Orlando...day before race.

Generally, I don't do much before my race. However, Pedro was excited to be in Orlando so we decided to go to Magic Kingdom. I had already done everything I needed for the race, registered, picked up and dropped off bike in transition, so there was nothing left to do but wait. A funny part of the day was the transport people for my bike thought it was hilarious I would name my bike Shamu, since it is a gigantic whale. I explained that compared to most racers I am similar to Shamu!

Here we are at bike check-in, before we left for Magic Kingdom.


Anyway, I bargained with Pedro that if we went to Magic Kingdom he had to follow it with a calf massage!

We took the boat over to Magic Kingdom and had some great views of our hotel:


I also forgot a hat so I had to use my shirt for a hat...


I also forgot sunscreen, so I had to find someone in the park and ask to use their sunscreen. I did find someone who was nice enough to share.


Once we got into the park, we ventured off for a few rides.


They have this new thing at the park where you put your card in and then you come back at a certain time to get on the ride. Which would be great, except you can only have one "wait" at a time...so we swiped our card for a jungle cruise and then realized we couldn't swipe it again until we went on that ride. Which was very annoying. So, we were going to go on this roller coaster ride, that looked like a train. We waited and waited...and then right before we got up front, they train got stuck! So, they had to close the ride. I figured it was better to have the ride closed on us then to be on the ride when it got stuck!


We went on some rides, though my favorite ride Space Mountain was closed until the winter. We tried a race car ride, which was only ok because we couldn't go very fast. If you look closely at this picture you can see me waving in the background.

We played a shooting game where we had to shoot the bad aliens and I won! Pedro was not so pleased! So, we had to take a picture with Buzz Lightyear because it was his ride:

Then a picture with Chip and Dale (I was hoping they wouldn't be confused that I was one of them with my big jaw!)

And some Monkey...since Pedro is Monkey I'm sure he has a name but I can't think of it:

Then a great picture with Pluto, where I was pulling his tail and Pedro was suppose to pull his ear, but he wimped out!



Then back to the hotel...

Orlando

I left for Orlando and spent most of the day Thursday lying around the hotel. The time change was not for the better and I fell asleep early but awoke to find myself up for most of the night. Pedro arrived on Friday and of course, it was not uneventful. He had worked the night before and got to the airport a good 2 hrs early. He decided to check a bag, which was funny since he was going to be there only 2 days. Anyway, he arrived in Orlando on time and his bag did not make the flight. So, he had to sit in the airport for 2 hours to get his bag.

Friday night we decided to head down to Downtown Disney for dinner. We had a good time and I had my pre-race pasta meal at a nice Italian place. Here are a few pictures of the night.



Pedro loved the crackers they had, so he decided to leave with some


Here I am with what I hoped not to find during the swim!


I found what I was suppose to be! A chipmunk!


Pedro looking good as Pluto


Pedro giving everyone a kiss!


Modeling the recovery socks!


Pedro and I waiting for the bus to go back to our hotel

Race Week!

I am leaving tomorrow for Orlando for my race. The race is Sunday and I am arriving on Thursday to get situated, do the registration stuff, pick up Shamu and maybe even visit a park.

If you would like to follow me at the race (remember for the Colorado people race time begins 2hrs ahead) the race begins somewhere around 7:00am Florida time. Race Fast here. You will look under Race Results 2009 and Athlete Tracker

If the link above does not work, you can check on www.ironman.com

I am hoping to be a fast racer! This week I have only done a few workouts. I ran with run club on Monday for 6 miles, took spin class on Tuesday and today I had swim club this morning, where we swam 2,100meters (just over race distance).

Tonight I am going to go and get a massage, go to practice and then make a final check on all my travel stuff and get ready to go. My flight leaves at 8:00am tomorrow.


Wish me luck!

More adventure...

Friday I decided to take part in a bike race. No really, a bike race without my friend Shamu. The funny thing is that this race had more adventure involved in it than any race I have ever been in...what makes it funny is the race was a total distance of 3 miles.

The fun began when Pedro decided we should take his motorcycle up to Ft. Morgan. It had been near 80 degrees on Thursday and of course Friday brought 60 degree temperatures and wind. We left in the afternoon to head up to the police department for the "big" race. It was a race for the police officers in the department. A few had gone out for the ride on Thursday and the rest of them were racing Friday afternoon.

We get to the course, which consisted of a nearly flat country road, that Shamu would have loved. I was so cold from the motorcycle ride that I spent most of my time sitting in the police car while everyone was getting ready to race.

The race was 1.5 miles out and back. It was cold and the winds had to have been at least 25-30mph. The say "go" and I headed out on a borrowed police mtn bike. I think the bike weighed as much as I do. Anyway, we took off with the wind at our backs. I somehow got ahead of Pedro and the next thing I know he zoomed right by me. As he passed a pit bull came running out of a house and started chasing him! I freaked and slowed to a near crawl as Pedro was yelling just keep riding. The dog already had a head start on me and I knew on this bike I was not out running him. I didn't know what to do. I decided after I stopped that I should just go and hope he doesn't get me! I didn't look so I'm not sure what happened but he wasn't still there, but Pedro was very far ahead now.

We got to the turnaround and I told the officer at the end that there was a vicious dog that chased us. He thought I was joking. I stopped and told him about the dog. Then took off after Pedro into the wind. My pace dropped to about 5mph. The officer passed me and parked his car by the vicious dog, which made me feel much better. Then my string on my pants that I was wearing, since it was so cold out, got caught on the chain. I had to stop and untangle myself. Then I realized that my seat had been sliding down (I hadn't tightened it enough) and I was soon riding with the seat all the way down and I'm sure I looked hilarious!

Finally, I caught Pedro and passed him and told him to get behind my wheel. But my size was not big enough to block the wind. I finished a few minutes ahead of Pedro and won the big 3 mile race! With an amazing time of 13 minutes!!! No, seriously 13 minutes and I still won! Including the people who rode the day before when there was very little wind.

Pedro benefited from the wind when we had it at our backs and because I didn't catch the wind as much I made it back faster. It was quite a funny ride, more because of the events that took place. It wasn't about winning..but at least I can now tell Pedro to stop telling me to "suck it up" when it is windy out and I don't want to ride! He was quite tired after the race..lol

Two sayings for today

Confidence almost always preludes success. Think about it..how many times do you hear people say that they would be confident too if they were as successful as someone else. You cannot be successful without confidence. Confidence comes first and success almost always follows.

My other one for today:

In order to achieve, at first you must believe. If you don't believe you can do something, than how can you actually reach the goal?

If you think it...

I am true believer in whatever you think, transforms into what actually happens. I know there is some book out there that describes many people's experiences with this property. I once heard someone said they always get amazing parking places at the mall because they visualize it or think this will happen. Then when they get to the mall the spot is always open.

For me, and something I try to explain to my players, my whole life has been about believing I can do something, or am better at something than I really am. They tell me all the time "I can't make a shot!" I tell them to picture themselves feeling and thinking they have just made 10 in a row and then shoot...and guess what they almost always make it! My favorite thing to tell my players is that I truly believe that if I were to play the lotto I would win. And if I didn't win, I would be more surprised than if I won. I expect to win. I expect good things. I don't dwell or think about bad things and if they cross my mind, they do exactly that, they cross.

I have even noticed that when I think it will take me a certain amount of time to run or bike somewhere, generally that is exactly how long it takes. Sometimes I try to play tricks on my brain and underestimate (and then believe) that it will take less time to get someplace, just to see if it will. And you know what...it actually ends up taking less time. It is really a remarkable thing.

Which brings me to today.

Today I needed to get my bike ready to send to my race next week. I decided since I would be without Shamu for nearly a week (seems sooo long!) that I wanted to get one short ride in before I sent him off. Prior to leaving the thought ENTERED my mind (didn't cross as quickly as it should have) that I hoped I didn't get a flat tire or fall off my bike. I wanted to send Shamu off in a happy mood. So I went out for a nice 1hr ride in some wind, but near 80 degree temperatures. The ride was going well and I was having a nice ride and I turned the corner, about 6 blocks from my house, when I felt some shaking. I thought this is weird, maybe the road is bumpy. Quickly I realized it was actually a flat tire.

I have biked with Shamu and my tires for nearly 5,000 miles and over 285 hours, or something crazy like that and I have never had this happen. I actually opted to not change my tires, since I need new ones, before the race because they have been so
"supportive" that I didn't want to have new ones for a race.

Anyway, Pedro was at home so I called him (even though I was about 6 blocks from home) and had him come and pick me up. The wheel set has deep rims and we use to swap out the tire to ride on the trainer but had such a hard time we had to stop doing that, because it was so difficult to get the tire on and off. However today we got home and actually quickly changed the tube with one of the two spares that I carry during a race. Then I went to pump up the tire and it wouldn't work. I was getting very frustrated. Finally, we decided we must have done something wrong since Pedro changed it so quickly. We took it off and tried to pump just the spare. It had a hole in it. So, we took my only other spare and put it back together and it worked.

Now, I guess in my mind it was a sign. A sign that in case I need a spare that one was bad and it was better to happen today then when I am at a race. I would have used up my CO2 cartridges during the race and would have been totally confused. But I allowed that thought to be in my mind and I should have gotten it out quicker.

I then packed up Shamu and drove him to Boulder to be dropped off for transport. I first stopped to grab some tubes, gels and gummies for the race to pack on my bike instead of having to carry them with me on the plane.

After telling Shamu to have a safe trip and that I would see him soon!!! I headed out to run hills/stairs in the heat, since I am still hoping to somewhat adapt prior to the race. I ran sets of 6min, 8min, 10min, 4x1min sets. It was a good workout and I am thinking it will help prepare me for the heat...and since if you think it, it will happen, I'm sticking to it!

Continuing....

Funny thing. When you "create" your own training program and you are in your taper, you do really start to question your training. To make myself feel a bit better I found this about tapering:

What to Expect During a Taper

In week one of the taper you will start to feel good. The energy system that raises your energy up for peak workouts will still be working but you will be building up some reserves because of the reduced volume of training. The result is that you will start to feel supercharged.

Then during the second week, all systems start to shut down that are normally active during high training. This is what happens when you start to go into hyper-recovery mode. You will begin to feel absolutely terrible. Your legs will feel heavy, you won1t feel motivated, and you will feel like you are losing all of your fitness. This is the worst you will feel. But have faith!

In week three of the taper (this is where I am now), your energy will start to come back up and you will start to feel the spark come back. Remember that this is still not the time to test yourself. That will come in the race just over a week away.

In week four, all of the rest pays off. If you thought week three felt good, this will blow your socks off. You will hardly be able to contain yourself. This is exactly what you want. You are now ready for your best race.

What I would say is that week 2 was definitely difficult. I ran the treadmill relay and my legs were on FIRE. They were so tired! We ran either .5 miles or .25 miles at a 2% incline for 10miles. It really was only about 2.5 miles per person, but each part you ran as fast as you could. Having teammates definitely motivates you to pick up the speed! I jogged on the treadmill next to the "race" one between my intervals. I am not sure how other people went from sprinting to standing and got back on, but I also ended up with a good overall workout for the day.

Week 3, is what I am currently doing. I feel ok. Not great. I want to do more and definitely still feel like I am out of shape. I almost have to look back at all the time and miles I have logged. I guess it is just different after training for an Ironman to go to a half. I over distance trained for the half, but not up to the full distance.

Looking forward to week 4 and the "super charged" feeling I hope to have. I have to turn in my bike on Thurs to be shipped so I will be without Shamu for a few days, but we will meet up just prior to the race. Also, hoping for a bit of a cool down in Orlando before the race, since lately it has been in the 90's and I am hot when it is 70 here!