Crazy Dreams...

Literally...crazy dreams!  Today, February 3rd, marked the start of my training for IMLP and all the races that come along with it.  December and January were fun training and vacation months.  No goals/marks to hit - just enjoying what I was doing and taking time off when I wanted.  Apparently the low key training and fun didn't take my mind off the fact that I have a 140.6 mile race in July.  During the month of January I had 2 Ironman based dreams...and definitely not normal dreams.

DREAM 1 - WHERE'S MISTER?

In early January I had a fantastic dream of being in Lake Placid with my IM support crew.  We were race prepping and getting everything together the day before the race.  I was focused and ready to go as I headed to bed the night before IMLP.  Upon waking I did my usual routine and started to head to transition with Adam and my brother.  As we were walking to transition I kept having the thought that we were forgetting something...then it hit me.  I TOTALLY FORGOT MY BIKE!!! Oh my gosh, it wasn't even in the state of New York.  Mr. was sitting peacefully back home in DC and I was about to do an Ironman! How would I ever do an Ironman without my bike.  I was a wreck, though I still headed to the swim start area as Adam and my brother assured me they would find a bike for me to use.  That's were this dream ends...did they get a bike...was there a P3 waiting in transition for me...I'll never know.  I was so very thankful this was a dream.  Please do not let me forget my bike.

DREAM 2 - FUN HOUSE

A couple weeks after Dream 1 I had another crazy IM dream.  The race had been going great and I was running well and on pace to break 4 hours during my IM marathon.  I was headed down the out and back on my 2nd loop of the and slowly catching a girl from my age group that had been ahead of me.  When I got to the turn around point there was a Spooky Fun House and Clowns!!!!!!  The volunteers and race directors said you had to go through the Fun House or you'd be disqualified!  What in the world, this was NOT here
on my first loop!   I was WAY scared and couldn't fathom going through this thing, there were a few other athletes having the same thought arguing with the race director.  As I watched the time on the clock tick by and realized my sub 4-hour marathon was not going to happen and my place in my age group started dropping as other people had no trouble making the turn around.  I'm not sure if I ever went in or if I even finished the race...so PLEASE no clowns or Fun Houses on the course.

2014 - The Year Ahead

This year will be exciting, challenging, fun, and different.  I hadn't put a ton of thought into my 2014 race schedule when I started putting things in writing.  Thus my plan and my season developed around 1 (or maybe 2) key races.

As you may have read about here, I went up to Lake Placid two times during 2013.  Once for a long training weekend and once to sherpa for Ironman Lake Placid.  Prior to these two trips the thought of completing Ironman Lake Placid had never crossed my mind.  Hilly, difficult, possibly cold once the sun begins to set.  After riding 4 loops of  the bike course during the training weekend and another loop during race weekend and after 6 swims in Mirror Lake I was sold - ok almost.  The setting was gorgeous, the bike course amazing - a test to your discipline on race day.  As I sherpa'd my way to almost 26 miles of sherping I tossed the idea around in my head, but once Adam crossed the line focus was on him - recover, food, celebrate, more food, etc. The next morning I headed down to Mirror Lake - took a nice swim and then back to the house to join Adam at the athlete celebration.   I had noticed and known some people who lined up extra early to claim their spot at IMLP 2014.  I still wasn't sure - and I sure as heck wasn't about to hand over my credit card for something I wasn't sure about.  I made myself one promise, if the race fell on July 27, 2014 (3 years after my dad's accident, to the day) I'd register.  Thanks to smartphones it took no longer than 1 minute to realize race day would in fact be - July 27, 2014.  After taking the longest route possible to get to the room directly next to where Adam and I had been sitting I was surprised to see about 16 computers set up with smiling volunteers behind each one - and absolutely NOBODY ELSE in the room to register.  It was all to easy - name, age, credit card, email address.  Done. I had been looking forward to perhaps Ironman Arizona or another visit to Louisville (not cold).  On that day, I knew, I'd be in Lake Placid and I should be in Lake Placid on July 27, 2014.

My 2013 season wasn't even close to over - I still had some goals to reach and PRs to set in shorter distances but thoughts were already churning to put together a successful 2014.

After Augusta 70.3 I reached out to a few coaches.  After communicating with each of them I chose one and I am already beyond happy with her passion, involvement, and knowledge (by the way my training plan doesn't even start with her until February 1st).  Around the same time I was making a coaching decision, I
was also excited to learn that I had been selected to be a member of the 2014 DC Tri/Snapple Elite Team.  A close group of fellow athletes to train with, be inspired by, and learn from.  A group that is made up of athletes that have found success in almost all arenas of triathlon.  Not to mention awesome sponsors to help me break down barriers.

As I began bouncing ideas around with my coach my 2014 racing calendar began to fill in.  It's still not 100% complete.  The big ones are there, the goals are set, and the work is about to begin.  I know the first few months of training may be difficult, frustrating, and mentally and physically draining.  In the end it will pay off..

A Peak at the 2014 Racing Calendar

May 10, 2014 - Kinetic 1/2 Iron Distance Tri

June 22, 2014 - Syracuse 70.3

June 29, 2014 - Chicago ITU Age Group Race

July 27, 2014 - Ironman Lake Placid

August 24, 2014 - Northeast International Triathlon

September 28, 2014 - Augusta 70.3 

Have you planned your race schedule for 2014 yet?  What changes will you make to your training this year, if any?

Final 2013 Race Recaps

I finished up the 2013 season with a few low key running races.  A chance to get out and have fun with friends and family while keeping tabs on my fitness level throughout the month of November.

Veteran's Day 10k

I was alone for this one - which was kind of nice.  A quick bike ride down to race start and packet pickup woke me up and got me moving to start off the morning.  After receiving my race bib and deciding on layerage for  a warm-up I did a little jog along Ohio Dr.  I had a min heart attack when I attempted to power up my Garmin and the empty battery logo appeared and the unit powered off.  How could this be?  I had it plugged in all night  Oi!  This is a big change for me over the past year - a year ago I probably would't have

been found with a Garmin on my wrist at a race.  Now I was convincing myself that I'd been training with it and I would be able to execute on race day without the watch.  I continued to warm-up and shed layers and calm myself down.  As I headed toward the start line I gave my Garmin one more chance.  Wahooooo, success!!!!  I seeded myself toward the middle of the front.  The weather was perfect  for a good day on Hains Point - low wind, cool temps and sunny.  The first 3 miles came easy, I nailed my goal pace and was feeling good.  Miles 4 and 5 were the hardest and may pace slowed just a bit.  I was able to hold on for the final 1.2 for a 10k PR!


Backyard Burn

I enjoy a nice trail run every now and then but racing on the trails isn't something I've come to be eager about.  I really enjoy the low key environment of EX2 races.  I headed down to Prince William Forest Park with my brother and one of our friends.  This would be there final prep before taking on the JFK 50 the following week.  The race started out with a short out and back on the before heading down a fire road and then diving into some real trail running.  I felt good the first couple miles but was soon suffering severe abdominal pain.  This familiar pain has happened before but only during training - so I'll stop for a few minutes let it subside and continue on slowly.  I had to slow down considerably for the middle portion of this race due to the pain.  I was able to pick it up again for the last mile or so and I finished the race feeling pretty good.  I even landed myself  a spot on the podium!  After cooling down for couple minutes I snapped some great shots of my brother and Brian finishing the 10 miler.


Del Ray Turkey Trot - 5 miler

This was the 2nd year we've had a small gang go down for the Turkey Trot before prepping the Thanksgiving Feast.   The course was a tad different than last year and the crowd was a bit bigger!  I randomly snuck into the starting chute and ended up right next to Abby!  We started out together, having to dip, dodge, duck, and dive around all sorts of characters.  The first two miles were fast and the cold air didn't seem too bad with the sun beating down on us. Around mile 3 things started o feel tough, getting air in became difficult, any sort of attempt at a deep breath was a fail.  Getting some water in helped a bit and I was able to pull it together for the last mile.  After this race I started realizing I have a really hard breathing in cold air, no wonder I've always enjoyed warmer climates.  It was a fun 5 miler, a PR, and a great start to a family and friend filled Thanksgiving!