Week 27 of Ironman Training: High Altitude Fun Continues

I started my second ride in Aspen early in the morning because I knew it was going to be a long one–about 4 1/2 hours. Let me tell you, it’s no easy task sneaking out of a hotel room without making a peep when you’re trying to navigate a bike and your gear through a darkened room. I got into ninja mode though, and left my peeps peacefully snoozing.

It was gorgeous this time of the morning, but I forgot how cold it can be in the mountains, especially for this Cali girl! Yep, I’ve turned into a complete weenie. I rode from the hotel into town past Buttermilk Mt. and Highlands, then headed down Cemetery Lane, before powering up McClain Flats to the Rio Grande Trail.

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The Rio Grande Trail is a bike and running path the follows where the historic Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad once ran up and down the Roaring Fork Valley. Forty-two miles long, it connects Aspen, Woody Creek, Basalt, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs, with side links to Snowmass Village, Lenado, and Old Snowmass. It’s a cyclist’s dream to be able to ride for hours without having to think about cars. And the path is well-maintained. No potholes here!

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I rode down to Basalt, 18 miles from Aspen, then pedaled upstream along the Frying Pan River toward Ruedi Reservoir.

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I was happy by the time I headed back up to Aspen it had warmed up nicely so I could peel off my jacket and arm warmers. Loving this blue sky!

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Then it was back up over McClain Flats for a kick in the butt hill at the end of a 61+ mile ride. Booyah! It’s beautiful and flat on top, but getting up to it on both ends is always a good challenge.

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After my ride, I ran a couple miles to keep practicing what it’s going to feel like in Arizona when I run a marathon after riding 112 miles. There’s a reason they call this a “brick” workout; that’s exactly what your legs feel like when you first get off the bike. Surprisingly though, they come back to life soon after you get started.

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I finished my run at the base of Buttermilk Mt., where our hotel was located. The X Games are held at Buttermilk every year, so the snow you see in the background is left over from the half pipe.

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My sweet girl was happy to see me when I finished, and even happier to go on a mom-daughter outing while Jeffrey went to a lecture at Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village. We hopped on the hotel shuttle and ventured into town for lunch and shopping.

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There I spoiled her with her favorite treat from Paradise Bakery. This little enterprise brings in more revenue per square foot in Aspen than any other business. That’s more than Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and all the others. You’ll usually find a line out the door every hour of the day.

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Jeffrey joined us later in the day at Herron Park, where we lazed along the Roaring Fork River and sipped on ice blended lattes from Cafe Ink.

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Its icy waters were perfect for tired feet.

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Such a fun, relaxing afternoon…these girls got goofy and giddy.

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After our lazy afternoon, I did another short swim workout at the hotel (still gasping for air), then we dined down in Basalt along the river at the Riverside Grill before watching more of the Olympic Trials way past our usual bedtime, then crashing for the night.

The next day Olivia was invited to spend the day with her friend, Maia, and her family at the Aspen Recreation Center (ARC), a world-class fitness center with an ice skating rink, rock climbing wall, tennis courts, swimming pools and more.

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It’s a well-designed facility situated near all the schools and it has stunning views of Tiehack. It seems Aspenites know how to prioritize their tax dollars to create wonderful things for the town. So nice.

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Any parent knows it’s a luxury to have solo time on vacation, so I opted to take a rest/recovery day and spend time with my guy instead of riding for several hours. Aaaah. Thank you Alicia Dewey for your generosity!! Olivia had a blast and so did we!

Later in the day I arranged to pick Olivia up “Down Valley” near Carbondale while my husband was doing some work on our property. While I waited, I decided to sneak in a quick run. It wasn’t long by any stretch of the imagination, but it was a good chance to move my legs some more and work my lungs again. This is a typical view in this area.

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Dinner was take-out picnic items from Whole Foods, vino and an evening by the pool. Olivia and I had a great time splashing around where she kicked my butt in raft races. And then there was the jacuzzi….aaaaah.

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In the morning, it was time for another early morning ride. This time it was about 45 miles, starting from the hotel, going part way up Red Mountain, then up Independence Pass past North Star Nature Preserve to Difficult Campground.

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Then it was back “Down Valley” again via McClain Flats, then the Rio Grande Trail. This time I jumped off in Old Snowmass to revisit an area we lived in during the early 90s. It’s such a gorgeous valley, and I couldn’t help but stop by Rancho Gringo, our old barn, which we renovated and turned into our home many moons ago. Our old tractor was still there too, which brought back great memories of Jeffrey harrowing the meadow between zipping around the world on his photo assignments. What a memorable chapter in our lives.

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Continuing on past our property, I pedaled back along Capital Creek Road and then back on East Sopris Creek Road. Cars were never an issue while riding here, which was such a treat!

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I stopped at the bottom of Watson Divide before heading back to the Rio Grande Trail and heading down to Basalt where I met my peeps for breakfast at Cafe Bernard, a french-style cafe owned by our friends Kathy and Bernard.

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After cruising around Basalt, then going to the Saturday Farmer’s Market back up in Aspen, and bumping into lots of old friends, we grabbed take-out salads and wraps from another of our favorite places, the Big Wrap, owned by our friend Babs. I find eating out tedious on vacation so getting stuff to go and sitting in a park or along one of the pedestrian malls suits me perfectly.
The next day was Sunday (already!), and we couldn’t believe we’d already been in Aspen for a week. After breakfast at Peaches once again (great coffee and poached eggs over fresh, organic veggies), we headed up Independence Pass to hike to the Grottos.

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Ballerina hiker…

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Cheeseball hiker…

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After our Grottos hike, we went back to the hotel so Olivia and I could hoof it up Buttermilk to play in the snow. Even though Olivia was born in Aspen, snow is still a novelty to her, so I humored her by joining the fun and “skiing” down on our shoes.

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Then it was time for another run! Jeffrey and Olivia dropped me off at the bottom of Cemetery Lane so I could run on the Rio Grande Trail while they went shopping for picnic items. At 2:30, it was hot at altitude, but it was a fab run along the Roaring Fork River.

I headed Down Valley for a couple miles, then looped back around and headed back Up Valley, eventually logging about 6.3 miles before ending my run at the Benedict Music Tent where my family was waiting with a delish picnic. Running at high altitude still felt hard, but being distracted by all the natural beauty around me helped take my mind off how sluggish my legs felt.

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The perfect ending to a full and fabulous day…classical music (Berlioz, Dvorak, Stravinsky, and Ravel) and a fab picnic…not to mention bumping into several old friends. I’m not sure how I got so lucky! Life is good.

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If you aren’t exhausted by now, stay turned for week two of our Aspen adventure….there’s more fun to come!

Until then…Happy Trails
xo Becky

PS: As always, if you missed any of my previous posts about Ironman training, you can click on the links below:

Week 27 of Ironman Training: High Altitude Tri-cation

After a late night on the 4th of July, my husband and I were in need of coffee (understatement of the century), so we headed to Main Street Bakery, one of our favorite haunts, owned by our friends, Bill and Jane Dinsmoor. Once fueled up with a hearty breakfast and major caffeine, I headed out on my first high altitude ride. Woohoo!

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I choose one of my all-time favorite rides–up to the Maroon Bells, which is always a good challenge—about 20 miles round-trip with a steady uphill that eventually reaches 9,570 ft. The road is mostly closed to private cars so it’s a cyclist’s dream.

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This view never gets old. It was the backdrop to our wedding many years ago, so it also holds an especially dear place in my heart.

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Once again, it did not disappoint.

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The ride down from the Maroon Bells is always exhilarating, and at times, nerve-racking. Flying down at over 40 mph, all you can do is hope a marmot or another little critter doesn’t decide to cross the road in front of you. So far so good!

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After riding up to the Bells, I ventured up Castle Creek Road to the historic ghost town, Ashcroft, another 20+-mile trip, which peaks out at 9,500 ft. It was such a treat riding along the creek and mostly having the road all to myself.

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For those of you who don’t know, Aspen has a rich silver mining history. Before skiing, celebrities and all that hooha, this town was booming with silver. Between 1879 and 1885, Ashcroft had about 2,000 residents and 20 saloons. What remains now is nine original buildings, maintained by the Aspen Historical Society, all nestled in the eye-popping Castle Creek Valley.

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I knew my peeps were waiting for me to return so we could do a family outing, so I didn’t stay to snap pictures of the ghost town. It was another mostly downhill zoom, with a few rollers, all the way back to the hotel. 47 miles total for the day with nearly 3500 ft. of elevation. A solid first day of riding.

After a quick change, we zipped over to the music tent to enjoy a wonderful dollop of culture, a free classical music concert showcasing young, up and coming conductors. The Aspen Music Festival and School is world-renowned, bringing conductors and musicians from all around the globe. While we were visiting, all kinds of big names were in town to perform, including Midori and Soprano Renee Flemming (to name but a few).

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I was famished from my earlier ride, so after the concert we grabbed some take-out and headed to one of Aspen’s many walking malls and plopped ourselves down to chill out and enjoy evening in town. There’s no better place to hang out and people-watch during summer.
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The next day we were up early again, and hiked up Smuggler Mt. before breakfast with our friend Sarah and her Corgi, Henry. Smuggler is an old silver mining road that’s short and steep (1.5 miles up with 1,050 ft. of elevation), and it’s a staple for locals. It’s a great go-to run or hike when you want a good workout, but don’t have much time. Our daughter was a trooper on this steep ascent, and was especially happy to have Henry and Sarah to distract her from her tired legs and burning lungs.

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The view at the top always makes the effort worth it…Aspen Mountain and the town below.
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When we got to the top, Sarah encouraged us to continue on and do the Hunter Creek Loop. Love her enthusiasm! It was a wonderful hike–another 4.5 miles. The sign below warned of mountain lions, but hikers we passed along the way let us know about a bear they’d seen nearby–a very common thing in Aspen.
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After our hike, we headed to Peaches Cafe for a well-earned lunch and a much-needed iced latte. FYI the quinoa bowl at Peaches is to die for. Then we swung by the Aspen Art Museum, which has a killer view of Aspen Mountain from its rooftop cafe.

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Then it was time to swim! I hadn’t done a swim workout in a week so I knew I needed to get my butt back in the water. There are multiple pools in Aspen, but I opted for the hotel pool, which was convenient (and free).
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OMG, I thought running at altitude was challenging. I was completely unprepared for how hard swimming felt. After four lengths of the pool, I thought my lungs were going to blow. If there’s a will, there’s a way, though. I kept at it for another 20 minutes before I finally called it for the day. Short and sweet. Fortunately, only Olivia was there with me to hear me gasping for air. Ha ha. And then there was the jacuzzi afterward. Aaaah.
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The one thing I was extremely happy about on this vacation is that my coach, Matt, gave me a general overview of what he’d like me to accomplish while in Aspen, but kept it open so I could take my family’s plans/ideas into account. They were more than supportive of all my training on this trip, but I always made sure to keep it in balance. After all, the point of a vacation is to spend time together, right?

Check back tomorrow to see what the rest of the week looked like. It involved my longest ride, several runs, and another gorgeous hike with the family.

Until then…Happy Trails
xo Becky

PS: As always, if you missed any of my previous posts about Ironman training, you can click on the links below:

Week 26 of Ironman Training: Hills, They’re What’s for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

When my coach, Matt, told me I better eat my Wheaties because we’d be climbing hills on our ride the next day, I was both humored and shaking in my ~~boots~~ flip-flops. Hills often bite me in the butt, so I know I need to work on them A LOT. At least he warned me though, so I could get mentally pumped for this one.

After shaking off my cobwebs and my grumpies from lack of sleep and logistical challenges the next morning, we set out on a 2 1/2 hour ride in the cool, gray marine layer. It was perfect climbing weather, although Matt quickly corrected me: “All weather is perfect climbing weather.” Bam. LOL. Love this guy.

I followed him up and down hills, zigging and zagging through a maze of back roads in Montecito, all the while trying to push it, yet keep my heart rate below a certain number. It wasn’t speedy by any stretch of the imagination (except the downhills), but that wasn’t the point. It was to steadily gobble up hills and build strength.

It was by far my favorite ride so far on this journey to Ironman Arizona. I can’t even explain why, but I found singular joy in the process, sucking air BIG TIME up all those hills and being surrounded by Santa Barbara’s natural beauty in the hills behind Montecito. I was grateful to be pushed, especially by somebody whose passion is cycling. I didn’t stop to take any pictures this time. Sorry, I was too busy pedaling, trying to keep up with Matt. Perhaps next time.

When I got home, I was whooped, which is always a great feeling. Mission accomplished. At least until the 5-mile run scheduled for later in the day.

Whenever I’m feeling wobbly from training, this is the place I go–my workout wall. I look at all the training days I’ve put in this year and remind myself that each workout has added another drop of strength in my Ironman bucket. This simple act helps to bolster my “Hell YES I CAN” attitude, even on the toughest days.

After my hilly morning ride, my evening run was slated for a course with rolling hills (are getting the theme this week), so I chose Mountain Drive, a gorgeous road on the hillside relatively close to my house. Here are a few snaps.

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Love this mailbox. The butt opens for mail delivery.

Matt also had me doing hill repeats on one of my runs last weekend. Booyah! Bring. It. On.

In the midst of my 7+mile run., I did 5 x 2 minutes hill repeats up Rodeo Road off of Turnpike, pushing hard up and jogging back down. Then I finished with a couple miles on a flatter road. That was after a 25-mile bike ride. Seriously fun stuff.

I needed a little energy gel for that one, although more and more I’m starting wonder, “What the hell is in all this stuff I’m putting into my body?” Ack!

Swimming this week has been up and down. Some days it has felt smooth, other days…well…sigh…The only thing to do is to keep at it. Relentlessness has a way of quashing weaknesses and solidifying strength. I have to give a shout out to my daughter who came to the pool with me earlier this week to swim laps. After she was done, she photographed and videotaped me swimming, which was extremely helpful. I’m still working on not crossing over, keeping my head down and elbows up. I think I can. I think I can. As soon as I publish this blog post I’ll be heading back to the pool. Send me some good swim vibes! 🙂

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Inspiration: if you’re on the hunt for an inspiring read this summer, I highly recommend Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington’s autobiography, A Life Without Limits. At the end of the book, she sums up her thoughts: “If there is one thing I have learned, particularly in my life as an athlete, it is that our limits may not be where we think they are. And, even when we think we’ve finally reached them, the next time we go there exploring we often find that they’ve moved again.”

Okay, I’m off to the pool to keep at it. I hope you enjoy your day in every way, my fabulous friends. Thanks for your relentless support and enthusiasm. It means everything. Like so many of you, I continually strive to be a person who doesn’t know how to quit.

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Until next time…

xo Becky

PS: Exciting things are happening next week with my training and another fun summer adventure. Stay tuned…

PSS: As always, if you missed any of my previous posts about my Ironman journey, you can click on any of the links below.

Week 24 of Ironman Training: The Key is Consistency

On Friday as I pushed through my training ride, my tired body struggled to keep it together and stay focused on all things positive. It was my tenth day in a row of training without a day off and when my alarm went off, I had to give myself a serious pep talk to drag my weary ass out of bed. Fortunately, I’d made a commitment to meet my coach, Matt, for a ride, so I knew I couldn’t bail. Even though my legs felt like bricks, it was worth every minute. Time in the saddle is the only way I’m going to get stronger on the bike, so even on mornings when I might like to lay in bed, read and sip coffee, I know I have to stay consistent. No excuses. No matter what.

One of two rides with Matt this week. Accountability (showing up when you say you will) is the perfect fuel for consistency and motivation. Thanks coach! Matt’s cycling jersey may be RANDOM, but his training program is anything but.

In addition to being consistent with the physical aspects of training, it’s necessary to be consistent with all other facets of training too while navigating the road to Ironman Arizona–from nutrition and recovery to flexibility and mental toughness. If I slack on one thing, it affects everything else. What I’ve discovered is that it’s possible to get away with a lot when you train for shorter events, but you definitely pay the price if you ignore even one of these things in longer endurance events. Sleep has been my big challenge, and it has come around to bite me in the gluteus maximus more than a few times. That’s one piece of the equation I continue to work on, especially knowing that’s when our bodies repair themselves after a hard workout so they can adapt and grow stronger.

Here’s a peek at this week’s training schedule:
Monday: Swim 1500y, core pm
Tuesday: Bike 60 min, Run 30 min, Pilates
Wednesday: Run 2 miles, Bike 2h45, Run 1.5 miles, Swim 2225y with a 1000y TT
Thursday: Run 60 min, Pilates
Friday: Bike 90 minutes, Swim 1075y, core pm
Saturday: Rest…some much-needed aaaaah!
Sunday: Run 40 minutes

Here a few snaps from the week…

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Bike ride through Hope Ranch

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Morning Pilates class at the Y with my sweet girl. So proud of her for rocking it.

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This view along Chase Palm Park never gets old. The soft grass is where I do many of my runs.
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Thursday’s run overlooking Butterfly Beach in Montecito was pretty, but smoky from the nearby Sherpa wildfire.

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Stretching at the Bird Refuge after my run, utterly beat, but keeping it all in perspective thinking about all the firefighters battling the gnarly nearby wildfire.

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And finally, a rest day at the beach. Aaaah! This does wonders for the body and soul.

My personal key to consistency…There’s no way I could make my training a priority consistently and still be a good mom without the love and support of my rock star husband, Jeffrey (AKA Husband and Father of the Year). I am insanely lucky, and I know it, and I do not take my guy for granted for a second. Even though he’s always in the middle of a million projects himself, he’s there for my daughter and me 110% every day. That’s Every. Single. Day. Consistency is his middle name. Whether it’s cooking us healthy, delicious meals, taking Olivia to school so I can get my workouts in or doing a 911 emergency coffee run for me…the list goes on and on…big and small, his thoughtfulness knows no bounds. Sorry to gush, but Ironman training does not happen without a support crew. So thank you dear hubs for all that you do! The way you wear you Super Dad/Husband cape every day fills my heart.

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Next week we’ll be celebrating our 14th official wedding anniversary and 28 years of being head-over-heels for each other. I’m so glad the universe brought us together so long ago. There’s no other person I’d rather share this outrageous life adventure with than this guy.

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Happy weekend everyone, and Happy Father’s Day to all the Super Daddy-Os out there! Put your capes away for the day and enjoy some much-deserved pampering.

Thank you once again everyone, for all your support on this Ironman journey. Every time I train, I carry your unwavering enthusiasm with me. Knowing I have my friends and family behind me always adds wind in my sails….

xo Becky

This guy…although I didn’t have him long, my dad made me feel invincible and embraced all my tomboy notions. Notice the cast on my arm from jumping out of a swing as I was having a competition with a boy in my class to see who could fly the farthest (on an asphalt playground).

As always,if you missed any of my previous posts, you can click on any of the links here:

Week 22 and 23 of Ironman Training: Holy Epicness…Julie Moss

It has been an epic couple weeks around here, both in training and on the home front. It’s enough to lift a girl ten feet off the ground then lay her out flat, exhausted. That’s the life of Ironman training, it seems. Highs and lows. The trick is to try your damnedest to stay consistent in the midst of life’s rollercoaster. And that, my friends, is where I’m at right now. Blurry eyed, but keeping on track and still having fun, thanks to the huge support of my family and coach.

Epic Inspiration: Last night I had the honor of meeting Ironman legend, Julie Moss. Listening to her inspiring talk, which she presented to the SB Tri Club meeting, was one of the big “highs” of this week. You see, Julie Moss is the very reason I am doing an Ironman.

For those of you who do not immediately recognize her name, let me take you back…

It’s 1982 and ABC’s Wide World of Sports is broadcasting the Ironman World Championships in Kona. In the women’s division, a 23-year old unknown college student is leading the race much of the way. It’s the ultimate underdog story. That is until her legs give out with just a couple miles to go. Severely dehydrated, she falls down, gets up, falls down, gets up, and falls down while viewers around the world are on the edge of their seats cheering for her, fighting back tears. I’m 16 years old and completely riveted, yelling at the TV, “Get up, Julie! You can do it! Come on, you can do it! You’re almost there!” Her grit is awe-inspiring. She gets up again, staggering, then with just a few yards to go, she falls one last time. Our hearts collectively sink as the 2nd place woman, Kathleen McCartney, passes her. What never ever leaves us though, is the image of this warrior, Julie Moss, crawling across the finish line in the most dramatic Ironman finish ever. Pure epic-ness! I still get goosebumps when I see the clips. (click HERE if you want to watch it).

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After witnessing that moment on television, I knew one day I HAD to attempt an Ironman myself. I never thought it would take me 34 years to get to this point, but the point is that I never gave up on that dream, or pushed it aside thinking it was too late. Hopefully I won’t be crawling across the finish line, but whatever race day brings, I’ll be happy because I let that seed up inspiration grow inside until it blossomed into something I could no longer “not do.”

As you can imagine, it gave me tremendous joy last night to be able to pay homage to Julie and tell her what an impact she made on me, along with so many others. #fangirlforlife

Epic swim: If you’ve been following along on my Ironman journey, you know that swimming has always been a challenge for me. When I started training back in January 500 y was agonizingly hard. I had to stop every 50-100 y to catch my breath and I loathed the process. Well, I’m here to tell you that anything is possible with enough hard work. Just a few days ago I swam 2.5 miles (4400 y) without stopping, and I didn’t even feel like I was going to die! This was HUGE for me because it finally got me over the mental hurdle of knowing I can get through this part of the race. Woot! Now it’s time to take it to the ocean where I’ll be practicing swimming in the mix of others and working on my speed.

Epic ride: Sunday I completed a solid 65-mile ride with a some hills and intervals mixed in along the way. This is the longest ride I’ve done to date (with the exception of my accidental century back in March–click HERE if you missed it). I won’t lie, the last 5-10 miles weren’t easy, mostly on my cranky knee, but after focusing on my recovery–icing, foam rolling, stretching, good nutrition and rest–I’m back in business and heading out the door for another ride this morning.

Here’s what my training schedule looked like these past couple week:

May 30-June 5
Monday: Bike 45 minutes
Tuesday: Run 60 minutes, Swim 60 minutes, Pilates
Wednesday: Bike 90 minutes with hills, yoga
Thursday: Swim 3100y, Run 60 minutes, Pilates
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Bike the SB Tri course (34 miles with hills), run 15 minutes off the bike
Sunday: State Street Mile with our Coyotes (jog the course–2 miles), 50 minute trail run, stretch class

June 6-12
Monday: Swim 2450y, Bike 60 minutes, Killer Kate’s strength class
Tuesday: Off (family day)
Wednesday: Run 60 minutes
Thursday: Bike 90 minutes on a hilly course, Run 40 minutes
Friday: Swim 4400 y
Saturday: Run 60 minutes on trails
Sunday: Bike 4+ hours (65 miles) with intervals

A few epic snaps from the past couple weeks…

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More inspiration from Julie Moss.

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Bike hill repeats and a view from a ride on Mountain Drive

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Trail run at Lake Los Carneros

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Runshine along Chase Palm Park! And a little rehydration after a brick workout.

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Trail run on Jesusita Trail…aaaah nature always reinvigorates the soul.

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Sushi lunch! And granola balls my daughter made for my training. Seriously delish!

Epic moments: Continue reading →

Weeks 19 through 21 of Ironman Training: Transitions

Learning to glide through transitions during a triathlon is both a science and an art form, and it’s an easy way to gain “speed” if you become a master at it. In T1, you go from the swim where you’ve been horizontal on the water, paddling for anywhere from 10 minutes for a sprint tri to 2 hours for an Ironman. As soon as you’re on land, you remind your legs how to run, all the while unzipping your wetsuit and peeling it down to your waist. Then you whip off your googles and swim cap as you run to your transition area where your bike is racked. There, as quickly as possible, you peel off the rest of your wetsuit, slip into your bike shoes, put on your helmet, sunglasses and race belt, then run your bike out to the designated area where you’re allowed to mount it and begin powering on the bike course.

In T2, after you finish the bike portion of the race, you dismount your bike, run it back to your transition area and re-rack it, then change from your bike shoes to your running shoes, hopefully remembering to take your helmet off before starting the run (ha ha).

Simple, right?

Except of course, your brain is usually mud after the swim, and all the bikes look the same (and there are hundreds of them racked in row upon row), not to mention your hands are cold from the water so they often don’t function normally. Then there’s your wetsuit, which loves you so much, it never wants to leave your body; and your feet, which are often covered in sand if you’re doing an ocean swim, make it fun to put on your bike shoes.

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It’s easy to lose focus and dilly-dally in the transition area or freak out and hop around like a chicken with its head cut off. Either way, you waste precious “free minutes.” In a sprint tri even a second or two can mean the difference between the podium and “mere mortal” status. It pays to practice so it becomes second nature, and you stay calm and focused as you move to the next part of the race.

Transitions have been on my mind a lot lately because May has been a big transition month with my training. At times it’s been a little unsettling, but it’s all starting to come back around again where I’m regaining my focus and my Ironmama mojo.

The biggest transition is that I have a new coach–Matthew Tague. He’s an Ironman and a cycling powerhouse who brings a great mix of enthusiasm, expertise and hands-on coaching. I can’t say enough good things about him. He’s already taught me a ton in very little time. While my old coach was awesome on many, many levels, when you’re training for an epic event like this, sometimes you don’t know what you need until you’ve been at it for a while. It took me four months to realize that a more hands-on approach would be better for me, especially one focusing on the bike portion of training.

All the other transitions I’ve been navigating revolve around family and daily life, which may not sound like a big thing, but anybody who has trained for an Ironman knows that time and logistics are some of the most challenging parts of training.

As the end of the school year fast approaches and my sweet girl will be heading off to junior high, it seems everything is happening all at once–paperwork due, assemblies, spring concerts, ballet performances. Then there’s simply squeezing in workouts in the midst of obligations like taxi’ing my dancer to ballet class every day or orthodontist appointments (she just got braces), or supporting my husband when he needs to be out of town to help his parents. Throw in taking care of sick kiddo for a week, then being taken down by the same gnarly virus, May was challenging. Life definitely does not stop when you’re training for an Ironman!

I’ve also been coaching two of my beloved kids running teams–the Roosevelt Running Club and Kids Corner Coyotes. It’s pure joy for me, but it also takes many, many hours or organizing and communicating with all the parents to do it well. My Roosevelt team just ended its season last Wednesday (way to go Rough Riders!!), and our Coyotes will finish up this Sunday when they run the State Street Mile. Woohoo! So excited for these awesome kiddos!

Howl TrailRunKinders GroupKinder Start MileageBaord

In case you’re curious, here’s what the past three week’s schedules have looked like

May 9-15
Monday: Rest–sick
Tuesday: Bike 1 hour–sick
Wednesday: Rest–sick
Thursday: Pilates–sick
Friday: Run 30 minutes–sick
Saturday: Run with our Coyotes kids running team
Sunday: Core Rest

May 16-22
Monday: Killer Kate’s strength & stretch class, Bike 75 minutes
Tuesday: Bike 1 hour, Run 25 minutes, Bike 1 hour, Run 15 minutes, Swim 30 minutes
Wednesday: Yoga (yay!), Run 60 minutes
Thursday: Swim 1600 y with 1000y TT, Pilates
Friday: Bike 2 hours with increased efforts
Saturday: AM Run 40 minutes, Swim 2800y with 50-100y elevated intensity, PM Run 40 minutes
Sunday: Rest

May 23-30
Monday: Bike 1 hour, Run 35 minutes
Tuesday: Bike 70 minutes
Wednesday: Yoga (yay!), Run 45 minutes trail run
Thursday: Run 60 minutes, Swim 30 minute (recovery), Pilates
Friday: Bike 1 hour 30 minutes, Swim 45 minutes
Saturday: Rest (run with our Coyotes kids running team)
Sunday: Bike 90 minutes, Run 45 minutes, Bike 45 Minutes, Run 15 minutes

Snapshots…

Wednesday’s trail run at More Mesa was gorgeous, and a fabulous way to unwind after an epic day of putting on our Roosevelt Running Club grand finale Magic Mile race and end-of–the season awards extravaganza. I was whooped before I started my run, but felt energized by the end. I was also stoked to try out my new Hokas!

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Even though it was so freakin’ windy I nearly lost my visor over the cliff twice, I was happy to be handed such a great wind training day. How ’bout that hair?!

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Sunday we awoke to a gray, damp morning, but that didn’t stop me from having fun doing my double brick workout…bike 90 minutes on a hillier course…run 45 minutes…bike 45 minutes with 10 x 2 minute intervals…run 15 minutes. I loved this challenging workout! It left me happy and tired–the perfect combination.

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Smile Train Update: With the help of our awesome Roosevelt Running Club who raised $271.20 for Smile Train as their philanthropy project, and their amazing supporters, Patty Bryant and Kevin Young, I have reached my fundraising goal of $5,000, which will fund 20 kids for life-changing cleft surgery!!!! And thanks to Ruth Weber and our Kids Corner Coyotes running team, we are now on our way to funding our 21st child for surgery!!!

I am so grateful to everybody who has supported this project so far! You are helping make a HUGE difference in the life of a young person, and you are making my first Ironman all the more meaningful.

If you’d like to make a donation, please click on this link to contribute: http://support.smiletrain.org/site/TR/AthleticsEvent/General?px=3630403&pg=personal&fr_id=1701. As you know, no amount is too small. And remember anybody who donates $250 will entered into a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card, and those who donate $100-$249 will entered to win a $25 gift card.

Ava_SmileTrainDonation SmileTrainPic

As we head into June (can you believe it?!?!), I’m filled with excitement about the summer ahead and a whole lot of unstructured time with my family and friends, and a whole lot of structured time with training. Less than six months to go until Ironman Arizona! Yowza! I think I can…I think I can…

So far this journey has been nothing but joy, even on the hardest days, and much of it has to do with the support I’ve received from so many of you. Not sure how I got so lucky!

Okay…time to get back at it…heading out for another run and a swim…hope your last day of May is great!

xo
Becky

As always, if you missed any of my previous posts, you can click on the links below…

Weeks 17 and 18 of Ironman Training: Inspiration and Purple Rain

It has been a busy, busy few weeks. That’s why you haven’t heard from me here on my blog. Thanks to all of you who’ve checked in on me, worried that something was wrong. I assure you, all is well. Something just had to give in the midst of training, coaching my kids’ running teams, and juggling a jam-packed family schedule. Sadly, writing has become a bit of a luxury these days (at least for the moment).

As I think back over the past few weeks, the word that comes to mind most is “inspiration.” I’ve been inspired by so many awesome people and moments of kindness and creativity, it makes my heart swell.

One highlight was having the privilege of volunteering at the Special Olympics School Games with my husband Jeffrey. The spirit that surrounds these games is phenomenal, and the joy that each of these athletes exudes is contagious, especially during the opening ceremonies. Pure awesomeness in motion, bringing out the best in everybody.

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The best part was sharing this fantastic morning with my husband.

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I’ve mentioned Kate Elliot (aka–Killer Kate) several times here before on my blog. This chiquita brings such joy to fitness, she makes working out at 7 am palatable, even before I’ve had my morning coffee. Last week she kicked my butt in her class at The Lab, then joined me for a run along Chase Palm Park. So much fun!

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Kate’s chirpy attitude inspires me so much that I asked her to come talk to my Roosevelt Running Club. I often ask mentors in our running community to share their passion for running with our kids to help get them fired up about a lifetime of health and fitness. Needless to say, the team loved her as much as I do. Here they’re gathering around her and sporting some of her race medals.

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Another person who inspires me is my running hero, Patty Bryant. She’s an extraordinary ultra-marathoner and Iron(wo)man who takes on some of the world’s most challenging races (Hard Rock 100, Western States, Leadville 100, Mont Blanc, to name a few), and more importantly, she’s one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. Some of you may remember that I wrote about her last summer when I had the joy of running small portions of the Aspen Backcountry Marathon with her (click HERE if you missed it). This week I asked Patty if she’d come speak to our Roosevelt Running Club, and she gladly agreed, even in the midst of her busy training schedule. The kids were mesmerized by her adventures and full of all sorts of questions, which was fun to see.

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I know both she and Kate planted tiny seeds in many of these young runners to dream big and chase after life. Best wishes to Patty as she takes on The Canyons 100k race this weekend in the Sierras, along with several other Santa Barbara friends (Monica & Joe DeVreese and Dave & DeAnna O’Dell), and good luck to Kate who is taking on the Born to Run 30 Mile Endurance Run next weekend! Woohoo! Go girl!

Favorite New Gear: New bike shoes! The week before last, just as I was about to head out on a ride, the buckle broke off on one of my “well-loved” bike shoes. Argh. I could no longer clasp it shut, meaning my heel would come out each time I pedaled. My first instinct was to duct tape it (duct tape is God, as we often espoused in college), but none could be found in the short window I had to ride, sooooo….my Plan A schedule quickly went to Plan B…a little shuffling around of my workouts and an added spin class the next day. Fortunately, I was able to get new shoes for my ride a couple days later.

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Riding in my sparkly new cycling shoes (it’s the little things), this girl was flying high–especially on such a gorgeous day! Can you say blue sky?

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Here’s what my training schedule looked like the week of April 18-24:

Monday: Swim 2900 y, Bike 1 hour
Tuesday: ~~Bike 90 minutes~~ (bike shoe broke), worked on strength instead
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Swim 1800y, Killer Kate’s strength & stretch class, Spin Class
Friday: Swim 1000y, Bike 2.5 hours
Saturday: Run 45 minutes
Sunday: Rest

Seeing purple…I don’t know about you, but Prince’s death hit me hard. I’m not even sure why. It’s not like I was an insane “Super Fan,” or anything, but I did like his music, and whenever I heard it, it tickled great memories–mostly from my freshman year in college. Purple Rain, 1999, Raspberry Sorbet…all songs that remind me of college friends and raucous Friday afternoon shenanigans.

As the tributes started pouring in for Prince last week, his level of creative brilliance revealed itself in ways I’d never fully appreciated–especially his collaborations with other artists. If you haven’t seen his performance at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame paying tribute to George Harrison (While My Guitar Gently Weeps), you might want to take a peek. Holy epic-ness!

Powering through my training days following Prince’s death, his music popped up on my playlist many times, and each time it made me both happy and melancholy…and a tad bit nutty. Okay, okay, I gotta admit it, I was the lunatic Continue reading →

Week 15 and 16 of Ironman Training: Staying Healthy (and Happy)

I’m often asked how my training is going, which is incredibly sweet. I’m humbled that so many of you are interested! Overall, I feel like it’s going well. Actually, better than “well.” It’s going REALLY well. Here’s the thing…when you’re training so many hours a day/week/month, something is bound to hurt. There usually isn’t a day in which something isn’t creaky or cranky or just plain sore. And that’s okay. I’m asking a lot of my body and it’s allowed to complain when it’s pushed beyond what it has ever done.

What I’m trying to do though, is keep from letting those “cranky joints or muscles” turn into injuries. Some days it feels like it is coming close to crossing that line. That’s when I spend more time foam rolling, stretching, icing, and strengthening. If an ache gets a little too grumpy, I let Coach Mike know. Over the last week or so, my knee crossed that line so Mike scaled back my schedule. I didn’t do my usual “Epic Day” on Friday, but rather replaced it with an easy swim, a rest day and an easy bike ride the next.

This week is much the same, focusing more on the swim and bike, and testing the waters with the run on Saturday. Ironman Arizona is still seven months away so it’s important to stay healthy and happy and not get stressed about the ups and downs. Here’s this week’s schedule…

Monday: Swim 2900 y (1.65 miles), Bike 1 hour
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Bike 90 minutes
Thursday: Killer Kate’s strength & stretch class, Swim 1800 y
Friday: Swim 1000y, Bike 2.5 hours
Saturday: Run 45 minutes
Sunday: Rest

This was last week’s modified schedule:
Monday: I was supposed to rest, but missed Mikes’ message and did a 2550y swim anyway (oops)
Tuesday: Run 60 minute tempo, Swim 2100y
Wednesday: Bike 90 minutes (with 20 minutes of climbing up Gibraltar)
Thursday: Killer Kate’s strength & stretch class, Swim 1600y
Friday: Rest day (busy celebrating my hubby’s birthday)
Saturday: ~~Swim 1000y, Bike 4 hours, Run 30 min~~ Swim 1500Y
Sunday: ~~Run 1 hr. 45 min~~ Bike 60 minutes

SBTriLogo

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of going to our monthly SB Tri Club meeting, where Coach Mike was our guest speaker. As many of you know, Mike is a PT extraordinaire and owner of Elite Performance & Rehab, where he works with many top athletes. He talked about injury prevention and answered people’s questions about their aches. The thing that hit home most is when he said one-half to three-quarters of all injuries occur because of weakness in the core/trunk (hips/glutes/back/abs). It was the perfect reminder for me to re-double my efforts and focus on my core. How about you? Is your core as strong as it could be?

Doing the work…

Working on my core will help my swimming too, and man oh man, swimming….sigh…it’s still such a work in progress. My husband was really sweet and videotaped my swim last Saturday. Talk about eye-opening! I still have A LOT to work on, but I’ll get there (or at least closer to “there” than I am now). Now I just have to figure out how to keep improving my stroke. I think I can. I think I can. I think I can.

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One thing that has given me solace is this pace chart I found. My greatest fear has always been making the 2 hours and 20 minute cut-off time for IMAZ. When I see this chart though, I realize that even if I swim significantly slower than I normally do, I will make it, especially if I keep working my ass off.

SwimPaceChart1

TriUMPH

I didn’t take a lot of pictures over the last week or so, but here’s one as I was heading out for another ride…love our blue skies!

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Favorite new gear: I am loving my new rabbit running duds, which arrived last week!! rabbit was recently launched by two of my running friends, Monica DeVreese and Jill Deering. Aren’t these fierce, fit women adorable?

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I’m proud to say that I’m part of the Founder’s Club of this awesome running apparel company (along with lots of other rad runners). If you like super comfy, non-fussy running clothes, I think you’ll like what they’ve designed. What’s especially great is that it’s all made right here in the USA. Here’s a peek at the women’s line.

I opted for the bunny hop tank in snorkel blue and cherry tomato and the hopper shorts in black. I’m picky about my running shorts, and in fact have a hard time finding ones that don’t drive me nuts. When you have a small(er) waist and bigger caboose and quads, it makes it challenging to find shorts that fit. Jill and Monica did a great job of getting the Hopper shorts just right.

RabbitGear

In case you want to check it out yourself, here’s the website. http://www.runinrabbit.com. They also have a men’s line.

Skratch Labs energy chews. The other thing I’m glad I discovered is Skratch Labs’ chews, which are great on a long ride (thanks Kate for the recommendation!). What I like about these is that they’re tasty and natural and they don’t have a waxy, sticky feel to them. They’re more like gum drops in texture. Did I mention the yum factor?

SkratchLabs

Smile Train Update: I’m over the moon…we have funded our 18th child for cleft surgery!! Thank you Janet Cook, Mark & LeAnn Green and Artaz Heating-Plumbing for your generous donations this week! We only have 2 more kiddos to go until we reach goal of changing the lives of 20 children. If you’d like to make a donation, please click on this link to contribute: http://support.smiletrain.org/site/TR/AthleticsEvent/General?px=3630403&pg=personal&fr_id=1701. As you know, no amount is too small. And remember anybody who donates $250 will entered into a drawing for a $100 Amazon gift card, and those who donate $100-$249 will entered to win a $25 gift card.

Smile Train Ironman Arizona

I hope you’re all getting out and making your day great! I’m continually inspired by all the creative, healthy and philanthropic things I know you are up to. And OMG….HUGE CONGRATS to my friend Jenni Miller who ROCKED the Boston Marathon yesterday, finishing in 3:28 (an 18 minute course PR). Talk about BostonStrong and IronStrong! Yay, Jenni! I’m so proud of you!

JenniMillerBoston

xo Becky

As always, if you missed any of my previous posts, you can click on the links below…

Week Fourteen of Ironman Training: Rollercoaster

This week has whizzed by so quickly and has been such a rollercoaster, my head still feels like it’s spun around backward. Today is my rest day though, so I finally have a chance to slow down and chill. When weeks spill over with activities, commitments and appointments, it reminds me that often the hardest part of Ironman training is simply chiseling out the time to do the workouts, then of course finding the energy to complete them.

This week, after regrouping from spring break, I was up until the wee hours several nights working on taxes and getting our beloved Roosevelt Running Club organized for its kickoff. Needless to say, when my alarm went off early Monday morning, I felt like I needed a caffeine IV drip to drag myself to the pool. Settling for a mongo cup of coffee, I piled into my car and gave myself a pep talk the whole way (“Don’t think, just go. Don’t think, just go. You got this.”)…only to arrive to this…

PoolClosed4416

Argh. Clearly, it was time to dig even deeper. Fortunately, when I posted this on Facebook several friends immediately offered back-up solutions. It was like there was no way they were going to let me fail at training. Thank you friends! Especially Greg, who offered a guest pass to the tennis club near our house. He even swam laps in the lane next to me. So, so nice.

My beautiful “back-up” swim location at the Tennis Club.

This workout reinforced mightily though, that sleep deprivation has no place in Ironman training. Every lap felt ten times harder than normal, and with my fuzzy brain, I kept hitting the wrong buttons on my Garmin. I also realized I mixed up my swim workouts so I did Wednesday’s instead of Monday’s. Not the best way to start the week, especially since my ride afterward wasn’t much better. But I got it done, and that’s all that matters.

Here’s what this week’s schedule looked like:

Monday: Swim 1800y, Bike 90 min.
Tuesday: Run 60 min., Bike 75 min including 20 minutes of hill climbing
Wednesday: Swim 2300y
Thursday: Killer Kate’s strength & stretch class, Bike 60 min.
Friday: Swim 1000y, Bike 4 hours, Run 20 min. off the bike
Saturday: Run 90 min with 2 x 10 min pick-ups
Sunday: Rest

Tuesday’s run and ride weren’t much better than Monday’s after being up late again, but what made them better was bumping into several old neighbor friends along the way. On Jesusita trail I ran into Kathy who was hiking with a friend, and although we only talked for a minute, her sweet words of encouragement helped lift my feet a little higher.

Then in the evening after slogging through my ride, especially up Gibraltar, I rode down the street where we used to live and bumped into several old neighbors. Chatting with Ruth for a few minutes put everything into perspective. She never has anything but kind, encouraging words, and her strength and positive energy are palpable. Many of you who live in Santa Barbara may have heard the recent devastating news of the murder of Dr. Henry Han, his wife and 5-year old daughter. Well, Dr. Han was the lovely human being who was helping Ruth kick liver cancer’s ass. Now she’s not only grieving with so many others, but starting all over again with her treatments. My “tough training problems?” Clearly laughable. Ruth is an Ironwoman every day whose fortitude is no match for cancer or any other challenge.

After chatting with Ruth the evening before, my rollercoaster of a week started on the upswing. Continue reading →

Week Thirteen of Ironman Training: Spring!

This week Ironman training has been all over the map. With spring break, taxes and a whole lot of “this and that,” I’ve been squeezing in my workouts whenever and however I can. That’s life, right? Since I’m still in the throes of it all, this post is a bit of this and that, and it’s much later than usual.

First of all, I thought I’d share a view of the last twelve weeks. I don’t know about you, but I’m a visual person so I like to tape my workouts to the wall behind my door to remind myself of what I’m doing and what I’ve accomplished. It helps remind me of the work I’ve already put in so when I need an extra boost of “Oh yes you can, girlfriend,” all I have to do is look at it. Week 13 and 14 (next week) will be going up soon. In the end, there will 42 weeks taped to my wall. I’m already more than 1/4 of the way to Tempe and still loving it and feeling stronger with each training day.

TwelveWeeks

Spring is in full splendor here in Santa Barbara. These are a few snaps from my long ride last week. I wanted to stop a million times to take pictures, but reminded myself that I needed to focus more on training than on photographing. 🙂 Everything is screaming with color these days, and that just makes me smile.

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We spent several days in Palm Springs over spring break visiting my husband’s parents so I had the joy of running in the warm, dry, desert air, which was nice since my race will take place in Arizona. I got in some good wind training too (my least favorite element to navigate), which is also good since I’ve heard the course is often windy.

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The biggest challenge was trying to swim laps in this pool. If there’s a will, there’s a way!

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The other challenge was trying to eat healthy on this trip. Don’t you find that everybody likes to show their love with decadent food? I was feeling soooo loved on this visit. 🙂 The good news is that my husband always manages to ply us with fruit and salads to balance out the wine, cheese, latte freezes, etc. etc. etc.

When we got back, I tried to settle back into a more normal routine. Here’s what this week’s training schedule looks like. It’s still on the light side as we’re trying to get a grumpy rib in my back to settle down.

Monday: Run 50 minutes
Tuesday: Swim 2000y, Bike 90 minutes
Wednesday: Swim 1000y
Thursday: Killer Kate’s strength class, Bike 90 minutes (2 spin classes)
Friday: Swim 1000y, Bike 3-3.5 hours, Run 20 minutes off the bike
Saturday: Run 90 minutes
Sunday: Rest

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I snapped this after Thursday’s spin classes. Kristine has been my favorite instructor for a long time. She’s the perfect blend of sweet, funny, and fierce. Don’t be fooled by her chirpy smile. She is one mean mamacita!

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This week I finally got in to see my chiropractor to adjust the damn rib in my back, which has been torturing me for too long. Yay! Thank you Serena! I can now breathe deeply again as I run.

Friday’s swim-bike-run “Epic Day” as we call it around our house, involves a whole lot of planning and organizing, especially if I base my workout from somewhere besides my house. This is what it looked like as I was heading out yesterday…stuff, stuff and more stuff…

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After swimming 1000y at the outdoor pool at the Montecito Y, I jumped on my bike and headed toward Ventura. It was a gorgeous day! I stopped to take this cheeeezball picture after riding along the Rincon, before continuing down Highway 1 toward Solimar Beach.

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I’m loving my new torpedo water bottle. I find it much easier than reaching down to grab a bottle then trying to put it back in the cage while keeping my eyes on the road. I’m still trying to figure out whether to cut the straw short on it or rubberband it down while I ride and flip it up when I need to drink. If any of you have thoughts about what has worked for you, I’d love to hear them.

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All was going swimmingly on my ride until about an hour and a half into it, I hit a pothole really hard; so hard I was worried I had bent a rim and/or readjusted the rib in my back again (not in a good way). After shaking it off and doing a quick assessment, I realized all appeared to be fine so I kept going. That is until about a mile down the road my back tire started wobbling. Crap.

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At least if you’re going to get a flat tire, it’s nice when it happens in a convenient place with a beautiful view. This was a good test for me as I’ve never changed a back tire and I know I need to be able to do this for myself if it happens during a race. It took me a while, but….cue the “Rocky” music…this Team Empower chiquita did it. Woot! It’s the little things.

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Back on the road I was feeling like a million bucks. That is until a few miles later, Continue reading →

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	Becky Green Aaronson on Ironman California 2022 Race…

Run Be Run

A blog about running, triathlons and everday life…for those who are happiest being in motion and chasing after it

Category Archives: Running

Week 27 of Ironman Training: High Altitude Fun Continues

Week 27 of Ironman Training: High Altitude Tri-cation

Week 26 of Ironman Training: Hills, They’re What’s for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner

Week 24 of Ironman Training: The Key is Consistency

Week 22 and 23 of Ironman Training: Holy Epicness…Julie Moss

Weeks 19 through 21 of Ironman Training: Transitions

Weeks 17 and 18 of Ironman Training: Inspiration and Purple Rain

Week 15 and 16 of Ironman Training: Staying Healthy (and Happy)

Week Fourteen of Ironman Training: Rollercoaster

Week Thirteen of Ironman Training: Spring!

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