Sarah Borst Jarvis

(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 ...

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...

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: N ot 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 i...

(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 ...

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 sup...

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...

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. More on this later... This is the swim exit . I could wri...

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...

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. P...

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...