(non) ironman training

A few weeks ago (well, five weeks to be "exact"), I decided to start up ironman training once again. I didn't have a specific race in mind to sign up for.  Mostly I just wanted to get into training again to see if it would inspire me in some way or fashion.  Things started out pretty well.  I started having visions of toeing the line again and then started formulating a plan to just do my own damn race (can you say MER MAN!!) and map out a course where I live. Forget the entry fee, travel and hoopla - just swim and ride / run through the SoCal landscape.


I made it through week five and quite honestly have no desire to keep going.  Ironman training and "racing" (more like participating) definitely served a purpose in my life at the time I did it.  I met some fantastic people, had some amazing experiences and traveled to places I probably would have never traveled to. But at the end of the day (well, the end of this past five weeks anyway), I discovered it's not something I particularly want to do again. I absolutely don't mind the "pain" of training or the time required to do it. I just don't seem to enjoy it or get anything out of it anymore.

Which begs the question I've been asking myself for the past three years (or if I'm really honest with myself, the question I've been asking myself the past 15 years) - what is it I want to do with my time. What is it that gets me fired up and passionate.  I still don't know. I'm not sure I ever will. All I can do is keep trying to find it.

In the meantime...

 

Garmin

When I read the news regarding the shooting at Garmin's Kansas office, my heart sank.  It sank a little deeper than it normally sinks every time I hear about gun violence and senseless deaths.  No one can say whether or not this incident would have happened independent of who was in the White House; I know the person that pulled the trigger is responsible for the shootings, but I can't help but blame the current President of the United States for what happened in Kansas.  Thanks to his tone, hateful speeches, exclusionary words, anger, constant complaining and overall bafoonery it helped give this lost and hurtful man an outlet to channel his anger.

I worked for a company and the gentleman in charge of our office was never there, seemingly didn't care about the employees, had a "I'm better then you" air about him and only let you in if you were part of the "good ole boys club".  The company saw a mass exodus of good employees in a short period of time (including myself) and during my exit interview the HR manager asked why I was leaving so I told her the truth on how I felt and what I observed.  She said she had heard similar things from the others she interviewed.  My point being, the success and growth of a company starts at the top and unfortunately America has a man full of hate and anger at the top right now and it's setting the tone for our country.

I'm not inherently a violent person, but every morning I wake up and want to shoot the fucking president in the head. I literally need to take time to calm myself down.  I find myself scrolling through my twitter feed not able to even read half the articles on Trump because it makes me so mad.  I believe there a lot of positive people in our country and people are coming together like never before to organize, stand up for what they believe in and speak out.  But, until the man at the top is removed, I can't honestly say that I'm sure things will get better. And I can't honestly say I'm sure our country can survive 4 years of this.

Building a House Part 3 - Halfway Done?!

Well, construction is well underway! Latest schedule from the contractor shows finishing last week of December, I can't think of a better way to bring in the New Year!

Progress!!!

Electrician Speak

I've been able to meet some of the contractors the past month. The framing "dudes" - I can't remember their names, but two guys basically framed this whole house in a month and during one of the hottest summers SoCal has ever seen. They were amazing. Scotty, the plumber, used to race bikes. He started his own plumbing company a few years back so he could be his own boss and have the time to raise his kids and "be a good dad". Zach the Electrician has pretty much thought of any possible thing we may want to do in the future and has planned for it. Spare power in the garage for future electric car - done; Conduit stubbed underground for future electric gate at the drive entrance - done; Spare power and another conduit stubbed underground for building on the 2nd pad - done; Space to connect future solar panels - done. Every time I ask him a question, he's on top of it - his response, "I just think of what I would do if it were my house".  I haven't met the HVAC dude yet,

Air Flow

but bless his heart. Since we're building a house with a flat roof, it's more difficult to run the ductwork than it would be in a traditional "sloped" roof house. But he's making it work and it looks great.

While the house is being built, I've been doing some "google"-ing on-line to try and figure out the best way to build the "future training center" and came across this fabulous website called "Studio Shed" (http://www.studio-shed.com/) Seeing how the main house is fitting on the land, I can visualize better how the training center and future structures could be positioned... I have some great ideas and as usual getting ahead of myself, but you always have to keep dreaming.

Souped up RV

Jaw and I turned in our notice to move out of our Apartment at the end of our lease (Nov 30), so we're getting ready to live it up in the RV for a month. Jaw put solar panels on the RV, tore out the old carpet and put in vinyl tile flooring and put in a new WC. It'll be small and cramped, but I think it'll be awesome. We'll probably take it down to the coast on the weekends and "camp". Can't beat that!


Some things are keeping me up at night - the process is amazing, but I find myself wondering "have I forgotten anything"? I'm trying to let it go and just keep reminding myself that we're creating something great - for us and for our friends / family. And then I always come back to the "view". And can I put a coffee maker and wine fridge on the 2nd floor deck??
Cheers!
Mer-OO
xox

The VIEW!

Building a House - Part 2...AIEEEEEEE!!!!!

Today is a good day. I finally closed on the construction loan for the house. This process was the most painful thing in my life. I'm the type of person that likes to make sh*t happen, and with this loan, there was absolutely nothing I could do. If there was ever a lesson in "letting go", "not worrying about what you can not control" or "stop trying to force things to happen and just let them happen", applying for a construction loan or mortgage now-a-days will teach you those lessons.

At any rate, I also have an address for the house. It was assigned when the builder submitted for the permit. WOOOHOOOOO!!

I've been spending a bit more time at the property and there are a lot of bunnies there. I like bunnies.

I'm meeting the builder on Thursday to finalize everything.... There are some things I'm really really (ahem really) particular about and other things I don't care about. But somehow when you're spending time and money to build your own house, everything seems to be of the utmost importance. Do I have all the electrical outlets in the right place? Where to put the towel racks in the bathroom? Are 15" deep upper kitchen cabinets a standard size because some of my dishes won't fit in the standard 12". The linen closets need to be deeper because I just measured the depth of my big towels when they're folded and I need deep shelves. OMG - I wake up every day grateful for what I have and know that there are a lot of people suffering out there in the world - how can I possibly be worried about the shelves in the linen closet not being deep enough? But one thing I've learned lately is not to feel like I don't deserve what I *have*. I'm not huge on having materialistic things, but this house is a dream and when it's all said and done, I hope it serves a greater purpose than just a place for Jaw and I to live. I want this house to be a place for our friends and family to come any time they want / need to. I want this house to be a place full of light and joy and happiness. I want this house to be a place where people can be and create their dreams. When the training center is built, I want this house to be a place for friends, athletes, neighbors to come and train (ahem - Midwest friends - have you signed up for a spring race and need a place to train in the winter??)  That's the dream. That's the vision.

Hopefully, the next post will include a picture of something resembling the frame of the house being built!!

Cheers and XO
Mer-ooOOo

Building a house...Part 1

For a long time I've had the yearning to build a house. I think it actually started when I first had my cat. I remember thinking to myself, "when I build a house, I'm going to cut an opening in the wall and create a space for the cat box that had like a little kitty door in front of the opening so that the litter box would be hidden and out of the way". There's just no good place in a house to put a litter box and hence my whole first idea of a house plan revolved around where to put the cat box.

Things have changed a bit since then.

It didn't become clear to me until last year why exactly I wanted to build a house. Now the vision is clear and I'm just pushing forward as best I can. I can't control this. If it's meant to be, it'll be.

Archie, the neighbor's dog :)

Jaw and I found a property in Fallbrook, CA which is way way way north county San Diego. It's an unincorporated town, known for it's avocados and history of artists. There are also about 10 churches of various demoniations along this one stretch of road and the first time we explored the area, we encountered a "preacher" of sorts giving a speech in the parking lot of the corner gas station.  So with divinity on our side, we purchased the lot. It's a pretty amazing piece of land. Situated on about 3 1/2 acres, it had a graded building pad, septic layout and all the makings to be an extremely peaceful and wonderful place to build.

Jaw set his RV up at the property and we spent some weekend days up there, got to know most of the neighbors and were feeling pretty good about things. I (more than Jaw) wanted to get started on the project, so I made contacts with a loan guy and got the skinny on construction loans. We would be approved - it was just a matter of getting a design and a budget over to the bank and then poof - we'd have a loan. So, I hired an Architect and got them going on a schematic design.

In the meantime, I did some research on the other utilities for the house.  Water was not a problem - there was a meter for the property and that was set to go. The house would be on septic, so all we had to do was update the old septic layout and submit it to the county. There's no natural gas to the site, we would be using propane - that's easy to set up... Finally, there's power. I mistakenly thought that since there were houses around us and a "road and utility easement" along the north side of our lot, that power would be readily available. I was wrong. But with multiple meetings with the electric company, the contractor and the neighbors, we finally (after about four months) got it sorted out. Needless to say, we'll be looking into solar systems to get off the grid as soon as possible!!

Next up - meet the fire department to make sure they're happy. You need a happy fire department or else you're screwed. The Architect and I met the Fire Department and worked through a couple of

issues. The fire marshall is amazingly nice and I pray to the Gods above he doesn't retire before my project goes through! I need to pave the driveway (this I knew). The driveway needs to be 16' wide, but if it's not in some places because of the terrain that's ok (Phew - because I'm pretty sure it's on the brink of being barely 16' in some places). I don't need to put in a fire hydrant (the nearest hydrant is more than 1000' away) as long as I have a fire water storage tank (wayyy cheaper than extending the water line to a hydrant and installing a hydrant). Yay!

I took the schematic drawings to a builder in Fallbrook to get pricing input and have been working with them to finish the plans. It's starting to come together and we hope to start construction in July. Yay!

Our vision is to build a house along with a secondary structure to act as a training facility / music studio / yoga room. The house will get built now and then sometime in the (hopefully not so distant future) the second phase will get built.  It's all very exciting!


Cheers!
Mer-ooO

I got on my bike today!!!

It's been 49 days since I rode my bike. Even went I went to Africa to hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro, I don't think I took 49 days off from riding.  But, this break was necessary...

Shortly after registering for Ironman New Zealand, I got hurt and then slogged my way through Vineman 70.3 (see Vineman Prep and Vineman Race Report). So I decided to listen to my coach and shut it down. No running and no biking until September. I worked on my swim, I did yoga, I hiked, I did a lot of mobility exercises and skipping. I sat on a LaCrosse ball..... My legs got squishy and un-muscle-y, but my injured leg started feeling better and I saw light at the end of the (injured) tunnel.

So with 24 weeks until race day, I survived my 1st "return to ironman training" weekend. Go Me!!! Saturday I did a 1-1/2 hour hike / jog (I ran 10 minutes in a row, yo!!) with the hubby, then we sweated it out with a fat-busting strength session at the gym. Today I got on my bike. I managed 2 hours, 30 miles, 1500' climbing. Yes, it took two hours to go 30 miles, but I survived. My legs remembered how to ride and the conversation in my head (don't you have a conversation in your head when you ride alone??) went something like this:  Me: "Legs - I'll make you strong again...I'll foam roll you every day, find a massage therapist and eat properly. I'll do my functional strength training exercises and mobility exercises... all you have to do are the workouts I tell you to (no quitting when the interval workouts get "hard") and stay injury-free. OK???" Legs: We can't talk. Me: "I'll take your silence as an agreement."



I also took time off so that I wouldn't get burnt out on training. In my first two ironmans, I trained nearly a year for each one and was burnt out oh about 3 months before the race. Re: I had multiple mental breakdowns...My 3rd ironman, I had a

much shorter training period, but also had my best IM race to date (might also have something to do with the bike course not being so hellishly hard..).

The 4th race, my training volume decreased, but the intensity shot through the roof and I was ready to tear it up... Unfortunately I did not finish and I'm not re-capping that here :).


As I throw myself into training for the 5th race,  I have a new sense of wisdom (hello turning 40!) and sense of self and purpose. And I am supported by the most amazing husband a person could ever have and I look forward to training for this race not for any specific time goal, but for the continued path of self discovery.

Cheers and keep riding!
xo

Vineman 70.3 - 1st completed triathlon in two years... swim + bike + blaaahhhhhhhhruuummmpphhhh

First, let me say that this race was a success because.... I finished. Yipeeeeeee! I haven't completed all three disciplines in a triathlon in two years. And, ask anyone, I'm not a big racer, I'd rather just train (i.e. ride my bike), but I really just wanted to finish a damn race!  So, when I managed to register for Vineman (it sold out in 8 minutes), I was looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

Everything was going along great until I injured my left leg running. Between the beginning of June and race day, I backed off any hard bike training and stopped running. I couldn't even run if I wanted to, the pain was so bad. I couldn't stand on just my left foot without my leg shaking and giving out on me. I had no idea how I was going to get through the run course at the race, but that didn't matter. Last words from my coach were "race aggressive on swim and bike, see how leg feels on run. If any pain, shut it down so New Zealand not compromised". So that became my plan.

The week before the race, I took off work. I really needed a vacation. Working 12 hour days, weekends, 4th of July... It was getting to me. Jaw and I took the RV up the coast and camped, rode a little, walked, slept in, etc. Thursday we came home, I packed up my race junk and we left for Windsor about 3 AM on Friday. Wanting to avoid all the Cali traffic, it was a nice road trip up north. We took some back roads to get to Windsor and it immediately became clear to me why the race is so popular. The area is so incredibly beautiful. Saturday Jaw became sherpa extraordinaire and came with me for a little practice swim, short ride to verify all on the bike was OK and packet pick-up. He was so amazingly supportive through the whole day and my usual pre-race neurosis were less than usual (although he'd probably say I was a wreck :) ).

Race morning - got up early and ate some yummy oatmeal from Thrive Foods Direct. I have been getting my meals delivered from them the past month or so (all gluten free, plant based food - I'm not a vegetarian, but I like eating clean, unprocessed foods and I don't want to cook, so this is a lifesaver for me). Got to the race early to snag a premier parking space (and I had an early wave start). Set up transition with lots of time to spare, so we just hung around and enjoyed the atmosphere.

Swim:
This course suited me for a couple of reasons. The water was as calm as can be and the course is a simple out / back. Some people like it because the water is so shallow you can stand up and walk / rest if you need to, but when I made the turnaround and my hands were hitting the bottom of the river, I found it really annoying and was praying for some deeper water. I had been working on my swim a lot and while my swim time still wasn't stellar, it was my best swim time (time per 100 m) in a race to date (excpet for the half at the Triple T, but I'm convinced that course was waaayyyyyy short). I was feeling very good on the swim. Pulling hard, breathing easy, good technique. I even passed a girl in my wave towards the finish. Woooo! I was hoping for a little better time, but I'll take it. Out of the water, short walk to my bike (longer walk to the bike start) and I was off...
Swim: 37:09 (1:55 / 100 m; 39th in AG)
T1: 3:38

Bike:
Beautiful course!!! The weather was mostly overcast the entire ride, which helped me tremendously. I don't do well in the heat. I tried to settle in, but was anxious to get off the main road and make the sharp turn into the backcountry. I got to the turn and managed OK, but then dropped my chain on the 1st big steep climb. Instead of losing it, I just did a quick glance behind me, turned around back to the bottom of the hill, re-set my chain and up I went. No worries - rookie mistake, but all is OK. Now, I tried to settle in, but the roads are very very very bumpy and everything on my bike was rattling. So, I stopped briefly to check my between the bars aero bottle and sure enough, the velcro (I recently purchased a Profile Design HC Aero Mount / Bottle) was loose. So, I tightened that up and NOW, I was ready to rock-n-roll. Still, the roads were very very very bumpy, but damn beautiful so no reason to get all upset. Finally around mile 40 something, the roads cleaned up a bit and just my luck, I hit one little bump and my bottle finally flew out of the holder. Oh crap - I was too in the zone to go chase it down and frankly, I think it fell off the overpass into the valley below. I was past all the aid stations, but had about 1/2 bottle of water with me so figured that was good enough.

Right after that, something big smacked me in the lip and I almost fell off my bike. I don't know if it was a bee or a rock or some other bug, but my lip swelled up (hello free botox) and hurt like hell. Ok - this is fun!!!! Anywho, made my way to transition, happy-ish w/ my bike time ( was hoping to average 20 mph, but 19.7 is good). I had a long way to walk to rack my bike, so I took off my bike shoes right after the bike dismount line and...... jogged to my transition area. Wait - I'm "running". Weeeeee!
Bike: 2:49:47 (19.79 mph; 13th in AG)
T2: 5:24 (I was in no rush... :) )

Run:
Beautiful Course!!! I put on my pillow shoes (i.e. Hoka's) and actually started running out of transition. But just past mile 1, my leg reminded me that it was not happy and I came to a screeching halt. It's the type of pain that stops you dead in your tracks. I talked to my leg... told it just get me jogging from aid station to aid station and I'll let you rest and walk through each aid station. This worked a bit, but at some points the pain was too much to handle and I walked some between aid stations as well. As my coach said, if it was too much, shut it down so I can train properly for IM New Zealand. At some point while I was hobbling along, I noticed my toes were on fire and hurting, but too scared to stop and take off my shoes, I just put that out of my brain. I saw my good friend Jay from Chi town around mile 10-ish... he looked good and strong and gave me a bit of energy boost (thank you Jay!) Around mile 11 or so, I figured I could be done in 20 minutes so I started jogging and told myself it's flat and straight to the finish so just try to get in some sort of rhythm and get 'er done. And so I did. I got passed by so many people on the run course, but it didn't bother me. This wasn't a race for time.

Run: 2:30:21 (11:28 min / mile; 54th in AG)
Total: 6:06:19

Side notes:
I didn't have any GI issues at this race. I don't know if it's due to changing my diet or being in a better mental state of mind, but I was very pleased with this.

Since starting triathlon in '06, I've only done four other half ironman races and this time was actually my fastest. My other halves were: American TTT in 2010 (6:21), Pucon Chile in 2009 (6:20), Las Vegas Half in 2007 (6:16) and Steelhead in 2006 (6:06:37). I sort of wonder what I can do when I'm actually not hurt...

Omelette Express in Windsor makes the most amazing day-after race omelettes you'll ever eat!

Cheers and XO!
Mer