EPIC CAMP

EPIC CAMP!!!

It was truly an amazing experience…like nothing I have done before.  Back in March I attended a total immersion swim camp in Kona.   The week of swimming was fun and a great opportunity for me to get comfortable in the ocean water.  This week was a bit different.  Epic Camp was the hardest week of training I have ever done.  I have logged more hours in a week, but never with this kind of intensity or weather conditions.  There are no words to explain the heat and wind on the IM World Championships course.  The TV coverage doesn’t do it justice.  You really need to swim, ride, and run the course to understand what it’s all about.  

Being around like minded people who have similar goals and a shared passion really helps to strengthen my dedication to my training and being as strong mentally and physically as October approaches.  These 10 days being away from home was the longest I’ve been away from Lee and the boys and the hardest for me.  Thankfully there wasn’t much down time and I was so tired I was either training, sleeping, or eating to ever get too homesick. 

Breakdown of daily training…

Friday – arrived late afternoon, picked up my bike from Bike Works, and did some work on my computer before dinner.

Saturday – early morning swim at the Pier followed by breakfast at Lava Java.  I love that place.  I started organizing my gear and bike for the official start of camp.  Did a 40 mile ride out of the Queen K to make sure everything was good and then stopped back at Bike Works to do a little shopping and made a stop at Island Naturals.  It’s an organic/natural market/deli and another one of my favorites of Kona.

Each morning I would wake up in the morning starting at 3am since I’m still on MN time.  This lasted until about the 4^th day.  Either I was finally on Hawaii time or I was just so darn tired I slept longer.

Sunday – IM bike course ride, it was raining when we headed out and all I was thinking about was getting a flat.  The only time I’ve flatted has been when I’m riding in the rain.  Sure enough a few minutes into the ride and I have a flat.  The last time I changed a clincher was 2005.  Thankfully I had a great group riding with me who all stopped and helped me out in changing the tire.  Really…I didn’t do much of anything, but probably made things worse by busting the stem of the new tube while trying to air it up.  

I can’t count the number of times during the week I heard, “You really need to learn to change a tire.”  My deal is I ride my trainer probably 90% of the time.  I race on tubulars and when it counts I will get my tubular changed.  I can change my own tire…it just takes me a bit.  

The IM bike course seems to get shorter each time I get to ride it.  The course is like nothing I have ever experienced.  The wind has never been the same each time I’m out there.  You can’t count on having a tailwind at any certain point and most times you have a head wind on your way out to the turn around and then you get the same head wind on the way back in.  Crazy how it works and I use to think people were exaggerating about the wind and heat, but now I know it’s all real.  I rode solo most of the day and it was a great chance for me to really push myself and maintain aero as long as possible.  My goal of this camp was to go hard each day and see what I had left in the tank come Saturday for the race.

 

After everyone returned from the ride we did a run down to the pier and an easy swim. 

Monday – We ran to the pier and swam the IM swim course and then ran back.  Once we were back we did a 50K bike ride.  The distance of this ride wasn’t far, but this ride was the hardest bike ride I have ever done in my life.  Seriously….17-20+% grade for 12 miles.  This ride was truly EPIC.  The higher we climbed the cooler and foggier it got.  By the top it was pouring rain.  The decent back down was so crazy it was borderline stupid.  There were several times I thought…yep I’m going to crash…yep this will be the death of me.  But the whole group made it to the top and made it back down.  

Tuesday – John Newson, camp director, gave us the option of choosing which group we wanted to ride with on our long ride today.  On the first day when we rode the IM course I rode off the front alone for most of the ride.  So I decided I would ride with the big boys in group three.  I knew if it got too hard I could hang on their wheel or we would catch group number 2 and I could ride with them.  Plus, I knew there was a bit of climbing which I love.  It turned out to be a fabulous ride maybe even my favorite of the week.  I never lead off the front and there were several times when we were moving at a pretty good clip and I just had to focus on the wheel in front of me and gut it out.  I would tell myself, a hill will come and you will get to rest a bit.  Most people see a hill and think of the work ahead, but for me on this ride the hill climbing was my chance to recover before we hit a flat.  I can hang with them on the hills, but it’s the flats I have to work my tail off to keep up.  I made it to the volcano with the boys and we ran off the bike on a beautiful trail down into a crater, across the bottom, and back up.  It was amazing – an absolute beautiful run!!

Wednesday – Ran on the IM run course – LOVED it!  After the run we packed up our gear and biked to our new location which was about 35 miles north of Kona out on the Queen K.  In the afternoon we headed to the beach where the 70.3 Hawaii race will take place and practiced swim starts and did a longer swim.

Thursday – Early morning ocean swim with Pete Jacobs.  He is a great guy with lots of great swimming advice for us.  Another highlight for me!

My only regret from today was choosing to ride solo out and back on the Queen K a few times instead of riding with the group on a different loop.  I wasn’t ready to go when the group left since I had a few meetings with my students and then I wanted to get my race wheels on and ride them before Saturday.  I haven’t raced since IM Wisconsin in September.  Changing to my race wheels and adjusting the breaks on the Speed Concepts is no easy task.  I consider my bike intelligence at about …. Well… I don’t consider myself as having much bike intelligence.  I can do the basic stuff, but that’s about it! So thanks to John Ellis our bike mechanic for helping me out.  

Each day I’m here and I’m missing my boys and second guessing myself I remind myself of the first time I saw the Ironman World Championships on TV and said that will be me one day.  I was still in high school, living with my sister Donna, and had never done a triathlon and was terrified of the water.  I have come so far and overcame so many of my own personal limitations.  Each day this week I thought I was at my limit and couldn’t do anymore or go any harder, but I would push a little more and find I just pushed that limit line back a little more.  

So, considering my goals for October, riding alone out on the Queen K was probably what I needed rather than a beautiful group ride with some wonderful new friends I have made.  It’s easy to sit on someone’s wheel and get pulled along on the Queen K…I didn’t need or want that.  What I needed was to be alone in my head and feel the wind blowing me across the road.  I needed to get the feeling of the heat rising from the highway and look out ahead and only see lava fields.  I needed these mental images engrained in my head so when I’m back home sitting on my trainer I can close my eyes and be right back there on the Queen K.    

 Friday – Finally a day to sleep in and I’m up by 5:30AM.  I sleep with the air off and my patio doors wide open.  I love hearing the wind blow and smell the ocean air, but these birds are so noisy in the morning!  

A few us went for a technique swim at the resort pool and Jordan Rapp was there swimming.  He is another very nice pro athlete.

Saturday – RACE DAY (report below)

Sunday – slept in till 6AM and that was me forcing myself to sleep in.  I feel great – no soreness from the race at all.  Is that normal?  Must be all those veggies I eat and the Extreme Endurance.  I biked into town with Dave, from camp, to get my bike to Bike Works for shipping back home and then had lunch at Lava Java one last time until I get to come back in October.  Once back to the hotel I packed and started grading papers and finishing my end of the year grading.  9pm came and I was off to the airport.

I missed my boys like crazy!  Have I said that yet?  They are the most amazing 5 boys I know and being away this long has been so hard.  I have second guessed my decisions so many times on this trip.  Triathlon can be a very selfish sport and I feel there is a fine line with being obsessive and not seeing the big picture of life.  For me, this next week will be all about spending time recovery and family activities before IM training kicks in and the boys start summer hockey camp.  

I am very appreciative to all the Epic camp crew.  John Newson does an amazing job of taking care of all the athletes and everyone was so friendly and nice.  To all my New Zealand friends I will be in touch when I sign up for the Coast to Coast.  It’s a race on my bucket list.  I’m sure you have room to accommodate a family of seven – right?  Just kiddin!

The 70.3 Race Report:

The swim – what the hell happened Michelle?!  I’m a faster swimmer than my time shows.  I really should have a GPS on to show the route I decided to take which wasn’t correct and I had to swim back and then around the first buoy.  I could have cheated like several others I saw, but that’s not who I am.  Looking at everyone’s times for the day it seemed most were slower than normal.  One thing I will add to my training this summer is group swims working on sighting and drafting and working together. Last summer I did long lake swims, but I would swim alone while Lee kayaked beside me.  They were very enjoyable, but I need to practice using the draft while swimming. 
I never felt out of breathe….a sign I wasn’t working too hard.  I even remember thinking to myself…this is really quite beautiful and I don’t mind this salt water at all. 
The females started 7 minutes after the guys and it was a complete traffic jam not long into the swim.  I have to say the back of the pack men are much nicer than the front of pack guys.  I usually get a punch to the face or a good hard kick, but I even had a guy say sorry to me.

I was bummed when I saw the clock when I got out of the water, but in long distance races so much can change the only thing you can do is keep moving forward. 

T1 – couldn’t find my bike – helmet was blown off and glasses…took me a bit to get my gear together.  I think I need new cleats I couldn’t get clipped in until I was turning out on the Queen K. 

Bike – I love my bike and I love riding my bike.  I was hoping for it to be as windy as hell and as hot as hell.  In my mind I was thinking - the tougher the better.  When the wind is blowing in my face or I’m climbing a hill I’m in heaven and seem to get stronger in tougher conditions.  Another reason I wanted the conditions to be tough was so when Kona rolls around it will seem easy peasy.  It was quite windy, but it wasn’t hot.  I had a few close calls with my bike and the wind.  

T2 – Couldn’t find my stuff again.  T2 was 6 miles away from T1.  I felt really good after the bike.  I think I could have ridden that pace all the way back to Kona.  I never felt I pushed out of my comfort zone and tried to stay close to my IM goal paces.

Run – It took me back to my cross country running days in HS.  We were running across a golf course and some on the road.  It was a beautiful run with a lot of sharp short uphills and turns.   I wanted to run about my IM run pace and had no problem.  I didn’t start my watch and swum, biked, and ran all on how I felt.  I was surprised when I saw my splits because I didn’t feel I was running a 7 minute pace.  For a section in the middle my pace dropped to 6:43/mile pace.  

As I started moving through the field of women and passed a few pros I started looking to see how many women were in front of me.  A few volunteers on the course told me I was the first amateur female.  When I was counting the girls in front of me I only counted 4 and I assumed they were all pro by either what they were wearing or their number.  I was wrong.  The first amateur had a Great Britain Tri suit on with her name and I assumed she was pro.  

Nutrition:  I have eaten a ton this week with all my training.  Even the night before the race I was eating desert which I would normally never do.  I have about 10 pounds to drop to get to my racing weight before Kona.  So my eating habits will dramatically improve come next week when the game face comes on for 4 months.  In my training I haven’t let myself go to “that” place in my head for IM training.  Previously, I’ve had a season where I was burnt out before my A race arrived.  For me, I don’t tell myself I’m training for Kona until now so I can really focus on my key session, recovery, and nutrition.  

Race nutrition - I front loaded on the bike with my calories.  I knew the climb up to Hawi would be easier to take in calories than flying back down. I like the Cytromax gel bites, EFS liguid shots, and GU peanut butter gel.

I had two Gu rocatane I took out of T2 and used them at miles 3 and 6.  Then at every aid station I did water, coke, and ice down my shorts and in my bra top.  I never felt over heated.  The ice down the pants really keeps you cool…almost a bit too cool.  I did receive a few looks from the volunteers when I grab two glasses of ice and dump one down my shorts and one in my bra

Results:

I’m a bit bummed by my times.  Slower than I anticipated, but when I look at the overall results…being 5^th out of the pro & amateur field isn’t too bad especially after a week of some solid training.  This was never my A race.  My A race is Kona.  My goal today was to hold IM paces…I think I was close.  Weighing ten pounds less in October will help my run and having 15 weeks of working on my bike and swim will definitely help.

My goals/plans for the race were – to go as hard as I can and to never give up on myself mentally and to keep moving forward.  I truly believe physical training is just crap unless you have your mental game up to par – for IM racing anyway.  I know when I get to the marathon in October I will need to be strong mentally and not let anything break me.  Going into this race I was physically TIRED!  I was thinking this is my chance to work on my mental strength and dig deep.  What I found out was I still had more in the tank and never had to dig real deep.  Our bodies are amazing and are capable of so much more than we think.  When we think we are at our end and there is nothing left we have only tapped into what we are capable of accomplishing.  

I ended up winning my age group and receiving a slot for the 70.3 World Championships in September.  It was a hard decision for me to take the slot.  Not so much the timing with Kona because the timing is perfect (5 weeks), the terrain is great practice (hot and hilly), working through logistics with my bike and gear set up is all great practice and timing for the race I really care about – KONA.  The tough part of the decision is Lee and I have our 16^th wedding anniversary on the 6^th of September.  For the last several years we have been at IM Wisconsin either volunteering or there so I can race.  Originally, I knew it was a possibility I would win my AG and get a slot and I didn’t anticipate taking it because not only is it our anniversary, but it’s the first week of school for the boys and me.  

Long story short…I ended up taking the slot because on my bike in big letters I have – NO REGRETS.  This is my year to lay it all out there on the line.  To really push myself and see what Michelle Andres from little old Minnesota can do when up against the best in the world not only at the IM distance, but the 70.3 distance.  Many people train their whole life for the opportunity to race in the world championships and now I have raced a great race and earned a spot on the starting line of both races in the same year.  Can I podium in both races in the same year?  HELL YES!  This is my chance to see what I can accomplish in this sport.  I know myself and know if I didn’t take the slot I would always think…I would always wonder what if… and I would regret my decision for taking the slot.

A highlight of the awards was having Greg Welch say, “and our champion for the 35-39 age group hailing from East Gull lake, MN is Michelle Andres”  Very cool hearing the legend Greg Welch say my name!

I’ll take this week to spend as much time with my boys and let my all my training settle in before I start my IM training and they start their summer at hockey camp.  We have lots of fun planned.  

A few notes about misc. things…

Arcadia Brute – I love riding the hills of Wisconsin.  It was a great ride leading up to Epic camp.  If you enjoy bike riding think about the Triple Crown in Wisconsin.  The rides are very well organized and have never been a disappointment. 

My secret – vegetables…seriously!  The power of vegetables is one of the key elements of my training along with naps.  The power of food!

Rumble Roller – I try to roll every day.  My newest roller is the rumble roller, but this thing is painful.  I haven’t been showing much love to the new rumble roller in comparison to old black one.  

Training leading up to EPIC Camp – do what I can when I can and make it count.  The way life worked out I had a big/good week then a recovery week for 8 weeks.  It seemed to work for me.  This was never my plan, but life happens and kids get sick, I got sick, I have a job…I have a life.  In reality it was probably more like a 9 day build and then a 5 day recovery.  This is what worked for me during this time of the year, but it won’t be the case when IM training starts (6/10).

Closing thought…

Passion – you have to want it (whatever that is) deep inside of you.  No one can want it for you – it just won’t work.  I think of parents who so badly want their child to be the next pro athlete or doctor or lawyer or musician, but the kid could take it or leave it.  That kid will never be that pro athlete, that doctor, that lawyer, or that musician unless it is something they truly want.   But there isn’t anything wrong with that…happiness (in my opinion) is finding your passion.  As a mom I want my boys to be happy, to find their own passion.  Right now my passion is Ironman Triathlon.

The reason I get up at 4:30 in the morning is because I have a dream.  I took that dream and created a goal and then created a path to follow and reach that goal.  Have I ended up on a few detours and uphill climbs I wasn’t anticipating? Yes, for sure!  It’s those detours and uphill climbs when we really learn who we are and how much we are capable of accomplishing. 

Happy Training!

Sickness and Setbacks...

                                          (Transition at IM World Championships in Kona)

It is day 5 and I’m still sick.  The last time I was sick with the stomach bug was at least 4 or 5 years ago and all my boys were still in elementary school.  There has been zero running, biking, or swimming.  I’ve attempted a yoga class and barely survived.  I feel it’s been hard to get in a quality training groove this whole year.  First, it was finding a routine that worked for me and my family.  Then when I came back from Hawaii my hamstring/glute was inflamed and very tight.  I took all speed work out of my training.  Now, when I’m starting to feel better I get the stomach bug.  There hasn’t been a whole week where I’ve nailed my training as I’ve planned.  Yet…that is!

For me, my IM training doesn’t start until June.  I’m not letting my mind go to “that place” until June 10^th when I officially start my IM training.  The tri season can get long both physically and mentally.  I need to put in my best hours on my bike, in the pool, and on my treadmill come September. Not now, not today. A big part of racing an IM is dealing with all the situations that come up over the course of the day and learning how to react in a positive way will have a huge impact on finishing time. I can only control my reactions to the situations which are in front of me now.    

On a more positive and fun note…I had my most enjoyable half marathon to date in Nisswa at the Run for the Lakes half marathon.  Four of my boys decided to run.  Three of them decided two days before the race they wanted a challenge and they went for it.  They had a goal of being under 2 hours and they all made it 1:52 and 1:54.  My oldest, Mitch, said he wanted to run too, but had a hockey game calling his name.  We’ll see if he is up for the challenge next year.  I think the 4 boys who ran it may need some more time to forget how the felt on Sunday morning after the race when they couldn’t walk down the stairs before they run it again.  They had zero run training, except gym class at school, and they all blew me out of the water by how they just kept on going and never once did any of them say I want to quit.  They even had their Grandma there who told them if they got tired they could stop by her and she would give them a ride to the finish line.  No one took her up on the offer.  No quitters allowed on TEAM ANDRES.  They were so many kind and supportive runners and spectators who cheered for the boys which really helped to push them to keep going.  After the race we all went for breakfast and chatted about how the race went and then hot the Chocolate Ox for some treats.  It was the most fun I have ever had running a half marathon and I won’t ever forget rounding the corner and crossing the finish line with them.  One of my boys, Riley, says he is doing IM when he turns 18.

Bike seat issue has been solved!  I had my seat re-covered with new leather instead of getting a new seat.  I’m so happy I was able to keep my old seat.  There is just way to many memories for me to get rid of that thing.  

I’m so looking forward to having enough energy to be able to run even a mile and so looking forward to being able to eat and not worry if it will be coming back up.  Being sick is no fun.  Maybe being sick along with this late spring is both blessings in disguise.  The chances of me getting burnt-out from over training get less and less when there isn’t much training going on.

The Arcadia Brute is less than two weeks away and I have ridden my bike outside 1 time for 20 minutes since I came back from Hawaii.  Today is a beautiful day and I would love to be able to get outside, but my attempt at yoga this morning is about all my body had energy for at this point.  I’m not too worried about riding the 200k and finishing; I’m worried about my descending down some of those hills.  I will be breaking down the hills at Grandma Speed.  

Kona is a little over 5 months away.  I’ve started organizing my head, my clothing, my training, and everything else I can think of that relates to the IM World championships.  For me, this is a once in a lifetime experience and when I cross the finish line no matter the time on the clock I know I will have no regrets because I will have put my heart and soul into the race and did everything I could to have the best race on that day! 

Total Immersion Swim Camp

What I’ve learned about myself after a week in Kona…

1. I always thought I WASN’T a warm weather racer, but after swimming, biking, and running on the Big Island for a week I have a new love of the warm weather. 

2. I like WIND…the wind makes it harder to swim, bike, and run.  One thing I know for sure about myself is I like race conditions to be a little harder.  Bring on the wind it only makes me stronger mentally.  One day on my climb up to Hawi I thought to myself…this is brutal…yes…this is very hard…this is a perfect bike ride. 

3. Mental strength is more important than physical strength.  I’ve always talked about importance of being mentally strong, but after one week I’ve realized even more than before how powerful the mind is and how mental training is a HUGE part of being successful.  On my last ocean swim the water was very rough.  The afternoons out there the wind picks up and the swells can be crazy.  I remember trying to sight and just doing face plants in these big walls of water.  For a moment I became scared and my heart rate picked up.  I decided right then and there that would be the last time I allowed myself to be scared out there.  I relaxed found the edge of the tree line and began swimming again.  Trying to become one with the water rather than fight against the water.

What I already knew about myself, but a week in Kona made it even clearer… 

1.       I love coffee…really good coffee…KONA coffee is the best

2.       I really love good fresh healthy food. Thanks to Island Naturals for being the most amazing market/deli in Kona.  Part of the reason I was able to get up each morning and train hours like I did was I was making an effort, a point, to really put good quality food in my body.  I can’t stress enough the importance of high quality foods.  These foods don’t come in packages in the grocery stores and they aren’t foods with shelf lives of years.  I want my body to run like a high performance engine and I will put the highest quality of fuel in my body as I can. (except on the occational party crash days with my boys…see below)

     Things I learned....

     I disliked flying with my bike.  It’s about the same price to use Bike Flight and Fed Ex my bike from Trailblazers in Baxter to Bike Works in Kona.  I will be doing this in May and again in October.  I took my bike with on the trip there and used Fed Ex on the way back.  No headache!  I highly recommend Bike Flight.  I learned more than just the bike issue as you'll see below in how my week went.

Here is how my week on the Big Island went…

Sunday: Travel day

I was up by 2:30 am to be on the road for the airport by 3:15.  Before I left I went in to each of my boys’ rooms and kissed them goodbye.  I think I received a groan of some type from each of them.  They each had orders from me to text me something…anything…even if it’s just a “hi” each day.  (I’ll post some of their texts to me I received during the week later in my post).  This is the longest I’ve been away from my boys and Lee.  I missed them like crazy!  Thank goodness I was either swimming, biking, and running all day each day. 

I made it to the airport with some time to spare.  The GPS doesn’t work off the speeds I drive; which was a good thing because getting the bike box out of the back seat of my car was a workout all by itself.  I was literally sweating by the time I made it inside the airport with my suitcase, bike box, and carry on.

Thank you Jarrod McKinney for letting me borrow your bike box.  It is VERY nice and I really appreciate you letting me borrow.  Also, all of your tips on watching the TSA go through it and then putting the zip ties on were so smart.  They were all things I would have never thought about doing with the bike. 

It cost $200 for the bike plus $35 as a second bag charge along with $25 for my suitcase.  Needless to say I used Bike Flight to Fed Ex my bike back home and will use Bike Flight again…no headache of the airport and I think it’s cheaper!!  2 day air back home was only $202.

Finally made it to the hotel by 5:30 pm (Hawaii time and 10:30pm MN time).  I was shot, but wanted to get a run in before the day was over.  I headed out for an 80 minute jog up Ali Drive and then hit Lava Java for fish tacos and a Lava Java shake (ice cream and espresso) to go for dinner.  I was in bed by 8pm.

Day 1 Monday:

Plan was to get up at 5:30 am, but I was up at 2:00am when my boys all sent me texts before they went to school.  This was the process all week – waking up at 2am from the sound of my phone beeping with good morning texts from my boys before they left for school.

5:30am – still dark outside, but I headed out for a run.  I got a beautiful run in as the sun came up and then had coffee and fresh fruit overlooking the ocean.

8:30 – meet and greet with the total Immersion Crew.  They are a fantastic group.  So diverse and so cool!  We did some swim videotaping and were broke into groups.  We did some longer swimming and then headed back in to review the video.

I was put in the advanced group along with Jennifer, Margie from New Zealand, Sandra and Karen both from Hong Kong, and Tom from Georgia.  I felt like I was a kindergarten who was picked up and put in middle school without any of the elementary basics you need to survive middle school.  Total Immersion type of swimming is completely new to me.  I first took a lesson at the start of the year.  The others in the group were either TI coaches or have read every piece of information out on TI in books and the internet.  Throughout the week there were times I was lost and had no idea what was being asked of me.  I had to ask a lot of questions.   

After our morning session I took my bike to Bike Works for them to put together and then headed to Island Naturals, and organic deli/market.  The food was delicious and full of goodness I needed to fuel my body for the week.  Thanks to David, Jen’s boyfriend, who rented a car and carted my bike around for me all week.  He offered to carry the towels all week for Jen and I, but taking care of my bike was a much better deal.

2:00 – back to swimming…I thought our coach, David Cameron, was joking when he said how far we were swimming.  Then we would make it to the buoy and he would say let’s swim to the next.  It was hard for me to focus on my swimming because I kept thinking, “Holly shit…I have to get myself back to the pier after this”  I have never swam that far in the ocean or swam in waves that big. 

5:00 – first bike ride!  Man I love my bike and being able to be outside.  I was told by the bike shop I needed to be off my bike by 6 because when it gets dark it gets dark FAST!  No joke.  Seriously, its light out and then you think…it’s getting dark out and a minute later you better have lights on your bike or be off your bike.

Day two Tuesday:

5:30 – up and ran

8:00 – swim

10:00 – bike out on the Queen K (60 miles)

3:00 – back swimming

5:30 – I am beat!  I’m so tired I managed to get up to my room, shower, eat and was sleeping before 7pm.  I think the time change finally caught up to me.

Day three Wednesday;

5:30 – up and ran.  I run up Palini hill every day at least one time and each time I put myself at mile 12 of the marathon getting ready to head out on the Queen K and I focus on my form and calming my breathe and using my power to climb the hill.  I LOVE PALANI.

8:00 – swim

10:30 – bike – much hotter and windier!  Wow!  The wind was crazy…when people talk about being blown off the road I now know what they mean.

3:00 – LONG SWIM…I was shot by this time of the day and was nervous to make the longer swim of the afternoon.  The crazy thing about the TI way of swimming is I feel more relaxed swimming than ever before and my arms aren’t falling off at the end of my swim sessions.

5:30 – headed back out for another run to get the opportunity to be out running at another time of day.  Each day I fell more in love with Kona and training on the Big Island.  I love the humid warm air and feeling the sweat run down my back and seeing the ocean off in the distance. 

6:30 – grabbed a pizza, took a shower, and was sleeping before 8pm.  I knew the next morning was going to be my biggest training day of the week.

Day four Thursday:

5:30 – I was up and running when it was dark out.  My favorite time of the day is right before the sun comes up and being out running or on my bike as the sun rises.  No matter where I am it is so quiet this time of the day. 

6:30 – grabbed some breakfast from Lava Java before heading out on my bike.  I needed to be up to Hapuna Beach by 9 – 9:15.

7:00 – I headed through town and then out on my bike.  I was enjoying the views and sitting upright for the first hour.  Then I realized…I better get going if I’m going to make it there in time.  I put my head down and got down on my aero bars and rode.  The wind had shifted from yesterday and was blowing much harder. 

9:00-11:00  swam with the group at Hapuna Beach.  Beautiful beach and the location of the Hawaii 70.3 race I’m doing in June.

11:30 – biked the rest of the IM bike course.  The only word I can think of to describe my climb up to Hawi (the IM turnaround) is epic!  I have never rode my bike in winds like that….I was blown from the shoulder of the road across the rumble strips and into the middle of the highway.  I wasn’t able to go over 10mph on the last 5 miles to Hawi.  A few points I just laughed out loud to myself because it was completely unreal to me how strong the wind was.  My Garmin it 98 degrees on the ride.  I stopped in Hawi and had some Macadamia Nut ice cream and filled my water bottles.   Leaving Hawi was the best!  The wind was at my back and was going downhill.  I didn’t even have to work and I was flying at 40 mph…mainly coasting.  I did get a little nervous a few times when I would hit some crosswinds in an open area.  Once I made it back on the queen K I was still moving pretty good.  It was amazing how fast the same section went on the way back vs. the way there.  I made one more stop on my bike to fill my water bottles.  I drank some coconut water and couldn’t manage thought of any real food.

4:30 – brick run off the bike.  As I was coming back into Kona I could tell I was getting a headache.  I took my bike to my room and changed into some run clothes and headed out for a run – right up Palani hill.  At this point in the day it felt like I was climbing a mountain.  I made it up and back out on the Queen K and then did a short loop back to the hotel.  I was TIRED.

Day five Friday:

My last day…the camp goes through Saturday, but I wanted to be back to be with my boys for Easter so I took a late Friday night flight out.  Lee was golfing in Nashville until Sunday afternoon.  The boys and I planned a “party crash” for Saturday night.  We started these when they were little and Lee would go on hunting or fishing trips and only 2 or 3 could go.  It made it much more appealing to  stay back with mom if we were having a party crash.  These days we all go hunting and/or fishing so it has been years since we have had a party crash, but they all remember them.  We get movies and go to the grocery store and pick out our favorite junk foods.  Then come home and line all our junk food on the counter and stay up as late as possible watching movies.  Then we all crash in the living room in our forts we made.  Now that the boys are older there wasn’t any fort making…just staying up late watching movies and eating junk.

5:30am – run…I took it all in!  I created mental images for those hard treadmill sessions on this last run. 

8:00 –   This morning was one of my favorites of the whole week.  We were in groups of 2 or 3.  My partner was Margie from New Zealand.  She is fantastic.  I’m guessing she is mid 50’s or so and I can NOT keep up with her.  She is graceful and beautiful in the water.  I ask her questions just to listen to her accent.

Pack

1:00 – swam IM course 2.4 miles

I have to say I was nervous for this one because the chop really picks up as the day goes on and after 5 days of some pretty crazy intense swimming I wasn’t sure my body could manage.  The swim didn’t go as planned and we were off course and didn’t quite swim the actual IM course.  As with everything that doesn’t go as planned…I needed to find the positives of my experience.  I’ve learned when I’m nervous or scared about something I have two emotions which come out...being quiet and angry.  So I may not say much, but what I say may not be too nice when I’m nervous or scared.  I was quiet and angry in my final swim at TI camp.  At the time I was upset about my experience I was having, but once I made it back to shore I realized this is probably the toughest conditions I will have to swim in….there were no buoys out that far and there was only 4 us together…no kayaker or paddle boarder…the winds had picked up and I had a hard time even sighting shore.  My experiences over the week, and especially the final swim, made me a stronger and more confident swimmer in the ocean.    

Thanks to Jennifer Imsande for showing me the Total Immersion style of swimming and inviting me to lessons with her.  I may not be faster…yet…but I’m relaxed and confident in the ocean and now know I will get out of the water in IM and be ready to lay down an amazing bike and a fast marathon because I didn’t waste any mental energy being nervous in the ocean. 

Thank you to Dave Cameron.  He is amazing TI coach and I feel very fortunate having him be in Minneapolis so I can keep taking classes from him over the summer.

I use to talk about how much I disliked swimming, but now I love…really love  swimming in the ocean with the waves and the salt water.  Swimming the TI way I don’t feel tired after swimming for hours every day.  By the last day I was able to get in the water and just swim without realizing I was in salt water. 

Did I get any faster at the TI swim camp?  I don’t think I got any faster at my week of TI camp, but that wasn’t my goal.  My goal was to be confident in the water and not waste mental energy worrying about the things I have no control over.  I reached my goal and I feel this new level of confidence will equal a faster time on race day because the mental energy I will have saved in the swim.

 

One last thing…the junk food from the party crash…it never enters our pantry.  When the party crash is over we throw what’s left in the garbage and get back to our normal (healthy) eating style.  We all feel like junk and say…it will be a long time before we do that again!

Happy Spring everyone!