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!

Ironman Pocono Mountains 69.1

This weekend I completed the Bike and Run of the Ironman Pocono Mountain 69.1 (since the swim is 1.2, I've removed that from the planned 70.3 distance).  Overall it was an amazing experience, and even though the swim cancellation was a HUGE disappointment to me, I'm glad I did it.  I thought I was prepared, but actually doing the 56m bike and then the 13.1m run I was able to prove to myself that I really could do it.

I was Paleo except for my the Powerbar Gels and a little corn in all of the days leading up to the race and even on race day.  I didn't hit a wall or bonk at all, I felt good nutrition wise throughout the whole race.  I probably should have had a little more on my run, and had I done the swim then I'm sure I would have felt the need to "eat" something sooner than mile 16 on the bike.  Generally I eat something like a lara bar or a gel as soon as I get on the bike after finishing a swim.

Here is a recount of what my food and nutrition looked like the days before the race and then during the race itself:

Pre Race:

Added some extra sweet potato and some acorn and spaghetti squash (for variety really) to my meals starting on Thursday (race was Sunday).

Dinner night before was grilled chicken, salad, and mashed sweet potatoes, and lunch had been a burger with no bun with pork roll and a fried egg on it (this was delicious btw) and a half a lara bar.

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.

You've Got Questions....I've Got Answers

Thank you all for the questions that you submitted, here is the first round of answers - please feel free to continue to post more and I'll pull them through into a future post.

Laura - Hey, I've got a question for ya! I have been doing a 21 day challenge of strict paleo and while it's been going really well, I have found that I am craving gum. I can't seem to shake this and have been giving in to it. I am chewing like 6 to 8 pieces of gum a day. I am assuming it's because I am craving sugar? Thoughts?? -- Melinda

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. 

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!

On the home stretch

Those of you who are doing a 30 day challenge - how are things going?  What new things have you incorporated into your life and foods that you like?  Are you finding it hard to adjust or easier than you thought?  How do you look, feel, and perform?  Have you noticed any changes in your mental clarity, your athletic performance, how you feel when you wake up in the morning?


This 30 Day challenge has been the easiest its ever been for me, since now that I've consistently cleaned up what I eat I have found that when I do go super strict that the things I do miss are the occasional Paleo treat and being able to enjoy a glass of wine  - but its not so bad knowing that I can have them again soon.  I have definitely seen benefits from my clean eating so far - on Sunday Sept 12th I competed in my first Olympic Distance Triathlon (1.5K/.93m Swim, 40K/25m Bike, 10K/6.2m Run) and did great finishing with a time of 2hr 45min in the top 12% in my age group and top 12% of females in the race. The race was The Nation's Triathlon in Washington DC and we actually set a Guinness record for the most participants in an Olympic Triathlon with over 5300 athletes competing.  I felt great during the race, and was back to doing a hard crossfit workout on Tuesday.



Laura Left-Center Red Shirt, Kristin Right-Center Pink shirt



This past Sunday Sept 19th I decided to jump in and run the Philly Distance Run - Half Marathon with a friend,  Kristin, that is training for a full marathon in November.  I was taking a small leap of faith that I'd be able to run that far since the most I'd run was 8 miles 3 weeks earlier.  I had just completed the Tri and knew that I could do over 2 hours of "work" so I decided to give it a shot.  Kristin did great and turns out she would have slammed that 13.1m run on her own, I was just along for the ride :)  I was a little sore on Monday, but by Tuesday felt great again.  I really think that the combination of crossfit workouts and eating a really clean diet are the two contributing factors to helping my body repair itself so fast and push itself so often.  You don't have to do a race to notice increased recovery, anyone else noticing better recovery and performance too?  Post to comments what's going on, how you're doing, what you're having trouble with, and any new things that you want to share that others might want to try.

Keep checking out what I'm eating for ideas, the pictures have descriptions of what I'm eating:
http://picasaweb.google.com/laurapappas07/Whole30Food?authkey=Gv1sRgCM-J8P753eS34QE

Getting Better Faster

As an athlete that is training for running a race, competing in a triathalon, competing at a Crossfit competion or just trying to be better at whatever other sports you do-you should consider incorporating High Intsity Training (HIT) and Intervals into your workouts because it helps you to get better faster.  Most athletes want to get better but don't always understand how.  Too many of us fall into a training rut and continue to do what is comfortable - always doing the same flat 5 mile loop, biking at a comfortable pace, not pushing yourself during a WOD in Crossfit.   So how do you break out of your trianing rut and actually get better and in most cases faster?  In Crossfit we talk about "getting comfortable with being uncomfortable" which allows you to train your body at a higher intesity and reap the benefits of a great workout that doesn't take that much time.  Let's take a practical example, in running if you want to get faster you can't just add more miles of long slow distance.  To run faster you need to practice actually running faster; pushing yourself at a higher intensity and achieving a faster speed - a novel concept right.  How many runners out there actually do this regularly?

So how do you actually do this practicing "fast" stuff?  Through high intensity training and doing sport specific interval workouts lilke 400m, 800m, and mile repeats where you run almost as fast as you can and your goal is to get faster each time, achieving negative splits, with a reasonable amount of rest/recovery in between.  Doing repeats and tempo runs (where you run for a set/goal pace for a set amount of time or miles within a run) are how you get faster when you're training for a race - running longer at a slower speed only gets you to a point where you can cover more distance in a single run - which has its time and place in trainign as well but you don't have to do it as often as you think if you throw in more high intestity workouts.  I have to admit, I find every reason not to do the repeat workout or tempo run that is scheduled into my training plan because they are tough to do - especially on your own.  One reason I like to have a running training plan when I'm training for a race is because it schedules speedwork into my week, so that it's harder to avoid doing it because I have to write on my plan that I missed or didn't complete that workout.  Once I started adding these "speed" workouts to my training regime, I  quickly noticed better results and faster times both in my regular training runs and most importantly in my races.  At first it was difficult for me to realize that I can get a better workout in 20 minutes when I'm working at a high intensity, verses working out for a full hour at a much lower intensity.  Like most people I come from a background where I thought longer was always better than faster; people ask you how far you biked, ran, or swam not how fast you do it.

So how does my Crossfit training fit into all of this?  Crossfit is fundamentally based around the concept of using high intensity training to make you better, especially in workouts like FRAN one of the Crossfit benchmark WODS.  21-15-9 reps of Thrusters (65# Ladies / 95# men) followed by Pull ups as fast as you can is meant to push you HARD.