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Sunday, September 15, 2013

The Best Word to Describe This Ironman Training Week Was…

Moist

Except that I hate that word (along with panty, ginormous, stoked and scrotum). So, maybe I could say this week has been soggy. Even that is an understatement. How about SOAKED? (In case you don’t watch the news, some of Colorado is under water experiencing our version of a 100 year flood).

Here is how this week panned out – I fell short of my 15.5 hour time goal due to logistics, closed roads, closed facilities and general moistness:

Monday: Rest day after my 70.3 race

Tuesday: Short bike ride with Coach Sharpie to work on technique. It was pouring rain. MOIST. We worked on hills and turning. My favorite quote from coach for the day: “When riding in aero position, point your anus to the back, like you are going to shit on the car behind you.” Priceless.

Wednesday: Swim 2,800 yards. Run 7 miles

As the week wore on and the sky continued to open up and spew rain upon Colorado, my workouts got a bit more challenging.

Thursday: 7.2 mile run – RAINY.

Friday: Was to be a long swim, but with all roads and pools closed, I just swam 5,000 yards in this.

P1130961

Just kidding. Another favorite part of this day was that we smelled gas and had to have the gas people come out to make sure our house wasn’t going to explode. Turns out it was a sewage gas smell coming from all of the flooding on the golf course behind us. Reminds of me when Cousin Eddy’s sewage from his RV blew up in Christmas Vacation.

Saturday:

Thankfully the skies had cleared (at least for a few hours):

IMAG2003

It is a good thing I am OCD about my training and HATE to miss a workout because this day was a freaking pain in the ass. It would have been very easy to not do it.

First of all, all pools in Longmont were closed. I had to drive 30 minutes to the YMCA. About 30 minutes into my swim, every screaming and hyper girl on the female swim team invaded the pool. I was out of there soon enough.

2,300 yard swim.

I grabbed some coffee on the way home, mentally gearing up for a 4 hour bike ride. I knew many roads would be closed due to flooding, so had no clue how this would go. Ken and I took one of our usual routes only to discover the bridge was totally washed away:

IMAG2004

This is my best WTF-do-we-do-now? look.

IMAG2006

We threw our bikes across the chasm and made a human bridge and kept going. Just kidding again. We turned around. We encountered two more road closures and wash outs before we decided to call it a day and head home. In total I rode for 3:50, or 66 miles.

I headed out for a 7 mile run and it was hot and I was tired and it kind of sucked but I did it.

Sunday:

Got up for an early morning 6 mile run. Nice and cool. Legs felt good.

Then I immediately headed out for a 2 hour bike ride. By this time it had started torrentially down pouring. The winds were crazy. I was freezing. About 40 minutes out, Ken said, “I think I’m done having fun for the day,” and we turned for home. Here I am looking like a drowned rat wearing science class goggles. Where’s the Bunsen burner?:

IMAG2008

I had another hour run to do, but I got warm, took a nap and procrastinated. Finally at 4:30, the rain let up, so I headed out. Then of course it started pouring again. But I managed 6.2 more miles. Here is a professional video documenting the end of the run. I like how Ken didn’t turn off the video so it keeps recording stuff you won’t understand:

Totals:

Swim: 5,100 yards
Bike: 96 miles
Run: 33.3 miles

Total time: 13 hours, 25 minutes
Total miles: ~132
Total workouts: 10

This Ironman training is teaching me to be flexible and creative. When things don’t go as planned, you come up with a new plan. There are no excuses not to get in the work outs. It’s just a Shut Up and Train mentality. Get out there, suffer through, get it done. Meet your goal. Feel good (and moist).

 

What words/expressions do you hate? I also don’t like “That said…” and “At the end of the day” and “phone tag.” Oh, and for some reason, “Game on!” bugs me too.

Tell me about one less than ideal workout you’ve had this week (were you tired? was the weather sucky or moist? did you have bad gas? WHAT??)

SUAR

On a serious note: I want to say that although I appear to be making “light” of things, it’s not exactly the case – this has been a very tough time for our town and our state. We are doing what we can to help out others, to check on friends and to remain optimistic. Our thoughts go out to everyone affected – those displaced, those who have lost their homes or have tremendous clean up ahead of them, those worried about loved ones.

61 comments:

  1. I got two runs in this week. One was 1.5 and the other was .5. That was how far I made it before having to walk the rest because of the pain in my knee and hip. Guess I'm not as far along as I thought from knee and hip surgery this past spring.

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  2. My watch went wonky on my long run yesterday and wouldn't stop beeping. Your weekly totals are amazing. I feel like a total loser now.

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  3. I had two AWFUL workouts this week. They were back to back too, which made me feel like I wanted to list our house and move....

    1- first attempt at mountain biking on a new trail by myself. Yeah, that should be a tip off that it's going to be bad. The trail was very short, parts of it non-existant, and "moist" could be used to describe the air. It was so humid I couldn't hardly see through the fog on my sunglasses. I also had several really boggy parts of the trail that I couldn't ride through. It was no fun, and it took 40 minutes to go 3 miles!!!! I miss my trails in MI!!! KY mountain biking sucks!!

    2. So, after this horrible bike, I figured I would go on a run to clear my head and have a good workout, except it was so late in the morning that it was a heat index of 101 ...that I didn't realize until I was practically in tears bc I couldn't run at all and checked the weather on my phone. As if I didn't realize it was hot and miserable...At least it was documented hot.

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    1. That is so funny that you had to check the weather!

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  4. Along with "moist" and "at the end of the day," I abhor the term "play date." Sadly, with 4 kids I have heard it way too much over the past 18 years....

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    1. YES I can't stand play date either. Just sounds goofy to me.

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  5. Along with "moist" and "at the end of the day," I abhor the term "play date." Sadly, with 4 kids I have heard it way too much over the past 18 years....

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  6. I'm going to point my anus more in training for anything and at my desk tomorrow. Thanks to the configuration of our offices I won't be "pooping on my boss" but rather "working more aerodynamically."

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    1. LMAO. It didn't occur to me that you could use that tip in the work environment.

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  7. How about calling a marathon a Mary? That makes me nuts!

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    1. YES! Preggers is almost as bad as when I hear a guy say "we're expecting". That one always makes me roll my eyes.

      Also - sorry if you use this one ... but when did the gear you wear when you bike become a "kit"?

      When I hear that one, I envision needles & thread (sewing kit) or band aids and alcohol wipes (first aid kit). If it doesn't come in a tidy little carrying case, it isn't a KIT!

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  8. I really don't like "YOLO", "just sayin'", "24/7", and "this isn't my first rodeo."

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    1. not to bicker about phrases you don't like...but ya know it is "this AIN'T my first rodeo." haha

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    2. Oh that's right, tweetsweet, forgot the "ain't." And that makes it so much better and dislikeable!

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  9. "at the end of the day" makes me think of Les Miz. Anyhoo, I attempted running with a nasty sinus infection on Tuesday. That coupled with the fact that it was 85 @ 10am (and I live in MI, so it's not normally that warm this time of year) made my run a short one.
    I don't like it when people confuse affect and effect.

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  10. You are an inspiration!! Seriously i have no excuse not to train... ever... after reading that. Thank you! Are you aware of any organizations taking donations for flood relief?

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  11. I hate the term hubby or hubs.

    This week was a mess. I am 5 weeks out of a marathon and have not yet managed to get in a long run. All the main bike paths, trails, parks here are closed so I am going to try to run to Louisville and back to Boulder tomorrow morning for a long run. I hate missing workouts, but it was so difficult this week.

    Glad you are surviving OK.

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  12. Toronto was flooded out this past July. It's really awful. I hope your town has hit the worst of it and you guys can start recovering soon.
    In lighter posting comments- I really, really hate when people say "let's touch base." What? WHY? SHUT UP.

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  13. I hate hate hate when people say "nummy". Hate it.

    That missing bridge is crazy!! I hope the moistness goes away soon.

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  14. Oh geez, I think I used ginormous and that said about 40 times in my Leadville race report...have you de-friended me from FB yet?

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  15. I love the video - so freakin funny!!! And I LOVE this post. I'm going to show it to every client I have who had some lame ass excuse for not getting a workout in. Shut Up and DO IT - even through a natural disaster!!!

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  16. "My bad" and "you go, girl" -- ick.

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  17. Chillax. Definitely on my no-use list. Hubby and hubs is up there too.

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  18. Remember that I work in the medical profession, and we have a lot of terms we use that we substitute for common ones: instead of buttcrack, we use "gluteal crease"; instead of fart, we use "flatus", instead of zit, "pustule" or "furuncle"; instead of spit, "expectorate"; pooping your pants is "fecal incontinence"; you get the idea...we also have the term "explosive diarrhea" to describe what you experienced at the cafe a while back (still my favorite post ever!).

    I think keeping a sense of humor is important in stressful times. I don't think you are crossing the line or making light of the flooding situation. Looks to me like you are just rolling with it. Keep it coming!

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  19. I can't stand to hear.. "Get your AAA game on" when parents say this to their little kids.

    I was wondering how you were weathering the floods. Glad to hear you and your family are good. Stay dry.. and your miles and hours are amazing.. I feel like a slug compared to your workouts! Then again.. your training for a Iron-Woman! I hate the Iron "Man" term, women are way stronger then any man!

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  20. Ah, I am right with you! Moist is my least favorite word leading to my boyfriend to use it to describe anything he can think of. It is so gross!

    Awesome job getting in so many miles with all the flooding!

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  21. I was going to run a 5k this weekend and twisted my back getting up from the couch, who does that? I could hardly walk and it still hurts.

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    1. Dona, I am comforted just to see the '5K' word here. Thank you. 😄 I love my 5Ks!

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  22. Last week I did mile repeats on the track - in 93% humidity. EW EW EW. Definitely moist.

    You are killing this training. One down week won't hurt you overall. Way to get 13 hours done in terrible weather!

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  23. How did you get so close to the wash outs? You guys would never go past road closure barriers would you?? :) Tried to walk up airport Saturday, but got stopped by cops. Good week considering these moist conditions!

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  24. I don't get to hit the trails as often as I like, I have a preschooler under toe most of the time. I slept in yesterday and when I was ready to head out to Deer Creek Canyon to run, it started to pour, again. I sucked it up and ran a total of 3.1 miles in the pouring rain. I really wanted to run a 10k but decided to be realistic. When I started the trail wasn't too bad but I could tell the difference on my return. The things we do to get our training in. Great job completing as much as your training in this awful weather. I was happy to discover that my new trail running sneakers, rock!

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  25. I had a killer bike ride with a girlfriend of mine. 17 miles, 1 hour. I was happy. I'm not as speedy and hard core as you!

    My least favorite words/sayings: literally (when used figuratively), moist, panties, breast, vulva, "the point at which," and my biggest pet peave ever "just wait until..."

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  26. You know it's bad when the Army has to rescue the National Guard and other first responders... http://co.ng.mil/media/releases/Pages/130915-flood05.aspx

    I hope CO recovers quickly!

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  27. A 9 mile run on Sunday went pretty well, except I did something to my Garmin so it only logged 7.02 miles. Such a small thing in the grand scheme, but I like to have a concrete record of my runs. Why am I so wrapped up in time, pace etc when I should just be happy I did it?

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  28. Moist and panties are at the top of my most-hated words list. But I absolutely can't stand when people say (or more often, write) "nom nom nom" for food they like. What are you, cookie monster?!?

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  29. You are amazing for still getting in that many miles with all the flooding.

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  30. Oh holy hell, the M word is absolutely positively my hated word, ever. I literally have just without thought and on instinct legit smacked someone hard, in.the.face for saying it. Like it is such a visceral reaction to that word, I want to hurt you when you when someone says that out loud. On my first date with my now guy, the waiter said it and I literally punched him in the stomach, without thinking. I can't believe the BF didn't just peace out right there, because that was some crazy ish. But I hate it so bad. Other words like Panties aren't great, and I cringe, but nothing like the M word. I told my BF I will mess him up if he ever says it, like FOX Cops domestic dispute show, for real.

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  31. Words I Hate: Lamesauce, Hella....everyone has listed so many other good ones!!

    Phrase I Hate: "I know, right???"

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  32. Thank you for posting this today, I really needed it. This morning, while getting ready for my run in the dark, with temps not above 30 degrees yet, I thought "oh hell, if Beth can run through torrential rains and with flood waters, I can be a little cold". You are such an inspiration!

    I hate the word panties. Dirty dirty word!

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  33. I'm glad that you and your family are all OK - I'm sure the past week has been a scary time!
    And, I'm glad that you were still able to keep training!
    You rock!!

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  34. phrases I hate, "I know, right?!"
    "Kill two birds with one stone" (what violence!)

    Words:
    Period
    Moist
    "Selfie" (who made that a word anyway? It.must.stop.)

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  35. When my wife was preggers, me…being the wonder hubby I am…thought play dates would pass the time for my oldest daughter. As this wasn’t my first rodeo, I was all….YOLO and lets do this. I was told to Chillax a bit, as my wife had grown ginormous. I was like “my bad”., even though I was stoked for it.
    I did the laundry. Washing was fine, but I was having trouble with the dryer. Everything came out moist….even the panties that should have dried the fastest.
    So…I took a selfie and captioned it “should never do laundry….just sayin”.


    Had to get that out of my system. LOL

    Love your blog....

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    1. OK now I am really laughing at your clever little story. HILARIOUS, just sayin'

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  36. Very impressed by the workouts you did get in last week.
    Words in general don't bother me. Not of fan of repetition, poor grammar and made up words (and yes, I work in corporate America, home of made up words).
    "multiple different"
    "between you and I" ("me is correct - everyone's afraid to use me where it should be used)
    "irregardless" is not a word. Just use regardless
    Not so great workout last week:
    Friday, rolled my ankle during my warm up run over to the track where I was planning a track workout. All good - walked through it, felt fine. Till 15 minutes later when I rolled it again. Mile and a half walk home, crawl up the stairs, husband helped me into the shower, and to the doctor 3 hours later for crutches. While filling out the paperwork, I realized it was Friday the 13th. If I'd known that at 5:15am, I would have gone home after the first ankle roll! (Off crutches, walking without a limp, trying swimming tomorrow and hope to run on Friday.)

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  37. Yesterday, went out for a 13 miles run with my sciatic nerve acting up, so my running form was quite strange. 2 miles into the run, I fell (tripping on absolutely nothing! ), badly bruising my right shoulder, elbow, hand, hip, knee and ankle.... And my ego, as this epic fall took place in front of 15 people waiting for a bus... Got back up trying to salvage what dignity I had left, and finished my 13 miler.

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  38. Curd.

    Ugh, could any word actually be more disgusting than curd? It's just awful!

    I concur that moist is a gross word as well. I avoid using it as much as possible!

    I also dislike gurgle.

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  39. I must be wired differently. I love running in inclement weather. Rain, snow revs me up to go run. Must be something about challenging the elements to prove to yourself what you can do!

    I run every Christmas Day as a tradition. 2012 was 40° and a steady rain. Tested my rain jacket and it worked great! Although the giblets did get quite cold as the rain jacket did not cover that low... Still, an enjoyable run.

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  40. I don't like the word MOIST either. My other hated word is PENETRATION.

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  41. I'm one of those people who is actually more motivated to run when it rains. And when it's stormy I get the urge to climb hills and just be out in it.

    Today it was rainy and there were epic clouds so I climbed a hill, took off my shoes and ran in the mud. No watch, no phone, no ipod. Just ran as I felt like it.

    It was awesome.

    I have very strong feelings about "YOLO". I also hate when my boyfriend calls peanut butter "penis butter" and he thinks it's hilarious every single time. Does that count?

    As for less than ideal workout... I went for a morning run - i usually run at night - only to be confronted with some pretty nasty GI issues and terribly painful stomach cramps. I was not impressed with myself. Not impressed at all.

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    1. Oh, no. I know I'm going to accidentally say "Penis butter" at some point in the near future. Yikes!

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  42. I personally hate the word "titty." So trashy.

    Watch this Buzzfeed video of the worst words. Yours make the list. http://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewgauthier/the-worst-words-in-the-english-language

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  43. "thinking outside of the box" ---> I mean, really.

    I'm beyond impressed with your training recaps. Awe doesn't come close. That being said, thank you for making me realize I could never do this, living in NYC and working in an office. The food bills alone would send me broke - it's bad enough keeping up with the marathon training/eating, I cannot imagine how much needs to be consumed to sustain Ironman training.

    You are officially one of my heroes.

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  44. "It is what it is" and "FML" are the top two offenders in my book.
    You had a killer week. I love your SUAR attitude...one of these days I plan on getting off my ass and emulating it. Keep up the great work!

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  45. "It is what it is" and "FML" are the top two offenders in my book.
    You had a killer week. I love your SUAR attitude...one of these days I plan on getting off my ass and emulating it. Keep up the great work!

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  46. LOL! "Moist" is definitely #1 on my "words I hate" list. This list includes: "awkward" (it just LOOKS awkward!), "coagulate", and "cluster" (::shudder::).

    I felt so wistful reading through your post. I've been on the bench for the last 3 weeks due to a injury and can't wait to get back on the road...sigh.

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  47. I know I am late to the party, but I, too, hate the word "moist". I also hate the word "pleasure" when discussing sex, and any reference to nipples.

    That is all.

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