Dr. Humble Triathlete

Many of you know me as a crazy woman who travels about the country training and racing incessantly. Even on my lazy days I can make the Energizer Bunny look like a sloth.

Who in their right mind would put up with me and why?

Well, here's a bit about my better half, or rather better two-thirds. I was nearly flabbergasted when Dave asked to write a post on my blog. He keeps saying he doesn't want to blog! It didn't have a title so I gave it one (he has a PhD in Computer Science) and I added a little of my own too. After all, it is still MY blog. But you'll see that he is at least partially to blame for my madness.

Hi, this is Dave (Shirley’s husband) with a guest post.

As some of you know, I’m very supportive of Shirley and her pursuit of running all of these races all over the country. It’s not because I’m such a nice guy, it’s because I have a vested interest in having her travel around the country with a goal that is gonna take a couple of years.

For those of you who don’t know, I travel a lot for work. Like nearly every week except on weekends, usually. So much so that more than half of Shirley’s trips are at least partially covered by hotel, car, or airline points. Having her travel solves two problems: 1. it helps to use up the points so people don’t ask me for them and 2. it exposes her to some of the “fun” I have when I travel. So, her flying around the country sets up a common bond between us. She can curse TSA rules too, collect her own little shampoo bottles and laugh at my travel jokes. I grew up in the military, so I’ve been all over the country and no real desire to visit most of it again anyway. My idea of a vacation is staying home for a change.

On the triathlon front, in the mid 1980’s I ran quite a few of what are now called the Olympic distances races. I've also done the Wildflower Triathlon long course and still have one of the original Scott aerobars used in the sport, which Shirley once thought was a lawn mower part in the garage. During that time, I got hooked on road bike riding. So, a couple of years ago when I was fitted with some knee braces by the VA, I decided to try riding again. This coincided with Shirley’s desire to try triathlons. So, now road biking is a shared hobby we can do together. As an aside, I also managed to lose 40 lbs.

Ok, there is one restriction I did put on her. I told her that we would not move to Hawaii until she has finished the 50 states quest. Her desire to complete the quest by the time she is 50 (November 2011) coincides with my desire to keep working in my present capability until May 2011. Not sure what I’m going to do after that, but it’s going to involve less travel and allow me to follow a training plan. So, supporting her goal is also supporting mine of continued working or at least postponing me having to come up with “what's next”. The other thing is I’m too cheap to want her flying back and forth from Hawaii to run races all the country. Shirley has made it clear, though, that she's willing and able to knock out the remaining 11 marathons to finish her 50 States quest in a year if I figure out what to do next sooner.

Finally, I’m supportive of her because I love her with all my heart, she means the world to me and I would do anything I could to help make her happy. Well, almost anything.

Thanks for reading …

Now please give him some nice comment love so he might do this again in the future :-)

Caution: Wicked Fun Ahead!

OK, I'm well again and raring to go!

But my 2008 race schedule last week showed only one more race, Miami Man, a half iron tri on Nov. 9 :-(

Well, I've fixed that. There's still lots more pain fun in store for this year -- MWAHAHAHAHA!

For starters, I need to get back into tri training. It's been nearly a month since I last did any open water swimming, a 50+ mile bike ride or a brick workout. That's no way to gear up for a PR at Miami Man!

So with three weeks still left, why not do the Florida Challenge Tri, a local half iron tri held this weekend as a training race? It's got a much tougher bike course, as in way more hilly, especially for those of us who haven't ridden much hills lately. Take a look-see (elevation profile courtesy of Bigun, who did the race last year; click to enlarge):



But I'm not really as dumb as I may seem. I did ride the course first.

It actually took two tries. On Saturday we got about 21 miles into the ride when Dave broke his bike chain while climbing up a hill. Luckily, he was able to clip out before falling over but without a spare chain or chain tool, he was stuck out in the middle of freaking nowhere. I rode back to the car as fast as I could and by the time I'd returned, my legs were toast so we just drove the rest of the course. We returned on Sunday, however, and rode all but a few of the miles at the beginning of the 58 mile (yes, 58, not 56) bike course on a windy day. Let's just say that I am really glad my travel tri bike has a granny gear ...

So that FL Challenge race, even with a slow 7+ hour finish, will make Miami Man seem relatively easy. Best of all, I'll get a chance to meet up with Sarah, who'll be there doing her first half iron tri!

The day after, Dave and I head to Tucson for a day to get fit for our new road bikes at TriSports -- Yipee! Then we head to San Diego for the rest of the week where I'll be able to cram in a bit more open water swimming and hill training. Before the hammy pull late July, I'd hoped to go sub-5:45 in Miami (finished in 5:46 last year). Not sure I can still do so but a big 1.2 mile swim PR would certainly help and make my day either way.

Then I'm off to run the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa, OK, the following weekend. It'll be my 50th overall marathon and leave me with only 10 more marathons left in my 50 states quest. Have I mentioned that completing my 50 states quest is a requirement before we can move to Hawaii?

So fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a fun four weeks!

Maine Marathon

Sorry for the delay! I was hoping that some of the official race photos (bib #550) would show me looking miserable but it appears that the photographers chose to position themselves close to the end of the race when I was oh-so-happy to be finishing. Darn it!

So I'll go with the pictures that hubby Dave took and add some narrative to better describe the Maine Marathon, which was not an easy race for me and resulted in my third slowest marathon race time to date. First off, it was a fairly hilly course, hilly to me at least.


But, as I've mentioned before, I trained for the hills in Hawaii so that wasn't a big deal. The main performance limiter was illness. For a couple days I'd been on decongestants trying minimize the symptoms, which started out as goop in my right eye (it was swollen shut on Wednesday!), became a wicked sore throat, followed by nasty sinus congestion and then relentless coughing. If I didn't have to run a marathon, I would have surely stayed indoors in bed or just played with Dave's friend's cats. They were so cute!


Thankfully, race day was about as good as it gets. Sunny skies, low wind, temps in the low 40's at the start and forecast to get up only in to high 50s by noon. Yes, it was the kind of day that makes runners, even sick ones, think they will run well. Before the race, we were fortunate to be able to hang out in a warm student union (race started adjacent to the University of Southern Maine). There I realized all the medicines I'd been taking might cause me some problems. I'd hardly drank anything that morning, just my usual one cup of coffee, and yet I was peeing like I'd drank a gallon!

But better that than feeling like your head is going to explode, right? You betcha.


So I use the restroom like 3 times in 45 minutes and then move my butt to the start line just before the race is supposed to begin. We start a few minutes late for some reason but are soon off and running along the beautiful Portland Back Cove area. It was such a perfect day that I'm thinking maybe, just MAYBE, a sub-4 hour marathon might be possible.

By mile 2, though, I've already shed my thin windbreaker, which is very odd (usually I'm like a popsicle in 40-degree weather for at least 3-4 miles). My legs are also feeling a bit sluggish but I'm thinking they'll probably loosen up a bit further into the race. Meanwhile, I distract myself with the gorgeous waterfront scenery and beautiful homes. Around mile 5, I see Dave on his bike. So far, doing OK!



But shortly thereafter, things begin going south. I've hardly drank anything while running but the meds are continuing to dehydrate me causing frequent pit stops. Fortunately, there are no porta potty lines but stopping every few miles is very annoying and I know my body must be going into a major fluid deficit.

Later, I find myself in back of the Mullet Marathon Men (not the real Mullet Marathoners, I found out later, but impersonators). This is actually a good thing, though, because they are a silly bunch who are clearly having fun and people are cheering for them. They take my mind off my troubles for bit.


But then Chatty Cathy relay runner comes up alongside me. She's never run in a full marathon event before and is amazed to see 50-Staters and Mullet Marathon Men who are out here having fun running 26 miles while she's hoping to just finish her 8-mile leg. And she doesn't seem to catch on that I barely have a voice to talk to her and would much rather conserve energy. After a mile or so next to her, I purposefully slow down a bit to try to encourage her to go on without me, which she does, thankfully. So then I'm left on my own again for a while to run in peace.

Well, not exactly. My kidneys are still working overtime and so when I see Dave again around mile 10, my first question is whether he's seen any more porta potties ahead. He pulls out the course map and tells me there's some at mile 12. This time there's a wait and the area is way too open to go find a place to hide, unfortunately. Thanks Dave for capturing this memorable race moment!


Finally, I get to mile 13 in 2:10-something and realize this is just not going to be the race I was hoping for. The legs still feel sluggish, I'm dehydrated and cranky, and I'm sick of peeing. Dave senses it's best if he goes on to the finish line and takes a few more pictures of the out-and-back course rather than follow me back. Yes, he knows me well. Anybody who tries to make me better when I feel like sh*t is liable to get bitten so better to leave me alone -- GRRR!


So we head back the way we came along the pretty tree-lined streets (click photo to enlarge). I try to force myself to feel better by picking up my pace a bit, which works for a while, but soon my hip flexors and glutes are aching while going up the hills. I thought I'd end up having to walk at some point but kept shortening my stride and trying to maintain my turnover rate. I'm sure I must have looked ridiculous taking such little itty bitty steps but at least I was moving forward and, believe it or not, I was actually passing some people.

By mile 17, we started going down hill which gave my legs a much needed break. I also realized that I was no longer having to pee and began grabbing two cups at the aid stations. Usually it's not possible to undo dehydration at a hot race but today it seemed to work. By mile 20, I actually started feeling noticeably better!

Then a funny thing happened. A woman wearing a Moms on the Run jersey, who I'd passed earlier, passed me back. I got really pissed off because she did not look like a faster runner AT ALL and until then NO ONE had passed me since the first half of the race. Where did she all of a sudden get her energy?

So I gave chase and finally caught up to her just after mile 22. Then I realized she was not the same woman after all, but a relay runner wearing the same Moms on the Run jersey. HA!


But by then I was pumped and knew I had to keep going strong or else the adrenaline would wear off and I'd start hurting again. The last few miles had a lot of nice water views (click photo to enlarge), which helped, but the best thing that could have happened was that someone else passed me at mile 23. No way!

Yep, this time it was a short Asian guy with a short fast-paced stride like mine. I stalked him until the last little hill at mile 24 where he faded and then went past him decisively. After that, I just kept on running as fast as I could for the finish. I wanted this race to be over ASAP before anyone else would try to pass me or the pain would catch up to me. Luckily, neither did.


Final time:
4:13:29 (9:42 avg pace), 19/40 F40-45
49th Overall Marathon, 39th State in my 50 states quest
11 more to go!

Thank you again, Dave, for the photos and support. And thanks also to Jennifer, his friend in Maine, for letting us stay in her lovely home.

10 Good Things About Being Sick

10. I rested much more than I probably would have otherwise between my two week-apart marathons.

9. Decongestants make going to sleep the day before a race no problem.

8. Waking up at 3:30am race morning is easy when -- cough, cough -- the meds have worn off.

7. Thanks to a mild fever, 42-degrees F at the race start did not feel that cold to me.

6. I couldn't talk to Chatty Cathy during my race because I'd lost my voice.

5. The second half of my marathon went by quick because I wasn't feeling well and wanted it to be over sooner.

4. A slower marathon race time doesn't bother me at all.

3. Maine lobster tastes better after a tough race. OK, it's the first time I've ever had it but I'm sure it couldn't have tasted better!

2. I get more room on crowded flights when I blow my nose and cough often.

1. If I must have some downtime after a race, might as well be sick too so I can kill two birds with one stone :-)

Stay tuned for the race report next!

Maine Marathon is Done!

The Maine Marathon had perfect weather conditions and a beautiful race course. But it's tough to run a marathon when you're sick. I finished in 4:13:29, not my best marathon performance but I'll take it. Race report to follow in a couple days after I get some rest!

Clarence DeMar Marathon

So who the heck is Clarence DeMar?

Well, it turns out he's a 7-time winner of the Boston Marathon, who lived and worked in the Keene, New Hampshire, area as an instructor and track/XC coach for Keene State College. No other marathoner has won 7 times at Boston. His 7th victory there came in 1930, when he became the oldest winner of the event at the age of 41, a record he still holds. To honor him, a local group of runners put on the Clarence DeMar Marathon, which finishes not far from where he used to live and train his teams on a cinder track at KSC. Cool history lesson!


The race start, however, was in a tiny town called Gilsum north of Keene. There were about 250 runners and it looked like we probably doubled the town's population that Sunday morning. Most businesses were closed but one store was open. I'll bet the owner was thrilled to have so many customers.

Race day temperatures, however, were not as I'd hoped. Thanks to Hurricane Kyle looming off the New England coast, we had temperatures in the 60's with 94% humidity. Sort of cool but definitely not crisp. At least it wasn't raining as it had been the day before when we arrived.



But a downhill course should make things easy, right? Wrong. I actually think downhill courses are harder than flat or rolling courses because of the extra pounding on the quads which can make later miles in a marathon very difficult. So my plan was to run the first half very easy, like a 10+ minute pace. If by halfway the legs still feel good, then I can pick up my pace a little, but not a lot knowing I have another marathon the following weekend. All I really want to do is finish!

So I brought along my old Garmin Forerunner 201 to help keep me from going out too fast. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a satellite signal through the thick cloud cover, though, so I ended up using it like a regular watch (newer Garmins should have no problem). Oh well, I was sure I knew what a 10 minute mile pace felt like having run a lot of them in Hawaii recently.

But 20 degrees cooler weather makes a difference! I'm reaching mile markers in less than 10 minutes easily and wondering if they might be off (it's happened before). Probably not but the pace doesn't feel too fast so I continue on. Please excuse the wild hair.

Around mile 6, I see hubby Dave on his bike riding the course in reverse. Yay! There were very few spectators so it was a treat to see him. And it was actually the first of my marathons he'd been to this year!

I pass through an aid station and demonstrate my on-the-run drinking technique, which has never before been caught on camera. Grab cup, scrunch top into a spout and pour fluid into mouth. Voila! (I still usually carry two 10oz Fuel Belt bottles with me, however, as aid stations are often further apart than I'd like.)

After he's taken way too many pictures of me, I encourage Dave to ride to the top of the hill where we started and take some pictures of the scenery along the route. He got the stream that ran alongside the road, a meadow where maybe a moose was hiding in the trees(?), and some of the many, MANY colorful trees:






Pretty area, huh? Especially for someone who's only seen leaves turning once before in her life (at the Mohawk Hudson Marathon in Albany, New York, which RunningGeezer262 will be running soon!)

The only thing that was missing were porta-potties. But I knew there'd be NONE except at the start and finish of the race. What???

Yes, at packet p/u we were told there were none on the course but that there were plenty of trees, a few gas stations and stores along the way, and some people who'd probably let us use their bathrooms if we knocked on their door. Weird!

Around mile 8, though, I feel something worse ... a little twinge in my right hammy. Oh no!

I slow down a bit and feel another little one about a mile later. Crap!!

Now I'm thinking that any moment I'm going to feel a pop again and be reduced to walking. But ... nothing ... else ... happens!!

At mile 13, we reached a small town where I see a 7-11 across the street. I completely forget about the hammy and run over there as fast as I can thinking that everyone around me has got the same thing on their mind. Unbelievably, no one followed and there was no line!!!

After the pit stop, I was fired up and ready to go. I'd finished the first half in 2:06 and hadn't heard from the hammy for several miles. So I ran back onto the course and by mile 15 had caught up to and passed all the people I was running nearby earlier before the break. We get rained on a little (note drenched shorts below). Mile marker 20 comes and goes but no Dave. Where could he be?


At mile 21 he rolls up and tells me he'd gotten a flat. I'm relieved he's OK and then ask him how bad that hill at mile 22 is (his job is to scope out the hills and report back to me :-). He tells me it's pretty bad. Bah! I'll be finishing between 4:05 and 4:10, I tell him.

So I get to mile 22 and everyone is walking up the hill. It's maybe about a 1/4 mile long and, according to Dave's Garmin Edge 305, a 10% grade. No way, I say. I've run up hills like this that were a lot longer in Hawaii.

So I shift into my granny gear and start going up slow and steady. One person has the energy to cheer for me and I cheer for him back. At the top, there's a good downhill and then I know it's pretty much flat from here on out. This race is in the bag!


Coming down the final stretch, someone called out my name on the left. It's fellow blogger Greg, aka Road Warrior, who lives about an hour away and had come out to see the race. Though we've never met before in person, I recognized him immediately. Dave was on the right cheering. Wow, two people cheering for me at a small race far from home, talk about feeling like a ROCKSTAR!


After I pigged out on some post-race food, Dave and I found Greg again and we chatted for a while about the race and his 48 miles in 48 hours running challenge. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay too long because I had to get in an ice bath soon to start recovering for my race next weekend. Great meeting you, Greg!



Final time:
4:08:25 (9:29 avg pace)
17/29 F40-49

48th overall marathon
38th state in my 50 States quest
12 more left!

Thanks, Dave, for all the photos and support!!!

Where in the World is Shirley?

Still in Hawaii?
Back in Florida?
Up in New Hampshire?

If you guessed the last one, you are right!

Between Hawaii and New Hampshire, I had one short week in Orlando to catch up on 3 weeks of mail, do my yard, complete 6 short computer-related projects and work 2 afternoons at my local running store. Then I got about 2 hours of sleep Friday night, hopped on a 6am Saturday flight and caught up on some much needed sleep on the plane.

Today I finished the Clarence Demar Marathon in 4:08:25 -- Woo hoo!

With my recent hammy issues and the Maine Marathon next weekend, I am elated. Any finish would have been great but a negative split and a 4-hour-ish finish is even BETTER.

Details and photos to follow shortly!

Better Than a New Pair of Running Shoes

Last year, I attended a 4-day swim camp in Kona where I learned a new way to swim freestyle. My 100-yard swim times went from 2:30-2:45 to 2:00-2:15. More importantly, I actually began to enjoy swimming for the first time in my life!

And if you enjoy doing something, you want to do it more and get better at it, right?

Well, perhaps not if it's an unhealthy habit ...

But swimming, the thing I've really struggled with for the past couple years since getting into tris, ABSOLUTELY!!

So I went back for another swim lesson last week. For less than the cost of a new pair of running shoes, I can get one of the best swimmers/instructors in the world to help me, Karlyn Pipes-Nielsen. Or her swim guru husband, Eric Nielsen, since KPN was out of town. Either way, the benefits of the lesson would last MUCH longer than a pair of running shoes would for me.

I was videotaped while swimming in their Endless Pool, which is sort of like a treadmill for swimmers, making it easy for the instructor and camera to see what I'm doing wrong over and over and over. And I had to swim slowly. Darn, no cheating or hiding faults when swimming slow! If you promise not to laugh, you may click the play button below.




In case you missed it, these are some of the big things that were noticed, all of which would either slow me down and/or make swimming harder for me:

- My right arm was crossing the center line when I breathed left
- While extending my arms forward, my hands (esp. the right one) often did a "wheelie" upward in the water
- I have a pause in my stroke when breathing to right or left
- My legs were splitting open like a parachute when breathing
- Arms "windmilling" more than they should, getting stuck at the hip
- I had plenty of hip rotation if I remembered to do so when pulling

After an hour, I had fixed all these problems and was now swimming perfectly. NOT!

No, I was now just aware of these things and had made some small steps toward improving them, some of which may not be obvious in the next video because they are still mostly in my head!

- Wider entry with the right arm so no more crossing over the center when breathing left
- A slight angle downward with my hands when extending my arms forward to avoid the "wheelie"
- A little less pause in my stroke when breathing
- More continuous light kicking trying to reduce legs splitting when breathing (though definitely still noticeable)
- More power in my pull earlier in the stroke, focusing on a faster recovery (not really evident yet but less tiring for me than trying to put power at the end of my stroke using triceps)
- Hip rotation now a function of shifting the opposite shoulder forward to extend the arm (rather than when pulling, which is easier for me not to have to remember)

It's a work in progress! (TRT 1:52, with some other non-lesson fun thrown in at the end)




But there is no doubt that I'm enjoying swimming now. Two days after the lesson with just the changes that I'd been able to incorporate, I swam 3x300 yards on 6:00 intervals (5:30-5:35) and then 3x200 yards on 4:00 intervals (3:40-3:45), which are some of my fastest pool swim times to date. With continued practice, group swim workouts and that lesson, my 100-yard swim times are now 1:45-1:50 compared to 2:00-2:15 last year. And I know this is still just the beginning :-)

Thank you Karlyn and Eric!!!

Still Riding the Big Wave

I know, I know ... No Pictures = Didn't Happen.

So this week's recap has lots of pictures!

I'm still riding high on training volume and keeping speed low except in swimming. My right hamstring, the one that was injured two months ago, seems to be holding up fine but is still noticeably tighter than the left one. Will it ever be the same again???

The week began with Monday being a rest day.

TUESDAY: AM Group Swim Workout - 2650 yards incl. 6x100 on 2:00 (1:49-50) and 16x25 all-out sprints on 1:00 (:21-22). OMG, where's slow lane?! Left photo: Me and Coach Eric Nielsen, husband of masters swim superstar KPN and a swim guru himself.
PM Hill Run & Core - 6.4 mile run with a steady 500-600 foot climb one way. First hill workout in a while (9:58 avg pace). I really should run more hills.


WEDNESDAY: Long Brick - 54.4 miles on the Kona IM bike course (16.4 mph, ~750 cals consumed) followed by an 8.2 mile run (10:01 avg pace, 2 gels gulped). Miles 6-7 run at race pace (9:00). A beautiful day, better nutrition and a negative split run!



THURSDAY: AM Mid-Long Hill Run - 12.4 mi run with a 2 mile long 600-700 foot climb in the middle (10:41 avg pace). Made it to the top w/o walking but the view was hazy due to the VOG :-( Should have brought more than one gel. Big hills make me hungry!
PM Pool swim - 2850 yds incl. 6x200 Pull, 4x50 Paddles on 1:00 and 12x50 Free on 1:00 (:54-55). A good swim workout for tired legs.


FRIDAY: AM Open Water Swim - 30 min easy ocean swim along the Kona IM swim course. Conditions were much calmer this week but recent shark sightings further north on the island have kept me swimming with fins or else I'd probably chicken out altogether. Damn that Jaws movie! Lots of pretty fish around to make it fun, though.
PM Easy Bike Ride & Core - 34.5 miles on the Kona IM bike course (15.6 mph).


SATURDAY: AM Long Run - Another super slow, time-on-feet 4-hour run, but faster than last week, 21.5 miles (avg pace 11:10). Miles 18-19 run at an 8:37 avg pace. YOWZA!
PM Recovery Pool Swim - 1700 yards (400 Free, 400 kicking with fins to loosen up ankles after the run, 4x200 Pull/Free, 100 Stroke). Who knew 1700 yds could seem so short?!


SUNDAY: AM Open Water Swim - 1.2 mi on the Kona IM swim course with two other women who were also wearing fins. Took us about 50 min with lots of breaks along the way to wait for the slowest swimmer. NOT me :-)
PM Swim Lesson, Spin & Core - One hour lesson with Coach Eric (KPN is out of town) in their Endless Pool working on form and getting videotaped. Worth every penny! 15 mile spin on an exercise bike to help legs recover from the long run yesterday.

Weekly totals:
Swim 11,712 yards (6)
Bike 104 mi (3)
Run 48.5 mi (4)
Other 1:20 (3)

Two weeks until the first of my two week-apart marathons. One more week in paradise!

Surf's Up!

Big waves here in Kona this week. And I've been riding on one in my training too!

S 11,370 yds (6)
B 106.3 mi (3)
R 46.5 mi (5)
Other 0:45 (1)

Coming back from a hammy injury, my strategy for getting through the 3 remaining big races this year is to increase my run volume (quick) to finish them comfortably and have fun. I'm not going to worry too much about speed except in swimming. And in case anyone may have noticed, yes, I did drop one late October marathon that I had on my 2008 race schedule previously. I'd not officially signed up for it yet anyway and it just seemed unnecessarily ridiculously risky (as opposed to just the later two).

So now I'm training for "only" two marathons a week apart (end of Sept in NH and early Oct in ME) and Miami Man, a half iron tri in early November. Things went well this week. I won't bore you with a recap of my 15(!) workouts but here are a few highlights:

Double Swim Workouts (Fri & Sun) - AM ocean, PM pool. The high surf has made the ocean murky and rough so swim fins are a must for me (and for many others too from what I've seen). On Friday, I swam back and forth past some closer-to-shore buoys on my own and saw a handful of fish and one small turtle, who seemed to be swimming with ease below me (Hey, no fair!). Today I did a 3/4 mile ocean swim as part of a Peaman event (more on that below) and saw nothing but other swimmers :-( The afternoon pool swims have been useful for "resetting" my swim form after getting tossed around in the ocean and the extra yardage also helps get rid of any lingering sand particles in my swimsuit, belly button, ears and elsewhere. Hopefully the ocean will be calmer next week!

Riding Hills & in Headwinds (Thu) - Or, Have I Lost My Mind? For my first ride here, I planned to do an easy 20-30 mile bike ride followed by an easy 3 mile transition run but ended up riding 50 and running 6! Why? I could blame my bike but, really, it was I who acted like a spoiled child that didn't want to get off an amusement park ride. 3 hours and 20 minutes, ~2500 ft of climbing and ~20 miles of strong headwinds later, I rolled back home with an average speed of 15mph (but not so bad when you know you had to pedal hard to go even 16mph downhill against the wind!). Then I headed out for my run and wouldn't you know it, I just settled into a good running rhythm after a mile and a half or so. No way was I turning around, not with big waves and surfers to ogle at every beach I ran past. So I continued on and made it a 6-miler (avg pace 10:40). I should have been much more conscientious about nutrition, though. I consumed only ~400 calories during the nearly 4.5 hour workout -- Not good!

Running in Heat & Humidity (Wed & Sat) - HA! OK, please don't hate me, esp. those of you back home in FL. Humidity here is only 50-60% here so the feel-like temps have ranged from 80 to 85 degs -- Balmy! Early morning runs are quite pleasant and I did my first-in-a-while outdoor long run, 9.5 miles, on Wednesday as a test (9:46 pace). No problems so I went for the big Kahuna (20-miler) on Saturday. I decided to run it super slow (avg pace 11:26), but still maintain my usual high 180-190 stride rate to avoid slogging and so my legs would hopefully not notice that I was doubling my running mileage this week. Shhh, don't tell them ;-) Felt great at the end so I picked up the pace and ran miles 19 & 20 close to marathon race pace (9:30), then I added one more cool-down mile so I could be on my feet for a total 4 hours. I think time on feet and getting to race day without any injuries will be key for me in the two week-apart marathons. 20-30 degree cooler weather should help me run faster once I get there.

Peaman (Sun) - These are fun, free biathlon (swim-run) events held throughout the year in Kona. And being on Sundays, they nearly always happen the day after a long run for me. Today's event was a 3/4 mile swim followed by a 4-mile run. Due to the rough ocean conditions, they put out an extra buoy for those who only wanted to swim 1/3 mile. But I'm not sure anyone did. I just followed the crowd who all seemed to go the longer distance. Got done with the swim in ~26 minutes (1:58/100yd), about 4 minutes faster than last year, which was also done with fins but without much rockin' and rollin'. I ran the 4-miler in about 33 minutes (8:15 pace), about the same as last year, I think (I didn't pay much attention to my watch last year so this is a guess), but with MUCH less post long run soreness than before. Woo hoo!

So, as you can see, I've been very lazy. Left on my own, I'm just sitting around most of the time stuffing my face with pupus and papayas and beginning to assume the shape of a coconut. Tomorrow I'll sit on my lanai and watch some surfers while deciding what to do the rest of the time I'm here.

No, seriously, tomorrow is a REST day!!!

PS - HUGE CONGRATS to my bud Rural Girl on her most excellent sub-12 performance at Ironman Wisconsin!