Swim Goggle Headache

Thank you to those who have taken the time to help me figure out why I have been getting these bad migrane like headaches while doing my long swims. From an article my sister-in-law Helena sent me and through some research of my own, i think I have what's called "Swim Goggle Headaches" I would keep tightening the straps if water leaked in and the pressure on the supraorbital nerves is whats causing the pain. here is a visual to show better.

 

My plan now is to go get a new pair of goggles that have a softer material around the base. Hopefully this works. Thanks again everyone.

On a side note, if you have sent emails as a response to this post, I never got it. I don't know where these emails go, so if you want to post something you can do it directly to the blog or use my other email.


megan.esmonde@gmail.com

First 100 miler on TT bike!

Over the past week my body finally starting feeling back to normal.
I'm sure part of it had to do with getting more sleep and not over
doing it. I am just glad to be feeling normal.

So this past week was the end of the Aerobic Phase. I did change
around some of the workouts to fit my schedule and I felt like I
needed more time on the bike, so I rode more.

Saturday, John and I went out for a 100 mile bike ride. We left the
house at 6:30am and headed to the group ride in New Jersey. (we live
in PA) The ride would be approx 25 miles, we had to avg 15mph in order
to get there on time. The ride to NJ was a direct shot, but there was
one obstacle in our way...the Delaware River! We had to ride over the
Tacony-Palmayra Bridge to get there, that was the best part of the
whole ride. The group ride was nice and steady, I sat on the tail end
so I could be in my aero bars the whole time without anyone
complaining. The group ride was 50 miles so by the end of that John
and I already had 75 miles in. John's dad Pete, brought water and food
for use to refill for the 25mile ride back. Thanks Pete!! At this
point this has been the longest ride I have done for a long time, I
still felt good, but not great, The ride home was good, John pulled
the whole way, I wasn't complaining:) I relaxed the rest of the day
and I think that was the reason why I feel great today. Recovery is
such a key to a successful training regime. I am really good at doing
nothing!

To finish off the week I had a long swim. Unfortunately I keep getting
bad headaches during my swims, they get to the point of nausea. I
don't know why this is happening, but I want it to stop. Maybe I have
my goggles to tight. If anyone has any advice please let me know.

This coming up week is a recovery week. I was planning on doing a
duathlon on Sat, but with my Achilles still flaring up and the
ridiculous cost of the event, I am opting to pass.

Only four days working out this week, and I'm looking forward to the
down time. I hope to finish all of the flowers for the wedding and
some of the preparations for the baby shower.

Have a Happy Easter Everyone!

Get it together body...SERIOUSLY!!!

My body is starting to rebel against me. It does not like working out 6 days a week, planning a wedding, planning a trio baby shower, designing nursery's and only getting 5-6 hours of week. My brain and heart love to do those things so don't take this as a complaint, but once again I have gotten sick:(

For someone who hasn't gotten sick in a very long time, I have been sick since the beginning of my training. I have not found the balance or work/wedding/training/extra stuff to maintain the healthy flow.

It started last week on Thursday, I thought it was allergies, but the cold was sneaking back in:/
That weekend a lot was going on. My wedding shower was on Sat, so my sister Michele came up early on Friday. Sat am I had a big workout which I almost skipped but the weather was to nice to pass up. I did a 2 hour ride followed by a ten mile run. I felt physically fine muscle wise, my body was just tired.

The shower was at my Aunt Dee's and it was so great and a little weird all at the same time. People sit around you watching you open presents. I'm always used to giving presents back. I got a lot of great things and was so happy to see everyone that came. My sister did an amazing job. Love you Michele.

Sunday I hung out with my mom since she was still in town and went to a family function. I eventually got home and was able to see John for the first time that weekend.

Oh and I almost forgot, I did my first long swim. 1.25 miles in the pool on friday and it went GREAT!!
It was 88 laps, and I never lost count. I really enjoyed the long swim, can't wait for the next one.

I switched my Sunday to Friday so I would have off and it was nice. The cold got worse and I ended up losing my voice, which John enjoyed!!! I finally got it back Wed and that was the first day back to working out. I ran 6 miles and my body afterwards felt like it ran a marathon. Not Good. I will take Thursday off and do a small swim on Friday. I plan to pick things back up this weekend to do two days of Bricks. (Swim/Bike & Bike/Run)

I have learned my lessons. I will use the weekends for now on for Wedding stuff, luck for me there isn't much left. Hopefully this won't hinder my Ironman goals...I don't think it will.

Official Countdown:
57 days till Wedding
157 days till Ironman!!

Don't worry I"m not MIA!

It's been a bit since I've last posted, and I apologize for that. You know after a long weekend, you need a vacation, thats how i have been feeling. For me the past two weekends have been busy, and right now I am trying to keep my eyes open.

My last post talked about clothing, and thank you for those who posted comments and asked questions about the clothes I wear. Since then, I have been wearing less clothing thanks to the warmer weather. I also have been able to run outside before work since there is plenty of light. With the time change now, I will be able to run and ride outside after work...YEAH!!!

So what has been going on. 2 weeks ago was week 12. I had a pretty solid week of training. I have still been doing the Elite swim which has been going really well. I have become a pro at putting all my long hair into the swim cap without ripping any out!! Over that weekend I got in a 50 mile bike ride and a 10 mile run. I also went to my cousins baby shower and saw lots of family.

This past week went well. My lifting at the gym has changed from slow/low weights and lots of reps to fast/heavy weights and less reps. This makes my workout shorter in time which I like! Over the weekend I was down in DC helping my sister-in-law Alycia get the baby Izzabella's  room all decorated. It rained all weekend which was a bummer, so I had to time my workouts so I didn't get caught in the rain. I ran 5 miles on Sat, and my ride on Sun was shorter than my plan said, but it was hard to ride when most of the areas we went were flooded. I am not stressed that I didn't get the miles in, I will make up the miles this week.

So, now, back on track. It's the start of Week 14. Hopefully this week will be kinda chill before the craziness of the weekend begins. My mom fly's into town tomorrow and will stay through till Monday. She is here for my bridal shower which is this Sat. My mom is not staying with me, but my sisters are over the weekend which I'm really excited about!

This is my training for this week:

Mon: Off (get my life back in order and get food for the house!!!)
Tue: Bike 
Wed: 8 mile Hill Run (there is a great 2.2 mile loop by my house that I will run with hills)
Thur: Swim 950 yards
Fri: Off
Sat: Open water swim  (can't do open water yet, water to cold, will swim 1.25miles in pool instead)
Sun: Brick (3hr ride followed by a 8 mile run)

I will probably change around a few of my workouts. Instead of having Friday off I will move my long swim to that day so I can have Sun off. I have it all worked out!!

A lot of people have been asking me how I think my training has been going, and I think it has been going well. I try not to freak out when I don't get the full distance in, but I also try not to make a habit of it. I am getting excited for all the events that will be taking place this year, weddings, babies and races.

Warm weather I feel you getting closer:)

So much clothes, so little snow!

There’s nothing better than ending a great week of working out with a great weekend!

Saturday’s swim went really well. I have decided to start swimming the Elite workout that is one step up from what I have been doing. I actually felt like a swimmer this weekend, I feel my form getting better and my arms are getting stronger.

Sunday, I had a brick workout and my friend Mark joined me for the bike portion of it. The roads were fine from the snow we got earlier in the week and the temps weren’t to bad either. Throughout the ride it kept snowing and then stopping. It was really pretty and my first time riding in the snow. After the 1.5+ ride, I got back to my car, had a quick wardrobe change then headed back out on foot for my 8 mile run. The first 100 yards felt funny, but my body quickly regained composure and ran as if I had not ridden before hand. My feet however were still frozen and didn’t defrost until mile 3.5.

After I got home from my run and bike on Sunday and emptied my bag, I was amazed at the amount of clothes I had to wear for these two workouts. I took a picture so you could understand what you have to wear in the winter while training for an Ironman.

Bike Portion
1. Helmet
2. Lightweight Ear band
3. Long sleeve base layer shirt (worn on bike and run)
4. Short Sleeve Cycling Jersey
5. Thermal Jacket
6. Long Tights (worn on bike and run)
7. Cycling Shorts
8. Socks (worn on bike and run)
9. Cycling Shoes
10. Insulated Shoe Covers
11. Lobster Gloves
12. Watch (worn on bike and run)

Run Portion
1. Fleece Lined Headband
2. Long sleeve base layer shirt
3. Winter Running Jacket
4. Long Tights (worn on bike and run)
5. Socks (worn on bike and run)
6. Running Shoes
7. Brooks Winter Running Gloves
8. Watch (worn on bike and run)

It is important in my training on my brick workout days to simulate the transitions as best as possible, so when it came to what I wore I tried to wear components that could be used on both the bike and run. Also, since I was parked in a public space I needed to keep that in mind in terms of changing. My long sleeve base layer is a Patagonia Women’s Capilene base layer. It wicks away the sweat, which was perfect. My running jacket is the Saucony Omni Soft-shell Jacket, great for running in a cold rain, or a windy day. The two biggest components to my wardrobe are my gloves. My running gloves are by Brooks. They are both glove and Mitten and are totally warm. The best part is if my hands start to warm up, I can simply pull back the mitten and it exposes my fingertips, bring down the temp in my hands. My cycling gloves are Pearllzumi’s Barrier Lobster gloves. It is a full glove liner inside with only 3 outer shell compartments. They work really well for me.

I look forward to the summer when I will just wear a tri top and shorts and that’s it!

Another Blizzard :(

It feels good to be training, and even better to ride outside. Over the weekend I was lucky enough to ride on PAVEMENT…so exciting. John and I met up with some friends to ride the hills in Bucks County. I loved every minute of it. In addition to a great weekend of working out I also got a ton of wedding stuff done. It is officially less than 3 months to go! I can’t wait.

This week is another crazy week. My training schedule looks like this.

Mon- Rest Day

Tue- Run (Intervals…love it)

Wed- Upper Body Weights and Core

Thur- Swim

Fri- Bike

Sat- Brick (Bike 35 mile and Run 8 miles)

Sun- Swim 1700 yards.

We are expected to get another snow storm starting tonight and ending Friday. The area where I live, north of the city is expected to get the most snow… lucky me! I am hoping the roads are nice and clean come Saturday so I can ride outside.

I also have been sick since last Wednesday, which is not fun. But this time I ended up taking antibiotics and am feeling much better. It does make it interesting swimming when your all congested. I think the travel to NY and body just been over worked caused for a low immune system. I am also pretty bad about talking vitamins, but I am making a bigger effort to do that.

My new favorite Vitamin Drink is Emergen-C Pink Lemonade Flavor. It is a mix you put into water, and it’s packed with 24 nutrients, antioxidants, electrolytes and 7 B vitamins. It’s filled with lots of good stuff while tasting yummy.

John and I are also taking Jordan to go look for his wedding suit this weekend, he is going to be so handsome looking, can’t wait.

Brides, Bodies and Bostons!!

Recovery week is over and I'm back into the swing of things with my training...boy am I happy about that. As much as I enjoyed the sleeping in, I missed the working out. I love the feel of a good hard workout.

This past weekend was a whirlwind of fun. It started on the train in Trenton where I met my sister Michele who traveled up from DC. We reached Penn Station, NY a little after noon, walked across the street to our hotel and quickly checked in (thanks to Michele's mad skills). The lobby of the Hotel Pennsylvania looked the an airport terminal.

The Westminster Dog show preliminary competition was this past weekend and our hotel was the host hotel, which meant...dogs everywhere. Michele and I were in heaven. Our Aunt Pixie and Aunt Maggie met us at the hotel before we jumped in a cab and headed to the Village where my appointment at JCrew was. At the time of the fitting I owned 2 wedding dresses, the same one just different sizes. With all the training I was doing I lost weight and needed something smaller. The dress fit great, just needed a few alterations. My Aunt Pixie works at the Lion King show on Broadway and her boss, Keld, was kind enough to do my alterations. So after a great lunch at John's Pizza in the Village, we headed to the Lion King for the actual fitting. We got to see the behind the scenes of the show, costumes, puppets and the best part was that we almost got taken out by a hyena running to her cue on stage!!

The rest of the weekend was filled with a crime scene on the subway, dinner in little Italy and shopping. I am exhausted and need a full day to catch up on my sleep!

This week starts the third phase of my training. This is the Aerobic Stage, 6 weeks long.

Mon- Swim
Tue- Weights
Wed- Bike
Thur- Run
Fri- Off
Sat- Swim & Bike
Sun- Run

I can't wait for the sun to come out and melt all this snow...we got more last night! I am ready for spring, ready to ride my bike outside and ready to BBQ!!!