Wednesday, October 6, 2010

let the taper tantrums begin

let me start off by apologizing in advance to anyone who gets their head bitten off by me in the next 16 days. i'm already kind of a moody soul but this tapering down is going to test my patience like nothing ever has before. i'm used to a week and a half taper for a marathon but nothing like this. i know i can do it but it won't be easy.

i finally got to test out the new aerobag this weekend on my last long ride (100 miler) before the big race. thanks to Shannon at iron texas mommy for the heads up about being careful with bumps in the road. i can totally see how that could happen. she had the stuff in her bag fly out during a race after hitting a bump in the road. yikes! the bag worked very well and although i did hit some bumps, nothing flew out (this time). i did come up with an idea using safety pins to secure the top a little better, yet still be able to get my little fingers in there to grab a bar or gu. my cell phone fits quite nicely in the separate zippered side pocket also.

another thing i got to finally test out on a long ride was my new seat. the original, very comfy seat that came on my QROO had a big chunk missing from my little mishap with the owl watchers a little over a month ago. here is a picture of Mandy's new seat:
feels just like the old one and looks almost identical in its shape and lines, except this new one has a tad bit longer nose which is great because i do like tipping the saddle anyways, so more space to do that. Mandy's heart blew out over the weekend so she is currently in ICU awaiting a transplant...a new bottom bracket, which should be at my doorstep this afternoon for the very skilled surgeon/bike mechanic to replace asap.

in other news, i've been keeping a training log since july 2, 2007. every now and then, i run a little report via the buckeye outdoors training log to see various stats such as total mileage on the bike year to date or how many miles i've run one month compared to the last month, etc...so the other day, i did a year to date comparison between this year and last year and here they are:

JANUARY 1 - OCTOBER 6 (2009)                             JANUARY 1 - OCTOBER 6 (2010)    
ran - 1068.0 mi.                                                               1077.95 mi.
biked - 9179.65 mi.                                                          8195.84 mi.
swam - 0 mi.                                                                    107.76 mi.
wt trained - 71 times                                                         71 times

amazing how close some of the numbers are especially the weight training! i was surprised to see that i've been able to keep up with that as well this year. i knew my biking miles would be a little less. i ended up with over 11,500 miles of biking last year but i knew going into this year and training for an ironman distance race that my time would have to be divided up differently especially with the addition of the swimming. so far, it has been a really good year with lots of great stuff yet to come.

**a few side note: this blog post took me 3 days to finish. i will be so happy to get my life back soon. also, a big happy birthday to Jeff at dangle the carrot! go check out his blog so you can see what he got for his birthday.

is it friday yet?? much love and peace out!

26 comments:

  1. Hey there! Thanks for the mention. :) Hang in there on the tapering, your body will thank you for it! And, we're also rolling on the same bike seat, too. Gotta love the "Tri Like a Girl"- makes me smile every time.

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  2. awesome crazy numbers!!! I think its pretty cool how close the numbers are between years?! You have been an ironman for years now ;)

    Glad you are getting everything worked out with the bike now. Can't wait to see how the race goes for you!!!

    Hang in there!

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  3. Love the gear, and try to stay relaxed!

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  4. Embrace the taper!!!

    Good luck at the race.

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  5. I love the new bike seat! Very cool lookin'!

    Good luck with the taper. Rest and enjoy the muscle development that is going on during this down time.

    I can't wait to follow you during your race!

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  6. Wow, impressive numbers!

    Good luck with tapering. I hate tapering too, but enjoy the rest and mentally prepare for the big day!

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  7. Girl, I was just going to sit down and ask you how you were doing with your taper when I read your blog! So weird! I knew it was going to be hard and I had been thinking about you. Only a couple more weeks to go. How much are you allowed to train? What's a taper like for ironman? If you have the time I would be interested in knowing your training schedule for the next couple weeks. I love that your bike's name is Mandy. I have a dog named Mandy too:)

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  8. Amy, I didn't know your dog's name was Mandy. I only remember Lizzy the pug! i'll give you a call probably tomorrow or over the weekend, okay?

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  9. Thank you for the Bday shout out!!

    11,500 miles last year on the bike?? That would make most pro cyclists blush - wow! You are a machine KC!

    And the swim mileage looks pretty darn awesome too! Enjoy the taper1

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  10. Comparing numbers year to year is always something I do too. It's amazing to see the differences.

    Enjoy the taper, you're ready to rock and roll your IM.

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  11. It sounds like you have a great mindset leading into the taper, you know whats coming you know what to do!
    AMAZING numbers, great great year

    Derek

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  12. Ahh the taper. I remember it well (and blogged about it as well) All that pent up energy. Your body will appreciate it come race day. You are getting so close, and I am excited for you!

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  13. Wow, sounds like you were training for an iron tri last yr too, minus the swim portion. Just a couple more weeks and you'll be there ready to go. Hope this great weather we've been having sticks around!

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  14. OMG even I know those are crazy INSANE #'s.

    You amaze me woman.

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  15. Nice seat!! I've looked at that one a couple times!! Great job with training numbers. You can def say you are consistent

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  16. Big numbers fo sho
    Hey, race day, depending on the course route, you may see Arnie and I on the route. Did you know SA is only around 45 miles from Clermont? We may ride over

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  17. You SO GOT this!!! 9000 miles year to date is going to make your 112 seem like a breeze. Haven't you been riding a Century every weekend this year?

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  18. Yay for tapering! You deserve it!
    I like your new setup on the bike!

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  19. Taper tantrums....I love it! The next 16 days are going to fly by:) Enjoy the taper and get ready to rock!

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  20. Wow! Those are some serious numbers! You are going to rock it!

    Good luck with your ICU work on the bike :)

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  21. Isn't it amazing when you are in this tri/running world what those numbers mean. Show them to a person who doesn't get involved and they would think you are nuts.

    Show them to this community and we are virtual high-fiving you for them.

    One of the greatest parts of being in the tri/running community is that it is exactly that....a community.

    Good luck with the race and we will all be following.

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  22. That new bike seat is very cool; looks very speedy!! IM speedy!! :)

    It'll be Friday in a few hours - enjoy the weekend!!!!

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  23. Love the new seat look!

    I can't believe your race is already around the corner, I'm so excited for you! Those are some Iron-worthy training numbers...that is for damn sure!

    Ya better buy something nice for your J-Man for putting up with you!

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  24. I am so excited for your big day coming up! Looking at your consistent training over the past two years and the development of swimming shows how prepped you are for the Ironman.

    The seat looks amazing. I wouldn't want to have to park next to your bike:)

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  25. Nice swim yesterday!

    Thought of you on my run this morn, figured you are gettin close so I wanted to stop by and see your counter...SINGLE DIGITS 9 TO GO

    Excited for you KC!
    Hope all is well

    Derek

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  26. Thank you Derek and everyone else! I'm super excited too and just trying to stay focused and stay healthy.

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