The Helix

This is a graph of the lake temperature at Couer d' Alene. Looks like in the last month the trend has been moving in the right direction, which is good, because I did the Celsius Fahrenheit conversion on those numbers and all I have to say is that if Ironman was on April 30 I probably would have bailed. Shoot, even now apparently the lake is only ~51 degrees. I swam in 53 degree water once and swore I would never do that again. I'm going to just hope that the squiggly blue line on that graph keeps going in the same direction at generally the same slope over the next 4 weeks.

Our water temps here range from cold (75) in the winter to warm (80) in the summer. Based on this information, I bet you can guess how often I swim in a wetsuit! Ha!

I'd heard that CdA was a cold swim so thought that maybe I should get a long sleeve wetsuit. Somehow I have managed to race triathlons for 16 years without having one (I have always preferred the sleeveless ones). Sometimes I've been cold (53 was really freakin' cold with that sleeveless wetsuit) but I've always opted for that vs the constricting feeling of material on my shoulders when I swim. I did try a friend's long sleeve wetsuit once about 10 years ago... swam in it for about 5 minutes before I was like, nope, not using this on race day. So I don't know what came over me a couple months ago but I jumped at the chance to buy a Blue Seventy Helix when Jessi posted on FB that she was selling her brand new one for a decent price... I'd heard the Helix was good for swimmers because if the flexibility in the shoulders or whatever... Anyway, it arrived in the mail several months ago and I put it in my closet without even trying it on. Until today.

Nalani and I went ocean swimming in Waikiki today... You can only imagine how ridiculous we felt, standing on the beach and putting these long sleeve wetsuits on when both the air and the water measured at about 80 degrees. Yikes. We did stand in the shade as we struggled to get them on, as if that was going to make it better. Mine fit, pretty much. My shoulders are way a bit bigger than what the manufacturer probably envisioned when they created this size, but with some persistent yanking and squirming Nalani eventually got mine zipped up for me. Phew.

We swam for about 4 minutes before we both stopped and started griping about the wetsuits. It was just so odd to feel so constricted and my shoulders were aching already. Oh boy. I was in trouble. Nalani was like, "No wonder triathletes hate swimming. These wetsuits make swimming horribly uncomfortable!" NO kidding. We kept swimming and ~5 minutes later we got completely pummeled by a rogue wave... tumbling in white water... Nalani lost her goggles and my cap was just about completely right off... Yikes again! Then like some sort of miracle I spotted Nalani's goggles right in front of me and managed to grab them. Phew. So we soldiered on through some pretty choppy conditions and I thought about how glad I was that I did so much pulling with paddles this year, because in choppy conditions with a wetsuit, I was just letting my legs drag and gathering all my swim power right up front. No need to kick at all.

Eventually I started to get used to the feeling of the wetsuit and my shoulders warmed up and got loose and by the end of the hour I'd say that other than feeling like I was burning up from the inside out, I was fine. The Helix is a good wetsuit and while I'll stand by my assertion that non-wetsuit swims are better than wetsuit swims, I'll say that if I have to wear a wetsuit, the Helix is a good choice. Maybe I'll like it better when wearing it doesn't make me feel like I'm on fire? Still though, if by some miracle the water in CdA hits 70 degrees on June 26, that would be good by me.

The Moana Chronicles, May 2011

I know Kerrie is dying to hear the details of my weekend training... but I think it would be more fun to keep her in suspense because really, it's going so well its simply too frightening to share. Especially my run. Wow, it is really coming along! But I'm not going to talk about that now. No, instead, I'll tell you about Moana. :)

She has become quite the daredevil. Yesterday we were at the playground and she was climbing up pretty high when she lost her balance and fell... about 5 ft onto the ground... luckily the playground has a rather soft surface in anticipation of these kinds of things so while she cried, it was more because she was scared than because she was actually hurt. Interestingly, the second she stopped crying she got right back on that thing and climbed right up no problem. Talk about getting back on the horse! Good girl.

I'm probably biased, I mean, being her mom and all, but I think she is exceptionally gifted. She has an amazing memory for just about everything, and her vocabulary is through the roof. I don't think there's a word she doesn't use correctly in a full sentence? I'm impressed anyway, and I don't think I'm easy to impress most of the time.

I find it interesting that she is such a natural leader. She's two years old, yet when we go to the playground she walks right up to girls 3, 4, and 5 years old and says, "Hi Friend!" Then she proceeds to grab the other girls hand and lead her to do whatever Moana wants to do... Come look at this! She'll say... Come go down the slide with me... usually the other girls are more than happy to play along. I'm guessing Moana won't be hurting for friends as she gets older. She's very social.

Speaking of being social, she's really into 'sharing together' these days. That is one of her favorite phrases and she uses it all the time. Come into my room, Mama! Then as we're having a tea party she says happily, "We're sharing together!" We share food and toys and books and blankies and she always seems quite happy to share. I'm guessing at some point the sharing will stop, right? Don't they go through a mine-mine-mine-mine-mine stage at some point? We're not there yet.

Moana absolutely loves Auntie Nalani (all women other than me right now are Aunties)... This is awesome for lots of reasons (and what's not to love about Nalani??) but especially because we will be traveling with Nalani for both Honu and IMCdA... Two big trips coming up in June and I am really excited to be bringing Moana along. Last night she was saying Let's watch Mama RACE! It was super cute. This week will mark her third trip to Honu. She first went over when she was 7 months old. I remember this like it was yesterday!

She was in diapers then, and she's still in diapers now. This afternoon we were outside playing and I was squatting down in the grass. She said, "Are you pooping?" Ha! Um, no, I poop in the potty, I told her. I didn't tell her that it has happened before where I have squatted behind a tree while training but she doesn't need all those details right now... and I guess, neither do you... Anyhow. I've completely stopped pushing the potty training because in all honesty, I think it would be easier to have her in diapers in June when we travel rather than dealing with always frantically searching for the closest bathroom in the airport, you know? I'll revisit the potty training thing in July. Watch, the day before we leave for Idaho she'll INSIST that she will not wear a diaper and needs big girl underpants only. That will make for a fun flight, no?

Shedding Fatigue

Holy cow! Honu is next week! A week from right now I'm going to be eating my pre-race dinner and my bike will be checked in and my transition bags will be turned in and... Yikes! The big races are upon us! Finally.

Just in time for the 2nd biggest race the Big Island has to offer, apparently some sharks have started tasting surfboards for fun... Yikes again! You know, I've been swimming in the ocean regularly for years and I have never ever laid eyes on a shark. In the back of my mind I kinda think they don't really exist... like the loch-ness monster? Maybe I'm wrong on that, but while ocean swimming I've only ever personally seen dolphins and turtles and manta rays.... and I've heard whales singing... that was cool... just never seen a shark. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Let me be naive. It makes ocean swimming a lot more tolerable when you think like I do. :)

Anyway, Hapuna Beach (where we will be swimming) is 25+ miles north of where those most recent sharks have been feeding, so seriously, if you're coming out to race Honu, we will be fine. No worries at all about sharks. What you *might* want to be worried about though is the wind. Seems like it has been blowing strong and steady (like gale force) all spring. Pretty much every time I've been out on my bike lately I've thought, "This is like the worst day we've had!" I haven't checked the weather pattern to see what the forecast is, but know that we've been crazy lucky in the last few years over there because on race weekend the winds have been very light... this year might be a different story. Personally I don't mind a bit if the winds are howling... But if you're not used to riding in windy conditions, well, you might be in for a special treat. Consider it an honor to get to experience the Legendary Winds of Hawi. ;)

Anyway, this week I've had some pretty light training days. Coach calls it Shedding Fatigue. I call it Getting Grumpy. I understand the concept behind rest and all, but that doesn't mean I have to like it... Interestingly, in Macca's new book he talks about how athletes are afraid of rest when they are not confident in their training... not sure I agree on that. I am confident in my training. I think I just don't prefer rest because I actually enjoy training. Beyond that tiny disagreement, I have to say that Oh MY, I have *never* devoured a book the way I am devouring Macca's new book. Very enjoyable. I highly recommend it.

There's Been A Shift...

I feel like I've had a bit of a breakthrough with my running in the last week. That makes me super happy!

I'm remembering all these thoughts/beliefs I've always had about myself and my ability as a runner... beliefs like I'm just one of those swimmers who can't run... And ok, let's face it, it's not like I'm setting the world on fire with my running right now or anything, but there has definitely been a shift in the last week, and it feels awesome.

I remember a few weeks ago telling coach that I was super happy with where my cycling was... that riding at the right HR was getting so much better. The progression went like this: In January, I had to hold way the heck back to keep my HR <150. Most rides it was like back off... back off... ease up... back off... but that only lasted like a month and then sometime in February I remember thinking, wow, I can just ride steady and as long as I don't push it I can keep my HR <150. Then in March I really didn't have to hold back at all and HR was pretty much never too high, unless maybe I was climbing. Then in April I busted my ass riding with groups and didn't pay attention to HR much at all. Now in May I read that I'm supposed to get my HR up to 150 on a ride and I'm like Crap. That is going to be HARD! See the shift? Major.

The problem was that I wasn't seeing the same improvement with my running. I mean, it was there to a degree, but not nearly as drastic as what I had seen with my cycling. I asked coach about it and he said I just needed more time/miles. These things don't happen overnight. Ok. I saw it with my cycling so I had confidence that sticking with the plan was my best bet so I just kept diligently plodding along. And then sometime in the middle of last week I noticed a change... I didn't have to hold back so much to keep my HR <155. I could just... run. How novel. This morning I went out and jogged 6 miles and never once had to back off to keep my HR where I wanted it to be. In fact, first mile was avg 133. Can you believe that?? I swear, I couldn't take a jogging step downhill at HR 133 in January. Today I did it into a headwind at a pace ~30 sec faster than I used to jog at 150. THAT is a major shift. It feels like the same one I saw with my cycling a few months ago, which makes me absolutely psyched to see what happens with my running by the time fall rolls around! Stay tuned... This is cool shit.

112 Miles

I rode by myself today. It was windy. At one point (for about 15 miles) I thought maybe the rapture was indeed upon us. Psycho winds and rain pelting me in the face and I couldn't see a thing. Lovely. But I came through 112 miles still alive and unscathed in 5:37, avg HR 144.

I stayed completely aerobic the whole time... perfect because it meant I was burning mostly fat for fuel, which is a good thing when you're planning on being able to run afterward. I ran spot-on race pace for an hour afterward (gotta love Garmin's avg pace feature) and felt fine. I wish I would have signed up for IM Tex-ASS.

The Secret To Nailing Your Workouts In May...

I'm sitting here at my computer working... writing schedules is pretty easy right now... seems like at least 1/2 my athletes are racing in the next few weeks so training gets very specific and the types of workouts they need to do are obvious and easy to conceive. Race specific stuff. Yep. This is the fun stuff!

I also did a rather race specific w/o this morning... a bike/run brick with a longish run at 1/2 IM race pace. Coach wrote in goal paces that were faster than what I have been able to pull off in a half ironman in the past so I was unsure about whether or not I'd be able to do that run as written. I mean, to do it right would require a PR on this loop by ~3 minutes. Was coach crazy?? Nope. I programmed my garmin to show me avg pace instead of HR and just went out and nailed it. It actually felt rather easy, at least until I got to the hills at the end. The hills felt hard but they didn't really slow me down. Solid. My run at Honu might not suck this year. How novel that would be!

Interestingly, I finished that super brick run and rather than being all pumped up about it, I was just like, Yep. there you go. Casual. No big deal. And then you'd think that physically I'd be on the thrashed side from that effort, because let's face it, it was a pretty solid PR for me (again), yet I feel fine. I didn't even feel the need to take an ice bath. Weird, huh?

All this feeling fine day after day after repeatedly nailing these workouts that normally would thrash me really has me thinking. Clearly this is a different scenario than what I have experienced in the past 16 years of training for triathlons. And when things are going well I think it's important to take stock and figure out why... that way it is repeatable... And now I will share with you the secret to nailing your race-specific workouts in May... I am 100% convinced that this is the benefit of the high volume low HR base training I suffered through all winter. Most athletes hate that low HR stuff. And I know why. Believe me. Going so slow and not being able to train with your training partners b/c that damn HR monitor is beeping at you and just generally being bored out of your mind flat out sucks... I've started training like that in years past but then gave it up after about 2 days because it was boring and I couldn't see how going SO SLOWLY could possibly be of benefit?? But that is precisely why I hired a coach who would teach me all that and force me to be accountable to it. And now, sitting here in the middle of May, 2 weeks out from a key 1/2 IM and 5 weeks out from my full, I am so incredibly glad I found a coach who understood this and helped me stick with it.

The Pictures... And The Details

 Upon checking in on Saturday I found out I was gifted a super race number. How could it not be a good day with a number like this?

Nalani got #8. We felt like superheros the day before the race given that they wanted to mark us with our numbers a day early. Isn't it always necessary to sleep the night before the race with your number already stamped on? And, um, check out her guns, huh?

I got home from check in and woke Moana up from her nap... Instantly she saw the number on my arm and asked, "Can I touch it?" Lol. So freakin' cute. Then she asked, "Can I have one?" Of course you can, Sweetie. (Mama's dream come true.) So I marked her up. Just like Mama. Isn't this the reason we have kids? To have a little Mini-Me running around?

So the swim start for the race was at the same beach where we filmed the triathlon scenes for Hawaii 5-0 last fall... Today was not nearly as brutal as what we practiced back then. I like this photo below though... Top 4 OA women right there with Bree, Rae, Nalani, and me right on the front line waiting for the signal to go. The looks on our faces are priceless, huh? Bree's looking all serious, Rae looks nervous, Nalani is in her normal la-la land (all smiles), and I'm just like YEP, Let's do it.

Interestingly, all three of those gals beat me out of the water (along with several other women). I don't think I had a bad swim. Hawaii just has some bad ass swimmer girls!

Nalani and Rae are both athletes I coach, so naturally I was glad that they both had good swims. But, um, that does not mean I did not make it my mission to hunt them down on the bike! (I actually had this thought while I was swimming... Just get out of the water so you can get on your bike... What has happened to me?? The swim has been my favorite part of triathlon for like 16 years... Apparently in my old age I can't keep up with these young whipper-snappers in the water anymore.)

Onto the bike... I caught Nalani pretty early on. Next up I caught Kathryn. Took me a bit longer to catch Rae but I got her ~15 min into the ride. At the first U-turn I saw that Rae and Nalani had rallied and were not very far back... my first thought was What? Why am I not dropping them?? Ha! Then I reminded myself the obvious... Um, Hello? I taught those girls how to ride a bike. Good job, Michelle... making life harder on myself helping these girls who were now hunting me. Clearly I had my work cut out for me getting the time I needed to hold them off once we dismounted our machines...

At that point I calmly reminded myself that the only gal out there who has even possibly been riding more than me was Bree... I had the utmost confidence that I could drill myself on the bike and still be able to run (pretty sure this is where a solid foundation of base fitness comes into play) so I upped it a notch and by the time we got to the next turn-around I saw that (OMG!) I was gaining time on Bree and creating solid gaps between myself and everyone else behind me. Sweet.

I swear I do ride in my aero bars and typically have my feet actually in my shoes. No one ever seems gets a picture of that though.

I came off the bike and Bree was actually in sight... OMG again. This is where I started to wish that I was a good runner. BUT, I kept my head on straight and just did what I could do and just hoped it would be enough to hold off anyone from catching me. I would have been super happy for Rae or Nalani had either one of them caught me, but it wasn't like I was going to give it to them. They would have to earn it. And one of these days they probably will. But not today! Turns out, I can run my current 5K pace for a 10K... after an hour of hard riding. Super.

How can you take me seriously when I am wearing this cat suit?

The finish line was a very happy place. All smiles with Rae who finished ~a minute behind me.

Nalani was happy about 4th OA and a 5 min PR over last year. I was happy about the champagne, even though it was in a plastic cup.

Awards. This was fun. I was buzzin'... some from the champagne and some from the awesome endorphins. Moana got a nice little taste of the podium too.

It was awesome today to finally have a race that felt reflective of the training I have done. I think it will just get better as the races get longer. Honu is in 3 weeks.