Tri-Dogmom

swim fishy fishy

2012-02-13T07:01:00.001-08:00

Week 1 swim week CHECK. Unfortunately (or not), I missed the first day which was a 3k, but no fear - coach has added another swim packed week starting TODAY.

I'm very happy with how my body responded to the increase in swim volume and intensity. I'm a good swimmer, and while I do love to swim for some reason I do have a hard time getting my butt to the pool for all 3 days per week on my schedule. Not always, but sometimes. Swims are ~ an hour long, but 20mins to the gym, 20 mins home. 10mins to stare at the pool and get in when I'm cold (seems to be a lot lately), then 20mins to shower and put on 10layers of lotion to offset the chlorine damage. Yup, it's a good 2+hour workout, smack in the middle of the day.

I'm lucky to have a work from home job, and typically have a nice break in the middle of the day so it does work out, but sometimes while I'm busy going back and forth across the pool, I do miss out on some one off work that needs to be done = I make no money.

Anyway, back to swim week. Since I was sick most of the weekend and into Monday I took Monday as rest day. It was a smart choice as I woke up feeling MUCH better, albeit still pretty snotty. Tuesday was just a tempoish ride, which I felt pretty good. Wed started right back with swim week and a BANG. It was a friend's 40x100 birthday swim. The interval sets were longer rest that I typically have, so I actually fared really well on this workout. I wasn't too trashed, and actually probably swam faster 100s than I normally would have because of the extra rest. I was however, pretty sore on Wed from this - I haven't gone 4k in months!

No rest for the weary tho! Thursday was 2800m swim, nothing too intense. It hurt for the first 1000, but by the end my shoulders, lats and triceps actually felt better than when I started. Friday was another 3100 set, this time with some fast intervals mixed in. I stayed on my rest intervals and finished the workout strong!

Saturday was bike/run day and Sunday was another bike followed by a 3500 swim. I was a little low on calories starting the day on the ride so I ate a LOT on the bike, following the bike and even added an extra (Cliff) Zbar topped with Pb on the way to the pool. I met a friend at a SCY pool to do this swim. BOY what a difference! The pool I swim in is SIGNIFICANTLY longer than a SCY pool. Not only is it meters, but it's actually 26.2 meters. So, basically every 1000 "meters" is really 1050. Bonus meters!

It was actually kinda cool to go to this pool to check some of my times. I haven't been in a normal distance pool in a while, so sometime I forget what kind of speed I actually have. This workout was no flop swim either, it was 1000 neg split warmup, 800 buoy, bands & paddles - negative split. Followed by 4x200. The time interval was supposed to be 3:50 for my normal pool, but I needed to shorten that up for this pool. My guess was about :12 per 100 faster, so I decided to go on 3:25. It worked out perfectly and to my surprise I was VERY happy with my times. I was even able to descend them. 3:04, 3:02, 3:00 and my last (I worked for this though) was 2:56! I decided to do add an ez 200 after to loosen up my arms for the last set of 800 bbp. The last set went great as well and I was about :12 faster than the first 800! I added a little to the cd to make it an even 4k, which is just about = to the 3500 Gainey meters.

Swim week = Success. ~13,500 in 4 swims & 5 days.

Next up. Swim week #2. Yup, apparently I get to do it all over again, starting today!

IN OTHER EXCITING NON swimming news. I'm finally, after 6 months beginning to LOVE My BIKE! WHOOT :)

being sick

2012-02-06T12:40:00.000-08:00

Seems like everyone and their mom, dog, child, brother has been sick in the past month. Nasty colds, bronchitis, aches, fever chills. I figured it was just a matter of time being before it got me, especially with a crazy past 8 weeks. 3 half marathons, a dog in surgery with weekly sedation and cast changes. An emergency trip to the dog hospital when his cast slipped. Husband traveling a lot = single doggy nurse (it really IS a lot of work) and topping it all off with my third and final half marathon when I was less than recovered from the second one out on a dirty, dusty farm on an exceptionally windy day.

Yup, I was doomed.

I'm sure I could have prevented some of it. Upped my greens and fruits and veggies, but when I'm tired and busy and single with the hubby out of town, I'd be lying if I said I didn't cheat on a good diet. Not that I'm out eating burgers and fries and such, but I'm lazy and don't cook my normal meals of everything in the fridge salads or grilled veggies and some sort of protein. I grab random stuff like ceral or just some scrambled eggs and sometimes forego all my normal nutrient packed meals. I also don't sleep well when I'm alone. Actually, I am not a good sleeper ever, but it's worse when I'm home alone.

With my less than perfect lungs due to asthma, as soon as my immune system gets compromised or the air is crappy or windy I am like a bullseye for all sorts of little viruses and infections.

But, when I do get sick. I'm not a good patient. I know it. I pretend I'm fine. I think I'm so healthy that I don't really need to rest, it will be all good. And, that's exactly what I did to myself last week and weekend which has resulted in my still in my pjs at 2pm today. I felt off all week, but not bad. No aches. By Friday I woke up sounding like nasty 20yr smoking veteran. I did a hill run, watched the HR and had a nice swim. I sounded way worse than I felt. When I got home I started to feel a little tightness in my chest so I called my doctor to see if I could get in and make sure my airways weren't compromised.

Really, what I was looking for was someone *professional* to tell me if I was ok to train ;)

My doctor is awesome and fit me in on his lunch break. He checked my lungs and they were all in the clear. I had a slight sinus infection so he put me on a zpack script to clear it up and get me back to normal training. I rested the whole day and night, and got up and did a 40mile bike ride keeping my HR really low. I was snotty as all get out (sorry all off Scottsdale) but took it easy and didn't fell bad. I stayed at all home all day and night resting (bored out of my mind), then Sunday got up for a group run. I did kinda feel a little worse today, but again took it easy. We stayed home and watched the superbowl, but I was a hot mess! I was like a snot fountain and was sneezing every 5 mins. Still no aches or fever, just all in my head. I was in bed by 9:30 and when I got up at 7:30 I definitely felt worse.

In typical Krista fashion I sat at my computer staring at my schedule trying to figure out how to still fit in all my workouts. It's my first ever super crazy swim week and even though it wasn't my idea, it was a challenge put out there for me and missing it would just drive me bonkers. I booked my spot for Kinesis and planned on swimming after.

I finally came to my senses when Shane told me I looked like absolute shit and decided to take the day off.

I know it's the right thing to do, but for some reason I just HATE missing out. I hate being sick. I hate giving in. Why can't I just be like ~~most men~~ everyone else and just take it easy. Rest. Get better? Be a whiney brat?

sorry boys, you know it's the truth

Thinking ahead, I'm going to try to be better about getting some natural immunity boosters in my diet ALWAYS, especially when I'm worn down, or Shane is out of town & I'm busy or not sleeping well. I've been doing some Dr. google research today and am thinking about getting a juicer. I know it's all the big fad right now, and while there are so many yummy fruits and veggies I do love, I have to admit there are lots I like, but don't LOVE ergo, I don't buy them. I think if I were to do daily juices with all this stuff it would be a great way for both Shane & I to get some added nutrition quickly.

So…. please send thoughts, suggestions on brands/models of juicer. And, NO I don't think I want the crazy $500 vita whatever from Costco. Isn't there something that is still great, but not so pricey? Please share!

What about THIS or THIS?

London's run

2012-01-30T11:22:00.000-08:00

I did it. I went for it, I gave it my all….but in the end, I just didn't have anything left in the tank or my legs to keep the fast pace past mile 9. My garmin splits CLEARLY show where the wheels fell off. I just couldn't seem to get them back ;). I guess 3 half marathons in less than 2 months will do that to ya!

The morning was beautiful, a bit breezy (but thankfully not nearly as windy as it was at my house when we left for the race!). The course was about an hour drive away on dirt farm roads. In hindsight, I probably should have done the other course I was debating over, on the roads. The dusty, uneven roads were really hard for me and I ended up carrying and using my inhaler 3 times during the race because of the air quality. My allergies are still a mess 2 days later.

I ran hard from the get go, but never digging too deep. I was very very happy realizing that not one person passed me from the start and I was running as the 4th female until mile 10 when a girl came flying by me. I tried to pull behind her, but I just didn't have it.

Around mile 11 or so I noticed some random guy running all over the place, looking at me, then yelling at someone behind me. On an out and back section I noticed there was a girl closing in on me, followed closely by about 3 other girls.

So, with less than a half of a mile to go when I realized (yes I actually asked the guy if he was trying to get the girl to pass me) that if I didn't pick it up I was going to get passed and then I would be really really mad so I dug deep, and then I dug some more. I held on to my 5th place and gave it everything I had.

I beat that girl by only :02 seconds AND it gave me 5th OA female and 3rd in AG.

I did not get my NY qualifying race, but I wasn't even remotely disappointed. That goal wasn't really mine, I just tagged along with some girlfriend's goals. After PF Changs 1:38 PR, I thought there was a small chance I could pull it off, but with only 2 weeks to recover and a very stressful week with Baxter ending up in the hospital for a night I was tired, and definitely NOT rested.

I very very proudly shared my age group medal (and an extra one) with Baxter & Juliette and toasted my achievement with a nice cold Blue Moon in my beer mug from NY Marathon, circa 2003 when Shane & I ran and he proposed to me.

I proved a lot to myself with these last 3 races, and while I'm ready to get back to my regular triathlon training…. I can honestly say it sure was fun being a "runner" for a couple of months :)

Going for it

2012-01-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure I'm recovered, I'm not sure I'm totally healthy (feeling a little off this week), but I've decided why not? Just go for it.

After a complete over-analyzing internal debate on which race I should do this weekend, I've chosen to do London's run. The course is more flat than the ARR Desert Classic I was thinking about doing and it's for a great cause. It is however, on all dirt, which most people like but I'm not a big fan of so I'm definitely going to have to focus.

My goal is 1:36:59 and a guaranteed entry (well after $255 entry fee - wtf?) into the New York marathon. The funny thing is, I'm not even sure I want to run another marathon, let alone train for one.

I've never gone after anything that "qualifies" me for an event so to me this is just a nice little challenge. I wish I had more recovery time after PF Changs, but the qual times are changing after Jan 31 so this is my shot!

I'd say I've got a 50/50 chance at pulling it off so I'm just gonna #gorunhard. If I don't make it, I'll know I gave it my best and will take away some really really good running training to bring into my season (yay! way excited maybe I won't get run down all the time!). I won't be sad, or disappointed. If nothing else, I consider it a win for me just putting it out there and going for it. I honestly still keep pinching myself that I did 2x sub 1:40 half marathon's in the past 2 months. It wasn't long ago I was going for sub 2hrs.

And, if I do make it. Well I might just pee my pants and then have to decide if I want to run a marathon :)

"You may not accomplish every goal you set / no one does / but what really matters is having goals and going after them wholeheartedly."
-- Les Brown

Rock and Roll 1/2 marathon

2012-01-17T14:39:00.001-08:00

The Rock and Roll events are like Disneyland for runners. Great first time events, but IMHO, way way way too much fluff. Too much money, too many people. Funny how I don't seem to say the same about Ironman, huh? Potat-O, PotAHto.

I did my first RnR even in 02 in San Diego. It's the race that ruined me for years. I gave in and did one more, the Phoenix RnR in like 03 or 04 maybe…. had my worst half time to date (2:14 or something) and swore I'd never do another one.

I think I'm finally learning not to use that word never…

Shane jumped on the bandwagon after Tucson to help pace our friend to a NY Marathon Qual time of <1:37. I didn't have it in my head that I could possibly EVER go any faster than I did in Tucson, but since we were in Mexico for 10 days and I needed some outlet to work off all the calories, I did all the training with him. The paces were hard, but I did them, even sometimes with a hangover. I finally registered for the obnoxiously overpriced race last Sunday.

A couple of "VIP warm zone" tickets were purchased, which at the time I thought was a complete rip off. $45 for parking and a special area to hang out indoors before the race. Turns out this was BRILLANT. I won't tell our secrets but all of us got into the VIP section and it was awesome. Traffic was insane and the freeway exits were backed up (both directions) for miles. We had just a small delay to get into the VIP parking, and a 5min walk to the warm zone and we were all able to gather our stuff, use inside bathrooms and then drop our bags right out the door just 15mins before the start. We jogged a half mile to the start and got right into the line. Of course due to the traffic it still started late but it wasn't too bad.

I didn't really have a "plan" for this race. My training was the same as Shane's and while I knew HE could do sub 1:37, I wasn't sure about myself. To me it's just so hard to fathom going faster than you have ever done? His job was to get our friend June to the finish and I would try to stay with them. As we started the race Shane's Garmin must have been a little off cause he just bolted out way faster than I expected. It felt a little less than easy for myself so I decided right there just to do my own thing. I stayed with them for about 2 miles, but then our friend seemed to slow down. I turned my music up and just went off on my own. The pace felt pretty good. I was working, but not using too much effort. Every opportunity I had I tried to pull behind someone to get a "draft," but somehow I still ended up on my own. I noticed my arch enemy in front of me and just kept this person in sight. No reason really for the arch enemy, except that this person has NEVER EVER been nice to me in races and I always try to talk to them, but get nuthing. So, now I've made it my mission to be competitive with this person until they are nice to me :) I've tried being overly nice but that isn't cutting it, so we'll see if this does - AND, I finally did make the pass (and STILL tried to make conversation with nothing in return) at about mile 8.

The weather couldn't have been better. About 50degrees and cloudy. Unfortunately, the course wasn't my favorite. Several turns and a net increase in elevation. The most "up" happened between miles 5-9. I felt it. My avg pace was slipping closer to 7:30 on my Garmin but I just didn't think I could push any harder or I'd blow up. About mile 8, Shane came up behind me. He said our friend just didn't have it today and sent him to come get me. He looked STRONG and I was doing just fine by myself to I told him to go have his own race… GO for it! I don't remember the last time he did a run race that wasn't for me so I was happy to see him doing so well. Within a few mins he was GONE. Turns out not only did he catch up to me after being about a minute behind, then he made up 2minutes on me in the last 4 miles finishing in 1:35…. Not his PR, but a solid solid race with a huge negative split!

I mentally started to give up on <1:37 when I hit mile 10 where the "down" was supposed to start but I wasn't feeling the benefits of gravity so much. As I went by aid station number 11 I got a second wind as my friend T told me to get my ass moving. I looked at my garmin and did the math. If I could pull out 2 miles around 7min pace and sprint the last .1 I would have a chance. I gave it EVERYTHING I had, however I soon realized that my garmin was .1 mile off of the official course so that cost me almost a minute. I did a few too many sub 7min sections that made me feel like I was going to vomit (including this picture where I darted over to high five my niece!).

I finished the race with my last 1.1 miles being my fastest splits and a new PR of 1:38:24. I went from telling myself at mile 9 I never wanted to try to run this hard again, to 5mins after finishing saying I was "going for it" in 2 weeks at another half marathon.

I've never really run for a goal. I've set some times, but I've never tried to qualify for anything. NY marathon isn't the cherry on top for me, but I'm giving myself one more shot at putting it all out there and going for it. It wasn't too long ago when I couldn't break a 2 hour half marathon for anything, and yet somehow now I'm running a 7:30 pace? Sometimes I have to really just stop and think about it. I don't want to get greedy or start going crazy about running, but I have to admit…. the past few months sure have been fun! Who knew there was a runner inside of me after all? I'm hoping all of this work and confidence will help me through my tri season… and after these next 2 weeks, it's all about the BIKE!

He might have a cast… but he knew exactly what that medal meant :)

dog infirmary, new saddle and a little retail therapy

2012-01-14T09:40:00.000-08:00

Week 1. Day 4. 38 days to go… Not that I'm counting or anything. I know some of you reading this, or all my crazy Facebook posts probably can't relate. I imagine those are the people who don't have pets, or furthermore their pets aren't their children. So, just humor me for a second and imagine if it were your child having surgery, unable to walk on their own (or use crutches), or fend for them self in a way. Baxter is my boy. He has been with me pretty much my entire grown up life. I got him just a couple of years out of college where I could barely afford to pay my rent, student loans let alone vet bills and food and allotherthings grown up. Thankfully, shortly after (or actually during the process) I met Shane & within just a few months of dating Baxter pretty much had us both from the beginning to take care of him.

Everything about this surgery happened fast. Not the injury itself (that happened in August), but the final diagnosis (originally a torn ACL) of a torn/partially ruptured Achilles which was last Friday to the actual surgery that took place just a few days later on Tuesday. The whole misdiagnosis is a long long story, but it all doesn't matter anyway. I've finally (after far too long) switched vets to the most amazing vet I've ever met (also our neighbor in Mexico). She helped me get the right diagnosis and got me in to see the surgeon who is helping fix Baxter. She also did the most thorough exam including full x-rays that he's ever received. The best news was he is in amazing shape for a 10 year old, big dog. I couldn't begin to tell you how happy that made me as I've always worried if I started running him way too young. Little to almost non-existent arthritis in his hips. His spine looks great. Guess all the glucosamine/fish oil works?

The surgery went well, the tear was partial and because so much time had gone by it had started to heal on it's own (just not properly). The prognosis for full recovery is great. Baxter is is in a full leg cast for 4 weeks. It's changed out WEEKLY (and he has to be put back under each time). After 4 weeks they will switch it to a splint for 2 more weeks. He has to be confined to small areas or a crate and only let out ON LEASH for bathroom breaks.

The first day was tough. He had not quite figured out how to use the cast. It's big. It's heavy. We tried to get him into a crate in my office but he just laid down on the dog bed in front of it and passed out. Juliette got a kick out of the crate though - I'm guessing she was crate trained before we got her?

We had to brace the back of his hips using a towel to lift his weight up and get him around. He really struggled with peeing. He has figured out how to lift his leg and put all the weight on the good one, but sometimes the weight of the cast is too much so he almost falls over. Yes, I have had to actually HELP him hold his leg up, and YES I have also been peed on. I bring him water and have to hold it for him several times a day. His food gets brought to him. I may be over-cautious about this stuff, but the doctor gave me STRICT instructions not to get his leg/cast wet AT ALL or it would not be good. Smelly, infection… more cost to put on a new cast, etc… So, he's got the stupid girly Target knee high sock on for extra protection. The morning after our first day with him I was sore like you wouldn't believe. My shoulders/lats & back were trashed from basically carrying half his weight around and I was spent. I cried wolf to Michelle that I was "trashed" and needed more recovery to rest up for the half marathon this weekend. I knew it wasn't from the training - but the stress, the extra work and lack of sleep from the surgery was getting to me.

Thankfully, he is pretty good about just sleeping throughout the day. For the most part the two dogs just hang out in my office and nap (or bark at every noise) while I work.. so that's ok. We got this fantastic portable gate/barrier from a friend that we can bring anywhere. We quickly learned that the crates I borrowed would not work. The opening of them were just too small for him to get in and move around at all with that damn big cast so this gate has been perfect! Baxter is used to always being with us (in bed, on the couch…yah, yah.. I know…) so he just can't understand why he's not allowed to do these things anymore.

The first night was rough. I think he was freaked out.. put in a crate after not being in one for 8 years…. he cried all damn night. Each night has gotten better, but it doesn't stop him from first trying to pry himself onto the bed.

We are figuring things out. The portable gate is awesome as is bribery. We can pretty much move the barrier anywhere in the house - and here we were actually able to watch a movie while they entertained themselves. Normally, they just SLEEP or lay around.. but the fact that Baxter can't just cruise around the house is frustrating him to no end, and he lets it be known. Unless he's busy chewing on the bone! Juliette again is just along for the ride….

I'm very anxious to see what the Dr has to say when I take him for his first cast change next Wednesday. I hope he's healing well and all this will be worth it in the end! I know long distance running is out of his future but I'd be more than happy to get him built back up to doing a couple miles…. It will make us all happy! It's going to be a very long, very tiring and frustrating at times 6 weeks, but I would do just about anything for this guy and it is just breaking my heart knowing he's confused, in pain and struggling to be independent.

Onto all things happy now! Yesterday I got this shiny new coat in the mail! My friend in Spokane somehow got 2 of these sent to her so she surprised me with one in the mail. It's one of the super thick jackets. I didn't get any finisher stuff at CDA this year so it was sucha nice surprise!

I also did a little retail therapy myself. It has been a frustrating few weeks as my paycheck was over 3 weeks late. I had bills to pay & I'm pretty certain Shane was sick of footing all the bills, especially with the crazy expensive dog surgery (can I just say I'm VERY thankful this happened after we purchased our new bikes cause I'm not sure that would have happened….). Well, I finally got paid and needed a little time out of the house so as soon as Shane got home I headed to Lululemon. I wanted something new to wear for the race this weekend (oh yah, I'm doing PF Changs half… more on that in a minute - I just finally registered on Sunday). I got this super cute top that matches some running shorts I have. I'm not sure it's long distance run friendly, but to be honest I don't need much support, if ya know what I'm saying...

I also got this new color! It's bright and I finally have something that matches my e21 visor. It also just happens to match the shoes I'll be wearing Sunday. Gotta look good right? :)

This race wasn't a big deal to me… I just decided to do it because Shane signed up to help a friend pace to a sub 1:37 and qualify for the NY marathon. I did all the training with Shane over the past 5 weeks and have been happy with how it's gone so I decided why not! We had a huge run week in Mexico (~40miles) and why waste that. Also… who knows, maybe I can manage to chase Shane around for another 13miles and surprise myself? I bought this T-shirt at the expo yesterday not only because it's one of my all time favorite sayings… But, I have a feeling I'm going to be embracing it tomorrow.

And LASTLY, I am going to finally start the process of finding a new saddle (yeah for hitting one of my "it's a new year goals!" I was going to try this saddle out when I was building an Argon TT bike, but when I switched to the Scott it came with the Fizik Saddle so I gave that a go. I did a short spin with the new saddle today, so can't really say much about it, but I plan on doing a nice little review of the saddles I try out on this blog.

Saddle #2 is the Cobb V flow. Report to follow!

perspective

2012-01-11T06:40:00.000-08:00

Last night, while watching the Biggest Loser & enjoying a glass of yummy Pinot Noir and a Dove Dark Chocolate (yes, it is a MUST to eat dark chocolate while watching the Biggest Loser… - sometimes I just can't FATHOM how those people have gotten themselves into such incredibly bad shape)…

Anyway, in typical ADD style I was scanning Facebook updates on my phone. I noticed my sister's profile picture was changed. This time however the picture while familiar, wasn't her… It was another woman holding her son…

For the past month or so I've seen several posts and pictures with thoughts, prayers and an outpouring amount of support for a kid named Brandon. I remember reading a while back that a young woman that went to my high school has a little boy with cancer.. A single mom raising her baby boy dying of cancer. I gazed around at some pictures a few weeks ago (the mom and Brandon's facebook pages are not private), and found myself in tears. Gut wrenching pictures of a poor boy suffering as a brain tumor is literally growing out of his head.

Last night I read the status from the mom and found a link to a fund raising page that tells the story. Basically he was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 3 with a 35% chance of beating it. He fought & won only to have the cancer return at age 7. At this time they doubled the treatment (chemo, radiation) and once again this tough little boy beat cancer.

Can you remember what you life was like between ages 3-11?

When I was looking at the pictures I figured that his cancer came back a while ago, but last night my sister told me that at Thanksgiving his mom took him to the Doctor for a "sinus infection" only to find out the cancer had returned and was growing at an exponential rate. The worst part, there was absolutely nothing to be done for the poor little boy. For the past 7 weeks the cancer has taken over and this brave little boy just has to endure it. His eye was sewed shut, and the tumor is rearranging his face as the (now 11) little boy stays brave for his mom, rarely complaining.

I can't imagine the strength that either of these two people have. The courage to just wait, when there is nothing to be done but increase the morphine drip to mask the pain…

Life just sometimes isn't fair, but hearing stories like this makes you stop and think for a moment that all those little things we think are just too much… Well, they are really just nothing in comparison. As horrible as it is to hear stories like this, it's reality and sure does make you think once or twice about stuff.

Puts it all into perspective.

I do not know this family personally, the mom she went to high school with my sister and & I may have played volleyball with or against her at sometime, my memory sure seems to have slipped, but does it really matter if you know the person or not when you hear a story like this? With that said, I'd love to ask for a little help for Brandon - here is his donation page.

It's a new year

2012-01-09T09:14:00.000-08:00

2012. Really? I feel like it was just the beginning of 2011 and I was doing an early season prep for Oceanside, lots of bike time for The Answer to the challenge as well as working with a new coach to get me to IMCDA! It was a fun, crazy, challenging and very rewarding year. Definitely one I will look back on for a while. I worked harder, stronger and differently than before and had some pretty fun personal bests. I look forward to having lots more of that for 2012 and can't wait to finalize my schedule for the year! I do have some exciting things going on, including a fundraiser for Ironman Canada that I'm working on. I'll have a lot more details to come as soon as it's "official."

At the end of December Michelle asked for some feedback on our first year together. Feedback on my goals and my training as well as her coaching. This is the most closely I've ever worked with someone before, so it was actually a bit more difficult for me to come up with. Taking a look at what I did for the year I had to really think about what did and didn't work for me. All in all the year was such a positive experience, yet I also had some performances that I just wasn't happy with as well. Results that didn't really show off all the hard work I had done (IMCDA)…

For 2012 I've got some things to work on, some little goals, some exciting training and events and races. It's gonna be GOOD!

First and foremost my number one goal and NEED is to get my lazy a@@ down to the bike shop and start the saddle trying process. I haven't ridden my new TT bike since Soma because it caused me so much pain that I can't fathom sitting on it again. I know what I'm looking for, and what I'm pretty sure will work, I just need to quit procrastinating and DO something about it.
On the subject of the bike - This is one of my big goals for the year. No lazy bike training. No 120bpm HR. No drafting unless it's to stay on the wheel of someone kicking my ass. I know I tend to sandbag sometimes on the bike. Maybe not so much when climbing, but def on flats. It's hard when I train with people who have similar bike skills because if I go out in front my HR spikes pulling, but if I pull back behind it drops WAY WAY too low. The good news on this front is I'll be training with some pretty fast peeps, and stronger cyclists than myself so I totally think this will push me. I need my bike fitness to be STRONG so that I can have a kick ass run.
Continue my strength training. I've been doing Kinesis once a week for about 6 weeks now. It's a good solid hour of work with a trainer. I get sore as all get out, and I know it's so good for me. On the second day of the week I need to make sure I CONTINUE to either do TRX or another Kinesis. Somehow my strength work always tends to go once the big miles start.
Answer to the challenge. I felt fantastic last year doing this event so if we happen to make it back again (tbd based on Shane injury), I want to kick ass all over again.
Vineman/Barb's race. I'm signed up for the all women version of Vineman called Barb's race. It's not until the end of July, but I'm stoked. I can't wait to do this course, and I've got a super secret goal for it :)
IMCA is the big show this year. I know the course, it's my PR and after positive splitting the run in 10' by over 30mins, I know what needs to, and CAN be done! #excited
COACH camp! This might be one of the most exciting things going on. Michelle is heading to AZ to do Hillary Biscay's crazy smashfest camp, then heading back to my house for the week and leading a small training camp the following weekend. While I feel like I know her from our past year of working together, we've never trained together. I'm super stoked to have her watch me swim!!! I've been at a standstill with my swimming for a couple of years, and I'd LOVE some feedback on small things I can tweak with my stroke. To me I'm not convinced it's worth it to spend the time I would need to get to that next level (sub 1hr swim), but I wonder with some adjustments could I get closer to the 1hr time than my PR of 1:04?
One final goal/change I'm planning on making is what most people would call a "resolution." However, I don't believe in those so I never make them. Last year since Shane was out with injury and surgery it was definitely different training without him. I was the one getting up at 4:30am for workouts and needing to eat constantly and bed early, while he was recovering and drinking beer. I 100% played along with him WAY too much and consumed way too many martinis and red wine and beer. MUST BACK OFF this year. I know my stomach will thank me and my training and recovery will be so much better off. In no way am I saying I am giving up the bottle (I'm not that #batshitcrazy)..but moderation is going to be a little bit more in tune with reality!

I know it's going to be a fun, crazy & exciting year and I'm going to be much better about documenting the adventures here!

Cheers, and Happy New Year!

Number 34

2011-12-31T09:37:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to write this post for a week now, but somehow between the sunshine in Mexico, a sick dog & a fancy New Years Eve party… it's a wee bit late. On December 24th I turned 34. It was a pretty darn good year for me. I decided I'm liking my 30s and I can only hope that it just keeps getting better. So, with that I want to do a little fun post about 34 things, people or places that helped make my year! I've thankful for each one of these...

In no particular order, here we go:

1. Sunshine: Don't get me wrong, I love a good swim in a nice cloudy rainy day… but nothing gets me outta bed and moving like some blue sky and sunshine

2. My job. While I won't go on and on about how my job is so wonderful & I'm changing lives or living my dream career (cause those just aren't true), I am extremely lucky to have been given this opportunity to work from home with Melisa. It gives me so much flexibility to do all the things that make me happy. I take care of my pups, keep the house from falling apart (aside from maybe peak Ironman time), the fridge is (usually) full, I can almost always fit in all of my training & I get to help my sister out and spend time with mini-me niece. Yes, I'm very thankful for my job.

3. Mexico. Lots and lots of time spent at our house in Mexico this year. Friends and family joined us some of the time, and sometimes it was just Shane, me & the dogs. Something about staring at the ocean just makes me melt. I heart the beach. I heart Mexico.

4. Shane. My best friend, my partner in crime. He gets me (or at least does a good job of pretending to most of the time). We laugh, we have fun, we make fools of our self. We frustrate the hell out of each other, and push each other as well. It's a pretty darn good match.

5. Recovery e21. This product has helped me push when I didn't think I had any left in the tank. Recover faster. Meet a fun and talented group of athletes, and to top it all off… it helps when those Mexico trips got a little too crazy. Thank you e21 for letting me represent such a great product all year long!

6. Pedicures. I love me a good pedicure. I hate my feet, but I freaking love having sparkly red toenails and soft heels. Those little pedicure ladies kept me from losing any toenails with all my running and never once (at least in English) made fun of my ugly, sore calloused feet. Is there anything better than a foot and calf massage after a long ass training week?

7. My dogs. We officially had our first year with LMT (little miss thang) Juliette Thanksgiving weekend. She & Baxter have become BFFs and she's made her way right into our hearts. Baxter will always be my baby, my boy… but this little girl is about as close as one can get to compete! I'm so so thankful for my kids...

8. Facebook. I'm not saying I'm necessarily thankful for it, but boy oh boy has it been part of my year. Probably WAY too much. It's entertaining to say the least, but it can also be fun. Keep up with friends, reconnect and laugh at memories. Yes, Facebook you were definitely part of my 34th year…

9. Friendship. I have always been blessed with meeting and building wonderful connections with people. From new people I've met in the past year or so, to some I've known for 10+ years, to those who I've known since I was just a kid. I'm forever blessed with all these people, and incredibly thankful.

10. My blog. This blog started out in 2007 when I wanted to document my training for Ironman CDA. It turned into much, much more than that. It's always been heavy training and racing based, but it is also a way for me to share my memories. The good, the bad and the ugly. While I haven't been writing as much over the past year, I have definitely looked back at a lot of my posts and loved seeing how I've grown. How my thoughts have changed, how my writing has changed and how I see thing differently. Pretty stinking cool.

11. Peanut Butter. Oh my, yes my love for peanut butter was in full force this past year. When Costco's organic peanut farmers ran out of their harvest and I could no longer get my beloved peanut butter I about died. For reals. Of course I found some substitutes but I was certainly a bit worried for a while. My peanut butter toast gets me outta bed :)

12. Our coach. At the beginning of the year the coach I was working with didn't have time to work with athletes. It was February and I was determined to have a great season so I did a ton of research with coaches and ended up hiring Michelle after an hour conversation with her. I loved what she had to say and we just sorta clicked. She's kicked my ass from one side to the next, but she's helped me start my journey of becoming the athlete I had no idea was inside of me. I can not wait to see what happens this next year. Thanks Michelle.

13. Mumford and Sons. I just can't seem to get enough of their music. It's happy, it's dark, it's just got this beat that I love love love to listen to.

14. Recovery tights, socks, shoes. Can't get enough of them. I never thought I would be one of those nerdy people walking around in this stuff, but I so totally am.

15. ART. My magic man Dr. Sherman might be one of the biggest reasons I'm able to push my body so hard. I'm fairly confident I'm helping build his kid's college fund, but hey… someone has to do it right?

16. Mingus Mtn. In 2010 when I got tricked into doing Answer to the Challenge I was convinced I was going to die. I was completely undertrained. I hurt in so many ways I wasn't sure I would ever sit on my bike again. I cried and threw a 2 year old tantrum halfway into day2 after climbing Mingus Mtn. BUT, this year I was in WAY better shape, knew what I was in for and came back to kick Mingus' ass. I felt amazing at the top and did it in a pretty darn good time. So, so proud of that!

17. Coeur d'Alene. CDA means a lot to me. I grew up just 30 mins outside of it, and spent my summers sitting on the beach and swimming in the lake. When I chose to do my first Ironman, there was NO question in my mind where it would be. I've done the race 3 times now, and while I still haven't had my best race there…. I'll keep coming back!

18. Ebay. I discovered how much fun Ebay can be in the past year, well actually few months. I came back from CDA on a mission to sell a bunch of stuff and buy a new bike. It's fun, it's addicting a little crazy as well.

19. Yoga. I'm not putting THAT word on their cause I'm thankful for it, or it was a big part of my year… but since I finally broke down and actually went to a REAL class (ok actually 2) I thought I should put it down here.

20. Running. This has been my BEST year of running so far. I've reached new goals and pushed myself harder (and differently) than ever and ya know what? It's worked. Found some new running buddies and created some new PRs. Yes, I'm thankful not only for my improvements, and running friends but also thankful once again I'm still ABLE to run!

21. Scrabble. Fun, entertaining and a good time killer. I can't spell for anything, but when you play online… you get a dictionary. Love love love me some scrabble

22. Mexico Sunglasses. I just can't get enough of them. I've got polka dot Ray Bans. Mirrored Ray Bans. A couple aviators (YAY RED). Some sporty ones for beach runs, some funny purple Kanye-West esque ones. Shane has his Turbos and whatever else I grab for the bargain price of $5. I've already got my next purchase figured out, just gotta get back down there and find em :)

23. 9 mile hill. I used to hate it. I used to hate climbing it. I used to be uncomfortable and slow and loathe it. This past year it became my friend. I hit a new PR by climbing it (slight tail wind) in my big chain ring. Can't wait to tackle it this season!

24. Martinis (lemon drop). Yes, I know it is counter-productive of all my training, but they are just so DAMN GOOD. Especially after an ass whooping Wednesday hard run and swim.

25. iPhone. Shane made fun of me for an entire year for my blackberry. But, it worked it was only a year old and who cared. But, he finally took me to Best Buy and said enough and bought me a new iPhone. That's really all I need to say. I heart my iPhone and can't believe I waited so long to get one!

26. Shoes. I heart my shoes. Always have. I suppose in the last couple of years my collection has dwindled, because I spend most of my time in flip flops and workout clothes, but every once in a while a special occasion comes up and I need me some new kicks… These were from this past spring. Oh I can't wait for it to get nice out again so I can wear them. Anyone getting married?

27. Garmin. I spent a lot of time training on my own this past year, but I'm such data nerd that it kept me going. Too slow, speed up. Crap - HR 125… suck it up and pedal faster.

28. Pizza. I know, not the best for me food, but it's my go to meal when I'm either starving, or Shane is out of town. I created a pretty healthy version of it myself that works perfectly when Shane is out of town. The whole wheat flat out bread (only 100cals), trader joes pesto, whatever veggies I have or just mushrooms & sundried tomatoes, a little feta cheese & crushed red pepper. Throw it in the oven at 400degs for 7 minutes and eat with a side of mixed greens and it's the perfect meal.

29. My new bike! While I haven't fallen in love with her yet, how can you not look at her (Margarita) and not just fall in love. I'm so so thankful after a whole lot of drama I got her. Now I just have to find a saddle that doesn't kill me so I can get back out on her!

30. Training peaks. Best training log out there. I tracked my training from 07-10' on a site that lost ALL my data. So happy to now be on TPs where my coach enters the workouts, I give feedback and it all gets meshed together. It allows me to track progress, and totals for this data loving nerd. 2011 totals… ~650hours total; 5,225 bike miles 334,793 swim yards 1110 run miles & ~20hours of strength.

31. Texting. I hate to admit it, but every since my iphone (and a little before) conversion I've become a texting whore. I have NEVER liked talking on the phone, but love love keeping in touch with people. Sending pictures, making training plans, asking questions. It's quick, it's simple and I'm way way way over-using it.

32. Mini me. She's growing up fast, but I still get to spend a lot of time with her, and thankfully… I'm still cool in her eyes. Pretty thankful to my sister for making her :)

33. Arizona. I may bitch and complain about it between June-September, but how can you not be thankful for living somewhere the suns shines 98% of the time and on January 1 you are riding your bike in 78degrees? Swim year round in an outdoor pool, and wear flip flops year round.

34. I've had this word on my mind for a while. It's something that everything I've listed, and so much more has helped build inside of me. It's something I was missing for a long time. It's something that you can't buy, or seek out. This past year I've built more confidence than I actually knew I had in me. I don't know how it finally came out, but it did. It allowed me to put goals out, reach for them and then grab them. To speak my mind (probably too much) instead of just agreeing. To not worry so much about what anyone else thinks about me or what I'm doing. To get in a swimsuit in front of anyone and everyone when it's something I'd never been comfortable doing. At age 34 I feel better, more happy and content then I have in my life. So much so I put on this way too short sparkly mini dress, stark red lipstick and 4.5" red platform pumps and toasted the new year with friends.

"Remember, you’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think." unknown.

I can't wait to see what this next year brings, but most importantly I'm so ever loving thankful for everyone and each memory that made this past one so incredible.

Birthday Swim

2011-12-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

For the past few years I've done some birthday workouts on my own. I'd bike xx miles, swim xx meters & run XX mins. I think the first year I even managed to do them all in a day. Always before my birthday, since it's on the 24th and well it's kinda hard to ride your bike and swim the laps at the beach….

Some people wonder why they heck I would want to push myself for my birthday, (yes I was asked this questions last week) vs relaxing and indulging. If you read this blog, well then you know that is just not my style.

Last week started the birthday workouts off with an impromptu bike ride. It was my first ride post Tucson half and my legs were still tight, but manageable. I met my training partner T on a pretty cool am and we headed out for a 2 hour flat ride. We were bundled up cozy, but the sun was shining and as we were heading up north we looked over and saw the 4 Peak mtns covered in snow. It was absolutely gorgeous. As we got close to the 1hr mark just chatting away I noticed we were at about 17miles so I decided we'd turn around at exactly 17 making it my 34mile birthday ride. It was perfect. It helped loosen up my sore tired legs, had a great social ride with my friend and couldn't help but just smile at the fact it's the end of December and I'm able to be outside in the sunshine on my bike…

Next up was the birthday swim. I'd been thinking about it for a couple weeks trying to figure out which day would be best. With the holidays & no access to a pool plus I had promised to watch my niece for a few days I came up with Monday the 19th. I put a post out on Facebook asking for company and before I knew it I had a group of about 10 people willing to come swim with me! I had no idea I'd get that much response wanting or able to come mid day during a work day but I was happy non the less!

Of course life gets in the way and the group slowly broke down, but I feel so lucky and blessed that I had a few friends able to still make it.

Preston, one of the friendliest most inspirational guys I've ever met - He started doing triathlons when he was about 50 and is a multiple ironman finisher, including KONA! He is the welcoming leader for our tri group, TriScottsdale.

Nigel, friend of Molly, got persuaded into joining in on the fun! I have to admit I was pretty excited as the last time I swam with him he gave me a run for my money so I put him in my lane and gave him the task of actually doing all 34x100 with me. All went great & we swam side by side until I tied his feet together with a band…. I think that is about where I lost him:).

Sweet Tracy took a half day off work to join in on the fun. I've just become close friends with Tracy in the past year and I'm really grateful to have met her. She's one of the most positive happy people I've ever met and share's my favorite triathlon quality of always "looking good" :)

There were a couple of spectators as well. Abby, baker extraordinaire, did the swim on her own earlier that morning, then made us the most delicious chocolate peanut butter cupcakes and took pictures. Really? I mean, how sweet is THAT?

Tracy's daughter came along and watched/enjoyed the post swim goodies and Shane stopped by for a treat as well.

I feel so blessed to have such great people in my life, and most of all for the ability to be able to celebrate my day doing the things that I love. Here's the workout for anyone interested. You can ignore the interval, it's set for the extra long gainey pool :) Next up - birthday run tomorrow. 34mins ez, 34mins tempo! Anyone can do THAT!

Happy Birthday! Enjoy!

8 x 100's easy @ 2:05 just warming up. stretch it out.

5 x 100's buoy only @ 2:00 tight core good rotation stemming from hips. neutral head position.

4 x 100's paddles/band ONLY. Nice. Must force rotation from hips on these to keep feet from sinking. rest is 15" after each or @2:05.

4 x 100's swim paddles only @ 2:00

5 x 100's swim where you go 50 sprint/50 easy @ 2:00

8 x 100's again @2:00, descend in sets of 2 (ie 2 holding 1:43, 2 holding 1:41, 2 holding 1:39, 2 holding as fast as you can go. ;)

ending on a fantastic note

2011-12-12T08:11:00.000-08:00

It's hard to end a season when your big A race was only half way through the year. Sure, summer training isn't the most fun in AZ, but sitting on the sidelines for 6 months after IMCDA wasn't what I wanted to do either. Since I didn't have my best day at CDA, I wasn't finished. After taking July off of training - absolutely no running and just ez swim and bike training to keep the blood flowing, I started back up training in August for Soma Half IM. I got a new bike, and without being completely comfortable on it, raced Soma in some brutal heat & while not having a great run - set a half IM PR.

Somehow I just still wasn't quite done. After a quick recovery from the half I sent Michelle a note and said I wanted to do the Tucson half marathon and yes it was only 5 weeks away but I wanted a PR. My old half marathon PR was a 1:45:32 at the Ogden marathon in 09. My last half was at the Women's half Marathon last Nov where I ran a 1:45:47 - I felt like I was in much better shape now, and was ready to work hard to get some speed.

Michelle put me to work immediately and had me running 4 days per week. One long, one ez aerobic, one speed and one race pace tempo mid distance run. I did this for 4 weeks and then had a ez 5th week taper. The first week was a little hard. My legs were tired and I was working to hit some speeds she gave me. The second got easier and by the 3rd week I was feeling good. The 4th week of hard work was a long run where the goal was to run ez for 45mins then start decreasing the speed ending at a 7:40-7:50 race pace. The run happened to fall the day after a big party so I was certainly in no shape to do that run, but somehow got it done. I figured after that effort (hungover), the race couldn't feel anywhere near as hard.

My goal went from just wanting a PR (anything under 1:45) to stating I wanted to run 7:40s. In my head I figured if I was training ending all my long runs at this pace, and doing tempo mile blocks at this pace, then maybe I could hold the pace on race day with a downhill course? Somehow I got 7:40pace = 1:40 race time, but I didn't realize I was a little off until the day before the race…. I knew everything would have to go flawlessly to get this done and I had my pacer husband to try and get me there.

But, before I get to race day I have to share one of the best pre-race days I've had yet. Maybe, just maybe it was my lucky charm. On Saturday I had the pleasure of participating in the Run4Sal 5k. I don't think I need to go into detail the story of this event, but what I can say is I thought it would be the most PERFECT time for my niece who has been dying to do a run event with me to participate as well. It would be her first 5k and what better place to do it? Shane & I signed up to do the race with her and all I can say is I'm so incredibly proud of her! She struggled a little bit with the cold and her lungs (asthma), but she finished strong and finished just under 38mins. Can you imagine running 3.1 miles at age 8??? Yah, me either! I can't wait to find out when she wants to do another one…

We headed to Tucson after the race and rather than going into a crazy long report of what happened over the next 24hours I just have to say the race could not have gone any better. We started the race with my speedy friends who were both trying to get a NY marathon qualifying time of <1:44 & 1:37. I figured I would be somewhere in the middle of those two times, but we all started out together. My plan was engraved in my head to start EAZY despite the most drastic elevation drop in the first half and then save some energy for the end. I had been practicing this for over a month and felt confident.

I had my garmin auto lapping every mile and giving me splits, but I kept the screen on overall AVG pace. My goal was to start around 7:45's and slowly trickle the pace down. After the first 2 miles it was stuck on 7:40 but the effort was EASY so I just kept plugging away. It was a very cool morning, but we were extremely lucky having the wind literally at our backs keeping it warmer and after the first few miles I had shed my layers and felt great.

One of our friends picked up the pace and pulled away after the first couple of miles and while part of me wanted to go with her, this pace was completely unknown territory for me… I was determined to stick to my plan. A gel at ~ mile 6 then the miles TICKED by and I started to see the avg pace slowly drop until it stuck around 7:37 until about mile 8. My breathing was finally getting a little harder but I still felt fantastic. Around mile ten I took a "SLAM." My new favorite pick me up! Miles 10 & 11 were some of my fastest at 7:25 & 7:22. The only real incline of the race came at mile 11-12.5. It wasn't incredibly steep, but you definitely had to work for it. Shane pulled out in front of me to sort of "pull me." I could feel my pace slow down so I switched my garmin pace to see the avg and saw it getting closer to an 8min pace. I tucked my head in and used my arms to help pick up the speed and wouldn't you know it, I did it. I ended that tough mile with a 7:41 pace. I'm fairly certain the last time I did this race that mile was closer to a 9:30.

With one mile left my quads were starting to cramp. My breathing was labored but at the same time I was slowly one by one passing every person I saw in front of me. I used that as inspiration to just keep going. In the last half mile I had my eyes on a girl in pink (go figure). She was till moving pretty well, and I wasn't sure I had enough time to get past her. Shane pulled out in front again and passed her and I gave it everything I had to reach her. At mile 13 I was side by side her to make the last right hand turn to the finish. I gave it everything I had an crossed the finish line about 2 second in front her her.

My legs locked up and I nearly fell to the ground. Shane gave me a huge hug and told me he was proud.

I did it. I set a goal, I followed a plan and I gave it everything I had out there. I know this was no Ironman and there were no age group placings, but this race might have just been my best to date. I did the work and in the end everything fell into place when it mattered.

My official time was 1:39:05. 6:27 half marathon PR, 9:37 course PR. Holy crap. One of my girlfriends finished a little less than a minute in front of me and will be working towards that 1:37 NY marathon qualifying times in a month & my other girlfriend PR'd by ~2 mins & hit her NY qual time. It was a picture perfect day and the most incredibly way to end my 2011 season.

I can't WAIT to find out what happens in 2012! Right now, I feel like the sky is the limit!

at the movies

2011-12-05T08:47:00.001-08:00

Over the weekend Shane & I actually didn't have too much going on so we rented a few movies - a couple that I added made note of while watching some previews (isn't it annoying how some movies now don't let you skip through the previews?).

Anyway - I'm a sucker for a good story line, something sometimes kinda quirky and different than the big box stuff. Although, truth be told I am wishing my niece was a teeny bopper (just for this month - then I'll rewind her back to 8years old) so I could have a date to go see the new Twilight movie.

Examples of movies that I could (and have) watch over and over are:

Garden State - A little dark, but also funny and sad and has one of the best soundtracks in a LONG time.

Juno - I'm not sure I've ever loved so many one-liners from a movie, ever. Ellen Page is AMAZING and who doesn't love Bleaker? This is probably my most favorite movie in the past 10 years.

I'm also a HUGE Kevin Smith fan. Mallrats is my favorite but Clerks & Clerks II are right up there. The only one I've really never liked would be Dogma - just too out there for me.

There are several more, but those are definitely some of my top picks!

So recently I've seen a few that while they are no Juno, they definitely won me over:

The Music Never stopped. It's sad, it's amazing, it's inspiring. Again, LOVE the soundtrack.

An Invisible Sign. I'm not a huge Jessica Alba fan, but I think she NAILED it in this movie. It has a couple scenes that made me cringe, but when the movie ended I was like wow. I really really liked that. You will fall in love with the little girl Lisa.

Peep Show. If you think you have a messed up family, or crazy siblings… This will make you feel a bit more normal. Not the BEST movie, but something different.

Super. A little out there for me, and honestly I wouldn't have agreed to watching it if it weren't for Ellen Page. She defines Bat Shit Crazy in this movie! It's good for a few giggles, but also a little gruesome. Always fun when Kevin Bacon makes an appearance.

Hope you enjoy! Now, who wants to go see Twilight with Me? :)

running

2011-11-29T12:21:00.000-08:00

I'd been toying with the idea of running the Tucson half marathon for a while, but didn't officially commit until a few weeks ago. After IMCDA I took over 4 weeks completely off running. My foot was either on the verge of, or had a minor stress fracture. My friend and podiatrist suggested (gasp) time off. Since it was July and 4000 degrees outside, it honestly wasn't that hard.

When I started running again in August to train for Soma, my run was nothing short of awful. My aerobic pace had slowed almost a minute a mile and my HR would sky rocket up to my HR cap so easily. I was grumpy and slow and grumpy and HOT. I stuck with it and finally, after a shitty run at an Olympic race at the end of September I got some speed work put on my schedule. It took just a few weeks of pace work as well as some temperature drops to get some of my speed back. Unfortunately race day gave us 100deg temps to run in so my run performance was less than stellar at Soma, but whadaya gonna do when you fee like your melting?

We bagged our plans to race in Vegas 2 weeks after Soma, so I immediately sent my coach a note to tell her - Tucson Half. Let's do this. And, BTW I know we only have 5 weeks. But, I would like a PR. Ok, thanks.

If anyone can get me there, I'm pretty sure Michelle can. Now, until this past year I haven't been able to wrap my head around any sort of crazy ass time goals, but I've decided that was the old me. Game on. Michelle isn't afraid to test your limits and put you to work, and thankfully (although I'm sure my husband would disagree) I'm pretty good at doing what I'm told. To a "T".

For the past 4 weeks I've been running 4x per week. Some speed work (although not all out- except 1 VO2 test workout), some tempo race pace running, easy aerobic runs and also long runs ending at race pace. 30-35 miles per week. That might now sound like much to some of you real runners, but besides a few peak IM weeks, I don't usually run that much.. or certainly not that hard.

To be honest, I've been quite shocked at how quickly my body has adapted to this faster running. The paces I can hold and the HRs I'm doing them at have been something in ten years of running that I have never seen nor thought possible. I feel more confident with each run I go do, and all be darned if I didn't hold on to 1 crazy zippy girl the last time I went to track for a couple of laps!

Today's workout was my last hard hard/key run before the race. I did a 2 mile warmup then I did 3x2 miles at "race pace." I was tired…. Probably a combination of last weeks work including a (hungover) negative splitting long run on Sunday plus a 2 hour massage plus a strength workout yesterday. Either way, I was mentally exhausted and had a really hard time making myself get into the run. I kept thinking of ways to turn down a street to make the route easier… or wanting to walk. It was complete mind over matter when I would look at my watch and see I was running faster than race pace and my HR was in the mid 160s. I had NO reason to walk. I wasn't panting, I wasn't cramping nothing hurt. It was all in my head and I sucked it up, kept pace and even finished the loop the harder way at a slight incline.

That run was followed up with a 25 mile ride doing some hills. Sure enough Tucson can't feel any harder that THIS!

So there you have it. I've got a goal. I'm doing the work, and I'm going to give it my all next Sunday.. Best part, I've got my pacer/rabbit/husband all signed up to get me there ;-)

2012 Recovery e21 team now accepting applications

2011-11-17T11:24:00.000-08:00

Anyone who reads my blog or trains with me in AZ knows how much I've enjoyed being part of the Recovery e21 team. I can't say enough good things about the magic seaweed pills. They've helped me train harder, have a season of PRs and most of all avoid massive headaches and nausea due to sodium loss in the crazy desert heat.

I wrote a little bit about some of the results I've experienced in an old post about my favorite things. You can find it at the bottom of the post here.

I've given out a ton of samples to my local friends and training partners and have heard all positive things about it (except the only negative is the "fishy taste"). It's funny tho, I seriously don't even notice it! I've taken up to 12 of these in one day and never had a problem getting them down.

If you are interested in being part of the team representing and promoting this amazing supplement, please go here and fill out the application! Feel free to contact me with any questions, or if you have yet to try the product and would like a sample.

Shoe Dog

2011-11-14T06:48:00.000-08:00

So, I'm training for a half marathon. A 5 week training plan that is :-) I don't think I've actually ever trained for a half. I've done lots of them, but never just trained for them. Most were in the middle of a marathon training, or done on a whim, but never actually my big goal.

However, after Soma where it was hot as hell our AZ weather finally turned and it is now the most beautiful running season of the year. You could pretty much run at any time of day right now. Top the perfect weather with all the local run races right now and I just couldn't help myself from dragging out my race season for a few more weeks!

Tucson is a small race that has a slight downhill (about 750 ft over 13 miles). Most of the drop is in the first 10k and then it flattens out with a couple of false flats. The kicker is mile 12-13 is up. You really have to dig deep and have some energy left so you don't end up walking next to everyone else, but then the last little shot to the finish is a slight down, and much welcomed. This race is one of my favorites because it was the first time after years of injury that I nailed my race. It was my first sub 2hr half marathon and it gave me my run confidence back.

After Tucson I've done 2 other half marathons without really training and they were both 1:45 so I'm really excited to see what I can do at this race with a few weeks of working with my coach on running!

First things first, with all this running I needed to find a shoe solution. With all my years of injury and PT I have seen numerous doctors, surgeons, podiatrists, etc. I've gone through 3 different sets of custom inserts/orthotics. I think I've tried almost every brand of running shoe, gone through running assessment after running assessment. And, while I don't actually remember how I came up with the combination I've been in for the past 3+ years…. It has worked with out too much damage thus far. My toes, blisters and calluses are in good shape. My IT bands and hips flare up, but after a few visits with my ART guy they always come around.

But lately I've been having a lot more wear on my shoes, particularly on the right side. After just over 100 miles I start to wear down the entire sole under the big toe of the right shoe. At 200 miles my hip starts to hurt and my IT bands get all fired up. I struggle with back to back running days. I am also really hoping to get a lighter shoe for my shorter tris, run races & track workouts - but, I was scared of screwing myself up so I headed to our local Road Runner Sports with 2 pairs of my old shoes & my orthotics in hand. After a quick introduction to a sales person they set me up with another guy to put me through their "shoe dog" assessment.

Over the years I've been video taped, and I've done the old try these shoes on and watch me run type thing, but I have to say I really liked the guy who helped me and worked with me, as well as the process. First they have you stand on something that takes measures your arch and your weight dispersment. It is all uploaded into a computer system that spits out all sorts of good stuff. Then you run barefoot on the treadmill as they video-tape you & then all that good stuff is added to the software to provide a really good analysis of what is going on when you run; how you land, how you push off & most importantly what is happening with your arch as all of this is going on.

Long story short; I have a high arch and as I land and go to push off my ankles and arch cave and "pronate." The orthotic would help with this but the neutral cushion shoe that I've been running in was just not enough, especially on my right side to keep from collapsing and causing me to roll in (hence the wear on the right side). I was very happy when my shoe expert guy did NOT say he wanted to put me in a stability shoe, but more of a neutral with slight stability. I've done the stability plus orthotic before and it was not good.

After several shoes tried on, and even after finding a pair I thought I wanted, I had them analyze me running with the shoe plus orthotic again. While the shoe will be great for track workouts and shorter races… For my longer distance running I still needed a slightly more supportive shoe to correct my pronation…

I left the store with 2 new pair (well, actually only 1 because wouldn't ya know it they both came in freaking PINK and I could not do the second pair that looked like bubble gum so I have to wait for a new color to come in this week)…. and I'm REALLY excited to see if it helps my IT bands stay a little stronger and just the general overall feeling! I've been running in my current setup for so long I wonder how much it has held me back?

Stay tuned! This is a fun fun run week :-)

Yoga

2011-11-11T07:08:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I woke up a little stiff in my upper body. In reality a massage would have been amazing, but that wasn't on the schedule so out of no where before I had enuf caffeine in my system to think logically, I sent a couple texts to my parter in crime T (she's REAL ez to peer pressure into stuff) to see if she would go to a yoga class with me at noon. After several more texts back and forth about the class and her thinking it might be too hard for a first time yoga, then back and forth with our little tri club/yogi friend Abby, we somehow had a plan to meet for the noon "heated" (not HOT) power yoga class…

Good lord what have I gotten myself into? I told Shane I was meeting Matt & T for yoga and I think he almost cried laughing at me….

As the clock got closer to noon I started thinking, "Why didn't I just go swim?" But, instead I went and found my most yoga looking clothes - capri tights and a longer tank top, IM branded of course :-), got in my car & headed to the gym.

I got to the gym 10mins early (WHAT? I'm always 5 mins late). I waited in the car for Matt & T & then headed inside with them. The check in was comical. First, I don't own anything Yoga. I was told I could use one of the yoga mats at the gym so I asked for one and they told me no. Huh what? After getting directions to the studio - yes, I'm that pathetic I've been a member of this gym for over a year and have no idea where anything besides the pool, steam room & showers are - we headed thru the spa and up to the the new heated yoga studio room.

Someone got me a mat and we headed into the studio. I just copied what everyone else did. Put my mat in the back (or at least I hoped it was) of the room and put towels on each end.

Again thinking…. What the F@$K have I gotten myself into???

The class started and the teacher (who I've been told makes or breaks the class) didn't annoy me at all, so we have a good start at least. She started telling us to "pray" (yes I know that's not what she said, but I don't know any of the yoga language and it looks like praying) and breathe and people were making these funny noises. I just couldn't bring myself to exhale and grunt. Isn't that for the end of the race when you sprint across the line or stand up climbing after your 10th hill repeat on the bike? Grunt, just cause you are taking a deep breath? I think not.

Hmm, Yoga is weird.

So the real posing starts and I have NO idea what anything except downward dog is so I just have to copy everyone around me. Some of the things I could actually do, some of them I thought I was doing, then I looked in the mirror and then looked over at Miss Gumby, Abby and laughed out loud at myself. I got a few cramps in some of the lunge-like positions (where's my damn E-21?) and after what seemed like an hour I looked up and it was only 11:20.

FORTY more minutes to go…. Crap. Maybe I should go swim?

After the first 20mins I started to relax a little. I was loving the feeling of sweating, it wasn't overwhelming at around 95degs, but enough to keep you warm and sweating like I love. I could already feel my hips a little achy from trying to do some of the stuff and eventually the class started to wind down.

This is where, in MY opinion, it all started to go wrong. And, this is why I will NEVER be a Yogi.

The praying time and NAP. I'm sorry people, but sitting in a dark room on a flat and stinky mat full of detoxing sweat with 20 other stinky people and their stinky sweat is just NOT relaxing to me. I ended the first :55mins actually somewhat happy I went, and thinking I could maybe do this every once in a while, but it was about the sweat & the stretching and the trying to undo all the damage I do to myself swim, bike running.

MY alone, quiet, ZEN time is when I'm snuggling on the couch with my dogs or under the covers before I get my butt out of bed. When I run by myself with my music so loud it actually shuts my mind off so that when the song changes I don't even know what the last song I listened to was. And lastly, when I'm doing a swim set where I have to check my watch after only 3 laps to see how many I've done because my mind shut down and I was just swimming.

Now I know that means I prolly just don't "get" the purpose of Yoga, but like most other people who just don't get "running" - to each their own right?

All that said, I probably will go back (def to a heated or hot one), it worked over some stuff for sure (very sore today), but I can't promise I won't be the ass-hole giggling during the "Nap."

SOMA half IM

2011-10-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

I'm gonna try to do this race report a little different than my usual over-detailed, over analyzed report. There was so much great, so much blah and so much oh my goodness I'm going to die BAD. But, in the end I dug deep kicked the bad guy off my shoulder and got er done with a smile! I was back to my self which is what I'm most proud about; Doing what I love to do and not being bitchy about it. I really did not like how I felt and acted last month, and am happy to say it was a fluke. While finally being competitive after so many years in this sport, it doesn't mean I need to lose the ME in it.

The good:

The I felt like a rock star every time I was near transition and heard the cheers of SO MANY amazing supporters. My team - wow what an amazing group of spirited and talented athletes. My very first coaches who helped me with my first marathon and thru my first half ironman. So many friends that were out there watching and cheering, as well as on the course!

My sister and niece who were there on the bike (3rd lap) when I was not feeling so great. I'm still not used to my new bike, position and different cranks and was really struggling. They gave me that push I needed at about mile 45 to get er done. I managed to hit my bike goal of 2:40 even though I certainly didn't feel like I was biking to my potential.

I PR'd (5:16) my half Ironman time taking off 9 mins from my oceanside (5:25) time. I also PR'd this course (05' 6:05) by :49 minutes :-)

I gave a friendly pat on the back to as many people as I could each time I passed someone (YAY I was actually passing people on the run!). I thanked the volunteers.

I didn't complain that I didn't reach my not so secret goal of beating Shane's time of 5:10, I chose to be happy with my accomplishment.

There were sprinklers on the course watering grass. I got to run thru them!

The Bad:

I had to walk thru every single aid station basically taking everything I could get my hands on to cool myself down. While I was running around 8:35 pace, those :15-:20 walks really killed my time! The aid stations were plenty, but where I was at in the race - they were completely overwhelmed so I found myself basically self serving and taking a lot of time. I know it was the right thing to do though, or I may have just ended up back in that nasty lake instead of finishing the run.

My run time was about 6 mins slower than my oceanside run at 1:57. My bike while reaching my goal still did not feel 100%. I know I'll get there, but it's going to take more time! Looking at people I'm usually biking right there with, I was a few minutes slower than I should have been. I tried to catch them, but just didn't have it in me.

The swim, well it seems to be about 2mins long across the board - but in my coach's words - "swim times in triathlons don't mean SHIT", and I came out pretty much exactly where I usually do. Now, if I could just bridge that 1-2 min gap and keep up with the fasties draft, I'd be a lot better off then swimming on my own (I saw NO caps from my wave after the first few hundred meters).

I was 17th/244 women, yet only 8th in the AG.

The Ugly:

That was BY FAR the hottest I have ever raced in. If this were a few years ago, I think I would have walked the entire run, so I'm happy with that, but it absolutely did slow me down on the run. My stomach was not happy and I couldn't get enough fluids in to save my life. I put ice in my top (front and back) and held on to ice until it melted at every aid station. I even found myself grabbing said nasty ice out of my top a couple of times and putting it in my mouth. i can't believe I just admitted to that….

I got passed by 4 girls in my age group on the second loop of the run. 2 of them were in the last mile and I couldn't do anything about it.

And, I saved the BEST for last:

While I was 8th in my AG, next year I age UP and today, that would have landed me 2nd in my to be new age group :-)

Mini-me niece was there to run a bit with me in the last quarter mile. She took of sprinting and I just laughed, I think she thought I was running that fast :-)

can't you just SEE how damn hot it was?

I finished, still smiling (maybe not my expression - but inside) and still running!

I crossed the finish line and went straight to a bucket filled with ice water. I felt like there was a magnet sucking me in. I downed 3 full bottles and couldn't walk away… I couldn't eat, but just kept sucking down water for the next hour while we chatted with the team. I started to feel a little sick and all I wanted was salt (after 8 e21s, a ton of gatorade a couple of gels and gu chomps I was still depleted). I made Shane go to McDonalds and get me a coke and fry which I downed in about 30 seconds.

I drank water all night long and ended up awake at 2am after dreaming about that bucket of ice water at the finish line. I'm not sure if I have ever been this thirsty/dehydrated after a race in my life!

Overall I'm extremely happy with my accomplishment. This Washington girl doesn't do well in the heat, and to have the race in the hottest day of the month and survive it, well I couldn't have asked for anything more!

Congrats to all, especially Shane who is more than excited to be BACK racing, instead of watching. He had a kick ass relay leg half marathon :-) He got to give Bubba his first medal in over a year!

Thanks to my coach for bringing out a real athlete in me. I can't WAIT for next yeart :-)

Taper Shmaper

2011-10-18T14:07:00.001-07:00

Am I the only one that feel like absolute ASS during a taper? Or, any race week for that matter? It drives me batty. I turn into a complete hypochondriac. I'm tired, sore and just plain old not myself. I start to feel achy and my lungs tight (or ARE they?) and and and…

SEE - I become a complete basket case. I don't get it. I'm not nervous to race. I'm excited! I'm excited to go push and have fun and race with so many friends out there. While I don't feel like I'm back up to speed like I was at my last half (Oceanside), I've definitely come back around in the last couple of weeks. My run speed has come back quite a bit and I even PR'd my 5k during a little splash and dash race on Saturday with enuf energy left in the bank to go run an extra 5 miles after the race!

Sunday I felt pretty beat up, but got in a good 2 hour ride with some tempo intervals and a 3 mile race pace run (which felt pretty easy). Monday I was tired, but after a 9 hour solid night of sleep (unheard of for me) I was feeling much better.

Then I woke up today. After a very light active recovery day Monday, I woke up today to head out for a short run with some intervals. I felt blah. My HR was about 10beats lower and I just had no get up and go. Legs felt fine, but I just didn't feel right. As the day progressed I felt achy and my stomach was a little off.

I stayed home working the rest of the day, drank as many fluids as I could possibly get in (plus airborne) and a healthy dinner of grilled veggies and salmon. Here's to hoping I feel much better by tomorrow!

Now, will someone please tell me I'm not the only one that feels like this the week of a race?

Damn taper.

soma circa 2005'

2011-10-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

Such an inspirational weekend following everyone on their Kona adventures. I had some serious envy of those on the beautiful island both racing AND spectating. Honestly, I'd take either! Kona was never ever been a goal of mine. Since my first triathlon (Las Vegas Sprint in 02') to my first half Ironman (Soma 05') to my first Ironman (CDA 07')… I was always a back of the to mid pack "racer." Injury after injury kept me from improving, and honestly I just never thought I could improve much. But, things change and who knows… maybe someday…..

I remember training for my first marathon and a couple of gals on our charity team who were 10+years older than me were in amazing shape, looked great and FELT great. I was in my early 20s, drinking a LOT (ok, some things don't change all that much) and more of an exerciser than an athlete. I remember asking them how (after KIDS) and being 10+ years older than me they looked so amazing. Flat abs, toned legs. I still remember to this day what they said.

"Everything changes in your 30s." Your body figures it out, you look better, feel better & your priorities are different.

While by no means did my body turn into what they were looking like at my age, but I can without a doubt say things are different. I'm stronger, leaner (can only do so much with the genes you were given tho, right?), healthier, more fit & well all be darn - FASTER. They were so right. So far, I'm liking my 30's!

Going back to 2005. Actually, 2004. My original IT band issues started when I finished the RnR San Diego marathon in 2002. I did PT off and on, switched shoes, cortisone injections, time off, cross-training. You name it I did it. For some crazy ass reason I convinced myself I could do Soma (2004). After talking with my coaches (Racelab) at the time, they promised to get me there - and they also promised if I just couldn't do it, they would help me transfer my registration to the following year. This was important to me. I was only 26 and had lots of student loans and was getting married that year and had a vacation to pay for ya know? $200+ was a lot of $!

I started training, mostly biking and swimming, and I remember my first 3hour bike ride. I was on a road bike at the time & my IT band was giving me all sorts of grief. I remember climbing up Cave Creek Road, just north of Pima (oh how I thought that was a MOUNTAIN at the time) basically pedaling with 1 leg because my right IT band/knee hurt SO bad. I was stubborn (some things don't change). I don't remember much else about the training in 04' but I remember exactly the moment I gave in and realized I could not do the race.

It was August and we were in San Diego for the AFC half. I had to bail on the race because of my IT band but was there with Shane & Daniel. We were eating dinner and talking about my pain and how I couldn't run, etc… I remember Daniel looking me right in the eyes and asking if it was worth it. To potentially not finish, to ruin my knee? I started crying at the table and made the decision right then and there to back out. I was devastated. I felt like a failure. I hated starting something and not finishing it.

That October I had surgery to repair my IT band. It was a LONG LONG painful recovery. By the time my PT had me running for the first time it had been almost a year since my last run. I could barely make it 3 minutes without walking.

I followed a Mark Allen online plan that was very heavy on swimming. It was all HR training (which was extremely painful after so much time off) and I was slow as all get out. My longest run was about 10miles. I ran scared every day. Scared the injury would come back, scared I wouldn't make it thru the race.

Somehow I made it to that start line at the end of October in 05. I was scared shitless but excited to the same extreme. I was about 10-15lbs heavier, slow, inexperienced & so young. I had no idea the journey that day would start.

Here's Shane & I with another friend before the start of the race. Such babies :-)

My swim was slow for me (and so begins my never ending story of unsuccessful swim times!), but I was relieved to get out of the water. The bike was so much fun! I had just gotten my new tri-bike (mini-me) and gave it my all out there! I remember pulling up next to my coach and passing him, he asked me if I was going to0 hard. I laughed and said I knew I couldn't run for shit so I might as well go hard on the bike! I had a blast and enjoyed every minute of it.

When I started the run, it was HOT as hell. My girlfriend Stacey was waiting for me right outside of transition to run with me. She had planned to run with me until my girlfriend Sara met up with me around mile 8. She talked to me, made me laugh, told me how amazing I was. At mile 8 when we found Sara (who by the way was straight off a plane from India where she was doing a volunteer doctor thing), Stacey just kept plugging along with us. They had water (yah - I know race support, but come on I wasn't winning anything!) for me and sang to me. Sara told us about her crazy adventures in India (I still to this day have no desire to visit after those stories). Those girl made my day. They got me thru something I wasn't sure I could do. At the end before they pulled off they were singing to me that "I was the wind beneath their wings." It was absolutely AMAZING.

I crossed the finish line with one of the biggest smiles on my face. Tears overwhelmed me. It was the start of so many more adventures to come!

My official time was 6:05:30

Swim: 41:45 T1: 2:10 Bike: 2:57 T2: 2:25 Run: 2:21:11

Shane, he was almost an hour ahead of me…. 5:10:46

Swim: 38:08 T1: 2:07 Bike: 2:40: T2: 2:44 Run: 1:47:17

Can anyone guess my Soma goal? :-)

Birthday Week!

2011-10-05T10:30:00.001-07:00

So what happens when your husband's bday & your girlfriend turning 40 happen right next to each other? Trouble, that's what. All innocent (mostly) and fun of course… but certainly not conducive with half Ironman training.

Tuesday's festivities started out celebrating Karen's bday with an all girls night - cooking/dinner class mixed in. The event was in LA (or it seemed like it was that far after a couple of bottles of champagne, full bellies and wine mixed in there) so we had a DD for the way out there and one of the girls daughter's pick us up! It was a super fun night and we learned a few cooking tricks! Every tried Grilled Romaine for salad? Do it, it's THAT good.

So, after the innocent dinner we should have been home and in bed by about 10:30, but someone (not sure who this was???) had the brilliant idea that the celebrations couldn't end THAT early. You only turn 40 once (thank GOD) after all.. So, somehow we got dropped off at a neighborhood bar.

What happened at that bar will remain on said iPhone's that took pictures. Nuf' said :-) Now, while the evening was super fun, what wasn't fun was trying to bust out my 3k swim I had on my plan. Swim = EPIC FAIL. I was way sleep deprived and booze overloaded. Clearly I did not train for this birthday event. So, I made it a whole 500/3000 and had to fess up in training peaks "I was too hung over to do this swim."

Coache's response "Payback is bitch, huh?"

Touché

Birthday number 2 was the following day, and thanking my lucky stars, Shane was pooped out from work travel so I was off the hook for any additional celebrations. I made him his favorite Lasagna dinner & gave him a new Garmin!

Up and on the bike early in the morning for my long brick workout of the week, and after a little over 4hrs of sweat I had officially (almost) cleansed my body of Tuesdays debauchery. Awesome, ready to pack up and head south of the border!

The first night was just Shane & I so we were (fairly) good & in bed pretty early. It was still incredibly hot and very muggy and with a long run on tap in the morning we knew we needed to feel good. After another 1:40 of SERIOUS sweat I was ready for some more fun!

Ya'll know what happens in Mexico, stays in Mexico, but I'll leave a few fun pictures! To sum it up we ran, we laughed, we played on the beach, we ate, we slept, we "swam," we had lots of yummy seafood and most of all we had a BLAST.

Trying to keep the Mexico economy alive… and believe it or not we were 100% SOBER when these purchases were made.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a SERIOUS sunglass obsession - here's my latest. Kanye West, AKA Shane, and my new favorite RED Aviators!

I'm almost 100% confident Matt's bumble bee sunnys will make a great Halloween Costume :-)

And lastly, we ended the weekend with Shane's famous Shrimp fest! YUM (I think) :-)

Happy Birthday to both… it sure was fun! And yes… As my coach said - payback is a bitch :-)

nathan's tri

2011-09-25T13:12:00.001-07:00

Only a few hours post race and shockingly, I'm already writing my race report. I wish it were due to a fantastic race high, but it's more so I can stop my complaining and move on. While my times (minus my run) were decent, I just didn't have it out there today. I mentioned to someone earlier that I know on paper it looks good, but to be honest - I'd rather finish dead last and FEEL like I had a GREAT day.

I've mentioned in a few posts lately that I just haven't felt well. Seems like every 2 weeks for the past 6 weeks Shane & I both ended up feeling sick. Congestion, fatigue, and mad allergy like symptoms. When it hit me again this week I started to get a little worried. My sinuses were swollen, my chest hurt, my head was pounding. I worried about getting another asthma flare up and having it put a huge damper on my health like it did this same time a few years ago when I DNF'd Soma. I put myself on the couch most of Thursday & Friday and drank airborne like it was going out of style. I also started a round of steroids to clear up the inflammation.

And then I had a little epiphany trying to figure out what was going on. About 6 weeks ago I bought a new brand of laundry detergent. I was in a hurry one day, saw it on the shelf and remembered liking the smell of it from our rental house in CDA. About every 2 weeks since then I've done a HUGE round of laundry after we've returned home from long weekends out of town. Hmm, could it really be coincidence? Either way - I've spent the better part of the last 2 days doing laundry with my good old TIDE.

Truth be told after feeling like I have been, and also being on the steroids I shouldn't have raced, but I wanted to. I hadn't pushed myself hard since before IMCDA and I wanted a little tuneup race before Soma. That, and I wanted to race my new bike!

I did wake up feeling ok. Not congested, but not crazy peppy. The steroids had me a little jittery and HOT, but that's normal. My swim seemed to go pretty well, I only saw a few female caps in front of me, and they didn't seem too far ahead. Felt great until I looked at my 27min time… Oh well, swims in this lake are always all over the place! (looking at the results it was def a slow swim! The fastest female swim time was 23:01)

On the bike I was excited to push. My legs were kinda burning the entire first loop trying to get around a big group of ITU racers. Oh wait, I forgot this wasn't SUPPOSED to be an ITU draft legal race.

And here's my little soapbox that I'm going to go on for just a bit here before I move on and stop my complaining. Anyone who has raced in Tempe knows the course is tight. It's a gazillion turns and just too many people. At some point, unless you are first or last you are going to end up in a period where you are in a drafting situation. I was there, several times actually today. Most of it was around some turns, but there were a few straight aways where I got incredibly frustrated because I would come up behind someone, pull out to pass and get back over - only to be re-passed and cut off. I went along with this for about the first 6 miles, but then it was just too dangerous. I don't know these riders and some of them were certainly not the most skilled cyclists. Being on my new bike and not being that comfortable myself I made the decision to drop back, let them go on in their little peloton and I would ride FAIR.

I'd be lieing if I said I didn't thank the draft marshals that finally got up to the pack around mile 22. Unfortunately it doesn't appear any penalties were given out, but at least I know I did the right thing and that group only got off the bike about :30 in front of me. I ended up having the last half+ with open space on my bike and did not get passed. My bike time was 1:08:xx -

oh, and I DO rock at T-2 transitions :-) I totally have that going for me!

Ok, off my soapbox.

The run was just not in me today. I've had (finally) a couple of decent runs in the past 2 weeks, but holy mother it was hot out there and compounded by my bad attitude from the drafting on the bike and the steroids increasing my body temperature I sucked. And (sorry coach!), I actually took a :30-:40 walk break on the second loop when I got a side stitch so bad I couldn't get ride of. My run time was 53:xx - not something I'm too happy with, but I also know that a couple years ago, I would have been ecstatic with that! Apparently I've (finally) found my little competitive side!

Total time 2:32 - 4th AG, 11 OA.

I know the time isn't anything to be bummed about, again it's more of how I felt. Just didn't feel like I was having a great day out there! Looking forward to the next 4 weeks to fine tune before SOMA, after some birthday celebrations this weekend in Mexico!

P.S. My first SOMA race from 2005 was 6:05…. I'm sure hoping I can do a little bit better :-)

worth the wait

2011-09-22T16:28:00.001-07:00

So, when I said my next post was going to be with a picture of my pretty new bike… I wasn't kidding. I could write a 10 page post about all the ups and downs of this bike buying experience, but anyone who has had any interaction with me over the past 2 months has already heard it. From the first bike (Argon) not fitting, to the road bike fit to determine what TT bike would in fact fit me (road bike fit STILL not finished, btw), to the seat post clamp drama, custom wheel tags, aerobat drama, bike physcho/guru, blah blah…

Yup, I'm ready to move on! So without further ado, meet;

MARGARITA

Baxter is having a little bit of difficulty understanding why there isn't a yummy drink in front of him every time I say her name, but he's smart…. I think he'll figure it out, or not since we're heading back to Mexico next weekend.

I've been out on her a whopping 3 times, and will have a short 50min ride tomorrow, then she'll be out on her first race.

While I might get e-coli from Temp Town Lake and die of heat exhaustion on the run, my bike is smoking HOT and at least I will look good for an hour+ tour around TTL. So, I totally have that going for me. Then, 4 more weeks of work before I revisit my very first half IM (2005), and my very first DNF (2008).

Labor Day in the pines.

2011-09-08T09:03:00.001-07:00

I was hoping my next post would be a big bright shiny picture of my new bike, "___" (yes, I totally already have the most perfect name in the world picked out for her. Unfortunately my mini-me cranks and R2C shifters won't be in until today, so she's not quite finished. I'm going to go stalk my bike shop to make sure I can pick her up by tomorrow, and I have my fit appointment for Tuesday! As soon as I finish my fit, I will be driving her straight back to the bike shop to be finished up (taped, cabled, etc) and will have her Wed, ready to ride Thursday.

I CAN'T FREAKING WAIT.

Anyhoo - last weekend we headed up North to Flag to get outta the heat. I booked a house the same week I booked our Show-Low weekend, making it easier to swallow the fact we had another 6 weeks of heat and hell left before our temperature (lows) would start to drop below 90degs. While Show Low was a bust, we definitely made the most of Flagstaff! My gf Karen split the rental with us making it a fun training and social weekend!

Last year was my first real experience up in Flag staying with my girl Amanda who rented a house in downtown. It was a lot of fun being walking distance to everything, however it was definitely loud! I have to say now that I've spent some time a few miles outside of downtown, I'm in love. Beautiful trails and endless places to take the dogs (off leash!) walking/hiking.

Easy access to all the bike rides. Quiet neighborhoods (although the townhouse we were in wasn't as quiet as I'd like), and nice dirt paths to run on….. But, I'm getting ahead of myself here before talking about the weekend I need to backtrack to the drive up to Flag!

It all kinda started Monday as I had a serious case of the "CMOs" (can't miss outs). Massive FB posts about Ironman Canada registrations. I was itching. I loved that course so much and had some friends that did SO well on it this year. My mind was racing wanting to register, but I had a big fat check to right to the bike shop in the next week, and we pretty much had decided we were going to do IMAZ for next year and not have so much race/travel expenses…

But by Thursday (I just happened to check the website in the am) the online entry was still open (or so it appeared to be). I headed out on my morning ride to meet up with Karen…. kinda started hinting around getting her to train for another IM with me. Then, when I got home Shane was on the phone with BSC coach and I heard a few tidbits about IM Canada… I piped in with a "it's still open."….

10minutes later and the next thing I new Shane said "get Karen to sign up with us on your drive up to Flag & we'll register tonight."

Withing 20mins of our drive up north I had Karen IN. We had a whole plan of attack for a Vineman half IM prep. Renting a house in Flag for 6 weeks to train, sans heat. It was spur of the moment & exciting. As soon as Shane arrived, we had 3 laptops open ready to click REGISTER. The IMCA site took us to the Active.com site and that's where it all went to shit…

As soon as we logged onto the Active.com site we saw "online entry sold out, check back for Community fund slots."

CRAP. Total buzz kill. We had already sent out at least 10 texts to friends starting the peer pressure trend of signing up!

To say we were bummed is a total understatement. The 3 of us just sat there with our jaws dropped having a pity party. Ok, maybe it was just Karen & I as Shane is totally fine doing the Community Fund entry. He tends to donate a lot throughout the year, so this is just doing a chunk of it at once. It took some convincing to get Karen on board, but I think we might still be IN… More on this later :-)

The rest of the weekend was just perfect. Although I was fighting a head cold the whole way, I wasn't letting it get me down and just told myself it was allergies :-) Mind over matter right?

Friday Karen took Shane out to rent a mountain bike while I stayed home did a 30min recovery run (my legs were completely trashed from the weeks workouts) and then took the dogs for an hour hike/walk in the woods.

It was amazing. Cloud cover, cool breeze & we had the trails to ourselves - perfect for the dogs to roam around off leash. Juliette went NUTS exploring, but I had to keep Baxter pretty mellow. He really shouldn't be doing anything to help his doggy ACL tear heal, but I just couldn't resist letting him walk around!

I spent the rest of the day on the deck reading a book and relaxing (as did the dogs). It was perfect. Shane & Karen came home dirty & bruised up from crashing (Shane), and apparently committed to buying a friend's mountain bike. Hmm, maybe I should think twice before sending my husband off with my girlfriend again!

Saturday we headed out to climb SnowBowl. This view just never gets old. I was definitely not feeling perfect up the climb, getting to the top a few minutes slower than last month… Allergies :-) I even took a nap after (this happens maybe ONCE a year… hmmm - must be serious allergies!)

A celebratory BITTY after, of course - the caffeine definitely helped!

An evening in downtown for Tai Food!

Sunday was long run day - 90mins on dirt trails. I got Karen to tag along with me for the 10miles, it was very nice to have company for the whole thing! My schedule had 90-120 ride after, easy effort. I was desperately trying to get out of it as I just wasn't feeling great. Somehow I pulled it together & while it wasn't pretty (completely drained) I got in 25miles.

We chilled the rest of the afternoon with yummy drinks and company and a fantastic grilled dinner! We even managed to stay up past 9pm (barely)….

Aside from the 3.5hour (should be 2) drive home Monday night it was an absolutely PERFECT long weekend! I heart Flag..

The Bike.

2011-08-23T10:56:00.000-07:00

This past week (or month really) has really been "all about the bike." Finding the bike, that is. Frustrated beyond belief at finding something that would work for me in a 700cc wheel I was about to throw in the towel. Ok, not really but I certainly had a few temper tantrums.

After my phone conversation with the bike guru (where I said - ok what can I get and he pretty much told me I was crazy), I started doing my own research on TT bikes. I looked at just about every thing out there to see the smallest frame size they had and what the actual top tube measurement was. Sure they might call it a "49" but most of the time that top tube is really gonna be somewhere between a 51-52. Why not just CALL it that? I still don't understand that logic.

Before heading to the bike guru I finally found a bike that I thought might work. It's an xxs, "47" (really a 49cm top tube) and it has BIG kid wheels. Wow. Could it work?

I headed into my appt with the bike guru ready for him to take some measurements and tell me I could order this bike. Not EXACTLY how the 3.5hours of bike overload went.

'This is wrong in so many ways"

Yup, that's how the appt started out. It was a full blown assessment of my medical history, cycling history, fitness in the past - current. Injuries (really did he have THAT much time), pain and finally a little evaluation on the computrainer.

Not only did my bike fit have so many things wrong, so did my technique. Question for you all - how many of you were taught to cycle and act like you were scraping mud off your shoe? You know, heal down not toe down? Yup - I had that engraved in my mind, so that's what I have always done.

Apparently NOT the case. Based on my current fit & technique I am 14% INEFFICIENT. You do that math on a 40k race. Yup, get the bike fit right and add in some technique work = awesome potential.

While I have to admit this guy and I have different mindsets about what we wanted out of this fit, and maybe a little bit of personality conflict (uh, can you just fix my bike, tell me what I can buy and send me on my way???), I know that in the long run all of this is going to be worth the time, money and frustrations in a BIG WAY.

Verdict? A big fat shopping list. Biggest changes (road bike):

Moving from 170mm cranks (compact gearing) to 165mm (compact)
New handlebars changing from a 38 to a 40 and getting a more compact drop angle for better fit.
New cleats (who knew they wore down so quickly & what happened to that screw missing from my cleat?) PLUS a slight shift in the posting of my right cleat due to a slight curve from my knee down. I don't know the medical jargon is for this, but to sum it up my right second toe curves out. How did we find this? The fit is almost a tag team - guru's wife is an orthopedic doc (who also happens to be a world record cyclist) examined me. Can we say IT BAND history?
Insoles in my bike shoes - who knew?

Apparently this isn't your typical fit. It's a 3 part series:

Step 1, first fitting and shopping list (if necessary). My shopping list was so dramatic that he actually couldn't set my bike up the way it needs to be until I have the new cranks & handlebars.
Step 2, setup new stuff on bike and get fit right
Step 3, ride in new position & then go back to fix my crappy technique
Step 3b - find perfect TT bike based on road fit - yes I made this be step 1a :-) I'm a persistent little shit.

Summary - After verifying a few things with the bike manufacturer and a very helpful bike friend…. My new parts are on order as is the NEW TT bike which will be built up with all things I want (SRAM). (I really really pressured (re stalked, drove him him crazy) fit guru into telling me yay or nay before he was ready to because well, I have no more patience and have some races people).

Next post = hopefully a pretty picture of my sparkly new TT toy! And, best part. She's already got some new party shoes to race on!

Fun size

2011-08-14T12:37:00.001-07:00

Fun size. That's what my training buddy calls me. This coming from the gal who's 5'10" can race in outfits like swimsuits and 1 piece suits and pull it off just like this gal can.

Sure short is good sometimes. I never had a problem being taller than any boys :-). I can fit in small places. I can wear 4" heals and still be shorter than my husband. Ugh, I don't really have to duck under trees when riding my bike like most people. Ok, that's about it.

I was so looking forward to posting about my beautiful new Argon 18 e112. I even just worked a deal to buy my girlfriends race wheels. My training has restarted and I'm back to working my butt off. However, the bike hours are building and I'm really really missing my aerobars. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my road bike, but there's nothing better than hammering along tucked down in aero and just RIDING.

Let me digress. About a month ago I came into an opportunity to buy a friend's used Argon e114. I thought about it a lot, then headed into my lbs to see if the size would work for me, and found out they were offering a smoking deal to a local tri club on a brand NEW argon e112. I had their fit guy look at some measurements and see if the xs size (smallest they make) would work. Since I love love love my Argon road bike, I was hoping the same love could transfer over to a TT bike. The fit guy gave me a call after looking at my measurements & said the top tube was too long, but just to be sure bring in my TT bike (this was before I put it up for sale) and he would take some measurements.

He took a couple quick measurements and based on the top tube+stem+current bar set up determined that the xs Argon frame would work! I would need to order some different aerobars that could be adjusted and pulled back (vs standard all together bar/wing setup) and use a shorter stem. The difference in doing that would make up for the longer top tube.

REALLY? So, I can get it? Like, it's gonna fit me you aren't just telling me what I want to hear?

YUP!

Sweet. Within one week my new bike frame was ordered, my old TT bike sold and my 650c race wheels were sold within in a couple hours of posting them.

Buh-by training wheels, hello big kid bike!

Deep down I've still had this worry that it wasn't going to work out. My plan was to ask around and find out the best bike fit guy in the area and make sure I got set up perfectly! With my bike almost built up and the last step of getting the new bars in I made the call to a much raved about fit guru.

And that's where the fun stopped, Within 10mins of talking to him my heart was sinking and I was pretty sure he was telling me no bueno. No bueno on the bike. He didn't 100% confirm this, but after looking at the geometry and talking about my shape, height, etc…. he was definitely implying that.

So, the Argon e112 is on hold. I have an appt with the guru on Wed with my road bike. His plan is incredibly thorough, but he's already told me step one is I have to get new/shorter cranks for both bikes. I'm riding 170mm, need 165. Looks like I'll have some SRAM red cranks up on Ebay here soon.

Appt #1 will consist of about 2-3hours figuring out what I need to switch out, making tweaks, working with my pedal stroke. I'm going to find out how in/e - fficient I pedal and what my potential is. Once he's figured out the geometry he will work with me on my TT bike options.

I'm excited, scared, pissed and a little anxious since I have 2 races coming up. One is 5 weeks, 1 in 10. Sure would be nice if I had bike to actually ride by then…

Fun size = NOT SO FUN.

"You should work harder in training so you'll be faster"

2011-08-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

Those are the magic words of encouragement I got from BSC after sending her a video of my swimming. She requested both Shane & I get her some swim videos so she could see what we look like (aka, how she can fix us and make us faster).

I did a very detailed video analysis with one of our local swim experts, Ann Wilson of Camelback Coaching but it was several years ago - 07 I think. I had a few things I had to work on, but I think I've mostly corrected those (my hand entry was crossing over my head, my head position was looking too much forward vs down & my elbows were not high on my pull). I spent a lot of time doing 1 arm swim drills to help (try) to build a more powerful pull, however I tend to feel myself loosing my glide halfway into my swims and I could FEEL it's all in my pull but I wasn't sure how to correct it.

I've got my tips on how to work on pulling so I "catch" more water. I think I know what she means… Sure would be nice to have her come to AZ for a training camp now that she has several local athletes, not to mention all her old ~~drinking~~ training buddies that still live here. Just sayin' - of course I wouldn't suggest that until AFTER hot, hell, sunny all the time, want to die outside season ends. Like, after Kona. THAT would be perfect. Or Spring. That too would be perfect.

Sometimes I have the BEST ideas. My dogs could even watch her mini-me. Ok, maybe not all my ideas are that great, but some are.

So, here are a couple of the videos I sent. I couldn't stop laughing at how differently Shane I swim. Complete opposites. He was long/slow strokes and his arms came way out of the water like a windmill. I, on the other hand, no matter how much distance per stroke work I did for years in masters still have that faster turnover. What I DIDN'T realize was that my elbows aren't really high like I thought they were. Coach didn't critique that, so hopefully it's ok!

I'd love anyone's feedback! Good and bad :-) The final thought from BSC was, "Overall though I am encouraged. You guys don't suck at swimming ;-)."

And, the infamous words of "You should work harder in training so you'll be faster" are in my head now every time I'm told to go FAST and hit a certain interval. Not sure how to go any harder, but heck…. She sure can swim and her training partner, athlete Nalani was the first female age grouper out of the water at CDA so she certainly knows a thing or two.

With any luck I can get my Canada swim time back for Ironman AZ next year and go sub 1:05.

Did I just openly admit that?

:-)

electrolyte balance

2011-08-03T13:35:00.001-07:00

I've been wearing my e21 Kit a lot more lately which is leading to a lot of questions about the product. Please note, I'm not wearing the kit just to push the product, I do not get any sort of payment or commission or anything from the company. The company created a new sponsored athlete team this year to help promote this amazing product and I was one of the lucky athletes chosen. Anyhoo - Since I sold my tri-bike I've been riding only my road bike since IM and I like thicker shorts on that bike, hence the e21 Kit.

So, in an effort to kill some birds with with one post, if you will…. I just wanted to write a couple of quick notes about the product, and the benefits I've received. I am by no means a nutrition expert or understand the science behind all of the vitamins & minerals in the product (not to mention the magic seaweed) so all I can share is what it's done for me.

I've mentioned it before, but I'm big big sweater. A real big SALTY sweater. Training during the summer in AZ has never been easy for me. When I first started training long, especially on the bike (anything over 3hours), I would get this massive headaches after just a couple of hours. I started taking salt tabs to help…but even the high sodium based Thermolytes didn't do the trick most of the time (enduroltyes did nothing for me). I'd drink and drink, take pill after pill and finally resorted to stopping at gas stations and eating an entire packet of salt. Multiple times. While it helped and the headaches would be less prominent, I still didn't feel great. Not to mention the non stop bloating for days from so much sodium intake.

I'm happy to say that since I started taking e21 in January/February I have not taken ONE SINGLE salt tab. Nothing. I'm no longer craving all things salt (chips, popcorn, feta) all the time. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing better than a trip to Pita Jungle for some feta infused pizza or salad, but I don't HAVE.TO.HAVE.IT right now.

Anyone who was around me for the months leading up to IMCDA knows I trained my ass off. I worked hard, and put in a lot of quality training. Until the very end when my normal over-use injuries snuck there way in (stupid IT bands), I was in damn good shape. I was recovering quickly from 5-6hour rides and able to back it up with a 16-20mile run. My swims were always good efforts. Every day I was amazed at how my body dealt with the training. Now, I can't say it's all because of the magic seaweed pills. I know that I've been doing this endurance thing for a while, and I've always been really good about my HR training (even though the first 2 years of that may have been tho most BORING, painful and SLOW years of my life) so that definitely helped. However, I felt better than ever and I know it had a lot to do with e21.

Since Ironman I haven't been using the product as I should have been. I took 6 weeks off of formal training and just did what I wanted to do. Other than my weekend adventure in Flag and the impromptu 4 hour training ride, I wasn't doing anything "over an hour" so I wasn't thinking about taking any e21 (my regiment is 2pills per hour).

Then yesterday hit. We were watching my niece for a couple of days so S & I had to take turns riding. He went first so I was not able to get out and start my ride until 7:30am. It was 90ish degrees with about 50-60% humidity. The sun was blazing. My HR was way higher than normal for riding at the effort I was giving. I rode for 90mins. Nothing too crazy. A few big gear intervals, but my HR max was only 165 on those, the rest of the time 135-145 so I certainly wasn't killing it. I drank 2 x 20oz bottles of water & had 1 power gel in 90mins. When I got home I was drenched in sweat, salt and dizzy… I weighed myself. I was 2 lbs down from my pre-ride weight.

I spent the rest of the day trying to quench my thirst. I felt so tired, couldn't keep my eyes open. I had a coke with lunch hoping the sugar would help, ate a ton of fresh veggies trying to "eat clean." Nothing helped. I just plain ol' felt like SHIT.

Of course it never donned on me I should have taken e21. I wasn't "going long."… But then today I was getting some extra pills out to give to Shane (he was doing a 2:30 brick workout and then had to do some work travel - which always somehow ends up with a lot of not-so electrolyte-y consumption if you know what I mean, so I wanted to make sure he was getting in his electrolytes). As I did this the "hey stupid" light bulb went off and I realized I should be taking some as well! I only ran 30mins, but it's hot and humid as a mother-effer and I sweat through my clothes. I also had a swim set with some 100s mixed in to do so I didn't want to feel like crap.

Whadaya know, I took two e21s post run had a protein shake and headed to the pool a couple hours later to feel great on the swim. My 100s were on a good interval time for not too much effort & I got out feeling good.

So, anyway - I've reminded myself how important this electrolyte thing is, especially with this time of year. I've started my training back up to be in good shape for Soma half IM at the end of October and that means I'm gonna be training in these nasty conditions for 12 weeks. Luckily this amazing company is supplying me with the product as a benefit for being a sponsored athlete. I'm extremely grateful for this opportunity, and happy that every couple of months they send me samples to share with others!

So, if you are out there and haven't tried it.. Let me know, I'll get you some samples. Or if you just want to take my word for it, go HERE and use: dogmom for a 20% discount.

You WON'T be disappointed.

P.S. for those who cramp a lot in the pool. My husband is infamous for this. He cramps damn near every single time he swims. He just started back to training 3 weeks ago, and has done more work in the pool then EVER this early into a training season and I think he's cramped, or been on the verge of it only one time. After ~7month hiatus from training to recovery from injury/surgery he's been back at it with 10-14hr per week training sessions in the worst weather we get here in AZ and he's kicking ass! Guess who's been taking e21? Just saying'

Weekend in Flag

2011-07-27T10:27:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago my girlfriend asked me to join her up in Flagstaff for a weekend. She had been asked to sub a yoga class and jumped at the opportunity to do one of her last big training weekends for Lake Stevens in cooler temps. I jumped at the chance to get out of the heat and play for the weekend, including a ride up Snow bowl. Truth be told I'm pretty sure I was just ignoring the fact that meant I needed to bust out a 4hour bike ride even though I hadn't gone more than maybe 35miles in a month since Ironman?

Note to self; you can only bank on that ironman fitness lasting for so long.

We headed out of town Friday afternoon and got to our home base, the yoga studio owner's home by 4pm. Without going into too much detail about what we saw when we opened the door to our homestay where we were greeted by a very joyful lab that we would be looking after for a few days.. I'll just leave you a picture:

Bless my gf's heart as I heard her shout "ugh, you will be sleeping upstairs with me," before I even noticed the condition of the house. She immediately went into the room where I was supposed to be staying… and the above picture is what she saw. Honestly, it doesn't even do the cluster f#$% justice, it was THAT bad.

The rest of the house, besides a couple of dubbed "safe zones" were pretty much in the same shape. Now I know I've been spoiled working for Four Seasons and having the opportunity to have stayed in a few of them.. but that doesn't change the fact that I didn't grow up with loads of money, have camped in the middle of nowhere, had multiple roomates that were not exactly neat freaks, spent a year in a dorm at a complete party school and have certainly stayed in a flea bag motel or two. All of the above had nothing on this house.

I will never understand how anyone can live in such conditions.. especially considering the house itself was actually extremely nice, and in a beautiful neighborhood. But, to each there own I suppose… just don't go inviting other people into your mess! Nuf, said.

Be that as it may.. we were somewhat stuck. Sure we could have gone to a hotel.. but one of us is saving for a new bike (tease - I promise that will be a post very very soon) and the other had committed to taking care of the dog. So, we did the only thing we knew possible to get us through the weekend (one of us, ahem…more then the other.. hey, it wasn't MY training weekend, I was just along for the ride)…

I spent the better part of 3 days when I wasn't exercising on the 'safe zone' deck, drinking copious amounts of wine.

At least the view didn't suck.

I have to say besides my dramatic whining about living in the filth, we certainly still had a good time. We had a great 70mile (again, it's amazing what a coke can get your through) ride out by Lake Mary/Morman Lake…and survived the crazy bike ralley/murder/suicide craziness… We were CLUELESS as we stopped at the little general store, but of course had to research as soon as we got home.

More deck and wine time, followed by a nice 3000meter swim (LONG COURSE!) at NAU and ending the weekend with one of my favorite rides up Snow Bowl - ~7 miles going from 7200ft-9300ft elevation. It's AMAZING. And, I just looked up my old data and realized I did the climb about a minute faster than last year when I was in peak Ironman shape. Pretty cool :-)

All in all a fun, exhausting and most interesting weekend for sure! I think I'll ask a few more questions before my next trip to the unknown :-)

And, like they said.. there is NO place like home. Especially when you get home just hours after your cleaning lady was there. Priceless.

Stupid Foot.

2011-07-19T13:32:00.001-07:00

Thankfully my new little "get me a new bike" mission is keeping me REAL busy cause I've finally had to cave in to the no running. My stupid foot is just not getting better, and even tho I have only gone for 4 little 30-40min runs since IM, I think i just prolonged my recovery by doing so.

I finally went to my friend who's a podiatrist. My intention was to pick up some good flip flops (thank god they aren't nearly as gawd awful ugly as I thought they would be) and have her look at my foot and tell me, oh you are FINE.

Didn't so much go that way. She pushed around on the food… I told her where it hurts, but that it's way better, you know since I didn't run or anything today. She said it definitely could be a stress fracture. It's a little swollen. She took a couple of X-rays of the foot, which didn't show anything, but that's typical. Said no running for 2 weeks. I can try it after that (assuming it doesn't hurt), and if it's not better she'll order an MRI.

NO MORE MRI's. I've decided between my neck issues and IT band images - I've had all the radiation via MRI's that one should have in a lifetime. I'm so not wanting that. Besides, even if it didn't get better and it is a full on stress fracture, worst case I get a boot to wear. Been there done that.

I'm hopeful the 2 weeks no running will do the trick. I'm prepared to go 3. Not happy if I have to go 4. So for now I'm just cycling and swimming. At least it's miserable outside so cutting out running isn't the worst thing in the world. Although, my dogs would disagree.

I'm wearing my nerdy new flip flops around or my Zoot recovery sandals at all times. Icing and putting voltaren gel on it 3 times a day.

Stupid foot. Doesn't it know I've got a new tri-bike coming that is just DYING to get out there and race in October.

Stupid foot :-) If I don't get healthy my back in training husband is gonna catch me in no time, and well.. while he might be happy about that… I'm not ready to be chasing him just quite yet!

Stupid foot.

Motivation

2011-07-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

Don't you worry, I'm not looking for motivation to you know, train. Well… I totally want to be training right now. I mean… I can't lie. I miss the constant fatigue and feeling after a long ass workout. I miss checking my training peaks every day to see what I am going to be doing. I miss looking at my numbers and results and seeing the hard work turn into progress.

BUT, I'm being a good girl and having some down time. I'm "exercising" a little every day. Not running much as I'm nursing a little hamstring and foot pain… Swimming under an hour. Biking some, but all on my road bike.

So, what kinda motivation am I talking about? Well….

NEW BIKE MOTIVATION.

Yah yah, broken record I've been B$^tching about it for a while now. Unfortunately my income has been a little less these past couple of years so I'm not exactly putting away cash in the bank. I'm making smarter buying decisions and well, let's just say my little shoe obsession I've had for like EVER? Well, the only shoes I've purchased in the past couple of years besides some ZOOT recovery, Asics Nimbus & a few pair of flip flops are the adorable shoes I wore to a little outing in April. And, boy were they worth it (even if I've only worn them twice). They are THAT cute.

I digress.

While we were in Spokane at our wonderful hosts house for a week after IMCDA, I got schooled on the operation of Ebay selling. You would think since my husband works for the company we'd know a little more, but nope. So our buddy basically wheels and deals for fun. He earns enough money buying and selling stuff to pay for this crazy expensive habit we call TRIATHLON for both himself as well as his wife. He's been doing it for a few years now so he's pretty much got it down. Not to mention he works for the post office, so he knows all about shipping. So, after spending several days with him and seeing the master at work I thought, "I can TOTALLY do this." I started visualizing all the STUFF I have in the house. Stuff that for some reason or another I just hadn't donated yet. which of course got me thinking about all the stuff I HAD already donated and how much money I could of had from it…

THEN I started researching my bike. Turns out little child size bikes are actually pretty hard to find. And, come to find that people pay good money for them! Then, I had a moment sadness when I realized how much money I could of had if I had SOLD my old Cannondale and not given it to my sister to ride. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy I gave it to her, but she hasn't found the time to ride it yet (in over a year).. so I figured it was worth a shot to ask for it back. If it was just collecting dust in her garage, might as well get some money, right? Well… she wasn't so down with that idea so I might just be out that money! As long as she uses it, I'm ok with that. I did find out however, as soon as I sell enough stuff to make up the difference between selling mini me & my new bike… I can put her on Ebay and be ready for the purchase!

So… 2 days after returning from our trip I made a quick sweep through the house. I filled a bag with "stuff." I immediately sold 3 sets of replacement lenses for my old Oakleys. I lost the frames like 3 years ago…so don't ask me why I still had the lenses! You name it, I'm posting it for sale.

I found stuff in my closet that still had TAGS on it. Mind you they were business clothes… I'm guessing I bought them when I first started working with Four Seasons and was traveling more..but I haven't traveled for a couple years, and low and behold I lost some weight & have kept it off for a couple years and those pants don't fit… And, lets be honest… we're lucky if I leave this house in anything other than a running skirt, nike shorts or god for bid my pajamas these days.

You know that rule, if you haven't worn it in XX time… don't hang on to it? Well, although these clothes are in mint condition AND if I did still work in an office, and if they did still fit me I'd keep em. But, they don't.. and I don't so sure enough they went up for sale on bay.

The Vegas dress. The skimpy black dress I bought for the bachelorette night out in Vegas. I can't believe the $$ I paid for that dress..or that I even wore it. But, low and behold as soon as I posted it up for sale someone sent me a message saying they had been looking for it and could I get it to them by xx time, cause they needed it for VEGAS :-) At least I had the right idea when I bought it...

Polar Heart rate monitor that the battery has been dead for like 5 years and I'm too lazy to send the watch back to replace the battery. Yup, that's selling.

The KICKER. My old Blackberry. I just sold it used, but with all the accessories including a blue tooth (which I used like what TWICE?) for $109. Hilarious!

So, I'm motivated. I'm cleaning up the house, learning a lot about what people will pay for what items and I'm adding some extra fun cash into my paypal Bike fund!

And now WHAT?

2011-07-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Has it really only been TEN days since IMCDA? Bah humbug. I'm bored. Well, not really…but my insides are churning for that need to have something to train for. Something to get passionate about. Something to drive me.

I don't remember ever recovering this quickly from Ironman. I mean, I haven't done much since. Some long walks in CDA followed by pit stops at the wonderful dog friendly bars on Sherman. Seriously, it's so cool. You park your ass outside with your dogs and they serve you beer and food and bring your dogs water bowls. Now, we all know one of my dogs prefers the booze to the water, but we were in public, so I made him suck it up and act like a dog, sans alcohol. Until we got home anyway.

Yesterday I got on my bike for a whole 50mins. It was real hot and the air was nasty. I'm sure you have all seen and heard about the great haboob we were greeted with this week. Our pool is still not clean. I'm working on that. (= nagging Shane to go run the vacuum over the pool floor). Today I met up with Theresa for a nice short swim, steam and gossip session. She's so back in the game. We're gonna be a great pair this next year! Can't wait to have someone push me out there. She's a seasoned veteran and her fire is BACK. A natural athlete that just needed a year or 2 to get over her 7 years of time off. So excited!

Tomorrow I might try to go for a short run. I did a 30min run on Tuesday in Spokane before I got on the plane. You know, one last hurrah before I headed back to the 110degrees and humidity. Fun times. I did that 30min run at 11am and it was like 85degrees and sunny and I wasn't remotely hot. Yes, AZ has changed me.

So back to my recovery theory. After a little chat with Miss Hawaii coachie coach - I've learned how ready I was for IM. While my race was very good and respectable, it wasn't even close to what I had in me. I'm not mad, or sad or pissed off about it, in fact I'm proud of what I did out there considering how I felt. I was FIT. I mean like more fit than ever. Unfortunately something; the cold water shutting my system down, or taking in too much lake water, or who knows just having an off day - anyways, something left me less than ready to lay it all out there on the course and I fell quite a bit flat. I just didn't have my mojo that day. So, what happens with the body when you are fit as can be, and didn't get to really GO for it, push way way hard? Well, according to how I feel right now - I've recovered real real fast.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not ready to go out and smash anything, but after 2 weeks of sleeping until 8 (ok one day was actually 10am!) eating chocolate like crazy and drinking beer I'm missing that routine. That feeling of fitness.

I sent out a little teaser on Facebook inviting the peer pressure ideas. Come on, do it. Talk me into SOMETHING. A few ideas have come back including; Superfrog in San Diego on 9/11 (really tho - an OPEN SURF OCEAN SWIM?) Orangeman on 9/25 (however this is my man and my cycling partner in crime Karen's b-day weekend which I think will be a big old parTay in Mexico so that's probably out). I've also got Soma in the back of my head. It's at the end of October, so after that I can take some fun easy time off in the fall which also happens to be my favorite time to head to Mexico a lot and drink bloody Mary's and cervesas. Perfect timing to re-coup from the years training and get fired up for next year.

Anyway, I'm still thinking about it all, and what would work out best. Shane's starting up with BSC coach on Monday, and after a month or so I'm sure he's gonna be getting back to where we can start training together again, something I've missed like crazy. Once his fire and passion and fitness is back, I'm sure he'll get the itch to pick a race as well so I will tag along with whatever he wants to do!

Now, on that note it's almost happy hour….. I mean, recovery hour :-)

IMCDA 2011

2011-06-30T08:19:00.001-07:00

As I mentioned in my pre-race posts, I was ready. I was confident. I was calm. While you never know what will happen on race day, for the first time in my active life I knew and believed in myself and what I was capable of doing out there on the course. I didn't question that I could swim between a 1:07-1:10 or bike a sub 6 hour, and I just KNEW (thanks coach for the help on this) I could run around a 4 hour marathon.

Race morning went off without a glitch. We had 9 racers with us, 4 first timers. The nerves weren't crazy and spirits were high. Before I knew it, it was time to head down to the water for the swim start…..Let's start this thing!

The swim is tough. While I only have IM Canada to compare to, this swim course never seizes to fail on the difficulty side. The start is complete chaos and for over a half of a mile you really don't get to "swim." It's mostly head out of water damage control while you try not to get kicked (which I did), punched (which I did) and pulled under (which I did). I'm thankful I knew what I was in for though, so I just stayed calm and did what I could to try to find some open space. I got out of the first loop at about :34:30…. Forgetting that the second loop was a little longer as we have to head back in for loop 2 at an angle adding some distance, I figured I could still swim sub 1:10. I wasn't looking for an IM PR as I knew this would be slower than my 1:04 Canada swim time. The cold water (~54 degrees) started to get to me and while my core (thank you new TYR Hurricane wetsuit) and head (love the nerdy skull cap) were warm, my arms felt like they were completely locked up and I had no control over my swim stroke. As I rounded the first buoy on the second loop there were some pretty big swells that were accompanied by the taste and smell of gasoline. I was taking in water every time I took a breath to the left, which unfortunately is where I was trying to breath and sight….

I exited the water at 1:11 ~ 7min swim course PR. I'll take it :-)

T1 was pretty uneventful - I ran to the end of the changing tent with lots of open space and had an amazing volunteer help me out. I had prepared for the cold with toe warmers on my shoes, arm warmers, long finger gloves and a wind vest. It was the perfect combination to get me thawed out and also easy to toss the layers as it warmed up.

As I headed out on the first out and back I eased into my rhythm. My legs were not there yet, still trying to get warmed up from the arctic swim. I didn't let the people passing me get to my head as I knew they'd pay for it. I was able to see my coach, teammate Nalani (who had the fastest female age group swim time of the day!) and my competition for the day, Daniel (about :15mins behind me).

Without going into all the small never ending details of the bike, I'll try to sum it up as I just didn't have it. My legs finally warmed up about 2hours into the ride, but I was struggling to get my nutrition in. I had a set plan, a set amount of calories that I had practiced for 5 months, including a half IM that went flawlessly. My stomach felt bloated and upset the entire ride, and I was pretty sure it was from too much lake water. I finished the first loop in just at 3 hours and got a huge boost from our support team cheers! I was hopeful I could keep the pace, if not somehow take off a minute or 2 to still get under 6hours, but I was basically in survival mode trying to get in as many calories as possible. I was drinking like crazy, but yet still hadn't peed. I made some adjustments to my nutrition taking in gels instead of my last powerbar, and continued with my plan of 2 x e21s per hour.

I slowed a little bit off my pace when I had to stop to refill my water bottle and eased up the pace to help the stomach upset, but knew the last 15miles were pretty flat & I could make up some speed. Unfortunately, at mile 95 my Garmin popped off my wrist and realized the rest of my day would have to be altered since I had planned on using the garmin avg pace for the entire marathon.

I finished the bike in 6:05, just slightly over my goal but still a :27min course PR.

A quick change of shorts and a potty break & I was out of T-2 in less than 3 mins!

Immediately into the run I didn't feel right. My plan was to use my garmin and hold a 9min avg pace for the first 2-3 miles and then give it whatever I had for the rest of the race. My training supported this and I felt confident in my ability to run strong. I had a gel flask with a combination of caffeine/non caffeine gels to help with my energy for the first half and planned on using the aid stations and coke to get me thru the second half. Without the garmin I had a plan B of hitting splits on my watch to see the mile pace and try to use PE to get me to the right pace to start out. I hit the first mile at about 9mins, but it didn't feel easy. My stomach was really upset and I felt like my tri-top was suffocating me and putting pressure on my bloated tummy.

By mile 2 I had slowed to about a 9:15 pace and wondering how I was going to make it. By mile 3 I couldn't figure out what I could do to make my stomach feel better so I stopped, took my tri-top off and tucked it into my shorts to carry until I could hand it off to someone I knew. This right here should give a clue to how I felt as I have NEVER ever EVER run in just a sports bra. I could care less though. I started walking thru the aid stations drinking water and perform and running between. Here I am only 4 mile into the race and my plan had gone to shit. I was struggling to run like I thought I could, and forcing calories in. I was terrified of feeling like I did in Canada when I had my colossal bonk at mile 16 leading me to walk for 5 miles so I just kept forcing the calories in. I was able to run between aid stations until the hill (the new run course is WAY harder than the old one with these added hills). But I did make up some time on the down hills. My hamstring/glute issue I had been having for a couple weeks was acting up in full force so pretty much I just started feeling like I was sinking into a hole I wasn't sure I could get out of….

I was starting to wonder how much time I had on Daniel. If I was fading this bad, and he was running strong, he was surely going to catch me. As I headed back in towards transition around mile 10 I saw Daniel, looking strong but I realized I had about 7 miles on him and unless he busted out some 8min miles and I walked the rest of the race, he wasn't going to catch me. It lifted my spirits a bit, and I started running in. Shane met me somewhere over the next few miles as I was heading out for my second loop (I think, it's all kinda a blur). I was really struggling and not sure (again) how I could make it. My stomach was killing me and even though I had Shane telling me how I wasn't going to give in, how I had worked too hard for this to give up, I ended up on the side of the road dry heaving and gagging. Next up was a trip to the porta potty to see if trying to pee would help take pressure out of my stomach, but the condition of it was so awful all it did was make me gag more….. Shane told me that everyone he saw was hurting. He had never seen so many people throwing up, looking like death & that most of our group was walking the marathon. While, I hated that others were feeling crappy I have to admit that I was glad I wasn't alone….

DAMN LAKE WATER

I found (made) a friend to run with for the next 10k or so. She was on her first loop and having bad stomach issues so we just kept each other company by getting ourselves from aid station to aid station. Somewhere around mile 21 I think, when I passed Jessie and her daughter cheering (4 times by them was awesome!) and I got a second wind. I'm not sure I've ever gotten such a boost as I did going past this area each time as the infamous Emma was shouting on the microphone. It gave me just what I needed to get to the last couple of miles where I knew Shane would be waiting.

I'd done the math over and over and realized I wouldn't be having a PR over Canada's 11:50, but made a new goal of sub 12. I knew exactly what I had to do to get to it and with Shane's help over the last 2 miles, and pure determination I did it. I headed down Sherman with a big fat smile on my face crossing the finish line in 11:59:14. ~1hour and 10min course PR.

Run time 4:34:14, a 2 min IM Marathon PR & a ~30min course PR.

While this wasn't my best IM time, it was absolutely the hardest effort to get there. I feel proud of what I did on Sunday. Proud of the hard work I put into the training, the recovery and most of all that I didn't give up no matter how bad I felt. It's been an amazing journey and I've made strides I never thought possible. It doesn't get much better than that. I can't thank our supporters enough for being out there all day long on the course, online tracking and most of all to my husband for having more faith in me than I thought possible. Even enough to put $100 on the table to help push me there.

After all, a bet is a bet.

$100 bet

2011-06-25T19:35:00.000-07:00

Bike & bags checked. Full belly. Glass of wine and rice crispy treat. I feel good, I feel rested and most of all I feel READY.

After 3 days of freezing my butt off in the Pacific Northwest I'm finally warm. The wind has died down and the sun is out. I've made a few adjustments to my race plan including some hot tea before the swim, a vest and toe warmers for the bike.

I'm calm. Most of all I am confident. I've been talking smack all week to my buddy Daniel. For the first time I believe in what I can do tomorrow. I put numbers down on a paper for spectators.

And, low and behold my husband just put $100 bet on my finish over Daniel.

Here we go. See ya on the flip side :-)

Ready

2011-06-21T15:51:00.001-07:00

The bags are packed (small miracle in itself for me), boarding pass printed, taxi-service via friends confirmed and besides taking a shower, it's all done before 4pm. Don't judge, the shower is least of my worries. I only worked out for an hour today, ya know :-)

Besides obsessively checking the weather, exchanging numerous texts with my coach, fellow racers and friends in the area I feel like this IM prep has been pretty seamless. Could it be I'm finally getting the hang of these things? My bags aren't over-stuffed, I don't think I've forgotten anything and I don't seem the least bit nervous (yet).

The water is going to be cold, the bike brisk and the run (as of now) near perfect for me. I can't wait to get back there on this course. I've got someone chasing me this time. I have a feeling I might be looking behind my shoulder a few dozen times, but if everything plays out the way it should…. He won't be catching me THIS TIME.

Have fun chasing me Daniel. I'll see you at the finish :-) Don't worry, I'll buy the snow cone this time.

Pre Ironman CDA, circa 2007

2011-06-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

Four years ago I wrote the blog post below. It was the day before I was flying to Spokane, home, to do what I thought would be my first and only Ironman. I was 29 years old & naive. Little did I know what that journey would turn into. I was scared shit-less, having no idea what I could do come race day, unsure if I could even run a marathon (post IT band surgery) again and yet excited beyond words all at the same time.

I cried before the start, I cried at the finish. It took me like 5 hours to prep my transition & special needs bags. I drank too much wine the week before the race, I was restless. I was not confident in myself or my abilities.

Yet, somehow I crossed that finish line still standing, without peeing my pants and with one of the biggest smiles of my life. It was a moment I will NEVER forget.

In just over a week I'll be heading back to IMCDA for the 3rd time. I'm a different person now. I'm a different athlete. I still have some insecurities, but I also have a different sense of confidence as well. I know the hard work I've put into this race. I know the improvements I've made, the changes I've made.

While I might be squeezing into these same wetsuit, riding the same bike and wearing the same style shoes…. I know this race is going to be DIFFERENT, better.

I believe it. It's my second home, my clean crisp air and green trees. The lake I grew up spending summers at from the time I could walk, and still enjoyed when I could drive myself out there with my girlfriends to work on our tans.

I can't freaking wait. Let's get this show on the road.

Blog post from June 19th, 2007:

Today is the day. S & I are finally all packed..... Trust me, you have no idea what an accomplishment that is. I am the world's worst packer. Without a doubt, the worst. It literally took me all day to get my sh$! together yesterday and physically in the suitcase. I just kept running from room to room with different things in my hand... then I'd forget what I was doing, and end up not accomplishing a whole heck of a lot.

The kids were so irritated with me. As if the stress of the suitcase in front of them wasn't enough, THEN they had to follow me around the house like a mad woman. Poor things. Not much has changed today either. My poor baby Baxter. He just keeps looking at me with the saddest, longing eyes. I hate when he does this to me. I hate to leave him. Trust me.... for those of you with 2-legged kids. I swear, I have the same attachment to my dog. Who, is really not a dog.... he's a red, 4-legged person.

The bad part is he knows it. He knows he can get me to do anything he wants. Like last night. I was feeling guilty, so I told him, after his Dad went to sleep he could jump on the bed. This is about the only thing the kids aren't allowed to do - sleep on the bed. So, about 30 mins after we went to bed, I called him up... He slept with me all night long. Ok, actually I didn't sleep much last night.... but that's another story. Baxter sure did though. He was all snuggled up to me, and WE loved it. Even Shane... even though he'll NEVER admit it.....

So, like I said before... we're leaving soon. In a couple of hours to be exact. I still have some last minute things to do, you know.. like TAKE A SHOWER! But, I've still got time ;-)

It's so crazy that 1 year ago..... this date was so far out in the future, not much about it scared me at all. Now, it seems like just a couple of months later, it's all here. The training is done. All my money is gone on everything you could possibly imagine, and then some.... My muscles are healing (which by the way - HURTS).

There are so many things about this journey that are amazing. Every time I reached a new "longest swim, longest bike, longest swim...." I felt achievement. There were good days & bad days. Some days when I just didn't feel like I could do it. Others, when I was on top of the world and couldn't believe how far I have come.

Who'd of thought the party girl from Spokane, Washington would be doing her first Ironman before she turned 30 - and who'd of thought it would be in the lake she grew up swimming in. Countless summer days playing in the water (what the hell was I thinking - it's 58DEGS!). Countless trips to Paul Bunyan for soft serve ice cream (I think it's still there!)......

So many people have supported me through this journey:

My husband, who wasn't even going to do this race until I gave him the "ok" - he was going to be my cheerleader.

My training buddies, all 6 of them also doing the race (momo, ironshane, Sara, Ric, Troy, Heather).

My dear friend from High School Carrie , who is my #1 fan and will be out on the course all day long supporting me.

Stacey & Dave who are actually flying in from Phoenix to come support us - how lucky are we?

My trainer Daniel.... as mean as he was, I know he will be a big part of my success on Sunday.

Natalie and Kate - they were out there on so many of my training runs. And, Natalie is ALWAYS sending the nicest kind thoughts to all of us.

So many others that are supporting us - Sharon, Toni, parents....... It's just so amazing to have such great people surrounding us! And, although they may think we are crazy, they are still cheering us on.

Of course - all of my blog readers that I have not yet met. Thank you for your kind words...

I will be writing more while we are in CDA, so STAY TUNED!!!!

How do you know?

2011-06-12T12:45:00.000-07:00

I'm having a pity party. While my husband was off in Mexico with a bunch of our friends for one of our favorite events, Circus Mexicus, I was at home with a plan of having some great last ditch training after missing out due to the flu last weekend. Things didn't go exactly as planned.

I felt better and stronger every day this week, but still wasn't sleeping the best. Achy legs, and just restless. I went back to my all natural diet of lots of fruits and veggies and extra protein (after 4 days of bland carbs). I didn't push myself during the week… But still, when I headed out for my 4hour ride on Saturday I still felt a little FLAT. I was able to chase a few people up some hills, so that felt good getting my HR up, but as soon as we turned around to head back home I just had nothing. I wasn't hurting, I wasn't cramping, stomach fine.. I was just BLAH. I ended up accidentally shortening the loop by turning around too early so it was ~66 miles 3:40, good enough! Next up was a :45 min transition run, 4 miles at a good solid pace, then finishing up ez. Since I was lacking energy I downed a half a coke before heading out. WOW, did that help! I felt way better than the last couple of bricks in the heat where I was trying to nail a set pace.

Note to self: Need to figure out if I put a coke on my bike, or just wait for the run….

After jumping in the pool to cool down, hopping in the shower I was back to feeling "flat." I put on my PJs and plopped myself on the couch with my dogs for an all afternoon movie fest.

I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I watched "Country Strong" (I HATE country music, and am NOT a big fan of Gweneth Paltrow) and I LOVED it!

In bed by 9 but still didn't fall asleep right away. The alarm went off about 5am & I somehow tinkered around for over an hour, finally leaving just after 6. I had a loop in my head planned out that would hopefully get me the 3hours on my schedule, but I also had some Tempo Intervals to do… About 15mins into the ride I saw our Tri Team leader and turned around to chat with him for a bit. He made a couple of comments about what was I doing out there, why 2 long rides and noting again how I can't do anything to help myself and my fitness at this point.

He's not the first person saying these things. I know it, my coach knows it & if anything this weekends training was more for me mentally since I missed the 3 week out weekend training due to the flu. However, I kept having these thoughts in my head about should I be out here riding, where's my HR? Do I need more rest? Did I jump back into training too soon after being sick? WHAT should I do?

After 30mins of my HR not going above 120bpm I made the decision and headed for home. I just didn't have it, and to be honest it was probably more mentally than physically. I know I've got some GREAT potential to do well at IMCDA, and I just don't want to do anything to screw it up!

I'm heading for an easy swim to flush out yesterdays training then a massage and taking tomorrow off (yes coach, I won't be doing that FLOP swim tomorrow, I'm going to let my massage do it's magic) and hope to get some run confidence with a fun run I have planned for Tuesday…

I am trusting my coach, trusting my body and trusting that everything I've done the past 5 months is going to show up on June 26th.

Sarah

2011-06-10T08:51:00.000-07:00

Monday morning I was checking my phone, half in a stomach flu/fever induced blur when I saw a strange text from my girl, Shelby. It said "Are you in Mexico? Call or text if you want to talk."

Not strange because I heard from her, but the "tone" was strange. We definitely keep in touch, she's just one of those girls you can't help but stay close with even after graduating college, moving away, getting real jobs, married…the whole nine yards. I sent her a quick text back saying I was home, and "what's up?"

Then my phone rang. Shelby sounded immediately upset. She asked if I had heard about our friend Sarah. Having no idea what she was talking about I asked more questions. She started to cry and told me that Sarah had passed away the night before from a heart attack.

The conversation went to silence, then comments of disbelief. What? A heart attack? We're THIRTY THREE years old? I was stunned, I was shocked.

Shelby started to get a lot more upset and I was still taking it all in so she asked me to give her information to one of Sarah's really good friends that I still keep in touch with. She told me that this girl, Kelly, already knew but to give her contact info in case she needed a place to stay when she came into town.

I got off the phone and cried a little. I started having some memories of the last time I saw Sarah. It was 2 years ago in Seattle for Shelby's wedding. Before that it had been years. I very vividly remember her from the wedding. She had the same contagious smile she has always had, same positive attitude and genuine desire to know how everyone, including myself were & had been doing the past few years. It was as if the 10 years since our incredibly crazy fun time in college had never passed. I still can't get her smile and hug from the wedding out of my head.

After I gathered myself, I sent a text to Kelly & a couple of other girls with some contact info. Like before with Shelby my phone rang within seconds. It was Kelly. Kelly and Sarah were crazy close in college, and I remembered seeing some pictures of them together on Facebook very recently - Sarah had gone to wine country to visit Kelly (she works for a winery there). I remember thinking how great it was that those pictures looked just like old times.

Kelly had no clue what my text was about. What was I talking about, Sarah? I explained to her what I knew and that I was so sorry I texted about it, I was told she knew already. She paused for a minute, then asked if she could call me back. A few minutes later my phone rang again and she said she had to pull over and think for a minute. She sounded very calm this time. She told me I was mistaken. That it was Sarah's old roommate that died a couple of months ago from a heart issue. I tried to explain to her that this JUST happened, and the phone went quiet. She was in complete shock and then said something about an arrhythmia that she found out about in college. I'm guessing not many people knew about this health problem as Sarah was never one to complain, never one to be down or ask for anything.

We chatted a while longer and then hung up. I logged onto Facebook and couldn't believe the posts on my news feed. So many names and faces I haven't seen or heard from in years all posting their condolences on Sarah's Facebook page. I read all of them, looked at the pictures the memories.

While I haven't lost a lot of people in my life I can certainly say that the overwhelming positive things I've heard and read about Sarah and the loss of such a young, young life have been completely beyond anything I've ever experienced. She was an amazing, happy, beautiful person who clearly had a positive influence on anyone she ever met. She was taken far, far too early.

I feel so blessed to have known her, to have spent 4 amazing years in college with her. I feel blessed and privileged to call her my friend.

Sarah, you will forever be missed. Know that you were loved, respected and most of all will never be forgotten.

Her has set up a donation page to anyone wanting support the American Heart Association.

First Week in June

2011-06-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

I hate to say the word "never" cause I swear every time I do it comes back to bite me eventually, but I think this is a good time to say it. NEVER let me sign up for an A race that takes place the first week/weekend in June. Most likely, I'm going to be sick.

I was joking around a few weeks ago as Ironman is approaching I needed to find my bubble. I'm accident prone, a klutz and the second I let my body start to rest, everything seems to go to shit. I started taking airborne daily about 2 weeks ago. I am trying to get as much sleep as possible and I'm eating as many fruits and veggies as I can stuff in my face, as well as adding extra protein to my diet. We can only control so much, right?

Just like last year, during deuces wild oly tri when Shane & I both came down with the stomach flu & mine went on and on and on, seems I'm repeating it again. Similar thing happened the year before although I think I did the smart thing that time and took 10days off (no ironman to train for) and got myself a little healthier.

So here I am, 3 weeks out from Ironman where my training has been near flawless (minus a little IT band freak out). I've done multiple century rides, 2x20miler runs and some race pace run/bricks. The crazy long stuff is done, but this weekend was supposed to be the last big push with 2x mid distance rides with some focused swim & run bricks. We had a trip planned to Mexico with my sister, niece & her inlaws but planned to come back for the weekend training. I was feeling a little tired and the weather was absolutely gorgeous so I decided to stay until Saturday, enjoy the beach one more day & I'd do my 2 bike workouts Sun/Monday instead…

On the drive home Saturday morning I was feeling a little queasy. The road is a little bumpy so I just figured it was car sickness. It only got worse from there, and shortly after dinner (I will NOT be eating veggie burgers and broccoli any time soon) I was sick as a dog. I couldn't keep anything in me and had a fever, chills, aches and god awful stomach pain all night. I sent a 4am text to my girlfriend who was supposed to be at my house to ride in a couple hours that I was sick and finally fell asleep around 5am.

I know that most of the hard work is done for Ironman training, but this is the fun part. The part where you get to fine tune everything and start getting crazy excited and nervous and scared about the race! Instead all I'm thinking about is when I'm going to feel 100% and when it will be smart, not stupid to head out on my bike, or get into the pool. My fever is gone, I can eat, yet everything isn't exactly staying in me (nuff said about that).

I hate being sick. I hate laying around and doing nothing, and most of all I hate knowing that I shouldn't be doing anything. So for now, I'm just going to keep sipping on my gatorade, resting and waiting for coachie to tell me what to do.

And, if anyone has any home remedies and best nutrition for a slightly uneasy/sensitive stomach please let me know!

Runners High

2011-05-24T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've talked about it before. The endless IT band struggles. The never knowing if I can run from one day to the next. But somehow (with the help of my ART miracle worker, any maybe some common sense) I've been able to dig myself out of some pretty big holes when it comes to injury prevention lately. You would think I would get over my fears some day, but maybe there are just some things we'll never be fully confident in? My IT band is definitely one of them.

Well, after an amazing IM training year (5 weeks to go!) I found myself back in the familiar scared out of my whits, the world is gonna end, my stupid IT BAND I'M going to cut you off scenario. I noticed some tightness 2 weeks ago at track. It wasn't bad, but it didn't feel right. The scary part was the pain was actually on the side I had my IT band surgery (this side hasn't bugged me for years). The pain subsided after the track workout/swim on Wed, but I woke up Saturday morning with my entire hip and knee throbbing. It seemed fine Friday, but as I was packing my bag to race and brought my bike into transition on Saturday I had a very uneasy feeling. The race didn't mean much to me, and I was fully prepared to drop out of I needed to. I was also really worried about all the stairs we had to climb during the race (anyone with IT band problems knows that stairs plus ITBS = no bueno). However, the race went on without a glitch and if anything I felt some tightness on the bike on the left side/hip area. I never felt any knee pain during the race and had a great day despite being a little bonky on the run.

I woke up Monday morning with a LOT of pain. The frustrations set in, complete paranoia and thoughts of how could this be happening AGAIN to me. Not now, not when I'm doing SO well. I feel so amazing and I'm in the best shape of my life. Was it the 20miler I just did? Was it all the big gear stuff? Track? Of course I could play what ifs over an over again, but none of it mattered. I was jumping to every conclusion there was and completely overwhelmed with fear. I got in with my ART guy for treatment on Monday where he worked me over. He even brought out the scraper and scraped over my surgery scar. Oh my mother of holy crap pain. For the 4 years I've been working with Mr. Miracle worker I don't know that I've ever felt that kind of pain. I iced 3 times a day both my knee and hip. Rolled 3 times a day. Lived in my compression tights and applied MYOMED to my hip and Voltaren Gel to my knee twice a day.

Tuesday I switched up my big gear intervals to faster cadence intervals and ended up crawling back into bed after I got up and started to get ready for track at dark:30am on Wed. While I ended up nailing my swim and PR'ing my 100s during the workout, it still didn't make me feel (that much) better about my knee. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't in pain still. And, trying to be the smarter athlete these days, yet balancing that with my determination to still get long workouts in (5hour ride/4mile t-run at race place Thurs followed by 20mile run Friday) was really starting to worry me. I hate missing workouts, and I hate even more missing workouts because of stupid injury.

So, I headed back to ART for another treatment Wed in hopes that the miracle work would take place while I was sleeping and I'd be good to go in the AM. He dug really deep into my hip area, did every special weird release move on both IT bands. Used the stem unit around my knee and then applied Kinesio tape to my right knee area. I got home and immediately put my compression tights on and put my butt on the couch.

I spent 5 lonely hours on Thursday once again in fear. Fear that I would feel a twinge on 9 mile hill, then next climbing up Legend Trails. Fear if I pushed too big of a gear I would once again be back at square one. Fear that when I got home and put on my running shoes I wouldn't be able to run my transition run. A transition run that was to me a test of hitting a pace I didn't know how my body would react to. Fear that if I did that run I wouldn't have a chance of running 20miles the next day.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm not naive enough to think if wasn't able to get these workouts in that I wouldn't be able to have a good Ironman. I know I've got the fitness, but that's not what it's about to me. It's about having something that you want taken away. Having the freedom and the ability to do things you love because you CAN. Not that I'm out to win anything, but just being healthy and enjoying the entire experience of any race I'm training for to me is a win, and when there is a chance it could all be taken away (again) I take it pretty hard.

As I made it past mile 1 of the transition run and noticed my AVG pace was actually faster than planned and my HR was still aerobic somehow all these stupid paranoid feelings suddenly started to subside. I felt like I was flying and I had such relief come over me.

And you know what? That relief carried me all the way through 15miles the next day until I reached the 16/20miles and that relief turned into joy. Joy for having an incredible run. Joy for not giving up that week or 5 years ago when my surgeon told me he didn't know if I would ever be able to run again. Joy for having a kick ass run at a faster pace then 2 weeks ago and most of all joy that I for the first time in a long time felt as if I was a runner again.

And that is what we call a Runners High, and it lasted the last 4miles of that 20mile run.

Tempe International Tri

2011-05-16T12:39:00.001-07:00

I meant to blog last week, but I was too tired and busy drinking airborne like it was going out of style and stuffing my face with every healthy fruit and veggie I could get my hands on… All in an effort to build up my immune system to enter THE TEMPE TOWN LAKE.

Barf. This race was full of hypocrite-isms like: 1. I'm done racing at Tempe Town lake. I can't believe people still swim in that nasty thing. 2. Tucson racing events are awful, I'm so over them. 3. I am so NEVER wearing a stupid aero helmet. They are SO lame.

But, sure enough last week I checked each one of those things off my lists of things I'm not going to do. Again, never say never or you'll just end up eating your words.

It seems like I've been on an endless Ironman build including a few century rides including 2 back to back at the Answer, and my first 20mile run of the season (last Sunday). Come to think of it, I don't know that I have EVER run 20miles during Ironman training (at once). The long run went off quite well, I kept my pace easy and got a massage the following day to help speed recovery. I also managed to register for the Olympic race I said I wasn't going to do just a few hours after finishing the run so I guess it wasn't THAT bad.

This race is the AZ club championships so our club leader was not shy with the peer pressuring/guilt. He laid it on, and I sucked it up. Without any sort of taper, although I didn't have to do a LONG ride Saturday I spent Saturday afternoon on the couch in my compression tights after a shorter ride. For some reason I woke up with my IT band/knee area incredibly sore so I was a bit worried about the race. It felt a little better in the am, but was definitely not 100%.

Race morning was a typical CLUSTER. This race director is infamous for putting on less than organized events. He had moved transition to the North side of the lake putting us under the freeway and giving the entire T area shade. It turned out that was a good idea for AFTER the race, but it sure made getting into transition tough.

After a :45 minute delay to the start of the race, I think my wave (first female Olympic) started just before 8am. Does anyone know how HOT it is in AZ at 8am this time of year? Yah, pretty stinking HOT.

Swim: I started up in the front row towards the buoy line. Since we were doing a clockwise loop, I wanted to stay close to the line and try not to swim any extra. I started out like a BAT out of hell in front of the group and could see I was not losing ground until about 100meters when I realized I was KILLING myself and backed it down. I had a couple of girls around me and desperately tried to grab their feet, but it was just a bit too fast for me (should have started out a little less aggressive and probably could have grabbed the feet). I could see a couple of pink caps (my wave) pull out in front and I ended up swimming almost the entire way by myself. The sun was directly in our eyes and the glare of the water made it difficult to see the first turn buoy. About 100meters form the first turn I realized that myself (along with several others) were aiming more towards the SECOND turn buoy and had to adjust my direction and head a bit out of my way to the left to catch the buoy. It appeared that some people didn't catch the memo you have to go around ALL the buoys and I could see several people completely cutting it off. Cheaters. Didn't matter to me, I didn't see any girls doing it, just men in the wave ahead of me….

I got into a groove and came out of the water with 1 other pink cap at 23:56. I'm happy with that! I think I could have been closer to 23 if I stayed on course and grabbed some feet at the beginning. I think my Oly swim PR is just under :23 mins at lake Havasu so this is a solid swim in TTL for me.

Getting up to Transition was a KILLER. It was probably about 200 yards uphill including a set of steep stairs. This time was reflected in my swim split adding to it for an official swim time of: 24:55.

Shane screamed at me in transition that I was in 3rd place. I knew there was a pro in my wave so I figured she was #1 and a little miss speedy girl in my tri-club was #2. I had no visions of beating either of those two at this race, so I thought maybe I could just hold off anyone else from passing me, that would be fantastic.

I have to admit I had a GREAT time on the bike course. I must have actually come out of the water in 4th because I quickly passed one other Oly girl. The course is two loops with so many turns and out and backs it almost makes you dizzy. It does allow you to see who is in front of you. Sometimes you can't tell because of the loops, but since I was the first female wave and you could tell by race numbers who was in the sprint it was kinda fun. I saw the pro on the first out and back section - she was probably already 2 miles ahead of me! Next up I saw the speedy pants girl in my age group. At each out and back I realized I was actually gaining on her! Now, this girl can RUN. Like, at our track workouts she is up with the fastest boys. Yah, WAY fast so

I knew I could never keep a lead until the finish, but I decided to have fun and just go for it & made it my mission to CATCH her. I did it. I finally caught her on about the 3rd mile of the 2nd loop. I told her to stick with me (secret hopes of helping to push her to an overall placing and I could take her AG award) and just moved along.

There was one other girl out there, not in my AG but she had beat me at another race and I knew she had a STRONG bike. While I wasn't worried about her beating me, I kinda wanted to not let her catch me on the bike. I'd be lying if I said I was a big fan of this person based on some snide comments she gave to me at another race, so I kinda had a little ego here. I saw her gaining on me on some out and backs and it definitely fired me up!

I gave it my all on this bike course and am definitely most proud of it! I finished in 1:09:39, fastest bike split in my AG and came into T-2 as the first AG'er. (not officially, because there were other women's waves behind me and they did have faster bikes than me for sure!)… This is a Oly bike PR for me (last Oly was .8 short). So cool tho to be the first AG girl out on the run course!

The run was HELLA hot. I immediately started pouring water on me to keep myself cool. I was feeling a little sluggish and while my legs felt FINE (thank you e21), I felt like I didn't have any get up and go. I made it until mile 2 or so until miss speedy pants caught me (YEAH ME!) and she said she was HURTING. I tried to at least keep her in my sights, but clearly she found another gear cause I soon lost sight of her. I don't actually think I slowed my pace much throughout the 10k, but I just never had any true speed. I felt tired, not sore. Sleepy almost. My guess is I needed more calories on the bike, especially given that we started the race :45mins later. I should have done an extra gel or something when I realized how late we were starting. I did plan on having 3 gels, including a caffeine one for the run but I lost one out of my bento box on the bike so only had 2 (note to self - GET NEW BENTO BOX and stop losing shit). One 20mins into the bike and the other one as I left T-2.

My knee held up on the run, including going down 2 sets of steep stairs and a volunteer trying to direct me the wrong way in the last .2 of a mile where I did a little wobbling trying to get turned back around in the right direction.

I finished strong with my entire team cheering me to the finish. Run time = 51:15. I know I've got more in me than THAT…..

I finished ~4mins behind my AG winner and club teammate. I'm proud of that, she is one of our best female athletes, amazing runner & Kona Finisher. I also finished 7th OA, including the Pro. A fantastic day in my books.

I'm very happy I caved and did the race. It was a fun mix up to the long training, and had such great time with our club! Of course it never hurts being able to give Baxter "his" medal :-) Juliette was also insisting on posing with one too!

P.S. I heart my incredibly nerdy aero helmet :-)

dropped

2011-05-05T07:00:00.000-07:00

So I got back on my bike today for the first time since the Answer. Saddles sores healed, feeling (mostly) recovered I looked at my training peaks plan for the day and followed the instructions….

GROUP RIDE!

There is a Tues/Thursday group ride that I've never participated in. Sure, I do the same routes at slightly different times and see the group out there a lot, but, I've never actually met up with the group & ridden with them. I know some of my training peeps do and I talked my ATC buddy Karen to meet me for the ride today. She frequently rides with the group, but she is also one of the strongest female cyclists I know and can hang on for the most part.

The Thursday ride is also the "hill ride" with 3 pretty good climbs in the middle of the 30 or so mile ride. I do the hills on my own quite often as they are just a couple minutes from my house.

Up at 4:30 this am so I could be on my bike shortly after 5 to meet the group I felt pretty good. Hip flexors and quads a wee bit sore from yesterdays track workout and my lats screaming from my crazy hard 4k swim. Thanks coach.

Anyway, I met up with the group about 4 miles into riding and quickly jumped on the middle of the pack. I was able to chit chat for all of about 2 miles before I realized my HR was 170, my legs and lungs were screaming and oh my hell what have I gotten myself into? The gradual uphill starts and I swear those crazy ass roadies picked up the pace. Only about 4mph FASTER than I would normally go.

We make a turn heading to the first stop light (it's red) so I grab my water bottle and try to catch my breath. Next thing I know, the light turns green the group takes off like a freaking bat out of hell to make the light and I'm hanging on for dear life.

And that was the end of my group ride :-) Yes, I was dropped after about 5 miles. I laughed and figured out plan B. There were a few stragglers so we got together and paced up the road slowly losing sight of the group as they made a turn to go up the first of 3 major hills. I was riding beside one of the guys in the "we got dropped group" as we passed by the turn I thought we would make. I asked about it, and they said - yah, we skip that one and they catch us on this hill.

Oh…. crap. Now I'm thinking not only did I get DROPPED, now I have to get passed after skipping a hill. I'd rather be in the back of the pack. That's like being lapped in the pool on a short swim set. NOT cool.

I decided I was just gonna ride hard and see what happened. I worked my way up to the top of our little group and cruised up the first hill. I asked when they usually get caught and one of the ladies told me any minute. I was bound and determined NOT to get caught before I made it up this hill (the largest of the 3) and by God I did it. Barely :-) As I cruised down the hill I noticed that the group really fell apart. I found my gf Karen at the bottom of the hill and decided to turn around and go back up again with her. She was struggling and realized she was in no way recovered from the Answer yet so we just cruised up the hill together. My HR was 20bpm lower up the hill the second time, so clearly I was working way hard the first time!

The second hill is a 2part hill. The first hill is a more gradual grade, but the second part you go through a residential gate and go up about a half a mile with a much steeper grade to the turn around. There has been much drama with the neighborhood about letting cyclists in the gate, so the trade off of the gate being left open for us = BIG ASS SPEED BUMPS. I hate these damn things. They are big, obnoxious rubber speed bumps that hurt like hell going over. There is no way around them. You can take them fast, you can take them slow, but no matter what they are a pain in the ass. The last time I went down this section one of my brakes broke. People lose water bottles (saw that today), nutrition - you name it. Not to mention it sounds like your bike is going to break in half every time you hit one. I'm pretty sure last time when my brake broke I said I was never going up this section again.

Sure enough here I was going up and down it not once, but twice. As I hit the last of 3 (maybe 4) of these speed bumps on the way down for the second time I realized something was wrong. I stopped at the gate, looked down and realized that my handlebars had slipped about a half an inch. I could barely reach my brakes and had to stretch way too far to grab onto the hoods.

So here I am only an hour into my first group ride. Dropped from the group, then back with them and now I have to either A) finish the ride riding in my drops or B) roll on down the hill and head home and hour short on my ride time.

My legs were feeling better, and I now had company so I made the turn to go up the 3rd and final big hill. I stood up to catch up to Karen and realized how uncomfortable this made me and made the better decision to head back home.

So there you have it. My first group ride. Dropped, jacked up handlebars and cut an hour short. You know what the crazy part is? I still had fun :-) I tend to get lazy on the bike and never have that feeling of OMG I'm going to die. I think this is probably the best thing (and most painful) I could do to help improve my cycling!

I think my crazy coach is rubbing off on me. Bring it. Maybe next week I can hold on for like 6miles before I get dropped :-)

Answer to the Challenge

2011-05-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

All I can say is what a difference training makes. Seriously. I know it's kinda common sense, but oh my god was I a completely different person this time around. I was bound and determined not to fall apart, break down, cry (although I did come VERY close) or have a bad attitude. I think I hit all goals, and even surpassed what I thought I was capable of doing. All while having an absolutely amazingly fun time. This smile below taken around mile 50 or 60 of day 1 pretty much sums up the look on my face the entire weekend (minus a frozen bit on day2).

Day 1: Scottsdale to Strawberry. 94 miles, ~10,000 ft of climbing. Friday took me just over 6hrs to complete (ride time). We had a lot of stops due to flats, regrouping etc, but I stayed 100% on top of my nutrition and hydration so never once felt fatigue. In fact, I actually felt my strongest with the toughest part of the day - the last 17miles of CLIMBING from Payson to Strawberry. Some of our group had a very extended pit stop (and cocktails) in Payson, but remembering my breakdown last year on day 2 when I didn't refuel/recovery properly on day 1 I decided to head out fairly quickly after the last sag and get to the finish. While I may have missed out on a little bit of the festivities, I'm happy with my decision.

Our group of ~30 people took over the little cabins in Strawberry. Karen organized a fantastic meal catered by a local restaurant which was absolutely perfect. It was like an impromptu little party in the woods. Shane drove up with some extra supplies and my dogs :-). The dogs had a BLAST showing off for everyone, sneaking in some food (bad Baxter!) and exploring in the woods!

The rumor was we were expected to have winds up to 50mph on Saturday so we made plans to depart at 6am. In bed shortly after 9, I unfortunately didn't get any sleep. The winds were howling and so strong it kept me (and many others) awake all night. Before I knew it, it was 6am and I was dressed in a million layers and dropping my bag off for the sag. This is where everything changed. About half of our group, still in their pajamas watching us head out had decided to bail. They were not going to risk (or endure) the crazy weather and decided to head home. I was bummed to say the least, but I still had some die hard and crazy friends to gut it out!

With about 10 of us heading out, I felt safe with the company and also new there was another group leaving a little later with their own personal (bitty bitty cycling group) sag. Day 2 starts out with about an hour climb through the woods. It was around 30degrees, but the climb helped warm us up. The winds were extremely strong and a little swirly, but we seemed to be partially protected the trees.

After the climb came a huge 26mile descend into Camp Verde. I remember enjoying this part of the ride last year, as my legs were so trashed from day 1 I just coasted down for the hour. Unfortunately this year it was completely the opposite making for the most miserable, painful and down right toughest ride of my life. There were 4 of us girls who quickly fell off the group. We were so cold we couldn't feel our feet or hands, which when you are descending switchbacks that just happen to have "fresh oil" signs does not equal safe. At one point we actually pulled off the road, almost in tears not knowing how we were ever going to make it down the mountain. We warmed up our hands best we could and then the pain of them thawing out made everything worse. I had every negative thought go through my head, but saw that I actually wasn't the worst off here so I tried to hold back my thoughts of calling Shane for a rescue pick up.

Somehow, VERY slowly we all made it down the mountain and pacelined our way to the next sag. We had a group of 4 (the Lewis sisters and our new adopted Canadian gal, Trish) and we all worked extremely well together. We dropped off some layers, headed to starbucks for a bite to eat and some caffeine and made our way to the base of the infamous Mingus Mountain. This climb where I had my complete meltdown last year starts around 3500ft and climbs up to ~7000ft in 13miles. The first 4 miles gets you to the ghost town of Jerome where we had a brief stop (these 4 miles are STEEP) to stretch out and take in some nutrition. I headed out keeping pace with Karen who I'm pretty sure kicked my ass up that hill last year by a good 20mins or so. She got a second wind about this time and really was pushing the pace. I made sure to stay with her and definitely dug deep as she stayed strong the entire climb.

We reached the top in 1:30 beyond my expectations and STILL smiling!!! I'm so thankful to Karen for pushing me up that hill and keeping me strong...

The last 25miles of the ride start with a decent down the mountain, then a tough 15ish miles into Prescott, infamous for crazy strong headwinds. Thankfully we had the Bitty Bitty boys to pull us into the finish.

I can't say enough great things about these boys. They are some crazy strong riders who not only kick ass at riding, but don't take anything too seriously. It's all about fun for them. I didn't think twice about joining them for a little celebratory almost to the finish roadside "bitty."

Day 2 included ~7000ft of climbing, 97 miles & took about 6.5hrs!

We had a group dinner full of laughs and free entertainment from the boys.

The last 4 girls standing (or sitting rather) before heading back to the hotel!

Once again I was more than impressed when our bitty train of boys who played harder than they rode (and they rode HARD) showed up at our hotel ready to roll at 6:45 am!

Here we are after the last climb on day 3!

And finally, the finish in Wickenburg day 3, STILL smiling! The boys had smell the barn syndrome and got us through the last 60miles of the weekend in dead on 3hours!

What an amazing, fun adventure we had! I had one of the best training weekends of my life and finished feeling strong! Thank you to a great group of friends, and of course my amazing sponsor e21 who kept me recovered enough to never slow down! I brought lots of extras and shared the love with my friends who seemed to have great feedback as well

La-Maniac is LaTrashed.

2011-04-25T08:36:00.001-07:00

I'm embracing my new nickname, La-Maniac. M & T, IMCDA training buddies have dubbed me this. They know my crazy coach, in fact T used to train with her years ago in Scottsdale before Michelle moved away and T retired for the second, or 3rd time.

I'm not sure when they came up with this name of mine, but I'm sure it was somewhere between my constant texts all week long asking them to swim with me, and ensuring they would be in attendance for "Century-Saturday" that I announced on Facebook trying to beg for company for my weekend adventures.

So, what does one do when give such name? EMBRACE the hell out of it. That's what I did. I maybe slightly over-did it by topping off my 19hr training week with a night out on Saturday, and yes I paid for it. But, trying to live by my own words I of course had to do it ALL.

About 2 months ago I bought Shane & I tickets to go see Mumford and Sons. I am a new fan of the band and I absolutely LOVE them. Little did I know that the concert would fall on the evening after my first century of the season, not to mention at the almost tail end of an epic training week. A week that by Saturday night had my training totals at:

bike: 125+ miles run: 40+ miles swim: 9000+yards. The cherry on top was I still had a 3hr ride to do on Sunday.

So what does one do after a kick ass 106mile ride/2.5mile brick? Well, I think any SANE person would bake their legs in some compression tights, eat a healthy meal and put their ass in bed early.

But, as mentioned above, my new alter ego was in rare form. Just a couple hours after ending my epic day (which by the way was a KICK ass ride where all of us felt strong and rode well!) I was showered and prettied and down in Tempe meeting some friends for dinner before the concert. A few too many cocktails later we were at the venue standing on our feet for another 3hours watching the show.

My only saving grace was that I did eat half of the appetizer (for 4) by myself. My entire plate of ahi tuna entree and the additional side of "any carb/potato you can bring me" (yes I actually said that).

Note to self: Never again wear 4inch wedges to an outdoor concert after 6.5hrs of exercise where you will be standing the rest of the night.

The concert was AMAZING. Such a great performance, and while I did have a fantastic time I hit my limit at 10:05 as we were walking back to the car. This turned into an emergency stop at the McDonalds drive through at 10:30pm where I scarfed down a large french fries before getting home. Salt can only help, right?

I slept like crap all night (probably too much beer) and when the alarm went off at 6 I thought I was going to die. My body was so trashed and my feet were in so much pain from those damn cute shoes that I had no idea how I would survive my 3hr ride. I'm not sure if it was a good, or bad thing, but I had made plans to meet a couple of girlfriends for the ride. In Fountain Hills. Which means only one thing. HILLS and more hills followed by 9mile hill.

It was about 9 miles I had to do of pretty much all up hill until descending down into Fountain Hills to meet the girls. I had so many thoughts go through my head. ALL negative.

I can't do this. Maybe if my HR is only like 110 I can tell my coach that it wasn't worth it, I was too trashed. Shit, nope it's 140 that won't work. What if I throw up? I could cry right now I'm so ever-loving tired. My feet feel like I walked on fire. How much e21 can I take in the next 2 hours. OH MY GOD the girls aren't here. Maybe they left without me cause I'm LATE cause I was so slow riding here. SHIT, there they are. Now I HAVE to do this damn ride. Ugh.

Of course, as soon as I had company to take my mind off my burning feet, congested lungs from all the wind and smoke in the air and no sleep I was just find. I even managed to pull all of us up 9mile hill into a nasty headwind.

The ride wasn't my best, but it was saddle time in the bank and after 3hrs I was finally finished with my epic training week. I was still alive. I didn't throw up or cry (albeit very close to both) and even made it to a Sunday brunch all showered and easter-egg looking by 12:30.

Home by 3 on the couch watching movies with my compression tights where they should have been the day before I was DONE. TOAST. La-Trashed. Bed by 8 was just what I needed.

I feel a little better today, but I'm still exhausted. Over-tired. I've got a massage scheduled for Wed am so hoping that gets me all rested and revived and ready for this weekends adventures…

La-Maniac is going to be in rare form come June 26th.

ironman training chronicles

2011-04-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again. Training is in full force. Kick my ass full force. I'm surprised daily at what I'm able to endure, and even more surprised daily when I open up training peaks and see what my coach thinks I can endure… Here are some of my latest observations!

First and foremost the Ironman tapeworm has found it's way back into my belly. I'm hungry. A lot. Even when I think I'm not hungry, I'll eat cause I need to refuel, and then after I eat… I'm hungry. How is this possible?
For instance today this is what I have consumed thus far; peanut butter toast, 1power gel, plain toast with 3 egg whites, mushrooms, tomato & feta scramble, a piece of lasagna leftover from dinner the other night, 2 fruit leather strips, 2 dove dark chocolates - dipped in peanut butter of course, an apple, some cottage cheese and strawberries.
It's only 4pm…..
Oh, and did I mention I only did an 80min bike ride today? I'm hoping this is hunger leftover from Mt. Lemmon/2:40 run & 3000meter swim?
Speaking of swim I had the pleasure of swimming with ER yesterday. She mentioned on Facebook she was in town so I took the opportunity to ask/beg her to come keep me company. We'd never talked about swim pace before, but honestly I didn't care if she lapped me or I lapped her, I needed some serious motivation so I wanted any company I could get!
Turns out she's a GREAT swimmer. I forgot how much I missing swimming with people that PUSH me. I don't go to a masters swim because I do my run or bike workouts in the am. I used to do a noon masters swim, but the people that used to push me there, kinda stopped showing up. Don't get me wrong… I'm not a total sandbagger…but when I looked at my 100 splits and realized that my "steady" 100s were just a few seconds slower than what I've been doing on my "fast" 100s lately… and then my fast 100s were 2-3 seconds faster than I ever hit in this particular pool…. Yah, apparently I just need someone to swim next to me, then in front of me so I can chase.
Did I mention I did an 18+mile run earlier that am? And STILL had some great splits (for me)? yah… something is up. I need me a rabbit to chase in the pool. Or fish, if you will.
Back to Facebook. I know it's cheesy and immature and a completely self indulgent waste of time…BUT I don't care. I work from home, by myself and it keeps me entertained. It's like people.com for the everyday person. And, give me any trashy magazine & I will keep myself entertained for hours on end with the gossip… so, I suppose Facebook does the same exact thing.
Not to mention it's like a free advertisement for your every desire. Need a swimming partner, cry out for help, see who responds = a FANTASTIC swim workout when you started with a 50/50% chance of making it to the pool in the first place.
I currently have a "want ad" out looking for company on my weekend riding. 100miles on Saturday, 3hrs on Sunday. WHO'S IN?
The more I train, the more I want stuff. I will go through stages of how I NEED all sorts of things like this and this and this and most of all THIS.
A girl can dream, right?
I'm getting old. Or, triathlon is making me LOOK old. I've recently succumbed to buying outrageously overpriced skin care products, particularly sun screen. I used to throw whatever on my skin, even my face. Banana boat, sure. Then, I started noticing all these THINGS. Lines, not so freckly looking freckles/sun spots… ugh. My tan lines are no longer cool. I remember when I started swimming with momo several years ago she was always freaking out about her skin. I thought she was nuts. She has great olive colored-youthful skin. She was always buying these crazy ass products and putting stuff on that made all the sun stuff peel off. I was all, whatever - tan is COOL.
Did I mention she's a few years old than me… and apparently wiser. I am now at that stage where I think that my face is going to fall off and I will pay with my left arm for the tiniest bottle of sunscreen for my face.
Lest you think I'm going to look OLD from this damn sport.
I still love sitting at the beach. I might be one of those people under the umbrella that I've always made fun of tho very very soon…
Shit, I am old
Coke. I've drank, drunk.. oh whatever I never claimed to be an English major, clearly. My point is I can't seem to get enough coke. I really only drink water & ice tea, an occasional coke here and there, but I honestly think I've had more coke (fully leaded, I don't do diet) in the past 2 weeks of training then the past year all together. It's saved my a@@ on a couple of long training rides and it was what got me back home on a miserable long run a couple of weeks ago. I can't figure out why I'm craving it so much more than ever before? I'm usually all sugared out after all the crap I have to consume during training that all I want is SALT. Hmm.
I think my wonderful little magic pills are doing wonders for my salt addiction. I heart e21!

And that my friends is how the mind of a crazy ironman in training rolls :-)

Mt Lemmon round 2!

2011-04-17T09:32:00.001-07:00

I've been wanting to get back to Mt Lemmon for a while now, but trying to find a date that worked for everyone turned into quite the challenge. In the end we ended up with 9 people to start with us - 6 and maybe one possible last minute straggler (we worked our peer pressure magic all day long for one of the girls to sign up via Community Fund) all doing Ironman CDA. It was a perfect weekend to do a big climb before the epic Answer to the Challenge weekend.

The weather was VERY warm to start. Maybe creeping up to the 70s, but the sun felt crazy toasty. Within the first 2 miles of the climb sweat was pouring off my face and I was sucking water down like mad. Our group immediately split up with little Abby, Aka Mt Climber, heading out in front. We finished in the same time last year so I figured I'd just try to stay with her. I was already feeling my legs just an hour into the ride (guessing adding an extra hill run on Friday to my training wasn't my smartest decision as my quads and shins were SORE).

I was still moving at a good pace, and just kept Abby in my site using her as a pacer. The air was thick with pollution and and I actually had to use my inhaler a couple of times on the mountain. The mountain was PACKED with riders which made it kinda fun passing a lot of people (not so much the case last time I did this ride). My bike felt great, comfortable and honestly never had any pain until the last 5 miles when my low back got crampy from so much climbing. The last 4 miles of climb are more of up/down so got some good speed and got to coast down into the little town!

I ended the ride climbing the mountain 10minutes faster than last year! Very happy with this accomplishment and almost wonder what I could do if I wasn't 2 weeks post half ironman effort or with a rest week leading up to it?? Hmm, might have to try this again in the fall!

Happy to be done we waited for everyone in the group to arrive and got to witness a very special proposal :-)

Note, last time we did this climb this entire area was covered in SNOW! Yesterday, not so much.

It took some convincing as most everyone was just ready to get back down, but we coasted a quarter mile down the hill into the town for the infamous Cookie Cabin. I just had to see what the hype was all about and let me tell you, the climb is WORTH it. Say hello to my super-sized peanut butter cookie. I wish I could say I indulged and ate every last crumb, however, I knew I would be a mess if I tried to eat it so I shared half of it with a friend and then put the other half in the RV sag (yes, only 6/9 of us did the descend and 3 were rescued by the RV) to pick up at the bottom.

My cookie somehow mysteriously did NOT make it back down the Mountain… Hmm. Guess I'll have to redo the climb again :-)

The descend was just as I remembered. A BLAST. Once again I fell in love with my bike all over again, and think my wheels are the key! The bike is smooth and the wheels make me feel in complete control. I only had to brake 2 times on the descend around a couple of sharp switchback turns. I would do that descend over and over again if I didn't always have to climb the mountain first :-)

My slave driver told me I had to grit my teeth and head out for 4 miles at a pretty good pace. I was able to get 2 others to tag along with me for the fun. Unfortunately by the time we started the run temperatures had reached 95 degrees and really got the best of us. We were all extremely dehydrated from the climb and warm air (last weekend we were in the low 60s for high so this was quite a shock to our systems) and I made the executive decision to cut the run to 2 miles. I'm not upset about it at all as my legs felt strong but I just would have dug myself into a really deep hole if I continuted to run in that heat when I wasn't at all acclimated yet.

After getting some food and fluids in my body I actually felt great. Changed into my compression tights for the ride home and continued to hydrated. By the time I got home & showered my wonderful husband had my favorites waiting for me :-)

Mt. Lemmon drops and cheese! Cheers.

what doesn't kill ya….

2011-04-09T14:29:00.001-07:00

I made the mistake of opening up my training peaks calendar the night of the race. I laughed, read some of my workouts out loud to friends who also just did Oceanside, then tucked it into the back of my mind so I didn't over-think it.

I don't have good muscle tissue. Or, at least I don't think I do. I can look at a hilly run course and get sore. It always amazes me seeing people run or bike or swim or even WALK post marathon or God for bid, Ironman. I get sore. Like so sore I can't walk, or even sleep for that matter. The thought of getting a massage after a big race makes my skin crawl. OUCH.

Something was different about Oceanside. Sure I was gimping around and the 6hr ride home the day after race didn't help, but by Monday I no longer had any soreness. I was in the pool (sans watch) doing a 2200m workout, riding 2hrs Tuesday and by Wed back at it with an 8 mile run and some speed stuff in the pool. I would look at my workout for the day and think, how am I going to do that? I can't do that, I just did a half Ironman.

And you know what? I did it. I did everything the coach asked and am now looking at my biggest long workouts since last year pre-IMCDA. Tomorrow I will ride ~80 or so miles, with a 30min transition run and Monday is a 2.5hr run.

It gets even better as Friday afternoon I got a little love note on Facebook from my coach that said something like, "I had too much caffeine and am hyper so I wrote your schedule out for next week and you are going to PAY. Go put on your big girl panties." Ok, maybe that's not exactly what she said, but her words did scare me and I had to take a moment before opening up my schedule to see what I was in for.

I saw it, I laughed…and that was that.

I'm truly amazed every time I see these 'impossible' schedules and then each day I check each workout off my schedule as completed. It just goes to show why we hire coaches and why we let them do the thinking, the planning and just do the work. And we trust…

I know the "real work" is coming. I know the next 8 weeks are going to really test me. I might find a breaking point, or I might not. Either way, I'm all in & I can't wait to see what I can really do!

Next up, revisiting Mt. Lemmon. I'm crazy excited to go back to this climb stronger, and with permission to just GO at it up the Mountain! I plan on crushing my 3hr ride to the top, then rewarding myself with one of those infamous cookies, Hillary Biscay is always talking about!

Oceanside 70.3

2011-04-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

A year ago some girlfriends of mine peer pressured me into registering for this race. A big group even, fun weekend at the beach, twist my arm.. ok, I'm in. Fast forward a year later and I'm one of the last girls standing. WTF? And a race with an ocean swim that I would NEVER in a million years sign up for unless talked into it and now I'm the last of my little foursome of girls that is still doing it, hmm? I think I need some new friends. (j/k) Thankfully our triclub still had quite a few peeps participating so it would still be a great group trip!

I thought about this race a lot more than others because my coach made me. Ok, she didn't really MAKE me, but she did ask me to write out the most detailed race plan I've ever done and then she made suggestions. Suggestion #1 being I eat at LEAST 800 calories on the bike, and if I didn't I may as well throw my run right out the door.

Damn, that's a lot of calories for someone my size. But, she is kinda smart and has kinda been doing this sport for like ever so I suppose she knows what she is talking about, no? Well that and I pay her to tell me what to do so what good is it if I don't listen to her?

The week leading up to the race I felt great. Legs were fresh and tapered and massaged. Then we sat in the car for the 6 hour drive and they started aching. There is something about the taper that just really sucks. No matter how good I feel one day, in the last couple of days leading up to the race it all just go to shit. My legs throbbed and my knees started to ache. My IT bands were tight. Ugh, again. I freaking hate the taper. I felt fat and bloated and out of shape. How is this possible when 2 days prior I felt like a million bucks?

We got into town early enough on Thursday to get registered and pick up our packets. Good decision because by Friday afternoon the lines were crazy long. We did however head down to the expo to get a pre-race swim in on Friday. I'd been dreading this since I first saw the ocean. I'm scared shitless of ocean water. My first experience in the open water was about 10years ago on a trip to LA to vista my friend from HS. We headed to Balboa Beach for the day and within 30mins of getting there our entire group (6) were carried out into the ocean and caught in a riptide without knowing what had happened. One minute we were knee deep in the water and the next we were a couple hundred yards out to sea being rescued by 100lb baywatch-esque lifeguards. The waves were so strong they literally threw us under the water and sent us spiraling in circles with force.

Before that moment I had never in my life been afraid of any body of water. Seaweed, yes. Creepy things touching me in a lake yes. But never afraid of drowning. While I had never taken a swim lesson in my life, I basically grew up in the lakes of the Pacific Northwest and could handle myself form a very early age after my parents taught me to swim via "sink or swim" method. However, top the riptide even off with a couple of years later being stung by a stingray in Mexico and I was convinced the Ocean hates me.

Fast forward to last Friday when I was faced with testing out the waters for a pre-swim with THESE waves and imagine how terrified I was. I'm honestly not sure if I'm laughing or crying in this picture, but all I know is I can't thank the guy next to me, Matt enough for sticking with me and getting into the water to calm my nerves. I don't think he actually knew how TERRIFIED I was, but either way I was so happy to have some company.

Besides hitting the first big wave face first because I was so nervous I didn't duck under the break early enough the swim was uneventful. I'm certainly not in love with swimming in the salty water, but the cold temperatures everyone was so freaked about didn't bother me one bit, and I survived. I knew we wouldn't see anything (wave-wise) as crazy as this as the swim took place in a harbor so I felt completely relieved after!

HAPPY as can be with that behind me.

The rest of the day was a little bike ride to make sure everything was working, getting gear ready and then pacing and doing circles in my hotel room waiting for dinner. Before I knew t I was in bed, popped an Ambien and trying to head to lala land.

Unfortunately I still work up every hour (who does that EVEN after taking Ambien?) but didn't feel too tired when I got up at 4:30. We left the hotel about 5:15 to get into transition and then had a LONG wait for my swim start. I was the 18th wave I think, the last women's start at 7:33 almost an hour after the pro start. The weather was windy but cloudy so I was happy! I had heard that the run can be brutally hot if the sun is blazing so I will take the overcast and cool temps ANY DAY of the week.

The swim was pretty uneventful. Most of it took place in the harbor so it was very protected from the waves, however there is a small section where you have to come out into the open water and there was definitely a little chop. As we made a left to hit the last turn before coming back into the harbor I started to get a little sea sick. Apparently there had been some warnings about the waves and the beaches were even closed. We didn't have anything crazy like that in the harbor, but it was a little more chop than I was expecting and I got a little disoriented on the way back. I don't actually think I went off course, even tho my wonderful coach did as me if "I got lost on the swim." :-)

I exited the swim in just over 34mins. 28/140 in my age group. I was hoping to be more like 32mins, but oh well!

T-1 was LONG. We had a long run along side the outside of transition, then my bike rack was halfway back up into transition and then getting out to the bike mount. It was a total of ~4mins, so not too shabby. I was running the whole time so I don't know if I could have gone any faster. My best new change was buying some TRIGLIDE to use under my wetsuit. It made getting out of it SO easy!

Heading out to the bike I was happy to be out of that ocean!

There is one short tiny little hill just before you head out onto the bike course. I needed to get my blood flowing so I stood up & just as I did that one of my bottles popped off my bike. UGH…. here we go again. I even grabbed my favorite camelback bottle that NEVER pops out. The only thing I could think of was that I didn't have it pushed in all the way. It was my gatorade bottle and about 150 of my planned calories, but at least I had my water to wash my food down with & I could grab the powerbar perform on the course.

I quickly settled into aero and grabbed my little box of my magic pills. I had emptied out a mentos gum thing that had a pop up lid and put my e21 in there. My plan was to take 2 right at the beginning of the ride and 2 every hour after. I grabbed my first 2, put it back into the bento box just as I hit a bump and the entire thing went flying out behind me. I looked behind me and considered stopping and going back, but there were just too many people and it would be too dangerous. I almost cried. Those little electrolyte pills have done wonders for me in my training and I was COUNTING on them. I remembered that last minute I had taken 2 pills out of the box and put them underneath all of my nutrition in the bento box. I re-evaluated and came up with plan B. I took 2 pills already, I would grab the sports drink at every aid station to get in as many extra electrolytes as possible and I would save my last 2 e21s to take at the 2hr mark on the bike. I had also given Shane a little emergency bag with 2 tylenol, 2 e21s and my inhaler so I figured I could get those pills and take them right away on the run.

Plan B in effect. The first 30miles on that bike ride were amazing. They were mostly flat and I was able to stay above 20mph the whole time. I started stuffing my face with my nutrition and staying hydrated. The first of 3 hills came and it was just like everyone said. Looked like DEATH from afar, but before you knew it you were up and over. And yes, there really were people walking up this hill. People with aero helmets and $6k bikes. I looked at my Garmin and saw a couple of low speeds of like 5mph but nothing that I would even for a minute consider walking for.

After that first hill things started getting tough. I had been told to expect strong headwinds for the last flat 10mile section, but the wind in these hills was STRONG. I was working hard but my pace was so slow. I wasn't getting passed (except as the strong 35-39M group that started after me came cruising by) so I figured I was doing fine relative to everyone else? But, I did start to do the math and saw my bike time slipping. Not knowing the course, other than it was hard I didn't know what to expect. I did a little research and came up with a bike time of 2:50 for myself. It seemed doable, but that was slowly slipping away and I did get a little down. As I ended the hilly section and the flat started I was expecting a crazy headwind and my pace to slow me down to about a 3hr bike finish and I was frustrated.

However, as the road flattened out my speed went WAY up! I was flying past people and loving it. I managed to keep my pace around 20-24mph the entire time and booked into T-2 happy again! I got ALMOST all of my 800 calories in (maybe 700?) and was not the least bit hungry.

Bike time 2:54 27/140 T-1 a super fast 1:40something!

As I headed out on the run I yelled to Shane I needed my "baggy." Bless his heart he started running through the crazy crowded road to try to get to me, but I didn't want to slow down and wait. I yelled that I would grab it on the next loop & settled in. My legs felt AMAZING. I was running right at 8min miles effortlessly with my HR around 165. The only problem is I had had to PEE for the entire bike ride yet couldn't make myself go. I wasn't about to get off my bike so I saw the first porta potty at less than a mile and it was open so I hit a lap on my watch to see how much time it took me (yes I am a nerd) and was in and out of there in less than :40seconds!

I couldn't believe I was running so well. I felt fantastic (thank you very much coach for making me stuff my face on the bike). I was even passing people! What a great feeling. I ran through every aid station taking in some water or cola and wiping my face with a wet sponge. I was bound and determined not to walk at all so half of the stuff went all over my face and body, but oh well. I kept thinking about what Michelle said, that I needed to keep fueling my body and the minute I was feeling like I NEEDED something, it was too late.

My run time was my real goal. I had the number 1:50 in my head and I had no idea whether or not I could actually do it. The course was mostly flat with a few bumps here and there so my plan was to try to stick to running as close to an 8min mile on the gamin and hope that with some of the little hills and turnarounds and aid slowdowns it would even out. I hit the first loop at just over 54mins right on target, but I was a little worried I might slow. My stomach was a little uneasy from all the crap I had consumed, but I didn't want to bonk so I kept taking stuff in. Mostly coke and water.

Having the 2 loop and out and back course was pretty cool because you could see a lot of people out there. If you were looking for a certain person you wanted to beat you certainly had the opportunity to find out where your competition was. I did spot someone that I had kinda been looking for all day. I knew that person would come out of the water way before me, but I thought I could maybe catch up to on the bike. The first time I saw this person I realized I was down about 3 or so minutes. I felt strong and made it my GOAL to somehow beat them. It wasn't until about mile 8 when I could actually see their race kit in front of me. I dug deep and slowly started gaining time. I FINALLY made the pass at mile 10 and force fed myself one last gel to get my through the last 3 miles. I never looked back, just kept on moving.

I hit the finish shoot with a BIG FAT smile on my face just shy of my goal at 1:51:11 (but I'm telling myself it was in the 1:50s cause I had a 40second pee)! I was full and tired and full of joy for having the BEST triathlon run in over 9 years of racing!!!! RACING.. I actually RACED :-)

Thanks to everyone out there for the amazing cheers and support and encouragement to believe in myself. Thanks go my hard core, bad ass and brilliant coach for getting me a 17min PR.

Finish time 5:25:57, and I RAN myself up from 27place to 24th out 140! A first for me :-)

Such a great weekend with some great people…. Here's a pic of our little group outside of our very own "Clerks" style convenience store (frequented WAY too often by some..)

And of course, Baxter was ready and waiting for his race medal pinning ceremony… Juliette's first! Next time she'll get a new one of Shane's to wear :-)

Race Plan

2011-03-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

It's taper week. fah lah lah la lah. Crap, it's only Monday and I'm BORED. This is going to be a long week. Can't my work be busy on these easy training weeks? No, that's just not how it works I guess. Oh well. My laundry is all done (although I suppose I could put it all away now), I'm up to date on my work billing/invoicing and my desk is somewhat organized. Somewhat, I say. I figure by the time we finally get around to filling our taxes I will REALLY be forced to organize and file away all that "stuff."

Anyhoo, back to my point. It's taper week and it never seems to fail I start getting the infamous question of goals. Times, specifically. I've always have a hard time coming up with these numbers, and even if I've thrown some out there I hate really putting it out there by saying x:xx. That makes it REAL ya know. And then I obsess and think about it too much, and doubt comes in…and and and.

Last Tuesday while on a really fun almost speed time ride with some set HR intervals I was asked this time question. I said, I really don't know. I've been HR training, and not much speed work and I've never had a good half IM and and and… Blah, Sounds like a bunch of excuses, doesn't it? Maybe it is? Maybe it's self doubt or fear of the unknown or fear of even SUCCESS?

I said one number - I want to go under 5:30. The two gals giggled and said, OF COURSE you will. And then one preceded to tell me what she and another gal had been talking about and what they decided I was going to finish in. Of course I asked, and then I chuckled. Like, yah right.

Why is it that some people can just be bad asses and say, I'm going for THIS time and Oh, I can do this.. yet others just struggle with saying that. With having that confidence?

I ended that ride with those predicted numbers in my head as I headed out for my T-run. It was one of the best T-runs I've had in a long time and I hit some splits I wasn't sure I had in me. I took a picture of my Garmin & sent it to my coach and said, "I nailed it."

She too started the questions of what was your last half IM time & what time do you think you'll finish in? I had a really hard time with this because I remembered my last half IM, it was August of 09' - also the year we didn't really train. I went into the race with a shit-load of confidence only to realize how little work I put into the training, and got out of it exactly what I put into it. I just re-read my race report and it gave me a little reminder of how hard I've worked and how much I've improved over the last 2 years (not to mention the 10lbs lost since that race, no wonder I was slow riding up those hills on the bike!).

After a few texts back and forth with Michelle, I think I've got a number in my head. Not knowing what the course is I'm a little unsure about what I can do on the bike, as well as the unknown of the ocean swim (although I've been assured I will NOT be eaten by a shark :-), but I've got a run goal. It's zippy and I'm gonna have to put it all out there, but I'm ready to work. Ready to see where I need to improve and ready to give my coach some real data so she can get me where I need to be come CDA.

Yesterday afternoon I received an email from my coach:

"Will you write out a race plan for Oceanside in the next day or two? I want to see all the details... What time you're going to wake up and what you're going to eat for breakfast and how you're going to set up your transition area... How you plan on starting the swim and what you'll be telling yourself, pacing and nutrition and supplements... etc. The more detailed the better! This exercise is mostly for YOU, to solidify your plans for the day so on Saturday

all you have to do is execute your plan."

I actually started laughing. You mean, I had to THINK about it all and have a plan? Don't get me wrong, I AM a planner, but when it comes to racing I'm usually only fussing over what I'm going to wear. Now that I have a team kit all brand spanking shiny and new, and know what I eat (of course not in serious detail) I was all good to go!

OR, not….

This morning I started writing. I started responding to my coach's email and "writing" my race plan. This is the first time I've ever done this, so I'm anxious to see how it helps! I'm also curious to see what Michelle thinks of it! But, if nothing else it was a first for me and hopefully a great learning experience.

I feel like it's all out there now. I've said a few goal times, I've made a plan and most importantly my outfit is all set :-)

Now can we fast forward to Thursday and get on the road to get this show going already?

e21 team weekend!

2011-03-27T08:53:00.001-07:00

This weekend one of my e21 teammates Molly & I met for a few matchy matchy fun workouts:-)

Thankfully, the too big suit mentioned in the last post photographed ok and I wasn't flashing anyone :-) There were however, no pictures of me pushing off the wall as the not so filled out top part fills with water. I'm working on getting a smaller suit, I just might be squeezing into the bottom half. I guess this brand is a little more appropriate for women that are a little more "blessed" shall we say??

I want an underwater camera now. So fun. And maybe, I could learn to pose a little better. Next time I'm doing a handstand :-) And, I need a matching cap for sure. Maybe some goggles that aren't squeezing the life out of my eye sockets? Thank god for eye cream.

Saturday Molly & her husband planned a ride in Fountain hills. They were going to park at some city park then make their way up Shea. After hearing this, and also after their not so bike friendly route from a few day earlier I immediately offered to lead them on a very bike friendly route to avoid most of the crazy Shea traffic. And, of course I'm always open for some company on my rides! Plus, matchy match again - fun times! Seriously tho. Who ever thought I would love a kit with PINK? We are definitely Rainbow Bright-esque, but we certainly won't be missed out there will we?

Molly is wearing the bike shorts, and "I'm modeling" the tri-shorts. I actually like the look of the bike short a little bit more, more color and a little more pattern to it (not to mention the butt says "train hard, recover faster." I think that saying just about sums up my experience with e21 FO SURE. However, I am never comfortable wearing the thicker padding of bike shorts on my TT bike so the bike shorts will be saved for my road bike adventures! Either way the kits fit great and are super comfy. Cute + Bright + Comfy totally = fast, right? :-)

I think I need to hang out with Molly for often. She makes me feel like a grown up. Like, I don't even need to wear my 4 inch heels to feel like a big kid. Shane looked at this picture and was like, "wait, is that you? the BIG one?" Before I slapped him for the "big" comment I realized what he meant. Usually I'm the "little one." It's funny to see me looking so tall, even on my mini-me bike with 650 wheels :-)

I lead Molly & her husband out into Rio verde before it was time for me to head back to the hills and get some of my HR intervals done. I have to admit as amazing as I felt that day I really struggled to get my HR up. Am I rested? Ready to race? Not sure… but I sure did enjoy every minute of being outside on this gorgeous spring weekend. And, anyone who says that the desert is ugly - just look at this. This is what we get to look at for hours on end in the saddle. Not so bad, eh?

It was great hanging out with you this weekend Molly and looking forward to your next trip up here in May! I'm still debating cheering or racing :-)

Some of my favorite things, take 2

2011-03-21T15:12:00.000-07:00

A while back I did my first installment of "my favorite things." I don't know about you, but when I have a product; food, clothing, online shop, or just about anything under the sun… I like to talk about it. Like it's the best thing ever put out there on the market. And, of course i want EVERYONE to try it.

With my training hours getting up there lately I feel like I'm constantly going back to my staples, my favorites. So, in no particular order, other than the order I found the pics on line here are some of my latest and greatest FAVORITES.

The CamelBak podium Chill water bottle. If you live in AZ you understand how impossible it is to keep your fluids cold in the summer. I like my water and gatorade ICE cold. Not luke warm bath water. This bottle keeps it just like that. In my opinion, WAY more so than the Polar bottles. And the best part about this bottle is the way the water comes out. There is no top to pop open every time you want a drink. You simple open the valve before your ride and when you want a drink you squeeze the body of it. It's awesome. No more pinched lips either!

The best part about the podium chill bottle is while it still holds 20 oz of fluid, it also fits on my beautiful mini road bike, RED. I freaking love this bike. It took me a while to get the saddle right and fit tweaked and replace some fancy ass brakes that were on it, but I absolutely love her. She's smooth and light and responds like nothing I've ever been on before! Not that I've had a whole lot to compare to, but still. And, she's RED. And, what's better than a RED bike. I hope someday she'll have the TT version to keep her company :-)

A & D lotion. After years and years of saddle problems, I've found my solution. Nuff said.

My new favorite swimsuit. I've been wearing TYR brand suits for YEARS. It was the first lap swim suit I bought with my first introduction to real swimming back in college when I signed up for a conditioning swim/PE elective. Ha, to think I actually thought I could swim. The brand has always fit me and the quality is fantastic. They started coming out with some skimpy versions of their 1 piece that are SUPER cute. While I don't exactly want the itsy bitsy suits, it is nice to not get such dramatic tan lines. Insert the new TYR thin X-back, Rock Star pattern suit. I bought it in RED and while it's a wee bit skimpy on my hips/booty, the tan lines are minimal, yet I'm still in my preferred 1 piece. It's CUTE and red (red version not shown) and I love it. It's also made with their durable "durafast" material that lasts a long time! LOVE.

Ok, these stupid little pieces of sugar below are called Techno Gummy Bears. My friend Angie introduced me to them and now they are like crack. I like gummy bears, but I don't love them. Shane on the other hand would take a bag of gummy bears over a meal any day of the week. However, there is something different about these little devils. The flavor is better than regular ones. I don't know, maybe it's in my head. All I know is I'm thankful I don't know where to buy them other than online because that would be BAD.

I'm a big fan of most Zensah Products. We came in contact with this company when we started the website Allthingstriathlon a few years ago. It was a baby of Shane's and while he didn't get out of it everything he was hoping for, he learned a LOT. Anyway, we were selling this product on the website and got a few samples to try out. I've been wearing the arm sleeves for years now, but these little capri compression tights were a staple for me this winter. They are seamless and lightweight and absolutely perfect for putting on over your bike shorts when it's cold outside. Even as the temps warm up you aren't too warm, but if you do decide to take them off they fold up nicely and fit in your jersey pocket. The seamless is key for me as extra seems and bike saddles are no bueno!

Power Bar Nut Naturals, Mixed Nut flavor. I finally started eating solid food last year (on the bike) and admit I can't believe how long it took me to figure out how much better REAL food vs Gels all the time can be. I am not always starving and recover much faster. I do however struggle finding the right bar. I can't eat whey protein so a lot of the normal energy bars are out for me. This one is awesome tho. It tastes like a rice crispy treat and is easy on the stomach. What's better than eating a rice crispy treat on the bike?

My next alternative to eating so many gels are the GU chomps. I've always been a power bar gel fan, but the chomps are SO good. They don't stick too bad to your teeth and they have some great flavors!

Agh, The Desoto 400mile bike short. I've been wearing the Desoto tri short for years now as well, but I finally bit the bullet and bought their 400mile short. It fits just like the forza tri short, almost compression like but the padding is just a wee big more generous than the tri version. BUT, it's not all big and bulky like a normal bike short. No leg grippers and a little pocket in the back. They are the best bike short I've ever worn. Hands down. If you haven't tried it, go for it - you won't be disappointed.

And last but NOT least Recovery e21. This is a recent conversation I had with a friend about the product.

Friend: So...e21. Whats the no BS on the two products. is the electrolyte product really better than say Endurolytes? What about the other joint product. Could use a good recovery program.

ME: I could not recommend the e21 recovery product more. i've been regularly taking it for over 2 months now and I'm handling my training better than ever. At first, I was just taking 2 pills (1 serving) after my hard workouts, and especially 2 between double workouts (so like after run, before swim).

However, I've had the BIGGEST results as of lately with my long bike rides. I sweat massive amounts of salt. So much that I typically take 2x thermolytes (like 2-3 times the sodium as endurolytes) per hour on my bike rides. I get massive headaches in the heat and often just down a packet of salt from a gas station. I've added up my sodium intake on long rides before and it's insane…but it's the only thing that would calm my headaches and allows me to keep taking in food. And, as a side note endurolytes do nothing for me…I took them on accident before when Shane bought those and I didn't know it and I was sick and felt horrible on my long ride.

Ok, back to my point. I've been doing 3-4hr long bike rides, and most recently a 5hr ride. I started taking 2xe21 recovery pills every hour. I've had NO headache, I'm not bloating as much after the rides, can take in as much food on the bike as I need leaving me stronger for my T-runs and I'm waking up the next day just a little tired, but not trashed from the ride. Yesterday I didn't feel great starting the ride (got a little sick from the lake water swim on Friday), but started taking the e21 every hour and actually got stronger from miles 3-5 and had the best T-run yet! I finished the workout like it was a walk in the park and was able to go out like a big kid for the night. Today I'm tired, but legs feel great!

As for the joint product… I can't say I have as much feedback because it's something I take with my regular back of supplements, but I will say that my knees feel GREAT even with weekly big ring hill repeats and my elbows and shoulders are going strong with 3x per week 3200-3700meter swims! I would normally be feeling this? I think I'll know more as my training continues and I know how my body usually breaks down and will share that feedback with you!

While I wish I had some special connections or offers for ALL these wonderful products to share, I'm afraid I'm not that blessed! I of course have my wonderful team sponsorship discount of 20% to share on e21 products by clicking HERE and using dogmom as a discount code. OR, they also have a great deal going on right now where you can by 1 and get 3 free! It's a fantastic deal! Use this link as well!

weekend ramblings

2011-03-21T14:05:00.000-07:00

It's safe to say my weekend actually started on Thursday. This was a big training week build, the last big push before Oceanside and I had some hours to log on my bike. Coming off the race Sunday and a rest day Monday I was actually still really tired on Tuesday. I guess I pushed the race pretty hard. Tuesday I had a 3hr ride with lots of big chain ring hill repeats and a T-run plus a strength workout. Wed was an 8mile run test and a swim and Thursday another 3hr ride +T-run.

I actually felt pretty good on Thursday and decided to join Shane and some coworkers while they entertained some executives for the night. I mean, what girl in their right mind would pass up the opportunity for a dinner at Mastros vs trying to come up with something to make out of my fridge that consisted of bread, peanut butter and feta cheese? Yah, I was in dire need of heading to the grocery store. Of course this started out with Shane's infamous lemon drops at our house first, which led to all sorts of comedy and getting to dinner VERY late. So late in fact, it was actually my bed time before we even ORDERED dinner. Needless to say I pretty much knocked down 1/2 of the appetizers and bread while the men watched in awe. I'm sure Shane was SO proud. Little did I know I was also the only one that ordered dessert. At least I shared, a little anyway.

And then Shane saw me hit the wall all sea bass and tuna tartar and lobster mac and cheese and chocolate cake filled. I told him to put me in a cab and he could stay, but I think he was pretty pooped out too, you know it was his first time out of the house since surgery! So we headed home me filled up with all sorts of sugary stuff and quite the little buzz. I don't know if I even washed my face before hitting the pillow. It was MIDNIGHT after all people.

Friday when I woke up a little fuzzy…I finalized plans to head out to Bartlett Lake with some friends and meet my blogger friend and new e21 teammate Molly. We have been blog friends for a couple years now, and even though she visits Scottsdale regularly we've never actually met up so I was pretty excited!

The lake was actually quite pleasant and seemed even somewhat clear for an AZ lake. I don't know how far I swam but it was enough that my lack of food (no, I still had not bought any groceries) and a bit too much to drink the night before was getting the best of me. It was all I could do to get myself (with help from Tracy) out of my wetsuit and back home. Well, actually not even home I had to stop at AJs market to get something to stuff in my mouth RIGHT NOW.

The best part about getting home was seeing the package at my doorstep waiting for me! Our e21 kits were finally here! I didn't even wash off the nasty lake before I was tearing all of the stuff out of the packages and trying it on! Here's a stolen picture from Molly of all our fun new stuff. I'm pretty sure I won't be hard to miss out there racing this year :-) Thankfully, all of it fits (well, almost all but I didn't find that out until today) and I think it's super cute… even with the little bits of PINK! I also just got a cute new lime green Mdot visor & think I might need some of these green CEP socks as well!

Unfortunately things started to go downhill after my little dress up party. I had a big 5hr ride/20min t run in the am and I had absolutely no appetite. I thawed out some red sauce I had in the freezer and made some pasta and eggplant (FYI - if you haven't tried the Barilla PLUS go for it! It's not as chewy as whole wheat pasta, but it has 10grams of protein per serving).. About 20mins after eating my stomach was miserably bloated and I started to feel nauseous. I ended up throwing up my dinner and then passing out on the couch at like 8pm. I woke up about 30mins later, stomach felt better but I was toast so I headed to bed…. I don't even remember Shane getting home several hours later and the next thing I knew I was up at 6 with the alarm.

I didn't feel 100% but I didn't feel horrible either so I decided to give the ride a go. My guess is I took in some nasty lake water that my stomach just did not agree with, so I was pretty sure I wasn't sick. I had some wonderful people that made plans to do most of the ride with me. We met up, then headed to our gym to meet up with a bigger group. They immediately took off up one of the first hills and I found myself in the back of the group, last up the hill as I watched my HR hit my max number for the day. Humbling to say the least. Thankfully, my two friends that were in for the long haul had an idea to pull off from the group after the first set of hills and go a different, more flat direction. I was game for something new and soon we were on our way. The route was semi flat with some inclines declines for a lot of it, and lots of wind. I kept my HR right where I was supposed to and took 2x e21 pills every hour like clockwork. I also made sure I was getting at least 200+calories per hour and eventually I started to feel stronger and stronger. By mile 70, after a stop for a coke slurpee I felt the best I had all day….. My buddies were stopping in a few miles and I was RELIEVED that I was feeling good. I finished the ride feeling incredibly strong and had a fantastic T-run. I had nailed my nutrition and the e21 kept my legs feeling fresh. After 90miles and 2+mile run I felt great.

The night was young and I had plans to go out with Shane and the one remaining executive in town. I bugged Shane over and over to make some plans/reservations, something for the night since he was in charge but of course as of 4pm on Saturday night he had not done so, and I was left googling places to go, fun things to do for the night and sending out last minute texts to friends to see if anyone was heading out. Without much luck on either front (clearly we don't get out much!) we did finally find some fun places to go and had a very entertaining night out! Another late night out and too much to drink left me not sleeping well, or at all really before heading down to Chandler to take pictures for the Tri for the Cure. I'm so happy I got my butt out of bed because watching this race was amazing and inspiring to say the least. I am so impressed with what a fantastic event this was, and next year hope to help out a lot more!

All I could think of after several hours on my feet cheering and taking pics was getting home putting compression tights on and laying on the couch! Unfortunately Baxter had other things on his mind….like licking one of his wounds so bad it was infected and I ended up taking him to the vet first… Eventually I did get my lazy time, just before dinner and an early bed time!

Monday's events were nothing short of a train wreck…but I've already gone on and on way too much so in short, here's how my Monday went in bullets!

waking up to crazy wind and dust and after heading out for my 2:10 run I decided it wasn't smart to continue. My lungs were trashed from my ride and the wind and poor air quality and I'd basically been living on my inhaler.. I was bummed, but I knew it was best to wait a day.
next up heading to my indoor gym pool, getting suit on, gear all out and walking to the pool deck only to see a sign saying pool closed.
finally convincing myself to go to the outdoor gym pool anyway…. only to start the workout and realize my new e21 suit is too big, so big on the top in fact that I spent the hour swim flashing the older man swimming next to me. Fun times. Not to mention how much fun it was to try to hit some of my intervals with that drag.
As I got out of the pool, in the rain I checked my phone and saw 3 missed calls from my cleaning lady… who was left at my house.
Apparently, the dryer guy that I called in the am… (who was also just there on Friday, but the dryer stopped heating as I was washing my sheets this am so I called him back)… just showed up. He was supposed to call me first. Thankfully our sweet Mary was there and let him in to check it out. Needs another part, but of course it won't be in for a day or two.
Next up as she was mopping the floors my steam mop exploded or blew up or something…so bad that my dogs were hysterical and shaking and she just couldn't leave them alone so WHEN would I be home?
Oh, and the explosion blew a fuse and killed the power in my office, now my internet isn't working right

Thankfully, all are safe, no one was hurt… I'll eventually have clean/dry sheets and looks like I'm heading out for a new mop! My swim is in the bank and tomorrow's weather looks better and the rain we're having now should clean up the air for my lungs to catch a break….

Fun times! And with that, I'll finally shut up… Happy Monday :-)

go big or go home

2011-03-16T17:18:00.000-07:00

A certain someone I know (better known as Big J) pretty much trademarked the phrase "go big or go home." From delicious wine to all out family dinners to the motor home parked in the dirt lot on the "hot corner" at IMAZ for spectating.

Last Saturday I borrowed the phrase.

On a whim I decided to participate in a local triathlon after many failed attempts at getting someone to join me this coming weekend in Lake Havasu. I checked out last years results to see how many people participated, if anyone I knew raced that I could ask about, etc. I didn't get a whole heck of a lot out of that research, except seeing that it was a pretty small race with a lot of newbies, then some really fast locals that do the shorter distance races as well.

I headed down to register at one of the LBS and asked a few questions like you know, "where is the race at?" and "how do I know when it's my turn to swim." I was actually laughing at myself asking these questions, but like I said, this race was on a whim.

I was assigned a race number in order of people that registered. LOL. Literally. As of 2:30 on Saturday afternoon I had been assigned the last race number. I texted my coach and she said something like "perfect, you can perfect the art of the chase."…. Gotta love the coach's sympathy and the 17hr training week/taper she gave me :-) Actually, it all made me kinda laugh and I got home and said, well I do always swim better when I have someone to chase, so here we go. I looked at Shane and said, "eff it, I'm going for overall."

DON'T ASK ME WHERE THAT CAME FROM. I really pulled that outta my white you know what. Sure a girl can always hope she'll maybe have a good race, maybe get an AG award, but Overall?? No, that thought has NEVER crossed my mind. Shane just nodded and said, All RIGHT!

And, there in lies the infamous "go big or go home."

There is something to be said about an unplanned, spur of the moment & shorter distance race. No pre race nutrition worries, or a whole lotta stuff to pack. Honestly my biggest worry was what to wear. I wish I had the confidence and kick ass body to pull off racing in a swimsuit, but I'm pretty sure that is just never going to happen. Even after an embarrassing T-1 time that was equivalent to an IM transition. But, anyway…. I don't remember the last time I did a race that wasn't wetsuit legal so the outfit under the wetsuit isn't an issue. I finally settled on a swimsuit top and tri-shorts and I 'd put on my tri-top /tankini thingy - big mistake trying to put on an additional bra type thing over a wet bra type thing with wet hands. Just FYI.

I drove out to the race which was about an hour away at dark o'30 so I could get my bike and stuff ready and be out of transition by 6:30 like the paper said I had to be…even tho I wouldn't be getting in the pool until like 8:30. CLEARLY I didn't get the memo that you could pretty much show up whenever.. they let you into the transition as soon as the kids race was over at like 7:30-8am. Yes, I would have liked those extra hours of sleep… yet at the same time watching those little kids swim/bike run & transition SO fast was absolutely priceless.

I didn't really know anyone doing the race, saw a couple of my local clubs kits, but didn't recognize the people. I did however find the infamous king of "fresh and loose" and my new e21 teammate Steve Rink. I'd read some stuff on FB about how he and a few other fasties were wearing some specially made speedos with some catch phrases honoring the life of our local running hero, Sally Meyerhoff for the race. It wasn't hard to spot him in the pink Sally socks that have been appearing everywhere here in the Valley. I quickly introduced myself to him and met a few others that would be out there racing naked and in pink.

I did find out I wasn't last to start, I was right in the middle. Perfect. The swim was in a pool set up long course with 8 lengths. We did a 400meter serpentine swim, got outta the pool, ran back to the first lane jumped in feet first and did it all over again x4. You know, I actually had fun with it. The lanes were wide enough passing was no problem, and if nothing else I got a kick outta passing people in the pool. It's kinda my comfort zone. However, then we'd get to the wall which would be jammed up with 3-5 people at a time and well it was just funny trying to get over to the next lane, push off and go go go again.

Before the start of the race one of the fasties who typically wins these races said if you can do this swim in 30mins or under, you are doing WELL. My swim time which would normally piss me off for this distance, 30:xx. Again, I laughed.

T-1 was embarrassing, and I was happy to be out on my bike! 6 loops of 4 miles. So, THIS is what it's like to do a CRIT, kinda… I felt pretty strong and just tried to keep my pace above 20mph for the whole loop. My legs felt like bricks thank you super special simmons taper very much. In fact, I was pushing so hard my quads actually cramped. WTF? I don't cramp. I'm guessing it had something to do with having to pull myself up and out of the pool 4 times?

No worries, I popped 2 magic seaweed pills and was good to go. I felt pretty good heading into T-2. Only passed by a couple of boys (who you will see all of in the OA podium picture below) but no girls. I wondered if I was out in FRONT? Bike time was 1:06. Based on last years times I was thinking maybe 1:10ish so I was really happy.

The run was a 2 loop 3 mile run on dirt. Of course I didn't know this until I started running and the dirt just never ended until the last half mile on each loop. Oh boy did my legs feel like hell. I had hoped to run between 7:30's and 7:45s but every time I looked at my gamin I was seeing 8mm+.. After the first out and back I saw 4 girls behind me, most of them looking REALLY strong.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't almost give up right there. I was pretty sure I was in the lead, which is a small miracle in itself… but I've been up front in a few other races (not overall, but in my AG) only to be completely run down by the fasties. I felt defeated and was less than a mile into the run. The first girl passed me just a couple minutes later flying. I desperately tried to find another gear and follow her but I just didn't have it. I refused to look behind me to see who was coming next and just kept going. After about 2.5miles I finally got my legs back an was able to pick up the pace a little bit. On another out and back I saw that I had actually held off the other girls that I was convinced were going to pass me. That was all the motivation I needed.

I pretty much bitch slapped myself and thought what the hell was I doing out here if I was just going to give up? I work my ass off every day to make the progress I've made in the past couple of years and who's to say I don't deserve to actually SEE the results? Sure I love the training and the camaraderie and everything that goes along with it, but I have also worked SO HARD so why not see what I can do?

I did however notice that the girl behind me had a higher number than me, which meant that she started after me so she most likely was actually ahead of me… I stopped looking back. I ran as well as I could and as soon as I got to the pavement areas tried to put more time between myself and the girl behind me. I suck on dirt runs, but I was definitely gaining speed on those pavement sections! On the second loop I was able to see it had actually worked and unless one of us changed our pace by like a minute/mile I was going to stay out in front, but unfortunately I didn't have quite enough road to make up enough to beat her time wise.

I finished the run in 48mins and held on to 3rd place overall, just ~:90seconds behind 2nd place. The two top girls bike+transition time SMOKED ME. In fact, their bike+T times were faster than all but 3-4 of the boys. Pretty impressive.

I'm really happy with what I did out there on Sunday. Sure it was a small race, but those 2 girls were STRONG. In fact, the OA Female was 5th OA including men. Not to mention, she was incredibly friendly and sweet and cheered me on the whole run. Gotta love that spirit! It gave me a lot of mental breakthroughs I think I was needing.

Next up, Oceanside 70.3! My goal = to not fall apart in the run, and not die in the Ocean :-) Baby steps.

Casa LaPan, Infirmary style

2011-03-09T08:24:00.001-08:00

Step 1 of getting my training buddies back started with sending my precious baby boy Baxter into the vet for surgery yesterday. I knew he would be ok, but this is the 3rd time we've had him in for mass removals in the past few years, and it just breaks my heart to see him like this. Thankfully, Shane was able to play doggy dad taxi and took him in the am so I could get my long bike ride for the week done, and then he picked him up as well because I just tear up seeing my boy hurt.

Some dogs are prone to these fatty masses growing on their bodies, and while for the most part Baxter is about as healthy as they come he does have these annoying "bumps" that just keep growing. The last time we did the surgery he was in a LOT of pain. He had one of the masses growing around his elbow/shoulder area so he was limping around a lot and reeking havoc on his running.

And, in the LaPan house having a runner on the injured list is NO bueno. Especially when you have 4 legs and running is almost higher on the list than peanut butter.

yes, my dog and i have THAT in common as well.

The last surgery recovery was rough on all of us. The tenderness from the location of the mass took a long time to fully recover and while his heart was 100% ready to roll after about ~~2 weeks~~ 2 days you could tell he was faking his perfect stride and would limp around when he thought we weren't looking. Yes, he's good like that. But, so is this obsessive dog mom.

Finally about a month later he seemed to be back to normal, and somehow my house still standing. We built his running mileage back up to about 15 or so miles per week, capping it with a 6mile long run. It was fantastic, he was running so much stronger and for the first time in a LONG time no limping.

Covered under the wellness plan we have the dogs on is a dental. Aside from the monthly fee I pay, everything for that procedure is covered including anesthesia. It's the perfect time to have the masses removed with out crazy expenses.

Just so happens that his dental was due, AND my other training partner and hubby had scheduled his surgery as well. Without going into any personal details about S's surgery, to summarize he too will be having some "masses" removed that have been causing significant pain and making it impossible for him to bike, and almost impossible for him to run.

The recovery plan (as he's been told) is about 1month (similar to what I'm expecting for Baxter) for full recovery. Seems pretty reasonable considering he's been basically out of commission since November/December. So, what's one more month?

Thankfully, for the LaPan family it wasn't the dogmom out this time, cause I'm not sure if ANY of us could handle THAT again.

I'm not sure if it was my smartest idea, but I made the decision if I was going to have one LaPan down and out, I might as well get them both fixed up at the same time? I'll let you know how good this idea was in a couple of days.

So, Shane goes in for his surgery tomorrow and my hope is they can have some boy bonding time watching movies and popping pills together :-) And, at the very least hopefully they can keep each other company as they rest, recover and in several weeks start the road to recovery and building up their mileage TOGETHER.

Baxter's worst night is over. He spent all of yesterday shaking as he came down from the anesthesia. We bottle fed him water (out of the fuel belt bottle, of course :-)) and I made him rice to go easy on his belly and teeth. I slept with him on the couch until about 2am when the drugs must have worn off and he jumped up and b-lined for our bed. He's moving around MUCH better now, but I have to keep a constant watch on him to stop him from licking the stitches (~35 total) and ending up as a cone head (I just CAN'T do that to him).

Baxter is one tough dude. I guarantee you by the end of the week he's going to be begging me to take him out for a run. In so many ways this boy is JUST like me ("I'm fine, really let's go RUN"). As another blogger friend mentioned in a recent post, he is my soulmate.

If I'm being honest I think these surgeries and recoveries are a whole heck of a lot tougher on the dogmom than the actual dog, but I know in the end it will be worth it and he, along with his dogdad will be out on the road in no time kicking my butt again!

I promise S I won't post any sad, drugged up pics of him post op…but I might have a funny story or 2 to share, we'll see :-)

Please keep the good recovery vibes coming for both of my ~~babies~~ boys:-)

Monday Musings

2011-02-28T16:44:00.000-08:00

I can't seem to gather my thoughts to write any sort of readable post, so I've decided to do one of my favorites, a BULLETS post

Today is an official "REST" day. It says so on my schedule. So, I decided to treat myself to a spa day and be all fabulous and stuff. Facial, massage, pedicure. Ya know, try to clean up all the aftermath of the training and get myself back into a presentable state and stuff.
oh, who am I kidding. my skin might be softer and my nails pretty sparkly red, but for the most part it's same old same old no makeup/ponytail day as per usual.

Ok, so I didn't actually treat MYSELF to said spa day, per say, but I'll let you ask my husband and his counterparts who purchases said spa day WHY I deserved it so much. Do, it I dare you.
Over the weekend I saw tons and tons of fun posts about the infamous Ragnar Relay. I'd be lying if I said I was bummed I wasn't doing it. Of course I completely understand all the hype. Been there, and in the hype of it all even done that and signed up for the Ultra the following year (no I didn't make it to the event, thankfully). Ragnar Relays really are all they are talked up to be. An experience you will never forget
Smells, conversations, foods, and laughs that will carry you and your bbfs for 24hrs
Friday night Shane & I got all done up and headed out to meet one of his buddies for Sushi Happy hour. Then, we were even DOUBLE'ing the fun by going over to a BBQ after. After meaning like AFTER it was dark out and everything.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned and something in the Sushi got me real good and sick and on the way to the BBQ I screamed at Shane to pull over where I puked my brains out all over someones poor driveway.
I sure hope no one that reads this lives at 40th street and Shea?
By morning I was fine, but a little weak from no nutrition post 4hr bike ride/30min run. I ate 3 breakfasts then headed to the gym to fit in my swim. I got er done, but no speed records were made.
I did however, eat my way thru all of Saturday and have a KILLER 2hr run on Sunday. One of those runs where you feel light and bouncy and fast and so happy and like omg I love running. Yah, I'll take those ANY CHANCE I CAN.
Please click on THIS link and become a FAN of this page by checking the "Like" button. I promise to share more on this, but I'm saving it for another post. Just know, it's a fun little adventure for the LaPan's in one of my favorite places in the whole wide world.
Have I mentioned how much I love my Recovery e21? I swear to you it is my new saving grace. I managed 4hours on the bike on completely trashed legs on Friday. I took 2 e21 pills every 1hour and when I ventured out to my 30min T-run it felt EASY. Baxter was thrilled I wasn't yelling and tugging at him to SLOW down and wait for me cause my HR was too high and my legs were tired. I just felt GOOD.
Remember, use discount code dogmom for a 20% discount, or ask me for a sample if you haven't already! You won't be disappointed.
I also haven't had any knee pain on the bike or running since I started taking the joint health product. Good stuff.
Now, if I just go pick up some Milk Thistle, all systems should be a go (from what I've been told) hee hee. You can look up the benefits of that supplement all on your own.
Shane is finally heading in for surgery in less than 2 weeks! Yeah for all. Poor guy has had to listen to me rant and rave about all my training and stuff, not to mention I'm eating him under the table, and forcing (ok, not forcing but definitely pushing) Girl Scout cookies down his throat.
I can't wait to have my training buddy back!
My first race is coming up in 3 weeks! I'm heading back to AZ Spring Break central for the Lake Havasu Tri. I am hopeful to beat my time from last year, depending on the weather (this course is infamous for winds and we got pretty lucky last year with only a headwind on the way out). Can't wait to see what happens!
I'm loving my new coach. My run feel about the same as I had been doing, well easier actually because I was doing some speed/track work before. She's pushing me on the bike making me do big gear hill repeats. I think these are so good for me because I tend to get REAL lazy on the bike, can't get my HR up etc cause my legs are tired. This should help strengthen my legs right up, not to mention make my quads too big for my jeans. Oh well, it will be warm enuf for sundresses soon. But the real kicker is in the pool. Based on my swim test I did with her week 1 she gives me swim intervals to hit. I have to admit I'm not always hitting them, but I sure am trying and pushing myself in the pool like I haven't done in YEARS. It's HARD to say the least.
I am DYING to see what my next week (after rest week) will be like!
And last, but certainly not least. I am now a part of the "cool kid" group. Apparently I was embarrassing my husband with the use of my old school blackberry so yesterday, he bought me a brand new iphone! Yay me (and yes it is SO SO COOL).

Rocky Point girls weekend plus 1 :-)

2011-02-22T15:03:00.001-08:00

Tres Amigas!

amanda…you were missed!

You know the saying what happens in Vegas Mexico stays in Mexico? True, except pictures do tell a story and when we happened to have wifi at the house and bloody marys tend to be the recovery drink (post run of course) of choice…..

Well, Facebook picture postingseems to takeover…..

The weekend flew by with a couple of girlfriends down to partake in the debauchery and accompany me on my runs. There is definitely something to be said for your coach actually looking at the training log that makes you actually do all those scheduled runs, even after said debauchery..

Thanks girls for such a GREAT weekend. Mexico sunglasses never looked so good :-)

Week 1

2011-02-13T08:09:00.000-08:00

It's Sunday and 9am and I'm still sitting drinking my caffeine in my pajamas and not thinking about my training for the day. Cause, it's a rest day. A well deserved rest day.

I have to give props to mama-son for somehow giving me just what I could manage in her first week as my coach. My training schedule started 2 days after asking her to be my coach and the day after my 5mile run race I had a run test and a swim test. Not just any swim test, a swim test with 2800 yards total for the day. I'm thinking that she misread my training log that showed I clearly haven't been swimming that far since Ironman in AUGUST, not to mention I've only been swimming about 2 days a week….

Or she just didn't care.

So the run test I guess gave her some HR data and run splits that were pretty consistent with what she thought they would be, and the swim test gave her a "T-pace" which is faster than I seem to be able to hold at the moment, but I'm TRYING.

I think her goal is to build my aerobic engine a bit more right now cause I wasn't allowed to go to track or the weekly group hill run and yesterday on my long ride my HR had to stay below 150, which let me tell you is a bit difficult when you are climbing up to the Bartlett Lake turnoff into a headwind and chatting it up with this super fun girl and e21 teammate all while stuffing my face with a snickers bar.

Thankfully I didn't get myself too much out of shape post Ironman so at least I'm not crazy slow and out of shape, (minus the swim). I did every workout for the week and somehow pulled 10,000yards of swimming out of my behind for the week.

My food intake has surpassed my husbands and I may need a second job to pay for all the extra groceries I'm consuming, but at least the lemons in the front yard are free :-)

And, speaking of lemons you are darned right that after 15hrs of training for the week; ~135miles on the bike, ~28miles running and 10,000yards swimming I ended the week week with a couple of my husbands yummy lemon drop martini drinks…

and a side of girl scout cookies.

And that my friends was my welcome back to Ironman training, Mama-son style :-)

Changes

2011-02-08T14:29:00.000-08:00

Last week was somewhat bitter sweet for me. I received a rather distressing email from my coach, had a mental freak out and then came to my senses, did some research, networking and resolved the issue.

But, before I go further into that let me back up a little bit. The LaPan's had BIG plans for this year. After our most successful racing year in 2010 we were ready to take advantage of our health our desire and passion for the sport and put it to test. We jumped on the bandwagon when a lot of our local athletes and friends registered for Oceanside 70.3. AND, it just so happens that race is perfect timing for Ironman CDA. Sure, been there done that… but if you follow this link, and the links highlighted as "some unfinished business," you'll understand why it was a pretty easy decision for me to make by registering for it for the THIRD time.

It just so happened that the decision was also made pretty easy when our good friends from Spokane registered for IMCDA as their first IM. They started racing 2 years ago when they got inspired by watching us in 08. Of course we just had to be there when they decided to go for it and do it themselves, you know pay it forward style. And, what better way to support them then to be out there on the course with them, right?

I managed to peer pressure a few others to sign up and before I knew it we had quite the clan on board. So exciting!

Fast forward a few months and things are slowly changing. My WolfPack is deteriorating by the minute. Injuries and life just seem to be slowly eating away at the group and well, it just sucks. To top it off, my bff, my training partner, my partner in crime S is most likely not going to make it. He's had a rough several months and will most likely not make it to the start line. I know what he had planned for CDA and in the shape he was in, there was no doubt in my mind he could do it. It's heartbreaking to say the least. We've done every big race together. I think the only triathlon I've ever done without him out there on the course was the girls only SheRox last May.

We train together, we get exhausted together. We are ready for bed at 8pm on a Saturday night together. I've always known how lucky I am having a spouse that loves what I love. I've always admired couples that make it work when one of them doesn't train. As we all know it's so time consuming. It's a lifestyle.

Right now it's just me. Of course Shane's heart is in it. I can see it in his eyes how badly he wants to be doing what I'm doing. I get it. I understand it. I've BEEN there. Before the last several years that was me. I was the broken one. The always injured. I watched him be fast and successful and while some of the time I was still out there doing the events with him (never healthy), there were also so many that I was on the sidelines. I know how bad it sucks. And, it just breaks my heart that I can't do anything to help him.

We both had such great improvements in our fitness last year and were both on track for great success this year. Somehow, it's just not the same without him. I know he'll recover and get back out there, and possibly next year will be his year to shine, but for now.. it just SUCKS.

As the scenario of Shane's injury started to sink in for both of us I also received an email from our coach last week. Her schedules have always been a little bit sporadic with timing and consistency, but in the end she always pulled through. In the past year she got married, started a new job and moved to the middle of nowhere, Canada. Her job has slowly been eating her alive and I think it finally pushed her over the edge. Her email was saying how she felt awful and she felt like she was letting me down, and could we talk.

Hence, the complete mental breakdown mentioned above. I was just feeling like I was getting back into shape, post Ironman. My first few races were starting to creep up and I was selected to be on a sponsored team that I really wanted to represent well. And, if I'm being honest I felt like this was such a great year for me to test what I've got. Last year I made strides, this year I felt like still have even more! But, suddenly I was faced with this challenge and how could I do it on my own??

Those of you who know me also know that I'm a pretty straight forward person. I'm not over-emotional, or dramatic, but more to the point, matter of fact, glass half full kinda person. That said, once I have something on my mind, I obsess. I overanalyze and I research and I question and I stalk until I have a solution.

I started digging and talking to people and asking lots of questions, but made no decisions or steps until after I talked to my coach. After a long chat with her and hearing about her situation the decision was "easy". I couldn't put more strain on her by asking her to coach me, and as much as she expressed wanting to work with me and how since she couldn't train and race herself it was her way of still being involved, it seemed to me that the decision was already made. Bitter sweet, but made. She needed some time for work and life and such, and I owed it to myself as well to have someone that had the time and energy to work with me. I give so much credit to Lori for what she helped me achieve last year, and I would in a heartbeat work with her again if and when the time were right.

And, without further ado, meet "Mamma-SON." Ya, yah I know that's not her name, but my husband gets quite creative with his names. When I told him about her and showed him her blog and he read a few posts and on and on he has now officially dubbed her "mammas-son." (sorry Michelle, I'm pretty sure this name is gonna stick, so when you meet him - be pre-parred) I think he scares her. She's hard core, tough chick triathlete and coach and after one look at my week one schedule he gave her the nick name :-) I suppose in theory, I should be called "dogmom-son" and she should be called Ms Miyagi, but that just isn't how Shane rolls.

To say I'm excited about this new adventure is a huge understatement. We chatted on the phone for about an hour and it was awesome. She's funny, down to earth, easy to talk to and an amazing athlete. She also used to live here and train with a lot of the people I know and love. Which, I suppose could be trouble - for example within 45 minutes after I returned from my bike ride this afternoon I got a text from her saying she heard I rode with "T" (her old training partner and also one of the few remaining CDA WolfPack gang) and that was awesome and now she could "watch" me through her eyes…..

Let's hope those eyes don't cross over from training time, to cocktail hour :-) Just saying…

But, anyway. I'm super excited to be working with her. A whole new experience for me to work with a coach so closely. While I have no complaints about who I've worked with in the past, I know I've never had this much attention and I'm scared and excited all at the same time. And, the best part about it is she's also doing CDA!!!

It's going to be a good, no GREAT year.

Now, if I could piece my WolfPack back together, it would be PERFECT…..

Runners Den 5 Miler, PRE RIDE

2011-02-07T10:20:00.000-08:00

On a whim a few days ago I decided I wanted to do a local race. I had been looking at the race calendars trying to find something to test out my running legs and mix the training up a bit. I haven't raced for a while and wanted to get out there and push myself a bit. The last event I did was the women's half marathon, which I didn't train for just held on to my fitness from Ironman so I had no idea what kinda pace I could hold for any distance race right now.

I looked for some half marathons, but most of them fell on dates we were going to head out of town. Then, I found one of the oldest run races in the Valley, the Runner's Den Classic. This was my very first 10k almost 10years ago, and it was the race that gave me back my running confidence 2 years ago. It's flat, fast and fun. Unfortunately, they changed the race to a 5miler or 5k instead of 10k, but for the most part the race was the same course.

My plan was to do a semi-long ride Saturday, but keep the effort and HR low and save my legs for the run. I didn't know what kinda time to shoot for so I just made one up. 7:30pace. I've never run a 7:30 pace in any race so I definitely just pulled that out of my a@@.

Saturday am I drove down to the gym to meet for the Sat am Gainey ride. It was cold and cloudy. I usually ride my bike down there then just peel off from the group at the end and head home on my own vs driving down there cause I feel like it's a waste to load up my bike and drive 6miles when I can just ride it. However, it was cold and I didn't want to start any earlier than 9.

Unfortunately I think everyone else was either racing or sleeping in or being big old babies with the cold cause we left the gym with only 6 people. Our ring leader, P showed up all sniffling and sick, but he toughed it out and still rode about 45mins out with us before turning around. There was a new guy that looked pretty fit. Calves the size of my QUADS. A skinny older european gentlemen that I had never seen before, another guy that I rode with the weekend before and then G. G hasn't been riding with us lately cause he's training with another team and racing. Apparently he wanted to take it easy today?

Long story short, my idea of keeping my HR low and legs at ease did NOT so much work out. I eventually did peel back on my own at one point when G decided I should sit on his wheel and draft going up Pima at 21+mph. HR was about 15beats higher than I wanted it and legs were screaming. 2 of the guys stayed with me and G and the European rider sped away up to the towers/turnaround where we met them.

I took 1 e21 pill at 1hr and the other at the top where we met up. I also fueled up with a snickers bar to get me back down. I knew these boys were going to push me to my limits to stay with them for the 30+mile descent (a few flats and rollers, but mostly down). Sure enough, I was right. The guys had between 50-75lbs on me so as long as I stayed right on their wheel I could get good and tucked in for a great draft. My legs were still working to keep the pace, but I could keep my HR low.

To give you an idea of how fast the way home was… 2:05 up, 1:15 down. Yah, it was FAST. I figured my race was shot, but I was going to do what I could to still have a good run.

When I got home I took my trashed legs and put them in my 40something degree pool for 10mins. Then I spent the rest of the day in my Zoot recovery tights. I finished my plan off with 2 more e21 pills figuring I could use all the help I could think of! Salad, Pizza, a couple of beers & golden spoon dessert and I was fueled up and ready :-) Think Carbs people.

Fast forward to Sunday morning. I got up did my regular PB toast & Spark and headed to the race site. Note to self: No need to show up over an hour early to a run race, even if you still have to register. I spent an hour in my car staying warm and finally got out about 20mins before the race to warm up, use the porta john and eat a quick gel before the start.

The race is basically a perfect flat square. There were timing clocks every mile, although I was relying on my Garmin it was still nice to see. I started out with my plan to stay as close to the 7:30 pace as I could. I did put on my HR monitor to give my new coach some data (yes, new coach….more on that later - you'll have to wait!!!) even though I haven't worn it in a race in years. I wasn't really watching the HR, just had it in a tiny window and looked just a couple of times. It started out sub 160 and after my 1 every time I checked it was pretty much 170-172.

I was surprised at how great the pace felt. My legs, although a little heavy were not sore or too tired, in fact never once did my legs put a damper on my performance. About 10mins into the race, I found one of the guys that contributed to the smash fast ride Saturday. And, I passed him thank you very much! :-) paybacks a bitch!

From miles 2.5-5 I found myself in a mix with 2 other girls. I stayed in front for the most part, but then they picked up the pace so I decided to tuck in behind them to get a draft for a bit. They slowed the pace just a bit so I pulled back out in front until about mile 5 when they got another wind. I did everything I could to stay with them, but these girls were strong. In the last mile I don't think my pace ever went above a 7:10, and in the last LONG half mile to the finish line one of them darted way out ahead. I pushed with whatever I had left running a sub 7pace and hitting my limit. Gasping for air, stomach uneasy I hit the finish a full minute faster than my goal.

I didn't care who I was in front of or where I placed in my age group. I had a great run, I paced really well and It felt fantastic (once I caught my breath and avoided puking)! I gave the 2 girls I had been running with high 5s and thanked them for the push!

I finished in 36:29 & 7:18 pace. 4/25 30-34 (oa women was 1 in AG so maybe got pushed up to 3 but didn't stick around). 19/182 women.

If nothing else, it was nice to feel somewhat like a runner for the morning :-) Minus the 10hrs of training leading up to the race.

Wanna try out some of the amazing electrolyte supplement that helped me recover from the week, and hard ride just 20hrs before? Let me know and I'll give you a sample, or if you want to order them yourself use the code: dogmom for a 20% discount.

I have some big training coming up here in the next few months to get me ready for Oceanside and CDA so I'll keep you posted on how e21 is helping! It's definitely going to be added to my next "favorites" post.

Balance

2011-02-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

I get asked a lot how I find the time and or motivation to train so much. To put so much effort and energy into swim, bike, run, eat, sleep repeat. The biggest comment and question of all is, don't you get tired of not having a life?

I'm starting my 5th year of training for an Ironman. My first started in 2007 (also when I started this blog) and then in 2009 the LaPan's decided to take the year off from Ironman training/racing. After back to back Ironmans (CDA) and then some other racing hear and there we decided we would back off the distance and do smaller shorter races to maybe gain some speed back and do the things we thought we were missing out on. The plan didn't go quite as planned, and before we knew it a 40mile bike ride seemed like an 80mile bike ride and a 5 pm cocktail was a lot more common than a 5pm post work swim. Truth be told we pretty much just got fat and out of shape. And, if I'm being honest we also were a lot less happy.

To say we (Shane & I both felt the same way) were motivated and excited once we finalized the details and registered for IM Canada last January is a VERY large understatement. I felt excited again and loved filling out my little training log every day! I started training with a new group of people and found new workouts, challenges and motivation all around me. Not that I was sick of my old group, but life changes and different desires set in and it seemed like Shane & I were the only one's left from our core group still out there training and racing triathlons. A new coach with a very less structured training philosophy and tons of new nutrition advice was just the icing on the cake.

Last year was also the longest consecutive training either of us had ever done. We always went on a 5-6month plan, and well after the A race was done, we kinda let our fitness slide. We'd get back into the routine of attending parties and more frequent happy hours, sleeping in on the weekends and long weekends out of town. And then the pants would get a little bit tight and the liver would hurt and an overall feeling of less healthy would set in.

So, I think about those thoughts and feelings every time someone asks if I miss having a life. If I ever get sick of the double and triple workouts and the constant hunger and feeling tired and sore. If I hate missing out on this party or that party or god for bid an 8pm dinner reservation because, well that is just too close to bed time.

My answer is no. This is my lifestyle, this is what makes me happy. And, anyone who REALLY knows me also knows that it's not what defines me. Most of you have had multiple invites for our long weekends down in Mexico, our second home. And, those of you who have joined us for these adventures also know that it's certainly not all work and no play. Those of you who haven't, come on down - I'm show you :-)

It's taken me a while to master the art of the proper hydration and rest and making myself do a 2hr run on the beach after a day of sitting in the sun and running around town and eating chips and salsa and drinking margaritas with a side of extra tequila.

I know these weekends of play are going to get a lot harder as the season builds, but for now I think I've got the balancing act down pretty well. Most of all, I'm happy fitting it ALL in :-)

Cheers.

A review

2011-01-26T06:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who commented on THIS post. I knew it would perk some "interest." I won't be sharing my chosen route, come on guys that's a LITTLE personal (hee hee), BUT I will say I've found a new solution.

Thanks SO much to my friend N for her amazing advice. It's not the first time she has recommended this great product, but this time I actually listened. I mean who wouldn't listen to someone who rides their bike across the world, literally.

I decided why the heck not and went out and bought some bravely trying it out on a 3.5hr ride. I wore my favorite cycling shorts and even had a second layer of capris on top (these are AMAZING for wearing on top of your cycling shorts - NO seams and super easy to peal off and put in your back pocket if it gets too warm).

While I still had a little bit of tenderness from the past few weeks, I finished the ride with less chafing and no new battle wounds! The best was this particular route has the infamous (AZ ride) 9 mile hill climb. It's a 9 mile stretch of 3-6%grade climb. No breaks, just plug away. I PR'd the climb in 37:45 sitting comfortably in zone 2 HR. I don't know which had more of an impact; the 2 e21 pills I took a mile before the climb when I was struggling, or the fact I was actually COMFORTABLE and not moving my climbing position around for 9miles. Either way, I'll take it.

Next test wil be tomorrow when I'm going for day 3 on the bike and tackling a 4hr ride. All this is making me WAY excited for THIS!!! I will make the 2hr climb up Mingus Mountain my BIA@$!

After 5 long years with you Aquafor, I'm sorry but we are officially breaking up. You stained my gear and I'm pretty sure helped eat away at the material. I will still use you for my little toesies, but other than that, I'm moving on up!

Hunger strike

2011-01-22T06:24:00.000-08:00

The temps are still a little cool in the mornings for those of us "thin blooded" AZ folks. Yes, I completely admit that after 10 years of living in AZ, I have finally lost every ounce of my Washington blood and 70degrees is now cool, 40degrees is downright FREEZING. I've come over to the dark side. And, while it SUCKS right now cause I'm cold all the time, I'm REALLY hoping I'll see the upside of this whole thing when I'm doing my 5-6hr rides and it's 110degrees out.

Wishes can come true, right?

After almost 2 weeks of eating lard (tortillas), and infusing my blood with vitamin C rich drinks (cranberry infused vodka and lime in cervesa) while staring at the beach, it was back to reality and back home. Also back (and very much welcomed) was the start of the new season and training.

My work had been pretty slow, so I had time on my hands. With the jeans fitting a little too tight for my comfort (litterally), and after my 2 week binge (ok, if I'm being honest it was more of a 4 month post Ironman binge) I was ready to get back at it.

Little did I know what my coach had in mind. You see after Ironman Canada we had a post race talk about how it went, what we wanted to change, what went well, what didn't. Honestly I think that conversation was more between my other half and coach. I was still celebrating in my victory of beating him out of the water (yay me) and having a solid race. But not S. He was already planning his comeback for IMCDA. He gave a goal time for the bike and the run.

See where I'm going with this? Coach is BRINGING it. Now, don't get me wrong I love it all, and I have the time right now to put in the hard work, but oh my is my body in shock. And ironically, the one who pretty much said "bring it," yah poor guy has been injured and not training so I'm getting his goal work to do.

Here we are the morning of my last workout in week 3, a 3.5hr bike ride with a 20min T-run at half ironman predicted run pace (huh what, what's THAT? you mean I have to come up with a PACE that I think I can run???)

After today's workout my totals as of Jan 4th (when we got back from Mexico) are:

~36hrs total: Bike 18hrs ~400miles, Run 10hrs 71miles, Swim 6hrs 9.7miles or 17000yards, and 2hrs of strength training.

And that right there is the reason that I am even up right now posting this blog. Back to my original point above that it's still cold outside, we aren't starting our long rides until about 9am which means I can SLEEP in!!!!

Except my hunger work me up at 5:30 this am and I had to leave my cozy bed with snugly dogs to go eat. Bitter sweet I tell ya. All I can say is I sure hope this hunger stabilizes cause those jeans aren't exactly getting any loser even with all that training.

Now excuse me, I am off to eat breakfast #2 before my ride and grab my snickers for my mid ride snack :-)

Missing

2011-01-14T11:55:00.000-08:00

Today I had a special date run with my boy, Baxter. We've been including little miss thing, Juliette, on all of our runs lately so he hasn't had any time with me by himself. Don't get me wrong he is adoring his new bff red dog more and more every day. I haven't seem him play this much since he was a puppy. It truly brings a smile to my face every day. In fact, he is even instigating it a lot of the time now.

Mr. Too Cool for School is getting back to his dog roots, if you will. It's hilarious. None the less I've been feeling like he needed a good mom and bubba run with no stress. While Juliette is definitely getting better trained to run, she is still all over the place. While I'm busy watching out for her so I don't trip and face plant, Baxter is taking on a much more responsible role. He's constantly moving around her to keep her out of the line of fire. She is ADD DOG all the way, and any bird, leaf, bunny, car, and especially other dogs get her attention in an instant. He is constantly examining his surroundings to look for ways to keep her in line. It's hilarious to watch, but at the same time I wanted him to have a run that was just all about him!

So, at 5:30 this am I snuck back into the bedroom and whispered in his ear that we were going for a run. In 5 mins we were in the car and heading down to meet the Tri-Scottsdale peeps for a hill run. He was smiling ear to ear as he made sure he was the alpha and in front at all times. He was so cute as we stopped at the meeting points and he would turn around, perk up his ears and refuse water until everyone in the group was back! And then once again, he would dart out into the front pulling me along with him.

The soreness and total butt kicking was a great price to pay for our little 6mile adventure together :-) I think he would agree as I haven't so much as heard anything from him, but a little snoring going on.

It wasn't just Baxter that needed this special day. I've been missing baby Abby an awful lot lately. I'm not sure why, but I've been thinking a lot about her over the past few days. Juliette has been such a blessing for all of us, yet I keep finding myself slipping up and calling her some of Abby's old nicknames. She's so playful and sweet like Abby, and adores Baxter just the same.

So, anytime I'm feeling sad, I just need a little time with my Baxter and he makes everything ok. I'm not sure he'll ever know how much he's done for me, and everyone else he meets. He is one special boy...

Wax on, Wax off?

2011-01-07T09:25:00.000-08:00

No this is not a karate kid post, although it has been a long time since I've seen that movie - it might be a great Netflix idea! So, be forewarned this is going to be a little more graphic than my typical; ran this far, rode this much, love to swim and my dogs are the best type blog....

For as long as I can remember I've had saddle issues. I've tried every size, shape, material and cushioning under the sun, on both a road bike and tri bike and I think I've settled on about the best I can get (specialized toupe on road, serfas tri on TT). While of course they aren't perfect, the post ride chafing issues are at least less than they ever have been and I'm riding more than I ever have.

Unfortunately I still have some nagging issues that come up. Without going into TOO much detail, the issues are basically on the bikini line and can be rather painfull (especially when putting on a swimsuit after a long ride!). I use so much LUBE (aquafor) that it takes about 3 washings in the shower to get the crap off, and I'm convinced it's eating thru my shorts (not to mention the awful stains left on anything other than black). I even re-apply multiple times on long rides when I'm sweating a lot. I've pretty much decided it's just my body and I have to live with it... and then I saw something on TV.

I was watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Real being the ironic word because I'm not sure any square inch left on any of these women is still REAL. They are bat shit crazy, but yes I am still helping their ratings and giving them more money to spend on their plastic faces by watching it, but I just can't help it. It's like a bad accident and I can't look away. Don't judge. I watch Vampire Diaries, Gossip Girl and The Bachelor as well. I'm a teeny-bopper at heart.

Anyway, so the last episode I watched (I'm a little behind) one of the gals Kyle Richards (related to the Hilton empire) and her husband were doing The Gran Fondo in Napa to raise money for Charity. Props to the girl for 1. Sporting the ever flattering cycling kit instead of Prada 2. Finishing the entire ride (69 miles) 3. Being the 2nd highest fund raiser

So, to prepare for the ride she of course has Olympic Cyclist Mari Holden as a coach (not to mention support crew and local coach for during the ride). The two are filmed on the bike having a conversation about waxing while on a "training ride". Mari told Kyle that she MUST get waxed. Take it all off. Kyle looked stunned, and asked if she could just put on another pair of bike shorts and if EVERYONE waxed. Mari replied with something along the lines of "the smart ones do." Sure enough Kyle bit the bullet and in the next scene had a wax person (what are they called?) at her house and it was all caught on FILM (network approved, of course).

Now, I have to wonder.... Is it really all it's talked up to be. No smart ass comments BOYS, I'm pretty sure your opinion is YES, but I am guessing you can't tell me the benefits in relation to saddle sores and chafing.

Anyone? Do tell... Also, your favorite lube that doesn't stain or eat away at your shorts :-)

Muchas Gracias