It’s been a while since I’ve found a really good one and it IS that time of year again….
Run Happy, My Friends!
Alive and Well…
01 Apr 2013 8 Comments
in General BS Tags: 70.3, coach, IMFL, injury, race, recovery, sprint, taper, Tri, triathlon
It’s a good day!
I’ve made it through the biggest build phase for Gulf Coast 70.3 and so this week I’m rewarded with some well deserved rest….plus a little sprint tri on Saturday.
My last event was back in May, but March 2012 was actually the last time I took part uninjured. This was also when things began to fall apart. 2103 has been a year of change in effort to keep this body in motion!
The most monumental thing I’ve done is hire a coach.
When I decided to race IMFL, I felt like I needed the help to get through the year uninjured. I really believed I trained fairly hard and so maybe a little help backing off would keep me in the game, so to speak.
Time would show I wasn’t REALLY working as hard as I thought!
It was fun and games through base training.
Then we began the building blocks. Every day was harder than the next and I started to quickly see where I had been slacking in the past.
I quickly learned it was a bad idea to look more than 1 day ahead in Training Peaks. It was just better NOT to know!
Amazingly, as hard as it was though, I was able to complete each session, recover, and get up and do it again. Most evenings I went to bed feeling like I’d been in MMA fight, but by morning I was ready, willing, and able to repeat the process. The ability to absorb what she was giving me was simply remarkable.
I wasn’t carrying residual soreness or on the brink of injury.
During this last week, which naturally contained the highest volume and intensity to date, my hips started to get a little snarky. I have to believe a 4 hour bike/run brick followed by a 2 hr run the next day would do that to most of us mere mortals though.
It was a very manageable snarkiness and as I come up for air (and coffee) today, I’m realizing how vital it was/is to have an experienced coach to guide me through the process.
The race results will be what they will, but to make it through these workouts successfully after the year of injuries I’ve had speaks for itself.
Everything happens for a reason….
If I hadn’t been graced with the stress fracture, I would’ve never understood how much day-to-day help I needed. I would’ve never made that step to align myself with what will, no doubt, end up being the most valuable training tool I have…..
My coach…
Yesterday, as I finished up my run…hot, exhausted, and with sore feet…it truly felt like the end of a long race.
It didn’t matter how fast I was going only that I was still able to go….
I knew the hardest of the work was done and my body had held up. I was so happy and so grateful to have been able to complete every single bit of it because you just never know.
Sometimes we take that for granted…
injury…illness….it changes perspective a bit.
So now it’s race week and ohhhh it’s been a long time since I’ve gotten to chase that carrot!!
Time to pick a tri kit (blue or red??), get the pedicure, pull out the wetsuit, and grease the chain…
Good times are ahead!
Race Happy, My Friends!
Write it Down…Make it Count!
27 Feb 2013 7 Comments
in General BS Tags: accomplishmnets, cycling, goals, make it count, race, SMART, swim
March is blowing in quickly and for some of us that means we’ve got about 4-6 weeks to get ready for the 1st race of the season…
Time to iron out the kinks and figure out how much damage old man winter has really done to the body!
One thing, I’m doing over the next few weeks is taking some time to really figure out what I hope to achieve throughout the 2013 race season.
I’m actually putting pen to paper and WRITING DOWN some goals….
The SMART kind….
What’s on my list so far?
Here’s a peek:
- Shortened transition times….no more picnics only drive-bys! I say this every year, but this time I mean it…I’ve GOT to get in and out of that place in under 90secs this year!
- Much improved swim times. I have the specifics written down as we all should, and I’ve worked my ASS off to get where I want them to be so hopefully it will transpire..
- To be a more efficient cyclist…again I have all kinds of numbers written down and they seem ridiculously easy, but having just put the quarq on my bike a few weeks ago I realize how inefficient I’ve been these past few years. Speed is great, but ultimately I’ve got to be an efficient engine…and so the work goes on!
There you have it….three long-term objectives for year-end improvement.
Each race will have its own set of goals and ideally they’ll be tied to the BIG 3 so I will always be working to meet my primary objectives.
So what about you??!!
Have you taken a minute to think about what you want to accomplish this year?
What are you gonna do to make it count?
Ride Happy, My Friends!
A First of Sorts…
05 Oct 2012 9 Comments
in General BS Tags: cycling, DNS, race, running, Santa Rosa Tri
-”Condition gounded, but determined to try” -Pink Floyd…. Learning To Fly
Tomorrow was supposed to be my last race of the season, but it is not to be.
No real surprise, but I’m still a bit disappointed. I raced the Santa Rosa Tri last year so I really wanted to use it, this year, to measure year over year progress.
Seeing how I have yet to log any considerable pain-free mile since March, I decided a few weeks ago that participating was really pointless.
And I was REALLY, REALLY tired of racing injured and hurting, only to be frustrated with the end result.
So now a new experience….
My 1st DNS!!!!
And hopefully my last! 
My hip and glute are feeling closer to normal with each day. I’ve been able to return to running and cycling. While I finally don’t hurt DURING activity, I do tighten up quite a bit after all is said and done. A lot of tissue work is still being performed to keep things loose and mobile.
Sometimes I’m successful….other times not so much.
As does the healing process go…
So racing, right now, is out of the question.
And there are bigger goals on the horizon for 2013.
I’m learning…
Slowly, but surely!
Run Happy, My Friends!
Weekend Shout Outs
13 Jul 2012 4 Comments
in General BS Tags: 70.3, good luck, IM Racine, race, Vineman
This is a HUGE weekend for racing all around the country!
Lots going on from coast to coast.
From Vineman and Lake Stevens out on the West Coast to Ironman Racine 70.3 in the Midwest.
Despite the scorching temperatures, I’m a wee bit jealous to be a spectathalete this weekend and not suiting up in my spandex.
Have no fear though, I shall be utilizing every ounce of personal endurance to stalk track all of y’all, sending good mojo your way…
The badass award of the week will have to be shared amongst Steena and Jeannie.…both of whom will be finishing their 1st 70.3 this weekend!!
Rock on Ladies! Way to set a goal and get it done!
Good Times will definitely be had by both; a day to remember!
Also there will be some others out there mixing it up doing great things….
Becca taking on Vineman 70.3 and kicking its ass again this year. Stuart will be tackling it as well after battling injury these past few weeks. Gee, we all know a thing or two about that around here, don’t we???
Corey and Jeff will be out at Racine 70.3, with Steena, setting course records on the bike/run no doubt!
And as for the rest of you racing and I know there are many….
Well, y’all know what to do,
Race Smart….
Race Strong….
and as always….
Race Happy, My Friends!
I Got Your Luck Right Here!
22 Jun 2012 3 Comments
in General BS, Motivate Me Tags: good luck, happy, Motivation, race
Lots of folks….myself included….are heading to the starting line this weekend.
I wanted to put some good luck mojo out there, but then decided I know of no one who really needs it…
Why might that be you ask?
Are we all THAT good that we don’t warrant a lil’ extra hocus pocus as we make our way through our respective courses??
Of course not…
However, I do tend to believe that it’s all those months of hard work that’s gonna make the fairy dust flow….
So as you’re making your way through the challenges of the day, keep that in mind.
And remember….
Y’all are all “luckier” than most!
That being said…
Race strong, race proud, and as always…..
Race Happy, My Friends!
and kick a little ass along the way too!!
Grandman Triathlon Race Report
15 Jun 2012 8 Comments
in General BS, Reports Tags: bike, Grandman Triathlon, happy, ITB, knee, race, run, swim, triathlon
Fore score and 7 years ago…
Ok, more like….
2 weeks ago we traveled to Fairhope, Alabama for our 1st race since the Memorial Herman 70.3.
Heading into this event, there were a couple a lil’ “issues” …
A big one, no surprise, was my knee/ITB injury. I hadn’t been logging any consistent running miles since Galveston.
The week prior to Grandman, I was finally able to run 3-4 miles, 3 times/wk, without pain.
NOT fast….
NOT without stopping for oxygen…
NOT without breaking for a side of the road stretch and pep talk…
I was merely able to DO IT.
Grandman was going to be a “test” of whether my leg could tolerate the stress of racing (and that word is used very loosely). NOLA 5150 was approaching and would be a smidge longer, so I really needed to know how I’d hold up on a shorter distance race before determining if I was indeed going to make the trip into New Orleans in late June.
I also wasn’t real sure how I would fare on the hilly Alabama course I signed up for back in January. And then there was my husband….
looking calm the day prior…10k was the length of the ENTIRE bridge (there and back)
2 weeks prior to Grandman, we went to Pensacola so he could participate in a 10K open water race/event. THATswim broke him. It chewed him up and spit him out like bad candy. It was a windy morning and the water was extremely choppy which led to him becoming horribly sea-sick.
He started throwing up just before the 1 mile marker and it never stopped. Then came the cramps.
His forearms/shoulders started seizing and the physician part of his mind took over. He decided he really didn’t want to die trying to prove a point. It was there, at 3.5 miles, he climbed aboard a support boat. He was both mentally and physically beat up, not to mention a bit dehydrated.
All in all, he swam 3.5 horrid miles in 2 hours. I tried to console him with the fact that he knew he could manage the worst of the worst Ironman swims AND the fact that many did just as he did (and they weren’t ill either), but he was not interested in hearing it. He was pissed off at mother nature, his equilibrium, and himself.
As a result, he had lost his Joie de vivre. He hadn’t trained AT ALL since that fateful day and had no real desire to do so (still doesn’t, but that’s a WHOLE nother post). He was going to race Grandman, but I was a bit worried about how the day would end for him……mentally and physically.
The day before we drove from Pensacola to Fairhope so we could pick up our packets at the race site. I was warned this was a hilly course, but what I saw left me speechless. I only wish I had taken a picture.
Transition was going to be set up at the bottom of a valley with a 10-20% climb out (on both the ride and the run) into town, towards the highway, and out to the remainder of the course. The run I could wrap my mind around, but on the bike?? How was I going to get out of this hell hole?
The wind/whitecaps= flashbacks…
Oh and the bay was really choppy! THAT had my husband all stirred up, but all I could do was stare at that climb into town.
This is the stuff pre-race nightmares are made of ….
It’s a little over an hour from Pensacola to Fairhope so that meant a 3:30am wake-up…..that is just entirely too damn early to be getting up!!
On a side note, my brother and his family were driving in from Houston and WHEN I got up, bright and early at 3:30am, my mom, brother, and sister-in-law had yet to make it to bed!!!!
Party On!
So we get to Fairhope and the bay, while not calm, certainly wasn’t the churning toilet bowl it was the day before. The climb out of transition however, had not changed and I was suddenly overcome with nausea. It looked and I now felt much worse about things with my bike racked knowing I was REALLY going to have to do this….and SOON!
Reality Bites!
I double and triple checked my bike to be sure it was in the lowest gear possible and we headed to the water. Once there, I was fortunate enough to listen to everyone’s theory on how to climb out of transition, how THAT wasn’t near as bad as the climb out-of-town (they were correct!), and how the run out of transition was even worse (right again!)….
As we were lining up, I was seriously wondering WHY IN THE HELL I signed up for this crap.
Too late now!
SWIM -1/3 mile
This was the oddest swim I’ve ever done. It was a time trial start, but that wasn’t the issue.
The problem was they put the timing mats on the shore…ok fine….but didn’t count the distance from shore to the 1st buoy (or the last buoy to shore) in the race distance.
So while it was billed as 1/3 mile swim, the distance from timing mat to timing mat was actually 1/2 mile. Weird in my opinion, but doesn’t really effect the race results as a whole.
The swim itself was rather uneventful.
It was wavy so there was some thinking involved and that made it a bit more enjoyable. Sometimes breaststroke was a better option to tackle to waves and so I went with it. Swimming back in with the current was a real treat after fighting it on the way out.
I don’t care how far the swim distance, I never seem to be able to “push” as hard as I think I should. Definitely a goal for next weekends 5150.
TIME: 12:48
T1
One of my objectives, for this race, was to work on transition times. I was disappointed in what I saw after the race, but I really FELT like I was moving swiftly. I had a long ass run from the water to the far side of transition where I was racked. I was on a mission….I had a mountain to climb!
Time: 2:51
BIKE -18 miles
I’m happy to report I made it OUT of transition and did so on my bike!
And the initial climb was NOTHING compared to what we met at the top of that hill….
See, it lulls you into security thinking its going to be a short quick attack and in reality its a long brutal offensive that goes on and on. I was looking for an oxygen tank by the time I found flat ground….there wasn’t one… and then there was another hill to climb.
This went on and on for the 1st 10 miles or so. WHO KNEW Alabama was so hilly. And big hills too….
The kind you see wayyyyy ahead and think, “Ho-ly Shit!”….or at least I do and did quite often on this day.
Around 10-11 miles in, it leveled out to a mix of gentle rollers and flats. Pretty soon we were making our way back DOWN into the valley of transition.
One thing I did differently this go round, is I finally re-mounted my bike computer and it really helped me push when I needed to do so. I have found I need to take it off for day-to-day training rides otherwise I end up working myself harder than desired, but I definitely need it for racing day.
Another goal, for this race, was to really focus on riding harder during the bike leg, not saving my legs for the run, and I think I did so successfully. I slowed and chatted with a guy from La. for 3-4 miles and so I slowed down for a while, but…..
Whattaya gonna do??!!
TIME: 56:03 (19.3mph)
T2
My Garmin wasn’t doing its multi-sport thing, so I got a bit distracted. Yea’ there was the long run from bike dismount to my bike rack, but I spent a good minute fiddling with my watch…grrrrr
Time: 2:58
RUN -3.1 miles
What to say…
We had to climb that huge ass hill out of transition….AGAIN…and then climb through town.
FYI: I walked the hill as I was not willing to wear myself or my knee/ITB out so early in the game.
I was able to handle the climbs in and around town, but had to walk back DOWN that monster hill as my knee was having none of that stress. I also walked through the aid stations to conserve strength.
heading up the “hill”
My husband came in a few minutes prior so he was there cheering me to the finish.
We waited for a few of our other friends to come across as I assessed my knee and the mental status of my racing parter.
Everything and everyone seemed in order. PHEW!
As for my knee, it seemed the worse was over and for that I was so grateful. I honestly didn’t care WHAT my run split was….
Well, maybe I was just a little curious…
Time: 28:55 (9:20/mi)
Not a bad day all things considered.
- Overall Time: 1:43:33
- 10/21 40-44 AG
- Female Rank 42/165
- Overall Rank 267/590
The rest of the week was spent enjoying a low pressure system which brought HUGE waves to Pensacola Beach! 
And of course we got some riding in as well….. 
I’ve been home for about a week now and have been doing the vacation detox while also trying to build my run miles, ever so slightly, since NOLA 5150 is…..oh… about a week away!!
I have no idea what the day will bring, but the plan will be the same as it has been all season….
Do what my body will allow and simply enjoy the fact that I’m able to participate!
Y’all have a fabulous weekend AND….
Happy Father’s Day to all you great dad’s out there; showing your kids that living a fun, healthy, competitive lifestyle never has to stop!
Train Happy, My Friends!
Ahhh….Ok That’s Better!
13 Jun 2012 6 Comments
in General BS Tags: injury, ITB, NOLA 5150, race, race report, triathlon, vacation
This is me crying, “UNCLE!”
I’ve gotten a zillion emails asking where the hell my race reports are…
No excuses…
Life has simply taken over….
Between our son graduating 8th grade, taking care of my husband after his 10k bride swim, our vacation which included ANOTHER triathlon, trying to regain some sort of run fitness after battling this ITB injury (while not injuring anything else in the process), and then taking a day to breathe….. I’ve simply fallen way behind.
REALLY far behind….
As in, my bike needs a new cockpit set-up and I can’t seem to find the time to get it done…. kind of far behind….
This week I’m working diligently to get everything taken care of, around here, once and for all. Even those little mundane tasks like paying the electric and water bills!! oopsie!
I’m also promising (loosely) to post my race re-caps later this week….I think…
most certainly before next weekend’s NOLA 5150!!
In the meantime, let us all:
It’s a freakin’ crazy time of year!!
Run Happy, My Friends!
Mid Week Motivation: You So Got This!
23 May 2012 5 Comments
in Motivate Me Tags: mental toughness, race, ride, tough
We’ve seen it, heard it, read it….
and probably said it at least 1000 times…
But as race season kicks in, temperatures start to rise, and everyone begins to conquer those mental and physical battles; it always bears repeating…
Ride Happy, My Friends!
