My life kinda fell into shambles after Eagleman in June, hence my lack of posts and my lack of miles. My husband and I decided just two weeks before Eagleman that we were going to separate. Not a huge shocker to me, but a life-changing event nonetheless. Two months later I raced Steelman, which I did on Joanna's encouraging so I'd have something to focus on to keep me motivated. I raced, I had a great time, but I really felt pretty down when all was said and done.
But, during this time of flux, I've been reevaluating who I am, who I want to be and what I want out of life. What I've determined is that I'm not going to let a change in my relationships status determine the outcome of my life. So I began plotting out my race schedule.
Every good triathlete has a night of drinking with an equally crazy friend to determine their race schedule for the following year, right? No? Well, that's what I do. Don't judge. Anyway, we started researching Ironman race courses. We wanted a flatter course, but not pancake flat, but shouldn't be major hills, like Lake Placid. We found Ironman Cozumel, and fell in love. But the realist in me knows that with my life influx, maybe an Ironman in 2013 isn't a great idea. However, if I make 2013 a building year, and Ironman in 2014 is a certainty.
Here are my goals:
First, I'm going to run a marathon. Probably a good idea if I'm considering an Ironman, right? This was another decision made during a night of drinking, but this time it was with my cousin, who was up this way from Austin.
She said, "I think you should run the Austin Marathon. It's in February and it's a great time to be in Austin. Plus our condo is 2 miles from the start, right along the race course." While sitting at the bar, I sent a quick email to Joanna asking her if she thought I could be ready for a marathon by February. She said, and I'm paraphrasing, if we start soon, I think you'll be ready.
A few days later, I registered, booked airfare and committed my brain to a marathon. Beginning Oct. 1, Joanna will be helping me train for my very first marathon.
Heaven help me.
Next on the list are a few Olympic distance races for 2013. I'd like to do Red Bank again. It was a beautiful course and I'd like to redeem myself from my terrible showing on the bike. I also want to do Steelman again because it was so much fun. My crazy triathlon friend suggested the Bethany Beach Triathlon, that I'm considering that as well as New Jersey State Triathlon.
As far as another half distance next year... I haven't decided yet. I think it might be a good idea to do one, but I don't know which to do. Eagleman was too hot and really early in the season. Diamondman was fun, but I'm not sure I want to repeat that again. So, I'm open for suggestions. I'm thinking Pocono 70.3, but I'm not 100% sold on it yet.
Showing posts with label Ironman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ironman. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Ironman Eagleman 70.3 Race Report
I've been working on this post for months. The whole reason I started this blog was to write about this triathlon, Eagleman. The race that was going to take me to the next level. Instead, I was humbled by this race and this report is just not writing itself. So, let's start at the beginning.
We had plans to stay at my friend Tammy's in-laws place in Lewes, Del., about an hour and a half away from the starting line. This wasn't an ideal situation, but it was free accommodations and there wasn't a hotel within 50 miles of the race that had any open rooms. But, in an extraordinary stroke of good luck, Joanna had a nutrition client who booked an extra room and offered it to us. So on Saturday, I met Tammy and fellow dailymiler Patrick, in Media to start our trek to Cambridge, Maryland.
Once in Cambridge, we went to the race expo and packet pick up. There was a pro athlete forum that was going on while we were picking up our race packets. We stayed just long enough to take a blurry picture ...
... and pick up our race numbers. It was so hot and crowded.
Next stop was the transition area to rack our bikes and check out the transition area. We did some stalking while we were there... you know, killing time.
After checking into our hotel room, heading to dinner and packing, unpacking and repacking everything we needed for the next morning, we settled in at about 8:30 p.m. for our 4:15 a.m. wake up call.
I have to admit, I was not nervous about the race. I did have a few moments of anxiety, but generally I felt pretty confident that I was going to conquer this race.
We learned that for the first time in two years the race would be wetsuit legal, so my confidence was pretty good. The pros started at 6:45 and Tammy and I had an hour to walk around and wait for our wave start.
The swim:
At 7:40 exactly, our wave was ushered into the water. As we walked toward the water, volunteers handed us safety pins to put on our timing chips if our wetsuits didn't cover them. I thought this was a brilliant idea since at my last half iron, my timing chip fell off twice during the swim. Anyway, two minutes later, the blow horn sounded and we were off.
I will admit that the stories of jellyfish, sharks and rough waters of the Choptank River (you can't make up that name), scared me a little prior to the start. But I found the waters to be cool and lightly salted. Not nearly has salty as the ocean. I had some trouble sighting because my goggles were super foggy (Patrick, the defogging stuff did NOT work) and the buoys were a little further apart than I'm used to in races. I stayed pretty wide and to the left throughout the swim because I did not want to get kicked in the head again. The first half of the swim I stayed calm and took my time. About half way through I remember that there was no reason to hold anything back today, and I picked up my pace. Before I knew it, I was coming into to the swim finish. I felt strong and ready for the bike. I finished the 1.2 mile swim in 44:49. In transition, I stripped off the wetsuit, took a long drink and hopped on my bike.
The bike:
I pushed the entire time on this ride. The course was completely flat, not a single hill. We road through some scenic parks with a lot of trees. Of course there were stretches with nothing more than an open field, but my confidence was high. I was passing a lot of riders on the course and with little effort maintaining an easy 18-19 mph pace. Around the halfway mark, maybe a little further, I was honestly trying not to look at my bike computer and only watched the time, I hit some headwind that pushed me to a pretty steady 14 mph. That was a little harder to recover from, but I kept pushing. This was about the time I saw a woman throw up twice while riding. My first thought was, "That woman is hardcore." My next thought was, "I wonder why she's getting sick."
The last 6 miles seemed to take forever, but those last six miles is where I started to see the runners. Many were walking. No one looked happy. At the end of that 56 miles, which I did in 3:11, I walked my bike back to my transition spot. I was in no rush to start this run.
The run:
After putting socks and sneakers on and taking another long drink, I trotted out of transition and onto the course. Immediately my quads cramped. I tried to ignore it and took two Enduralytes, but the cramps coupled with a shooting pain on the right side of my right foot forced me to a walk. Less than a mile into the course Tammy caught up to me. I think I said outloud, "Oh seriously." She was in good spirits and walked with me for a bit. I encouraged her to keep running. A few feet later I met Dan, an athlete wearing a knee brace. He and I walk about 3/4 of a mile together until the first water spot. He walked through it and I stopped and strategically placed ice in my tri suit and wet my sun sleeves hoping to stay cool. After that, I walked/ran the entire course.
I stopped at every water spot and poured ice water all over myself. The temperature was 100 degrees and there wasn't a single patch of shade anywhere. Patrick described it as a death march and I can't think of a better description than that. I watched seasoned triathletes walking. Men and women who I am sure are much stronger and fitter than I am put their pride aside and simply walk. Where there were neighborhoods, many residents had tents out and sprayed athletes down with garden hoses. If any of them ever read this, THANK YOU!
After the first 6.6 miles, I realized my hopes of having a half iron in the 6 hour time range was not going to happen. I ate a snow cone, and the sugar helped push me the next 4 or so miles.
The last mile and a half was the absolute worst. I felt my body actually falling apart. I had been drinking water and electrolytes and taking Enduralytes like they were candy, but I wasn't eating. I would've killed someone for a pretzel or potato chips. I needed salt, I needed calories. I had three Gus in my pocket the entire run, but I couldn't bring myself to eat them. Probably my downfall. But the heat called for drinking, not for eating. With each step I took, I felt weaker. With one mile left, I choked down a Gu and it only served to turn my stomach.
With 400 yards left, a group of athlete sat in the shade encouraging, no, yelling at us to run. "There's only 400 yards left, one loop around the track. Run! Don't be weak," I heard them shout. So I ran. I ran and I have no idea how I did it. It was the longest 400 yards of my entire life. Each step was filled with pain. Every muscle in my body hurt, my feet burned and I was crying. I saw my kids right at the shoot and I lost it. Crossing the finish line I just bent over and sobbed. 3:09 was my run time. A medic came over to me and put a wet towel on my neck, held me up and asked me if I wanted to sit down. No, I wanted to see my kids.
The entire time I was walking/running, all I could think of (when I wasn't in shock at how my body felt like it was falling apart) was all the time I had spent training. All the hours, all the effort, six months of training and nutrition and my half iron time was 4 minutes better than the last one.
4 minutes.
After cooling off, eating and pulling myself together, I texted Joanna. I said, "Finished and getting ready to leave. That may have been the hardest thing I've ever done. Wow" She called me immediately. I don't know how I managed to not cry while talking to her, but she was nothing but encouraging. She knew my goal and I failed. I failed. She said, "I don't think you would've finished the race at all if you didn't train the way you did. You can't prepare for that heat. You did the best you could. I am proud of you." Those words meant the world to me.
The truth is that I didn't fail. I finished a race where many did not. I improved my swim time by 11 minutes and my bike time by 7. I took an extraordinary 6+ minutes in transition from bike to run this time and my run time was increased by 11 minutes from the last race. The heat was brutal, my nutrition fell apart and therefore my body fell apart. I have always been my biggest critic and I continue to be that critic.
I walked away from the race with a few thoughts: 1) I will never do a half iron again. It's just not my race. Eagleman decided that. 2) I am strong. Those were two facts I held fast for the last two days as I've hobbled from one place to another. I held fast as I suffered through dehydration and the inability to keep food down for the last two days. I held this truth until I thought about my next race. When someone said, "So, what's next?"
Truth is, I will race again because I am racing against myself. Probably not this year, but I will next year. Actually, who am I kidding, as soon as I am able to train again I will probably find a race and shoot for it. I will not let this stop me from doing what I love. I am a triathlete. I am strong. I will reach my goal of a 6 hour 70.3.
We had plans to stay at my friend Tammy's in-laws place in Lewes, Del., about an hour and a half away from the starting line. This wasn't an ideal situation, but it was free accommodations and there wasn't a hotel within 50 miles of the race that had any open rooms. But, in an extraordinary stroke of good luck, Joanna had a nutrition client who booked an extra room and offered it to us. So on Saturday, I met Tammy and fellow dailymiler Patrick, in Media to start our trek to Cambridge, Maryland.
 |
| I had no idea until I got here that Ironman was such a community event. Clearly businesses welcomed us. |
Once in Cambridge, we went to the race expo and packet pick up. There was a pro athlete forum that was going on while we were picking up our race packets. We stayed just long enough to take a blurry picture ...
 |
| Ironmen |
... and pick up our race numbers. It was so hot and crowded.
 |
| Packet pick up and expo |
Next stop was the transition area to rack our bikes and check out the transition area. We did some stalking while we were there... you know, killing time.
 |
| Transition area with bikes racked |
 |
| Yeah, so it's not every day I come within feet of Ironman Champions |
After checking into our hotel room, heading to dinner and packing, unpacking and repacking everything we needed for the next morning, we settled in at about 8:30 p.m. for our 4:15 a.m. wake up call.
 |
| "Shuttle," AKA school bus, we took in the morning to transition. Patrick is pictured. |
I have to admit, I was not nervous about the race. I did have a few moments of anxiety, but generally I felt pretty confident that I was going to conquer this race.
 |
| We quickly learned that if Patrick was anything, he was positive. |
We learned that for the first time in two years the race would be wetsuit legal, so my confidence was pretty good. The pros started at 6:45 and Tammy and I had an hour to walk around and wait for our wave start.
 |
| Transition area set (sort of) and ready to go. |
The swim:
At 7:40 exactly, our wave was ushered into the water. As we walked toward the water, volunteers handed us safety pins to put on our timing chips if our wetsuits didn't cover them. I thought this was a brilliant idea since at my last half iron, my timing chip fell off twice during the swim. Anyway, two minutes later, the blow horn sounded and we were off.
 |
| Choptank River, not nearly as scary as described by athletes. |
I will admit that the stories of jellyfish, sharks and rough waters of the Choptank River (you can't make up that name), scared me a little prior to the start. But I found the waters to be cool and lightly salted. Not nearly has salty as the ocean. I had some trouble sighting because my goggles were super foggy (Patrick, the defogging stuff did NOT work) and the buoys were a little further apart than I'm used to in races. I stayed pretty wide and to the left throughout the swim because I did not want to get kicked in the head again. The first half of the swim I stayed calm and took my time. About half way through I remember that there was no reason to hold anything back today, and I picked up my pace. Before I knew it, I was coming into to the swim finish. I felt strong and ready for the bike. I finished the 1.2 mile swim in 44:49. In transition, I stripped off the wetsuit, took a long drink and hopped on my bike.
The bike:
I pushed the entire time on this ride. The course was completely flat, not a single hill. We road through some scenic parks with a lot of trees. Of course there were stretches with nothing more than an open field, but my confidence was high. I was passing a lot of riders on the course and with little effort maintaining an easy 18-19 mph pace. Around the halfway mark, maybe a little further, I was honestly trying not to look at my bike computer and only watched the time, I hit some headwind that pushed me to a pretty steady 14 mph. That was a little harder to recover from, but I kept pushing. This was about the time I saw a woman throw up twice while riding. My first thought was, "That woman is hardcore." My next thought was, "I wonder why she's getting sick."
The last 6 miles seemed to take forever, but those last six miles is where I started to see the runners. Many were walking. No one looked happy. At the end of that 56 miles, which I did in 3:11, I walked my bike back to my transition spot. I was in no rush to start this run.
 |
| Picture of the sun taken by my husband while waiting for me to finish the race. |
The run:
After putting socks and sneakers on and taking another long drink, I trotted out of transition and onto the course. Immediately my quads cramped. I tried to ignore it and took two Enduralytes, but the cramps coupled with a shooting pain on the right side of my right foot forced me to a walk. Less than a mile into the course Tammy caught up to me. I think I said outloud, "Oh seriously." She was in good spirits and walked with me for a bit. I encouraged her to keep running. A few feet later I met Dan, an athlete wearing a knee brace. He and I walk about 3/4 of a mile together until the first water spot. He walked through it and I stopped and strategically placed ice in my tri suit and wet my sun sleeves hoping to stay cool. After that, I walked/ran the entire course.
I stopped at every water spot and poured ice water all over myself. The temperature was 100 degrees and there wasn't a single patch of shade anywhere. Patrick described it as a death march and I can't think of a better description than that. I watched seasoned triathletes walking. Men and women who I am sure are much stronger and fitter than I am put their pride aside and simply walk. Where there were neighborhoods, many residents had tents out and sprayed athletes down with garden hoses. If any of them ever read this, THANK YOU!
After the first 6.6 miles, I realized my hopes of having a half iron in the 6 hour time range was not going to happen. I ate a snow cone, and the sugar helped push me the next 4 or so miles.
The last mile and a half was the absolute worst. I felt my body actually falling apart. I had been drinking water and electrolytes and taking Enduralytes like they were candy, but I wasn't eating. I would've killed someone for a pretzel or potato chips. I needed salt, I needed calories. I had three Gus in my pocket the entire run, but I couldn't bring myself to eat them. Probably my downfall. But the heat called for drinking, not for eating. With each step I took, I felt weaker. With one mile left, I choked down a Gu and it only served to turn my stomach.
With 400 yards left, a group of athlete sat in the shade encouraging, no, yelling at us to run. "There's only 400 yards left, one loop around the track. Run! Don't be weak," I heard them shout. So I ran. I ran and I have no idea how I did it. It was the longest 400 yards of my entire life. Each step was filled with pain. Every muscle in my body hurt, my feet burned and I was crying. I saw my kids right at the shoot and I lost it. Crossing the finish line I just bent over and sobbed. 3:09 was my run time. A medic came over to me and put a wet towel on my neck, held me up and asked me if I wanted to sit down. No, I wanted to see my kids.
 |
| Hobbling toward the finish line. |
The entire time I was walking/running, all I could think of (when I wasn't in shock at how my body felt like it was falling apart) was all the time I had spent training. All the hours, all the effort, six months of training and nutrition and my half iron time was 4 minutes better than the last one.
4 minutes.
After cooling off, eating and pulling myself together, I texted Joanna. I said, "Finished and getting ready to leave. That may have been the hardest thing I've ever done. Wow" She called me immediately. I don't know how I managed to not cry while talking to her, but she was nothing but encouraging. She knew my goal and I failed. I failed. She said, "I don't think you would've finished the race at all if you didn't train the way you did. You can't prepare for that heat. You did the best you could. I am proud of you." Those words meant the world to me.
The truth is that I didn't fail. I finished a race where many did not. I improved my swim time by 11 minutes and my bike time by 7. I took an extraordinary 6+ minutes in transition from bike to run this time and my run time was increased by 11 minutes from the last race. The heat was brutal, my nutrition fell apart and therefore my body fell apart. I have always been my biggest critic and I continue to be that critic.
 |
| I did it! |
I walked away from the race with a few thoughts: 1) I will never do a half iron again. It's just not my race. Eagleman decided that. 2) I am strong. Those were two facts I held fast for the last two days as I've hobbled from one place to another. I held fast as I suffered through dehydration and the inability to keep food down for the last two days. I held this truth until I thought about my next race. When someone said, "So, what's next?"
Truth is, I will race again because I am racing against myself. Probably not this year, but I will next year. Actually, who am I kidding, as soon as I am able to train again I will probably find a race and shoot for it. I will not let this stop me from doing what I love. I am a triathlete. I am strong. I will reach my goal of a 6 hour 70.3.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Triathlon speed suit: Do you wear one?
I've been obsessively tracking the water temperature for the Choptank River since Eagleman is only a few short weeks away. I'm fully prepared for the fact that it will not be a wetsuit legal race since the water temperature is currently 71 degrees. Ironman rules state the water temperature must be 76.1 degrees or lower to be wetsuit legal.
Because of this, I've been exploring the whole speed suit thing and I'm not sure exactly what the benefit of one is and if it's worth the cost to get one. Here are my questions:
Is a speed suit legal in ALL water temperatures?
Is there a benefit swim-wise for wearing one?
Is that benefit worth the cost?
What are your thoughts/opinions on the matter?
Because of this, I've been exploring the whole speed suit thing and I'm not sure exactly what the benefit of one is and if it's worth the cost to get one. Here are my questions:
Is a speed suit legal in ALL water temperatures?
Is there a benefit swim-wise for wearing one?
Is that benefit worth the cost?
What are your thoughts/opinions on the matter?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Ask the coach: Triathlon training cycles
Last week I did not train at all. I had some very important personal issues that needed my complete attention so training was put on hold. Fortunately, it couldn't have come at a better time because last week was an "easy" week.
Joanna has me training on a four week cycle. We build for three weeks and recover on the fourth. I can't tell you how happy I am when I get my weekly training schedule on that fourth week and it says EASY week. By that point I'm spent.
Anyway, the last time I had a recovery week, someone asked me on dailymile what I was "recovering from." So, I asked Joanna to explain training cycles and recovery. Here is what she said:
Recovery weeks are there so your body can recover from
the usual three weeks of intensity building workouts. Without the recovery, you can keep
pushing and pushing, but your body will crap out on you after about six to eight weeks.
OK, maybe not crap out but your body will slow down and you will be very tired.
Your performance will suffer as your body
will not be able to push as hard as you need for any length of time. During workouts your heart rate will
either rise really fast and get to its max number when at
75% effort quicker, or you won’t be able to get that heart rate to move up at all.
You are usually at your best performance-wise after a few days or weeks of
rest or easy workouts, which is why we taper for our races. As fatigue
goes up, performance usually goes down. But there is that little window where
the performance remains high while fatigue starts to fall - that is when you
want to race or do your monthly testing to see if you are improving.
Then once that fatigue falls, you still have a week, sometimes less depending
on the sport, to start that training all over again and build for three weeks until
the next rest/recovery cycle.
I usually say you can choose to take an easy week now,
sleep in and recover, or you can wait until you have no choice but to sleep in
and recover which usually is when you are sick, injured or are so tired that
even easy workouts seem difficult.
So next time you see a post on dailymile where someone is recovering,
it might not be from an injury but that they are taking a break from the
intense workouts so they body can heal and be ready for the testing, racing or
another training cycle ahead.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Racing for a cup of coffee: Using caffeine to improve athletic performance
Today I am sitting at my desk enjoying a fresh cup of Dunkin Donuts coffee. A treat I have enjoyed countless days before today. Today is different. This marks my first cup of coffee since my detox.
I've had this coffee now for about 2 hours as of the writing of this post and as you can see, I'm a little less than a quarter of my way through this delicious brew. Here's the thing, I'm pretty sure I will not be able to finish it.
Before weening myself off coffee, I could easily drink this cup - in a lot less time than it's taken me to get through this small amount. In fact, I'd say I had a full blown coffee addiction. Sure, there were people out there who drank more than me, but I was pretty comfortable with a cup of coffee.
But now... now! Wow, I'm sitting here at my desk and my mind is racing... my heart is pounding... my hands are a little shaky... and, oh my goodness, I hope no one calls me because I'm talking so fast. Or at least I feel like I'm talking fast.The worst part of all of this is that even though I feel like I'm going a mile a minute, I'm tired. It feels almost like my body is exhausted from the effort of racing, which in turn makes me pick up the cup and take another very small sip.
I've read some articles online about the benefits of caffeine while training. So, I am curious about your coffee/caffeine experience. How do you use caffeine to improve your training ... or do you avoid it?
I've had this coffee now for about 2 hours as of the writing of this post and as you can see, I'm a little less than a quarter of my way through this delicious brew. Here's the thing, I'm pretty sure I will not be able to finish it.
Before weening myself off coffee, I could easily drink this cup - in a lot less time than it's taken me to get through this small amount. In fact, I'd say I had a full blown coffee addiction. Sure, there were people out there who drank more than me, but I was pretty comfortable with a cup of coffee.
But now... now! Wow, I'm sitting here at my desk and my mind is racing... my heart is pounding... my hands are a little shaky... and, oh my goodness, I hope no one calls me because I'm talking so fast. Or at least I feel like I'm talking fast.The worst part of all of this is that even though I feel like I'm going a mile a minute, I'm tired. It feels almost like my body is exhausted from the effort of racing, which in turn makes me pick up the cup and take another very small sip.
I've read some articles online about the benefits of caffeine while training. So, I am curious about your coffee/caffeine experience. How do you use caffeine to improve your training ... or do you avoid it?
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Sometimes you need a break... and some confidence
Hi, how ya been?
No, no, not you, silly. My bike, my sneakers and my swimsuit.
Yes, I've taken a few
In all seriousness it's been a full week. This holiday season has completely destroyed my motivation. I'm exhausted and the pile of toys that's taken over my living room keeps calling my name, so my workouts have taken a back seat for now. I'm planning my big comeback soon, just not today.
During my unscheduled hiatus, I have noticed a few things worth mentioning. First and foremost is my times are getting faster. It's only a few seconds, but I really believe the structured workouts Joanna is giving me are doing their job. I was skeptical at first, but you can see the times yourself.
The other thing is that aside from improving my times, what I really need to work on is my self confidence. In my phone, I have a short list of motivational quotes.
Among those quotes is this, suspiciously alone, but for some reason I've kept it.
Confidence, I lack it. Clearly. I have no reason to not feel confident in my abilities, but something holds me back, each and every time.
Every run, if I feel like I'm going out too hard, I pull back. Don't want to lose my breath. If I start out too hard on the bike, I pull back, don't want to bonk half way home. If I'm swimming, I take things slow and easy, prefer not to drink the pool water and clearly drowning is a fear.
So, I wonder, what is it that holds me back. I've set out on bike rides that I have to repeat to myself over and over again, "I AM a triathlete. I CAN do this." Like I need to convince myself each and every ride that I am capable of achieving my goals ... on purpose. Not by a freak accident.
Now, to be clear, I am not totally down on myself. It's not like I'm walking around feeling like I can't do anything. It's mostly just finding that certain something that pulls you through when you're body is screaming "NO" (or I DON'T WANNA GET OUTTA BED).
So, in addition to getting my rear to Eagleman, I am working on my confidence. My question to you, what do you do to boost your confidence? Love hearing from you, so don't be shy.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Hey, Coach!
Let's meet my coach. I mentioned her in my last post, but here is what you need to know about Joanna Chororowska in order to properly meet her.
Coach Joanna Chodorowska
Joanna Chodorowska is founder
and principal nutritionist and triathlon coach at Nutrition inMotion and has been a competitive triathlete for more than 17 years,
placing regularly in her age group at races.
Joanna enjoys training and
racing, and now helping others achieve their goals and aspirations in the sport
of triathlon. Since no one is the same, she creates personalized nutrition and training plans for each of her clients. Everyone has a different strength and weakness in triathlon, so she
develops plans to minimize the weakness and create a new overall strength.
Sports nutrition is key to the success of any athlete. She believes if your
nutrition does not complement your training, your results can suffer from symptoms like poor recovery, aching muscles, low energy levels and general
malaise. Joanna's nutrition plans help the client use real foods
for better recovery and overall performance. She helps
clients burn fat, not sugars, while training so they reach their optimal racing
weight and body composition.
To be at your best, you need a
solid training plan along with your nutrition plan. Joanna provides these for her clients in a way that they see results without feeling
overwhelmed. She provides healthy nutrition and training for everyday
living.
For more information about Joanna Chodorowska and Nutrition in
Motion services, please visit www.n-im.net
As you can see, I'm in for the time of my life. I cannot wait to start training with Joanna and I'm even more excited to share our journey with you.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Here is my story, from the beginning
I thought it might be best to start off telling you a little about me. First, Hi, I'm Diane Hoffman. By day I am the entertainment editor at The Mercury newspaper in Pottstown. By night I am a mommy to a 4-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl. In between work and family, I am a triathlete... or at least I'd like to think of myself as one.
Which brings me to the reason we're here: triathlon.
In 2007, after giving birth to my son, I weighed close to 200 lbs. Being an unimpressive 5-feet, 5-inches tall, this is a lot of extra weight to carry around.
At the time, my husband was just getting into cycling and I thought if I was going to lose this weight, I'll probably have greater success having a partner in exercising. Also, if any of you have a spouse who is a cyclist, you know it can take up A LOT of time, so if I wanted to spend any time with him, my best shot was going to be while on a bike.
With the help of my family and friends, I set out to do what I thought at the time was completely unthinkable: The Multiple Sclerosis Society 150 City to Shore. It's a two day event that starts in Pennsahken, N.J., and ends in Ocean City, N.J., covering 150 miles over two days. My family thought I was crazy, hell, I thought I was crazy, but I did it and it was awesome.
From there, I focused all of my attention to cycling for two years, after which I started to get a little bored. I lost a good portion of the weight I put on, but wanted to get fitter so I could ride stronger. At the same time, a friend did her first triathlon. She encouraged me to do one too.
So I did. I drank the Kool-Aid.
In 2010, I did the Philadelphia Insurance Sprint Triathlon. A half mile swim, a 15 mile bike ride and a 5k. I finished that race in 2:01. I was exhausted, yet so full of endorphins and I couldn't wait to do another.
One month later, I did SheRox Philadelphia, which is essentially the same course as the Philly Tri and I finished in 1:54.
On New Year's Eve 2010, I listened to friends talk about doing a half iron distance triathlon in 2011. I woke up on Jan. 1, 2011, and it was clear as day. I was doing a half iron.
But before I could take on such a huge race, I had some goals I needed to reach. First, I ran my first half marathon, the Delaware half marathon with my coworker and friend Brandie.
Next I needed to tackle an Olympic distance triathlon. I don't know why, but I picked the Black Bear Triathlon, a killer race that I did not finish. It was a mile swim, 26 mile bike ride and a 10k. I just barely made it through the swim. I was the very last person out of the water. Literally. About 3 miles into the bike ride I had an asthma attack and when I reached back to get my inhaler, I found it wasn't there, which caused me to panic and fall off my bike. I couldn't get it back on and had to drop out of the race. It was a race I was just not ready to finish.
Still needing an Olympic distance on my resume before the 70.3, I signed up for the Sunset Challenge Triathlon in New Jersey. I ramped up my training and finished this one in 3:34. Not a great time, but I was proud nonetheless.
Continuing on my ramped up training program, I found myself completely exhausted. I was so tired that one Monday morning I literally couldn't get out of bed. My husband took the kids to school and I slept until 2 p.m.
I needed help. The big race was getting closer and there I was crashed, unable to get up. Through some of my friends on the social networking site for athletes, dailymile, I knew of a swim coach named Joanna Chodorowska. In complete desperation, I hired Joanna to help me swim.
In just five sessions Joanna improved not only my swim time, but my confidence as well. Along with my swimming, she gave me several pointers, a race day nutrition plan and I was able to get through my first half iron, Delaware Diamondman 70.3.
I finished the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run in 7:17. It's not a great time, but I gave every single thing I had that day, so I am proud of my accomplishment. Today, with Joanna's help, I'm setting out to improve that time in June at Eagleman and I would love to have you along for the journey.
Which brings me to the reason we're here: triathlon.
In 2007, after giving birth to my son, I weighed close to 200 lbs. Being an unimpressive 5-feet, 5-inches tall, this is a lot of extra weight to carry around.
Me at 200 lbs.
At the time, my husband was just getting into cycling and I thought if I was going to lose this weight, I'll probably have greater success having a partner in exercising. Also, if any of you have a spouse who is a cyclist, you know it can take up A LOT of time, so if I wanted to spend any time with him, my best shot was going to be while on a bike.
With the help of my family and friends, I set out to do what I thought at the time was completely unthinkable: The Multiple Sclerosis Society 150 City to Shore. It's a two day event that starts in Pennsahken, N.J., and ends in Ocean City, N.J., covering 150 miles over two days. My family thought I was crazy, hell, I thought I was crazy, but I did it and it was awesome.
From there, I focused all of my attention to cycling for two years, after which I started to get a little bored. I lost a good portion of the weight I put on, but wanted to get fitter so I could ride stronger. At the same time, a friend did her first triathlon. She encouraged me to do one too.
So I did. I drank the Kool-Aid.
In 2010, I did the Philadelphia Insurance Sprint Triathlon. A half mile swim, a 15 mile bike ride and a 5k. I finished that race in 2:01. I was exhausted, yet so full of endorphins and I couldn't wait to do another.
Me, center, with my two friends at the Philly Tri finish
One month later, I did SheRox Philadelphia, which is essentially the same course as the Philly Tri and I finished in 1:54.
SheRox 2010
On New Year's Eve 2010, I listened to friends talk about doing a half iron distance triathlon in 2011. I woke up on Jan. 1, 2011, and it was clear as day. I was doing a half iron.
But before I could take on such a huge race, I had some goals I needed to reach. First, I ran my first half marathon, the Delaware half marathon with my coworker and friend Brandie.
Brandie and I during the Delaware Half Marathon 2011
Next I needed to tackle an Olympic distance triathlon. I don't know why, but I picked the Black Bear Triathlon, a killer race that I did not finish. It was a mile swim, 26 mile bike ride and a 10k. I just barely made it through the swim. I was the very last person out of the water. Literally. About 3 miles into the bike ride I had an asthma attack and when I reached back to get my inhaler, I found it wasn't there, which caused me to panic and fall off my bike. I couldn't get it back on and had to drop out of the race. It was a race I was just not ready to finish.
Still needing an Olympic distance on my resume before the 70.3, I signed up for the Sunset Challenge Triathlon in New Jersey. I ramped up my training and finished this one in 3:34. Not a great time, but I was proud nonetheless.
Sunset Challenge Olympic distance triathlon 2011
Continuing on my ramped up training program, I found myself completely exhausted. I was so tired that one Monday morning I literally couldn't get out of bed. My husband took the kids to school and I slept until 2 p.m.
I needed help. The big race was getting closer and there I was crashed, unable to get up. Through some of my friends on the social networking site for athletes, dailymile, I knew of a swim coach named Joanna Chodorowska. In complete desperation, I hired Joanna to help me swim.
In just five sessions Joanna improved not only my swim time, but my confidence as well. Along with my swimming, she gave me several pointers, a race day nutrition plan and I was able to get through my first half iron, Delaware Diamondman 70.3.
Delaware Diamondman 70.3 2011
I finished the 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike ride and 13.1 mile run in 7:17. It's not a great time, but I gave every single thing I had that day, so I am proud of my accomplishment. Today, with Joanna's help, I'm setting out to improve that time in June at Eagleman and I would love to have you along for the journey.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)