Tag: ironmanlakeplacid

Fartlek Freestylin’: Muscular Endurance Rides on the CompuTrainer

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Effective endurance training must incorporate sessions that work on muscular endurance, which Joe Friel and Gordo Byrn (2009) define as the point “where force meets endurance [which] allows the athlete to apply a fairly large force for a fairly long time and is essential for cycling” (p. 27). In a little more than three weeks, muscular endurance will power me up Whiteface Mountain, and help me push through those relentless rolling hills that make the Ironman Lake Placid course so challenging. In the early base phase of training (January and February), most of my workouts focused simply on re-establishing and …

Miley Cyrus is right: It’s all about the climb

With two laps of Mirror Lake completed, my fellow Fireman Ironman training partners were stripping their wetsuits, drying off and heading back to their accommodations to prepare for the long run, which would begin at 12:30 p.m. Me? I was trying to avoid throwing a pity party for myself. With less than 5 weeks to go until Ironman Lake Placid, I’m sidelined from running thanks to a cranky right leg that is suffering from a mixture of tendinitis and ITBS. Good times. So as I exited the water, I did not strip my wetsuit. I did not dry off. I …

Primal Freedom

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I looked over my left shoulder to make sure no one was coming up behind me. The path was clear. Then, I let ‘er rip–my snot rocket, that is. I’ve never been especially “ladylike”. Just ask my mother. Her groans of disgust have been audible since I was a little girl. “Oh, Maria!” She would exclaim, while rolling her eyes, at whatever un-ladylike activity I was currently engaging in. Even so, I’ve had some limits in my life. Yet, one by one, those limits are weakening–thanks to running and triathlon. For example, pre-endurance sport, I would blow my nose into …

Promises to keep

There’s nothing like biting off more than you can chew, and then chewing anyway. ~Mark Burnett   My cycling was a disappointment last season. While my first Ironman was best day of my life so far, I made a promise to myself that this year, my performance will be better. And by “better” I mean faster. A lot faster. In the afterglow of IMLP 2010, I initially set what I thought was an aggressive goal: a 12 hour and 30 minute Ironman for 2011, which would be 1 hour and 3 minutes faster than my debut effort. John’s response? “You’ll …

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 …

Where it matters most: Heading for the hills

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It’s time to test my mettle. It’s time to see if all of this cycling-focused training has made a difference where it matters the most. It’s time to return to Lake Placid. John and I are heading north for the Fireman Ironman May Training Camp, which is run by NY City Fireman Larry Parker. Last year, John and I went to the June training camp, and it was such a positive experience, I can hardly wait to do it again–and again (for the June camp). We made friends, learned valuable tips, and swam, rode, and ran ’til our bodies cried …

Getting back to normal

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I’ve come to the conclusion that the Boston Marathon bears a similarity to Thanksgiving dinner: lots of preparation and anticipation – and then it’s over in a flash, and life gets back to normal. With less than 13 weeks to go until Ironman Lake Placid, normal can only mean one thing: swimming, eating, biking, eating, and running, followed by eating and sleeping, which is then followed by swimming, eating, biking, eating, and running. But, the formula is not as easy as all that since recovery from a marathon is just as important (more important?) as preparation for a marathon. So, …

Making goals believable: Sampling the Quassy HalfRev Course

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I might be a desperate masochist, but those Rev3 folks are sadists. The Quassy HalfRev course is proof enough. Cold temperatures drove me indoors for this week’s long ride, scheduled to be a 3 hour session. Hmmm. 3 hours on the trainer – that’s just a touch less than a half iron distance course for me. My mind immediately went to Quassy, which we will do for the first time this summer in Middlebury, CT on June 5th. One of the best aspects of having a CompuTrainer, versus a standard trainer, is being able to download and “ride” almost any …

Feeling the awesomeness that is life

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We are a little more than 17 weeks away from our second go-round with Ironman Lake Placid. And, I know we have entered a new phase in the training. …Not because the volume is increasing. …Not because speed and hill work are weekly regulars in the training schedule. …Not because I need more sleep to make up for the longer training hours. …Not because the pantry is bare just days after we stock it. Nope. None of these. I know it’s a new phase in the training because I’m weepy. I am not a did not used to be weepy …

The cheating metal man might have a point

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Do you see the metal man, thinking he’s all cool and fast and sleek with his uber aerodynamic silvery slick suit? Start screen on the CompuTrainer 3D software. This is how a virtual ride begins. He’s a cheater. That’s right, I said it. He. Cheats. The rider to the left is a representation of me. I’m not a cheater. I don’t have a cool metal suit. I’m vulnerable to metal man’s cheating ways. If you don’t have a CompuTrainer, you may be wondering who this silvery swindler is. He’s the pacer included in the 3D software package that comes with …