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How I spent my Fourth of July

itri

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Warning, (long-winded) insanity ahead... :p

I can't remember if I've mentioned this here yet or not, so bear with me if I'm repeating myself! I think many of you have heard me talk about my friend, the kick-ass going-off-the-deep-end-crazy triathlete, the one who loaned me her $$$$$ bike a few weeks ago. Well, she's training for Ironman Canada this fall, with her coach, his wife, and another guy. They're testing this theory out about overtraining distances...you know how for shorter distances (at least in triathlon), it's common to train beyond the distance you need to complete the race? For instance, for an Olympic distance tri (1500m swim, 40k bike, 10k run), it wouldn't be unusual to double your distances for each individual event during your training. So, their theory is: why not do that for Ironman, too? (I mentioned, they're crazy, right?
orngbiggrin.gif
) They've been doing all kinds of crazy distances, running ultra-marathons, biking hundreds of miles, even swimming a 9k swim a few weeks ago. The culmination of this is what they're calling the "17 hour training day", and it took place on Saturday (you can look at their website at https://www.17hourtrainingday.com/ to read more about it). The plan was to start at 5 am and to go until 10 pm. 2.5 hours swimming, followed by 8.5 hours biking (two four hour rides), followed by 6 hours running (10 mile loops). They invited friends to join them for parts of the day, as company and as support.

So, the point of that long explanation is that I was planning on doing a long bike ride and a long run this weekend anyway. When I saw the invitation, I emailed my friend to ask if I could keep up with them, since I'm MUCH slower and would not want to be a pain or to hold them back at all. She suggested I come with them for the second half of the bike portion since they'll be going a little slower. And then potentially a 10 mile run loop. I figure, I was planning on doing it all this weekend anyway, why not all in one day?! :p

I headed out to the state park, where they had their base camp around 10:30 since we were supposed to be ready to go for the second bike loop at 11:30. The group rolled in from the first loop right on schedule, and we got ready to head out. There were about 12 of us, I think, on the second ride. I expected to be in the back of the group, and I was. I had been told that they were taking a very easy pace, but my definition of easy and most of theirs is something quite different! Most of the group took off when we hit the big climb, but there were three of us (including one of the 17 hr training day people, Andrea) still together in the back. We did a pretty decent climb and hit the top right around 16 miles, then we got to turn around and fly back down! SO much fun. I think I averaged right around 30 mph for about 8 miles before it leveled out a bit. At this point, we were done with the planned route, but still had over 2 hours to go before it was time to transition to the run. We headed back to base camp so Andrea could refill her water, and then went out for two loops around the state park. I was getting pretty tired, but there was no way I was going to give up when Andrea had been going for so long! Around 40 miles, my knee started to hurt a bit, but I knew we were really close to being done. Unfortunately, the last 10 miles or so had some pretty big rollers that hurt, but I toughed through it, and then we were back at camp for the transition to the run.

I changed into my running gear, grabbed my camelbak, and downed some bloks. There were about 8 or so heading out for the first loop of the run, but I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with the main group. Luckily, Andrea and I matched up really, really well and so I ran with her for the whole loop. Which was good, as she was starting to fade, and really needed the support. It was a really good run, if slow. My legs felt GREAT coming off of 50 miles on the bike, I couldn't believe it. I think part of it was that the bloks I ate had caffeine and they kicked in perfectly. We started out at about an 11 minute pace, but slowed down as the miles went on. There was a bit of walking, and a few potty stops. Miles 2-4 were on a very narrow dirt trail through some high grass, and I felt like we were bushwhacking! Right around mile 5, we hit the one big uphill, running up the dam, and this was right when it started to rain. It had been spitting a bit all day, but nothing significant. It rained pretty good, and it started getting cold. I didn't plan very well and had only brought a tank and shorts to run in, nothing warmer. Luckily Andrea had both a jacket and arm warmers, and she loaned me her jacket. The top of the dam was never ending (probably about 2.5-3 miles) and flat, and straight, and boring, and it was raining, and my quads were starting to speak to me not-so-nicely. That was probably the low point of the run, but Andrea and I were doing all right, just chatting and trying to keep spirits up. When we came down off the dam, we were on a really pretty trail through the woods. At about 8.5, Andrea had a blister pop and we didn't have any supplies to fix it up. We were right at a picnic site with a bathroom, so we stopped for a potty break and to try to fix it up, but all we could come up with was jamming some toilet paper in to try and pad it. She was in a lot of pain, but we kept going! I got my second wind around mile 9 and then for the rest of the way in, I just tried my best to keep Andrea going. I was really worried about sending her back out for another loop, but luckily there was someone else there to take over and go out with her. We did our best to patch up her blister, and off she went.

I got changed into some dry clothes and got my burger on the grill (we were slow, so everybody else had already eaten) and settled in by the fire to wait. It was a GREAT spot to watch the fireworks from, I think we could see at least four or five different "official" displays, in addition to the (illegal
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) neighborhood fireworks in the area. At just a few minutes before 10, the crew (except Andrea) jogged into camp, totally exhausted but really proud of themselves. They swam for 2.5 hours, biked for 8 (probably over 100 miles) and ran 3 loops of the park (30 miles). Andrea made it into camp about 10 minutes later, having done the same thing except less one running loop. Amazing. I still think they're nuts, but they're going to be in GREAT shape for Ironman!

It was a really great experience for me, and I'm so glad I did it. I was really nervous about going since I know I'm slower than most of the group and didn't want to hold anybody back, but Andrea and I matched up really well, and it was great riding and running with her. I'm amazed at how well I did and how good I felt (for the most part) doing it. I really could have kept going at the end of the run. Mind you, I was exhausted, but my legs had some more miles in them.

So...I think I'm going to go ahead and register for that long course tri I've been thinking about for the past year.
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I know I didn't swim on Saturday, but if I can ride 50 and run 10 and still have some steam left in my legs, I really think I can do it! Holy crap...

I was pretty sore yesterday, but not awful. Mostly just stiff and sore quads. I took the dog out for a wog (mostly walk) and felt a little better. Today, I feel mostly normal, just a little tired still.

I didn't have any pictures with my camera, but when the 17hr crew get them up, I'll share some here!
 

SnowHot

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Wow!
They're contagious! Now you're nuts!!!!
 

Severine

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Holy moley! You guys are amazing!!!!
 

Snowflower

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Wow! That was some day, congratulations and I think you totally could do a longer course race.
 

itri

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Thanks, ladies! I'm so incredibly proud of what I was able to do. My friend may be a little nutso :D, but she's awesome at really encouraging people to push their boundaries and get out of their comfort zone!

So far, this is the only picture I've gotten of the day, although I know there was a group picture with me in it before the second bike ride. I'll have to post it if I can find it.

Me, Andrea, and Jane, who did the second loop with Andrea
DSC_0073.jpg
 

pinto

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh my.

I spent July 4th like this: got up and went to the town parade (drank coffee); went to brunch (drank three bloody marys); went to the pool but it was cold so played an hour of tennis instead (drank two beers); went to a barbecue (drank two dark and stormys); went to the 7th fairway to watch fireworks (drank a solo cup of red wine).

I was quite proud of my endurance, frankly, but now I feel like a complete waste of oxygen. ;-)

VERY well done!
 

Robyn

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Geez, Pinto, I would have fallen over by the second beer for sure. And I don't think I could have stomached an hour of tennis after 3 bloody marys!
 

pinto

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Geez, Pinto, I would have fallen over by the second beer for sure. And I don't think I could have stomached an hour of tennis after 3 bloody marys!

Well, I had something like 14 hr to pace myself, you know. And the bloodys were really weak. My forehand was kinda shaky, though....
 

itri

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
LOL, pinto. If it makes you feel better, I had a beverage while sitting around the campfire waiting for the crazies to finish up. I would have liked to have had more, but I was afraid that the combo of not being able to move my legs + alcohol might be a bad idea if I wanted to drive home! :p
 

SnowHot

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh my.

I spent July 4th like this: got up and went to the town parade (drank coffee); went to brunch (drank three bloody marys); went to the pool but it was cold so played an hour of tennis instead (drank two beers); went to a barbecue (drank two dark and stormys); went to the 7th fairway to watch fireworks (drank a solo cup of red wine).

I was quite proud of my endurance, frankly, but now I feel like a complete waste of oxygen. ;-)

VERY well done!
:bounce:
 

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