In Anatshell » ironman

Ironman 70.3 – Where dreams come true

anat — Sat, 23 May 2009 19:06:57 +0000

2,600 participants …. each had his or her name printed in bold letter on their bib… crowds were cheering for each and every person : “Go Brian!! You can do it Jennifer! It’s the end Mike!” and then I show up, a perplexed look on their face as they see the letters A-N-A-T, they quickly shake their head and yell “Good luck… to you!”.

I arrived in Florida several days before the big event. In order to do what my coach told me, I didn’t use any air conditioning and overdosed on nuun tablets. After putting my bike together, I went on a lovely ride through the the charming town of Kissimmee Florida to check that everything was operating properly. What a dump. It’s like driving in an endless loop of fast food joints – Denny’s , Shoney’s, McDonalds, IHOP, repeat. It’s a good thing that I had a very specific purpose for my being there and somehow managed to find a decent diner to have breakfast in. (Rodeo Diner).

My coach showed up a few days later and we decided to check out the expo which was located in Fort Wilderness, Disney. What better place to accomplish a goal… After all, it’s Disney World – Where dreams come true.

On the bus to the expo we saw people of all shapes and sizes who were also, no doubt, looking forward to accomplishing something… and if you can show off with a cute riding shirt, then you’re really getting you’re money’s worth. My brief anthropological experiment on the bus to the expo revealed that adult males who compete fall into one of two categories; the good ones who bring their family to Disney and the other ones. I’m sure that the Disney shops were stormed with people buying compensation gifts for their kids. Coming back from an Atlanta business trip empty handed is one thing but coming back from a race in Disney World with no gifts has to be the worst thing a dad can do.

We came back to the expo again the next day to have our bikes looked at and place them in transition. We also had lunch on site where I predicted my state of mind during the race disciplines on a restaurant napkin using my illustration method of choice – stick figures.

I don’t know the answers to the following questions :

Why do your hands get shorter for the bike and longer for the run?
Why didn’t you put your hair in your bathing cap?
Why did you head get bigger?
Where did your hair go during the run?
Why is your hair standing at the finish line?

If you have questions other than these, I’ll be happy to answer.

To prepare for the big day, I had to get all of my equipment in sorted and nutrition planned out. (Note: All of my nutrition comes from Sport Quest Direct, GU and nuun). I had two water bottles with two scoops of Carbo-Pro in each and nuun in one of them, a cliff bar and two gels on the bike, two gels for the run, Thermolyte for every leg of the race (salt), VO2Max pills before the race, Recover during the bike phase and before the entire race, and some motivator pills just in case. Oh… and don’t forget the Babba for good luck.

We woke up at 3:15AM, Breakfast at 3:30AM and arrived at transition at around 5:15AM. I got marked with my number and organized my important stuff in transition (Babba too). I recalled the first time that I did this in the women’s triathlon in Israel. For all intents and purposes, I was a monkey imitating the other girls lay out their towel, shoes, sunglasses, etc. Now I already knew where everything went and how I like things to be laid out. Others will be mimicking me in a few weeks during my third women’s triathlon in Israel.

My wave started at 7:00AM. My coach, Sharone, already left at 6:50 and I had my dad with me to cheer me on and wish me good luck at the start line. Everyone is nervous but not everyone shows it, especially when there are just a few minutes remaining until the start. The gun was fired and I knew that the finish line was the furthest it will be throughout the entire race. Makes sense, I know, but this is what you think about when you start new things.

The swim took 42:12 (35/79 in category). I got kicked in the face once and even got an apology.

The bike took 2:52 (33/79 in category). It was as flat as a pancake and I kept a good steady pace, averaging 19.5MPH. During one u-turn, there was a man who must have rode too fast and his face was full of blood. The volunteers were shouting “Slow down, there is a man down” or translated it would be “Slow down to see what could happen to you if you don’t”.

The run took 2:04 (22/79). This time includes a bathroom break in the woods (Desert style) and stopping for a few seconds at each and every aid station. This must have been the most significant because my total place was 23/79 in my category which means I’m in the first 30% of the finishers.

My stick figure napkin masterpiece was completely wrong. I felt good the entire race. I had a good pace on the bike and my workouts really payed off. Not to mention, I had a great coach without whom I couldn’t have felt this good during the race. Now I’m sure you have a few questions. Here are the answers :

I don’t know when. It takes a lot of training to do a full ironman and I need to figure out where I’m headed before I commit to something like that.
Eww… I’m not even going to answer that.
Yes, I’m in Israel now.
My next one is the Women’s triathlon in Herzlia, Israel.
1834. You have to be an idiot not to know that.

Now to Italy for a cycle vacation! I will attempt to record all of my routes during this trip and report back to y’all.

Gearing up

anat — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 05:43:54 +0000

Have you ever had bright red legs that looked like they were sun burnt? That itched like a mother…? After cycling for an hour and a half? In 35 degrees? It’s a miracle that I didn’t scratch off all of my skin at that very moment. Let this be a lesson for me and for the rest of us – Red is always bad, and dress warm when it’s cold!

While I was cycling with my coach, Sharone, and my new friend, Sunny, I didn’t feel too uncomfortable. I’m not denying that it was cold but nothing really hurt me and I was enjoying the lake front ride. When I got home and saw my legs, I knew it was time to get some winter cycling gear. Every piece of clothing or equipment that I had purchased was always out of necessity.

Here is my new poem. It will help you understand:

My influence is Shel Silverstein by the way…

When I decided that I liked triathlons, I got a bike and helmet.
And wanted to keep the skin on my hands so I bought some gloves, god damn it..

I wanted to keep tires in my shirt so I got a jersey with pockets
And the sun was beating in my eyes so I got sunglasses for my sockets.

I didn’t want my butt to hurt so I got cycling shorts.
I didn’t want to ask for his pump so I bought one of course,

I wanted to be part of a team so I went and got their outfit,
And now its cold and I need more stuff, I just can’t live without it!

Here is a list of what I got:

Gloves – Full finger gloves with a secret pocket that has a cover for my fingers

Socks – They look like gloves for you feet and they go under your cycling shoes

Pants – Thick thick pants so that my legs don’t get red again.

Hat – A scull cap to put underneath my helmet. It also covers ears.

Undershirt – A tight shirt that is breathable to wear under everything.

Here is a list of what I need:
A jacket – The one at the store was too small. I need a serious one.
Booties – These go over your cycling shoes to keep even warmer

Chicago Marathon

I woke up on the day of the Chicago Marathon and walked one block south of my house to the 21km mark of the marathon. It was at that moment that I realized how much I miss the competitions. I miss the training and the nervousness, the freezing mornings, the line to the bathrooms, the heaps of people… Soon after this realization, I met my friend Gil and we walked over to the finish line and then to a friends house that overlooked the stream of runners. It was an amazing events and I got great photos from the balcony.

My New York City Marathon is officially postponed to next year but my spot is saved. Meanwhile I’m back to very light running and eventually I will increase the distance and time.

Another Opera – Lulu

Now for my famous synopsis –
Lulu was adopted by an old guy when she was twelve and he turned her into a dancer so she could get guys. She married a guy and got caught cheating and the husband died. She married the guy she was cheating on him with and got caught cheating again and the next husband killed himself. Then, she married the guy who adopted her and ended up shooting him after he caught her cheating with a bunch of guys. She got sent to prison and a girl helped her escape. Then she had shares that turned out to be worth nothing and she became a prostitute and got murdered.

Southbeach Diet
I’m finally on a diet (yay). South beach diet is really easy to follow and there is a lot to eat. The concept is not to eat any sugar. No sugar from breads or fruit either. I’ve been on it for five days and I have a week and two days until the end of phase one. After phase one, other foods are introduced and when I get to my desired weight, I go to phase three. The problem is that I don’t have a scale but I ordered one online and hopefully the results will be in. My goal for now is to get back to 123 lbs or around 55 kilo.

Half Ironman
The training has begun for the half ironman. I’m aiming for the Ford half ironman in Florida (May). You can check out my workout routine whenever you want by going here:
http://www.workoutlog.com/log/public/anatkramer/log.cfm
I write comments on each workout so you can glance at that too. The one great thing about it, is the swimming. I’ve always just swam 30 minutes of freestyle and now I have kicks and drills and different strokes (for different folks) which makes the workout more interesting. Also, my stroke is improving so feel free to try any workout or ask me about it. Sharone Aharon and wellfit (his company) get full credit for everything! Visit their website.

I hope that everyone saw the Country Music Awards!