She's real fine my...

I have one last little deposit to make into my Ironman account today and then I am going to cash out on Sunday. I have been putting in the work all year/season long and I am ready. Well, as ready as I will ever be. I have overcome intestinal parasites, bike crashes, and myself to get ready for this. Does my race number mean that I will clean up on course while I am out there? Who knows for sure.

I pick up my bike at the shop today and I want to finish my packing up tomorrow. I pick Johnny Tri up from the airport on Thursday and we leave for Cozumel on Friday morning. From the time we step off the plane we have packet pick up, race meetings, athlete dinner, bike rebuilding, and if we can fit it in, a small swim. Saturday is bike and gear bag drop off and get off the feet. Sunday we are up at 3:45 to get breakfast and to get to the shuttle that starts running at 5:00am to take us to Chakanab Park for the start.

My race number is 409 if you have nothing better to do on Sunday and want to check in and see if I will make the cut off by midnight. Keep me in your prayers that I have an uneventful race.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Liz

Taper Time!!!

Wow, I really am enjoying all of this free time. I have been getting caught up on the last 5 weeks of Grey's Anatomy, doing laundry, and goofing off. Yes, I still have workouts. They are just short and intense. I was joking with Greyhound that this is what it must feel like to train for sprint and Olympic distance races. I have been doing more than goofing off. Really. No, really!

Bud had a big swim meet. This was his first USA Swimming affiliated swim meet. The 8 teams were all USAS programs. These meets are run much more efficiently than the NWAL meets with the neighborhood team. The other thing that makes these meets a step above the summer league meets are the use of the Colorado Timing System. This is the touch-pad system that is used in meets where the finish time is recorded when the swimmer touches the pad. These timing systems are very accurate. Bud's meet was only for swimmers between the ages of 9 and 14. He swam 5 events: 50 Free, 50 Back, 50 Fly, 100 Breast, and 200 IM. Bud came in around 17th and 18th in most of the events out of anywhere from 36 to 45 boys in his event but placed 5th in the 200 IM and gained 4 team points for his swim club. We have another meet the day after I get back from Cozumel. Bud's coaches from the swim club who he has swam under for the past year were pleasantly surprised at his 5th place performance. Mom was pretty proud as well.

Last week the kid and I put together 6 shoe boxes full of goodies for Operation Christmas Child. There are so many children all over the world who live in poverty and have very little to call their own. These children are so thankful to get a surprise gift of small toys, school supplies, personal hygiene items, and some hard candy. Our family is very blessed to have so much, it is the least we can do but share with those who are in need.

I have been attending some USA Triathlon continuing education classes in Austin, TX. Last week I attended a lecture on Weight Loss Strategies for Endurance Athletes by Bob Seebohar. This was a great lecture! Bob works with Olympic level athletes. He has developed a strategy called the Fuel Target. It is a concept that is easy to understand and helps athletes figure out what they need to focus on in their nutritional plan. I am sure that I would not be able to explain it as well as Bob can so if you would like more information, you can find it in his new book titled, Metabolic Efficiency Training: Training the Body to Burn More Fat. His book is so new, that it is not in stores or on Amazon yet. If you would like to order it, just click here.

I also attended a lecture on Sunday titled Run Your Best Off The Bike by Bobby McGee. Bobby McGee is Barb Lindquist's coach and the coach to many other ITU and top level Olympic, 70.3, and Ironman athletes. There were three big topics we discussed on how to improve the run leg of your triathlon. The first item was to look at bike set-up. Most running injuries are the result of improper bike set-up. Bottom line, spend the money to get a good bike fit and to find the right saddle for the bike. I had my bike set-up done by John Cobb on both my road bike and my tri bike and I have not had any injuries other than the injuries I sustained from falling off the bike. The second was to employ a run/walk strategy to the run leg of the triathlon. Bobby is now working with athletes that are shooting for the 2012 Olympics and they are currently working on this strategy. There is a huge ego factor that they are having to overcome. Every athlete wants to run the run leg and run the entire thing, but the evidence is showing faster overall pace times and negative splits in races where the run/walk technique is used. Wow! The third, and most controversial to the class, was that no one should run a marathon as part of their Ironman training. Many of the coaches in the class were arguing this one saying their athletes needed the confidence in finishing a marathon in their training before the IM race. Bobby argues that the marathon really breaks down the body and that there are other ways to get the distance in over two consecutive days on in one training session that are gentler on the body. If you want more information, you can look at all the details in Bobby's new book, Run Workouts for Runners and Triathletes. The link to order the book is here.

I was so intrigued by Bobby's lecture that on Tuesday I did a webinar where Bobby covered the Run/Walk method in detail for improved running in Triathlons. Jeff Galloway has been using this method for half and marathon runners and they have been turning out fantastic times. This was great stuff!!! Bobby said that if your IM run time was less than a 2:40, your 70.3 run time was less than 1:10, and your Olympic distance tri run time was less than 40 minutes then you should be applying the run/walk method to your training and racing. Wow! WOW!!! I am using this for Ironman Cozumel. I know that I can play with the ratios if the heat and conditions require me to be flexible on race day but I am using it. I used a run/walk method at Ironman Arizona and on the third loop of the run I was passing a ton of people and only had one person pass me. I had been working on building up my running endurance to be able to run without many stops but I know there was going to be some point in the run leg where I was going to have to walk just due to fatigue. Now with a plan, I can see where I will employ the run/walk strategy from the point I get to T2 and play fishing on the last half to third of the run leg and pass people who are having to walk at the end. I am super stoked about this! We will see how it goes in 11 days. My coach is all for it so it is golden!

I had a webinar last week with Steve Tarapinian on Swim Training Myths and tomorrow I have another webinar with him on Optimal Offseason Training. I am loving all this knowledge that I can start implementing with my people that I coach. There is always new stuff to learn.

Besides all of that, I have had time to go shopping. I cannot believe what I found at the local Wal-Mart...

I do not have a dog so I will not be buying one of these. However, there are suckers out there who are going to put a run on these things. What does this product say about us as consumers???

Anyway, 11 more days to go. I need to start getting my stuff together, organized and packed.

Later Gators!

Liz

She is not dead, only nearly dead...

If the mile repeats could not kill me, I may just get through this...

24 more days of staying swine flu free. 24 more days of Ironman focused workouts. 24 more days of falling asleep as soon as I sit down on my sofa. 24 more days sitting in the sauna a work 30 minutes each day to get used to the heat. 24 more days of being on good terms with Zone 4, Zone 5a, and Zone 5b. 24 more days of saddle sores. 24 more days until I can have a margarita!

I have been busy. Between the internet being on the fritz at my house, getting my workouts done, work, and mom stuff I have had no time to get a post in for a while. The weather has cooled down here in H-town but it still gets up into the high 70's during the day. My fear is that it is still getting up into the high 80's in Cozumel. That is why I am sitting in the sauna every day so that I can keep my body used to being acclimated to the heat. I have also done my bike interval workouts in "The Hot Box" or my garage. Warm temps, bad ventilation, and Zone 4 and Zone 5a make for some good sweaty workouts. I have had to do some long 3 hour workouts in "The Hot Box" because there have been bad rain/thunder storms and even a tornado watch.

Greyhound has been a fantastic training partner these past few months. He has made sure that I get my miles in on the bike and then spanked me on the run. Here we are at various stages of last weekend's 100 mile bike ride followed by a 45 minute run. You can see how much fun we are having. It was chilly when we set out, but it warmed up nicely for us.

Greyhound is telling me that he is keeping his eyes on me so I don't pull any funny stuff.

I flipped this photo so I am not sure why it ended up back on its side.

Heading back out on the bike after refilling bottles for more training goodness.

When he was off in Austin for Longhorn 70.3 I played hooky and took Bud to the zoo. The next day, I did my long ride in "The Hot Box" I started at 5 am. One hour in, I had to take a bathroom break and it was still dark out. Another hour later I had to get more water and when I opened the door to the porch, it was light outside. After the final hour I hopped off to run and the sun was up and shining and things had warmed up. I was proud of myself for doing a long trainer ride like that on my own. Since then, long workouts on the trainer have been easier.

Here are some fun pictures from the zoo and the fun Zoo Boo celebration they were having for the kids:

Fun on the Herman Park train.

We got to pet a gator...

and a cool snake!

The kids got to learn the "Thriller" Dance...

and the sea lions gave a great show.

My workouts are getting shorter, but they are still hard and the intensity is still high. I know that I can finish this off. I feel good going into this race and I feel good about the effort that I am capable of on race day.

24 more days...

Later Gators,

Liz

P.S. Thank you to everyone who has donated to my TNT fund and for all the messages of support. I still have a way to go and I hope to hit my goal by Christmas.

Be a Hero!

As you all know, I am a Team in Training coach and I have completed 15 events for Team in Training raising over $45,000.00 for patient aid and cancer research. On Monday, I told the staff at the TNT office that they could count on me again to raise over $4,000.00 and that I would do it in the next month.

AM I INSANE??!!??

In this economy when people are out of jobs and not spending money, I am going to ask them to contribute to cancer research? YOU BET!!!

The Ironman triathlon that I have coming up next month and the Goofy Challenge that is in January is minor compared to the fact that I want to ask you to help people like my friend Bill who is currently in remission. Remission is not a cure. Cancer can always "wake up" and come back. If and when Bill has to return to treatment, hopefully research doctors like my good friend Nahum will have found a better treatment protocol. The goal is to find a treatment that will greatly improve the quality of life for leukemia, lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and myoloma patients or to find a cure by 2015.

My TNT Hero Bill Cruse

That is only 5 years away! There is a lot of work that needs to be done. The recession has hit the research doctors as well. They are dealing with reduced funding and many doctors are only now getting their trials up and running full speed again after having to start over from the loss of research due to extended power outages due to Hurricane Ike last year.

You can make a donation by hitting the link that I have placed in the side bar. No donation is too small. You might think that $20.00 will not help much, but it can cover parking expenses for a day down at MD Anderson when a patient goes for a chemotherapy treatment.

If you cannot contribute, please tell two or three people you know about my challenge to help my friend Bill. Most people have a direct connection to someone who has cancer they know of someone has a friend or family member who is in treatment. The process of administering chemotherapy was discovered in trials to find a cure for leukemia. Glevak is a cancer drug that has been hugely successful and was discovered by a research doctor who was funded by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Treatment protocols that may not work for leukemia have been found promising in treating breast cancer, stomach cancer, and lung cancer.

Would you like to be a Hero?

Be a Hero with me and be a part of my TEAM!!!

Thank you for your support,

Liz

OOOH, AHHHHH!!!

I like getting myself birthday gifts!

Today I am finally the age that I have been racing at all year long. It is really anti-climactic since I feel I have been this age all year long. However, my faux 40th birthday will be on January 1, 2010 when I get to age up to the next Age Group. I am really excited about that because I get to leave the "fast chick" group and I have noticed that my new age group comes with such benefits as we get to start earlier than the last age group wave which has happened to me on many occasions in the past 5 years. I also get to race in a smaller age group which might up my chances to get into the top quarter of my age group rather being stuck in the middle.

As you can see from the picture, this is what I special ordered for myself for my birthday. El Esposo came home last night and asked what it was and then asked if he could wrap it and give it to me. LOL, he has no idea what to ever get me for my birthday or Christmas. What I did get was another REI gift card. I have enough money in REI cards now to get the new Garmin, but seeing how I am technologically challenged and hardly understand how the stuff I already own works, I should go with my other option. My other option is to take and REI Adventure trip! I would love to go to the Grand Canyon again or to Yellowstone.

Anyway, it is a busy work and training day. I have to get that out of the way first before I can splurge on a piece of cake.

Have a great day!

Liz

Coach Liz--Swimsuit Model???

Yes, it could be a possibility. I sent in my photo to the Triathlete Magazine Swim Suit Model Search a few days ago. Good grief I am in a swim suit a lot these days and I am sure that the editorial staff needed a good laugh so I threw my name in the hat.

Go here to see the entry...

I sent in the photo in response to the comments that were made in the "Letters to the Editor" over the past few years that the models they were using had surgical enhancements and did not look like they had done many (any) triathlons. Well, I told the editorial staff that if they enjoyed controversy and all those letters to the editor then they needed to think about the number of responses that they would get if they stuck an Age Group 40-44 year-old in their swim suit issue. I don't fit the "young" or "HOT" classification, but at least I fit the "triathlete" classification.

New photo galleries will go up each day through Monday. Blogger Buddy Steve in a Speedo is in the running as well. If you want to leave a comment on the Triathlete Magazine web page to sway the votes go right ahead and do so.

Have a great training weekend!

Liz

The Build is on and surprisingly, I feel good!

The final Build process is now in full swing and I am hanging on and trying not to fall off. There are only about 60 days left in the process of transforming me into Ironman shape. Things are the same and things are different this time around. Last time for Arizona, the focus was volume. This time for Cozumel, the focus in intensity. I have not gotten down to my goal weight, instead I have put pounds on. Surprisingly, I have gotten faster. I am still the same on my swim speed, but my bike speed over long distances has gone up and my run speed is more consistent and I can run for longer periods of time without having to take a walking break. I have more tricks up my sleeve this time to make the entire time that I am out on the race course shorter than it was in Arizona.

Now if I can just stay healthy and avoid the flu for the next 65 days.

Saturday was a good brick. I drove over to the Greyhound compound and got my run gear set up for “transition” practice. We rode over to the pool and jumped in for a 30 minute swim. I was not happy about the temperature of the water, but once I got going, it was o.k. and I was not so cranky. I cracked out 1750 yards. I was happy with that. We hopped on the bikes and rode over to the neighborhood that has a 10 mile loop. After three loops, Greyhound was out of Carbo-Pro and my bladder was about to burst so we headed back to the house so I could start my run. I got about 38 miles of riding done in less than 2 hours. Sweet! The big break through for me was the run. It was now almost 10 a.m. and the sun came out from behind the clouds and the heat cranked up. I ran for the entire hour!!! No stopping to walk, no high heart rate, no caving or hitting the wall. That was a huge achievement for me. That workout was a confidence builder. I was rewarded with getting Sunday off!

Monday, it was back to the workouts. Mondays are big work days for me, so I was unable to get going until after Bud got home from school. I had a track workout and a swim to get in. Here was my track lovin’ workout:

200 m, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 800, 600, 400, 200 on a 5 seconds faster than regular 400m pace. Easy jog of 1 minute between each.

The 800’s and that 1000 meter run hurt. I felt like the goof ball gal in scary movies that is running in high heels trying to get away from the lumbering zombie wielding a machete. I felt like I was not getting anywhere and my breathing was getting all ragged. At least the clouds had rolled in and the wind had picked up to keep things comfortable. I probably felt slow because I was running into the wind. After seeing a flash of lightning and I knew I had to finish up and get out of that park.

Needless to say, it started pouring and that meant that there would be no Masters Swim since the pool is outdoors.

Tuesday brought the sun back! I started things out early on the trainer. Since the workout was all about distance I had to do some quick math in my head and realized that my intervals were going to be 9 minutes long. Big gears, fast legs, flat road, and pain. I had 5 of these special intervals. The first one was good, the second one was o.k. and the third one was hard. My arms were starting to get twitchy. I am not sure why that was happening. The last two were really hard to keep my legs from slowing down. I use a metronome to help me keep pace on the trainer and I wanted to hurl that thing across the room.

My legs felt toasted after that. My hip flexors were tight for some reason. I have never experienced that. Today my hamstrings are tight. After getting an oil change on the Element, it was time to head to the pool and swim. Here was the workout:

50 m swim, 50 kick, 50 pull. Repeat 4 times

4 x 75 m descending leaving every 2 minutes

50 m easy kick

Repeat set 5 times

100 m (10 second rest), 200 m, 300 m, 400 m, 500 m, 400 m, 300 m, 200 m, 100 m on long swim pace focusing on form.

100 easy cool down

I had to cut out the 500 m and one of the 400 m reps since I had to grab some lunch and go pick up Bud at school. Sorry Coach Anthony. Anyway, I got 4,050 meters in and a bit of sun burn on my butt where I forgot the sun block. Surprisingly, my shoulders and arms are not punked out today. Does that mean that I have gotten stronger??? I can only hope.

Today is another killer bike workout on the trainer after work and then I get to go do something FUN!!! Macy’s is doing a big promotion called Come + Together and they are raising money for local food banks. Tonight in Houston, the Macy’s next to the gym where I work at is hosting a Mexican Fiesta with master chef Rick Bayless. I am super pumped up!!!

I will be sure to take pictures! Later Gators,

Liz