Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Summer Time and the living is....Easy?

Wow!
It's been a while since I checked in! 
Here's the problem...Summer time is awesome...But, I have 4 kids that are officially out of school and require a special little something called a "mom".  I know...needy little buggers!  Who invited them to the party, huh?
Oh yeah...that would be me!  And what a party it is!
So, while I LOVE summer and LOVE being with  my kids and spending as much time as we can together...it does make certain parts of my life take a backseat in the order of importance.  If only I didn't need sleep.  That would fix everything! 
But, I am one of those lame-O humans that not only needs sleep...but, needs more than my fair share of sleep to function properly.  So, while my husband gets by on about 5 hours a night, I on the other hand am a much happier and pleasant individual to tolerate when I enjoy about 8 or so hours of sleep.
sigh.
So, with that lengthy introduction to why I haven't posted in a while (cause I know all 0 of you really care), here goes my quick Reader's Digest version of my summer!
This summer can be broken down into 4 main categories:
1. Family
2. Work
3. Training  myself
4. Sleep

That is pretty simple, huh.
1.  Kids had a great summer.  We spend lots of time at the beginning of summer taking them to Seven Peaks and enjoying the sun when it decided to show it's happy face.  I was able to do a little double duty by taking my kids swimming and then slipping out for a mid day run on the mountain behind the pool and then coming back an hour or so later without them being the wiser.  It's great that my kids are at an age that I can do that!  I remember so vividly when they were all just little buggers and I would be on total lifeguard patrol making sure they were all within eyesight so they wouldn't slip silently under the water and ruin our whole day (ok...maybe even longer cause I really like them!)
They were in piano lessons for the first bit of summer, but I had to pull the plug on it for a bit cause I just couldn't force the practice and cover the cost right now.  All of them were just heartbroken when I told them we were going to take a short break (Ha!)...

2.  Work has been great...for the most part.  Summer is an upside down time.  You would think that would be when I am most busy with clients cause they are training for all these races.  But, you would be wrong.  Summer is the most quiet time of the season cause most people figure they are too close to the races, so they are either ready or not, so what's the point?  I have a terrific group of core athletes and we kept them going through the summer, but it is the fall and winter where we really get cookin'.  Boot camp stayed nice and consistent.  Tuesdays classes were always bigger than Thursday classes, cause any athlete that was racing would always take Thursday off...which meant we shrunk a bit on those days.  And of course, with a little smaller class I would always make it even harder!  I would say over all, it was a great summer for work!

3.  Training myself this summer was a blast!  I have definitely had an terrific summer of training and racing.  I got into a nice schedule of speed work and power during the weekdays and then the longer stuff on a Friday or Saturday, or racing on Saturday.  I was re-capping my summer of training in my head and here are the highlights:
End of June was the Lubbock race....Buffalo Springs Ironman 70.3.  Good stuff and glad I did it!
Next week was the 4th of July weekend.  Had my 20th High School Reunion, which was great fun.  Did a terrific 2 hour run up in the mountains by our cabin and enjoyed a beautiful swim, bike, run  with my athletes up at Deer Creek and on the BAM course.
Thursday after that did a 6 hour ride with a 40 min. swim in the lake (Thanks Heath and Natalie). 
Two days later did the Echo triathlon.  Won the sprint distance overall.  Felt good to go shorter and faster and to win.
Week after that trained with athletes on the Utah Half Ironman course.  Good to get them comfortable with the course. 
During the weekdays, throwing in speedwork on the running (and, yes...much of that is on the treadmill!)  Don't know why, but I like doing my speedwork there!  Guess it is because I can control the speed and focus on my form more clearly.  Also...I watch movies while doing it and that makes it even more fun!
Next week (July 23rd), did the 4 Peaks ride which is almost 100 miles with approximatley 10,000 feet of elevation.  Left at 5 a.m. and rode up Suncrest, Alpine Loop, down past Sundance and then up South Fork and then down Provo Canyon and up Squaw Peak and then home for a 5 mile run in the mid day heat.  It was an absolutely awesome and perfect day of training!  Thanks a TON to Sarah Jarvis for kicking my butt up Squaw Peak in particular!  We had a great group of riders go on this training day (thanks James, Heath and crew)! 
Next week (July 31st) was the 4th Annual ULTOT (Utah Lake to Top of Timp).  So, I left from my house at 5 a.m. and rode to Utah Lake (AF boat harbor) and swam by myself from 5:30-6:00 a.m. and then swam for another 30 min. with the group from 6-6:30 a.m. (needed to get in some extra swimming!)  Then we rode up the Alpine Loop on the AF Canyon side to the Timpooneke trail head and then ran to the TOP of Timpanogos (over 11,000 feet elevation).  The whole event is just over 7,000 feet of elevation gain.  So, it is a good amount of climbing.  The run DOWN is what I totally get a rush out of!  But, boy do my quads pay for it later!  It took just about 4 hours to run up and down the mountain.  Which can be a little depressing considering it is only 14 miles round trip.  But, when you look at the elevation, it is all good!
First week of August was a race in the BAM (Battle at Midway).  Chose to do the shorter distance again (loving it!) and WON the overall.  It was a good course with lots of hills on the run!
Friday August 13th I swam, biked and ran the Utah Half Ironman course again with James, Spencer, and Shane.  It was a great workout with just the right amount of speed and effort.
Next day, Saturday August 14th was a race in the Park City Triathlon.  Brought my kids with me and they had a blast just hanging out in Park City.  I did the sprint distance again....and won the overall (female) title.  Really enjoyed the run course on that race, so I went out and ran another 4 or so miles and ended up missing the awards.  Oops!  Fun race!
Finally...last weekend I raced in the Jordanelle triathlon (sprint again)....and won the women's overall title.  Didn't feel too super fast on the bike...but, it is a false flat course and makes you feel like you are riding through sand with your brakes on.  So...I figured as long as I FEEL like I am working...I am probably ok!  The run is another fun one with some dirt trails and hills.  Once again...went out and ran the course again and cheered on all the other athletes...and missed the awards ceremony!  Oh well!
Oh...also, did another 5+ hour ride last Tuesday with a couple of other athletes (thanks Shane, Heath and Melissa).  We rode up and over Suncrest, up Wasatch Blvd and then the plan was to climb Immigration Canyon (much easier)...but, Heath was like "Little Cottonwood canyon is right here...let's just climb it!"  I was not a happy camper cause I knew my legs were toast from all my other training and racing.  Boy was that an UGLY ride for me!  Not only was it noon and HOT, but once we got climbing we got stuck in construction that was re-paving (meaning hot TAR) the entire canyon!  Little Cottonwood is already a tough climb cause it is pretty much straight up steep, but then to have hot tar coated on your wheels and the sun beating down (and legs and a brain that are already fried)....it was perhaps a top 3 most miserable rides ever moment for me!  But, the good news is:  I made it!  Thanks to Shane sticking by me and hearing me pretty much swear my way to the top!  After we made it back down to Draper (and still had about 2 more hours of riding) we stopped and got ourselves apple fritters and chocolate milk.  It was the BEST!  And...if I am going to be real honest....after I finally  made it home....I totally went out and rewarded myself with a big ol' Coldstone!  That was even better!  Hey...a girls gotta do what a girl's gotta do!
So far this week all I have done is a very nice, comfy 3200 m swim (lots of drills and pulling), and a 90 minute bike that was mostly easy.
Today I am planning on getting my speedwork going with around 12-14 miles of a mix. About 2 miles of warm up.  6x1 mile repeats at about a 6:40 pace (that's all my legs will give me!), 10x1 minute ALL OUT efforts (love those!) and then remaining distance/time at race pace+about 15 sec/mile.  We'll see how my very tired legs will do!
I am on the back end of my training.
Budapest is coming up!  I leave in less than TWO weeks for Budapest and the first of my World Championship races.  This one is for Olympic distance on Sept. 12th.  So...I gotta stick in there for speed this week and early next and then I'll begin a taper for that race.
Right after the race on the 12th, I will try and get in another 5+ hour ride (hopefully somewhere in Eastern Europe cause that would be so cool!)  Nichole Beckstead, Kristin Kyle and I are going to be going straight from Budapest to Vienna for 2 days, then Prague for 2 days and then finally ending up in Paris for 2 days before we head back home.  Seriously...how much more FUN can a girl have??
After I get home from that adventure, I will have 2 weeks and then Cade and I will leave for Kona and my 2nd World Championship in the form of Ironman.  Yes...this is the A race, mother of them all.  But, I also have a very realistic approach to this race in that I just want to finish it and enjoy the day and not embarrass myself!  So....all I have to do is go in to the race with a reasonable amount of fitness and the goal of finishing NOT last!  It is going to be an awesome day and an amazing experience!
Finally I will head out to Clearwater, Florida about 3 weeks after Kona and do my 3rd and final World Championship of the year for the Ironman 70.3 world champs.  Everyone keeps getting faster at this race....so, I am hoping to just keep a good pace, not fall apart on the run and better my time from last year (I think it was a 4:45)....And of course...have FUN!
So, that is my summer recap and my plans for the Autumn!
What will I do when I finish all these events?  My husband just laughs at me when I tell him I am going to take a break.
He knows better!