Sparrows Experiment

Good luck to you too!

Yes g8r I got a new bike at the beginning of the year. Its a Quintana Roo also and has slightly lower components but she works GREAT for me and when I get more money to invest in it I will. I got it for 450 bucks :) I have grown to really love my bike. I wasn't sure at the beginning.

I have been having a good week and following my taper. My muscles feel sore and heavy which is exactly how it always is. The more carbs I have the more out of sorts I feel but they'll be prime in time.

I am sticking to my very clean diet but have increased more of the healthy fats and healthy carbs. I have found things like walnuts and avocados to really help me recover and excel in training and I've kept them high in the taper. I too am also at a low for the season. I have officially shed 10 pounds since last year at this race. Its so crazy I'm not even trying. My lowest was this morning.

Today's workout was 20 min on the bike at race pace and 15 min run at slightly faster than race pace. I decided to go with my feel and see how close it was to the real numbers. Its very windy today but my average was still 19.1 on the bike feeling very comfortable. My pace for the race needs to be more like 17 and it will be discipline for me to kick back.

I did a 2 mile route for the run and figured I'd walk the last half mile once my 15 min was up. Imagine my surprise when I cruised in at 2 miles when my watch beeped for the time! 7:30 pace feeling comfy. That was super weird. I imagine my pace for the run to be more like 9 or 9:30 and thats thinking positively...and with no puke stops this time :)

Weather for race day? 82 flippin degrees!!! That means it'll be under 80 by the time I'm on the run! YIPEEE!

I'm outta here! Leaving tomorrow morning. Next post will be my results! GOAL IS TO FLIPPIN FINISH THIS THING. Anyone can track me during the race on Saturday. It starts at 8:15 and I won't know my bib number till I'm there. The race is Barbs Race and its put on under Vineman.com. name Katie Caudill
 
Good luck! I'll be tracking you.
 
Race went great!

I was sick with intestinal junk the night before (my daughter had been sick with the flu half the week). I was up a lot of the night but tried to drink as much as I could when I was up to offset things and prayed it wasn't a full blown stomach flu or something. To make things even worse I woke up to the whole "time of the month" garbage so that sucked big time and was very crummy timing (sorry TMI). Anyway, that set me up for some doubt and worry as morning dawned. I shoved down some oatmeal, yogurt and protein powder and the stomach thing seemed to have run its course for the most part. I didn't feel too bad that way. Just had some big cramps that midol was made for :)

Got to the race with limited time because the start is in this itty bitty town with zero parking for the crowds involved in this venue. So we walked very far to get to the river beach. Had enough time to get marked, throw my stuff in transition and hit a port-a-potty for what I hoped was the last time.

Before I knew it we were in the water and were started. The swim went great. I was worried about it somewhat because I have hardly been in the water this summer to SWIM. I've been in for little kids doing lessons and teaching poolside adults. I felt like everything was right on. Sighted well, had a nice rhythm and strong stroke. Got out at 29 min. Same as last year.

Got on bike faster than last year despite getting all turned around in transition....long story. Started eating within 15 min of riding and felt calm and centered. I only had one bottle on the bike because I was going to finish it and grab another at mile 18. It was NOT hot at all, in fact we had fog and I could see my breath on the bike! I knew the weather would be STELLAR for the day. Needless to say, I didn't need to worry about dehydration this time. I stayed smooth and tried to keep it under 20..which was ultimately hard for me because I trained my long rides at a fast pace. It helped that there were a TON of hills to slow me up :)

I alternated cliff shot gel and 1/4 of a pb and honey sandwich every 30 min. That set me up for more total cals than last year and it went off without a hitch. Stomach wasn't a problem at all. I had NUUN electrolyte stuff in one bottle and got water bottles at mile 18, again at 30 and again at 40. The whole plan went perfectly. I shot up "chalk hill" without a problem and passed a lot of people there (last year it was a mile of grind grind grind not getting over 5 mph on that sucker!). My legs WERE burning and tired starting around 40 miles and I thought maybe the night had something to do with that because that wasn't typical.

Got off the bike and took a bit of time to stretch and pee in t2. It was in my race plan. I knew I needed to amp up for the part that defeated me last year and I was feeling kinda drained and had more cramps. Took more drugs! I walked out of t2 like I had all the time in the world and just thought positively....

Started the truffle shuffle down the road and felt my legs right away. They felt FINE for the first mile or so and then it was like I hit a wall. horrrrible. It felt like mile 22 of the marathon last year. I stopped and walked every aid station and alternated water and something else like flat coke or gatorade endurance. I had fruit when I felt like chewing :) I could NOT run up hills so I walked them and then ran pace for the flats and the downhills. I didn't look at my watch on purpose. I ultimately had to give myself permission to THROW the time out the window and just focus on the real goal which was to finish. I realized the day had thrown me some curve balls and it was okay. I was only there to redeem my finish and I'd do it.

The run course is lame. I hate it. Its 4.4 out and then 4.4 back to transition where you CIRCLE the finish and then head back out for 2.2 each direction. Its a tease and so mentally hard to go back OUT there after the 8.8 miles. I happened to be running and circling at the same time the first place girl was finishing. That made me a head case for a few minutes cause I was pretty tired! Somehow I managed to get back out there. My training buddy passed me back towards the finish when I was about a mile into my second time out. She stared me down and could tell I was hurting pretty bad she said strongly "you are DOING it, you are DOING what you came here to do, don't give up!" that was all I really needed. The pain subsided and I found something to finish. My last 3.5 miles I was at about 8:30 pace and I didn't walk one hill :)

I finished at a sprint in 5:51:15 good for 11th place in my age group and 37th overall. I wanted to break 6 so I met that goal and conquered the course. Its all I had asked for :)

Course I did what I always do during these things "I'm never doing that ever ever again!" and its bogus. of course I'll be back, and I have room to improve! It was fun and a great few days with girlfriends.
 
Yeah, I've got the bug though. i think I'm going to sign up for Oceanside 70.3 this next spring. I'm still debating if I want to train for the CIM marathon in December. I kinda like just chilling for a while
 
what an awesome race report.

Congratz irongirl!

glad this thread came up for me to see.

hmmmmm, I am on phone, let me comment more later.
 
Congrats on the race and attitude!

Here, i'm back from my world police and fire games in Vancouver. I'm sore - everywhere! quads, hams, calves, shins, back, forearms... you get the pic.

Here's the day as I woke up at 430a to four alarms and a wake up call from the hotel. only five hours of sleep... nervous during the night. take my vitamin b, etc., and down a pbj. get to the shuttle by 515a and to the starting area before 6a. cool morning... great for the 5k. warm up for a mile with intermitent stretching after each quarter... quick 30m sprints at the end to loosen up completely. Team Madrid, Spain, is there in all their fury and team uniforms warming up together. I recognize several.. don't for a lot - newbies from their stock pile of stud athletes.
the gun goes off and the 5k is on... I feel amazingly fast and strong.. holy crap we're moving and i'm not backing down... 3k marker and my watch says 11:39 for a 6:15 pace. I'm comfortable running through the wooded areas and up the hills... I feel strong and finish with a PR of 19:40.
shot put goes well, I got the best for our division and crush the Madrid contenders... I should be in second after that throw.
100m sprint.. not my 'strong' part, but i'm solid for this and finish second in my heat.
100m swim a complete disapointment.. 1:20. Pool looked small, I was strong, felt strong, felt fast, horrible let down. hurt my overall in my mind as the scores still aren't posted... and finally they post them before we leave the aquatic center... i'm in fourth overall... but they messed up my sprint time with someone else who ran 2 seconds slower! HUGE problem. I protest, and they check the photo finish, correct it, and i'm in second overall!!
20 foot rope climb.. hands only.. i set myself mentally.. i don't have a rope to climb here.. so i go there and just do it.. Team Madrid compete and train for their jobs with rope climbing... I'm at a huge disadvantage.. they climb it in 5.9 seconds and 5.3 for their other guy.. I get there and the next thing I know it's over.. I hit the tamberine so hard with my hand that the crowd actually gasped and awed at it. I get down and notice that my hand is bloody after hitting it soo hard.. Another PR of 6.1 seconds.. having not climbed a 20 foot rope in two years... i'll take it, waive my second climb and save energy.
bench press comes now.. and i weigh 175 and do my first easy lift with 295, clean, all three judges thumbs up. second and final lift was 325.. eeeked it out.. a lot of yelling by Madrid and their protests because I'm now back in second... a ton of controversy...they're pissed i got it.
pull ups.. i executed 26, only go credit for 22, a huge point loss. the wall in front of us was really, really tight and close to us - 6 inches.. made a huge difference.. I"m a lot bigger than they are.. they have more 'room' than I do.
obstacle course... Madrid's guy right behind my in points comes up to me while in transition, gives me a hug (what they do) and says it's up to us.. we're neck and neck in points and it comes down to the ob course. he wishes me well, tells me to go hard cuz he is.. gives me another hug and hand shake and tells me "suerte" - which means luck in Spanish. The scores are posted at this point.. I'm in second place over him by 3 points! that's less than one second real time. that means we're even as far as this is concerned. to make it worse.. my supporters from Detroit left and I'm there by myself.. Team Madrid has about 100 people there all cheering, clapping, waving their country's flags.. and wearing their team uniforms.. i'm there with... ME. by the way.. he and I are the very last two to go for the entire day! a lot of time to 'ponder'. they announce: "3522" - my bib number. I get there.. the volunteers and organizer come up to me and tell me 'good luck, we want you to win this.' they hand me the 185 dummy to drag backwards to start and I"m off.... i run the course medium pace not to incur penalties and time add ons.. there are many rules and nuonces of the ob.. i almost incurred a penalty in the cargo net, stepped back two steps and redid it to remain unpenalized... and I finish... while I'm going they start him.. I finish and turn around... he's coming really hard to the finish... i see a red flag on the course, at the cargo net... he finishes... 3 seconds faster than I did. a five second penalty gives me an overall 2 second faster time and I earn my Silver Medal! Had he gone back and corrected his mistake at the cargo net... who knows.. I took about three seconds there to redo the mistake.

I feel good to have earned a Silver after five tries... this was a world event.

If you want to see pics that the games have, go to:
click on the sport/event: tca, go to August 2nd(My day of comp) I'm wearing a white shirt with blue writing on it: 'extreme athletic performance' (marketing for my business) in the event of the obstacle course I'm on the last page.. the last set of pics with the Spanish guy was the third place guy I wrote about.
 
I know... I don't post too much in here - i read alot about what others are doing, so posting my own journal wouldn't do too much since I keep things written down at home... i hope that doesn't make her upset.
 
hey Sparrow- you know I can go on and on about details on your race report, but I will focus in on one detail.

Passing the finish line twice before you "actually" finish--- OMG I felt like I could rip somebody's head off for that.

It is wonderful to see you settle down, or as you taught me, slow down to speed up!

You really did wonderful. Few athletes will ever know a 5+ hour event. Not a professional football, baseball etc player.

You are now ELITE!

and a champ
beauty, and wonder
in
ALL OUR BOOKS!!!

great great work.....

p.s. glad to see the honey in the nutrition, maybe you will sweeten up some!

;)

FF
 
Hey GREAT competition report tc! and CONGRATS! That is a day to be proud of for sure!! Seems we both did very well.

Todd, thanks so much, your support means a ton. I thought of your words a lot while I was out there and I was way to stubborn to back down on this thing because of them! Everytime I wanted to walk I remembered you saying that as long as I'm moving forward its all that matters. Remembering that would get me going again...even if it was a slow sad shuffle.

You have no idea (well sure you do!) how HAPPY I was to see 5-something with all the walking I did on that run. i felt like I had to have walked half of it! I honestly expected to see something like 6:30. I have so much to improve upon in the run. I was 3 min faster than last year on the bike (3:04) which I know can be stronger too. I tired prematurely on the ride but it was still stronger than last year.

Honey..yes, haha. It was yummy. what a great combo :)
 
It feels like its been forever since that race. A week has passed and I've tried to "take it easy" and just chill out. I've eaten weird and off plan and done whatever workouts suit me.

SO now that thats over, time to decide what to do next.

I've decided to go for the marathon in December and just train as far and hard as I can. I don't know if my plantar fasciitis will hault me. Its still in irritant but I can run through it, without it getting much worse. I've considered the cortisone shot, but truthfully I'm just a big chicken when push comes to shove.

This week I biked twice, ran 25 miles total, swam twice and did a round of weights. I didn't plan any of it, it just all worked out that way. Fifteen of the running miles were done over the weekend. I feel very light on my feet.

So 25 miles a week is my ground zero right now. Its where I left off before the half iron and where I'll start for the marathon. I need to bring my long run base up and get solid before i add more speed. Its been hard for me to do training runs slow. I don't know what my problem is.

Today is my 12th anniversary so I'm not going to waste more time on here today. Happy Sunday everyone.
 
got race pics back. I'm bib 1317. I pretty much look like I'm going to hurl the whole time :) I'll have to make an effort to smile at the b'zillion camera men on that course next time. I only felt especially bad on the run part, which is obvious ;)
 
you are still wearing those same glasses!!!!

you look great

not too thin

good work!!!

FF

p.s. you are supposed to throw your arms up at the finish, or flip us off, or soemthing. shape up! you did it! you rule!
 
Last edited:
flyinfree said:
you are still wearing those same glasses!!!!

you look great

not too thin

good work!!!

FF

p.s. you are supposed to throw your arms up at the finish, or flip us off, or soemthing. shape up! you did it! you rule!
Click to expand...

I know I was but I was seriously choking back spew. haaha. I just wanted to STOP and everyone to LEAVE ME ALONE! Those glasses are getting buried with me. I love them. I just keep changing out the lenses. I could never get "too thin" I have muscle that never goes away even stopping weights!
 
Nice pics

Those are good pics. The glasses look like 'half jackets'... i have them, and love them. I won't throw mine out either, and they're due for a lens change.

Good job, and good luck with your 'endurance' training for the next event..
 
yep half jackets. love them. I don't like being identified by them though. I get a lot of "I saw you running" from people but only because they see my glasses and know its me.

So I'm in limbo and I remember this. Just not sure what to do next. The foot is hurting enough that CIM may be out of the question. I'm so annoyed by it all. I guess I'll just keep on keeping on and see where it takes me
 
Not sure what to do?

Well, you can buy a set of my bands to mix up your training!! That's what you can do, just like the link I sent to you... mix it up! Incorporating them into my workout gave me great results!

With your foot I'd ride a bike as long and as hard as you can, and then run afterwards until your foot BEGINS to hurt, and then stop. Keep your heart rate high, and get those quads burning to simulate the long run feeling. Maybe do a lot of calf work to become more 'springy' when you run and take less pounding off your feet.

Food for thought. Take care.
 
Haven't been doing a ton since the beginning of August. We just bought a house (our first) which has taken a lot of time and stress! I developed a neuroma (Mortons Neuroma) in the toe joint of my right foot and I'm just DONE with all this injury. I've decided not to train for the CIM marathon in Dec. and I'm just going to chill, be a gym rat when the fancy strikes me, and put my energy in other things for now.

It is really hard for me to run so I haven't been. I've been swimming here and there and joining in the random spin or xbike class. Thats it! I've lost a lot of muscle in the past month. I can build it fast but I can sure lose it fast too which has translated in 3 more pounds off. crazy.

This kind of lifestyle is hard for me. I'm used to insane workouts on a daily basis but I think it will be good discipline to be "normal" and exercise to be healthy, not to race. Not to have it consume my daily thoughts or family time on weekends. That part will be nice.
 
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