Tag: ironman

Swimming in doubt

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At times, doubt can be useful to our survival. For example, if someone tells you that you will be just fine if you run into raging flood waters, it is smart to doubt the veracity of that claim. At other times, however, doubt can be counter-productive. Perhaps we are afraid of failure, or we lack confidence. In these cases, doubt can prevent us from reaching our potential. In triathlon, I have struggled with doubts of my ability. Most recently, these doubts have centered on swimming. Growing up on the Southern New Jersey coast, I learned the basics of how to …

Tempo Intervals: Crying for my mommy in the last 10 seconds

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With IMLP 2011 a fond memory, it’s time to enjoy a return of the sufferfest. We’ve moved the CompuTrainer into a deluxe suite in the garage, where we have a TV, cable, and climate control. Lap of luxury, people! As an added benefit of the deluxe sweet, I don’t have to worry about my house smelling like a locker room–or leaving bike grease all over the floors (which I did two weeks ago – oops!). I like sweat and grease as much as the next triathlete, but I think the garage is a better place for stinky and sticky stuff. …

How can we fit it all in?

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If you are going to train for an endurance event, you need time. No shocker there, right? Preparation for distance events, such as marathons and triathlons, can require anywhere from 10 to 25 hours a week. With family, friends, work, household chores and so on, it is challenging to find that “extra” time for focused training. Even more daunting still are the hidden time costs that come from doing extra laundry, preparing food, traveling to races or group training sessions, ensuring proper recovery, and of course, blogging and logging training milestones. While I wrote about time management last year, an …

Guest Post: Shake Dreams from Your Hair – John’s IMLP Race Report

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The following is a guest post by my husband, John Jenkins. My race report from a few days ago gives you the mid-packer’s view, but John’s will give you a sense of how the fast boys and girls roll at IMLP. Shake dreams from your hair… ~ Jim Morrison 3:30 a.m. I woke up to allow time to take in some fuel. I had to force the calories in as I do not care for eating so much in the early morning. But, I was kind of hungry since we hadn’t eaten later than 6 p.m. the night before, which …

IMLP Race Report Part 3: Making buddies with the beast

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(Looking for part 2 of the race report? Click here. For part 1, click here.) The Ironman Lake Placid marathon is a tricky beast that requires considerable patience to tame. Last year, I royally messed up my pacing by running as if I were starting a “regular” marathon, rather than preparing for 26.2 miles after I’d already gone 114.4 miles. (Last year’s run report can be found here.) All year long, I’ve been committed to running patiently and not repeating the same mistake. Here’s a little snippet from the run portion of the race plan I wrote for myself: DON’T …

IMLP 2011 Race Report Part 2: Sticking to the Plan

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(Continued from yesterday: IMLP Race Report Part 1: Everybody was Kung Fu Swimming.) Immediately after you exit T1, the bike course makes a short descent on a narrow strip of gravel and goes directly into almost 180-degree turn.  This area is lined with other bikers trying to clip into their pedals and spectators trying to catch a glimpse of their athletes. Suffice to say, it’s a tight squeeze. Rather than get caught up in the throng, I walked my bike to an open space just after the apex of the turn. I clipped in and was off for 112 miles …

IMLP Race Report Part 1: Everybody Was Kung Fu Swimming

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Training, racing and finishing a second Ironman is not like the first. It is both easier and harder. Easier because all of the mysteries, like the behind-the-scenes details of transition, were revealed during last year’s race. Harder because you know what’s coming. Easier because you’ve done it once, and there isn’t the pressure of wondering whether or not you can do it. Harder because there is the pressure of doing it better, faster, stronger. Going in to this year’s Ironman Lake Placid, I was feeling the pressure. It’s not like I didn’t have pressure last year, but it was more …

Go Team Crazy!

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It was Monday night, 11 p.m. EST, and I was in a panic. Earlier that day, John had brought our bikes home from the Pro Pedals Bike Shop, where they received their final tune up and check over before Ironman Lake Placid, now just 10 days away. Normally, I go to bed at at 9 p.m., but I had drank a foolish amount of green tea, and couldn’t sleep. So, I wandered over to my bike, which was sitting in the living room (a.k.a., the CompuTrainer room), to check out the new tires the mechanic Jason put on my rims. …

The ART of healing

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Two weeks ago, I got off my bike after a five and one-half hour bike ride and started my brick run. It was supposed to be a 45 minute jaunt, nothing fast and furious, just your basic brick run. A mere twenty minutes into the run, my right leg became so irritable I had to stop and walk. It was time for me to accept the fact that this leg was not getting any better–and in fact–was getting worse. Tendonitis, ITBS — whatever the heck the problem was, it was signalling its presence and stopping my run. At that time, …

Sophomore Year at Fireman Ironman

“How did the ride go?” Chris Draper asked me as I pulled up to the Cobble Mountain Lodge, headquaters for the Fireman Ironman Training camp. We met Chris, who is the resident nutritionist for Fireman Ironman, after attending last year’s June camp. “Great!” I responded, beaming from ear to ear. And, then I back pedaled a bit: “Well, I mean, I’m not fast–fast like you, but I was good for me.” “You know, Maria, this is your sophomore year in Ironman. Think about where you are compared to your freshman year, and where you will be junior, senior year.” Success …