Crazy Week!

Hello, friends!  Let's start off with a forecast for SPIN YOUR WHEELS benefiting the Children's Center.  It's not too late to register! Just click here. It starts at 7am in Bethany and you can ride 12, 24, 46, 71, or 100 miles!  It's a ride not a race and it's for a great cause.  If you'd like to donate to the Children's Center click here.

The forecast couldn't be better considering it's August in Oklahoma!  We're looking at a relatively cool start, generally light winds, and lower relative humidities!

SPIN YOUR WHEELS FORECAST: SATURDAY, AUGUST 11

7AM: Much cooler! YAY! Mid-upper 60s, sunny skies, winds ESE 5 mph

8AM: Upper 60s/Low 70s, ESE 5-10 mph

9AM: Mid-70s, SE 10 mph

10AM: Low-80s, SE 10 mph

11AM: Mid-Upper 80s, SE 10 mph

Noon: Low 90s, SSE 10 mph

1PM: Mid-90's, S 10 mph

Donut Ride? More Like Speed Racer Ride

Last Sunday I joined a group ride that Astronaut John from ProBike frequents.  It starts at 8:30am at Stars and Stripes park and takes a random (seems like it to me!) route downtown to Starbucks.  A group of us did not go to Starbucks and continued on for a longer ride.

We went from downtown to the boathouse to Overholster to Hefner!  I had to push pretty hard at times to keep up with these guys.  I think we were going 18-20 mph on average...which is really fast for me!  We ended up doing 38 miles in a little over 2 hours!  I need to go on this ride again!  Granted, I did draft off of people which helped a lot.  However, the winds weren't terribly strong.

Tuesday BRICK

Tuesday I joined my cycle buddies April and Patrick for a 2 hour ride in Yukon to El Reno.  We met up around 6:30 in the morning and there were storms in the distance.  The sunrise with neighboring cumulonimbus clouds made for a gorgeous sky!  It's moments like this that I wonder how people could NOT believe in God.  It's just too beautiful!  As part of my training plan, April and I did a 25 minute easy run after the bike ride.

Wednesday SWIM - 2000 meters (1.2 miles) in the pool.

Thursday RUN, FOREST, RUN!

I have been filling in for the Chief all week and because of the Olympics, we have been going on an hour later at 11pm.  This usually wouldn't matter much since I'm a natural night owl but it's been kicking my butt with this training plan!  It's so hot out I have to get up early so I have been missing out on my sleep and I haven't handled sleep deprivation well since high school.  Despite the fact, my great training buddy and friend, Joleen Chaney and I met up at 5:30 in the morning to go for my longest run of the season so far.  Joleen is a natural runner so she helped me get through it.  I think we pace each other rather well.  Whenever I'm slacking she pushes me and vice versa.  That's why it's great to have a training buddy!  We ended up doing 9 miles together in 1 hour and 20 minutes or so and that includes a few stops for water!  We were going at a decent clip!  Then she had to leave so I did a slower loop to complete my 2 hour run scheduled on my training plan.

I have a big issue with knee pain.  This run I tried to have great running form by holding my stomach in to utilize my core and by standing up straight.  It must have worked because I only had a few moments after mile 9 where my knee hurt really bad.  I've found that running faster hurts less than running slower.  I guess that's good in terms of racing?!

And today I'm taking a rest day.  Due to the long run/lack of sleep yesterday, I treated myself to sleeping in.  And I've still got teenager Emily in me...I slept 14 hours!  And I feel great!  Also, my coach did not schedule rest days into my training plan but I am doing 71 miles tomorrow...so I'm taking it!

Have a great weekend everyone and I will let you know how 71 miles goes!  I've never cycled that far before! I hope my butt doesn't fall off!  After the long ride I have to do a public appearance! So when I look tired, you'll know why! I will be at Bob Moore in Edmond from 2-3 tomorrow afternoon if you want to say hi!  You can meet our Chopper pilot, Jon Welsh as well!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Hello, friends! I have big news to tell you about...I'm pregnant! Just kidding.  That's awkward.

No, I am doing the REDMAN HALF IRONMAN AGAIN!  Not only am I participating in the event...I am SINGING for the event!  The race director asked me to sing the National Anthem!  What an honor!  I will sing the National Anthem on Saturday, September 22 in my wetsuit so I can jump in the water and get ready for my swim wave.  Crazy!

So...once again, I don't have much of a life.  Training is my life...but I love it!  This season I am actually following a training plan by my TNT coach from last year, Ryan Ellis of Conquer Training.  Last year TNT provided a training plan but I was too overwhelmed by the process.  Plus, there is a "TRI language." It looked pretty foreign to me at first.  Here is an example of a "splash and dash" workout - meaning a swim/run combo.  The translation is in pink.


swim (1 hour):
wu 200 - warm up (swim slow)  for 200 meters (in a 25 meter pool that's 8 laps)
drill 200 - 200 meters of different swimming drills
ms 3x400 (30") @+5" - main set: Do a 400 meter swim in 5 minutes (fast pace), rest 30 seconds and repeat twice
8x100 (25")@-3-5" - Do a 100 meter swim in 3-5 minutes (slow pace), rest 25 seconds and repeat 7 more times
wd 200 - cool down (swim slowly) for 200 meters


run (30 minutes):
wu 10' - warm up for 10 minutes (run slow)
ms 8-30" @z4 (30") - main set: go for 30 seconds at zone 4*, slow down to zone 1 for 30 seconds and then repeat 7 times
remainder @z1 - the rest of the run time at zone 1


*Zones: most people base their zone on their heart rate.  Since I do not wear a heart monitor (nor do I want to), I do my zone based on perceived effort.  Here's how Coach Ryan defines the zones:

1 super easy

z2 conversation pace but still easy

z3 85% effort something you can hold a long time but breath hard

z4 90-95% hard could hold 30-45 min

z5 all you got 

I don't think I've done a z5 yet.  Yikes.  Makes me think of the song "Danger Zone."


I'm a week and a half into this training plan and it's been tough.  So far I've noticed myself being a bit more exhausted in general and wanting to eat and sleep more.  I work out about 2-3 hours a day! Yikes!  Hopefully it will all pay off when I cross the finish line.


Here are my future races/events:

Saturday, August 11, 2012

The 16th Annual "Spin Your Wheels" benefiting the Children's Center

Course distances include 12, 24, 46, 71 and 100-mile options

I signed up for 71 miles! I'm a bit nervous...the most I've ever ridden is 60!  The furthest I've ridden this year is 50!

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Lifetime Fitness' 30th Annual Chicago Triathlon

I signed up for this bad boy last January as a motivation.  I am going back to my hometown, Chicago! I am so excited to show my family and friends from back home what triathlons are all about!  My parents support me no matter what...but I think they don't quite understand why I do all of this.  I feel like once they experience the energy of the sport they will understand why I spend a crapton of hours and $$$ on this obsessive hobby. 

This will also be my first Olympic distance Triathlon.  It is the level under a half Ironman distance.  1.5 km (.93 mi) open water swim in Lake Michigan, 40km (25 mi) bike and 10km (6.21 mi) run.

Apparently this is one of the world's largest triathlons with 11,000 participants.  I wonder how many waves they will have? This swim may look more like the scene after the Titanic sank.  Oh well, I'm excited!

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Redman Half Ironman Triathlon. 

 1.2-mile (1.9 km) swim, a 56-mile (90 km) bike ride, and a 13.1-mile (21.1 km) run

Here we go again!

New Swag

So since I'm trying to be hardcore this year, I had to get some new sweet gear!

Love my Newtons but I decided to go to OK Runner and get a shoe with more stability since my left knee still hurts on long runs. Running ended up being the worst part of the half Ironman last year because of my knee pain.  It really frustrates me.  Any advice is appreciated to get rid of it!

Spy Optic Alpha sunglasses.  Bought them half off through "Schwaggle." It's the groupon of active gear!

And I saved the best for last...

Astronaut John and the whole PRO BIKE Crew gets super duper awesome bonus points for loaning me a BRAND SPANKING NEW TRI BIKE for the season!  Tri bikes are usually $3-4,000 so I am excited that I can borrow it for free.  I don't have several grand to spare right now!

And here it is!  A Fuji Tri Bike!  

It's lighter than Michael Jackson (my Cannondale roadbike)!  I feel blessed!

I could write a whole entry on my first tri bike experience...but here it is in a nutshell:

*You ride in aero (those middle bars) so your shoulders are hunched over.

*Your gears are on the aerobars instead of to the side and go up and down instead of side to side to switch.  

*It felt different at first, but I adjusted quickly and I think I go much faster now!

Here's a picture of "aero position"

This pic shows the difference in frames between a Tri bike and a Road bike.

Tri bikes are designed to be more aerodynamic with the aerobars and aero position.  All I know is it makes my shoulders hurt a bit more and makes me faster!

I love swimming.

   Thanks for reading, friends! Have you ever been to a chiropractor? I went for the first time recently...and I'll have more on that experience coming up!  Have a great weekend and GO USA!

Color Me Rad? More like Color Me HOT

Hello, friends! So last Saturday morning my friend Lindsey and I did the "Color Me Rad" 5K.  She isn't much of a runner so we decided to walk the course (a lot of other people did too!).

This is the first year for this event as it travels around the country.  If you've seen pictures on facebook of people wearing "running" gear and crazy tutus, bright socks and covered in paint...they likely participated in this event.  It's like the 80's vomited on a 5k!  I saw a Groupon for this event about 3 months ago and thought it sounded like fun.  I've never done a 5k by itself so I thought this would be a great one to try.

Now, I don't like being a negative Nancy but this "race" needs a LOT of work.  This race made me appreciate the proper organization of all of my other races!  Here's the concept: you wear all white and about 5 times along the course the "bomb squad" pelts you with a "color bomb" comprised of a colored cornstarch material.  It's supposed to wash out easily and not be harmful to inhale.  I really enjoyed this part and couldn't get enough color!  And I will say, it does make for sweet pictures!  At the end, it felt like a rave....or how I feel a rave would look like (never been).

I love the free shades!

Here are my issues:

1. We started around 9:30 on an Oklahoma July morning.  It should have started WAYYYY earlier.  Don't mess with Oklahoma heat!

2.  I did not see any medics along the course but DID see several people getting sick from the heat.

3.  The race took place at the fairgrounds.  The course provided little shaded areas for people to rest.

4. There was only 1 water stop and the water was HOT!

5. They needed strict "waves" of racers.  Even if I wanted to run, there's no way.  It was too crowded and HOT!

6.  I cut my had while trying to breakdance for a free trucker hat at the end (yeah, that's right), went to the "first aid" sign for a bandaid and no one was there!  I asked a man where the "first aid" tent is and he pointed to the ambulance.  For real?

Fake First Aid

In conclusion, this race needs work.  It does make for some fun pictures though!  Maybe they should do this race in the fall instead!

I look like a Smurf/Avatar creature

Thankfully all the paint washed off! I think I scared Lindsey's doggie, Maggie, though!  This may be TMI- but I blew my nose later in the day and purple came out.  No joke.

Edmond Conquest 

Since I didn't work out much from the "race" I decided to join a group bike ride early the next morning.    One thing I've learned about cycling groups is that they start on time!  I have a bit of trouble being on time anywhere (voted 3rd most frequently late in high school - pride point) so it was quite the feat being exactly on time.  However, by the time I got my bike out, put on my shoes and helmet, the group already left.  I pedaled to the metal and tried to catch up, but alas, I lost them in Nichols Hills.

At this point I decided to do my own thing so I kept riding east on Wilshire.  I ended up traveling north through Edmond.  Don't ride your bike through central or east Edmond! Ever!  A few drivers nearly killed me!  Somehow I meandered north and then west and ended up on the Redman bike course from last year.  

I ended up back at Lake Hefner around noon, exhausted mainly from the heat.  I managed to churn out a 2-3 mile run to make it a nice BRICK workout.  Whew!  What a day!

Alright, friends!  That's enough for today.  I have lots more to talk about including a new bike, new shoes, and American Idol! So stay tuned and have a great weekend!

Just Du It

Or should I say, Do the Du....as in DUATHLON!

Last Sunday, July 8th, I participated in my first duathlon.  What is a duathlon?  It's where you run, bike, then run again.  It's like a triathlon except you swap out the fun part (swimming) for running.  I'm going to be honest....running is my least favorite out of the three tri practices so I was not very excited about this race.  I like to try new challenges and my friend hooked me up with a free entry so I thought, "why not?".  If anything, it would be a great practice run.

The race took place at Lake Stanley Draper.  We ran out of the marina parking lot counterclockwise around the lake and looped back to transition zone to get our bikes.  It is a 3K (1.86 mile) run.  I traded my running visor for a bike helmet, swapped my shoes, grabbed my sunglasses and headed out for the bike course.

The bike course circled clockwise around Lake Stanley Draper.  I rode Draper numerous times last summer but for some reason I always went counter clockwise so this was a different adventure.  The 24K (14 mile) course started out with steep hills.  One hill kicked my butt and I slowed down to 10 mph.  I'd say I conquered the other hills fairly well.  I believe I averaged 18-20 mph.  I am noticing an improvement in my cycling.  A big difference from last year is that I can now say that I truly enjoy cycling.  A non-cyclist friend of mine says it's a "cult."  I could see that.  Looks like I'm a part of the cult!  But I won't drink kool-aid. Bad joke.

Thankfully, Mother Nature cooperated with light winds.  It was muggy but at least the race started at 7:30am so the temps weren't unbearable.  We rode into the transition zone and once again, I swapped my helmet for the visor, switched shoes and headed for the run course.  I knew the second run would hurt a bit more after working my legs hard for an hour or so but I also knew I only had a few miles until the finish line.  The run course had a few hills but nothing terrible.  I usually try to find someone ahead of me with a similar pace to keep me moving at a good clip.  I like to push it towards the finish line.  A few people cheered my name and it really gave me what I needed to fly across the finish.  If you ever want to volunteer for a race, you should do it!  The cheering and encouragement helps by leaps and bounds!

This time I did not feel like I was having a heart attack but I did push hard through the finish line.  I ended up with a time of 1:17:59. I received 1st in my age group (25-29) but I do not know how many people entered in my age group.  As soon as I figure it out I will let you know!  That is another reason not to turn 30 - you enter one of the toughest age groups!  I have one more year to compete in this division.

Remember my training buddy Janna from previous posts? This is her husband, Justin!  He is also a triathlete.  They switch off on races.  Hardcore. 

After cheering others on and getting something to eat and drink I put my bike in my trunk and locked my car...with the keys in it! Idiot!  Thank goodness by buddy, Joleen Chaney came to my rescue with my set of spare keys.  Note to self, always keep the car doors unlocked when you are putting your bike away!

All in all it was a great experience.  I think I will do the DU again one day.  My next race is COLOR ME RAD tomorrow morning.  It's going to get messy in a good way.  Stay tuned for the post and have a great weekend, friends!

Love this.

Tour de Cure

Hello, friends! Hope you had a fabulous 4th of July!  As you may recall from previous posts, Joleen and I teamed up again for a great cause.  The local chapter of the American Diabetes Association asked "Team Jo&Em" to be "celebrity" riders for the Tour de Cure this year.  We spent about 6 months recruiting team mates, raising money and training.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Joleen Chaney, Scott Hines (emcee), & me pre-race

Pineapple nerd alert!

Joleen and I actually had to work the night before the Tour de Cure so we did not get an ideal amount of sleep.  Thankfully, this isn't a race...it's a ride. In other words, you can take it at whatever pace you'd like.  The prize is raising money for a great cause!  There were 4 different ride distances to choose from: 62, 48, 30, or 10 miles.  I did the 48 mile and Joleen decided to do the 30.

The 48 mile riders started at 8am.  The weather cooperated with sunny skies and light winds.  I could tell it was going to get really hot really fast.  We passed the first water stop and rolled up on the second one about 20 miles in.  They served "fancy water" as I like to call it - with cucumbers or oranges, etc in the water.  We also ate pineapple on a stick! Very innovative and delicious!  However, it's the paper towels I looked forward to the most.  Note to self, never put sunscreen on your forehead when you are going to sweat a lot.  It will drip into your eyeballs and hurt!

Johnny Mac, me, & Patrick Lively

We journeyed on encountering a surprising amount of hills.  I don't mind a row of steep hills but the slow, steady inclines are rough.  I went from an average of 16 mph to 10 on those long hills.  My riding buddy, Johnny Mac helped push me through it.

Drafting

An example of cyclists drafting

Totally forgot that you can draft in cycling events!  In triathlons, you have to leave a 3-bike distance between you and the cyclist ahead of you or else you will get a time penalty.  What is drafting?  It's where you ride up really close to the cyclist in front of you so they take the brunt of the wind and you trail behind them with ease.  According to this study, you can save up to 40% of your energy in a drafting group versus riding into the wind solo.  It's a pretty good deal...unless you are in front!

The Heat is On

Araine Cash organized the event!

We finished in about 3 hours...crossing the finish line at 11am.  YIKES...it was already well into the upper 80s with a heat index in the low to mid 90s.  Thankfully the event provided plenty of water and cold, wet towels.

All in all it was fantastic experience.  I should have a trained a bit more but I survived!  I dare say that love cycling!  Although, like other sports, it's a love-hate relationship.

I dedicated this ride to my Aunt Louise on my dad's side.  She's lived with Type I Diabetes for nearly her entire life. She has to watch what she eats and take insulin shots regularly.  She's a trooper!  Thank you to all who donated an our fabulous teammates!  We raised exactly $1,000 for the American Diabetes Association.

Aunt Louise!

Came Across This Cool Pic...

Check it out!

This is a picture taken from the inside of Hurricane Katrina's eye. The clouds you are looking at were responsible for $81 Billion of damage and the loss of nearly 1,500 lives. Incredible what Mother Nature can do.