Monday, November 24, 2014

Numero Tres? Ironman Canada

It feels like I am writing this blog as a whole different person.  I peruse these pages and I hardly recognize the two people in them, the voice behind the words.  It feels as though I have lived a lifetime in-between.  And yet, it still leads back to here...another Ironman. 


Why Ironman Canada, I thought you wanted something flat?  I do, I did...well, yeah I still do!  But as soon as we remembered Ironman Canada had moved to Whistler we were kind of hooked.  Remember the story of our ill-fated honeymoon trip to Whistler?  Yeah well this is our redemption!   So romantic.  It's kind of our jam to do these Ironman races as anniversary trips (our 9 year anniversary was IMCDA).  We promised ourselves a lifetime of adventure together...and with bears on the run course this is sure to continue that promise!

Oh hai!

So training start December 3 with our build up to the LA Marathon.  And as this blog is aptly called "The Ironman Experiment" I will be experimenting with a few things this go around:
  1. Continue to utilize Crossfit Endurance Training Protocol
  2. Use power training on the bike
This is my third time at the big dance.  I don't get to just "show up" this go around. 

 
So December 3rd, let's do this...

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Life After Ironman

It goes on, yes it does. And suddenly everything that was in the peripheral for so long is right in front of you. It's hard to refocus and find new goals, nothing seems as big or as important (training wise) as an IM. And believe me, it's easy to take a nice long off-season and think about it only when you realize how out of shape you have gotten!

I give Crossfit Endurance a lot of credit for getting me back in the game right away. Sure I took it real easy for a few days, but physically my body was ready and recovered merely days after IMCDA. Mentally I was not ready. But I still found myself in "The Lab" (our garage gym) going through recovery WODs. My body needed the movement, and it helped me not feel so useless, and without purpose. ;) However, this week, 2 weeks post IM mojo is completely back and I am training full force.


You see, CFE taught me about potential. People like me who had done sport merely for the fun, social aspect and never really cared about anything other than finishing now feels like I may actually have some athletic potential. Sure, I'm in my late 20's, I've never played sports, and am proud to have done as much as I have. But I never cared to be any good. Training with CFE showed me that despite my usual attitude "I'm not a runner, I am not genetically disposed to be any good at anything, I'm always going to be middle of the pack" I really had no idea what I could and CAN be.

Doing IMCDA on 13 weeks of CFE training merely scratched the surface. And the fact that I was able to accomplish almost every single goal I had set out to do (just shy of that 2 hour stretch PR) lit the fire in me to work even harder. Sure a 14 hour Ironman finisher is no big deal to most, but for someone like me it's just close enough to keep me going. Well if a 16 hour Ironman could be a 14 with hard work is 12 that impossible? (Stay tuned for IMAZ 2012) What more could a person ask for but to have goals, and have the TOOLS to unlock potential.

Many people have asked post IMCDA if I credit that race to my CFE training. ABSOLUTELY. In that case, what did I do:

- Starting in March I began following the Crossfit Endurance main site for a few weeks just to figure out if this was how I wanted to tackle IM #2. I had been training at a great local box Crossfit Leiftime Fitnessall summer for Crossfit and knew I truly suffered in my first IM (Ironman St George) due to lack of STRENGTH. I wanted to add CF to my endurance training, but knew I could not do it unless the programming was specified for endurance and complimentary to my IM training, not detrimental.
- I found a coach to provide me specific programming, although the CFE site will d just that, I didn't want ton have to think and do my own programming since I was new to it.
- My coach sent me weekly programs consisting of: 2x2x2 swim bike run workouts a week (6 total) and 4 Crossift/ strength WOD's.
- All workouts (save for a few) were all out efforts, & time trials. Shorter, higher intensity (see other blog posts for sample weeks). I still had an 80 mile stamina ride on my plan and ran up to 13 miles (in a typical build fashion). The longest swim was upwards of 1500 straight. Midweek endurance was high intensity intervals (think 400, 800, 5k, 10k time trials) and same for bike and run.
- CFE requires 3 hours between workouts, on days where there were two workouts I would do my Crossfit at lunch and sbr in the evenings.
- It was exhausting. On days that I had done a WOD, or heavy lift I may have a 10k to run in the evening. It was not easy.
- People see low volume and think easier. Not at all. I have trained in traditional manner. In CFE there are no off or recovery days. Every time I trained was hard, focused, strong efforts. It was good for me mentally. But there were days I yearned for a nice long run where I was just cruising along. Or a bike ride with friends.

Results
- 2 hour PR speaks for itself
- I LOVED my training, enough that I'm right back at it. Signing up for another IM and using this training for an upcoming marathon (Tucson in Dec) and sprint Tri in Oct (let's see if I can try and go FAST for a change).
- I feel like I am starting over in this sport. I've been screwing around and wasting my time, it's almost as I'd MCDA was my first race ever and I'm just getting this all figured out.
- I was mentally prepared. An Ironman you will suffer. CFE training takes you to places of suffering, and serves up a nice dose of HTFU.

What now?
I officially start training for SHEROX San Diego. I am racing it as part of Team Hope.


Since so many of you helped me raise SO MUCH for The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund for MCDA I am going to continue on my quest to race with goals and for purpose. As a part of Team Hope I will race for the OCRF Team, raising funds and awareness. SHEROX in San Diego is affiliated with the fund and I want to show my support at the race. It will be fun to change up my training for short and fast, and horribly painful. Ugh, I hate short and fast!




So Josh and I are training, daily. Still using CFE main site. Mountain biking and having fun with it until I need to get serious. Our most recent Lab purchase was a set of rings(we've got quite a wish list). I've got all kinds of Crossfit goals (that's another post) that I want to accomplish this year. Most of all, rings are fun! I feel like a little kid again having them, but the movements are kicking my butt!

Speaking of fun - pull up competition with Elliot (who won? *wink*)





So the rings, we've been working the CORE FOUR: pullups, pushups, dips, rows to get ready for muscle ups.

Ring pushups



Row



DIPS










And my favorite...screwing around! It's the best part of Crossfit!





So thats life after Ironman. Having fun, new goals, always looking forward.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

"Ironman Life"

Josh made a pretty cool video of every single photo taken on his iPhone ;) from the start of our Ironman training in March, to the finish line (IMCDA pics courtesy of Jessica Camacho Photography)

There's Crossfit pics, nutrition, and of course some swim bike run. But it also shows how much "life" takes place in such a short amount of time: Flagstaff, snowboarding, Vegas, Wisconsin, New Jersey and general screwing around. It's all a cumulative effort that gets you to that finish line.

The Journey to Ironman Coeur d'Alene March 2011 - June 26th 2011 from Josh Donahue on Vimeo.

Use this link is the video does not auto load Ironman Video

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

The Experiment has Ended...





"You can do this, you WANT to do this, you are fine, you put yourself here, you cannot give up, you have to fight, you are okay, you're fine, push, breathe, you're okay, breathe, this is fun, you love this, it's not cold, breathe, push, fight, you're fine, you're FINE, YOU ARE FINE!"

This is the constant self talk that went through my head on the swim. People do ask what I think about on these long lonely days. 14 hours and 7 minutes to be exact. You are alone. Just you and your head, and it's what you communicate to your brain that is going to make or break your day. Let me go back a few days...

Josh and I started our Ironman week on Wednesday June 22 in Spokane WA. It was our 8 year wedding Anniversary. What better way to celebrate than completing our second Ironman together? :). We stayed at Hotel Davenport and had a wonderful evening, restful, before we knew things would get a bit chaotic in Idaho.




On Thursday June 23 we drove to Coeur d'Alene Idaho to meet up with Elliot and other friends doing the race and staying in the house. We checked in at the expo, it was cold and windy, a lot like the weather prior to St George, I avoided looking at the lake because I knew it would NOT be like that race day and I didn't need that in my head. We grocery shopped,and generally screwed around.










Recovery legs!



On Friday June 24 I let Elliot talk me into pre swimming in the 57 degree white capped water as he was meeting some other people to swim. I stood looking at the lake and decided I was not going to get in that day, what was the point? It was very choppy, very windy and very cold. Again, it would not be like this race day so what's the point? :) Elliot made fun of me enough so I finally put my suit on and got in, surfed the white caps for a good 15 minutes and rode them back into shore. Looked at Josh, laughed at his "green with nausea look" and returned to shore.



Got out, changed clothes while cussing up a storm and ran to the closest coffee shop for a warm drink. Hung there all afternoon waiting for Ryan and Jessica to arrive with Elliot, Rick, and Dan Cadriel. Finally my best Iron Sherpas arrived and we went back to the cabin for the evening and to do some 3 person canoe-dling with Ryan, Josh and Rogue (this consists of 3 people and a dog in a canoe...yeah).

Skipped the athlete dinner (this is becoming a habit) instead for a hike at Tubbs Hill. Elliot and Tyler joined us and we had an awesome evening out on the beach.

Elliot and his "ladeez"




My Iron Sherpas Jess and Ryan!






Deep thoughts....



Saturday June 26 was the typical drop your stuff off, wander the expo, get some ART...Eat some cupcakes (pre Ironman ritual)




And then relax as much as possible and have photo shoots with your personal Iron photographer. (Insert Jessica Camachoplug: I am so blessed to have her as my sister inlaw. NOT because she takes amazing photos, has a phenomenal eye for cool stuff, and is just insanely talented at what she does. But because she is also one of the coolest women you will ever meet. Insanely fit, smart, supportive and fun as heck to be around. I am so lucky to have her and Ryan in my corner). Any pics you see on this blog post that are any good are obviously hers.

Elliot loves her too



So Friday night - Ride bikes, find out your aero bar is not screwed on, equipment check and pre race dinner of sweet potatoes and eggs.










The rest of the evening we lazed around, Ironsherpa Chad did our body marking so we did not have to mess with it in the morning and somehow I conned Josh into rubbing my calves!















The beauty of this race? I slept like a Champ despite our house full of people, & creaky floors. Ironman round two was very relaxed and calm. I went to bed at 8pm and was not ready to wake up at 4am for the race, slept like a dream. I love that it was LIGHT out in the morning that early in CDA. You don't feel like such a freak for waking up so early and knowing you will be racing into the night.

Sunday June 26 - Race Day

I woke up and laid in bed for a while, didn't feel like I was about to do an Ironman that day. I was very calm. Went upstairs, Josh had made me my usual oatmeal and blueberries with coffee. No nerves. Chatted with other racers, Elliot and Chad had already left. Tyler and Rick were on their way out. Cool, calm, collected. Josh, Ryan, Jess and I loaded up and were out the door. Arrived to the site at about 6, quick bathroom break, a little chatting and then down to the race site. Wow what a cluster. People everywhere. Dropped off special needs bags and got into my wetsuit on the grass. I didn't hear the water temp reading from the morning but there was no wind. The water was calm, like I knew it would be. ;).

The morning calm was shattered when we tried to get to the beach for the start. Walls of people in a narrow walkway. Had 15 minutes, 2400 athletes and one entrance to the beach, mixed with spectators, the pushing and shoving had already started. Oh well. Was fun. Tried to keep with Ryan and Jess, but it's nice knowing they are tough and will find a way too, and will be fine no matter what so hugged them about halfway through the mess of people and were off. I love having those two around, they just keep this feeling of calm and normalcy for these races. I don't think I'll ever be able to do an IM without them now. It's like they go hand and hand.
















Swim Went through the archway to the beach and over the timing mat, and my feet hit the sand. So many people. This was the Only open water swim I have ever done with a beach start. I was pretty far back, maybe 10 rows and in the middle of the beach. I had read that this swim is perhaps one of the most brutal swims for this reason. Add the two loop component (you get out half way through and run over a timing mat and back in for loop 2) and the amount of carnage, chaos, punching, kicking, is Indescribable.

So back to the swim start. I am pretty level headed when it comes to swimming. I knew 2 things:

1 - it will be VERY cold
2 - there will be a lot of contact

I had the right mentality for this. Basically, 'you can handle it.' IMSG was 58 degrees and I did fine. My hands froze up and were unusable post swim, but it was manageable so I had that experience to rely on. I do not panic when getting swam over, kicked, punched, grabbed, etc. I just think my happy thoughts and realize the water will open up eventually.

Well....none of that happened this time. I had the most horrific experiences in this hour and forty-three minutes of my life. My goal for this swim was 1:30. I knew it would be slower than IMSG (1:27) due to the two loop format, the extra amount of people (only 1600 in that race) so less open water. So I was realistic. I haven't done anything to improve my swimming per se, just maintain it.

The canon goes off, give Josh a kiss, wish him luck and walk behind people. Keep walking, waist deep. Then people start swimming. I put my face in and just start swimming. Unless you have done an Ironman swim it's hard to explain the feeling of being in 55 degree water (yes, I was in 55 degree water for nearly 2 hours) and having 2400 of your closest friends constantly grab your arms, your feet, swim over you, kick you square in the ribs, side of your face, hold onto you, have your hands, arms and feet go numb and try to keep swimming. All while maintaining the "i love this! I signed up for this! I want to be here" attitude. But that's exactly what is going on. Am I having fun? Not in the slightest. The cold makes it feel like someone is standing on your chest the entire time. And this time, where IMSG my hands were frozen, this time my entire left arm went numb. You stand on that edge of panic the entire time. It's a fine line. And that's the fine line that keeps me signing up for these. I love that place. Not when I am there, but knowing that only I have the power to get myself out of there. Knowing I have, and continue to do so.

Video of swim start

My first lap was 47 minutes. On pace to my 1:30 goal as I knew the second loop would be faster as people were starting to spread out more on the course. I was feeling okay, mentally glad to be halfway. I got back in to make the 800 meter swim out to the first turn buoy. Left arm was hanging like a Nemo fin, and I was kicking a lot more than usual, but feeling fine.

As I made it to the turn buoy 3/4 a way through the swim I had a metallic taste in my mouth, took a breathe on my right and wiped my face. As I looked at my hand through my dark tinted goggles I saw something dark and streaked on my hand, something was not right, so I stopped. Treading water I lifted my goggles. Horrified, my hand was covered in blood. Began waving frantically for a kayaker. In no time at all a red kayak pulled up to me, I remember distinctly grabbing the black rope at the nose of his kayak while frantically wiping my face and running my tongue across my teeth. My mouth seemed fine. The man in the kayaker saw the blood "your nose is bleeding" my hand went to my nose, again more blood. Oh my God. I am going back and forth between panic and 'you're so close, only 1000 more meters!' The man is talking to me, this and that about medical. I snapped out of my panic and said "If I go to medical I'll DNF" I knew if they pulled me from the water my day was done. I was okay, I was not hurt, I had no idea why my nose was bleeding. I had no pain. My mouth was okay, my nose felt fine. It was just bleeding for some reason. I pinched it and held onto that rope. Damnit, it was so cold. Cold, cold cold. I could not stop thinking about that. Then my thoughts went to 'the only way to get out of this cold water is to swim to shore' and without saying anything else to the man I just left. I stopped a lot on the way back to shore. Just to breaststroke slowly, wipe my face. It seemed fine. I was fine. When I could see the flag and hear the announcer on the shore I was enlivened. I wanted out of that water so bad. I just kept thinking 'this is hell on Earth' sure it's dramatic, but at the time, you're not thinking clearly. OUT I wanted out.

T1And there it was, the sand beneath my feet. I stood up, saw the clock. Disastrous? Yes, at the time, but not at all. I was on LAND!!! And then there was Ryan and Jess beaming at me, right there. I muttered something about it being so awful, but inside I was so happy and relieved to see them, to be out. To get to do what I know and love - bike and run!



For the first time I did not even try to remove the top of my suit. I didn't want it off. I was so cold. I just walked up to the strippers. I had my two swim caps off, earplugs out, goggles off and zipper down. They did the rest and a damn good job at it. Then I saw Chad. He smiled at me, gave me some encouragement while I whined at him too. 'Oh it was so terrible, wah!' ;) He pretty much pointed me to my T1 bag and told me to get going. Good friend. No, really. That's all you can do in an Ironman. Keep going, what is done is done. You have 112 miles to focus on now. What happened in the water does not matter. HTFU and move on.

Move on I did. Grabbed my bag and a seat in the tent. I admit I was shocked. How could this be? Why did this happen to me? How was I going to recover? But all the while this is going through my head this wonderful woman, Rosie, was literally dressing me as I sat. It was a repeat of St. George T1. No use of my hands at all. The ring fingers and pinkies were curled inward and completely limp. I mentioned the numbness in my left arm and she did not like what i said. After a stern look from Rosie I said 'its fine its fine just cold!' two volunteers held me up to slide my swimsuit off, opened chamois cream bottles for me, pulled my sports bra over head, buckled my bike shoes and helmet strap. All while I sat there in a complete daze. All of the sudden I'm dressed and she points me to the exit. BIKE! Yes, that's what I shall do to get warm! :)

As I slogged (slow jogged) out of the change tent I saw the time 8:55, this invigorated me! If I hit my goal bike of 7:00 hours despite the disastrous swim I could still have a chance at my super stretch goal of sub 14 hours.




Sidetracklet me talk a little about goals. As my second Ironman I would be lying if I said I was out there just to finish. Sure, just finishing an Ironman is a feat in itself. There is so much that can go wrong on That day. It's a long day and truly a painful, logistical nightmare. But I have "just finished" an Ironman and damn that feels good. But as my second go around, it had better be, well...better. Otherwise, whats the point? I live my life always looking to improve myself. And this race was no different. IMSG I had no expectations other than finish as I always allow myself that in a new distance. This race - I did. Goals for IMCDA:

1 - Finish (should always still be the main goal)
2 - One hour faster than IMSG (14:57)
3 - Finish before dark (before they hand out mandatory glow necklaces)
4 - 2 hours faster than IMSG (13:57)

SUBGOALS
Swim: 1:30
Bike: 7:00
Run: 5:00
(with transitions this would have been goal 4)

Bike Well we saw how the swim went so I thought my day was going sour already. But here is where the positive mentality plays to your benefit. What is done is done, shoot for that bike goal! Have something you can feel good about at the end of the day.

And that is what I did. I knew the bike course well enough, have a Computrainer and have ridden it. I knew how to pace and trust my instinct and intuition. I don't have bike computers, or Garmins or heart rate monitors. I trust, well, me. And my trusty $10 orange Target watch.

So off I went, the start of the course is amazing and I am happy to be in familiar territory. The crowd is fabulous. We ride through town and out along the run course, one minor hill (the same that is on the run) and my chain is off. Cool, calm, collected I dismount and put it back on. I'm wearing my black kit with teal to represent OCRF (Ovarian cancer research fund) as my actual kit has not come in yet. So wiping a little bike grease on my shorts is no problem. Normally I'd be furious, but I talk a little to my bike and realize I just need to finesse the gearing a little bit better on the hills.

To be honest Im not in my usual good mood, I'm not talking to people on the course. I'm focused, I'm planning my next move at all times. Food, pacing, my mind is constantly working.

People tend to ask me what I eat on these rides, here was my plan, although I always supplement with course aide:

I need to eat 250 cals an hour and 24 oz of water:
15 min: 1/4 Pop Tart ( that was a new addition to nutrition and love it)
30 min: Thermolyte (salt)
45 min: banana
1 hour: Gel

Every hour was approx that plan. Keeps your mind busy.

The course: when I was out there, I hated it. Just being honest. It seemed relentless. It was very different than IMSG though nearly as challenging. I'm just not sure these courses suit me. Did I feel stronger this time? Yes. But I still get passed on climbs and tend to make up speed on descending technical sections and flats. it was mentally difficult to get in a rhythm. Very very steep short climbs, lots of twists and turns. Some fun sections too. I am writing this as what I experienced and I was truly in a dark place on the bike. I just was.





I came into town at 4:55 PM I could not believe how well I paced. I rode a 7:00:23 bike. Executed perfectly. I knew I needed a sub 5 minute T2 to give me any chance at sub 14. It was 4:04. My spirits were lifting. I was nailing this part of the race and the disastrous swim was a distant memory.



Run
I was so happy to be running. I knew I could nail a half marathon, after that I would either fall apart or hang on. This would be the true test of my 13 weeks of Crossfit Endurance testing. Could I hold out? Could I run this marathon?

I ran the first 3 miles just shaking it out. Low 10, high 9 minute miles. This felt very comfortable, my heart rate was very low. I knew my legs and feet would be a factor early on just from the intensity required on the hills during the bike. I was achy, I knew I would need lots of salt and potassium in the hot afternoon sun. Lots of people were cramping. I started to walk each aide station to ensure I would get potato chips, water and a 1/2 banana at each mile. This worked out to be 11 flat and i knew this would work. It hurt, but it would work and was sustainable through the marathon. I saw Josh right before the big hill. They added this section to this run this year. It's a big reason I chose IMCDA, A FLAT run. I do not think anyone would call this run flat by any means now. At mile 6 you run a very decent grade, up and over and then turn around and repeat the same hill to head back into town. I promised myself I would run it every time. And run it I did. Not sure it helped my pace but I had a strict no walking outside of aide stations rule and this hill was not an aide station.

I saw Josh 4 times on this run. Elliot had lapped me in transition and I only saw him on the way into the finish, solid 10:30 finish. I was uplifted every time to see Josh doing so well. I had hoped to be closer to him, but only for my sake. :)

The run was insanely gorgeous along Lake Coeur d'Alene and some of the houses were just magnificent. There was a dirt path alongside the bike path that we ran and I hopped on it and imagined I was just out for an evening run on the trails in Mesa. Quieted the pain and stress in my head to think of things familiar.

Again I talked to no one. I made no friends on the course that day. I was focused and determined to meet my goals. Loop 2 of the run was my lowest point, as soon as I entered town I hurt. I knew everyone hurt, and that helps so much. My feet just screamed at me. I told them I understood, and that soon we would be back on the dirt path. My IT band had awoken on the steep cambered downhill and wanted to really ruin my day. But I ignored it. I had to RUN. I still had a chance. I hit the half at 7:30 PM. It was then I knew, sub 14 was not happening. Not that I would not try. But I was hitting a wall and I would have to run 1 minute faster on the second half to go 13:59. I thought about walking it in. Walking feels so much better. Even an 11 minute mile shuffle feels like death at that point. Walk, walk, walk. My head is screaming at me. But no. I'm not walking. If I'm not going sub 14, I'm going 14:03 or damn close to 14 hours. And I knew sunset was close to 9PM. It's going to be light for me! RUN!

And I ran. And I loved it. I couldn't wait to get to get back to my path, I couldn't wait to see if I could run the hill again. And I couldn't wait to start drinking Coke! And it was the Coke that saved me. Well that and my motivational mile that said "HTFU then let's cuddle" I did enjoy that. But was I having fun yet? No. But when that sugar hit my system I was revived and knew I would at least make it. I just kept up with the shuffle and watched the sun fade into the distance. I was chasing that goal still. I was okay with letting the sub 14 slip, I was already planning my next attack...IMAZ 2012. And if I had made that goal on this day, I had considered hanging it up for Ironman. Now I'll continue to train, and train harder. I know with this focus I put into this one I shaved 1:50, that's one HOUR FIFTY MINUTES off my last time.

Totals:
Swim: 1:43
Bike: 7:00
Run: 5:07
Overall: 14:07

I know I've got much more.

I thought of all that. I thought of all those at home watching, tracking, cheering, I thought of those who waited all day in the hot sun to support me, I thought of Josh and how he must be feeling as he finished, and I thought of Grandma Noltner. And all of those summers on the lake, those summers that got me comfortable in the water in the first place. And I found myself wishing she was there so I could have thanked her for all of the things she gave me and taught me. I said a prayer of thanks, for the ability to be able to do these things...and I ran. Down Sherman street still packed with screaming fans. And through the finishing chute. Ryan and Jess were there, Josh, Elliot, Rick, Chad. So many people so many smiles. This is all why I do this, and will continue to do this. Is it fun? Not really. Definitely not at the time. It hurts more than I can describe. But in all of this I find purpose, and I've found strength, and amazing friends, and the support of an amazing family. There is nothing more important to me in life than family, friends and purpose. And Ironman gives me that.



















Monday, June 20, 2011

Taper Madness

First of all THANK GOODNESS my husband races with me or else I think I would be a very lonely person. in the weeks leading up to a race, Ironman especially "taper madness" takes a hold on me, a death grip and really does not let go. What is taper madness you ask!? I think this is a great explanation, and for some of you reading this, I am sure you are shaking your head YES at many of these symptoms:

From:


Runners lounge


Taper Madness is real. Don't let your doctor tell you any different. It isn't a figment of your imagination - it strikes all who attempt to take their training down a notch a week or so before the big race. It is a necessary evil that (triathletes) live in order to arrive at the starting line with legs that have a bit more spring in the step instead of feeling beat to hell. But the contrary nature of the taper is what you gain back in physical rejuvination you lose in mental reasoning capacity. The term "madness" wasn't happened upon. It is a full and complete description of the feeling a (triathlete) gets as they anxiously await for the race. Their thoughts race - most times in circles of repetition. They sense and feel aches and pains of the tiniest amount and then worry them to the greatest extreme. All their conscious waking moments are consumed with preparing and running their long awaited event.

But there is a bright side to your condition - it is entirely temporary, 100% reversable and completely harmless to your long life. But the symptoms can be confused with other more serious conditions, such as truly losing your mind, life ending not yet discovered diseases, and obsessive compulsive disorders that need to be treated.

To help you decide if you need to ride it out versus see a specialist, here are some of the common symptoms of Taper Madness:

Out of Control Phobia of Germs. You have converted your hydration belt, cell phone holder, purse or other items on your person into hand santizer and Lysol toting equipment. You find yourself spraying down desks, keyboards, phones, bathrooms, and even your loved ones to keep them 99.9% germ free. You easily move out of the way of handshakes and hugs of most people - even the ones you live with now. Your children and spouse are instructed to stay within arms length and even blowing kisses down wind are prohibited. Even if you have never been a self proclaimed germ phobe before your taper, you find that your eye sight is accurate enough to now see possible viral and bacterial infection lurking around every public surface. No infection, flu, or cold will stand between you and the starting line.

Self Proclaimed Expert Meterologist. Through your training, you rarely studied weather except to decide how much sunscreen to wear. You withstood all temperatures, wind gusts, precipitation - hell even a tornado and hurricane. But now with weeks to go, you have your email, Twitter, IM and cell phone set up to provide up to the minute reports on the 3, 5, 7, and 14 day forecast for race day. You have enacted a "no talking" zone during nightly weather and find yourself switching to the Weather Channel ten times a day. Some will even go so far to try to strike up a relationship with the local meterologist to get the inside scoop. And others will channel ancient forecasting methods to forecast the weather themselves using moon position, clouds and the path of birds.

You can't get enough of the details. The race website you glanced at a few times before signing up you now visit regularly in the lsat few weeks. You have a minute by minute schedule mapped out for the days before the event through the starting gun. You have studied the maps to figure out bathrooms, parking, meeting spots, and more. You have doubled checked your confirmation number, hotel reservation, and your bib number. Every other day of the year you let the little things go but for a few weeks each year, the details are everything.

You wonder if you are losing your mind. In the same hour you think to yourself, "I can!" "I can't possibly.." "I will!" "What the heck was I thinking..." "I can't wait!" "Am I really ready?" "I am going to rock that race!" "What if I am last?" "I can't wait to cross the finish line!" "What if I don't finish?" "My training has gone so well." "I should have pushed harder on the miles in the middle...". You flip flop between positive energy and mental anguish in the blink of an eye. Every other month of the year you are a rational, logical human being capable of dealing with complex emotions. But for these few weeks, you can't seem to get seem to talk sense into yourself.

You see people talking and hear words, but you really don't care what they are saying. And that's not like you. Most times, you try to pay attention in those boring meetings. You can usually remember what your better half told you last night. You can even stay lucid in a conversation with your kids about video games and cartoons. But not during Taper Madness. Not a chance. You hear people talking. You see their lips moving but you can't focus on the message and you really don't care. During Taper Madness you would you really like to stand up and scream, "Can we talk about what I want to talk about....MY [FILL IN RACE}?!?!?"

Your race gear achieves high status. Instead of being throw on the floor, in the laundry or stuffed in a bag, your chosen race gear is clean, folded and perched on a shelf, chair or other place of high honor a few days/weeks before the event. Family members are instructed not to touch it, move it or refold it. It has a purpose.

Excursions require safety reviews. Someone casually mentions going out for a meal, drink, shopping, whatever, and you do a mental scan of the route, the establishment, and company before deciding if it is worth the risk of a sprained ankle, chance of eating the wrong food, or picking up a stray germ.

You think about the race - ALOT. When you get up you think about what you will be doing that time of the day on race day. When you go for a run you think about what it will be like to start or finish the race. You have visualized the finish line so many times you have your never-to-be-used finish line speech to perfection. You have practiced, secretly, the fist pump, jump for joy, double arm 'yahoo!", etc that you will do for the picture that really counts. And smiles....you know which smile you will try for and at which miles - instead of the death snear - even if that is how you feel. You think about the race at every meal, walking to your car, brushing your teeth, while watching the news, singing your favorite songs (but with new taper related lyrics)... with every step or breath you take.

You know you are dying ... or at least facing a race ending injury. You held off minor and major injuries throughout your training, but now in just a few days you have aches, pains, tweaks, tight spots all in places you haven't before and in ways you haven't experienced before. You wonder how your body could betray you now! You spend time on www.webmd.com and www.sportsinjuryclinic.net hoping to find the answer to your mystery illness - only to find that there is nothing that specifically covers what you are experiencing.

If any of these sound like a current symptom you have, congratulations - you have Taper Madness. There is a wonderful home treatment.

The race.

;)

In our taper we've been slowly going crazy and busy packing our things. Saturday we met with the crew and said bye-bye to our bikes and talked race logistics and FUN with the roomies. I've been putting in a few Crossfit WOD's and swim, bike, running nice and easy to stay fresh and loose. We leave Wednesday for Spokane and will be in Coeur d'Alene Thursday morning. It's here, and all of those things mentioned above, that's me right now. :)

Josh shows his race ready plank as we get ready to drop off the bikes! Last ride!


Pricy trailer full of bikes!




Second to last CF WOD in The Lab! (30-20-10: box jump, squat, push up, double under,toes-to-bar)








Almost time to see how this experiment pans out...