NO ROLLDOWN!!!

The Day Has Finally Come

2012-02-01T13:46:00.007-06:00

The one I have dreaded and feared! Seriously.

My husband has caught me in running.

We recently both competed in a local snowshoe race and had we both been running the same length he would have beat me. I ran the 10K and he ran the 5K. It was a double loop course for the 10 K and a single loop course for the 5K. We both started at the same time and ran the same loop for the first 5K.

From the gun, never did I see him. NOT ONCE! Gone! Like shot out of a cannon! He was ahead the whole time and would have beat me by about 1-2 minutes. That is like an ETERNITY!

Now don't get me wrong, I am not mad at HIM! (well, maybe only a teensy bit!). And bless his heart, he REALLY tried to make me feel better about it saying, "well, I only had to go 5K. I didn't have anything left. I couldn't have held that pace for another 5K." OK. Fine. But, neither COULD nor DID I!

I knew this would happen eventually. I knew he would get faster and probably start to be faster than me. But, so soon? I mean really, I've been running consistently for 6-7 years. He just started to run a bit more seriously over the past year. Sure, he dabbled here and there with running for a few years before this. But, I really wouldn't call running twice a month consistent. Now, he runs about twice a week (God, I hate him!). And yes, he's in pretty decent shape considering the half-marathon he did OVER ONE MONTH AGO (now, I really hate him!). The other thing is I've been helping him! Yes, I've given him advice on his running stride and cadence. I've talked to him about core strengthening and showed him some exercises to do. I've found him training plans. I've also recently got him going on riding our old relic road bike on the trainer in the basement. Now he says stuff like, "Boy that bike riding helps. I can really feel my legs getting stronger even while I'm riding it." Whatever! This is coming from the guy who has legs that look like a chicken. One of my thighs is like equal to two of his! I am not kidding. Most girls would love to have his legs!

So, in other words, I have no one to blame but myself! I encouraged him. I helped him. Now, I have to SUCK IT UP! But really what this has done is STOKE THE FIRE. I admitted my irritation and frustration to him after the race. I then told him that "I am only saying this once. Today represented a turning point and this was never going to happen again." OMG. All you men out there, aren't you happy you're not married to me!!! Psycho, nutcase! I am more motivated than ever to really put 100% into every workout. No slacking. Train smart and with purpose.

I hope you all realize this is light-hearted and not mean-spirited in any way. I am truly proud of him. Basically, he just laughs at me when I say this stuff and acts like he really doesn't care. But, I KNOW THE TRUTH! You can just bet, he likes the current state of affairs. Probably, now that I've thrown it out there and he knows I'm irritated, he's going to work harder than ever just to keep getting that little dig on me.

So be it. An elephant never forgets! I've got work to do.

Swimming.....Love It, Hate It, or JUST DO IT!

2012-01-04T12:13:00.008-06:00

It's a new year and with a new year comes new goals.

I AM A SWIMMER.

And for those of you that know me or who have read this blog for even a short period of time know that I am a GOAL MONSTER! Thinking things through, writing things down, and working to make them a reality are what keep me ticking.

I AM A SWIMMER.

My weakest link in tris is undoubtedly swimming. A lot of times (in the past!) I have felt like I HATE IT! Yes, I said it, I HATE IT! All of you swim geeks can stop guffawing me now but I have my reasons:
1) The water is cold.
2) It's 0500. Too early to drag my ass out of bed.
3) The same people are there EVERY morning and seem about as thrilled as I am.
4) No lane lines. Random choppiness everywhere.
5) The showers are cold. Yah, cold water in the pool AND in the shower!

I AM A SWIMMER.

Notice above I wrote 'in the past' I FELT like I hated swimming. That's BECAUSE I have VOWED to make a dramatic attitude adjustment. Literally, one of my goals every morning when I wake up to swim is that I will expect and tell myself that I LIKE IT! You think this will work? I sure as hell am hoping so! Mind over matter, that is the thought here.

I mean, really, how hard can it be to tell myself that those goose bumps on my skin mean nothing and that I'm really burning up with heat. Just swim faster, right? So what if I can hardly open my eyes some mornings. I know my house pretty well. I probably could walk around it blindfolded and still get myself out the door without a black eye. As for the lack of lane lines, I'll think of it as constant open-water training. That's GOT to be good for me! And I've decided to take some control of my swimming and proactively push myself by asking these 2 guys who swim faster than me if they will do my swim workouts with me. See, I'm the only geek who comes to the pool with a sandwich bag and workouts inside. There is no 'master's coach' and the other swimmers pretty much do what feels good or right at the time (of which there is nothing wrong with, if that's what you're into!).

I AM A SWIMMER.

Today was my first swim test of the season. 10 x 100 on 10 seconds rest. I surprised myself with the result. Not stellar, but not totally in the dumper. So like all resolutions or goals, I am in the early stages of this quest. So far so good. I will remember-

I AM A SWIMMER.

The Clock is Ticking

2011-12-17T13:08:00.006-06:00

You can't win if you don't play and time is running out!!

Evotri is looking for a new teammate and it could be YOU. We are sponsored by a slew of great triathlon companies and the opportunity for a triathlete who loves the sport is astounding!

Quintana Roo.
Zipp.
SRAM.
CycleOps.
Hub Endurance.

It's almost too good to be true, but IT IS!

Please go to our site for all the details of the contest. Remember, the deadline for entries is 1/1/12. Get creative and HAVE FUN!

How Did This Happen To Me?!

2011-12-12T19:38:00.006-06:00

In an effort to encourage others to apply for a place on the Evotri team, we, as teammates, decided it would be great to delve into how each of us got into triathlon. After a bit of thought, the best way I can summarize my entry into triathlon was because of A Midlife Crisis. That's all I can think of to explain it.

When I was 35, I was a mother, wife, and nurse practitioner. My girls were 5 and 7 and both in school all day. I was working part-time during the evenings and on weekends. To make a long story short, with everyone being gone during the day and me sitting at home I had TIME on my hands. What is the saying? Idle hands are the devil's workshop. Well, I felt like I was living like an evil elf in Santa's workshop!

I had always enjoyed school. But when I was 20, school was not where I wanted to spend another 4-8 years of my life. That was then. At 35, I started questioning what I wanted to be for the REST OF MY LIFE. And probably for no other good reason than I had to stay busy and challenged, I decided I wanted to go back to school, pick up the classes that I needed for medical school, and then matriculate to medical school. I took several semesters of inorganic chemistry, physics, and biology; specific courses that were not required for a nursing degree. I LOVED IT! I was the typical, overachieving nontrad that the traditional students HATED. I messed up the curve, asked questions in class, and headed up group projects. It was something I wanted and enjoyed doing and not because I HAD to do it to get a job or make a living. However, reality has a nice, blunt way of slapping you in the head and bringing you back down to planet earth. To complete my undergrad coursework, I was traveling 3 hours a day to and from school. That was doable because I knew it wouldn't last forever. However, after several semesters of this, I had a LOT of car time to think. If I did get into med school, I would have to move my family at least 3 hours away from everything they knew and ALL family (literally, my entire extended family lives in my small hometown). That would be for 4 years. Then I would more than likely have to move them again to site unknown for a residency of 3-4 years. Not to mention my husband would need to find a new job, not once but probably twice. Finances would be severely reduced and uncertainty would be rampant. I really had to sit back and question my motivation for all this. Was it fair? Was I asking too much? Who was really going to benefit from this?

I tell this long drawn out saga to try and set the stage for why and how triathlon fell into my lap so perfectly. When the dust cleared, I couldn't do that to my family. I simply could not uproot everyone multiple times for something I wanted but didn't need. After a lot of bawling and carrying on, I knew I had to do something. I was full of pent up energy and, honestly, some bitterness. I knew if I didn't do something with the negativity it would eat me up inside. And a caged up, overachieving woman is not a pretty sight!

I had to DO something. So, I started going to a local gym. I was not an ex-college or high school athlete. I really don't count 1 year of high school swimming and 2 years of high school track as an athletic background. Especially, when one is mediocre at best. My entrance into the gym-rat world was interesting in that it occurred gradually. I started lifting weights. I really didn't want to sweat and cause myself physical pain and weight training sounded like a good start. After a few weeks I was getting bored and found myself looking at the treadmill. I asked myself why I couldn't walk a little. So I did. Then I asked myself if I couldn't run a little. Painfully, I did. I HATED running with a passion! I literally couldn't run one block without feeling like I would die. I distinctly remember telling people how much I disliked it. But, I FOUND when I was done exercising, I felt better about life. It freed me of so much stress and anxiety. That's really what kept me going; how I felt as I was walking out the door. Life looked and felt better and if this was all I had to do, it was worthwhile!

It was like a drug and I soon was addicted. By this time in my metamorphosis, the season was turning to spring and I figured I needed to add something to my routine. I thought I could ride a bike. Really, I asked myself, who can't ride a bike? Out came the Fleet Farm Murray mountain bike. A few months later, I found myself at a small, hole-in-the-wall, bike shop buying my first Trek road bike. I knew absolutely nothing about bikes or what I was getting myself into. I bought one that was on sale and looked pretty! Now it was summer and I needed another challenge. I had heard of these things called triathlons and knew it was comprised of a swim, bike, and run. I didn't know in what order, what equipment was needed, or even where one was held. So, I got on the internet and found one; Pardeeville, WI. The proclamation then went out to my husband that we were going and off we went. I'm not sure what was going through his mind at the time, but I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm nuts, so he just went with it.

I look back at that first race and fondly laugh. I knew nothing. I had never even talked to anyone who had done a triathlon. Really, to this day, I can't say what possessed me to just think I should pick up and go. However, I do think of that race as one of the best things I ever did for myself. It was a sprint. I swam in a swimsuit. I think I put some bike shorts on over my suit in T1. I had toe straps on my pedals and wore my running shoes. You can bet there were no aerobars on my bike and a simple odometer was the biggest piece of technology I owned. I distinctly remember the run about killed me. At this point, I STILL HATED RUNNING. I am pretty sure, I was in more pain during that 3 mile run than the last 5 miles of any Ironman I've done. My lungs were on FIRE and my legs felt like they were going to fall off! But guess what? I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT! I LOVED IT! I was nowhere near placing in my age group. And here's the absolutely hilarious thing about that.....I was mad that I didn't WIN. I mean I really thought I should be able to win! What a nut job! Who thinks that? Someone who knows absolutely nothing and comes to the table with no athletic history whatsoever, that's WHO! Too stupid to know better.

What I did know was that I loved the competition. I loved the burn. I loved how I felt when it was over. I loved knowing that I had control of something in my life and where I could to take this. I improvement was doable if I wanted it. And that improvement was not going to have to come at the cost of my family's well-being. It fit with the lifestyle that I wanted for my children. This was me. Triathlon was something I quickly fell in love with.

Yes, I'm no longer using toe straps and a simple odometer on my bike. My race placing and times have certainly changed over the years. I still think I should 'win' every race and have high expectations for myself. In other words, I still love triathlon. It's not an obsession or an addiction. That has settled down over the years. Yet, it is a MAJOR part of who I am and HUGE factor in how I live my daily life. Triathlon in a way did 'happen to me'. It crept up on me. I wasn't looking for it. Thankfully, though, I was open to the process and where it could take me and I've been on a FABULOUS journey ever since!

Putting 2011 to Rest

2011-12-09T10:21:00.011-06:00

First off, I have some business to address. That would be congratulating all those who have recently put up some great performances.

1) Sara (EVO teammate extraordinaire). Who recently PR'd in a 5K. I recently commented on her blog that she shouldn't put any limits on herself because that was something that was also recently told to me. I hope she doesn't think that I'm an old bag for saying that, but IT'S TRUE. Potential and performance has a way of oozing out when it's not beaten down.

2) JP (EVO teammate also-extraordinaire). Who recently flat-out won the HITS inaugural ironman-distance triathlon in Palm Springs, CA last weekend. How frickin' cool is that? Well, he's a young buck and I new he could do it so what more else is there to say! But watching his video coverage on youtube after crossing the finish line did make me laugh. Like a professional he is!

3) Jack (husband extraordinaire). Who recently PR'd his half marathon in Vegas last weekend. This was his second half-mary with the first being done on basically no training 5 years ago. I don't remember his time then but it was well over 2 hours. Now, after completing a 12 week block of training with a canned online Hal Higdon plan, he clocked a 1:44:59. Yah! I'm very proud of him. He stuck with the plan to the letter and I think he actually enjoyed it. I asked him when he'll be registering for his first marathon but he doesn't seem too interested in that. What?... could this be an actual person who runs to stay in shape and have FUN!? What a novelty. I know of few people like that! Seriously though, I hope he sticks with it. I think he has a lot of potential.

I also must give a "HURRAY" to my other friends who performed well last weekend in Vegas.
Paula-Great performance, as always. Those 50 year-old women are always in trouble when you're in town!
Mark-How cool was that? It was a fun day. And to end up within 3 seconds of each other at the finish line of a marathon, especially without running together was very special. P.S. I would have crossed the line WITH you had I caught you.
John and Ann-Great to see you 2 there. You're really an inspiration to others.
____________________________________________________________________
On to the race report:

To summarize.... it was a fabulous run. I can honestly say, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience!

I was pretty up front with the fact that I was nervous about the race. As much as I tried to keep it in check, I don't think I succeeded because I was testy leading up to race day. I had a hard time relaxing. I think with tris I'm a little bit better just because I've done more of them. There were a lot of unknowns and I don't do well with unknowns!

Prerace
That's another word for EATING in my world. The race started at 4:00 pm. Something I've never done before. I don't like doing any of my workouts in the late afternoon/evening. So, I naturally wasn't real tickled about racing then. Obviously, a girl's got to eat right? And eat I DID! Vegas is FULL of buffets and I thought that would be an excellent way to get in some good carbs and fluids prerace. One thing I am clear on about myself is that I have willpower when it comes to workouts and races but not when it comes to food. I am honestly amazed at how much food I can put down when set to the task. I've had men say that eating with me makes them feel GOOD about themselves (since they eat so much less!). Anyway, I had to have a plate of each type of cuisine; Italian, Mexican, and Chinese. Plus, a little American. THEN....the desserts. I CANNOT resist dessert. And 10 choices? Forget it. I already confessed to my coach so I'm not going to get in trouble now. But I ate 4 desserts; pumpkin cheesecake, mousse, brownie, and chocolate cake. But, take heart, I planned my eating strategically, so I would at least be done by 1230 and have time to digest. I ended up spending the rest of the afternoon in a drugged, carb stupor, lying on my hotel bed with a bloated stomach!

Come race time, we had no trouble getting down to our start corral. My husband so nicely stuck by me and took my gear bag 10 minutes before the start so I could stay warm. The temp was about 50F at the start and slowly fell thereafter. I was in the 2nd corral and we got off at about 4:02. I ran with my Garmin but no heart rate monitor. I did that on purpose. I wanted to know my pace in an effort to not overrun the first half. But, I didn't care about the heart rate number. I knew if I ran the right pace, the heart rate would be in check. Plus, I think too much data does a number with my head on race day. I've really come to love the less is more philosophy when it comes to racing.

Race
Wow, the race effect is dizzying. I averaged a 7:51 pace for the whole marathon. The first half I felt as if I was running on air. It was heavenly! Effortless! My pace was sub 7:50 and I was trying to slow down! I was talking to people and plain old having a good time. The first 13.5 miles was comprised of just marathoners and there was absolutely no issue with crowding. The course was boring as all hell in an industrial part of town. But, hey, I am NOT complaining. Of course, the 2nd half is where the fun begins. At this point we joined up with the half-marathoners. This race was big and there were about 37,000 halfers. At this point, we all ran together up and down the strip to the finish line. The organizers tried to give the marathoners a small strip of property off on the left for just us. But, this was for the most part overtaken by folks in the half. I remember several race organizers riding bikes right next to me hollering for racers in the half to move to the right. Really, I saw no moving. However, this might have worked out to my advantage as it kept my pace in line. I wanted to go faster and mentally had to tell myself to settle down. After several miles of this, I admit I was losing my patience. I kept saying 'on your left' in an effort to pass. I really tried to watch my tone of voice and be 'nice'. I really only had 1 guy say to me, 'well, then go to the left' in such a 'not nice' tone. I probably had it coming!

I need to mention my nutrition plan somewhere in here. There really was none. Really? Could I stick one more thing down my throat when I probably had put down 3000 calories about 4 hours ago. I literally took a few sips of water at almost every aid station and 1 GU gel at about mile 10. I will put this on record. I DO NOT RECOMMEND my prerace fueling strategy! I think I just got LUCKY!

Strategy in the marathon seems pretty simple. Don't overrun up front and brace yourself for the end. I tried to break the race up into sections. The first half I focused on mentally preparing for the second. And, yes, the second half did get harder. But up until mile 22, it was not bad AT ALL! The 20 mile mark seems to be the magic window that I hear about as to when the wheels can often fall off. And trust me, in training this fall, they DID fall off! So, I was ready. But, it didn't happen! I know part of it was because I came up on my friend Mark, who I had not been running with up until this point. We have a friendly rivalry and passing him seemed like it would be fun at the time. So, that kept me entertained for about 2 miles when all of a sudden I hear this freight train coming up on my right. Here it's Mark passing me back! We were at about the 22 mile mark by now. I knew I only had 4 miles left and now I was started to feel fatigued. Looking at my watch I knew I had well surpassed my goal time of 3:30. But, I didn't know how close I was to 3:25. Secretly, my STRETCH goal was 3:25. After Mark passed me, I think I mentally let myself ease up. It's amazing looking at my mile split times. All great until mile 22, then down around 8:10. Had I known the last 4 miles would have been critical to hitting 3:25 flat I might have pushed harder. I don't know. The operative word is "might". Anyway, when I found myself looking at .25 mile to the finish line, I saw 2 women in front of me then Mark. Well, you can damn well guess I wasn't about to let those 2 girls beat me and, boy, did I want to catch Mark! I pushed as hard as I could over that last stretch and I did pass the girls but failed short of catching Mark by 3 seconds! The look on my face from the picture was taken near the finish line and tells it all.

3:25:48!!!
It's one thing for the race calculators to predict a time, it's all simple math. But to actually realize it is SO gratifying, especially when it seems like a crazy idea. I mean...3:25? What silliness! But who knows, maybe there's a 3:20 or 3:15 in me?!

I can summarize this post very simply. I remember starting in endurance sports when I was 35. I distinctly recall my last marathon about 5 years ago when people were flying by me and I was completely in awe as I posted a 3:54. They were 'running' in my opinion. It was great to see. That gave me the visual in my head that I needed. Now, I am 42. I am no elite athlete, that IS for sure. However, I think I'm a little closer to 'running' than I was before. The thought here is basic. Keep WORKING at it. The gains WILL come and when they do it is AWESOME!

It Is GO Time!!!

2011-11-29T18:44:00.014-06:00

The time has arrived, my friends.

Marathon Mania! Las Vegas 12/4/11.

Ever since I signed up for this race (I think in the spring of 2011) I have been excited and anxiously awaiting my chance to RUN. In an open marathon. No swimming or biking. Just RUN. It's been many years since I did a stand-alone marathon. And I want to give it my all. And I want to do well. And I want to push myself.

And.....WHY am I so nervous?

Because it's going to REALLY hurt.
Because it's kind of UNCHARTED territory.
Because I don't want to FAIL.
Because I've packed on a few POUNDS of holiday turkey.
Because, lastly, it would be so much easier to say, 'Ah, just have FUN. Take it easy and enjoy the race.'

But, the trouble is, I'm not wired that way...AT ALL!

So here we go.....the GOAL. I am probably utterly stupid for putting this out there all the time. But some indescribable thing inside me compels me to do so. If I flop, I flop. I'm human and stuff does NOT always go as planned. But writing my goal makes it seem more real.

3:30

That's an 8:00 min/mile pace. I feel like that is totally and completely frickin' insane. But, I've done those silly race calculators and plugged in my numbers from past races. And the things tell me this is doable. Others actually even say 3:25. More importantly, coach thinks it's doable too. 3:30 is 24 minutes faster than my fastest IM marathon time of 3:54. On paper, that sounds ok, but in real life...that scares me!

The race plan is pretty simple actually. Don't fret! Get in with the 3:30 pace group and stay there. No overrunning the first 13 miles. Relish in the fact that I'll be running in shorts and sleeveless shirt. Temps in the 50's. No hat, 2 pairs of mittens, insulated pants and 3 shirts like I'm doing now. Heck there's the 2 pounds of holiday turkey weight gone right there. Bonus! I KNOW that I will feel downright nasty over the last 6 miles, but I've just got to GUT IT OUT.

So I'm shoring up the mental fortress. Telling myself all the reasons why this will go as planned. Convincing myself to put behind me those concerns about fear and failure. Yes, it's going to hurt like a SOB. Yes, I can't predict much. But my coach said the funniest thing to me (in a weird, twisted way only we endurance geeks get)......"you can do anything for 3:xx hours."

Just remember that..."you can do ANYTHING for 3:xx hours."

2011-11-21T19:21:00.001-06:00

Now entering its sixth year, the members of Team Evotri continue to challenge themselves and others to live a healthy and active lifestyle through endurance sports. They have been given an extraordinary opportunity to train and race with the same equipment and coaching as the pros. They continue to dedicate themselves to maximizing their potential, to sharing what they learn from their experiences, and to making a positive contribution to the endurance sport community.

Team Evotri is again ready to welcome a new member to the family. For 2012, Team Evotri and its sponsors have pulled together a one-of-a-kind package to provide an age group athlete the opportunity to train and race like a PRO, while giving back to the triathlon and endurance community. The current team members will be looking for an individual who embraces the spirit of triathlon: a positive attitude, enthusiasm for the sport, desire to improve, and dedication to give back to the endurance community. Years of triathlon experience and good race results are not deciding factors in choosing a winner, but passion is.

The next team member will benefit by receiving an excellent package courtesy of the team's sponsors:

QuintanaRoo will provide a top-of-the-line CD0.1 frameset with innovative shift technology that will undoubtedly take your bike splits to a new level.

Zipp Speed Weaponry knows just how to outfit a frame like the CD0.1 with a 404 front and 808 rear wheel set.

SRAM will add to the bike with its latest cockpit and drivetrain components.

CycleOps finishes the bike off with its cutting edge SL+ wireless PowerTap hub and Joule 2.0 computer.

HUB Endurance puts it all together providing a full year of expert triathlon coaching to deliver the newest Evotri athlete to the top of their potential in 2012.

Here's how you can be the next Team Evotri member:

Create a video that's no longer than three (3) minutes. The video should answer the following three questions:

Why Evotri?

Why You?

Can you Evotri?

Guidelines:

Videos must be posted to Team Evotri's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/evotri.

Videos must be posted by December 31, 2011, at 11:59 PM CST.

Videos not within the time constraints will not be considered.

Process:

The current team members will select finalists from the video submissions.

The finalists will be notified by January 15, 2012 and will be invited to be interviewed via teleconference by current team members.

The winner will be announced on February 1, 2012.

Important Notes:

By posting a video to Evotri's Facebook page, candidates grant contest affiliates permission to use said video for promotional purposes affiliated with Team Evotri and the 2012 contest.

The winner of the team slot forfeits all awards if he/she is unable to continue as a team member for any reason for a period within two years of joining the team.

The winner of the team slot agrees to contribute to the Team Evotri web site for as long as he/she is a member of Team Evotri.

The winner agrees to race in an Evotri team uniform for all multisport events. Winner to purchase choice of uniform apparel upon final selection.

The winner of the team slot must participate in the yearly Team Evotri event. The 2012 event is a training camp in Chattanooga, TN from April 12-15, 2012. You must be present for the entire time.

No reimbursement will be made by Team Evotri or its sponsors for the creation, submission or any other expenses associated with the video entry.

No reimbursement will be made by Team Evotri or its sponsors for any travel, lodging, race entry fees, or other associated expenses in attending Team Evotri activities.

It's a SURPRISE!!!

2011-11-16T04:33:00.006-06:00

We're all excited in the Evotri camp. And 'why?' you might ask. Well, that's the surprise and I can't let you know right know. Just know it's coming!

Keep tabs on the Evotri site for details. Hmmm, probably I'm guessing about 11/21/11!!!

Marathon Training

2011-10-28T13:02:00.010-05:00

Wow! It's been soooo long I hardly remembered how to sign into my blog! Boy have I been out of touch....

Anyway, I've been running.

I looked it up. My last open marathon was 4 years ago in Las Vegas. This is the same marathon I'm going to do again for the second time this year. Las Vegas Rock 'n Roll Marathon 12/4/11. The course has changed. Half of it is run up and down the strip. It's also run in the late afternoon/early evening under the lights. There is a 4.5 hour time limit and the event is capped and already full at 5000 runners. The temp SHOULD be in the 50's and I would suspect dry since it is in the desert. All sounds absolutely perfect to me!

It's been a long time since I just focused on running. And I'm loving it! I'm still biking and swimming a few times per week but it's pretty low-key stuff. I get pretty brain numb toward the bike after a season of IM training. Tired of the numbers and the hours after hours out on the road alone. And swimming has never been my best friend! So, to have the pressure taken off these areas has been wonderful. I swim to swim. I think about my form and I haven't worried about time. I bike to bike. I've taken my cross bike out for some off-road riding. No meters. No heart rate monitors. Granted, I'm a numbers girl at heart but to let that go for a few months has been AWESOME! I'm really looking at this marathon training as a time for me to recharge the mental batteries when it comes to swimming and biking.

The good thing about running right now is that I have a solid endurance base. I took a few weeks off post IMWI 9/11/11 and literally did nothing but eat too much! When I started back to organized training I quickly was reminded that I HAD just done an IM and there was still fatigue in this old body! Thankfully, that goes away pretty quickly and after a week or two I felt good as new!

I'm so grateful to have a coach because if I was left to my own demise that would be just it....demise. I'm a great little follower. Tell me what to do and I'll do it and I'll give it my all doing it. Just don't ask me to formulate HOW to do it! Jen's got me running 4 days per week. I'm NOT cranking out uber miles. Actually, I thought I would be doing a lot more. No, I am NOT complaining! I'm looking for a solid PR in this thing, not to be in the top 5 in my age group! In other words, I think the work I'm putting in will help me get what I'm after. I'm a triathlete, not a runner. And I do think there is a difference.

But, running is what I love the most of the three tri disciplines. My most favorite, favorite, favorite thing of all is trail running. And I've gotten to do a bit of that this fall. Just to run through a forest with no cars, asphalt, or people to see anywhere is absolute bliss. To hear the crunch of leaves and twigs underfoot and smell the freshness is complete heaven. Steadiness and sure-footedness is the focus. Nothing else. Someday, someday, mark my words, I'm going to do an ultra-trail run. One with the headlamp, compass, and all sorts of other craziness.

Otherwise, I've been doing my long runs with a focus on marathon pace intervals. No real flat-out speed work. And after coming off IM, I have the old Ironman slog down pat. I was really feeling like a grandma initially when I was told to pop off a few miles at marathon pace. Jen, told me it would feel like shit and she was right! For quite a few runs, I thought I was going to tip right the hell over. But, lately things have been coming around quite nicely. I am holding pace, it feels like work, but not complete torture. Cross my fingers, by marathon day, hopefully marathon pace will feel like a breeze; at least for the first 15 miles!

This lack of speed work made me a little apprehensive about the 5K that I did last night. Yeah, a Thursday night local 5K race. Sort of weird, huh? We Medfordites are celebrating the completion of a big construction project on the major highway that runs through our little town. The race was called Take the Detour One Last Time and ran the detour route. It is about 2 miles from end to end of Medford. In other words, we are not accostumed to any drive in town taking over 2 minutes. Therefore, this detour around the highway about killed a few of us. Talk about no patience!!! So this little race was a big deal and a fun little celebration. About 250 people raced; HUGE I know! But, I don't really care about that, I care about the number on the clock. Tick. Tock.

It was 35F and literally had just been snowing a few hours before. Yes, I said SNOWING! Shoot me now! My head was wrapped around pounding this baby out and then getting out! I had a goal in mind but really was unsure 'cause like I said I've been doing no speed training. And I'm always looking to PR something, so I didn't know what to expect. The course ended up being accurate. Tra La La! I love it when that happens! And I did it in 20:50. Totally pleased with that. Yep it is a PR by about 10 seconds! I'll take what I can get! Man, how I wish I was a high school boy and could run a 17:30 5K. Well, not really, but it sure would be great!

Anyway, life goes on and tonight we're off to my daughter's conference championship swim meet. And do you think I could SLEEP?! No! You'd swear I was the one swimming! I am so excited for her and her team. They are an awesome group of girls who really enjoy swimming and being together. I really mean that. Yep, I'm training for a marathon but there are lot of things a hell of a lot more important than that! Go Medford Girls Swimming!!!!!

Now What?

2011-09-24T13:27:00.007-05:00

I spent the week post-Ironman doing a lot of NOTHING! Partly on coach's orders but mostly because I couldn't do much ELSE. Three of my toes felt like they were going to explode. And, naturally, 2 days post-race I came down with the cold that my daughters were nursing along for the week before my race. But, I did manage to get some sick revenge on Josie when I almost made her hurl by showing her how I could squeeze blood from under one toenail and then pulled off another. Yes, this was at the dinner table.... so?!

I've dug out from the rubble on the homefront and at work. It always amazes me how quickly this piles up!! What amazes me even more is how long it takes to clear up! I still have to slap that stupid grin off my face every time I think about my race, but it's getting a little easier to come back to reality.

My next big race is the Las Vegas marathon 12/4/11. I think it took me all of 3 days after IMWI and I was searching the marathon site for past race results, course map, expo, registration, corrals, etc! I am super, super, super stoked about this race. I scoured my old race results and remembered that it has been 4 years since my last stand-alone marathon. Funny thing, it was this same race! The format has changed. It now starts at 4:00 pm and is primarily run up and down the strip. Also, there is a 5 hour time limit. Love that!

I wanted to get started training this week but had the kibosh put on that by Jen. Rest, she says. Nothing but unstructured, easy, active recovery workouts until early October. We've talked about and agreed on a goal for the race. I feel like I need my head examined (but what's new!). It seems really fast! I'm not a pure runner. I'm a triathlete. I don't know how I'm going to hold that pace for 26 miles but I'll certainly try. That's why it's called a goal, I guess. The marathon-specific training will start soon and I'll get a better idea where I'm at then. Most definitely I'll share more about my training and goal time as the weeks progress since I've never been any good at keeping a secret and, really, who cares!

I'd also like to do a few cyclocross races this fall. Emphasis on the word 'few'! The reason for this is that I suck at cyclocross! When I cross race, I get a thorough ass-kickin' and am reminded of my place. Yet, I still go home having had a lot of fun.

Plus, I'll also be doing a local 5K run race toward the end of October. You gotta love the local stuff. I know everyone that races and it is really a blast to push down the accelerator.

Kind of a side note, my husband, Jack, is going to do the half-marathon in Vegas while I'm doing the full. He also did this race at the half distance with me 4 years ago. But, this year he is ACTUALLY training! Back then, he merely focused on a cute girl's butt ahead of him and this got him through with about 6 run workouts under his belt. Well, now, he must think he needs to do more than that since he's been quite diligent about sticking to his training program.

I leave you with one of the cutest pictures I have from my Ironman; a picture of my daughter, Jordan, with the one and only, literal IRONMAN!

IRONMAN WISCONSIN 2011

2011-09-15T14:45:00.015-05:00

Ironman Wisconsin has come and gone but there are still stories to be told. What is so neat is that everyone's version of the story will be different. This is a recap of my day. If you've read this through the Evotri site, spare yourself the repeat.

Prerace
By prerace, I primarily mean Saturday. That's definitely when you want things to be as uneventful and boring as possible if you're racing an Ironman within 24 hours. All told it was a predictable day until it was time to take my bike down to transition. Earlier that morning, I had met up with fellow triathletes, Julia and Nicole, for a quick dip in Lake Monona. Water temps were perfect for me in the low 70's. Next it was time for some chit-chat with teammate Rob and friend Laura. Most importantly, I was trying keeping myself busy with low energy, distracting activities. My family arrived in Madison about 11:00 at which time I was planning to take the bike out for a quick spin to make sure everything was working properly. I have no bike mechanic skills other than what it takes to change and pump up tires. So, if there was something simple going awry, I was hoping my husband could address it. And if something is going to go wrong with your bike it would be nice if that would happen a few days before the race rather than 1:30 before all bikes need to be racked. To make a long story short, it wasn't shifting properly and a cable broke. Great! I was trying to remain calm, knowing I now needed to get to the race site with all my bags and bike, find tech support, and hope that they had time to get things fixed all in 1:30. Stay cool, Michelle. Needless to say, I was quiet but silently freaked. The guys from the Madison Trek Bicycle Store were manning tech support and I cannot say how professional and pleasant they were. My problem was corrected and they even helped me out with a few other minor details. In retrospect, it was a blessing in disguise that the cable broke on Saturday as opposed to Sunday out on the course. My race would have been over had that happened. It really helped me to keep things in perspective. Stuff happens that we don't have complete control over. It's really easy to get worked up over a big race. This incident helped to remind me of the need to keep things in perspective.

5:00 am
Out to transition. Methodical and organized just like I plan for things to go. Dropped off special needs bags, got body marked, put my bottles on the bike, peed 3 times, finished putting on the sunscreen, hoisted on the wetsuit and I was set! I was one of the first people in the water so I think I ended up treading water for about 20 minutes. I actually got a little cold just sitting there.

Swim
The mass start of an Ironman swim is like nothing else you can ever experience. Don't let anyone tell you it's a nice swim with 2500 of your best swimming buddies. No Way! It's an all-out brawl! Getting pushed under water and hit in the head or clawed in the back is not how I would choose to start off a Sunday am. Usually somewhere in the first 200m I end up stopping and asking myself why I do this. I will say, though, that after 5 of these mass starts, it does not bother me as much as it once did. I work hard to stay calm and look for open spaces. My strategy was to start more off to the right, closer to shore, than I have in the past. I seeded myself about 10 people deep. Which for someone of my marginal swim ability is a fairly aggressive place to be. I have been put through the wringer by my coach with the swimming this season. I have swam with tennis balls in my hands, old shoes on my feet, elastic cords around my ankles, you name it, I've done it. I put in a lot of time in open water which I think was the best practice strategy of them all. The swim is chaotic and scary at times. But, I worked really hard at focusing on good form and staying relaxed. I PR'd the swim at 1:11:30 which put me in 17th place in my age group coming out of the water.

T1
I had some lofty goals for this race and I knew to accomplish these goals I had to MOVE through transition! Transitions are a place to pick up free time. They need to be used to all their advantage. T1 starts with picking wetsuit peelers. Now, this is not a decision to be taken lightly! If you're going for speed, it's important to pick 2 peelers who look excited and aggressive and who appear ready to attack the job. I'm serious! My experience has show me that they are typical found near the front of the line and are young men. They need to look like they're having fun.What I do is make good eye contact with 2 and point at them to signal I'm coming their way. I'll have the wetsuit off my arms then plop down on my butt. Next, lay back, lift my butt up, and zip-zip-bang, I'm outta there! The next hurdle is running up the helix to get to your bike bag. It's long. But, once again, I'm focused on free time and I'm fresh at this point so I ran it for all I was worth. Once to my bag, it was all planned out. I go from head to toe with what I need. I had a great helper who dumped my stuff out and I just put it on. And I'm done. I made one mistake, I put my bike shoes on in the changing area. I had planned to carry them as I ran to my bike because it is a LONG way to the bikes. But, the adrenaline and flow of the process got the best of me and I messed up. Oh well, nothing goes perfectly. I ended up with the fastest T1 in my age group at 5:50.

Bike
I have now probably ridden this course about 12 times. I knew this would be to my advantage. The Ironman Wisconsin course is not easy. Well, really, no Ironman course is easy. This course is fairly technical in that there is a lot of cornering and a lot of hills. The hills are not necessarily long but they can be steep and often come one right after the other. This year in training I have been feeling a bit flat on the bike; not making much improvement but not falling off the wagon either. This left me feeling apprehensive about what I could do here. I had a goal of completing the bike in 6 hours. The last time I did this race was in 2008 and it took 6:11. I knew I would have to take some risk and lay it all out there. Mentally, I know, know, know I hold back a bit on the bike to save something for the run. But for me to accomplish what I wanted I had to go for it and push myself harder than I have before. Obviously, that is all relative to the distance. I never intended to ride like I would a half or an olympic. I did intend to ride an aggressive ironman-distance pace and this comes down to knowing my body and what I'm capable of. That's what training is for; learning and feeling what is appropriate. No overriding. No underriding. It's tough. As with anything that lasts 11+ hours, something is bound to not go exactly as planned. I lost a 300 calorie bottle of nutrition at about mile 50. No worries. No worries. I knew what was in the bottle for nutrition. I knew what was at the aid stations. And even though I HATE gels, they are a simple way to get in concentrated calories and I was able to adjust my nutritional strategy to make up for the loss. Temps were in the 70's throughout the bike. If anything, I was taking in too much fluid because at one point toward the latter half of the ride I was feeling full. So, I backed off and listened to my gut, resuming my nutritional plan when it felt right. I really think that is the key. Paying attention to my body and adjusting as the day progresses. The bike ended up going very well. 5:53:50. 3rd fastest bike in my age group.

T2
Here it was again. The chance for more free time! Move! Move! I got another awesome volunteer who dumped out my bag and I methodically moved from head to toe. The one thing I tried this year new was to put Body Glide on parts of my feet that often rub or get calloused in training. The hope was to avoid blisters and lost toenails. It was worth a try, but no such luck. I'll end up losing 3 toenails. Some things I did not do in transition; use the port-a-potty and put on more sunscreen. I am not losing 1-2 minutes to pee; that's been taken care of out on the roads of Dane county. I'm also willing to risk a sunburn. Yes, totally wrong, I know, but true. T2-2:33. Fastest T2 in my age group.
Run
It is true. The race in an Ironman does not start until the run. That is when it's figured out who overrode the course and who didn't, who can run and who can't. I admittedly did not feel so great the first 6 miles of the run. I often wanted to stop. But, I worked really hard to mentally block out the hurt and stick to my plan. Thankfully, I saw my family and Rob many times on the run course with updates as to what place I was in. I walked for about 20 seconds at every aid station to get in nutrition and fluids. I started to come around again after 6 miles. In retrospect, I think I was low on calories. As far as what I take at an aid station, it really boils down to what I feel like. For this race, I seemed to alternate Coke with Perform. No solids. Also, I think the day turned out to be hotter than we anticipated. It was in the 80's and that's getting up there for a long day of racing. The last half of the Ironman marathon is usually a death march. Everything hurts. My focus turns on remaining steady and repeatedly reminding myself of my goal. What WAS my overall goal? There really were several. 1) Leave it all on the course. To not go home thinking I could have pushed harder. 2) Time wise I hoped for a doable goal of 11:10 with a stretch goal of 11:00. 3) If the chips all fell correctly, I was hoping to qualify for Kona without needing a rolldown slot. I ended up with the 2nd fastest run in my age group and a PR. 3:54:10.Final Thoughts
Well, I did it. I accomplished all of my goals. My total time was 11:07:52 placing 2nd in my age group. I grabbed my Kona slot happily and excitedly! My feeling of accomplishment is off the chart right now. I hope to ride this out as long as I can. But, I know it will fade. That's fine and good and as it should be. What, however, will not fade will be my appreciation for those in my life who help me along the way. Most people do not do this silly Ironman racing without support. And those that do, probably are not having that much fun doing it. I have an extremely supportive family. My husband and girls get as big of a bang as I do seeing their wife/mother cross the finish line screaming like a little girl. My friends and teammates are number one. I have an awesome coach who has gotten things out of me that I never thought were possible. Plus, I have great sponsors that have supplied me with products that work and get the job done! I thank them all from the bottom of my heart and hope they can hang in there with me as I figure out the next 'big thing'!

Time for a Title Change!!

2011-09-14T06:57:00.017-05:00

Time to put my thinking cap on because the blog title's got to GO! How happy I am to be able to say this 2 years in a row. Here's some history on the blog titles. After my 2009 Ironman in Louisville, I retitled my blog 'Pee on the Bike' since I missed a Kona slot by a little over one minute. I (jokingly) blamed this on my port-a-potty stop in T2. I new I needed to master this fine art and it seemed like an admirable goal! In 2010 I raced Ironman in Lake Placid. I conquered the task of peeing on the bike, multiple times. Gross, but true. Of course, I then credited this to my earning a coveted Kona slot! I was 6th overall and the slot came via rolldown. This then gave way to a logical new title. 'No Rolldown'. Please don't get me wrong. I was proud and humbled to be given the opportunity to race at the Ironman World Championships. I gave it my all at that qualifying race and grabbed the slot with utter glee. But something nagged at the back of my mind. I wanted to earn a slot free and clear with no doubt. I needed to experience the feeling that on one specific day against one specific field of women, I was the one to beat.

Hence the title was born. It seemed risky to put out there because there is an element of control which is definitely lacking. I have no idea who is going to show up on race day. It could be a soft field or it could be a field of ex-pros looking to relive their glory days. Who knows? However, one thing I DO know is that I am much more motivated to accomplish something if I put it out there for everyone to see. I think there probably was a bit of eye rolling by some who read my blog and saw my new title. Thoughts like "Oh that's dumb." or "Who really cares." or "Who does she think she is?" or "I hope she's not disappointed in the end." may have prevailed. But I guess it didn't matter, it was MY goal and I wasn't looking for approval.

On to the present.....My A-race this year was Ironman Wisconsin. I did this race in 2007 and 2008 when I was first getting into triathlon. I live 3 hours from the race site. In other words, I have lots of experience with the course and new what I was getting into. With the help of our generous Evotri sponsors and my coach Jen Harrison, I worked through a solid season of training and racing leading up to 9/11/11.

The day has since come and gone. I am ecstatic to say that my blog title lived up to its potential. It pushed me and motivated through to the bitter end. I got my Kona slot with no rolldown! I will never forget the last half of the marathon and how all I could think about was my desire, my goal, my unwavering need to prove something to myself. And yes, here comes the corny summarizing point.... Isn't that why we participate in sport? It doesn't matter what sport. The sheer act of laying it out there, striving to reach goals, gutting it out through the rough spots is a great part of what defines our character. I think it's an awesome thing and, win or lose, it's why I keep racing and why I hopefully get to always change my blog title!P.S. As usual, these race reports can be long and painful! Truthfully, I'm just too tired to organize any more coherent thoughts. More on the Ironman Wisconsin race will come in the next few days. Thanks for reading!

Nesting

2011-09-05T12:28:00.006-05:00

I've been searching for the right word to describe what the 1-2 weeks before an Ironman feel like. I think I've come up with it. NESTING! I realize it's the same word often used by pregnant women in their final weeks before delivery but it's kind of the same. In fact, I've made the recent self-reflection that the whole process of Ironman is KIND OF like pregnancy. All tongue in cheek, of course!

Just like gestation, the preparation for an Ironman takes MONTHS. Months of planning. Months of training. Months of thinking. A lot of time is spent daydreaming over what it will actually be like or how I would like it to be. Finally, by the time the big show rolls around I am so sick of it all that I just want to get on with it and be done.

The training can be exhausting. As I come to the completion of my big block of long rides and runs, I'm shot. A lot like being pregnant. I remember on both fronts how hard it was at times just to get off the couch.

Then there's nutrition. With Ironman training I often feel like I could eat and eat and eat. Don't put that WHOLE pizza in front of me or it WILL be gone! The battle in my head is constant. Even though I'm training hard, I can't indiscriminately eat. It's not good for me or my long-term goals.

So, now I come to the end of the line. Less than one week to go before delivery. The good thing is I KNOW when this baby will come! 9/11/11. Ironman Wisconsin. My taper is in full swing. Training volume is way down and that frees up more time for other things.

I find myself getting my 'house in order'. Yes, literally my house. Stuff like washing couch cushions, organizing piles of crap that have gotten out of control, cleaning quilts, adding potting soil to my plants.... Good times! I've tried out a few new healthy meal recipes (kids are not so fond of that!) I'm also reconnecting with my girls and husband because, to be honest, when your weekends are tied up with hours of training or racing it's hard to stay in the loop.

I'm also getting my mental 'house in order'. LISTS! I'm a lister. I've got lists for lists. Reminders of things I need to pick up at the store before I leave. People I've got to call or email in the next few days. Then there's the race plan (like the birth plan, HA!). Which is basically another list citing what I will do here, when, and why. Lastly, I'm shoring up my mental fortress; affirming to myself that I've done what needs to be done and what can be done to assure myself success come race day. NESTING....I think that word sums it up perfectly.

A New Bike Sponsor!

2011-08-23T05:39:00.006-05:00

I really love being a part of the EVOTRI team. Mostly, I love my teammates. And practically daily it seems I pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming when I think about the great sponsors that we have had over the years. I mean really.....I'm a 41 year-old age-grouper from the middle of nowhere. Crazy. But, that is really the point. Our team has always been about the 'age-grouper' and the question....'What can an age-grouper do with great equipment and training?' I guess I embody that question pretty well because I was involved with triathlon for 2 years before getting chosen for the team. I worked my way into Ironman and ultimately qualified for the Ironman World Championship race. I really feel confident that the top-notch equipment helped to get me there.

On that note, here's the scoop....We have a new bike sponsor! QUINTANA ROO! I recently received my new CD0.1 frame. It's an all-carbon frame designed to minimize drag created by the drivetrain. It has an 18mm offset downtube that moves airflow away from the drive side in order to produce a more aerodynamic advantage. That's the meat and potatoes behind this frame. Sounds awesomely innovative to me! And being the girl that I am, I'm also excited to report that it is pretty! Black and red with crisp graphics. I mean really....you don't want to ride an ugly bike. Most frames out there now are cool looking but I really love the design of this frame.

In other words, I'm excited to get rolling. I'll be in the build process soon (or I should really say my husband! He's the coordinator of all things bike mechanic.) I've heard nothing but good things about the frame from my teammate Sweet who has already raced with his Quintana Roo. I realize how lucky I am to ride on new and great products. I look forward to it and also to giving updates on my experiences.

I Do Not Bounce!

2011-08-17T15:24:00.010-05:00

Why does it seem this is a lesson I must teach myself periodically?

Every few years, I take a spill on the bike. My time must have been up and I was overdue. So down I went!

We were at the Dairyland Dare last weekend.
The start of a hoped-to-be great ride

First off, that is a great ride held down in Dodgeville, WI. If you're signed up for IMWI and you're whining about the hills, GO DO THIS RIDE. That will shut you right up! The site advertised 10,000+ feet of climbing over 150K. My Joule showed 8300+ feet. I guess I was shorted 1700 feet somewhere. That's OK. By the end, I thought I might cry if I saw another hill. There were a few hills toward the end when I had all I could do to stay upright and not get off the bike. I do remember thinking after it was over... 'that bike course at IMWI is a pansy ride.' Ha! JK! I'm not that stupid!

Secondly, the ride is very well organized. Great rest stops with huge amounts of food (even though I didn't eat any of it). Type A, you know, following the IM nutrition plan. (geek) The course is really well marked and usually had flag people at all corners. That is pretty impressive considering the many ride options; 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300K. I've decided those that did the 300K have got to be C-R-A-Z-Y!

Anyway, here's the bouncing part. I'm traveling along the first leg and I drop my chain 2 x to the outside of my big ring. WTH? That hasn't happened in eons. And with the amount of shifting I knew I would be doing on this ride I decided I better stop at the next tech support and have it addressed. Fine. The mechanic adjusts my derailleur and sends me off in the parking lot to check it out. I was making loops in the lot, shifting the gears hot and heavy, trying to drop the chain. Of course, I'm staring down at my derailleur and not where I'm going. And now you know where THIS is going...... I end up launching myself over a concrete divider. Those are the curb-like things at the end of a parking stall that stop further forward motion. Yes, my forward motion stopped in a hurry!

I ended up landing on my right side. Still clipped in my damn pedals so I couldn't even get up. And if you've ever tipped over on your bike in a public setting, you know the first thing you want to do is get up and act like nothing ever happened. I was embarrassed, stunned, hurt and wanted to cry like a baby (because of the aforementioned factors). I was only at mile 17! I was a bloody, graveled-up mess. I hobbled to the first aid area because I needed to get the big chunks washed off. Here the lovely nursing staff are asking me if I want to take the bus back. TAKE THE BUS BACK?! Are you f'ing kidding me (I thought)!! I drove 4 hours to get here and paid good money for this suffering. I'll be damned if I'm taking the bus back. Slap those dressings on before I lose my nerve because I've got to go!

Let's just say the next 83 miles were long and painful. Road rash is no fun. But the worst was my hip. It was hurting. And you kind of have to move your hip repeatedly to ride a bike. Needless to say, the 40 minute transition run did not happen. But, it wasn't for lack of trying. I put on the shoes and the heart rate monitor and the Garmin. I think I made it about 5 steps and then gave in. It was time to call it a day.
At the finish line and glad it's over

I'm 4 days out and my hip which was my biggest concern is gradually feeling better. Just a nasty contusion. It's now turning all shades of purple and blue. And contusions just take time to heal. How much time is anybody's guess. Right now running is a problem. Those of you that have trained for anything big know that injury 4 weeks before your big show is NOT IDEAL. So I'm rearranging my training. It's known that flexibility is key to success. Well, my flexibility is being tested. Most importantly, I'm mentally trying to be flexible and rearrange. This should not still be hurting come IMWI. I should be healed. But, still, I worry. Will I get my remaining long run in? What if I don't? What's done is done and what will be will be. I just have to stay smart and not pull any more swift maneuvers between now and 9/11/11. A little luck wouldn't hurt either!

Serenity Now! Serenity Now!

All Things Ironman

2011-08-08T18:52:00.007-05:00

As much as I try to deny it, or not think about it, or pretend like it's 'just a race'. It's not. It's a bit consuming. And irritatingly so at times. Yet, also exciting and energizing.

Ironman Wisconsin will be #6 for me. I feel like one of those people who can't remember how many kids they have or how many years they've been married. "How many Ironmans have you done?" "Let me think." No, kidding. But, it is funny how time flies and the numbers add up.

This will be my 3rd crack at IMWI. #1 and #2 were there and I'm super excited to get on with it this year. But until then, I'm slogging it out. What's that mean? Nutrition, training, and sleep. I really don't know if it's in that order of importance. It varies throughout the week.

Nutrition
A few years ago I did the caffeine purge before my big race. I couldn't really tell if it helped. I do remember loving the Coke when I got to it on the run and I did have a great race. Last year, I skipped it. My Ironman races in 2010 went fine as well. This year I thought, 'what the hell'. Throw in a little more self-torture and wean off the caffeine. So now, I'm off all afternoon coffee. In a week, I'll cut the am coffee in half. Then about 2 weeks before the race, I'll dump it ALL. Besides, I drink too much of the brown stuff anyway. A couple of cups a day is plenty, not SIX! Plus, I'm trying really hard to keep the things that I put into my mouth to be of nutritional value. TRYING to lay off the sweets. Alcohol is completely gone. My homemade yogurt with LOTS of probiotics is also a mainstay right now. What I eat or drink needs to serve a purpose.

Sleep
Have I ever mentioned that I'm a terrible sleeper? I have a brain that will not SHUT OFF! After a few nights of little sleep, I'll finally crash and sleep a good solid night. Then the cycle seems to repeat. Now, I'm trying aromatherapy with lavender oil. It's supposed to be relaxing. Ha, right! Also, I've done some reading on melatonin. I've tried that a few nights. Not a big help, AT ALL! Then there's the occasional doxylamine (over-the-counter sleep aid) that I'll occasionally try. That works but for only about 4 hours. But, when I'm really tired, those 4 hours feel great. People that CAN sleep do NOT have any idea how irritating it is not to be able to sleep. All that crap about 'just relaxing', meditation, deep breathing, blah, blah, blah is lovely. But NOT THAT EASY and something we nonsleepers hate to be lectured about. If we could sleep, don't you think we would?

Training
Yes, here's where the rubber meets the road, literally. I've been putting in the long miles and at times, I think I might die. Last Saturday's 116 mile ride left me with my head in the toilet as I had dumped down way too many fluids on top of a midride fatty/high protein granola bar that I knew I shouldn't eat but looked too good on the convenience store shelf, so I ate it anyway. Yes, but after hurling up my guts I felt 10 x's better and was able to get in my 5 mile T-run in mid 80 temps. The weekend prior, I pulled a similar training number but this time it was on the run. I way underestimated my fluid needs on this hilly, sunny, hot, 2.5 hour run. I finally caved and started to walk on the side of the road out in the country. That's when I was happy to have my RoadID bracelet. Even though everyone in my town probably knows I'm the nutcase in question, it's nice to know my name and phone number are there! So yes, I've had some rocky training recently. But, I'm confident these are all lessons to be learned and I'll get it worked out before 9/11/11.

OH well, all this too shall pass. Ironman will come and go and life will settle down. Right now it's on at full steam! And truthfully, I love it.

Even though right now, my life is filled up with family, work, training, etc, there is some other really fun stuff happening with my Evotri team. An announcement will be coming soon, but I'm excited to say there are some new things on the horizon!

PR x 2!!!

2011-07-28T13:18:00.008-05:00

My sister and I

I'd like to say it happens just as easily as putting pen to paper (fingers to keyboard) but we all know that's anything but true.

It's probably a combination of hard work, stubbornness and a little luck. Because really, everything has to come together at just the right time and place. Training has to fall in line. Rest and sleep are needed. Illness has to stay at bay (and we all know that depends on a good chunk of luck). Lastly, mother nature can't throw a whammo at you in the form of 100F heat and 10 mph winds.

Happily things came together for me last weekend at the Chisago Lakes Half. I had a good, solid day with PR's on BOTH the bike and run. Even though the place standings didn't show it (4th in my age group and 16th woman overall) I had a 'nothing to complain about' day!

Swim
It's always hard with the swim. You never know if a course is accurately marked or not. Really, the best you can do is see where you end up in comparison to the mass and figure out if that's good for you. It was a foggy morning. I mean REALLY foggy. I couldn't see the buoys out ahead of me. I basically tried to swim straight and hope the guy in front of me was going the right way. It was an out and back course and I admit, I was one of those dorks that crossed the center line and collided with another swimmer going the other way. I apologized as profusely as I could for 2 seconds and then got back down to my business. Just once though....I only hit someone once!! I swear. I finished in 35:20 which was 36th out of 189 overall. 19th percentile. Plus, I actually felt good! I kind of enjoyed it and wasn't totally wishing for the end.

T1
My husband and daughter were volunteers at this race. They were wetsuit strippers which they didn't expect! I tried to get them in T1 but they were busy with another racer. Instead I ended up with a 13 year old looking boy who I coached the whole way. "Pull, pull, pull." Here's where I'll admit I haven't gotten a bit obnoxious over the years. Transition is not a playground. That's what my daughter once told me years ago. In other words, I don't look at transition as a time to catch my breath and take it easy. Literally, every second counts. And if you're going to take your time in transition, move off to the side. I hate it when I'm running from the water to my bike and people are SLOWLY taking up the whole path. I find myself quietly but insistently saying things like, "go, go, go". Some get mad and yell at me, other just move over. Whatever. I can honestly say, I really don't care. Just move over.

Bike
My bike time was a PR at the half distance. And the course was legit. My average power was not a PR. But, when you're racing, what really matters....your power number or your time? I did an honest-to-goodness fit on this bike at Gear West this spring and I think it has really helped. I feel great in the aero position and never lift unless it's to climb a hill. I've never felt this comfortable in the past. However, racing with power is what ultimately brought me to this PR. I had a definite strategy and power targets which varied throughout the race. Numbers are my friends. It's a long time out on the bike and, honestly, it can get a little monotonous. Having something concrete to wrap my brain around works for me. 2:40:13
T2
Uneventful
Run
Another PR! My fastest pace on a run for a half was last year at an 8:02 average pace. That was my goal for this race, anything under an 8:02 pace. I did not wear a watch in the swim or on the bike. The plan was to put the Garmin on at the beginning of the run. Yes, and wouldn't you know, the stupid thing will not locate a satellite. It kept asking me if I was 'inside'. I pissed around with it during the first mile of running trying to get it to work. Finally, I just gave up. I didn't need it. I had the confidence in myself to know what I could do. So, I just ran. Run, Forest, Run. Isn't that just the best way to go? Well, I do know that I slowed toward the end of the race. And I do know that my stupid left foot was numb from mile 2-7. This has happened to me before. The elastic laces get too tight cutting off circulation to my foot. And it's always the left foot, I think because it's a tad bigger than the right. So, I spent some time at aid stations trying to loosen my shoelace so I could feel my foot again. Eventually it came around. What a pain! Anyway, my average pace was 7:50 per mile. Once again, the course was legit. OK, I'm going to say this again because I've said it before......"I never thought I'd see the day when I would do this." Now I daydream of seeing this pace drop even further. 1:42:47

Finish
My husband and daughter also helped at the finish line, cutting off chips and directing traffic. Jack told me that the top 2 women in the half literally collapsed after they crossed the finish line. Now maybe that is the difference between me and them. I never collapse! I may feel like death. But I never collapse! Makes me question if I'm not trying hard enough! I don't know if I could even push myself to that point. Self-preservation kicks in way too hard. Anyway, I finished hard and strong. Ultimately, I was pleased with my day. 5:02:04 Yes, yes, I missed cracking the 5:00 mark. But there will be more races to come.

Future
From here on out.... it's all about IRONMAN. I am dreaming about it and thinking about it constantly. Up until this point I've been focusing on short course racing and speed. On to the long stuff. Lots of miles. I am a bit freaked because I feel like I'm behind in my training. But, ultimately, I think I'll be ok. I've got 5 Ironmans under my belt. I know what it's like. And I truly believe Ironman is as much a contest of the mind as it is the body. Whoever is the nastiest wins! 9/11/11. Time to bring on the nasty!

Be Careful What You Hear

2011-07-12T05:47:00.009-05:00

I was at a home jewelry party one evening last week. I had just eaten supper at home. When I got there I immediately spied all the fabulous-looking appetizers. I did my best to resist but ultimately gave in to the temptation and started munching away. Of course, as I'm doing this I'm lamenting about how I SHOULDN'T be doing this! A guest was there that I had recently met for the first time. We share a common interest in running and are friends on Facebook. In other words, we don't know each other all that well but she's somebody I'd like to get to know better. She heard me going on and on and she said, "you're really hard on yourself." Just like that. Not a lot of build-up to the comment. Just that. My instant reply was, "yes, I know." I didn't think about the answer too much and it came quickly and from the gut. Because, as I think about it, I sound like a nut-job going on an on about how I shouldn't eat this or that when to the outside world I don't have a weight problem and I work out like an insane person.

You know how sometimes things just stick with you. Well, that certainly did. I though it about for days afterward and, obviously, am still thinking about it! Why are we wired the way we're wired. I'm 41 years old for God's sake! When will the time come to just 'be'? Will it ever come? Does it just happen or do I just need to commit myself more to finding that happy medium?

Of course I have to tie everything back to a race since that is what this blog is truly about.

I did the Lifetime Minneapolis Olympic Triathlon 7/9/11. I won my age group by 4:00+ minutes. I had studied the course, was well prepared, and new what I wanted to do. And I did it. I had a good race and put in solid performances. I got a lot of 'congratulations' post-race for winning my age group. Which I truly appreciate.

However, there is always a BUT..... and here it is. I did not know this until the week of the race. BUT, there was an Elite Masters class. This was for women 40+ who had either a prior Olympic USAT race time of <2:30 in the past 2 years or special permission. I did not have that qualifying time and I didn't want to ask for special permission to get into the class (especially after my first tri of the season where I raced elite and fell apart). So I was OK with sticking in the age group class. I figured time is time, right? I planned to race hard and then see where I fell amongst the Elite Masters group.

The results show that I would have come in second to last in the Elite Masters class out of a group of about 8 (don't quote me on that). My bike and run times were comparable to the group and I would have been competitive there. It was the SWIM. I totally got my ass kicked in the swim by about 2-3 minutes. And in short course racing, there is no room for a 2-3 minute gap like that! Initially, I was obviously disgusted with myself. The internal talk was 'when are you ever going to get a grip on swimming. Come on Michelle, why can't you just swim faster.' Blah, blah, blah. So, in my warped mind I really didn't 'WIN' anything. There were 7 other women who beat me.

Swimming has been the thorn in my side for a long time now. Ever since I've gotten more competitive in triathlon, that's where I've seen the most need for improvement. I try and try and get frustrated beyond measure because the gains just don't come like I want them to.

That's probably why I love long course racing. I may come out of the water 10 minutes down which obviously is not optimal. But, if I keep my wits about me, I can get that time back with solid bike and run splits.

So back to the Lifetime race and the jewelry party comment.....I love triathlon. I love that I'm competitive. But, I also love that I've got the brains enough in my head to hear something and know it's true. I don't believe in randomness. I believe that stuff happens in our lives for a true and definite reason. And being told by someone who I hardly know that I'm "really hard on myself" gave me definite reason to pause and think.

After my initial period of self-flagellation, I saw the day for what it was. An absolutely fabulous time. I was with my Evotri teammates who I love dearly. I raced hard and felt the burn and fire of competition. All TRULY was good in my world. No need to carry it any further. Don't be hard on myself. See the day for what it was. Accept the fact that I need to keep swimming! And move on. And I have. Could it be that there is hope for me? I still can expect and work for improvement but I don't have to beat myself up over it for 2 days? Maybe its called aging. I really think it's being open to observation and looking at your life as others might see it. You can learn a lot by just stepping outside of yourself. The key is to not just look at it but do something about it!

The Second Part...

2011-06-20T19:15:00.007-05:00

And onward I go...

This past weekend I raced at one of my favorite venues; High Cliff State Park in Sherwood, WI. The swim is in Lake Winnebago. The bike is on a fairly flat course which suits me well. The run is FANTASTIC! It starts with a half mile torture climb followed by a trail run. Love, love, love the trail run.

I can't remember how many times I've done this race. I think about 6 now. Some have been at the half distance and some at the sprint distance. This year was a sprint race.

I really had one goal; put the Elkhart Lake Oly behind me and race hard.

That's how it went. The swim is short; 1/4 mile and actually probably shorter than that. I focused on sighting and staying calm. It went well. There were wetsuit peelers at this event. How fun is that? There is some skill involved in picking your peeler. You can't just pick anyone. They have to look fearless and aggressive. Ready to grab that suit and RIP it off NOW! Sometimes I've guessed wrong and picked a few who pulled a little gently and there I sat, ass on the ground killing time! Anyway, I got a few good ones and I was on my way.

The bike was good. Decent power. But I was leery. There was no way I was getting another penalty! There was a period of about 5 miles when I had this guy in front of me. We were about the same speed but I could tell I was just a touch faster. I knew I could probably pass him in 15 seconds but it would take a huge amount of effort. Then I would be spent and he would pass me back. And I was worried the cycle would continue. I could just envision an official coming by and there I'd be, with a penalty. So, I played it safe and stayed back the 3+ bike lengths needed to avoid the penalty and was careful to not get in the drafting zone.

Running on this course is a treat! The hill up front might kill you but after that it is heavenly. Running through the woods on grass and dirt trails and limestone surface is a nice change from the grind of asphalt. My run in the 5K was greater than 1 minute faster than the last time I did this race as a sprint in 2009. Woo Hoo!

Anyway, I wasn't last. 3rd overall and 1st in age group.

I have to end this with a big shout out to all my friends and hope-to-be new friends that I met at the race.
-Kim, YOU are truly a LIGHT at the races. Your energy and smile are infectious.
-Veronica and Dave, so nice to meet you both even if it WAS at the port-a-potty.
-Adam, you're such a great husband! and photographer! Kristi, I'm sorry I missed you.
-Paula, nice work! You're just killing those women in your age group. Can't you give them a chance?

This weekend it's off to WIBA. Wisconsin Brick Adventure. Simply the best free training camp ever!

Never a Dull Race

2011-06-19T18:31:00.004-05:00

Well it's a two-parter......Elkhart Lake Olympic and High Cliff Sprint.

One good....One not-so-good

Let's get the not-so-good out of the way and that would be the Elkhart Oly. I was saving this post for now with the hope that I would have something good to say to sum things up. Thankfully, that's true.

The Elkhart Oly was an exercise in an ass-whoopin' brought on by my competitors and most importantly, MYSELF!

I made the decision to sign up for the elite wave which was new and unchartered territory for me. By the time the race rolled around, I think I had the thing built up to the level of the Olympics in my head. The swim portion has ALWAYS been my weakest link. However, I've been working really hard at turning that around this winter and felt pretty good that that was the case. But I knew in a short course race, I still would have my HANDS FULL. You can't fake it so much in short course racing! Plus, I had stuck myself in with known fast people who more than likely had all their bases covered. My plan was to go out hard and keep it there! Yah, right! True to form, I went out hard, went crooked, couldn't see where I was going, felt like I was flailing around, and basically couldn't get my shit together! The weather didn't help either. It was in the low 50's at the start of the race with occasional light rain. Didn't help my already anxious apprehensive attitude. As you can guess, I didn't come out of the water in a great place. LAST. Dead, f'ing, last. Plus, I looked at my watch and figured I was about 8 minutes slower than the average swim time the year before. Not good.

So, at this point, I'm playing the whining card. I'm cold. I'm last. And I've got 28 miles to go on this bike. Why even bother. Yes, I need to be tied to a tree and left there. I actually thought that! I am so not pleased with myself! But, I'm honest enough to tell you. It's true. I'm not a rah, rah, rah'er all the time. I had a shitty attitude that day. Naturally, this lead to a lack luster bike ride and ended with frozen feet at T2.

The only saving grace was the run. After about a mile, my feet thawed out. With the out and back section of the course, I could tell I was gaining on a few of the girls and that helped me to push on the run. Here's what I love about running. It seems so SIMPLE. Just run. No mechanical issues or wind issues or technical issues to deal with like on the bike. Yes, there are form issues but it seems not so fussy like swimming. It just feels like freedom to me.

Needless to say, it wasn't my best day of racing. I think I was second to last in the elite wave. I'm really trying to repress memories of the whole thing! Then to put the icing on the cake......I GOT A PENALTY! I don't even know what for. I would imagine it was on the bike since I had my helmet buckled, no exposed bar ends, I didn't swear at any officials, stuff like that. But, what I don't get is when I did something wrong. I felt like I was out on that bike ALL BY MYSELF! I must have done something and I'm not even going to say that I didn't do something. I must have. But, what I can honestly say, is that whatever I was seen doing it was not in an intentional effort to go faster or save time. There were no delusions in my mind that anything was going to help me! There you go....sucky race performance and a penalty to boot. Bring on the mental repression!!!

Yes, I am one of those geeks that tries to look for a lesson in everything. I really do. Here's the deal....I need to get my head together about the SWIM. I need to remain in CONTROL and CALM. I need to SIGHT EFFECTIVELY. I need to swim STRAIGHT. I also need to not compare my swim time at a present race with results I've looked up from prior years. This got me into MAJOR trouble. I knew what the times were last year and was 8 minutes slower than the average from that year. So, I basically thought I sucked and was the biggest loser ever. Not gonna do it anymore! Here's the big lesson. NEVER CARRY OVER INTO THE NEXT PORTION MY FEELINGS ABOUT THE LAST. What's done is done. Move on. The race isn't over until it's over. I'm not going to say a damn thing about the penalty. I know the rules. I was not paying attention. My bad.

Wow! This has gotten longer than I planned. I guess once the catharsis starts, it's hard to turn it off and the fingers keep moving! Better things to report about this past weekend's sprint tri at High Cliff State Park. I'll get to it soon.

Racing, Racing, Racing

2011-06-07T05:31:00.009-05:00

That's practically all that's on my mind. I try to stop it, I really do. All to no avail.
First off, tri season official begins for me this Saturday. Elkhart Lake Olympic. This race is the USAT Midwest Region's Olympic Distance Championships. I'm hoping this brings out good competition and that's basically why I signed up for it. I saw mention of an Elite wave when I signed up many months ago. But at the time I figured why put myself through that torture?! Then last weekend I got to thinking (which is NEVER a good thing). Michelle, if you signed up for this race specifically hoping for good competition why are you not in the 'elite' wave? I won't be at the top of the pile but I may fall somewhere in the middle based on last year's times. Why not go for it? Now here's the other thing....don't ask the question if you don't want to hear the answer! Another piece of wisdom that I depart to all! I asked my coach if she thinks I should transfer to the Elite wave. Naturally, what does she say? "I think you should." Ugh. Now I've got myself moved into Elite. That just cracks me up! It totally is just a word and words don't really matter. It's actions. But those too will be pretty frickin' crazy. I LIKE to CHASE but chase something I think is catchable. Not chase and chase and chase and watch someone keep pulling away. That's my fear. Anyway, get over it, right? And I will. The theme for the weekend is now....PUT ON YOUR BIG GIRL UNDIES AND RACE. (A nicely summarized version of what coach said!) Big girl undies.....always makes me think of those huge, white, cotton briefs that hang out on the line in the summer that my grandma used to wear. Anyway, I digress. So, I'm excited! Even though it's just a classification, it's added a different level of excitement to the race. Ha, Ha, Ha, never thought I'd see this day, either!

Newly added event......the Dairyland Dare. Doesn't that just sound awesome? It's a mid-August timed cycling event in Dodgeville, WI. Not so much a race. It's like a tour that's timed. Multiple distances are available to choose from; 50K -300K. I haven't plunked down my money yet, but I'm pretty committed to the 150K. The phenomenal thing is that there is 10,000+ feet of climbing in the event! 10,000+ feet. That is SICK and I may be SICK by the time it's all over. I've talked a friend of mine who is an excellent cyclist into doing it with me. We can pull each other along. This will be a new event for me and I think it will be a great prep for IMWI.

Lastly but most importantly not leastly...... I've registered for the Rock 'n Roll Las Vegas Marathon 12/4/11. I can hardly stand it when I think about this! I have not done a stand alone marathon in 4 years. I've changed in 4 years and I want to know what I can do. They've altered the structure of this race. The strip is now completely shut down and the race runs from 4:00 to 8:30 pm. It's capped at 5000 people with a time limit of 4.5 hours. Excellent! It's flat and the temps will be cool. Should be a good time!

Miscellaneous

2011-05-08T08:54:00.010-05:00

5K Pine Line, 4/23/11
Jen will love the pants, I'm sure!!!
I guess I should be running harder if I have the ambition to wave and look all happy!

Happy Mother's Day
You know you're a geek when your family gets you a yogurt maker!

Time Trials! Come on girls, they're not so bad. Get on your bike and let's go! I did one yesterday and there were only 8 women there. If you have one in your area, check it out.

Crazylegs Classic

2011-05-04T09:32:00.011-05:00

I feel like a runner! Finally!

It's taken about 6 years, but I'm starting to get it and it's awesome!

The Crazylegs Classic was held 4/30/11 in Madison, WI. Little did I know, but this has been rated as one of the top 100 races by Runners World mag. The race is 8K and starts at the state capital building and ends at Camp Randall Stadium. This year was a record crowd with something like 12,500 runners. Wow! The proceeds benefit the University of Wisconsin Badger athletics. And it was my initiation into what I hope to repeat many times over.

I had a fabulous time at this race. Why? I think there were a lot of reasons. First of all the sheer number of runners is inspiring. I mean, really, 12,500 runners? That's a little less than 3 times the population of my hometown. When you're used to running alone, having that much company is really motivating. There are wave starts at this race. When I registered, I put down an estimated time of 37 minutes. This put me in wave F. I really hoped to run faster than that, but one thing that is not good for my psyche is getting myself in over my head. Plus, without a previous Crazylegs time, the fastest wave a person could seed themselves in was 35 minutes. Waves help to keep people in line. Less falling all over each other. Granted I was doing my share of dodging to get around people. But to me, that's fun. Another big reason this race is what it is is that it's held in Madison. College town extraordinaire. The vibe in Madison is spectacular. Energy. Progressiveness. Excitement. This is probably why I love IMWI so much. Lastly, I was running with my friend, Rob. How can a person not like stepping up to the start line with a friend? It's just the best way to kick off a race.

We had prerode the course, so when the gun goes off I'm telling myself to hold back a bit. Not too much. But, don't blow up in the first mile. There is one hill on the first mile and then a nice gradual downhill stretch run through a section of college housing. I love college kids; so cute, young, and living in the moment. I was one once and sometimes still think I am! I played this right because the second mile has a huge uphill through campus that bites ass. By not killing myself on the first mile, I was strong and steady on the second mile and uphill. A huge confidence booster. The rest of the course was fairly flat with some gradual incline. The 20 mph wind was a factor over about the last 1-2 miles. But, thankfully, the end is near and I can pretty much talk myself into anything at that point. I knew my goal pace and would check my Garmin occasionally to make sure I was on track. Before every race I try to think of something that will be motivational for me to play back in my mind when things hurt. Well, the name of the race made this one easy. I tend to be a third person talker. "You've got 'crazy legs', Michelle. They're fast and they're strong. You love this." And I did. I cannot remember every feeling so in love with running as I did on this day. It hurt like a mother, but I felt like I was flying. Oh, how I wish I could bottle that feeling and sell it! Crack, cocaine, heroine, all that crap would be obsolete.I was hoping to crack 35 minutes. That was the GOAL. A quick check of my watch on the final corner into the stadium told me it was going to be close. I sprinted it in over the last 50 yds. The weekend before I missed breaking the 21 minute mark in a 5K and I didn't want a repeat experience. Yah, I squeaked it in at 34:54. I wanted to crack the top 5 in my age group and previous years' results told me that breaking 35 would make that a definite possibility. Not this year. I was 6th out of 568 women. 5th place beat me by 12 seconds. I don't think on that day I had 12 seconds anywhere to spare. I ended up 51st out of 6034 women total. I'm good with that.

You know, I've read all the stuff that talks about performance decline as we age. One source I read said 0.5-1% per year between the ages of 35-50 and the rate increases in the years after that. Well, sometimes hearing that really bothers me. By the sound of it, I should be damn near walking in the next few years! Granted, this info seems to pertain to those who have been runners, etc. for years and have prior times from those peak years to compare to. I'm 41. I don't want to slow down! I could accept it if it was something I CHOSE. But, I think that's the point. I'm not CHOOSING to slow down. I'm so thrilled that I keep making gains. Granted, the gains are smaller now than when I first started but they are nonetheless still gains. Yes, yes, physiology does not lie. I realize that and do not argue that. But, I think sometimes psychology does. And it's the head that often wins. We all know it's our mindset that really matters. If my head tells me I can, then I will. That's what keeps ME going.

Holly

2011-04-29T12:11:00.007-05:00

The best running dog ever. We love her dearly.

21:00

2011-04-24T06:02:00.008-05:00

Not 20:59.

21:00

Funny how that one second really hurts!

That's my 5K time from yesterday. I was shooting for sub 21:00. If only I had that little crystal ball in my pocket. Had I been able to shine it up and see that I only needed to push a teeny-tiny bit more and I would make it, I think I could have squeaked it out. But, shit, we don't have that little crystal ball in our pocket. By the time I could see the clock at the finish line it said 20:45 and climbing. Oh, how I tried! But, it was a little too late.

Anyway....it was a 5K PR for me. I'll take it. Here are the det's (but who really cares). Flat out and back course. Raining. Upper 30's. Limestone abandoned railroad trail bed for middle one mile. A bit slick. Rest was asphalt.

I can't imagine running any faster. But, a few years ago, I couldn't imagine running THIS fast. I would love to do a 5K at 20:30. That's 10 seconds faster per mile. Wow! Where would that come from? I do like this short, fast stuff. You get in there, get the job done, and go home. Sweet.

Time to focus on the next big thing. The Crazylegs 8K in Madison, WI next Saturday. I am totally excited for this race. There will be a ton of people there. Lots of stellar runners. I get to race with 2 of my favorite people; Rob and Stu, my Evo peeps. My goal is a top 5 placing in my age group. I'd need to go 35:00 or less. I may be smoking crack, but that's a 7:00 minute mile average. Time will tell.

Until then, today is Easter Sunday. Remember the reason for this day. And on the lighter side (pun intended), don't eat too much candy! :)

Spring Racing!

2011-04-21T09:36:00.004-05:00

It is finally coming. Spring racing. Even though I am sitting in front of my computer wearing socks, slippers, insulated outdoor pants (Athleta, they are the BEST!), sweatshirt and bathrobe, the calendar says it's spring. Oh I forgot, I'm sipping hot tea and have a warmed rice pack on my toes. Cold weather by damned! What starts in spring? A NEW racing season!!!

I have been anxiously awaiting this time of year. Running races and bike time trials. Our winter has felt longer and more arduous than usual. I still will never figure out why the settlers, however long ago, thought moving to an area where it was freezing over 50% of the year was a good idea. It just doesn't fit with logic. So, I blame my great, great grandparents for this hell. Anyway, here I am and just try not to think about it.

I'm running a local 5K on Saturday. I have decided to focus a bit more this year on shorter, faster races. I'm still doing an Ironman, but mixing it up with something other than slogging out the miles. This 5K was kind of an add-on race; the reason being that I messed up a recent run test.

I tried to do a timed-run test about one month ago. You know the drill.....warm up, hit the start button, go for 20 minutes until you feel like death and keep going, then record distance, heart rate, etc. I did the warm up, hit the start button and off I went. I was pumped and psyched and hammered it HARD! I promised myself I would not look at my heart rate monitor/watch until 5 songs had finished on my ipod. It's all in the deal-making I make with my mind! The more I check the watch, the more I focus on how long I have to go and how bad this hurts. I checked my watch as planned and guess what? Somehow I had actually not started the timer. No recorded data for all my hard work. I was pissed and felt like I wanted to bawl! I salvaged what I could of the test. I had some baseline info like the time of day I started the warmup, how long I warmed up, and when I finished. I knew where I started and stopped. I then went out on my cross bike with the same GPS unit and tracked the distance. Desperate, right? I know. I did NOT want this to go down as a total waste of effort. I think I got some decent info and I THINK it was in favor of a stellar run. Being the self-doubter that I am, I initially got down on myself. But then I thought, "No, you ran well and fast. Believe what you feel in your gut."

The problem is, now it's time to prove it in an actual race.

This is what I'm going to do:
1) Win. Remember it's a local race, not a Madison 5K.
2) Eat right. Nothing too heavy. Healthy choices. No ice cream flurry pre-race! I don't know the statistic on how much faster a person runs for every 1 lb of body weight dropped. But the idea makes sense. If I could just get rid of a quick 3, that would be great!! Kidding. I don't have an eating disorder. Unless the disorder was eating too much. It's funny how my willpower leaps out the door when it comes to food.
3) Think positively about the weather. We start at 8:30 am. Temps will probably be in the upper 30's by then. Heat wave! It's not cold, just on the lower side of warm.
4) Remind myself that nobody ever gets better by complacency. I've got to push beyond barriers of what I think are possible. I haven't focused a lot on short course type racing. I don't really know my capabilities. Going somewhere around 20:30 on an ACCURATE course would be great! I've got one stand-alone 5K result from 2 years ago at 21:32. Anything under 21 would suit me just fine!
5) Remember when it really feels horrendous that this only lasts about 20 minutes. 20 minutes out of my WHOLE day. That's nothing. Get on with it! I can eat Easter candy later!

Here's to All the Girls

2011-04-09T19:14:00.006-05:00

You know who you are. All of you (now I can say 'us') who have gone through the dread of a callback on a mammogram. Those who have had a breast biopsy. We who've waited the days to get it all over with. Some of us have been lucky and some of us have not. But, I'm now in the club and know what it's all about. This goes out to all 'the girls'. It is not easy. Something which seems so simple on the outside comes with it so many variables and unknowns. Questions come up that you never thought you'd be asking yourself.

I am one of the lucky ones. My biopsy turned out negative. I had it on Thursday. I think I had my worst sleepless night that evening. I got the result Friday. NEGATIVE. BENIGN. Done with this. You want to know what my first reaction was? I WAS PISSED! I will not lie to you. Pissed. Because I had WASTED so much energy and precious sleep over this. I was mad at myself for letting this get to me. Despite the face I tried to put on. Despite the talk in my head telling me the odds were against this being cancer. I WAS worried.

After work and after I had learned my result, we went out to dinner. I swear I ate a whole 12 inch pizza and then some. I told myself and my husband, 'this is over, we are done with this, tomorrow it is the time to hit the 'Refresh' button and get on with things.' I then went home and crashed on the couch. I literally CRASHED. This fiasco has been going on for a month. That's a long time to be feeling on the edge of a melt-down. I was completely fried. I just felt so heavy and spent. I started to watch a movie and by 7:00 I was out. Toast. I hauled myself to bed at 8:30 and slept through until 7:00 am. 12 hours of sleep. I cannot remember ever sleeping for 12 hours!

This morning I woke up and felt strong and free and light. I reminded myself how lucky and fortunate I am. Others are not. Their biopsy came back showing cancer. These are the people I thought about a lot today. My journey is over. Some are continuing on. These are the women I pray for and wish I could bless with immeasurable strength. They will need it. Here's to all the girls.

A Bump in the Road

2011-03-26T16:02:00.005-05:00

Here's the deal....Blogging can be a real pain in the ass. But sometimes it can be therapeutic. I guess, it's all in how you choose to use it.

I haven't posted much over the past several months because, frankly, I think what I have to say is boring and not anything a person hasn't read before.

Yes, this is a blog primarily devoted to my life in triathlon. I want to be a good representative for my sponsors and my teammates (EVOTRI). But life can get a lot more complicated than that and I know I am like so many other women; a mom, a worker, a community member, and an athlete. It's full on and multi-faceted. In other words, enough with the fluff. Today I'm writing about me as a person. Not because I want encouragement or empathy or well-wishes. But, because I need to get it out. I need to put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard or whatever.

I need to have a breast biopsy. Yuck.

Here's where the psychiatrist needs to call me. No one other than a whack-job, Type A'er would then goes on in list format to relate the issues associated with this. But, that's me and here goes.....

1) I don't have time for this! I've got kids, work, and, of course, workouts! This totally put the kibosh to my testing week. My head was so preoccupied with boobs, I didn't have it in me to put forth 100% toward testing. Obviously, I have time. I'm just whining here.
2) Financially, I'm irritated. Just when I sign up for the high deductible health plan where everything is paid for out-of-pocket until I reach some $2800 dollar mark, I find out I need this. This will get chewed up in a jiffy. Another whining sign of denial. What needs to be done, needs to be done.
3) I don't want my family to worry, especially my girls. They are sweet and innocent. I'm not dying. I'm too damn ornery for that! But, the c- word comes out and they're too young to realize that a cancer diagnosis doesn't mean death. They tell me that they're not worried but I think it's sitting in the back of their minds.
4) Despite my best efforts, I find myself giving this way more thought than it deserves. What will be will be, right? 80% of these biopsies are negative. If it's anything, it would be more than likely ductal carcinoma in situ, which is quite treatable. I've had thyroid cancer in my 20's and know that cancer happens. Which leads me to my next point.
5) No control. I relish control! I don't care if you're the most fine-tuned athlete with the best blood pressure or cholesterol panel in the world. You can still have health problems through no fault of your own.
6) Patience never has been my virtue and never will be. The biopsy has to be coordinated with 2 docs. Naturally, it's spring break and one of the docs will be gone. So, I wait. Which brings me back to #4.
7) A positive note now. I think this makes me a better health care provider. I have learned a lot about breast cancer over the past several weeks. A lot. I'm a seeker of information. I've read the forums. I've scoured the literature. The more I learn the more in control I feel (which is clearly not a reality). I deal with women's health care issues daily; ordering mammograms, discussing results, scheduling further workup, etc. It suddenly looks different when you are the one thrown into the fish bowl. I know what these women are now thinking and feeling. I'm better for my patients because of this.

So, I sit and wait. This will turn out to be nothing more than a bump in the road, I suspect. Something that I'll be able to look back on and say 'remember when....'.

I'm done now. No profound summarizing statements. Catharsis is complete.

Check!

2011-02-27T13:16:00.008-06:00

I did it! My maiden voyage into the new world of cross country ski racing is OVER! Just like anything, being the newbie is unnerving but exciting at the same time.
Whoa! Trust me on this, I am STILL a flaming red newbie! But after all is said and done, I really enjoyed ski racing. Now someone stick a rag down my throat or cover your ears or eyes or something, but I really want to get faster! Hell, yeah, and that's the competitive side of me. And that's what's so beautiful about cross country skiing for me right now. Anything I do is bound to be an improvement. When your bad, the only place to go is up! Remember how it was when you first started tris? Every race was a new PR! It's AWESOME!

My crowning race on skis was the Kortelopet in Cable, WI which is part of the Birkie experience. 23K on pristinely groomed trails with 8500+ of your other skier friends. I did two other ski races to prep for this; Badger State Games 21K skate ski and Hinder Binder 23K skate ski. Let me be a testament to this; if you want to improve your skills or get faster, you should RACE. I don't care what sport you're into, competition is the key to improvement. You push yourself in ways you won't do in training and you learn things by simply watching other people.
This whole cross country ski business all started on the prompting of my IM friend, Mark. I thought it would be a great way to cross train through the long winter and keep things fresh. He told me it would be fun!!! At first, not so much! Blisters on my ankles, cold temps, and miles out on the trail alone were not so fun. Not to mention the learning curve regarding equipment, waxing, and ski technique. I only skied one day a week which I'm told is not nearly enough if you want to get better. However, now it's over and I can look back on it fondly and can actually see getting even more excited about skiing next season.

Back to the Kortelopet. Like I said, the Birkebeiner is the crowning jewel in North American ski racing. An international event. I was placed in Wave 9. That is one of the waves for the inexperienced or those who do not have a prequalifying Korte or Birkie under their belt to allow them to move up into a higher wave. In other words, a lot of us in Wave 9 are BAD! As you can then imagine, carnage on the trail ensues from the moment the gun goes off. I wish I had a helmet cam to show what this looked like. And God knows, I will never take a camera with me on a race. Stop to take a picture? Are you NUTS?!

Anyway, I don't know the exact number of people in my wave, but simple arithmetic would suggest anywhere from 500 to 800 people. A lot. The start area is as wide as an interstate and then within 500 yds it narrows to about the width of a typical state highway. Within the first several miles there are formidable climbs which come one after the other. A total of about 1670 feet of climbing in my race. There are so many skiers that there is often a backlog of people in a line climbing the hills. A few times my heart rate actually went down as I was slowly slogging my way up a hill behind others. You couldn't go any faster even if you tried! What a sight that must be to someone who's never seen cross country skiing before! A bunch of idiots in a V-stance trudging up a slope! The downhills are as interesting as the ups. By the time Wave 9 got to the course, the surface was icy on the downs from people snowplowing. The loose snow was pushed off to the side creating berms. Easy to imagine as to how this could lead to a lot of out of control skiers. I apologize to the elderly gentleman that unfortunately was in my path at the bottom of a downhill strategically placed at the site of a curve. I mowed him over! Yes, I'm a bad person, but I tried to be nice about it! Plus, I have a bruise the size of Texas on my ass as penance for it! Aid stations are a hoot too! Your hands are strapped into the poles and to get them out just to drink Gatorade is not worth the trouble. Two-fisting drink cups with poles flung out to the sides creates some space issues.

The finish line, like all finish lines is a glorious site. It's finally over!!!! Then it's on to the warming tent (which is HUGE) to change and on for some lukewarm chicken noodle soup. The Korte and the Birkie finish in separate areas. So, after I finished we took the bus back to our car and headed to the finish line for the Birkie. I had other friends doing the Birkie who I wanted to meet up with. Obviously, then it's on to my favorite thing; eating! Deep fried cheese curds (this is WI you know!), barbecue chicken sandwich, baked beans and a celebratory cocktail. And of course, more war stories than you can shake a stick at!How did I end up? 14th out of 41 in my age group (not last, so I am happy about that!). about mid-pack for all women and overall. There you have it! I can't tell you how doing something totally different puts a new spark into life. As much as I had many days when I hated it, the racing, camaraderie, and gradual improvements make it all worthwhile.
I'm already thinking about next year when I'm planning to take on the Birkie and win my age group! JOKE! JOKE! JOKE! JOKE! Not in a thousand years! :)

Time for a Title Change

2011-02-24T13:28:00.007-06:00

I would be remiss if I did not at least mention my upcoming last ski race of the season. The Birkebeiner is 2/26/11 at which I'll be doing the Korteloppet. See post below. I'm stoked and ready to go. I suck at skiing and I know it. But, for some reason I just don't care. Skiing is not my true love. There is truly something liberating about racing just to race and feel your heart pounding and enjoying the experience. No cares as to placing or time. It is what it is! I may finish in the 65 percentile. But trust me, I'm working as hard as the guy who wins!! Anyway, I'm going to do my best to get some pics and I'll post a recap when it's all over.

But there's something that I think it's time to do that I've been pondering for a few months......

A title change.

Nothing stays the same. Circumstances change. Life experiences occur. I've got to either move on or stay stuck.

Pee on the Bike

Check mark! I've done that. I can do that. It's so passe! I can do that in my sleep now if I had to! It's no longer a motto to live by. Tongue in cheek, I blamed my not being able to pee on the bike for my missing a Kona slot at IM Louisville in 2009. After that race, I changed my blog title to Pee on the Bike. Now here I am successfully having peed on the bike about 3 times on my way to getting my Kona slight at IM Lake Placid in 2010. However, what's eating away at me now is "the rolldown". I got a rolldown slot. And yes, people will say that doesn't matter. A slot is a slot. But, then, why is it always mentioned in the discussion. Maybe it's in my head. But, why did it always seem like it was tacked on. "Oh, yep, she got the rolldown." I know what you're saying, 'it doesn't matter. You're in." Well, I bet if you asked any rolldown person, they would tell you they were happier than shit to get the slot, but still kind of miffed that it came that way. Did I REALLY earn it?

I'm no stranger to the rolldown. I got my slot for Clearwater 70.3 2009 that way. A rolldown at Steelhead 70.3. So, it's not like it's never happened before. It's given me the opportunity to participate in some awesome races. But, now, I'd like to still participate in those awesome races without getting 'the rolldown.'

Hence the new title: NO ROLLDOWN!!

Here's a question or thought: Well, maybe you're just not good enough. Maybe a rolldown is the best you'll be able to pull out. Why do you think you should be able to place on the podium at major races? Because I KNOW there's something more yet in me. I may be 41 and at this 6 years now, but I think I can squeak out more. Anyone that has any idea about my swim knows that definitely has room for improvement! It's not pretty. My mind needs to harden up more on the bike. I need to focus on pushing through instead of worrying about the run. I've been studying some footage of good runners and have realized I don't look like that (duh!). I think there's more that I can do in the way of form to maximize my run.

Here's another thought: You can't control who shows up to race. No, I can't. But I can control who shows up to MY race. Me. This blog title is more about a mental outlook and a new way of thinking. Nothing's just going to roll down to me. I am going to do my damnedest to reach out and take it. It's a mindset. I need to believe and expect that at the top is where I should be. If I don't believe it, it will NEVER happen.

There you have it. Pretty bold statements for me. Will I take a rolldown if it comes to me? Yes. Do I want it that way? No. Will these words come back to haunt me someday? Probably. Yes. No. Probably. Whatever! Here's the unwavering truth. It's not easy for me to puff myself up. Self-doubt runs rampant in my world. And if a title change is a place to start, so be it.

NO ROLLDOWN!!!

Come to Reality

2011-02-04T18:05:00.005-06:00

Yes, the last week has definitely been a reality checker for me.

Here I go and this kills me......

We just completed freshman class scheduling for my Josie. What? How did we get this far? Come on! I'm not ready to talk about driver's ed. What do you mean she needs to really think about the math classes she takes and how they will affect her GPA? GPA? College entrance exams? Class placement? The girl just sprouted acne a few months ago! She's walking around with a mouth full of braces. The only things on her radar are what cute outfit she's going to wear to school today and what's up on Facebook. The reality that she'll be leaving my home in 4 years is really hard to swallow. I guess that means I've got 4 years to figure it out and get her ready. Why is this all of a sudden hitting me like a wrecking ball? Things all of a sudden seem so serious.

Here's another one......

I can't do anything I want just because I say I will. Duh! Well that seems pretty obvious right? Wrong! I started cross country skiing this year. My venture into skiing went something like this...."That looks pretty easy. I should be able to pick that up in no time." YAH RIGHT, I'M NOW EATING THOSE WORDS! Skate skiing is not as easy as it looks! It's like swimming. Watching a good swimmer and the ease that they move through the water does not translate into my being able to do it too just through the act of mimicry! Why is this bugging me? Because like a dumb ass, I signed up for the Birkebeiner without ever having strapped my feet to skis. Those of you that ski are now promptly laughing your ass off and saying "what was she thinking?" That's what I'd like to know. As of today, I dropped down to the Korteloppet (which is something like a half-marathon if the Birkie was thought of as a marathon). Now this is doable for me. It's something like 15 miles. Come hell or high water, I can get through that. No, here's the thing, when I get down to the nuts and bolts of it, it comes down to over-confidence and I had way more than my share. And that's not like me at all! I tend toward self-doubt. But, I thought that I had a good cardiovascular engine and decent body strength and that would be all I needed. Nope, the name of the game is technique and balance. And apparently that takes more than 12 times of skiing to develop! So, I eat the humble pie.

One day at a time. That's how the saying goes and there's really no other way is there? Josie WILL grow up and leave me. Of even lesser consequence, I will learn to ski and someday do the Birkie. In the end, it's all good.

Snowshoe Season; Thank God That's Over!!!!

2011-01-17T18:24:00.005-06:00

Hmmmm....

Winter just started right? Yes.

And thankfully for me, snowshoeing is already done. I say that with a lot of tongue in cheek humor.

Do I love snowshoeing? Not At All!

Do I somewhat enjoy it? Yes.

Is it a great, great, great workout? Yes!

I think when most people think of snowshoeing they have this vision of people plodding along with the big, 3 foot long, wooden, webbed snowshoes. Also, they picture beautiful picturesque scenery. There comes with it a feeling of leisure and harmony with nature.

Now, certainly, that scenario may be true and does exist. In my world, not so much. For some reason, if there is not some feeling of torture or coughing up blood it just isn't worth doing.

When I talk about snowshoeing, that means racing. Full on, go as hard as I can (within reason!) for 6 miles. The snowshoes are lightweight pieces of engineering designed for running. Each one weighs about one pound. Which after a while feels like a brick. As far as scenery, I don't notice it. Probably because I'm hurting and just want to stop. The hills seem to be never-ending. Depending on the course, there is often a significant part of the course that is single track. This basically means one guy randomly walked through the woods in snow a foot or more deep stamping out a path. Then I get the thrill of running through it. Not to mention the feeling of tightness in my chest from breathing in the cold air and the pain of whacking my inner legs repeatedly with the shoes on the follow through of my stride. Wine, wine, wine, right?!

BTW, I have learned, for those so interested, that the reason why some of us cough and wheeze after working hard in the cold air is because of the lack of humidity in the inspired air. When running hard, you breath more. The action of breathing in the cold, poorly humidified air pulls the moisture out of your airway setting up an inflammatory process. This leads to the asthma-like reaction of coughing and wheezing. I get this and I don't think I have asthma. Anyway, I've never been diagnosed as such and have no problems with wheezing and coughing in less cold conditions or otherwise with exercise. And I've conducted my own highly scientific test to determine if I may have asthma......I tried a bronchodilator last weekend after the race and it didn't help. Not to say that some people actually do have asthma and certainly suffer the same problems. This has always been of interest and curiosity to me. Do I have cold-weather induced asthma? I don't know. But, I have totally gotten off the beaten path.....

2 snowshoe races this year. That's all I had on the schedule. Needless to say, there are many more in my area. But, I needed a break. I'm kind of to the point in my tri career that I've found the need to branch off into different things. Keep the things I love up front but let go of some of the things that I feel so-so about. And snowshoeing is one of them.

I probably race mostly because it's one of the few times out of the year that I get to see friends I've made on the 'snowshoe circuit'. Plus, the food afterward is usually pretty good. And I'm a big fan of eating! Below is a pic of me with one of my snowshoe/tri friends; Kristi. Yah, you rock, kilt and all!

I did as well as expected; maybe a little better. It's really hard to know since weather and trail conditions can play a huge role in speed. But, what I always need to remind myself is that this is the off season and as long as I give it my all, the end result really doesn't matter.

Now I'm totally on to ski mode. This is a completely new venture for me and one that I've found to be a lot more challenging than I expected. I can only equate it to swimming. People who swim well make it look effortless and as if anyone can do it at anytime. Umm, that's not how it goes. I can ski. But with any efficiency or speed? No. However, that's fodder for a few more blog posts. So I'll leave it at that.

Bring on the SNOW!!!

2010-11-24T15:56:00.010-06:00

11/24/10 and the snow is coming down.....Snow, snow, snow. And believe it or not, that's a good thing!

Winter can be hellaciously irritating to me. I really hate cold weather. And if I don't have some sort of diversion, I am like Jack Nicholson in The Shining. About 3 years ago, I took up snowshoeing. As whacked out as I am, I don't do anything if it doesn't involve a race or the prospect of a race. Yes, in Northcentral WI we have a great number of snowshoe races to choose from that are all within easy driving distance. Woo Hoo! No overnight stays and the price of entry is reasonable. Really, why wouldn't it be? Not too many people want to freeze their ass off in often -0F weather, while running with a few pounds of gaingly hardware strapped to their feet.

Which brings me to my point. I am SICK of snowshoeing! I like running but I'm sick of snowshoeing. It doesn't feel natural. My running stride is altered. And I usually end up with big bruises on the inside of both lower legs from the shoes on the follow through.

Time to branch out. Why not try cross country skiing?!

About 2 weeks after I got back from Kona I was scheming my next big thing. I said I would ride along to a ski shop with a friend and ended up coming home with my first pair of skate skis. When I was a little girl I had a pair of waxless classic skis. But that's been, dare I say, 30 years ago. And I had to laugh at myself because as the guy was trying to sell me equipment and telling me about the virtues of this versus that, I basically told him that I wanted something pretty that matched! You know how it goes, you don't really know what you need until you get some experience. So, I figured I should at least start out by LOOKING good!
Now, I'm staring at a huge learning curve. But, I LOVE THAT! It's like a blank slate. Fresh. New. No bad habits, yet! I don't even know how to get my boots latched onto the skis. HA! I have a friend who really encouraged me to get into skiing. Now he's going to have to put up with my questions and badgering.

The fun and games gets under way 12/3/10 when I'll be going to a waxing clinic. Holy crap! This waxing and ski maintenance is like a small science. It's like when a person steps into the biking world. You have no idea the amount of equipment that can be involved to keep the affair moving forward. Waxing bench, iron, brushes, scrapers, different types of wax, blah, blah. I asked my friend to give me a bare bones list of what I needed to get skiing. He came back with 11 things that totalled up to more than $500. Another reason why Michelle keeps working. To support her bad habits!

So, what does a person do who has never skate skiied? Well of course sign up for the most notable cross country ski race in the US! The Birkebeiner! 2/25/11. Yes, 54K of tree avoidance and, I'm guessing, more ass-whooping like I took with cyclocross! The race is capped at 8400 entrants. I'm in wave 9 out of a total of 10. Wave 9 and wave 10 are for folks with no prior experience or race time to determine more appropriate seeding. I hope to get in a few shorter ski races prior to the February 26th Birkie date. But even if I would be lucky enough to "test out" of wave 9, I think I'll just stay there.So I'm set. There's just one thing left. Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Isn't the off-season great?

It Feels Like Forevah!

2010-11-18T09:03:00.004-06:00

The date of my last post was 10/24/10. What the hell have I been up to?

One excuse that I have which is legit is that my internet was on the fritz for one whole week. I repeat, ONE WHOLE WEEK! I actually didn't mind one bit! I had so much extra time. None of that stupid checking my email 5 times a day. No spying on Facebook. No surfing for stuff I don't need but think I do after I see it. GREAT! I really think I'm antisocial underneath it all..... Ah, probably NOT!

Yah, why did I not have internet for one week? Well, because, I live in the sticks and Charter, my lovely internet provider, does not have an office where I live. That right there, I bet, puts you at the bottom of their to-do list. Plus, they think you need to devote 2 hours of your life waiting at home for them to show up. 2 HOURS? If I told my patients at the clinic that their appointment was at 9:00 but I had a 2 hour window of time to get in their by them, how do you think that would go over?! Not SO WELL! And yes, the appointment was for 10:00 and I was told they would be there sometime between 10-12:00 and I needed to be there. Guess what time they showed up.......11:55. I am not KIDDING! I hate Charter. Unfortunately, there are other reasons why I stay with them that aren't worth getting into here. Oh yeah, and ONE last thing, why can I never talk to a HUMAN when I call on the phone to these places? Why? If anyone wants to see an example of "phone rage" watch me when I'm dealing with that computerized voice via phone. Not pretty!

Next item of discussion.....CYCLOCROSS. This has been yet another humbling experience! Ass-kickin' to the nth degree! But more fun than I've had on the bike in a long time! So, I'll take it. I've done 2 races and come in near the back-of-the pack in Cat 4. I've fallen off a few times. Slid backward down hills. Gotten heckled. And froze my fingers and toes. Fun, eh? What I got out of it though was conquering my fear. I was afraid to fall. Afraid I'd break like an 80 year old osteoporotic woman. I also improved exponentially on my dismounts. Getting back on the bike.....that's another story. The more fatigued I would get, the sadder it would look. Anyway, it's great fun and I totally recommend it merely for the change of pace and atmosphere. Does it rock my world like tris? Not by a long shot!

Life with the family rolls along as well. That never stays static, though I wish it would. My 11 year old daughter took a fall and broke her wrist. Nothing horrendous. For those medical folks, it's a buckle fracture to her distal radius. Easy fracture. No complications expected. Just have to deal with the cast for 5 weeks. However, it has to happen when the Urgent Care is closed, 9:00 pm on a Friday noc, and the decision needs to be made; ED or wait until morning until the Urgent Care reopens. Obviously, this is not a true EMERGENCY. I figured it was a buckle fracture and it needed splinting until we could get a cast placed during the week. Wait and deal with the crying and pain or go in and deal with the feeling of wasting the ED staff's time and resources on something that I know is not life or limb threatening? I went to the ED. I couldn't stand to look at her crying face! Now she has a pink cast and signatures galore. Things are good.

And lastly but not leastly.....we moved my 13 year-old down into the basement. Her bedroom was on the main floor. But, she's a miniature adult (in her mind) and needs her privacy. Of course, this is never as simple or easy as it would seem. Moving her to the basement requires a whole update of furniture, paint, bedding, and decorating. Or that's what she thinks! Unfortunately, she's pretty close because I'm a sucker and love pretty, pink, girly things and that's my Josie completely! This then creates a snowball effect as now the upstairs bedroom needs a coat of new paint and some new furniture. Alas, I will KEEP WORKING!

That's just a little update. Thanksgiving is coming which I love. It's low-pressure, low-key and just gets down to the root of what we need to focus on. BEING THANKFUL. And I truly am. The craziness, the unexpected misfortunes, the good stuff....it's all about being alive.

Bite the Snake that Bit You

2010-10-24T15:48:00.009-05:00

Snake not Snack! I sent out an email last week to some teammates trying to get in the title phrase. But it came out 'bite the snack that bit you.' It seems to me that's where my head has been lately. Too much EATING! Is it possible to gain 5 lbs in 2 weeks?! 3000 extra calories are needed to add one pound of fat. That's 15,000 cals. Maybe I'm just constipated!!! Yah, yah, TMI (as my girls would say!).

Anyway, I'm way off the beaten path here......

I've taken 2 weeks off post-Ironman. On the instruction of my coach. Not that I wouldn't have done it on my own. I needed it mentally. The fun was going away. And why the hell else would somebody put themselves through something like an Ironman if it wasn't fun on some twisted level.

2 weeks off. I enjoyed it but I don't think my body did. 5 lbs? I've got the green light to get back into LIGHT training. No heart rate monitor, no watch, no power meter. That kind of thing.

Here's where I bite the snake. Last fall I bought this:
Which after one day of riding promptly led to this:
Which then lead to depression and frustration the likes of which I hope to not experience again.

Last year I had planned on doing a few cyclocross races for fun after tri season ran out. Both to stay in shape but also try something new. Obviously, that never happened. Admittedly, now I'm a little scared. Cyclocross involves a lot of mounting and dismounting while moving. And that's how my LITTLE MISHAP occurred before.

However, I have a theory on which I try to live my life. If it scares you, that's what you must do! Head right into it. Face it and get on with it! Bite the Snake that Bit You. I really think that's how we become stronger more capable people.

So that's what I'm going to do. My first cyclocross race is 10/31/10; Wizard Cross in Madison, WI. It ain't gonna be pretty and it definitely ain't gonna be fast. It's about getting through it and not breaking anything. I can't get any worse than I already am. That's the beauty of trying something new. No expectations. No pressure. Get on and go!

Now, maybe I should ride the thing just once before the race!

Kona Recap: Part lll

2010-10-20T13:45:00.010-05:00

Continuing on with the 'things that stand out in my mind' train of thought....

-It took me a whole week to figure out why the T2 changing tent volunteer told me not to lock the door when I went into the porta-potty.
It's so they can get your ass out if you pass out! Like I said in my last post, the bike ride about did me in. It was tough physically, but probably more so mentally. When I got to the changing tent, I was parked onto a chair and the volunteer dressed me like I was a 2 month-old. Then another one slathered me with sunscreen since my arms felt like they were ON FIRE. On my way out I figured I should make a stop to potty as I knew this would be it until it was all over. Either I looked THAT bad or she said that to everyone, I don't know. But, I felt flattered that she was so concerned about me! No, I didn't keel over in there (that would've been COMPLETELY disgusting). I did what needed to be done and got on my way.

-It's a miracle what 2 extra minutes in transition will do for you!
When I got onto the run course, I was amazed to find that I was feeling pretty good! When in doubt, take a little more time in transition. Hallelujah! Needless to say the first 10 miles are through Kona and there is crowd support everywhere. This makes all the difference in the world too. Once I got going I was pleased to find that my legs were not trashed and my gut wasn't sloshy and pukey.-The last half of the marathon is LONG and HARD and DESOLATE.
There are no spectators other than the awesome volunteers at the aid stations. It's you and the lava fields and the guy next to you running. And you're do damned tired, you're not talking to anyone. I just kept focusing one more mile up the road. 'Just get to the next aid station. Just get to the next aid station.'
-Finishing the Ironman World Championship has left me with feelings I never expected.
Yes, I knew I would feel satisfaction. But other emotions were more apparent.
Respect. Humility. Pride.
I have a huge level of respect for people who come out to this race and execute their race plans flawlessly. More than I could have imagined. It is not easy. The elements and the level of competition are fierce and do take their toll both physically and mentally.
I am humbled to have been able to be a part of this. I've been telling myself that this was the best ass-kickin' I've ever had. Honestly. It was handed to me. In retrospect, that's OK. I am blessed and lucky to have the physical ability and support of my family, friends, sponsors, and coach to get the job done. I still can't believe I was able to be lumped in with this group of stellar athletes.
Lastly, I'm proud. I swear to you, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would be in this place. Yes, as time progressed, the desire built and along with that the fitness and ability came. But, it was hard work that made it happen and I'm proud of myself for I succeeding.

"Michelle Brost, you are an IRONMAN!"

Kona Recap: Part ll

2010-10-17T19:19:00.008-05:00

I'm going to try to keep this short and sweet and post a few pictures. Really, who wants to read a race report?

I'll just tell you about a few of the things that stand out in my mind.

-Just because you're passing people left and right on the swim doesn't mean your FAST!
I should know. I seeded myself about 75% on the way back. I fully realized that the average person would finish this swim closer to 1:00 than my hoped for 1:15. I had nothing to prove in the swim and really didn't want to battle the chaos. As I swam, I felt very calm, in control, and like I could do this all day. That should have been a clue. I WASN'T WORKING HARD ENOUGH!-I can be mean when I have to be.
Never, ever have I done this before. But, some guy (and I'm assuming it was a guy because 73% of the field were men and I couldn't feel fabric on the chest) was climbing all over me. I mean he was literally on my butt a few times. Get off! I pulled the old mule kick number. I bet up my knee and launched a kick as hard and fast as I could landing it right in this person's chest. I mean really, is repeatedly swimming on top of someone necessary? Get off! That was the end of him. Thankfully.

-1:22 swim is NOT good.
No sugar-coating this. That pretty much sucks. What is one of the top priorities for the winter? Get this swim straightened out!-Changing tent volunteers are simply THE BEST.
If anyone ever questions where they should volunteer or where they feel their impact will be most felt, I can tell you in all certainty it's the changing tent. After I did a complete clothing change with my volunteer's help, I went to the potty in the tent. This was not a "pee on the bike" day. I realized while peeing away that I had forgot my glasses in my T1 bag. Crap, I thought. She's probably already taken my bag back to the hangers. I'll have to go find it and waste a lot of time doing that. This transition was already long enough. Now it will be worse. As I came out of the potty, guess who's standing there with my bag and glasses in her hand. My angel of a transition volunteer! I'm telling you these people are THE BEST! This guy's not the volunteer!

-I am AMAZED at the power of nature.
I started the bike ride feeling good and solid. I was conscientously trying to keep my wattage down. I had been told by coach that the course was mind-numbing. I was trying to prepare myself for the psychological battle I knew things would turn out to be. All that said, I wanted this to be a race. I wanted to go hard and pass a few people! The bike is usually a strength for me and I typically have good feelings about it. What started out as a drive to battle other competitors quickly turned into a drive to battle nature. I distinctly remember when the flip switched. It was about at mile 40. My body was starting to heat up and we were smack dab in the thick of the Queen K and lava fields. I knew I wasn't yet close to the ascent to Hawi and the heralded trade winds. I lost the connection between my power meter and hub. I was getting no data. Shortly thereafter, I dropped my chain shifting from the big to small chain ring. I had to pull over, stop and fix my chain. I remember thinking how 'this sucks' and I'm going to have to do the rest of the ride without my power meter. I was thinking my battery was dead. I don't know how the psyche flip-flopped but it then turned into a race not between me and other girls but between me and the heat and wind. I heard tell it was about 100F in the lava fields. The trade winds were scary. And yes, like I've always heard the wind literally felt like a blast from an open oven door. I had a few near misses when my bike careened sideways and I thought I was going down. I just started to think 'this isn't fun anymore' and that I wanted it to be over. I was further bothered by this thinking because, I usually do pretty well on the bike and this made me want to conserve some of myself to prepare for an equally difficult run. (BTW-I'm not sure what went on with the meter. But, I turned the meter back on about 10 miles up the road and it worked just fine. On the ride back to Kona, the meter lost connection again about in the same spot. Interference with something out on the course? I'm not sure.)

-Another goal is to toughen up my mind when the going gets physically tough on the bike.
I've lost something here over time. I need to learn to deal with hurt better and learn to run following that hurt.

That's it for now. I'll finish this story in a few days. Thanks for reading.

Back to Reality: Kona Part l

2010-10-14T14:44:00.022-05:00

Whew! Time to get something down on paper about this most epic adventure!

I just completed the Ironman World Champion ship race in Kona, Hawaii 10/9/10 and came back to north central WI Wednesday afternoon. The leaves are off the trees and everything is brown and all Wisconsin-like. Those of you from WI know exactly what I mean; somewhere between winter and summer. Yes, that's fall I realize. But yucky to me. A far cry from the niceties of Hawaii.
I have no idea how I'm going to break this experience up into manageable posts. So, please, bear with me because I'm sure there will be a lot of rambling!

I think the things that really struck me the most were the people and the atmosphere. Electric. That is the best word I can use to describe it. Yes, the scenery was beautiful. The bike porn was hot. The food was great. But, it was the people and the energy about the race that will stick with me forever.

PEOPLE
On the trip out, we knew we'd be traveling with tons of Ironman geeks. I met a professional photographer who LOVED name dropping and letting us know what pros he would be focusing on. It was funny because there is always someone you see over and over on a trip like this and he was the guy! And, no, he wasn't real excited about taking my pic!! I also met a gentleman named Phillipe (probably screwed up the spelling). He was from LA. He wasn't a racer and he did not have an athlete he was going with. He had done an Ironman several years ago and just loved the sport. He recently had knee surgery. Basically, he always wanted to go to Kona for the race and was looking to get back into the sport. How nice it was that I got to see him out on the run course twice and on the plane ride home! People like that were everywhere. They just love Ironman!
We met people with personality plus. Like the guy we met at lunch who told me he was racing and writing a book on how to compete at Kona via the minimalist training plan and bad diet regimen. He was kidding. But it got me to thinking, Hmmm....maybe I should write the book from the bad diet perspective!!! Mine is definitely lacking! It would probably resonate with a lot of people! Anyway, he wasn't racing. But he was a volunteer. I saw him in the transition area and out on the run.

I've got to give a huge shout-out to the Wisconsin folks; Kim Basala, and Mike and Jenny Wimmer. I saw you guys out there and it truly warmed my heart. I don't know you very well. But you're my home state people. To have your support means a lot!

My personal peeps were the best! I'm probably not the funnest person to be around the few days leading up to a big race. I tend to get quiet and withdrawn. I don't want to talk about it and I have a lot of nervous energy. To put up with me was a challenge. Plus, the few days before IM is full of IM activities; expo, registration, pre-race banquet, bike racking, and workouts. This cut into their fun and I am grateful for their patience. You guys are the BEST!

ATMOSPHERE
I lump the racers in this category because they are the driving force behind what makes the atmosphere the atmosphere. Anyone who's done an Ironman or somehow participated in an Ironman either volunteering or spectating knows that the level of fitness at these events is great. Now take that level and ratchet it up X 10! That's what it felt like. The men were tan, slick, and lean. No complaints from me there! The women were impressive to say the least. Body fat? What's that? I saw women in the 50-54 age group on the podium post-race who I dream of looking like. I suppose a lot of this was generated in my head and of my own insecurities but I kept looking at myself and thinking 'what are you doing here? you do NOT look like these people! you look like a good-old WI dairy queen.' And intense! My sister kept saying that she wanted "to feed these people a cheese burger". They all looked pretty focused and it seemed clear they were there with a job to complete.

The event itself is extremely well-organized. This also contributes to the overall great feel of the race. The expo was like a triathlon North Pole; a place to go and see all the toys you can only dream of all in one spot. Of course, the most fabulous of fabulous were there including Specialized, CycleOps, SRAM, 2XU, Headsweats, and Zipp. The pre-race and post-race awards banquets are also top notch. The food was actually good and had some local flavor. There were luau dancers and fire twirlers, Hawaiian music and drum lines. Mike Reilly is, of course, the announcer and he really does an awesome job. If you weren't pumped to race before, Reilly definitely has you ready to go. If you thought your day was less than spectacular, Reilly makes you feel like a rock star after.

People love this race. Ironman athletes, supporters, volunteers....everyone. This is the big dance and it shows. I have more respect and admiration for the race now that I've done it than before when I only dreamed about doing it. Now I know why people want to keep coming back again and again and again.....

got her back to condo. offically "this race is hard" i am signing out.

2010-10-10T01:25:00.000-05:00

shes in!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-10-10T00:15:00.000-05:00

hula hunnys parked at finish line, watching all the great finishers! inspiring

2010-10-09T23:20:00.000-05:00

macho nacho and beer, hope your having as much fun michelle

2010-10-09T21:46:00.000-05:00

stew joined the hula hunnys

2010-10-09T20:18:00.001-05:00

michelles running were drinking for joy

2010-10-09T20:17:00.001-05:00

found a plug to charge my phone for awhile. was going dead. no 1153, she will be off bike soon, we hope

2010-10-09T18:54:00.000-05:00

watching the pros, and now age groupers starting to trickel in. lots of excitment

2010-10-09T18:05:00.000-05:00

pros got thier feet on the ground

2010-10-09T16:58:00.001-05:00

chalking it up

2010-10-09T14:50:00.000-05:00

hula hunny update, were at burger king with ac, need a mai tai, 1158 out in lava fields. heard its 100 out there.

2010-10-09T14:48:00.000-05:00

hula hunnys toasted her off to lava fields

2010-10-09T13:53:00.001-05:00

otta water and on bike 128

2010-10-09T12:59:00.000-05:00

our new friend the belgan boy is on the bike. ask misty about that story

2010-10-09T12:42:00.000-05:00

hula hunnys are hot, no realy is hotttttttt

2010-10-09T12:41:00.000-05:00

we off, hope i dont lose anything, suit or watch.

2010-10-09T12:13:00.000-05:00

pros are off, cattle hearding into the water. 25 min to go

2010-10-09T11:33:00.000-05:00

Pros ae

2010-10-09T11:26:00.000-05:00

german boy took photo of shirts, likes mistys chest better

2010-10-09T11:02:00.000-05:00

t minus 1.5 hours, body marked, birds tweeting, going to be a great day

2010-10-09T10:35:00.000-05:00

good morning kona

2010-10-09T09:54:00.000-05:00

Goodbye & Farewell!!

2010-10-04T08:40:00.017-05:00

This is it! I leave tomorrow am. The plane leaves the ground at 6:35am. I was wearing my toy lei around the house this morning just in preparation!

First off, you've got to check out the Evotri site. Yesterday afternoon I did an interview with my teammate, JP, about all things Kona. I laugh everytime I hear myself speak. A true hick from northern WI with a lot of "um's"! I am what I am!Yesterday was a great day. It started off with an awesome run; frost on the ground, a nice nip to the air, fall colors, and best of all, snap in my legs. I've been waiting for that to come back. Then it was on to church. Followed by, writing the RACE PLAN. Once this was submitted off to Jen, I commenced to peeling 30 potatoes. My husband insisted on having a 'send-off/birthday party' for me. I pissed and moaned and asked him not to. Of course, he called folks and there I was, peeling the potatoes! But before that I did the interview with JP. How fun that was. Anytime I can ramble on about triathlon, I am happy!

I'm going to Kona! Really it seems CRAZY! I ask myself a lot, 'How did you pull that off?!' Anyway, I'm totally psyched. To think that I belong in that group is mindblowing. I will do my best to REPRESENT! Represent who?: 1) my teammates, 2) my family, 3) my coach, 4) my rural town of Medford, WI, 4) my friends, 5) and lastly and mostly those people who look to a dream and work their ass off to get there!!!!

I am Michelle Brost - #1153 and I AM OUTTA HERE!

Frivolous Fluff

2010-09-23T12:18:00.008-05:00

My New Kona Suit!!

After learning that I couldn't wear my speedsuit in Kona(which has only been worn once, but I won't keep harping on that!), I vowed that I would NOT spend any more $$$$ on this race!.

That lasted all of 2 days. Upon figuring out my plan of attack, I thought I needed just this one last thing!

I wasn't able to order a one-piece tri suit which listed my sponsors. And I neeeeed to show them my LOVE. So, I decided I would swim in a regular suit. I'll do a complete clothing change in T1 and put on my tri top and shorts. I felt there were too many pockets and other water-catching barriers on my tri kit to make that seem feasible for swimming. Obviously, I won't be breaking any speed barriers in the water or on the land for that matter. I figured I should have some fun with things.

Splish has the cutest suits!

Sherpa Shirts

I got these off Cafe Press for my girls who'll be coming out to the big island with me. My sister and 2 friends will have to put up with my pre-race jitters and post-race complaining. I'm pretty sure the silhouette is the same woman found on the back of semi trailer mud flaps. Kind of white trashy?! Whatever! We don't care!

Rev 3 Half

2010-09-16T12:12:00.008-05:00

As usual, I'm slow to post.....

The Rev 3 Half was held in Sandusky, OH 9/12/10. It was a Team Evotri event. Which basically means we get together and talk and laugh our way to a fabulous time. I feel a lot like the small-town weirdo in my usual life. But, then when I get by my homies, ta da, I'm normal!!!!

As I posted last, I'm in this odd place. My Kona race is coming up and I don't really know how I feel about this both mentally and physically. To make it even more entertaining, every day it's different. Kind of an aside here, but I've got to say, it freaks me out when someone refers to me and says, "she just qualified for Kona." In conversation, I would never volunteer this information to ANYONE. Really, who the hell cares? And it also sets me apart, as if I'm something that they are not, which is totally GOOFED up. Like I tongue-in-cheek say, "I'm the same loser I always was. It's just that now I'm going to do this other race." And Kona always gets referred to as "this" race. Downplaying it in my mind, I know. I've got a FEW ISSUES, have you figured out?

Back to the topic of this post.....the Rev 3 Half. I thought about this for a while and realized RETROSPECTIVELY that I had 2 goals for the race. 1) Nail my nutrition. 2) Have fun (whatever that is and, trust me, that's not an easy question to answer!).

Nutrition.....That's been slightly shook up this season. My coach advocates for the use of salt tablets and more caloric intake on the run. I've also come to question if I'm not taking in enough hourly calories on the bike. I've really become more in-tune with fluid intake and what I can handle based on temperature. I put a decent amount of time into my prerace plan. I really try to think about the weather forecast and how this will affect my day. My nutrition requires use of a calculator and estimation of time and temp.

Here's what I did on the bike; 300 calories per hour through a combination of Infinit and Honey Stinger blocks via 60 oz of H20. In the past, I had been ingesting 250 cals per hour based on the thought that I needed 2 cals per pound of weight. But, anyone that knows me knows that I eat like a horse (a lot). So, I guess, upping the cals a bit makes sense. I've also figured out that I can't take in more than 20 oz per hour of fluid when the temps are in the mid 60's/low 70's. Any more and I get the sloshy gut thing. The big new thing for me is salt tabs. In year's past I never used them. I know the literature shows no hard and fast data that they are extremely beneficial. At a superficial level though, it does make sense. More sodium on board will help to prevent fluid loss. No more chemistry lesson than that for me today, thanks! I targeted a total of 500 mg of Na per hour on the bike.

The run is a little less complicated. Basically the goal for a 13 mile run or longer is to get in more calories than I had been in the past. Very often, I took no nutrition on the 13 mile run other than H2O at the aid stations. We won't even talk about my track record with the marathon portion of Ironman! I don't really like gels; something about the consistency make me want to vomit. But, they are a convenient, concentrated way of getting in carbs. Coach has really been pushing me to get on the gel bandwagon. "Suck on them," she says. My goal was to get in 2 gels at this half which is more cals than I've ever done. Also, water at the aid stations.

Was I successful? Did I meet my targets? YES! I did not overdrink on the bike and I got in the 300 cals per hour with one Na tab per hour. On the run, I took the 2 gels. I took them at the aid stations. I sucked them down over the course of one mile taking about 3 hits off each one. Definitely H2O at the next aid station to get rid of that taste and stickiness! I never felt underfueled, sloshy, or dry.

Now, to keep that focus for Kona. Na tabs (500-700 mg/hour), increased fluids on the bike to compensate for the increased heat, 300 cals per hour on the bike, gel every 40 min on the run, and of course fluid at every aid station on the run. I CAN DO THIS!

The last big goal for the day was to Have Fun. What in the hell is that supposed to mean?! Hmmm. That's the question. My teammates and I each answered that question. Each of us answered slightly differently. However, 2 general themes emerged; 1) Ham it up for the crowd and enjoy the social aspect. 2) Race your competitor.

Which one am I? #2. With a slight twist. Race my competitor but have no regard for the data. No concern for the heart rate monitor or wattage output. No concern for pace. Just feel the energy of the race and my heart beating and looking out ahead for the next girl to pass. Pass is the operative word as I'm always down after the swim so there are plenty of girls out ahead of me to pass. What I did find interesting was that my teammate Rob pointed out to me that by avoiding the meters I was taking the focus and pressure off myself. And by looking ahead for others to pass, I was putting the focus of my efforts on others. Very interesting and I totally agree. I sometimes get so sick of feeling like I am only as good as the numbers on my technology. It's fun sometimes just to be FREE! Am I losing my edge? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe I just want to be.

Anyway, I did not break any PR's; didn't even come close. After the race, I saw all stats. My swim was in the dumper and my power blew. But did I have FUN? Yes. I engaged the crowd. I even tried to get a few 20 yo boys to "race me" the last mile of the run. "You don't want to let a 40 year old girl pass you!" What a bitch, I know! Basically, they just looked at me and shook their heads and let me go by. Was that fun? Yes. And stupid.

Now, I'm sick. Cold. Congestion and Sneezing. Send those kids back to school for 2 weeks and that's what you get. All 4 of us here at the Brost household are sniffling.

What's the countdown?.....22 DAYS to the biggest race I've ever experienced! And I will be ready in my head, heart, and body.

The Rollercoaster

2010-09-02T12:17:00.007-05:00

Yep, I'm on one! It should be called the Kona Coaster.

It's all mental; all frickin' mental! Ok, I suppose some physical. But, I think mostly mental. That's fine, just call it what it is, right?

Here's how it goes....Do the IM 7/25/10. Want to qualify for Kona. Get a slot via rolldown. Totally not how I wanted that to go. But that's how it went.

Huge ass sore afterward plus the expected fatigue and excitement! Planning, planning, planning for Kona! Then the training resumes (slowly) one week post. I don't know. How long is it normal to feel fatigued after an IM? 2 weeks, 2 months, 2 years?! Anyway at that point I've got 9 weeks to prepare for another IM. Holy crap! I've never bitten off anything like this before.

So, a sane person would've let this race pass, but I wanted to do a sprint tri mid August. I'm pretty sure against her better judgment, my coach agreed and set up the training. Hard intervals thrown in after a long time of aerobic effort endurance training is not fun! Quite painful actually. Anyway, the race was fun; not my best performance but fun! Now, back to endurance IM focused training.

Here's where it got nasty. Last weekend I had a mental and physical meltdown. This had probably been building up over the past few weeks. It was about 85 miles into a 100 mile ride. It was 80-some F, with 18 mph winds, on a course with a decent amount of climbing, and I'm alone (I tend to do better if I do these 100 milers with someone). I just couldn't take it anymore! I about started bawling on the bike! Well, I didn't and I held it together. When I got home I was to do a 5 mile T-run with 2 miles at 7:15 pace! Ha! My coach has to be a crack-smoker! I got off the bike and felt like I was going to puke. I think I was so sick of riding that bike that I totally spaced on my nutrition. I figured it out. I was down about 20 oz fluid and 250 cals. Hmmm? Well, the t-run was put on hold for 50 minutes while laid on the couch asking myself questions. God forbid I cry uncle and not do the run. Finally, I hauled my ass up and got the run in. 7:15 pace x 2 miles? Not on your life! Steady IM pace was all I could hold together.

The next day I emailed my coach and said, "I think I'm tired." Note to self.....when I feel like I'm going to bawl on the bike, I am not right with the world! But, I was proud of myself for raising the white flag. In the past, I probably wouldn't have and my hole would have just kept getting deeper. Her response was a fast and direct, "2 days off" which I gladly accepted.

Now I'm prepping/tapering for the Rev3 Half in Sandusky, OH on 9/12/10. It's my Evotri team race. There's nothing that could keep me away from seeing my buds! I love these guys. Am I ready for a Half? Hell if I know and probably not!

This week I realized that I can't wear my speedsuit at Kona. Wetsuits I don't think have been allowed for many years. But, speedsuits have been used for a few years. I bought one for IM Louisville '09 which is a nonwetsuit swim because the skanky river is usually too warm. The hope was that someday I could wear it at Kona. Not to be! The rules have changed as of 9/1/10. No nontextile suits. In other words, no polyurethane which is found in the majority of the currently for sale speedsuits. What does that mean? I bought a $200 speedsuit that I wore once. It also means an even more embarrassingly slow swim time for Michelle! I'll be swimming in my 2-piece tri kit. I simply refuse to spend any more $$$.

Here are my head games. I feel slow, slow, slow. I've got NO speed! But, I want to do well at Kona. I would love to crack 12 hours. I don't know what to expect at this race. It's my first time there. Can I pull off another IM so close to my last? Heat, wind, no wetsuit, no disc. Stellarly awesome field of athletes. Me questioning if I deserve to be there. Can't get by the roll down thing. Will I be ready?

Now, I know, I know. Do my own thing. Race my own race. Yah, yah. We all say and know this. But, we also know we're all highly competitive. But, truly I know my limits.

I had a similar experience a few years ago when I was at the 70.3 World Championships. I fell completely on my face. It was not pretty. Hyperventilating and bawling at the finish line. I expected things of myself that I was not ready to produce.

I'm trying to keep it all together and not repeat that experience. Sometimes I think, f- it. Don't even bring a watch out there! How bad of an idea is that, really? I did that at the last IM and that went pretty well. Anyway, I'm working hard at staying healthy, eating right, sleeping enough, stretching, and mentally staying relaxed and flexible. I just wish I didn't care so much!

I am a Mother

2010-08-26T12:50:00.006-05:00

I was going to write this post about a recent sprint tri I did last Saturday. But, I really got to thinking and I don't think it matters or anyone cares. There are other things in life that far take precedence.

It's funny how sometimes you can be going along in life and things are good. Then circumstances all seem to add up and there you are; scared and worried. Control is gone (as if you ever REALLY had any to begin with; truly). You pray that everything will be fine and feel in your gut that it will; but you JUST DON'T KNOW.

What's this all about? There's nothing like a problem with your child to make you step back and think. Now, I'm not one to open up to a lot of people on a one on one basis. For some reason though, it's easier on my blog. It seems more disconnected and safe; twisted but true.

Something with my daughter's health recently had me tipped upside down and twisted inside out. A combination of a funky rash, abnormal labs, and joint pain had myself and her pediatrician concerned about the possibility of a rheumatological condition. The details of the saga are not important. What I want to write about is what goes on in my head and heart and how most every parent is THE SAME. The dialogue in my head was relentlessly the same. She's only 11? What will this mean for the rest of her life if it's true? Will she have pain forever? She's so innocent and sweet. She's my baby. Why is this happening? I've got to make this go away. There I go, thinking I have some control. Yeah, right! None! Can't I somehow take this problem on for her?

A few worrisome weeks later and we've learned she's fine. Thankfully. Fine. She is the girl I remember from one month ago. Even though I tried to keep things in perspective and not let my worry get the best of me, at times IT DID. But like the rheumatologist said as I'm sure he could sense my relief, "You're a mother and you're always going to be a mother." I am damnit. And as much as I'd like to think I'm strong, solid, and OK. When it comes to my girls, I AM their mother. And with that sometimes comes vulnerability and fear. This is life. It can be like a teeter-totter sometimes. If everything stays still and balanced, it 's fine. But, change happens and the teeter-totter moves. Maybe not in the direction desired. This is when I think we work to keep it all in perspective and say The Serenity Prayer; A LOT!

So until the next crisis, hurdle, or problem raises it's ugly head, I'll love my family and keep moving forward. Try to keep it all in perspective and remain balanced. What else is there?

Final Thoughts / Moving Forward

2010-08-08T18:25:00.003-05:00

There is one thing that I didn't talk about long enough in my last post and that is the glorious wonderfulness of the volunteers. These PEOPLE are the BEST! I swear at the end of each Ironman I've done, if there wasn't a volunteer to hold me up, I probably would've tipped over and just laid there. The guy who 'caught' me wrapped me up in a beautiful space blanket and told me how great I did. I'm sure I looked like pasty hell but he made me feel good. After getting in some glucose, a second volunteer walked me to my bike and then a 3rd volunteer called my husband to figure out a meeting spot and walked me out of transition carrying my stuff and pushing my bike. I love the volunteers!

Another thing I have to get off my chest is that I'm soooo jealous of those people who I see in the food tent post-race who look great. Like they just didn't run an Ironman or something and just didn't kick my ass all over the place. I've got all I can do to just keep moving forward. I don't want to socialize. I can hardly eat. I really can hardly MOVE! But, no puking, thankfully. That's what I did post-race at my first two Ironmans. I have a feeling my poor nutrition on the run is part of the reason why I feel like death at the end. Anyway, I always have the intention of coming back about 10:00 to watch the other finishers. Have I ever made it? NO. After I get back to the hotel, wash up, and get some real food in me, I'm done for. Say hello to the pillow and out with the lights. Someday I will get back to the finish party; I promise.

That's a wrap for Ironman Lake Placid. A great race at a great destination. One I'd certainly do again.

Time to move on.

I've got about 8 more weeks left to go in my triathlon season. I finalized my race schedule and it includes a Sprint/Oly (weird distances) in Waupaca, WI on 8/21/10, the Rev 3 Half in Sandusky, OH on 9/12/10 and the IM World Championship (that sounds scary) in Kona, HI on 10/9/10. That ought to keep me out of trouble! Looking at this, I am sooooo happy to have a good coach. I would have no idea how to go about preparing for all this.

I took one week off post Ironman with absolutely no training. This past week I started to get back into it. Nothing heavy at all; except for my legs of course! Really the worst part has been my ass which still hurts when I sit on that slab of what feels like concrete called a saddle. This coming week looks ramped up a bit. But I'm not really fretting too much about it. As usual, I will pull up the week's schedule on Sunday night, hit the "print" button and start planning.

IM Lake Placid Race Report; Part 3

2010-08-05T10:03:00.009-05:00

The run is set up as a double loop. The are 2 nasty hills on each loop as you head back into town. Which means that on the way out of town, there is some nice downhill. I think the key here is to not go out too hard after exiting T2. (Isn't that the goal with EVERY Ironman? Ha!) It's hard to do when the crowd is cheering and your legs feel fairly decent and gravity is helping you along.

I think I overdid it on the fluids while on the bike. Temps were in the low 70's. But, I think I was dumping down fluids more suitable to temps in the 80's. In other words, my gut was full and sloshy for about the first half of the marathon. This was new to me. I've never had that full feeling at the start of the run. The thought of sticking anything more in it was intolerable. For several miles I just ran and took in nothing. Finally, I could tolerate water. A few miles later, I started on the PowerAde. The second half of the marathon I was doing both PowerAde and Coke.

This fueling strategy was way contrary to the plan. I was going to try to suck down 5-6 gels spread out throughout the course of the run. I was really committed to that plan. But, in the heat of battle with my gut feeling like it did, I wondered if sticking anything more in there would lead to vomiting. I knew I would be in trouble with my coach and I'm SURE she wanted to strangle me post-race. The calories are needed. Obviously, I blew that plan out of the water. Had my gut not been so full of fluid, I probably could've done it. I really wanted to see if the added cals would improve my run. Lesson learned, nutritional fall-out starts on the bike.

The other fun thing about the run was the lack of heart rate or pace info. I had lost my Garmin in Lake Mirror on the first loop of the swim. It is a good thing to do in training occasionally; get rid of the stuff. To know how to run according to your body's demands is extremely important when it comes to racing particularly when you LOSE your technology and are FORCED into it! I felt pretty confident in my ability. I kept reminding myself that I knew how to do this. Every 1-2 miles I would check out the time. Then I would do math. I was shooting for a 9:00 min/mile pace. Addition/subtraction isn't so hard to do when your brain is working. But on the second loop of the run, thinking becomes more difficult and it turns more into a battle of just moving forward. So really over the last 6 miles I stopped checking the time. I tried to concentrate on form. Because I felt that if I worked to maintain good posture with a quick cadence and a decent foot strike my pace would take care of itself. What really killed me were the second round of hills. I would find myself striking deals with my body. 'You can walk for 30 seconds on this hill but then you have to run for 1 minute. Then, if your still on the hill you can walk for 30 more seconds.' This strategy worked for a while. Unfortunately, my resolve started to wear. What DID help was focusing on the people in front of me. I would work to gradually catch someone and after passing work to stay in front. I ended up averaging a 9:05 pace

The finish line is GREAT! It is great at any IM race. I don't care where the race is or how picturesque or how grand or how many people are there. You are just SOOOOO happy to be done! At Lake Placid, the finish line follows a half lap trek around the speed skating oval track. I was able to actually run with what felt like SPEED over that short distance and actually smile as I crossed the line.

11:14:20
6th place out of 141 in age group; 40-44

4 slots were given out for Kona. With roll down, I was able to snag one of them. I had the same feelings during the roll down as I did last year in Louisville. I felt pretty certain that it would not roll to me. But, I would sit there and see. What did I have to lose? The other option was starting the 20 hour car-ride home. When my name was called, I gladly and excitedly accepted the slot! But, honestly, a few minutes later, when I went to pay my money and make it official, I really questioned my sanity! My legs were killing me! Can I really do this again in 10 weeks? Physically and Mentally? But, I've been down the Ironman road a few times and have learned that recovery happens and if done right I should be ready to go again by 10/9/10.

I paid the $550 and walked away with a huge sense of relief. I say 'relief' in an honest way. I've worked hard and wondered if I could ever do this. It's like a monkey off my back. Not that it was just a task I wanted to check off some 'to-do list'. But it was a personal victory. I deal with insecurities just like everyone, often wondering 'am I good enough?' I don't know if that will every go away. That is something to always remember. It could have gone the other way and I could've went home without plans for Kona. Would that have made me any less of a person or an athlete? Would I enjoy racing Ironman any less? Not at all. Truthfully, I am concerned about the value I place on racing in Kona. Don't get me wrong! I cannot wait to go! I am super excited to participate in the atmosphere. I want to see Hawaii. I have no (official) goals for the race at this time. I will go and work to put in a solid performance and ENJOY THE RIDE! This may never happen again. I'm going to live it up!

IM Lake Placid Race Report; Part 2

2010-08-02T17:50:00.015-05:00

On the bike.....

I will try to post the bike elevation map. Operative words are 'I will try.' So if you don't see it, that's not because I didn't put forth effort.
Needless to say, this bugger is in the Adirondack Mountains. Mountains tend to equate into BIG HILLS last time I checked out what Webster had to say. Bigger, longer hills than this Wisconsin girl has had the opportunity of confronting in the past. About one month before I did this race, a friend asked me if I was good at hill climbing. My gut response is 'no'. Why am I doing this race then? Hell if I know. It fit into my schedule. How else do you plan a race?

Right out of T1 there is some climbing followed by a 1) long downhill. Then a nice section of 2) flat. A god-forsaken 3) climb then ensues which seems to take 1200 miles. Then you're back to transition. Rinse and repeat. The strategy as laid out by my coach and I was to negative split on the 2nd loop. You know, a person could easily do this if she DIDN'T TAKE THE FIRST LAP TOO HARD! In other words, the first lap was awesome. I had a ball. I know I'm way down following the swim and every girl I go by I say to myself, 'well, you can swim but how 'bout the rest of it!' Cocky, I know, but you need something to keep you motivated. Hmmm, the second lap was a different story. The original Mojo has worn off and repeating the climbs seemed daunting. Plus, I've got this fear of the run in the back of my mind with no heart rate or pace monitor. I did alright but I definitely DID NOT negative split. I must give a shout out to my new Specialized S-Works Transition. It is totally awesome. The full carbon frame really absorbs the road. It's a difference that is noticeable to me in comparison to other bikes I've ridden. However, as you'll read below some things are just going to happen. The last 1/4 of the IM bike portion is something I've really got to work on. I tend to cave as I'm worried about the run instead of digging in and gutting out what's in front of me.

A little bit about each section.

I love descending. I know what you're thinking; everyone loves descending. But I REALLY like it. No brakes, evah! Crouch down, knees in, hands over the brakes (just in case). My Joule recorded my top speed at 46 mph. I was passing people all over the place. I know that my climbing is not the best. So, I wanted to make up ground wherever I could and the downhill was it.

The flat section was good for several reasons. 1) The scenery was beautiful. 2) The occasional slight downhill provided great peeing opportunities. YES, I Peed on the Bike. TWICE!! I had instructions going into this. For sensitive eyes, skip to the next paragraph. But, this must be done when you can relax a little and this is on a downhill or controlled coasting section. Once things get started it's all good! Actually, the 2nd time around was even easier. I can now call myself a veteran peer. Woo Hoo! Ok, now, if you have REALLY sensitive eyes, you REALLY need to skip to the next paragraph. With peeing on the bike, certain risks must be assumed. Imagine riding a bike for 4 hours in pee pants and then running for 4 more hours. This sounds like an accident waiting to happen. And if an accident is going to happen, it will happen to me! Post IM, Monday am, I woke with what felt like a blister in the hoo haa region. (No, Steve, there are no pictures!) I thought that's weird. I've never had a saddle sore before. By the end of the day it was red, hurt like hell and swollen like a golf ball. Damnit all to hell! It was an infection! Not to worry, with the right antibiotics it's all on the mend. That's the risk you take. Pee on the bike, save 2 minutes, potentially deal with a hoo haa infection. Would I pee on the bike again? You bet your hoo haa!

Enough on that. Sensitive readers can return at this time. The uphill portion is long and steady and I think lasts about 12 miles. There were a few times on the second loop when I felt like I was just going to plain tip over. The joule posted a total gain in climbing at greater than 7000 ft.
Holy crap! No wonder I felt like a wet noodle.

T2 was totally fast. The volunteers in the aid stations are glove-wearing angels. Ironman racing is totally gross. Who wants to help someone put on clean socks after they've taken off their peed in bike shoes? I know, this is way too much information. Anyway, zip, zip, bang and I was off to the sound of Mike Reilly in the announcer stand saying my name and wishing me a great run.

IM Lake Placid Race Report; Part 1 and a few other things

2010-07-31T13:16:00.006-05:00

First off, let me say, I NEED to get back to organized training. On coaches orders, I was to take the entire week off post IM. Nothing even remotely exercise or tri related. Have fun. Well, I can't be left to my own devices without something to keep me grounded or I get crazy.

Last night, I went to a country music fest with some girlfriends. My husband encouraged me to go. He said, "It's your one weekend to be NORMAL." Hmmmm, by whose definition, I ask! I'm not a huge country fan but I do like some of it. However, what I do seem to like more are Mike's Hard Lemonades. They come in several flavors; lemonade, lime, and cranberry. And one is no better than the other as my multiple taste tests proved. Of course, I don't eat anything because I'm a moron and am too busy running my mouth off about this or that! All this culminates with me being left by my people, who in their defense told me they were leaving, at the end of the night. And naturally, I miss the last shuttle bus back to the camping area where I'm staying and had to hoof it 1 mile in the dark. What a dumbass I am! Not safe. Totally stupid. I found myself running/walking in the dark wearing high-heeled sandals hoping I didn't fall down and twist my ankle. That would be cute right? 1/2 bag of Tostitos later and I went to sleep. Being as I train in the early morning, I'm up with the sun everyday no matter what. Today was no exception. My head was about ready to explode. So, at 7:30 I got in my van and came home. Thank God that's over! Soon I can get back to MY definition of NORMAL!

Done with that nonsense. Here's a bit about my Ironman day.

One thing I pride myself on is being organized. What that doesn't mean is that I'm not forgetful.

The night before the race, I had everything completely set out and planned from A to Z. We got to the race site at about 5:10 and my family dropped me off at transition. They then went to park the van and were going to meet me at a spot down by the swim. Jack didn't know if he would be able to find a spot nearby or would have to drive to a distant location and take a shuttle in. OK. See you later. I drop off my Special Needs bags, get body marked, then go to check on my bike. Put the Joule on the bike. Check to see that the tires are inflated. Put my Mojo bar in the front pack thingy. Hmmm, something is not right here. OMG!!!! I have no nutrition/fluids! My bottles are in the cooler in the back of the van! OMG!!!!! All of my nutrition! I'm thinking to myself that this cannot be happening. How could I do something so stupid? I'm going to f- up my OWN race right from the beginning! I have no cell phone to call Jack. I don't know where the van IS! Time is ticking. So, I try to get myself under control and I start thinking about Powerade which will be on the course. How many calories are in a bottle. How far apart are the aid stations? How many bottles will I need? I'm trying to convince myself that I'll be ok all while getting on with the rest of my tasks; sunscreen, body glide, blah, blah. I head out of transition toward the swim start where by any stroke of luck I'll find Jack and can maybe get my bottles and maybe pull this day out of the trash. Holy cats! There he was right by the gate. I about tipped over with relief. The crowd around him, I'm sure, thought I was nuts as I was gushing on and on about my plight. To make a long story short, he ran back to the van, got my bottles, and they were promptly put on the bike. Whew! Time to spare and get my head back together.

I am not a huge fan of the mass swim start. Actually, I downright HATE it! Because I'm a wimp! I know it. The race was 75% men/25% women. And honestly, 160 lbs. can do a lot more damage than 125 lbs. For those of you that have done IMWI, you know that is a pretty wide start line. Lake Placid is narrower. You just cram more crazies in a smaller area. It was a free-for-all! It's a two loop, rectangular shaped swim. I must have been on crack because I seeded myself about 10 people back and in the middle. It took the entire first long out section before things finally weeded out a bit. At the end of the first lap, you have to get out of the water and run a short section on the beach. My plan was to check my 2-month-old Garmin at that point to see where I was at. Here we go. I got on land, looked down, and NO GARMIN! I must have thought I was delirious because I started banging my wrist like it really had to be there and I was just blind. Nope. No Garmin. In all the mayhem of kicking, scratching, and punching, it somehow came off and floated to the bottom of Lake Mirror. And yes, I had the thing on correctly, just like every other time I've worn it in the water. I even remember double checking the band. Now, the mental talk shifts to this. Now what? No heart rate all day because the Garmin chest strap is the one I'm wearing. No pace info for the marathon. I'll be ok on the bike because I have my Joule and will be racing with power. But the run, OMG, the run. What will I do? Then I started telling myself that I would be fine. I can do this. I know how to listen to my body. I'll be fine. Stay cool. I can still do this. The swim ends and I'm pleased with my time which BTW is listed on a clock posted at the swim exit. It's a PR for me by about 3 minutes. Lastly, I have to say that I had the best wetsuit strippers ever; 2 guys who had that thing peeled off me in no time.

T1 was a hoot. I fell while running across some carpeted wooden ramp. I would have loved to see that on video. Two volunteer men scooped me up and practically threw me on my way in no time flat. I bet it was funny to watch. Temps were warm enough that I decided to go sockless. Although it worked out well, it was not a smart move. I never train on the bike sockless. You know the adage which warns against doing anything new on race day. But, I knew I needed to make every second count in transition and putting socks on damp feet is not a quick process. Plus, I'm going to pee on the bike, right? I was going to have to change socks in T2 anyway so why bother with socks in T1. Finally, I'm running to my bike and turn down the lane that I think is mine. Great, I'm in the wrong lane. Run all the way out, go down one more, and behold there it is.

A wash of calm finally comes over me as I'm now rolling out of Lake Placid happy that the swim is over.

I'M BAAAACK!

2010-07-29T18:03:00.013-05:00

I did it!

Yes.....I PEED ON THE BIKE!!

2 X's

Not only that, I qualified for KONA!!

We got home late yesterday afternoon. It was a 10 day, strap grandma to the top of the van, fam-damily vacation. Was I happy to be home. I had just gotten the pee washed out of my bike shoes and the second load of clothes in the wash when, SURPRISE, my family and friends came over to celebrate my race. They brought over food, drinks, leis, grass skirts, and a coconut bra for me! How lucky I am to have such great people in my life.

Back to my trip..... a quick summary. We traveled up through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and took a boat trip on the Soo Locks. We then crossed Canada. The word that comes to my mind first when I think of Canada now is majestic. It's large, open, and beautiful.

22 hours of driving and 3 days later, we arrived in Lake Placid, New York, site of 2 Winter Olympics. The Adirondack mountains are breathtaking. The towns are small and quaint. Very touristy. But still with a huge amount of small town appeal.
5 days were spent in the little town of Wilmington about 10 miles north of Lake Placid. We stayed in a small mom-and-pop type motel called The Hungry Trout. It had a cute little pool with a diving board and slide in the front yard. It's the stereotypical one story roadside motel where you park your car right outside your door. Awesome!

While in Lake Placid, we traveled via gondola up Whiteface mountain.
We also took some time to see the Ausable Chasm (an area carved out over time by the Ausable River).On the way home we stopped in Niagara Falls (US side) and did the 5 hour guided tour thing. Maid of the Mist and Cave of the Winds. If you've been there you know what I'm talking about. If not and you get there, they are must do's. You feel like you are practically part of the falls.
Then further driving commenced. 20 hours and a gazillion dollars in tolls and we are home.
Whew!Being with my family for 10 days straight was taxing at times. My kids drive me nuts and sometimes my husband does things that I can't for the life of me figure out. However, the great memories and just plain old time together far outweighed everything else. We are blessed. I hope my girls never forget this. You know what I really hope? That one day they will be sitting around talking to each other when they have families of their own and say, "Remember that time we went to Lake Placid and our crazy mom did that Ironman? That was great!"
I'm going to post a lot more about my race in upcoming entries. Suffice it to say. It was a great day. I had nothing left. I executed the race as I wanted. There were some guffaws in the day; some in my control and some not. Hopefully, I can learn from both.

A Freak!!

2010-07-14T12:06:00.015-05:00

That's me.

I CANNOT WAIT TO RACE!

Taper officially started on Monday. It's all I can do to keep focused on the things that need to get done in the here and now. Obviously, I want to have an awesome, solid, hugely successful race. Truth of the matter is, I just love Ironman racing. Win or lose, flop or fly. If there is nothing ventured there can be nothing gained. Overused as that phrase may be, I believe it wholeheartedly.

For the past several weeks, my husband and I have been looking at maps, planning our overnight stays, and talking about activities. I live in north central Wisconsin. We plan to travel through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan into Canada, on the upper side of the Great Lakes. The trip home will be through the US, Niagara Falls, and the underside of the Great Lakes. The drive is anticipated to take 3 days with 2 overnight stays each way. About 20-22 hours of travel one way; me, my husband, 11 and 13 year-old daughters. And, yes, I will be bringing my tazer!!

The lists are streaming through my mind constantly. I'm up everyday at 4:00 am with my head running on overdrive. I'm thinking about what we need to pack. The list is formidable and seems never ending; Garmin, cooler, food, drink, chargers for all the electronics, racing gear, training clothes, Passport Cards, Infinit drink mix, etc. The packing starts Sunday. I'm baking some muffins for the trip. Of course, the girls begged me, "please not the HEALTHY kind!" Where have I failed?!

I'm in full taper mode. This being my 4th Ironman, I am totally familiar with what to expect. I'm determined to enjoy my taper. I have extra time. It's summer and my kids still like me. What's not to enjoy if you look at it that way? I've put in the training and I feel ready. It's all over now but the crying (with joy, I hope!).

I think A LOT about the race. I replay scenarios in my head. 'If this happens, I'll do this.' 'This is how I want to pace my bike.' 'Here's how I plan to take in nutrition on the run.' I visualize myself executing. I list reasons why I will succeed. I think about the pain and how I'm going to work to put it in its rightful place. This video is my most favorite ever! I watch it a lot before big races. I feel like it's about ME! I'm not a natural. I haven't been an athlete since I was a teenager. I feel like an underdog. As goes the video, the theory of evolution says the strong survive. But, alas, sometimes the strong "get their asses kicked!"

A Leaker and A Soldier

2010-07-07T10:28:00.005-05:00

That's what I feel like.

This past holiday weekend was huge as far is training is concerned. 20 mile run on Saturday. Nice open water swim on Sunday. Big 120 mile hilly bike ride followed by a 6 mile run on Monday. Hmmmm. Pretty much takes care of my weekend! To get this all done, I had to behave myself. Both Friday and Saturday night I had to take a pass on fun with my friends. That's when I was referred to as a "leaker". I laugh because that's totally true! Late Friday afternoon I was sitting out on a pontoon boat soaking up some rays and enjoying some awesome lime vodka drink my girlfriend mixed up. Ohhh, nothing like summer! I'm totally a summer girl. Boy, did I want to keep the party going but I....went home. To bed. The next night, I went out to dinner with 3 friends and we followed it up with the movie "Eclipse". (I'll get this out right now. I'm for Jacob. That goofy Edward looks like he's going to break down a bawl at any and every second! Puke! Plus, I go for HEAT any day!) And what did I do after that at the ripe old hour of 9:00?....went home. To bed. A "leaker". You bet your ass! If not, mine would've been draggin'. Sometimes I'm totally OK with being a leaker.

A soldier. That's also what I felt like this weekend. At that time, I was 3 weeks out from my A race. Now is not the time to mess up my training. I knew I needed to keep my head in the game and stay focused. Get the job done. Do what I'm told. Put my head down and WORK. Isn't that what a soldier does?

I'm happy to say my workouts went almost perfectly. Why not perfectly? Because to me, nothing is 'perfect'. Everything could be improved. But this past weekend was pretty damn close!

18 DAYS to IM Lake Placid! Of course I'm counting!!! Who doesn't?

Ramblings

2010-06-25T06:26:00.013-05:00

It's one month from today. IM Lake Placid is just around the corner. It feels a bit weird to me. The 3 other IM's I've done have all been late summer; IM KY and IM WI. A mid-summer A race has me a bit unsettled. I know by the time the race will roll around that I will have done the work. It's just that it doesn't seem like such a drawn out affair. I really think that's a good thing. I want to come to the line with the "I'm going to smash this race." attitude versus the "I'm so sick of this. I just want to get this done." attitude.

I personally think the best compliment you can receive is being told you are "motivating". Not pretty. Not skinny. Not having a beautiful home. That's just stuff that doesn't amount to a pinch of shit in the end. To be considered motivating means you've affected someone's life in a positive way. That recently happened to me and I couldn't be prouder.

I took a bike ride yesterday am. "Ride how you feel." 1:30. Hmmm. How did I feel? Awesome, that's how! I started at 5:00am. The sun was just coming up. The road I chose was recently resurfaced. I am riding my awesome new bike. It was one of those days where you ask yourself if life can really get any better. Heart rate was low. Watts were high. What an awesome way to start the day!

I picked up my 5 sleeping pills at the pharmacy. Yes, I can't believe that I've finally given in! Or maybe more importantly, I should be asking myself why I didn't do this sooner. I am nuts and I realize this. I'm on overdrive pretty much all the time. I don't sleep so great to begin with. But, the night before a race it is REALLY bad. If I get 4 hours, it's pretty much a miracle. Last weekend before my race, I'm pretty sure 1 hour was it. I talked to my doc and asked for a few pills to have on hand before races only. Obviously, I'm not big on taking drugs if 5 tablets was all I thought I would need for the rest of the year. Why should I suffer through a LONG night? Sleep is obviously a performance enhancer. But, I checked, Ambien is not a banned substance per the USADA. Whew! Don't want to be accused of doping!

Here's the last thing that I thought was hilarious. It's summer and my consistent access to open swim times at a pool for adults gets even more limited and sporadic than usual. I needed to get in a long swim workout and couldn't get it done in the usual swim times available. My daughters swim in a club for 6 weeks in the summer. The age range is about 10-14. I was desperate and asked the coach if I could swim with the kids but do my own workout. To my surprise, she said, "yes, no problem." In fact, I could come whenever I wanted. I'll try to limit my times because there are few things more humiliating than getting your ass kicked by a 13 year old! Anyway, the funny thing was after the practice was over and in the locker room. My daughters specifically asked me not to embarrass them and not take my suit off in the community shower area. OK, fine. But, I've got to get dressed, right? Well, I guess I've got to take my suit off to do that, right? So, I'm naked and I hear this girl walk behind me and say "Oh, gross." as she was walking out the locker room door. I looked at my daughter and she's laughing hysterically. "What?", I said. "She was talking about you, mom." Ha! I burst out laughing. I am gross? Yeah, I'm not a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model or anything but I have seen worse! I suppose, my 40 year old ass doesn't look the same as an 11 year old one. Let's just see how she looks in 29 years!!!!

Anyway, that's it for now. Have a great weekend!

4:59:54!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-06-20T12:03:00.008-05:00

Yes! Yes! Yes! I am just tickled!

4:59:54 was my finishing time at the High Cliff Half. Holding off those last 6 seconds was killer. I knew I was close as I was running to the finisher chute. I gave it everything I had and MADE IT! My first sub-5:00 half ironman. I could hardly believe it!

I had been mentally prepping myself for this race 1 week in advance. 'I'm going to have a great race.' And on coaches orders, I started emailing her one reason every day why that was going to be true. I was coming to the start ready. So ready in fact that I couldn't fall asleep the night before. I was drowsy and fell lightly asleep about 9:00 then came to and that was it. By midnight, I was in my van driving down the highway looking for the nearest convenience store that carried diphenhydramine or some crappy sleeping pill. It was awful! I so wanted to sleep but I couldn't shut off the racing engine in my head. 4:00am finally came! Thankfully. I know I drove everyone in our hotel room nuts! But they're used to me and generally do their best to ignore me!

I checked the forecast for raceday the night before and knew it was supposed to be sunny, warm (not sweltering high 80's), and windy (15-20 mph). All good.

Swim
Unfortunately, I was praying for somewhat calm waters but this was not to be! Lake Winnebago is a huge lake and, little did I know, capable of producing white caps! This proved to be the most challenging race swim I have experienced. Heading out into the waves I had all I could do to breathe and not take in too much water. I did my best to swim efficiently but I was really struggling with breathing and timing of the waves. Finally, the course turned and the waves were coming in to my side. I could roll to the opposite side and finally got into some form of rhythm. Then the course turned again and I was swimming into the sun. I got a little off track here and lost a bit of time. I had on tinted goggles but sometimes with the bright sun that doesn't seem to be enough. The saving grace was the stretch back to shore which was fast with the waves at my back. My time was 27:47. I'm pretty sure the course was short. I think my swimming has improved this year, but not THAT much. Anyway, I'm trying not to belabor the point and minimize my day because of it. The swim was difficult given the conditions and I'm happy to have gotten the experience of swimming in really rough water.

T1
No big issues. They had wetsuit strippers at the race for the first time this year. But when I got out of the water I couldn't even see them. I don't know if I was delirious or dizzy or both. So I just kept running up to my bike.

Bike
The day was expected to be windy. I had made the decision to ride my disc wheel and I feel I made the right decision. While out there, never did I feel like I was getting pushed around too much. In past experiences, it's got to be about mid 20's mph before I start feeling a problem with the disc. My nutrition and hydration for the day was spot on. I took in almost 800 calories and about 64 oz of fluid. Every 10 minutes I kept putting something in my mouth. Prior to the day I committed myself to staying aero all the time expect for when climbing. Admittedly, in the past I've done more riding upright over the last hour in a half ironman than I would have liked. I know that when I'm down in the bars my power is less. I can put out more watts when I'm upright. But, what do I care about? Watts? or Total time? I wanted to get from point A to B as quickly as possibly, not crank out watts to write down on a training log. And that's just what I did. I stayed low and I worked the wind; resting more when the wind was at my back and pushing more when having to go against the wind. I was in the 4th wave out of 12. No women passed me on the run and I passed a lot of women. I felt like the day was going well. But always in the back of my mind is who might be in waves 5-12 behind me and what superfast girls were in the waves ahead of me. No way could I let up. My time was 2:43:27.

T2
I didn't want to deal with blisters so I took the time to put on socks in T2. The transition area was set up in freshly cut lawn. Grass clippings were everywhere. T2 took about 15 seconds longer than hoped as I tried to wiped off my feet.

Run
The run at High Cliff is about 90% trail run. Half in the sun and the other half in the woods. One major killer hill to climb up front and the same major hill to run down to the finish line. Mud, fields, tree roots, corners, and uneven limestone sums up the rest of the run. It is great. I love it! I think it makes for a slower time but the monotony sure is broken up. I was planning to take in 2 gels with Gatorade and water at the aid stations. I know that gels are a great way to get in 100 calories of quick carbs but I CANNOT stand them! I think they taste terrible and sometimes they make me feel like I'm going to puke. I hate the texture, taste, and the way it sticks in my mouth. Anyway, I managed the first one at the start of the run. But, I bailed on the second at the midway point. I'm going to have to figure something out or just make myself do it! I was passed by no girls and did a lot of passing. But this was a double loop run with sprint folks thrown in. By this time of the day, the numbers on the calves were looking pretty sad. So, I didn't know who was who. I don't think that I was passing any more girls from the half by this point. I was getting tired. At times I thought, 'I just want this over with.' But then I would replay this VS video in my mind. There is this point in the video where the guy doing the voice over says something like "Then somebody throws the switch and decides to take a pass at saying uncle." I wanted that to be me. I kept pushing. Throw the switch. Here's the awesome thing. I was running without any pace data. I recently got a Garmin 310XT. I still don't really know how to use it. Imagine that! Anyway, my pace wasn't showing. The hell if I was going to stop to try to figure it out. Screw it. 'Just run. You know what you're doing. Run.' Total time 1:45:27.

I ended up 1st in my age group and 7th overall. More importantly, I've got a huge fire in my gut. I want to get faster and I think I can. Perfect way to set things up for IM Lake Placid. One month to go for the big show.

Smash Through the Glass Ceiling

2010-06-06T18:25:00.012-05:00

This past week I had a few conversations with my coach, Jen, in which I admitted my biggest obstacle was my head. I hate to admit that out loud. We all want to appear confident and strong. For me, in reality, there are a lot of times when I'm not. Jen has been pushing and driving me to race hard (and by hard she means puking hard, no joke). The problem is that I view(ed) myself as an average or slightly above average competitor. Never did I think of myself as a winner or a contender. Obviously, that's not how races are won. When racing, if a woman would pass me, I would tend to say, "she must be better than me." There I was putting myself in second place and viewing myself as the lesser athlete. Not good.

Well, I thought Jen was just pushing me like she does all her athletes. But, I think I was wrong and she like has some psychology degree or a magical power that she can figure a person out through email vibes alone! She gave me none of that 'oh, but you're a good athlete' baloney. She laid out in a clear, itemized list the attributes of successful age group athletes. That's what I love about this woman; hard, concrete information! In summary, it boils down to believing in yourself, believing in your plan, and never, ever letting negativity muddy your head. It's time for me to think I'm a real competitor.

Today was the Green Bay Olympic Tri and I came to WIN. Literally, I came to win. Not first place in my age group, but win. Last year I was second overall and it's not a huge event so I realistically knew with hard work I could do it.

I won't bore you with all the details. But, I have to say the swim at this race is the dumbest thing ever. It's listed as 800 yd. It's a double loop course in a man made outdoor pond/lake. It's quite shallow for a good part of it and I could literally dolphin dive half of it; which I did. With all the congestion of bodies, it seemed the thing to do. When actually swimming, the time was so short it was hard to get into a rhythm. From last year's experience, I knew a wetsuit would gain me next to nothing in time and would probably cost me more time in transition getting it off. Hence, no wetsuit. Good decision as T1 went by in a flash.

I was happy to be on the bike. I'm on my new Specialized Transition S-Works which I totally love and will have to write more about later. It took a while to get it all together, but now that I have, I couldn't be happier. Things were going along well and I felt strong. One woman from the wave in front of me passed me somewhere between the 5 and 10 mile mark. Now this is where in the past I would have said internally, 'oh well, she just must be better than you'. Whether that was true or not, I didn't let myself get into that verbal banter with my head. I literally had to focus on positive self-talk. 'You are strong. You are capable. You train well.' I kept on with my game plan. The bike was fast thanks to light winds. It's long for an Oly; somewhere in the realm of 28.5-29 miles. I will admit that toward the end of the bike my legs were feeling fatigued and I was letting up a bit. I never know what to expect for the run. I know this is something I have to work on. I need to push hard on the bike through to the bitter end and not let off. I've turned into a decent runner. So, I need to stay focused on the bike and worry about the run when I get there.

T2 was entertaining. I'm going for the WIN so I'm thinking forget the socks. I chose to not wear them on the bike and on the run. The problem was getting my running shoes on with damp feet and no socks. It took a few seconds longer than I had hoped and I ended up with some nasty blisters because of it. Anyway, my friend Mark was standing outside of T2 and told me that the woman who passed me on the bike was about 2 minutes ahead of me. He says, "You've got 6 miles to get her." And I wanted to, bad.

I felt awesome on the run! Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! I felt light and airy. It took about .5 mile to settle in but after that it was great. 6.2 miles of get out of my way. And I'm looking for her, like a stalker! Blond hair. Where's the chick with the blond hair? Oh yeah, there she is! It was at about mile three that I came up on her. I could've swore she was wearing a necklace with an M-dot hanging over her back. She had fabulous, muscly shoulders. Now I'm faced with a decision. I've got a bit over 3 miles to go. Do I hang behind for a bit? Or do I make my move now and hold on? Before I knew it and I think even unconsciously, I was next to her and passing. There is psychology to racing, I realize. As I went by I said real calm like, "nice bike ride". After I went by, she asked "are you in a relay?" Now, I thought, she's shook! And I will admit in a somewhat cocky tone I said "nope". Then a few seconds later she said, "you're individual?" Ahhhh, she IS shook! "Yep," was my easy, confident reply. Don't get me wrong I was working. But, I'm not about to let it show. And I'm now also not about to get passed in return. I think my fastest mile was after that and at a sub-7:00 pace. Soon enough I came to the final corner. And there were my biggest fans and supporters; my husband and 2 daughters (who also all raced and exceeded their expectations). They were hollering, cheering, and running beside me and I was running like someone who had a firecracker stuck up her butt. I was proud of them and they were proud of me. After I crossed the line, I knew I was the first female in but that didn't mean someone wouldn't come up from a later wave and beat me. So, I waited and watched the minutes tick by. After a while, I gave in and walked away thinking I'd know soon enough if I'd got the job done.

I did! First overall!
Swim 11:07
T1 :59
Bike 1:22:35
T2 1:25
Run 44:14

Little did I know that if you win you have to speak! UGH! I don't speak. Not in a microphone. Not in front of people! Thankfully the announcer asked me a few directed questions and I didn't pee my pants. Afterward, my husband teased that I need to work on my acceptance speech. Just like the NASCAR racers, I should thank my sponsors. And I do; thanks to Specialized, SRAM, Zipp, CycleOps, 2XU, Headsweats. I thank Jen for pushing me to a great day. She told me it's time to "smash through the glass ceiling" and I think I did. Things look a bit differently. Most importantly, I am so lucky and thankful to have my husband and girls beside me to make this all more enjoyable.

Training Notes

2010-05-21T12:00:00.010-05:00

Two days ago I posted on training frustration and irritation. Then 12 hours passed. Really it sounded like a lot of whining and complaining. So, down it came. DELETE! That 'delete' button is great sometimes. There are times when we all feel sorry for ourselves, right? Thankfully things can turn around in a hurry with a little attitude adjustment.

What I want to talk about is how my coach wants to kill me through pain, embarrassment, and torture!! I say this all in jest because I really love it and feel my training is heading in the right direction. I've told Jen that every Sunday night I review my training plan for the week and LAUGH! There's always something there that is either new or designed to push me to my limits.

Last week, I was to take an ICE BATH after my long run. An ice bath? Um, do I have to? This was torture in my mind. I've never done the ice bath thing before and didn't want to. That just sounds literally painful! This is coming from somebody who hates the cold and longs for upper 80's weather. Being the compliant person that I am, I got in from the run and promptly turned on the cold water to fill the tub. Grabbed all the ice in the freezer and dumped it in. Slowly I crawled in. Holy cats, it was as bad as I thought it would be. My feet could NOT tolerate it. But once I concentrated on relaxing my legs it actually got better. 10 minutes was the goal. I only made it 7-8. A plus was that the ice bath slowed me down enough to do some stretching after I got out. Otherwise, there's often no stretching, it's just get done running and move on to the next task like supper, picking up kids, the usual. Would I do it again? Yes, and I fact I'm planning another ice bath tomorrow after my long run. Coach says they're beneficial. I'll give it a few more go-arounds before I make my final decision!

Another thing that made me laugh was when she told me I'd "get a gold star" if I threw up after completing my time trial last Saturday. Didn't happen. Not for lack of desire. I ended up having some mechanical issues and broke my right aero bar off a rental set about 10 miles into the 25 mile race. I contemplated quitting but thought not when I realized it would probably take me longer to get back to the finish line if I waited for a sag wagon then if I just sucked it up and kept going. Needless to say, some of my positive mojo was gone after that happened and I had some trouble shifting and holding both bars in one hand.

This week taught me a lesson. If I don't want to do a 1000 yd swim time trial, don't complain about how bad I think my swimming sucks!! Yah, that was Wednesday's treat and that's what really had me PO'd. It didn't go as I had hoped at all. Then I do this whole downward spiral, feel-sorry-for-myself routine. Thankfully, time heals all wounds and that's in the past. Keep pushing on.

Thursday was another funny! "Take your bike and trainer to the track." It was a progressive interval workout consisting of 5 min on the bike/trainer followed by 800 yd run done 5 times over. Each interval is to be harder and faster. I reminded my coach that I live in Medford; population 4500. People will certainly be giving me weird looks and wondering what's up with that weirdo riding her bike stationary on a track. She replied that they already know I'm "nuts". So, really, who cares? And yes, I got a few stares and snickers. But like she said, I AM nuts and it didn't really bother me.

Here's one where I will be pushed to my limits. Tomorrow's workout is a brick consisting of a 2 hour bike ride followed by a 2.5 hour run. My goal is to average watts in the 140's and knock off 18 miles. I better get some rest today!

I will say one thing; training has not been dull!! I appreciate that immensely. Every week is like a new little adventure. Looking forward to next week.

Resting and Waiting

2010-05-04T05:52:00.004-05:00

Monday through Wednesday are 'rest' days this week. Do you realize how much stuff I can get done on 'rest' days? It's awesome. I mean I'm getting appointments scheduled, planning Bday parties, figuring out the Mother's Day festivities, doing chores around the house, running errands and all without having to think too hard about when I'll get the next workout in. I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

On the other hand, it gives me more time to think. Think about what? Christmas is going to come for Michelle in May. A big box packed with goodies. I've been up since 0430 this am thinking about it. More to come soon!!!

Pine Line Half

2010-04-25T13:49:00.012-05:00

I'm making a declaration. In running races, I don't care about my finishing time. Well, I do.... but I really care about my average pace. It seems the race course is typically off by .1-.2 mile one way or the other. Then your overall time is too. Why do we then talk PR's in finishing time? Why not in average pace? Makes more sense to me. So that's what I'm doing. And in just this case, it sounds better. Makes me feel like I made a bigger improvement! Anything to trick my little mind!

The Pine Line Marathon was held Saturday. My goal was to run a 7:30 pace and I MADE IT! Average pace 7:29. Finishing time was 1:38:54 (the course was a bit long). My prior PR at this distance was a 7:34 pace in December of 2009. 5 seconds per mile faster! I'll take that. Don't let anyone tell you can't get faster when you're 40!

My friends Stu, Rob, Sarah, and Steve were also in town for the race and we had a blast! The course is out and back, so I saw everyone once. The rain held off until we were done. And the wind behaved itself for that matter as well. Steve massively PR'd and Stuie whooped my ass (which is totally OK since we've got to throw the old dog a bone once in a while or he couldn't go on!). Steve on his way to a PR!
Stu headed to the Finish Line
Warm-up
I DID a warm-up! Something I haven't been very good at in the past. I will admit it was shorter than prescribed but somehow time got away on me. I ran for about 15 min with 4 strides thrown in. The plan called for 20-25 minutes (I swear, Jen, I am a compliant person!) And Steve in a Speedo warmed up with me which according to him is a novel idea (the warm-up pre-exercise that is).

I Hate My Garmin
I have a love/hate relationship with technology; always have. When it works, I love it. When it decides to grow it's own brain cells and do it's own thing, I hate it. As you can guess, that's what happened Saturday. I go to download my data and I get the "Error" jargon. How can it work one day and not the next? My unwritten rule is that I'll mess with trying to get the thing back on track for ONE hour, then I give up and call the 1-800 number. To make a long story short, I have no mile splits which totally irritates me.

First Few Miles
I was told to not go out too hard; no blowing up. Yah, OK. So what do I do? Go out too hard. Like I said, I have no mile splits so I don't know the actual numbers but I have a feeling they were at something like 7:00 pace! I really have to focus on settling down! I felt sooooo good! I was on fire! Light and effortless! I'd tell myself to settle down, slow down. And I would.....for about 15 seconds. Then there I was again, right up there at 7:00 pace.

Mid-section Miles
This was nearing the turn-around and shortly after the turn-around. There were people to look at! It was the time to see how far behind others were. An added bonus is that running toward someone makes me try harder not only from a speed perspective but also from a form perspective. At about mile 7, I can hear someone right on my heels and just stuck there for about 3 miles. I was in the lead for the women at this point but I knew the woman who won the race last year was only 1-2 minutes back. So for 3 miles, I thought it was her. I was getting irritated thinking, "if you're going to pass me, just do it." "Don't just sit there until the last mile then blow my doors off. Enough with the head games." Eventually, this person passed me at about mile 10 and to my surprise it was a 12 year old boy! Ha! I laughed at myself then! Why didn't this bother me? I'm getting passed by a 12 year old who told me, as he's running by, that this is his first 1/2 marathon! Why? Because he was a he and not a she!

Last Few Miles
I'm getting tired now and have started counting and doing math. That's what I do when I get tired; I count. It could be steps. It could be .1 mile sections. Anything. I also start doing math. Nothing taxing like percentages or theorems. Things like 'if I run sub 7:30 pace I should hit the next mile marker at xyz time'. Stuff like that. Keeps my mind occupied. I'm also trying to concentrate on my form. I know when I get tired my arms start to cross the midline leading to poor efficiency. So, now I start to hear another set of footsteps on my heels at about the 12 mile mark. And who should it be? The woman who won the race last year! One stinkin' mile to go and I'm going down! I'm going to get passed, I can feel it. I tried to tell myself "no, no, no you're not giving up". But when she said to me "you must've started out pretty fast" as she ran by me, I could've whacked her up side the head for being right! She beat me by :18 seconds. Hmmmm, could I have run :18 seconds faster overall had I gone out a little slower from the get-go? Probably. When will I learn? Obviously, not that day!
Almost Done!

To make a long story short-
Had a great time with friends.
Confirmed my need to work on pacing.
Set a new PR in the half-marathon!

This Saturday-16 mile bike time trial!!!!

GO TIME!!

2010-04-21T13:08:00.011-05:00

One announcement that I MUST make is that the deadline for video applications for the Evotri contest is 5/3/10. I'm telling you, put that entry in!!! Nothing ventured nothing gained!

Well, it's GO TIME!!!

In my mind, snowshoe racing is not RACING!! Yup, I try really hard and I hurt and burn and all that stuff. But, it's not the same. Running is running and having heavy metal things strapped to my feet kinda takes away from that!

Happily, my first road race of the season is now upon me. The Pine Line Half Marathon is the race and 7:30 is the pace. (cute little rhyme! maybe I'll use that as my mantra when I feel like death.) What's equally exciting to me is that I'll be running it with friends; Robby and Stu from Evotri and Steve and Sarah. They're coming to town to experience the excitement of Medford. HA! Don't worry, I forewarned them! :) I miss them very much and can't wait to catch up!

Back to this goal pace......Pace is the operative word! I know I have a tendency to go out too fast. Coach Jen has INSTRUCTED me to NOT BLOW UP in the first 2 miles. Actually, be a little slow. Yeah, well, that's where the problem lies. This is a really small race; 50 total participants in the half with 23 being women. And it's a small community. You know who can run and who can't! So letting someone pull away right from the beginning is scary for me. But, I'm going to do this. I want to PR! I have to keep it in my head that nobody else matters. It's me and my clock. That's all.

I had a couple of good run workouts last week; one was a learning experience and the other was a confidence builder. I did a track workout of alternating 400's and 800's for a total of 10. My pacing was a problem. I wasn't able to hold it steady or preferably negative split the workout. My split times fell by 8 seconds in the 800's and 4 seconds in the 400's from the first set to the last. Not good! I mean I was running hard and effort wasn't the issue. From what I'm learning, sensing your pace and sticking with it is truly the goal. This takes practice and true body awareness! My second run workout gave me a good mental boost. I was to run 1-2 mile intervals at a faster and faster pace. I ended up at a 7:00 mile pace and felt damn good if I might add!

On another interesting sidenote, my husband drives me nuts! Here's a guy who doesn't run for months and never really was a runner to begin with then goes out and runs 5 miles at 9:00 pm just because he's got a lot of energy to burn off. How does he do that? So now I'm goading him into signing up for the half this Saturday. Why? Just because. It would be interesting to see what he can do. Scary thing is he looks terrible when he runs but he moves pretty fast! What could he do if he set his mind to it and actually trained? I don't want to know! Then we'd be racing each other and I'd probably lose!!

Boobs and Spanx Show

2010-04-09T10:23:00.011-05:00

Let me preface this by saying, "yes, I know I'm going to hell". Because often what's funny to me is sarcastic but usually true.

Wednesday night 3 of us went to a Bon Jovi concert. I've said this many times, but I'm SURE I was married to Jon Bon Jovi in a former life. Anyway, we've gone to a buttload of these concerts and always have fun.What is most remarkable to me is how this man has the market cornered on 40 year-old women (of which I am one). We love him!! Hanging out at a few of the bars before the show outside the venue proves it; I'm guessing 5 women for every 1 man. And that one man is probably being dragged along by his wife/girlfriend. Actually, it's the willing man who goes to Bon Jovi that I would be worried about! And if that man's wearing a purple Bon Jovi t-shirt, I'd be really worried! However, if you were a man looking for something.....this would be the place to be!
Obviously, a big chunk of us women are married moms who get out of the woodwork but only a few times of the year. And whose fault is that? Usually our own. But, I digress.... What then happens when the opportunity arises? The bling come out! Hair, make-up, jewelry, and more tight clothes than should be legal. Hence our new term for the Bon Jovi concert.....the Boobs and Spanx Show! Lot's of Boobs and I'm thinkin' lots of Spanx being used to get all that in the right place! What really makes me laugh is asking 'who are we all dressing up for'? I'm guessing each other. Because remember there aren't any men around at this thing anyway! Weird, isn't it?

2010-04-05T07:13:00.001-05:00

Monday, March 15, 2010

Why Apply?

You know about the contest. You know about the prizes. You know the fine print.

If you're like me, you find yourself asking "what is the catch"? This is too good to be true. Let me be the first to say, "it is too good to be true"! I have been exactly in your position. In the short time it took me to decide whether or not to apply when it was my time around, I quickly realized I had absolutely nothing to lose and so much to gain.

What I wanted to provide in this brief review are a few of the intangibles that I have experienced since becoming a member of Team Evotri.

1) Knowledge. The training, equipment, and nutrition involved with triathlon can be daunting. I came to the team with 2 years of tri experience and little to no other athletic background to back it up. Things like a CycleOps power meter were mere blips on my radar screen. I had read about them but had no idea what benefit such a tool could be to a beginner like myself. Another example was the thought of an actual coach. That used to make me laugh. I felt like only really "good" athletes had a coach. Ha! Little did I know that it is people just like me who benefit most from a coach. A compact crank and gear ratios? What are those? Well, now I know. And the list could go on. Had I been out there on my own, I probably would have figured it out but it would have taken a lot longer and been a lot more painful of a process!

2) Places and Races.Where have I been and what have I done? I have been able to experience places and races I know I never would have had it not been for my involvement with the team. I've been to Boulder,CO for a bike fitting! Crazy, eh? I've experienced Temecula, CA for a training camp with Floyd Landis and CycleOps. I'll never forget the beautiful countryside, orange groves, fallen avocados lining the roadways and killer bike rides. I've been to Benton Harbor, MI for the Steelhead 70.3 race. That was the first time I looked at a lake (Lake Michigan) and felt a bit afraid! I went to Clearwater, FL to participate in the 70.3 World Championship race. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would find myself there! Last year we traveled as a team to New Orleans to race the inaugural New Orleans 70.3. A long van ride and an awesome weekend in an historic house with my teammates made for some great stories!

3) People I've Met. Because I've had the chance to get around, I've met a lot of folks. Notice I say met! I'm pretty quiet until I get to know someone. So, really, these are people whom I have had the opportunity to shake their hand and not much else! However, had I not been hooked up with the team this would not have been possible. Here goes: Floyd Landis, Allen Lim, Melanie McQuaid, Tyler Stewart, Desiree Ficker, Jessi Stensland, TJ Tollakson, Linsey Corbin, Heather Gollnick, Robby Ventura, Becky Lavelle, and Chris McDonald.

4) Friends. My teammates are my friends. We are all so different. We span the age range from 40's to 20's. We are in different life stages; single to married parents with infants on up to college-bound young adults. We live scattered about the states and even outside of the states. We are also different in speed and long-term athletic goals. But there is one obvious thing we are similar about and that is our appreciation and love for triathlon. Over the years, I am proud to say these are my friends.

5) Personal Growth. All of the above things can probably be summarized under the heading of personal growth. I am not the same person that I was before becoming involved with Team Evotri. I am more well-rounded. I'm a bit more of a risk taker and willing to step outside of myself to think about what may be possible. Yes, I've pushed myself to more levels of physical pain than I ever thought possible. But, that goes with the territory. On the flip side, I've also derived more personal satisfaction from accomplishments born out of this perseverance, hard work, and belief in myself.

That about does it. Now it's your turn. Get moving on the video footage and show us what you're all about! We're waiting....

Odds and Ends

2010-03-24T12:14:00.008-05:00

First off, I am really hoping tons of folks are thinking or working on their videos for the Team Evotri slot. It's definitely a great opportunity! If your just tuning in, see the post below for details.

Life has been busy. It's always busy. Nothing new. But, I thought I'd post of few of the more interesting recent factoids. Which aren't probably all that interesting!

Daylight savings went into effect 3/14/10. This means spring has arrived in my mental corner of the world. Obviously, it's still not great riding weather up here in Wisconsin. Cold! But, I have vowed that if there is daylight to get the workout in, I am OUTSIDE. Come hell or high water! Of which both could come, I am sure! So, last Saturday I waited until 1:00 pm when the temp rose had risen to a balmy 36F and went out for my 3 hour ride. Man, do I have a LOT, LOT of bike work to do to be race ready. It may have been the 3 layers of clothes, bulky mittens, and double layer head coverings but I moved like a turtle. My average cadence was 70. 70! My watts were in the dumper and I never felt really comfortable. But, damnit all to hell, I got the ride in. If only stubbornness and orneriness were enough to win an Ironman. I may then have a shot!!

I'll get another chance at it this Saturday am. I've got a 3 hour ride on the books. Temps are looking to be in the 40's with overcast skies and 50% chance of rain. But, remember what I said, if there's daylight, I'm out! I've rounded up a group including some fast guys and I've told them I need to be pushed. Definitely time to get my ass in gear! What I think is funny is that I'm driving 3 hours round trip in my car to do this 3 hour ride. Crazy people like us aren't just found everywhere. They have to be searched out! It's shaping up to be a fun ride.

Here's another eye-opener. My coach, Jen Harrison, looks at those graphs I download! WHOA! Yah, yah, I know, a good coach does that. And rest assured, when the workout says do "X", I do "X". I am compliant. I typically give it my all. What made me sit back and go "hmmm" was the one in a few times I slacked off, I got busted!! The workout was a 1:40 run; easy zone 1-2 then picking it up the last 30 minutes. It was this past Sunday and yep, you guessed it, it was cold! I'm running into the wind with cold fingers and face over the last 30 minutes and, damnit, I just didn't feel like going harder. I HATE THIS COLD WEATHER! And she called me on it! "I noticed........". I think this means I've got a great coach and I appreciate her for busting me! Keepin' it real with no SLACKING!

Lastly, and most not leastly. There is a marathon/half-marathon in the big town of Medford, WI called the Pine Line on 4/25/10. I realize that's not so exciting. But what is is that 4 of my tri-geek friends are coming to race with me; Stu and RobbieB of Team Evotri and the famous Steve in a Speedo and his awesome wife Pharmie. I cannot wait! I am already planning my spring cleaning ritual. I hope they can get to town a bit early so I can cook for them (not that that's so spectacular). I'm proud of my family, where I live and our little slice of small town life. I can't wait to share it with them.

Making the Team

2010-03-19T15:59:00.001-05:00

"Making the Team"
Madison, WI

Now in its third year of giving back to the endurance community, Team Evotri once again wants you to be part of the journey.

This spring, the team will be adding another teammate from the endurance sport community. Along with joining the family, the new recruit will be awarded a prize package from the Team Evotri sponsors: SRAM, Robbie Ventura’s Vision Quest Coaching, CycleOps Power, Zipp Speed Weaponry, 2XU, Headsweats, and new sponsor for the 2010 season, Specialized Bicycles!

Over the next few months the team and sponsors will be looking for an individual who embraces the spirit of triathlon: someone positive, enthusiastic, and dedicated to giving back to the community. Triathlon experience is not a deciding factor in choosing a winner, but passion is. Do you have what it takes to make the team?

Winners can rest assured their performance will undoubtedly be taken to the next level with the following prize package:

Trusted by world champions like Chris McCormack and Melanie McQuaid, the veteran racing professionals at Specialized will provide the winner with an unbelievable race package. Be prepared to light up the course with none other than the fiercely designed and wickedly fast Transition Pro Time Trial bike, technical helmet, and racing shoes.

Ever innovative CycleOps Power will provide the winner with a cutting edge Joule wireless Powertap SL+.

The endurance experts at Vision Quest Coaching will take the winner to the next level with a dynamic professional coaching package.

SRAM will outfit the Transition Pros with world-class Force drivetrains, engineered for top performance.

The velocity doctors at Zipp Speed Weaponry will provide 606 wheelsets, cranks and bars for the excellence in endurance sport trifecta.

The winner of the 2010 Team Evotri slot will receive a brand new wetsuit and race gear from 2XU, the industry experts in state-of-the-art style.

To top off this incredible package, the 2010 team slot winner will also receive a collection of custom racing hats and visors from the industry leader in endurance accessories: Headsweats.

Team Evotri and their sponsors invite you to submit a video conveying why you are the best pick for the team in 2010.

Making the Team: 2010: Contest Guidelines:

Endurance sport enthusiasts, do you have what it takes to make the team? Tell us how and why in a video submission no longer than five minutes, and be sure to recruit your friends to help you out! Videos will be evaluated by Team Evotri and their sponsors for creativity, quality, and how well they address the following questions:

1. How will you benefit the team if you're chosen? What are your personal attributes?

2. How have you, and how do you plan to give back to the endurance sport community? Nothing is too insignificant, list it all.

3. What are your future plans regarding triathlon and endurance sport?

*Upload all videos to You Tube and send the link to MakingTheTeam@evotri.com by April 15, 2010.

*Contestants should provide contact information along with his/her link submission. Team Evotri and their sponsors will announce the winner in May, 2010.

*Videos not within the time constraints will not be considered.

*By sending a video link to MakingTheTeam@evotri.com, candidates grant contest affiliates permission to use said video for promotional purposes affiliated with Team Evotri and the Making the Team: 2010 contest.

*The winner of the team slot forfeits all awards if he/she is unable to continue as a team member for any reason.

*The winner of the team slot agrees to contribute to the Team Evotri web site for as long as he/she is a member of Team Evotri.

*The winner of the team slot agrees to attend the WIBA training weekend in Madison, Wisconsin in July, 2010 and race the Rev3 Cedar Point Half-Ironman in September, 2010.

Transition Pros provided by Specialized, an industry leader committed to excellence in both performance and design. Visit http://www.specialized.com for their full line of men's and women's road and mountain bikes.

CycleOps Powertaps and trainers are provided by the Madison, Wisconsin-based Saris Cycling Group; makers of industry leading power meters, racks and indoor trainers, as well as home to the top minds in performance science. Visit http://www.cycleops.com for an up close and personal education.

Professional coaching provided by Vision Quest: a dynamic, hands on, fully involved coaching program designed to provide direct interaction between the athletes and the coach for triathletes and cyclists. Please find more information on the diverse and flexible programs at http://www.visionquestcoaching.com.

Wheels of Team EvoTri provided by Zipp Speed Weaponry, flawless craftsmanship makes these wheels, aerobars and cranks the industry leaders in speed and aerodynamic efficiency. For more information, and for a complete product catalog, visit http://www.zipp.com.

Drivetrain components provided by SRAM, manufacturers of world-class bicycle parts including the new Double Tap & Exact Actuation technologies designed for faster Tri, Road & CX machines. See & learn more at http:/www.willyoumaketheleap.com.

Cutting-edge and sleek, 2XU will assure teammates maximize their potential with the industry's most revolutionary wetsuits and race gear. Visit http://www.2xu.com for the latest innovations.

Headsweats custom racing gear surpasses all others in absorption and comfort when its needed most. All seasons, all conditions, Headsweats goes the distance. Check out http:/www.headsweats.com to see the entire 2010 line.

Why Apply?

2010-03-15T12:55:00.010-05:00

Time for the Snowshoes to Collect Dust

2010-03-10T15:08:00.008-06:00

Snowshoe season has come to a close and I can't say that I'm sad about it! Honestly, I was just getting plain sick of it. 3 winters of snowshoe racing. It's never been my most favorite thing to do. But, it works out well in the big scheme of things. It provides me the opportunity to get in some race intensity workouts during the 'off-season'. It's a lot of frickin' work. I usually end up with bruises on the insides of my legs and ankles from whacking myself on the follow through. Not to mention the nasty burning pain in my trachea from breathing in such cold air while pushing my lungs to the point where they feel like they will burst. My racing buddy, Mark.

Alright, alright, I know! Enough Whining!

This past weekend we did the Timm's Hill Trudge. A nice, quaint little race in Ogema, WI. I'd post a link to the race site but I don't think there is one! The highlight of the race is the high point of the run. We 'trudge' up to the top of the highest geographical point in WI. Sounds way more exciting than it is!! It ends up being a total of 2237 feet of climbing.

I was coming off a 'rest' week and had not run at all for 6 days. The race started off in its normal fashion. I try to begin all snowshoe races staying under control and build as the race progresses. I doubt that ever really happens but that's what I try to do in my mind! So, there I am going along and my Garmin starts squawking at me about 5 minutes into the race. I try to ignore it and don't look down. That's what I try to do a lot; ignore things! Anyway, after a few minutes of this periodic beeping that I'm not familiar with, I do look down. Holy Crap! My heart rate reads 208! What the heck!? That is just nuts! I've never seen that before. I figure it's just artifact because I feel fine. Obviously, I was working hard and breathing hard but I didn't feel like I needed the hospital gurney. Those of us in the medical business are familiar with folks who come into the ED with heart rates in the 200's and are in supraventricular tachycardia and are not in such good shape. So, I start thinking to myself, 'damnit, Brost, you're not 20, just settle down'. So, I slowed up or went down a hill or something, I don't remember. My monitor stopped beeping and all was well. I really don't know....Was that an accurate heart rate reading or artifact? I don't think it really even matters given the fact that I felt fine. Just something to add interest to the day. Holy teeth!

Now that I'm thoroughly sick of snowshoeing, I'm investigating a new pasttime for next winter. Cross Country Skiing!! I can see getting really excited about this. It's a total body workout. Also, there's skill involved and would present a new challenge. Of course, my husband is rolling his eyes because he knows this will require a new investment in equipment and new races and new travel plans and the list goes on......But think of the new adventures!

Sit Up Straight!

2010-02-26T08:40:00.005-06:00

Yep, my life is dull, boring, and uneventful. Not much else to do besides think about my posture! Yes, you know you have issues when this is on your mind. But, I really think it's a good thing to be aware of. And lately I've come to the conclusion that my posture pretty much sucks! It's not so bad when I'm walking. But, as soon as I sit down....woop, my shoulders round forward, my head hangs lower, my back is totally out of the anatomical S-curvature. How often am I sitting during my typical work day? A lot! And even when I'm walking, I often don't carry myself in a tall upright position.

Now, why would I care?
1) Here's one good reason. You look more confident, smarter, and stronger. Not to mention, obviously, taller. Who doesn't want all of the above?! With your eyes held forward, shoulders back, feeling long and lean how can you not look better?
2) Core strength improves. I hope nobody gets their shorts in a bundle here because I have not done a thorough lit search on the matter but it just seems to make sense. Why do we slouch? One reason would seem to be that it takes less work. (Aside from the fact that we're probably at some unconscious level afraid to put our chest out there and stand proud because, ugh, someone might think that our ego is inflated and who do we think we are! Silly but true! But, I digress.) What do we want to be as far as triathletes are concerned? Lean, mean fighting machines! What do we hear about over and over nowadays? Core strength! This seems like an obvious, no-brainer. Engaging the thoracic muscles and abs will keep things tight and upright but takes some effort if not already an ingrained, natural process.
I've become more in-tune to my body posture over the past month. I really seem to fall apart more toward the end of a long work day. Kind of like a long race, eh? This is when I need to repeatedly remind myself to pull it together. Kind of like a long race, eh?

To me it's a bit of a mindset as well. Who ever said we should suck into ourselves and round over like turtles? Think about it occasionally during you day. I bet you'd be amazed at what you notice and how differently you feel with some posture improvement.

First Sign

2010-02-19T08:24:00.004-06:00

The birds are coming back!

Obviously it happens every year and it's just about the time when I think I can't take it anymore!

My favorite time of the day is early morning. I am most definitely a morning person! I especially love morning when everyone in the house is sleeping except me and I can just BE STILL. This doesn't happen very often because I usually have some workout from hell scheduled which has this nasty little way of getting into my STILL mode!

Anyway, today was my lucky day. My typical Friday morning swim at 0530 is now going to happen on Sunday at 1300. That meant I could sleep until I naturally woke up (which is still way earlier than rationale!). Up, push start on the coffee maker, let the dogs out, feed the dogs, sit in my lounge chair and LISTEN.

I have absolutely no idea what kind of birds they are. But, they're out there. Singing. It's still dark outside and I can't see them. Their song is beautiful and I love it. What does this mean? I will survive! I am going to make it through another hated, dreaded winter season.

I think this is how life works. We're thrown a bone every now and then to keep us running and moving on. Even though it's seems like inconsequential birdsong, I'll take it and make the most of it. Happy! Happy!

Fighter

2010-02-10T13:06:00.010-06:00

I always thought I was focused and determined. But, I'm not so sure. See, I've got a new coach and, obviously, she coaches athletes. I've taken the time to check out my coach's and some of her female athlete's blogs. What I've learned is that there is a level of grit and determination going on there that I have never read before. Get 'er done, drill your ass in the dirt, take no prisoners kind of attitude. Hmmm, I'm thinking I need to get it in gear. I work hard but my guess is I could work harder. Sound familiar to anyone?

This year I'm working on my 4th Ironman (Lake Placid). I want to place in the top 3 in my age group. I've come to realize the work not only occurs in the pool, on the bike, and on the run but equally in my head. What do I need to be? A fighter.

I'm done with being on the edge of breaking through. To make the improvements I need to make, I've got to work like a rabid dog. I used to think the girls who were fast were just naturally gifted and they didn't sweat and bleed that bad. Um, wrong! My suggestion to anyone who thinks that is find some blogs of fast racers and read what they feel and how hard they push. My eyes have been opened. I've figured out that I've got a lot more to give. It's not just going to come naturally and gradually. It's going to come through sheer will and determination. Nothing else. When it says go HARD, damnit, that's what's got to happen. Not half-assed hard because my legs are a little heavy or my arms feel like limp noodles, but full-on, burnin', hurting hard! If I don't think I can go one more second, that's when I've got to push all the harder to make that one more second count. This goes on and on.

How do I make it to that next level? Be a FIGHTER.

Swimming!!

2010-02-02T18:32:00.007-06:00

A lot of you may be involved with youth swim programs. There is the school supported team and the there is what may be called "club" swimming. This past weekend we were in Merrill, WI for a meet.

Here are a few pics from our day. These were taken by one of the dads who is quite handy with a camera and gracious enough to share his images with us all. Thanks, Keith. Jordan (10yo) preparing for her relay!Jack (dad) taking in the action and enjoying the day.Josie (12yo) on the blocks and ready to go!

Test Week!!

2010-01-29T10:21:00.003-06:00

It's called a Test Week.

Why does putting a name to something always seem to make it sound more ominous?

I'm down for a swim, bike, and run test next week. Ugh!

I'm not really sure I want to face the music. I get anxious about these things. It's going to hurt and it's going to require focus. I may not like what the results are. But I've got to remember that it's the beginning of the season.

I don't suppose I will blow the doors off my power test. But, you know what? I'd like to see my indoor power test look better than last year. What if it doesn't? I'll be pissed. Well, then again, maybe that's ok. Get pissed and work hard to get better. 30 minute all out effort.

As for the swimming, I'm going to try as hard as I can and say a few prayers too. That can't hurt. My coach is a swimmer. Um, I'm not so much.... I'm embarrassed about my swim ability or lack thereof! 10 x 100's hard.

I don't get too bothered by the run test. I don't know why. If I can do it outside, it'll be ok. Man, I hope it's at least 20F. Then I'm going outside. For some reason running as hard as I can on a treadmill doesn't work so well for me. I think that's maybe my same hangup with the bike test. It's inside on a stationary object. Going nowhere fast. Why does it just seem to hurt more that way? I don't get that.

Anyway, I'm excited to get it done. So instead of thinking of it as a Test Week, I'm going to think of it as 3 Challenges. It's all in the perception!!

Clearly I am Broken but not Completely!

2010-01-23T07:35:00.007-06:00

Yes, Yes!

That's what snowshoe racing feels like to me. Or maybe that's what all my run races should feel like if I'm trying hard enough!

I once read that running a 10K on snowshoes is like running a 10 mile road race. Hard! There are a lot of factors to consider:
1) The frickin' things strapped to your feet.
Weight, size, and design are issues. Obviously, you want the lightest, smallest shoe possible. Mine weigh oz total and are . Mine aren't wedged out on the medial aspect as some brands are. In retrospect, I wish I would have purchased this type. I'll often finish a race with big bruises to the inner aspect of both calves from whacking my opposite leg on the follow-through.
2) Snow conditions.
Hard-packed, wide trails are ideal. Often we run on cross country ski trails which are superbly groomed. However, fresh snowfall makes for powdery snow and warm temps make for sandy snow. All of which create resistance and slow you up.
3) Trail conditions.
Running on wide, smooth-surfaced cross country ski trails is great. But, how boring can that get? To make it more challenging some races will have portions or all of it be on single track. Literally, this is when a guy walks through the woods once or twice before the race to mark out a path. And there you go. This is the best. I complain about it (but I complain about a lot!) yet it really makes you focus your concentration and engage your core. Because if you're not paying attention and running down a hill on an uneven path your going to hit a tree and trees tend to not be so forgiving and dentist bills are expensive!
4) Weather.
This may come as a shocker as much as I complain about the cold weather, but I DON'T think cold temps are a factor! I don't think they slow up the action at all. Dress warmer and run harder! That's the answer to that!

All said, it's very hard to compare times from year to year. There are so many variables. I try to go by feel and where I place in the pack.

Boy, that got long-winded. I hadn't planned on going into all that!

Anyway, last weekend I did the Perkinstown Snowshoe Race. An awesome race! Any locals that don't do it should be ashamed of themselves! I ran the 10K with about 1.5 miles of single track, sandy snow, and hills. I was second overall for the women. Lost to a 27 year-old by 3 minutes! That sucks! But, I should be used to it by now. She beats me every time we race together! I'd just like to see the gap close up a little!

My racing buddy, Mark, likes to poke fun at me (but, then again, so do a lot of my racing friends! I'm an easy target!). He saw a picture of me walking up a hill and, of course, had to email me the photos. His reply......
"Clearly, you are broken at this point in the race."

Yes, clearly I was. But, I came in 2nd!!

Total Immersion Thoughts

2010-01-15T09:28:00.006-06:00

The question would be....."$495 later, am I a better swimmer?"

The answer would be.....I have NO idea!

Swimming has truly baffled me now for several years. I never get faster!! Before the start of the 2009 training season, I bought the Total Immersion freestyle DVD. I picked up a lot about what their philosophy was all about, including key teaching points and drills through the DVD. I actually had been trying to incorporate them in my workouts before going to the course. Through the DVD I learned it's all in the form and efficiency that equates to one's speed. And obviously, I must be lacking. That was the rationale behind my taking the course prior to the 2010 season. It's not like I'm a total slacker in the water and I'm not cardiovascularly unfit. I'm not a complete weakling and without any muscle tone. So, I should be able to improve, right? Right?

Key Ideas I Took Away from the Course
-It was reinforced upon me that efficiency is of utmost importance. Flailing around and doing extra things, in essence working harder, will not make me move faster.
-Work to decrease stroke rate. If I'm able to take fewer strokes to get across the pool, it would seem only logical that I must be more efficient and therefore have better form using less energy.
-Front Quadrant Timing, or letting the lead arm hang out there a little longer than I'm used to, helps with my overall stability in the water.
-Spearing the water with my hand going to the correct location helps me to engage the core and rotate more efficiently. (I'm better at this going to one side than the other. Lopsided.)

Thing That Left Me Going.....Hmmmmm? Now what?
Ok, now I know the principles, how do I get faster? I understood that I must incorporate what I learned into my swim workouts. But, is that as easy as it was supposed to be? From what I was hearing, doing the stroke correctly would naturally lead to greater efficiency and hence, greater speed. That's that. Problem is, I don't think it's that simple! That was the nagging concern that I left with.

Would I do it again?
The answer I would give to that is "it depends". Some folks I saw really had some stroke issues! Even my untrained eye could see that. I think they will most definitely benefit from what was taught. In races, I tend to place in the 25th percentile in my age group; out of 100 people, 25 will be faster than me and 75 will be slower. Obviously, there is room for improvement. But I'm not horrible. I think the gains from a course like this for me will be less dramatic. However, even a little bit of improvement is a step in the right direction. I do think the DVD was very helpful. I would recommend the DVD if you're kind of like me ability-wise and can take a visual image in your head and transfer it to reality. Would I honestly recommend the course to someone similar to myself at a cost of $495? No.

What I think I need is frequency in the pool, commitment to good form, and someone on the side to kick my ass! Well, I can do the first two items but the third is never going to happen living in the middle of nowhere where I can't even get people to put in lane lines! So, the "kick my ass" part is going to have to come from me. Nobody can do it for me. That's the hard part.

I Am Not Dead!

2010-01-10T07:11:00.007-06:00

Just needed a break....

Now that's over and time to get back to business.

What've I been doing over the past several months?

1) Took a Total Immersion swim course.
2) PR'd a half-marathon in December. 1:39:03 I'm going to have to write a post on this because it is a clear example of the power of the mind over the body.
3) Not stressed about Christmas. None of the Christmas cards or baking for me. I did as LITTLE as possible. Having the Christmas tree fall over in the middle of the night did cause a little stress, however.
4) Got a standard poodle pup just before Christmas; her name is Holly (to go with the Christmas theme). The 5 year-old Yorkie, Priscilla, is really not into her. Now we're one of those crazy 2-dog families!
5) Worked on my mental addiction to triathlon/fitness. Breaking my elbow took a huge toll on my psyche. I really needed to readjust my priorities. I never would have thought I'd find myself in that place, but I did. Pushing my physical capabilities to the brink is great and all, but my life is about way more than that.
6) Started the snowshoe racing season. Great way to really keep those fast-twitch muscles happy!
7) Hired a new coach; Jennifer Harrison. I'm totally excited to get started with her and see how the season unfolds. I've set some new goals and she feels they're aggressive, yet realistic. I'm good with that!

So, it's game on for 2010 and I'm ready to go.

Things I'm Lovin' Right Now

2009-10-30T05:40:00.005-05:00

1. Modern Family
I think this show is hysterical. Wednesday night, ABC. LOL stuff. Check it out.
2. Got the green light from my orthopod to get on with life as usual. (Recent broken elbow)
Thank God! These people should prescribe a little Paxil to folks like myself. It should go like this....."Hi Michelle. This is what your xray looks like. Now here's a month's worth of Paxil. See you in a week."
3. New Bon Jovi CD!!!! Comes out 11/10/09.
"We Weren't Born to Follow" was the first single released. Sounds like perfect training music to me. Has the typical Bon Jovi sound.
4. Swam for the first time in 2 months yesterday.
The elbow hurt but felt better the longer I kept moving. I will be able to swim again!! Obviously, no need for Dara Torres to shiver and quake. But, I'll be capable for IM Lake Placid. Load off my mind.
5. Booked my hotel for the Bon Jovi concert in St. Paul, MN 4/7/09.
Yah, I am retarded, I know. You snooze, you lose! Ever hear that one? But it has to be the hotel right across the road from the venue. It's hard to walk very far when you're all drunk and stupid. Obviously, I've done this before!
6. My daughter is a supersta!
I am so in awe of her sometimes. A boy asked her to the middle school dance last Friday. She said "no". But that's not what I think is so cool. Instead of just saying no and slinking away to try to avoid the situation, she said "I'm sorry, I don't like you that way." Holy balls! When I was 12, 1) nobody would have asked me to a dance and 2) I wouldn't have been able to form a complete sentence much less explain why I didn't want to go with them.

Title Change

2009-10-23T06:17:00.005-05:00

Moving on with that New Year's Eve theme and resolution idea.....it's time for a blog title change.

Can I Kona?

That is cute. It rolls off the tongue well. And it truly summed up me at the time. It was a question and it put my goal out there front and center. It came across as nonthreatening and something that a 'nice' girl might say.

Well, I'm sick of asking questions! Isn't it time for some action? Tentativeness and wimpiness, pack you bags!

Pee on the Bike

Yes, I literally mean 'pee on the bike'. But, it's more than that. Get on your deep thinking hat now! To me it's more about moving forward with something full-speed ahead. No stopping. No looking around and thinking about it. Do it. Time's wasting away. If something is that important, pleasantries (ie. port-a-potty) are out of the equation.

Of course, all of this is stemming from my IM Louisville race this year. I stopped to pee in T2 in a port-a-potty. Turns out I missed a Kona slot by 1:03. I am well aware that my finish time was a compilation of a whole day of racing and does not come down to that time spent SITTING around. But it does tell me that if I want this silly Kona slot, I've got to pull out all the stops. I've got to really want it.

I do know this, it will be really hard for me to actually pee on the bike. But, I will never, ever stop to pee in an Ironman again. I've got to stop asking myself "Can I.....?"