Day 40: Controlling the Pain

Calli- I succeeded in finishing, but I was doomed mentally from the start. All because I knew that it was 60 minutes instead of 30 or 40 made me feel tired much quicker. A helpful tip: do not keep an eye on the clock during a long work out because it makes you tired faster. It is much better to lose yourself in your thoughts and concentrate on your form. My legs felt great the entire time (they are a bit sore now, especially at the joints) and I kept having to correct my form as I got more and more tired. This time after the work out I didn’t feel exhilarated. Instead, I felt as if I was never doing that again. That was tough for me! When I go back to the gym it will be because I am lying to myself about what is going on there. Hah! Have fun out there everyone!

Jose- Day two with the new Newton MV2 shoes: Check! I found that part of the problem was tightening the laces too much. Last time my feet felt numb after 20 minutes. So this time I decided to let them a little bit loose to let my feet breath! That solved a big part of the problem. Still my legs felt tired after 45 minutes and I guess it might be my calves getting used to flat running. If you go to the web page of  Newton Running you will see how these shoes are “engineered to be the lightest and most efficient Natural Running shoe ever produced”, but you need to get used to them. Everything that we have been saying about running on the ball of your feet comes together with the use of this type of shoes. However you need to train your legs to this type of running before even trying them on. It can get messy… trust me on this one! But after the second day I’m feeling way more comfortable running with them. Last Monday,after 20 minutes, my legs and feet were feeling pretty bad, but this time I could handle the whole hour without a problem. Well, okay, to be honest, 50 minutes! The last ten were again very tough. But I finished my whole hour without any major complaint. Average heart rate 159, which means that I was at the border of zone 2. Exactly where I was supposed to be. A couple more runs with these shoes and I’ll be ready to race with them! Great shoes overall.

“Great is the power of habit. It teaches us to bear fatigue and to despise wounds and pain.” -Marcus Tullius Cicero

Day 39: The Arizona Ironman

Today on our off day, while Calli is probably eating a delicious thanksgiving dinner, I would like to describe my experience during last weekend at Ironman Arizona 2011. Maybe some of you already have seen the pictures on our Facebook account (Let’s TRI), and you noticed how I was trying to cover every possible spot during the event. As I’m writing, the videos that I promised a few days ago are uploading on our youtube channel and hopefully by tomorrow you will have access to all of them.

But let me tell you the story. Waking up at 5:30 in the morning on a Sunday is not what I would usually do, but this was different… I wasn’t even planning on being in Arizona for the Ironman, it just happened! I took the first bus to be able to see close to 2600 people in the water and maybe double than that on top of the two bridges of N Mill Avenue. The water was at 18°C (64°F), so it was not THAT bad for the cold morning that we were in. And looking at all that people ready to start with a 2.4 mile swim was very inspiring! Maybe they were not thinking about the 180 km of biking or the marathon that was waiting for them afterwards… Once they started there was no turning back! You better finish! Even if you have to walk at the end… It doesn’t matter!

Approximately 50 minutes after the pro athletes started, they were already getting out of the water! For a person like me that is still struggling with the swimming, it was even more inspiring and kind of scary at the same time! I need to be there at some point! I took a video of the first 8 guys getting out and then I ran to the transition zone and waited for them to take off on their bikes, which I also recorded.

Being in the transition zone is simply amazing! You see young people (18 years old girl the youngest) and not so young people too (69 years old the eldest gentleman). You see very fit people, but also people with a few extra pounds. And they all have one thing in common: They want to finish and they look so excited that I cannot explain! I saw ALL of them! 2600 persons ready to experience the biking route!

At this point of the morning, I went to have breakfast and then check out of the hotel because I was returning to Costa Rica that same night. But short after lunch and with the help of a great friend I found in there, I went back to the finish line to wait for the first one to come. I was honestly waiting that it was Eneko Llanos. He is a great person, a humble guy, very friendly and of course as people say, behind every great man there’s always great woman too! And this was not the exception. Eneko’s wife looked as humble and friendly as him and they seem to be very in love which even in that way was inspiring for me (I love you Calli!). I had the chance to talk to him a couple of days before the race and his wife took a couple of pictures of us. One of them is our picture for today. But anyways, as I was approaching the finish line I heard the people cheering loud! The champion was coming! Since I was still far from the finish line I had to run over there while preparing my phone to take a video of the winner!

I got to see Eneko running and I took a very short video of his entrance, I was almost running with him since I was far! But it was the perfect timing! I had two pictures with the new Arizona Ironman Champion and the first one to go below 8 hrs on this IM. It was amazing looking at him still being able to walk just fine, because others after him, crumbled at the finish line and they hardly walk fine after that. Eneko deserved to win that afternoon!

Being a little bit stubborn I had to have another picture! So I went as close as I could and he finally approached to talk with some friends and I asked him for the pic! The one that Calli posted on Sunday!

Unfortunately I had to go soon to the airport so I left the Tempe Beach Park and I was not able to see Leanda Cave finishing with her extraordinary 8:49:00. But it was good enough… for now!

On my way to the airport around 7:30 pm I saw a LOT of people still running, others walking, trying to finish their marathon… As I said at the beginning: You better finish! Not to prove anyone that you can do it but to prove YOURSELF that you can do it! The pain will last a couple of days, but knowing that you crossed the finish line, will last forever! You are now an IRONMAN FINISHER!

Being this my first Ironman experience I just can wait to be able to be there on any other city! Hopefully there will come the day when I will be able to participate in one and be a proud finisher too! Let’s hope for the best!

“Know yourself, dominate yourself, better yourself, eternal beauty of sports, fundamental aspirations of the authentic sportsman and premise of its success.” – Baron Pierre de Coubertin 1923

Day 38: Finding it in the water~~

Calli- I had a wonderful time swimming this evening. My workout is as follows: 300 Breaststroke, 12 25′s I.M. on 40 seconds (I.M. = Individual Medley, Butterfly, Back, Breast, Free), 300 Bakstroke, 250 Freestyle Pull, 250 Freestyle, 300 Breast, Free, and Back with Elementary Backstroke. They go a lot faster when you make a plan and stick to it. I am working on the effiiency of my backstroke right now. It has never been my strong point in swimming. I actually enjoy working on the things that are more difficult for me in the water. That’s how I learned butterfly! With back, I need to focus on the pull down, and a faster smoother arm rotation. I hope everyone enjoys the holidays tomorrow! Happy Thanksgiving!

Jose- Swim day! The pool was as bad as I expected… or maybe even worse. I envy Calli and her tempered indoor pool. I think starting January we will have to change the pool. On the positive side, it took me just like 3 or 4 minutes to jump in instead of the regular 10 minutes. Today I practiced a little bit the drills that Calli told me the other day but mostly I swam while trying to be very conscious about the breathing and stroking process. The breathing is getting better, and I can tell by how elevated my heart rate is, once I reach the end of the pool. At the beginning my heart was pounding all the time, but lately I can still breath without getting dizzy! On the other hand, I know the stroking is getting better because of how fast (or less slow) I’m swimming. I think I’m becoming more aware of the whole arm movement. I just need to find the perfect rotation (on the long axis) for me. I cannot wait for my coach and lovely fiancee to come back to help me with the swimming! 7 days from today is nothing! One last thing, remember that swimming is basically new for me, so try to keep in mind all the process that I’m going through so that you can try a similar approach if necessary and be VERY patient about your progress. Eventually it will pay back!

“Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions.” -Dalai Lama

Day 37: Time Flies!

Calli- Today was a weird day. Not weird in the bad sense, but in the interesting sense. I was supposed to spend the day shopping with my sister, and instead we spent it making lunch, fixing a tire, and helping a homeless man and his cat. We only had time to go to one store, and then we had to go to the gym to work out. Getting on the bike was, as usual, a mental struggle. However, after 40 min I felt motivated again. It was nice because my sis and I spent our time talking. It wasn’t until after work and dinner that I realized I did not have time to talk to Jose, and we value our time catching up. It is interesting where the time goes in the day. I guess I will have to choose how I spend it wisely. Have a good night everyone!

Jose- Today like all previous Tuesdays, it was biking day. I went very late to the gym because of some issues that made me stay at the office until late. I missed then both spinning classes which is our regular training, so I had to use the ugly uncomfortable bikes. I started with a 20 km ride to track my time. I’m close to 38 minutes which means I need to work harder. After that I decided to bike the remaining time going up and down on strength variation and it worked fine. I made a few more km that way. After the whole ride my legs were not as bad as they normally are when getting off those bikes. That was the bright point of the night. Tomorrow I’ll go back to the freezing pool. Hopefully I will be able to swim with no major problem besides the pool flaws themselves. We will see and I’ll let you know!

“Time = Life, Therefore, waste your time and waste your life, or master your time and master your life.” -Alan Lakein 

Day 36: Breaking In the Shoes!

Calli- The run was great! I finally got to use my new heart rate moniter, and I realized that I have been improving my heart rate while running. I stayed in Zone 2 for the fisrt 20 minutes and then it gradually reached Zone 3 because I was getting tired. However, I did not lose my mental focus when my heart rate increased. My body didn’t even feel that tired. I am so happy becasue I can feel myself getting more and more used to running for a long period of time. All the joints and muscles felt good, and I was able to concentrate more on lifting my knees. I am excited to run again with Jose becasue I miss having him sprinting next to me. Training is becomming a part of my life, and it feels good to have something to work towards and then see the progress being made. I have Jose to thank for that! I love you xoxoxox

Jose- Back to normal. After an awesome ironman weekend I had to go back of course to work. But I feel so lucky about having the chance of being at such an amazing event! I’ll make sure of posting the photos tomorrow on Facebook and also some of the videos. I received this weekend a shot of pure adrenaline and now I want to participate more than ever in something like this. That’s why after a long day of traveling, working and fixing some house problems I went to the gym for my 40 minute run! I was trying today my new shoes that I have been saving to buy. I’m nervous because they didn’t work out as I expected. I think that I need to tame them down with a few runs. Hopefully they will feel better soon. The run was good, I went a little bit over my zone 2 but not very much. I kept getting in an out of the zone the whole run. The fact that the pace was higher definitely influenced my heart rate but I know for sure that I’m improving to a better run method and time!

“Success depends on the support of other people. The only hurdle between you and what you want to be is the support of other people.” -David Joseph Schwartz