The Bittersweet Half Ironman

My Mom, my Dad, and I right before the swim.

This past weekend, my Dad competed in the Steelhead Half Ironman in Benton Harbor, MI.  Needless to say this was a very bittersweet event for me to witness.

First off, I just want to say that my Dad is amazing.  He was awesome throughout the entire event, and ended up finishing 12th in his age group out of 80.  I am so proud of him, and couldn't be happier for him.  Now for the bitter part...I should've been in this event with him.

About a year ago, I started doing triathlons with the intent of doing this Half Ironman.  I had training schedules planned out, as well as other races leading up to it.  Unfortunately though, school got the better of me.  My final year of college was crazy busy and I had very little time to train.  Which ment by the time summer hit, it was simply too late to get into shape for this event.  I know that this is a "legitimate" excuse, but it is still an excuse nonetheless.  Although I had a great time cheering my dad on, I couldn't help but be a little disappointed in myself for not participating as well.  I kept thinking things like "If only I would've gotten up earlier during the semester, I could've trained."  I understand that to most these thoughts seem irrational, I mean, who takes THREE Senior Capstone Projects, AND trains for an event like this? Me. I do.  This is what I do.  I work myself to the breaking point both physically and mentally to achieve what I want to achieve.  I do think that I made the right decision to only focus on school, but it's a decision I had to face the repercussions of head on this past weekend, and it was NOT easy.

My awesome Dad after finishing the Half Ironman.

BUT, life goes on.  There will be more races, and you better believe that I will be competing in them.  So what's next on the race schedule?  A few things.  First, on September 15th, I will be running in a nighttime 10K.  Then on October 23rd, I will be running the Rock 'n Roll St. Louis Half Marathon.  Then, I will be doing the Las Vegas Ragnar Relay in November.  I'm really excited to get back into racing.  After all, it's my motivation.  This time, I intend to train for them doing the Crossfit Endurance program.  I've got nothing to lose trying it out.  I've heard a lot of good things, and it will definitely make me a better athlete.

I know I will for sure be able to successfully train for the half marathon using this method, but I really want to push this program to the limit and see if I can train for next year's Steelhead doing CFE.  It is a very controversial thing within the running/triathlon community.  There are a lot of people who think that it is not possible to train for such an event without putting in countless hours.  However, there are also a lot of crossfit people who believe it's more about the quality of training as opposed to the quantity.

So, even though I may have disappointed myself a bit by not competing this past weekend, I think some good has come out of it.  I don't think I would've found out about the CFE program had I not fallen out of training for so long.  I am really excited to see how far I can push myself, and I look forward to exploring all that CFE has to offer.

CrossFit and Paleo

Well, I have officially joined a crossfit gym in Chicago! (crossfitdefined.com).  So far I love everything about it.  The coaches are great, the atmosphere is great, and the peer support is great.  I really look forward to becoming a part of the community.

Now, before I talk about why I started doing crossfit, I want to talk about why I started Paleo.  Well, there are many reasons, such as, not really ever feeling 100%, being tired, not being healthy, etc... but, the biggest reason is I am not happy with my body, nor have I ever been.  I know I'm not overweight, actually, I am exactly the right weight for my height, however, I am still not happy with that.  I want to be lean and fit and running was not cutting it.  I've spent 3 years marathon training and still not gotten the body I wanted.  I would attribute that mostly to diet.  I'm pretty used to eating whatever I want whenever I want and that simply doesn't cut it.  So about 2 months ago I started eating paleo.  I cut all grain out of my diet and most dairy.  I only eat good quality foods, but don't watch quantity, which is awesome!  I don't need to count calories at all.  By doing this, in 2 short months I have already started to see results (and that's with virtually no exercise).  If there's one thing I've learned by doing this, it's that you absolutely cannot out-exercise diet.

Now, a bit as to why I started crossfit.  Well...again....I am not happy with my body, but also I am very one sided as an athlete.  Running was awesome at getting me into running shape, but that didn't make me very well rounded.  I really want to become a more rounded athlete, with not just leg strength, but upper body strength, and core strength as well.  I also want to see how far I can push myself fitness wise.  Since I ran my first marathon at age 19, I often find myself thinking "well, now what", so I need something a little different to work towards.  The really awesome thing about the gym I joined, is they also have endurance classes, which incorporate long distance training with crossfit training.  So I am still able to do my running with crossfit.

I am really looking forward to this new kind of training, and I am optimistic that this time I will get the results I'm looking for.  One of my goals is to compete in the CrossFit Games this upcoming season.  I may not get very far, but at the very least I am going to compete in the Open bracket.  A longer term goal of mine is to qualify for the Boston Marathon.  This is something I've wanted ever since I started running, unfortunately though, I have always been slow, so I never really saw it as a realistic goal, just a dream.  Now, with this new kind of training, it is looking more and more possible for my dream to become a reality.

Off the Wagon

Whelp, not only did I fall of the band wagon, it ran me over, backed up, called me fat, then ran me over again.  I ran the Chicago Marathon in October and the Route 66 Marathon in November.  Since then I haven't done much of anything at all.  Well I graduated College, I suppose that is something.  My final semester was insane and I simply did not have the time to dedicate to training.  BUT, school is over, summer is here, and it's time to whip my ass back in shape.  How will I be starting?  Crossfit.

My Dad has been doing Crossfit for a few months now and I decided to give it a try.  This weekend I will be accompanying him for my first real workout in 6 months.  I guess we will see how I like it.  Now, I do not plan to do ONLY Crossfit and stop running and triathloning.  I want to use Crossfit as a mechanism to become a more rounded athlete.  Crossfit 2 times a week, swim/bike/run the other days.  As of right now I am not signed up for any long distance races and I think I want to keep it that way this season.  I really want to focus on becoming faster and stronger as opposed to focusing on long distance races.

This is something I've been wanting to do for quite some time, but I've always been signed up for a marathon, so I never really had the chance.  Well here's my chance.  I am essentially starting over fitness-wise and I fully intend to build myself for speed and strength alongside endurance this time.

Tri 1 Down and Marathon Update

Well I completed my first triathlon which officially makes me a triathlete and a whole new flavor of crazy. I did the Clark Lake Triathlon in Jackson MI on July 17 2011. The distances were .5 Swim, 13.5 Bike and 4.25 Run. It was tons of fun and I discovered that I am actually a pretty good swimmer in comparison to others in my age group. My biking skills (or lack thereof) however, need great improvement.

Next tri on my list is the Bangs Lake Triathlon in Northern Illinois on August 14 which my dad will do as well. This tri is an Olympic distance which is a 1500 meter swim, 40K bike 10K run. All of this is in preparation for next racing season where my dad and I are going to tackle a Half Ironman, most likely in Benton Harbor, MI or Muncie, IN.

But wait Elisa, aren't you signed up for the Chicago Marathon again this year?
Oh yeah...that...I'm still training for the Marathon as well, it's actually a lot more enjoyable because I'm not just running all the time, I'm also biking and swimming. I threw together a mish-mash of about 4 different training programs to accommodate all of the races I have planned for this year. I basically took a beginning sprint tri, intermediate olympic tri, half marathon and marathon training program and created the madness that has become my summer.

For the first tri I took the swims and bikes from the sprint tri program and mashed them with the runs of the half marathon program, then after Clark Lake I switched over to the swims and bikes from the Olympic program and the runs from the marathon training. So far it's been working great. I haven't gotten injured and I haven't felt under-trained for my long runs (knock on wood) So after the Olympic I will take out the swimming and add more runs in prep for the marathon. If all goes according to plan I will still be in great shape for the marathon on October 9th.

Because Marathons Aren't Crazy Enough....

Well, I bought a bike. The reason? IronMan.

I've been thinking about getting into triathlons for quite some time now and I finally took the plunge. I bought a bike and I intend on doing a sprint tri and an olympic tri this year. Next year I am going to do a half IronMan and attempt to qualify for the IronMan World Championship in Kona Hawaii. In order for me to qualify I need to place first in my age group in any IronMan event of either 70.3 distance or full distance. Since not too many people my age are attempting these distances, I have a pretty decent chance.

Why would I want to do this? The answer is simple: Because marathons aren't crazy enough.

Book

As crazy as it may sound, I've decided that I want to write a book about running. The direction I'm thinking is a training guide for college students. There are several running books out there geared towards the elite, Boston qualifiers and middle aged runners, but not so many aimed at the younger population. Since I ran my first half marathon at 18 and full at 19, I think I would be able to help train and motivate other college students to tackle 26.2.

Possible title...

Midterms and Marathons: The long distance training guide for college students.

Wish me luck.

Do's and Do Not's of Racing

Over the past two years I have run quite a few races and at each of these races I see a lot of first timers making MANY mistakes. So I have compiled a list of racing do's and do not's.

1.) If you run at an 11-minute pace, don't start up with the 7-minute milers. Everyone will hate you for being in the way and you will just feel bad about yourself for not being able to keep up.

2.) If you run at a 7-minute pace don't start with the 12's and then wonder why everyone is "in your way"

3.) At the start line, if you are in the right pace group BE PATIENT. Don't try to push your way up. Everyone will cross the start line eventually.

4.) BRING TOILET PAPER. I cannot express the importance of this one enough. At a race with 40,000 runners toilet paper can be a scarce resource in port-o-potties, bring your own and avoid some very unpleasant experiences later.

5.) Along with the port-o-potty theme. Hand sanitizer. Enough said.

6.) Hydrate. Just because you feel great now doesn't mean you will feel great later. If you wait until you are thirsty to drink some water, it's too late.

7.) If you are running with friends, please try to be aware of other runners. If you have 4 people in your group all running next to each other, it is extremely difficult for other runners to conveniently get around you.

8.) Just because you are cold while waiting for the race to start does not mean that you will be cold while running.

9.) Please do not just stop in the middle of the road to stretch, tie your shoe, blow your nose, whatever...someone will run into you, and it will hurt.

10.) Last but not least, have fun! It's your first race, you shouldn't be obsessed with finishing time or beating your friends. You should just focus on finishing and enjoying yourself.