Why I Oughta!!!

Went with Cathy to track. I just jogged around the track while she did her thing, and after mile 1 I did 4 striders for 100m with 100m recovery. Stay loose run.

Evening... Easy bike ride for 22 miles.

Swim at the lake and an easy bike 1 hr ride... Maybe I will do the ironman this weekend in St George?

Easy run before IM on saturday

St George Ironman (Total Time: 13:24:30)

Swim:  1:14:18 (218 overall)
T1:  7:24
Bike:  7:18:26 (461 overall)
T2:  11:24
Run:  4:32:58 (398 overall)

Wow... where to start... Very windy day for a swim and bike. Last year I was a 1:06 swim, 6:04 bike, 4:47 run , but heat was the issue last year, mostly on the run.

The Swim... The forecast was sunny and mid 80's with light wind from the north. The Pro's started off at 6:45am and we started at 7am. All seemed well with perfect weather and smooth, warm water. I decided to start to the outside to avoid the hoard of maniac swimmers. One of my friends started in the pack and was kicked immediately in the face at the start and that bloodied his nose. He then got a few more feet and his 910 garmin was ripped off his wrist and sank to the bottom of the lake... again. That's three 910's he has lost in 1 year in the water! So, I choose good by staying outside and swimming a little further in calmer conditions. All was well until I turned the first bouy. Then hugh swells started hitting me from the side and I was thinking to myself that some idiot was racing his big boat around the swimmers. After the swells kept coming, I poked my head up out of the water and realized Natures wrath was upon us!! The wind picked up and all I could see was white caps, swells, and dust in the air. I did notice a few paddle boards and kayaks pass by on their own voyage to the other end of the lake, and possibly to their doom. Out of 60+ kayaks and paddle boards, six survived the entire swim portion of the race. Back to my race... After figuring this race has now turned into an ocean swim I needed to change my game plan. Since the majority of the swim was going to be against the wind, I immediately went into a 2 stoke rythme and punched my way through the swells. I figured the swells were 3-5 feet, and when I tried to see over them the water sprayed my face like a sand blaster! I could bearly make out the island at the other end of the lake and that became my line of site. The course bouys were all pulled out of place and swimmers were following them as if that was the direction of the course. I knew we were all in trouble and I feared for my many friends competing out here. I never worried for myself since I have had much experience in ocean swimming and I knew I would make it through okay. I was surprised by my persistence and determination and came out of the water much faster than anticipated. Even if the conditions would have been calm, I planned for a 1:15 time since I did absolutely no training for this race and only signed up a couple days ago... for fun.

Transition was smooth and I kept looking around for familiar faces. I heard that boats where pulling hundreds of swimmer out of the lake. I prayed no was injured or lost. Fortunately no was killed today. : ) I was in T1 for longer than planned but I needed the time to recover from that tough swim. What I didn't realize the worst was coming next!!

The bike started right into the wind and I was making a slow go of it. We got a small reprieve when we turned towards St George on the Hwy. That lasted for only 20 miles. I did stop at the first Aid Station in Washigton to literally drain the lake out of me. After Ivins (approx mile 30) we turned back into the wind. At this point the wind got worst. I could bear move in it and we had to bike uphill for the next 20 miles. I said things that I can not repeat on this blog for the next several hours of pure hell!!! I actually thought I would never make the cut off time since I was moving so slow. But everyone else was moving slow too so that gave me hope that I could do this. I had no idea where I was in placement. The swim I was in 218 place out of 1500. by the end of the bike I only dropped down to 461. I was surprised so many others were worst off than me. I will cut it short for the bike since this tale is nothing but a downer. On a good note, the wind died down on the second loop and I was able to speed up a little.

Transistion 2: I had a small hiccup when both calves balled up when I tried to change socks. Fortunately, I had a physical therapist helping me in transition. He jumped on my problem immediately and striped my calve muscles. Within a minute I was pain free and able to walk/run with no calf pain. Thanks again unknown hero!!!

The Run was 3 loops around downtown. I managed to run the 2 loops with minimal problems. I was a little exhausted from the bike but I was doing better than expected. I did my first half in 2:05. The 3 loop I needed more recovery and proceeded with a run/walk plan. I finished with little fanfare and swore I would never participate in another Ironman again!! I did discover chicken broth is perfect for an upset stomach and if you drink enough of it the cramps go away too! : )

In retrospect, I had a steller race for not training. My swim was amazing, the bike showed me what I can really do in a bad situation, and my run was pleasent minus the exhaustion and cramps. 1500 people started the day and approx.1040 finished. I came in 398 overall and am very pleased with my performance!!

Recovery swim with Ironman friends at Sand Hollow Reservoir. Nice day and good water temps. We swam from rock to rock, so I used this to swim speed intervals. Good Swim!

Morning run with John, Cathy, and Kristal. Started out very easy around a 9:15 pace. Finished last mile around a 7:30 pace. Feeling really good... I'm ready to start getting after it again!

Ran early with Cathy and Kristal. I did the last mile at 7:00. Then took off on a 2 hour bike rude with Craig. Great morning for a ride... mild temps and no wind!!

Tempo run with John. He wanted to do 4 miles at a 7:00 pace, and the rest at 8:00. I only did 3 tempo miles. First 4 miles was flat starting from southgate and following the virgin river trail to bloomington. We jumped on the loop which has long false flats and one big climb back over to southgate. Ave pace 7:25

Splits: 7:38, 7:27, 7:06, 6:57, 6:56, 7:56, 7:41, 7:51

Track Workout with St George Running Club. 1 mile warm-up & cool down, 2x of 100(r 100), 200(r 100), 400(r 200), 600(r 200), & 800 (r 5 min)at half marathon pace(6:50). Recovery pace was 8:30's. Kept this workout easy before my marathon this saturday.

Meet up with the Triclub at the lake. We had a lot of people today. We started with 18 swimmers and that count only got bigger when I came back to shore. Nice day for a swim. We swam 1.5 miles, Biked 15 miles and ran 2.4 miles.

Easy run to jack in the box.

I just wanted to run by feel. I had to hold back because I felt anything under a 7:00 pace was too much. My pace felt great and I didn't have to slow down until I started the hills around 13. I never recovered from the hills even though I took the hills at a 8:30 pace. I felt sick, numb, and hip sore at mile 23. The last 2 miles were a steep drop into Bluff and I couldn't bear that pain at all!! I had to walk a few times to prevent myself from throwing up and passing out. I was a 3:04 at mile 24. It took me 22 minutes to finish the last 2.2 miles. I did run down 4 runners the last half. I think all of them were in my age group. Of the top 12 finishers, 6 were in my age division.

I don't think I have been this sore since my first marathon. But now I'm writing this on Monday and I'm surprised by how fast I have recovered. I did a Crossfit WOD this morning. The squats were the easiest part! :)

AM - Crossfit

"Cindy"
5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 squats

Completed 12 rounds and another 5 pull ups. I'm still a little tired and sore from saturday. Took this easy!

AM - Easy run with Craig. I wasn't sure if I was going to quit this insanity... The first couple miles were painful. Also, I'm upper body sore from my crossfit workout yesterday. Splits: 9:08, 8:35, 8:36, 8:13, 8:09

PM - Crossfit

10 T2B
1k row (3:50)
10 back extention
10 GHD
1k row (3:40)
1 min ring FLR

Easy run with Craig, John, Kristal, joel, Jake, and Colleen. Ran the virgin river trail and looped bloomington. My knee started to bother me the last mile. Splits: 8:49, 8:20, 8:28, 8:17, 7:54, 8:02, 7:53, & 8:07(0.4mi)

Run with Cathy out at Flowell. Only ran one time during the reunion weekend. The wind was so strong, and the road was straight. Not very senic among the farm land. Splits: 9:00, 8:55, 8:52, 8:39, 8:27

Lunch time run... only because I slept through my morning alarm for my 5am run with the boys. I hope they forgive me, but this is the first time I have ever stood them up. So, I ran to the jack in the box for lunch and back to my office. My goal was to hold my 8 miles under an hour... I did a 59:27! My new run schedule for the next 5 weeks is 1 hour runs, 6 days a week, with most of my distances between 8 and 8.25 miles. Then the first week in July I start my 14 week program to St George Marathon. Also, the score today was 15 to 1... I killed 15 deer flies on my legs and one little fat fly got away!!

Splits: 7:31, 7:21, 7:14, 7:30, lunch, 7:42, 7:25, 7:26, 7:16, and 7:37(0.4 mile)

After work, Craig and I did a crossfit workout. 12 minute amrap of 5 chest to bar, 3 thrusters, and 25 double unders. I completed 7 rounds on very tired legs! :)

Morning run with the gang. We were suppose to run 7:45's... On fresher legs I would have been just fine, but my legs are worn-out!! I kept up, but I struggled the entire run until the last mile. Everyone was dropped by the end and John and I finished it out. I didn't get 8 miles under an hour, but I am satisfied with the results. I guess the rest of the group is sore and tired too. I am usually the one bring up the rear. This will motivate them to run better if I beat them.

Splits: 8:13, 7:40, 7:35, 7:33, 7:25, 7:26, 7:37, 7:22

This evening we hit the lake for a 1 mile swim and 12 mile bike ride. Hot and Windy!!

:	Ran from Winchester to Worthen park with Cathy and Autumn. This had to be an easy run... I'm too sore/tired to hold the pace today. I did 2miles at pace, but slowed it down to save my body. Splits: 8:45, 7:53, 7:47, 7:43, 7:34, 7:33, 8:12, 8:06, and 8:08 (0.3 mile