hard day. Bummer!

We managed to finish The Canyon loop along with some extra mileage on the Mountain to Sea trail and determined a few things:

• There's a "If you catch it, you can keep it" policy in The Canyon. When Goldilocks explained this, it made Adult Supervision's and my day! That meant if we could catch a Future Husband (aka a Hard Core Roadie) in The Canyon we could keep him! Off we rode with a new goal!
• If an atomic bomb were to hit the States, only cockroaches and Old Yeller would survive. Matter of fact after the bomb, both might actually glow and Old Yeller would be cleaner.
• If Adult Supervision wasn't training in the group, Goldilocks would have pealed off on his own training for the race, minus me. I can't blame him. I mean, if it was just the two of us, he and I wouldn't have made it further than the closest Wine Bar on our bikes.

So after riding 55.22 miles in 3 1/2 hours, we changed clothes and pushed off for our brick. Now, we were supposed to do 20 minutes on the brick. I lasted 18:45. Yup just 1:15 shy. Why? Well, cuz I apparently can't do simple math and messed up my nutrition AGAIN! 300 calories x 3.5 hours = 1050 calories. What did I do: approx 780 calories. Hm, wonder why I bonked!?

We have 2 months +1 day to figure this out. The group had a serious sit down, ate Los Primos, drank light beer and figured out the remainder of our training schedule... after True Blood was over. To be honest, I'm scared! In the next three weeks we need to climb up to 6 hours on the bike and at least 16-18 miles on the run. That's not even the furthest...

So to answer every one's question: Training is going well. And yes, we currently are doing only as much as this blog reports. So pray for us!

You know the old saying...

Promises are made to be broken. Last post I promised we'd train. And now it's time tally up what we did:

Adult Supervision continues to smash it. Showing off as she tends to do. She decided to meet up with one of our Hardcore Ironman Triathletes, Roger and swim the bouy line not once, not twice, not three... but say it with me four times! I don't think I've ever done that! And I'm not sure about the rest of her training, but working out with Roger: Nough said! With all this hard work, did Adult Supervision get rewarded? No, she had to go to Corona. Hard work, sometimes does NOT pay off!

Onto Goldilocks' week:
Apparently giving the dogs Ritalin worked out well. He was able to sneak away to ride with Adult Supervision last Sunday for a ride/run. And Saturday, he and I got a 10 mile run around the Backbay in.

After the run, we headed over to Sol for a Recovery Drink:


Onto me:
I had a busy week... prepping for a housewarming party. I handwashed 75 glasses, cut up about 7-8 lbs of cheese and broke up about 8 lbs of chocolate. It was quite exhausting!


I did manage to get said 10 miler in with Adam. I felt awful. Not at all like my previous trek around the Backbay! First, we pushed the run back so I could get some more sleep (I got knocked down early in the week with a cold). Once we got to the Backbay, dressed in our finest running garb, we hit the trail.

I'll tell you, my closest friends, it was a BAD day! You know what I mean?? A "where's the nearest bathroom" type of day. And one of the great things about the Backbay... there's only two places with bathrooms. The first was where our cars were... the second is 5 miles in on the other side! The good news: I survived!

And, I also helped Goldilocks finish his Recovery Drink. See, so a good day!


But let's be serious... our group has 2 months + 2 days before 8/29. It's bad when your priorities for Ironman have switched from killin your PR, to just getting in before midnight so the trip to Canada isn't for loss. Then again, we are doing wine tasting afterwards... so I guess it's not a TOTAL loss.

Living up to being the Drinking Club, first

As you know by now, our Family loves "The Drink". So although we aren't swimming, biking and running as much as we should we certainly are doing a fantastic job drinking!



Observe:
1) If you look close enough you'll see the look of fear in our eyes. A sort of, "Man, we are screwed for this Ironman thing!"
2) That, and the size of Adam's glass


This week.... we promise to train.

I think I have a problem with my nutrition...

That, and the fact that out of the blue, my Nutritionist I use infrequently, called to see if I needed her services.

Adult Supervision wins the Gold Star this week

This was a fun filled week for me. Which means I did little training, but had fun!

After the weekend, I took Monday off. A swim would have been ideal, and I did have my gear. I just didn't make it to the pool. One, it was cold. Two, I had cocktails with friends from work. I call this: Priorities.

Tuesday was a tad more successful. At work we have a gym and locker rooms. I'm thankful for that. So at lunch I headed downstairs and did a "self guided" spin class on the bike, then a 15 minute run on the treadmill. I went to bed that night with thoughts of smashing my previous PR in Penticton...

Wednesday seemed a good day to get in the water. Again car packed with swim gear, but... I went to my LifeGroup instead.

The highlight of the week was running the Peter's Canyon Trail Series with The Ladies. Goldilocks and Adult Supervision weren't interested in this, so I represented the group. I'm happy I did!

Nothing lifts your spirits like a well organized, local event. I got to catch up with old running friends and did ok on the trail. I did manage to twist my ankle climbing "Billy Goat" and continued to run on it for the 5 mile course. But as you can see in the pictures... I had fun chatting it up with innocent people I didn't know.


Friday, again motivated to do more than 1/2 the training schedule for the week... so, again I packed the swim gear in the car. And yet again, I didn't make it. The 12 mile run I needed to complete? It was canceled due to the ankle. I did manage to get my place ready for some visitors (The Zideks) and enjoyed some cocktails with their company. At least I can say I was productive.

Saturday... I got my hair did. Goldilocks took the opportunity to be a Doggie Daddy. Adult Supervision decided to show off completing the 4 hour ride The Family was meant to finish.

Onto Sunday... Adult Supervision decided to sign up for Bonelli Park. This is a race that's so (humorously) badly organized that you just have to laugh. One year they didn't have swim caps, another year I got lost during the run cuz the volunteers left, and almost always you can hear the race organizer tell folks that he's not just ready to set the next wave off until the last swimmer hits the first buoy (that could take 5-15 minutes, sit tight!) ... But bless Adult Supervision's heart! She drove out and did it solo. (Show off!) No seriously, she gets the gold star...

While she did that, I texted Goldilocks and admitted I wouldn't be able to make the ride today. I had a family gathering (with the related family, not the polygamy family) yesterday, which led to too much wine, which led to spending the night at my parentials with everyone, which led to two little monkeys climbing into bed with me at 2am, which led to being woken up at 6am with same two little monkeys yelling for "MAMA!" in their "quiet voices" ... hm, I just didn't make it up til 1oam.

Goldilocks gave me the easy out and admitted he needed sleep... We did meet up later, but that was to organize my place. We hit Home Depot, Restoration Hardware, Target, Islands (a man's gotta eat), and Michaels. Busy day, but just a reminder of what happens when Goldilocks and 2009 Shannon are left on their own?? Adult Supervision was not happy!

Point of the post... Adult Supervision rocked it this weekend. Goldilocks was a great Doggie's Daddy and 2009 Shannon showed up.

Didn't they say it's better to be undertrained versus overtrained???

It's all relative

Is it just me, or do you get embarrassed telling someone you are doing an Ironman?

I'm not downplaying Ironman because I know it's a huge accomplishment, and I know not everyone can do it, and I know how much I have to sacrifice to do it... but it kind of overwhelms me with embarrassment when I tell someone I'm doing an Ironman and they freak out. Like bugged eyed, lip snarled, voice jumped up an octive or two (+ cracked) type of freak out.

Sure, there are some folks that don't know what it means to do an Ironman and there are those that think I do triathletes. It's the ones that know and make a big deal, that embarrass me.

Yes, I know I'm crazy! Yes, I know that's ridiculous! Yes, swim, bike, and then run. Yes, ALL IN ONE DAY! I'm not quite sure... I guess I'd have to agree that the human body probably wasn't made to do that!

I cringe inside having to explain what Ironman is while they gasp at the absurdity of it. I guess because it just makes me feel silly. Silly because I made the choice to do it. And because when you make me break it down it is a bit absurd.

But the way I see it, it's all relative.

Here's why:

• I'm doing my third Ironman in 7 years... I have friends that do 3 in a year.
• I'm on my bike for 5 hours one fine Saturday morning, but I know some of you who are in the water surfing for just as long without a break.
• I know my hobby is crazy, but I would also say it's crazy sitting for 3 hours pasting gems on construction paper for a scrapbook.

My point is... we all got our "crazy" thing. So, I'll try not to drop my jaw at your crazy addiction to scrapbooking/dancing/surfing/remodeling/shopping/golfing/football watching/etc., as long as you do the same when I tell you I'm doing a triathlete (I mean, an Ironman).

Recovery weeks are the best

Even when you don't train!

After building our miles for the past three weeks, we collectively agreed we are (kinda) on track with the long rides/runs from the schedule. That meant recovery week! Can I hear an Amen!?

Recovery week: After building your miles and bustin' your butt for 1-2 weeks, you are rewarded with a recovery week. Some (like our group) view this as your obligatory week "off". But some of the more serious Ironman trainees simply decrease their miles and intensity. They're kinda hardcore. Maybe someday we can become serious about our training...

With Recovery Week explained, I'll jump into my week of accomplishments... Tuesday I managed to get in a recovery run after Monday's long ride and a swim on Friday. Yup, that's it. Two workouts. Unless you count Thursday night, when I intended to do hill repeats or a trainer ride on the bike, but 2009 Shannon showed up and convinced 2010 Shannon to open some wine instead.

The funny thing is: despite that horrible attempt at training this week, I still logged the most miles with The Family. Yippee! I mean, I should get a gold star or something! They could have at least let me draft off them for a better part of The Canyon Saturday, but they didn't! I guess I should expect it... same thing happened when Jim from FinalFit wrote them a "doctor's note" saying I could take it easy during one of our climb weeks because of my back injury. I got no love ;) Sure, Jim's not a doctor... in fact he's a bike fitter. But I think his note should have been take more seriously, it was legit! I'm just saying...

Back to my training log: Saturday's ride went ok. I was tired. My legs felt zapped. But we finished our ride through The Canyon in 3 hours and managed a 20 minute run.

Sunday, Goldilocks had to bail on the run for work. Shoot! I was really counting on him for motivation. Adult Supervision was running El Morro... which just didn't sound appealing. And besides, I woke up at 7am and I'm sure she was halfway done with her run (if she didn't get lost like last week). Alas, I put the coffee on and strapped things down with my running bra, got in the car and ran my 10 miler around the Backbay.

Great run! I mean unlike the ride the day before where my legs felt done, they felt fresh and strong. To the point where I wondered at about mile 5 when it might catch up to me. Mile 8? Nope, I managed a great run and sharpened my farmer's tan all that much more.

Before I wrap this week's recap up, here's my doctor's note! See, legit! I have it on my fridge. I figure since it's not dated I can get away pulling this out another time if needed.

Goldilocks has a question!

Adult Supervision and I LOVE this one...

To many, this means the biker is turning right on the road. To us, it means Goldilocks has a question and we better pick up the pace to catch him...

Having a question, usually leads to giggles from Wives #2 & #3, while Adam shakes his head at us.

Eat!

It's a constant battle with The Family during our long rides. Eating! We bicker about it through out the whole workout, even though we stop for many shopping trips during the ride. No one seems to be eating enough and we are quick to call each other out. Often. Clear bottles give each of us the right to tell on another training partner. "Eat! Your bottle has barely been touched!"

Adult Supervision says I need 300 calories an hour, not counting what I ate for breakfast. During a normal activity, like sitting on the couch watching TV, I can totally do it. But on the bike, I struggle. My bottles, when filled with Perpetum specifically, tend to be when I leave them alone the most. Resulting in calorie deficiencies.

The problem is getting a woman to eat 300 calories an hour for four hours. That's 1200 calories before noon! To any human that's crazy... for a woman, it just flips your brain!

The Family has been known to easily consume 300 calories within the first hour after being done with our workout. This is courtesy of Goldilock's beer fridge and our Peachpit, Los Primos Mexican Restaurant.... But we don't have the luxury of hitching a sidecar on our bikes to tote along our keg and food during the race!

Eating that many calories is important though. If you don't then you have the dreaded "bonk". It's not pretty, it's not fun and it's exactly what I had the other week because I didn't eat enough for our 4 hour ride. One minute your enjoying your ride, talking to the horse, cows and dogs. The next you see tunnel vision, have the shakes and it's an effort just to hold your head up. Not to mention... I go quiet. Goldilocks probably secretly likes when we bonk... then he doesn't get bombarded with questions.

Back to this weekend, my solution (at least what worked 4 1/2 hour ride + 25 min run) was the following:

• Jimmy Dean DeLight egg sandwich (260 calories) for breakfast


• Coffee with milk


• Both bottles filled with (2) scoops of CarboPro + (1) Motortab = 285/bottle


• (2) servings of Cliff Shot Blocks (100/each serving)


• (1) package of Fig Newtons (200)


• (2) salt tablets


• Post ride = (1) scoop of recovery drink (160 calories)

I actual felt good. On the bike the whole ride, and after the ride during the run. (my heartrate was a different issue - we will deal with that later) However, even given this small victory, the problem is Ironman isn't a 4 1/2 hour ride with 25 min run. So how the heck am I gonna eat about 2100 calories?? And I'm not just talking eating it, I'm talking carrying it too! I'll be a packing mule by the time 8/29 comes around... calories literally hanging off me in an effort to consume them.

Death by numbers (at least when it comes to calories per hour).

Greetings from 2010 Shannon

This is the nickname my training partners have given me. It's become the joke of the group. Along with "Lost in Transition", "Goldilocks" and "Adult Supervision". 2010 Shannon captures the crazy motivation I have this year compared to last year. That was a time when I had absolutely no interest in swimming or biking. The only reason I had an interest in running is because I'd signed up for the Seattle Rock n' Roll Marathon with The Ladies. Because of my lack of interest in training last year, I'm sometimes told "2009 Shannon" is more fun than "2010 Shannon". Simply because she preferred to do more wine tastings, slacking off on long rides, and doing more movie day marathons.



But 2010 Shannon isn't going away anytime soon. That's because our Drinking Club with a Biking Problem has committed to Ironman Canada at the end of August. It sounded like a great plan when the three of us were fresh off the Arizona Ironman. Fresh meaning: Adam completed his first, highly successful, Ironman with a "I can do anything" glow, and Elaine and I cheering him on... with a false idea that "doing" an Ironman was just as much fun as "viewing" an Ironman. So that's the background on why Ironman Canada 2010...



Now to get you up to speed on our group. It's quite complicated so I outlined key bullet points below:

• Drinking Club with a Biking Problem consists of Adam, Elaine and I (tragically we lost our fourth team member to a marriage, and we won't allow anyone else into the club unless they are single, bike, drink wine and are voted in unanimously)


• I'm "2010 Shannon" which means I'm the buzz kill that says we can't drink until we've done our work


• Adam's "Lost in Transition" and/or "Goldilocks". The first because it took him as long to get through transition as it did to swim 2.4 miles, the second is because he is very picky about what he wants in all things considered


• Elaine is "Adult Supervision" which is because Adam and I can't be trusted with our drinking habit unless she's there to supervise and keep us from polishing off a case of wine by ourselves


• Then of course there are references to "Wife #1-5". This comprises of Adam's Ex Wife (#1), Elaine (#2), Shannon (#3), Adam's current girlfriend (#4) and the girl Elaine and I want Adam to marry (#5). Wife #5 switches often and despite our pleads, Adam never commits to our suggestions


• Elaine and I have self named ourselves Wife #2 and Wife #3 because we love to nag Adam and he can't shut us up. Also, we've decided being one of Adam's wives means you get a lot of financial perks


• With all these wives, we are known as "The Polygamy Family".


• To make things even more morbid, Elaine is the adopted Asian child. This is because of the celebrity trend to adopt an Asian child, but we'd hoped for 4-3 year... and instead received a 43 year old.


• Elaine's best friend is the Toll Road (241 to be exact)


• Adam has two dogs... neither are his


• I'm cheap and both Adam and Elaine have completed an Intervention on me regarding my old bike. We now refer to her as "Ol' Yello"


• Lastly, both Elaine and I are referred to as "The Squatters" at Adam's house, where we frequently "assume the position". Before you raise your eyebrow, it's completely "G Rated"... Squatters meaning after a long ride/being hung over we hold down Adam's couch until late in the evening while assuming our normal spots on the couch (I always get the long section and they share the other portion - I'm selfish that way)

The point of all this you ask? I'm hoping to capture the wonderful (and I'm sure sometimes boring) adventures had during training. We started training about 2 months ago, which is still considered a bit behind the pack. According to books, articles, websites, etc it takes approximately 6 months to train for an Ironman if you don't constantly hold your base level of fitness. Ironman Canada is 3 months away : 8/29. We actually have to keep reminding ourselves to train. We could be screwed.

So perhaps this blog is a guide on how to finish an Ironman with no training... Can't wait to see how it turns out!