2014 Ironman 70.3 St George Utah. HOT and HILLACIOUS!

What a great first ironman venue, in a great city, with great people and a super challenging course. After driving the course to see what I was in for , which mind you is very Hillacious, I realized that my goal was to finish strong and smile the entire way. I almost reached both goals. There were times on the uphill runs I was not smiling so much. The rest of the way, I think I was, at least I look happy in my race photos. Ben , my hot husband, maintained his usual look the entire race. It was hot , but I don't seem to mind hot. There were plenty of aid stations, one every mile on the run , with ice, sponges, drinks and treats. I had a great weekend in St George. We stayed at the Sand Hollow State Park, which was where the race started. It was nice being at the start and not having to bus in to it at 4:30 am. The water temp in the reservoir was 60 degrees but felt warmer to me. The swim was wave starts every 3 minutes. I started 50 minutes after the first wave of professionals. The waiting and waiting was stressful!! Even though it was a wave start , there were plenty of people to swim thru.

The bike was challenging. 4 Up hills , that did not always lead to a down. Very challenging! The snow Canyon climb was the hardest, the hottest, but most spectacular. And after that it was a fast , fast downhill. I was hitting speeds of 38 to 40 mph in my aero bars, which kind of scares me. The bike , was great. I felt great, felt like I still had energy when I hit the run.

Then realized OMG, the first 4 miles is uphill. Wow, it was tough. So I all I could do was keep on moving and smile. Enjoy the experience. I was 30 minutes off my usual 13.1 mile run , but I cannot lie, it hurt. The uphill hurt , and sometimes the down hill hurt worse.

When I finished that race, at first I wanted to cry, then I couldn't stop smiling. It is an amazing feeling to come through the finish line, with people screaming your name. I had completed 70.3 triathlons before, but never such a challenging venue . IRONMAN is amazing.

Ben's official time 6:00.49 Heather 6:21.35 My road to Ironman Couer d' Alene 140.6 continues.

Is it ????? At all about the Bike??

The new bikes, pretty kick ass, NOT TOP of the LINE like you bought a new used car "bike" , but still thousands of dollars have been invested. Up until this Spring I was riding a 2003 Aluminum Trek road bike with tri bars. I have to say I did beat lots of people on super fancy bikes with ZIPP tires even. So, I know it is not ALL about the bike, but it feels good to have a responsive faster Bike. My husband and I both have full carbon, triathlon specific bikes, and have been fitted and tweaked and fitted for top performance. IM 70.3 St George, May 3 2014 here we come. First big stop before Ironman 140.6 Couer d 'Alene . I got the womens fit Felt B16, which many a races have been dominated with by female triathletes. My husband got the Cervelo p2 .

I found the rub free bra!!! Halleluiah. Female endurace athletes with the Sistas can rejoice!!

I have searched far, I have trialed and error and spent too much money . I have completed endurance events with bloody, ulcerated wounds around my sternum. But I will search no more. And I did not buy it at any fancy , expensive athletic store. I bought 6 of them of course a Fred Meyer for 12.99 a piece. I ran a marathon in them before Easter, two weeks ago , and not a problem!!! Halleluiah

Sisters!!! I will save the rest of you all the Grief. Cascade Sports performance no seam , reversible athletic bra.

Running pictures are not flattering!!

Yes, sometimes it is nice to commemorate your accomplishments, but holy hell, freeze framing most runners is either a picture of comedy or agony, or the movement doesn't give the slightest justice to the task at hand. So here are my husband and I's pictures of us running and finishing or second marathon. As highlighted in my last post, it was a great run until mile 15, then there was the wall of 20-30 mile an hour wind from mile 15 to 20 and the last 6 miles were up and down rolling hills. The finish was also up hill the last 1/2 mile . I suppose I can sort of laugh at myself , for you think in your head your feeling good, and kicking ass, then you see the pictures and think OMG I look like I am torturing myself to death.

First picture of me, good cadence , mile 4-5 , feeling awesome. Still cold , so super bundled up.

Still holding cadence maybe almost half way.

mile 15 , getting hot, getting tired, and here comes the wind!!!

26.2 miles done!! Definitely NOT the " I just want to feel this MOMENT" moments. I really think I was delirious! As for my husband there is a joke about him. He literally has two looks. Pissed and more pissed at all times. so he never really looked phased. NOT like me.

Ben, my hot husband, did awesome , but the turtle beat the hare once again. Sorry honey!! love you. Anyway, lesson learned on my road to Ironman. Smile for the camera as much as it may hurt. And if you want really good running photos hire a friend or relative to get your good side. Sonja Kireilis Wildt , I need you !!!

Glutton for Punishment, Lake Lowell Marathon

2nd Marathon completed. It was hellaciously grueling. Not because I was not physically ready, but because the environmental variable. You see I grew up a competitive swimmer in Southern California, where the weather is typically sunny and 70 degrees, and the breezes are rare. In competitive swimming the environment in which you compete has very little variable. Competitive racing pools are pretty standard, and alot of them are indoor. All you need to worry about is "are you ready to compete". In marathon running and triathlons the variables are many, the WEATHER, the elevation changes from course to course, traffic.. These things that the athlete cannot control. Here in the mid west, the weather can change everything. My husband and I decided to do this marathon, as it is about this time in our training that we are supposed to peak up our running mileage, to prepare for our June 29th Ironman . Honestly we were both "rockin" it, I was well under my mile average to get my Boston Qualifier, until ............... Mile 15. The wind became uncontrollable, like it does in Idaho, it is know to blo over Semi trucks and stuff. It was a wall of wind averaging 25 to 30 miles an hour. For 5 miles it came from the North , North west . I tried to keep my running cadence in hopes that I could salvage through it, but OMG did it zap ALL my energy. I went from running 8:30 minute miles to 9:45. My husband went from 8:00 minute mile to 10:00 then 11:00. Water station cups were flying, Runners hats were flying off peoples heads, and of course tumble weeds were crossing the roads. It was a mental game at that point. Needless to say , I finished, and right at my best, still dont know my official time , as they have yet to post those . I May have been a few seconds under my best, or a few seconds over. No time to dwell, just hope I recover well. In three weeks is Ironman St George, a 70.3. The road to Ironman continues.

Why cant I sleep ? I should be exhausted. The crazy turmoil of training for Ironman.

My training has ramped up, now that I am at 16 weeks until IM Couerd alene. It is Thursday and I have already completed 24 miles of running, 20 of biking and 3.5 of swimming. My head wont turn off. I can't stop thinking of how to properly set up my bike for hydration , what to put in my support bags. What clothes to wear for any sort of weather that MIGHT occur on JUNE 29th. WHAT IF THIS OR THAT...AugggH. It is 1 am, I was lying in bed starving , so I get up and eat a snack thinking this would get me to lights out. Nope. There is soooooo much to think about with Ironman. It excites me and terrifies me at the same time. Then, my mind wanders to what the heck am I doing? Is this the meaning of life? Why do I feel so compelled. I lay in bed nightly , surfing the internet for all my answers, like what are the best swim socks, and what do I do if I get my period on race day. The internet is a great place to get all sorts of opinion, on ANYTHING, I mean anything. Then I think of random other things like, what the next family vacation should be, got to get the yard cleaned up for spring and the deck sanded and stained, and oh what about this and what about that. And my next thought is if I cant sleep how the heck am I going to get up in 4.5 hours to train and go to work, and take care of the kids and .........please let me go to sleep.

Cycling is making my heart burn ?!?

Excessive exercise, especially cycling can increase heartburn symptoms in athletes. Heartburn is a symptom, that most everyone experiences in their lifetime. If it is chronic it can lead to esophageal reflux disease, ulcerative esophagitis, strictures to the esophagus or precancerous mucousa called Barretts esophagus. Incidence of esophageal cancer is approximately 1 in 1000 cases of Barretts esophagus. Incidence of barretts in general population is 5.6 percent , which is a very low number . Meaning not every person with heartburn needs screening for Barretts, as the research currently shows. Most heartburn however is benign, just uncomfortable . In exercise it can be exacerbated due to heavy breathing, the diaphragm pushing on the esophageal sphincter that keeps acids in the stomach from seeping into the very alkaline , neutral esophagus. Then put yourself on a tri bike, leaned over for 112 miles and trying to fuel yourself with acidic hammer gels or high fat substances then it may happen. Burning reflex, epigastric pain, nausea, or just not feeling well. What to do? Chronic symptoms, especially if not just exercise induced , always should be discussed with your Dr. For the occasional pain in the ass symptoms I suggest firstly, diet choices will play key roles. Softer , blander food are more easily digested, low acidity and lower fat content, is also better. High fat foods take longer to digest and you may overproduce acid. Occasional use of prilosec is ok , it is a proton pump inhibitor, and is supposed to prevent the stomach from overproducing acid . However , it does have side effects when used daily , so try it out in training , not just race day. If you feel the need to use this medicine daily then a conversation with your Doctor should take place. Common side effect may be headache or change in bowels. Another alternative, Zantac or ranitidine, will reduce acid as it occur, but doesn't Prevent it. Zantac is Inexpensive, with little side effects. Zantac would be my first choice, along with better diet choices. My opinion once again , is start with diet.