It is September and in our neck of the woods this means the end of tri season is approaching. It also means that many of us have been competing for around 5+ months. If you are anything like me this is a long time to stay focused on one thing and motivation to train and race begin to decline. So how can we make sure we get out of this late season funk and gear up for the final races of the year?

Here are some ideas to break the late season slumps

1. A good first step is to do an evaluation.

• Review workout logs and monitor the progression of your training.
• Review race results. Look for areas that have improved, and look for areas that you would like to improve more.
  • If you feel like you are heading in the right direction trust in your training program
  • If there are areas where you would still like to improve on take some time to figure out if you can focus on that area.

For example, your swim is a few minutes slower than you would like it to be. Maybe add a week of high volume quality swim workouts to your program.

2. Evaluate your energy and body.

• Are you feeling fatigued?
• Getting sick?
• Are workouts getting harder?

These could all be signs of being over trained, and perhaps a few days off and some good rest will give you back the energy you require.

• Are there any nagging injuries that just seem to be lingering?

Make sure you take each ache and pain seriously and do not try to push through the end of the season with an injury. It is a good way to be forced into inactive recovery for the off-season.

3.  Re-examine your goals for your upcoming races. Are they still challenging yet attainable? If not reconstruct and come up with new goals.

After evaluation and possibly reconstruction, let’s get excited again!

We do this sport because we love it! One thing that helps to motivate me is to be a spectator at races. Being at the finish line of Ironman Louisville this year was inspiring. It really lit the fire in me to train hard and race again after seeing all these athletes giving it everything they had plus some out there on the race course. I am also looking forward to watching the EBC team race at the REV3 in a few weeks.

Another new thing that I have started this year is to participate in local time trials and smaller club organized competitions. These events usually occur during the week, are easy to get to, are free, and have a great turnout. It’s a small glimpse of competition in the middle of training…plus some good training on top of that! It’s nice to see my improvement between the events, and to do something different besides intervals, sets, hill repeats, etc.

One last thing that helps me to stay focused and positive towards the end of the season is to do what I like to call “mental reinforcement”. This can be anything from:

• visualization
• positive thinking
• prayer
• mantras

Whatever works for you to keep those negative thoughts from occupying your mind. For example, yesterday I was riding and I was feeling slow, it was hot and very windy. I found myself repeating, “so slow, so hot, so windy” after several minutes of that mantra rolling around in my head I stopped myself. I thought of three words to replace the negative ones and came up with “so strong, so fast, so speedy”. I know, I know, SO cheesy, but I actually felt better after a while. The mind is a powerful thing, so make sure your reinforcement is just as strong, if not stronger than what you are asking your body to do.

Keep up the hard work, trust in your training and stay positive!

Image Courtesy of Peter v Cook

I blame the Kentucky men’s basketball team for my not running a 1:39 at the half marathon. So UK played West Virginia in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament the night before the half and LOST! Well, apparently this upset me so much that I didn’t fall asleep until 2am. That’s just not enough sleep when the wake up call is at 5am.

So I got up race morning and it had rained, but it was not raining as we drove to the start. It began raining slightly as we headed to the start, but nothing too bad. I love running local races with all my buddies. At the start, I lined up with Beth, Eric, Neeley, Elissa, Jill K, Jill H, Alan, and Mary. I had planned on starting the race with Beth, Eric, Jill K, Jill H, Neeley, and Elissa. We decided we’d start together and see how we felt. Beth had told me she would run the race with me at my pace. I don’t think I could have better friends. So around mile 3, the group around me was Beth, Eric, and Neeley. Then the skies opened up. We turned out of Fasig-Tipton to head out to the Kentucky Horse Park in a strong downpour and heavy winds. My pace team lined up in V formation with me in the apex. Spoiled little ducky? Yes! The heavy rain did not last long, but it continued to rain the rest of the race. We were holding around 7:33 pace to the horse park. I really wasn’t sure if I could hold that pace for the whole race. We decided to walk 30 seconds through every aid station which worked out well since they were about every other mile. I think we totaled 5 walks through the whole race.

As we got to the horse park I found myself only able to talk on the downhill and not feeling so great on the uphill. Nothing was too steep, but the park had some pretty good rollers. I was surprised how quickly we got there, did the loop and got out. I was thrilled to see Kristin and Kathryn cheering at the park. As we left the park I was still feeling pretty good, and I was definitely enjoying the company. I am considering hiring the Atnips for all of my race pacing. Around 10-11 I started to feel it. I watched Beth and Neeley float up the hills as I felt like I could barely drag up them. Only 2 miles to go, but I was falling off pace. I was just hoping I wouldn’t fall off too much. The straight road back in seemed like a long slight incline and the wind was again in my face. This didn’t make much sense to me because it seemed to be in my face on the way out. I tried to hang on to Beth and Neeley’s heels, but I was fading. I just kept concentrating on my form and keeping it together. One mile to go, and I was hurting, but it didn’t seem to take longer than any of the other miles as we entered Fasig-Tipton. Beth slowed down a bit to finish with me as Neeley kicked it in. She looked strong! I was so grateful for Beth’s encouraging words as I gave it my all towards the finish line. The finish was great! There were a lot of spectators and it honestly sounded like hundreds of people were yelling “Go Nikki!”. Maybe it was just one loud person, but it was great! I crossed the line happy and spent. I caught my breath and looked at my watch. 1:40:06. A new PR by over 3 minutes. I was hoping for 1:39, but I am pretty darn happy with 1:40.

Thank you to everyone who helped me get there!!! Especially thanks to all the volunteers for helping out in such horrible weather, and everyone who toughed it out to cheer for the runners. Congrats to all the runners! Everyone mentioned earlier had great great races. It was a wonderful race, and I highly recommend it to anyone local or not. Come run the Lexington Half Marathon!

A food diary or food log is a tool that I encourage many of my clients to use. Whether the client’s goal is weight loss, maintenance, or simply for nutritional guidance, a log can be very informative and influential on behavior. I often use a food log in times when I feel my nutrition is getting off base. It helps me to review my habits and choices over a few day period and I can decide if I need to make changes. Sometimes simply writing down what I have eaten early in the day alters my decisions towards different foods in the evening or the following day.

While a written journal is a great way to keep track of your food, I have found another source that makes everything so much easier. The app, Lose It for the iPhone and iPod touch is a free app that makes it incredibly simple to keep track of your food. To begin, you fill out a few basic questions about age, height, weight, etc. You can enter weight loss goals and based on your goals and measurements the program calculates your daily caloric budget.

Food is entered in 4 categories, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. When you go to add foods and enter in the name of the food it searches the program database. Sometimes I cannot find the food I am looking for, but for the majority I can find exactly what I am looking for, brand name and everything. There are even restaurant dishes in the database also. If I cannot find a food I am looking for there is an option to “create food” and you can enter the nutritional info. Once you have entered a food into your log it is saved under “my foods”. This is nice because you don’t have to search for it again. As you are adding the food you can select the serving size or amount. This is the only option that I am not crazy about. Many digital food logs will have a number selection and also a serving option, for example, cups, ounces, serving, etc. Lose it only has one option in regards to serving “type”. So when I enter raisins it only has an “each” option, and I cannot enter in cups or ounces. It’s not that inconvenient, but it is one thing I would change about the app.

Exercise can also be entered in the log and the estimated calories you burn during your workout is added to your daily budget. This is great especially for people trying to lose weight or maintain weight. Sometimes it is difficult to calculate calorie intake vs. calorie expenditure, but this estimates it for you. There is also a large database for exercise as well.

When I choose to do a food diary I usually only do it for 3-4 days to review my diet. However, the Lose It app is so easy to navigate, I have been using it for over 2 weeks. The program also calculates daily and weekly nutrient info and averages. Looking at this data, I have found that I am probably eating too little protein and too many carbohydrates. I am working on adjusting my diet because of it. The nutrient summaries are nice, but really only include fats, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, fiber, and protein. I would like it if it also had a vitamin and mineral summary as well. It is a free app, though I suppose I can’t have it all!

I have heard great reviews for some other apps for the iPhone, such as livestrong.com calorie tracker ($2.99), and the daily burn (free). From what I have heard they are worth a test run.

Photo by Rodderz

What a weekend!  Since we live in Lexington and didn’t want to pay another $200 a night at the Seelbach, Gary and I decided to drive up on Friday to check in, and drive back Friday night.  We saved money, but it led to a stressful Saturday morning for me. I didn’t get to the Gatorade swim like I wanted to.  After a little bit of an emotional meltdown Gary and I got on our bikes to spin out the legs a bit.  I’m pretty lucky to have such a forgiving and patient husband.  After a little ride and a little run I was feeling much better.  We got our bikes checked in, grabbed some food and headed to the hotel to pack our special needs bags and put our feet up for the rest of the evening.

I woke up Sunday morning feeling well rested but really nervous.  We had decided that with the time trial start being first come first serve we would not worry about where in the line we ended up.  As we were walking to the end of the line we ran into Ron Shashy who I had swam with a few weeks prior at the YMCA open water swim at Cave Run Lake.  He promptly placed me in line in front of him in hopes of catching a ride on my draft for the swim, not that he needed it one bit. It didn’t seem like the others in line minded that we jumped in (at least I hope they didn’t).  The race started and I was surprised at how quickly we made our way down to the water and started.  I jumped in and lost Ron immediately.  So much for our master plan.  The swim course is 1/3 out against the current and 2/3 back in with the current.  I took it easy going out, and felt really good.  I checked my watch after the turn around and it read under 22 min which I was happy with since my effort low and it was supposed to be against the current.  As soon as I turned around I swam a little wide towards the middle of the river to try to catch the current some.  After a few minutes I started feeling really nauseous.  The more I swam the more nauseous I felt.  The more nauseous I felt the angrier I got.  I could not believe I was getting sick in the swim!  I had never DNF’d a race and it was going to happen after the swim, are you kidding me?!? Nine months of training and I’m not even going to get on my bike?!? I went through hot and cold spells, tried not to throw up in the water, and what seemed like forever, floated back in to the shore.  I made it up the stairs out of the water and walked to transition.  I saw Jeff and Neeley and told them I wasn’t feeling well.  Jeff said “you’ll be fine!” which is maybe what I needed to hear.  I decided to keep walking and see how I felt.  Surprisingly the more I walked the better I felt.  I got my transition bag, sat down and started to put my shoes and helmet on.  I was feeling so much better – I couldn’t believe it!  The river had been a little choppy and since the nausea disappeared almost immediately once I hit land I am assuming it was just motion sickness.  I’ve never had that happen before, but it sure felt good to be sitting on my bike.  I swam about 5-8 min slower than I thought I was going to, but at this point I was just glad the nausea was gone.

The crowd at transition was incredible and I was starting to feel a lot better about my race.  I turned my Garmin on before I got on my bike and I was happy to see my heart rate below 150.  Gary and I had decided a few days before on a HR cap of 150 for at least the first 87 miles.  I thought this was going to be a lot harder than it actually was.  The first part of the bike is the most challenging and the biggest hill is in the first 20 miles or so.  However, so is the longest descent.  I kept my cadence high up the hills, and tried to take full advantage of the down hills.  I knew the first part of the ride would be the slowest, and the mph read around 17 for a long time.  I had been hoping for 17.5 overall for the day.  I stayed with my plan of a 150 HR cap and convinced myself that feeling good was much more important than going fast.  Gary passed me on the out and back part of the course.  It was really nice to see be able to see him for a little bit.  After some exchanged words of encouragement, he was off.  The course was beautiful once we got out of town.  The gorgeous rolling landscape almost made me forget that I was racing.  I was really enjoying the ride.  Lagrange was so awesome.  The crowd was so uplifting and loud!  We went through the town twice and both times I felt like someone in the crowd handed me a new pair of legs.  Throughout the ride I saw my average increase to 17.5.  This made me happy, especially because I felt so great.  I got to mile 87 and since I was on pace and feeling great, I decided to continue at the same effort.  I had thought about pushing a little harder, but I kept thinking that the more I save now the more I will have for the run.  The last 25 miles or so of the course are pretty flat, and downhill.  All I wanted to do was keep my 17.5mph average and finish feeling good.  Then something happened that I did not anticipate.  I had feared a headwind for the last 25 miles like we had when we rode the course a few months earlier.  So even with the fast road, the wind made it so my effort had to increase to keep pace.  However, we had no headwind!  I kept my effort the same, and watched as the numbers crept up to 17.6, 17.7…all the way to 18.0.  I got off the bike in 6:13.  I couldn’t have been happier.

I took my time through transition, and figured out what I needed to do on the run to do a sub 12 hour Ironman.  All I needed to do was a 4:28 marathon!  I could do that!  I had planned on trying for a 9:30-9:45 min/mile pace, but since I had so much of a buffer from the bike I decided to go for 10 min/mile pace for the first half and really enjoy the race.  I came out of transition and saw my girls, Kirstin and Jill.  They were so motivating!  It was really hard to slow myself down to a 10 min mile for the first 4-5 miles. I kept falling into a 9:15-9:30 pace.  I felt so good, but I knew I needed to conserve.  The run course was a blast, especially around town.  Once you got farther out on the out and back it was pretty quiet and a little tough to stay motivated.  Coming back in to town on the first loop was great.  Seeing the girls gave me just the spark I needed.  The turn around on the first loop is right by the finish line which is kind of tough, but I was feeling so good I honestly didn’t care too much.  I worked on keeping my heart rate in the 140s and at a 9:45-10 min mile I was right around 139-141 the whole time.  I enjoyed seeing everyone on the run course.  I saw Royden first, then eventually saw almost everyone, Gary, Tyson, Rodney, Paula, Saori, Alan.  It was great, and everyone looked so good.  On my way back to town just after mile 20 I got to see Beth for a bit and she gave me some great motivation.  I was pretty sure I was going to make it, but I know that in a marathon, especially an Ironman, it’s not over until it’s over.  I kept on pace, allowing myself to walk a little extra at each aid station.  I felt really good that I never had to walk except at the aid stations.  It was probably the best I have ever felt during a marathon.  It actually went by pretty fast.  Once I got to mile 23 I started to hurt.  I was grateful the hurt/fatigue held off until then.  By that time I didn’t even care, I was almost done!  As I came back into town it was hard to hold my excitement in.  The crowd, the girls, 4^th Street…it was extraordinary.  The only thing I regret about my finish is how quickly it was over.  I sort of wish I had taken my time coming down the finish line.  I still can’t believe I broke 12 hours!  To top it all off, Mike Reilly, the ‘voice of Ironman’ was there, and as I came down the finish line I heard his voice, “Nikki Ditsch from Lexington, Kentucky…YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!” I just love hearing those words.

All week I had played around with the numbers and I figured that everything had to be perfect for me to go under 12 hours.  Going 11:55 feels that much sweeter especially considering it wasn’t the perfect day (swim).  I have to admit, I still can’t help but smile when I think about that race.  What an amazing day!

Results:

Time: 11:55:24, Overall Place: 716, Division Place: 25

Swim time: 1:09:44, Overall Place: 323, Division Place: 17
T1: 5:58
Bike time: 6:13:43, Overall Place: 1102, Division Place: 24
T2 3:44
Run time: 4:22:14, Overall Place: 803, Division Place: 30

It looks like spring is finally here.  The weather is warmer and I have been putting in some longer rides outside.  I finished my 100 rides in 100 days.  It actually turned out to be 101 rides in 100 days.  I feel like my cycling fitness is really getting somewhere this year.  The new bike has been a huge help for that, too.  It is a dream compared to the old one.  However, I like to think that I gained a lot of strength riding that old heavy bike for years.  I’m excited to see how this plays out in my races this year.  

Swimming has been consistent, but I’m still looking forward to the outdoor long course pools opening.  I also haven’t been in open water or in my wetsuit yet this year, but I’m not too worried it.  

My run training has been minimal. The hips seem to be just fine, but I’ve been having some calf/achilles issues that I am trying to keep from blowing up.  So the frequency is there, just not the duration I would like at this point.

The American Triple T is in less than two weeks.  I am both excited and nervous.  There is a huge crew representing Lexington so that will be a blast, but it just seems so early to have a weekend with such great distances.  Not to mention my teammate is a machine and I am nervous about trying to keep up with her.  Luckily she is racing Kansas a few weeks later so hopefully she won’t mind having to hold back on the run for me.  I am trying to look at this race as just a great training weekend, not a race.  Right now it sounds great, but when I’m at the race I have a feeling some of my competitive nature might emerge.  I just need to remember that it’s all for IMLOU.

Endurance Base Camp is gearing up for some great things over the next few months.  We have a team right now training for IMLOU that is really taking off, and we are excited to see some great performances from them this year.  We are also launching a Columbus Marathon and Half Marathon Program that starts June 1st and/or June 29th.  We already have some runners signed up for the team, and the more the merrier so spread the word to anyone thinking about running a fall marathon!  Our Strength Training for Runners book is getting some great reviews from users, and our forums have been a great site for triathlon/running discussions.  Check it out!

Happy training everyone!

After this morning’s group run I found out that people actually do read my blog and maybe I should update it once in a while. Thanks, reader!

So it is March and I am getting back into some serious training.  I kept up my cycling challenge of riding every day through January and February.  Then March came around and I decided to try to make it an even consecutive 100 days on the bike.  I was doing great until a few weeks ago when Gary and I both got food poisoning on some bad Chinese food.  I missed one day, but decided that I could still make 100 rides in 100 days.  I only have 16 more rides to go.  I have been feeling really good on the bike and lately I have been able to get outside quite a bit.  Hooray for spring!

My sister came this weekend and we trained a bit.  I brought her out to Todd’s Road and we rode outside a few times.  It was really nice having her until we both wrecked on Sunday.  It was actually my first ever road wreck and it wasn’t that bad.  Tracy, Paula and I were riding and I was in front.  Coming the opposite way were Jill and Kristin.  Well that was just pretty exciting so I decided to slow down.  Tracy hadn’t noticed that I was slowing down and her front wheel collided with my back wheel.  We both went down, and luckily the bikes only suffered some bent spokes.  Tracy scraped her knee a bit and I scraped and bruised my right leg.  I thought I was fine, and probably still am fine, but my right shoulder keeps getting more sore each day.  I’m pretty sure it is just muscular, though.  So we had a bit of a rough weekend, but it was so great to see her and have her in KY for the weekend!  Next time I ride I’ll have a bumper sticker that says “will brake for C4!”

Running has been going well.  I am up to 16 miles per week right now and the hips feel pretty good.  I think I am in the clear, but I am increasing my mileage and intensity slowly.  It’s good to be back with the Chevy Chasers on Tuesday Thursday mornings, and out at Todd’s.

Swimming is going well, also.  I am in the pool 2-3 times per week right now, but I am really looking forward to the outdoor pools opening in a few months.

The big exciting news is that I am getting a new bike!!!!!!!  Gary ordered it last week, and it should be here any day.  We got it at Capitol City Cycles.  Troy out there is so great and was very helpful in our selection.  I went with the Jamis Xenith Comp Femme road bike.  I thought about a tri bike, but with the distances that I race and the fact that I probably won’t be racing as much in the next few years a road bike seemed more practical.  I can’t wait for it to get here!

Well it finally feels like we are starting to put winter behind us.  That’s motivation for me to get more serious about my training.  That and realizing that TTT is only about 14 weeks away.  January was a good month for cycling.  I logged over 28 hours on the bike, most of it on the trainer.  I decided to keep up my ride everyday challenge through February and I have over 15 hours logged for Feb as well.  I did get to go outside a few times this week which was nice, but I realized that trainer riding doesn’t totally relate to the roads.  My bike fitness is much better than it has ever been in the winter, and I am seeing mph numbers higher than I usually see (even for summer/fall) so I am really happy with that.  The things that get me outside are the wind and the hills that I just can’t simulate on the trainer.  My RPE and HR when I’m going into the wind and/or uphill are higher than I would like them to be, but I know that will come with more time spent outside.  The steady state baseline fitness is there, and I am glad to have that during these cold icy months.

Swimming is coming along.  I have started swimming twice a week which is a huge improvement on my zero times a week.  Swim fitness usually comes fast so I am not as worried about my times right now.  I’m just ready for summer so I can swim outside.

Running is coming along very very slowly.  I have maxed out at 3 miles and I am really trying to take care of my hips.  The right one actually feels really good and that is the one that blew up before during and after the Chicago marathon.  However, now when I hit 2-3 miles on a run I start to feel a bit of a sharp pain right on the greater trochanter of my left hip.  I usually stop and not try to run through it because I can’t afford (physically and financially) to go through what my right hip went through.  I think the pain might have come from the overcompensating for my right hip.  I’m being good and foam rolling and stretching like mad.  I’m sure it will be ok, but I just would like to be running as much as my IMLOU teammates right now!

Alright, off for a little jog with Gary and Kelty!

One week down.  I suppose right now it is over a week down.  I have completed 8 bike workouts since Jan. 1.  Unfortunately all of them have been on the trainer, but I haven’t missed a day.  The beginning of the week was the most challenging for my legs.  It took until about yesterday for the soreness and fatigue to leave.  I have also started yoga again consistently and that always leaves me very sore for a few days.  To be honest I don’t really mind the soreness since it means I have finally gotten my butt off the couch.

Another thing that comes along with my increased training volume is my increased food consumption.  Well duh, right?  I am burning more calories than before so I need to take more in.  Sometimes though, I feel like my appetite is much greater than that of my caloric needs when I am training.  When I am just training to maintain fitness, <5 hours a week, I hardly ever feel hungry and the numbers on the scale start to drop.  I won’t lie, I like to see that happen.  But as soon as the training started again I feel like I have been eating everything in sight (and not always making great choices) and I am up 1-2 pounds.  Muscle weighs more than fat?  Let’s hope that is the case here.  There is just something that I like about numbers around 120 instead of 125.  Truthfully, numbers on a scale shouldn’t matter as much as I let them.

Well Monday I decided it was about time for me to try a run.  I decided to run/walk every 5 minutes at an easy pace with the dog.  We started off walking and as I started running I thought I felt a bit stiff, but it might have been all in my head.  I actually felt so good that I ran for 18 minutes!  I was completely pain free, but decided to play it safe and head home.  It felt so good I wanted to jump up and down in the middle of the street and shout, “I’m running!”.  Instead I just whispered it over and over to Kelty.  I think she was pretty happy to have another running partner, too.  I think I will try again this weekend.

Happy New Year!

Since Chicago I have had little motivation to train.  That’s not really a good thing when you are signed up for an Ironman in 2009.  I have been working out, but not on a regular schedule or with any reason other than to move more.  I think time off is a good thing, especially when you are injured, but I’m ready to get back in it.  So, I decided to give myself a challenge for January.  I am going to try to ride my bike every day in January.  Since riding my bike doesn’t bother my hip, and since it is my weakest of the three tri disciplines I think this will be a good challenge for me.  However, it is January and when it comes to cycling outside in the cold I am the ultimate wus.  Hopefully we will have several days of what I consider “rideable weather”, but I anticipate many trainer rides this month.  Tonight was an hour on the trainer watching the Rose Bowl.  I thought of it as great mental training.  Watching USC football is not my idea of motivation.  But I got through it thanks to my iPod.

So here’s to 2009…the year of the bike!!!