Sarah Borst Jarvis

In Training

2012-02-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

I loved my off-season in late September and October. I am starting to think that it was not as off as it could/should have been but there's no looking back now!

I loved base/heart rate training in November and December. Against what some people might think: I enjoy going slow! I feel no need to push the pace unless Coach tells me to.

Now we are back at it! I have mixed feelings but, as we all know, there is nothing I like more than a little sufferfest. So far being back in training as manifested itself as follows:

Frequent ice baths. I passionately love and hate them at the same time! Especially in the winter when it takes me up to 5 hours to stop shivering after I get out. I have 10 blue ice packs in the freezer that I throw in the (already very cold) tub water and it gets the job done. Put them back in the freezer. Ready for next time. Cheap and environmentally friendly.
I am back in the compression socks. Kinda glad it is winter and I can hide them under my pants.
Our fridge is constantly empty. I am seriously wondering how much money we could save if neither Karl or I were exercising and thus consuming inordinate amounts of food. I am so sick of grocery shopping!
The house needs some serious cleaning. I am pretty good at picking up every night, doing laundry and dishes, vacuuming, etc. But cleaning a little deeper? No thanks. Can't be bothered.
The girl at the front desk at the gym tells me it confuses her that I show up twice a day. Every time I come in she thinks it is a new day. Or something like that.
I haven't not had a pony tail in ... maybe 5 weeks. Yes. That includes church.
I am having thoughts like: Wouldn't it be nice to be a Pro and be able to tell people/friends/family: Sorry. I can't make it. I got work. Rather than: Sorry. Can't come. Again. I need to spend even more time pursuing this ridiculous hobby.
I have no balance in my life. Or maybe I do. On the one side is my family and on the other triathlon. They balance each other out quite nicely. Only problem: There is nothing else to keep in balance. Or at least nothing that even comes close to family and triathlon. It's a little sad.
I have our next date night all planned out. We watch a movie in the living room while we both work on getting my bike decently clean. Sounds very romantic, doesn't it? Maybe on Valentine's day...
I seem to be unable to finish blog posts. I compose about one or more a day in my head while training but can't find the time to actually sit down at the computer and put it into writing. So I am going to just hit "publish" and move on although at one point I had some great witty ideas for this post that won't come to me at the moment!

St. George Half Marathon Race Report

2012-02-04T06:47:00.000-08:00

In case you missed it, I attempted a race report here a few days ago but it got so lengthy that I had to turn it onto a pre-race report. Consider yourself warned...

Yup. That would be a heel strike

Start:

Running races hurt. A lot. I try to mentally prepare myself for the pain cave. But you never quite know what it's going to be like in that cave until you enter it. Running races are simple. I love simplicity. You just show up, chat it up, line up, and then try not to blow up.

Mile 1: 6:35/mi

Surprised at how calm I am. No pre-race nerves whatsoever. I guess that after competing in one sport or another for the last 25 years, I am kind of over it. At least in a low-key race with no pressure. While it's nice in some ways, I miss the feeling of nervousness, anticipation, anxiety, and excitement all rolled into one.

Mile 2: 6:48/mi

Running with new-found friend, Marci, for the first few miles. We met at the start and she is going just the right pace. We chat here and there for a bit but mostly just run side-by-side. Or me right on her heels. Sometimes, on order to find my own pace, I like to latch onto somebody else first and then see what feels right for myself. Just about the time when I tell her I have a feeling you are going to drop me any minute. Have a great race! I actually drop her. Oops. This was totally unintentional. Sorry, Marci!

Mile 3: 6:39/mi

I am liking these hills. More hills? Bring it!

Trying to work the hills

Mile 4: 6:29/mi

Getting a little concerned that I am going too fast and will pay for it later. I told M a few days before the race that I am worried about dying a slow death after mile 10. Have not run longer than 10 miles since late last summer… Her advice: Prepare for it mentally!

Mile 5: 6:54/mi

Deciding to adopt Chrissie Wellington's Let's make hay while the sun is shining! attitude. I can't slow down now just because I might blow up later. I will deal with that when I get there.

Mile 6: 7:03/mi

Long, rather steep uphill. Knowing that it's the last (significant) uphill and followed by a nice downhill, I am able to close the gap to the guys in front of me and pass some of them.

Mile 7: 6:52/mi

Let the mental games begin! Nice pace. Keep it up. - What if I can't keep it up? This is hard. - Half way there! This isn't so bad. - Only half way? Shoot. Seems like I've already been running forever. I have a long way to go when it comes to mental fortitude but I am making progress. Even if it might not seem that way…

Mile 8: 6:34/mi

Of course. UnderArmour-clad guys will not let girls pass them. At any cost. It's a fact but I go for it anyway… Fine then. I will just hug your heels and try again later. Thanks for pulling me along.

Mile 9: 6:40/mi

Looks like I will be able to postpone the breakdown until at least Mile 10. I start making a plan: Hold this effort for another mile. Just one more mile. Then make yourself suffer for 2 miles and for the last mile you are really going to put the hurt on everybody around you. But all you are going to think about right now is this next mile. Pretend the race is only 10 miles long. I am pretty good at fooling myself. It comes with practice. I also need to break down long efforts or I will start losing it.

Mile 10: 6:57/mi

Darn. I don't think this plan is going to work. Who do I think I am? But if I slow down now, I will only have to suffer even longer, so I might as well get this over with as fast as possible. Maybe I need a little distraction in form of a treat. I think it's time for a chocolate/mint party in my mouth! Out comes the GU.

Mile 11: 7:00/mi

(Looking at my splits now, the plan is apparently not working so well. But in my head it is. And that's the only thing that matters.) What's up with all these funky looking runners in their cotton t-shirts and colorful tights around me out of the sudden? And the Grandpa that's trying to pass me? Help! I am losing it! It's also super windy out of the sudden, so I tuck myself in right behind some tall dude and push Grandpa out of his draft. Or so it seems. But Grandpa is happy to share the draft and we have a little chat. I am in love with fast Grandpas.

Mile 12: 6:32/mi

Make it hurt! So far, despite my ups and downs, I am not really hurting yet. Truth be told: I am having fun. It's a blast! Some days I suffer so badly while seemingly standing still and it is no fun. Other days, like today, are a true suffer-fest. The pain is enjoyable! You know what I am talking about?

Mile 13: 6:19/mi

Time to dig deep. Make it hurt more. If this seems masochistic, it probably is. The last mile is somewhat of a blur. I do remember the feeling of pushing my body as hard as I can and loving it. Although I am not really going all that fast, I feel fast. This is huge. I never feel fast running! Suddenly, after not seeing a single girl since mile 3, I can see 2 girls ahead of me. I am making up time but not quite enough. I know that if I really wanted to I can catch at least one right before the finish. But I can't make myself do it. What's the point of dashing by your competitor in a mad sprint to the finish when you've had 13 miles to prove that you are faster than her? Instead, I ignore the Go get her! cheers, smile, and take a look at the race clock. Holy shivets! I am going to make it in 1:27:XX! Yessssssss!

I did it!

The Finish: 1:27:47

I am ecstatic! So is Coach M and HT! I think I surprised all of us! Who knew that I could hold a 6:42/mi average for 13.1 miles? I sure didn't!

Yes. It was that close.

The aftermath:

Luckily, there was no aftermath this time around. I jogged to the car, changed, had some chocolate milk, met my friends at the finish, and was ready to get out of there and into a hot shower. It was very exciting to see so many of my friends and fellow HT Training athletes have phenomenal races. Congrats to all!

I love analyzing workouts and races with Colleen and that's just what we did (while consuming large quantities of food) until it was time to pack the bags for an afternoon ride and swim with Coachie and friends. What a fantastic weekend!

Thank you, Rue Family, for hosting me yet again! I owe you big time! Have I mentioned that Colleen's husband, Adam, was the race announcer? He did a great job!

Pre-Race Fun in St. George

2012-01-31T21:04:00.000-08:00

Almost to Page...

Remember last year's miserable experience? I was determined not to have a repeat! Everything I thought might have been a factor in getting terribly sick last year, I changed this year. That said, the most significant difference was not feeling under the weather before I even left Flagstaff. I got lucky. With one kid in kindergarten and one in preschool there are always more than enough germs being spread around but somehow I was able to get away unscathed this time.

I left Flagstaff at 9:30 on Friday morning after dropping off the kids and loading up the car. I was so excited!!! Sometimes I feel (a teeny tiny bit) bad about getting so excited to leave home and family for a weekend. However, overall I think it is a valuable experience for all of us. I get a well-deserved break, the boys get a lot of quality time with Papa, and KJ learns to handle the kids and household by himself. Ok. I know. Truth is: I don't deserve as many breaks as I take, the kids spend quality time with Papa almost every day, and KJ already knows how to handle it all. I am just darn lucky to be married to a very kind and understanding man. But then again, we all get to choose who we marry, right? Although I am quite certain Karl did not realize what he was getting himself into but is nice enough to stick around and put up with me!

I really don't like driving. I hate it! But there is something to be said for cruising through beautiful country by yourself while listening to Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette. Who knew that I still, 15 years later, have most of the lyrics memorized? I had a blast singing out loud and dancing in the car. (My kids don't allow me to dance in the car. I can't even move my little finger to some tunes or they will yell at me.) Good times!

We discovered this great little hike on our way home from Utah after Christmas and I could not help it; I had to stop and run up the sand hill and take in the amazing view on the other side. We really live in a beautiful place! I can't wait to explore the Grand Canyon a little more this summer...

I got to St. George around 2:30. First stop was the Washington Community Center for a swim. It feels so good to be moving after sitting in the car for 5 hours. Coming down from altitude and swimming in a 25 yard pool for a change was so nice! I was able to breathe and saw numbers I usually only dream of. Unfortunately, I missed the HT Training group because I was already chowing down dinner at Cafe Rio. Say what? I chose food over a training session with HT? It was all part of the plan: swim early, eat dinner early, go to bed early. I was able to talk my friends, Carlee and Amber, into eating early with me and it was so nice to be able to catch up! Now that I think about it, the only thing we caught up on was training and racing. We have 7 kids altogether and 3 husbands (one each!) but who cares how they are doing? It is kinda sad but very refreshing to pretend like we are nothing but athletes. Reality will catch up soon enough...

Almost to St. George (and Zion NP)

Packet pick-up: Very uneventful. Where were all those hundreds of runners that I know were racing and wanted to run into? Apparently not where I was. Maybe this was a good thing since it gave me the chance to actually follow through with going to bed early. But I should've known better. Staying at Colleen's house is just way too much fun and such treat that I seem to be unable to drag myself upstairs and into bed at a reasonable time. The good news is that running races are so low-key and require such little preparation compared to triathlons that I slept in longer than I usually ever do!

Woke up to rain in the desert. Love that smell! Ate 4 pieces of bread with a hint of almond butter. Yes. I know. That's a lot. But I was still hungry after 2 and I hate uneven numbers, so I had to eat 4. I am laughing at myself as I am writing this but it did not even occur to me why I had 4 until I was worried I had eaten too much and tried to figure out why I did not eat just 3. Hopped in the car and got to the start with 30 minutes to spare. So nice! I like to get to the start of a triathlon at least 2 hours early but at a running race - there is nothing to do but run in circles for a little while before the start! Oh, the simplicity of running. Sometimes (quite often, actually) I wish I could be a runner!

There was not really a race plan. Coach M said something like: Run fast! I wanna see where you're at. That was about it. Sounds good to me! Running has been going ok lately. Nothing super exciting but no major issues either. I had not raced at all or run longer than 10 miles since Vegas in September, so I was kinda curious to see where I am at myself. Since I am not a runner I feel absolutely no pressure in running races. Don't care if or where I place. Don't care who is behind me or in front of me. I just run my race and listen to body. Very refreshing!

My main goal was to:

Run well, smart, and strong.

I also did not mind to:

Negative split the race.
Go sub 1:30.
Set a PR.

In the back of my mind I wanted to PR. Why not? Aim high - right? If I were to run well, smart, and strong but not meet any of the other goals, I would be happy.

It seems like I may have been able to recover a few too many brain cells over the weekend, so I am going to have to postpone the actual race report until tomorrow. I guess this is what happens when you have not raced for 4 months...

Who cares?

2012-01-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

All I could think of last night during my first (indoor) track session of the year and then swim #2 of the day was:

You can do this. Just hang in there and get'er done. All that's on the plan for tomorrow is a recovery spin and a swim in the evening. You can do it!

And I did. I was able to maneuver my way around all the college kids flirting in surf trunks and bikinis. Not sure why they would choose a freezing pool for their social hot-spot on a Tuesday night but I was thankful for just about anybody that would keep me honest during my mid-night (9 p.m.) swim!

Upon getting home to sleeping kids and a husband flinging sweat from the trainer, I was simultaneously stuffing my face with food and reporting to Coach M on TrainingPeaks. Wanting to double-check on the length for my recovery spin, I clicked on Wednesday and -

Surprise!

The recovery ride had vanished and in its place I found a 9 mile tempo run!

Gulp!

The end.

Not really. But I started this post 3 days ago and have not been able to summon enough energy to finish it. By now - who cares what happened on Wednesday? I sure don't. I can only vaguely remember that tempo run anyway. Seems like ages ago. But I do remember that I was going to tell you that Julia Roberts saved my run. I love that girl and, although I have no idea what the movie was called or even what it was about, she made it so much easier for me to hang onto that treadmill which was going way too fast for my tired legs. I kinda wanted to jog an extra little bit just so I could see the end...

Not sure why I thought this post was going to be interesting or worth sharing, so I am just going to end it here and hope I can reanimate enough brain cells to write a decent St. George Halfmarathon race report tomorrow! It's been a long week...

The end. This time for real.

Party in the Skydome

2012-01-18T19:36:00.000-08:00

Assistant Coach Shayla Houlihan

Team Run Flagstaff is back!

After a little winter break

we now get to run in NAU's fantastic Skydome.

I am so excited!

What could be better than cruising around a 300m indoor track

with more than a hundred of your closest friends?

Although I can't think of anything,

I had to sit on the sidelines and watch.

Coach M did not think it would be very smart

to hop back on the track for speedy intervals

a few days before my first race of the season.

I wonder why...

Picture from Flagstaff Footnotes

Don't worry:

I still had plenty of fun

socializing

people-watching

cuddling with Max

stalking Olympic Trials Marathoners

KJ was back in his element

after being injured the last few weeks.

Noah was having a blast playing with friends.

Tuesday nights at the track are a family affair in this household.

If you live anywhere close to Flagstaff,

I highly recommend joining us on Tuesdays at 6pm.

There is a place for everyone and we'd love to have you all.

We have the most amazing coaches

that take really good care of all of us.

Come join in on the fun!

Coach Mike Smith

I told Karl the other day that I almost wished

I was a runner here in Flagstaff.

The running community here is phenomenal

and part of me wants to belong there.

But even if I am only a runner 1/3 of the time,

I feel richly blessed to live in such a wonderful place!

Thanks to Erin at Flagstaff Footnotes

I have been following the running scene a lot more lately

and it's been super fun.

That way, when Janet Cherobon-Bawcom showed up

at TRF practice last night,

I knew that she had just placed 5th at the Marathon Trials.

How cool is that?

I am in awe.

New 2012 Sponsor

2012-01-16T20:22:00.000-08:00

I am proud and very happy to announce that

I will be racing for

this coming season!

I still can't really believe that I made it onto their Team!

It's going to be so much fun.

I am stoked to be representing such a great store.

I have only frequented them online but I can't wait

to go down to Tucson and see the actual store.

From what I've heard and seen so far it is going to be fantastic!

One of the things I can't wait for is the

TriFest!

TriSports.com is inviting all of their athletes

down to Tucson for a training weekend in March.

You know that there is nothing I love more

than hanging out with a bunch of fun athletes
while smashing myself.

(If Coach M lets me. TriFest is the weekend before Oceanside.)

I am excited to race a little more in Arizona

and get to know as many of its amazing athletes as possible.

I am certainly a very small fish in a very big pond here!

As much as I love to train and race in Utah

where I have so many dear friends and great fellow competitors,

it is time to move on just a little...

I can't end this post without sending a big

Thank You to PowerTri

for their support over the last 2 years.

They helped me out in every way possible

and I hope we will still be friends.

2011 St. George 1/2

It's about time to kick off the 2012 season

with a little race this weekend -

the St. George Halfmarathon!

Did I say it was time to move on...?

How could I possibly pass up the chance to go to

one of my favorite places, hang out with amazing people,

and (hopefully) redeem myself from last year?

Is it Friday yet???

I Want You to Love the Run Today!

2012-01-12T19:02:00.000-08:00

(You probably don't care too much but I have to say it anyway. I wrote a post very similar to this one last night already and then, when it was all ready to be published, I lost it. It was gone. Just like that. I was extremely pissed. To say the least. I went to bed even earlier than usual and, before my head hit the pillow, I declared out loud: I am not going to let this defeat me!!! So here I am again:)

I love it when Coach M tells me how I am supposed to feel during a certain workout. It is usually the run since running is mentally the toughest for me. Her orders for Saturday's brick run were as follows:

Focus on feeling strong.

I want you to love the run today!

You are strong and you can run.

Hit the pace!

Ok. Will do. No problem. I am going to hit the pace or at least die trying. But wait!?! What if I don't feel strong? What if I feel weak? How can I force myself to feel a certain way? What if I happen to dislike the run? Or not even feel like running at all? I decided to just forget about it since worrying was not going to help anything. Once I got to the run, I would just see how I feel.

This is how Saturday went:

Since I missed out on last week's 50*100 meters in the pool, I was more than happy to accept Coach Liz's (who was also out of town then) invitation to our own 100s party this morning. I am so happy to report that time flew by and before I even knew it we were done! It was not nearly as hard as I thought it might be. Maybe because we did not swim super fast and I was drafting the whole time... A nice guy offered to move over so I could have my own lane but I declined: No, thanks. I'll just draft behind Liz. And that's what I did. Liz happens to be the... Holy cow! I just did some research to get my claims right and... WOW... I mean: I knew Liz is an amazing swimmer and coach but little did I know that she is a 15-time national champion and former world record holder! Good thing she did not really swim at all last month or she would've been lapping me once every 100 meters. Yikes! I'd better shape up during Masters.

Afterwards: whole-wheat crêpes à la Karl. This time (unlike last time) the boys actually left some for me! Lucky!

Followed by: playing/cleaning/skateboarding/ice chipping with the boys while Karl works out.

Then it was time for my 'little' brick. Temperatures were above 40 and it was sunny, so I had no excuse to stay indoors. Or so I thought! I bundled up (or not) and headed outside - only to be greeted by a rather strong winds. Still in the parking lot, I seriously considered turning around and packing my bag for the gym but then remembered that my training log is called What Headwind?!?** for a reason. So I went on pretending that there was not any wind for the next (almost) 3 hours. It worked rather well. By the time I got home, however, I was done pretending. So I did pack my bag after all and headed over to the treadmill.

The good thing about the treadmill: you just punch in the numbers and hang on. Much easier to hit the pace than outdoors. I had to choose between staring out the window or watching a movie. Since the first option was not going to be conducive to feelings of love, I went with the movie. Now I am not sure if I was loving the movie or the running. Either way I was feeling some sort of love. That should count, right?

The bad thing about the treadmill: I was clearly being a wimp. If I was strong, I would be running outside. Braving the conditions. Honestly, at this point I did not care too much. It was Saturday afternoon and I had logged more than 20 hours of training that week already. I just wanted to be done and spend the rest of the weekend with my family!

I was sure that Coach M would give me another chance to focus on feeling strong soon. And she did! Today!

I could write a novel on that workout as well but let it suffice to say the following: After my warm-up I spent 5 minutes in the bathroom of the gym giving myself a nice little pep-talk and trying to convince myself that Coach was not actually trying to kill me. Then I found a computer with internet to double-check the workout. Then I called Coach M to triple-check. Just in case. Her words of wisdom: If you are not dead after the 3rd set, then repeat the 2nd set. Oh. Ok. Thanks. That won't be necessary... But it was! I repeated the 2nd set, went to boot camp, did some P90X, stretched and foam rolled until I was late to pick Max up from preschool! What a morning! It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes:

What lies behind us and what lies before us

are tiny matters compared to

what lies within us.
- Emerson

PS: Yes. These pictures are supposed to say something like: I always love running when on trails. I feel stronger on trails than on the road. But, unfortunately, I can't hold any sort of pace on trails. I am considering being an ultra runner in my next life. My next life might start when I am in my 50s...

** Who knows what book this is from?

Why Didn't We Think of This?

2012-01-05T19:11:00.000-08:00

I found this picture here and I love it. Balance bike with aero bars - how cool is that? Of course, this picture was taken in Europe. But I am excited that balance bikes are getting more popular in the States as well. They are the best.

Noah actually 'raced' his first triathlon at age 3 on a pedal bike. I love to go back and read his 'race report' and look at the pictures. He is a stud! Go here if you want to see how much fun he had!

Max really wants to do a triathlon as well this year but, as evidenced by Karl again today, has no interest in switching from his balance bike to a regular bike. Maybe his little Swiss friend will let him borrow his awesome ride!

As for me, I am getting back into the swing of things here at home. It's good to be back to 'the grind'. Except that I don't think of my daily routine as 'the grind'. I love everyday life! And if I did not, then I would need to change something because holidays make up only a tiny part of our lives. As I was just reminded by my friend and fellow triathlete, Beth Shutt:

Happiness is a Choice

Although, I agree, it is not terribly hard to chose to be happy if you are as blessed as I am.

New Year's Eve Ride to Zion

2012-01-01T18:49:00.000-08:00

At the Temple of Sinawava

St. George is everything I had hoped for:

sun

blue skies

amazing scenery

fun HT Training teammates

Craig and Colleen

non-stop triathlon talk

warm(er) temperatures

awesome group of riders

a goofball for a Coach

The drive down with HT was great.

Nothing like picking his brain and getting the scoop

on Utah triathlon gossip.

The drive seemed to fly by

which probably had something to do with Heath

driving about 90 mph most of the time.

We even got in a nice little ride, run, and swim (clinic)

before heading over to Colleen's house for dinner and more tri talk.

We had a great turnout on Saturday morning for the Zion Ride. Probably about 30 people. Let's just say that it was not as organized as the PnT rides that I am used to and I am blaming it on the triathletes. It was super fun (nonetheless). And a little bit tiring. I had not ridden 80 miles in quite a while.

Highlights:
** Pacelines. They did eventually form. I am a fan!
** Breath-taking scenery. It never gets old.
** Screaming down Zion Canyon at 30 mph average over 10 miles. There were 10 of us at this point
and it was an absolute blast!
** Pacing myself well enough to make it back to the car happy and healthy.

Lowlights:
** Coach M telling HT to test us during the ride. If she meant having Heath pull the Pain Train at a ridiculous pace and see whether or not we would eventually fall off, I failed.
** Getting dropped right after those very fast 10 miles. Luckily, I was not the only one and had a couple of great ladies to fight the raging winds with on our way back.

The rest of our New Year's Eve was rather uneventful but very nice and I was in bed before midnight. Boring, I know, but I wouldn't want it any other way.

Happy 2012!!!

Head Start

2011-12-29T20:53:00.000-08:00

Zion NP

I was hoping to make it back to Flagstaff in time for NAM swim & brunch extravaganza on New Year's Eve morning. But, alas, it is not happening. The husband wants to hang at his parents' house a little longer and who can blame him?

So, I came up with a different plan. I am good at that. Actually, Coachie came up with a plan for me. He invited me* to go down to St. George with him for a little smashfest on the bike. Who wants to end 2011 with a bang? Me! Me!

We will be biking to one of my favorite places: Zion National Park. If you have not been, I suggest you go soon. It is a marvelous place! I am sure there will also be some swimming and running action... and I get to stay with one of my favorite girls: Colleen Soon-to-be-Ironwoman Rue!

In case it is not obvious: I am excited!!!

Karl graciously offered to pick me up in their way back home to Flagstaff. Although, I would not mind just staying in St. George until the half marathon at the end of January... But it is always nice to get a little head start on our long drive home.

*It is possible I invited myself. Can't remember...

PS: Anyone and everyone is invited to tag along to Zion NP on Saturday. Let me know if you are interested and I can give you details.

The Ankle-Band Pacer

2011-12-21T20:24:00.000-08:00

me, Heath, Missy

Today Coach M's plan called for a Timed Mile in the pool. Actually, the plan has been calling for a Timed Mile the last 2 weeks but I have not been able to get my act together. Swimming (i.e. getting to the pool when it is actually open) without Karl around has been a struggle to say the least. But, alas, he rolled into town last night and I have no more excuses!

Fortunately, Coach M knows (most of) my many weaknesses and suggested that Heath could pace me for the mile. A pacer? For me? Yes please! I love being in the same city as HT training! (Although I still hate how traveling messes up everything!) In case you don't know Coach Heath - he is an amazing swimmer! At Ironman CDA this year he exited the water in 2nd overall and in front of world champion Craig Alexander. So, needless to say, he could swim circles around me. Since that would not be very fun for either of us, he instead put on some ankle bands to slow himself down. Have you ever tried to swim with your ankles tied together? HT makes it looks ridiculously easy - but it's not. Not at all. I have only used them twice and so far I can't make it more than about 20 meters without sinking to the bottom of the pool. I honestly don't know how he can do it for a whole mile.

Well. The mile itself was rather uneventful. I was not going particularly fast but that means that there is lots of room for improvement and next time will most likely be a PR. Thinking positive here!

Since KJ is now back from his adventure, I took a day off from my motherly duties. After swimming, I relaxed in the steam room, took a long shower, did 40 min of core exercises, ran a couple of errands, and went to Reed at Adagio Massage for a much-needed massage. Then I heated up the garage while riding on the trainer, went for a transition run in the dark and cold, and came home to a delicious dinner of salmon with potatoes and squash from the Jarvis' garden.

Yes. I realized that I am spoiled and that my life is anything but hard. In case you are wondering if I did anything productive today - I did 3 loads of laundry. That's all.

How about a repeat tomorrow?

My Inspiration

2011-12-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

I don't really like the word 'hero'. Especially not relating to the world of sports. But I will take this definition of the word:

hero:

someone of distinguished courage or ability;

admired for his/her brave deeds and noble qualities.

I know quite a few people that I admire for these qualities and one of them is Chrissie Wellington! There are many athletes that I find intriguing and look up to but Chrissie is more than that. From all I have read, heard, and seen: she is the most inspiring athlete I know. I wanna be (just a little more) like her when I grow up.

I am not talking about her breath-taking speed or incredible physique - although I would not mind that either! I am simply amazed by her mental fortitude, her burning will to succeed, her ability to overcome self-doubt, her obvious joy and passion for life and triathlon, and her strong desire to be a great role-model. I have the utmost respect for this amazing woman and am thrilled to see her at the top of world again this year!

Here is just one of the many quotes from her that I love:

"I just think it's important to relax your mind, to breathe, and to surround yourself with people who love you, no matter what the result."

I love that girl!

I also happen to think that this German is pretty darn hot and super nice! Can't wait to see him as the World Champion some day soon!

Snow Day

2011-12-13T21:57:00.000-08:00

Flagstaff this morning

(My friend, Erin, took this picture this morning. View from her house. Since I basically live down the street, I figured I could snatch her picture and post it here. Karl took our camera...)

Today they called a snow day. Actually, they called it last night already. School cancelled. Boys home all day. We had a great time enjoying the fresh powder, sledding, baking, and playing. I also managed to convince them to come to the gym with me in the morning and to the pool at night. Because they are such good sports, I let them do some more (!) sledding after my swim. It was past their bedtime, my hair was wet, and we had yet to have dinner. But they just could not pass up the awesome jumps some college students had built!

They passed out as soon as their cute little heads hit the pillow. And I am about to do the same...

I don't think I can handle 2 snow days in a row without Karl around, so I am praying for school to be in session tomorrow! Besides, I have an awesome 3-hour bike-squat-run-bike smashfest planned and I am not about to give it up! It might as well be Christmas tomorrow. Thanks for the present, Coach M!

I don't need easy...

2011-12-09T19:02:00.001-08:00

Since nobody wants to read (or write) another post about how I am losing it over here, I figured I would just give you my motto for this week:

I don't need easy.

I just need possible.

As you may know, this is a quote by Bethany Hamilton in the movie Soul Surfer. I admire that girl. What an inspiration!

It certainly has not been easy without KJ as my companion. 7 days down. 11 more to go. So far so good. The boys and I have had our ups and downs but, I am happy to report, we are safe and (mostly) sound. I am able to squeeze in the training and have logged almost 16 hours this week so far. With another 3 tomorrow, I should be fine.

Remember? Training to me is therapy. If my life is out of order, chaotic and hectic, I love getting on the spin bike and staring at the wall for 2 hours. Time to think. Time to refocus. Time to enjoy being in control of at least one thing: this workout. A run in the snow under bright blue skies in 25 degrees does the trick as well. Or a hardcore swim workout in honor of Coach Liz's 50th birthday... Oh. Wait. I missed that one! I was dealing with grumpy kids who had woken up at 5:30 am and did not understand why I was not about to happily play Lego with them! If they wake up early tomorrow morning, I am going to drag them to the pool with me. Two bedheads in their pajamas, blankets, stuffed animals, breakfast, portable DVD player, Mighty Machines. It's all ready to go! We should be good...

I will do whatever it takes to get in the training I need. However, my family is my #1 priority. When the kids are not in (pre) school, I try to spend quality time with them. So far so good. No sitters yet. Max has only been to the daycare at the gym twice, Noah not at all. I was able to line up a play date for each of them today after school, so I could head over to the pool during lunch lap swim hours. The kids had a blast! Me? Not so much. I don't think my swim was even worth the $4 I paid to get in...

It might not be easy but it is definitely possible.

PS: If you want to know how Karl is doing on the other side of the world, you can read about it here.

Losing it

2011-12-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

picture me here instead of Max

This is what I was going to tell you about 3 weeks ago:

I am losing my mind because

I love to travel but I really don't like it. I like my routine and I like having a plan. Both go out the window when I travel and it makes me nervous. I told Karl Sunday night that I was feeling somewhat stressed about taking the kids to Utah by myself. Ironically, that proved to be the easy part.
We noticed our car shaking when breaking at high speed and figured it could easily be fixed by rotating the tires. Or something like that. Wrong! When Karl called the shop they told us we would most likely need to replace the rotors and break pads. It would cost around $250 and we could bring it in tomorrow. What?!? I don't have time or money for that! Needless to say that I was feeling a little more stressed...
Noah was due for his flu shot Monday afternoon. Nothing like taking two healthy children to the doctor and waiting for 45 minutes for a tiny little shot! The kids were doing well but I was furious by the time they called us back. Nurse: How are you doing today? Me: Fine!
Tuesday was definitely the highlight. Bringing your only car to the shop is somewhat tricky. Especially when it is supposed to be there at 8:30. Good thing we have plenty of bikes! After my early morning swim, Karl took Noah to school while I was frantically getting ready for a long morning. I had finally strapped my bike onto the car and shoved the trail-a-bike into the trunk with 5 minutes to spare, when I realized that my keys were nowhere to be found. And I mean nowhere! Not under any bed, not in the garbage, not in the shower, not even under my pillow! How is that possible? I just had them! I was losing it. Big time! I was going to be late to the car shop, too late to my meeting, and way too late to the gym... Not sure Max had ever seen me going berserk before! I finally found them under a stuffed animal in the kids' room. Max admitted he put them there. I did not even have time or energy to get mad at him.
I tell the Primary President: I can only meet on Tuesday at 9 am. Then I tell the car shop: I need to bring in my car at 8:30. Then: I need to pick up my car by 11 am. Who do I think I am?!? Not sure why anybody would put up with me... But thanks anyway! To my great relief the mechanic says the car is safe to drive to Utah but needs to be fixed asap. Whatever that means... I'll take it! So I make another appointment for the day after we get back.
We hurry over to the gym. I had a 90 minute bike ride on tap and child care closes at 1pm. I hop on the bike at 11:25. I should be fine, right? Well. Not so much. There is a spin class from 12-12:45. Knowing that this was going to be an issue from the beginning, I told Karl in the morning: I have no choice today but to do my own thing during MX's class. He is going to be pissed. And that is exactly what happened! I want to clarify that I realize that this is not an ideal situation. If you go to a spin class, you should follow the instructor's workout. However, given the situation, I felt completely justified in what I was doing. There were 4 empty bikes and I was on the one in the back corner. I tried to blend in as well as I could but, unfortunately, dancing around on the bike was not what Coach M had in mind for me that day. After the warm up MX says to me: You are going to follow my workout today or I am going to have to ask you to give up your bike. Gulp! Give up my bike to who??? There is no one remotely interested in this bike right now! I tell him: Ok. If you put one of these spin bikes out there, I will. He replies: I just might. He does not say anything else for the rest of the class but I knew this was not the end of it. So I tried to prepare myself for the upcoming argument. Unfortunately, by the time he was ready to argue, I had another 30 minutes to go. Oh well. Nothing like a little rage to fuel my workout. It's been 3 weeks since this incident and I don't remember our exact exchange but it was not pretty anyhow. He, as the manager, insisted to tell all the other spin instructors to kick me out of their classes if I was not following their exact workout. My point was that there is only a 1.5 hour window during child care hours when there is not a spin class. I try to make it during that time but it was impossible today. This has happened a total of 2 other times this year. I feel like I have the right to be on one of the spin bikes when it is not being used by someone who wants to participate in the class. It's not like I am the only one in there doing my own thing anyway. I think MX takes it personal and is offended because his class is not good enough for me. Well, the truth is: His class was great! I was wishing I could join in on the fun. But it is not what I need to be doing. And he knows that! We were not coming to any sort of conclusion, so I said: I would like to speak to your boss! And that is what I did. It cost me a lot of tears (in private) and nerves but Karl was right when he said that night: No one is going to just walk over my wife!
So we headed to Utah the next morning (after the kids went to school some, I worked out some, and packed some more) and I was excited for a change of scenery. Things went swell until I ... got pulled over for the first time in my life! Coming down from the North Rim I was simply going too fast. No excuses here! Having been an emotional mess for the last few days anyway, I cried some more (behind my sunglasses) but had to laugh when the (very nice) police offer asked: What do you do for a living? Are you a professional skier? I guess he must have come to that conclusion after noticing the 3 bikes (!) I had on the back of the car. I will take it as a compliment!
It does not end here but I am kind of done with this post. And I am sure you are too!

Double Day

2011-12-02T19:38:00.000-08:00

(post written on Thursday but finished on Friday because author fell asleep)

Well. This picture gives it away. Today was a double swim day! Yippee! Believe it or not, it was self-imposed. Coach M asked for a swim where I don't just blindly follow the guys in my lane but actually pay attention to the clock.

She also asked for 10*100 on 1:35.

Now that should be doable, right? There are plenty of people I know and compete with and beat out of the water in a race that can swim 10*100 on 1:30. What is my problem? Well. Let me come up with 3 excuses:

1. I am talking meters not yards.

2. It's long-course.

3. We live at 7,000 ft and I am having a hard time breathing just sitting here.

So I am basically hoping that the 1:30 people are swimming short-course yards at a lower elevation. If they are not, then I am in serious trouble...

I chose to swim Masters in the morning because... Now I can't even remember why... Oh. Yes. Because Karl is leaving town on Saturday and I am afraid I might not be swimming much in the next 3 weeks. And because I love Masters. While swimming at the OFC in Utah, I realized that I am quite spoiled here. Our WAC has amazingly clear and cold water with little chlorine. OFC is murky and warm with tons of chlorine. At the WAC we have 6 lanes in the morning and 3 at night. OFC has one lane for Masters. I can choose from 9 practices per week at the WAC and from only 3 at OFC.

See? I am spoiled here in Flagstaff and I am planning to take advantage of it!

This morning I surprised myself and was in the water at 5:55! It might have had something to do with the fact that there was not really anyone there to chat with at length but I will take it. 4,300m later I jumped back out. Swim #1 completed.

(breakfast, getting kids ready, making lunches, sending Noah and KJ off, puzzles and games with Max)

Then there was a little 90 minute trainer ride to tackle. Max was happy to go to the Y kids' club and I hopped on one of their super nice Keiser bikes that can tell me power output.

The plan reads:

250 watts at 80-90 rpm for 90 minutes. Steady.

Really? That's it? No intervals or hills or accelerations? Yikes! I might have to poke my eye out! Have I mentioned that my iPod died a while ago and I now get to bring my ancient blue walkman to the gym? Yep. It is embarrassing but I have gotten over it. Good thing there is nice little spot on the aero bars for it and I don't have to stuff it into my chest area.

90 minutes later I have a stiff neck and a headache from staring at the bike computer. I managed to be very steady and only get out of the aero position a couple of times after I hit 70 minutes.

(Max watches some guys do Jiu Jitsu and then practices their moves by rolling around on the floor in the locker room while I shower. Nice! Then he drags me into the gym for some running races and dictates me around. Mom. Breathe like this when you run. - Ok. Will do. Whatever. Can we just go home and have lunch now?)

(When did this I-will-write-real-quick-about-my-two-swims-today post turn into a Let-me-tell-you-every-little-detail-about-my-day post? Not sure... Maybe I'm trying to convince you that there is indeed some balance in my life.)

5 o'clock rolled around and it was time to head to the pool. But Karl was running late and so I had time to stuff more than 1 warm oatmeal cookie into mouth. Bad idea! I am blaming Karl for this one!

Have I mentioned that I enlisted some help for this swim? On Tuesday, I started to worry about the 10*100. It really was not that big of a deal but I was bothered by the fact that I might not be able to stick to the plan. Yes, I am a stickler. So I recruited Jason Pedersen, a young ITU pro, who is logging crazy mileage in the pool in order to get his swim speed up to par with his (incredible) run speed. Super nice guy! He just stuck to the pace as I was trying to hang on to his feet. I did pretty well for the first 5 but then I ran out of air. As usual, it was not my arms or legs that were holding me back but my inability to fill my lungs with enough air.

There is a big sign on the wall that says:

Welcome to 7,000 ft. Catch your breath!

No kidding! Except that there was not enough time to catch my breath! When it was all said and done, I hit the wall 9 seconds too late. So I pretty much swam them all 1 second slower than I should have. Oh well. I gave it everything I had tonight. That is all I can ask for. Except that I am also asking Coach M for a re-do in January. The re-do will be performed in the morning and the oatmeal cookies will not be invited!

After a long hot shower, I was ready to crawl into bed and go to sleep. But, alas, I needed to go grocery shopping. Rats! It took me roughly 4 hours because I spent about 10 sleepy minutes in front of every shelf trying to figure out what I need. That is so not me!

Anybody still with me? Probably not...

Well. Good night then!

Karl, remind me...

2011-11-30T20:49:00.000-08:00

... that I don't run in less than 30 degrees!

Unless the sun is in full force.

Or something.

An early Saturday morning trail run in Provo Canyon

with great company including KJ*?

Sounded like a fantastic idea until it was time

to get out of bed.

I don't mind waking up early but I made the mistake

to check the current air temperature.

24.

I did not think it was too bad until KJ reminded me

that there is always wind in the canyon.

And the sun won't be up for at least half the run.

Suddenly, my bed was feeling extremely comfortable and warm...

I have decided for myself that I just don't like the cold.

Extreme cold = No fun

Not sure why have turned into a wuss over the last few years

but ... I have.

Glad to say that we did, indeed, drag ourselves out of bed

and enjoyed all Saturday morning had to offer:

Snow-covered peaks

New friends

Good conversations

Bright blue skies

Fun trails

Except for maybe one little episode of me whining

because I still had not warmed up and thought

I was going to be freezing for the rest of my life.

This is when I asked Karl to remind me of the above.

Thank you, friends!

I miss you!

Karl and I are hoping for an epic snow adventure

between Christmas and New Year's.

Who is in?

* From now on (whenever I remember) I am going to refer to my husband, Karl Jamison, as KJ. I've always wanted to and this is my blog - so I will.

** Pictures by Chris Shurian and Shawna Rasmussen.

Friends Reunited

2011-11-28T19:48:00.000-08:00

Before filling you in on why I am very close to losing my sanity, I thought I would write something positive. That is, after all, my motto these days: Relentlessly Positive. It's been difficult, to say the least.

The good news is that we made it to Utah and had a wonderful time! So excited for my good friend and BYU roommate Courtney to get married to a great man. What a fantastic excuse to get the Cherry Chubs (and then some) together for a weekend of fun!

I got into town late Wednesday night, slept some, trained some, dumped the kids on my wonderful in-laws, and spent all of Thursday with my girlfriends. I was not kidding about the all-day Bachelorette Party. Just the break I needed! We played all day on Friday and then went to Courtney and Roger's Party at night. It was very casual and so fun! On Saturday, the beautiful couple was sealed in the Temple for Time and all Eternity.

I am very blessed to be able to call this wonderful lady one of my best friends. Sometimes I think I can handle life just fine without Jen here in Flagstaff. Then I go back and realize that she makes life so much better! I will spare you the juicy details and just say: I love that girl!

My training and nutrition has suffered some but it was well worth it! Thanks for getting married in the off-season, Courtney!

Wondering about the Bachelorette Party? Here is a sneak peek:

All photos are courtesy of Courtney's lovely friend,

Michelle Hardy.

Can't wait to see all of them...

Need some Velocity?

2011-11-22T21:54:00.000-08:00

(Has it really been 10 days? Yikes. I have been a slacker... Rip me out of my routine and throw me in a car for 10 hours with 2 little guys, and I will surely end up a mess. Add a 3-day wedding and a stomach bug, and I am barely able to function. Let alone write a blog post that makes sense. So I dug up a review I wrote for the RMR&T magazine back in September. I have been meaning to edit it and make it more fun before I post it here but it is not happening tonight because somehow I need to drag myself out of bed tomorrow morning at 5 am and ride my bike on the deck before the in-laws and kids wake up. Can't wait for Karl to arrive tomorrow night...)

Also referred to as a swimskin, a speedsuit is a thin outer garment that can be worn in non-wetsuit races. It fits over your triathlon outfit, provides hydrodynamic advantage and buoyancy, and significantly reduces drag. When wetsuits are not legal in races because the water temperature is too high, a speedsuit is your best option. Without a speedsuit, you are forced to swim with your triathlon gear or a swimsuit, which creates drag and slows you down.

I had the pleasure of swimming in the XTERRA Velocity-M Speedsuit for the Las Vegas 70.3 World Championships and fell in love with it. I received a rather large package two weeks prior to the race and was surprised to find a suit in it that is so light and thin that it fits in my fist. Doubting its ability to make a difference in the water, I took it to the pool, squeezed myself into it, jumped in the water… Wow! There definitely is a subtle buoyancy to this speedsuit and it is immediately noticeable. There is absolutely no drag due to its hydrophobic material, which allows you to slip through the water. I have done my share of non-wetsuit swims/pool sprints and I am not a fan of having my tri jersey and shorts filled with water. This is such a great alternative!

However, you have to take into account that you need to take the XTERRA Speedsuit off in T1. Although it takes about 3 minutes to put the suit on, you can rip it off in just a few seconds. This speedsuit has a break-away zipper (no leash necessary) and by simply flipping the zipper up, it will peel right off. I am not sure that any speedsuit will give you an advantage in a sprint or olympic distance triathlon (the time you gain during the swim is lost in transition) but it is proven to enhance your performance in the longer distances.

I was very grateful to be wearing the XTERRA Speedsuit during the swim of the 70.3 World Championship race. I get cold easily and, while treading water for more than 10 minutes before the start, this suit kept me from shivering. My swim time is comparable to that of wetsuit-legal swims and, most important, I felt comfortable in the water the entire time. Because the suit fits extremely tight, I was worried about chafing, especially at the neck, but never experienced any. Taking it off was fast and easy.

I am not easily impressed by gear but this suit definitely exceeded my expectations. I have no complaints whatsoever. I can’t wait for my next non-wetsuit race!

Home Alone

2011-11-12T20:42:00.000-08:00

Miss my Alpine Loop so much!

Nothing like a weekend all to myself! Ok. It is not all weekend but I take what I can get.

Seeing how I am taking the kids up to Provo on Wednesday for Courtney's wedding* and Karl may or may not join us for Thanksgiving, I suggested he could take them on a little camp-out this weekend. Did I mention that Karl is leaving for New Zealand and Fiji at the very beginning of December and won't be back until Christmas? Yeah. I so deserve this break!

(* Picture me jumping up and down with excitement. Can't wait for a little Cherry Chub reunion! Bachelorette Party that starts at 11am and goes all day? Count me in!)

As the good wife that I am, I should've stayed home Friday morning and gotten things ready for their camp out... Well. I decided to go swimming instead. There might be no school or NAU or library on Veteran's Day but there is always Masters. Thank you, Coach Liz! Came home to delicious French Toast and kids playing happily. So I let Karl go on a run, made dinner for them to take, baked muffins, and got some camping stuff ready. Who knew that I can be quite productive when my kids don't call: "Mama! Play with me!" every 6 seconds?

That was the end of my helping out though*. I had a bike ride to go on with Karen. The forecast predicted blue skies and sun on Friday, rain and snow on Saturday. So I decided to switch around some workouts and venture out on Friday. Mistake! It turned out overcast, cold, and windy yesterday. Today is beautiful. Of course.

(* In case you can't tell, I have the best husband!)

Wondering how the ride went? This is what Karen posted on Facebook:

Out on Lake Mary road with S Jarvis yesterday, thinking we are having a pretty good time - chattin, workin, good ride. But it was cold with unfriendly gray skies and a headwind... and abruptly my positive little sunshiny friend announces: "I'm hanging up my bike today. I am done. This sucks." I was like: Phew. If Sarah says it's time to hang it up, it's time to hang it up.

And that is how it went.

I also learned a lesson in how-to-make-friends-and-meet-fellow-triathlets-in-a-new-town. You sit in your car on the side of the road, wait for some 'hot chicks' to ride by on their TT bikes, smile and wave enthusiastically.

Me: "You know this guy?"

Karen: "No. You?"

Me: "No. Must be an athlete."

Then you follow them, roll down your window, listen to their conversation as you go by, pull over, and wave them over to you. When they stop, you say: "Hey. I heard you guys are doing Oceanside 70.3. So am I. I am Nate and just moved here yesterday. Can I have your number?"

And that is how it's done.

The rest of the afternoon/evening was spent getting my hair cut, renting a movie, eating greek yogurt, wasting time, cleaning some, dragging my butt to the gym to stretch and foam roll for an hour, watching Soul Surfer and crying my eyes out because Bethany Hamilton is amazing.

Saturday I bundled up, puffy eyes and all, and biked down to the pool for swim session #4 and a total of 15,500 meters this week. If I can't get the technique right, I can at least put the miles in, right? Thank you to Coach Liz for bringing her camera (again) and helping me out!

I told Karl I would clean the house while they are gone, which was clearly a mistake, but I figured it would be time to get to work! 10 dirty rags later I had dusted 2 rooms. Maybe I should dust more than once a year...

Karen, Megan, and Erica to the rescue! Girls run at 1pm? I am in! Running and chatting it up with these amazing ladies on a beautiful late fall day was just what I needed! Thank you!

The boys came home and life is back to normal.

I kinda like normal.

Bad weather?!?

2011-11-07T18:35:00.000-08:00

Noah ready to roll

There is not a whole lot of interesting stuff going on these days. Base training does not usually make for very good stories. Add snow and freezing temperatures to that, and you've got a bunch of rather boring treadmill runs and trainer rides. Today's highlights consisted of

a) running next to a whole bunch of McMillan Elite Team members that are shooting to qualify for the Olympics. Talk about inspiration! Except that I was not allowed to get my HR above 145...

b) picking Max and later Noah up from school on bikes. 35 degrees, snowy roads, wind. We decided that on top of boots, winter jacket, gloves, and balaclava we also need to wear ski goggles. There is no such thing as bad weather! At least that's what I try to tell myself...

c) I am slowly making progress in the strength department. Remember this post? I am not such a big wimp anymore. Just a little wimp. Considering my bulging arm muscles* and the fact that Karl currently weighs 149 pounds, I think I have a pretty good chance of beating my husband in our arm wrestling re-match! He is also feeling a little sick, so maybe tonight would be a good time!

* not!

That's pretty much a wrap. Like I said: Not much happening here. I did write Coach M a big long email last night about what races I have my eye on for 2012. But until she says 'Yay' or 'Nay', I can't really reveal* next year's schedule. But I can say this: I am getting very excited!

* This makes it sounds like it's a big deal. I am sure all 4 of you are dying to find out... Haha!

Ready or Not ...

2011-11-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

(This picture has nothing to do with my post. But it is just so incredibly cute.)

... off-season is officially over!

How did that happen so fast? I was just getting really into doing-whatever-I-feel-like and enjoying myself immensely, when I got an email from TrainingPeaks telling me the plan for this week! Yikes!

So I hurried and squeezed in a mountain bike ride on Monday and, since the first one was so fun, another one on Wednesday. Not exactly what the plan called for but I am a fan of cross-training in the winter. On Tuesday, an hour before the TRF track workout, I frantically called Coach M to have her tell me (again) why I am banned from the track now. She did not answer her phone. I was about to give into temptation... Good thing I have 2 coaches. HT was available and gave me a lengthy explanation of why I am not supposed to do a hard track session during heart rate training. Don't ask me to reiterate what he said but he did indeed convince me to stay away. I went to a church activity instead. Good girl!

This is also the time to plan next season! I would rather wait until January or until we are less broke (although that might be another 6 years) but races are selling out in record time. What's up with that? Aren't we still in some sort of financial crisis? Apparently the triathlon world is unaffected. Remember how I was #758 on the waiting list for Vineman 70.3 last year? I was determined not to let that happen again this year. Karl has a conference in the area that same week and we have been planning our little get-away sans kids. Long story short: Registration opened November 1st at midnight and the race sold out 3 hours later. Last year it took 5 days. I got on their website that afternoon and ... now I am #598 on the waiting list! So much for that.

I am trying to come up with a feasible Plan B but it is difficult. This whole I-really-need-qualify-for-Worlds-again-this-year is already driving me nuts. Last year it was just a nice bonus. This year it is at the top of my list. Sometimes I can barely stand myself...

Eve Altra

2011-10-28T22:10:00.001-07:00

No. Although tempting, I will not name my next daughter Eve Altra. I just wanted to show you my new favorite shoes. I fell in love with them back in February, when I saw them on Leslie's feet. Right away I knew I needed a pair. But they were not for sale yet. Leslie just happens to be married to one of the founders of Altra. How convenient!

I was hoping to get my hands on a pair by Christmas but Karl surprised me with a pair of Eves on my birthday! Yay!

I am not a minimalist runner. I do have some shoes that are zeroed-out and a pair of Intuitions but I only wear them on rather short runs. I like the idea but I am very cautious and not a fan of change. Some day... Maybe...

I love to wear my Eves to the gym. Boot camp, plyometrics, weight training, core synergistics, body sculpt, elliptical... Pretty much everything but cycling and running.

I hate socks and shoes. In the spring/summer/fall I wear flip flops, in the winter I wear cozy boots without socks. To the gym I wear Eves. No socks and only 4.5 ounces. Perfect for this gal!

I am not a good reviewer, so if you want to know specs and details, go here. I just go by feel and these feel great to me!

Swim Struggles

2011-10-22T13:35:00.001-07:00

Well, clearly not the head or hand position John would like to see. Just a little 'photo shoot' though, so I hope in 'real life' I can do better than that. Flip turns have never been my forte. Ok. I'll admit:

The whole swimming thing is not my forte these days.

It never has been.

Why not?

My form sucks.

I get cold.

Chatting with friends is impossible.

Chlorine gives me a headache.

The scenery leaves much to be desired.

As I have mentioned before, I grew up swimming. Hard to believe. I joined the local German swim club when I was 6 and swam a few times a week until I was 12. Then I was banned from the pool for a year because of health issues. I think that is when the trouble began. My younger sister had always been a fish and that year she got really good and I've been chasing her ever since. She maybe swims once a week these days but I am positive that she could still out-swim me any day. Who wants to get beat by her younger sister as a teenager? Not me! So I dropped swimming at age 14. Not a big loss. At the time.

I started back up in the pool after joining the local triathlon club 2 years later. Eventually I moved to the States and swam on my own for about 10 years. Yikes! You heard that right. I swam without a coach for that long. What a lame idea! During that time my stroke went from decent to not-so-good to bad to horrible. And that is where I am at now. Not fun! I am working on it but it takes time and I am impatient. I want coach to say: "Do this drill, Sarah, and after doing it 1,325 times your stroke will be perfect." Unfortunately, it does not work that way. Ugh.

The NAU pool is cold. Freezing, actually. I have plenty of body fat, so I think the problem is that I am not working hard enough. I tell myself': Get that heart rate up, girlfriend! But I am not a fan of suffering in the water because it equals feeling like I am going to suffocate any minute. Not fun!

I like to be social. What makes the off-season great is being able to bike and run with friends and chatting it up. So I show up at the pool 5 minutes late these days and then start a lengthy conversation with my lanemate(s) about something or other very important. Since there is not quite enough time to finish the conversation, we do so in between sets. I am pretty sure I am driving coach nuts. They make fun of me but I keep telling them: One more week and then it's back to business.

I made up the headache part. It sounded like a good reason not to like the pool.

I think I would love swimming if I could do so in a lake or pond or river or ocean. Something with changing scenery, fresh air, and (tame) wildlife! Not a fan of treadmills, trainers, or indoor pools.

There you have it. My excuses for being a rather poor swimmer.

That all being said, right now Masters is on fire and I am loving it. Remember the ITU pros that came biking with us on Saturday? Well, they also swim with us. And they multiply. Saturday it was 3, today it was 5. Including Canadian super star Brent McMahon*. All these guys are trying to qualify for the Olympics next summer and today they swam in the lane next to me! It is so cool that I can't get over it. They are so fast! When we did sprints, the waves were so big that I swallowed a gallon of water and about drowned. I want to invite some of them over for dinner, so I can pick their brains. Karl and I are also discussing having Max and Noah sleep in our closet, so we can host one of these super stars in our extra bedroom. Wouldn't that be fun?

Maybe Thursday I should just sit out and gawk at them rather than swim. Learning by watching...

* I clearly need to get my ITU guys straight. I did not even recognize Brent McMahon this morning! It was not until Paul Brinkman pointed it out tonight on the track. I think they should just always wear their racing suits with name and country on their chest.

Fueled by Pumpkin

2011-10-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

It is October! My favorite month is filled with fun: my birthday, colorful leaves, clear blue skies, Noah's birthday, perfect temperatures, fantastic bike rides, trail runs, pumpkins, fall festivals, and Halloween!

Not knowing what to make for dinner last night, I decided to make desert instead. Healthy desert, of course. And since it is October, it had to involve pureed pumpkin. I decided on pumpkin cobbler - without the crust. It was taking way too long in the oven, so...

I decided to go swimming. The boys went to Karate.

I took a long hot shower. Saw my friend, Jennifer, at the pool. We talked for like an hour.

By the time I got home, the kids were asleep and I was starving!

So I skipped dinner (not always a fan of leftovers) and had pumpkin cobbler with banana and yogurt. Repeat once. Repeat twice.

Yumminess!

Guess what I had for breakfast this morning? More pumpkin cobbler, banana, and yogurt! Because - why not? Then I hopped on my bike for another shot at trying-to-keep-up-with-the-big-boys. I was really hoping for some girls to ride with as I try to avoid the pain cave during the off-seaon. Well, I was out of luck. 26 fast-looking and decked-out guys was all I got. You've got to love Flagstaff: we had 3 ITU pros among us (one from Ireland, one from Denmark, and one local) and who knows who else...

I got chewed up and spat out the back 3 times. All part of the fun, right? I was lucky to catch back up each time. After the 4th time (at mile 40), I was done. So I cruised back into town by myself and was loving life! Unfortunately, by the time I got home the cobbler was gone and I decided it was time for some veggies and protein...

Here is the pumpkin cobbler recipe. Adapted by me, of course. Let me know if you want the original version...

Filling:

1 large can pumpkin

3 eggs

1/2 c brown sugar (or honey, or agave)

1/4 c milk

2 t vanilla

2 t cinnamon

Topping:

1 c flour

1/4 c softened butter

1/4 c sugar

1 c chopped nuts

1. Mix filling ingredients together and pour into 9*13 inch pan.

2. Mix topping ingredients together and sprinkle on top of filling.

3. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes.

Enjoy!

Nutrition at the 70.3 WC

2011-10-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

In the picture above I am about to take a yummy treat out of my bento box. Hurray for good nutrition! I realize that just because I did not have any issues in Vegas does not mean this is always going to work. But for now I have it somewhat figured out and so I want to write it down and remember for next season. And maybe give you some ideas. Only problem: I am already forgetting... I shouldn't have postponed this post for so long...

Starting on Thursday, I put even more emphasis on staying hydrated. In addition to drinking plain water, I took a couple of electrolyte capsules a day. Not a fan of taking pills but I do as Coach says. I prefer MetaSalt because each pill is loaded with the good stuff and that means less pill-swallowing for me.

I also loaded up on electrolyte tablets. Can't have enough of those. Drinking plain water gets old sometimes and I like to spice up my drink with these little fizzies. I would drink a bottle of plain water, then reward myself with a bottle of orange, lime, or peach mix. I don't really care which brand but lime is my favorite flavor.

While setting up my bike on race morning, I had a package of shot bloks. I did not mean to eat the whole thing right then and there but they were so yummy I could not resist. It is like candy!

I also drank a bottle of water and a bottle with Gu Brew before the start. More yummy-ness.

Speaking of yummy-ness: I have realized that I need to like what I drink/eat while racing. No matter how good a product sounds or how many other athletes are using it, if I don't like it, it's not gonna work. For me. Race-day nutrition is so individual and nobody can tell me what will work for me. Unfortunately.

I think First Endurance products are awesome. I like the idea, their product line, and their athletes. I had been training with it all season long. EFS drink on the bike. EFS liquid shot on the run. Good deal. But then I had nutrition issues at the Boise 70.3 and at the MountainMan Half. Clearly a sign that something was wrong. But what? Well, it turns out that I just don't like how EFS tastes. Especially when concentrated. And the liquid shot is too sweet. Makes me gag. Not during training but in a race. In short:

I need to be excited about what I am drinking/eating while racing.

I need to want to take it in. I need to crave it.

So I put a plastic water bottle with GU Brew on my bike. Drink it. Toss it. Grab water at aid stations. My aero bottle had only 2 scoops of EFS in it because I did want some protein on the bike. Grab more water. Dilute it even more.

I was mostly looking forward to be feasting on my mint/chocolate gels. I love anything and everything containing mint and chocolate. Best combination ever! I did have a variety of flavors in my bento box though. Some with caffein some without. I took a gel about every 30 minutes. That's 5 gels in 2.5 hours and then I took one right before getting off the bike. I also sipped on my EFS and took 2 MetaSalt pills every 45 minutes or so. It worked well. Looking back I think I would take in a few more calories since I was getting tired and grumpy during the last 10 miles of the bike. Not good.

I was definitely working the aid stations on the bike and even more so on the run. Coming into a bike aid station, I knew exactly what I wanted: water. I would pick a helper that looked like he/she knew what they were doing, pointed at him/her and then grab the bottle while they were running next to me. Worked every time. No more missed water bottles. I would put it in my empty bottle cage and grab another one. Fill my aero bottle, dump the rest on my head, dispose of the 2nd bottle before the end of the aid station.

I took a little more time going through aid stations on the run. It's so fun! I love being catered to after every mile. It goes something like this: water on my head, more water on my head, ice on my head, ice in my tri top, a few sips of coke, some water, more ice... It's really one of the highlights of a very well-organized race. No surprises!

I pretty much started drinking coke right away. Since it was only a half-marathon, we figured I would be ok. I sort of planned on taking my EFS liquid shot with me but decided otherwise. We had to give them our run gear bags about 24 hours before we would actually need them and I was worried the EFS would go bad in the heat and taste even worse. So, coke it was. No regrets here. I also carried a little tube of electrolytes with me and popped one every couple of miles. I was not too worried about salt because I knew I took in plenty on the bike.

After the race, I consumed a big plate of watermelon, chips, and not much else. Cheese pizza in 95 degrees after a race does not sound good to me! Ice cream at WholeFoods sounded much better! Thanks, Colleen!

There you (and I) have it! Sounds like a whole lot of calories, doesn't it?

I am craving...

2011-10-17T21:11:00.000-07:00

... a Mint/Chocolate GU!

I am in the processing of writing my nutrition report for the Vegas 70.3 ... What? Another post on that race? A month later? ... I know. I know. But nutrition is a big deal and I want to get it right next time. And who knows? Maybe it will help someone else out there.

Now I can't stop thinking about my favorite training and racing treat. Looks like I will need to go on a long run tomorrow, so I can get my mint/chocolate fix!

Looks but No Power

2011-10-12T06:35:00.000-07:00

I realize that my arms don't look all that strong. But it seems that they are in decent shape. Well, they're not. Not at all. Turns out that they are pathetic little wimps.

I guess I should not be too surprise since I hardly do any weight training, especially during racing season. I do a lot of core and quite a few exercises with my own body weight but I am not a fan of weights. Part of the problem is that I know nothing about weight training. I own a pair of 5-pound what-are-those-these-things-called*. Come to think of it: I don't even own them. I have been borrowing them from a friend for the last few years. Thanks, Jen!

* "Karl, what are the weights called that we have in the closet?"

"Aehm. Dumbbells. I think. Not sure."

Clearly my bike mechanic isn't of much help in this department.

After Vegas, I started going to a 'body sculpt' class at the Y. I went last winter and it's super fun. Everything with loud dance music is fun to me! This is where I found out how wimpy my arms really are. I know better than to get the 12- and 10-pound weights out like everybody else. I go for 8- and 5- pounds. While everybody (bigger women, tiny women, old women...) push their 2*12 pounds around like it's nothing, I am struggling to lift my little 8-pounders. Half-way through the song, I have to switch to my lighter weights and even then my arms are burning. What is wrong with them?

Well, at least I can out-push-up everyone in the class! And 'boot camp' is right up my alley...

Nevertheless, I am committed to doing more strength training! Now is the time! During our Utah visits in November and December, I am going to pick Jen's brain about weight lifting. She is a Pro at it! Plus, they got TRX at the Y now and I am figuring it out slowly. I love it but I can only use it when no one is around since I don't want to look like a fool. And that hardly ever happens.

No worries, I am still going to make fun of the guys at the gym who stack countless weights onto the bar, barely lift the thing above their head, do 1 rep, grunt loudly, do 1 more rep, and then fall over dead. I just don't see the point in being at the gym for an hour and only exercising my muscles for 15 minutes. But to each their own!

Happy (weight) Training!

PS: I was loving spending all afternoon on Saturday in front of the computer following the Ironman World Championships in Kona. So many amazing and inspiring performances. Even if it was not the German sweep I was hoping for...

PPS: Last night I had the pleasure of sharing the track with 115 (!) enthusiastic runners from Team Run Flagstaff! I kid you not. There were 116 of us! Organized craziness! It was super fun and all the kids played very well together on the side under a beautiful full moon! Good times.

Soulstice Run

2011-10-10T13:46:00.000-07:00

The Soulstice Trail Race,

it seems to me,

is the most popular race in town.

Unfortunately,

I have no opinion on this matter.

I was not racing.

Karl was the lucky one this weekend!

(After someone offered me their slot,

I considered jumping into the race as well.

For fun.

But it was going to be complicated with the boys.

I don't like 'complicated' in my off-season.

So I declined.)

See Karl in this picture?

Nice move, Karl!

He did not hear the gun go off,

and the start took him by surprise.

Nevertheless,

he quickly moved into 3rd position

and with 1/2 a mile to go,

pushed hard and overtook 2nd.

Congrats, on a fantastic 2nd place!

It looks to me like his 'minimal training' approach,

is working well for Karl.

(Read: Thank you, Karl, for your support!)

Unfortunately,

he took a bad spill at the beginning of the race.

Lots of trail rash and a banged-up knee.

Thanks for braving our Sunday hike anyway.

We wish you speedy recovery!

PS: Excuse me. Gotta go. Max (3) feels the urgent need to watch a German documentary on dinosaurs. I don't want to inhibit his learning progress...

What Works for Me...

2011-10-05T06:53:00.000-07:00

Photo: Jamie Pearson

A few days after the race, I was getting ready to jump in the water for Masters, when a friend asked me about the race. Our conversation went something like this:

She: "How was your race?"

Me: "It was great! Super fun!"

She: "I heard you did really well."

Me: "Yeah. Everything just came together and it went perfectly."

Coach Liz chiming in: "Except for the swim..."

Me, laughing: "Yes. Except for the swim. And a billion other little things..."

She: "But you just felt good the entire time and it did not hurt?"

Me: "Aehm. No. I was in a world of pain for at least half of the race."

So I guess a perfect race is relative. I feel like Vegas was as close to a perfect race as I could've hoped for. That does not mean that there is not a lot of room for improvement or that every little detail went smooth. To me, it means that the most important things fell into place, that my mind was (mostly) in the game, that I did not have any gear issues, nutrition went according to plan, and that I gave it 110%.

In this post I want to point out what gear and nutrition worked for me and hope that maybe you can find it helpful, too. Note: I am not sponsored by any of these companies. They just happen to make good stuff that I like.

Gear

I was playing around in the pool, so just ignore my bad form.

I am in love with the Xterra Velocity-M Speedsuit. I am going to write a full review about this swim skin in a few days. It's that awesome! I am definitely not blaming my less-than-ideal swim performance on this great piece of clothing. If anything, I would've been even slower without it...

I already talked about how excited I was to use these Zipp race wheels here. They certainly lived up to their expectations and it was super fun to race on them. No problems whatsoever. Some day (maybe in a decade or so) I will get my own pair. They will be clinchers, though. For piece of mind.

I was trying hard to figure out a way to carry all my gels and electrolyte tablets on the bike. Sure, I can tape the gels on the top tube. But what about the pills? I came up with all kinds of crazy ideas none of which were practical or feasible. I just could not get myself to buy a Bontrager bento box. After all, this was not going to be a picnic ride... Less than 24 h before the gun went off, I finally caved in. I rushed over to the closest bike shop and grabbed their last picnic basket. I have to say, I was very relieved after my purchase. I knew it would work well and help me to stay on top of my nutrition. And it did.

I have not raced in anything by Zoot Ultras for the last 3 (or maybe even 4) years. They work great for me! Love how the feel. Love how they look. I have worn them barefoot for 5k and 10k runs. My goal is to get my feet tough enough by next year to wear them barefoot for a half marathon. Wouldn't it be nice not to have to put any socks on for a 70.3?

I was going to talk about nutrition as well today but that is going to have to wait for another day. Time to get some sleep and feel healthy again!

Not the Worst Timing

2011-10-03T14:44:00.000-07:00

Crush it in Kona, Spencer!

I have had a cold for the last 2 weeks

and

now I have a nasty stomach bug.

Not fun!

The cold hasn't kept me from

being active and having fun.

But after being awake most of the night throwing up,

I have zero energy

and

exercise is the last thing on my mind.

I am glad I was able to get dressed.

I don't enjoy being sick

(who does?!?)

but I am so grateful the bugs did not hit last month!

Making it to Vegas happy and healthy

was a huge blessing!

So,

I am not complaining...

Hope everybody that is still racing,

especially those toeing the line in Kona,

is healthy and ready to rip it up!

That's My Coach!

2011-10-01T18:54:00.001-07:00

I have about 20 other things I want to blog about, but this takes priority today:

The guy in yellow/white/black is my coach, Heath Thurston. He was running the St. George Marathon today and was on his way to a speedy PR. When Heath was only a few seconds away from the finish, he saw a guy in front of him falter and collapse. He did not think twice but stopped, picked up the other runner, and helped him across the finish line.

I am so impressed. By Heath's PR of 2:53 as well as by his great example! Way to make us proud, Coach! You are my hero! I am hoping he will tell us his story here soon.

Compression Socks

2011-09-29T20:25:00.000-07:00

(This is a review which I originally wrote for the Rocky Mountain Running & Triathlon Magazine. I thought I would post it here, in case you are interested. I have not actually worn these since my race in Vegas but, leading up to the race, I wore them daily. Unfortunately, there are no pictures of me in the CEP socks because I don't like to wear them in public.)

CEP Compression Sleeves Review

The website claims that CEP compression sleeves are the first scientifically proven compression sleeves to maximize power, boost energy, and speed recovery time. After having used them for more than a year now, I have to agree with their claim.

You can use the compression sleeves for 3 different purposes. First, to activate your muscles and reduce injury risk pre-exercise. Second, to optimize performance and reduce muscle strain during exercise. Third, to recover quicker and more effectively post-exercise. Although I think the sleeves are extremely helpful in all 3 areas, I use mine mostly for recovery. I guess I am just too vain and not geeky enough to wear them around all day, especially in the summer under shorts. In the few hours per day where I am not wearing spandex, I like to look like a normal person.

The number of people with compression wear during a race has risen enormously in the last few years and I think there is a good reason for that. I know many athletes (especially those competing in long-distance races) that are able to perform better with the help of compression socks. I, personally, have not felt the need to wear my sleeves during a triathlon but I might change my mind when I move back up to the Ironman distance.

My recovery routine after a good, hard training session consists of a quick recovery snack, then an ice bath, followed by a hot shower, and another ice bath. After all this, I elevate my legs for 10 minutes and put on the CEP compression sleeves immediately afterwards. This routine leaves my legs feeling so much better and allows them to recover while I am busy chasing my boys around.

The reason I prefer the sleeves to the socks is simply that I don’t like any kind of socks. I will only wear socks and shoes when absolutely necessary. I like to be either barefoot or in my flip flops and the compression sleeves allow me to do just that.

Hang On or Bust!

2011-09-26T06:14:00.000-07:00

Saturday was another great off-season training day:

I have not had a chance to go on the Pay'nTake group ride for a few months. I am usually out on the roads by myself trying to stick to the plan. Not today. Today my motto was:

Hang On or Bust!

Usually half of the group is dropped by the time the fast guys get to mile 25. I have been able to (more or less) hang with them until mile 35 but never longer than that. That was going to change today. At least I was going to try. Try my hardest and hang on to the wheel in front of me with all I've got. That was my idea of fun today! If I ride with them at all during the season, I am either too tired by the time Saturday rolls around or I don't want to kill myself because I need to run off the bike. Today was the day.

(Why not next week? I am afraid that in another 7 days I will have completely lost all fitness and gained 10 pounds.)

I showed up on my tri bike. Yeah. I know. The blonde girl + tri bike combination is never a good one when dealing with a whole bunch of lycra-clad males. But, seeing how I have not ridden my (old) road bike since the spring and my bike mechanic has been slightly busy, I did not have much of a choice. So I just decided to proof to them that I can, indeed, ride a bike.

The group was much smaller than usual and just the right size. Everybody always takes it fairly easy until we get to The Mailboxes. Quick pit stop. All the guys pee. Back on the horse. Faster pace until we hit The Steps. This is where the fast guys take off and sprint to the top. Not a chance but I try and don't fall back too far. Luckily we all regroup at The Turn-off. By now half the group has been dropped and turned around. On to Mormon Lake Lodge, the half-way point and re-fueling stop.

Have I mentioned that I love riding in a (well-organized and smooth) double paceline? It's one of my favorite things to do! (While looking up if paceline is one or two words, I found a great article on cycling etiquette. Read it here. I love the author's sense of humor.) We had quite a good one going today, especially on the way back and it was so fun! My Garmin shows that my fastest speed today was 46 mph! This is not ridiculously fast or anything but I don't usually go this fast anymore now that I have kids.

It was fun to meet some new athletes, including a retired pro triathlete and a brand new ITU pro who will be racing professionally for the first time in 2 weeks. This town has a plethora of amazing athletes. I love it!

On the way back is where it gets really interesting. With 2 steep and rather long hills right at the beginning, I was already about to lose it/them. Nooooo! I was just hanging at the back of the group trying not to fall off. Fortunately, I ended up next to a kind guy who said just the right things and forced me to stay with him and even take a few pulls. Yikes! Those were the longest one-minute intervals of my life! Then it happened. Around mile 45. Another break-away. There was jut no way. I was already at my limit and there was no way that I could go any faster. I busted! But I did not give up hope. I just stayed in my aero bars and kept pushing.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, this lady on her scooter wearing a bike helmet shows up next to me (and some other stragglers) and indicates that she is going to pull us back to the group. What? Did someone hire you? So I tuck in behind her scooter and off we go! Who cares about the exhaust in my face? I've always wanted to paced by a scooter! So fun!

Anyway. With 10 miles to go, the fast guys slow down and I eventually catch up and we ride home. Maybe this was not the smartest thing to do while dealing with a head/chest cold. I was about to lose my voice at the end of the ride and am still dealing with a bad headache but - who cares? If I don't feel like working out on Monday, I won't. No big deal.

Off-Season!!!

2011-09-23T22:18:00.000-07:00

can't wait for some hardcore snow adventures

Not sure who came up with the saying:

There is no such thing as an off-season!

I disagree. Most definitely. I love my off-season.

(Except for the fact that I should be dialing back my calorie intake. Should be. As in: Not happening. Why is it so hard to eat like a normal person?)

If the above saying, means:

There is not such thing as lying on your couch all day

watching TV.

I totally agree!

Today was a good off-season day. Here is how it went:

P90X yoga at the gym (1 hr)

bike Noah to school

bike Max to preschool

bike on the urban trail to the edge of town (20 min)

enjoy a beautiful trail run (1 hr 20 min)

bike back home (20 min)

shower, pack snacks, check emails*

pick up the kids from school

playing at the park with many friends

relaxing at home

swimming with NAU masters - working on proper technique (1 hr 30 min)

No training plan. No Garmin. No pain. Just loving what I am doing.

It is as much of a mental break as it is a physical break. I need both. But, let's face it, I am addicting to working out. 4.5 hours of easy exercise felt great today and makes me happy. And the off-season is all about doing what makes you happy.

I have been excited to go mountain biking all year long. It's finally time to go out on the trails and acquire a few more off-road skills in paradise. Unfortunately, our only decent mountain bike is having a few too many (expensive) issues and a grad student with family can only have so many nice bikes... I shall find other ways to entertain myself!

I wrote a little article on cross-training in the off-season for RMR&T last year. If you want o read it, go here.

Hope you are well and busy having fun!

Coming home I thought: I might have time to actually blow-dry my hair today and look somewhat decent. Then I started eating and reading blogs. 10 minutes later: Mmhh. Maybe I won't blow-dry my hair. Another 10 minutes. I don't even need to wash my hair. I am going swimming tonight. 10 more minutes. Crap! I only have 5 more minutes! Do I really need a shower? Maybe I am ok without one. Oh wait! Remember how you have a thick layer of snot all over your shoulder from an unsuccessful farmer's blow? HURRY!

(I might have to stop reading your blog.)

70.3 World Championship - Run/Finish/Awards

2011-09-18T20:21:00.000-07:00

(This race report actually has 3 parts. To read about how I got in a fist fight during the swim, go here. To find out how much fun I had on the bike, go here. Or you can just scroll down... thanks for reading!)

out of T2 and putting on my Garmin wristband

Time to run! I knew the run course would be hilly but I was still a little shocked when I biked the run course on Thursday. There was not a flat spot on the entire course and the hills were not just little rollers like I had hoped. The run was an out-n-back that we ran 3 times and went something like this: 2 miles up, 2 miles down, 2 miles up, 2 miles down...

After Thursday, I tried not to worry about the run portion of the race. After all, worrying at this point does not help a thing! I have become better at focusing on the things that are within my control and letting the rest go. For example, worrying about nutrition pre-race is a good thing because it means that I will have it all planned out and ready to go by race day. Worrying about the weather or the course, on the other hand, is not helpful 2 days before the race. So I just kept reminding myself that everyone has to run the same hard course and I will deal with it the best I can.

The great thing about this course is how spectator-friendly it is! My family pretty much stayed in one spot and I came by 6 times! Talk about motivation! The entire course was lined with spectators and, after a very lonely half marathon at the MountainMan, I was enjoying the cheers from friends and strangers immensely.

Karl must have taken these two pictures on my first loop when the streets were still pretty empty. As you can see later, the course filled up quickly after that and we were all part of one big sufferfest!

To be honest, the run is a bit of a blur. I figured my bike was not too shabby coming into T2 right behind Beth Walsh. What I did know was that Beth is an animal on the run and I would just have to find my own (much slower) pace. I also tried hard not to think too much about the other girls in my AG. I was having a fantastic race up to that point and, no matter what would happen, I was thrilled to be competing in my first World Championship. I had to keep pinching myself because it did not seem real.

Well, reality set in quickly after 2 loops! I had really been trying to push the pace and I was starting to feel it! I did not care so much about place or time. What I cared about was really giving it my all. Pushing to the limit. And beyond. Knowing I left everything out there. No regrets. And, I am happy to report, that I did just that! Looking back, I know that I could not have run any faster.

I had been running with a girl in my age group for about 6 miles and, boy, did she look strong and determined. It seemed like I was slightly faster than her on the uphill and then she would get me on the downhill. So with one more 2-mile climb to go, I decided to try to run away from her. Well, after the turn-around, she suddenly sped up and ... was gone! There was nothing I could do. I had to let her go. Bummer.

I was dying on that last uphill. I kept telling myself: You are running hill repeats. This is the last one. Go hard! But it was not working. My Garmin was giving me bad news as well... By now the course was so crowded that it was hard to know who was in my AG or even what loop they were on. I remember one girl passing me and, while trying to hang with her, I desperately asked: Is this your last loop? To my great relief she answered: No. My second. Phew!

I finally made it to the top of the hill. Downhill to the finish from here! I can't remember what mantra I had in my head on the uphill. (I always have one though, especially when struggling). On the last mile this is what I yelled to myself in my head:

Come one. Make it hurt. Make it hurt more!

Come on. Make it hurt. Make it hurt more!

Over. And over. And over.

Until I reached the finish line:

I immediately spotted my great friend and team mate, Colleen, who had been cheering for me tirelessly all day. After finally convincing the nice volunteer who was holding me up that I could, indeed, walk by myself, I shuffled over to her. She had great news for me: 5th place in my AG! I was, and still am, over the moon with this result!

Colleen wins the prize for best female supporter of the day!

(Karl wins best male supporter!)

I had told Karl (who was apparently also at the finish but I never saw him) before the race: If things go really well for me, I might be Top 10 in my age group. If I am able to pull off a near-perfect race and everybody else has a bad day, there is a very small chance I will make it into the Top 5. And that is what happened! I had some Race Day Magic going for me and, unfortunately, some of the top girls did not have the race we know they are capable of.

Thanks to staying on top of my nutrition, I was feeling pretty good after the race. It is always great fun to visit with friends behind the finish line and to see so many fantastic performances! But it was getting very hot and I wanted to see my family. So we headed back to the hotel and I finally got to visit with my Cherry Chubs! Thank you so much for coming down/over and cheering me on. It was very much appreciated. I know I can always count on you!

Pool. Hot tub. Feet up. Nap.

Then it was time for the Awards Party/Dinner! This was going to be a great evening anyway, but the fact that I would get to stand on the podium was so exciting! We brought the kids because a) they did not need to pay b) it was going to be so fun for them to swim in the fancy hotel pools. Well, as soon as we got there and saw that they have a nice beach area with access to the lake, a thunder storm came our direction and never quite left. Bummer!

So, of course, the kids were ready to go home before we had even finished our dinner. Luckily, they did not wait long to start the awards ceremony and I did not have to miss out!

Since it was all planned out perfectly, I was really nervous I would make a mistake and mess it all up. I finally got to meet the Top 3 ladies and, let me tell you, they are amazing! Super tough, super strong, very fast, very beautiful, and incredibly nice! I hope I get to hang out with them again some day... (4th place showed up really late and I did not have much of a chance to talk to her.)

Did I mention the kids were bored to death? So we left the party right away but then spent quite some time exploring Lake Las Vegas at night. I do happen to like these two guys more than I like racing. Most days...

I can't stop here. I need to give a huge shout out to everyone who has helped me along the way. And there are lots of you! Actually, I am afraid I won't be able to mention everybody.

My family - immediate and extended for their love and support!

HT training - you know I could not have pulled it off without you!

PowerTri - thank you for sponsoring me!

RMR&T magazine - love that XTERRA swim skin!

Karen - I owe you for letting me borrow our Garmin!

Papa - so glad we did not have to camp!

Heath and Dave - I was loving those race wheels!

PS:

I do have one more blog post that I want to write about this race. It will be on nutrition and gear. It will mostly be for myself, so I don't forget what works and what does not. But you are always welcome to join in on the fun!

70.3 World Championship - Bike

2011-09-16T21:30:00.000-07:00

Good thing there weren't any hills in the lake (swim report here) because once we hit dry land there was not a flat spot on the entire bike or run course! I heard that there was something like 5,000 ft of climbing on the bike. Bring it on! I am a fan of hills on the bike. The more - the better. I had already had the pleasure of racing on it during the RAGE triathlon back in April and fell in love with the course - smooth roads, little traffic, big rollers, fast downhills. What's not to like?

I passed Beth right at the beginning and then Sarah Piampiano and I thought: "Holy cow! I am in front of these super stars who are supposed to win this thing! Yikes!" Of course I knew it was not going to last but it sure was fun! Sarah passed me back just a little while later and she was gone. When Beth passed me at mile 15 I figured I would have to let her go as well but I was wrong! We were actually in close proximity for most of the ride and I was stoked. Beth is a super nice gal and always had something nice to say when she passed.

I really tried hard to stay on top of my nutrition and even purchased a bento box the day before the race. I never thought the day would come that I would carry a picnic basket on my TT bike. Well, it has. I was having a blast cruising along the beautiful shore of Lake Mead, basking in the sun, and choosing which treat to consume next. The race photographer even caught me with my hand in the lunch box:

Once I hit mile 45, I have to admit I was pretty done. I had been pushing hard and was getting tired. I also assumed that the last 10 miles into Henderson would be mostly downhill but I was so wrong. It was either up or a false flat. I actually started looking forward to the run...

Finally T2 came into sight and a nice volunteer grabbed my bike, but not before I ripped the Garmin off and stuffed it into my chest pocket:

Some good-looking dude following me with a camera. Sweet!

I had good intentions of finishing this race report today but it is just not happening. Time flies when I write and it is getting late... Sorry! You will have to stay tuned for what happened on the run. At least I hope you do!

70.3 World Championship - Swim

2011-09-14T20:47:00.000-07:00

the swim course at dawn

Sunday morning it was finally time for The Little Dance*. I did not even mind the 3 am wake-up call. I was ready to go, race hard, and be done! It was great to get to Vegas on Thursday afternoon already and I loved having so much time getting ready but by the time Saturday rolled around, we were all getting a little antsy.

*Since Kona is referred to as The Big Dance, I am going to call this race The Little Dance. Just for fun.

swim start (close) and swim finish (other side of lake)

Karl and I headed over to Lake Las Vegas/the race start/T1 (while the boys and Grandparents were still asleep at the hotel) and, to my surprise, there was hardly anyone there yet. With pretty much all our gear, including the bikes, checked-in on Saturday already, there really was not much left to do. You are not allowed to have anything by your bike that is not attached to it, so I put my nutrition on there and pumped up the tires. Done.

You get 3 bags. A morning clothes bag, a bike gear bag, and a run gear bag. Everything needs to be in these bags. It makes for very clean but not very fast transitions. The tricky part is finding your bag in the sea of 1700 bags.

There was plenty of time to talk with old and new friends, have a little chat with Karl, and check out some of the Pros. Was I nervous? Honestly, the only thing making me nervous were my borrowed race wheels. They have tubular tires which means that if you get a flat, you are screwed! They don't have tubes inside, so all you can do is blow some sealant and CO2 in the tire and pray it will patch the hole. Yikes! But it was time to gamble a little, right?

Transition closed at 6 am sharp and it was time to line up for our 7 am start. Not a fan of standing in line for an hour with no room or shoes to warm up. But I appreciate WTC being on top of (even the little) things and doing what it takes to have the show run smoothly.

After popping into the water with all the other ladies in my age group and a little warm-up swim, we still had 10 minutes. How fun! Not! I decided it would be easier to swim some more than to tread water, so I did. Mistake! By the time I got back, the wave in front of us had left and everyone moved up to the starting line. All the good spots were taken but no big deal. We look like a pretty calm, easy-going little group, don't we?

Well, let me tell you, it was a mayhem. I got so annoyed at everyone around me kicking my guts that I moved even further back and over to the side. I may not be American but I still need a nice big bubble around myself. Please nobody touch me! It was not a good spot but I was next to my dear friend, Jeanette Schellenberg, who is always so peaceful. I love that girl!

The gun went off and so did 94 feisty ladies! This is what went on in my head during the swim:

At 100m: Just hang on. This won't last long. Soon we'll spread out.

At 200m: You've got to be kidding me! Can we just all be nice to each other?

At 300m: Is this ever going to stop? I need to get out of here.

At 400m: Get off my feet! If you drown me one more time I am going to kick you in the face!

At 500m: Race the swim? How am I supposed to even move with 3 girls on top of me?

At 600m: You really want a fist fight? Fine.

At 700m: Speed it up and get out of here!

At 800m: Crap! Maybe I should slow down instead. I can't handle this any longer.

At 900m: Just put your head down and swim away from them. Race the swim!

At 1,000m: I will never compete in a World Championship ever again!

* I don't think any of these girls had any intentions to be mean. It just seemed that way.

Luckily, after the turn-around buoy things got better. Much better. While the first half of the swim was the worst I've ever had, the second half might have been the best! Suddenly, everybody was gone except a couple of girls who were holding a great pace and I just hung onto their feet* while we were swimming through others that had started ahead of us.

* without actually touching their feet!

I was hoping to swim under 30 minutes but considering my issues during the first 1,000 meters and the fact that wetsuits were not allowed, I will take my time of 32:14. I am not happy with it but I know it can be improved.

As I exited the water, I realized that I was right behind Beth Walsh, a super fast gal who everyone had picked to be one of the top amateurs. She is a super star! Needless to say I was a little excited to be running behind her into T1, which was on the other side of the lake. Hence the slow transition time.

T1 went pretty smooth. Grab the bag; into the changing tent; helmet, shoes, and sunglasses on; off to get my bike; up the little switchback; mount!

The Guru looks ready to roll!

Well. That's about all I am going to tell you today! Are you tired of reading yet? I am sure tired of typing. It's time to get back in the pool tomorrow morning and work on my stroke and speed! I clearly need it!

Pre-Race Fun

2011-09-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

The fun started when Grandma and Grandpa

came into Flagstaff and

brought bags full of goodies:

fresh garden vegetables, Grandma's granola, their dried fruit.

Here are the boys eating corn that

Grandpa picked that morning.

Thank you for sharing with us!

Karl and I had a chance to visit the

Altra Running booth.

Here we are with their Adam and Eve shoes.

We fell in love with these beauties

but are going to have to wait until Christmas.

We are staying in a hotel!

Wow! It is so exciting - to us!

The Marriott TownePlace Suites are fantastic!

We love the full kitchen where we can cook up

Grandpa's fresh veggies.

Of course we had to try out our pool/hot tub

and take some pictures with our new camera.

This morning was the practice swim

in Lake Las Vegas.

The race is officially non-wetsuit

and I am kind of excited.

This is why:

Huge thank you to

Rocky Mountain Running & Triathlon

for providing me with a swim skin.

Zippety Zip

2011-09-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

Look what I get to race with on Sunday!

Some awesome Zipp race wheels!

Wow! I am stoked!

My first time on race wheels. Ever!

Besides the one time right before Boise 70.3

when I decided, after 2 minutes,

that I am not taking any chances

and will stay with the tried and true!

This time, however, it is different.

This race is all about taking chances!

I came here to have fun and

to push myself beyond

what I think I am capable of.

My little carbon friends will help me along. I hope...

Never mind that these wheels are worth more than my bike.

Is there are rule that says you can't have a Zipp 808

on a non-carbon bike?

I hope not!

(I think there should be a rule that says

your bike, wheels, and tires all have to match.

But nobody asked me...)

Huge thanks to

Heath Thurston (HT training)

and

David Warden (PowerTri)

for lending me your precious babies!

I will do my best to take good care of them!

Thanks for spoiling me!

I am so grateful for all the support

I have received from all of you!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

It means a lot to me.

Time to rest up

for another day of pre-race fun tomorrow!

Taper Time!

2011-09-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

Sedona or St. George?

Did I say I was looking forward to this taper?

I should've known myself better than that...

It has now been 6 days and...

I have had it.

I am done with this taper.

Bring on the race!!!

Ok. I can really wait another 4 days to race my guts out

and my body needs a little more time to fully recover

but I just am not a fan of tapering.

It makes me (feel) fat and lazy.

It seems impossible for me to eat like a normal person.

I like to train lots and eat lots!

If I don't, I get grumpy.

Liza, my favorite lanemate, said to me in the pool today:

"I thought you were..."

Me:

"Tapering?"

Liza (serious):

"Tapering. That's the word.

I always wanna call it dwindling."

Me (busting up):

"I hope I am not dwindling anytime soon."

That girl* cracks me up.

(*The girl is in her late 50's, a local artist,

great swimmer, and has an amazing body.)

Sedona Pool

Saturday was actually a beautiful taper day.

Sleep in until 6 am.

Pack up and head down to Sedona.

Nice 30 mile ride in Dry Canyon

plus 30 min transition run in the heat.

Coach M:

This should feel refreshing!

Me:

This did not feel refreshing.

But I am getting there.

A good amount of time for Karl and the boys

to hike, visit the skate park, and play at the pool.

Nothing like a cool recovery swim after a hot run!

That did, indeed, feel refreshing!

Then it was time to head back north for Karl's race.

He wanted to measure himself against the college runners*

in the George Kyte Invitational 8k at Buffalo Park.

I am proud to report that he kicked butt!

I was surprised to see him leave 3/4 of the field in the dust!

He finished 19th (out of 78) in a time of 28:09.

That is a 5:40 pace.

He is my man!

What was left of the day we spent

ice bathing, eating, relaxing, and playing at home.

My kind of day!

Happy training/tapering/recovering!

Whichever one you are up to right now!

Feat of Fortitude - Half Triathlon

2011-09-04T15:41:00.000-07:00

The alarm went off way too soon on Sunday morning. 4 am? Really? Well, it was time to move my butt out of bed for Feat of Fortitude Part II: the Mountain Man Half Triathlon.

Why did I choose to run a Half Marathon one day and do a Half Triathlon the next?

Because the prize for the fastest combined time of these events was free entries to both events next year! Considering our financial situation, I had to give it a shot.

I knew I was not going to have enough time on race morning but I just could not handle the thought of waking up at 3:30 am. And I paid for it. I forgot to tape a couple of GUs onto my bike. Lesson #1: No matter how early the race starts, I need to be there at least 2 hours early. Most people don't need that much time but I do. I always have. I like to get a good spot, set everything up perfectly, take my bike for a little spin (when allowed), run, stretch, chat, etc. Those might be my favorite 2 hours of race day!

The swim was great! I was loving it! Maybe not the extremely murky water or the gas/oil taste in my mouth or the fact that I just could not see those buoys. But, you know, everything else. I actually had some feet to hang onto! It was great until I realized that the girl could either see the buoys even less than I could or she just was not able to swim a straight line. So much for that. I think I ended up pulling her for most of the way until she came around me at the last buoy and exited the water as the 1st girl. Not sure what happened to her after that but she must've been in a relay.

I am afraid that the reason I like the swim so much in a race is that I just don't push hard enough. I remember thinking toward the end of the swim: Dang. Now I have to get out of the water and actually start working. I can't just think of the swim as a little warm-up to the actual race. Lesson #2: Race the swim! I am pretty sure I have never heard of anybody saying they pushed too hard in the swim and therefore fell apart on the bike.

I know the bike course really well. Yep. You guessed it. We biked on Lake Mary Road. Just like we do every day. Hopefully a little faster though... The ride was pretty uneventful. The guys started 7 minutes ahead of us which always provides plenty of entertainment.

Favorite conversation of the day:

Guy, passing me: You should really get an aero helmet.

Me, passing him back a few minutes later: Not as long as I can pass guys with aero helmets.

15 minutes later. Guy passes me again.

Me: You are probably right.

Disclaimer: He was part of a relay!

I will not own an aero helmet. Unless I were a professional. Because I will never be a professional I will never own an aero helmet. But I might borrow one next weekend...

Quizz: What's wrong with these pictures?

Nope. It is not the fact that I am passing a guy on a very nice bike with race wheels, aero helmet, and compression socks who started 7 minutes ahead of me. I actually think that's kind of fun and part of the entertainment.

It is my non-existing aero position! What is up with that? I am not even really in my aero bars. Lame!

Lesson #3: Get in your aero bars. All the way. Stay there!

photo: courtesy of John Lowe

It was wonderful to have my parents at the race! They are great cheerleaders as you can see above. (My dad is the one in the distance with the hat.) They sacrificed a lot of time and money in my youth to support me in various sports and races. Thank you!

As you can also see, I, again, stuffed everything in my chest area at T2 until I had it all sorted out. Good times. Bad pictures. I am not a fan of putting on my Garmin while running but I was glad to be able to keep track of some very long miles.

I was feeling great on the run. At first. Even on the 1.5 mile steep climb and the descent. I could see the other girls and knew I had a pretty good lead. Nevertheless, there was no time to waste and when I had to go pee-pee I went right in my DeSoto Liftfoil. (After stopping a total of about 6 times during Challenge Roth, I vowed I would never stop again to pee in a race.) I am trying to figure out what to wear in Vegas since it might be a non-wetsuit swim. I really like biking and swimming in the Liftfoil but now that I have worn it swimming in the pool, I am not so sure it makes for a great swim skin. We'll see.

Karl and Noah were all over the run course! It as fantastic! Best support crew ever! You can't see Noah very well in this picture but he is pedaling happily behind Karl on his trail-a-bike. They biked 20 miles that day! Thank you for making the extremely boring and deserted run course a little more bearable and way more fun!

Local super star, Paul Brinkman, biked by me at mile 7 and asked: Are you feeling it yet? To which I replied: Not yet! It was the truth a that point but I also knew that I would be feeling it pretty soon. And I sure did!

Miles 8-13 were very challenging. Mentally and physically. It was rough. My digestive system was having issues and so were my legs. I was running out of energy. Looking bad I can't believe how little I drank on the bike. I only went through one small aero bottle and half of my EFS mixture. What was I thinking? I tried to get a water bottle at an aid station but missed it. Not good. Nutrition definitely did not go well that day. Lesson #4: Stay on top of your nutrition! I am usually pretty good at that but this race was a good reminder that you just can't go by feel. You need to take in the calories/water whether you feel hungry/thirsty or not.

Is this race over yet? I am so done!

Then I tossed my flask and electrolytes on the ground. I knew Max would be thrilled to be drinking my EFS. Only one more long mile to go!

If the last 5 miles were bad, the aftermath was worse. I pretty much spent the rest of the afternoon/evening in the bathroom. I was completely exhausted and my GI was not very happy. What a bummer! I missed awards and did not get to visit with anybody after the race. I was really hoping to meet some other triathletes from Arizona but that did not happen.

It was not so much the Half Marathon/Half Triathlon combination that did me in. It was my failing to take care of my nutrition. I am sure of that. But: the lessons are learned and I am hoping to be able to cross the finish line in Vegas feeling spent but able to function and enjoy the festivities!

Congratulations to all of my Flagstaff friends! Especially to Karen Haubensak who had a fantastic race in her first Half and won her age group!

Thank you to my family, PowerTri, friends,and HT training! I could not do it without you! You are the best!

It is coming...

2011-09-03T23:28:00.000-07:00

I am working on my race report.

Why, oh why, can I just not keep these things short?

The goal was to finish it tonight

but seeing how it is 11:30 pm,

I have no choice but to go to bed.

Karl's birthday present was a new camera!

Our old one died and I found one that is

waterproof, shockproof, and lifeproof!

Just what we need!

I could not pass it up!

We took it to the pool with us today and had a blast!

More later...

Holding it Together - Barely

2011-08-31T21:58:00.000-07:00

MountainMan 2011

Karen rocked her first Half!

Good news:

I am still alive!

Taper is just around the corner!

I have never been more ready for a taper than right now!

Usually I am not a fan of taking it easy

but after the many smash festivities the last few weeks

my body is trying hard to keep it together!

Since I am either taking care of the kids,

training, sleeping, or eating, there has been no time

for a decent MountainMan race report.

Are you wondering

why I still manage to read other people's blogs

and find time for Facebook?

I can do those things while holding a spoon and stuffing my mouth.

That's why.

Oh, and I banned myself from using the computer

while taking an ice bath.

If I were able to type in the tub,

I could've written 10 race reports by now.

My body is hanging in there.

My mind, however, is about to lose it.

I must have left a few too many brain cells on the pavement lately.

I can't think.

I can't remember.

I can't function.

Basic tasks like taking a shower, going to the grocery store,

making lunch, emptying the dish washer

seem to be unsurmountable.

How can I muster up enough energy for a 4 hour brick

but having to take out the garbage

makes me want to cry?

Ah! The joys of training!

You've got to love it!

And I do - I love it.

But - at the same time -

I can't wait for this race to be over!

I need my life back!

Feat of Fortitude - Half Marathon

2011-08-26T07:48:00.000-07:00

(Sorry for the delay. Having my parents here, then Karl gone, kids starting school, and training for Vegas does not leave much time or energy for anything but eating and sleeping.)

Let's see. The Big Brothers Big Sisters Half Marathon seems so long ago. I need to dig around in my memory. Ok. Here we go:

After a nice pre-race pasta dinner Friday night, I got up early and jumped on the trainer. (Remember the kids were with my parents? So the pasta dinner was our date. Nice!) Coaches plan called for 40 minutes on the bike before the run. I happily obliged. We all know how much I love running off the bike. (No sarcasm here.)

Cruise to the race downtown. Lock up bikes. Good-luck hug. Warm-up. Ready to go! Wow! Running races are so simple. I love it.

The race itself was pretty uneventful which is usually a good thing. I started out as the 4th girl, passed #3 after one block, and stayed in 3rd for the rest of the race. I never saw the fast girls and I never looked back. I did not really care about my place but towards the end I decided to put up a little fight for 3rd place if I had to. Luckily I did not need to.

I love trail running! If this had been a road race I would have been much more hesitant about signing up. Road races seem so much harder on my body and especially on my mind. This run was a blast! After a few solid weeks of training I forget how good I can feel when tapered. It is amazing! My legs did not feel like cement blocks. It was great.

The plan was to run comfortably hard. Keep things under control. Push myself but avoid any sort of pain. (Who wants to be in the pain cave two days in a row? Not me!)

I think I was pretty successful at sticking to the plan. Looking back I should've probably gone a little easier but - like I said - it is hard when you feel tapered and good. I was feeling a little more tired after the race than I would've liked to and started to get a little nervous about Sunday's race. But then I decided to trust my body and focus on recovery.

Karl had an amazing race placing 4th in a very competitive field. We are talking Olympic trial qualifiers (Mike Smith) and professional ultra runners (Ian Torrence). He ran a 1:23 on a hilly dirt trail. That is a 6:20 pace. That just blows my mind! Congrats, Karl!

Not much socializing for me. I went straight home. Jumped back on the bike for another 30 -minute spin. Food... Ice bath... Hot tub... Shower... Ice bath... Legs up... Compression socks... More food... Nap... Wow. That's the life, isn't it?

Unfortunately, it somewhat went downhill from there. I needed to drive out to Lake Mary for packet pick-up and did not bring enough food or water. I also dropped Karl off with my parents and the boys who were camping out there. Everything took longer than expected and it was hot! After some grocery shopping I finally got home and was way too hungry. Not good.

I did not quite make it to bed in time either since packing for a Half Iron is slightly more involved than packing for a Half Marathon. I did have a very nice chat with HT though. I usually just communicate with Coach M but HT is usually the one to call before and after a race. I was hesitant to pick up the phone because all I wanted to do was go to bed, and I remember thinking: What could he possibly say that would make me feel better? But I am so glad I did because HT gives pep talks like no one else! Thank you, Coach!

** All pictures are courtesy of Bret Sarnquist.

Dilemma Solved - 3 Races in 8 Days

2011-08-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

10k trail run

Thank you for all the encouragement!

I am signed up and the fun has already begun!

The 10k trail race on Saturday was a blast!

Have I mentioned that I love trail running?

Well, I do!

I find it so much (mentally) easier and more enjoyable

than road running.

I was having a great time behind my personal pacer

(aka husband)

until mile 5 when someone yelled:

Second place lady!

To which I replied out loud:

What the heck?

Where did all the fast girls go

that started ahead of me?

Must have been 5k runners...

So now the pressure was on.

I got mad at Karl for misreading my thoughts

and tried to pick up the pace

which never really happened.

Oh well...

Not sure if I really finished 2nd or not,

we left before awards.

Karl was taking the boys and my parents on a hike.

I still had some unfinished business:

a 60-mile bike ride.

After my legs had finally come around

and joined the party,

the cable to my front derailleur snapped

and I had no choice but to cruise

all the way back home in the small gear.

Bummer. Or not.

Guess where I get to ride to tomorrow?

The Grand Canyon.

From my house. 75 rolly miles.

The boys and my parents are already there

and I get to join them via bike tomorrow.

I am excited!

Camping and tapering for this weekend

is just around the corner!

Hooray!

Happy training and racing to all of you!

A Nice Break

2011-08-07T07:22:00.000-07:00

My parents are visiting from Germany for a few weeks, which has allowed me to take a break from a few things lately. I love my routine but don't mind a little change in pace here and there.

The last couple of week I have a day here and there at home with no kids. (The other days I was camping with them and my parents). Wow. That has never happened! I almost feel like a pro athlete. (Just a lot slower.) There is actually time for recovery! I did not care one bit about recovery for more than 10 years but now, at age 30, I can tell that I really need it. I love to come home from a hard session, jump in an ice bath, take a hot shower, get back in the ice bath, elevate my legs, and put on compression socks. That is a 40 minute luxury I hardly ever have time for.

Karl and I don't train together. We have two little kids. Karl does not swim (anymore). He rarely bikes (except for commuting). He is a much faster runner than I am. But last week we got to run together twice! It was a treat for me but I doubt he enjoyed it much... Thursday I needed to run 12 miles at a (for me) pretty fast pace. My 'pretty fast pace' happens to be his easy pace. I could not have done the session without help, so I invited him along and he happily obliged. It was not pretty but we got it done! (Can you count this as a date?) (Too tired to go on a real date, we rented 2 movies that night, realized they were both a waste of our time, and went to bed early. Aahh, the glamorous life of athletes...)

For my long ride on Tuesday, I got to explore some new terrain! Wow. Amazing! A bike ride that was not going to take place on Lake Mary road? I am getting spoiled. My destination was the Grand Canyon. I have wanted to bike there ever since we moved here and finally my chance had come! My parents and the boys left Monday morning. I squeezed in 3 swim sessions, one long trainer ride, and a short run before embarking on my little 78-mile journey. The plan said to Just Ride. And so I did. Just me, my nutrition, and the beautiful scenery. No intervals, no pacing, no tempo. Just riding. I was having so much fun that I wanted to keep going. But Noah was waiting for me on his bike at the entrance to the campground and so we just did an extra little loop together. Good times! He then also accompanied me on a quick transition run. I can't wait for him to get a bigger bike. We will be a great team!

I have definitely been spoiled the last few days! Reading a book, getting a massage and a hair cut, having a clean house... Tonight Karl and I went to the pre-race dinner for tomorrow's Halfmarathon and then enjoyed the hot tub and an ice bath. Wow. Everything seems so easy without kids. But the truth is: I don't like it! Life seems rather meaningless and I am really not that much more productive. It has really only been about 3 days total without them but I do miss them! Who would've thought... I am definitely enjoying this nice break but I am ready for more laughter, tears, mess, chaos, tantrums, and hilarities. I love being a mom!

Racing in Arizona - Dilemma

2011-08-04T11:26:00.000-07:00

close to finishing in Boise

There are actually a few dilemmas with racing in Arizona but I won't go into detail because I have vowed to stop complaining (too much) about living here. Let it suffice to say that I have lived here for an entire year and not entered a single race.

But I am happy to announce that this is about to change! I have 2 (or 3) races coming up in the next 8 days and I am excited. First up is a local 10k tomorrow. I signed up hoping for a chance to finally break 40 minutes in a 10k. Afterwards I found out that it is a trail run, partly on single track. Forget breaking 40 minutes! Now I am hoping for sub 50. I am still bringing my personal pacer (aka husband) just for fun.

With the help of my amazing sponsor PowerTri I will also be able to compete in the MountainMan Half next Sunday. I have been looking forward to racing this half-iron distance event ever since I barely missed it last year. (We moved into town a few days too late.) Although it is local, there will be quite the competition from all over Arizona/Nevada/? and we will see how I stack up next to these fast ladies.

This is where possible race #3 comes in. And I need your advice. And maybe I will listen to it... Karl is running in the local trail half marathon next Saturday. I have been pretty bummed that both the half marathon and the half triathlon are on the same weekend but, being the triathlete that I am, I chose the MountainMan. Of course.

Yesterday I found out that:

The two race organizers have teamed up and the person who competes in both events that weekend and has the fastest combined time wins free entries to both races next year!

Very tempting, isn't it? How could I possible resist trying? I mean, how many gluttons for that kind of punishment can be out there? Ok. Probably more than I think. But still...

I talked to Coach M and HT. They have pretty much given me permission. Wow. I did not think they would. Maybe that is why I asked... So they would say No and I can move on.

Now I am in a very different dilemma.

What should I do? Anyone?

The Other Half

2011-07-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to make sure you I give HT enough credit here.

I know I talk about Coach M a lot

but this guy deserves just as much credit as his wife.

I don't think I have given you the link to his website,

so here it is.

He might not be the best writer

but he is pretty much the best swimmer in this sport.

It has not been the best season for him so far

but I am certain his break-through race is very close!

I love the Thurston Family!

WonderWoman Marci and HT at last year's event

Coach M also happens to be an amazing race organizer

and it is almost time for her Wonder Woman Ride!

You can choose if you want to enjoy the beauty of the course

for 100 miles, 62 miles, or 30 miles.

September 17th, 2011.

It is going to be fantastic!

If I did not race in Vegas the week before

AND live so far away,

I would be there in a heartbeat.

I still have a tiny bit of hope!

Go here to find out more.

Go here to register.

Go here to read my post about last year's event.

You really don't want to miss out on this one!

Post Injury SmashWeek

2011-07-21T19:33:00.000-07:00

Me, Coach M, Missy Payne

Did I really tell Coach M at the end of last week that:

"I am ready. Bring it on. Hit me hard!"

What was I thinking? I know that Coach listens to her athletes and she did, indeed, bring it on!

It is Thurday night. We just put the kids to bed and read scriptures. It went as follows: Karl calls me. I crawl into their room. Collapse on the floor. Try to stay awake and listen while wondering if I am ever going to be able to get back up.

Although today was an easy day with only 4000m in the pool and 1 hour of core synergistics at the gym, I am still smashed.

However, I have really enjoyed the training this week (so far) and am so happy that my leg has decided to get better quickly and join the party!

My running buddy, Karen, just got back into town and we joined forces on Monday for a good-paced run. I knew it was easier to get the work done with a partner but I had forgotten how much easier! Thank you, Karen!

I was already in love with Tuesday before it even started. Although the plan did not exactly call for two swims in a row, I snuck one in anyway. When Karl got home, I hurried to the gym, jumped on the spin bike and pedaled away. I did a watts test last week on that bike and now Coach has me go on it once a week for some power intervals. No excuses here! The numbers are right in my face and, thanks to that test, Coach knows what I can push. Well, she knows what I am supposed to be able to push.

The plan called for 8* (2 min at 380 watts + 2 min at 220 watts). Wow! That was difficult! I am not sure I have ever pushed that hard on a bike. After the workout was over and I had changed into my running clothes, some dude came over and said: "Weren't you just in the spin room? I was worried you were going to pass out, so I went over CPR in my head in case you fall off." Thanks! I will take it as a compliment.

Next up were 3* (8 min at 300-320 watts + 4 min at 200 watts). I had successfully convinced myself that 300 watts was going to feel somewhat easy but, boy, was I ever wrong. So I struggled some more and did hit all the numbers on the plan.

It was off to the track after that. 2* (4 min, 3 min, 2 min) at 6:00 pace. No problem with 60 Team Run Flagstaff members all running their guts out. I was not sure if I was going to make it but I surprised myself. Nice!

Oops. It is getting late. Before getting ready for tomorrow's ride at 5:30 am, I wanted to let you know that although I have been feeling good during workouts this week, I still struggle. I have been a tired Mama and I don't want to be a tired Mama. I want to have energy to take my kids on fun and exciting adventures and not just survive until after lunch when I get a little break.

And that is why I am currently not doing Ironman.