before and after

In a superficial sense, here was me in 2007 (and the pic that embarrassed me into action) vs. today, 2012:

So my last post definitely had a focus on race day. I wanted to also spend some time here on preparation and recovery, and some other random thoughts about the race experience.

1. training plan
I followed the basic training plan at amateurendurance.com. It seemed to be the best fit for me- a 16 week plan, based on effort level and time (not distance), 7-10 hrs per week, and already conveniently formatted into something that could hang on my fridge. I'm a very visual person so seeing things crossed off day by day was a huge motivating factor.

I guess I did ok.

Looking back there were definitely weak points in how I executed the plan. Getting in weekday rides/bricks was challenging. It was easy to skip friday afternoon/evening rides based solely on exhaustion from the week, and bricks usually ended up being either a trainer ride or a run, not both (though there were some really fantastic trainer/run combos in there, usually accompanied by whatever TV I needed to catch up on that week, that really were a huge ego boost). But coincidentally, the plan worked really well with things that were already on my schedule (Columbia, Bay Swim 1 miler) and didn't require too much shuffling around. I can definitely see where a coach would be helpful in the cases where you are juggling multiple races/recovery periods on your way to a bigger goal. But I think I would use this plan again, knowing what I know now.

2. race weekend logistics
I was ecstatic when we arrived in the area- I had a house full of great friends, my family was also staying in the area, and all the logistics seemed to be well planned-out. But this still couldn't overcome the fact that the house was 45 mins away from the race site, and no matter how hard I tried I still felt like I neglected friends and family who were in town.  Plus, with all my shuttling around I never did get to do a preview of the course. And if you've been following me here, you know how much that is important to me. To the point where for road races I make playlists based on how I anticipate course features. So to go into the whole thing as a complete surprise probably wasn't the best idea for me, and my general anxiety levels.

3. recovery
It's been a month now, and I'm finally emerging from the bender I was on post-race. Someone really should have warned me that I will want to eat nothing but entire boxes of donuts for weeks. And sleep entirely too much. And sit on the couch entirely too much (I had Tour de France and Olympics to thank for that last one). I'm finally starting to be interested in maybe working out again. Maybe. Since the race I've been to Deep Creek and did 2 days of riding (~30mi each day), swam 2 mi in the Purple Swim in Baltimore, and ran 5 mi around Boston. I have at least 2 more rides planned for August and considering possibly a century ride in September. But, my back has not been normal since before the race. So I've been very hesitant to sign up for another race. I've seen this pattern before, where the heat of summer gets to me and I stop doing anything. I can't fall into it again. I have more goals to reach!

Not bad for a year's worth of work!

4. life
Life's too short to be doing things you're not passionate about. This race and experience made that abundantly clear. Time to reevaluate some things in my life and maybe make a few changes here and there. It was also humbling to get so much support from everyone in my life. I'm overwhelmed by all the facebook postings and calls on the event weekend, and am nothing but grateful for each and every one!

5. Swag!
I know this is the most important part of this post. See the loot before and after!

I have to take all this with me??

But victory is sweet!