Why I Want To Be An Ironman

This morning the Ironman Florida 2013 group had our first meeting.  Coach Sway outlined some guidelines to prepare us for the next 6 months.  She also asked us to share why each of us wanted to do this race.  

Future Ironmen :)

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My Mom used to say I was in the pool a few days after I was born.  I was a fish.  In the summer, I was in the pool in my backyard or at the city pool everyday.  I took swim lessons and was on a swim team.  I loved boating, tubing, jet ski-ing and swimming out in the middle of the lake.  I love water.  In high school and college, I didn't swim at all.  I mostly played sports, ran, road my bike and lifted weights.  I ran my first half marathon in 2006, but the triathlon spark began in 2008.  In grad school, a classmate of mine, who was a collegiate swimmer, invited me to swim with her.  For 6 months, I swam with her and one other person.  We basically had a one on 2 coach.  The work outs would exhaust me, but I felt amazing.

In the summer of 2008, I did my final graduate school practicum back in Cleveland.  I got a new hybrid bike for my birthday and I signed up for my first sprint triathlon.  I bought some triathlon books and made my own plan.  One of the books I bought was called "The Fat Slow Triathlete."  I would swim in the pool, drive down to the trail and bike, put my bike on the back of my car and run.  I did this all by myself.  I had no coach, no guidance, and no training buddies.  I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT.  

My first race feels like so long ago.  I never did an open water swim.  I had no idea how to set up my transition area.  I had a hybrid bike without clips.  I didn't practice on hills and it was VERY hilly (up and down over the river and city).  I can still remember running the last 3/4 mile.  I ran around the Cleveland Browns stadium and then I circled behind the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum.  The emotions and amazing feeling I had when I made that turn was like nothing I had ever experienced before.  My family and friends were there to support me and I finished with tears in my eyes.  Little did I know it then, but that race added a lot of firewood to the spark initiated when I first started swimming with my classmate.  

I lived in Ohio then -- so after September my riding stopped.  Soon, I was confined to running on the treadmill, swimming, and lifting weights.  But, luckily I moved to Florida in February of 2009.  I joined the gym and continued to swim.  I found the trails in Orlando and road my hybrid bike, until I finally bought a road bike. I ran 5ks, half marathons, and a marathon.  

I was always swimming, biking, and running.  I still remember when Jason and I first started dating telling him I had to ride my bike because "I was training for a triathlon," but I had never signed up for one.  That was in July of 2010.  

I had tried to find a triathlon club in Orlando.  I knew of two different groups, but for some reason I never contacted either of them.  I went to a Lady Track Shack event in February of 2011.  Sway was there, but I didn't get to talk to her -- I talked to the woman with her.  I still don't know who that woman was, but she told me she trained for Augusta and loved it.  She was so positive and excited! I won a Tri with Sway water bottle... and I sat on that for ANOTHER 10 months.

As I sit here writing this, I am asking myself WHY it took 5 years to do another triathlon.  Part of the time was spent focusing on half marathons and a full marathon.  To be honest, the other part was my lack of self confidence and self esteem.  In 2011, I worked on my soul (and still do everyday!).  I did the work and I was finally ready.

I was turning 30 in May of 2012 -- and it just so happens the week after I turned 30 was the Florida Half Ironman.  I emailed Sway to ask her if she would have a group for the race -- and she said yes.  I signed up a few days after New Years and I attended the Tri with Sway information meeting.  The room was filled with smiling faces and lots of energy.  I gave Trung my check that day for the training. I was so nervous and I could not believe I was finally doing another triathlon -- and a half!

I loved training and having friends to swim, bike, and run with, but I had no intention of doing any more races after the Florida half.  I was always saying "I am only doing the Florida half and then I am done."  "I don't need a wet suit because after Florida half I am done."  Then St. Anthony's happened.  I was smiling the whole time -- I felt amazing.  Sway told Jason that I "wasn't going to be done after the Florida half" and that I "would sign up for another race."

I did the Florida half exceeding my expectations and having a blast the whole time.  I felt amazing.  I can still remember the last lap.  I came around the turn to the finishers shoot.  I got tears in my eyes.  While I was happy I succeeded at my race, I was absolutely devastated it was over.  At this point, my spark turned into a HUGE BONFIRE.  I spent the rest of the day crying. And the next day.  And then I signed up for Augusta.   And not soon after I signed up for Augusta, I signed up to volunteer at Ironman Florida. Yes, so I could sign up for and complete the 140.6 in 2013.  I knew I wanted to do it -- I knew I could.

It felt amazing to have a goal and complete it, but to me -- crossing that finish that line meant so much more.  I learned to accept progress and get rid of perfectionist tendencies.   Accept myself for who I am.  Try my best everyday and be proud that I try my best.  I quit putting myself down because I was slow and fat.  I learned to be kind to myself, be proud of who I was, and be more positive.

I want to be an Ironman, because:

• Achieving goals makes me proud
• Pushing myself to do my best makes me feel good
• I love the challenge
• Helps me focus on being not only the best athlete, but the best person I can be
• Helps me focus on progress/excellence and not perfection
• BEING AN IRONMAN IS BADASS

Being the best person I can be means a lot to me.  You have to be mentally strong to train and complete these races.  You can't put yourself down or focus on negative thoughts.  You have to be healthy in every aspect -- physically and mentally.  That includes reducing anxiety and stress, eating healthy, and treating yourself well.  

To me, becoming an Ironman is the cherry on top of my 31 year journey.  It demonstrates the progress I have made to become a better version of ME.  It shows me that even though I can't ever be perfect -- I am still a strong, beautiful, driven person who can accomplish anything I put my mind to.  

P.S. I threw out that "Fat Slow Triathlete" book. ;)

Rocketman Training: Week 13

I really can't believe we have been training for 13 weeks for Rocketman.  It really doesn't feel that it has been that long since the Disney Marathon in January.  The time has flown by -- which makes me happy that I worked so hard, because in just a few weeks official Ironman training begins.

The week started off with a rainy Monday which meant my bike/run planned for Monday evening had to be moved to Friday.  I went to my trainer Monday night and had a hard work out.  My glutes hurt and quads -- heck my whole body -- was really sore Tuesday morning at track.  I still had a great track work out, but when we were stretching/doing planks I was talking about how sore I was.  That is when Sway alerted me we weren't supposed to do any strength training until after the race.  Oops!  It has become such a habit, I didn't even to think to look on the log for strength training details.  My glutes still hurt Thursday and I was pretty tired for a a taper week.  Of course, Sway was right -- she is always right.  

At Tuesday's track, we welcomed a new teammate with Reverse Indians.  He ran with me, Miguel, and Faith.  We were hauling butt.  Our "conversational pace" was a little slower than 5k pace.  It felt great.  I skipped my planned swim on Tuesday after work to go to Jason's flag football game, but made it up for Wednesday.  

I was really tired during my swim which made me think my VQ test was not going to be good.  Typically in the VQ class, we do a 20 minute power test week 1 and then week 8 to show progress.  I honestly wasn't expecting to go up very much, because my test was already high at 186.  There was a new twist for this test -- the first one was blind.  We couldn't see our average power, current power, or cadence.  I am actually really good at pacing, but for some reason I wasn't feeling confident.  I decided to just go hard the whole time and see what happens.  I focused on my distance and trying to get as close as possible to the leader -- who was far in front of me.  I pushed hard, but I felt great.  The test ended and closed the screen blocking the power number and there it was 201!!!!!!!! Holy crap! I broke 200!!!!!!!!! YES.  That felt amazing.  We rested and repeated the 20 minute test with the goal to get as close to the 200.  I knew that wasn't happening, but I still gave it a great effort.  I ended up doing a 179.  It was probably the best 2nd 20 minute test I have ever done.  

Thursday morning I ran -- my legs were heavy and sore, but it felt good to run and I had a great pace!  I was looking forward to the swim in the afternoon.  I got on top of the paddle board before the swim and it was challenging -- but fun!  I swam 4 laps -- only one with paddles because I forgot mine.  My pulling is much stronger and I am a little faster. 

Marianne and I planned to do the mini brick on Friday night after work.  It was hot, but we only had to do a 45 minute ride and 20 minute run.  The circle by my house is perfect for a quick ride.  My legs felt great (after 5 days of recovering my strength training) and it was easy to maintain an 18mph pace.  We quickly dropped our bikes and headed out for a run.  I felt great and kept my pace under 10 minute miles. It was one of those workouts that just got me pumped up.  It was that good.

Saturday we had a short 32 mile bike planned.  I started by pulling Marianne and Heather, but soon Dolan and crew pulled up and we jumped on their pace line.  It was a great ride overall.  It was nice to be done so early on a Saturday.  I was getting some anxiety about maintenance on my bike.  I am trying not to spend as much money at the bike shop, too.  Jason Davis, aka Jason the Cyclist, went over my bike with me.  He taught me how to soak/clean my chain a little better.  He said I have a flat spot on my back tire -- which will decrease my speed, so I should get a new tire.  I was planning on getting new tires anyway, so that didn't bother me.  The good news is he saved me from spending $175 on a tune up/cleaning at David's, but the bad news is that after the race I have to spend at least that getting my aero bars cut and my brake cables rewired.  Because I will be getting that done, I am not going to spend the money on new bike tape or fix the aero bottle holder with velcro on the bars before the race.  Jason really taught me a lot about my bike and made me realize if I spend the time I can continue to learn more.  I felt a lot better after a little bike 101 with Jason.  :) 

Sunday we had an Ironman run, breakfast, and meeting planned.  Marianne, Kathy, and I ran a speedy 6 miles averaging a 9:36 pace.  I was dehydrated.  When I got back to the house, I chugged my 32 ounce water bottle.  We had a great breakfast and went over planning and training for the Ironman.  

Although the training doesn't officially start until June 17, I feel that I have been training since January 28 when Rocketman training began.  I have had my mind set on November 2, 2013.  Set a goal and focus.  Everything I do, I think about crossing the finish line at Ironman.  187 days until I cross that finish line and hear "Kristen Corsi, you are an Ironman."  

R-E-S-T Days

Motivation

Aim for excellence not perfection.  Life challenges and changes has a way of getting int he way.  When it does its easy to feel defeated, exhausted, and overwhelemd, when you are not moving forward or hitting your goals.  Excellence in whatever you do, is wiggle room to when life gets in the way of living to perfection.  Live Free.  -Rajesh Durbal

Rocketman Training: Week 12

Monday started off again with a ride after work with Marianne.  This week was much better, we were able to keep a faster pace and the time went by quickly.  I headed to the trainer after and got my butt kicked as usual.  We did pull ups with a resistive band which was AWESOME.  I love how we do different things every week.  I am definitely getting stronger.

Tuesday I had my stress test and echocardiogram in the late morning.  I had to fast and not drink anything for four hours before the test, so I skipped morning track.  It felt really weird.  I passed the stress test with flying colors and my echocardiogram looked normal.  Ironically, I got a call later in the day from the primary care office saying my liver enzymes were too high and needed me to come in for more labs.  Seriously, I have been poked and prodded at more the past 2 weeks than I have my whole life.  I will find out how my liver is doing next week.  ha.

I had a nice headache after not eating or drinking for 4 hours.  I was really stressed out and just sick of all these tests I had been having.  I made a VERY long drive over to night track and had a great work out.  I am really glad I went.

Wednesday my arms felt like they were gonna fall off (again) but I had a descent swim.  VQ was VERY hard.  We did 15 minute intervals of threshold work, 92%, 95% and 100% threshold power.  I busted my butt and I am very confident my test number will be somewhat higher than the last test.  However, the test is going to be "blind" and we won't know our power number throughout.  We will see what that does to my test result!

Thursday I woke up in the middle of the night for Trung's Birthday run surprise.

Happy Birthday Trung!! :)

It was really fun to run with such a large group.  I initially had plans to swim and lift, but I had to take a trip to South Florida and I was exhausted.  I needed the rest day on Friday.   Between the stress of my tests and the emotions I experienced with the news of the Boston Marathon bombings and the explosion in West, Texas -- I was tired.

Saturday I woke up very early to head to Titusville to do our course preview of the Rocketman course.

BRIGHT AND EARLY!

Group Picture! :)

I had a great swim -- not sure if it was because I wasn't wearing a wet suit or the temperature of the water, but it just felt good.  I got stung by a jellyfish -- it was a sharp sting.  It bothered me more than I didn't know why I had this pain than the pain itself.

Sweet stash/dirt face from the river. 

I headed out of the water and got on my bike pretty quickly.  The ride felt great.  Lots of crosswind initially.  Easily averaging 20mph until we got into the park where we made a turn and headed North right into the wind.  I pedaled my way through it and focused on the tailwind I would have on the way back.  The roads are bumpy and rough, but flat and fast.  I stayed in aero 95% of the time and maintained a good speed.

After the bike, Jenny, Jess, and I headed out for a run.  We kept a 9:00-9:30 pace and walked for Gu and to cross the street.  My legs felt great, but I was tired.

Marianne wiped out on her run and cut her knee pretty good.  TWS EMS to the rescue!

Jason came with me to help watch the bikes.  It was so nice to have someone there to help me with things and be my sherpa.  He is wonderful. :)

We ate some breakfast/lunch and slept most of the day.  We got up early again for the lake swim on Sunday.

I swam both ways -- 2.4 miles which is a new swim personal distance record for me.  Both of my splits were 1.5/2 minutes faster than my swim at Florida half.  I am hoping to swim around 38 minutes for the 1.2 at Rocketman.  Total time for 2.4 was 1:15:39, which was a very good baseline that I will use as we swim more and more for Ironman training.

I was STARVING after that swim.  I ate up some great food and then I was ready for BED!!!  We did a little celebration for Sway at the breakfast since her birthday was also on Thursday.

 Happy Birthday Sway!!! :) 

Oh... and I am an Auntie again!!! :) 

32 days until I get to meet sweet Karissa!!!! :) 

Success comes from knowing that you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming. -John Wooden

Rocketman Training: Week 11

This week was meant to be a recovery week leading up to the triple brick on Saturday, but I had an eventful week that didn't make it so relaxing.  On Monday, I had an appointment for a physical.  It took 3 hours and it resulted in: I am not anemic, but I have an irregular EKG.  Needless to say, I was not in a happy mood when I met Marianne to ride after the appointment, but I have known her for a long time and she a great friend who understands me.  We got that ride in and it felt good to spin my legs after the hard workouts from the weekend.  Jason and I went to the trainer to get our butts kicked and that felt great.  As much as I love swimming, biking, and running -- lifting weights is such a QUICK stress reliever.  You have to focus 100% on form and technique and the same thoughts that pop up in my head during a long run or bike ride do not come up.  It's exactly what I needed on Monday.

Tuesday I woke up very nervous for the mile time trial.  I talked to my trainer about it last week, because I said I didn't want to do any legs if I came on Monday and he made a good point he said... "What are you training for? Your race or the mile time trail?"  I still was so nervous.  Because I have had problems breathing and had a few race swim starts begin with hyperventilation, I am get nervous and anxious about my ability to breath.  To top that off, I had an irregular EKG the day before.   The nurse practitioner did not tell me to quit exercises, but I still felt like I have an elephant on my chest, the left side to be exact.  I ended up coming in at 7:35, my breathing was good and my legs felt great.  My first thought was: I could have pushed harder.  In my mind, I can always do better.  That's what keeps me going.  

Coach Sway hooked me up with her good friend who is a Physicians Assistant at Orlando Heart Center.  He told me not to lose sleep over my EKG and he got me set up so I can see the MD on Friday.  Tuesday night I was able to take my mind of my irregular heart beat and I went to a Gift for Teaching's office to build bikes for children.  It was a lot of fun and felt good to volunteer.  

Wednesday I had a nice swim (my arms were screaming from the trainer session on Monday) and pushed myself hard at VQ.  Thursday's run wasn't the most fun thing I have ever done, but  I got in it.  I did some weights before the lake swim and I was just tired and sore.  I started to wonder if I over did it this week with all the extra stress I was causing myself with my abnormal EKG.  And I just worried more.  I ended up taking 2 minutes off my time from the last lake swim so that made me feel a little better.

I had fasting labs Friday morning so I rushed to work and got done what I could before I had to leave at 1:15 for my appointment at the Cardiologist.  I am pretty good with directions, but I didn't really look up where this Orlando Heart Center was -- it didn't have ORMC or Florida Hospital in its name either.  I put NORTH Orange Avenue in my google maps and quickly discovered that was wrong when it said my location was Lake Ivanhoe.  I quickly turned around and went way to fast to get to SOUTH Orange Avenue -- I arrived at the office, which is at ORMC.  They said to park on the 4th floor, so I assumed there was a walk way over -- I didn't see one so I ran down the steps, out the door, back in the building and up the elevator to the 4th floor.  I checked in and got my paper work -- they were all very nice.  The tech took me back, weighed me and took my vitals.  149/92 was my BLOOD PRESSURE.  I am normally 110/60. I almost crapped my pants.  I was so nervous.  She did the EKG and she told me she wouldn't interrupt the results that the doctor does, but I did see the T wave and it looked the same as it did on Monday's exam.  

I started to think about if the MD would tell me I couldn't train for Ironman.  What would I do.  What if I couldn't do any high intensity exercise.  What would I do.  I have worked so hard the past 6 months to get my body in the best possible shape to continue to the second phase of this year's training for our Ironman.  

My chest was tight. I was sweating.  I wanted to cry.  Then I thought to myself, this is your fault you have something wrong with your heart, because you worry about everything.  You are too stressed.  Needless to say, I couldn't control my thoughts at this point.  It was taking too long for the doctor to come in.  One minute felt like 30 minutes.

When he came in, I felt better because he asked me questions and listened -- and took time to THINK.  He did his exam and tried to get me to relax -- I told him I needed a Xanax and he said "Isn't that what your training is for?"  ha.  In the end, he explained to me that he believes my T wave is a variant of normal -- he compared it to a person with red hair.  Yes, a ginger.  No, he didn't say ginger.  He told me in the big overall scheme I am very healthy, but I still need to get an echocardiogram and a stress test.  ha.  He also said that if there was something really wrong with me -- I most likely would have killed myself with all of my training.

I got home Friday exhausted, but Jason made me dinner as I got ready for the triple brick.  I was starving.  I woke up Saturday morning feeling great, but dehydrated.  I chugged 32 ounces of water and drank a cup of coffee.  I turned the radio up and dance partied my way to Western Way for the triple brick.

I got there early to set up my transition area and get ready to make our video!

We made a long version of a harlem shake video to submit to Rudy for a contest.  We all had so much fun making it!  It was a blast.

We also took some group photos!!! Love them!

My goals for triple brick were: to kick butt and NOT to draft.  I think kick butt was an understatement.  The first round was great, I averaged almost 20mph on the bike and 10:00 min/mile for 5 miles.  

I got back on the bike and my stomach WAS killing me.  Jenny and Marianne were ahead of me on the bike, so I focused on catching up with them instead of my discomfort.  I was literally sprinting to catch up to Jenny.  It felt great.  I slowed down a little on the 2nd loop, because the wind picked up, but overall still maintained around a 19mph pace.  

The second run was not very fun.  It's a lot hard to run with stomach pain than cycle.  The third bike was also good and the final run was also painful.  This time the pain moved and was even sharper.  I ran with Heather and Marianne and that really helped take my mind off of it and Trung also road his bike next to me.  

Overall, I was not pleased with my performance.  I wanted my 2nd and third rounds of the run to be a lot faster.  The truth is -- my legs weren't sore at all after the triple brick and they could have done more.  My stomach discomfort was limiting my ability.  In a way, I am glad this happened today instead of race day.  I was a little perplexed because I had no clue WHY this occurred.  I have only had one other discomfort in the past and that was at Augusta -- I started late (9am) and ended up eating TOO much before I started.  At first thought, I was thinking it was the carbo pro because I hadn't tried it all year.  But, after talking to Sway I was dehydrated and compensated by drinking TOO much water.  I drink SO MUCH water -- how could that be?  Well, on Saturday I could NOT get enough water.  I had 32 ounces before I started, 80 ounces on the bike, and at least 12 ounces on the run... PLUS the coffee.   I keep flushing my system --- but not replacing the electrolytes.  I usually drink e load on Wednesday at VQ, but through the week I do not drink any other electrolytes.  Next week I will have another chance to test out my nutrition when we do the Rocketman Course Preview!

I still look really strong in all my pictures and I am very proud of myself for completing my work out to the best of my ability despite my discomfort.  

Triple brick #4 is in the books.   I can't believe there is only 3 weeks until Rocketman.  

Rocketman Training: Week 9

I didn't make time to write my post from this week, but I keep all my workouts on daily mile.  It's a great way to track progress and motivate others.

On Monday, I had a ride and strength training session planned, but I had to help Jason with some things.  I took my rest day on Monday, which was great because I was just getting over a cold.

I woke up Tuesday and felt great.  We were doing mile repeats.  I was really stressed out from work and I was ready to release it!  My warm up was fast.  My mile repeats were: 8:13, 8:10, 7:58!!!  I ran with Faith for the 1st mile, but during the recovery we went different ways.   It was dark and I couldn't wait any longer to start my second mile so I started.  I really was taking my stress out on the track and I was getting exhausted, but I set a goal to do the third one in 8 minutes.  I tried to wait for Faith to start the 3rd mile, but it took too long.  Raj was coming full force so I decided to take off after him.  Raj is an amazing guy and a great triathlete who just happens to be a triple amputee.  I kept up with him for the first 200 meters, but he was on FIRE.  I heard him groan and I said YOU GOT THIS -- he pushed harder and was gone.  I thought about him and his desire to push harder and do his best -- and I did the same.  My shoulders were cramping, I was wheezing and I thought my lung was gonna come out of my chest, but I did it.

VQ was tough as always, but it felt great.  My quads were BURNING.

On Thursday, Marianne and I road before swim.  The wind wasn't that bad and it was nice to get the ride in so we didn't have to do it the day before Howey AND the HILLS.  We swam in the lake and I killed it.  I had a basketball game so I didn't rest and I swam 2400 yards in 43 minutes.  Paddles for 800 yards.

Friday, I woke up and did my run.  I brought some music and ran average pace of 10:11.  It felt amazing.  Jason and I pumped some iron Friday night.

Saturday we road at Howey in the Hills.  The locals are getting upset we are riding out there.  Sway warned us about glass and tacks.  I did 50 miles -- a little slower than I'd like, but I did average 15mph the last time we did Howey!! 1mph is a great improvement for 3 weeks and I road 10 more miles!

My run after my bike was awesome.  I ran 3 miles at 9:57 pace.  Any day a run is in the 9 min/mile pace it's a good run. :) I heard something when I was running and I couldn't figure out what it was.

Sunday I woke up and really didn't want to run, but I had plans with Marianne.  We got 12 miles in.  My shoe was making noise and so we stopped and I checked my shoe -- I had two tacks in there.  That's what I heard the day before.  Better than my tire! I went to the pool after and did not have a great swim.  Cut it short for 1600, because at that point it was almost "junk miles."

Overall, a great week!  Cheers!

Rocketman Training: Week 10

WOW! What a week!  

Monday started off with a nice ride at the airport with Marianne and NooNoo.  The wind was high and the most we have had since hurricane season.  It was pretty brutal.  We only had a tailwind for maybe 2 minutes -- crosswind and headwind the rest of the way.  It's not fun all the time riding at the airport, but I do like riding there.  I feel like it is great practice as I am expecting lots of wind for Rocketman and Ironman Florida.  

After that ride, I headed to see my trainer.  It was an awesome workout.  He kicks my butt every time and I can tell that both Jason and I are getting stronger and more defined.  I do lift weights on my own 1-2 additional times, but I believe his workouts are helping me to be a stronger athlete.

Tuesday I felt great at track and given the fact that I did a hard work out the night before I was very surprised by my performance at track.  Typically, I run the hills and maintain 10:30ish pace and I stop at least 2x to get water.  On Tuesday, I did not rest at all. Up and down those hills and around -- no problem.  My legs felt strong and I was kicking butt.  

That theme carried over to Tuesday night when I swam.  It was an awesome workout.  Main set consisted of 2x400, 2x300, 4x100 at race pace.  My splits were freaking amazing.  I felt like a boat in the water.  My splits were: 400's: 7:18, 7:06, 300's: 5:10, 5:10, 100's: 1:36, 1:35, 1:36, 1:29.  A guy tried racing me on that last 100 which is why it was lower than the other ones.  I am feeling the improvement just by being more consistent with my swims!  My upper body strength has also significantly improved as well as my follow through. 

Wednesday I just had VQ and I hit all my numbers without much of a problem.  I usually go above my numbers, but it wasn't so easy this week.  

Thursday I woke up and I did NOT want to run.  I didn't even want to go to work.  That should have been my first clue, but I didn't listen to my body.  I forced myself to run and I felt awful.  I was so fatigued and shaky at work -- I started to get worried.  I also feel that I get sick more than others so I started to think something was wrong with me.  My Mom has thought I was anemic and the nurse at work told me she thinks I am anemic.  I decided to quit putting things off and I made an appointment with a new nurse practitioner.  I received a referral from a teammate who is a nurse and said this ARNP is very thorough.  I also finally made an appointment to get myself checked out by an asthma specialist. It's been warmer, but I am still having some wheezing/chest tightness still -- and several hours after my workouts.  I am hoping something can help me -- even if its a CLEAN bill of health.  

Swim on Thursday was cancelled -- I had planned on skipping it because I felt so awful.  Friday I woke up and I still felt fatigued, but it was Friday and that helped.  I ended up doing some strength and completing my swim after.  It was another workout with some speed.  I kept all my 75's below 1:15.  This makes me laugh because I remember when I swam with my friend in grad school.  She wanted me to hit a 75 below 1:15 and it was so hard.  I can do 6 of those without a problem now.  I had to get to a CPR class so I didn't rest much in between sets.  

I had a CPR class and came home.  I was crabby and still fatigued.  I wasn't happy.  I didn't even get anything ready for the workout on Saturday.  I just ate and went to bed.  

I woke up early Saturday and took my time getting things ready.  I decided I should make some coffee. I believe coffee improved my performance -- and I love it.  Coffee makes me happy. ha.  I got there early and took my time getting ready.  

Found Trung after his long run shower.  Looked a little funny. ha. 

I wanted a nice picture of all our cars, but I couldn't get one.  This is good enough.

I had ZERO expectations for this ride.  I knew Marianne wanted to stick with me -- but Jess and Jenny were getting a late start.  I started behind Sway and she took off.  We had a nice tailwind.  The sun was rising on the east and we had beautiful cyclist shadows on the west.  After a few miles, we dropped everyone but Lorri.  That made me nervous, because I felt like I had no choice but to keep up with Coach Sway and Lorri.  At that point, I decided I was going to give it my all and try to keep up.  The next 10 miles were hard -- I could barely breath at one point.  It was so hard keeping up with Sway.  We were averaging 24mph.  HOLY CRAP.  That is so FAST.  I yelled up to Sway that I was breathing heavy and felt like I was in Zone 5.  She said to keep going and it was good practice -- so I did!  Lorri was behind me and we made our turn on to 192.  It felt like forever when we were on 192.  We had a nice tailwind so we kept a nice fast pace.  I can't really explain how I felt riding with Sway and Lorri other than "on top of the world."  I remember my first ride with Lorri.  It was my last season when I still had my road bike.  We averaged 18mph and she pulled me the whole way.  It was so difficult.  I remember asking her if that was hard for and she said "not really."  Fast forward 12 months and I am now not only keeping up with her but riding at her pace.  To top it off, I was riding with Coach Sway.  It felt surreal and I was on cloud 9.  

FUN TIMES! :)

Yes, I was drafting, but drafting going 24mph is NOT easy for someone who averages 18-20mph.  During the headwind, I took my turn pulling for a bit and I was able to maintain an 18mph through the wind so that felt great.  We did stop when Sway got a flat... and I accidentally stepped in an ant hill.  I am allergic to a lot of bugs -- Florida ants 100%.  Check this out:

 My right non-bitten ankle.

My left ankle with the bite. It looks like I have a freaking sprained ankle.  The red dot is the bite. 

I was on such a high and I was ready to bust out a fast run.  My first mile was 9:33, second 9:10, third 9:01.  Average pace 9:12.  BOOOOYAH.  Felt amazing.  :)

Sunday we did a 12 mile long run.  My legs felt good, but my calves were really tight and sore.  I woke up wishing I had sleeves to wear during my run.  I did a little walk run with Jenny and when we ran we were running between 9:00-10:00 pace.  We averaged 10:35.  Pretty good after a hard workout yesterday.

I decided to skip my swim today because I am still so exhausted.  I plan on swimming four times next week since it will be a slight taper week to prepare for our TRIPLE BRICK!