I think I have resigned myself to the fact that I will be sleeping in no longer. At least not until this race is over with. As the day heats up and we reach those 90+ temps, I will no longer have the luxury of start a workout at 10 am. It also makes quite a different that I will no longer be biking anything under 50 miles or running anything under 9/10. I'll have to look at the schedule, but I am pretty sure we've hit that point.
The training has been going pretty okay. The weekend of the 20th and 21st was a bit rough only because I was in Florida for a sign language conference. This meant that most of my training scheduled was completely thrown off. I only got in 7 hours of training that week. I am beginning to get uber sensitive about how much time I am putting into each week. I think I am also at the point of where the numbers will not dip below 10 hours each week. I have a general plan of what I am doing each week, but definitely should tighten it up some.
I think it really hit me this past weekend in biking 70 miles. 70 miles. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it. I didn't hate it, which is a huge step up in my biking because in the past, biking has definitely not been my strong point. But going 70 this weekend, well, it definitely helped in making me feel like I am on the right track. Learned some things along the way:
The biggest thing was the need to figure out a better plan for nutrition. I don't think I was taking enough in and I could tell towards the end. Could feel my body kinda bonking some. So-will definitely be adjusting that. I also could really feel the heat. There were some stretches where it was just straight highway and the sun was beating down on you...I have to figure out a heat plan since I am not strong in hot weather. I think some of it will come as I get more used to this increase in temperatures. I found that spraying myself with water helped a little bit, but this also means that I will go through water more quickly.
I wonder if I could attach some kind of sun umbrella to my helmet. Probably wouldn't be very aero. Hmm...
It ended up being a good bike though. Despite noticing not enough nutrition and some adjustment to the heat, it was decent. I worry that the bike will not be strong enough and this is where I need to be the strongest. I have to remember that in going forward and in pushing myself. It will all be worth it come race day and there is so little time between now and then.
All in all, this week totaled 12 hours worth of biking, running, and swimming. And that was with only 2 swims. I copped out of the last swim after a rough 9 mile run on sunday. I think I will save that story for another post.
Monday, June 30, 2014
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Bay Swim Training you ask?
So when I went to prepare for the Bay swim there was not a lot out there in terms of training plans. Pretty much what I gained from researching this was the following: Swim. A lot. And then swim some more.
Thankfully I had the advice and knowledge I could pull from my friend Katie who had done this event twice. Unfortunately for her, she had to deal with my Type A nonsense as I prepared for this event. (Seriously Katie, thanks so much for putting up with my shit.)
So like any dutiful Type A-er, I record pretty much ALL of my training. I have three books for the past three seasons where I have recorded my training. This is the book I use, and I love it. It is wonderful:
The inside is even better:
So yes, if you are looking for a good way to track your workouts-consider using this training diary. I love. So onto what you really want to know. What did I actually do to prepare for the bay? In retrospect, NOT ENOUGH.
I started tracking my training in February. This was also combined with my base building for Ironman, but I also knew I would need to really start laying the foundation for the Bay Swim. So I am going to just lay out my weekly/monthly totals for yards I swam:
Feb 24-3/2: 6,400 yards
3/3-3/9: 9,000 yards
3/10-3/16: 6,000 yards
3/17-3/23: 10,077 yards
3/24-3/30: 10,834 yards
(20.4 miles total in March)
4/1-4/6: 6,952
4/8-4/13: 11,600 yds (long swim=6,500 one workout)
4/15-4/20: 11,100 yds (long swim=7,100 yards)
4/22-4/27: 12,700 yds (long swim=8,000 yds)
(April totals: 24 miles)
First week of May I was on vacation. I did not swim. Nope, not at all.
5/13-5/18: 15,200 yds (long swim= 8,000)
5/20-5/25: 10,200 yds (long swim=8,000)
5/27-6/1: 3,000
I had to drastically cut back the last two weeks due to cutting myself and needing to give it time to heal. This was extremely frustrating, but I also know that had I not done this, who knows what bacteria I could have picked up from the bay...
So looking back there are definitely a lot of things I would do differently. First, I would start swimming the longer distances earlier. I only got in three 8,000 yd swims (the Bay is 7,777 I think) and I do not think this was enough. I was just aiming to finish, but now having one bay under my belt, I would aim to increase my long swims to at least 10,000 in one workout. I tried to do this, but it is definitely tough mentally to do this type of training.
The way I scheduled my workouts included mostly a tues/frid/sunday plan. I would swim around 3,000-4,000 on the tuesdays and sundays. Fridays would be my long swim day and I would go after work. That is how it worked out best for me. Also playing into this was the fact that I am in ironman training. That definitely played a major role in preparing because I was not JUST swimming. I was also running and biking.
I definitely learned a lot when training for this and I am still not sure if I will want to do the Bay swim again. It was a wonderful experience and I am so happy that I do do it, but...again? We shall see.
Thankfully I had the advice and knowledge I could pull from my friend Katie who had done this event twice. Unfortunately for her, she had to deal with my Type A nonsense as I prepared for this event. (Seriously Katie, thanks so much for putting up with my shit.)
So like any dutiful Type A-er, I record pretty much ALL of my training. I have three books for the past three seasons where I have recorded my training. This is the book I use, and I love it. It is wonderful:
I started tracking my training in February. This was also combined with my base building for Ironman, but I also knew I would need to really start laying the foundation for the Bay Swim. So I am going to just lay out my weekly/monthly totals for yards I swam:
Feb 24-3/2: 6,400 yards
3/3-3/9: 9,000 yards
3/10-3/16: 6,000 yards
3/17-3/23: 10,077 yards
3/24-3/30: 10,834 yards
(20.4 miles total in March)
4/1-4/6: 6,952
4/8-4/13: 11,600 yds (long swim=6,500 one workout)
4/15-4/20: 11,100 yds (long swim=7,100 yards)
4/22-4/27: 12,700 yds (long swim=8,000 yds)
(April totals: 24 miles)
First week of May I was on vacation. I did not swim. Nope, not at all.
5/13-5/18: 15,200 yds (long swim= 8,000)
5/20-5/25: 10,200 yds (long swim=8,000)
5/27-6/1: 3,000
I had to drastically cut back the last two weeks due to cutting myself and needing to give it time to heal. This was extremely frustrating, but I also know that had I not done this, who knows what bacteria I could have picked up from the bay...
So looking back there are definitely a lot of things I would do differently. First, I would start swimming the longer distances earlier. I only got in three 8,000 yd swims (the Bay is 7,777 I think) and I do not think this was enough. I was just aiming to finish, but now having one bay under my belt, I would aim to increase my long swims to at least 10,000 in one workout. I tried to do this, but it is definitely tough mentally to do this type of training.
The way I scheduled my workouts included mostly a tues/frid/sunday plan. I would swim around 3,000-4,000 on the tuesdays and sundays. Fridays would be my long swim day and I would go after work. That is how it worked out best for me. Also playing into this was the fact that I am in ironman training. That definitely played a major role in preparing because I was not JUST swimming. I was also running and biking.
I definitely learned a lot when training for this and I am still not sure if I will want to do the Bay swim again. It was a wonderful experience and I am so happy that I do do it, but...again? We shall see.
Monday, June 16, 2014
Eating disorders and Endurance Athletes
Courtesy of the twitterverse, one of my favorites Chrissie Wellington tweeted this article: Why Eating Disorders in Endurance Athletes are Especially Dangerous
And I felt it was an important enough topic to warrant my comments on this. So sit tight folks, we are about to get a bit serious here.
The article highlights some important physical reasons of why being an endurance athlete and having an eating disorder is exceptionally crippling. The article highlights bone mass, malnutrition, hormone disorders, and absorption/food sensitivities. It's a nice little blog article, you should really go read it. There are a few (Wellington being one) athletes out there who describe their own struggle with an eating disorder and how it has impacted their own journey either through life, career or both. It is not easy. I feel the mental impact of an eating disorder, the underlying reasons contributing to it, and living with it are on par with the damage an eating disorder has on the body.
How can I speak on this you might wonder? Because in college I struggled with it. Now granted, I never reached the point of hospitalization (thank God). But I went to counseling. I was diagnosed as pre-anorexic. I had reached 125 pounds on my 5'11 frame. I was working out hours upon hours and eating only two or three (max) granola bars. So while in some ways, I did not have it as bad as others, I still know that place. It took a good friend of mine to say to me: "Jacquie you look better, not just skin and bones anymore" and my initial thought was "I have to get back to that"-to scare me enough to go into therapy and seek help. Now granted, I was a terrible therapist client (how is that for irony given my profession now?). But it also took some very supportive friends, significant other at the time, and going to therapy to pull me out of a very bad rut.
The thing about eating disorders, and I can only speak for myself, is that these thoughts never really go away. It is something you are always aware of-on some level. For the longest time I could not have a scale anywhere near me. But the thoughts of weight and whatever contributes to the drive that creates an ED are never really gone. As I approach a point in my life where everyone around me is having children and I am constantly faced with this expectation of bringing life to the world-the other side of that is the fear that is associated with these thoughts. A fear of gaining weight, never being able to lose it, triggering old habits, not being sure if I can manage all of those at once-it's exhausting.
And as an endurance athlete, I have to be always aware of nutrition. I will say that entering into the endurance world has saved me. Right when I was starting to pull out of my worst rut, I started getting into running. I believe it was then that I ran my first half marathon. The energy I put into worrying about weight and need for some sort of perfection could be put into endurance work. And I was doing it safely. I am still doing it safely, but that is not without the creeping up of thoughts from old habits.
I was lucky to never truly develop the negative physical side of an ED. But the mental part of it, well I don't think that those ever truly go away. It is not an easy road. I think it is very important to bring these issues to the forefront and make it easier for any athlete (or anyone really) to talk about their experiences.
And I felt it was an important enough topic to warrant my comments on this. So sit tight folks, we are about to get a bit serious here.
The article highlights some important physical reasons of why being an endurance athlete and having an eating disorder is exceptionally crippling. The article highlights bone mass, malnutrition, hormone disorders, and absorption/food sensitivities. It's a nice little blog article, you should really go read it. There are a few (Wellington being one) athletes out there who describe their own struggle with an eating disorder and how it has impacted their own journey either through life, career or both. It is not easy. I feel the mental impact of an eating disorder, the underlying reasons contributing to it, and living with it are on par with the damage an eating disorder has on the body.
How can I speak on this you might wonder? Because in college I struggled with it. Now granted, I never reached the point of hospitalization (thank God). But I went to counseling. I was diagnosed as pre-anorexic. I had reached 125 pounds on my 5'11 frame. I was working out hours upon hours and eating only two or three (max) granola bars. So while in some ways, I did not have it as bad as others, I still know that place. It took a good friend of mine to say to me: "Jacquie you look better, not just skin and bones anymore" and my initial thought was "I have to get back to that"-to scare me enough to go into therapy and seek help. Now granted, I was a terrible therapist client (how is that for irony given my profession now?). But it also took some very supportive friends, significant other at the time, and going to therapy to pull me out of a very bad rut.
The thing about eating disorders, and I can only speak for myself, is that these thoughts never really go away. It is something you are always aware of-on some level. For the longest time I could not have a scale anywhere near me. But the thoughts of weight and whatever contributes to the drive that creates an ED are never really gone. As I approach a point in my life where everyone around me is having children and I am constantly faced with this expectation of bringing life to the world-the other side of that is the fear that is associated with these thoughts. A fear of gaining weight, never being able to lose it, triggering old habits, not being sure if I can manage all of those at once-it's exhausting.
And as an endurance athlete, I have to be always aware of nutrition. I will say that entering into the endurance world has saved me. Right when I was starting to pull out of my worst rut, I started getting into running. I believe it was then that I ran my first half marathon. The energy I put into worrying about weight and need for some sort of perfection could be put into endurance work. And I was doing it safely. I am still doing it safely, but that is not without the creeping up of thoughts from old habits.
I was lucky to never truly develop the negative physical side of an ED. But the mental part of it, well I don't think that those ever truly go away. It is not an easy road. I think it is very important to bring these issues to the forefront and make it easier for any athlete (or anyone really) to talk about their experiences.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Chesapeake Bay Race Review 2014
Well, the race is over. And I think I am still in a state of disbelief because it does not truly feel real. I knew this would happen; I always tell myself these events are over before I know it (see previous post) and it still shocks me when it happens that way. How surreal.
Anyhow, I figured I should write a review of the day before it becomes all fuzzy in my memory. I have to say this was probably one of the most rewarding and challenging endurance events I have ever done. Now, since this was my first time swimming the bay, I have nothing to really compare it to besides a handful of other open water swim events with triathlons. I overheard people at the end saying that the current was very tough at times, the swells were rough, but that it was not as bad as previous years. I can say the weather was beautiful. It was sunny, it was warm, and the water felt fantastic. There were definitely cold spots going through, but overall I had no complaints on the weather or the temperature of the water.
So where to begin....
Getting to the start was a fairly easy ordeal. The organization of this race is phenomenal and I must say that all of the volunteers were absolutely fantastic. They had you drive across the bay, park at hemingways marina, and then buses shuttled you over to Sandy Point to start. I remember driving across the bay and trying to peak down into the water to get a sense of what the water would be like. This seemed like a good idea, but really provided no help whatsoever nor truly gave my any indication of what the swim was going to be like. But hey, I tried it anyhow.
I didn't have to wait long for the bus and as I stood in line, I just listened to music to try and calm any pre-race nerves. I was actually quite calm. The nerves had hit on friday evening where I was reading everyone elses race reports from previous years. That was when it truly hit me and I felt overwhelmed by what I was about to do. I had swam an easy 3,000 yards on friday and felt great. But I was still nervous that evening. The morning of the swim-I was calm as could be. Excited even.
On the bus ride over, I sat next to this chick who was freaking out. And I mean freaking out. She asked me if this was my first time, I said yes, then she proceeded to tell me all about how she was pulled out at mile 3 last year for panicking and getting caught by the current. The rest of our conversation when something like this:
(Me trying to put in the other headphone so I could stop talking)
Her: So what did you do to train for this?
Me: Swam a lot.
Her: How are you so calm?! Have you done any other open water events before?
Me: A few with triathlons and some other open water swims..
Her: But this is your first bay swim? Aren't you nervous? Do you just have no fear?
Me: I just love open water swimming, you will be fine-stop worrying.
Her: Don't you ever think about falling to the bottom and dieing?!?!
Me: Uh..no...
At that point we had finally arrived at sandy point and I could pop my other ear piece in. Man, talk about casual conversation. I do hope she finished though, but she was not doing herself any favors by freaking herself out.
So we arrived at the registration, picked up my packet and went through the body marking. At that point it was 8:30 am and the pre-race meeting was at 9:30. So I had some time to kill. I accomplished this by messing around on my phone, texting people, playing on the book of faces. You know, the usual time killer stuff. The March of Dimes supplied volunteers to man the bag drop off section. I hit that up around 9 am and only held onto the things I would need for the swim: wet suit, goggles, cap, timing chip, race bib. After what I thought was an adequate amount of glide put on my body (it wasn't-more on that later), I tied up my stuff, put it where it needed to be and headed back to wait some more.
As I am re-thinking about all of this, it did feel like time moved slowly. I was so anxious to start. I met some really cool people. One dude who was swimming across the bay for his 18th time. 18 times across the bay. I am happy to have done it once. When we finally got to the pre-swim meeting, the race organizer Chuck Nabbit filled us in on all of the charities that this race went to helping. It is truly incredible the amount of people who volunteer and do this without getting paid. The organization, the safety-it is just very cool. He went over the tides and information on what to expect.
According to that pre-race meeting, the tides and current were supposed to be in our favor. The first half of the race the current would be pushing us to the right; the second half, to the left. Somewhere in the middle was supposed to be a "slack tide". I didn't quite understand all of it and while I know others were planning their strategy to this, I just thought "stay in the middle". That was my grand scheme. Immediately following this, we were told to head down to the beach. They have everyone divide up "wet suit swimmers" and "non wet suit swimmers". You walk over the timing belt and they are quite strict about this. One for race time records, but more importantly for safety and accountability. I must say, this race stresses safety which was good for me as a first timer to know.
Waiting at the beach seemed like it took no time at all. I chatted up this one chick who was also doing it for her first time. And when Chuck counted down to the start it, it was more of a "I can't wait to get in the water...can't believe this day is here" type of feeling. I adore open water swimming and I was about to have three hours worth of it.
I did not take this photo.
It was incredible. The start did not bother me-thank you triathlon! I didn't really feel jostled or bumped or anything too bad/unmanageable. It was just incredible to be swimming towards the bay bridge. It was surreal. I don't think any other thought was going through my mind at that time other than "This is unreal" and reminding myself to "enjoy this moment-every moment". It is always, always over too fast and this race was no different. I remember getting to the one mile marker and thinking "huh, one mile already?". Looking up and seeing the bay bridge above me and leading out in front of me was simply incredible. That first mile to two miles was not bad and I don't recall feeling like the current or the chop was difficult. I was getting into a groove, finding my swimming stroke and just plugging along occupying my mind with different thoughts. It was a nice break from having to count laps when I would swim long in the pool. It didn't matter if I paid attention because I didn't have to remember what lap I was one! The thought of "no more long swims after this!" was also very dominant in my mind.
Again, did not take this photo.
It was truly incredible. There were several times I stopped and would do breast stroke to just look around me. I wanted to not miss this moment.
I started feeling like it was getting hard after mile 2. I don't want to say too tough, but I noticed a change. I didn't feel tired-I generally always do a mental check in on where I am with my body. I stopped at the first food boat (stationed at mile 1.5 and not 2 like advertised-more on this later). I swam up, grabbed a hold, the sweet volunteer asked me "What would you like?" I responded with "Pina Colada!". Got some laughs from other swimmers and then took a small thing of water and a vanilla wafer. Not because I needed it, but because I love vanilla wafers.
They said they were at mile 1.5 which was upsetting because I thought they were mile 2. I was really excited to think I was already at mile 2 and when I found out it was just 1.5, well, I could only thing "well damn". So I let go and just kept trucking. This is when I started feeling the chop, feeling the waves and started to almost feel a little sea sick. I had to time breathing just right to not get face full of water (did not always succeed at this) and several times I had water in stead of air. It did not phase me at all, but after a while it got annoying. I think this is what hit me the most with swimming the bay. By the end, I was just tired of water hitting me in the face.
I started playing songs in my head (britney spears mostly-don't judge me). I would get halfway through the song, forget where I was, and then have to start over. It was amusing. It was also after mile 2 that at one point, I looked up and noticed I was really close to the right hand side of the bridge. This is where I pointed myself left and bee-lined it to the center. After recovering from that, I started to pay a bit more attention. I was NOT going to get pulled out. The thought did occur to me during the swim, I was fearful of this happening, but I did not want to have to try and enter again for the Bay. One and done sounded just fine to me.
I remember passing by the three mile balloon and just thinking about putting one arm in front of the other. Remember how I thought I put enough glide on the back of my neck for the wetsuit? Well at this point, I could feel it chafing. I tried to think of anything else except that. I arrived at the second feed boat. Asked again for a margarita this time (I have the best jokes), and instead took a bit more water and another vanilla wafer (those cookies are so good!). I was getting a bit sick to my stomach because of all the bay water I was taking in. The volunteers were awesome, but they told me (or I misheard) that that red kayaker I could see in the distance was mile 4. I thought "Hell yes! Not far at all!'. I don't think I misheard because when I got to the red kayaker, another swimmer was next to me and we both stopped for a second and said "wait, I thought this was mile 4? What is that balloon down there!?!" We were then informed that nope, no kayaker as mile 4 but the balloon that seemed way too far away was mile 4. Well damn. But the redeeming quality of this was that I could see the shoreline. I could see the other side. It was freaking unbelievable.
The last little bit of coming in from the bridges was rough. We were fighting the current to get out of the bridge span, swimming directly into it, and at the end of the race-well, it was rough. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to swim out to this red balloon I saw, or if I was supposed to immediately take a left. I was a bit confused, tired and ready to be done. But it was surreal that I was finishing. I had to not start crying in the water with relief and just, amazement that I was finishing this race. I had never in my life thought I would swim across the bay. Never. Swimming towards the arena, it was shallow enough to stand and I did-stretched out my arms, but returned to swimming since it was easier to do than walk. And that way I know I swam the entire thing.
It was incredible. The volunteers at the end were fantastic, helping you up, telling you congratulations and taking off your timing chips. They help you out of your wet suit and keep you stable. As I was walking out of the finishing area, I immediately see my mom, friend Lynn and her mom. I see them and the first thing I said was "that's a long swim". But I also couldn't believe I finished it. I finished 4.4 miles across the bay. It was surreal. Of course, my mom snaps a picture:
Thankfully I don't think I look as bad as I felt.
There were no more vegetarian sandwiches left by the time I got there-that sucked. But I went to town on some donuts! Again, the volunteers were super incredible. The only disappointing thing was they did not hand out medals. :( I was really hoping to have a medal from this event, but alas, all I get is a t-shirt. A very bright, neon yellow t-shirt.
All in all-this was an incredible event. I know that I searched and read so many previous years races reports and so I hope that mine can maybe help someone in their decision and preparation for the event. In reviewing my training for this event, I probably could have swam more. I had been swimming all year but started increasing my distance around March. This probably should have happened earlier. I think I might do a separate post about my swim training and what I would change (if I ever wanted to do this again). I am still so happy to have done this. I am an endurance swimmer and nothing can change that. Never in my life did I think I would be a swimmer like this and I am just so incredibly happy.
<3
Anyhow, I figured I should write a review of the day before it becomes all fuzzy in my memory. I have to say this was probably one of the most rewarding and challenging endurance events I have ever done. Now, since this was my first time swimming the bay, I have nothing to really compare it to besides a handful of other open water swim events with triathlons. I overheard people at the end saying that the current was very tough at times, the swells were rough, but that it was not as bad as previous years. I can say the weather was beautiful. It was sunny, it was warm, and the water felt fantastic. There were definitely cold spots going through, but overall I had no complaints on the weather or the temperature of the water.
So where to begin....
I didn't have to wait long for the bus and as I stood in line, I just listened to music to try and calm any pre-race nerves. I was actually quite calm. The nerves had hit on friday evening where I was reading everyone elses race reports from previous years. That was when it truly hit me and I felt overwhelmed by what I was about to do. I had swam an easy 3,000 yards on friday and felt great. But I was still nervous that evening. The morning of the swim-I was calm as could be. Excited even.
On the bus ride over, I sat next to this chick who was freaking out. And I mean freaking out. She asked me if this was my first time, I said yes, then she proceeded to tell me all about how she was pulled out at mile 3 last year for panicking and getting caught by the current. The rest of our conversation when something like this:
(Me trying to put in the other headphone so I could stop talking)
Her: So what did you do to train for this?
Me: Swam a lot.
Her: How are you so calm?! Have you done any other open water events before?
Me: A few with triathlons and some other open water swims..
Her: But this is your first bay swim? Aren't you nervous? Do you just have no fear?
Me: I just love open water swimming, you will be fine-stop worrying.
Her: Don't you ever think about falling to the bottom and dieing?!?!
Me: Uh..no...
At that point we had finally arrived at sandy point and I could pop my other ear piece in. Man, talk about casual conversation. I do hope she finished though, but she was not doing herself any favors by freaking herself out.
So we arrived at the registration, picked up my packet and went through the body marking. At that point it was 8:30 am and the pre-race meeting was at 9:30. So I had some time to kill. I accomplished this by messing around on my phone, texting people, playing on the book of faces. You know, the usual time killer stuff. The March of Dimes supplied volunteers to man the bag drop off section. I hit that up around 9 am and only held onto the things I would need for the swim: wet suit, goggles, cap, timing chip, race bib. After what I thought was an adequate amount of glide put on my body (it wasn't-more on that later), I tied up my stuff, put it where it needed to be and headed back to wait some more.
As I am re-thinking about all of this, it did feel like time moved slowly. I was so anxious to start. I met some really cool people. One dude who was swimming across the bay for his 18th time. 18 times across the bay. I am happy to have done it once. When we finally got to the pre-swim meeting, the race organizer Chuck Nabbit filled us in on all of the charities that this race went to helping. It is truly incredible the amount of people who volunteer and do this without getting paid. The organization, the safety-it is just very cool. He went over the tides and information on what to expect.
According to that pre-race meeting, the tides and current were supposed to be in our favor. The first half of the race the current would be pushing us to the right; the second half, to the left. Somewhere in the middle was supposed to be a "slack tide". I didn't quite understand all of it and while I know others were planning their strategy to this, I just thought "stay in the middle". That was my grand scheme. Immediately following this, we were told to head down to the beach. They have everyone divide up "wet suit swimmers" and "non wet suit swimmers". You walk over the timing belt and they are quite strict about this. One for race time records, but more importantly for safety and accountability. I must say, this race stresses safety which was good for me as a first timer to know.
Waiting at the beach seemed like it took no time at all. I chatted up this one chick who was also doing it for her first time. And when Chuck counted down to the start it, it was more of a "I can't wait to get in the water...can't believe this day is here" type of feeling. I adore open water swimming and I was about to have three hours worth of it.
It was incredible. The start did not bother me-thank you triathlon! I didn't really feel jostled or bumped or anything too bad/unmanageable. It was just incredible to be swimming towards the bay bridge. It was surreal. I don't think any other thought was going through my mind at that time other than "This is unreal" and reminding myself to "enjoy this moment-every moment". It is always, always over too fast and this race was no different. I remember getting to the one mile marker and thinking "huh, one mile already?". Looking up and seeing the bay bridge above me and leading out in front of me was simply incredible. That first mile to two miles was not bad and I don't recall feeling like the current or the chop was difficult. I was getting into a groove, finding my swimming stroke and just plugging along occupying my mind with different thoughts. It was a nice break from having to count laps when I would swim long in the pool. It didn't matter if I paid attention because I didn't have to remember what lap I was one! The thought of "no more long swims after this!" was also very dominant in my mind.
It was truly incredible. There were several times I stopped and would do breast stroke to just look around me. I wanted to not miss this moment.
I started feeling like it was getting hard after mile 2. I don't want to say too tough, but I noticed a change. I didn't feel tired-I generally always do a mental check in on where I am with my body. I stopped at the first food boat (stationed at mile 1.5 and not 2 like advertised-more on this later). I swam up, grabbed a hold, the sweet volunteer asked me "What would you like?" I responded with "Pina Colada!". Got some laughs from other swimmers and then took a small thing of water and a vanilla wafer. Not because I needed it, but because I love vanilla wafers.
They said they were at mile 1.5 which was upsetting because I thought they were mile 2. I was really excited to think I was already at mile 2 and when I found out it was just 1.5, well, I could only thing "well damn". So I let go and just kept trucking. This is when I started feeling the chop, feeling the waves and started to almost feel a little sea sick. I had to time breathing just right to not get face full of water (did not always succeed at this) and several times I had water in stead of air. It did not phase me at all, but after a while it got annoying. I think this is what hit me the most with swimming the bay. By the end, I was just tired of water hitting me in the face.
I started playing songs in my head (britney spears mostly-don't judge me). I would get halfway through the song, forget where I was, and then have to start over. It was amusing. It was also after mile 2 that at one point, I looked up and noticed I was really close to the right hand side of the bridge. This is where I pointed myself left and bee-lined it to the center. After recovering from that, I started to pay a bit more attention. I was NOT going to get pulled out. The thought did occur to me during the swim, I was fearful of this happening, but I did not want to have to try and enter again for the Bay. One and done sounded just fine to me.
I remember passing by the three mile balloon and just thinking about putting one arm in front of the other. Remember how I thought I put enough glide on the back of my neck for the wetsuit? Well at this point, I could feel it chafing. I tried to think of anything else except that. I arrived at the second feed boat. Asked again for a margarita this time (I have the best jokes), and instead took a bit more water and another vanilla wafer (those cookies are so good!). I was getting a bit sick to my stomach because of all the bay water I was taking in. The volunteers were awesome, but they told me (or I misheard) that that red kayaker I could see in the distance was mile 4. I thought "Hell yes! Not far at all!'. I don't think I misheard because when I got to the red kayaker, another swimmer was next to me and we both stopped for a second and said "wait, I thought this was mile 4? What is that balloon down there!?!" We were then informed that nope, no kayaker as mile 4 but the balloon that seemed way too far away was mile 4. Well damn. But the redeeming quality of this was that I could see the shoreline. I could see the other side. It was freaking unbelievable.
It was incredible. The volunteers at the end were fantastic, helping you up, telling you congratulations and taking off your timing chips. They help you out of your wet suit and keep you stable. As I was walking out of the finishing area, I immediately see my mom, friend Lynn and her mom. I see them and the first thing I said was "that's a long swim". But I also couldn't believe I finished it. I finished 4.4 miles across the bay. It was surreal. Of course, my mom snaps a picture:
There were no more vegetarian sandwiches left by the time I got there-that sucked. But I went to town on some donuts! Again, the volunteers were super incredible. The only disappointing thing was they did not hand out medals. :( I was really hoping to have a medal from this event, but alas, all I get is a t-shirt. A very bright, neon yellow t-shirt.
All in all-this was an incredible event. I know that I searched and read so many previous years races reports and so I hope that mine can maybe help someone in their decision and preparation for the event. In reviewing my training for this event, I probably could have swam more. I had been swimming all year but started increasing my distance around March. This probably should have happened earlier. I think I might do a separate post about my swim training and what I would change (if I ever wanted to do this again). I am still so happy to have done this. I am an endurance swimmer and nothing can change that. Never in my life did I think I would be a swimmer like this and I am just so incredibly happy.
<3
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
On the topic of Race day Anxiety/Excitement.
Most of you know my professional life is spent as a therapist to adults, couples, families and children. For the most part, I try not to let this seep into my regular life through either "over analyzing" friends/family/etc or any other way. I may not always succeed at this (sometimes it is tough to take off that therapist hat), but I do my best to not let it get in the way of anything.
That being said, the following post is all about the techniques I use (or would encourage someone with anxiety) to use to help with pre-race jitters.
1) Trust Your Training
This was said to me by a triathlete peer of mine two years ago when I started training for my half-ironman. I forget who, and I wish I could remember, because I would thank them for giving me a piece of advice that has stayed with me. Trust your training. You've put in the work, you've put in the sweat-time-sacrifice and it is all there, waiting for you to pull on it and use it on the day of the event. I forget sometimes that I have done the work and put in the time. It is always good to trust the training and the preparation I have put into each event that I sign up to do.
2) Visualization
This is something I stress with clients and friends a like. The mind is a powerful tool and I do not think that people take advantage enough of the power that comes with visualization. All throughout my long swims I would visualize what I thought it would be like to swim through the bay bridge, in between the supports and looking up to see the road above me. I imagined what that would look like and painted that scene as vividly as I could in my mind. It not only helped to keep my sanity in my long swims, but I knew there might be a time or two during the race where I would have a "Oh crap-I can't believe I am doing this" moment and it helps me to prepare for if I feel anything anxious about those moments. I also imagined the complete nothing I would see looking down in the water. There would be no black line at the bottom, I would barely be able to see my own hand, and those things don't usually bother me-but I visualized them anyhow.
Visualization can be fantastic if you KNOW you will have a problem with something. Visualizing yourself having the problem, what you are going to do to overcome it, and then pushing through it with whatever techniques you decide, can be a powerful tool. For example, if you know you have a hard time with nerves, then one could visualize entering the water, starting to get nervous, doing some back stroke and calming down. You could end the imagery with walking out of the water victorious and overcoming that anxiety. Visualization can be powerful folks; don't count it out.
3) Realize what you can and cannot control
This is a big one. I have been stalking the weather non-stop since June 8th showed up in the 10-day forecast on my weather.com app. Is this helpful? No. Do I have ANY control whatsoever on which way the weather is going to turn? No. Do I have ANY control over the current or the waves or any other water conditions on the day of the swim? Absolutely not. So yes, I do still continue to stalk the weather forecast but I also only allow myself to worry about it for about 5 minutes. And then I remind myself I have no control over these factors. Move on.
4) Find a good Pre-Race Routine
If you are at all like me, you like some sort of routine before the day of an event. For me, triathlon pre-event prep includes laying out my transition area, double checking that I have everything, and doing this about twice. I probably pack and re-pack my back 2 times. Call me OCD, but it is my routine and well, if you don't like-don't do it. But there is something calming about my pre-event routine. I also tend to start waking up super early a week before the event to get my system used to waking up early. This way, when the night before the race comes, my body is used to falling asleep between 8:30 and 9 and waking up before 5 am. My system is also used to waking up that early and nothing feels like a jolt.
5) Really, truly experience the moment
This is another big one for me. Our races, bike tours, open water swims-they are all over way too quickly. It might not feel like that in the moment, but it is true. I constantly remind myself to enjoy each moment of the swim, bike, or run. Whatever it is I am doing. I remind myself "this moment will be over too soon-don't waste any of it". Especially as I am about to take on the bay, I am mixed with some nerves but mostly excitement. I love open water swimming. I will be swimming a great distance and in a body of water that is surreal. And I know it will be over with too fast. I know it will be challenging and tough. But it will also only last for a brief moment and I will need to enjoy each of them. I don't want to miss any of it. I don't want to take any of it for granted and I hope I can truly soak it all in. I can't wait.
On a different note, I am so ready to be done swimming so much. Bring on normal 3,000-4,000 yd swims only.
So that is what I have for now. Everyone has different styles and ways they handle their nerves and excitement. I am merely sharing with you some of mine.
Good Racing folks.
That being said, the following post is all about the techniques I use (or would encourage someone with anxiety) to use to help with pre-race jitters.
1) Trust Your Training
This was said to me by a triathlete peer of mine two years ago when I started training for my half-ironman. I forget who, and I wish I could remember, because I would thank them for giving me a piece of advice that has stayed with me. Trust your training. You've put in the work, you've put in the sweat-time-sacrifice and it is all there, waiting for you to pull on it and use it on the day of the event. I forget sometimes that I have done the work and put in the time. It is always good to trust the training and the preparation I have put into each event that I sign up to do.
2) Visualization
This is something I stress with clients and friends a like. The mind is a powerful tool and I do not think that people take advantage enough of the power that comes with visualization. All throughout my long swims I would visualize what I thought it would be like to swim through the bay bridge, in between the supports and looking up to see the road above me. I imagined what that would look like and painted that scene as vividly as I could in my mind. It not only helped to keep my sanity in my long swims, but I knew there might be a time or two during the race where I would have a "Oh crap-I can't believe I am doing this" moment and it helps me to prepare for if I feel anything anxious about those moments. I also imagined the complete nothing I would see looking down in the water. There would be no black line at the bottom, I would barely be able to see my own hand, and those things don't usually bother me-but I visualized them anyhow.
Visualization can be fantastic if you KNOW you will have a problem with something. Visualizing yourself having the problem, what you are going to do to overcome it, and then pushing through it with whatever techniques you decide, can be a powerful tool. For example, if you know you have a hard time with nerves, then one could visualize entering the water, starting to get nervous, doing some back stroke and calming down. You could end the imagery with walking out of the water victorious and overcoming that anxiety. Visualization can be powerful folks; don't count it out.
3) Realize what you can and cannot control
This is a big one. I have been stalking the weather non-stop since June 8th showed up in the 10-day forecast on my weather.com app. Is this helpful? No. Do I have ANY control whatsoever on which way the weather is going to turn? No. Do I have ANY control over the current or the waves or any other water conditions on the day of the swim? Absolutely not. So yes, I do still continue to stalk the weather forecast but I also only allow myself to worry about it for about 5 minutes. And then I remind myself I have no control over these factors. Move on.
4) Find a good Pre-Race Routine
If you are at all like me, you like some sort of routine before the day of an event. For me, triathlon pre-event prep includes laying out my transition area, double checking that I have everything, and doing this about twice. I probably pack and re-pack my back 2 times. Call me OCD, but it is my routine and well, if you don't like-don't do it. But there is something calming about my pre-event routine. I also tend to start waking up super early a week before the event to get my system used to waking up early. This way, when the night before the race comes, my body is used to falling asleep between 8:30 and 9 and waking up before 5 am. My system is also used to waking up that early and nothing feels like a jolt.
5) Really, truly experience the moment
This is another big one for me. Our races, bike tours, open water swims-they are all over way too quickly. It might not feel like that in the moment, but it is true. I constantly remind myself to enjoy each moment of the swim, bike, or run. Whatever it is I am doing. I remind myself "this moment will be over too soon-don't waste any of it". Especially as I am about to take on the bay, I am mixed with some nerves but mostly excitement. I love open water swimming. I will be swimming a great distance and in a body of water that is surreal. And I know it will be over with too fast. I know it will be challenging and tough. But it will also only last for a brief moment and I will need to enjoy each of them. I don't want to miss any of it. I don't want to take any of it for granted and I hope I can truly soak it all in. I can't wait.
On a different note, I am so ready to be done swimming so much. Bring on normal 3,000-4,000 yd swims only.
So that is what I have for now. Everyone has different styles and ways they handle their nerves and excitement. I am merely sharing with you some of mine.
Good Racing folks.
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Holy hilly ride batman
I am going to try and summarize my week of training. And not make it sound boring....if anyone is actually reading this. To my future self who will look back on this post-ironman: I hope the training I did was good enough to get me across that finish under 17.
First off, I had to take the break from swimming which sucked. My soul manages better when I swim. It just does. I finally gave in (and the cut looked much improved) and swam today. And it felt glorious. My body was tired; I ran before the swim and the super-ridic-hilly bike on Saturday also added some additional fatigue. But, I still managed a really nice feeling and on-target swim. Bring it bay. I can't wait.
My long run was pretty okay. The last mile of it was at a 9:30 minute pace which felt really good. I forget that I am training for a marathon again. It seems surreal. I just group everything into the title ironman and forget the individual events that includes. So crazy.
I am trying not to worry-i find that's my biggest downfall. I get too anxious sometimes. I need to start kicking up the bike and really adding on the miles...that's my weakest and the longest portion. So the game plan is a nice and easy 25-30 next weekend so as not to kill my legs before the bay swim and then trying to tack on a 60.
Thank god tomorrow is a rest day. Hoping to get in 10+ training hours next week. Due to not swimming, only manages 8.5 this week.
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