The FAANT chicks are racing again!

 

Ironman Mont-Tremblant was in a word: Amazing! The entire city joined together to welcome all the triathletes. They repaved the roads, rolled out the red carpet (literally there was a red carpet on the road from the swim exit to transition) and put together the most organized race weekend I have ever experienced in any sport. The venue at Mont Tremblant, Quebec was breathtaking. This cute little village on the mountainside was perfect for a family summer vacation with adorable shops, lots of activities for young and old and a great venue where families could stay right on the mountainside and catch their triathlete many times during the race without having to travel anywhere!

 

We flew into Montreal on Thursday night and drove the almost two hours to the village of Mont-Tremblant. The hotel was lovely and about 400 yards from the finish line. Perfect! Friday included packet pick up, a practice swim in the crystal clear mountain lake, picking up my bike from Tribike Transport and a short bike ride to explore the course. Wow! Super hilly in the just the small portion around the finish line. This was a harbinger of what was to come! A little shopping, a gondola ride and then an extremely well attended pre-race welcome dinner. When have you ever seen more than 5,000 people at a pre-race pasta dinner? Never! The tent was overflowing and excitement was in the air.

 

It was the little things that you noticed. They repaved a large portion of the bike course. Permanent street signs marking the bike and run course. People to help you everywhere that actually knew what they were talking about. Super organized packet pick up that flowed quickly and efficiently.  Lots of pre-planned entertainment for the whole family! A sense of welcoming excitement everywhere!

 

Saturday was a day to explore and rest. Check in the bikes and drop off all the transition bags. Big dinner and early bedtime. Sunday was race day!

 

Since the swim start was less than a half mile from the hotel, I didn’t have to get up before 5 am to get to this race! 5:30am to body marking then check on my bike. A short walk to the swim start and we were ready to go! I actually had a small melt down on the beach when I realized I forgot my goggles at the hotel! I was less organized than the race officials! Janet had an extra pair, but my super-sherpa, Peter, ran back to the hotel and got my goggles before we started. Thank the Lord the hotel was so close! The Canadian anthem, a fighter plane fly over and we were off.

 

A tremendous beach start! A wide beach so it wasn’t extremely crowded at the mass stat. It still felt like swimming in a washing machine, but the crowd thinned out quickly on the way to the first buoy. No sense of drowning today.  The water was amazingly clear and a crisp 70 degrees. Perfect for a comfortable wet suit swim. Janet and I both had a good swim and were out of the water and into transition practically together.

 

Onto the bikes we go! The first half of the bike course (two loops) was absolutely gorgeous! There were great crowds, lots of volunteers, tons of spectators yelling in three languages and breathtaking scenery along the way. The countryside was dazzling and the air was crisp and cool but not cold. The hills at the beginning were challenging but not horrible. A nice warm up for the backside of the course!

 

The wind started to pick up and a light rain started to fall just as I headed into the last 20K of the first loop. I was doing just fine until the rain. Steady and on pace. Janet was rocking the bike course, as we all knew she would! The last part of the first loop was incredibly challenging. So many hills I stopped counting. I thought I was never going to see transition! My brakes were wet and I was freezing! I was extremely thankful for the light jacket I had put on because it was a little chilly. It kept me from going hypothermic in the chilly rain. The rain subsided and I hit transition for the second time. Oh no! I had to do the loop again! The hills were so daunting and my legs were already dead. Back onto the course I went for the second loop. I slowed considerably and then rain returned. Ugh! Janet was about an hour ahead of me by the time I hit transition to go on the run. She was doing awesome! Me, not so well…. There were times in the last half of the second loop that I wasn’t sure I was going to make the bike cut off! The last hills were sadistic! Who puts a 15% grade hill in the last 6 miles of a 112 mile bike course? God has a sense of humor and the race was on a mountain side! I saw a lot of the mountain! They don’t make hills like that in Texas!

 

As I exited transition and tried to run, my legs protested. Internal whining and a little negative self talk ensued. I was fast walking the first few miles to see if I could “embrace the suck” (see previous blog) and get my butt moving. When I saw Janet going the other way on the first loop of the run, she was smiling and looked good.  I started to run (maybe you would call it a fast shuffle, but it was all I had). The run was also two loops, but they were nice enough to make about ten miles of the course along a dirt trail in the woods and predominantly FLAT! I made lots of friends on the run (shocker to anyone that runs with me – yes, I talk non-stop). Chatting away as I tried to keep myself moving. I was laughing at myself. Due to the fact that my bike potion was so slow, I found myself in an unusual position in the back of the race with the elderly, physically impaired (lots of walking wounded) and the people like me that perhaps hadn’t trained as much as they should’ve for the killer hills! This was an interesting group and lots of great stories were told as we all trudged toward the finish.

 

My only complaint about the course (can’t really complain about the hills, I knew it was on a mountain when I signed up!) was the fact that we had to run right by the finish line to enter the second loop of the run. This was great for spectators, but the crowd was cheering you on and telling you that you were almost there when really you had 21K left. Ugh again! It was just mean! You could see the fish line but knew you had to go back out for a second loop! At this point, my daughter Caitlin was very inspiring yelling, “You can do this Mommy!” and jumping up and down with excitement. It got me motivated to finish hard. I sucked it up and started to run again; this time at a decent pace. My legs were killing me, but the last 21K weren’t going to get done under the cutoff without a little push. It is times like this that you realize why Ironman is not for the mentally weak. You have to dig deep and overcome your natural instinct to quit and call it a day!

 

There were many times in the last loop that I thought I was nearly the last person on the course. The people behind me were dropping like flies. We had lost a handful to the bike cutoff and a few more to the sag wagon. At one point on the run course, I had a personal guide on a mountain bike with a headlight. They had thought of everything. They had medical volunteers patrolling the last half of the run course making sure everyone was OK. I had a nice chat with an EMT from Toronto on his bike, who said he was so inspired by the athletes that he thought he would try an Ironman! It was infectious! Even though there couldn’t have been more than twenty people left on the course that were going to make it in by midnight, there were still lots of spectators along the course! And yummy hot chicken broth! Nectar from God! Amazing! Dark, cold, windy and yes, the rain started again!! I had to keep moving at my pathetically slow run pace! One foot in front of the other! I chatted with a fellow from Toronto for about the last 7 miles. We were both hyperaware that we had to keep moving at a decent pace or midnight was going to come and we were not going to make the finish! Onward we trudged, running the flats and downhill while walking the hills. The last hill at 2K to go looked like a mountain to my weary legs, but you could hear the excitement at the finish line.

 

I picked up my pace and glided to the line. Whew! Made it with a half hour to spare!  Mike Reilly (the voice of Ironman) stopped me just before the finish line, put his arm around my shoulders and turned me towards the to crowd of spectators saying, “Mary Crane from Grapevine, Texas, these people have something to tell you!” The crowd shouted together, “You are an Ironman!” What a moment! Even though I had been there before, nothing can equal the emotion I was feeling at that moment. Elated to have finished and emotional since there were so many times during the race I had thought of quitting and giving up.  I had dug deep for this one and succeeded. I can’t explain the emotions. I was disappointed with my performance because of the times but elated to just have made it to the finish line. A fantastic ending to a tough day.

 

The finish line people were also amazing! I had a personal guide to get my medal. The winner of the entire race, Romain Guillaume from France, gave me my medal and kissed me on both cheeks. What an awesome guy! He had finished almost 8 hours before me, but came back to give out medals to the stragglers at the end of the race. My family was waiting for me with big hugs and happy faces. The time was forgotten in my daughter’s hug! The look on her face made the day all worth it. I had embraced the suck and won! Janet finished almost an hour before I did and had a great day! A monster personal best for her on a killer course! She deserved it! She worked so hard this year! I am proud to be her training peep!

 

Ironman Mont-Tremblant is easily going to rise to the top of the destination races! It was extremely challenging, but so incredibly well run for all! Kudos to the people of Quebec! They get an A+! The race experience was excellent, even if my time was not!

 

Yesterday, in my Grapevine, Texas office, I had a patient who asked me this very question. He raced Ironman Arizona, which was November 20th and wanted to know if I thought it was OK for him to "jump in and run with a friend" the White Rock Marathon? Really? When I started laughing, he then asked if I thought perhaps a relay leg was OK?

 

So, after I composed myself I said, "It depends....." So I thought I would give a better, more scientific answer than "Are You Nuts?"

 

What he really was asking is: How long does it take to recover from a marathon? How long does it take to recover from an Ironman triathlon? How much racing is bad for my body? These are all good questions posed in my office on a regular basis. The problem is that the answer is always, "It depends". Everyone recovers at a different rate. Age, experience and current fitness level are large variables in the equation. I know a marathon runner in town who ran 100 marathons in a less than 10 years; and of course, we have all heard of Dane Rauschenberg who ran 52 marathons in one year for charity and then wrote a book about it! The flip side is that I know runners who can only do one marathon a year without getting hurt and most triathletes only train for one Ironman a year.

So what is the magic formula? How much is too much? I think the first thing to think about is what is your goal? If you are just talking about finishing the marathons and not really having a time crunch, then feel free to do up to six a year but realize that having more than two quality runs in a year is very difficult. The Ironman distance should not be attempted more than 2 or 3 times a year regardless of time goals! Now, for those of us who are addicted to the watch, "racing" a marathon is something that should not be done more than twice a year. "Racing" an Ironman triathlon should only be attempted one a year.

 

Why is this true? Well, simple math. It takes a minimum of 4 months to train effectively for a marathon and 6 months for an Ironman. Then you need at least one day for every mile you ran and three to five days for every hour your triathlon took. That means a month of recovery before you start to train again after a marathon and at least 6 weeks after a 12 hour Ironman. Last time I checked, there were only 12 months in a year; hence, the common recommendation of racing no more than 2 quality marathons or one quality Ironman triathlon a year.

Why do some people recover faster? Age. My feeling is that youth is wasted on the young. I remember being able to run a marathon and get up and go to work the next day. Now I have to take at least one day off and often take two! Experience does help. Your body has been there before, so it knows it will live. Veterans often have a post-race routine down that helps them recover. (Often this includes the anesthesia known as beer!) If your fitness level is high and your nutritional status is good, you will recover faster.

 

What can you do to hasten recovery? Walk a cool down after the race. Do not sit down immediately even though your legs are begging you to! Take a 15 to 20 minute walk and stretch gently. An ice bath is best, but very few people I know are that tough. A cool bath followed by stretching before you go to bed is helpful. A large amount of carbohydrates and water also helps. Hence the beer phenomenon! A massage a few days after the race will help you recover. More than anything, do not start training again until you are fully recovered. Many injuries occur due to too much, too soon, too fast and too fatigued syndrome!

 

So how much is too much? Again, the answer is always, "It depends." Listen to your body. Really listen and stop being stubborn or stupid! If you start training and you are exhausted, you are doing too much. If you are spending too much time in my office and less on your bike, you are doing too much. The answer is really simple stupid. Listen to your body and it will tell you how much is too much.

 

Bottom line: Let your body fully recover from your races and quality times will be recorded. Race only one to two marathons or one Ironman triathlon a year. As for other distances, keep in mind that you need one day for every mile of a running race and at least 3 days for every hour you raced in triathlon. Anything shorter, you better take off your watch and go for the finish instead of the time and prepare yourself to spend some quality time with your local sports medicine physician!

 

Run Happy! And Recover Well! See You at White Rock!

I'm leaving with Janet in the morning to drive down to outside of Houston, Texas, to check in for our first Ironman. The Inaugural Texas Ironman. Six months ago I felt like I had all the time in the world to train for this event. Three months ago it felt like time was standing still and it would never come. Last week I started freaking out that I hadn't done enough training and I may perish on the streets of The Woodlands, TX. Wow! The journey really is the destination. No matter what happens this Saturday morning, I know that Janet and I have grown as athletes, bonded as deeper friends, pushed our personal barriers past even our own imagination and really enjoyed all the miles we have covered together and apart over the last few months.

 

My thoughts turn to 30+ years of distance running and all the marathons I have done in the last 12 years; and I realize that they have prepared me for the race ahead by allowing me a glance into the depth of my soul. Let's face it, the race really happens in your head. It is a constant battle between the urge to stop so your pain goes away and the mental push to keep going because pain is temporary and the finish line is forever!

 

Good Luck to everyone who is racing this weekend. I will leave you with two thoughts and a short prayer:

 

 

The race is not only to the swift, but to those that keep on running....Anonymous

 

Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction.... William James
 
The Triathlete’s Prayer
 
Oh God, you have taught us to compete with perseverance the race that is set before us.

 

Give me good courage to run this race to the finish.

 

Be with me when I am in the water and on the land, so that I may feel your presence in all things

 

In wind and in weather, in the beauty and the magnificence of nature in the passing scene and in the health and rigor of my body straining to meet this challenge.

 

May I compete in this race in a way that brings honor to You, myself and those with whom I compete.

 

When I finish the race, may I do so humbly and should I not finish may I accept it with equal grace knowing that I have done my best.

 
Thank you Lord for giving me the courage to tri.

 

Amen.

Ryan Hall said about running a marathon, “It's a long, hard road and it's going to have its bumps; there are going to be times when you fall and times when you don't feel like going on anymore, times when you're just crazy tired but it takes focusing on that one step you're taking. That's what I'm trying to do with the marathon; I don't think about the miles that are coming down the road, I don't think about the mile I'm on right now, I don't think about the miles I've already covered. I think about what I'm doing right now, just being lost in the moment.”

 

I feel this is even truer about endurance triathlon and Ironman.  Focus on the moment and don’t think about the miles and hours to come. Most of the battle in the race is going on in your head!

 

Fight the negative self-talk. Rememeber your mantras and that it is all about the finish line! Pain is temporary and quitting is forever!

Every individual taper is unique. Your age, preparation and personal history of your previous tapers should all play into the final formulation. A balance of rest and active recovery are key, but not too much rest. I recommend that you do something every day and just maintain your schedule. I have gone into a marathon too rested and bonked. I’ve also gone in exhausted and bonked (lots of bonking history) I have learned to listen to my body. Do regular self check every morning and rest as needed. Better to be 15% under-trained than 1% over-trained. Be confident that your body will rejuvenate and respond to resting.

 

The Gods of Ironman have conflicting stories about tapering, but the truth is in your own history of recovery. If you listen to your body, and are honest about your bonk history; you will know how long of a taper you need. Keep these tips in mind and be ready to rock your next Ironman!

 

See you all in Houston Texas May 21st!

 

Next article series is on recovery!

 

Tip #1: Do not increase your mileage by more than 10% per week. The body grows stronger if it is stressed in small increments, but starts to break down if it is stressed too much. Studies show that increasing your mileage by no more than 10% per week will help you grow stronger without breaking you down. Avoid increasing duration and pace at the same time.

 

Tip #2: Always follow a hard workout with an easy one. The body’s like a cell phone. If you continue to use it without recharging, it will eventually wear down. By incorporating easy workouts or cross training into your program, you’ll allow your body a chance to rest and repair itself.

 

Tip#3: Add strength training to your workouts. Strength training is usually absent from most training programs, but cross training with weights is the only component that has been proven to reduce running injuries. Proper strength training can help you overcome muscle imbalances that lead to injury, as well as strengthen connective tissues that help support your joints.

 

Tip#4: Do regular self-checks. Tune into what your body is telling you. How do your muscles and joints feel? How does your breathing and heart rate feel? Are you straining to keep up your pace? Anything that doesn’t feel the same may be an early sign of overuse. Keep a training log of not only your mileage, but how you feel during and after each workout. Fatigue over a period of a few days is a huge red flag that your body is trying to tell you something.

 

Tip#5: Respond to pain immediately. If you experience pain during or after a workout, follow the rule of R-I-C-E (rest-ice-compression-elevation). Use an ice massage or cold pack for 10-15 minutes every 4-6 hours to relieve inflammation and swelling. Elevation is also quite helpful in the first 48 hours. Apply a compressive wrap and hang out on the couch for a few hours and rest. After 48-72 hours, if the inflammation has subsided, apply heat to help promote healing.

 

Tip#6: Do not take pain-relief medication to finish a workout! Non-prescription anti-inflammatory medications can reduce inflammation and pain, but they do not speed healing. Taking anti-inflammatories prior to a workout may decrease your discomfort and allow you to finish a workout, but they also allow you to overstress already damaged tissue. This can prolong the healing process. Pain is a sign you should not ignore!

 

Tip#7: Choose relative rest over inactivity. Active rest, or easy exercise, is better than inactivity because it stimulates blood flow and promotes healing. If slow running is painless, but picking up the pace is painful, then stick to slow running until you feel better. Or do other activities, like swimming, cycling, or aqua running until you can run pain-free.

 

Tip#8: Don’t wait too long to seek professional help. If your pain does not respond to a week of R-I-C-E and cutting mileage by at least 50%, see a sportsmedicine specialist. Not only can a professional help you diagnose and treat the condition, but they may also help you determine and biomechanical abnormalities that can lead to recurring injuries.

 

Tip#9: Try to maintain a positive attitude.  You immune system fights injuries with a complex army of nutrients and special cells. But, you immune system doesn’t work alone. Your mind also has a voice in what goes on. Attitudes and feelings are organized in your brain to communicate with your immune system with chemical messengers. A positive attitude can go a along way to help speed healing.

 

Tip#10:  Ease back into your regular training program. Remember, too much, too soon, too fast is what hurt you in the first place. It’s tempting to jump right back in where you left off, but your injured tissue may not be fully recovered. It’s during the first few weeks back that most runners get re-injured. Use the 10% rule to ease back into mileage….

 

Above all, have fun! Marathon running is a challenge that is mental as well as physical. The miles between 20 and 26.2 take determination, stubborness and probably a tiny bit of inner insanity! Whether you finish in 2 hours or 6+, you are still a marathoner forever after you cross the finish line!

 

Run Happy! And Injury Free!

How long does it take to recover from a marathon? How long does it take to recover from an Ironman triathlon? How much racing is bad for my body? These are all good questions posed in my office on a regular basis. The problem is that the answer is always, "It depends". Everyone recovers at a different rate. Age, experience and current fitness level are large variables in the equation. I know a marathon runner in town who ran 100 marathons in a less than 10 years; and of course, we have all heard of Dane Rauschenberg who ran 52 marathons in one year for charity and then wrote a book about it! The flip side is that I know runners who can only do one marathon a year without getting hurt and most triathletes only train for one Ironman a year.

 

So what is the magic formula? How much is too much? I think the first thing to think about is what is your goal? If you are just talking about finishing the marathons and not really having a time crunch, then feel free to do up to six a year but realize that having more than two quality runs in a year is very difficult. The Ironman distance should not be attempted more than 2 or 3 times a year regardless of time goals! Now, for those of us who are addicted to the watch, "racing" a marathon is something that should not be done more than twice a year. "Racing" an Ironman triathlon should only be attempted one a year.

 

Why is this true? Well, simple math. It takes a minimum of 4 months to train effectively for a marathon and 6 months for an Ironman. Then you need at least one day for every mile you ran and three to five days for every hour your triathlon took. That means a month of recovery before you start to train again after a marathon and at least 6 weeks after a 12 hour Ironman. Last time I checked, there were only 12 months in a year; hence, the common recommendation of racing no more than 2 quality marathons or one quality Ironman triathlon a year.

 

Why do some people recover faster? Age. My feeling is that youth is wasted on the young. I remember being able to run a marathon and get up and go to work the next day. Now I have to take at least one day off and often take two! Experience does help. Your body has been there before, so it knows it will live. Veterans often have a post-race routine down that helps them recover. (Often this includes the anesthesia known as beer!) If your fitness level is high and your nutritional status is good, you will recover faster.

 

What can you do to hasten recovery? Walk a cool down after the race. Do not sit down immediately even though your legs are begging you to! Take a 15 to 20 minute walk and stretch gently. An ice bath is best, but very few people I know are that tough. A cool bath followed by stretching before you go to bed is helpful. A large amount of carbohydrates and water also helps. Hence the beer phenomenon! A massage a few days after the race will help you recover. More than anything, do not start training again until you are fully recovered. Many injuries occur due to too much, too soon, too fast and too fatigued syndrome!

 

So how much is too much? Again, the answer is always, "It depends." Listen to your body. Really listen and stop being stubborn or stupid! If you start training and you are exhausted, you are doing too much. If you are spending too much time in my office and less on your bike, you are doing too much. The answer is really simple stupid. Listen to your body and it will tell you how much is too much.

 

Bottom line: Let your body fully recover from your races and quality times will be recorded. Race only one to two marathons or one Ironman triathlon a year. As for other distances, keep in mind that you need one day for every mile of a running race and at least 3 days for every hour you raced in triathlon. Anything shorter, you better take off your watch and go for the finish instead of the time and prepare yourself to spend some quality time with your local sports medicine physician!

 

Run Happy! And Recover Well!

 

 

Texas Man triathlon series is this weekend in Denton, Texas. The girls at FAANT (Foot & Ankle Associates of North Texas) have decided to try to suck in one of our coworkers and do the Half-Ironman distance relay. Janet and I are still tired from the New Orleans 70.3 so we thought a relay would be fun and it would get Lori to drink the K00l-aid of triathlon! I get to swim (why does everyone hate the swim?), Janet is going to smash the bike (I heard there were a few little hills, ha ha) and our newest triathlete, Lori, is going to motor the run! A good time I’m sure will be had by all. I’m happy because the swim should be wet suit legal! I float better that way. The forecast is bleak and includes possible thunderstorms, so pray for good weather at 7am on Sunday! We will update you after the race!

 

Here’s a shout out to everyone else racing this weekend. Be safe and have fun!

 

Run Happy!!

The 38-year-old Austin resident was targeting the 2011 or 2012 event in Kona, Hawaii, depending upon whether this year or next will be his final Tour de France.

 

"I will be in Kona 15 months after the final Tour," Armstrong said Friday. " I'm not saying that with any expectation; it will require months and months of getting back into swimming and running. But I want to just do it, just for fun." Strange definition of fun.

 

A swimmer as a child and promising national-level triathlete in his late teens, Armstrong has also run in marathons. The Ironman event consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike leg and 26-mile marathon.

 

"I don't know I could be top three, top five or top 10, but anyway, I want to come and finish," Armstrong said.

 

Ambitious goal, but he will probably do it. It takes the average runner at least 3 years to train and compete their way to an Ironman. Most people never get to Hawaii unless they get in through the lottery; but knowing Lance Armstrong I'm sure they will find a spot for him just for the publicity. What he doesn't fully realize is the carnage that is seen among the best athlete's in the world at Kona. Even the tough barely survive.

 

My hat's off to you Lance. Ambitious goal and a "no quit" mentality are needed to survive Kona! Who knows, maybe I will get in through the lottery and see you there!!

 

Run Happy! Keep Triing!

 

Wow! We were blessed with a great day for racing on Sunday. Slightly overcast and chilly at the start. The elite wave went off just after the sun came up over the water. What an amazing sight. They are so very fast!! I got in the water on the 5^th flight (old ladies ha ha) and spanked the swim! It took about 5 minutes for me to get comfortable, but given the water was 70 degrees I was happy to have my wet suit on. Steady rhythm and out of the water in 44 minutes. 

 

Transition was hilarious. The wet suit strippers unfortunately stripped off the bottoms of the girl next to me (so much for public nudity being prohibited) so she was mortified and I couldn’t stop laughing. I had trouble finding my bike in the sea of bikes but then got changed and off I went. I had to keep a steady heart rate during the bike so I would have something left for the run. I also had to make sure I took in enough nutrition and drank enough so I wouldn’t be dead before I started to run. Rolling hills are your friend, but some killer turns were nasty. I only passed 4 people that were actually moving forward. The other 12 or so were either crashed (sorry Diesel) or were somewhere between throwing up or passing out. Being the stellar cyclist I am (NOT), I think at least 2000 people passed me on the bike.

 

Oh well, I still got through faster than my goal and after a smooth transition started to run. Well, you may call it running but it was more like a slow crawl at first. Then a walk. My stomach was in knots. After a quick trip to the port-a-potty and a little vomitus, I was feeling much better. Guess I actually ate too much on the bike. I was 4 miles in and started to actually run. The run was three loops so I got to see my awesome cheering section of sherpas three times. They reminded me on the last loop that I would make it under 7 hours if I just kept a steady pace (which at this point was 10 minute miles). Boy did it get hot on the run. Thank God for the cold towels, wet sponges and water stations about every mile. It was amazing to me how many people were walking and crawling at the end. Some were even staggering. I finished with a strong charge and made it in at 6:57:59. Yea! An hour faster than I predicted, and under 7, so Janet’s prediction came true. All weekend she was chanting 6, 6, I know you can do it in 6.

 

A cold Shiner was my reward after the finish line and a good time was had by all. Worst part of the whole weekend was the drive home (and the sunburn)…Thank God Janet was on sherpa duty and loves to drive! What did I learn? Patience and perseverance mixed with a little stubbornness will get you through, but a few more long bricks probably would’ve helped me take an hour off my time. Off season a new bike is definitely in order and oh yeah….wear sunscreen!

 

A great first Half-Ironman experience! Funny thing, I hurt a lot less the next day than I did after my last marathon. Guess I will have to try another one next season…who knows maybe even a full in 2011!

 

Run Happy my peeps!

 

It’s just a few days from a big race and I’m already anxious. What am I afraid of? Running a bad time? Totally bonking? Looking stupid in front of my friends and patients? Drowning in the open water swim? Getting a flat tire? Perishing on the street? Where does all this performance anxiety come from? After 30 years of competitive running you would think I would have conquered race day jitters, but they are always there…kinds like an old friend…or a fungus….

 

So, how do I cope with race day jitters? Positive self-talk, preparation, visualization and organization!

 

A race is just another long training day in the company of a few hundred, or sometimes a few thousand, of your closest friends. Most anxiety comes from fear of the unknown and lots of negative self-talk. Reality – your friends and family really don’t care what your time is, whether you place or not, and the world will not end if you run a bad time! My patients are just amazed this old lady is still racing! Times are irrelevant! Setting high goals will just stress you out! Focus on running your best race that day! Relax! Have fun! Go into the race realizing you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I treat every race as a learning experience. Even if you get kicked in the face in the swim and lose your goggles, get a flat tire or totally bonk on the run; you learn something you can use another day!

 

There are many things you can do to stay relaxed. Here are just a few I have learned along the way:

 

 

Race day jitters can completely derail your race before it has even started. Don’t let the negativity ruin all your hard work and preparation! Relax! Follow these tips and remember to banish the negative, and stay positive throughout the race! Try to have fun! Whether this is your first marathon or your 100^th triathlon, remember to celebrate your training and have a great race!

 

Run Happy! And anxiety free!