Getting into the Groove

I have 1 of 13 months of training complete.  13 months may seem like a long time to train for a race but I'm a firm believer of "periodization".  My training will comprise of 3 periods, period one is October-Feb, 2 is March-July,  3 is Aug-Oct and the race is November.  The first period is where you create the foundation to handle the load. 

My weekly workouts look like this:
Swim: 2x's= 7,500 yards
Deep Water Running= 2x's
Bike= 2-3x's (spin and mountain)
Run= 4 x's
Core & weights 2-3x's.

Here's where I train (care to join me? ;)):
Swim & deep water running: Bangor (Navy Base)
Bike: Spin- Bangor & Kingston Fitness, Mountain Bike- Heritage and Port Gamble
Run- Kingston area road and trails
Core & weights: Bangor & Kingston Fitness

Nutrition:
Sleep & nutrition are  as important as the workouts.  While I'm not a vegetarian, I do believe that meat increases inflammation and therefore slows down the recovery process so I have limited  meat to 1-2x's a week.  I have also almost eliminated  processed foods from my diet, the main reason is they're pretty much bad for you & the more something is processed the less nutritional value it has. 

Here are a few of my favorite meals during high training times:
Lentil soup cooked in the crock pot with garlic, carrots, onion, red potatoes and spices
Vegetarian tacos (Rob makes the best)- black beans, rice, rotelle, cilantro,cheese
Quinoa Pasta with roasted garlic and olive oil
Red leaf lettuce with pomegranate seeds, almonds, cranberries, fetta, olive oils and salt

Alcohol & sugar
I do love my Merlot and basically every form of dessert!  At 42 years old I'm past giving up what I love for racing, I learned long ago that balance is best.  So, I allow myself one dessert and 2 glasses of wine each week.  On special occasions that will increase but those amounts are what I aim for.  It's amazing how good dessert tastes when you only get one each week.  Instead of cheap candy, cookies etc.,  it's about baking something delicious.

If you're interested in doing any of the above workouts with me, please comment here or shoot me an email at info@kingstonadventures.com

Happy training,
Beth

Gearing up for the World Championships!

It's been 3 years since I completed Ultraman Canada, enough time to forget the pain (mostly) and gear up for round 2.  This time however, it's the Ultraman World Championships.  After all, who qualifies for a World Championship race and doesn't compete?  That would be like making cookies and not eating one.... And, someone has to represent the Pacific North West, looks like no woman from here has ever competed.

Why did I wait so long?  It has taken me a few years to first get past my shark fear.

I remember walking up to the podium the day after Canada, the blisters on my feet were so big that it made putting on flip flops a slight challenge.  As I walked up to the podium, I felt the blisters popping and I feared they were shooting at people like little water guns as I twisted and turned past all the chairs..... So seriously, why would I do it all again? 

We are are all fueled differently, for me it's been dreams, more specifically challenges that appear to be just out of reach.  The absolute joy I feel after achieving something that I once thought  out of reach, well, I just can't put it into words.  Some people have said my ability to weather such hard endurance events is a "gift" or "amazing" or "unimaginable".  The only gift I have is one that anyone could have, it's desire and will.

you just gotta want it.

I will use this blog to keep people informed of my training for the Ultraman World Championships which is: 6.2 mile swim, 261.4 mile bike & 52.4 mile run.  This race will be Thanksgiving weekend 2013 on the Big Island of Hawaii.

It takes a village.......
Please offer my loving husband some relief and come train with me!  He does many of my workouts with me but the poor guys' gotta catch a break sometimes.  Throughout the next 12 months I will be posting key workouts that would be awesome to do with other people, if you're game, I would love your company:)

I look forward to running, biking, swimming & laughing with you. 

Beth