2012: A Year in Review Part I

Posted on December 30, 2012 by kmichaud87

Well folks, that time has come once again… 2012 is almost over! I’m so over 2012 and ready to ring in the new year!

I’ve reflected on 2012 about a million times by now and I’m sure that you’re all annoyed with me, but one last time! 2012 was a huge growing year for me. Perhaps because I hit that magic number of 25 and suddenly realized that I’m in my mid-20s and a “real” adult. For a long time I was rather unsure of what path I wanted to take in life. Throughout my undergrad years I really thought that medical school and becoming a physician was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. However, the summer I was supposed to apply to med schools I panicked and realized that I really wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in life. I decided I would take a year off from school and try to figure that out. I finished undergrad a semester early in December and during the beginning of one of the worst economic recessions in the more recent years. That coupled with the fact that my mother was just diagnosed with a very rare and terminal disease left me a bit unsure of my future. My mother passed in late March right around the time I got my first “big girl” job. I worked at the large biotech company for 9 months as a temp and finally landed my current full-time job at the small biotech company I work for and have been there for the past 3 years. During those 3 years I started my course work for my Master’s in Public Health with the idea that I would go on to Physician Assistant school to become a PA. Throughout my coursework I became more interested in the obesity crisis plus I started to get more involved with the sport of triathlon. I have some issues with the modern medical system in the United States. I won’t get into details about it because I could easily go on for days on the topic, but in a nutshell, I don’t like how the system treats the disease by handing out pills when we really should focus more of preventing the problem from the start. Enter… the public health field which is more focused on preventative care.

To be completely honest, I get slightly annoyed when people ask me what public health is. It is a very valid question though. The field of public health is extremely broad and really one could do so much with a degree in public health. My interests lie in physical activity, nutrition, and chronic disease prevention. I only came to this realization this past year. That’s the reason that I pursued my certification in personal training. Personal training allows me to help people reach their health goals through exercise and nutrition. I realized as a personal trainer that I can help someone with nutrition needs, but not to the full extend that I wish to do. So, that’s why I want to eventually pursue more education (okay, maybe I just really like school) to become a registered dietitian. 2012 has been a great year in figuring out where my future career path will go. Now, that I rambled on about some things let’s look at 2012 by the months!

January

January 1st began my first day of training with a coach and an individualized plan to help me meet my goals. Previously I had trained with a wonderful group of women (and if you live in the Southern Maine region I highly suggest you check them out!), but with my goal of my first Ironman in 2013 and my big dream of someday qualifying for Kona, then I knew that I needed to work with a coach to develop an individualized plan based on my strength and weakness, my busy life with work and school, and also my race schedule and goals in mind. It was one of the best decisions I made all year. Certainly, it wasn’t a cheap investment, but it was extremely worthwhile and I made huge improvements in my training and performances throughout the year. January was also the time that I started to get really interested in nutrition and finding the best diet for me. One of the highlights in January was my heart rate test on the bike. You can read about it here!

I also did a lot of winter running and had to break these bad boys out a couple of times!

February

I began the month with a nasty cold, which completely and utterly affected my 10-miler race early in the month. I have this stupid tendency to race while sick so I ran the Mid-Winter Classic sick. The first 4-5 miles I felt pretty good and was on target to meet my goal. Then half-way through it just went downhill – and downhill fast! I came really close to DNFing the race. It was not a fun experience and it only got worst later in the day when my clutch in my car went and I had to put over $2000 into fixing my car! February was not really a great month to say the lest.

I spent a lot of time creating puddles of sweat on the floor…

March

March was a very tough month for my personally. The end of the month marked the 3 year anniversary of my mother’s passing and it affected more than I thought. I was also having some personal problems with a close friend so March was a bit of a roller coaster ride for me. However, I did have a huge 5k PR in March! I also got Azul, my new triathlon bike! That was by far the best part of the month! Who doesn’t want a fancy new bicycle! Happy birthday to me! 🙂

Ready for REV3

April

April was a month of a lot of running breakthroughs for me. I’ve always hated running. I was always under the impression that I just wasn’t meant to be a runner. Either you are a runner or you’re not. However, with ~~some~~ A LOT of encouragement from my coach I finally had that breakthrough run I needed. My inner running goddess broke through that barrier and my running potential was unleashed! Yay! I had a HUGE half-marathon PR, mostly because my first half-marathon I ran sick.

May

I finally got my powermeter for Azul in May! One of the best decisions I made all year. Of course, the first one I received from SRAM was dysfunctional, but because SRAM has one of the best customer service experiences ever, I got my new and functional powermeter within a few days! Later in the month I did my first tri of the season. It didn’t go as well as I hoped. I made a lot of stupid rookie mistakes that I later kicked myself in the butt for. Oh well, the race was really for shaking out the cobwebs for the big half-Ironman in NH a few short weeks later.

Powermeter = LOVE!

June

June started out with a bang! I had my first Half-Ironman of the year – Ironman 70.3 Mooseman in New Hampshire. I wasn’t going to do this race originally, but the other Half I was going to do sold-out before I could register. I got sent into a panic over it and my coach suggested Mooseman. I was extremely nervous about the race because it’s one of the toughest courses in North America. The weather was sucky and that’s a understandment! Luckily it didn’t rain on race day! I had a decent race. I finished mid-pack in my very competitive age group (several of the podium finishers in my AG finished in the top 10 overall females for the day!) and I was pretty pleased with that result. I finished within a minute of my previous Half time from a MUCH easier course so even though I didn’t officially PR, I felt like it was a PR. At the end of the month I headed out to Ironman Lake Placid training camp with my fellow TriMoxie teammates and also athletes from Personal Best Multisport Coaching. It was one of my favorite experiences of the year. Not only did I get to meet some amazing people/athletes, but also got to interact with some great coaches and really decided if Lake Placid was going to happen or not in 2013. Camp was fun and a great learning experience. I learned some important lessons about Ironman training!

One important lesson = Be ready for thunderstorms with Hail in LP!

July

I started July off with a lovely summer cold, aka snotfest! However, I recovered and was able to race a local sprint tri in Norway. I ended up winning my AG and coming in 12th OA female for the day, even with a horrible run! I also rode the REV3 Half bike course for the first time as a recovery ride. However, I guess a 65-mile bike ride even at a slow aerobic pace is not considered a recovery ride. Sorry Mary! 🙂 The best part of July was volunteering at IMLP and cheering on all my friends and other local Maine/NH/MA athletes as they competed at IMLP and then signing up myself for the 2013 IMLP the next day! Although, I didn’t quite enjoy paying the almost $700 race fee!

1st AG W25-29

Officially registered for 2013!

August

August was a great race month for me. I ran my first 10k and first Beach to Beacon race. The race was executed exactly how my coach planned (which I totally didn’t believe her when she first gave me my pace goals) and I felt great overall despite the hot and humid weather conditions that left a lot of fellow runners on the sideline with heat exhaustion. At the end of the month, I raced my “A” race of the season – the REV3 Maine Half. I had a good race and finished 8th in my age group and finished top third-ish overall females. I’m slowly climbing myself towards the top of my age group, but I know that I have A LOT of work and improvements that I need to make over the years if I ever want to have a go at Kona and/or Vegas in the future. REV3 was my first real race – meaning that the goal of this race was to race for time and place and not just to finish. I think I did a pretty good job of that at this race; however, the race did show me where my weaknesses are in racing that I will focus on improving in 2013.

Beach to Beacon Finishline Sprint!

REV3 Maine Run

September

I entered the off-season in September. My plantar fasciitis and right hip problems came back after REV3. Honestly, I knew it was starting to come back before the race, but I continued to truck on my training and hoping that my body could hold out long enough to have a strong race. My original plan for September and the Fall months was to focus on running. Obviously, that didn’t happen with rehabbing my injuries. I spent a great deal of time focusing on strength training and yoga. September was a bit of a weird month for me. If you have been reading my blog for a while and/or know me in real life then you know that Bike Shop Boy was a big part of my life. However, somethings happened between us and we have gone our separate ways. I was really upset at the beginning because he was really a huge support system for me in my training and life; however, in retrospect, our parting was really a blessing in disguise. Of course, I truly wish him the very best in life.

Getting custom orthotics…

October

Most of October was spent focusing on school finishing up my last class for my MPH and also writing my thesis paper. My advisor at school had warned me that working a full-time job and a part-time job and then taking 9 credits would probably be a bad idea. Of course, I have this little tendency to try to do everything at once and also do it well so I went about doing all 3 things. In the end, she was totally right that it was extremely tough, but I got an A in my last class and also on my thesis! Training wise I was still focusing on strength and yoga. I did get out for a couple of short bike rides and oh yeah, the Dempsey Challenge. That was a rather wet and cold 50-mile ride. I was suppose to ride the 100-miler, but due to the fact that my feet were completely frozen (despite the fact that I had worn heavy socks, plastic bags, and a set of toe covers and full booties!) my feet still got wet and cold. I also got a tattoo! 🙂

From the first class. I’m the second one in in the white shirt. Nothing fancy here…

Hmm… looks like I need a pedicure…

November

I began my new job as a personal trainer (and my third job!) on the 1st. I quickly worked up to having 7 clients at a time. When I began I wasn’t certified; however, I had been studying all year knowing that I did want to pursue becoming a personal trainer. When a trainer position opened at my gym I jumped on it and was quickly hired. I signed up to take my test and passed on the first time (which is rare for most people)! I also was focusing on finishing my thesis paper and working on my epidemiology project for my internship. November was a very busy and stressful month and unfortunately I know my own training suffered some.

Certified!

December

Biggest accomplishment – I finished grad school summa cum laude and now have a MPH! One of the highlights of December was meeting Craig Alexander, aka “Crowie,” in Boston at his book signing. I’ve also been gearing up for some major changes in the new year, which you’ll all hear about in a couple of weeks!

So, that’s enough for today. Part Two will come tomorrow with some of the biggest highlights of my race season and also some of the biggest life lessons I learned throughout the year.

~ Happy Training!

Seven Days…

Posted on August 20, 2012 by kmichaud87

And the countdown begins… T-minus 7 days till Rev3 Maine Half-Ironman…

I officially began taper last Thursday. The weekend of the 11th/12th contained my last big long run and brick workout. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite go as planned. I had to change my Thursday and Friday workouts around due to a work conflict. I wasn’t feeling the best on Friday. I had leftovers for lunch on Friday and they just didn’t sit right for the rest of the day. The weather that Friday wasn’t great. The fog had rolled in and it was a light rain. I don’t mind riding in the rain, but fog is another story. I decided to play it safe and ride the trainer indoors. It was a super tough workout to boot! Three intervals of 12 minutes with 4 min @ 60% FTP, 80% FTP, and 100% FTP with five minutes easy spin between each 12 minute interval. I made it through the first two intervals, but pretty much died on the last. I was feeling shaky and literally sweated several pounds worth of sweat all over my poor bike and the carpet. I got off my bike and succeed to drink a couple bottles of water. My body was done. I wasn’t feeling well. My gut was not pleased with my earlier food choices and was making itself known. I showered, weighed myself to see how much sweat I lost, and went to bed after eating a banana. BAD! Yes, I knew I needed to eat food to nourish my poor body, but when I don’t feel well I loose my appetite and I have a hard time forcing myself to eat.

My puddles of sweat on the floor… next time a bucket to catch it all!

I got up around 5am to get ready to go to a boot camp class, but I about passed out on my way to the bathroom. Back to bed. I woke up later feeling better, so I had a large breakfast of oatmeal, yogurt, and some eggs. I drank lots of water and finally felt good enough to knock off my 1:45 long run. I knew my body was still weak from hardly eating anything the day before, but I wanted and needed to get the run done because I had to work in the afternoon. My hands were shaking as I was putting my contacts in, but I completely ignored the signs that I probably shouldn’t run. I strapped my Garmin on and headed out the door. The first 3 miles were uneventful, but a little slower than normal. I was okay with that. Then it hit me! My body was starting to bonk. Mentally I kept telling myself to keep going. You’re going to do an Ironman next year! You need to be mentally strong. Mind over matter! Blah, blah, blah…

I began playing the “run to the next mailbox or house” game. That worked for awhile. Then I hit mile 5 and my body was done. DONE. I walked the last mile home. I was light headed, a little dizzy, and just nausea. The worst part of the whole ordeal was the fact I knew exactly what I was doing and that it was a very bad idea. I chose to ignore my voice of reasoning and just do what I pleased. Moral of the story… Nutrition is key!

Sunday’s workout was much, much better! I met up with a fellow TriMoxie athlete and swam about 1.2 miles at Kettle Cove. It was foggy, rainy, and very wavy in the ocean, but not a bad swim. I swam through a ton of seaweed, but at this point it doesn’t bother me. After swimming, I ate a big lunch and hung out at work till my 2 hour and 40 minute bike and 40 min T-run. It was a HUGE workout too. I’m pretty sure my coach was trying to kill me! It contained 4 x 3:30 sprints, 2 x 12 min @ HIM watts and 4 x 2 mins @ VO2max wattage. I forgot to upload the workout details to my Garmin and thus had to resort to writing my workout on my arm in Sharpie since I always forget my workouts as soon as I step out the door.

The workout of the day

The ride was good. I felt good on the bike, but I was seriously hurting after the ride because it was a tough workout. The weather was pretty good. It rained in parts and sunny and humid in others. I usually go through about a bottle an hour for hydration, but I finished my 3 bottles within 2.5 hours. I was thirsty and it was a bit odd. As soon as I got back to my car I chugged a cold bottle of water before heading out for 40 minutes of running. The run was okay. My legs felt okay, but didn’t have the strength to run fast. Those sprints on the bike (which occurred on the hilliest part of my route) killed my legs. My left side cramped up a bit from all the water chugging in “transition.” I made it though and was done with my last big brick before race day!

Ice bath after a tough brick workout

Last week I had good workouts. My body was tired though and very ready to begin taper that Thursday. I ended up taking Friday off too to rest my body. I needed too. My right hip has been bothering me for the past week or so. I felt super good on Saturday for my run. Azul went into the shop on Thursday to get a tune-up, race wheels (thanks Bike Shop Boy for the borrowed wheels!), and new bar tape (Lizard tape is the best!). She is now one sleek and mean racing machine!

Azul is one sexy bike! 🙂

On Sunday I headed out to Kettle Cove again for a short swim and also to watch a little bit of the Tri for Preservation. My coach took 2nd overall because she is just awesome! 🙂 I then headed to Panera for some lunch and work/school stuff for awhile. After a few hours of computer work I headed out to ride in the Cumberland/Yarmouth area. I only had a 2 hour ride with 3 x 10 min @ HIM watts followed by a 40 min T-run with 3 x 5 min @ HIM pace. This was my first ride ever with race wheels! It’s hard to tell if I was faster with the wheels. I think I would have to ride both sets on the same course, in the same conditions, etc… BUT, I could definitely feel the difference in the ride. SO much smoother! Plus, they make cool “woshing” noises. I’ve decided that Bike Shop Boy is going to have to pry them out of my cold, dead hands before I give them back! I know that won’t fly with him, so I decided that either I’m going to sell one of my kidneys or start fighting all the hobos for the cans and bottles on the side of the road to return! I only need to collect about 54,000 cans! Start drinking people!! I need Zipp 404s!

My T-run went absolutely beautifully! I felt super strong and my legs were ready to fly off the bike. I even ran slightly faster than HIM goal pace during my intervals. I’m hoping I feel this great on race day! After the brick it was home with another ice bath, compression tights, foam rolling, and a good solid dinner.

Rev3 is in 7 days! I’m excited. I’ve been ready for this race for the past three weeks. At this point I just want to get it over with. It’s my “A” race and I have been training for it the past 8 months. After signing up for Lake Placid though, my mind is already focused on next year. I still care about this race, but next year really is the big dance and I can’t be more excited! I’m very excited about seeing how much my overall fitness has improved and putting in a good, solid race to end my tri season. Mentally and physically I’m ready for next Sunday. I have my race plan from my coach and I have a goal time to finish. So far the weather is looking to be good. I know my wattage/pace and nutrition plan. What’s really nice about this race is that I know so many people from various walks of life doing this race. I’m competitive and that will definitely help drive me to meet my goal time. I’m ready to leave everything out on the course. I just need to be smart this week with nailing my workouts, getting enough sleep, proper nutrition, making sure my gear is ready, and staying mentally strong. I’m ready… Let’s GO!

~ Happy Training!

Race Report: Beach to Beacon 10K

Posted on August 6, 2012 by kmichaud87

The Beach to Beacon is Maine’s largest road race with over 7000 runners registered. It is a premier race that began 15 years ago by Olympian Joan Benoit Samuelson, who won the first gold medal in the Women’s Marathon event at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. The race attracts a slew of elite runners from around the world. This year’s race was won by two Kenyans – Stanley Biwott in 28:00 and Margaret Wangari-Mariuki in 31:52. The course starts in Cape Elizabeth by Crescent Beach, heads down Route 77, bears right onto Old Ocean House Rd, back onto Route 77, and then the final stretch down a hilly Shore Rd to Fort Williams Park.

The race opens for registration in March and literally sells out within minutes. I tried to get into the race a few years back when I was moonlighting as a “runner,” but failed. Probably a good thing though. This year I was ready to go at 7am with my credit card in hand and my “fast” typing skills. The registration day happened to fall this year on Bike Shop Boy’s 30th birthday and he just loves to run (that’s sarcasm if you can’t pick that up). And, of course, me being the total ass that I am, thought it would be really funny to sign him up to for the race. I sent him a text later along the lines of: “Happy birthday old man! Guess what? You’re running the B2B in August! You can thank me later :-)”

I totally had visions in my head of him chasing me around with a pedal wrench….

But, he was actually kind of excited to run the race. Apparently he has always wanted to run the race. Fast forward to June. Now, Bike Shop Boy claims to not be a runner. He doesn’t like it, but he’s really quite fast when he does it. Bastard. So, I decided that he was actually going to train for this race, since I paid the $45 for him to do the damn race! I spent quite a bit of time coming up with his training plan based on previous races race paces he has done and his current hectic work schedule. I wasn’t worried that he wouldn’t finish the race. He has an extremely good cardiovascular fitness from living riding his bike all the time. I was more or less worried about his feet since he has had plantar fasciitis in the past. So I sent him the plan and he told me he was really going to follow it. I believe he actually promised me he would… yeah, totally should have seen that one coming…

Anyway, let’s fast forward to race day. Saturday was hot and humid, but totally bearable if you have been training in the heat and raced smart. I was a bit nervous about the race going into it because I honestly wasn’t sure if I could hit my coach’s rather aggressive pace plan for me. I have never run a 10K before or the B2B race course before so this was a completely new experience. Bike Shop Boy and I got there early and sat around for a bit. I had to hit the porta-potties about a half an hour before the start, which took forever. So, we didn’t really get a good warm up in, which I think would have helped my legs a bit during the run. We lined up in the 8 minute mile corral where my coach told me to line up. It wasn’t pleasant being cramped up like a can of sardines waiting over 20 minutes for the gun to go out. I’m claustrophobic, he was cranky.

Finally the gun went off, but it took us over a minute to cross the start line. The beginning of the course starts with a downgrade and then flattens out for a while. My Garmin was hitting in the 7’s so I knew we had to back off. Bike Shop Boy and I decided pre-race that we would run together or at least until he wanted to take off. It worked out nicely. I kept him from going out too fast and then blowing up later in the race and he kept me motivated to run faster. The first mile was fast, but I felt like I was running in slow motion. People around us kept passing us, but we ended up passing many of them again later around mile 5. We kept chugging along and then made the turn onto Old Ocean House Rd. I completely forgot we ran down this road so I was a bit worried about what the road may bring. I hadn’t been on this road for a very long time so I couldn’t remember the conditions. Things were good. At the end of the road is a small climb back onto Route 77 and then onto Shore Rd. We hit the half way point around here.

I made sure to take at least one cup of water at every aid station. A little water in the mouth and the rest over the head to cool my body off. Some people were nice enough to set up a hose and sprayer to run under. I made sure to hit everyone I could to keep my body cool as possible. I ran through every aid station too! That’s pretty good for me. I have yet to master the whole run and drink at the same time. Usually it ends up my nose. Shore Rd has some lovely little climbs during mile 5. On the last climb Bike Shop Boy saw someone and just shot off and up the hill. I let him go and just trudged along at my own pace. This was by far my slowest mile, but my coach said it’s every one’s slowest mile so don’t worry about it.

Race Mile Splits

Finally we turned into the entrance of Fort Williams took a sharp right, up a little steep hill and then around the barracks and screaming spectators towards the finish. My coach told me to wait till I hit the mile 6 marker to kick it up. I hit that sign and picked up my pace. Within two hundreds I found even more of a kick for an awesome sprint finish! It felt so good to be done and completely satisfied with the race. I hit every target mile pace my coach gave me and finished in a great time. If you would have asked me if I could have run the pace I did even a few months ago, I would have laughed in your face! Overall time was 52:05.6 for a 8:24/mile average. I finished 94 out of 421 in my 25-29 age group (Top 22%) and 1857 out of 6106 finishers (Top 30%). Bike Shop Boy finished 51:20 for a 8:16/mile pace. After the race the truth came out. He only ran once before the race. I was rather impressed he managed a superb time for no run training, but I was a bit annoyed because I spent so much time and effort making a reasonable training plan for him.

~ Happy Training!

Weekend Rap-Up

Posted on August 5, 2012 by kmichaud87

This weekend was just awesome! It was just a perfect Maine summer weekend! The weather was hot and humid, but we only get a few of these weekends every year so people just shouldn’t complain. Pretty soon it will be 20 degrees with 2 feet of snow!

Saturday morning started off with the 15th Annual Beach to Beacon (B2B) 10K race in Cape Elizabeth. This is a HUGE race and attracts some of the world’s fastest runners along with many locals. The race actually sells out within minutes. I tried to get into the race a few years back, but didn’t. This year I sat at my computer at 7am when registration opened to register myself and also Bike Shop Boy. I will have a full race report later this week, but I had a great race! When my coach first gave me my race plan two weeks ago I wasn’t 100% sure I could hit her target pace at each mile, but I totally NAILED it! Not to spoil the future race report, but I finished in 52:05, putting me at a 8:24/mile average! In March I ran a 5k at a 8:21/mile pace! It really puts into prospective with the right coach and a little blood, sweat, and tears that someone as slow as me can become a runner! SO MANY people complained about the heat and humidity and that it killed their times. Yes, it was hot and humid. It always is for this race it seems. But, people need to be smart with training. The only way your body is going to adapt to hot and humid race conditions is to train in those conditions whenever possible. I purposely do all my long runs and rides in the middle of the day on weekends if I can because it is the hottest part of the day. My body has adapted to it and handled conditions well on Saturday. Seriously, what heat?

Start line of the 2011 B2B race

I spent Saturday afternoon at one of my favorite places in the world – our family camp on Sebago Lake. The camp was purchased in the 1950s by my grandparents who summered there with my father and his siblings while they grew up and all of us grandchildren pretty much grew up on that lake too. My grandmother passed away two years ago and left the camp to my father and his siblings. I thought we were going to sell it last fall, but they made the decision to keep the camp. Too many happy memories for everyone. Spending countless days in that lake is one of the main reasons that I’m such a strong swimmer today. Yesterday was my first day up to camp all year because I’ve been so busy!

One of my favorite places!

A very happy dog!

The water was like bath water

My dog had a grand ole’ time swimming and playing in the water. She was pretty pooped last night when we got home. Saturday was an early night for all of us.

Today was also a great day! I met Bike Shop Boy in York for a nice recovery ride around York Beach and Ogunquit. I felt great this morning with only a minor tightness in my calves. Bike Shop Boy, on the other hand, was feeling the race yesterday pretty good today. Perhaps he should have run at least more than once before the race! 🙂

It was a good leisurely ride along the beaches and gorgeous homes. We actually rode part of the run course from my very first half-marathon that I ran in York in 2010. Those are not good memories. In case anyone was wondering – running while sick is not a good idea!

Perkins Cove

We stopped in Ogunquit at a little cafe and had a nice little lunch. We got so many odd looks because of our spandex attire. Apparently, some people have never seen a cyclist before… As we were leaving another couple came in on their bikes for lunch. They commented that we had nice bikes. Yup! The ride back to our cars was not a pleasant ride. The headwind on Route One was bad. I made sure to tuck right in behind Bike Shop Boy, but I was still being blown all over the road! Overall, it was good 30 mile fun ride. We were going to hit up the Rev3 course again, but decided against it. There was a course preview day today and we didn’t want to get caught up in it. We’ll be hitting it up next Sunday for my last big hard ride pre-race.

I’m getting very excited about Rev3! Beach to Beacon was a huge confidence builder for me leading up to the race. I executed a near perfect race and I have a good feeling that I can do the same at Rev3 paring any mechanical, nutrition, or crazy weather (i.e. hurricanes?) on race day. This race is my last for the season so it is GO BIG OR GO HOME!

In other news, I FINALLY got my internship for graduate school squared away! I’ve been super stressed about this lately because I was having a hard time finding an internship that I can do along with working full-time 40 hours a week. It wasn’t easy, but an opportunity approached and after being interviewed for the position, they decided I was a prefect match! A huge weight lifted off my shoulders and I know I can graduate on time now! I was getting worried was going to have to do my internship next spring in the midst of Ironman training and I did not want to do that.

I’ve also decided this is my new favorite song for the summer and I have been listening to it on repeat while I wrote this post!

~ Happy Training!

65 Mile Recovery Ride

Posted on July 16, 2012 by kmichaud87

I raced a sprint tri on Saturday (race report coming later this week) and I was suppose to have a rest day/light OWS if I wanted too. Well, Bike Shop Boy and I decided that it was a beautiful (and hot day) for a nice recovery ride. I mentioned in an email to my coach Saturday night that I would be doing a recovery ride on Sunday, but I didn’t really tell her how long. I told Bike Shop Boy as we were riding that my coach was probably going to kill me. She didn’t kill me, but I got a small reprimand because apparently, even though I was very good and rode slow in my recovery wattage zone, 65 miles isn’t a recovery ride! Opps…

I have a few big HIM target training rides coming up in the next few weeks so I wanted to check out the Rev3 HIM course so on target training days I didn’t have to deal with stopping to check my directions. Plus, I was excited to ride the course after reading Jen from Miles, Muscles & Mommyhood‘s review of the course earlier last week. I uploaded the course onto my Garmin Edge 800. I was hoping that it would give me turn-by-turn directions, but I guess you had to pay extra for that. We did pretty good following the directions. We only took a wrong turn twice. Once up a big fing hill that I’m glad is not on the course!

From Rev3 Website

We decided to park at my place of employment so we didn’t have to pay $20 for parking in OOB. We rode from Route 1 in Scarborough, down to Pine Point Beach and then down to OOB. We started riding around 11am so at this point it was quite hot and humid out. We actually did this on purpose to train for the heat. We passed a few people coming in from doing the course as we were heading out. We took our time and enjoyed the scenery. It was a recovery ride and thus I made sure to keep my wattage belong 120 watts, which is my recovery zone. The first 15-18 miles are pretty flat with a few rollers. The roads are in good shape. This will be a fast section for sure. However, once you get onto South Waterboro Rd through Lyman it gets a bit hilly. There are a couple decent little climbs. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to blow up here or shortly after because of poor pacing at the beginning section of the course. Even though it’s going to be a fast course, you need to ride it smart or else your going to hit the last 15 miles and just die.

After South Waterboro Rd you take a right on to Route 202, which has a nice wide shoulder. It’s mostly flat with a slight up grade. Definitely a headwind around here too. We stopped at Hannaford to get lunch and some lovely people watching. I never got so many weird looks from people in the grocery store because I was walking around in my cycling kit and shoes!

Re-fueling

After our mini re-fueling break, we hit Route 202 to Route 5. There was a horse show going on at the Hollis Riders Club so obviously I had to stop and see what was going on because I use to compete there sometimes. I got yelled at by someone because apparently horses are afraid of bicycles. First of all I would like to say, a) I am not a biker. I am a cyclist. A biker rides a motorcycle and cyclist rides a bicycle, and b) if your horse is a afraid of a bicycle then your either a poor rider who can’t control her horse when it spooks and/or you haven’t done the proper groundwork with your horse to familiarize them with outside environmental noises/objects. What happens if an ambulance or a Harley went screaming by? Sorry, that just annoyed because I was just sitting quietly on my bicycle watching the riders warm up. I informed the rider who yelled at me that I grew up with horses and I wasn’t stupid and not going to make any sudden noises. It was a dressage show. No offense to MiddleAgeRunner, but most Dressage riders have a whip up their ass. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t compete in Dressage growing up.

Anyway, after our brief break we continued our way through the course. Bike Shop Boy really enjoyed the course and for a brief second considered registering for the race. And then quickly decided he’d probably drown in the ocean. He did make a comment that it would be funny if there was a good stinking climb somewhere at the end of the course. Well, his dream did come true. After Route 5, you take a left onto Clarks Mills Road, which I believe was uneventful back to Route 202. We did see a hot dog stand on the side of the road that wasn’t open. Bike Shop Boy was rather sad because he wanted a hot dog. The Route 202 is fast, but with some false flats and a headwind too. You cross over the Saco River and take an immediate right onto Route 117 that is a small climb. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be hurting on this climb and/or blow up.

Bike Shop Boy taking the lead

At the top of the hill you take a right onto Simpson Road. Simpson Road just plain sucks. It sucks because the road conditions suck! There are cracks and small potholes everywhere. Beware of lots of flat tires here. The road also has a false flat too so it’s not a fast section. The road goes on a ways and then a small downhill over a one lane bridge and up a steep little hill. This hill is going to hurt! It’s one of those that is going to separate the smart riders from the dumb ones. If you rode the course smart then you’ll be fine. Just put your bike in the granny gear and spin up the hill. But, I have a feeling there will be several cocky people who are going to try and haul ass up the hill and then blow up during the run. The nice part about crossing the bridge and riding the hill is that you enter a new town and then pavement gets much, much better!

The course then winds through some local, rural side roads that are all in excellent condition and fairly flat. The course then connects back to Route One where you’ll ride back the same way you came out. At this point, Bike Shop Boy and I headed up Route One to hit up the Dairy Bar for some frozen yogurt and then back to our cars. Overall, we did over 65 miles. If we have gone back through OOB and Pine Point we would have hit over 75 miles. Seventy five miles is a long way for a recovery ride, but 65 is okay… 🙂

Overall, I’m pleased with the course that Rev3 chose for the HIM. I really like how it’s an out-and-back, one-loop course. I hate two-loop courses! The road conditions for the most part are excellent with either low traffic local roads or wide shoulders. However, Simpson Road just plain sucks! I have a feeling that there will be lots of flats on that section of the course! I just hope I’m not one of them! We averaged a moving speed of 16.0 mph for 65 miles with my average wattage of 99 watts. A perfect recovery speed and wattage! I’m excited to ride the course in a couple of weeks where I have 4 x 20 min at race pace wattage. That should be a fun ride! Hopefully, it won’t be 90 degrees and humid as hell, but you never know what race day will bring!

I’m also very excited that Bike Shop Boy is going to let me borrow his Zipp 404s from his road bike to use for the race! Azul is going to smokin’ hott on race day! 🙂

Zipp 404s!

~ Happy Training!

Post-Weekend Rap Up

Posted on May 8, 2012 by kmichaud87

First off, I think this video describes a lot right now….

I have the entire summer off from classes! First time since 2005! Of course, I’m not going to be sitting around doing nothing. I have a stack of books to read! I just started Chrissie Wellington’s A Life Without Limits and it’s awesome! I find myself reading it in my head in a British accent. Is that weird? I also have started studying to become a certified sports nutritionist through the International Society of Sports Nutrition and also to become a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. I will keep myself busy for sure this summer. It’s the only way I like it.

This past weekend was full of solid workouts. I got a call Friday night around 8pm from my mother’s best friend’s daughter asking me if I would join their team for the Into the Mud Challenge in Gorham because their fourth team member was injured. Of course I said yes because I lack the ability to say “no.” After I hung up with her I started to wonder what I just got myself into and possibility regretting my decision. As long as I didn’t hurt myself or ruin my 10 mile run I had to do that day too, why not?

The Into the Mud Challenge is a 2.5 mile run through mud pits and obstacles such as hay bales and tires. It is put on by USM’s Sport Management Program student’s as a field experience. People are encouraged to dress in costume and there were so good ones there on Saturday. I was surprised how many people did the race. There were a ton of people of all ages, sizes, and fitness abilities. The course wasn’t hard, but it was dirty! I didn’t wear my Garmin or anything, mostly in fear of ruining it, plus I really didn’t care about my time. This was for fun, not a race. I think the worst part of the day was getting mud in my eye. Maybe next year I’ll wear my swim goggles. In order to finish the race you had to cross the finish line as a team holding hands. We ended up placing 5th out of 27 co-ed teams. I definitely plan on doing this again next year. I had friends doing the Tough Mudder in Vermont (hard core), but that does not interest me at all. I’m on the road to Ironman, but little local races like this appeal to me in order to break up the sometimes mundane training of swim, bike, run and the races are for a good cause.

On the way to the finish

Finish line Photo

The Dirty Runners

Later that day I did my pre-long run hour easy spin on Azul on the trainer while watching the Kentucky Derby. Got to love the first Saturday of May! I spent most of the day at my bike shop trying to figure out what’s wrong with Azul’s new addition, but more on that later this week. After my spin I headed out for 10 mile descend run. I had a really good run, despite the 2.5 miles I ran earlier in the day. I was able to finish out the last 15 minutes at my 5k pace so I call it successful run. I definitely was hurting a bit after the run and made sure to wear my 100% compression tights, which are just awesome! I ended up wearing them to bed too.

Sunday was a beautiful day. I rode a challenging 56 mile loop with my bike shop boy through the boonies of Maine. It featured Douglass Mountain as the main goal, which is a local cat 5 climb (although sometimes MapMyRide calls in cat 4). It really wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it still kind of sucked. We rode from the Rt 113 side (Baldwin) over to Rt 107 (Sebago). The worst part was once you think you get to the top, you go back down and then up a quick steep part. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I had expected it, but I was not ready and had really poor climb. I used to be a fairly good climber, but ever since the Dempsey Challenge last October where I had to walk my bike up “puke” hill, I have lost my climbing mojo. I don’t feel strong on the bike at all, even though we were averaging around 22 mph on the flats. I think I’m starting to mentally work myself up about Mooseman 70.3 in 3 weeks! I’m just glad that I have a compact crank on my bike instead of a standard. But I’ll be super glad when everything is in working order! Bike shop boy and I finished the day with a total of about 2500 feet of climbing and probably ate about 10,000 black flies along the way! Next Sunday is another big loop of climbing some of the big hills in the Cumberland/Yarmouth/Gray area! What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, right? 🙂

I completely flew by this the first time then had to back track. Oh well, let the fun begin!

Last night during my swim I realized two things about swimming: 1) I really like 200s and 2) I hate kicking because I don’t have floppy ankles. Also, I thought for sure the woman in the lane next to me was going to drown. Every time she took a breathe is was more of a grasp for air. I did some pull sets with my paddles and at the end of my swim she asked me what they were for. I almost told her it was to spank the water and show it who’s boss then I realized she probably think I was crazy!

May is looking to be a very good month so far. I’ve had a few opportunities pop up in the recent days so I’m hoping for some good things soon! Hopefully this rainy, cold weather will turn into nice, warm spring days very soon! Tri for the Y is in two weeks and I have a few big goals for my season opener!

Happy Training!