Officially 70.3 Finisher

Even with threats from Tropical Storm Rina, I am now an official Ironman 70.3 finisher! The race was like the rest of the races this year, expo in the rain the day before and we were worried about the weather up through the start of the race.
Saturday had patches of sun and then patches of rain and it was really hot and humid - I was worried about it being that hot on race day because I was sweating just standing around.

Check In on Saturday - It's sunny now

Getting my packet: number, chip, etc

The best part about Saturday was the food truck that was at the expo, I was bummed they weren't there on race day too because that would definately have been my preferred post race fuel to the food that the race offered.  They did have real food here though,  better than the subway sandwhich at the Pocono race.  They offered arroz con pollo (which was mostly rice), pork, cooked plaintains, fresh fruit, bagels with cream cheese, and water, soda, and ironman perform drink.  I had some pork and fruit, and tried the plaintains but they were coated in sugar and were way too sweet for me.

Food Truck (it was raining)



Menu - Lots of great choices

70.3 or Bust!

This weekend I'm heading to Miami for the Miami 70.3 Half Ironman race - I signed up the day BEFORE the Pocono Mountains 70.3 race after learning that the swim was cancelled.  I set 70.3 as my goal this year and 69.1 is not the same thing, maybe I'm too goal oriented but you can't say I'm not driven.

The race is now 100% full - when we signed up it was at 99% and was one of two races left in the US for the 2011 race season - so if I wanted to get my Ironman 70.3 in 2011 it was either Miami or Austin Texas.  Austin was a possibility but turned out to be a bit more expensive to get to - and I have an aunt that is graciously letting us stay with her that lives less than an hour from Miami, so Miami seemed like the right place to go.  It was staying pretty warm on the east coast through the beginning of October, we even had a weekend where we hit 80 and instead of doing training in the morning, we waited until 1pm to go so that we could train at the hottest part of the day here.  Now it's a bit colder than Miami so I'm a little worried about adjusting to the heat since I'll be getting to Miami the day before the race, which doesn't leave much time for acclimating to the hotter weather.  For training I kept up what I was doing for the Pocono Mountains 70.3 and have been doing Crossfit WODs two times a week, a longer run, an interval or tempo workout, and one long bike or brick workout per week.  I've been trying to add some yoga in, with the goal of once per week and that has been helping too.  That leaves me with 5 or 6 days "on" if you count doing yoga as a workout day and one rest day.  I have to admit that I'm starting to get a little burned out.  I haven't done much swimming, so my swim time will be interesting.  I got in the pool last week and did 2400 meters and am confident in my ability to do and finish the swim, but I have no idea how fast I'll be!

This race is different from the others I've done, where Tim (my husband is also doing the race) will be starting between 45 minutes and 1 hour AFTER me.  Usually I'm the one that starts that late behind him, so my goal in this race will be to get the 70.3 and for him NOT to pass me!  In our last race our times were about 30 mins apart but he had a SNAFU on the bike with 2 flats, and I'm just slow on the bike.  If you're interested in following us you can through ironman live.  Looks like I'll be starting 40 minutes after the official race start, in Wave 9 with a Sliver cap - I hope it's metallic and sparkly!  Tim will be all the way at the end in one of the Age Group - Male 30 - 34 waves 22, 23, or 24.

The Swim course will start and end at the same place which means turns!  There are 3 turns in this course which shouldn't be too bad.  This looks a lot like the swim in the Brigantine Triathlon, except instead of being 400 meters long it 1.2 miles - just a little bit longer :)  I'm not sure about wetsuits, the water temperature is right there at the line where we may get to wear them or maybe not.  I'll have mine regardless but am not worried about doing the swim without a wetsuit - I did both Olympic Tri's without a wetsuit and this is only an additional 300 meters of swimming compared to the .9 miles in those races.  The Bike and Run have a much larger jump in distance from an Olympic Distance Race to a Half Ironman distance.

I haven't heard much about the course for the bike or the run, but know that Florida is a LOT flatter than the Poconos so hopefully that will help me a little since I'm not an exceptional climber and am afraid to go too fast down hills.  There isn't as much activity via twitter and facebook as we had for the Poconos race, and what we have found has been in Spanish - Miami is definitely a bilingual area.  The run will be along the coast so hopefully we'll be getting a nice coastal breeze!  Both courses are out and back which means we also only have 1 transition which is great because the two transition and then finish being a mile away from transition where all of your things were was not the best situation - especially when the post race food is usually far from Paleo friendly and leaves me with not much to eat!

So watch out Miami, here I come and I'm determined to race all 70.3 miles that you have ready for me!

Almost Race Day

Race day is tomorrow and everyone that is registered is anxiously watching the weather for rain.  The race sent an official Swim Update email on Thursday,  and posted on the Poconos 70.3 Facebook page, that the swim has been officially canceled, due to "river to crest at an extremely high level and currents to run at speeds too dangerous to allow athletes in the
water."  This is a real bummer, I don't want to swim if the water is unsafe, but at the same time it's no longer a Half Ironman...that was my goal and what I have been training for.
 
Now on Sunday it will be a Bike and Run "time trial" - 56m bike followed by a 13.1m run.  I still think all the rest of the race festivities will be going on and tracking should still be up, even though a third of the race is canceled, it only decreases the mileage from 70.3 to 69.1...but that means I can't get my 70.3 sticker since I will not be doing it.  Now I'm contemplating adding another race since I want to be able to say that I did a REAL or FULL Half Ironman, not that I did a HIM once sort of since the swim was canceled.

A special THANK YOU to my parents and to the Plentui (Chris and Kristin) for coming out to cheers us on and support us even though the weather is supposed to be icky AND the swim got canceled :)

The race is on Sunday October 2nd, if you're up for tracking our "time trial" results here is the information you'll need to track us on IronmanLive.com

Laura's Bib = 1283
Tim's Bib = 389

Here is what we'll still be doing on the course, don't get me wrong I realize that doing the bike and run will still be a major accomplishment...



Bike Elevation



Taper Week

This is the last week before the Poconos 70.3 Half Ironman, which is now only 5 short days away!  Last Saturday, after getting my bike fit done at High Road Cycles, I embarked on my first 50 mile bike ride.  This was something I mentally needed to do, because I had a lot of pain on my 40 mile ride and going for another 16 miles like that might not have been possible. 

At my bike fit, Isaac helped me and he really shortened my reach, adjusted my seat height and position, and tweaked my handle bars.  Let me tell you on my 50 mile ride I felt like I was on a new bike, I felt great.  I looked down and was like, wow we've gone 10 miles already - usually I'm like oh geez how have we gone only 3 miles, it feels like 10.  I had no pain in my back, numbness in my feet, and didn't get any shooting pain in my ankles like I did on my 40 mile ride.  Something that Issac said during my bike fit really stuck with me, he said, "it shouldn't hurt to ride your bike" which really resonated with me.  I said I thought your back should feel sore after bike riding and that you would have some discomfort...and why because that's all I've known on my bike.  Ironically this is the same thing that I encounter with people when they tweak their diet and go Paleo, they realize that all these little things that used to plague them clear up - like headaches, stiffness in their joints, being tired after eating a big meal, stuffy nose in the morning, etc.  All this is "normal" so when you change to a Paleo based diet you get the same feeling that I experienced when I got my bike fit! 

AC International Triathlon

This weekend marked my second to last triathlon for the year...getting me ready for my big athletic endeavor this year (and ever), the Poconos 70.3 Half Ironman which is fast approaching on October 2nd. 

The Race Details: The Atlantic City International Triathlon
.9m Ocean Swim
22 Mile Bike
6.2 Mile Run



Mine is blue and white, but same design



What's new for me this race is that I experimented with some new foods trying to stay Paleo while getting more fuel in me on the bike and I got a new race outfit.  I finally got a real tri suit.  It's from Zoot and a one piece which is great because that means my top won't ride up and I don't have to worry about pulling my shorts off along with my wetsuit in transition...but it's really tough to get on and off, especially if you're in a port-a-potty.  The good news is that I had no problem with the suit, but at this Tri we had regular bathrooms with plenty of arm and leg room, so the port-a-potty check will have to happen in the Poconos.

Summer Heat Wave

Much of the country is currently in the midst of a summer heatwave, when the mercury rises on the thermometer (do they even make thermometers with mercury in them anymore?) you need to make sure you are keeping yourself cool.  It's important to stay hydrated and really listen to your body in the heat to avoid injury and to avoid heat related illness - you don't want to sideline your performance or your weekend plans because you didn't take care of yourself in the heat.

Its especially important to take care of yourself if you've decided that you're going to continue working out in the heat - especially to all of the people that are running outside and doing Crossfit it's important that you know what heat related illnesses can feel like so if you start to feel any of the warning signs you can dial back your training or your workout.  Just because it's hot doesn't mean stop training, but it does mean train smarter and make sure you're prepared by hydrating throughout the day and staying in tune with your body.

What can you do to prevent the heat related illnesses?  Here are a few tips, this is by no means a comprehensive list, but simply a few things to think about over the next few heat filled days.

1. Stay hydrated - drink lots of water and if you're exercising make sure you replace electrolytes that you're losing.  You can do this without Gatorade (gasp) through Coconut Water - I recommend VitaCoco which you can get at Wegmans and Whole Foods, and through Electrolyte enhanced water available with that name at Trader Joe's or Smart Water in the grocery store.

2. Avoid things that dehydrate you - primarily watch out for caffeine and alcohol - if you are drinking either of these make sure that you're increasing your water consumption as well.

3. Avoid the direct sun and being outside during the hottest time of day (11am - 4pm) - if you're outside, seek out shade and if you can find a cool place to be during the hottest hours of the day.  Go to the movies, grocery store, or shopping mall if you don't have air conditioning at home.  If you are outside wet a towel or bandanna with cold water and drape it across the back of your neck - it will provide a nice cool feeling even if you're out in the heat.

To avoid heat exhaustion and heat stroke make sure you are dialing back when you see the following signs. Signs of heat exhaustion are a severe headache, nausea, vomiting, and a feeling of severe weakness - if you are feeling any of these symptoms make sure you take a break, get out of the heat, and rehydrate!

Heat stroke can be fatal, it occurs when the your body can no longer regulate its temperature relating in severely elevated body temperature causes an altered mental state, dizziness and ultimately can lead to a loss of consciousness and potentially kidney failure. 

What are you doing to stay cool?  And how are the increased temperatures impacting your training, planning, and performance?

Philly Olympic Tri

Last weekend on June 26th I participated in the Philadelphia Insurance Olympic Distance Triathlon here at home in Philadelphia PA.  It was my first tri of the season, which I would have preferred to be a sprint but since I'm gearing up for the Half Ironman this October, I signed up for the local Olympic Distance (.9m swim, 24.8m (40K) bike, 6.2m(10K) run). 

I was a little bit nervous for this tri since usually I'm doing something shorter to start and I hadn't gotten too much training in on the bike.  I had done one 17 mile ride, 1 20 mile ride, and then 2 brick training sessions at Valley Forge National Park: 15 mile bike followed by a 5 mile run, and the second a 10 mile bike followed by a 3 mile run.  The sprint tri was on Saturday and the Olympic on Sunday, for the Sprint they had great weather and the river was below 78 degrees so it was wetsuit legal for the swim. 

Crossfit Level 1 Certified

This past weekend I attended the Crossfit Level 1 Cert course, which was conveniently (for me) hosted by my local Crossfit Gym, Crossfit KoP.  It was 2 full days of learning technique, set-up, points of performance, common faults, how to fix faults, and lots of practice with PVC pipe.  It was a really great experience, and one that I needed to complete to move on to the next part of my health journey to be a Crossfit Coach.  In addition to learning a ton, doing a many reps with a PVC pipe it also reinforced all of the things I already know.  It was awesome when one of the trainers at the end told me "you move really well" after going over the break down of how to teach a push jerk: Jump, Jump with arms, Jump and punch the arms, pick up the stick/PVC and do it.



Aimee, Chloe, Mel, Spealler, and Me



The coaching staff was awesome and they schedule mixed lecture and then practice of technique which was good since as Crossfitters we didn't like to sit still too long.  It was a really great experience and it really made me appreciate the quality of the coaching staff at Crossfit KoP - those that attend, know that you have some really great a solid coaches guiding you!  The highlight of the weekend was two-fold, passing the test and getting my actual certification AND having the opportunity to load a bar with 145# and have 3 world class trainers disect my deadlift.  For those that don't work out with me I am notorious for rounding my back during deadlifts with anything over 130#s - which as was reinforced over and over again this weekend is the major thing that you need to have in line to complete that lift safely.  The combination of Andrea, Chiss, and Chris Spealler (yes the Chris Spealler) working with helped me really dial in my set-up and with some good coaching cues got me to complete the lift multiple times with no back round - success!  It was awesome and terrifying at the same time to have so many great Crossfit minds watching me and trying to make me better, and let me tell you I have not been doing this lift properly before because now 3 days later I'm still feeling it in my hamstrings and glutes!



Thanks Chris Spealler and Chriss and Andrea!



Personal Training from Spealler



 Now I've got a lot of deadlift cues to work on and the key to getting better is training the movement and practicing implementing the cues I learned.  So starting next week I'm going to add it as a weekly goal as another thing to work on at the gym, along with that other elusive movement I'm chasing, the muscle up.  Why am I not starting today...well that's because I've got the Philly Olympic Tri on Sunday and I need to be able to move through my swim, bike, and run.

Fitness minus the Sugar with Jennifer Fugo

Check out my interview with fellow health coach Jennifer Fugo about how to work out and train, without relying on sugar in her piece Fitness minus the Sugar. Jennifer lead a 10 day sugar cleanse and wanted to share with her group that it is possible to train without sugar. Thanks for the opportunity to share!

Seasons and Periodization

As a Triathlete in mid-September I wrapped up my swim, bike, and run season.  As a Runner the end of November will mark the end of my outside running season - I don't train indoors on a treadmill anymore.  As a Crossfitter the colder months indicate my shift to indoor training and since I take a break with my other sports, its a great time to increase my Crossfit training.  I pick the winter months to ramp up strength training and really focus on Crossfit; however, Crossfit doesn't really have "seasons" since the majority of Crossfitters aren't training for sectionals, regionals, and the Games.  Crossfitters love their sport and with the lack of seasons and eagerness to get better tend to over-train.  Outside sports have weather and seasons to help athletes know when to ramp up and slow down their training, but Crossfit is constantly varied and is done all year round indoors and out, in the hot and in the cold.  One common criticism of Crossfitting is that there is no programmed rest and the concept of periodization doesn't really exist since most Crossfitters aren't training to peak at the Crossfit Games.

So what are you supposed to do as a Crossfitter?  When you are training for a run, like a Marathon, you follow a training plan that has built in taper weeks and increases your volume of training to help you peak on race day.  Crossfit doesn't have a 16, 12, or 8 week training plan to help you string together a combination of strength training and met-cons to help you peak for a certain event or around a certain time of the year.  You have to take responsibility for your training as a Crossfitter, and build in some downtime as well as review the mix of strength verse met-con that you do in order to reach your personal goals or training schedule.  Its important to not go 100% all year round, you need to give your body time to recover, you can't go 3 days on 1 day off 12 months in a row and every time you do strength go for a new 1, 3, 5 rep max.  It's important to remember that more (weight, reps,training sessions) isn't always better, and there is a lot of value in giving your body time to repair itself.  Over-training leads to injury and adrenal burnout, the best way to avoid this is to add periodization (e.g., training to reach peak performance and including some downtime) to your training.

In order to apply the concept of periodization, you need to define your personal goals and 'seasons' to help determine when you're going hard, when you're working to build strength, and when you're taking it easy.  I use my other sports as a guide to help me increase training in one area, decrease training in another, and make sure that I take some time off in between.  This year, I was training for Regionals and then the Games, and found that my Crossfit training and my running/triathlon training were conflicting with each other.  I was doing too many training sessions a week and trying to cram in runs, bikes, and swims as well.  It left me a little burned out, and a few weeks prior to the games I took a break because my training had stagnated and I was on my way to getting burned out - before my big event!  To help you plan your training, create a list of personal goals and work with a trainer to put a plan in place to realistically achieve them.  Track your workouts in a log book - I like to track mine on a monthly calendar so I can see what my training looks across a week, 2 weeks, and even the whole month.  I plan my workouts weekly, sometimes using a running or triathlon training plan and supplementing with Crossfit on the Interval or Open days.  One of the most important lessons I've learned through training for multiple sports and adding Crossfit in is the value of rest days.  Make sure they are included in your training plan as well - depending on your level and your goals the amount of rest days will vary.  But remember, rest days are not days that you don't do anything, they are days that you are letting your body repair and get stronger.

Now with some more information on periodization and its importance how will you apply periodization to your training?  Have you reached the point of burn out where you feel stagnated?  How are you going to change the way you plan your training going forward?

What is Crossfit?

At the beginning of this year I started to get more serious about Crossfit and make it my primary workout. So what is Crossfit? Crossfit is based on constantly varied functional movements, including running, rowing, Olympic lifting, body weight exercises (squats, push ups, pull-ups), and basic gymnastic movements. Crossfit has a Workout Of the Day, a WOD, and each day there is a prescribed workout that you do as a crossfit community (when you work out at a Crossfit gym or follow the workouts from the main page Crossfit.com).


Crossfit WODs can be as short as 2-3 minutes or as long as an hour, it depends on the WOD. They are primarily divided into 2 groups, metcons (metabolic conditioning) or strength, and the workouts are either done for time (as fast as possible) or for reps/rounds (AMRAP = as many rounds as possible). There are 'benchmark' WODs that are defined WODs with names like Fran (21-15-9 Thursters 65/95, and pullups), Cindy (AMRAP in 20 mins of 5 pullups, 10 pushups, 15 squats), and Angie (100 pullups, 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats for time) that are used as a standard that Crossfitters can compare themselves to others to see how you measure up against other Crossfit athletes. Crossfit is universally scalable, so if you can't do the workouts as listed - referred to as prescribed or Rx - or you scale them to your level of ability - using less weight, doing less reps, using bands to assit with pullups, etc. As you continue to do crossfit, you will be able to get closer and closer to doing the WODs as prescribed as you get stronger.