Sarah Borst Jarvis

I am sure you are all aware of the fact that I love being in Utah . We got here two weeks ago and although about 12 of those days have been cold and rainy , I am one happy camper. I have only gone on a few bike rides outside, but they have all been lovely. And, most important, they have all been in different places and with great company. Hooray for more than one ridable road and good training partners! IronAnne in IM St. George One Saturday, I recruited IronAnne for intervals around West Mountain. Anne is great to have around. She keeps me entertained and honest. She also happens to own a Garmin which was a nice plus since mine is broken. Coach M had just lectured me on how I need to focus on race pace the next couple of weeks and so I needed numbers. Well, wouldn'tyaknowit, Anne left her Garmin in SLC. I was having a minor nervous breakdown . How are we going to know that we are going fast enough? What if we go too fast and we blow up later? I really need to know what race p...

In this race, I was on a mission . I was going to execute Coach M's plan as best I could. Wanna know the plan? This is what it said: Have a ball! Race all out. You should feel good from start to finish and be able to push the entire time. That sounds like fun, does not it? Of course I am going to go all out and push the whole time. It's a race after all, right? Well. Coach knows me better than that. She thinks I hold back every so slightly. She is right. I mean, if I did not hold back just a little, wouldn't that mean that I will either not make it to the finish line or collapse right after it? This is what she told me a few days before the race: Focus on visualizing going all out the whole time. I know you push yourself but I want you to push even more . I don't want you to do just enough to win. The point of going all out is not to have the fastest race ever but it is knowing that you pushed to your limit and beyond . You are strong and you need to feel that you c...

Karl is ready to bring it on at the Moab XTERRA . He loves off-road races and has been hoping for one to return to Moab for a long time. So he really could not pass this one up. Compared to most people, he is still in excellent shape. However, going to grad school with a wife and two kids has definitely taken its toll. He still manages to squeeze in quite a few runs and makes the best of his bike commute to school, but his focus is on school and there are only so many hours in a day... His swim went really well. He was not last out of the water and only had me thinking he drowned for about 2 minutes before I saw him cruising into T1. Cold-blooded skinny dudes usually don't make very good swimmers and Karl is no exception. After not having swum for more than a year, he claims that his time was about as fast as in previous races. So I don't expect to see him in the pool any time soon... He was very excited to have a camera mounted to his handle bars, so he could film the bike...

T1+2 With 3 out of 4 family members racing in the Moab Tri, we figured we'd better practice our transitions before race day. Noah and Max were pretty stoked to be able to "work out" with us. We would all do some imaginary swimming (Karl is especially good at this discipline!), then run to our bikes, hope on, and ride one loop around the apartment complex. Look at Max balancing on his little bike. He is so good on his bike, it is unbelievable. He has had a few (minor) accidents lately because he is maniac and won't brake. If I yell "BRAKE", he just screams "NO" and goes full speed ahead! I've given up... To make things more fun, Karl added in a few wheelies . So did Noah. Notice that we even brought the lion along in the bottle cage! After a lap of biking, we put on our running shoes and off we went again. On our 3rd bike lap, I attempted to practice a few cyclocross mounts and dismounts. Max is not used to me jumping on and off the bike, so ...

Today is May 11 and Boise 70.3 is June 11. So, I figured today would be a good time to start lockdown . I figure it can't hurt to practice some more self-discipline , so I can go into this race knowing I prepared the best I could. So, here is what I am going to do for the next 4 weeks: # get 8+ hours of sleep every night * # no snacks after dinner ** # make each and every workout count *** # follow Coach M's instructions to the dot # take more time for recovery **** # simplify , simplify, simplify It is not a long list but if I can stick to it, it should make a difference . I am really excited for Boise. I have not done a big race in a long time. Come to think of it, I have never done an Ironman sanctioned event. The last big one I raced was the Quelle Challenge in Germany 4 years ago. I am racing Boise 70.3 to try to qualify for the 70.3 World Championships in Vegas. Vegas is just around the corner from us (and much closer than any of the qualifying races) and I could not...

Post quality training session in StG I am trying hard to go by the motto : Quality over Quantity I usually fail . Because, to be honest, I like quantity . When it comes down to it I like to see 20 hours at the end of the week on my training log. Anything less than 18 makes me nervous. Coach knows that. She usually gives me one key workout for the day and I manage to squeeze in one or two more. Thursday, for example, was my recovery day and all I needed to do was swim. So I swam. I also went to the gym for an extra hour of fun on the elliptical and some core work. Friday, I the plan called a 10-mile run which I executed nicely in the morning. I knew I should call it a day after that and rest up for Saturday's double brick. I could not do it. It was just so incredibly nice outside (and you can count those days on one hand so far this year) that I opted out of family fun and jumped on my bike. I am not exactly sure why I chose to ride up to the local ski resort. I honestly did n...