Cycle to the Sun...

...and other new developments!




So what does any self-respecting triathlete do when she gets shut out of the two 70.3's she wanted to race in 2013?  Signs up for one of the toughest road bike races out there!  I'm so excited!

So excited, in fact, that I even got myself a coach. Although I've had reasonable success coaching myself through three triathlons and countless running races, cycling is still a relatively new sport to me.  And over the last few years it has always been in the back of my mind that I could probably do a LOT better if I had someone who really knew what they were doing taking charge of my training.

For CTS, there was no other option in my mind.  Training for a standard road race or triathlon to finish is fairly straight forward.  If you have some reasonable knowledge of endurance sports, are fairly self-motivated and can follow directions, there are thousands of "canned" plans that will take you through your races.  In triathlon training, I'd pick a plan then basically follow the "hours" recommended for each discipline.  I didn't really do (OK, I did zero) interval training, outside of swim sessions with my masters group.  I just S/B/R'd and hoped for the best.

Where it gets dicey is when you are going to be climbing straight up a mountain for several hours with a 10,000ft+ elevation gain.   And I knew I couldn't do it alone.  So far I think having a coach is AWESOME, and here's why it's working for me:

• It eliminates a lot of trial and error - I have a relatively short training window (the ride is June 29) so I need to maximize my training time and do the sessions that are going to get me up that hill (and I really know very little about the mechanics of a cycling training program).
• It's HUGE to have my workouts planned for me - I don't have to think about it...just do it.
• Although I've used a Garmin for a couple of years now, it was really for amusement purposes only and to get a guideline on time, distance and heart rate.  Now it provides useful information for my coach and guidelines for me to consider during workouts.

The big thing, though, is that it made me realize, almost from the beginning, that I never pushed myself hard enough in workouts before.  She is making me work HARD (and sometimes I swear during interval sessions), but I get off my bike every time with a sense of accomplishment.  I'm feeling stronger and stronger all the time.

I have two goals for this race right now:

• The "A" goal - finish in around 5 hours.
• The "B" goal - not to finish last.

I'll share more of my thoughts on having a coach in future posts, including why I picked mine.  If you want to get to know her, check out Simmons Endurance Coaching.

More soon!

Random Thoughts Right Now

I'll be cycling to the top at the end of June.

•  I have a coach!  Did I already mention that?  Wait, I think I've written several unpublished posts about that, so it's probably news.  I'm working with Michelle Simmons from Simmons Endurance Coaching on Oahu.  Her slogan is "Find A New Gear."  I'll be writing more on this later, but suffice it to say that in these first three weeks I have definitely found gears I didn't know I had!

• Speaking of gears...have you seen those sports drink commercials where they show the athletes completely dripping with sweat?  I mean, they have sweat glistening from every pore and it's running in rivulets down their necks, arms, torso, legs.  I never believed anyone could sweat that much - that it was all for show.  Well, the trainer workouts I've been doing are producing the exact same results.  I never knew I could work so hard.
  
• I'm training for Cycle to the Sun at the end of June.  I got shut out of the two 70.3's I wanted to do this year (I didn't sign up in time, d'oh!).  So I did the next batshitcrazy best thing I could think of: ride to the top of Haleakala Crater on the steepest paved road in the world.  It's only 36 miles.  With...ahem... 10,023ft of climbing. (At least it's on home turf so I can train for it!)
  
• It appears my plantar fasciitis is waning.  FINALLY.  After a gait analysis and a custom orthotic (plus some leg/glute strength training), pain has gone from an 8 to about a 2-3 and continues to get better.  I'm going to add a little bit of running to the mix and see how it goes. 
  
• Nutrition-wise I'm trying a few new things...trying to get back to 100% Paleo after dabbling with a little high fat dairy for awhile.  Dairy just doesn't seem to work for me - it just adds unwanted weight.  I'm sticking with a higher fat, lower carb regimen and trying to become more fat-adapted for endurance events, so we'll see how it goes.  I'm not sure how well that will translate with all the climbing I'm going to be doing - I might need a little more sugar.

Kahekili Hwy - My new favorite training place.

 Those are my thoughts for now.  More soon...

Finally, Some Answers!

Good feet are hard to find.

I had an amazing day yesterday.

I don't know how many times I've posted about my ongoing, chronic foot issue, but I think about it every day so it feels like I talk about it all the time.

I've been convinced since this start of this injury that it wasn't just my foot, but that I had some sort of imbalance.  Over the past year I've tried just about everything to treat plantar fasciitis, but nothing seemed to help.  And every time I resumed running the pain flared up even worse.  It radiated to my heel, achilles tendon, and further research convinced me it might even be my flexor longus tendon - maybe even a combination of all of them.

I finally went to A.R.T. (active release therapy).  After the first session I had two completely pain-free days in a row.  I couldn't believe it.  Then I had a second session which didn't provide any relief.  During the second session, though, I found out they also did gait analysis.  My appointment was yesterday and it was an eye opener.

My appointment was with Shari Einhorn-Dicks, a physical therapist from Seattle who works with Deep Relief Maui when she is here.  We talked shoes (I brought my current variety of running shoes and three of my work shoes for her to see), what I've been using and how they have been working (or not) for me.  She measured and tested my feet in many different ways and took a few foot impressions.  Then I got the colored pen mark-up and dots stuck to many places on my back and legs.

Some of the leftover markings.

She videoed me walking, running, then running in several of the shoes I brought along.  Turns out one pair of shoes is good - my Brooks Pure Flows; one pair may be OK after I completely recover - my Saucony Kinvaras; and the two New Balance shoes are completely wrong for me.  My Zoots are also out of circulation, but they have too many miles on them anyway.

Just one look at the videos and my problem was immediately apparent.  My left foot severely pronates and does not recover during the stride.  It's awful and looks extremely painful - I can't believe my ankle isn't actually broken or deformed in some way!  No wonder my freakin' foot hurts!

The good news - it's 100% fixable!

While my right foot is biomechanically perfect (and a thankful shout-out to Dr. May, my podiatrist from 20+ years ago, who did my bunionectomies which are "beautifully done" in Shari's opinion) my left foot is a Morton's foot - if I remember correctly it's because my first metatarsal is shorter in relation to the second).  I also have too much flexibility in the joint.  This, in combination with a weakness in my left leg (which probably came in when I was off my left foot for 5 months while it healed from a stress fracture) is creating my issue.

The cure?  Well, an insole for my left foot that will help keep my foot properly aligned while I strengthen my left side, and perhaps a cortisone shot for the inflammation.  ZERO running until I can get this issue rectified.  I should be back in good running form by summer!

I HIGHLY recommend this kind of evaluation if you are suffering from chronic foot/tendon issues.  The video was so enlightening - I'm so glad we finally have something like this available on Maui.

I'll keep you posted on the progress.  I'm thoroughly optimistic that I will see good results.

Things I Discovered in 2012

A lot of people are writing about race results, training totals, and "goal completion" for 2012 on their blogs.  While I track these things too, it would take way too long for me to gather up all that info and post it on my blog. And my blogging time is extremely limited these days.

Basically, 2012 went by in a complete and total blur for me.  For someone who prides herself on being organized and together I quite frankly do not know how I got through last year.  But I did discover a few things along the way:

1. PODCASTS.  How come no one ever told me how freakin' awesome these were?!  There is a unbelievable wealth of information out there on virtually every subject you can imagine and most of it is FREE!  I know you (and everyone else) have known this since day one, but I feel like I have struck gold.  I love listening to them on my (albeit short) commute to and from work and when I am working in the studio.  My two favorites are:
   
   The Angriest Trainer

   Vinnie Tortorich with Anna Vocino

   
   

   Fantastic fitness and nutrition info following a #NSNG No Sugar No Grains philosophy with a Hollywood insider twist and liberal pinches of sassy explicitness make for a thought (and giggle) provoking podcast.  If you love a good rant and some spicy language, this podcast is for you.  It appears to be especially popular with the female triathlon community, but the #NSNG philosophy is for EVERYONE.
   
   
   Balanced Bites
   Diane Sanfilippo and Liz Wolfe
   
   
   If you are interested in nutrition or digestive health, this is the podcast for you.  Diane Sanfilippo is now the 9x NYTimes bestselling author of "Practical Paleo," the easy how-to Paleo book and outstanding cookbook I highly recommend to anyone looking to take charge of their diet and health.  Hint: on the podcast skip the first ten to fifteen minutes of banter and get straight to the question/answer section.
   
   
    Honorable Mentions go to Ben Greenfield Fitness, Garden Variety Triathlon and Rich Roll (who, along with Vinnie Tortorich, I now dub "The Great Men of Podcasting").
   
   
2. CARBON FIBER. Oh, how I love my new bike.  I started out in triathlon on a Trek mountain bike not knowing how much I was going to enjoy road riding (and hate mountain biking!).  In year two I moved up to a friends loaner Trek 2000.  It was a big difference and it gave me a chance to think about the road bike I wanted to buy.  It only took me a year and a half!
   
   
   Behold... the Mighty Pegasus (aka Trek Madone 4.7):
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   May he steadfastly lead me to victory in 2013!
3. TWITTER.  I resisted for a long time.  "Who needs it," I said.  "I have much more to say that 140 characters," I said.  Just as with the podcasts, Twitter provides a wealth of information (and a heap of crap, too, if you're not careful who you follow).  I'm sticking with my new #NSNG #fatadapting new triathlon friends for the most part.
   
   There were undoubtedly more that three, but I can't remember them now.  However, be certain I am going to be talking more about these three AND how I am becoming a fat adapted triathlete in future posts.  I hope you'll stay tuned!
   

Holiday Bike Ride

LOVE my new bike.  Love it.

I joined about 75 other cyclists for Go Cycling Maui's holiday pancake ride on Sunday.  In a word...AMAZING.

The weather called for gusty trades and scattered showers.  The wind howled all night and was blowing a good 25 mph when I got up, so I thought I was in for headwind hell, but it was blissfully calm by the time I got to Keokea park for the start.  It was also 54-freakin-degrees.

If you are reading this and you live somewhere where outdoor winter riding is not an option, and it gets freezing cold, you have every right to call me a wimp.  But geez, I am a tropical island girl and anything below 70F has me running for my sweatshirt.  I am always worried I am going to be cold, then 15-20 minutes into a ride or run I am calling myself ridiculous and thankful (usually) that I didn't bundle up.  With the ride starting at 3,500ft and a call for wind and rain, I added a couple of layers - my YMX long sleeve shirt, a sleeveless cycling jersey AND my new Athleta Quarter Mile Half Zip.  I was still cold for the first 20 minutes or so, as we raced downhill into Ulupalakua in the shadow of Haleakala, but I warmed up just enough by the turnaround to strip off the outermost layer.  It only got up to about 65 degrees, so was still a bit cool, but comfortable.

How most of the road looked.

I got a new bike in October - a Trek Madone 4.7 - and love every minute on it.  I was especially looking forward to this ride because I haven't had the opportunity to ride this route before.  It was SPECTACULAR!

At the turn-around, looking toward Kaupo.

Nearly the entire route was newly paved (a cyclist's dream!).  The twisting, winding roads meander around the southern edge of Haleakala, through Keokea, Ulupalakua and out past Kahikinui for what ends up to be about 40 miles.  It's  definitely not a beginner's ride, though - all that fast, steep downhill riding at the beginning means lots of climbing on the way back.  But if you've got the legs for it, you won't be disappointed.

Kahikinui Wind Farm

We started the ride at 7:00 a.m. and headed toward Kaupo.  There was virtually zero traffic in either direction the entire ride since most of the tourist traffic comes around from Hana in the early afternoon.  It was windless until we climbed out of Ulupalakua and rounded the curve far above Wailea, then BAM, smacked in the face with a good 20-25mph headwind.  The saving grace was that a good part of the start of the ride would be downhill, and we would have a tailwind for the uphill on the way back.

On the return we got a glimpse of the new wind farm going up on the backside of the island along with breathtaking views of Maui's leeward coast.  I was completely caught up in the scenery and enjoyed every minute of the ride.

Not long after I took the last picture, I was cruising up over a hill and just as a crested it I looked up at the brilliant blue sky.  I took my eyes off the road at just the wrong moment and hit a small pile of lava rocks that had spilled onto the road from the nearby hillside.  As my bike pitched over the pile I was immediately thankful I wasn't going any faster because I think I would have crashed.  It was bad enough, however, as I realized I had my first ever mid-ride flat tire.  Leave it to me to find the one pile of debris on an otherwise immaculate stretch of road!

I limped over to the shoulder, thankful I had a spare and knew how to change the tire, but also knowing that it would probably take me awhile since I can count on one hand how many times I've changed a tire in practice.  And since this ride was mostly unsupported AND I was near the back of the pack of riders, I knew help wouldn't appear any time soon.

Just as I was pulling over, another cyclist heading out (and not with our ride), stopped and asked if he could help.  Not 10 minutes later I was back on the road again - special MAHALO to Dave of Makawao for lending me his expertise!

I caught up to my friend Sarah on the way back and we rode together to the finish.  It was a bit of a trudge climbing back out of Ulupalakua, but an overall great ride.  

I can't wait to get out there again!

Happy Holidays!

Remember When Running Was Simple?

I discovered running in my 30's.  It was simple then.  I went to a shoe store, bought a pair of Nike "running" shoes, and away I went.  The uniform was baggy sweats and a t-shirt.  I ran and ran and ran in those shoes, and then I ran some more.  I didn't know how many miles were on them and I didn't care.  I bought a new pair when they wore out (like when I used to think that I didn't need to change my sewing machine needle until it broke, but that's a story for my other blog). Fast forward to today and you could quite possibly call me the Imelda of Running Shoes aka The Shoe Hoarder.  At least my husband does.

The fact is, I have a couple of problems.

The first is that since I keep pretty close track of my mileage I have a fairly good idea of when shoes should be retired.  I also get other hints, like sore feet or shins, or something "not quite right" and I know it's time to get a new pair of shoes.  So the old ones get demoted to yard work and walking around town.  And even though I live in Hawaii you will rarely see me in the ubiquitous "rubbah slippahs" unless I am going to/from the beach.  I am super cautious about my feet and like to keep them protected.  Therein lies the problem: even though they aren't good for running, they are still good for other purposes so they are piling up.

The second is a nasty little problem called Plantar Fasciitis.

It's MADDENING.  No one really knows that causes it.  No one really knows what cures it.  You can have it for a week or for years.  One day it will be there, one day it won't.  It gets worse when you run...or not.  I've tried rest, ice, foam rolling, self massage, massage therapy, physical therapy, running, not running, and acupuncture.  My podiatrist wants to give me a shot.  I want to fix the problem, although the longer this goes on the more enticing the shot sounds.  He promises instant relief.  I am skeptical.

So now I have stability shoes, moderate "minimalist" shoes, racing shoes, training shoes, trail shoes.  "Too many shoes for just us two."   (If you listen to Keb Mo, you may get the reference.)  I feel like if I keep switching them up, my PF will go away.  Or not.

What do you do with your retired shoes when they start to pile up?

Starts, Stalls and Stops

Maybe I should rename my blog the title of this post?

I can't tell you how many posts I have in "draft" form right now (well, I can, because they are listed in my dashboard, but I'm just going to keep that dirty little secret to myself).

The last few months have been absolutely...freaking...insane.  And rather than resurrect a bunch of old race reports, rants and general craziness, I'm just starting fresh.

From here.

And what's going on right now?

• Things are settling down, evening out.  The planets are apparently realigning in a manner that is calming to me (and quite a few others out there in Blog-Land who appear to have been as frantic as me these last few months).
• The plantar fasciitis that I've had since March is showing no signs of abating, but is generally not getting worse so I *think* I'm OK with that.  I want it to go AWAY completely, soon.  I'm working on it.  Right now I'm reading THIS BOOK - I read about it in the comments on another blog.  Will let you know if it helps.
• I'm in Week 2 of January Marathon Training.  WHOO HOO!!  Making a run for it, again (tried last year then training got derailed over the holidays).  Also on the running front: a 10K this weekend and another at the end of the month - the Xterra 10K on Maui the day before Xterra World Championships.  Killer race (new strategy this year - will write more about that later - probably post race since I don't want to give my secrets away).
• I'm trying a new supplement line this month from BASE PERFORMANCE.  It was developed by Ironman pro Chris Lieto.  I hope it's the answer to training well in hot, humid weather.  I like it because it is clean and will be a good supplement to the Hammer products I know and love.  Will report periodically throughout the month and write a review at the end.
• Finally decided on a NEW BIKE!  Ordering it this week.  More on that later.

 Hope your fall season is off to a great start!