Can ya feel it in the air?  That crisp morning smell with the sun lighting up the fall colors that are beginning to show? 

One of the highlights of fall, is I don’t have to worry about getting out early for a workout in order to avoid the 100 degree heat! 

This past weekend I had some great training.  I’m in my last big block of training as I gear up for Ironman Florida. 

The weekend started with a “flat” ride starting in Watkins and heading east.  I say “flat” because here in Colorado flat is hard to find.  I was joined by 3 of my biggest supporters Kelli 1, Kellie 2 and Darla for the first 40 miles of a 75 mile ride.  Here I am just starting out and spinning along on Black Betty 

Riding to Kansas

We rode and rode and then I rode and rode.  The weather warmed up into the high 80′s.  After the ride I threw on my Newtons for a quick, hard 30 minute run.  And this is where it got interesting.

For some reason I had the bright idea that I would eat 2 caffeinated gels in the last hour of my ride and then a 3rd caffeinated gel right before my run (I was feeling pretty hungry!).  By the time I finished my hard run, I thought I might pass out.  The caffeine left me light-headed and not sure if I would fall over.  That’s when I decided I should sit on the ground next to my car tire in the shade, while I waited to see what would happen.  This was one of those times I wished I had someone else with me.  I sat there,  returned texts and waited it out, drank my chocolate milk (that helped) and finally felt well enough to head home. 

All I can say is I am so glad I tried this “bright” idea while training and not during my Ironman!  OMG….I never want a caffeinated gel again   I barely consume caffeine as it is! 

I felt the effects of my “brightness” well into the morning of the next day.  It wasn’t until about 1 hr into my 3 hr run on Sunday that I began to feel better.  Ugh…all I wanted to do for that first hour was NOT run.  But run I did and I think I ran myself back to feeling normal.  The run was fantastic as always.  Every time I run on the Highline I meet someone and we will run for a bit and chat.  This day I got to enjoy the company of some new friends who I may end up running with next weekend too!

Monday rolled around I headed out to the Gravel Pond for my last open water swim of the season.  It was absolutely breathtaking that evening.  At this time of year the number of triahletes swimming has gone from 50 to about 15.  It is so peaceful and calming.  See for yourself!

The Gravel Pond

  I was joined by my training partner in crime Scott .  He is always good for a bunch of laughs and kicking my butt!  It was our final “swam song” for this season. I actually took a moment to take in the beauty and thank this wonderful body of water for all the swims I did here over the summer.  GP- I will miss you until next May. 

Yeap, the signs of fall are happening.  Less athletes out and about, the colors slowly changing, the coolness of the morning air.  I feel blessed that we are still having 70-80 degree weather here in Denver as I keep training for November 5th.  I will be pleasantly surprised if most of my training gets to be outside and not indoors.  Only time will tell!

This was a big big training week for me.  I completed 17.25 hrs of training this week, with half of  the training happening over Saturday and Sunday. 

Over the course of the week I got in:  2:05 hrs of swimming; 9:40 hrs of riding; and 4:30 hrs of running, plus 1:25 hr of strength training!  (i think my math is right)

How cool is that!!!! I am so excited!  I feel completely free of Adrenal Fatigue!  I feel my independence is back!!!!

To highlight this fabulous week….I want to share about the wonderful weekend I had with friends training and training…oh yeah…and laughing!!!!!!

Saturday started with a group swim at the infamous Gravel Pond.  As my friend Scott said, “it’s the place to come to see everyone strip”.  Scott is constantly cracking me up!  It’s so true, we all show up on the beach at the Pond and strip…first into our wetsuits then out of them.  I always enjoys Scott’s perspective!

The Gravel Pond.....

After an out and back continous swim, I was off to the Highline Canal for my 3 hr run.  By the time I made my way there, the temps were already in the 90s.  That’s what I get for socializing a little too long 

The good news about the Highline Canal is there is plenty of shade and it’s pretty flat which was perfect for the 4 x 15 min Zone 3 intervals I had on tap.  OK…I have to admit here…that I went for the full dork factor.  I actually ran in my new Zoot calf compression sleeves.  I was smart enough not to take a picture to share with you all.  I am sure other runners where getting a good laugh at me…with my calf sleeves and fanny pack with water bottles.  Like I said, FULL DORK FACTOR!

The run went smashingly.  I have to admit, I really could tell a difference running in the calf sleeve.  This was my longest run to date and I didn’t even feel a bit sore after I was done!  Yeah…product endorsement here    The  rest of the day was about recovering and getting ready for my big ride the next day.

So Sunday was pretty much the same crew as Saturday’s swim session.  We met at Bergen Park in Evergreen and headed out for the Squaw Pass- Idaho Springs loop. 

Squaw Pass! What a crew!!!

We had a total blast riding this loop!  I have never had so much fun on a ride in my life!  Absolute blast!  This was the first climbing ride of the season for me. 

I’m not sure if I shared this before…but I did one of those bone-head moves about 3 months ago…where I drove my aluminum framed Orbea Road bike into my brick garage.  Yeap, I’ve joined the club!  It took me about 2 months to find a replacement bike in my size.  So everyone…I’d like to introduce you to Jean.  Jean, meet the gang!  Jean Jean is a climbing machine!  Let me tell ya!  She’s also a dream!  I’m serious.  When I ride her it feels as if I’m riding on air! 

So after months of waiting, I was finally able to get into the mountains for some climbing time!  This was actually everyones first mountain ride of the season.  We all huffed and we puffed and we all flew down to Idaho Springs!   A spin back up to Bergen Park and we were done for the day. 

As I sit here writing about my adventures I am pleased to report that there is not one sign of Adrenal Fatigue.  Any tiredness I felt was appropriate for the level of exercise I did this weekend.  If anything, I am now more motivated than I have been in a year and am beyond excited for the next few weeks of training leading up to Barb’s Race at the end of this month! 

It’s time to Rock and Roll and train like a fiend!

Yesterday was Bike To Work Day here in Denver.  Actually every Wednsday is bike to work day for me.  And yesterday was even better due to the majority of Denver biking to work.

My friend Angela is a teacher so has the summer off, and I invited her to bike to work with me since she had no work to bike to.  She lives close by and came to my house at 6:30am and we headed off toward City Park .  The weather was perfect and the sky was clear blue and crisp.

I ride to work every week on Wednesdays but yesterday was particularly great because the roads were packed with cyclists!  The best part about the morning was heading down to Confluence Park at REI and hanging out at the expo and getting a bunch of shwag! There had to be well over a hundred cyclists there!

We jumped on Cherry Creek Bike Path and made our way up onto 12th Ave. From there it was a easy pedal to my office near City Park.  Angela said goodbye and continued in search of other events going on that morning.

The ride home in the evening was just a stellar. When I hit Cherry Creek Bike Path I was just overwhelmed with the joy of seeing so many people biking and on their way home.  I was struck by the thought of “I wish it was like this every day!”.  I wish we were a city that rode to work every day in those numbers.  Just think how cool that would be…and green 

I thourohgly enjoyed taking part in the official “Bike to Work Day” and will continue my weekly rides….the roads will just be a little less full of cyclists.

-

Big Question.

 How many of you have gone through about a bazillion saddles looking for the one that fits??? 

If you are anything like me, chances are at least one per season while looking for the perfect fit.  And when you own and ride two bikes…well, nuf said 

This story starts off with the very first saddle I had…the lovely Terry Butterfly Saddle.  This was fine enough before I became an Ironman triathlete and my bike rides where never more than a few hours.

Well my first long ride- up Mt Evan ended with a numb left leg around Summit Lake. Right after that ride I was off to the local bike shop.

Next saddle up was some other kinda black thingy. I rode that on a few centuries. It worked but not quite well enough. See I started going to computrainer classes and the instructor was always talking about being on your “sitz bones”. I got to wonderin- what and where are my sitz bones caz I sure don’t think that’s where I’m sitzing!!!
I seriously had to have her point them out on me. And I sure wasn’t using those stiz bones on the saddle I had.
Next I tried the Specialized saddle. Extra hard- no give- yeap- those sitz bones where gonna get satz on!

It worked for a bit- like while I was riding one hour. As my rides have gotten longer this winter I got banged up and bruised on the left sitz bone! See- I have hip rotation so all my weight was on my left…it got to the point where I dreaded riding…

And then- just last week- I was introduced to Sella Italia Diva Saddle. My dream come true! It works on every level! My first ride out was a 3 hour ride…with perfect- I mean perfect comfort!!!

In my search for the perfect saddle, I have come to feel like Goldilocks.  My first saddle was too soft, my next saddle was too hard, and this last saddle…the Sella Italia Diva….is JUST RIGHT!  

So women, if you are looking for that perfect saddle- Stop by TriBella Multisport and take the Diva for a spin!!!!

I never realized how much it would mean to me when I finally returned to actual TRAINING after these 6 months off.  

Granted I only took one full month off with absolutely NO exercise.  My prescription read….Get as much sleep as possible and NAP often!.  No kidding. That’s what my doc wrote down. 

Many people have asked….”well didn’t ya go crazy?” and the answer is “nope.” I was so exhausted all I could do was go to work and sleep!  I only took one month off and from there started to slowly incorporate “exercise” back into my weekly routine.  With my fabulous Coach Cary leading the way.

After 5 months of getting back into exercising…about one month ago I progressed into Training again.  I was training early mornings and afternoons.  Workouts were getting close to one hour long…..I was beginning my comeback!

Well this weekend just moved me into OFFICIAL TRAINING mode.  Over the weekend I trained for a total of 4 hrs.  I know, that may not seem like much…but not too long ago that’s all I exercised in a week!

This Saturday started with a Kick Butt 2 hour computrainer session at Peak To Peak Training Center.  Sweat and high(er) heart rates made my legs feel like mush.

After lunch with a friend…I was off to the pool for another hour of swimming!  And the cool part, my workout was a strength workout.  So lots of pulling and long sets!  It was all I could do to PULL myself out of the pool.

The evening was spent chilaxing and eating a healthy dinner….recovery and engergy for the next day!

Sunday morning came.  On my training schedule was a one hour run!!!! 

I know…seems kinda silly to get all excited for a one hour run…but when that’s the longest I’ve  run since a half mary at Boise 70.3 last June…..I was over the top excited to actually get the chance to run for a full hour. 

To me, that’s a sign that I am recovering from this darn  Adrenal Fatigue and on my way to this season.  I don’t know how many half hour runs I’ve churned out over the last 3-4months….but I can tell you…those were hell.  To only run for 30 minutes and knowing how good an hour plus run feels….that really was hell!

I am over the moon that I had a “real” training block this weekend.  I had a blast and I am feeling like a true athlete again. … Just remind me of this when I’m churning out 10+ hour training weekends this summer in prep for Ironman Florida…baby! 

I HIT IT.  I HIT the training Wall this weekend.  I hit that point where it took everything I had in me to get my workout done…and it was not a pretty sight. 

The past 6 weeks have been a mad push of building both my run and bike with a few races thrown in the mix.  I have had back to back big weekends followed by plenty of training during the week.  And as a result I HIT IT! 

I hit that point where I knew without a doubt that I had nothing left in the tank for any more workouts!  I hit that point where I needed a week of doing whatever and recovery.  I physically hit that point where I had nothing left in my legs!  After 2.5 years of training for triathlons I finally hit the spot where my body needed the rest! 

I had a mental wall I hit last February and took one week off….but this time my mind is in the game, but I body is screaming differently.  I didn’t even know I was cooked until I attempted to ride the Copper Triangle on Saturday with some friends. 

There were six of us who headed out for a SAG supported ride.  The day was perfect; the weather perfect; the company perfect! 

Ready to Ride Copper Triangle

We set off to ride up Vail Pass.  I started off like I would normally on a long ride,  riding a nice easy speed, letting everything warm up.  Nothing felt different…just the typical thick feeling in my legs.  I didn’t think much of it…just the slow steady warm up…..

As we began to ride through Minturn I started to get a clue that something was not right.  I was still feeling like I had lead for legs and by now I would have usually been warmed up.  I mean…there is barely an incline through Minturn and I was feeling as if I was climbing Mt Evans or something!  Needless to say my ability to ride got worse from there! 

Top of Tennesse Pass....

Tennesse Pass felt like Mt Everst!  I’m not kidding!  It was an all out struggle to get up the Pass.  I had nothing in my legs.  I wanted to stop so many times and then would not.  I would keep going…some how.  I am not sure how I acutally pulled this ride off.  Even on the flats I could barely ride!  I was telling my riding mates that I was “toast”!  Well finally I became “burnt toast” and took my turn SAGging for the last 2 miles of Freemont Pass on back to the parking lot.  I barely had anything left in my legs for walking! 

This was a really interesting experience for me.  I have never been to the point of being “done”.  Like having nothing left and knowing it’s time to take a recovery week.  I’ve had difficult workouts, but my body always comes around.  That didn’t happen this time.  There was no point in the ride when I “warmed up”.  I was done and there was nothing left!  I know this ride will make me stronger, both physically and mentally.  I made it through the day, I kept going and didn’t give up…and now with a week of recovery fun/workouts my body will have a chance to replenish and get doubly strong! 

I’m grateful I got to join the ride and I’m grateful I made it as far as I did!  And now I’m grateful for a week of sleeping in and eating dinner at a reasonable hour!  Ahhhh….

Ahhhhhhhh.......

This weekend my training got kicked up a notch.  Yeap- the serious part of Ironman Training is ON!  I mean ON!!!  E-Rock (Elephant Rock Century Ride) was the kickoff to back to back to back fun! 

Saturday I warmed up for E-Rock with a 15 mile run on the Highline Canal.  Another wonderful shaded run in scorching heat.

Sunday morning found me waiting in a long line of cars to get to the fairgrounds in Castle Rock to start the ride.  I was riding with my bud Sharon again.  We weren’t so green and took two cars.  Sharon was doing her first century and my instruction was to “race” this ride. 

Ready to Ride!

 We got our selves and our bikes ready and started rolling at 7:00 am.  Now Elephant Rock is an event.  It’s not a race, it’s an event.  There are people riding who are doing a 65 or 100 mile bike ride for the first time, and some who are have done E-Rock a few times. 

What beauty!!

The reason I bring this up is that many people complain about how crowded it is; how people don’t know how to ride correctly…Heck, there are even  bad-a$$ cyclist (or so they think) who come by screaming at people for doing something they don’t like.  IT’S AN EVENT PEOPLE!    CHILL OUT!  Everyone is doing the best they can on that day and for each person it’s their own personal challenge, even hell at times.  I am sooooo much more impressed and inspired by an overweight person on a mountain bike riding the 65 mile course than I am of some 6% bodyfat athlete in their cycling kit!!!!  Who gives a crud if you don’t like how people are riding.  This day is NOT about YOU! 

This day IS about camaraderie and friendly people though.  This day IS about wonderful volunteers and hard working regular folks.  It’s about making a new friend as you pedal hard up a hill or fly on the downhills.  It’s about saying “Thank you” to every volunteer you meet.  It’s also about giving encouraging words to those you pass.  It’s about doing something that challenges and pushes you.  It’s about 6000 feet of climbing and 100 miles of pavement.  It’s about giving your all AND having fun!

One of the Aide Stations

 E-Rock was like that this year for me.  I had a wonderful time and once again met some great people.  Riding E-Rock hard this year was tough at times.  I remember thinking to myself as I was climbing some hill, “Am I going to be able to make this?”  “Am I going to be able to finish?”  I was able to make it, and I was able to finish. And I had a fabulous, hard time! 

The nice thing about E-Rock is eventually the crowds thin out and you end up riding alone often.  It really is just you, your bike, and your mind for most of the ride.  I didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy the views or chat much with people (another one of my instructions was “NO Lollygagging!”).  And me being the “good” athlete  I tried to keep that to a minimun. 

A perfect day

Elephant Rock was wonderful and I highly recommend it.  Yeah it’s crowded, just bring your patience for the first 20 miles….Remember it’s an event and there are people who are doing something this hard for the first time.  Be Kind, Say Thank You, and most of all Enjoy Yourself!

It’s the official, unofficial start to SUMMER!  Can you say…it’s about time???  And this weekend did prove to be a summer weekend.  No rain, snow or howling winds!  It was spectacular…and long!  Four days of pure -heavenly training and recovering bliss!

Friday started out with a 30 mile run with the temps forecasted in the 90′s.  I hit Highline Canal at the Goodson Rec Center and was on the trail by 6:30am.  The sky was slightly overcast and the temp was already 60 degrees. 

Early Morning on the Highline Canal

At first I thought that I would run 3 x 10 miles.  Out 5 back 5- 3 times….About 4 miles into the run I decided I would rather get 15 miles out of the way my first time out, then run 10 miles and then finish off the 30 with the last 5. 

Sounded like a great idea and it actually was!  Mostly because of the mind game I was playing with myself.  Do you ever do that?  Play games with your perception?  It seems like a pre-requist to racing and training long distances….ya know…a 15 mile run, no problem; a 10 mile run, no problem; a 5 mile run, piece of cake….they just happen to all be in a row!!!

15 Miles and smiling

I knocked out the 15; reloaded at the car; knocked out the 10; got back to the car and had a Humongous blister on the bottom of my foot from a iny-tiny grain of dirt.  The blister started to change my gait around mile 23 and when I got to the car, I took a look at my foot and decided to go for my post-run swim…..didn’t finish the 30 but had a successful 25 miles of running.  Plus the temps were officially in the mid 90′s.  Did I mention how refreshing my 20 minute swim was?????  Ahhhhhhhhh

Saturday was a rest day!  I went to Boulder, got my weekly body work, enjoyed the festival and relaxed!

Sunday was back at-it!  4+ hour ride with a bunch of women! Oh yeah- remember that sore throat I had last weekend…well Sunday morning it decided to become a sinus infection……When I met up with everyone at Boulder Res I felt like crap.  I decided to start off easy and ride what I could. 

Lucky for me even though the sinus infection didn’t go away, I was eventually able to feel good enough to have a stellar ride out to Carter Lake and back.  I had a blast.  I was back on Black Betty (my Ordea Ordu) and we were flying! My training buddy, Sharon, and I rode the whole way together and just enjoyed the heck out of the day! 

Who's having FUN??? Not us

Back at the Res after 56 miles of pavement under our tires, I threw on my Newtons and hit a  hard 10 minute run.  I have NEVER run Hard off the bike- I was blown away by how I actually felt fine!  I was surprised!  I always thought I couldn’t run that fast off the bike…..but then- that’s why I have coach Andrea!  To help me learn new things about myself!

And then there was Monday.  Monday was all about the Honey-Do-List.  Can a  Honey Do List be a HDL when you’re writing it for yourself????  Anyway- I got through pruning trees and bushes in the front and back yards, and did all those piles of chores that I didn’t get to in the last year.  It felt fabulous to look around and see the piles gone and the trees trimmed.  I settled into my chair in the back yard and enjoyed the waterfall and the cool shade of the trees.  Another one of those AHHHHH moments.

I have the best backyard ever! Kai agrees!

For me, this was the best start to summer I can ever remember.  Two hard training days and two awesome rest days.  There is something to be said for having your “house in order” so that your training can just take off.  And with that….it’s time to take out the big guns and hit some pretty tough training in the next few  months…..but I’ma ready!!!

What a wild and fantastic weekend it was. Wild as in the weather. Fantastic because I was in Buena Vista with the best group of triathlon women friends!

After driving through the snow on Friday afternoon to get to BV, we arrived at packet pick up where we were told that the Century Bike Route would be changed due to 8 inches of snow around Turquoise Lake. Cool, we can handle that!

Middle of May and snowing

Next the seven of us made our way to the cabin we rented on the Arkansas River. We unloaded our bikes and gear and settled in for a carbo loading feast of spaghetti and salad.

The bikes inside and staying dry

Carbo Loading Feast

As we sat around the table each of us kept checking our Blackberries for weather updates. No matter how many times we looked the forecast was always the same…Snow all night long and into the morning. Dagnabit!
We all decided we would get up and put all our waterproof gear on and ride as far as we could the next day.
We were up at 5:00am to be ready to roll by 7:00. We kept checking to see what each other was wearing and what we should wear. Nerves were running high. As daylight approached we could see the rain turn to snow.
We were all packed, bundled up and ready to leave when we got a text at 6:30am letting us know the event had been cancelled! Dang…all dressed up with no where to go!!!   What’s a bunch of women to do???

All Dressed Up and No Where To Go

Well, head to the event site to see what’s up and grab a cup of coffee of course! The whole town was full of disappointed cyclist. And there were even a few brave ones out riding in the snow.

Plan B kicked into action. Kendra and I opted to postpone any cycling until the following day when the forecast was clear and in the 60′s. We went for a 30 minute run, the first since our marathon the week before. Then we had the chore of figuring out what to do with the rest of our day. This was brutal! I felt like a caged animal. Here I had been planning on riding 100 miles and had to chill. Tough but I (we) made it!  All the rest of the gals went for a 20 mile ride when the weather started to clear up then headed back to Denver. It was just Kendra and I left to ride.

Sunday morning found us waking to clear blue skies and warmish temps. We ate, packed the car and drove to town to start our ride.  We met up with a some others who opted to stay and rode south to Salida for the first 50 miles of the day.

Sunday Morning Bunch

The views were spectacular- the mountains freshly covered in snow, the sky a clear blue backdrop.  The wind….not so fun.  But heh- it’s Colorado- and here we are use to riding in the wind. 

The Beauty of the Collegiate Peaks

The out and back made for 55 miles with a fuel and water reload at the cars.  Next we were headed north towards Leadville.  More fun and WIND!  Did I mention the wind was from the north..so it was against us as we climbed???  FUN!

Me- headed up hill and into the head wind!

We finished the ride, ate some great burgers, fries and chocolate shake at K’s in BV, then headed home for the two hour drive.  It was a great weekend, that once again taught me about flexibility and making lemonade out of lemons.  I wish the rest of the gang had been able to stay, as the weather was great and the riding even better.  Not as good as the actual Bike Fest itself….but much better than nothing!!!

Burgers, Shakes, And Fries...That's what I'm talkin about baby!

I can’t believe it. Spring is here and so is my first race of the season!
How did this happen?  How did the race that I signed up for in winter come so quickly? It seems like just yesterday I wrote out my race schedule for the 2010 season. Back in November this seemed like a good idea! HaH!

I do have to admit that I am enjoying the taper. It ‘s kinda nice to feel like I have more energy and I’m not so tired. Plus it was nice to do only an hour and half bike ride Saturday.  Some of the perks of approaching a race.

So, I’ll see how it goes.  Sometimes my mind is in the game for this race and sometimes it’s not…..All I know is I’m ready to have some fun!

See ya next week with a race report!