Reflecting

It’s New Years Eve and all this week, well, for the last couple of weeks really, I have been doing a lot of thinking. A LOT. But I’ll just focus on the racing/training part here.

What is that quote about history and moving forward…something about learning from our mistakes? Ahh, I think this is it:

“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” – George Santayana

So I took some time to read through my blog posts from last year and I noticed a theme - negativity!! Honestly, with all the bitching and moaning and whining I did, it’s amazing that people keep coming back to read this blog.

I also went back through all of my saved e-mails from Coach Liz. I save all the special ones – race plans, feedback on race results, feedback on training, and wow – lots of emails about handling stress and emotions. Again, I’m amazed she put up with this wet blanket of a client!

But 2009 wasn’t just a difficult year for me. I know a lot of people who would really like to forget it ever happened. Good friends lost loved ones, got divorced, were laid off from work or at least had the threat of a lay off looming, suffered from injuries, or had their hearts broken.

Despite all this, I have learned more about life, relationships and humanity than any other year. And that is priceless.

Liz asked her athletes to reflect on 2009 and list out our season highlights. Mine were less about race results and more about experiences:

• Swimming in Lake Michigan with Liz, Cat and Danni

• Downers Grove Crit Nationals - I may have come in third to last in the Cat ¾ race, and it was super hard, but I am so glad I had that experience!!!

• Huge swim PR at Redman Half Iron/Long Course Nationals

• Racing cyclocross for the first time - again, no stellar results, but I had so much fun doing it!!!

I think back about all the hours of training I put in. All the sacrifices I made, all the pain and anguish, and all the heartache…and then I look at this list and I smile. It was all worth it.

Life is going to suck at times. Sometimes it’s nothing but back to back episodes of crap. It’s how we deal with it that makes us stronger and better, right?

2010 is off to a great start. I started 2010 on Monday with a BIG training block (I think all of Liz’s athletes are in the same boat – SOLIDARITY!) and if I can get through this in the dead of winter, I know I can get through it in the blast furnace of summer.

What? You think I'm going to tell you what my goals are this year??

The biggest thing I will be working on this year is my mental focus and outlook (duh). Even if my life is shit, I will work really hard to keep my life out of my training. I even got crafty and made this cute little frame to remind me EVERY DAY what I’m working towards. I’m keeping a journal and making notes and goals for the week (beyond what I log in Training Peaks) and I’m trying really hard to stick to them.

New gear for a new year!

This is MY year! This year I am going to live up to my potential. I will not simply pass through space and time. I will make a mark!

It’s time for a NEW YEAR!

Wait for it...

I'll be back on the blogger wagon soon! If not this weekend, by January 1 for sure.

2010 is going to be MY YEAR!

Key words this year: Focus, No, and Success

Focus - Focus on training and not much else. Focus on me, putting my goals first.

No - Saying no to partying, staying out late, eating crap and missing workouts.

Success - This year, I am going to live up to my full potential as an athlete. I am going to GO THERE!!!

Off-Season!

I'm starting my three weeks of non-training training. You know what this means - workouts with no structure, no races, no talk of triathlon or sport of any kind.

So this blog will go dormant until December. Check back then for updates!

It's October!!!

It's been really freakin' cold here this week. I think it's been freakin' cold EVERYWHERE! It's October people! But it feels like January - not even November or December because we're still in the 50s in November and December.

There are only two places I know of that were not in the 30s yesterday - New York City and Kona, Hawaii. Separated by thousands of miles, I was told that NYC was in the low 60s and Kona, of course, was in the 90s.

Yesterday I went for a ride with a teammate. My really super fast teammate. the teammate that has only been riding for a year and will likely cat up to a 2 next summer. I only needed to ride for an hour - and it was supposed to be easy. I was supposed to "enjoy the ride". While I did thoroughly enjoy the ride, we rode for 2.5 hours on a somewhat hilly course. And it was COLD!!! Colder than a witches tit cold. My fingers froze and poor Aubs's toes fell off half-way through the ride. The wind was blowing from the north at 15 mph and we were going SLOOOOWWW.

I tried to think of all the athletes baking in the sun in Kona. But when I did, I got a little nauseous. Reading Liz's blog this morning confirmed it. Ironman, the world championships, is HELL set in paradise.

This week as I read the Facebook statuses, twitter posts, and mobile uploads from Hawaii, I got excited about triathlon again. On Friday, a different teammate e-mailed me with a question about wetsuits and I got excited thinking about tri gear. BUT IT'S OCTOBER!!

That's when I realized, it's too soon to be excited. I suffered some burnout this summer. While I am encouraged by these positive thoughts about racing, I also reminded myself that I am still having trouble filling out my 2010 race schedule. Every time I open up the document, I sit there staring at it - stumped.

I'm not there yet. But that is totally okay because it's October. I have months to decide what I want to do next year. Right now I need to be taking full advantage of the down time and so far, I am. I'm putting on weight, I'm enjoying the extra carbs (apple cinnamon french toast, anyone?) and most of all, I'm enjoying all the extra free time that a training schedule of 5-6 hours a week provides. All that extra free time has been spent laying on the couch watching movies on HBO in the middle of the day.

The IM World Championships inspire me every year. I DVR them and then play them back while I'm on the trainer. Not necessarily because I think I can make it to Kona, but more so because I long to be in the sun! Ha! No, but really, how can you not watch these world-class athletes go through HELL and not be inspired? They grit it out against the TOUGHEST conditions - I can grit it out for a few more minutes at threshold.

It's October and my season is over. I am embracing it for all that it is. I'm looking forward to next season, but I'm allowing myself to not think about it too much. It will come back to me when I'm ready. Even if I'm not ready until April. For once, I have time - or feel like I have time.

The only thing we don't have is seasonal temperatures. Come on, Mother Nature!!! It's October!!!

Decisions, Decisions

I think I'll go backwards for my weekly update...

I went to masters Wednesday night. Wednesday nights are weird. I've only been twice - once at Prairie Village and this week, at Roeland Park. Hardly anyone shows up and both times, I got a lane all to myself - which is great - but sucks most of the fun out of why I swim with a group. That and the coach - nice as she is - is not very warm and friendly. Yes, you can be nice and not be friendly. There is a difference. The workout was fine but my calf started cramping near the end so I just called it a night. (Wednesday night coach LOVES kick sets!)

Tuesday started out like any other day - and ended with a big decision to make. I received an e-mail toward the end of the day from USAT letting me know that I had made "Team USA" for the 2010 Long Course World Championship in Innestadt, Germany next summer. Whoa!

At first, I thought, "yeah, right", but then I thought, "what if?" What if I went to Germany and did ONE LAST long distance tri (after I swore them off)? What would it be like to, essentially, play Olympian for a week? Is this really a "once in a lifetime" opportunity?

I told everyone (thanks to the miracle of Facebook) and consulted with many. I told Paul and he was not exactly keen on the idea. I won't go into why, but his points are valid. It was a really hard decision but in the end, I decided not to go.

I still haven't officially declined the slot - just in case I wake up one morning (before 10/13 - the deadline t0 accept the slot) with a change of heart.

Anyway...looking ahead to next week and there is NO SWIMMING on account of the new tat! YEAH! Although swimming is my best sport, it always SEEMS like a hassle. I mean, you get wet! That alone is a hassle. So just a lot of running and biking this week. No major meetings at work - major projects - but no meetings, events or after hours who-ha. I don't think I even have social plans for next weekend - love it!

Hope everyone is enjoying the fabulous fall weather and drinking some beer! the 2010 race season is going to be here sooner than you think. Soak up the R&R time while you can!!!

Another First

I wish I could say that yesterday's cyclocross (CX) race was amazing! That I, the person who has never ridden an off-road bike of any kind, had beginner's luck and came across the line first in the women's Cat 4 race. Instead, my teammates and friends were all entertained by the "Andrea Villasi Comedy Special - LIVE from Lenexa, KS".

If you have been a frequent visitor of this blog, you will remember that I was looking forward to trying out cross this year. You will also remember that I lacked the one crucial element that is needed to compete in a CX race - a bike. Since Paul and I are trying desperately to recover from purchasing two brand new road bikes earlier this spring (and the hundreds of $$ I have spent on tri race fees - not to mention nutrition!!!), a new - or even junker - CX bike was not in the cards for me.

And so I conceded into not racing CX this fall.

Until Thursday night - the last KCOI/BLVD women's team ride of the summer followed by dinner and margaritas. So there we are, wrapping up the night and saying our goodbyes, when all of sudden Teri asks me, "hey - you wanna race CX this weekend? you can borrow my bike". Um, sure but I don't have any MTB shoes...to which Sarah replies "you can borrow mine!" Um, yeah...but are we the same size? "YES!" Really, okay...but I've never been to a clinic and I have no idea how to mount or dismount. To which Darcey replies "I'll take you out on Saturday to practice!!"

And that's how I ended up at my first CX race - ever.

Saturday morning Darcey came by with the bike and we rode along the Trolley Trail, through the Plaza, and up to Pembroke so that we could practice on the girls field hockey field. Long story, but I had to borrow Paul's MTB shoes for our practice session - and had to wear two pairs of socks to compensate for the size difference.

We started off with dismounting drills - which were easy enough. It's just like dismounting in a tri - only you do it like a million more times. Then we moved on to mounting drills. Not too hard either - except I kept landing right on my lady bits instead of my thigh. It was about then that we got kicked off the field by security, so we went across the street to Loose Park and rode circles in the grass, dismounting, jumping over imaginary barriers, and remounting.

OMG! That is REALLY HARD!

Enter Sunday morning - race day. At the last minute, Paul had to go into work because some big client is coming to visit this week and he has to make a ton of changes on some PowerPoint. This works out fine because 1) now I get to use his shoes and don't have to share them with him and 2) now I don't have to leave at 8:30 am!

I was nervous but I also was trying to convince myself that this would simply be an exercise in survival and, above all, FUN!

So I get there, register, say hi to friends and teammates and then get ready for a warm-up lap between races. Yep. It was just as hard as I thought it would be. After that warm-up lap I knew that there was no way I could take myself seriously and I would just have to laugh through it. The course had sand, sticky-mud, two big hills, switchbacks that made my head spin, and two sets of barriers. Oh, and it was FREAKIN' hot out - 82!!!

Pretty soon it was time to line up: Masters 35+ B, Women 4, and juniors. I look behind me and thought, "all of these little kids are going to pass me on the first lap!" Everyone kept commenting on how large the women's field was - with 20 of us.

The bell/whistle blows and we're off - well, they're off - I'm trailing as I try to figure out how to clip into those stupid pedals! First loop and I'm thinking, "this isn't so bad"...until we got to the muddy burm. I got to the bottom of the first turn and there was already a pile up...so I just waited while they untangled themselves and then went on. Riding, riding, riding, and we get to the first set of barriers - which are on a hill, and I'm so confident! I've got these! I am so going to rock this - and then - KA CHUNCK! I fell face first over the first barrier. HA! HA! Everything Darcey had taught me the day before completely left my brain. I think the most hilarious moment of the race (besides falling face first into the dirt) was when I tried to mount the bike with one hand on the handlebars and one hand on the seat!!! WHAT WAS I THINKING???? :)

And then...riding, riding, riding - WITH ONE FOOT CLIPPED IN! (it had to be because the shoes were two sizes too big) and the first lap is done...SLOOOOWWWLY. I was passed by everyone and their grandmother!! Zeke kept yelling at me to "SHIFT!" and "YOU'RE NOT RIDING A SINGLE SPEED!"

I think about the second or third lap I bit it on a muddy corner. No one took me down, just lost control of the bike. Riding, riding, riding and I'm looking at my watch and I'm thinking, "I think I have one more lap - maybe? Oh God, let someone win already so I can be done with this!"

I came into the park and the last set of barriers and Darcey is there and she's shouting, "come on! you're almost there" and I yell back, "Am I? Is this my last lap? I don't have to do anymore????" It was the last lap - thank goodness!!

I rolled in and Chasm asks me, "How'd it go?" - but before I could answer, I forgot to unclip and I just fell over. There's your answer!!! IT WAS HARD!!!!

BUT IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!! I completely let go of focus, competition, and, lets face it, all motor skills and it was AWESOME! I was sure I came in DFL, but I checked the results this morning and I came in 16th out of 19 finishers. This is consistent with my crit attempts this summer as well - two or three places from the bottom.

It was so great to see all my friends - the BLVD peeps, Black Sheep Brigade, Evil, SKC, Mesa, Colovita, Local Cycling...thankfully, they all laughed with me (not AT me) and congratulated me on even trying. They all told me to keep at it and come to the clinics - but I had to convince them that would have to wait until next year, when I actually have a bike of my own.

Cross really takes it out of you. Yesterday, I used muscles that I never use in triathlon! I am bruised and scratched and I'm pretty sure I won't be able to wear skirts for a week or two.

Last week was my rest week. I took the whole week off from training (except for the bike workouts Thurs, Sat. and Sun). Tonight, I'm back on the wagon. Easy run on the Trolley Trail. Should be a perfect fall evening for it.

Looking back, I've really stepped out of my comfort zone this season. It's scary but once it's over, it's over - and the experience usually has a good story to go with it. I am thankful for all of the support from my friends and teammates. I am thankful that I get to race and that I am healthy enough to do so when ever I feel like it.

Yeah, I'd say that even with the ups and downs, it's been a pretty good year.

For photos, check out Miss Beer's Flickr page.

Redman RR and Season Recap

Redman was...interesting. So many feelings, ups and downs, and well, now it's over and I can move on.

The weeks leading up to this race have been strange. I have not felt like myself. I'd been moody and tired one day, and the next day happy and energetic. I think I summed it up best when I explained it to Liz as: two parts work stress, one part end-of-season fatigue, a pinch of hormonal imbalance, shake to mix and you get a walking mental case.

You know the saying, "he's just not that into you"? I was just not into this race. I even considered bagging it all together, and then, asking the RD if I could switch my registration from half to Oly...but I never acted on either.

Race morning I was a mess. I was a mix of nerves and calm. I'd be perfectly fine one minute and then freaking out the next.

It started raining about an hour before race start. It kept raining, and raining, and raining. No thunderstorms - just rain. So there we are, standing in the dark, in the cold, in the rain in our wetsuits, waiting for the sky to lighten and waiting for the race to start. They delayed it. People were wearing trash bags and race blankets to keep warm. The delay was due to reports of high water on the bike course - "impassable" and "6 inches of water" were thrown around. They considered a swim/run and I turned to my friend Casey and said, fine by me.

But then I thought of all the people who trained for the full ironman, and all the people who were excited to be doing their first half, and that sucked. How selfish of me.

In the end, they delayed the race an hour, but the race would go on as scheduled - with a little cyclocross action thrown in - there would be a mandatory dismount at mile 6 of the bike, where we would have to walk through mud and grass for about 100 feet.

So the swim starts and I try to put myself in a good position - on the inside front. Those women were WILD!!! Kicking and scratching and swimming over me and - that NEVER happens to me! I'm good about finding my way out of that type of mayhem. But it doesn't stop and I'm like, "that's it! I'm done! Where is the kayak? I'm outta here!" But I keep going and it got a little better - not much, but a little. The whole way back I'm thinking to myself, "I'm going to quit after I get out of the water. I don't care about this anymore!" I'm not even pushing - just swimming. Before I know it, I'm done and I look at my watch and it says 33:15!!! WHAT??? I wasn't even trying and I PR'd the swim!!! Okay, guess I better get on the bike because that swim rocked!

Official Swim Split: 33:44 (PR of 2:17)

Off on the bike and it's still raining. Not hard but just enough that it's messy and people are riding slower than usual. The course is narrow heading out of town and it's impossible not to ride in packs. People are doing a good job of riding safe, but we're all bunched up on top of each other. We get to the part where we have to dismount and they were not kidding - a good 100-150 feet of walking. I pick my bike up, CX style, but I can't run because of the mud and my Speedplay cleats. I go under a tree and a low-lying branch hits my rear bottle cage - sending one of my bottles straight into the red clay - mouth piece down. Great. Some girl says, "that's going to be tasty later".

Back on the bike and all you can do is ride. I actually felt good - despite all the chip seal and new payment they laid the night before to cover all the potholes. It's obvious they did a half-ass job on the new black top - I felt like my fillings were going to fall out of my teeth!

Heading back to the lake and aside from a tightness in my right hip, and the usual fatigue, I feel okay. Oh, yeah, it's still raining.

Official Bike Split: 2:58 (one minute slower than last year)

Into T2 and, I don't know why, but I take my sweet time. 3:12 - which is like, a lifetime. I take the time to wring out my socks, turn my shoes upside down, put my nutrition in my pockets. Even a day later, and I have no idea why I thought it would be a good idea to take my time in transition.

Onto the run and I'm feeling pretty good. I took my Garmin with me for the first time ever in a race, so that I could pace myself. I have a problem of going out too fast and dying at the end. I did it again here today - even with the Garmin.

I get to the first aid station and get some water and, "what's this? they have pickles!" They're cut up into one inch pieces and I take one and keep going. I'm feeling fine until about mile 4 and I ask for some coke to settle my stomach which is getting a little gurgly. Pace has finally settled where I want it to be and I'm heading back to the turn around. Second loop and I'm okay - until I decide to have ANOTHER pickle! Of course, it was AFTER the second pickle that I think my stomach troubles are due to the pickles. HA! I get to mile 11 and I'm in a bad place. My pace is slowing but I'm still on time to PR - not by much, but a I can still pull it off. Until I get two miles to the finish and I feel like I'm about to EXPLODE (ala JH at Oceanside). So I hit the Port-O-John and hang out there for a couple of minutes. I feel better but I'm spent and the last two miles are just about survival and making it home.

Official Run Split: 2:12 (4 minutes slower than last year)

2009 Total Time: 5:49
2008 Total Time: 5:44

AG place 10/23 (I still came in 10th! crazy!)

At first, I was a little upset that I didn't PR, but then I thought - I wasn't even sure I wanted to do this race! My head was not in it, the weather was crappy and I got sick - DUH! OF course it's going to go poorly.

But considering these things, especially my mental state, I still did pretty darn well! 4-5 minutes slower in a 70.3 is not the same thing as being 4-5 minutes slower in a Sprint or Oly.

Halfs are really hard for me for some reason. This past spring, I was talking to a friend about it. I don't remember what the context was, but something he said really hit me - "maybe 70.3's aren't for you". When he said that, I was really offended. I was kinda shocked - and this was BEFORE I did Kansas. I won't say that he's right, but they are not my thing NOW.

I have a LOT to work on. Running is the biggest thing. Everyone knows I can't run. I fall apart. Confidence is another thing I need to work on. BIG TIME. But ya know, confidence isn't something you can fake. And it takes time. You have to learn so many lessons, have so many experiences, before you can truly be confident.

I have a lot to let go of too. This year, this summer, was particularly difficult. I had work crap and some personal crap that was affecting my focus. It seems as though the things that were causing me stress earlier, are settling down and this fall will certainly be a time of relaxation and reflection.

I looked at the schedule for this week. There's nothing on it. In fact, I was told that it was okay to take the entire week off. I don't know how I feel about that. Funny because I really wanted to take the whole week off until I actually was told that I could take the whole week off.

Today is strange. I wanted so badly for the season to be over and now it is. I'm energized by all the possibilities that the extra time off will afford me, but also feeling a little lost...like, where do I go from here? What am I supposed to do now?

Crazy. I know.

So here's where the story ends. Another year, more lessons learned. (A LOT more than I'm including in this post). The next two months will certainly be about relaxation and reflection - so that next year can be the best season yet!!!

Frankie Says Relax

Good Times, Good Friends - Or Are We Sisters?

Stress has been at an all time high this week with the hospital's annual fundraising gala taking place tomorrow. We work on this event for seven months out of the year and it is an all consuming affair for everyone in our office. It's huge - over 3,000 people attend and we gross over $1 million for cancer care each year.

I'm so ready for it to be over.

Thank goodness for the holiday last weekend. Despite that it was the last "peak week" before Redman, I was able to find time to relax.

Friday called for an easy bike. I think it was raining that night, so I did the ez spin on the trainer, Paul cleaned his bike and we watched Runaway Jury on TNT while doing both. So is married life.

Saturday I slept in and took my time getting ready for my last long brick of the season. I headed out to the airport to ride for 2.5 hours, run 30 minutes. I know - the airport is the worst place to do a long ride. It's mind numbing because you just go round and round for 3.7 miles BUT it's pancake flat and windy as hell - just like Oklahoma! And it was the perfect place to try out the race wheels I am fortunate enough to have borrowed from my awesome teammate!!!

Workout went pretty well - thanks to a killer play list (if I do say so myself) on the iPod - until I ran out of calories and bonked with five minutes left on the run. Not only did I have a great bike, but I was hitting my pace for the run perfectly ... and then it was like I hit a brick wall. I didn't even slow down - just stopped. I tried to rally, but it was useless. I should know better. I had enough calories for the first two hours but...that was it.

Saturday night was low-key date night with the man. Headed over to McCoy's (local brew pub) for dinner and entertainment - there was some death metal/hardcore show going on down the street. The people watching was hilarious! A couple of drunk band dorks bellied up to the bar where we were and, well, the funniest quote of the night was: "Dude, I know we sound like Megadeath, but did you read that blog? They don't think we sound like Megadeth!" Classic.

Sunday was the best day of the weekend. I "volunteered" at the Boulevard Brewery apparel tent, went for an easy swim, then headed home to meet my very best friend, Michelle. She missed my birthday last month and wanted to make it up to me - by taking me to Harrah's!!! HA! HA! HA! I have NEVER been to a casino and have NEVER gambled, AND the last person I would expect to find in a crappy Missouri casino would be the ever fashionable, trendy, and hip, Michelle. She was like a whole other person at the craps table, and while I didn't love playing, it was a lot of fun to see her get so excited about it! She was doing really well ... up until she wasn't and I convinced her it was time to go. She gave me $50 to start and I left with $82.

Monday, SLEPT IN again, cleaned the house, went for another swim, and then met friends to see Inglorious Basterds. LOVED IT! I saw the previews for this movie way back in March? April? Anyway, when I saw the preview months ago, I commented to a friend, "that's going to be hilarious!". He wasn't sure how a movie with someone getting their head bashed in would be funny - I guess you just have to appreciate Tarantino. IT WAS FUNNY! But also horribly violent. Guess we were both right.

Make sure you see it on the big screen to get the full effect.

And that was my weekend. So, so relaxing and fun - just the way it ought to be. Monday through Friday is pretty awful these days, but weekends remind me just how great life can be.

The Newbie

This year has been full of firsts. A first (and possibly, last) marathon in February; criterium racing this summer; taking a chance in the fast-er lane at masters. Now I have one more to add to the list: road racing.

I would have never considered doing a road race had my teammate, Teri, not suggested it -but I am so glad she did!

Saturday evening, we drove to Sedalia, MO and arrived with just enough time to check into the hotel and watch the women's open and men's 1/2/3 crits downtown. First, let me say, what a great venue for a crit - from a spectators perspective, anyway. The course is FLAT, but I heard that there were a lot of pot holes and this caused quite a few wrecks. We watched the Mercy women take 1-2-3 in a five person "field", a bit of the men's race, and then we headed back to the hotel to go to sleep.

Woke up around 6:45 and headed down for the complimentary continental breakfast. You never know what you are going to get at those things and in this case, we barely got a burnt crust or a drip of coffee! Teri brought her own granola but had to wait 15 minutes for milk and we had to hunt for spoons!!!

As we drove to the race site: Otterville, MO, population 472, I was thinking to myself just how unprepared I was for this race. First, I was half asleep! Between the tiny cup of weak coffee and the hard-as-a-rock pillow at the hotel, I could not keep my eyes open!! Then, I remembered that I had not looked at a map of the course and had no idea where I was going to be riding - let alone WHERE EXACTLY IS OTTERVILLE, MO??? All I had to go off of was a rumor that the course was really hilly and a prayer that if I got dropped during the race, and then was hit by a car, someone would realize I had gone missing and come look for me.

Race morning was chilly! Record lows in the upper 40s but we were blessed with a cloudless sky and NO WIND to speak of. While we arrived with plenty of time to get dressed, geared up and possibly even get in a warm up - neither of us had registered. Teri is so funny - she told me that she won't even do races that don't offer day-of registration! I told her that is unheard of in the triathlon world and that we are lucky if they even offer packet pick-up on race day!

So...we had to stand in the worlds longest line for registration - because everyone else must have a rule like Teri and no one pre-registered. Finally, we get our numbers and it's a mad rush to get everything together. There was no time for a warm-up - just air-up and line-up.

Teri did the women's open race and I raced with the women cat 4...AND JUNIORS. Let me just say - oh my gawd! Those juniors are like a bunch of chattering monkeys! We rolled out and they would not shut up! I don't even know what they were talking about - smack talk, girls, their bikes, who knows - but whatever it was, it was a like riding on a junior high school bus. Luckily, we dropped them about 5 miles into the ride.

There were nine WC4's racing and pretty early on, we dropped four of them. To be honest, one woman was riding with her daughter (who looked all of 12) and two other women looked like they just bought their bikes last month -not a whole lot of competition.

So there we are - two girls from St. Louis, one from Arkansas, me, and one gal from Missouri. The two girls from STL were on the same team and one broke away about half way into the ride and her teammate kept us back. Fine by me - I'm wasn't there to win. That girl took the break on hill with two or three other hills right after - I hardly noticed she was gone because I was too busy trying to stay on the wheel ahead of me.

I took my turn pulling on the flats and then got it good on the steepest hill - 17% (we checked). They were laughing at me to "pull" them up that hill. ME??!! The skinny girl with no quads?? Pull all three of you up this hill so steep we might be faster getting off our bikes and try running up it? Ha! But I did and it's about then that figured I could stop working for them...it's alright, we were 3 miles from the finish.

So yeah, over the last hill and I'm not really sure where we are at and none of us have our speedometers on (I forgot to reset mine) but I'm going by time and know that we should be close to the finish by now. They must have got the same feeling because all four of us start to scrunch together and they're doing a much better job of fighting for their position. I'm getting all shaky riding so close and every time I try to make the slightest move, they pinch me out. Smart girls!

We make the final turn for the finish and it is on another huge hill! Stacie is sitting on the sidelines and is yellin' at me to "GO! GO! Get out of the saddle! You're gonna sprint at the end aren't you???" and I'm thinking, "I still have to run after this!" Didn't matter, they had their positions set a half mile back and I even if I blew up, I still would stay in the same spot thanks to that hill.

So there you have it - I placed 5th out of 9. Not too shabby - even if the other girls weren't even in contension. A place is a place.

Afterward, we're all standing around chatting about the hills, congratulating the girl that got away, poking fun at the sandbagger who didn't want to pull because she was afraid of an attack (she took 2nd!)...so we standing there and I'm smiling! I'm also thinking that I did not leave it out there. I worked hard but I was not spent. Those hills were killer, but there was plenty of times to recover and really, kinda, slack off.

I went for my run and then waited for Teri to come in. Congrats to her - she came away with a nice place and payout! The place cleared out pretty fast and so we headed back to KC - but first, we needed FOOD!

Lunch!

Another first - we ate at Griff's in Sedalia! A total dive of a hamburger joint that I have driven past many times and remarked how cool it would be to eat there based purely on the kitschy-ness of the sign. We chose to eat outside because, as I have learned from experience, the smell of cigarettes and 50+ years of grease will stick to you like stink on a monkey after 30 seconds in a place like that. Food was just as I expected - greasy and good!

Road racing is SO much easier than crit racing. I'm trained to ride one pace for an extended period of time - not like the slow, JUMP, slow, JUMP, slow SPRINT!SPRINT!SPRINT! of crit racing. There were even times in this road race, that I thought I might actually be able to win the race if I had gone into it a little more prepared with a plan, a little more confidence and, if I had a teammate, that would have helped too.

Three more weeks until Redman. I can't wait!

Coming to an End

Another season is coming to an end. Just one big race and a handful of training races before it's over for good and I have to be honest - I am ready for this season to be over.

I'm tired. It might be my iron levels (having that checked out tomorrow), it might be that I'm back on the Pill, or it just might be that it's the end of the season! Go figure.

Redman 70.3 is just one month away, but I wish it was sooner. I am so ready to be done with long course and all the energy, but mostly TIME, it takes to train for it. There will be no long course races next year and I'm really looking forward to that. Next year will be a different kind of hard - short and fast, instead of long and slow.

While Redman will be my last tri of the season, I will do my first road race this Sunday in Sedalia. I'm really looking forward to it, mostly because it's new and different. I hope I'm not too tired to do well.

I am a little bummed that I won't be trying cyclocross out this year. Paul and I made a pact in January - only one new bike for each of us a year. I bought the Blue in May and he got the Kona in June, so no new CX bike for me. Not even a used one for $500. Mainly because the costs only go up from there: used bike = $500, new pedals = $150, MTB shoes = $100, new kit = $200, race fees = $150 -$200. TOTAL = $1,100.

Sports are expensive!!!

So yeah. Paul will be focusing on CX and I will focus on spectating! That's alright. Of course, there is the cost of buying new Wellies to walk around the muck in. Hee hee! And don't think I don't already have my eye on a super cute pair from JCREW!!!


Come October, I will run a couple of 5 and 10Ks in a desperate attempt to gain some semblance of run speed again. And then...November. Oh, how I love you November. I'm taking the whole month off! Okay, just the month off from being coached. I get two full weeks off with NOTHING to do, then two weeks of active recovery. Last year, I didn't swim for the ENTIRE month of November and look at how much my swim improved this year!! Maybe I won't run for the entire month of November and it will improve dramatically. Oh, how I hope.

Writing it all down like this helps ease the anxiety and nervousness about the season ending. I have something to look forward to - rest! And cooler temps and new fall clothes - wool NOT spandex!

What if?

I 'm not sure why but I've been thinking about this lately...what if I didn't do triathlons anymore? What would I do? How would my life be different?

Don't worry. I DON'T want to stop. It's just one of those things you daydream about - like what would you do if you won the lottery.

So here is my short list of how my life would change if I stopped being an athlete:

• I would gain weight. Not a lot, probably as much as I usually do in the winter. In the summer months I'm a size 0, in the winter I can balloon up to a size 4. Believe it or not, I actually look better as a size 4 than 0.

• I would have a much better wardrobe. What I normally spend a month on nutrition alone equals a new designer leather handbag!

• I would drink a lot more. This is bad. Really bad. I used to have a problem - kinda. It's a good thing I'm not quiting the sport.

• I would travel more. I guess I travel a lot for races already, but they're pretty close by - all in the midwest. If I wasn't spending a fortune on registration fees and gear, I would FINALLY take that trip to Europe, or Jamaica or Hawaii. Sigh.

• Our yard would look 5xs better than it does now. It actually doesn't look too bad now, but it could look better. I don't mind pulling weeds or planting flowers - but the last thing I want to do after a long brick workout is spend the rest of the afternoon bent over in the hot sunshine with bugs crawling up my arms.

• I might pick up a new sport. I've always wanted to try tennis - because of the cute little tennis skirts! Or yoga - because of the cute yoga clothes.

• I might actually throw myself into my career. Before sport, I was career driven! I would sign up to be on volunteer planning committees, become a member of various professional organizations - all with the idea that it would boost my career. Now, I don't have any free time to spare!
  

• I would probably be a lot more stressed out, and probably get pretty bored.
  

• I might consider getting pregnant and having children. (GASP!)

So there you have it.

Looking at the list, it's really interesting to see the "type" of person I would become if I wasn't focused on being an athlete. It's not bad, and it's not good. It would still be me - just a slightly more suburban me.

Hmmm.

Good thing this is only a daydream!!!

Chi-Town Camp

I spent the last five or so days in the Chicago burbs training with some of the nicest people in the sport! Back in March, Elizabeth invited me, Danni and Cat out for an informal tri-training camp and I had been looking forward to it ever since!!

I'll just share the highlights of this camper's experience - if you are interested in the full details, Liz has drafted a comprehensive report on her blog chalk-full of her traditional wit.

Wednesday - Left the house at 6:00 am and arrived in Lisle, IL at 3:15pm. Met the girls, hauled in my stuff (two bags, a bike and a queen sized air mattress) and then piled in the Odd S C and headed north for a two mile lake swim! I got to meet the ever-spunky Jen Harrison (thanks for the recovery socks Jen!! They are the most comfy recovery socks ever!) and ate at Beth Shutt's favorite restaurant, Noodles. Nothing terribly exciting about the swim - lot of sighting practice since there were no real buoys to speak of - just sight off of trees, boats, houses, etc. Back to the house and CRASH!

Me, Cat, Jen Harrison, Danni and Liz

Thursday - Short track workout and running analysis. My cadence is too slow, my stride is too wide, too much heel strike, I reach too far forward with my arms and I push UP instead of forward. Track hurts!! Then pool/swim analysis at the Naperville Quarry - blast from the 50's!! Liz told me that I am actually a really good swimmer, I just need more strength - here come the paddles and Masters TWO times a week instead of just one. Lastly, an easy spin around the Morton Arboretum. LOVED IT! Lots of tight corners to practice my crit skills (or lack thereof). Dinner, jokes with the girls, snuggle time with Liz's dog, Boss, and then bed.

Friday - HARDEST day all week. Two hour ride with 45 min. tempo interval and then a 20 minute run off the bike. The bike was fine - in fact, I really surprised myself by staying on Liz's wheel the entire time - she is an awesome cyclist!! Who knew such a little person could provide so much draft? Run was a disaster. Not sure if I was dehydrated, under-fueled, it was hot, the Accelerade, or the fact that I just started back on The Pill this week (after being off for two years) but I got SICK! So sick that after we ate at Whole Foods for lunch, I had to go straight to bed for an hour. Lots of fun at the mall later that night, dinner out, and then GELATO!

Saturday - BEST day all week despite waking up at 5:45 am in order to leave the house at 6:30! Caffeinated up at Dunkin' Donuts then headed downtown to the Ohio Street Beach for a swim in Lake Michigan!! The water was crystal clear and I could see the bottom the whole time - couple of beer bottles and some fish. Perfect water temp and perfect weather - TONS of runners on the lake shore path. I was happy and at peace - even more happy when Liz confirmed once again how good my swim form looked even with my wetsuit on.

Back to the house, little nap, then CRIT TIME! Downer's Grove National Championship. No, I don't belong in a National Championship but they let me race anyway. ;) Women's Cat 3-4, 25 min + 1 lap, two hills - one was a MONSTER (and the place where Chris, Liz's husband, kept yelling at me to "pop a wheelie"), field of 30+ ended with 25. I miscounted my laps and sprinted hard on the second to last lap - which I thought was the LAST one. Died after that and placed 23 out of 25. Ha ha! Need more confidence when doing these. I get a little intimidated by all the chaos that is the start - just like the swim in a triathlon, but now I swim OVER people and have no problem positioning myself at the front of the swim pack. It will come in time. Congrats to Aubree - she placed 2nd!!

I made this poor girl do all the work!!!

Saturday night ended with dinner and wine tasting in Wheaton. Lots of "getting to know you" time with the girls and coach. Danni surprised me the most - Liz got it right when she coined her "the underdog". Cat is so comfortable with herself, funny and determined. Was somewhat shocked to find out she made out with Steve Martin back in the day! Liz is everything I thought she would be - witty, funny, smart, sassy, pretty and an accomplished athlete.

Sunday - Long ride up north. 48 miles into the WIND! It must have been 20 mph and kept changing directions on us!!! Cat and I bonked around mile 40 while Danni got her second wind right about then and actually went out longer for 54 miles! Lunch at Jimmy Johns, back home, cleaned up, then off to the airport to drop off Cat and Danni. It rained HARD on Sunday and almost put a damper on the Pro Mens Crit (100K!!!). It was fun to watch that race for sure!!! Had a good time chatting with Chris while Liz worked, watched some TV and then time for bed - at 9 pm!

Last day of camp! (I look like such a goon with those braces!)

Monday - It's about 8.5 - 9 hours to KC from Chicago. Driving home I became a little melancholy about the experience. Happy to have had it but sad that it had to end. Sad that I now had to return to the same boring routine. I REALLY enjoyed un-plugging from my life for a few days and having a great group of people to PUSH me to the breaking point.

What did I learn from FIVE days of hard ass training? I learned a lot about what I need to do to improve my running - A LOT! I learned that even when I think I can't do something, I usually can rise to the challenge when called upon. I learned/came to the realization that crit racing has a place in my TRAINING but will probably not become my focus for racing. And finally, I learned that when you get Cat and Liz together, they will giggle about the silliest things and that it only takes one glass of wine to get Danni to really open up.

I will miss my camp pals but hope that we can do it again next year!

Trial by Fire

When we last left our heroine had fallen ill and yet, the superwoman that she is, decided to race anyway. This left her weaker than before and on Monday, she gave in and went to the doctor begging for help...

...which came in the form of a Z-pak thank you very much! So I started that Monday night but I was still feeling like poo come Tuesday. This made me nervous because I REALLY wanted to go to crit practice to get ready for Sunday's race but I still felt ill, so no go.

Wednesday I was on the upswing but we had already made birthday dinner plans with my parents so again, no workout.

Thursday morning I got up bright and early and WORKED OUT! For the first time since the race on Saturday! My legs were ready to go but my chest and nose thought otherwise. Welcome to the snot factory!!!

Friday I got up bright and early again to get in my swim. Drove to the pool at 5:45 and remembered the pool was closed this week for annual cleaning. Great. Another day off.

Saturday - no workout again. Why this time? I WAS HUNGOVER!!! We threw a huge party Friday night for my birthday - which was a BLAST! There were over 30 people at our "kegger" - some people I hadn't seen in YEARS and some people I didn't even know. Paul and I went to sleep at 5 am Saturday morning. I felt so guilty. I had worked out exactly ONCE in 7 days! ONCE!!! AND I was racing on Sunday. Idiot.

Not to mention that Saturday I had signed up to volunteer FOR THREE HOURS in the 96 heat at the Tour of KC. Thankfully I was working registration in the shade but I was already dehydrated (from the night before) - I drank three 26 oz bottles of water and one 26 oz bottle of Gatorade in the 3 hours I was out there...standing on my feet...in flip flops. I am so smart. Not.

Okay...so Sunday is finally here and I am NERVOUS! Some of it is my own damn fault, (getting drunk off my ass two nights before a race), and some of it is not (being sick). I had been to ONE practice before this race and that was like, a month ago! So I went into this with one goal: get through it and learn as much as I can on the way.

Warming up sucked. I did a couple of intervals up a tiny hill just to get the heart pumpin' and I felt it. I thought I was going to puke just after doing my warm-up. Oh well. I did it to myself. Head over to the start and find the girls - Teri, Sarah, and Jen all came to cheer Aubree and me on. They gave me a TON of advice and support.

Next thing I know, we're lining up and I'm finally calm. Women 1/2/3 start out :30 ahead of us. I think there were about 10 of us Cat 4s. Then we're off. First few loops are easy and I'm thinking maybe I'll be okay. A couple of girls drop off but I'm still hanging on -I'm at the back but I'm still there!!! And I stayed there for a good long while! Maybe 20-25 min. I'm starting to figure out what part of the loop I hurt the most at and where I can take a break. If I can just hang on. Keep hanging on - do NOT get dropped!

With maybe 9 laps to go I'm starting to fade. It's HOT (92) and WINDY (15 mph) and I'm not prepared. Renee, a woman I was introduced to earlier, pulls up to me and quietly asks me how I'm doing. I tell her I want to puke. She asks me if I can go three more laps - WHAT? WE only have three more laps?? YES! Uh, no...she asked me if I have enough in me for the LAST three laps. Negatory.

That's about when I fell off the back. I come around and see the counter says 8 laps to go...but it's really 9 for us Cat 4s. Fine. I will finish this thing. I can do anything for 9 laps. I ride about two laps on my own and then I see Stacie up ahead. YES! I'll catch her and we will work together until the end! I pull up next to her and tell her "Let's GO!" but she raced yesterday and she's tired. Okay. No problem - still gonna finish this thing.

Two laps to go and the pace car comes around with the 1/2/3 leaders. Stacie shouts some advice at me and I try to act on it by following them up the hill without getting in their way but I'm too tired. They cross the finish line about 20 feet from me and their race is done - but I'm not. The announcer tells me - and the two other 4s behind me - that we still have one lap to go. So that's what we do...but when we make the final turn for the finish, the guys are already lined up. Hmmm...guess the race is over. But then this girl comes from behind me and is out of her saddle and she's sprinting toward the guys and I'm like...this doesn't feel right, but what do I know? So I push it a bit and then brake and right then the official screams at us - YOUR RACE IS OVER! WE TOLD YOU TO STOP! But we never heard it because we were between laps. Ha ha! Oh well.

See, I learned something new!

I have no idea where I placed. I'm guessing 8 out of 10. So at least it's not DFL. Hee Hee. And come on, I wasn't out there to prove anything or place. It was HARD but it was FUN! My parents even came to watch - and cheer (oh my God, they were obnoxious!).

I found the girls later and they were so encouraging and supportive! It's just like being at my first tri all over again. I'm soaking up all the knowledge like a sponge but I know I won't REALLY know what they are talking about until I actually experience it for myself. Live it, learn it.

This week is another CRAZY week. I'm heading to Chicago to train with Elizabeth and a couple of my blogger pals/Liz's athletes. The schedule looks ROUGH - and I will be doing the Downer's Grove crit which is HUGE but again, all about experience. Trial by fire. No fear.

Man, this post is long. I'm going to bed. Hopefully I'll have some new photos to post soon. :)

Lessons Learned

This week I got sick. Not like "I'm on my death bed puking my guts out" sick - just simple head cold sick. But it wouldn't go away - still hasn't gone away. I'm still sick. I blow my nose every 15 minutes, cough up snot and I can feel it in my chest.

So it started on Tuesday. Drainage in my throat. Paul thought it was case of allergies (he was feeling it on Monday) so I went ahead and ran that night. FAIL! I woke up Wednesday with a full-blown head cold. Fever, chills, achy - the works.

Okay. No biggie. I'll go home, rest up and drink lots o'fluids. Worst case scenario, I'll miss all my pre-race workouts but should still be able to race on Saturday. A quick consult with coach and she agreed - though she gave me a warning: "if you are not 100% on Friday morning, I would not race on Saturday".

Friday morning I was worried. I was still sick. Again, not miserable, but I could feel my breathing was labored and my resting HR a little higher than usual. I thought I could still race though. I mean, it's just a SPRINT! Another consult with coach and she gave me permission to do it, but I could tell she didn't think it was a good idea.

Saturday morning, I did the race and it was horrible. I could tell that it would be when I went to warm-up. I was standing in transition afterwards and my HR would not recover. I felt dizzy and lightheaded. Well, what was I going to do now? DNS? I gave it a go and the results were less than stellar - in fact, I was 3 minutes slower than last year!! My arms felt like they were going to fall off in the swim, my legs would not fire on the bike, and the run was ... UGLY.

So, lesson learned. DO NOT RACE WHEN YOU ARE SICK. It's not worth it.

However, I needed to learn that lesson for myself. If I had not raced, I would have wondered all weekend - "what if ?" Now I know. Know better.

Whining time is over and yesterday is just a scratch on the race record. Chalk it up to a training day. Time to get better and kick this shit for good. Time to focus on the next big thing. On ward and up ward!

The Art of Doing Nothing

So I raced last weekend and I have another on the schedule in little over a week. Luckily, they are both short course races (Oly last weekend, sprint next weekend). With races so close to each other, I'm trying really hard to focus on recovery.

I once read/heard that the fastest way for a beginner/intermediate athlete to improve is to take recovery seriously and recover well. Great! I can get faster by simply doing nothing?? SIGN ME UP!

However, recovery is the one thing that I always, always, always screw up, slack off on, or don't even do at all. Because it's ONE MORE THING and it takes up more time!!!

Example: I just finished a hard brick workout and it's 8:00 p.m. I haven't eaten dinner, I am a stinky-sweaty mess, the laundry still needs to be put away and the checkbook needs to be balanced.

The good triathlete would IMMEDIATELY drink 16 oz. of water, eat 15 grams of protein and 30 grams of carbs, hop in an ice bath for 15 minutes and then, while making dinner, (consisting of a pure protein, organic green veggies and a brown rice) stretch for a good 15-20 minutes, put recovery socks on, eat dinner, shower, AND THEN go to sleep making sure to get 8-9 hours of uninterrupted, peaceful sleep.

YEAH RIGHT!!!

Immediately after, I eat SOMETHING (80% of the time) while in front of the computer logging my workout into TP. Then I get on FB - for like, AN HOUR, (I'm addicted - I hate it) make dinner, eat dinner, maybe stretch, SHOWER, go to bed.

See, I didn't even get to the laundry or the checkbook - and I didn't do the ice bath and maybe not even the stretching.

BUT this week, I am making a concerted effort to get the recovery RIGHT!

This means: eating right and eating enough; drinking enough water - NO ALCOHOL (except Sunday night - my weakness); ice baths after hard workouts; stretching!!; ART with the hottie chiropractor; and taking it easy on my days off - this is the hardest because I usually see my days off as FREE DAY - a day to eat crap, go on a bender, run errands and clean the house. NOT TODAY. Today I will go the chiro and then head home and lay on the couch for the rest of the night.

Seriously, this recovery stuff is HARD! I have a life and I already put so much on hold, and say no to so many things because of training. Now I have to say no to friends and my only excuse is "I HAVE to do nothing tonight". It's a sure way to lose them. Unless of course, you have athletes for friends. Which I do not. Well some.

ANYWAY... I'm trying hard to focus because after training on auto-pilot all spring, I'm finally BACK! I'm ready to take ownership of my success. All the mental GARBAGE and clutter is behind me now. I can focus on ME and MY GOALS. GRRRRR!

And yes - a 2 minute PR is totally worth not having clean underwear or paying the mortgage two weeks late. All because I did nothing...something...nothing.

Evergreen Triathlon Race Report

WOW! What a weekend!

I just spent 13 hours driving to and from a race within a 32 hour window - for an Olympic distance triathlon. At first it seemed like a really good idea. I didn't want to do any of the races around here but wanted to add a July race to the roster. I asked Elizabeth for suggestions and that's how I found out about Evergreen.

Evergreen Lake is a small lake surrounded by evergreen trees (duh) located just north of Bloomington/Normal and south of Peoria, Illinois. Getting there meant driving 6.5 hours from KC ALONE because Paul was racing this weekend himself, and while we would have been home in time for him to race, he needed to be rested. This would also mean that I would not know A SINGLE PERSON at the race. I would be ALONE. While a little scary, it was also an adventure!!!

Finally got to town around 5:30 p.m. Friday night and drove to the race site immediately. Packet pick-up was uneventful - just my numbers and swim cap (I opted for no t-shirt and saved $5! More RDs should do this.) Racking your bike the night before was optional. Because the racks were only assigned by wave, I choose to leave my bike - and got a SWEET spot on the isle end of the first rack for my wave. I drove the bike course (lots of gravel) and run course (pretty flat - no shade) and then headed to town for dinner.

Dinner and hotel - uneventful so I'll skip those details.

I will say, Friday night I was a little scared about the weather. The wind was blowing HARD all day Friday at 20-25 mph and it was COLD! Like low 60s. The morning low was supposed to be 56 and the high for Saturday was only going to be 69! While this made for a wetsuit legal swim (YES!!!) I was afraid I would FREEZE on the bike - the run would be perfect.

Okay, okay... Saturday, get to the site and set up transition. It's chilly but not as cold and the wind has died to 5-10 mph. Talk to a couple of girls at my rack, headed out for a 10 min. run to warm-up, listen to the "pre-race meeting" and then suit up for the swim.

Our swim wave was all women 39 and under and there weren't very many - maybe 50 -75? I was freaking out a little - just nerves. I knew once we got going I would be fine. And I was. Until we got to the first turn and I couldn't see the next buoy. Where was it??? Here's where the stupid mistakes of the day start: I just stopped. I STOPPED SWIMMING for like, 10 sec. while I tried to located the stupid buoy. I KNOW! Ridiculous! I finally pulled myself together and decided to follow the swim caps to the next buoy and found it just fine.

SWIM: 29.18 - 2nd fastest swim split in my AG

Out of the water and onto the bike. Stupid mistake #2: I forgot to put my computer back on my bike! I had taken it off when I left it in transition over night and forgot to put it back on. This actually may have been a good thing - I went totally by feel and mashed it more than I should have but that made me faster. I started to feel like maybe my back wheel was flat. Another freakout - I stopped to check if it was flat! What is wrong with me??? It was fine!!! It was just the wind that was slowing me down not the wheel!!! Other things of note - some jerk in front of me slid on some gravel at a turn and ended up all over the road. I went left to avoid him and yelled "LEFT!" but he must have thought I wanted him to go left and he ended up running me off the road...precious seconds lost. I stayed upright but road in the grass for 2-3 feet.

BIKE: 1:17:03 (19.4 mph) - not exactly happy with this but at least it's consistent

Back from the bike and out for the run. I decided at the last minute to not use my Zoots (with the elastic laces) but run in the Mizunos instead - which have regular laces - which means tying them like a nerd. I also decided to run with socks for the first time in a long time. Socks = smart because I always get blisters no matter how much Body Glide I use. Shoes = stupid because I had to waste time tying the laces because I did not put in Yankz BUT I may have run faster because I was more comfortable. (The Zoots have been giving me knee pain on account that they really just need to be replaced after a year of racing in them).

Run was a run. Faster than I have been all season but still slow by comparison. At mile 5 my timing chip came off - I kicked it off with my foot by accident. I had to go back and get it, re-attach it quickly, and carry on. Then, when I'm like, 100 feet from the finish line, it comes loose again and I slowed down so that it would not fly off. More precious seconds lost.

RUN: 54:13 (8:44/mi pace)

OVERALL: 2:44:01
PLACE: 7/20 AG

The thing that saved me here was my swim. If you look at the AG results, I have the slowest run split of all the girls in the top 10 - but also the fastest swim split and a decent bike.

This race was FULL of fierce competitors! It was the regional qualifier for USAT and the Illnois state qualifier for BOUS. I knew this going into it and did not expect to place - BUT I beat my time goal by a full minute! My run speed is (SLOWLY) coming back! And despite all the little time sucking mistakes, I still finished with a decent overall time.

The absolute best thing about the race? THE FINISH LINE FOOD! You know, you go to these small, "local" races and the finish food sucks. They never have ANY protein and its mainly bananas, oranges and soda. What athlete recovers on that crap? But Evergreen had pulled pork sandwiches, sub sandwiches (complete with chips and a cookie), Panera bagels, watermellon, little individual baggies of cheese chunks, pasta salad, and plates and plates of homemade cookies!

I ate, packed up my stuff, headed back to the hotel for a shower, put on my compression socks, and hit the road. Another 6.5 hours in the car, ALONE with nothing but Patton Oswalt and David Cross to keep me company.

All in all, despite the drive, I am really glad I did this race and did so well - in my mind. And that's all that matters.

One more but this is IT!

I finally bit the bullet and registered for my last tri for 2009 - REDMAN 70.3.

No more tri's after September 19th.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE racing and Redman is a well run, well organized race, but training for 70.3s take up so much time! I can say goodbye to any weekend plans come late August early September. I'll make it worth it though. Last year I had my best ever 70.3 time and I plan to shave a couple more minutes for a freakin'-tastic PR!

After Redman, it's off-season. I'll try CX and see how that goes, put on a little weight, and finally get some new ink!

I can't believe I am (thinking) saying this, but, I'm really looking forward to fall!

One True Love

I'm trying some new things this year - racing wise - and it has really helped bring the spark back to my training. I've said this a million times, and I'll say it again, training for a winter marathon is HARD! Training for that marathon cut my "off season" really short and while everyone else was simply doing base training, I was in build, recover, build, recover, build, peak, race mode.

Exhausting. For me anyway.

This zapped my motivation this spring for all things racing.

BUT...now the fire is back! I've done two tris this year and have two more on the books in the next three weeks. I also have this amazing opportunity to head to Chicago in August to train with my coach. She sent out the itinerary yesterday and it looks FUN and CHALLENGING at the same time. Motivation is coming like a freight train!

Another thing that has me all fired up this month is crit racing. When Blue came into my life this spring, I had a renewed love for cycling again - my favorite of the three sports. I've missed group rides and the dinners (and beers) that follow. I've been training on my own for the most part, all on a TT bike in AERO all the time, and while that has it's place in the plan for sure, nothing beats the burn in your lungs and legs of riding in a pack.

So enter the Tuesday night practice crits. Time to pull on the big girl pants and just try it. Lucky for me, I am on an AWESOME team with fantastic girls that are more than willing to show me the ropes. There are two races - an "A race" at 6:30 and a "B race" at 7:15. Of course, we're doing the "B race" and it's 30 minutes on an "easy" course with only four turns (one big rectangle) that are not at all technical and with one tiny incline and a nice decline on the opposite side. I think the whole loop is .63 of a mile.

While warming-up, DR tells me what to expect. First lap is a "neutral" lap, hold your line, watch for squirrels (riders - not the actual varmints), the course is NOT closed and even though there are corner marshals we will need to watch for traffic (luckily this is an office park with little traffic after 6 pm).

Even after all this, I still am not 100% sure what to expect. I expect that it's going to be hard. I expect that I am going to get dropped and probably lapped. I expect to watch and learn. I think DR can see this on my face and graciously offers to ride with me. PERFECT! Even though I'm not that nervous, I know I will learn a lot from her direction.

And so we're off. The first lap - easy (neutral lap). Second - fifth lap are fast but this isn't hard - the effort I mean. It's hard for me to stay so close to someones wheel, or to find the right wheel, but the effort is manageable. I'm still hanging on to the middle back of about 20- 30 riders. About 15 minutes, or half-way, I start to fade. I motion for DR to go on but she is there to help and pulls me out. We pedal around and then wait to hop back in. I give them two laps and then we're back.

First, let me say, I can't believe I made it half-way! From what everyone was telling me, I thought I would be a goner by the third lap.

So we're back in the pack and I'm holding on but it's getting harder. I find MS, a the biggest guy out there at 6'8" and riding a Cross Check (of all things). I'm in his huge draft and I think, "just stay here...do not let him out of your sight". And that's what I do until they ring the bell for the final lap and everyone TAKES OFF! I'm spent. I don't know how to sprint. I'm a triathlete!!! We don't sprint. We ride for long, sustained efforts. We attack but we don't sprint!

So with less than a 1/4 lap to go, and DR looking behind her to see where I'm at, I let them go. I drop back. I'm done. I'm happy with the practice and I don't need to sprint to the finish to make this practice worth it. It's already been worth it. Should I have pushed? Yeah, probably.

Couple of cool down laps and I'm feeling good. Thirsty, but good. Exhilarated! I wanna do it again! One thing ELF told me going into this was, "cyclists talk the talk but have weaker fitness than they admit. You have better fitness but probably weaker skills.....you are there to learn skills". She is so right (as always)! Master the skills - cornering, being comfortable in a pack, strategic positioning, etc. and this will be MUCH easier.

I will head back to practice in the coming weeks and then, first race - Tour of KC OP crit on 8/9. I'm so looking forward to it!

Tris are still at the forefront this season but I love my bike and I could totally see settling down and being a one sport woman...in the future.

Updated Race Schedule

Not much to blog about since returning from vacation.

I did just confirm the next couple of races on my schedule though. I deleted Steelhead 70.3 and added the following:

• Evergreen Triathlon, July 18th - Normal/Bloomington, IL (International Distance)
• WIN for KC Triathlon, August 1st - Kansas City, MO (Sprint Distance)
• Tour of KC OP Crit, August 9th - Overland Park, KC (Womens Cat 4)
• National Championships of Cycling Crit, August 15th - Downers Grove, IL (Womens Cat 4)

I think that's good enough for now. Whew!

Vacation

I had a great time in New York City last weekend and wished it would never end.

Thursday I flew in and was welcomed by the wonderful weather - pouring rain and temps in the 60s. Lovely. Catch a cab and off to Greepoint! I stayed with my BFF Michele and her three lovely roommates and two cats!

In the four days that I was there, we did ALL this:

• Ate lunch at Five Leaves (Heath Ledger's place)
• Happy hour at Enid's (my FAVORITE brunch place)
• Visited the new open section of the High Line (much anticipated!)
• Checked out the New Museum (best feature: their donor wall)
• Coffee shop show by featuring the crafty Googly-Eye Cru
• Dinner with Michele, the brother and the new girlfriend
• Trip to Coney Island for the Mermaid Parade
• Dinner party in Williamsburg
• Shopping in the city: Lululemon and NYC Velo
• Dinner with the brother and great view of the Manhattan skyline at night

Not only was this trip well deserved, but it gave me time to think. I thought a lot about the decisions I am making this summer and where I want to be...where I'm going. I found a renewed enthusiasm and motivation for training and racing and a desire to focus on what I want and take charge of my life!

I have one more vacation planned for the summer: training with Coach and friends in Chicago in August. I can't wait!

IMKS 70.3 Race Report

I hate writing the typical "race report". Mainly because by the time I get around to posting it, I have already shared the story with a ton of people and it seems like old news. Also because...well...sometimes race reports can be filled with the most banal minutia.

So here's my attempt at it - stickin' with the most interesting details.

I went into the race with a simple outline of how I would get it done. It looked something like this: negative split the swim, ride the bike well, let the run be whatever it will be and those people passing me? Screw 'em!

Yes, that was my race plan: swim, bike, run. I think the most strategy I put into this race was my nutrition plan and that wasn't very strategic either - just a lot of bottles filled with Nuun and CarboPro (thanks Cat and Molly for the tips).

But you know what? It worked! My strategy of "winging it" gave me a sub-6 hour finish and I felt like a million bucks by the time I crossed the finish line. This could be in part to the four Ibuprofen I took during the run (that's not doping, is it?) or it could be, GASP, that I followed my plan???

The race was great. Overall, RR and TB put on a good show and all the players were there - Chrissie Wellington, Pip Taylor, Luke Bell, James Cotter, Nina Kraft, Simon Lessing. My only complaint was parking - ugh! At least 1/2 a mile to 3/4 of a mile from where we parked to T2 - it was another 1/2 mile to T1.

Parking also made people late for the start. I had just enough time to put my bottles on my bike, air up someone else's tire (seriously, I looked down and thought, "when did I put Kysrium's on my Scott?" - I ride a Felt and the Kysriums are on my Blue), pump up my own tires and then they were herding us out of T1. Lucky for me, I pack light. People were still filing into T1 after the pros entered the water exactly at 6:30.

I was nervous about the race. Why? Oh yeah, I was wingin' it.

The swim went pretty well. It was packed but I found little gaps here and there. It's fun to swim past the people in the two waves ahead of you...until you have to swim past the people two waves ahead of you because this means that they are really slow and will get in your way. I made up a mantra that I repeated over and over and that got me in and out of the water in a jiffy - which was good because I was not loving the swim.

T1 was pretty uneventful. Even though I was at the back of transition from bike out, I chose to run out with my shoes on because there was a hill at the mount line. Good choice! Paul said there were so many wrecks at the bike mount because people weren't paying attention, couldn't get clipped in, etc.

The bike was...what it was. This is a tough course! Hills out and back - with the worst of them at the end. I swapped out my 11-23 for a 12-27 and STILL I was spinning up the worst hill at 6 mph and 56 rpms. People passing me left and right - BUT THE BIKE IS MY BEST SPORT! Ugh. Frustrating. When I rolled in to T2 I finally looked at my computer and my avg. speed was 18.1. Okay. Not what I was hoping for but it was over now so no use getting down about it.

T2 - I HAD TO PEE! I had to go so bad that it hurt!

The run was FUN! I was slow as molasses but I had fun! I finally just said to myself, "do whatever it takes to feel comfortable" and "just keep moving" and most importantly, and Cat I owe you one for this, "stay inside yourself - stay in control". Looking back now, this may have got me over the finish line in great shape, but I certainly did not leave it all out on the run course. I could have given it more...I could have gone faster...I could have hurt more.

In the end, it was still a fine day and a solid effort.

AND, most importantly, the SPARK is back. I am ready to train with focus and purpose. I'm changing the schedule up a little. I won't be doing Steelhead, instead I'll be sub-ing two shorter distance races to build up some speed.

Coach and I "talked" a bit yesterday. She is so wise. No, really. She can read me like a book. Just when I say, "so I was thinking such and such" she usually comes back with, "that's so funny because just this morning I was thinking such and such". LOVE HER! The change to the schedule has me fired up again - ready to feel the burn, the pain! OWN IT!

Geez...this RR ended up being a lot longer than I wanted. Sorry no photos. So here are some nice photos from the local paper from Sunday.

Race Ready

So tomorrow I'm participating in this little race called Ironman Kansas 70.3. I haven't been sharing my thoughts on racing lately in blogland and that's on purpose. One, because I learned the hard way that when you put all your eggs in one basket, and then you drop the basket, you're left with...well, broken eggs.

I know, that's so morose.

Okay so what am I expecting from this race - the first long course of the season? Well, I'm expecting it to be WET! They are calling for thunderstorms to roll in around 2:30 a.m. Sunday morning and then again around 8:30 or 9:00. With any luck I will be on the bike by the time the second round rolls through and it is much harder to cancel a race when most of the field is already out on the bike. Hopefully it will just be rain and no hail or lightening.

What else am I expecting? I'm expecting to have a great swim and a fast bike. The run? Well, the run will be whatever it will be and it will not be fast. We all know that while I have been running pain free for a month and a half, that I am still lacking speed. Whatever. It will come back and at least I CAN run - and PAIN FREE! (but I'm taking some ibuprofen just in case).

There will be no PRs for this race - just a good baseline of where I'm at this year in the 70.3. There are two more 70.3s on the schedule this season and plenty of time to improve on them. In fact, the swim and the bike have already improved DRAMATICALLY! The run time is pulling my overall time down but I feel comforted by my injury excuse.

Thanks to DR, I have a sweet KCOI top to wear tomorrow. Representin' the new team!

New Team!

I'm super excited to be a part of the KCOI/Boulevard women's team this year!

I met Teri, Darcey, Sarah and Jennifer years ago (2006??) when I was training for my first century. It just so happened that I showed up on the Wednesday night "welcome ride" that was part of their weekly training. Darcey used to joke about it being a welcome ride - "welcome to an ass kickin'" is what she would say.

Teri tells the story of the time that she had just convinced me to do my very road race - not three minutes later, she and I crashed and I was out for the rest of the summer.

My cycling speed has since improved and I'm even considering doing some cycling races this summer - TTs or maybe a crit or two. Of course, still saying with the tris and MAYBE CX this fall (Paul is convinced I will hate it because it's wet, cold and muddy and I'm not used to riding a bike that weighs more than 20 lbs.).

I'm excited to represent the team and be a part of this fast group of ladies! Oh, and you can support the team too by drinking lots and lots of Boulevard beer!!

Stress-less

The best view in all KC - my front porch

The last few months have been stressful. That seems like an understatement - they've been down right chaotic and I've been going just a little bit crazy. However, the good news is that this time, I really feel like things are starting to settle down and return to "normal".

Work has been a monster - events every week with far too many people to try to please and we're talking about doctors and hospital administrators!!! Political nightmare. Thankfully, our event planner is back from maternity leave (I MISSED YOU SO MUCH VIK!) and some of the stress I felt has been lifted.

I've been crossing off projects and deadlines every day and - good news - I don't have any new projects on the immediate horizon, so things have been getting better every day.

This weekend I actually found some time to chill. Friday night, Paul rode down to First Fridays (monthly art-gallery-district-event-thingy) and I stayed home. Perfect. I had the house to myself, beer in the fridge and a movie I had DVR'd. Got to bed at a decent time and slept really well.

Saturday could not have been more perfect - easy run in cool temps with light rain, finally pulled the 5-foot high weeds that were growing along the fence line, showered and then...NOTHING! While Paul rode the Smithville trails, I grabbed a book and sat on the porch for 2 hours. I didn't crack the spine - just sat there staring off into space then grabbed the phone and called my Michelles (Michelle M. and Michele G.). It was good to catch up with my girls. Then I went to the store and picked up fixin's for a BBQ - mango guacamole and brownies. CHILL! Two "summer beers" later (beer, lemonade and vodka) and I was a noodle.

Today plans to be more of the same...hard as hell brick (but it's short) and then - NOTHING.

I need this. I deserve this. My mind has been a mess lately and this easy-breezy weekend came just in time. I even have time to think about my race plan for next weekend!! AND I'm actually looking forward to racing for once this year!

Looking ahead, I'm headed to NYC for vacation and I CAN NOT WAIT. Five days of fun and culture and NO WORKOUTS! Okay, I'm taking the running shoes but no swimming and no biking - okay, I'll miss the biking.

Ahhhh...