2011 in Review

Before I can look ahead to 2012, I have to take a moment and review what happened in 2011.  It really was a great year for distance PRs, "new" races, and getting two steps closer to the 2012 Ironman goal.  But I can also learn a lot on how to better next season.  Let's jump right in.

What did I do this year?!

1.  New Job!

After my exit from the Ph.D. program last December, I finally picked up my first fitness job in May.  I spend every day talking with people about fitness, workouts, weight loss, athletic goals, and all of my crazy races.  It makes my day when people come up to me at work and say "Hey, I heard about this crazy race.  You should try it."  Or when they ask me to help them design their own workouts.  I have a long way to go, but this has been a hugely successful first step!

2.  New England Relay

Let's kick off the season by packing into a van and running all over New England!  Sounds great, right?  The New England Relay - or NER as it came to be called - sure had a few downfalls, but this was probably the most fun I've had at an event so far.  I could not have asked for a better team and experience.  Reports start HERE. 

Twelve of us, most of us complete strangers to the majority of the group, signed up to run 220 miles through all 6 New England states.  We met up the night before, packed a van and SUV, got minimal sleep, drove to Rhode Island early and then spent the next 1.5 days running.  Talk about sleep deprivation, smelly shoes/clothes, friendly trash talking, uber-cramping, bloody nipples, and God knows what else!

I would run another relay in a heartbeat!  Though I may not do one this coming season, I'd like to make it a staple event every 1 or 2 years. 


3.  Ironman 70.3 Providence

My very first 70.3!  I certainly learned a few big lessons.  I had a BLAST while racing both given the fact that I was actually doing it and also because I felt connected to my fellow racers; I'd encourage them, they'd encourage me, and we all helped each other.  This race also let me seize an enormous opportunity to jump head first into water well over my head.  But don't worry, I'm a swimmer by trade, so I'm used to being "in over my head."  Overall, as my first 70.3, I was quite happy with myself.  And not to mention, my friends and family came out to root me on!

Then out of complete irony and chance, I got the chance to pay even more money!  haha  I got a roll down for the World Championships!  Not only that - I would be able to race the brand new course in Vegas.  Who can ever feel that I didn't make out like a bandit that day?!


4.  MS Bike Tour de Kurt

As you might remember, I was supposed to do the Cardio Express MS Bike Tour, but thanks to Hurricane Irene, the was pushed back to the same day as the Ironman 70.3 WC in Vegas.  I still went out and ran a good 6 miles in the hurricane - right down the middle of the road too!  But I had to do something to help out and participate.  So that was when the MS Bike Tour de Kurt was born, report HERE. 

On my day off, I rode to every Cardio Express location covering 112 miles.  I swear it was pre-planned to be 105 miles - fate and irony simply had me get lost to add an extra seven miles.  I was so glad I did it.  I not only got to see all the locations, but I got to meet a number of employees, I got the experience of 112 miles of riding, I helped raise money for an amazing cause, and I did my part!

And get this.  They are shooting for 4 new clubs in 2012!  They really are upping the ante for next year!  haha

5.  Ironman 70.3 WC Vegas

Let's talk about "in over my head."  haha  As I racked my bike, the bike reps commented "Oh-yeah!  Old school."  Certifiably the oldest (and cheapest) bike there!  But you know what?, I still made it to the finish line and I wasn't last.  The trip was amazing and I met a lot of really awesome people.  Ironman itself sure knows how to cater a pre-race dinner too.  I wasn't able to hit up the post-race dinner, but I'm sure it was even better since it was supposed to be out by the pool.

On race day, I may have gotten a flat tire, been nearly last to T2, blew up early on in the run, and a number of other things, but at the end of the day I raced with some of the best pros in the world!  Heck, I raced with Craig Alexander on his way to a double World Championship victory in 2011.  Plus I had my very first racecation!

I'd like to go back to Vegas, but as an official qualifier next time around.


6.  Coaching

I had the incredible opportunity to coach a 5k group via the Hartford Marathon Foundation.  We had 15 women who joined us for Saturday morning runs and they were absolutely incredible.  Some had run 5ks before and simply wanted to better their time.  Others had never run before and were complete newbies.  I'm attempting to adjust my schedule early in 2012 to allow myself to coach again, but either way I will definitely be doing it again soon.

7.  Hartford Marathon

Around mile 23, a friend of mine told me "The marathon is a completely different beast."  That about sums up Hartford.  As my first marathon ever, I went into this race well under prepared.  I had prepped for 70.3s this year.  My longest two runs were 13 and 20 miles and below that, maybe a few 8-10 milers.  So the logical thing would be to slow down and just chug along for the ride.  Once I passed the start line, that went out the window!  I ran 13.1 miles way too fast, battled GI issues most of the race, and blew up around mile 21.  Haha!  

I learned my lesson!  Train for the distance or slow the F down!  But that knocked off one more thing on the "to do" list before the full ironman.


8.  30-day Paleo Experiment

After many thoughts of attempting various diets in order to boost my energy and switch to a more efficient fat burning metabolism, I landed on Paleo.  Thirty days of eating nothing a caveman didn't have access to.  No processed foods, no dairy, no oils, no seasonings, no desserts...  We're talking strict!  And I did do a more strict version than is the popular "Paleo" diet. 

The first two weeks were tough!!  I had so many cravings you would have thought I was pregnant.  In week #3 though, my tastebuds changed, I got real creative, and Paleo became really easy.  It wasn't until I went back to "normal" food that I realized how much better I feel on Paleo.  No heavy food sitting around in my stomach, no desire to nap after a meal, constant energy, no peaks and troughs in the day...

I will certainly revisit the Paleo diet in 2012!



Here are the goals that I posted for 2011

2011 Goals

1. Compete in at least one race every month
• Didn't quite make that one.  With a decent length winter season, this one is tough to accomplish.
2. Run a total of 2011 training miles (That's roughly 170 miles/month)
• That was a little overly ambitious!
3. Run my 2nd Half Marathon
• Does the half in a 70.3 count?
4. Run my 1st Marathon
• DONE!  The ING Hartford Marathon
5. Compete in two Ironman 70.3 races
• DONE!  Providence & Vegas
6. Break my 5k PR (19:30)
• I didn't race ANY 5ks this year.
7. Break my Marlborough Sprint Triathon PR (1:12:00)
• My schedule didn't allow for any Sprints this year.
8. Break my Oly Tri PR (2:40:51)
• I wasn't able to fit in any Oly's this year
9. Become a personal trainer
• Still working on that.
10. Attempt switching to a more efficient fat burning metabolism
• DONE!  Paleo!!

 Three out of Ten ain't bad. 

...right?

I've certainly reigned in the idea that you can't charge right out of the gate.  At least not until you've trained for it.  So I'll take this past year into consideration for 2012's hopes, dreams, and goals (to be posted tomorrow!).

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Questions

1.  What did you accomplish this year?  Did you check off all of your goals?
I got three of ten.  I've always felt that if you achieve all your goals, you didn't set them enough or high enough.  When you stop reaching for more, you stop being the best you can be. 

2.  What did you learn from your 2011 goals and accomplishments?
I learned that you can't simply will something into happening.  While will power is a strong force and certainly helpful, you've got to sit down and plan out a strategy; especially when it comes to endurance racing.  

3.  Do you have goals for 2012 ready for posting?!
Mine are in the works!


Swim fast.  Bike smart.  Run hard. 

My Roller Coaster Weekend

Sunday has sort of become my blog day off.  So in hindsight, here's my weekend in review

Saturday

The theme this day was "WHEN!"

I headed out on my long - six mile - run.  Chelsea had told me earlier in the day that she had to cut her long run down to four miles because of knee issues.  I was kind of happy that I was going to pump out my full run; I almost thought about bragging about it.  I hit a downhill and decided to walk.  My knee felt a bit tense, so I thought I'd avoid ruining my knee.  As soon as I started walking, the knee tensed up even more and OOOOOOOOUCH!!!  I think my knee is a spy for Chelsea's team.  I made it down the hill and down the street before I decided it was time to tell myself "when."  I pulled out my phone and called for a ride. 

It seems that it's my right leg ITB that got overly tense.  And don't worry, once I rested it and applied some heat, it felt fine. I was just lucky I had taken my hydration pack with me (yet another reason to get used to wearing it out on runs); I wouldn't carry my phone otherwise. 

Sunday

This day's theme was Redemption!

Sunday, the Hartford Marathon Foundation held a free Triathlon Expo.  It started with a "fun run" 5k at 12:30pm and if I hadn't gone with Chelsea, the extreme running enthusiast, I might have not run due to what happen on Saturday's run.  The run wasn't timed, so no real race pressure.  Plus, they added a competition in that it was a Poker Run.  While we ran, we had to pick up five separate playing cards making our poker hand to win prizes; makes it interesting, right?

Anyways, Chelsea and I headed off and she kept telling me "go on ahead and run, don't stay back with me."  I told her "don't tempt me" because I really would and it'd probably tense up my knee again, ruin me, and I'd be on the injured list (not a good plan).  That didn't last long.  After a mile, she got the better of me and I jetted off to see if I could catch up to the leaders.  (I heard a few people say things like "holy cow!" as I zoomed past them a mile into the race; not gonna' lie, I love that!)  I ran the first mile with Chelsea in 7:30 and then finished the 5k in 21:00, making the last 2.1 miles a 6:25 pace; I had redeemed myself.. But the best part?!, my knee didn't tense up, nor did I have shin splints.  In fact, my shins were pain free the rest of the day!  I think my cure is sprinting.

Back in high school, my swim coach would always say "You know what's good for that?  Sprinting." to whatever ailment we had.  Stomach bug?, sprint!  Sore shoulder?, sprint!  Cramping?, sprint!  He may have been right all along. 

During the race, I rediscovered a reason why I love athletic races.  Think whatever you will of me, but the pickings get much better at a race than at the grocery store, a bar, or wherever else you choose. "How did I relearn this?" you ask.  When I jetted off, I would have loved to win the race (who doesn't love a crazy win from behind), but I really just wanted to chase down the girl in 4th place.  *wink*wink*  Cheers to motivation - and many more greats sites at races to come!

After that race, Chelsea and I walked around the expo, talked to some people about races, some protein drink/bar products, and injury prevention.  The injury prevention people threw us both for a loop.  I approached them and said that I'd been having shin splints.  We talked about details - when, where, how often, etc. and they proceeded to show me how I should roll smoothly from your heal to your forefoot while running; a non-smooth roll (or slap) will cause a type of whiplash in your shins.  We both sat there thinking "why are you telling us to heel strike?!"  Obviously, we just said "ok, thanks" and walked away.  I wish I had had time to press them on the issue, but they were also telling me to get arch support inserts, so I doubt it would have ended well. 

Instead of pursuing that interesting conversation, we opted for the pool because who doesn't love the pool?!  The expo had a coach giving one-on-one swim technique analysis and despite both Chelsea and I having extensive competitive swimming experience, we figured we could at least jump in the pool and have fun.

First off, that pool was easily 85 degrees.  NOT a pool to swim laps in.  Second, the coach actually did have tips for us.  I have a short stroke and I need to extend my reaching arm further by working with paddles.  I also bounce a little.  Both are issues that I knew from before, but he brought them to light again and now I'll make sure to work on those in the pool.  So the pool was a success.

That, my friends, was my weekend.

Questions

1.  How did your weekend training sessions and/or races go?
I'll be caught up with everyone's weekend blogging soon.

2.  Has anyone else had to call for aid during a workout?
This was my first time having to call for help. 

3.  What unique aspects about races and/or training pushes you to go harder?
I know Katie @ Run for the Bikini boosts her pace when she runs past the school; I certainly do the same, especially when any sports teams are out practicing (I see girls lacrosse quite often).  

4.