Half-racing

      I am officially declared out-of-shape for this rest of the year. Today I just ran the inaugural Dodge Rock'n'Roll Los Angeles (you know, this is the first, I had to do it...), and suffered as much as in a marathon, running a half-marathon AT MARATHON PACE. Not just that, but I had to walk few hills, felt sick and hit the wall at Mile 6, and, for the third race finish in a row, medical volunteers came to ask me if I was OK.

     

       Emergency measures are required, specially because I have a marathon in three weeks, the year still has two months to go, my training was jeopardized by my new job, and I want to have big endurance plans for 2011.

      First Step is start including my training on my written daily schedule. Even if it is a 30-minute run or a 15-minute Yoga session, something EVERYDAY, of course alternating intensity and listening to my body. Anything is better than nothing (current status).

      Second Step is to go for a medical check-up, as now my gastrointestinal problems got me to believe I may have Irritable Bowel Syndrome: my frequent toilet visits start now the day before the races, and not only on race morning, causing me to become dehydrated even before the races start.

      Third Step is to start again taking better care of myself; my weight is still the same, but I've been drinking way too much coffee, eating erratically, delaying Yoga for more than a week long, and sleeping poorly.

      After my DNF disaster two weeks ago, I thought an easy half-marathon in less than two hours would be a nice workout. I am happy I had this wake-up call just in time for Thanksgiving.

      By the way, my unofficial time was 2h07min; and I am working on Thanksgiving.

Good News, Bad News

      Pardon me my transient disappearance. I just started a new job one month before my first Ironman distance triathlon on July, and I am still catching up. As a miserable age grouper, I kept following my race schedule without adequate training after recovering from the big race. Happy to say I did not get physically injured. But naturally you can imagine what happened: I had my first Triathlon DNF.

      First the good news: I have completed my first Ironman distance race in less than 16 hours, a lifetime experience that I am sure I will repeat multiple times. In my trainng for it I learned to adjust my metabolism to burn fat, to trust Yoga for all my physical needs and build a stronger body, to disassemble my bike and pack it for flights and to swim longer distances (even though at the same slow speed...). After Vineman I did Malibu Oly and Malibu Sprint Relay, and finished my fastest Sprint race at the Los Angeles Triathlon.

     

      It took me almost two months to feel back to normal after Vineman; I had a skin infection on my right index finger, and then five weeks of diarrhea after taking antibiotics. I felt like a pro when I got diarrhea again on the night before LA Triathlon, sleeping only about four hours, and still being able to achieve a PR. On the week before Magic Mountain Man 70.3 I was working 12-13 hours a day, and started again with gastrointestinal problems on the night before the race. Even without having rushed visits to the port-a-potty on race course, I had to stop after biking 16.6 miles in 1 hour and 58 minutes at 90F degrees, not sweating for about 40 minutes. I would have continued after a break at the first water stop if it was a flat bike course, but that is a very challenging one, and I knew I would not make the time cut-off, not talking about crashing.  

      Talking about good and bad news, my hero Macca became the World Champion again, and Chrissie Wellington got sick and did not continue her championship streak.

      Just a week before I was questioning the value of a finisher's medal, but a DNF makes you relearn your priorities. Maybe I am getting older and recovery is taking many more weeks, maybe I am working too hard, but this is Endurance life...

      I need to schedule my next races, more road work ahead.