Norseman: Taper Madness and Here We Go

Fourteen weeks of training and one week of taper have passed since I won my slot to Norseman in the blueseventy Facebook contest in April. And just like that, it's less than a week away: the race is on Saturday, August 2. I've spent the last few days saying to myself things like "next time I run it will be in Norway" or "next time I swim it will be in a fjord." It's all very surreal and I'm excited to take the next step of the journey, which is our actual journey across the ocean to Norway!

Time for a little reflection first, though. When I was training for Ironman Texas last year, I posted an entry about how ironman training is hard (it is). I went back and reread it a few weeks ago and at the time, I thought, well, I'm not falling apart, I must be soooo much stronger and fitter than last year!

Then it hit, and not without good reason. After a race at Buffalo Springs immediately followed by a week of hard training in Arizona, I thought it would be a great idea to do the Castroville time trial in the middle of the next weekend's 80 mile training ride (Dawn did not approve), followed by an hour and a half run on trails, followed by a long run the next day. So guess what, I'm not invincible, I cracked, had a lackluster ride and two terrible runs, and then I cried and begged Dawn to give me a REAL TAPER because I really, really needed it.

I did get a new 40K TT pr, though, plus a little bit of hardware. So that was fun. :)

Dawn agreed, and scaled my training way back. Which, after like two days, left me smack in the middle of TAPER MADNESS. OMG, I'm getting fat. I'm losing fitness. I'm going to get sick. I can't stand not doing anything. But mostly, OMG, I'm going to get fat. So I made the rookie mistake of throwing in an extra swim (hey, one more easy swim won't hurt - except I didn't take it easy), and going to the gym every day at lunch to do pushups and planks and crunches (I've usually gotten these core workouts in twice a week).

It shouldn't have been a surprise that I woke up a couple of days later with a painful shoulder, and by the end of that day, I could barely lift it. I immediately had it checked out by the amazing Justin at Promotion Physical Therapy. He told me it was tendinitis brought on by an increase in volume when I should have been resting. He put me on ibuprofen and scolded me. Dawn scolded me, and I scolded myself for making rookie mistakes - you're supposed to get a little bit fat in the taper. Rest is so important. Come on Kris, you're smarter than this. But it's amazing how the Taper Madness really does take over.

I got it together after that and did the taper the way it's supposed to be done. Some shorter workouts with bursts of intensity to keep the fitness there. And now I feel really, really good going into race week.

After all that - I'll say the training part was almost easy compared to handling the logistics of this race! Training is something that's hard, but that I understand. Packing up everything I'll need for a nine-day trip across the world is not. And planning for everything that needs to happen was pretty stressful. But it's all done. The bike is in the box. The bags are packed. Robert, Mom, Dad, and I are ready for this adventure.

My poor little bike all broken down inside a box. Thank you Orissa for lending me the box, and thank you Greg at Bicycle Heaven for teaching us how to pack it up and build it back together again!

Matt scolded me too. I can't remember what for, but I'm sure I deserved it. ;) These guys are GREAT; they put brand-new awesome tires on my race wheels to handle the questionable road conditions in Norway.

A super fun send-off from the Iron Whiners! Love love love these people. 

One more swim at Landa yesterday to practice in the neoprene cap (it works great). Got one last "good luck" wetsuit zip from Brian and then a fabulous ride with Trent on one of my favorite roads (River Road!) - a great way to spend a last day of training in Texas before the race.

I want to say thank you for all the good luck wishes and prayers. It's a little overwhelming and it means a lot to me that people want the best for me in this journey. I hope to make everyone proud and have some super fun stories to tell when I get home.

The next time I write a blog entry, it will be in Norway!

Norseman: One More Tucson Adventure Before the Taper

If you'd told me 5 years ago that Tucson, Arizona would feel like home to me, I would have laughed my head off and asked what could possibly be in Tucson that's so special. Well, there's a mountain here that's awesome to train on (Mount Lemmon), incredible trails for running (Sabino Canyon), and a gorgeous pool at the University of Arizona. Not to mention the all-around good feeling of "this is the place that triathletes go to train." I love it here, and I'm already crying about having to go home to San Antonio and reality.

This long weekend was the last big training week before I taper for Norseman. Now all the work is in the bank and my job is to stay healthy for the next three weeks (and get all my plans in good order for the race). This trip was a girls' trip - Dawn and I were joined by Dawn's friend from college, Rene. We had a silly, giggly, matchy matchy time together while getting in some awesome quality training.

There were some new challenges on this trip - hill repeats on Mount Lemmon, a run at the top of Mount Lemmon the following day, and a trail run in Sabino Canyon that I was expected to RUN this time. Not to mention I was doing all of this 3 days after "not racing" at Buffalo Springs. On day one of this trip, my legs felt like they did at the end of day 3 when we were here in May. The weather was a challenge this time too - who would have thought that one month after our last visit, it would be monsoon season (that's really a thing - it storms every day), and that when it isn't raining, it's seriously hotter than hell here.

Rene, Dawn, and I took all this in stride and had a great long weekend of training. We also got to celebrate the 4th of July with some of Dawn's dear friends from here, which was super fun. And as always, it's awesome to shop in the Smashfest Queen warehouse (Hillary's guest room). This time we had the added bonus of watching part of the opening day of the Tour de France with Maik and Hillary - it was very cool and a little surreal to watch the bike race with live commentary from two professional athletes!

I'll be leaving tomorrow with some new happy memories (and some fabulous new Facebook friends)! I love this place. Dawn told me last time, build up your bank of happy thoughts to think about while racing...check. Particularly when I'm cold in Norway, I'll think about some of the training that we did on the surface of the sun here in Tucson and I'm sure it will warm me from the inside out! 

Matchy matchy at the pool! Rene, Dawn, and I. Yep, those are 3 grown women wearing matching Rainbow Brite bikinis. Note the storm rolling in in the background. I was praying for lightning to strike during our 4K swim, but no luck.

Every morning started like this - 4 am coffee and Facebook/Slowtwitch. We had to get out early to beat the heat!

...and every afternoon/evening went like this. OMG delicious tacos, fruit cups, and horchata at Pico de Gallo. I could eat this every day.

We tried something new - carrying our running shoes up Mount Lemmon on our backs. Climb for 3 hours, run for one hour, descend for one hour. With some time in the middle for photos.

The running at 8000 feet was so much fun. This happy face says "I'm ready for Zombie Hill at Norseman!"

Surrounded by athletes and kittens at Gail's 4th of July party. For this catlady triathlete, it can't get better than that.

I got to practice with a Camelbak for the first time on our 10 mile run today. I'm sold. The backpack kept my water cold for over 2 hours. We started with Hillary, Dawn, and Sam McGlone, but Rene and I were soon left to our own devices in Sabino Canyon. A highlight was watching some tourists take up-close photos of a rattling rattlesnake - I forced Rene to just keep on running by.

On our last day, Rene and I waited just a little too long to go swim before the afternoon storm rolled in. 

Norseman: Practice Swim in the Helix!

When I won the blueseventy Norseman contest, I knew that along with an entry to the race, a new awesome Helix wetsuit was part of the deal. What I didn't realize was that it would come along with a whole ton of other awesome stuff - blueseventy totally hooked me up for this race! Wetsuit, neoprene booties and gloves, neoprene cap, a tri kit, tons of goggles and other swag, and a giant fabulous bag to carry it in...I was floored when I opened the package that arrived at my door about a month ago.

Although I was really eager to try the Helix out, I didn't get a chance until this weekend. We headed out to Landa Park in New Braunfels this morning to swim in the Comal River. Ever since Brian and Orissa discovered this spot a couple of years ago, it's been our go-to place for open water swims - if you get there early enough, there's plenty of parking (although now you have to pay $10), and you can avoid the tubers and swim as far up the river as you like. Then you let the current carry you back down.

I wasn't the only one wanting to practice swimming in a wetsuit. Pretty much the only time any of us swim in open water is at races, and nearly all of us have one coming up. On June 29, Orissa and Brian are doing Ironman Cour d'Alene (cold water swim) and Shelly and Aixa are racing Buffalo Springs (usually wetsuit legal, but Shelly also wanted to try out my swim skin just in case).

A wetsuit swim isn't a wetsuit swim if Brian Loftin doesn't zip you in. Not sure what I'll do at Norseman without him; thinking maybe I can ask Macca for help instead. ;)

The lovely ladies ready to crush their races: Shelly, me, Linda (not racing, but 28-weeks pregnant and still crushing us all; also, the only one actually dressed appropriately for a swim in the Comal in June), and Orissa. Aixa is behind the camera.

Let me just say, this wetsuit rocks. I've had my share of disappointing wetsuit swims in heavy, too-tight longsleeve suits that make me feel like I can't breathe or move my arms. Not so in this one. It fits perfectly and was super comfy to swim in! I felt like I was able to keep my form and swim in the open water like I swim in the pool - strong and steady. I even tried a couple of sprints (with the current, on the way back - ha) and I felt completely unrestricted and strong.

I also tried out the neoprene booties. Not that I needed them (or a longsleeve wetsuit, for that matter) in South Texas in June, but I needed to know how they felt. They were weird, but not bad, and because I'm certain I'll need them at Norseman, I'm happy to practice in them. I did one out-and-back with the booties on, and then took them off for a second out-and-back with Shelly while she tried out the swim skin. And I have to say the goggles are amazing as well. A success all around!

Booties!

Shelly and I swam out like we always have - facing each other and breathing/swimming in sync; we used to do this to make sure neither one was in distress and now it's just habit.

Then we went out and ran. But first, let me take a selfie...finally one with Aixa in it!

Thanks Girls (and Brian) for the company and laughs this morning! And huge thank you to blueseventy for the awesome gear. I am so set for the race in August - now just gotta keep on training, training, training. 

Norseman: Epic Race Calls for Epic Training

As we researched the Norseman course, Dawn and I quickly noticed that the first 25 miles of the bike is uphill. "Hey, that sounds just like Mt. Lemmon..." and the idea was born. Let's go to Tucson, AZ for some epic training for Norseman!

I've been to Tucson twice for grand coachie Hillary Biscay's awesome training camp, and while it's challenging, I loved climbing Mt. Lemmon both times. Starting in the desert among the saguaro cactus, the scenic Catalina Highway winds 25 miles up the mountain through beautiful rock formations and then through pine trees that smell delicious to a cute little town called Summerhaven, where cookies and pizza await you at the Cookie Cabin. I looked forward to two Mt. Lemmon climbs on this trip, plus some trail running and some swimming and pro triathlete star spotting at the University of Arizona pool.

We left on Thursday for our 4-day training adventure: 2 coaches (Dawn, of course, and Chris Aarhus - her former coach - an extremely knowledgeable guy and a GREAT teacher) and Tri-Belief teammate Trent (who will be crushing dreams at BSLT in a few weeks). I was certainly the weakest link in this group as far as riding and running go - and without the safety net of my girls and Shelly in particular, I was more than a little apprehensive about how the weekend's training would go. 

Of course it went great. It went better than great. It went so well that I can't even find words to describe it - so I'll just present a photo gallery of some of the fun. 

A trip to Arizona with Dawn would not have been complete without some car trouble. Flat tire changed in 21 minutes - of course we timed it.

And of course the trip would also not be complete without the use of fabulous recovery boots. We didn't use them in the car this time though...

We drove 12 hours to Tucson and then went for a ride that evening. Gates Pass/McCain Loop - omg still my favorite.

Day 1 on Mt. Lemmon - smiley smiley matchy matchy in new Smash Sunrise kit.

This guy taught me to ride my bike. I am not even joking.

A birthday cookie for Coachie!

Day 2, Mt. Lemmon: after a cold, rainy climb, we prepared thoroughly for the descent - plastic gloves held on with electrical tape to keep our hands warm - and plastic garbage bags down our shirts. 

...and then the sun immediately came out, so we stopped halfway down to take all that plastic stuff off and took some fun photos.

The next day we ran for a couple hours in Sabino Canyon - beautiful. And then Dawn and I looked back and realized we're both afraid of heights. Yes, there was a discussion of "look down there and see how far you've come," and yes, there may have been some tears.

I mean, look at this. Gorgeous! I have learned to love trail running. Yep, I just put that in writing.

Super fun pool shenanigans. We got to swim here twice. The most beautiful pool I've ever been to! Coachie put the hurt on us in the last workout of the trip - when we were done I couldn't move my legs and could barely drag myself out of the pool.

During one of the more challenging times on the mountain, as Dawn and I climbed for hours in cold rain and then screamed with joy in unison as the sun peeked out, Dawn mentioned something that she learned at Ironman Texas last week (while qualifying for Kona, no less). She said it's really important to have happy anchors to turn to during a long race like that (think Happy Gilmore's happy place), and that I needed to start building a library of them - maybe I could start with the feeling I was experiencing at that very moment? Yes! Mt. Lemmon climb - a happy thought to carry with me while racing Norseman (and beyond). And countless others from this trip. 

Thank you to Dawn for making this happen and to Dawn and Chris for the expert coaching and advice, and to Trent for the encouragement throughout the weekend. And after today's training ride I can say that I'm already feeling the gains made in Tucson! Best Trip Ever. :)

Norseman: So You Won the Contest, Now What

As soon as I returned from New Orleans, training for Norseman (which is now 2.5 months away) began in earnest. This included a hillfest of a 90 mile ride and an equally hilly 15 mile run the weekend after the race (usually the weekend after a race consists of "easily spinning out legs" - no time for such luxuries now!).

The ride was a gorgeous tour of the hill country on a beautiful day in which I happily chased my new teammate Trent, who showed no sign of cracking while I tried not to puke for the last 20 miles. After the ride, I immediately drove up to Boerne (without showering, Coachie would be proud) to meet with the family and formalize details about the trip. Dad is the ultimate planner and has figured out the entire vacation, and I am so grateful! 

Yep, that's a 30 year old map from when we lived in Stavanger. What could have changed?

The following day, I ran 15 miles solo, including a 4 mile out-and-back on Kyle Seale, one of the hilliest roads around here. I was happy until I hit mile 12, at which point I blew up and shuffled the last 3 miles back to my car, got in and started crying. Feeling overwhelmed, thinking, oh my God, I'm so tired, this is only week one, Norseman is HARD, what was I thinking, how am I going to do this??? 

In between all this I had been feverishly researching Norseman night and day. The elevation, what the climbs are like, the weather. Reaching out to some really nice people who have done the race before (Ann and Halvard) and asking logistical questions. Not sleeping, not eating, feeling sick all the time, and basically stirring myself up into a frenzy of nerves. (Nausea and nerves will make you think strange things, so thanks to BFF Valerie for helping me through a particular scare there.)

Then you see something like this on Facebook and it makes you smile all day. Of course I'm the luckiest person alive to get to do this!

After the implosion on that run, I cried to Dawn, who told me exactly what I needed to hear. This is not a pass/fail situation. This is a journey. I wouldn't have gotten the slot if this wasn't supposed to be part of my path. Take the days one at a time and embrace the adventure. As always, Coachie is right. So I took a deep breath and shook it all off, and decided to have some fun. This is all about pushing limits and seeing what you can do - and once I entered the right frame of mind, I have been crushing it. I'm proud of the progress I've been making the last few weeks. (I'm still not sleeping but that seems to be something that goes with the territory of Ironman training for me.)

We have a plan that makes sense to me. After some research and discussion, Dawn and I have figured out that I need to build mileage like I would training for a regular Ironman, but to include as many hills as I can on both the bike and the run to prepare for the 16,000 ft elevation gain (!!!). Although only the first 160 people to reach the mountain will get to climb it and go for the coveted mountaintop finish and black t-shirt, we're training like I'm going to be one of those people. So in addition to the usual run training, mine has involved trails (which are not as bad as I thought) and, at the suggestion of Ann, a stairclimber (which is worse). 

With my head back on straight, I'm enjoying the journey and looking forward to this amazing vacation in August. The plane tickets and hotels are booked and I'm officially registered for the race and looking forward to receiving my pack of goodies from blueseventy. 

This makes it official. O M G.

Next up - cheering for Dawn and my friends racing at Ironman Texas next weekend. I've been to the race every year, whether spectating or racing, and I just couldn't miss it, although it will mean moving some training days around. As we've all been on different paths and lost touch a little bit in the last few months, I'm SUPER STOKED to go Iron Spectating with the girls! If you're out there on the run course, look for matchy matchy green Smash and boxes of donuts. :)