tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14034325249628659702024-03-14T00:43:24.306-10:00Mama SimmonsTales Of An Ironman Athlete Training And Racing In Paradise.Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.comBlogger1191125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-60321089168643234522022-09-24T18:14:00.032-10:002022-09-25T07:24:50.681-10:00On Channel SwimmingRecently I had the opportunity to act as 'feeder' for one of the athletes I work with as she made her second attempt at swimming the Kaiwi Channel (Molokai to Oahu, ~28 miles). There are probably other blogs/articles written about what channel swimming entails, but I will add my thoughts to the mix. This won't be from the perspective of the swimmer though. It'll be from the perspective of the coach.
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Your athlete wants to swim a channel. What all does that entail? A LOT.
Full disclosure- this was the first time I'd coached a swimmer to accomplish something like this. I've been helping athletes finish Ironman races for almost 14 years now though and feel confident in my understanding of endurance physiology and all that entails... Additionally, I live in Hawaii where we have adequate access to the ocean for training so I figured that I could piece it together and help Terri in an appropriate way.
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Terri didn't grow up as a competitive swimmer. She's 52yo now and when we first started working together ~3 years ago, swimming a 10k was the big scary goal. I state that partly in admiration - acknowledging that Terri had a really steep hill to climb to get to the point where she could swim 28 miles across an ocean channel - but also as maybe encouraghement that this kind of goal can be accomplished by anyone who has the mindset that Terri has. That might make it seem flippant. I can't estimate the % population of people who possess the kind of determination and persistance and never-say-die attitude required here. There aren't many people in the world who actually have that. From what I saw overnight, through tthe day, and into the next evening in that channel, the mindset is probably more important than the skill/fitness for these things.
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So the training for Terri involved a lot of swimming, obviously. Looking at her training data in Training Peaks, in the first 9 months of 2022, she spent just over 400 hours swimming. 750+ miles so far in 2022. Over the last 6 months, she avg 11+ hours of swimming each week. Some weeks in the summer were obviously way bigger than other weeks. Her basic week looked something like:
Monday: Rest.
Tuesday: Mellow ocean swim w friends 60-90min.
Wednesday: Long pool intervals 5-7k.
Thursday: Rest.
Friday: AM ocean easy 60-90min; PM Pool intervals 3-5k.
Saturday: Long Ocean 3-6 hours.
Sunday: Variable depending on specific area of focus. Commonly another ocean swim 2-4 hours.
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The year built to the point where every 2-3 weeks, she'd do a 3 day block Fri-Sun accumulating 30k+ of swimming. At first that was exhausting but after a few times completing it, she was getting through without issue or need for excess recovery and that's when I had reasonable confidence that she had enough fitness to swim the channel.
Her training went way beyond physical though. We knew that mental state was going to be a HUGE factor in her ability to continue on when things got ugly out there (and they always get ugly, fyi)... Terri took on a lot of this on her own and I just kept encouraging her to practice quieting her mind; listening to her intuition; calming herself so she would not waste energy. I could see her growth in this area from the notes she was writing about her training sessions. Obstacles and road blocks that would stop most other people became oportunities for problem solving for Terri. The ability to stay calm under stress is a superpower that is overlooked by many, but accessible to anyone should they choose to train their minds in this manner. Of all the growth I've seen from Terri over the last few years, this is probably the most important aspect, and the one that's most applicable to every other area of life.
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Terri took care of most of the logistics, which was a feat in and of itself. It's not just about finding a boat captain to take you across. What's important to know is that conditions in the channel are extrememly challenging on the best days... So the boat captain needs to be:
~100% on board with your mission;
~Experienced in crossing;
~Able to read tide charts and predict how currents run;
~In possession of an appropriate and reliable boat;
~Available to go with just a few days notice when forecasts indicate an opportunity;
~Obsessed with your safety but willing to allow you to endure;
~Not already booked.
This is not a cheap combination. Finding a good boat captain is harder than it sounds. But if you skimp here and try to wing it, your chances of making it across reduce.
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Then you need a first mate of sorts. Terri found Mark Spalding- a Hawaii Swimming Hall-of-Famer who had swum the channel himself, was capable of navigating and driving the boat, and literally understood every aspect of the attempt. Avoiding potential pitfalls is important and having him there as a guide was integral to her success. Based on the tides and other known dangers of the channel, Mike decided on the start time (11pm) and having seen what I saw, that was a good call. Goal was to time Terri's finish to Oahu when the tide was coming in (vs going out) bc fighting a strong current after 18+ hours of swimming has crushed dreams for many who didn't take that detail into account. Then there were two of us on the boat acting as 'feeders'. We also took turns swimming with her at different times. For a swim that long, 2 people are required for this job. It's harder than it sounds.
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We packed our backpacks and hopped on a one way flight over to Molokai on Wednesday afternoon for a Wednesday night start.
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We dropped off most of our stuff on the boat at the pier near the airport, then drove over to a little resort on the west side of the island where the final mental preparations took place. Terri was calm and ready. We spent a really nice evening eating pizza and looking at the stars and talking about life... At ~10:30, Terri started lubing herself up with layers upon layers of sunscreen and anti-chafing ointments. The boat captain had driven over to the beach where she planned to start and was waiting for us just off shore. The three of us (Andrew, Terri, and I) swam out to it right on time (ok, we were eager beavers and we started a few minutes early!). Andrew acted as the official time keeper. Channel swims have all sorts of rules to follow and if you want your swim to be 'official', there's paperwork to fill out and validate that the swim was a legit success.
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Night swimming isn't as scary as it sounds. It's true that its blacker than black if you stare straight down, but water in that channel is as clear as water can possibly be, so you can see your hands entering and pulling, and there was a fair amount of bioluminescence, which was unspeakably cool (it looks like bits of neon green!). I took the opportunity to spend ~30min swimming with Terri (around 1AM), mostly because I figured this would likely be my only opportunity ever to do that and I just wanted to experience it. Honestly, it was magical seeing the stars and the moon with every breath. I think the keys to enjoying night swimming are being extremely comfortable in the ocean during the day time, and then just not letting your mind think about anything other than how beautiful the moon is. Our minds can spin out of control if we let them. But we can choose what we focus on, and when you choose to focus on what an incredibly cool thing that is to do, night swimming in the ocean is amazing.
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That said, I was only in it for 30min. Terri spent ~7 hours swimming in the dark. Her eperience may vary. ;) We knew though that if she made it through the night, her chances of finishing the swim would go way up. So when the sun started coming up, we all got a nice burst of energy. The sun def has power in that way. My estimation was that if she made it through the night, chances of finishing were high. If she was still swimming at noon, chances of finishing were VERY high.
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By noon, she was still swimming. It wasn't pretty by this point... I'll spare you all the details, but 13 hours into an ocean swim, you can't expect to be happy and comfortable. Your swim suit is chafing. The sun is piercing its way through your layers of sunscreen. Your tongue is swelling from salt exposure. You're puking up most of what you've tried to consume as fuel. You've been stung by multiple floating organisms. You spontaenously shit in your suit (ok maybe I'm not really sparing you all the details). Your forward progress is slow. You're exhausted. And you still have ~7 hours to swim. This is the part where mental skills become all important. Not once did Terri make a single complaint about any of that- she was suffering, but she was suffering well. Sometimes we'd hear her shout out ELECTRIC! She would roll over on ther back, take a few breaths, then roll back over and resume swimming. File that under How To Deal With Man-o-war Stings.
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My job at that point really became one of trying to find ways to keep her focused on the task at hand. Every 30ish min when we would stop her to feed, I'd relay a message I'd gotten from a friend on shore who was cheering for her. I got to tell her about how when her husband was flying home from Molokai, he told the pilot that his wife was swimming the channel... and the pilot (ever so cool OMG) flew his small plane a little lower than normal and spotted us in the water and announced to the passengers what was going on and they all cheered! When he landed, Don sent me a few photos and relayed the story. Hearing that made Terri's eyes well up a bit, then without a word, she got back to swimming.
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Around 1PM I jumped back in to swim with Terri. The water out there in the middle of the channel is bottomless ... ok not really... it's 2300ft deep... but it appears bottomless. When the sun is shining you swim and just stare stright down at these incredible rays of light that pierce the water. I can't describe them, but its mesmerizing. Anyway, Terri was sort of out of it at this point, just mindlessly trucking along. #QuietMind I still had my wits about me though and when I was staring into the deep blue, I saw a shadow figure of sorts, directly underneath me. It took me a minute to process what I was seeing. While I'd seen sharks in the ocean before, I'd never been the one to spot one- it was always someone else who saw it and pointed it out to me. Immediately upon seeing it, I popped my head up and told the guys on the boat that there was a shark. I remembered what I'd been told about sharks- if you see one, it's fine. If a shark is going to attack, it'll do it so fast that you'll never see it... so ok, I saw this one, it wasn't swimming fast, and my gut said it was actually a super cool opportunity to swim with one of these beautiful creatures in the wild. If I'm honest, when I see/hear that other people swam with a shark, I tend to find myself feeling a little bit jealous. So I decided that this was a cool opportunity. I mean, who gets to say that they swam in the middle of a channel with a shark?? Ok, some of my friends can say that (I have some really cool friends), but now I can tooooo. ;)
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An hour or so later, I'd lost sight of the shark so I started looking around more. I looked sort of behind us to the left and saw that the shark now had a friend. That was a little concerning, but I wasn't super alarmed. I popped my head up again and yelled to the guys on the boat that now there were two sharks. I'm not sure why I didn't point them out to Terri- I think I just didn't want to freak her out. Anyway, not too long after that I looked around again... this time behind me and to the right I saw a third shark- this one was way bigger and it was swimming fast and my gut was screaming at me to get back on the boat. I think I yelped out loud THREE SHARKS!!! then swam as fast as I could (the whole 10 feet) to the boat and beached myself onto the sled thing that was there for that purpose. (stock photo- but those rays of light- that's exactly what it looked like)
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At that point we had a decision to make. Terri still didn't really know what was going on... Mike instructed Andrew to get in the water and "keep an eye on the sharks". (Raise your hand if you're jealous of Andrew's job in that moment.) We didn't want to pull Terri unnecessarily, but at the same time, if one of those sharks decided it wanted to know what this thing in his channel tasted like, how could we live with ourselves?? I told Mike and Keith (boat captain) that I was not going to make that decision. This decision making was in their wheelhouse. A deciding factor was me telling them that I had my period... Given that, maybe I was the one attracting the sharks and if I got out they'd lose interest? Turns out, 'sharkbait' isn't just a nickname for women who are bleeding. It's really a thing. After I got out, one shark hung around for a little while longer (Terri finally saw it!) but then they all left her alone. So ladies, if you have plans to swim an ocean channel, maybe add that to your list of things to consider... Time it so its a night/day when the winds are light *and* you don't have your period. #YoureWelcome
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We were getting close, but close is a relative term. Terri was exhausted. Sometimes she would ask how much further and I'd smile at her and enthusiastically point to Oahu and say "You're close! It's right there!! SEE!?!" But the reality was, she still had like 10k to go. I really didn't want to give her numbers like that, but at one point she said to me very directly, MICHELLE I NEED TO KNOW HOW MUCH FURTHER. So I told her "About 4 more hours". She swore out loud for the first time then quietly resumed swimming. It was slow going at that point but progress was being made and she trucked along. She'd been reduced to coke and sprite as pretty much her only fueling options, feeling that she was incapable of chewing. Any other fuel source we tried to give her induced more vomiting. We were glad for how much coke and sprite they'd bought as the 'just in case' option. I mean I think she went through something like a 12 pack of each...
Anyway, I'd been texting friends and updating them with our estimated arrival time and location. We live on a small island with a close knit community and word spread pretty fast. I was getting word that people were gathering there... that a news channel had been contacted and was waiting for the story as well... I relayed all of this to Terri and I think that was a HUGE inspiration to her. Knowing that so many people care about you and what you're doing somehow makes it all more meaningful.
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I got in again to swim with Terri when we were about a mile off shore. It was getting dark again. We couldn't really see what we were aiming for but we were told to 'swim to the light'. Apparently a few folks associated with the news had a camera there with a bright light so we used that as our guide. I'll never know why they decided that that rocky spot was the best one for our exit- hands down the most dangerous part of the swim was that part getting pummeled by crashing waves in very shallow water over reef. Part of the deal to make the channel swim official was that we were not allowed to touch Terri or assist her physically in any way. I was worried about how exhausted she was bc navigating that part required being astute and aware and I wasn't sure of her capacities by that point. Andrew had joined us by then too so he was verbally giving Terri instructions how to manage herself through. Eventually we all made it to sand. After 20 hours being horizontal in the ocean, she crawled up onto the beach. It took Terri a minute to get her legs to work on land. Once she was above the water line, I grabbed her to help a bit and then... the elation arrived!
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SHE HAD DONE IT.
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Friends on the beach adorned her with so many leis she could barely see. I tear up a little thinking about how awesome our community is. She was interviewed by the news team, we all stood around and shared stories for probablty an hour, then went home to finally get some sleep. That was the first time in my 48 years that I'd ever stayed awake for almost 40 hours straight. It wrecked me for several days.
I've been asked if I am glad that I went with her overnight. 100% without question I am glad I did. I'm not sure I'd want to do it again (!) but truly, the respect level I have for those who cross that channel is just so much higher having witnessed how challenging it actually is. Ironmans are hard, but Ironman has nothing on a 20 hour ocean channel swim.
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While I was watching Terri swim out there, I wondered (deeply) about her 'why'... Why would someone put themselves through that? It looked like voluntary physical torture at times. Now that its done, I think that we put ourselves through physical challenges like that because when we do things we aren't sure we can do, we come out the other side with a sense of confidence that is not possible to have otherwise. 3 years ago she was afraid of swimming a 10k. Last week she swam the Kaiwi Channel. What's she going to do next? Whatever she wants. That's the answer. She can (and will) do whatever she decides she wants to do. How cool is that?
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Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-87252880781307420052021-09-25T19:16:00.012-10:002021-09-25T19:52:53.198-10:00On Conscious ChoicesI wasn't sure if I was going to write a blog post about that race in StG, but every once in a while I sort of enjoy going back and reading some of my thoughts from years past and I think it might be an interesting thing one day to go back and read them all together and see what kind of 'evolution' I've had over the last decade+... Plus, as some who know me well already know, I've been "trying" to retire from triathlon racing for the last probably 5-6 years. How many times have I said, "I'm never doing that again!" only to sign up for the same races year after year hoping maybe it would be different/better somehow next time? I have never been able to just let it go. Why is that?? I've seen other people let it go.
I remember very specifically one post-race experience with an athlete I was coaching... it was 8 years ago. We'd both just finished IM Cozumel. She was happy with her race. I wasn't. You know what's funny? I cannot remember the outcome of that race (ie my time/place or whatever). All I remember is not feeling satisfied. She did though. She said, "I feel at peace." I was jealous. That's how I wanted to feel.
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After this 70.3 race in StG, I remember feeling like I was at peace. What's funny is that it's not like I look back at my time/place and feel like it was exactly what I wanted. It wasn't. And yet, I had this novel feeling of "peace". I think I always expected that "peace" comes when you absolutely crush/nail every aspect of a race... Like, you finally achieve your perfect race then you can be at peace. But that's not how it works. Or I should say, that's not how it worked for me.
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I've spent the last year or so working on a remodeling project of sorts. It's been both an internal and an external remodel. I think the internal part is the most important part. It's really hard to summarize in words what all I've done (or how), but since I always try to be upfront and honest in my blogs, I'll try. The short version is that I've done a deep dive into better understanding my nervous system; I've learned to use my breath to help me not only read my state but to change it when I want to; I've learned to quiet my own mind and create space for objectivity and analysis; I've learned to not be a judgemental wench, especially when it comes to how I talk to myself internally (this has been a huge win); I've greatly improved my CO2 tolerance; I've improved my posture; I've developed more patience. I suspect I could go on, but I'll leave it there for now. Suffice to say, positive changes that have been a long time coming.
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Leading up to StG, I was really trying to focus internally on myself. I was trying to remove any judgemental comparisons of myself to others, and to that end, I took a few steps to help myself achieve that goal. One of which was disconnecting my garmin from my Strava profile. That lifted a little weight off my back. I felt more free to just do what I wanted to do with my training without having a little birdie in the back of my mind worrying about other people silently judging what I was doing (or not doing). Turns out, even when you take those steps, you'll still get judged. Maybe not even silently! I was accused repeatedly of "secret training"... That made my head spin. There is no secret training. Training methods in this day and age are VERY well known. I was swimming and biking and running consistently. Mostly easy but sometimes very hard. That's it. No secrets.
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I had the thought that the only 'secret training' I was doing was happening on my living room floor. And even that wasn't secret. I told anyone who would listen what I was doing there! It's not easy work, remodeling yourself from the inside out on your living room floor. Most people are unwilling to do it. Progress with it is slow. The process is tedious. You have to just sit there, quietly, focusing on your inhales and your exhales and then come back to that focus every time your mind wanders ... over and over and over. Every day. I found motivation to keep going with it though when I started seeing signs that I was making progress. What did that progress look like? For starters, I started noticing pretty flowers on my dog walks. I found that I had more patience with people and situations. I felt calm. I was more creative. My memory improved. I could make reasoned decisions eaily. I slowed my life down. I was sleeping better. I did less mindless eating/snacking. I felt happier overall as a wife and a mom. All great reasons to continue down that path!
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I sought out other learning opportunities and enrolled in courses titled "Art of Breath" and "Skill of Stress". Wow. Mind blowing information there for anyone on a path of self-improvement! When you learn how your breath is connected to your physiology, and how you can take conscious control of that when you decide you want to, it feels like a superpower. The night before the StG race, I was flipping through some of my notes trying to remind myself what exactly I wanted to focus on the next day. I found this note from the Skill of Stress course and decided it would be my race day mantra. I had no idea at the time how impactful it would actually be.
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So I probably don't need to recap again the drama that was race day weather conditions for those who started the race in later waves, but since I can see myself reading this again a decade from now, I'll describe the whole day with a bit of detail.
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My wave started late. Like, almost 10am. The pros went off at 7. I had rented a house that was like a mile from T1 so I had the most relaxed race morning ever. Woke up with no alarm. Drank my coffee and ate my oatmeal while watching the live coverage of the pro race on my ipad. Used the nice bathroom in my own house (several times ha ha!). My husband drove me over to T1 and dropped me off and I was super relaxed as I was putting my bottles on my bike. Waiting in the corral with my fellow W45-49, I chatted light heartedly with several of them. The sky above us was blue was we entered the water. I saw the black cloud off in the distance but didn't give it any power. Instead, I kept my focus on the present moment. While I was swimming, I was 100% focused only on giving whatever effort was necessary to stay on the feet of the gal who was doing a brilliant job of weaving her way through the swimmers who had started ahead of us. I wasn't as cold as I'd anticipated I would be and I was very much enjoying the swim. I could feel some chop picking up as the swim finish was nearing, but truly didn't give it a second thought. <i>Just stay on her feet.</i> Simple. Not easy.
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Running through T1 was where I started to understand how conditions had changed while I was in the water. Yikes. It hadn't started hailing yet, but the wind had blown some of the fencing in the transition area away. I had a hard time running with my bike to the mount line. The most interesting part was that through it all, I was laughing. I suspect that laugh was actually a stress response, but it was a better stress response than freezing in fear, or getting angry, or any other common reaction to stress.
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I am consciously choosing to engage with this storm/stress.
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In the first 10ish miles of the bike (for me), the conditions were among the worst I'd ever ridden in. Strong wind, hail, lightning. Utah flash storms are legit. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't comtemplating quitting. I absolutely was. There were a few women riding aggressively, but most were riding as carefully as I was. I heard or saw 3 ambulances. What was I doing? Is this worth it? Should I stop? Where do I go if I stop? I mean, the reality was, I needed to get to T2. That's where my family was. I had some awareness that the storm was unlikely to last all day. And I didn't want to live with the regret of quitting a race because the conditions were ugly. I knew I'd regret that choice if I made it. So I kept riding and eventually the storm did pass. Roads were still all wet but it felt less scary overall and I just kept repeating my mantra to myself.
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I am consciously choosing to engage with this storm/stress.
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The only time I had dry roads on that ride was the climb through Snow Canyon. And I was super happy at that point! My legs weren't tired since I hadn't given a lot of physical effort in the first 40 miles (that was all mental effort I was giving, which is still a lot of energy, but at that point my legs felt pretty good). I was climbing and happy and singing out loud... The other thing that struck me during this race was how nice I was to those I was riding around. Normally in a race situation if an athlete was riding in the middle of the road and therefore not leaving room for others to pass on the left, I'd yell something very direct. MOVE OVER! Maybe even MOVE OVER BITCH depending on what kind of mood I was in. On this day, when I encountered that exact scenario, I calmly said to a woman, "It would make it easier for everyone else if you moved over to the right." And I pedaled on. Who was I anyway???
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Last 6 miles were all downhill to T2, which could have been super fun, but that's where the sky opened up again. Flash flood style dumping rain in drops so big an iphone camera could capture them in an image. It wasn't actually as fun as I'm making it look here. Lol.
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I am consciously choosing to engage with this storm/stress.
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It's possible that was the most relieved I'd ever felt in any T2 in any race in almost 25 years of racing triathlons. There was a volunteer in T2 telling me to go slowly over some very wet carpet as I was on my way to grab my T2 bag. No worries lady I was in zero hurry and walked through T2 soaking it all in. My lack of desire to RACE others in this race meant that rushing through transitions wasn't something I was going to do. I mean, I didn't have a picnic lunch or anything but I walked and took my time putting my shoes on (no speed laces required) and I joked with some others around me about how happy we all were to be off the bike. I found that the majority of women around me all day had amazingly positive attitudes. Given everything that was thrown at us that day, it was inspiring to see/feel. Female triathletes are bad ass, you guys. We endure.
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Immediately onto the run I saw my family and also Tia, which was fun! There were thousands of spectators - some all dressed up in costume while others were half naked in crazy hats. That part felt somewhat chaotic but it goes with the territory of big races like this and honestly, that's what makes a race a 'big' race. It's not just the athletes that make a race a big deal. It's the spectators who care about the race that make that happen.
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The run course was harder than I expected. I mean, I knew it was going to be hilly but when I read 1200ft gain in 13 miles I just totally assumed that was a misprint. Somebody's garmin had to have been drunk when it measured that I mean anyone who pays attention to elevation gain on their training courses knows that 1200ft gain in 13 miles is insane. I was wrong! I'll tell you- I'm super impressed by everyone who completed that run course. It went up up up forever then DOWN this crazy steep pitch for something like a mile... then repeat! I've worked hard on my run this past year and I know it has improved. It didn't come out on that course on that day, but that doesn't deplete the confidence I have that my run is improving.
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I finished that race feeling more proud of myself than I expected. Given a week removal from it, I think the pride I felt was more about how I handled the whole situation with the course/conditions than anything else. My goal going in, as stated the day before the race even started, was to choose to engage with the storm/stress, to consciously carve a new canyon of healthier response, widening my response options and tolerance to stress of all kinds. At the end of the day, that's it, isn't it? The reason we challenge ourselves to do hard things?
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This morning as I was rolling out on my ride, it started to rain. It was just drizzling though. It wasn't hailing and there was no lightning and no garbage cans were flying across the street. Little bit of rain? Zero issue. The race last week served as a vehicle to allow my Window of Tolerance to widen.
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Goal achieved. After 25 years of racing triathlon, I feel at peace.Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-47569419079922734902021-06-08T11:50:00.001-10:002021-06-08T11:50:25.519-10:00Quit being Such a Judgmental Wench<p> Turns out, a year and a half away from racing was a good thing for me personally.</p><p>I very much enjoyed training this past year+ and genuinely wasn't sure if I was actually going to enjoy racing again. But here's the thing! 2020 taught me that I do not *need* to race triathlon to be happy. So hypothetically speaking, had I not enjoyed racing Honu, it would have been fiiiiine with me bc the alternative (just train, yo!) was something I'd come to realize I could do quite happily for quite some time. I think this was a huge piece of my ability to go into the race weekend feeling literally zero stress. It wasn't that I didn't care about my performance - I did! - or that I wasn't going to give my best all day - I would! - but just that I was not very concerned with the outcome of how it would all play out. </p><p>That was brand new mindset for me.</p><p>What's interesting is that I had a coach a few years ago who tried to teach me this mindset. Looking back I can see now that I was simply not ready to learn it at that time. To me, RACING meant it was me against you. One of us wins, one of us loses. My focus when racing would often be more about what other people were doing instead of what *I* was doing. That takes a lot of emotional energy. And spoiler alert, it was not working for me. Read back to just about any of my race reports over the last decade. Just about all of them include an element of dissatisfaction (sometimes deep/severe) and I can see now that was all stemmed from the fact that I was trying to satisfy my ego more than my soul. #deepthoughts</p><p>So what was the big change in 2020? Good question! ;) I can trace the origin of it back to the fact that Lawrence van Lingen modified his business plan to start presenting his knowledge online, which allowed me to have easy access to it.<i> (Mahalo, Lawrence!)</i> He started hosting live online classes and seminars, teaching athletes how to <i>let go, unwind, reduce tension, live at the bottom of your breath</i>... I'm not sure that's a method I would have necessarily embraced had life not taken such a drastic turn, but the timing of it was right for me last spring. My mind was open, I was eager to learn more, and as I immersed myself in his methods, I felt immediate and lasting benefits not only in the way I was physically moving, but also in the way I was seeing/interpreting the world around me. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgGGlOvlteVrY6nnP1djbA2hMiXVrEEX5Hi8l39_HLpZip4uwxk-gK9WhBYUVKH0zRRvdIVXez1WsVH3G6T2rBeW1cgGIU95bG8QyZLonMzSPXlMW-UbMQlShHIIpFH-MYNWqrCL-288/s2048/70B95742-BD4A-41CC-821A-D3D96778DFE7.heic" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgGGlOvlteVrY6nnP1djbA2hMiXVrEEX5Hi8l39_HLpZip4uwxk-gK9WhBYUVKH0zRRvdIVXez1WsVH3G6T2rBeW1cgGIU95bG8QyZLonMzSPXlMW-UbMQlShHIIpFH-MYNWqrCL-288/w400-h300/70B95742-BD4A-41CC-821A-D3D96778DFE7.heic" width="400" /></a></div><p>When I get into something, I tend to jump in with both feet, and that's what I did with Lawrence's <a href="https://www.innerunner.com/" target="_blank">InneRunner</a> stuff. I did all of his weekly mobility classes, Slinky Spine course, InneRunner course, etc. Then eventually I discovered that <i>oh wow breathing deeply and slowly does actually make a big difference in how much tension I'm carrying around</i>... so I added those weekly breath sessions in too. The meditation stuff he does took me a little bit longer to embrace but now I'm into it. I still have a lot to learn there but my Headspace streak is currently at 87 days in a row. A couple months ago I created a new morning routine for myself that includes a 10min brain training session via that Headspace app and given how I'm feeling it changing me for the better, there's zero chance I'm going to give that up any time soon.</p><p>So it was from this perspective that I went into the Honu race weekend. I had enough experience to know what to expect, but also with what felt like a brand new brain which allowed me to race with more of a Beginner's Mindset. I wanted to race with a sense of curiosity about what I could do, instead of with a tension filled sense of needing to get to the finish line at any particular time or before any particular person. If that sentence sounds completely foreign to you, trust me, it would have to me a few years ago toooooo....</p><p>Anyway, I'll keep the race recap to lessons I took away from the race experience. And I want to start with addressing the wind on the bike. The forecast was calling for 25mph winds, and it was not wrong.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2j7lrA1eJgjqAC757eNdSNWk6nRieGWmwdEpx4y2_0VDyhJtI6SCJ6eW9ys5LUPIm_TgO-z822biO_WOOJlcVRp_APMxyJVUwcfEGliXfKObtHDswBi_N-2O5Ml69_5C7qHOSQc-E2U/s1334/867BEC5B-0149-49B3-AE1B-36AB6B2A133F.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ2j7lrA1eJgjqAC757eNdSNWk6nRieGWmwdEpx4y2_0VDyhJtI6SCJ6eW9ys5LUPIm_TgO-z822biO_WOOJlcVRp_APMxyJVUwcfEGliXfKObtHDswBi_N-2O5Ml69_5C7qHOSQc-E2U/w225-h400/867BEC5B-0149-49B3-AE1B-36AB6B2A133F.png" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table></p><p>So I don't have any real issues with riding in headwind, and I'm normal (in some ways!) so I enjoy tailwinds. I do not, however, enjoy riding in strong crosswinds. So when I got out on that ride and felt the first wobble with that wind pushing me sideways into the road, I tensed up and pretty much remained that way for the rest of the ride. I tried talking myself out of it... positive self talk!... <i>Relax, breathe, keep pedaling, you're fine</i>, etc. I tried singing songs in my head... <i>Look around look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now... Angelica remind me what we're looking for... Eliza I'm looking for a mind at work WORK I'm looking for a mind at work</i>... I remembered some of the brain training work I'd done... <i>The problem is not the wind, the problem is your perception of the wind</i>... I tried to stay present in the moment, while at the same time trying to just steel my brain that I was going to be out there riding forever so just settle in, while at the same time promising myself that this would not indeed last forever and at some point I would be able to get off that bike. So ya, I probably have more work to do there on that mental piece. #progressnotperfection</p><p>But you guys, what I did NOT do was start beating the crap out of myself for riding like a pussy. This is such a big win I cannot even tell you. It genuinely is fascinating at times to think about the way we talk to ourselves and compare that to the way we talk to others. I would never berate others the way that I used to berate myself when I'm not performing up to my own <span style="font-size: x-small;">impossible-to-reach</span> expectations for myself. So I'm currently in this place where I can accept that I need more practice again riding in strong crosswinds to redevelop my ability to do that confidently <i>while at the same time not being a judgmental wench to myself about not nailing that part of the race</i>. Whoa.</p><p>Here's another piece that's fascinating> Post race we're all standing around chatting and some people are with me whining about that wind <i>so scary!</i> Others, though, acknowledged that it was windy but mostly just brushed it off. <i>What? How could they just brush that off? It was freaking SCARY out there!!</i> Or was it? </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2erkORMm8LvAuw2qOncJ9WeZUmi_nEaTO_XtwaTNcU96rbaDd2QcU1FSFkbFf7ur_aKh2OeiSyURFK3TypYs96Izvj32gjY2R-rzY1x7O8NxwuPopXEmTkOPDV9vpLeKUeRsKubJVgM/s2048/B94304DF-5147-4A6B-A32C-55F368F254EE.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2erkORMm8LvAuw2qOncJ9WeZUmi_nEaTO_XtwaTNcU96rbaDd2QcU1FSFkbFf7ur_aKh2OeiSyURFK3TypYs96Izvj32gjY2R-rzY1x7O8NxwuPopXEmTkOPDV9vpLeKUeRsKubJVgM/s320/B94304DF-5147-4A6B-A32C-55F368F254EE.png" /></a></div><p>The problem was not the wind. The problem was my perception of the wind. </p><p>Let's relate this back to the swim. Post race everyone has the same story... <i>I couldn't see the buoys on the way back at all!</i> There was genuinely a lot of concern about this, posted onto the Facebook groups and everything. You know what? I couldn't see the buoys either. You know how much that bothered me? Not at all. So why is that? Why were some people bothered by not being able to see the buoys but I wasn't? Probably for the same reason I was bothered by those crosswinds while some others were not. Likely our own perception of how big of a threat these things are to us. I'm super confident in my ability to ocean swim and I swim ocean all the time without specific buoys to aim for so I am comfortable just heading in a general direction and not giving it a second thought. For others with less experience in the ocean, I can absolutely see how that mindset would be as foreign as I think it is that they were unconcerned with the crosswinds... Our perceptions matter.</p><p>Anyway. Since I had no particular time goals, I left my Garmin at home on race day. I think that was one of the best decisions I made over the weekend bc it truly helped me to do what I suggested my athletes do out there: <i>Focus on WHAT you are doing, not on HOW you are doing</i>. I think if/when we start judging our performances in the middle of the race, we start going down a slippery slope. That's when it becomes really easy to throw in the towel... or even if you technically finish but you know in your heart that you gave up on yourself and didn't really give your best the whole time. That just sucks, right? So I eliminated that variable for myself by racing without a watch and I'll probably never use a watch in a race again. (I have also said with 100% confidence that I would NEVER do another full Ironman... #spoileralert #neversaynever)</p><p>Ok so the run story. This is how I ended up running with the CEO of Ironman for ~90 minutes. ;) My plan on that run was to be pretty conservative. I wasn't hugely confident in my run fitness and I've melted down on that course more times than I can count in years past, and I just really really <i>really</i> didn't want to have that experience again. So right from the start my plan was to walk all the little kicker hills but to not let my walk breaks ever be longer than ~20 steps. But I gave myself permission to take a walk break whenever I felt like I needed ones long as I got back to running as soon as I felt ready to do so. Very early on some guy next to me asked, 'What's your pace?' I showed him my naked wrist and replied, <i>My pace is whatever I feel like running in each moment!</i> I might have mentioned at that point that this wasn't my first rodeo... I can't really remember... but I think I did mention that this was my 14th attempt at this course. After a few minutes where he parroted my run/walk/run pattern, he asked me what my name was. Then, because I am not rude, I asked him what his name was. He told me his name was Andrew and honestly that was the first time I even looked at him and that's when I knew... <i>Holy shit I'm running with Andrew Messick.</i> So it took him a second but eventually he said, "MamaSimmons. You skewered me on social media!" </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiSqBPhHEJNUghbnm5WtlpooOW7w1ds0ewSRIiUssKeGj6jUvVAdC6ecY7rziAic2esDeYcYf9wmjIuib7ZdHowHpWLrL1I5urk56iUtHnMBLO73NZY94f6rUFj5nEErSqHYttLneBq1k/s2048/3AE2C4CE-99D0-40EA-89D8-A342E3AF2F42.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiSqBPhHEJNUghbnm5WtlpooOW7w1ds0ewSRIiUssKeGj6jUvVAdC6ecY7rziAic2esDeYcYf9wmjIuib7ZdHowHpWLrL1I5urk56iUtHnMBLO73NZY94f6rUFj5nEErSqHYttLneBq1k/w400-h266/3AE2C4CE-99D0-40EA-89D8-A342E3AF2F42.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p><i>OMG talk about a moment</i>... Ha! I mean all you can do is own up to that, right? So I laughed and admitted that I'm sure I did! The crazy part is that he remembered specifically at least one time where I was ripping him for the decision to start women's behind the men instead of one big mass start... People who know me know how I feel about this and that was an open invitation to discuss it again so oh man... I started into it... again... I got all riled up! Like to the point where I had to take a short walk break on a flat section because I needed to calm myself down... It went on like that for the whole first lap... then the second lap... He told me that he was genuinely interested in my opinions. I mean, as a CEO maybe getting to hear what people who have been at this for a really long time experience when they're out there on the courses is a good idea. I could tell he was listening so ya, I continued to just open my mouth and spill it! I was fair though and I gave credit where credit is due (yay return to racing!) he told me about the different caveats that different race venues were requiring and how it varies so much depending on the location. WTC as a corporation has been under massive stress (as you can imagine, if you think about their position at all!) so he said he's just happy the whole company didn't go under last year. And as much as we gripe about how WTC does some things, I mean, lets face it... How sad would we we if WTC folded?</p><p>Anyway, in our conversation, he asked me if I would take the local Hawaii Resident slot to Kona if I earned it. I replied that I was not sure. My thinking going in was that 1) I did not want to be concerned with whether or not I would end up in a situation where it was offered to me and 2) I was not going to put myself through that brutal Ironman again if I did not truly enjoy myself while I was out there racing. And since we were at mile 1 or 2 of the run when he asked that question, I could not give a straight answer. So far I had been happy enough, but 13 miles is a long way to go on a golf course in 90 degrees with full sun. As they say, <i>anything can happen</i>.</p><p>Let's sum this up, shall we? I ran the third lap on my own and was absolutely amazed that while it was certainly challenging, I was doing an amazing job at staying in the moment and running and being happy and cheering other athletes on and not even for a half a second being a judgmental wench to myself about not running faster. My legs functioned reasonably well all the way to the finish line and for the first time in a very long time, I threw my hands in the air and smiled so big as I crossed that line. I did not know my time. I did not know my place. But none of that mattered. I had achieved my goal of racing happy. Being kind to myself. It's the way, you guys. I'm telling you.</p><p>The next morning I got a text from a number I did not recognize...</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ24RxTPKTAma6q6vvuRVpq4ma3WyadWDJO9sYxDjPysW__tax5XEzPH0NE7oe5A1mLnh5FfWl3H0I_d65PXZdwYhBdh1a7qiFANhlICSVs4HML4KfmexS1qEDPpnhme2umCbISmKqQog/s1334/7FA5C061-FD1F-4FEF-9AF3-3EF27B08CE5D.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1334" data-original-width="750" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ24RxTPKTAma6q6vvuRVpq4ma3WyadWDJO9sYxDjPysW__tax5XEzPH0NE7oe5A1mLnh5FfWl3H0I_d65PXZdwYhBdh1a7qiFANhlICSVs4HML4KfmexS1qEDPpnhme2umCbISmKqQog/w225-h400/7FA5C061-FD1F-4FEF-9AF3-3EF27B08CE5D.jpeg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><p>So I currently find myself in a pretty cool position. I get to coach 8 athletes through Kona this year (!), one of those athletes being myself. I've never done that before, but I am very much interested in attempting it!</p>Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-73939848535049701322020-08-19T19:33:00.000-10:002020-08-19T19:33:17.327-10:00Zwift For Dummies<p>Ok so I don't think you're Dummies :) But I thought a post that explains the very basics of Zwift for people who have just started (or are thinking of getting into it) might be helpful. Of note- I have no affiliation with Zwift other than being a paying subscriber. I am not trying to convince you to sign up but rather just going to explain how it all works so that if you do, you'll have at least a basic understanding of what you're doing. </p><p>NOTE: I am SURE there is WAY more to Zwift than I am going to mention here. This is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to Zwift. If you want that, go to Zwiftinsider.com. This is just information from the perspective of an athlete who just recently started figuring it out! </p><p>Set up: There are a bunch of different ways to set up Zwift for yourself, and lots of info already published about this so I'm not going to dive into it. I'll just share my personal experience- its best for me via iPad. I tried it once with my laptop and the connection (bluetooth) dropped out a few times. If your laptop has better bluetooth than mine (it might! Mine is old) then laptop might be fine. My phone says it doesn't have enough space to load the Zwift app. So my set up is typically to use the Zwift app via my iPad and then sometimes I have the Zwift Companion app running on my phone. </p><p>Zwift uses a ton of battery to run itself. I have to make sure my iPad has plenty of battery and even then it needs to be plugged in while running the program or else the battery dies out quickly. If I start a ride with 80% battery life and ride 2 hours with it plugged in, I finish with like 65% battery life. So heads up on that. Zwift Companion on your phone also uses a solid amount of battery so potentially you might need two power sources depending on how long you plan to ride.</p><p>I tried Zwift once a few years ago when I first got my Kickr and I didn't like it at all. To be fair, I didn't understand it at all! And I didn't try very hard to understand it... Generally I'd say I'm not much of a video game person and I don't need a lot of interaction with other people to get my training done, so Zwift didn't hold much appeal to me at the time. </p><p>NOW THOUGH, it's a different story! I suspect my change of heart has a lot to do with the fact that we're not training specifically for races this year but rather training because we enjoy training as a lifestyle... and along with that looking for little carrots we can earn/achieve along the way. Zwift absolutely meets this need in many really great ways. So keep that in mind- ZWIFT IS A GAME. And turns out, a fun game at that! The developers of Zwift have done a great job tapping into the addictive brains of athletes. </p><p>---------</p><p>When you first start, Zwift gives you 3 bike frames (in your garage). I did not know this for the entire first month I rode on Zwift! But depending on what route you're riding, you can choose a road bike or a TT bike or a mountain bike (my Zwift Mountain bike is still brand new I wish I could sell it lol). Zwift calculates your speed in the game based not only on the watts you're pushing but also according to the bike you're riding! So if everyone seems to be riding faster than you, know that its possible they have a better faster lighter bike (or wheels!). As you earn points in the game, you can accumulate enough to upgrade your bike frame(s) and wheels several times over. I'll leave it there for now but just know that if you want more detailed info about any of this, find it at that Zwift Insider site.</p><p>Like most video games, Zwift uses levels to motivate us to ride more... (LEVEL UP!!). Commonly when you Level up you "unlock" options and prizes... Things like jerseys, helmets, socks, sunglasses, etc become available to you at different levels. For some bike frames and wheels you also need to achieve certain levels in the game. You level up by earning points and typically you get points for distance ridden so the more you ride, the more points you earn! #addiction</p><p>You can choose to do workouts (these can be standard or custom but I'm not going to go into all those details here) OR can free ride in different Routes. Zwift uses several 'Worlds' where you can choose to ride. Watopia is always there then the others switch out day to day or week to week. You can plan ahead by checking the calendar on the home page when you first open Zwift. They color code each day so you can see what worlds will be offered on what days.</p><p>If you're trying to earn points and level up, a good way to go about things is to specifically ride ROUTES. If you want to geek out on it you totally can- research your route ahead of time via Zwift Insider so you have an idea what you're getting yourself into. Some routes are way more challenging than others and you can't always tell just by looking at distance and elevation. <i>If you want to get credit and earn a badge for completing a route, you need to specifically choose that route before you start riding.</i> Then you need to know how long the lead in is for that route- sometimes there's no lead in or very short lead in... other times the lead in is long! If you didn't research ahead of time how long the lead in is, you can tell when you've hit it if you're on a road bike bc you'll get a 'Power up' once you officially start the route. So for example, if you chose a route that said it was 26k long and the lead in is 3k, then you'll need to actually ride 29k before earning the badge (and the bonus points!) if you want the badge, you have to keep riding until the 'Achievement Unlocked!' note shows up on your screen. If that alert hasn't popped up, you're not done so keep riding. If you weren't paying close enough attention though, you might miss it. I think that alert shows up on your screen for maybe 10 seconds or so then its gone... IF you miss it and want to know if you passed it, you can hit the iPad screen to get to menu (can do this while you are riding) and from there can check your badges to see if it gave you the badge. This happened to me one time so I'm glad this option is available! The last thing you want to do is get almost to the end of a long route then stop unknowingly and miss the bonus points for the badge because you didn't' know where the end was! One last note about Routes- if you're trying to earn a route badge, you need to ignore all the options to make turns along the course as you're riding. After you get notice that you completed your route, if you want to ride more you can keep going and from there can choose to turn and explore different areas. You'll get points for the extra distance you ride but not for another specific route.</p><p>The most frustrating thing for me has been to not really know how long different sections are (climbs, specifically). Some are short and some are really really long... Yes, you can research routes beforehand and get an idea, but when you're new to it, there's definitely an element of needing to let go of knowing what exactly is coming up. #justkeepriding Zwift does give you hints- I recently just figured this out and it helps a lot- if there's a sprint point or QOM section coming up, you'll see a box pop up on the left of your screen with the name of the section... It'll also show you the distance and avg grade if its a climb. If you've done that specific section in the last 30 days, it will remind you of the your splits. It will also then show you the splits of others who are currently riding who have also done that section... This can be motivating! I'll use an example... A box pops up on the screen indicating that a sprint point is coming up. It says that the fastest current female time is 28.6 seconds. It says that I did this section a few days ago and hit 29.2 seconds... So depending on how I'm feeling and what my purpose of the ride is, I might opt to go for a green jersey on that sprint! IF I am riding a road bike and have a "power up" to use, I might hit it if its an aero advantage or a drafting advantage... Don't hit that until the sprint actually starts... you'll see a colored/dotted line when the segment starts and you'll see an arch indicating the finish. I was super stoked the first time I figured out how to use a power up to help me earn a green jersey! #strategicgameplay Yes, it's dumb, but you guys we NEED these carrots right now! :) </p><p>So on Zwift you can choose to do a specific workout in erg mode, free ride route on your own as you feel, jump into a 'group ride' at a specific time, or do a race. You can also initiate more private 'meet ups' where you can arrange to ride with your friends who are also on Zwift. (The meet up is one I haven't actually done yet so I cannot comment on how this works.) </p><p>Group rides are pretty fun! You can find the options for what's available in the Zwift Companion app. I've done a few groups rides now and this is what I've learned... Something like 200 people might show up from all around the world. Sometimes they're grouped by levels according to watts/kg you push, but commonly in a group ride, all levels are there are people who are fast and want to race it start super hard and everyone else is more relaxed at the start. So depending on your goals for the day, you can choose to start hard and find the fastest group you can stay with, OR you can be more relaxed at the start and see what kind of group you land in after a few minutes of riding. Zwift gives drafting advantages, so just like real world you'll be at an advantage and riding faster with a group vs if you're riding alone. Don't use a TT bike in a group ride. The game will not allow you a drafting advantage if you are on a TT bike. You also don't get power ups if you're on a TT bike. I've found group rides to be pretty fun and entertaining! There's something pretty cool about riding "with" people from all over the world and trying to hang with a group... You might get dropped but if you do you can be pretty sure there are more riders coming up behind you so there's pretty much always someone to ride with on Zwift. Depending on your personality, group rides on Zwift might get you in trouble. Just like in the real world, group rides can end up being hard efforts bc people just naturally get competitive (even when they SAY they are just going to ride easy #lies) so I'd def say the fastest way to overtrain yourself would be to jump into group rides all the time. Be strategic about how you use these.</p><p>I've only done one race so far. I cannot say I really understand these that well but I'll note a few things then maybe come back and edit this post once I have more experience racing on Zwift... Races tend to have fewer people than group rides. If you're looking to just ride hard with people, a group ride might be better option than a race. The race I did there was some confusion about which 'group' I was in (at one point I accidentally ended up at the start line of an "A" group race... I def had no business being there and I have no idea how that even happened but I managed to leave that start line before the race started... I ended up in the "D" group (again not sure how this even happened) but figured I'd go with it and just see what happened... Ended up a very diverse group but only 8 people total. I rode with the front group of 3 guys for maybe 12min before getting 'dropped' and finishing by myself. It was for sure a way harder effort than I would have given on my own, but I'd say maybe not as much fun as the group rides I've done. There are races specifically for women. I might play around with those more in the future, but racing on Zwift is not my priority so doubt I'll give a ton of energy to that. If you want to get serious about racing on Zwift you totally can... There are teams and everything! But given that this is a 'Zwift for Dummies' post, we'll leave that for another day.</p><p>Anyway, will leave it at that for now. I'm sure there's 100 other things to know about Zwift but these are the things I've learned so far... Just keep in mind that ZWIFT IS A GAME and if you play it strategically, it can be a super fun way to really bump up your bike fitness even in this crappy year we're calling 2020. ;)</p>Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-78852762875203202020-04-30T20:43:00.001-10:002020-04-30T20:43:43.301-10:00So You're Saying There's a ChanceIt's amazing how much can change in a month.<br />
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At the beginning of April, I launched this Gold Star Project for TeamBSC. My vision was that maybe each athlete would pick 1-2 specific targets (short ones) and train specifically to hit a personal best (as recorded in Training Peaks) at that target. Training Peaks keeps track of specific distances/durations for bike and run so those were the ones we were going to use. Since races are far away, I figured focusing on short distance peaks (5" up to 10min) made more sense bc long distance peaks would mean you're in race shape (!) and well, we don't really want to be in peak race shape when there are no races right now!<br />
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This project taught me so much this month... Both as an athlete and as a coach. Initially I just sort of thought maybe it would be a decent distraction from the wacky world we all find ourselves living in right now, but it morphed into a motivating quest for personal bests! It also ended up being a really great team building thing as we cheered each other on with our attempts.<br />
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As a 46yo athlete with 20+ years training for triathlon and 8+ years of pace/power data recorded in my Training Peaks account, some of my All Time Peaks are pretty solid. In all honesty, I looked at my top 3 all time run splits for 400/800/mile and thought there wasn't a snowballs chance in hell that I was going to be able to hit those this month. I mean, no way. I was way too far off. Part of me definitely thought that it was silly to even try.<br />
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But here's the thing. My athletes were trying! And many of them were surprising themselves! It seemed like every time I logged into Training Peaks, there was another file from an athlete who had just achieved a new personal best at a short distance. I do believe that leaders should model the behavior they expect from their people, and I decided that the behavior I wanted to really emphasize was the effort... I kept saying, <i>The value is in the attempt</i>. And I totally meant that! Some of my athletes have crazy huge peaks in their past. I definitely didn't want them to be discouraged if they were trying but not hitting them. So I figured that it truly made sense for me to try as well, even if I didn't really believe I'd hit any running peaks.<br />
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So 4 weeks ago I headed out and attempted a 'fast' mile. I was almost a full minute off my best mile time! Ha! Kevin attempted a mile as well. His initial report was that he wasn't even in the ballpark. Casey had a similar story the first time he tried. I kept preaching that it was fiiiiine... <i>the value is in the attempt!</i> So we all tried again the next week, and we got a little closer.<br />
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After one of my key runs, I studied the file and thought, <i>I'm in the ballpark here</i>... Like, not <i>that</i> far off... Maybe there's a chance? At the same time, some of my athletes were posting files that showed giant gains in their fast running paces. If they could do it, maybe I could too? Heidi knocked out a run where she just nailed it- fastest splits ever from 400 up to the mile! She's turning 50 next week and she also has a long history of training recorded in Training Peaks... She was making my excuses invalid. Hmmm.<br />
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So then a few days ago Casey posted a run file that showed he'd hit All Time PRs at the 400 all the way up to the mile. Wow! Solid Gold! Casey is also my age, with a long history in Training Peaks. What was my excuse again?<br />
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Momentum is a powerful force, you guys.<br />
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Today was officially the last day of the Gold Star Project. Last night, as a team, we had 185 total stars (counting 1st, 2nd, or 3rd all time bests as recorded in Training Peaks). I mused that it would be fun if we hit 200! Could we hit 15 more today?? That seemed like kind of a big ask. Several of us had planned attempts on our schedules but I wasn't sure if those would be successful attempts or not? Maybe? I threw it out to the team thought that if anyone had any more that they thought were possible to get today, <i>take one for the team</i> and go get it! Monika and Michelle both did that (!) so we ended up with 7 bonus stars that hadn't even been planned attempts... That put us right in the ballpark to hit 200. So you're saying there's a chance?<br />
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I was so inspired. I got all dressed up in my Coeur team running kit and I planned my route and I ripped my own legs off (<i>panting wheezing breathing hands on knees afterward</i> kinds of efforts) but I managed to get Top 3 All Time stars in all 4 distances today. What?!! I wasn't actually planning on going for all 4 distances but I was motivated to help the team get over 200 and I thought maybe I could... Its amazing what happens when you start to truly BELIEVE. Then I got home and checked Training Peaks again and saw that Kevin went out and did it tooooooo. In all we had our biggest day in star collection today, with 25 more stars collected. 210 in total!<br />
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I am incredibly impressed and inspired by this team. I feel like this project was a success beyond my wildest dreams and that's a credit to the tenacity of the athletes I have the honor of being able to work with. On Saturday we're going to have a team Zoom Party to celebrate everyone's accomplishments (there are so many individual stories of success!) and to share some 'war stories', because isn't that the best part of racing? Sharing your stories afterward?<br />
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I'll keep processing the valuable lessons learned this past month. But off the top of my head right now, I'd say that success seems to come from an idea/goal that you find motivating... believing that it might be possible to achieve... watching other people do it... and being motivated to contribute to a cause bigger than yourself.<br />
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Congratulations to everyone on TeamBSC! I'm super proud of you all. ⭐Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-60730300312260001762020-04-15T17:03:00.001-10:002020-04-15T17:03:25.123-10:00Inspiring a Sense of Personal PrideWe're half way through April!<br />
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I feel like I'm settling into a new routine of sorts. I sense that we all are. Much of the unsettling upheaval feeling has dissipated and now things are sort of rolling along in a way that feels like a new normal has been established. It's one I think my family and I can live with for a while.<br />
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How have things shifted for you? Generally speaking, these things come to the top of my head:<br />
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~Everything in our days (speaking about my family here) seems to have been shifted back an hour or so. We wake up a little later (ok I don't but husband/kid do), lunch is a little later, dinner is a little later, bedtime is a little later, etc. I don't feel like I'm in as much of a rush to get things done 'on time' bc time is so abundant. That said, sometimes days just FLY by and I'm like HOW is it 4:00 already!?!<br />
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~I spent a lot of time learning how to use new apps. Its easy to see why Zoom is popular. It's so simple to use. No learning curve required! Just download the app and put the meeting code in and you're there connecting with your people! I've started hosting weekly TeamBSC Zoom meet ups just so we can connect and chat and that has been a positive change that we will keep going even after society goes back to 'normal'.<br />
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~I've also been playing around with the new 'group ride' option on Trainer Road. This one was a lot more complicated for me, but I think it was because the new desktop app that is required had some bugs when it was first released. After ripping my hair out in frustration trying to get it to work, eventually I did, but not without unloading and loading the app a bunch of times. That said, once you get it set up, I think its potentially quite a 'value-add' for coaches and athletes because we can be riding at the same time together. I've sort of come to the conclusion that for *us* *right now*, the best use of these group rides is just to do our aerobic rides together. That way we can actually talk! We tried a harder ride but I think most of us are pretty good at pushing hard on our own so we'll probably do more of our aerobic riding together and consider them more like social hour spins. :)<br />
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In a weird way, I feel like this recent upheaval has actually been a good thing for me as a coach. It's forced me out of my comfort zone, forced me to find new ways to connect with my athletes and motivate them since races (as we are used to them) seem to be a ways off. Though maybe not too far off?? WTC announced a new dates for Puerto Rico 70.3 today (Sept 6) so there must be some officials somewhere in Puerto Rico who are at least mildly optimistic that they'll be allowing travelers in by then. So maybeeeeee....<br />
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It's been good for my kid (in some ways) too. Right now, as I type, she is on a Zoom Meeting with some of her neighborhood friends as they conduct a "Book Club". They came up with this idea all on their own... They picked a book, gave each other time to read two chapter, and are meeting right now to discuss it. They are 8-11 years old. So impressive.<br />
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So we're half way through the month with our TeamBSC #GoldStarProject and I have to say, I have been FLOORED by the peaks my athletes are achieving right now. I mean, ok maybe some have some low hanging fruit if they've never *really* attempted specific peaks for short durations, but I'd say the vast majority of the stars they are earning are just outstanding efforts and its been so inspiring for me to open files all day long and see star after star after star pop up. ⭐ We're mostly going for short distance peaks from 5" to 10min on the bike, though some people have earned peaks over longer distances if they're jumping into other challenges like the IM Virtual races and such... I don't think anyone has earned Gold Stars for all 4 short power peaks YET (5sec; 1min; 5min; 10min) but a few are close with 3 achieved already! Personally, I've got my 1min and 5min peaks... I've earned a 2nd and 3rd best all time 5 second sprint peak and am still trying to mentally prepare myself for the effort required to hit my 10min one... I have a distinct memory of the effort I put out to achieve the one I did several years ago and would be lying if I didn't admit I have a little bit of fear about whether or not I can do that again! I will give it a go though! If I hit my all time 5min peak then it makes sense that I have the fitness to hit the 10min one too so... #confidence<br />
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Keeping track of the peaks on the graph Moana created has been a fun project too! I swear, I thought *MAYBE* if we had a great month we might collectively hit 50 peak performances by the end of the month... But here we are half way through April and we have 67! I've had to rescale this graph several times already to make sure all the stars can fit. #triathloncoachproblems<br />
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Some of these are short distance running peaks as well. I'm a little more hesitant to tell some athletes to go after the shorter run peaks bc the potential to hurt yourself is way higher... I don't want anyone ripping their hamstring or groin in an effort to get Training Peaks to award them a gold star! But as they're ready some are going for it and its been invigorating! Truly. The feeling of personal pride is something everyone cherishes regardless of the crap that's going on in the world around them. I'd argue that the feeling of personal pride might be even more important now than it's ever been. I mean, you can just <i>feel</i> how stoked Casey is with his shiny new All-Time 5min peak power effort!! This is what I was hoping this project would inspire...<br />
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<br />Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-15029401852547844472020-04-06T15:01:00.000-10:002020-04-06T15:01:15.518-10:00In Hindsight...When I was a freshman in college (at University of Hawaii), I lived in a little dorm room (Johnson Hall B, baby!). I had a really great roommate from Kauai. This was 1992 (I'm aging myself, yes!) so internet was only just sort of becoming a thing. I didn't have a TV. I didn't have a computer nor a cell phone. How did we even survive? Can you imagine? Lol. Somehow though, we managed. I even had a social life! It was called, <i>go to the one bar that most of my friends would go to most often and see who else might happen to be there</i>. That was our social life. If we needed to communicate with each other, we used landline phones and left messages on answering machines.<br />
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One early morning I remember hearing a really loud siren... over the public emergency broadcast system. I don't have a great memory of a lot of past events, but I have some vivid memories of that. It was a Friday morning, around 4AM. Someone went running down the hall shouting HURRICANE IS COMING! HURRICANE HITS AT 4! CLASSES CANCELLED!<br />
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I was from Ohio and honestly didn't really even know what a hurricane was, but I remember feeling somewhat grateful that classes were cancelled, because I was kind of hung over.<br />
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With absolutely ZERO understanding of what was coming, we did all the dumbest things one might think people could possibly do in that scenario. I remember watching one of my friends get on the bus with his boogey board. I was like, "Where are you going???" He replied, <i>"To the beach! Surf's up!" </i>The rest of us headed to the store and got cases of beer and spent the day drinking together. Things get a little fuzzy in my memory around that, but I do remember that night being outside as the wind was ripping and it was DUMPING rain and the street outside my dorm had morphed into a raging river and we danced outside in that rain and honestly I remember it being super fun.<br />
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The next day, I remember my roommate being super upset. She told me that the restaurant she used to work at on Kauai had been flattened by <a href="https://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/25-years-later-hurricane-iniki-still-one-of-hawaiis-most-devastating-storms/357419" target="_blank">Hurricane Iniki</a>. That storm brought winds of 145mph and damage to the state of over $1.8 billion. 14,000+ homes damaged. 6 people died. Meanwhile, I was the dumbass out dancing in the rain.<br />
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Knowing what I know about hurricanes now, my/our behavior that day was ludicrous. Having full access to news and such now (pick a source! There's access to news <i>everywhere</i>.) I know that they warn about hurricanes coming 24/7 for at least a week before the hurricanes get anywhere near our islands. That day in college, the first I'd heard about any hurricane was when the sirens went off. Seems crazy now, but that's the difference between paying attention to news vs not paying attention to news.<br />
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I share this now mostly bc I suspect that even though access to news these days is abundant (for most of us), I suspect there are a lot of people (young people especially) who actively disengage from the news. Shoot, our own president* has tried to drill it into our heads that any news we don't like is #fakenews. Given that backdrop, is it any wonder that we're having a hard time coming together and acting collectively as a society to combat a pandemic virus?<br />
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Whenever I read comments people make about this whole thing being over-hyped, my first thought is that they do not watch/read the news. I suppose it's possible they just watch different news, because for sure there are some networks that were actively downplaying the threat of this virus. I think a lot of that has stopped this week, as the death toll across the country continues to rise (and that's hard to lie about). Even then though, watching the news at all has become an act in critical thinking, because there is a ton of bias. <i>Trying to figure out who is telling the truth vs who is exaggerating for effect vs who is just straight up lying to cover shit up is one of the major challenges of our times. </i>Given all that its really no big surprise that many people just tune out the news altogether. That is a big systemic problem in our fight against this new virus.<br />
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I suspect that in hindsight, some people might view their actions during this pandemic differently than they currently view them. I can say 100% that I view my actions during Hurricane Iniki differently now than I did then. #themoreyouknow<br />
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<br />Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-65032045137040978512020-04-04T17:41:00.000-10:002020-04-04T17:50:19.389-10:00Who's Judging Who?The other day Francesca sent me <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/corona-exhausted-moral-fatigue-974311/" target="_blank">an article about Moral Fatigue</a>. It was really well written and I think many of us can relate. Like, all of a sudden, every decision we make feels like it takes on a new weight... It's not "just" all the readjusting we are doing right now, but also like all decisions feel like they could be the potential difference between life or death. And what a crazy sentence to even write? I mean, it sounds like a complete exaggeration, but in some ways it's potentially not an exaggeration at all. The decisions we make as individuals and as a society right now are important.<br />
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But here's the thing. Guidelines of what we are supposed to do or not do change daily. It's hard to keep up. Should I be wearing a mask or not? Currently people are arguing both sides of this. I suspect that in another week it'll be very very normal to see everyone wearing a mask. Then we'll get to judge each other on that decision as well. <i>Did you see Karen went to the store and she wasn't wearing her mask??? Shame!</i><br />
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Currently in our world (triathlon world), it feels like a lot of our personal moral decisions are about cycling. Most of us (though not all) have accepted that <a href="http://www.bikeirvine.org/news" target="_blank">group rides are taboo right now</a>. I don't know what the percentage is (maybe half?) have decided that riding outside at all poses too great a risk, so they're riding 100% indoors now. I understand this thinking, though I'd say personally I'm not there. I guess I think about the number of times I've started a bike ride and ended up in the hospital... Has it happened? Yes. Once. In ~25 years of frequent riding. That's how I justify it in my head that I can ride outside and not have it be an excessive risk. I mean, I ride in my garage probably 6 days a week then on the 7th day, if its nice wether, I go out. I rode outside today and it was glorious. I enjoyed it very much.<br />
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When I'm making these decisions for myself, I think about a lot of things... I weigh the pros and cons. Is there a potential to get physically hurt riding outside? Yes. That potential is not actually any different today than it was a month ago though. In fact, in some ways it may be even safer to ride outside now than it was a month ago because there are FAR fewer cars! So what's the risk of catching COVID19 by riding outside? I'd guess that it's very low. Especially if you're riding alone (or with someone you live with). I passed some other riders on the road today but truly just never felt like I was in a position where there would be a possibility of coming in contact with the virus. I didn't stop at any stores. I didn't touch anything other than my own bike. Overall, risk felt low. If I were to rate the risks I encountered today, I'd say my greatest risk were the two off leash dogs chasing me in Waimanalo. They gave good chase! One of my goals today was to try to hit a new peak 5" sprint power so maybe those dogs were just trying to help...<br />
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On the plus side, I can definitely say that my enjoyment factor felt high! People who are non-athletes might not understand this, but all athletes know... When we get our 'fix', there's a sense of satisfaction (could we call it "relief"?) when we get to go on a nice long ride in the sunshine. I came home today having achieved most of the goals I'd set out to achieve. ⭐ I felt happy! I was able to then spend the rest of the day working on projects with my kid. I think (and I have always thought) that if we neglect to take care of ourselves- <i>if we skip doing things we love</i>- we are not then 'better' people. If I want to be a good wife and a good mom, its super important that I <b>not</b> neglect my own needs. I'm a good wife and a good mom because I'm a happy person. I think many women give up a lot in an attempt to take care of other people (typically their families) and while the intention there is good, I think in the long run it backfires because at some point she realizes that she's just flat out <i>exhausted</i>. Exhausted women don't make good wives or moms. Take care of yourselves, ladies.<br />
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This blog sort of took a tangent! I was planning on focusing on the feeling of excessive moral weight of our decisions right now... Back on task!<br />
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I have <i>tried</i> these last few weeks to consciously not judge other people and their reactions to our world situation right now. But I'll admit, when my neighbors next door (adult, grown men) were having a little day party in their backyard yesterday... drinking beer and smoking cigars and laughing, it was hard to not be judgmental. I looked out my window and just thought <i>Gah! What are you doing??</i> But then I don't know... They probably saw me dressed in colorful lycra rolling down the road on two skinny tires this morning and thought <i>Gah! What is she doing?? </i><br />
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And meanwhile I'm over here on my moral high horse because I wasn't the coach out riding with my whole team today. Did I judge them for their group ride? I did. Is it my place to do that? I don't know. I can say that I saw a few of my athletes out riding today and my first instinct was to flip a u-turn and go ride with them for a bit. In 'normal' times I totally would have done that! It felt super sad to think to myself, <i>Wait. No. Don't do that.</i> I mean I guess for both their safety and for mine... I'm pretty confident right now that I do not personally have the virus. I just don't think I'll be an asymptomatic carrier if I get it. But I'm not 100% sure on that so I'll continue to adhere to the current guidelines given to us.<br />
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So that said, my plan is that as long as we are allowed to ride outside, I'll ride outside, sometimes. I'll still do the bulk of my riding on my trainer for the same reasons I was doing the bulk of my riding on my trainer last month. It's good training! I will not ride with any other people until this has passed (and I'm actively trying to NOT think about how long that time frame might be). I'll try to not judge you if you're riding in a group, but if I'm honest, I'd admit that I am judging you. But then there are probably people who are judging me for my decision to ride outside at all right now. This is where we are folks. Judge away, I guess. Don't exhaust yourself though in doing so.<br />
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<br />Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-2130246905473526592020-04-02T17:52:00.004-10:002020-04-02T17:53:20.674-10:00Count Your Lucky Stars I don't know how you're feeling but man I feel like days are just flying by now. Like all of a sudden it's 5pm and I'm like <i>how did that happen?? </i>Must be because we're having so much fun. ;)<br />
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I actually feel like I have more to do now than normal, but it might just be that some transitions are still taking place and such. I can say I DEFINITELY have more dishes to do now. Holy cow. I try to be pretty positive and not dwell on negative things but last night I did start to lose my patience and just flat out told Scott and Moana to put their damn dishes in the dishwasher. I swear every.single.day they make every.single.meal and leave every.single.dish on the counter and I suppose if that's my biggest gripe about this shelter in place situation then I can count my lucky stars. But sheesh.<br />
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Speaking of lucky stars... ⭐ Yesterday I officially declared Moana to be TeamBSC's new administrative assistant. She likes her new title! Her first task was to figure out how to make a graph where we could display the stars that TeamBSC athletes are earning this month for hitting ALL TIME PEAKS. Francesca got one yesterday and Heidi got 2 today so we're off to a good start! I figured a graph showing numbers going up in a positive way would be a nice respite from other graphs we're all seeing every day where we don't actually want to see those numbers go up... Anyway, Moana had not actually had any experience yet with Google Sheets but she fooled around with it for a few hours and got it figured out! How cool is this??<br />
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She's projecting that we might (as a team) accumulate 50 stars this month... I'll post it each week so we can watch our progress! I've spent 4-5 hours the last few days combing through everyone's files trying to edit out erroneous garmin data that shows false peaks (#fakenews!) I don't think any running peaks/PRs should be counted when done on a treadmill. I mean, treadmills are VERY useful tools, yes, but garmin does a crap job of measuring pace on them so all the peak paces that showed athletes running 3min/mile got deleted in the last few days. Also, sometimes garmins go crazy and spike up to 3000w in the middle of an easy ride- those peaks all got deleted too. I think in a big picture sense, running peaks will be harder to hit than short distance riding peaks. MOST of the running peaks I combed through the last few days were from races. Its hard to hit peak running paces when not racing, but that doesn't mean some folks won't try! Honestly the beauty of this gold star project is the <i>trying</i> part. It's all about the journey, as they say. I look at some of my short distance running peaks (mostly from 2012, but a few from 2017) and think they're way out of reach... but I suppose that's the beauty of this project... and why it would feel so amazing to even get in that ballpark again!</div>
Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-9121434043915832812020-03-31T17:40:00.003-10:002020-03-31T17:42:03.152-10:00The Gold Star ProjectI find myself watching the news less and less these days. For a while I was pretty obsessed with the news. I think that's because I was trying to form my own action plan. I felt like I needed to know everything that was happening and I wanted to understand it from all angles so I could make good choices for myself and my family and my athletes. Now, I read and listen to enough that I feel like I know basically what's going on, but then I tune it out and retreat back to my own little world here, focusing on things I can control. I think I feel like I don't need to know every single thing that's happening because I've made the decisions I needed to make and we are taking the actions we needed to take to keep ourselves safe as well as to do our part within society. #stayhome #doingit<br />
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Currently my focus is on my athletes and trying to find ways to help them stay happy, motivated, fit etc even when there are no immediate races on the horizon. I understand the feelings and the challenges because I am still a competitive athlete myself! As athletes we need goals, right?<br />
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Here's how I'm seeing things currently. Most of my athletes were building super solid fitness because they had spring races on tap. It's possible we'll still get to race later this summer/fall, though I guess if we're honest, we don't even know that for sure. But I'd say I'm planning AS IF those races will happen, because as of right now they are on the calendar and have not been cancelled. So what's the best way to proceed when you've built up solid fitness in anticipation of racing but then races aren't coming for at least several more months? This is the question all athletes and coaches are faced with right now and there are different opinions about the best path forward. I'd say that there is no one BEST path that will work for everyone, because a lot will depend on current mindset of the athlete... <i>What drives them?</i> I'd say that the vast majority of the athletes I work with are driven by just wanting to push themselves and see how fit-strong-fast they can get. So ok. We can measure this without paying WTC a ton of money and putting a timing chip on our ankles.<br />
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I posted this on Instagram last weekend. Long story short, I'd say that I had pretty much conceded that my prime athletic days were in the rear view mirror... Training Peaks keeps track of your highest recorded power from 5" up to 90minutes... It keeps track of your fastest running paces for distances from 400M up to the marathon. It gives you this silly little gold star when it detects a new peak performance. I had pretty much conceded that my prime athletic days were in the rear view mirror, and that I'd never see another silly little Training Peaks star <sadface>. But earlier this year I went on a group ride and saw that my peak 1min power was only 1 watt off my 3rd best ever. That sparked a little something in my brain and made me wonder if I could get Training Peaks to give me a silly little star? I told my husband that I was going for it last weekend. When I was doing it I wasn't really sure if I was doing it... all my focus was going straight into my pedals so I wasn't watching my garmin... but I KNEW that effort was a really really solid one and honestly, regardless of what the numbers would have said I would have been proud of that effort. Anyway, I held my breath a bit as my garmin was uploading after the ride, and when the gold star popped up showing that ALL TIME peak power I squealed out loud and yelped to my husband <i>I did it!!!</i> It sounds sort of silly but it was one of the best feelings I've had in a while.<br />
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I went for a 5min effort that day as well and while it was my peak for 2020, it was 10w short of my all time peak. Can I get that 5min ALL TIME peak in April? I don't know but I'm going to try. I find the attempt in and of itself to be super motivating. I'm also gong to see if I can hit a top end 5" sprint power. And maybe even a short distance running one too? TBD on that we'll see how the month progresses.<br />
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So back to my athletes... I'm throwing the Gold Star Project out to them as well! I've been combing through their Training Peaks accounts the last few days, looking for errant data that is incorrect (ie when you're running on the treadmill and your garmin thinks you're breaking the world record running 3min/mile pace) and I've cleaned up a lot of that, so folks have legit peaks to shoot for. They have solid baseline fitness, so in April we're all going to try to raise our ceilings a bit. Go for those short sharp efforts and see how high we can get them! How many watts can you push for just 5 seconds? <i>Have you ever really tried that?</i> #goldstarproject<br />
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I'm hoping this attempt to collect stars will be a little bright spot for TeamBSC this next month. Its perfect timing because we're not screwing up specific race prep by embarking on this project right now. And the goal is really very personal. Its us against ourselves- not us against each other- which somehow feels super cool to me. We can cheer each other on as a team as we reach new personal bests. As a team we'll try to collect as many stars as we can, and while gold stars are coveted, silver and bronze ones count too!<br />
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Let's do this, April.Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-21512520963482839472020-03-30T17:48:00.000-10:002020-03-30T17:48:09.620-10:00Find New Ways<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I swam again today. Got up early and got to the beach ready to start around 7. There weren't many people around at all.</div>
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I'm posting a map here of my swim for several reasons. First is to let my dad feel at ease... (love you, dad!) He read my blog the other day about me swimming in the ocean alone and from Ohio was apparently envisioning a scene from JAWS where I was in the middle of the deep blue sea all alone and immediately picked up the phone to call me (in the middle of the night) to talk me down off the suicide ledge. So dad, check this out! You can see I was never really more than ~50m from shore. This is a pretty safe way to swim ocean when you're doing it alone. :)</div>
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Secondly, if you have access to ocean or lake right now, this map might give you some ideas of how to manage an open water interval swim right now. I swam ~1/2 mile down the coast line, then did a series of 7 in/outs (buoys not pictured here, but they're out there to use as targets). Then another ~1/2 mile swim along the coast to finish up. I ran a short distance along the beach between swim intervals which worked effectively to get my HR up... I got to practice running in and out of the water, navigating around buoys, etc. It's a great workout (lasted ~45min total). This will probably become a staple swim session for me in April.<br />
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I hosted another Zoom meet up for some of my athletes this morning. It's a fun way for us to connect! In a big picture sense, I think this whole change up in how we go about our daily business has been really good in some ways. From my perspective anyway, it's forced me out of my comfort zone. We're being forced to find new ways to do things, and I think its good!<br />
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It's helpful that tech companies are evolving to help us meet our needs in changing times. I think people who spend this 'stay at home' time wishing things would just go back to 'normal' are completely missing the boat. As a society right now we are evolving. It's happening fast and some people/companies are jumping on it and seizing new opportunities. <This is the direction we all must go if we want success in the future. Don't hang around and wait and hope that things get better (or just go back to the way they were). <i>Get creative and find new ways to make them better!</i> Trainer Road announced today that they're rolling out a new feature that allows small groups to ride together from their own homes. Perfect example of a company continuing to evolve to meet the ever changing needs of its customers. (And lets face it, they had to do this if they want to compete with Zwift!) WTC has plans to announce their own virtual club or platform (or whatever its going to be) to allow people to train and "race" virtually. Will it work? I don't know but obviously they had to do something because their old business model where thousands of athletes travel from all over the world to race together in person isn't an option right now. So I have no insight at all into what they're up to but I will say KUDOS to the fact that they are trying to adapt and evolve. It's the only way to survive this era.<br />
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I'm personally excited about the current evolution of TeamBSC. Like many companies, we're changing up our business model... Krista and Taryn and I have decided to go in our own directions with our coaching businesses. It's all good- a mutual decision that ultimately I think will be really beneficial for us all. They came on board originally in a sort of coaching mentorship situation, but over the years they've developed into excellent coaches in their own right. Now we have different visions about where we see things going and how we want to go about accomplishing things, so it makes sense for us each to go our own ways. I'll keep the TeamBSC brand and have plans to evolve with the times, finding new ways to create community and a team atmosphere that is hard to achieve when groups are too large. More on this to come but I've been feeling my creative juices flowing... Being solely responsible for my own success has always been highly motivating for me. :)<br />
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<br />Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-18824582794484122312020-03-29T19:41:00.001-10:002020-03-29T19:41:20.969-10:00Are All (Wannabe) Kings That Narcissistic?I rode low aerobic volume the last 3 days in a row on my trainer because I got hooked on TIGER KING and wanted to watch it. When I'm riding hard I can't focus on podcasts or shows... I blast good music ("good" might be debatable depending on your taste) but when just putting aerobic time in, Netflix is my go to. And since everyone was talking about Tiger King I figured I'd check it out. I finished it in 3 days while pedaling and yelling to my husband that HE NEEDED TO COME SEE THIS (and simultaneously telling Moana <i>sorry this isn't a show for kids</i>)...<br />
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I have some friends who live in FL and OK so I'll refrain from some comments ... and I'll try to not spoil too much with this blog (in case you haven't watched it yet and don't want to know how it ends??) but I definitely have THOUGHTS about the obvious personality disorders of the people in that documentary. As I was watching all I could think was that there are so many parallels between Joe Exotic and our current President*...<br />
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The desperate need for attention.<br />
The narcissism.<br />
The need to feel fame.<br />
The ability to truly 'charm' some people.<br />
The drive to exact revenge on people they feel 'cross' them.<br />
The willingness to burn it all down to prevent anyone else from 'winning'.<br />
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It was so clear to see how the more he got backed into a corner the more desperate and crazy he became. A few years ago I don't think I even really knew people like this existed. But they do! And its super creepy. Is it possible to help these people or not really? I'm sort of guessing no. In order for people to learn they have to first accept that they don't know everything.<br />
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I'm generally a 'live and let live' kind of person... Meaning I try to not judge if people go about things differently from how I would. I'm generally more likely to try to figure out WHY people made the choices they made because that seems more important in a big picture sense. I have no hypothesis on this one though.<br />
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Anyway. Not a triathlon related post tonight. On to another week staying at home staying sane together. :) If you've watched Tiger King though and have thoughts, I'd be super interested to hear them!Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-82570209047307915672020-03-28T17:26:00.002-10:002020-03-28T17:26:45.263-10:00Contemplating SwimmingI swam today. Technically it's been 10 days since I last swim, which is about as long as I've gone without swimming in years! I was curious so I went back in my Training Peaks account to actually look... I had to go back to August of 2017 before I could find a week where I had zero swimming recorded. Technically that week in August will remain as my most recent zero week bc TP counts Monday>Sunday so my swim today will prevent this week from technically being a zero. Funny that avoiding a zero was the motivation I needed to make myself go to the ocean today. #whateverittakes<br />
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I'd been feeling somewhat conflicted about swimming during this Stay At Home order. Legally, we are allowed to swim in the ocean. Exercise has been deemed 'essential' and swimming/surfing (as long as you're not in a group) counts. It's funny though how my brain has processed a lot of this though... While I know I am <i>allowed</i> to swim, is it really truly '<i>essential</i>'? I mean, let's be honest. It's not. I could live for a month or two without swimming. Swimming for sure falls into the 'want' vs 'need' category and logically I know this. If I didn't swim for a month or two, swimming would feel like crap when I first started back up but I'm 100% aware of how to get it back and I know I could do it in 4-6 weeks and I def considered just going that route right now vs forcing the swimming issue since pools are all closed. Now that I've done it though I'll probably keep it up a few times/week in the ocean until the pools open back up (assuming nothing changes on the legality of it).<br />
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Among my concerns...<br />
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1) Can I swim without risking potential exposure to the virus? I worked it out in my head that I could. If there aren't many people at the beach and I go by myself and swim alone, I could easily get it done without coming into contact with other people. Ocean swimming is for sure 'safer' than going to the grocery store right now, if the only concern is potential exposure to virus.<br />
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2) Where will I park? Our beach parks are all technically closed and we cannot park in the normal parking lots. I solved this one by parking in a neighborhood and trespassing a short distance through what is technically a private beach entrance.<br />
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3) Can I swim in the ocean safely by myself? My preference for sure is to swim with at least one other person when I go ocean. Right now this is weird and I struggle to reconcile it in my head. I know some people are still getting together for ocean swims but for several reasons I just don't personally feel right about doing that. Part of it, for me, is about setting the 'right' example by following the guidelines we've been giving about being physically apart from others. It's super easy to justify that meeting up with a small group of friends is safe, <i>and it probably is,</i> but I don't know. I'm just not gong to do it for a while. I don't actually know though when I'll feel better about this?? That part to me is scary for sure. I've asked myself 100x what it will take for me to feel safe being near other people who I am not currently exposed to here at home and I have not come up with any great answers. Maybe these feelings will change over time. Once I have had the vaccine injected into my body though I'm sure I'll feel fine/normal. But GAH I don't want to have fear of being too close to other people until then??? It would REALLY help my head if everyone who was contagious also had symptoms of the virus. If that was the case things would be WAY easier for me but the fact that people can be asymptomatic carriers and be passing it along without knowing it just throws me for a loop. I've considered sending a note to my Dr and asking if I can be part of a clinical trial on a vaccine. That's probably not even a possibility but this is where my head is at.<br />
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Anyway. I swam alone. The water was pretty choppy and there was a solid current but I was happy to be out there. I wouldn't say for a minute though that swimming out there by myself was "safer" than swimming with another person. Especially since there are no lifeguards on duty right now. I try not to let my mind wander too much while I'm swimming ocean, especially when I'm alone out there, but I did have some thoughts like, "What is my biggest risk at the current moment?" Man-o-war? Shark? People? Two of the three were seen in the exact area where I was swimming in the last 7 days. Is the risk of being with another person greater than the risk of being in the ocean alone? I'm not here to judge and I don't have the answers, but I guess the fact that I'll go swim again by myself in the next few days is my answer. For now anyway.<br />
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I reserve the right to wake up tomorrow and be smarter. (Mahalo to Francesca for that quote!)Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-14239948719544827572020-03-27T17:35:00.000-10:002020-03-27T17:35:19.440-10:00A Cautionary TaleA whole ton of groceries from Costco just got delivered right to my door! I ordered it all on Sunday. We ate our way through almost everything in the house over this past week, so when all this food finally showed up it felt like a giant relief. <span style="font-size: x-small;">Minus the fact that I ordered eggs but didn't get any. #firstworldproblems</span> I will say, people who don't live in Hawaii might not understand what a giant PITA it is for us to shop at Costco. Even before all this current Covid craziness, Costco shopping was a PITA. Now the lines are so bad (and have been for weeks WTF?) they're showing them on the news. Also, an employee at Hawaii Kai Costco tested positive for COVID 19 and I'd bet anything that there are more who actually have it but haven't been tested so the extra money I spent to have those delivered was worth every dollar.<br />
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Anyway. Today I just want to share a cautionary tale of sorts and hopefully you can apply this to yourself in some way. I don't know maybe everyone needs to learn lessons for themselves ... I think sometimes I have to learn the same lessons over and over before I finally get it. It has to do with running, and how to build up volume safely after taking some time off. Now might be a decent time to share it, in case any of you are currently not running very much due to lack of motivation or whatever...<br />
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I didn't run very much in Q4 of last year. Oct-Nov-Dec I ran a little here and there but my motivation was low and I just didn't feel like it and everyone was touting off season or whatever so I used that as my excuse to sit on my ass<span style="font-size: x-small;"> (actually I was riding my bike bc that sounded more appealing) </span>and justified it that it was the smart thing to do so ok whatever. But then January came and I decided that get off my lazy ass and start running again! <i>Yay running!</i> I could tell by how labored everything felt that I'd lost a bunch of fitness but the more I ran, the stronger I would feel and the less I needed to walk to catch my breath so that was motivating to keep running more.<br />
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I knew I needed some new/different goals so I decided that I was going to collect vertical. Let's see how much vertical I can run in January! That seemed like a decent goal bc when you're running that much uphill, pace becomes less of a thing to worry about. Ya so the run was slow but it also involved 1500ft elevation gain so get over it, right? So I sought out hills and ran lots of them and felt myself getting stronger each week and all was good, until it wasn't.<br />
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What goes up must come down and I suspect all that downhill running was a problem given the lack of fitness I was starting with. At the end of January, Strava tallied my total elevation gain and it was over 10,000ft for the month which I thought was super cool! But that's also 10,000+ ft of downhill. I was feeling a deep ache in/around my hip/groin area and in my gut it was a bad feeling like <i>ugh</i>. It reminded me of the way that hip area felt in 2016 when I developed a stress reaction in my femoral neck... Back then I was completely shocked when the MRI showed a reaction in my bone. But this time I knew deep down that I'd made too big of a jump in my training and it made sense to me that my bones might need some time to catch up on their remodeling processes.<br />
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I'd argue that the amount of running I did in January, even with the elevation gain/loss, is a reasonable amount to do, <i>as long as fitness was solid at the start of a block like that</i>. Coming off a couple months of pretty low volume, it was too much. Ultimately it meant that the progress I'd made, the fitness I'd gained, was pretty much all for naught because I ended up taking a lot of February off from running. Total rookie mistake which is actually embarrassing since I've been in this sport for 20+ years and absolutely should know better. I never got an MRI so I don't know for sure what the problem was, but after a few weeks with no running and a visit to a sports chiro and some help from Holli and tons of rolling and mobility work, I cautiously started running again in March. Smarter this time, running every other day, starting with short trots and gradually building back up. After a month of consistency I'm back up to 5-6 miles now and completely pain free. Yay!<br />
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I share this story now for a few reasons, but mostly as a cautionary tale to people who might not be running much right now but thinking they'll start back running once this pandemic crisis settles down. If you want to be running a solid amount this summer, you need to be running at least some right now. You don't have to run long, but keep your frequency up so you don't have to start from scratch when you're ready to train again. Because if you start from scratch and try to jump back into your old routine, <i>your brain will remember what you used to be able to do when you were fit</i> but your bones and tendons and ligaments might not! It's prudent to build back cautiously so you don't end up setting yourself back because you jumped back in too fast. Or better yet, keep running now so you don't have to treat yourself like a fragile egg this summer.Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-14727745151810148172020-03-26T17:46:00.000-10:002020-03-26T17:46:44.826-10:00The Obstacle Is The WayI saw a Strava post today that showed a young friend - who flew in from the mainland yesterday - was out running today. She was stoked that she made it back 'home' one day before the 14 day mandatory quarantine order was officially set to kick in (today). She's probably healthy and fine, but what if she isn't? What if she's one of those young healthy people who have no symptoms but she's actually a carrier and ends up passing the virus along to our local community without knowing it? Is it any of my business anyway? Arguments could go both ways on that, I think. These are the things I am contemplating these days. I definitely see a generational divide of sorts taking place. I'm hard pressed to place a ton of blame/pressure on younger people, bc if I'm honest, when I was in my 20s I very well might have conducted myself the exact same way. I view things differently now.<br />
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Being a triathlon coach right now is an interesting challenge. I'm grateful that so many of my athletes have stuck with me to weather out this storm. A few weeks ago I was ripping my hair out, modifying everyone's schedules every day as we learned about another race cancelled or postponed... Text after text would come through.. "My pool is closed." "My race is cancelled." Things seem to be a bit more settled now, because pretty much everything is closed and cancelled/postponed. The reality is that no one has a race coming up any time soon. Very few have access to a pool. Some have access to ocean, but conditions right now are complete shit with high wind advisories and man-o-war blanketing the east side of Oahu. Shoot, there was even a shark right here in Kailua last weekend, cruising just a few meters from shore. Seems like the universe is shouting STOP SWIMMING. Some will still find a way to swim, even if they have to be tethered to a step ladder to get it done.<br />
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So there are lots of obstacles right now. But here's the thing- Goals Don't Change. Timelines change, yes, but goals are goals and people who are driven will find a way to work around obstacles. In fact, for some, obstacles present unique opportunities to conquer. I have some ideas flowing that I think will help keep athletes motivated and in the game these next few months. Driven Type A competitive athletes don't just shut down because things are hard. More on this to come very soon.<br />
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Personally, I'm still training every day. Mostly riding my trainer, but I'm running too and will find a way to swim again soon too. It's funny. After Kona last fall, my drive to RACE again was really really (really) low. I do love training though, and I told myself that even if I never raced again, I'd train every day just because I like training. It's interesting that I'm being tested on that right now... but ya, even with no races in site, I train every day and still push myself and still go after goals for the fun of it. Like truly, only for the sense of personal accomplishment.<br />
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I'm currently on a bit of a bike streak. I actually went back and counted how many days this year (2020) that I had not ridden my bike. You know how many days I haven't ridden? Let's just say that I can count them on two hands. Biking is a very blue collar sport, meaning the more you do it, the better you get at it. So ya we can debate training philosophies and strategies and which session elicits the most benefit for which piece of physiology... but at the end of the day (or year), more is more when it comes to riding. Ride easy. Ride hard. Ride frequently. Ride long. Push big gears. Ride uphill. Learn to descend. Learn to draft. Practice surging. Analyze it some, yes, but not too much. Ride more. That's how you get stronger on the bike. I'm feeling it again too. The last few years I have just watched my cycling become more and more mediocre. That just ATE AT ME because I knew that I still had it in me to be a good rider. So I don't know if I'll get a chance to race this year or not, but I'll keep riding almost every day because I like the way it makes me feel and I like that I'm currently fit/strong enough to ride the way I want to ride. Ten days ago I posted this on Strava. Still stand by it.<br />
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<br />Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-76738387293358696032020-03-25T17:29:00.000-10:002020-03-25T17:29:10.003-10:00I Have THOUGHTSQuarantine makes me think about a lot of things. My brain has been running 100mph these last few weeks.<br />
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I should clarify. We're not really in "quarantine". Its more that we are adhering pretty strictly to the Shelter in Place order that has been issued by our Mayor and then our Governor. Those orders didn't change much for us when they were issued. I had made a decision for our family 3-4 days prior that we were going to limit our exposure to society for a while.<br />
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I'm going to insert a note here to just say how grateful I am that my husband is such a good man. I started reading about this virus a while back- before it was headline news every second- and I read that it attacks lung tissue and is worse for people with pre-existing conditions. That freaked me out personally pretty hard. If I'm honest I'd admit that I have a fear that if I get it, I'd be one of those people in the ICU requiring a ventilator. At first that sort of sounded ridiculous but then once the virus started spreading more and more and we started hearing about people in their 40s on life support, well, I felt less ridiculous for having my earlier fears. It's pretty easy for me to contain myself here at home. I was relieved when school was out for spring break because that meant Moana wasn't out and about potentially becoming a carrier. But then all I could think was that my husband was potentially the biggest threat to me because he was still going to work every day. Even though his office is small and he was being careful, it just didn't seem like the risk was worth it given how the virus was spreading. Once it was confirmed that there were cases of Covid 19 right here in our town, all I had to say to my husband was that I was scared and I needed him to find a way to work from home and that was it. He made it happen the next day. #grateful<br />
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So with my personal safety currently pretty well assured, I feel like I can be a fairly objective observer of the situation as a whole. In a big picture sense, this whole thing is like a real life version of Survival of the Fittest. I don't see it as a contest, necessarily, because it isn't us against each other. It's us against the virus, physically. It's us against ourselves, emotionally. People who are the most physically fit will manage to survive the virus if they get it. People who are the most emotionally/intellectually ready to adapt will survive this temporary Physical Distancing thing. Businesses that were set up with safety nets in place will survive, too. I suspect though that we'll never go back to exactly the way things were before, but that doesn't mean we'll never get back to 'good'.<br />
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In the meantime, we have a lot of adapting to do. Adapt the way we interact and connect with each other. Adapt the way we train/race. Adapt our business models. I think people who resist the change are going to have a harder time than people who can objectively see the current world for what it is and still find a way to thrive in it. For me this week it meant figuring out how to use Zoom. Spoiler alert- it was super easy. But with Zoom I could see/talk/connect with my athletes from all over. It felt good to do that. We'll keep doing that! Positive change. I suspect there will be a lot more of this kind of thing in the coming months. Adapt.<br />
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One last note for today... I can see how people who live alone would potentially have a WAY harder time with the Physical Distancing than families. And potentially, if someone in your household isn't capable of adapting very well, I can see how being cooped up with someone who in angry would be a very serious problem. I am *extremely* grateful for my family right now, and interestingly enough, I think this extensive time spent together (with no alternatives!) has been really really good for us. We talk more. We play more. We get along and genuinely enjoy each other's company. For sure that shapes my outlook on this whole situation.<br />
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Anyway, I have a lot more thoughts and intend to share them, ideally daily going forward for a while. I'll tackle some triathlon training topics tomorrow.<br />
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<br />Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-27296780753246791062019-08-08T16:41:00.000-10:002019-08-08T16:44:49.808-10:00On Being Tired vs Being Depleted...Oh hey! My computer remembered my log in and password for this blog. Woot!<br />
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Obviously I haven't written in a while, but that doesn't mean I haven't been thinking and learning and experimenting and assessing all things triathlon like I used to do. Writing out my thoughts feels more foreign now since I'm out of the habit, but maybe writing is like riding a bike? Let's see...<br />
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I feel like I'm starting to crack a code of sorts when it comes to long distance endurance performance in heat... Though sometimes FB memories come up and remind me that I've said before that I thought I had my cramping problem solved... but then it appears maybe its a moving target b/c as soon as I think that I've figured it out, I do a race and find out that actually, nope. Is this time different? I don't know. Maybe?<br />
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I've raced 2x 70.3s this year (Honu and Ohio). I thought I had a solid plan going into Honu, but it didn't work. In short, I started feeling twinges of cramping before even reaching half way on the bike (WTF??) so I soft pedaled in then thought maybe I'd be ok on the run but legs completely seized up on me (pick a muscle in either leg- it wasn't functioning) and the last 4ish miles of that run were some of the most painful hobbling I've ever done. It felt like another massive failure. Though I'll say that there was something different about that 'failure'... This time I knew 100% for sure that it was some kind of chemical imbalance in my body that was causing muscles to not function. It felt less personal, if that makes sense... Like, I 'failed' that race <i>but not because I am a failure</i>. It just became crystal clear to me that what works for other athletes (as far as fueling/hydration) doesn't work for me. I needed to figure out my own formula and nobody was going to do that for me. I knew my problem revolved more around hydration than anything else. It's not like I don't train for these things! My problem during Honu wasn't simple exhaustion from a long hard race effort. It was more like my body was depleted and that got me thinking about the difference between being <i>fatigued</i> vs being <i>depleted</i>.<br />
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I sort of lucked into a Kona spot at Honu, which in a way I was stoked about but in another way I was completely freaked out about. Like, can I keep enough fluids in my body to safely complete that distance anymore? I mean, not if I managed things the way I did at Honu. I needed a new plan for sure if I was going to attempt to double the distance in those same sweltering conditions. I felt desperate. I thought I'd taken <i>'a lot'</i> of sodium at Honu. But what is<i> 'a lot'</i>? Is 300mg a lot? 500? 1000? I needed to define some things to get to the bottom of this puzzle.<br />
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I finally caved and did a basic (remote) sweat test via a company called Levelen. For a long time I'd suspected that my sweat was pretty concentrated, but what does that even mean? It means I horrify any good bike mechanic because all my bike parts corrode quicker than most people's bike parts, to start... But having some numbers/facts/data helps put things in perspective. To make a long story short, test results showed that I lose ~1250mg/sodium per liter of sweat when I run (~850/liter on the bike- not sure why that's different concentration?) and I lose ~2.3 liters/hour when jogging easy in not crazy hot conditions. So when you do the math on that, it works out to ~2900mg sodium/hour when I'm running.<br />
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Looking at those numbers, some things seemed impossible. Like, there has to be an upper limit on the amount of fluids one can absorb each hour. I think I've trained myself over the years to absorb more than many... But not that much?? Is there an upper limit to sodium intake then? Daily recommendation is 2300mg but if I lose more than that in an hour, what's my personal limit for an 11ish hour race? What are the negative effects of taking too much sodium? I genuinely didn't know, but I started experimenting. 6000mg sodium before/during a 4 hour training ride seemed to work well and I had no ill effects from that...<br />
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I went into Ohio 70.3 with an enhanced plan to take in even more sodium and my thought was that if I 'failed' that race because I took in too much, I'd be ok with that. I won't bore you with the details of a play by play of how the race unfolded, but the gist of it is this:<br />
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I started out the first 90min or so managing things pretty much exactly like how I managed things at Honu... Skratch Hyper before the race then after an average swim effort, onto the bike drinking standard Nuun/Skratch and eating bars and Skratch chews, as many triathletes do. About 20 miles into that ride I felt the same twinge of a cramp in my adductor that I did at Honu and the frustration started to mount. AGAIN??? But this time I had some options where I could experiment... A bottle of "The Right Stuff" on my bike (1780mg sodium) saved my ride. I started drinking that and within ~10 miles I had full function of my legs again and was able to push the way I wanted to push. So I finished that ride way stronger than I finished the Honu ride.<br />
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Another change I made was to take Gatorade at the aid stations vs water. I think many of us have been taught that Gatorade is the devil and to avoid it at all costs... at Honu I avoided Gatorade and took water instead, but once I found out the concentration of my sweat I decided that Gatorade- while maybe not perfect- is a better solution for me than plain water. In the end I calculated sodium intake on the bike to be ~3000mg. And while I felt some normal fatigue getting off that bike, I didn't feel like I was depleted.<br />
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In T2 I'd placed a little cooler for myself with another bottle of The Right Stuff. I sipped on that over the first mile or so and legs seemed to be working reasonably well for the first 5 miles or so. I was stoked! Then around mile 6 I started feeling those familiar twinges again... Let's try more sodium to see if that was my answer? I had another ~2000mg sodium in my pockets in the form of Liquid IV powder in a flask (500mg) and then 2x Precision Hydration tabs (750mg each). I started with the Liquid IV flask- next aid station I added water to my flask which made a pretty concentrated solution, but I was also taking water with it so I sipped on that solution while drinking water and that seemed to bring my legs back around for a few miles. Then more twinges so ok lets try these Precision Hydration tabs... They say <i>nothing new on race day</i> but I knew if I did the same thing as I'd always done I'd be crawling to the finish line so I was willing to risk trying something new. Anyone ever chewed a Precision Hydration tab? Pro tip- only attempt that in small bites and only at an aid station where you can wash it down with water. Those things are effervescent and they burn your mouth if you just try to eat them. But, they're a lightweight way to carry concentrated sodium source so I'm all about those tabs now.<br />
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Anyway, I found it interesting how those seemed to be helping my muscles function... but only very temporarily. But really, if I do the math on it, if I'm losing 2900mg sodium/ hour and these 70.3 runs are taking me 2ish hours, I'm losing in the neighborhood of 5800 mg total<i> just during the run</i>... so even if I was fully topped off to start, the 3500ish mg that I took in during the run (which seemed like A LOT) still wasn't quite enough. I felt it too in the last 2 miles legs were <i>going going gone</i> and it got ugly there toward the end... but I made it further than I did at Honu for sure and felt stoked like I'm on the right path here solving my problem. I know people say that hydration and electrolyte losses aren't the cause of cramping, but my experiences prove to me that at least in my personal case, there is absolutely a correlation. And now that I have some concrete numbers to work with, I can keep experimenting over the next few months and see if I can't figure out a plan that might work to allow me to finish Kona without crawling. #goals<br />
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Anyway, I've started trying to trouble shoot with a few of my athletes who seem to have similar cramping problems, and the increased sodium on their key days seems to be helping them. We look at it in terms of<i> fatigue vs depletion</i>... when you're tired, is it because fitness isn't high enough to support your current effort? (Fatigue) Or is it because you haven't given your body the hydration/fuel/electrolytes to keep it functioning at its best? (Depletion). I feel like for the longest time I blamed all my cramping problems on fitness... so the solution was TRAIN MORE! But I'm rethinking that now and trying my best to avoid depletion as much as I can (which for some of us who live and train in high heat scenarios year round is way harder than we wish it was!)<br />
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This is the face of an athlete who feels like she's finally managed to start to solve a very frustrating puzzle...<br />
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Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-79208479946050211562018-08-15T13:32:00.000-10:002018-08-15T13:32:51.744-10:00A Long Summary of the Summer...<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve fallen off the wagon when it comes to writing race reports. I still believe they’re super valuable, and going back to read your immediate full and honest thoughts about how a race went down can provide valuable insight into how to do things better next time… What did you do well? What would you change if you could go back and do it again? Those are my two favorite questions… So I suppose I’ll take some time to answer those questions here for myself, and I might even publish this if it seems like others could gain some insight from it as well. I can be pretty introspective and honest with myself when I want to be, and that’s probably the best way to approach writing down your thoughts, if your goal is to learn from your own experiences.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I never wrote about Honu. I take that back- I did write about Honu but just for myself and I didn’t publish it. Mostly b/c it was so negative and I don’t like to come across as Negative Nelly. But the reality was that that race was one of the most disappointing race experiences I’ve ever had- but that’s just about me personally. My athletes had done so well there… It was a balancing act for sure in trying to manage how to feel so genuinely happy for them(!) while at the same time processing my own experience. 2 months later I’m more at peace with the whole thing. When I found out that my front brake had been rubbing on the bike, all of a sudden things became more clear to me and at least I had an understanding of what the problem was. Until I saw my brake touching the rim of my front wheel (after the race was all said and done), I simply could not reconcile the slowest ever bike split with how great and strong I felt while I was riding. I mean, I’ve been at this for a very long time and I know what it feels like to feel awesome and strong while riding a bike! It was such a mindfuck though to feel like I did that day but then end up with a split that was solidly 10min slower than I would have expected based on how I felt… I completely let that split get to my head (convincing myself that even on my very best day I’m just “slow” now- “slow” is relative, I know). I consequently completely gave up on myself out there on that run which is 100% my own fault and I hate that I responded that way, but that’s how I responded and it sucked and I don’t want to do that to myself again. This sport is supposed to be fun but spending 2+ hours mentally beating yourself up about how much you suck has a way of robbing you of a lot of joy. Just saying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So about Honu… What did I do well? I did a lot of things well! I trained/prepped really well. I figured out a hydration/fueling formula that works for me (no cramping!!). Both of those things are huge wins! What would I change if I could go back and do it again? I’d double check my brakes. :) I’d like to say I’d figure out a way to stay positive during the run after feeling like I “failed” on the bike, but I’m not sure I know exactly how I’d go about doing that. That’s not an easy thing for me, though I do think that continued meditation practice might help with it. I’ve been using that ‘Headspace’ app and I really like it and I think it’s helping me get my head right and I think if there’s something that I should prioritize in the next year, it’s that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyway, I made some changes after that race experience- mostly just trying to take some of the pressure off… It’s 100% just pressure I put on myself- my own expectations- maybe they’re too high? Unrealistic? I don’t know. But putting pressure on yourself to do well but then not living up to your own expectations is hard and my response was essentially to lower my expectations. Was that the best response? I don’t know. But its the route I took. I’ve actually taken that route a lot in my life… I can think of several examples in different areas of my life where my response to a repeatedly disappointing situation has been to simply lower my expectations. It works to some degree b/c when your expectations are low, you tend to end up feeling less disappointed… You’re easier to please. Friend or family member constantly disappointing you? Lower your expectations of them. Then you just end up feeling pleasantly surprised if they do anything at all that is nice or whatever. That’s just one example. And like I said, I don’t know if its the “right" route to take but I do know that having super high expectations of myself and everyone around me has very often set me up for big disappointment. When I instead just go with the flow and let things play out as they do, I tend to feel happier overall.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moving on! So I went to Ohio to race the 70.3 and then figured I’d stay for Age Group Nationals which happened to also be in Cleveland. With the races being 2 weeks apart, and having athletes I work with at both races, and having my parents living right there, it sort of seemed like a no brainer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Ohio 70.3 race was ok. I didn’t have huge expectations of myself going into it, but my training had shown glimpses of good form so the door was open in my mind that I might put together a decent race. And I guess I’d call it decent. It wasn’t my best day but it also wasn’t my worst so… Ok. <i>What did I do well?</i> I didn’t mentally give up on myself, even when I physically didn’t exactly feel good (this is a big win!). And I repeated my fueling/hydration plan from Honu and confirmed to myself that my cramping situation is possible to control (again- no cramps!). I’ve shared in private with some people what I’ve done to fix things for myself, and I can’t say that what I'm doing is the thing that would work for everyone b/c I think we are all different... But for me, cramp prevention is apparently about loading with magnesium and potassium all the time, and then sodium loading immediately prior to the race. I have to be in the right physiological state at the start line (prioritizing hydration and electrolytes) b/c if I’m not there at the start, digging myself out of the hole has proven to be, well, impossible. I almost never drink plain water anymore (when training/racing anyway). My sweat rate is ridiculously high (I’ve calculated that I regularly lose 5lbs/hour in Hawaii, which is a huge challenge to manage when I’m going long), so this is still an area of focus for me, but at least I'm starting to really understand my own physiology here and understanding the root causes of issues is always the first step to fixing/managing them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What would I change if I could go back and do that one again? I’d have gone into the swim with a more aggressive mindset. I took my swim for granted at that race and just sort of swam in la la land and didn’t feel like I was RACING and that’s disappointing to look back on. Other than that, I sort of feel like I did the best I could with what I had that day. There were some things about the race that were super frustrating but out of my control, so I can’t really put those things into the category of ‘what would I change if I could go back and do it again?’… but I feel its worth a mention to note that <b>drafters suck</b>. I saw so much intentional drafting out there that day… WAY worse than last year and I’d say that had to do with the self-seeded rolling start. Last year with age group waves, ability levels were spread out all over the course… that makes things challenging in a way b/c there ends up being so much passing and being passed going on throughout the race and at times that can be unsafe. I had high hopes that a self seeded rolling start would be way better, but the way it actually played out was that it put people of fairly like ability all together on the bike course, which provided ample opportunity for people to draft and it was disappointing to see how many athletes (and top ones at that) opted to go that route. There was enough space on the road to ride legally, but many chose to not ride legally. I heard some athletes after the race talk about how they just ‘got caught up in a pack’ and I was like NO YOU DO NOT JUST GET CAUGHT UP IN A PACK. The way it works, per the rules, is that when someone passes you, its your responsibility to ease up and let the gap form so you are not in the draft zone. If you continue to push your race power after you’ve been passed and then you’re in the draft zone behind the rider in front of you, THAT IS CHEATING. Is it frustrating to have to sit up and slow down to get out of a draft zone? You bet. Is there another option? I mean, I guess the option would be train more and get stronger so you don’t get passed as much.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My bike split was ~6min slower this year vs last year and I’d attribute a lot of that to the amount of times I eased up not the gas so I would not be in the draft zone of someone who’d passed me. Last year I never really had to do that b/c my AG wave started in the back so it was me doing most of the passing vs being the one getting passed. That race dynamic made a bigger difference than I’d anticipated. Last word on this though- I just have to say it- watching the ‘leaders’ of our sport blatantly choosing to cheat/draft was flat out disheartening. I called it out some when I saw it b/c I feel like since the race officials weren’t being strict about it, maybe some peer pressure would work? I did impact a young gal (24yo, AWA athlete) who I'd watched cheat for probably 10 miles- I’d passed her around mile 5 then she came and passed me back around mile 25, sitting on the wheel of 2 guys… I sat back and watched long enough to see how blatant she was being about it… At one point she slowed to grab a bottle at an aid station and I could not help myself as I rode back by… I just said DRAFTING IS CHEATING. Interestingly, she pulled back up next to me and told me that I was right and that she would try to do a better job leaving space between herself and riders ahead of her. So maybe I made an impact on one person. Others though, including some top women whose names I know (and I used to have respect for) rode by in groups with no shame. I just want those athletes to know that WE SEE YOU. Respect level plummets for those athletes, and if they’re wearing a recognizable team kit, I have to say, I lose respect for the company/team they ride for as well. I don’t really know how to solve the drafting problem in triathlon… Race officials seem to do a piss poor job of it. Race directors finding ways spreading athletes out on the course is for sure part of the solution. But the bulk of it might really come from peer pressure. Anyone with any self respect (I’d think!) would want others to respect them as well so maybe if as a community we continue to be vocal about this issue and let athletes know that WE HAVE NO RESPECT FOR YOU WHEN WE SEE YOU CHEATING, <i>AND WE SEE YOU</i> might be the best route here? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t know. Maybe I need to go back and lower my expectations of people so I’m less disappointed in what I see on these race courses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A final note about that 70.3 in Ohio- the weekend was FUN! I genuinely enjoyed it, mostly b/c I got to hang out with 3 of my athletes (Tia, Jen, Brian) and they are all just really cool and I found myself laughing a ton… and they all raced really well and the vibe with them was just good. Being a part of the Coeur team makes these races really fun too. I mean, essentially I went to that race alone but had so many friends and teammates on the course that I never felt alone, and it was just really great all around. Delaware is a great little town to host a race like that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So that brings us to Age Group Nationals! (I guess I could separate these out into multiple blog posts but I doubt I’ll do that)… I think I did an AG Nationals race way back in like 1996 in California, but back then it was way less of big deal and not nearly as competitive. I mean, it was technically “Nationals” but in every respect it was just a regular Olympic Distance race. So I’d consider this to be my first ‘real’ AG Nationals experience. And it was an experience!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My thoughts in summary:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~Racing in a city- like the downtown area of a city- is not at all my favorite. I guess I'm just old school when it comes to stuff like this, but I think of a race like Muncie, that's out in the middle of nowhere, and <i>that</i>, to me, feels like <i>triathlon</i>. Just a group of crazy people who find a quiet spot with a decent lake to swim bike and run and see how fast they can do it... perfect! In a city, on the other hand, you're driving around in circles lost while Siri constantly redirects you but you can't turn there b/c of the one way street and then you finally get near your destination but can't find a place to park then you finally do but oh wait that'll be $9. It was definitely confirmed for me last weekend that I am a Country Mouse and if I have to pay $9 to park my car somewhere, I'm out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~Also, <i>no thanks</i> to bike courses that go through construction areas.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~I was extremely impressed with the caliber of athletes competing in Cleveland. I mean, it's Nationals, so duh, of course there will be fast athletes there but whoa the depth of the field was impressive. It wasn't just a few athletes who were really fast, it was A LOT of athletes who were really fast. My superpower has never been about being fast, so I def got my ass kicked at that race, but in general I'd say it was good to see how many very fast athletes were are out there. And in every age group! I feel like for sure the general trend is that you have to just be ridiculously strong and fast these days to be near the top of your AG at any big race. It's clear that athletes and coaches are figuring out the best way to train and prepare and fuel and hydrate and execute and power meters and smart trainers are very likely helping in this regard. I'm totally going to age myself here but lets just say that back in the 90s we were all just winging it and we made a lot more mistakes than the athletes are making now. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Knowledge is power!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~When they canceled the swim at the last minute for the sprint race on Sunday, I immediately lost interest in racing. I suspect there were a few people who judged me for that decision to just turn in my chip, but whatever. I've done races before where the swim was canceled last minute and we ran first instead of swimming and I just didn't enjoy it at all. I'm too old to do things I don't enjoy. I enjoy triathlons! If I enjoyed duathlons, I'd enter them! I feel like runners who don't like swimming should enter more duathlons vs enter triathlons hoping that the swim will just be canceled. I made a joke on Twitter to that effect...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">~The main reason I even went to Nationals was b/c I get to work with Carly and she is an amazing athlete who is not only physically talented but has the work ethic and drive to back up her talent... Getting to play a part in her successes has been amazing for me. So my weekend there was really about her. She raced really well in Cleveland and landed herself 3rd on Saturday in the Olympic Distance race and then backed it up with a 2nd place in the sprint duathlon the next day. Since I opted to not race on Sunday I was able to stand on the run course and yell out splits at her which is super fun, especially when you get to bark out stuff like "YOU'RE 3RD... 20" BEHIND FIRST... EVERY SECOND COUNTS STAY ON THE GAS!" And then later, "YOU'RE SECOND! KEEP IT UP!"</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I think back on all my racing this year, if I'm honest, the coaching part has been more enjoyable for me than the racing part. I keep saying that I'm nearing the end of my time as a triathlete... but then I go and enter more races so who knows if I'll ever really stop being a triathlete. But one thing I know for sure... I have no plans to stop coaching. Working with athletes and helping them get the most of of themselves is pure joy for me!</span></div>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-56240356368486363692018-03-20T18:03:00.001-10:002018-03-20T18:03:42.888-10:00BatCamp!<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BatCamp was fun this year! I mean, it’s always fun but I don’t always get to go, so for me, it was a treat to get to go. Krista has been running this camp in Scottsdale yearly since 2012 and I’ve gone a handful of times. This year Taryn went too so we had 3 coaches which was great b/c we could have more support for the 16 athletes who ended up being able to attend. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We didn’t advertise the camp outside of our team b/c in all honesty, that’s a big enough group to try to manage. I’d way rather spend my time and energy working with and getting to know my own athletes vs trying to run a camp for a bunch of athletes who we do not know just trying to make money. We don’t charge a lot for our camp and that’s by design. Our goal with it is not to make money- it’s to have an opportunity to train together and get to know each other better so we can be more effective coaches going forward. Plus, it’s a great way to foster community within the team! So, we pretty much just cover our costs and call it good, which is kind of how I feel like it should be. I don’t understand spending $1000+ camp fee to train for 4-5 days. <a href="https://www.kotwf-events.com/" target="_blank">(Or $11,000 what??) </a>Triathlon is already expensive enough, you know?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As a coach, one of my goals for camp is that everyone leaves feeling like they are stronger and more capable than they thought they were coming in. So. We push some boundaries. When we are there and watching/guiding in person, we get to learn a lot about our athletes... How do they respond in the face of adversity? What kind of support do they want/need from us? Some need a lot. Others don’t need much at all (just the time and opportunity to train as much as they can is all that’s needed for some)… So we try to provide what each athlete needs. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think we did a decent job of balancing getting as much endurance work done as we could while also teaching some necessary skills to those who are newer and haven’t learned yet… Some athletes learned to break down/pack and build their bikes, where to focus your weight when you’re descending a hill on your bike, how much food is actually necessary to support big training loads like that, etc. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got to give a couple of 1:1 swim lessons and those are always valuable as well. Others were really just there b/c they’re training for an upcoming ironman and they wanted to get off their trainers for a long weekend. So. We tried to balance all that. One thing I’ve already decided I’d do differently next time would be to give a basic tutorial about circle swimming etiquette. It just sort of slipped my mind that most of these athletes do their swim training alone and never really do circle swimming with 3-4 in their lane all doing the same session… so circle swimming etiquette is new to some! I should have taught that and I’m sorry I didn’t before our big group swim! #duh Next time I’ll be better! That’s another great thing about these camps. The athletes aren’t the only ones who come away with valuable lessons about how to be better. The coaches do too!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIj5lW6uegATjVTKzedp5z9OoR6eBzuSUNfqvuLY19FCPZxuUzPsivJXAWIaPFZnr9EA0t28A2lhc-tK088Tr338Tnw1ZhoF7ggMRR6GLBRFZy8NKRBH0Popa3hj9stPo7RZQ6Pvp2eDo/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-03-20+at+5.37.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="824" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIj5lW6uegATjVTKzedp5z9OoR6eBzuSUNfqvuLY19FCPZxuUzPsivJXAWIaPFZnr9EA0t28A2lhc-tK088Tr338Tnw1ZhoF7ggMRR6GLBRFZy8NKRBH0Popa3hj9stPo7RZQ6Pvp2eDo/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-03-20+at+5.37.14+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So we were based out of Scottsdale and wow I just have to say, the riding there is really pretty great. I used to live in Scottsdale so I was familiar with most of the roads we were on so a lot of it was pretty nostalgic for me (so fun!). And while we have some pretty nice ocean views where we ride in Hawaii, the actual roads we ride there are crap… and super busy with cars/traffic. So to be on these perfectly paved roads with wide bike lanes with long/gradual hills everywhere was a serious treat for me personally. We did go to Tucson on Sunday to ride Mt Lemmon, which (imo) is the best ride in Tucson… Over the years I’ve ridden Madeira Canyon and Kitts Peak and Gates Pass and all that and while I guess that could be good riding, the road surfaces are crap in so many places. I feel like given the choice, I don’t totally understand why there are so many camps based out of Tucson vs Scottsdale? It’s a no brainer for me where I’d rather ride!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weather was pretty good for us. Personally I spent a lot of time shivering and shaking b/c 50 degrees is not something I’m used to at all anymore. I’ve definitely become more of a weather wimp after living in Hawaii for 13+ years. For the most part this past weekend, I stayed dressed with vests and arm warmers and tried to not speak when I had nothing nice to say... and for the most part I was ok. Mt Lemmon required a special kind of head space b/c it was really quite cold and raining off and on and even snowing at the top (so I’m not exaggerating this time when I use the word ‘freezing’). </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWahe_8bDLZY0PpIOQrX9AxqeF41Ea0lXe1D1Ssd_yOwQubIutpYOLm-KW8ytMPlDl3eWrXY1v_sJTpb-Oh8BIJYsLnN9sjIUlVZn9BJ6BgJGFNEif5jv6rHf9FsfWJNMNxI2TvhH-Jm0/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-03-20+at+5.46.08+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="824" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWahe_8bDLZY0PpIOQrX9AxqeF41Ea0lXe1D1Ssd_yOwQubIutpYOLm-KW8ytMPlDl3eWrXY1v_sJTpb-Oh8BIJYsLnN9sjIUlVZn9BJ6BgJGFNEif5jv6rHf9FsfWJNMNxI2TvhH-Jm0/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-03-20+at+5.46.08+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That day was hard for me personally b/c while I wasn’t afraid of the climb nor the descent, I was afraid of 30 degrees. And I wasn’t comfortable taking a big group of athletes, whom I love, up that mountain and then sending them down a 20 mile descent in that weather. So my stress level was HIGH that morning. We had been watching the weather forecasts and had an idea of what it might be like near the top but we decided to try to get there and we left the decision to our sag drivers to make the call about whether or not it was reasonable. Krista’s husband and friends drove up past Windy Point and decided that it would be irresponsible to send riders up any further than ~6600ft that day. So while it was a huge bummer to most of out first timers to not get to the top, on that day, it was the right call. That kind of day is emotionally expensive for a coach. I mean, we are BatShitCrazy, yes, but we are not irresponsible. Instead, we turned back to the base and then some people went back up another 6-7 miles while others (like me) did 4-5x 10min repeats up and down at the bottom. The whole time I was doing that last part I had that Dave Matthews song in my head ‘Best of What’s Around’… So it was not an ideal situation but we made the best of what was around and did what we could to at least get a good training benefit out of the day. #adapt</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVVf7lErX3zfKayYTHFwLc13Qa8fe9JY_Bbrk3JksEZ9L2BOAbpeodGX8EHpsw9_UMn92UriPhgQCh5aRo9TfeyylvsZvrTQ43IjIYRIgUzs2gJEOlY1xGXzPe2GCbY6lcy6SykqsSEk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-03-20+at+5.34.56+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="616" data-original-width="825" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMVVf7lErX3zfKayYTHFwLc13Qa8fe9JY_Bbrk3JksEZ9L2BOAbpeodGX8EHpsw9_UMn92UriPhgQCh5aRo9TfeyylvsZvrTQ43IjIYRIgUzs2gJEOlY1xGXzPe2GCbY6lcy6SykqsSEk/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-03-20+at+5.34.56+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As coaches, running a big camp is one of the most demanding weeks of the year. Maybe if we cared less or didn’t try as hard to make everything perfect, it wouldn’t be so hard, but we do care and we do try. And I think this is what makes us good. Attempting to keep 16 athletes happy when they’re hungry and tired isn’t easy. But we reminded everyone to EAT all the time (some listened, some didn’t, and all learned valuable lessons about this!) We had a bunch of Honey Stinger fuel and Base bars and NBS Hydration/Recovery for everyone so that was clutch b/c no one was ever without access to fuel and hydration. Every day via sag we lugged around a 5 gallon tank of NBS Hydration and riders filled up at every opportunity. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even with that, I found it surprisingly challenging to stay truly hydrated in such a dry environment. I could write a whole blog post on this, and maybe one day I will, though I still have to sort through some more of my own thoughts and theories before I’ll do so. While lots of people are concerned with how to go from a dry environment into a humid environment and still perform their best (ie how to perform in Kona), there isn’t much info about going the other direction (when you’re adapted to humidity and your body is great at cooling but then you go the the desert and shed all your body water on day 1 and then try to play catch up the rest of the time)… This is a topic that I currently find myself obsessed with so maybe keep an eye on this space if I get it together to write out my thoughts about how one might handle that transition. For me, its harder than it seems like it should be. Still working on this! #lifelonglearner</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As depleted as I feel at the moment (physically and emotionally), I also feel incredibly proud. This morning I woke up to a Facebook message from an old friend of mine who had seen a bunch of pictures and posts about what we were doing all weekend… She reminded me that I started coaching from scratch 9+ years ago and to see the team/community that we have created is really pretty incredible. I’m pretty proud of it all. That’s actually a complete understatement. I’m exceptionally proud of the coach that Krista has become and the coach that Taryn is becoming. The three of us make a great team and we work together really well. And with that dynamic, we are better for our athletes. It was super cool for me to get to know some of Krista’s athletes, and for her to get to know mine, and for all of them to get to know each other. So going forward, our whole community will be stronger. Of all the benefits of a team training camp, to me, this is one of the biggest ones. So even though at the moment I’m incapable of speaking above a whisper (my vocal cords are fried - no one has ever accused me of not talking enough), I’m super satisfied with what we all achieved this weekend.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#yourestrongerthanyouthink</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#yesyoucan</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#theresnocryingintriathlon</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#oksometimeswecry</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#andyetshepersisted</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#butdidyoudie</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#wesignedawaiversso</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">#bringit </span></div>
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Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-75078300308233564142018-02-10T15:47:00.000-10:002018-02-10T15:47:19.983-10:00I Don't Want To Be AfraidI admit that in the last 2 weeks I've had some fears about riding my bike outside. I don't want to be afraid, but when you see your friend in the hospital all broken, its hard not to be.<br />
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There's risk in just about everything we do. Sure, some activities incur more risk than others, but if we had to lead risk-free lives, none of us would ever leave our homes. And even that, in itself, is a certain type of risk.<br />
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I knew Nikki wanted to go ride Tantalus again. She told me how she didn't want to be afraid. I don't want to be afraid either. So ok. We face our fear and conquer it together? We planned to ride Tantalus together this morning.<br />
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I didn't sleep well last night. I tossed and turned and couldn't help but wonder if I was being an idiot? Those drift car guys commented a lot, <i>Why would you ride your bike on a road where you know people drift?</i> Maybe a valid question? In fairness, I rode that mountain for 13 years and didn't know that anyone drifted there. BUT. Now I know. So is it dumb to go back and ride my bike there? Or is it necessary? It's legal to ride a bike there. But is it safe? Is it smart? Is it ok? I mean, surely on a Saturday morning it would be ok?<br />
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I wanted to exercise my right to ride my bike on Tantalus. It's a beautiful mountain! It's a challenging climb! It's the type of ride cyclists live for. And yet. I got up feeling nauseous and sick and there was this little part of me that feared that I might not come home today. I hated that feeling, so I squashed it as quickly as I could and went about my business.<br />
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And guess what? It was a beautiful morning. Nikki and I climbed and talked and waved Aloha at every other cyclist we saw (and we saw a lot!). We saw people running and residents out walking their dogs. It felt like a state park. There were hardly any cars, and the ones we did see seemed to go out of their way to be nice. At one point, a police car passed us. We waved really enthusiastically at him and gave him a thumbs up as if to say MAHALO, MR OFFICER! He waved back at us. Seeing that patrol car driving around the mountain went a long way toward making us feel safe. I got home and <a href="http://www.honolulupd.org/contact/index.php?page=contact" target="_blank">sent a thank you note to HPD</a> to hopefully encourage them to keep up the good work. If they continue to have a strong presence up there enforcing the law, that mountain will be safer for all of us to use and enjoy.<br />
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This morning, I felt safe. And I remembered why I love riding my bike outside.<br />
#outsideisfree<br />
#takebackthemountain<br />
#mahaloHPDMichelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-42639606903570556212018-01-30T21:57:00.000-10:002018-01-31T09:27:23.945-10:00This Needs To Be ExposedI rode my bike on my trainer in my garage today. There are a lot of good/valid reasons to choose a trainer over the road. If you're short on time and just need to get a quality session done; If the weather outside is crap; If the session is quite specific and roads don't lend themselves to doing what you want/need to do; etc. Today, I'm conflicted to admit, I stayed inside because I was afraid to ride outside.<br />
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I hate that.<br />
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This blog isn't about recounting what happened to Lectie last week. But knowing that my friend is in the hospital having multiple surgeries to hopefully repair her legs after she was hit head on by some dumbass reckless drivers is the kind of thing that makes a cyclist think twice about the risk they take when riding outside on the road.<br />
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I've been a bit of a distracted mess these past few days. Trying to wrap my head around what happened, why it happened, what we can do to possibly prevent something like this from happening again? All that has led me down some rabbit holes as I try to learn about the drift racing culture in Hawaii. They're all over Instagram so what I've learned isn't anything that isn't out there publicly already... if you take time to look. It's shocking and scary and makes you scratch your head.<br />
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So long story short, these guys take pride in building up their cars to go fast and slide. That's about the extent I understand car racing. It's not my gig. But from reading their posts and comments, they're super into it and they take pride in having the best/fastest cars with whatever parts they need to make the car slide sideways or whatever. Apparently it's a thrilling feeling to be sliding around on mountain road switchbacks, and the best road for that on Oahu is, of course, Tantalus. <br />
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Wanna see what they do? <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BHC5PGJjRbw/?tagged=hidriftlife" target="_blank">Watch this video</a>. It was something like this that took Lectie out last week. Absolutely tragic.<br />
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I've read through tons of IG posts and comments trying to get an understanding of where these guys are coming from... thinking that if we understood what was important to them, maybe that's how we could come up with a solution to stop it. What I've learned is that its going to be really tough to actually stop these guys. This comment made today on Facebook from a woman who lives up on Tantalus.<br />
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These comments made the day after Lectie was hit... <span style="color: magenta;">Ha ha! Ya. Go tonight! What a great idea.</span><br />
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Seems they don't exactly like cyclists.<br />
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What's interesting to me is that they really do assume that 'everyone knows' that Tantalus is the road for drifting. And I'm sitting here thinking <i>how did I not know?</i> I've been riding my bike on that road for 13 years and I've never seen them up there? So while I guess maybe everyone in their community knows, not everyone actually knows.<i> And even if they did, that doesn't make it ok for them to turn that road into a life threatening place at their whim</i>.</div>
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They're not remorseful. They seem to think its funny?<br />
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The fact that it's illegal for them to drift is not a deterrent. It's part of the thrill.</div>
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Of course the first thing a normal citizen would think is Where are the police?? Get the police up there to patrol the area that will stop the problem. Or. maybe not.<br />
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Or maybe they do sometimes get stopped by a cop. But nothing happens. 2nd time this week you got stopped? No worries. Cop probably slides too thats why.... I know this one is tough to read, but its an IG post where the guy brags about how the cop saw him sliding and let him off.<br />
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So what to do about this problem? Cops won't stop it. Killing someone won't stop it. The only way to stop it would be to make that road less appealing to them by installing speed bumps or centerline barriers or something along the sort. That's all I can think of anyway.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCXyCQ8pv_xRo6dC-kIOcCCmc_9InFbH0eDkww_TFI3sA1IKYJ_o25b_IGLn2qOMKrx314P3OXuhZXFnvyOuqNKRtphb0dZLmJCq6_RoqxkojkMuvIc3U_GlvCUUPyRSyAcUeb8Xf6dE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-01-30+at+9.05.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="574" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWCXyCQ8pv_xRo6dC-kIOcCCmc_9InFbH0eDkww_TFI3sA1IKYJ_o25b_IGLn2qOMKrx314P3OXuhZXFnvyOuqNKRtphb0dZLmJCq6_RoqxkojkMuvIc3U_GlvCUUPyRSyAcUeb8Xf6dE/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-01-30+at+9.05.41+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Even if we manage to make Tantalus unappealing to them, they'll likely just go look for somewhere else to wreak havoc. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0nQW-5Ytbg&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Here's a video one of them made</a>. He's clearly super proud of their activities. This was from less than a month ago... on the most major highway in the state. Why these guys are still on the road in a civil society is beyond me.<br />
<br />Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-33284737827341960742017-11-29T16:04:00.000-10:002017-11-29T16:04:08.974-10:00#17<span style="font-family: HelveticaNeue;">It occurred to me to not even write up anything about this race… My initial inclination was to maybe just pretend it didn’t happen. Ironman Cozumel? Oh ya it’s a good race. Yep, did that one. Moving on. But my flight to Honolulu is 7.5 hours so what else am I going to do? Might as well type it up and share. </span><br />
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Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a student of the sport. I experiment. I trouble shoot. I try. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t and most of the time there are lessons to be learned if we pay attention and reflect. I can’t say I know the lesson of this one but maybe if I dissect it enough I’ll figure something out? Plus, I think it’s important to acknowledge our ‘failures’. Part of me definitely wants to call this race a failure. But there were a ton of good things too. And that’s just part of sport.</div>
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So the short story is that I trained diligently and in a way that I thought was good. My prep felt solid enough that I had some quiet confidence that I could finally have my day at an ironman. It’s a bit of a minor miracle to show up at the start line of an Ironman fully trained and rested and healthy and in a good head space. But I did that! Standing on the dock getting ready to jump in the water to start, I felt as good as one could hope to feel and I had no reason to believe that I wasn’t going to have my day. And yet, I didn’t have my day.</div>
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The swim at Cozumel is in some of the nicest water anywhere in the world. I think even triathletes who have a bit of fear of the ocean could find themselves feeling comfortable in that water. Mostly b/c the visibility is so good. I mean, it’s crystal clear! I think about swims in gross brown reservoirs… Like Vegas, Arizona, Muncie, Ohio… No wonder people don’t like swimming in that kind of open water. You can’t even see your hand pass in front of your face while you pull. But when water is clear and you can see absolutely everything around you, it just feels like there’s no reason to panic. Maybe that’s just me, but I absolutely love ocean swimming in warm clear salt water.</div>
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I stood on the dock with the sub 1 hour group. Only like 3 women seeded themselves in this group, but (spoiler alert!) turns out pretty much everyone who entered the race should have done so on that day. Within about a minute of the start of the AG race, I was in the water and swimming. There was no chance to warm up but it was fine… I didn’t feel awesome for the first few minutes, but it didn’t take too long until I felt like I got into my groove and right away I noted that I felt great. I way prefer swimming in my Roka speed suit vs a wetsuit, and I like not being stuck behind 1000+ struggling men that I need to try to swim around with my head up. Instead there were maybe 40 mean ahead of me and they were all strong enough swimmers and spread out enough that I had all the space I wanted to just do my thing. I was never drafting, though I would have drafted had I found a good group to swim with. Instead it felt like I was just little by little catching and passing some of the men who started ahead of me. I saw one guy pass me and I tried to get on his feet but he was moving solidly faster than I was so I couldn’t go with him. Regardless, throughout the swim I felt happy and strong and I just swam and all of a sudden we were at the finish dock. I climbed up the steps and while I missed the split on my garmin, I saw 1:07 on the race clock. I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. Was that the start of the pro men’s race? I sort of assumed that it was 10min fast so I thought I swam ~57min which seemed about right and I thought good start… Then I glanced at my watch which was showing time of day and it said 8:16 which was confusing to me. I often have a hard time doing math during an Ironman but I was fairly certain that I’d started right around 7:30 so it couldn’t just be 8:16 b/c that’s only 46min. That couldn’t be right? Could it? If it was, shit. #advantagerunner No swimmer wants a short fast swim in an Ironman. It’s so common these days though. I didn’t let it irritate me, which was a small win for the day. Moving on.</div>
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The T1 tent was empty save for the volunteers and one other woman. T1 was uneventful and within a few minutes I was starting to eat my snickers bar and running out to get my bike. A spectator told me I was 2nd female onto the bike and I just thought PERFECT and I got on my bike and started riding. Just like the swim, the first few minutes I didn’t feel awesome but I figured I just needed to settle into my groove and I’d come around and start feeling good. Sure enough, within a few minutes I was in my aero bars and pedaling right at my race watts. My goal for the race was to pedal at a steady effort with a quiet brain and eat/drink enough to support the marathon afterward. Coach set a goal of 167w which based on my training seemed like it would be 100% reasonable to hold. I wasn’t watching watts like a hawk but I was checking in and most of the time I was seeing current power in the 160s so it was just like <i>check</i>. Keep doing this. Eat. Drink. Pedal. Quiet brain. <i>Check.</i> I was being passed by some men but they were passing with enough authority that it wasn’t hard at all to stay legal. Honestly, it was all perfect, just as I’d been envisioning it for the past few months. I’d found the gal who was first out of T1 and passed her, so I made an assumption that I was leading the amateur women's race at that point. I didn’t expect that to last, but still, it’s pretty cool to be in that position, even if just for a little while. It wasn’t the first time I’d been in that position… I’ve led CdA and Cabo before as well. It doesn’t last and that’s fine, but it’s not like I’m going to sit up and just wait for them to come. What do those Smash/Dimond gals say? #letthemchaseyou? <i>Oh hey! </i>Coeur/Cervelo gals can say that too! #letthemchase. (I love that hashtag, by the way.)</div>
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Not too long after we’d turned off the ‘windy’ section of the coastal loop (mile 25ish?), I’d sort of re-caught a group of 3 guys who’d passed me earlier. They were riding spread enough apart to be legal, but close enough that I couldn’t really just pass one… I sat off the back of them for a bit trying to decide what to do. I saw my watts drop to like 130 and it felt like a dilemma. Are they going to speed back up? Do I sit back here and soft pedal? Or make a pass? Vince and I had talked and he told me to just be aware of how many surges I was making to pass when necessary… some gentle surging should be fine… should I do it or not? I couldn’t decide. Then I saw the guy in the front of the 3 unclip his foot from his pedal and shake his leg as if he was trying to shake off a cramp, which I took as a sign that he probably wasn’t going to speed back up, so I made the pass. Looking at my file afterward, it was ~90” at ~190w. Not unreasonable at all. But like a minute later, BAM. My first twinge of a cramp (adductor- all the way from my groin to my knee). Shiiiiiiiiiit. GAH! Seriously? 25 miles into the ride? Cramping already? Are you kidding me? Crap.</div>
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It’s not like I haven’t managed cramping in an Ironman before, so I tried to stay calm. Ease up on the gas. Drink. Eat. Relax. You’ll be fine. Relax. But really, that is EARLY to start cramping. Like, that couldn’t have simply been a ‘fatigue’ thing. It was way too early for that?</div>
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From that point on, I scrapped riding by watts. For whatever reason, 167w was apparently too much for me that day. I sort of intuitively knew that if I kept pushing that, I’d end up sitting on the side of the road somewhere watching my muscles spasm in a very painful way. So I went back to racing the way I actually really prefer to race> by feel. I never looked at my garmin again to see watts. I did glance at it when it would beep 5 mile laps at me, which was every 13:30-15:00 for the most part, which meant I was riding fast, even if I wasn’t riding that hard. The wind wasn’t anywhere near as strong as it can be, so the ride was faster than normal. We did have a bit of a tailwind heading out toward the coast (those 5 mile sections were my 13:30 pieces) and we had a bit of a headwind along the coast and after we turned toward town. But even those headwind pieces were 15:xx so I was still able to hold almost 20mph. I feel like that’s a testament to a couple things- my Cervelo P3 is awesome and I’m comfortable enough on it to stay aero all the time, and my Enve wheels are the bomb. Seriously, I love those wheels. So even though I was still having those twinges of cramps in my adductors (both of them), I was able to manage with easing up, eating and drinking NBS and taking a taste of my Base salt. </div>
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Here’s where I’ll start to trouble shoot. I’ve lived and trained in Hawaii for 13 years now and I NEVER take salt there. I mean, I salt my watermelon and my oatmeal, and I eat potato chips sometimes, but I don’t take excess salt in training, even when its stupidly hot/humid out. Even on my longest training days- no excess salt. No cramping either. And its not like I don’t put in quality 6 hour training days. I do all that in training. Given that, I’m often skeptical about the idea of supplementing with salt in an ironman. If I don’t do it in training, and training goes well, why would I do it in racing? But so many athletes are dead set on it so I had a few bags of Base salt with me (and in my bags to pick up along the way) just in case. I sort of look at it this way- as long as things are going well, I do what I do in training. But if/when things start going south, then why not try the salt? It seemed like the salt might have been helping, so I kept doing taking it. In all honesty, I feel like if I could have been drinking NBS more, I would have been better off. At home I drink that pretty much exclusively, and it works. But during the race, I really only had access to 4 bottles of it on the bike (2 to start and 2 in special needs, which I stopped for). So since I was drinking more plain water than normal, it sort of made sense that I would want/need to add excess salt to that. So okay fine. Taking salt. And here’s where it gets tricky. How much salt is ‘a lot’ of salt? I felt like I was taking ‘a lot’. But since I don’t do it at home in training (bc I don’t drink much plain water), I don’t really have a good gauge of what is ‘a lot’. I was licking my finger with salt what felt like 'a lot'. I think the Base folks recommend every 5 miles and that’s probably about what I was doing. I’ve raced in Kona though without taking any excess salt and was fine, so I think maybe it just depends on whether I'm drinking Gatorade or water when I run out of my beloved NBS.</div>
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I peed 2x on the bike (while I was riding) and then really had to go again at the end but the last 20 miles were into a slight headwind and I didn’t want to stop pedaling into that headwind to take the time to pee. I tried a couple times but I swear if/when I stopped pedaling I slowed so much… I just didn’t want to go that slow. So I held it. That’s prob the hardest thing about that bike course- there really aren’t any breaks. The specific fitness required for that ride is to be able to pedal steady without any breaks for a really long time and to be comfortable in aero for 5+ hours. I had that fitness (4-5 hours non-stop in aero on your trainer in erg mode every week will build that for you!) so it was all good, but damn, a slight downhill at some point so you could stop pedaling and pee would have been nice!</div>
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Anyway, for everyone who came to the conclusion that I rode too hard, here are the facts about the ride:</div>
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~It didn’t feel like I was pushing above my fitness level that I’d trained endlessly (riding 200+ miles/week) to do.</div>
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~My avg watts were 147 w NP 150, which was IF of .68 and VI of 1.02.</div>
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~My peak 20min was 167w, which was the goal I’d had for the whole ride and what I’d been training to do.</div>
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~I was incapable of surging or putting in any even moderately strong efforts for short periods.</div>
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~My avg HR was 153, which was higher than it would be at home for a ride at those watts.</div>
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~My avg cadence was 81.</div>
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~I drank 4 bottles of NBS and enough water that I had to pee 2x and then again in T2.</div>
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~I ate 5x Clif bars, a big snickers, a little snickers, and a gel for a total of ~1700 cal (not including the 100 or so in each bottle of NBS) or ~300/hour.</div>
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~I licked salt off my finger what seemed like 'a lot', but don’t have quantitative data on this.</div>
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~I battled twinges of cramps off/on pretty much the whole time, but never fully seized up.</div>
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~I had no other ‘common’ issues like back or neck or stomach pain.</div>
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~I didn’t perceive the conditions to be especially hot nor windy. The air was dry as compared to what I’m used to at home.</div>
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~I split 5:28 which was in the range of what I thought I could do on a good day but was surprised it was that fast on lower watts than planned. Based on how I felt like I was pushing, I expected the split to be slower. #aeroiseverything</div>
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~I came off the bike 3rd in my AG and I’m not sure where overall women? Plenty of women rode a good bit faster than me. I mean, I got passed by some who were riding like the freight train I wanted to be, but wasn’t on that day.</div>
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~For the most part, I’d achieved my goal of keeping a Quiet Brain.</div>
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So I got to T2, handed my bike off and headed straight to the porta potty to drain my bladder. In T2 I was not unhappy. I would say I was fairly stoic and focused, as I’d planned to be. All business. I didn’t know the time on the race clock but estimating some math I thought that if I ran reasonably, I’d end up with a PR day, which is always exciting and motivating, even if the swim was so fast and short that it shouldn’t even really count.</div>
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Coach had calculated that I could run 4:11. Based on how I’d been feeling in training, I was fairly certain I could run a little faster than that. I didn’t think sub 4 was in the cards, but maybe like 4:05-4:08 if I had my day. So I started jogging out of T2 and after about 10 steps that plan went straight out the window. Both quads completely seized up hard. GAH! Plan B. Walk it off. I’ve got enough experience racing with cramps that I know that sometimes if you just relax and walk for a little bit, muscles relax and can then start running again. So. Walking. <i>Relax relax relax.</i> Drink. Eat. Salt. I’d had another bottle of NBS which I hoped would help, and maybe it did a little because after maybe a kilometer I was able to start jogging, but it didn’t last and I was back to walking. GAH. Shut your brain off. <i>Relax.</i> Walk. Try jogging again. Nope. Oh geez. This is going to be a long ass marathon. </div>
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In all honesty, I don’t want to write about the marathon. I mean, what is there to say? My legs didn’t function at all. What was I thinking/feeling? Well, I was trying to not think. #quietbrain I made sure I kept eating and drinking and taking salt, just in case my legs would come around… at the first turn around (mile 4.5ish) I saw Susi and told her that I wasn’t giving up… I still had some hope and was trying to be positive. I mean, what if this was my day to negative split an Ironman marathon? Maybe that was what was going to happen? (LOL> I was still grasping for any sort of possibly positive outcome.) Around mile 9 I sort of knew that it just wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t getting better. It was getting worse. My quads just felt shredded even though I was never actually running more than maybe 30 steps at a time. Apparently even a little bit of pounding on quads that are seizing up cramping is enough to rip those little muscle fibers right up. </div>
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Do you know how hard it is to stay positive when you’re walking an Ironman marathon and its like your 17th time doing this and you felt so well trained and can’t for your life figure out WHY you can’t do it? <i>Again?</i> It’s fucking HARD to stay positive in that scenario. Any time my brain started going negative on me, I ate something… I didn’t take any gels but I did eat some chews. I drank pepsi. I had mini candy bars with me and York peppermint patties, which were 100x more appealing than gels. I ate a couple of bananas and an orange. My stomach never felt bad. To be fair, I ate all sorts of crap on my long training days (yo, Pop Tarts #FTW!), with the intention of training my gut to handle whatever on race day. So that part worked. It was hot but not as hot as a lot of my training runs. I felt like it was easy enough to stay cool enough anyway by dumping cold water on myself and putting ice in my bra and holding ice in my hands, etc. I mean, sometimes at home I have these thoughts/feelings of being so overwhelmingly HOT that I can’t function. It wasn’t that hot out (to me) on Sunday so my issue was not over heating. It was strictly 100% bilateral quad malfunction.</div>
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So. That’s it. My quads didn’t function and I was never really able to ‘run' more than ~30 steps at a time without walking. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Ok. I'm exaggerating. There were times when I was able to take 40 steps without cramping.)</span> I tried to keep most of my walk breaks super short just like 10 steps then back to 30 steps jogging. When I was ‘running’ it was really just super short little shuffling steps. I counted to 10, a lot. For over 5 hours in fact. I didn’t quit. So that’s it. I got passed, endlessly, and felt exceptionally jealous of everyone who had functioning quads. There were times when I would start to think about what was happening but the frustration around that was so high that I really just had to go back to shutting my brain off. <i>Don’t think. Don’t get mad. </i>That was hard. </div>
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On the last trip back toward the finish (~4 miles to go) I had the thought that I wanted to get in the ocean and swim back. Even in the dark, that would have been more enjoyable than what I was facing. And easier. <i>And probably faster.</i> Even in the last mile I wasn’t able to run more than 30 steps at a time without feeling like legs were going to completely seize up again. I had to actively not make eye contact with anyone and just keep my brain quiet and count to 10 again. Can I give a little tip to spectators? I know you mean well when you tell athletes to RUN when they’re walking, but in many cases, that’s really the opposite of helpful. I mean. Trust me. <i>If I was capable of running, I would have been running.</i> I appreciate Susi so much for not saying stuff like that… and for not taking any pictures. She could see how ugly and painful it was and really, I don’t need photographic evidence of that.</div>
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So I crossed the finish line and I saw my friend Craig sitting there (he had just finished with a big PR!). I asked the very nice volunteer for one of those space blankets b/c I knew I was about to start shivering. I drank hot tea to try to warm myself. I sat and talked story with Craig and some other guy for a while then eventually went and got my finisher shirt and successfully managed to avoid the people who wanted to take a finisher photo. #nothanks Susi had collected my bike and my bags which was probably the nicest thing anyone could have done for me at that point and we limped back to the hotel and I drank a beer before I even showered. Then I showered, took a shot of spiced rum (mmmm, warm!) then we went and drank beer and ate tacos. #Mexico</div>
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The next days my legs felt shredded in the way one's legs would be shredded after you just PRd a marathon. Which seemed weird. I mean, usually what makes me sore is hard running for a long time. Walking/jogging doesn’t typically have that effect. And yet. </div>
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So there you go. I don’t have any answers. I wish I did. I really don’t think there’s much about my training that I’d go back and change if I could. I felt very well trained, but not overly so. I felt great all week leading into the race. Peppy. Strong. Solid. Positive. Healthy. My gut feeling at this point is that there’s some sort of like ‘electrical short’ in my neuromuscular system that causes that kind of crazy cramping and it’s not something that more or different training will necessarily solve. Maybe more salt in a drier environment like that would have helped. That’s sort of the only thing that makes any sense at all to me. Some people who care have given me their thoughts and suggestions, which I totally appreciate. I’ve thought about going the Inside Tracker route to see if something is up with my body chemistry that I don’t know about, but seems like if that was the case, wouldn’t I have felt crappy/fatigued more often in training? My training was solid and gave me no reason to believe that there’s something wacky going on with my system. It’s hard to chalk this up to ‘oh it was just an off-day’ b/c this isn’t exactly my first time cramping in a long race. This was possibly the worst seizing I’ve felt, but it’s not like its new for me to cramp. Will I try again? I don’t know. Possibly not. I mean, I’m not quitting triathlon, but I might stick to shorter races for a while b/c this Ironman gig really just might not be for me. Ha! How many times have I said that before?? In good news, I’ve long since stopped associating my self-worth with my race results, so, good race or crappy race doesn’t change the way I feel about myself. I mean, I get frustrated, but I don’t think I’m a failure as a person or whatever just b/c I ‘fail’ at putting together a decent marathon. I've always loved training long and that probably won’t change. Racing long, well, maybe I’ll stop subjecting myself to that… 17 might just be the magic number.</div>
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To finish on a positive note, here are some positive things!</div>
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~About 1/2 way through the marathon, Alicia Kaye passed me on her way to the finish. She was pretty far back in the pro field, so clearly not having her best day… but I recognized her kit and said out loud… “Alicia Kaye! I’m a huge fan of yours!” She turned around and in the nicest way replied, “I’m a huge fan of YOURS!” That was really sweet given that she actually had no idea who I am. ;)</div>
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~It was fun to see my Coeur teammates out on course in our matching kits! Steph and I cheered for each other a couple times throughout the marathon and that was cool. And I got to meet Triny in the airport and had lunch with her while sharing our race stories (she had a great day!). </div>
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~I love that 2017 Coeur team kit. I mean, I’m sure next years kit will be awesome too, but that red/white/black kit is SHARP and I was proud to be wearing it.</div>
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~I saw very little drafting on the bike and everyone I talked to after the race said the same thing. Rolling starts that spread people out are really the way to go to solve the drafting problem, though I also witnessed people (men and women) actually sit up and stop pedaling to actively avoid being in a draft zone. Super refreshing to see. I saw a total of 2 men blatantly drafting, and both of them were sitting on the wheel of a woman. Have they no shame??</div>
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~Cozumel is a great little island and a super venue for triathlon racing. It’s a ridiculously far trip from Hawaii, but other than how long it took, getting into and out of Mexico was easy. I felt safe the whole time and the chill vibe of the island really suited me. I would recommend that race to anyone who wants to do an Ironman that isn’t cold. It’s exceptionally well organized for being a split transition and all. Mexican people are genuinely really nice and they go out of their way to help us, even if our president is an asshole to them.</div>
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Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-22371598356861637402017-08-02T09:36:00.000-10:002017-08-03T14:28:17.963-10:00Ohio 70.3... Like A Well Oiled Machine<span style="font-family: inherit;">When you race a lot, you sort of learn how to do it. I feel like that’s where I’m at right now. #likeawelloiledmachine</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I did 3x 70.3 races in June/July. Honu then Muncie then Ohio. I’m not sure I’ve ever done 3 that close together before? I don’t think I have. Mostly b/c living in Hawaii, logistically it is hard to pull off! But since Muncie and Ohio were just 3 weeks apart, it worked out this year to do them both. Staying in Ohio for a month accomplished another goal of allowing Moana to truly get to know her grandparents better, even if it meant we had to be away from our home (missing Scott and the animals!) for an extended period. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Usually I don’t go into races with time/split goals. I’ve learned over the years to focus on the process and let the splits take care of themselves… b/c who knows if courses are measured exactly right? Or what the conditions will be like on race day? Comparing splits from race to race doesn’t really make a lot of sense. That said, the courses at Muncie and Ohio are really quite similar. And conditions were about the same this year too. So since I’d set some benchmarks for myself in Muncie (what did I swim there? 30:20? run 2:00:05? I mean, come on), I went into Ohio with a goal of besting those splits. Plus, Vince threw it out there that I should get under 30min on the swim, which should be a no brainer. (Except its not.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Pre-race at Ohio was night and day vs my pre-race at Muncie. I was calm, collected, stress free, not sleep deprived, totally organized, etc. It was perfect. This is a benefit of racing a lot. I’ve got my process dialed! My only challenge was race morning breakfast. Staying in a standard hotel room posed a problem b/c I didn’t have a kitchen, but there was a Bob Evans across the street so the last thing I did before going to bed Saturday night was to head there for a stack of blueberry pancakes to go, which I ate on race morning. Perfect.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">W40-44 were the 17th wave, starting over an hour after the race had actually begun. That is not at all my preferred scenario but it is what it is. I actually watched the first wave start and finish the swim before I even started to get myself ready to go. Really, I wanted to see what the top first wave (men 40-44) split in the swim b/c that would be an indicator of whether or not it was a ‘fast’ swim. Didn’t seem like it was. Top guy in that wave came out right ~28min then 2 more guys just under 30 then nobody else until 32+. So. That gave me some perspective.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Finally it was time for us to go. I seeded myself on the front line and the horn went off and I started swimming and instantly knew I felt 100x better than I did at Muncie. Woot! I think the difference was that I was a lot more comfortable swimming in opaque brown water b/c I’d done it a few times this past month. Anyway, I took off swimming, looked around and saw no one was coming with me, so just put my head down and swam strong by myself. It was awesome! And then I arrived at the first turn buoy, where the course became a complete shit show. Left turn, swim into the sun, blinded, people everywhere, etc. I wouldn’t say I allowed myself to be frustrated by this (at least, not in the moment) but its just a fact that you can’t swim the way you’d want to when you’re navigating an obstacle course like that. I did the best I could, ran out of the water and laughed when I saw 30:24 on my garmin. Ha! 3x 70.3 swims this year and all 3 were like 30:12-3:25 range. I suspected that Vince would see that split and laugh. I tried! I swear! Anyway, I let it go and hopped on my bike.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Have you ever had one of those days where you start riding and you just know that your legs were full of watts? Ya. That’s awesome. That’s what I felt as soon as I started riding on Sunday. Beautiful! I mean, we live for days like that. The course was super crowded with all the people who’d started in the waves ahead of me, but I just got down in my aero bars and mostly just stayed left and like a fucking freight train just RODE MY BIKE. The scenario was this: smoothly paved flat roads, light winds, perfect temps, and strong legs. Can you say HELL YA? I mean, it was pretty much my dream bike course. I’ve raced enough over the years to know that days like these are rare gifts so I was not going to waste this opportunity! I averaged 22.5mph for 56 miles and was in heaven. While I was riding I was thinking that THIS is the rider I want to be… I mean, it’s the rider I used to be, but something had been missing the last few years... It felt so good to have my legs back I can’t even tell you… #thankscoach</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">T2 is super cool- you roll into the stadium at the local college there in Delaware and rack your bike on the football field. I racked my bike (by itself!) and headed out on the run. I always do a little assessment as I start running… mostly its like, <i>Ok how bad did I fuck up by riding too hard?? </i>Sometimes it’s really been an <i>oh shit</i> moment… but this time it wasn’t! Woot! Legs still functioning! No twinges of cramping. Muscles seemed fully functional. Ok then! Let’s get to it! I might not have cracked 30min on the swim but I cracked 2:30 on the bike and I figured if I cracked 2 hours on the run I could count it as pretty much the perfect day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I saw my mom and dad and daughter right as I ran out of the stadium… all smiles and high fives and I yelped out BEST RIDE EVER!!! #sohappy Then like 1/2 mile later thought, for the first time that day, hmmm, it’s a lot warmer than I anticipated… I mean, I wouldn’t call it HOT, but it was warm, for sure. I wasn’t sure I’d had enough fluids on the bike for these temps? I drank 3 bottles on the bike but looking back, if there was one thing I’d change, it would be to have had another bottle on the bike. I was feeling fine at that point, but def thought that I needed to not be a moron in the first half of the run b/c if it felt warm at 11am, I knew it would be really warm at 1pm. First aid station I saw a guy with plastic gloves holding handfuls of ice. Usually they hand ice out in cups but for whatever reason this guy just had a handful of ice. I ran by and without speaking (I had an energy chew in my mouth so couldn’t really talk!) I just pulled open my Coeur bra and signaled for him to dump the ice in my bra. He got a good little laugh out of that but whatever. A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do, you know? #heatmanagement</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Anyway, I was cruising along and all was well and I was running what felt like strong but controlled effort. I walked through every aid station b/c I wanted to make sure I was getting enough fluids and cooling myself off best I could. None of the other aid stations and one though and that was a huge bummer. But at least for a while, I was managing. Even with the aid station walking I was avg right ~9min pace for the first ~5 miles so I was happy with that. Then things just got hard. I mean, they always get hard at some point. I tried to tell myself that it’s fine- only 7 more miles! But it was a long 7 miles. My legs still felt fine but HR felt like it was through the roof and breathing was loud and labored (I was that athlete- the one who grunts and pants and is super annoying. Sorry!). That course isn’t hilly but it isn’t flat and if your HR is pegged on a flat section, you’re screwed when it starts to tilt up. So that’s pretty much what happened. I managed my brain and body the best I could but I had to take a bunch of short walk breaks in the back half of the run b/c I was just absolutely at my aerobic limit. I was wearing my HR strap but garmin wasn’t picking it up, which at this point I’m sort of glad about b/c I would guess that its as hovering around 170 for a lot of that last hour. When it spikes like that and doesn’t come down it’s typically a sign of dehydration and heat accumulation. The only thing that was going to help me was to just stop completely and sit in the shade, which wasn’t an option until I crossed the finish line. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Toward the end I saw one of my athletes running out (her wave was dead last ugh what a nightmare!) and she was all full of energy and smiling and high-fiving and I think she asked me how I was doing and all I could manage to do was hold my hand out and grunt <can’t speak>. I genuinely was happy to see her (yay her first triathlon and she was right on schedule as we’d anticipated!) but I couldn’t exactly express it in that moment. I know she understood and probably even respected the level to which I was pushing myself. #atmylimit</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Eventually I made it onto the track and ran to the finish (first time I’d stepped on a track all year!), with my parents and my daughter cheering me on from the stands. I didn’t make my sub 2 run goal (2:03) but it wasn’t a complete disaster either. I mean, it could have been a lot worse! I crossed the finish line all smiles in 5:08, which landed me 3rd in my AG. I wasn’t in need of medical, but I was in need of some water and shade, and as soon as I found those I was flat out on my back with my eyes closed. It was then that it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen my other athlete, Brian. He also started behind me but we calculated that if we both had decent days that he would pass me maybe around mile 4-5… So I started to worry after I was done and was like crap Brian didn’t pass me. I tried to collect myself while I had a bunch of thoughts about all the negative scenarios that might have happened to Brian... Did he flat? Did he crash? Did he DNF? Was he just having a bad day?? I didn’t know and it took me ~20min before I could function enough to get to my mom who had a phone with a tracker. She looked him up and was like oh ya he did great! Landed 3rd in his AG as well with a lifetime best so there you go! We must have both been too focused during the run to see each other, but we made up for it with a little #TeamBSC podium party after the race was over. :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Tia also finished with flying colors and I managed to get myself right on the finish line so I could present her medal. That was a highlight and so fun since it was her first one! So. All in all OH70.3 was a great race experience. Not my perfect day, but pretty damn close! And I mean, if we ever had the perfect race, what would we strive for next time? I can definitely see myself coming back to this one at some point in the future though… </span></div>
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Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-2454336733992673012017-07-11T04:03:00.002-10:002017-07-11T04:04:28.865-10:00Muncie 70.3... On Instinct & ExperienceThe day before Muncie, I got an email from my coach... <i>Whats the plan tomorrow?</i><br />
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Um, to swim bike and run as quickly and efficiently as I can? My approach to this race was interesting... Totally different than how I have approached Honu every year. This race just felt different to me- I think because I'd never done it before, I couldn't envision it, I didn't know any of my competitors, I felt zero pressure. I knew I had decent fitness b/c my training had been going well, but there were so many unknowns. My biggest concerns really were the long travel, the missed night of sleep on a plane, and the 6 hour time change. I mean, I was doing the best I could with that travel scenario, and it is what it is, but it definitely required some medication to get myself to sleep for a few nights.<br />
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Anyway, I basically told Vince that I was just going to race on instinct and experience. While I had not done this particular race before, I've done enough other 70.3 distances to have a decent idea of what the effort should feel like. And I knew how to fuel and hydrate even if I didn't write out the whole plan beforehand like I normally do. So. Whatever. I'm just going to get through the course as quickly as I can. End of race plan.<br />
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I left my daughter to play with Grammy for the weekend and drove from Cleveland to Muncie by myself, which was sort of fun (for the first few hours at least). I don't mind going to races alone. Partly b/c I almost always have an athlete (or 3) that I coach also racing, and I almost always have a whole group of awesome Coeur teammates to socialize with as well. Being a wife and a mom, its not really all that often that I get 3 days completely to myself, so I embraced them! I mean, I don't think I'd want travel and be alone all the time, but for a few days, I enjoyed it! And real road trips for me are rare. We just don't do those in Hawaii. Driving through rural central Ohio was a trip. Truly.<br />
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The day before the race was a complete clusterfuck for a variety of reasons. Let's just say it wasn't my ideal day. I like to just have everything prepared and have time to chill out and relax with my feet up the day before I race, but that doesn't happen when you're scrambling around to find a replacement for your broken helmet, its piss pouring rain and storming, your cell carrier suuuucks and keeps telling you <i>no service</i>, you don't know where you're going and can't use google maps b/c T-Mobile is so shitty, the road is flooded but you don't know an alternate route, you can't find a decent healthy food option to save your life, etc. Eventually though everything worked itself out. I found the shitty hotel I was staying in and packed all my race stuff and knocked myself out with an ambien. Only broke down into tears once.<br />
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Race morning it was a whole new day! Blue skies and perfect weather in store for the day. I got to the race site early and got all prepped and had time to chill. They called the water wetsuit legal but that was a bit of a dubious call, I think. I mean, I was happy to wear my wetsuit for the hour prior to my wave start just standing around b/c the air temp was cold (to me) but once I was in the water, all I wanted to do was take that wetsuit OFF. My fault, really, but I hadn't put that thing on since probably January, and I didn't get in to warm up, so when the horn went off and I went running into the water and sprinted that start, I was immediately out of breath and uncomfortable and unhappy. I mean, it's exactly what I advise my athletes to NOT do and there I was doing it. To be fair, I wasn't able to swim the day before b/c the storms had the lake closed by the time I arrived on site, so my only option really was to have confidence in my ability to swim and just keep swimming.<br />
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The water was brown and like an obstacle course. Tons of swimmers in the water before my wave went off, and then there were boats and kayaks and buoys everywhere and it just felt super congested to me. My thoughts during the swim went something like this:<br />
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~Swimming around people is just a skill required of women 40+ since we almost always start toward the back.<br />
~I can't see anything. Don't worry about it just keep swimming.<br />
~I want to take this wetsuit off.<br />
~Why is that kayak *directly* in the middle of the swim course and not moving? Oh b/c there's a guy hanging onto it for dear life. Swim left to get around them.<br />
~I can't see anything. Don't worry about it. Just keep swimming.<br />
~Ocean swimming is more pleasant than lake swimming.<br />
~I was swimming with a gal in my AG side by side. Eventually she dropped behind me to draft (smart) but then kept aggressively grabbing my ankles (annoying). I wanted to tell her <i>You know that by slowing me down you're slowing us both down, right?</i> Like, maybe just come along for the ride respectfully and don't be obnoxious about it? She was obviously a good enough swimmer to know better, which is the only reason I was annoyed. I don't get annoyed at people who are new at it and out there just trying to survive and inadvertently grab you along the way.<br />
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Anyway, eventually the swim ended and we ran through the mud to the wetsuit strippers, who accidentally pulled my whole aero top off along with my wetsuit (I had it rolled down around my waist for the swim and figured I'd just pull it up as I was running to my bike, as I did at Honu). So that was fun in T1 to wrestle with my wet aero top! Lol. Whatever. Eventually I got it on and with some relief, started riding my bike.<br />
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I really liked the Muncie bike course! Except for the road leading in and out of the park, the pavement was perfect and just awesome... like IDEAL road to ride on! And it was closed to cars. SO GREAT! The course was definitely crowded with lots of riders everywhere, but because of the wave starts, it seemed that just about everyone was moving along at vastly different speeds, so it was NOT hard to ride legally. I was riding by feel, checking in with power at times, feeling pretty good, doing my thing. Then some gal with a 43 on her calf rode by me (correction, FLEW by me) and instinct took over and I tried to go with her... picked up my effort and look down to see I'm pushing 200w and she's riding away. I kept that up for what felt like too long... 210w... she's still riding away. So. Ok. You go girl! Have at it! I settled back into my groove. Later another gal rode by at a similar speed, but she was glued to some guy's wheel. Her shorts said, "Ride Responsibly" and I had to ask myself, does 'responsibly' include 'legally'?? Apparently not. She really was the only gal I saw drafting out there though. Everyone else I saw was 100% legal and fair.<br />
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Anyway, that was that on the bike. I had a harder time than normal chewing/swallowing my Clif bars b/c they weren't hot/melted like I'm used to. I really had zero desire to try to chew them BUT I repeated to myself that mantra <i>Fueling correctly is a choice</i> so I stuffed them down one bite at a time. I only drank maybe 3 bottles of fluids which is about half of what I drank at Honu but temps weren't as high so it felt like enough. I felt relieved and grateful to get off my bike without any major mishaps or mechanicals and looking at my file afterward, it appears I rode pretty steady with only a slight fall off in power in the back half and a low 1.02 VI. Not a perfect ride, but nothing to complain about!<br />
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I started the run and saw right away that there was a gal like 25yd ahead of me with a 41 on her calf. I hadn't seen her on the bike so I assumed she had passed me in T2. Normally I'm just out there trying to survive on the run but at that point I felt ok and my run has been going a little better in training so I sort of ignored that whole thing about keeping the first few miles of the run relaxed and easy... I mean, I wasn't killing myself, but I wasn't running 'easy' either. But I was keeping that gal in my sights(!) and for once I was actually racing that run and that felt cool to me. Somewhere around mile 3, I passed that gal and was like <i>whoa I actually passed a gal in my AG on the run?? </i>I mean, other gals were passing us both but for me to actually pass someone (anyone!) in my AG on the run felt like a win. :) For the first 6 miles or so I was absolutely in love with the Muncie run course. Probably because it wasn't the Honu run course. Lol! The rolling hills seemed minor to me and I was able to get up/over them in a way that felt strong/efficient and I was just rolling along and feeling pretty stoked at how it was all unfolding. Around mile 6 I found myself running with a Wattie Ink gal who was super friendly. We had been together basically since the beginning of the run and I think she wanted to work together (she was 39). I told her I was having the best run I'd had in years and she was super supportive like <i>cool then come with me</i> and I wanted to and I tried but I was starting to fade. One of my goals for the run was to prove to my coach that I was capable of running faster than the 9:12 pace he calculated I could do off the bike. At the half way point I was sure I was doing this! #Illshowyou!<br />
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In training I've been really good about progressing my long runs but on that day I was just running out of steam. Looking back I think it was a fueling thing, which is crazy b/c normally I pride myself on fueling really well, but that heavy leg feeling I was getting is classic bonk. I'd had 2 gels by mile 8 and at that point started on red bull hoping for some wings, but I think it was too little too late. The hills on the way back seemed WAY bigger than they were on the way out, and I just faded more and more each mile. It was all I could do to put one foot in front of the other in those last 3 miles. Looking at my run file its clear I started too fast. Vince pointed this out and he was right but I told him (in my defense)- those first 3 miles I wasn't pacing, I was racing, and I don't regret it b/c I learned a little something about myself by playing the game the way I did.<br />
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The funny part though... That 9:12 pace I was going to prove I could beat?? I didn't. Coach was right. Dammit. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Honestly this made me laugh so hard when I saw it at the end!)</span><br />
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5:12 landed me 7th in my AG, a full 6min back from 6th. Looking back I'd say there were a few little mistakes here and there where maybe I could have gained a few minutes back but I don't think there's anything I could have done to gain 6min this past weekend. I mean, my legs were DONE at the finish line and 3 days later I still have some soreness. So I am happy with that result. 5:12 is as fast as I've gone since 2012 so YAY finally starting to head back in the direction I want to go, reversing my 5 year trend of getting slower and slower every year... And I saw a glimpse of the runner that I know I can be, so its just a matter of keeping at it until I can hold that pace for the full distance vs fading off. Overall I'd say I really liked this race. It had a great old school type feel to it. It's not easy for me to get to, but I would not rule out making the effort to go back.<br />
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I get to try again in less than 3 weeks at Ohio 70.3 so I'm looking forward to that opportunity! I previewed that course a bit on my drive home from Muncie and it looks like a great course too. So stay tuned for an update on that one. :)Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1403432524962865970.post-82707166635935516622017-06-04T18:04:00.003-10:002017-06-04T18:05:50.617-10:00Hawaii 70.3 ~ I Can Do Hard Things.<div style="color: #454545; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue'; line-height: normal;">
Race morning I woke up at 1:30 feeling like I needed to throw up. I’m not a puker. Even when I was in college and had over-consumed alcohol to the point where it would have been best for my body to just purge it, I never did. My body just doesn’t really use that protection mechanism. And yet, there I was laying in bed thinking I needed to puke. Was it race nerves? I didn’t think so. I mean, I’ve been doing this for 20+ years. Yes, I still get nervous, but not <i>that</i> nervous.</div>
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The nausea feeling lasted and I couldn’t really sleep very well. I had some weird dream that it was race morning and for whatever reason I was all alone (no friends, no family) so I went to this room the race directors had set up for people who were alone at the race. It was like an orphanage of sorts, but for triathletes. I remember wandering around that room and trying to get some coffee- next to the coffee maker were the finisher shirts and medals. Just take one now so you don’t have to do it later?? In my dream I was also totally disorganized… like I couldn’t find my kit or any of my gear and I was just frantically scrambling around trying to get my shit together.</div>
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In reality, I was about as organized and put together as I’ve ever been for a race. Bags were packed. Bottles were prepped and in the fridge. Checklists were made. Kit was laid out on the bathroom counter next to the zinc sunscreen. I had 3 TeamBSC athletes at this race, plus my husband and daughter and probably 50 friends. So I don’t know where that dream came from. It was opposite of my reality.</div>
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The nausea didn’t go away though. When my alarm went off at 4:30, the feeling of wanting/needing to puke was consistent. I made my normal morning oatmeal but had zero desire to eat it. For years I’ve harped on my athletes about the importance of race morning breakfast, and when they skimp on it or skip it and then go on to have a crappy low energy race, I point out that they should have just forced down breakfast.<i> I don’t care if you don’t feel like eating. Fueling correctly is a choice.</i> And yet. I was, for the first time ever, having an incredibly hard time choking down my oatmeal. I brought it in the car with me and winced as I made myself swallow a bite every few minutes. I think I ate some bad/contaminated salad the night before. That’s the only explanation I have.</div>
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We got to the race site and Scott dropped me off and I made a decision. Mind over matter. I would feel fine. I pumped up my tires and put my bottles on my bike and put my speed suit on and drank my pre-load and stuffed down the Honey Stinger waffle just as planned. The nausea didn't bother me again for the rest of the day.</div>
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A few days before the race they announced a new rolling- but by age group- type of start. WTF? I was not happy about that. I mean, it looked better to me than the way they’d done it the last few years where the older women just get relegated to the back #lastwave but in my mind like if you’re gonna do a rolling start then at least make it self- seed so the swimmers can just go to the front and people who don’t want anyone swimming over top of them can start further back… Reality is though, it was a decent way to organize it. Of course I’m a bit biased b/c I happened to be lucky enough to be in the age group that they scheduled to go first for the women. I like being at/near the front of the race. It helps me stay engaged and motivated. So even though we were behind all the men, I was still at the front of the women’s race so personally, I had little reason to complain because that’s exactly where I wanted to be.</div>
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The day prior to the race the winds were blowing a good bit harder and the swim course was C.H.O.P.P.Y. I swam the whole course alone on Friday morning (People were like<i> What? You did what? Swam the whole thing? All the way out there? Alone? Are you crazy?</i> Lol. #noproblem) and honestly was just salivating at the thought of having an opportunity to race in those conditions. It’s so rare for swimmers to have a real advantage like that! Race morning turned out to be much calmer. Little bit of a bummer but that likely made a lot of other athletes super relieved so it was probably for the best.</div>
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They started the age group ‘waves’ 4 athletes at a time every 10” on a beep. I seeded myself in the front row of my wave and when the beep went, I ran into the water untouched and swam off alone. Water was perfect in every way. Clear, calm, warm, open, beautiful. I swam the whole thing completely alone buoy to buoy (just as I had done the day before!). It was exceptionally easy to avoid the men who had started ahead b/c they were all completely spread out. In years past when they start men in waves, we would run into a ‘wall’ of men that was hard to get around. But with the rolling start, it was a complete non-issue. So. A+. There’s nothing I would change about the swim.</div>
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Pre-race one of my bigger decisions was aero top or sleeveless tri top? I’d always raced in a tri top but I really like the look of the aero tops (and the sun protection was a huge bonus!) Some Coeur teammates had reported back that they were great to race in as well. My biggest concern was that I didn’t want sleeves on the swim (under my speed suit). I practiced tucking the aero top into my Roka speed suit and turns out, it was a complete non-issue. Lectie opted to wear the aero top and just swim with the sleeves hanging out so she wouldn’t have to deal with pulling the top up in T1. I opted to have the top rolled around my waist and then pull it up in T1. Both ways worked perfectly fine. Lectie- as always- had the fastest swim of the day even with the sleeves out. I swam as well as I wanted to swim and had no problem pulling the sleeves up/on while running to my bike. And I loved racing in the top for the rest of the morning. It kept me cooler, I think, because I could keep it wet and the material is really nice and thin and perfect. I didn’t get sunburnt back/shoulders. I just can’t say enough good things about the <a href="https://www.coeursports.com/collections/triathlon?gclid=CMfDvuLcpdQCFYOKfgodHZML-w" target="_blank">Coeur aero tops</a>. I see no reason to go back to racing sleeveless. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Apparently, its so common to race with sleeves now that Ironman actually gives instructions about where to tattoo yourself if your upper arms are covered.</span></div>
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Anyway, onto the bike, I was pretty certain that the only women ahead of me on the bike were part of relay teams. I set about doing my thing. I glanced a little at my power data but I wasn’t sure it was giving me accurate wattage numbers, so I mostly ignored it and rode by feel. The wind had picked up some, but I’d call it pretty standard wind- not super scary wicked gusts as it had been the day prior. I don’t think there’s a ton to say about the actual ride itself. I feel like I have learned how to do an excellent job at staying focused on the task at hand (Stay aero! Pedal strong! Eat! Drink!). The ride was as fair as I’ve ever seen it on this course. I saw exactly zero draft packs, which is shocking, really. But therein lies the benefit of the way they split up the rolling wave start I guess.</div>
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I felt like I was mostly riding as solidly as I could/should be riding. Legs didn’t feel exceptionally strong and the whole ride I was doing a balancing act of how hard I could push before I would feel a twinge of a cramp. Something about the big island, man, just tends to leave my muscles threatening to completely seize up, so I was really teetering on the edge the whole time. I only got caught/passed by one woman who claims she hasn’t been riding her bike at all in training. She went storming by right before we made the turn at Hawi. I wonder what it would be like to ride a bike like that without any recent training? I sure as hell couldn’t do it. Unapologetically, I train consistently and I work very hard. I don’t have enough talent to do it any other way.</div>
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One goal I had for myself for this race was to be brave on the ride. I’d had it worked up in my head that it was going to be scary windy and last time I raced here when it was scary windy (2012), my biggest disappointment in myself was that I felt like I rode like a wimp. I sat up and braked when strong gusts came. That was 5 years ago but I remember it like it was yesterday. I looked at the wind forecast this year as an opportunity to make that right! And I’m pretty happy with the confidence I rode with. I do remember having the thought that my Enve wheels were performing beautifully. There were times toward the end when the wind had really picked up where I was just flying and in my aero bars leaning right into a very strong crosswind and passing guys who were whistling at me (it was a complimentary whistle- not a degrading one!) and I was like YASSSSSSSSS I AM DOING IT. Just a personal proud moment for myself. </div>
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Overall I am happy with my execution on that ride. I ate and drank everything I’d planned (<a href="https://www.bt-nutrition.com/store/product/37-nbs-hydration-100-servings" target="_blank">1x bottle NBS</a>, 1x bottle Infinit, 3x waters, 2x clif bars, 1x honey stinger gel). I also took 4x e21 tabs and that stuff continues to do a miracle job at holding off full on muscle seizures. I stayed focused, calm, and brave. I rode fairly. There’s nothing I would do differently if I could do it all again. Ok, well maybe I wouldn’t hit lap on my garmin at mile 10, making garmin think I was in T2 for 46 miles… I totally screwed up that data coach wanted. #sorry.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Strava thinks T2 was 46 miles! Lol... No segments. #sadface</span></div>
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I arrived in T2 as the second female on the course and leading my AG, but as I was putting on my shoes, I saw Nell riding in to rack her bike. Nell beats me every year at this race (she can run!) so when I saw her there I figured my shot at the top step of the podium was all but zero. My playbook at these races is quite thin. I’m never going to run as fast as the top gals run so my only chance to win, really, is to swim and ride as hard as I can and hope for a decent enough gap where maybe I don’t get caught. I didn’t have it in me to ride any faster than I did though, so I was just going to get beat by a stronger athlete. No worries. Next goal is always just to hang onto whatever place I’m currently holding. I knew I’d be thrilled with 2nd so that became the goal.</div>
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Being at/near the front of the race is fun b/c when you’re one of the first women spectators see, they cheer really loudly for you! Plus, I was dressed just like Lectie so a lot of people thought I was her so they yelled GO LECTIE!! at me. That’s a huge compliment so I wasn’t the least bit annoyed! :)</div>
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Onto the run, the game I played was simply to continue to attempt to strike a balance between how quickly I could move along without cramping. This run course is just stupidly hard. I was probably more mentally prepared than physically… I mean, my run is going ok in training and I’ve had some decent training runs, but I don’t know. I don’t think anything can truly prepare me for running that course in those conditions off a ride like that… I like to come up with a pre-race motto and for this race it was I Can Do Hard Things. I told my husband and he laughed. His reply was, <i>You pay money to do hard things!</i> #truestory :)</div>
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I knew I was having a decent day so out there on that golf course I was just trying to not screw it up! I did have the thought that I can’t wait to do a “normal” 70.3 course where the run is just like 13 “regular” miles. I mean, I love this race and all, but it’s almost laughable to try to run on that spongy golf course grass. Then you finally get onto a stretch of solid pavement and think maybe you’ll get a little reprieve b/c you’ve got a mile going slightly down, but, <i>Psyche! </i>There’s a 25mph headwind preventing you from relaxing while still moving faster. GAH! I mean, it was almost funny. If you were there you know exactly what I mean! I took short walk breaks up most of the steep little kicker hills. At one point I was walking up a short hill next to a guy who had apparently resigned himself to walking for the foreseeable future and he said to me, <i>We can speedwalk together!</i> And I replied, <i>Oh no! I’m running again as soon as we get to the top!</i> And I did. So that’s how my 13 miles went. Once I was within a mile or so of the finish line I actually started grunting. My friend Jodie was running nearby and she could hear me grunting and she was cheering me on- <i>Go ahead and grunt! Grunting helps!</i> Lol! I think it did help.</div>
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Shockingly, I hung on to my 2nd place AG finish all the way to the line. I remembered to make the Coeur heart with my hands at the finish line for the finish photo so it’ll be fun to see how those turned out. I’m sure I had a huge smile on my face! 5:25 isn’t even in the ballpark of my best time at this race but I feel like I did so many things right that I can’t be upset about that. I mean, I did the best I could in just about every regard. I’ve learned a lot of lessons in 20+ years of racing triathlons and I feel like yesterday I managed to pretty much put all of them together, which in and of itself is a big win. Then of course the finish line party is quite possibly my favorite few hours of the whole year… Everyone hanging out on the lawn and drinking beer and swapping war stories and its just super fun. </div>
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I’d had 4 beers and very little food by the time I got to go stand on the podium. That smile was genuine! 7 years in a row on the podium here at Honu, but this was my biggest bowl.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dmqRblPmYkKwYLlMN53HeLg2hDbKPN96xsGbIfJF5-9yXhW8o_nuq8vBVT8m60vfRcmKZu6xDupRG3n1CFPkVPcweusWoVI8yu6IWiIpRvmViVGhjDhEJv9gdOxQTLGVWp1jMpArbpA/s1600/Screen+Shot+2017-06-04+at+5.14.02+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="550" data-original-width="257" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8dmqRblPmYkKwYLlMN53HeLg2hDbKPN96xsGbIfJF5-9yXhW8o_nuq8vBVT8m60vfRcmKZu6xDupRG3n1CFPkVPcweusWoVI8yu6IWiIpRvmViVGhjDhEJv9gdOxQTLGVWp1jMpArbpA/s400/Screen+Shot+2017-06-04+at+5.14.02+PM.png" width="186" /></a></div>
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I feel like I want to take a minute and thank my coach, Vince, for believing in me and working with me this year. I think he's the perfect match for me at this stage of my racing... He understands me and he cares. I can tell that he pays attention because I can tell <i>he truly wants to</i>. I just really appreciate that! It's funny though- when you have a coach who really believes in you, I think it easier to believe in yourself. It's a good scenario and its exactly what I need right now. So, without getting mushy, thanks, Vince.</div>
Michelle Simmonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10301323188060167291noreply@blogger.com0