Friday, December 1, 2017

Chasing Excellence

I think most of you know that I'm not a warm fuzzy person. I am a "tell it like it is" type. I can smell bullshit a mile away. Fake compliments? Faghedaboudid.

As you can imagine, I'm not really into self help books. There's nothing wrong with them. They just aren't my style.

I'll get back to that point.

It was time for me and Liz to talk about my race schedule for the year.  With my two A races set, I asked her what I should do between them.

She shot off her recommendations.

I put together a schedule.

Sent it back.

She said, "I'd add this......"

Ok. That's not what I expected but...


Back to the drawing board. I sent her my new race schedule.



With this race schedule there are so many things I want to accomplish. There are things in my way.  The big one is mental toughness.

I don't want you saying I'm a bad ass or anything of that because you're full of shit.

I went to Liz, and we talked about the issue(s) holding me back. She agreed that I lack mental strength.

Don't ask for feedback if you don't want to hear what you need to hear. 

I have no ego in this game. I ask for feedback because I want to be my best.

A few weeks back, I started I started working on it. During a long run, I came up with specific weaknesses. I came up with a plan to help me overcome them.

Then the universe sent me a message over Facebook.

I didn't even know the universe had an account, but there you go.

An article came up about Allie Kieffer. Do you know who she is? I didn't either. That's because all the excitement at the NYC marathon was about Shalane Flanigan. Allie was the 2nd American woman to cross the finish line with a PR of 26 minutes.

She was the one no one even saw coming.

Allie talked about a book she read called "Chasing Excellence".  Immediately, I had to look up the book. It's by Ben Bergeron; the Coach to 3 cross fit World Champions (women and men).

Like triathlon, crossfitters all come with their own strengths. Some are better at rope climbs. Some are better at running uphill carrying 120lbs of sand and on and on. They are all in the best shape of pretty much any other humans.

So what separates each of them at the Games (the CF world championship)? Mental toughness.

Self help book? Yes. But one that I could really grasp and relate to because of his no bullshit way. Yeah, there is a little bit of repetition throughout the book. In a way, I need that.

Right at the start, I realized that how I referred to myself, saw myself, defined myself was wrong. I had a self defeating mindset. (I have never put myself down or called myself dumbass or slow or old. But there are other ways, more subtle ways we can defeat ourselves without being terribly mean to ourselves).

I was hooked. Some chapters are things I already do. But other chapters are offering me ways to become mentally stronger. That's the point, right? If I was doing everything perfectly, I'd have already accomplished my goals.

Learning mental toughness is not easy. Learning to push past your preconceived limits is really really painful. But you know what's even more painful? Falling short of your goals.

This is truly my year of Chasing Excellence.

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Unrecognizable

The first time I do something I've never done before, it's a fluke. One off.

The second time I do the same thing


The third time I do something


When I repeat the same behavior, under fatigue....



Back in May or June, Liz and I were talking about run cadence. To put this in perspective, I was a plodder. My cadence would average about 160. The goal cadence is 180.

I knew how important it was. I was frustrated beyond belief. I didn't want to talk about it anymore. There were NO drills that could help me.

One day, Liz asked me exactly what the issue was.

I told her, "I'm unable to do it. I don't mean I have a mental block. I mean, I am physically unable to hold a fast cadence for more than a few seconds."

I thought she was going to tell me that I just wasn't working hard enough.

Instead, she said to me, "I think you have weakened muscles. That's why you can't do it. You've done nothing wrong. It's the result of having babies. Once those muscles are stretched out, they don't go back on their own. Other muscles become overactive to make up for the loss. We have to work on those muscles to get them to engage again. Most women don't".

She gave my a list of exercises to do 3-4 times a week.

I knew she was on to something when I couldn't even do several of the exercises.

During this same time, I had been working with my massage therapist. He had been working with me on running posture & working out some ridiculously tight areas. He gave me a list of stretches to do...with instructions to do them every day....just do what you can for 15 minutes a day.

For months, I've done the work.

I went back to my massage therapist. "We're making progress. That's good. Don't get frustrated. This can take a long time to fix".

I religiously did my Liz exercises. I continued stretching.

Then, one day when I was running, I noticed that I no longer had soreness in my butt when I ran.

It seemed like it just happened out of nowhere.

We continued with cadence drills. Nothing was changing.

BUT, exercises that I couldn't do at the start, I was now able to do.

Exercises that I was doing before with a band, I was now doing with a stronger band.

My cadence wasn't changing but I noticed significantly less fatigue when I ran.

Then, this week happened.

Out of nowhere, I ran and held 180+ cadence, without fatigue, without even thinking about it. The previous week, I was at 160-165.

Ok. I don't know where that came from.

It happened a second time.

Then, a third time.

The true test was today. My legs are crazy sore (very fatigued). I didn't set any expectations. I didn't label myself as good or bad. I went out there and ran.

Sore and tired, and I ran with a cadence of 180+.

SIX MONTHS after first starting to really address the issue. SIX MONTHS without seeing a direct change.

Throughout the whole process, I stayed focused. There were times when I thought I'd never make any progress.

Getting good at one sport takes a really long time. It can take years to become a top 10 age group swimmer. It can take years to go from a 1.86  w/kg on the bike to 3.4%.

When you're putting 3 sports together PLUS transitions PLUS nutrition? Well, getting good at triathlon take a really long time, a really long time.

Good things come to those who work for it.

One day, you'll wake up, and you won't even recognize yourself anymore.


Friday, November 3, 2017

Gettin' cut, gettin' butt


I took the month of October off. Lemme splain what that means and what it doesn't mean.

Taking the month off from training means Coach Liz and I said our emotional good-byes (not really). For the month, I did whatever I wanted to without being analyzed; without having to hit any zones; without hitting any paces.

Liz gave me guidelines "take AT LEAST X days off from running".

You don't have to tell me twice.

And, "Don't do any exercise longer than X"

Alrighty.

And, "HAVE FUN".

DONE and DONE.

It doesn't mean sitting on my ass doing nothing. 

The first week of Oct got a little crazy. I was on vacation. Since my race was 9/30, immediately after Mr. Tea and I went into FULL ON CRAZY MODE.

We ate dessert at every meal and sometimes FOR a meal. I knew we sunk to a new low, when I was under the covers, in bed, eating ice cream.

THAT'S how you do time off.

When we returned from vacation, I'd had about as much sugar as I could handle. I couldn't even think about having anymore junk.

I got right back into my normal eating habits.

Then, the end of the month rolled around.

It was my birthday.



And the peoples rejoiced.


My birthday weekend started on Friday. By Sunday night, I was exhausted. I couldn't laugh any more. I couldn't eat any more food. I was done.

I was ready to start training again. I was ready to start eating right again. 

That's how I know I've gotten enough rest (physical and mental).....when I'm excited about training again.

Liz and I started up again on Nov 1st.

WELCOME TO the "GETTIN' CUT, GETTIN' BUTT" portion of my training.

Liz and I walked through the next few months of training.

I believe I'm heading into a breakthrough year in 2018.

I sat down to jot down a few goals. Then, I wrote down my plan to get there.

I decided to lean down a bit. Lose some fat. During Oct, I started hitting the weights hard. I made a couple of other changes as well. I went back to my notes from when I worked with Dina. I decided that I could switch some things up and have a big impact on my body fat.

These changes had an immediate impact on my body composition. So much so that Mr. Tea even commented on it. I noticed my clothes were fitting looser and my ROKA swimsuits (which run ridiculously small) were no longer allowing butt chub to hang out.

I hopped on the bike and did an FTP test. My test blew away all other tests and was even stronger than back in 2015 when I lost over 26lbs.

I'm heading into a really great year, I tell you.

Given that we have a looooong race early in 2018, Liz thought it was best that we don't do a single sport focus. I have goals for this race. I shared them with Liz, and she said, "very doable".

I know that just because a goal is "doable" doesn't mean it will be easy. I told her what I felt my challenges would be with the race and where I would excel. She told me a few things that I'll need to be aware of for this particular race.

We have a plan. I wrote down what paces I need to train to in order to reach my goals. There are going to be times when I know that I'm going to doubt myself, like when fatigue sets in.

Here we go again. I'll be stepping on the emotional roller coaster in about a month. Are you ready for the ride?

Because, you about to see something you ain't NEVER seen before!

My Spirit Animal







Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Sometimes, "giving up" IS the right answer



We live in a world where "giving up" is bad. We're supposed to be FIGHTERS and blast through any challenge/issue/problem that comes our way.

Guess what?

That's bullshit.  Sometimes, "giving up" is exactly what we need to do.

About a year ago, I read a blog. The post was supposed to be about how strong the athlete was because he fought through the urge to give up.

He has been doing triathlon for a long time, but he continues to have goals that are unrealistic for himself (today) at the age he is.

He had put so much pressure on himself to compete at the level he was back in the day, that he completely shut down his ability to hit ANY goals.

He was getting ready to give up triathlon, when he decided to do one last sprint.

He won the race.

Why? NOT because he didn't give up, but because that's precisely he did. He emotionally let go of who he used to be. He let go of those unrealistic goals. He raced in the moment for the sheer joy of racing. Without that pressure, he raced to the best of his ability for where he was right now. 

Everyone was congratulating him on his ability to fight through it. I was thinking the exact opposite. I believed that his success happened because he did in fact "give up". He gave up an unrealistic expectation of himself. People don't want to see themselves as quitters. "NEVER GIVING UP" means he's a winner, a champion. "Giving up" means he's a failure in our society.


I'm here to tell you that it's ok to give up. Sometimes, it can be the healthiest choice. It's not easy to do, and it requires a healthy dose of self-awareness.

Of course, we need to know when it is appropriate to give up.

It's ok to give up when:
1.) A goal is no longer personally important
2.) When a goal is unattainable

I'm not a psychologist. So, I went on the hunt to find out if there was any such thing as "giving up"  being a healthy option.


Lo and behold. The psychological term for this is goal disengagement.

We live in a world where we are supposed to continue working for a goal until it is achieved. But this is locking us up emotionally. We are stuck of this mode of having to reach a goal before moving on to the next.

This is creating a cycle of unhappiness-->I'm not acheiving this goal-->I'm a failure-->I'm unhappy because I'm not achieving this goal-->I'm a fighter-->I should be able to fight through this-->what's wrong with me.

There's nothing wrong with you other than the fact that the goal might no longer be important to you. It's time to let it go.

Bearing down on this goal means we are missing out on other goals or interests that we might want more. We are stuck, thinking we can't move on until we finish the initial goal.

Many times over the years, I have written that it is ok to change your goals. Changing a goal doesn't mean you are a failure. It means your life has changed or your desires have changed. A new goal is NOT a lesser goal. It is simply a different goal. In some circumstances, you need to accept that your goal is unattainable. This is probably the hardest one to get over. If you run 5ks at a 10:00 pace, you have to accept that your goal of running a sub 20 5k, is probably not attainable.

Setting goals is a different topic.There have been many articles written about the topic, by people much smarter than me.

For those of you who are new to my blog, last year, my husband Mr. Tea had a major health issue. The day he was rushed to the hospital, he was 321lbs.  Over the course of the year, he's lost 131lbs. He had a goal weight that he wanted to reach. He was never able to get there. His weight would bounce up and down over the same 10lbs.

One day, he said to me, "I'm not going to shoot for that goal anymore. I'm healthier now. I feel good at the weight I'm at. I'm just going to eat right right. Whatever my weight is, it is".

Guess what? Once he did that, he lost more weight, and his weight stabilized at a healthy point. No more up and down the same 10lbs.

Goal disengagement.

Give up to move on.

It wouldn't be right if I write this entire post if I didn't talk about what this means to me.

Sad to say, I fell into this trap. I was writing about "changing your goals is ok". Blah blah blah. I was the epitome of "do as I say not as I do".

I was in the trap but didn't even realize it.

I have been racing short course for a number of years now. I set two goals a few years back.

I wouldn't even consider Ironman until:
1.) My sons had moved out.
2.) I hit X time at the 70.3
3.) I hit X time at the oly distance.

The times that I set were not unrealistic at all. However, I had clamped down on them. I absolutely would not attempt an Ironman until I met those goals.

YET, those goals were completely arbitrary.

I made up those goals.

Time goals are the worst goals to have in triathlon. TRAIN to time goals, but the weather, the course, so many external factors come into play on race day.



There is no law or rule saying that we have to accomplish X before we move on to Y.

If I made them up, that means I can change them. I can change my mind. I can do something different.

And most importantly, I can return to those goals at a later date.

A goal deferred is not a goal defeated.

Once I realized and acknowledged that, I felt free. I was no longer under the weight of attempting and failing to meet a particular, completely arbitrary, random goal.


I wrote this post on purpose. I have decided to move in a new, exciting direction.

It's time for me to work on a new, completely different goal.

Twelve years after doing my first triathlon, I'm going to do an Ironman. 



 

See? It's not just me....

For the past 4 years, I have RAVED about Coach Liz. 

I do this because of what she has done for me as an athlete and person.  I don't get anything in return for it.  

I do it because I want other athletes to see what it's like to have a great coach, and (obviously) I want her business to continue to thrive.

Here are some comments from other athletes. Remember you can join the MSM FB page without being an MSM athlete. Read our stories. Get the latest in research. See our successes. Find out what it is that we all love about MSM.


If you can't be bothered, that's ok, too. Here are some comments. (More were posted after I copied the page).

Here is the post that started it all today.

Here is what followed:





Sunday, October 22, 2017

Recovery for masters athletes

This week, I turn 50.

I'm very fortunate to be one of those people who feel better at 50 than I did in my 20's and 30's. Of course, I was a baby making machine in my 20's. So, there's that.

There are two things that I have lived by:

1.) Be nice to yourself. You're the only person you'll know your entire life. Make the relationship a good one.
2.) Take care of your body. It's the only place you have to live.

In one way or another, I've been an athlete and or very active (Richard Simmon's anyone?) since the early 80's.

This means I can look back and see different phases I've gone through.

Post baby body. Work travel body. Strength training body. Endurance athlete body. Speed body. Binge drinking college body.

There are probably a gazillion other things that I've forgotten.

Now, I'm at the masters athlete body stage.

Technically, we're considered masters athletes at 40. Honestly, I didn't really start feeling things until about 2 years ago. Those issues were/are directly related to peri-menopause symptoms. I've written about my symptoms many times over the years.

Even though, I'm still struggling. Those symptoms forced me to pay closer attention to my body and recovery. Because of that, I've been able to push harder.

I have a great Coach who has been wonderful at working with me through the really tough spots. I have an amazing RD to help me with my nutrition.

I, also, spend a lot of time doing my own research. And no, I don't get my "research" from popular magazines. I go digging for information.

I want to go over the things that really help me recover:

1.) SLEEP. On my list of recovery methods, this is the only one that is free. This is my priority. I will prioritize sleep over any workout. It doesn't happen very often. But there are times that I have told Liz, "I can't do this today". Because it doesn't happen often, she knows that I'm being completely honest. If you can't get through workouts because you are tired all the time, you might want to reassess your goals. Your body needs sleep to repair. Without sleep, you risk injury.

Training is hard.



2.) Nutrition/supplements: I have gone over the importance of nutrition ad naseum. I won't do it here. Instead, I will mention supplements that I take that help with recovery. One thing I would highly recommend is that you get a blood panel done to find out if you have any nutrient deficiencies.

Iron: I'm anemic. I have to take a very high does iron tablet every day. The particular supplement I'm on works for me and keeps me in the ranges I need to be.
You are likely anemic or have iron deficiency if:
1.) You are a woman.
2.) You are a peri-menopausal woman
3.) You follow a vegetarian or vegan diet.
4.) You train/live at altitude.
5.) You are an endurance athlete.

Please note: You don't have to answer YES to all of those. Simply answering yes to ONE of those can mean you have iron deficiency.

Although, iron isn't part of my recovery process. It can hinder your training. (Do I even need to mention that iron deficiency is really bad for you?) I felt it was very important to mention.

L-glutamine and amino acids: My RD recommended that I take 3-5mg of L-glutamine post workout on long or intense days. I don't take L-glutamine every day unless I'm in the peak of my season because of the distances that I do. However, most people who read my blog are marathon runners, half ironman/ironman triathletes, ultra marathon runners, marathon swimmers, etc. People who do MUCH longer distances. If you are in that group consider adding L-glutamine to your post-workout regime.

Amino acids/Protein: I have a bottle of BiPro protein water first thing upon waking up. (You don't have to use BiPro. I use it because it's easy.) The body is ready to absorb nutrients at this time. Amino acids are necessary to repair and build muscles. 

We all want to be strong, right?

3.) Massage: Getting regular massages is so important. You cannot perform at your best if you have a bunch of tight soft tissue. In my off season or lighter training loads, I go once a month. In heavy training and build periods, I go twice a month.

A massage appointment will go like this. You meet with your therapist. You talk through any issues you are having. Your therapist might ask you to do certain poses or walk, etc. They will then give you an assessment of what they see right off the bat. At that point, they can give you an idea of what you'll need.



I have been going to my massage therapist for a little while. When I visit, I'll tell him where I'm hurting or have tightness or soreness, and he'll do a focused session on certain areas. If I'm not having any problems areas, we'll do a total body session with less focus.

If you have never gone to a massage session, you might not realize this. These people know their shit. After your massage, they will give you exercises and stretches to do at home to continue your work at home.

In the evenings when we are watching tv, I get out my bands and balls and start rolling and stretching. Since I do it when I would otherwise just be sitting, it's not something I feel has to be scheduled in my already busy day.

Range of motion and mobility are absolutely critical as we age. Pain is not a normal part of life. A massage therapist can work through those issues. In some cases, you might be experiencing pain that requires the help of a physical therapist. Mr. Tea is currently going to a PT in order to fix issues that were the result of accumulated neglect of his body.

4.) Equipment Besides balls, bands and rollers, there is a variety of equipment that help muscles recover.

Normatec Boots: These boots will help speed recovery by enhancing blood flow. They are not cheap. You can buy them online. You can buy them at Ironman races (and a variety of big marathons). I've found that when you buy them at a race venue, they tend to be a little cheaper. However, if you follow any pro-triathletes, like Miranda Carfrae, they will give out a coupon for a couple of hundred bucks off the system.

Put them on and chill out.


Muscle stimulation units like Compex.
A muscle stimulator sends electronic pulses to your nerve fibers in order to create involuntary muscle contractions.Muscle stimulators can help with building muscles, recovering, increasing blood flow, etc. There are a number of different programs depending on your goals. There are many different modes covering: strength building, endurance, recovery, and warm up. 

One quick note about muscle stimulation, this can cause you to be quite sore, but it's very effective.

The compex unit starts at $136 (Right now, it's on sale).

5.) For women: As you go through peri-menopause and get closer to menopause, things are going to get much much harder. Be nice to yourself. There will be days where it is hard to just get out of bed. I'm not talking about being tired. It's called adrenal fatigue and is the result of a severe hormonal drop....unlike any you will have when you are younger. There will be days when hot flashes might be absolutely debilitating. There will be nights when your sheets are soaked as if you just got out of the pool.Your period can and will be out of control. Your fueling will change as your hormones change. It's very important to have a fueling plan AND a back up plan. For no reason, out of nowhere, your body will reject something you've been using for months. Then, the next day, it will be ok.

Unfortunately even with all the tracking apps, there's no real way to predict it. I've had adrenal fatigue hit on two races this year. When it happens in training, no big deal.....cut the workout short. When it happens during a race, just go with it. Do the best you can and know that there are always other races. I've had people make critical comments about race times when I gave everything I had.

Ignore them.
We might all have different symptoms, but we are all going through it. I really believe that's why the women in the 45-49 and 50-54 age groups are some of the nicest athletes out there.



All of this sounds expensive, doesn't it? Much of what I said depends on where you are in your athletic pursuits. If you are striving for a podium, or a spot on Team USA or a qualification to a world championship, know that the age groupers that compete at that level are already doing this.

Something else to point out, recovery doesn't mean anything if you don't do the training. You won't magically qualify for Nationals by buying a ton of expensive equipment AND skipping out on those Bike/Run/Bike/Run/Bike/Run/Bike/Run workouts.

Likewise, you will not easily improve on your times without proper recovery.





Thursday, October 19, 2017

Finding your hidden athlete

This week, I had a FB friend message me and ask me how I've gotten so fast. She asked what the things were that I did that had the biggest impact.

When I got her message, I was so amazed that she picked me to ask. The reason for it is that it's not that I am super fast. What I am most excited about is the improvement I have made.  I think anyone else in my shoes would say the same thing. It's not that we see ourselves as fast. We've worked so hard to make the improvements that we have.

I think that's what speaks to people.

It's easy for a Coach to make a fast person faster.

It's very difficult to take a slow athlete and make them fast.

After one of my recent posts, I found out that there are people who still read my blog from WAY back in the day. For those of you, this is an old story. It's short, so hang in there.

I started triathlon 11 years ago. For the first few years, I followed a variety of training plans. We had just started our company. We had two sons living at home. I put into the sport what I could, which wasn't much. I had fun and did a race a year....maybe two. That was it.

When my sons got older, I decided to put more effort in triathlon to see if I could get faster. From 2012-2013, I hired my first coach.  Our business had grown to the point, where we had employees. Our sons were now and freshman in college and a junior in hs.

That means for the first 5 years of triathlon, I didn't put a lot of effort into my training. I didn't know what I was doing, but I had a lot of fun. That's what kept me going.

I say over and over to people (Mr. Tea.....and others), it doesn't matter what you do. Find something that you enjoy even when you are bad at it.

I hired a Coach. (Not Liz).

It didn't work out.

Then, I found Liz through friends.

In Jan of 2013, I started working with Liz. When you think about it, I have 11 years of triathlon experience......7 of which were spent at the back of the pack.   I only have 4 years of really seeing what I am capable of doing.

Back to my friend's question: What are the top things I did to get faster?

Because triathlon is so complex, dealing with 3 sports, this question should be broken down into: What have I done in each segment to get faster?

But, I know where she is coming from. I have that back of the pack perspective. IN GENERAL, what are the things an athlete can do?

First and foremost, find the right Coach. This is the time of year when athletes start thinking about changing coaches or hiring a coach.

A more expensive coach is not a better coach. A level 3 coach is not better than a level 2 coach. A level 2 coach is not better than a level 1 coach. Get recommendations from friends. Find out what the coach does to constantly improve. (Liz is a level 2 coach. My first coach was a level 3 coach. I get 10x more with Liz).  Liz is constantly educating herself. She attends many symposiums every year. She is always up to date on the latest research. This year, she became certified in nutrition counseling....or some such thing. I don't know exactly what it was because I work with an RD.

Something else that was important to me. I wanted a coach that had attained the goals I was reaching for. That makes sense, right? I don't know any GREAT coaches who have not also competed at the highest levels in the world. Whether that is the Ironman WC or ITU world championships.

If your goal is to race Kona, would you seriously hire a coach who has never raced Kona? Think about this.

That's what I mean about finding the right Coach. Find the coach who has accomplished what you want to accomplish and one that you can work with. Trust me. At that level, those coaches have worked with every type of personality out there.....as long as you take an active approach to your training, it will work out just fine.

I saved the best for last. When I started working with Liz, she didn't make me faster. She made me a better athlete and person. 

Second:

Again, this is hard. I want to say, "With swimming, I did this. For running, I did this".


I am not someone who tells athletes to go out and buy the latest and greatest equipment.

To me, it's about the machine (your body) not money. I have a friend who did his first IM on an old beater bike and went sub 12 hours. For years, I rode on a road bike with clip on aero bars.

With that in mind, there is one piece of equipment that I believe you really must purchase, even if you are a beginner (and if you know this sport is something you want to improve in).

That is a power meter.

In 2013, I bought a power meter.  I honestly thought it was a waste of money. I thought it was something for recording rides. I didn't understand how it could be use.

Liz had me do a bike test. AND EVERYTHING CHANGED.  All of a sudden, I had zones to train within....I saw my bike power explode. I saw my speeds get faster.

AND....I saw my running improve.   This is why I feel the power meter is a crucial piece to the puzzle.

It's more important the longer you go. I've said it before. At the sprint and oly, maybe it's not so important. (Although, those are my distances, and I would never train/race without it). At the HIM and IM, it's critical to race in your zones to give you the best run.

 If you are going to buy one piece of equipment, make it a power meter.

Third:
When I look back over my time in triathlon, I can see where I had the biggest jumps in speed. The first was in hiring Liz. The second is when I started using the power meter.

The third was when I started working with a Sports Dietitian.

This is often overlooked by athletes. I see athletes making the same mistakes over and over. Yet, they don't take the time to fix their nutrition issues.

You can't out train a bad diet.  

Dina is my RD. She changed my life. I am not being overly dramatic.

We worked on my daily nutrition and race nutrition. I can push harder than I have ever been able to, and I recover better than I ever have.

This year, I had a very aggressive race schedule. Six races in 8 weeks. Even Liz, mentioned that she was impressed with how well I was able to recover and be ready to go for the next hard session.

Granted, Liz covered the training/taper/recover schedule. I could not have done it without using the things Dina taught me.

I worked with Dina in 2015 for 2 or 3 months. Since that time, I will check in with her when I feel I need some advice or pointers about handling a particular type of race or distance.

I lost body fat. I recover better. I can race harder. I sleep better. All those things that I couldn't  do on my own.

You have no idea what you are capable of until you start working with a Sports Dietitian.

For me, it will always be an ongoing relationship. I feel so fortunate to have met Dina.



Keep in mind that this list is meant for someone who is more or less at the beginning of their triathlon career.

Becoming a better athlete is a process. The athletes that you see on the podium, didn't get there by accident. (Ok. My very first podium WAS an accident. There were only 3 women in my age group. But, I digress).

When you commit to the sport, you will see big jumps in fitness, and you'll see days where you actually go backwards. It is a process. Fitness gains are not linear. They're a bunch of rolling peaks and valleys.

Don't think you need to make all these changes at once. I certainly didn't. One year, I hired a coach. One year, I bought a power meter. One year, I worked with a sports dietitian.

Take your time. Enjoy the gains where you get them. I know it can be frustrating.

If it were easy, everyone would do it.










Monday, October 9, 2017

That bike, tho'

I recently read a post from a triathlete. In it the athlete mentioned that their bike speeds aren't where they should be. This person doesn't have a Coach, and we all know how I feel about that.

BUT that aside....

Since I started working with Liz, my bike speeds have exploded. In the past year, specifically, my watts/kg has improved significantly.  I consistently race at 100-103% of FTP.

THAT is really the thing. Right? It's racing in the appropriate zone for a race distance.

Maybe I have (from the perspective of an athlete who has improved), maybe I have advice that I can pass along to people who are either new to the sport OR have been racing a long time but haven't quite figured out how to race in the zones they need to race.

Along the way, I have run into a number of Myths of Cycling. Just like when you read my blog, take everything with a grain of salt. Just because a supposed "expert" says something, doesn't make it true. That's why having a coach is so important.

Before I go into the training aspects, let's talk about technology. If you are committing to the sport, you can really benefit from training with a power meter. The price has come down significantly over the years. If you simply plan on doing a race here and there, with no goals, don't worry about it. This post isn't aimed at the casual rider. This post is written for those of you who want to get faster. You can use HR, but HR fluctuates with dehydration, conditions, whether you are sick or healthy, depending on where you are in a training cycle. Power is consistent. That's why it is so important. Also, I'm not a fan of perceived effort. I think you have to be extremely experienced to use this. Even then, I suspect most people don't train in the appropriate zones.

And very very important: THE LONGER THE RACE, the more important it is to train with power. In a sprint, going all out is going all out. In an oly, most people don't get near FTP....so they could definitely benefit....but most people use the oly as a stepping stone to longer distances and aren't really interested in learning how to hold 95-100% of FTP.

When you get to the 70.3 and IM...oh dear god......PLEASE ride with power. Learn your zones and follow them.

1.) Ride inside or outside?
Don't listen to "experts" who tell you things in black and white. 

Who needs to ride outside? Typically, newer riders should get outside once a week. My advice is if you are a newer rider, join a riding group OR sign up for a cycling tour. Once you've done that and feel more comfortable on the bike, maybe do a TT. (That's not necessary, but it will teach you to ride in a pack).

You have to learn bike handling skills. The only way to do that is outside.

If you've been riding for any length of time, you don't have to ride outside. There is a HUGE benefit to this.
1.) You can do your workouts as written.
2.) No stopping or slowing down, means more time doing your focused workout.
3.) You can do drills focused on cadence work, single leg drills, sitting and standing, etc. Drills are very very tough to do outside.

If you want to ride outside, ride outside. If you want to ride inside, ride inside. Don't feel like you have to do one or another.

I almost exclusively ride inside. Are you surprised? My time is valuable. I want to get as much bang for the buck as I can. For me, that means setting up workouts and following them.

Remember. There's not a right or wrong way, but if you want to get faster, you need to spend time on the trainer. (I'll address trainer workouts below).

2.) Zone work:  When I first started working with Liz, one of the things she told me was "Work the full zone". When a workout says Z3, I would hang out at the bottom of zone 3. Now, I start at the bottom, and I finish at the top of whatever zone is listed in the workout.

Look. You need to feel the discomfort in training. The only way to learn how to deal with it is in training.

3.) Go above and beyond. How do I hold 100-103%FTP in a race? Liz has me do intervals at 120-150%FTP. Let me tell you, 100% sure does feel easy after I've done 150%.

Another good workout is over/unders. This means you hold a higher FTP like 95% then do a spurt from 100-120% and then back down to 95%.  This is very hard to do and (again) best done on a trainer.

4.) Leg strength: BIG WATTS/SLOW CADENCE. The workout that can actually make triathletes cry.  The reason this workout is so effective is because it keeps your heart rate down but really works your muscles. Your legs get stronger, but recovery time is much shorter.

5.) Using a trainer. Smart trainer or traditional trainer? 
If you are just getting started, you are going to having to decide on costs. Power meters cost money. Smart trainers cost a whole lot of money.

My first 10 years of triathlon, I trained on a traditional trainer. I still improved. I improved significantly. Getting faster is more about quality workouts than anything. If you are newer to triathlon or have budget constraints, a traditional trainer will absolutely help get you faster.

If you've been in the sport awhile OR have unlimited funds, a smart trainer is the way to go. I've had mine for almost a year now. Here's what I learned:

1.) The smart trainer is only as good as your training. If you're expecting magical improvements from just sitting there pedalling, riding around Zwift or BKool routes....it ain't gonna happen. You could have saved your money and gotten the same benefit from riding outside.

2.) The BIG thing with smart trainers is being able to ride in ERG mode. THAT's the kickr (pardon the pun).  TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT. Otherwise, why even bother with a smart trainer?

Here's how it works: There are a number of software programs out there. My personal favorite is Trainer Road. (Quick note: You can use any of these software programs with a traditional trainer. You don't even need a power meter, but your best option is using a PM).

You either create a workout (enter a workout from your coach) OR use the workouts in the software program.  In ERG mode, each interval will be held to a certain range of watts. On a traditional trainer, your watts will fluctuate with cadence. On a smart trainer, you are forced to hold a zone, regardless of cadence.

Even when you are tired....you will hold whatever zone the interval is. THAT's the benefit of a smart trainer.

Let's say you are training for a 70.3, your goal is to hold 81%FTP. When you use a workout in ERG mode, you will be forced to hold 81% or whatever range is set. Can you see how powerful that is? When you ride outside or ride in SIM mode, it is much much harder to actually hold 81% when you are going up and down hills or have to deal with traffic, etc.

When you are on a traditional trainer, it's very very easy to back off.

A smart trainer (in ERG mode using a workout), doesn't let you do that. THIS has had the biggest impact on my training this past year.

There are other ways to use a smart trainer. You can ride around virtual worlds and experience the hills or flats, etc. In my opinion, those don't give you any bigger benefit than riding around outside.

If you want to really improve, get a smart trainer, use ERG mode (not sim mode), enter a workout, and experience some serious discomfort. (Also there are workouts specifically for drills and cadence work. Power drops, so you can do high cadence work and single leg work. You don't get that benefit when riding in sim mode.

6.) Strength training. 
I cannot stress enough, the importance of strength training. Personally, I have found that the compound exercises work best for me. In other words, you won't see me doing bicep curls. I use heavy weights, to failure and do compound exercises. I do squats and lunges and single leg squats and tons of core work. One of my favorite exercises is start standing with dumbbells overhead (like when your arms are extended for a shoulder press), bring the weight down, squat all the way down to the floor then jump your feet out into a plank position. Jump back, stand up and press those dumbbells up overhead again. I love that type of workout.

In triathlon, we use many different muscle groups at once. To me, it makes sense to strengthen those muscles in the same manner.

Strength training is so so important regardless of distance. For a sprint, you want to be as strong as possible to be able to push big watts. In an IM, you want to have the endurance to be able to go seamlessly from from swim to bike to run. 

7.) Nutrition. If you know me, you know how important this is. PLEASE work with an RD. As you move up in distance, fueling becomes harder and harder. Daily nutrition becomes harder. Race day fueling becomes harder. I continue to work with Dina as I move from race distance to race distance. Your body will accept foods at a lower effort than it will accept at a higher effort. If you plan on doing longer races, you need to know what to put in to get the best output. Heat, humidity, lack of humidity, wind, cold, rain.....they all factor into a race day performance.

You can't out train a bad diet. What you put in on daily basis affects your ability to push hard when you need to push hard and recover when you need to recover.



There it is. That's my recipe for success. It doesn't mean it will work for everyone. I hope that someone will gain something from this.

The big thing is....remember that if you don't do something in training, it won't happen in a race. You can't expect to hold 80%of FTP in a 70.3 if you don't train above that threshold. You can't train above that threshold without strength training. (Let me tell you, it is a very different animal to go from swimming 1.2 miles to riding 56 miles than it is from swimming 750m to riding 20k).


Wednesday, October 4, 2017

I'm still here


When a road trip starts with this song, you know it's going to be one helluva a trip.

It's been a while since I've written. I went through one of those "why do I write" phases. I used to write with a certain audience in mind. Do those people still read my blog? Have new people found it? I don't even know who my audience is anymore. 

Since my last real post, I've done two races; including one this past weekend. I came in 1st in age group and 5th overall, capping off another really incredible season. 

The most incredible part of the race over the weekend is that Mr. Tea was there. He hasn't been a a race of mine in years. His health has been so bad for so long that the physical stress of going to a race was too much for him. (The heat would make it even worse).

He was at my race. He hasn't seen me race since I was a back of the pack athlete. He's seen me train. He's been through all the tough stuff that goes along with training, but he'd never seen the finished product.

When I was racing, I'd never seen him so excited before. I could see the look on his face.

When I pulled into transition (off the bike) with a 6 minute lead, I could see his face. I saw two bikes on the rack, and I said, "I have no idea who those women are. I thought I caught all the women".

Mr Tea then said, "THOSE ARE MEN. You are in 1st place. You need to run"!

He was so excited. 

It's one thing to watch someone training. It's totally different to see them racing and stepping up on that podium.

Coach Liz asked me to list out all my podiums and PRs for the year. 

In 2017, I had 6 podiums out of 8 races and too many PRs to even count. 

This year, I got my first Olympic distance podium. Then I backed it up with another one.  This was something that had eluded me for my entire triathlon career.

Here we are in October. I'm taking time off from coaching.....which by the way....could mean that I don't blog very often. If I do, it won't really have anything to do with triathlon.

I want to take some time to think of my race schedule. 

For the past few weeks, Mr. Tea has broached the subject of doing an full Ironman next year. (YES. He was THAT excited). I know that it's rare to have a SUPER SHERPA who encourages something like that. He doesn't merely support it. He encourages it. He said he's going to invite everyone. (Did I mention how excited he is)?

However, I'm not there yet. I'm just not ready for it. BUT, I'm willing to take the entire month to think about it. 

On the other hand, I have 3 races (a half marathon, a 70.3 and Nationals) that I'm very excited about.

I also want to really think about what I did well and where I'd like to improve for next year. I'd been taking notes all year long. In a couple of weeks, I'll probably organize those thoughts. Maybe I'll even write about it?  

Would you like that Mystery Audience?

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

Thursday, August 31, 2017

About Strava

Public service announcement

Many people are not aware of this, but local and state governments buy the anonymous Strava data in order to make their streets safer for everyone and so they know how build a better infrastructure for the future. 

If you live in CO, PLEASE consider joining Strava. About 2 months ago, CDOT purchased the data from Strava. As you are probably aware, in the Denver metro area, including Boulder, the goal is to reduce the number of cars on the road by 35% by 2030.

My county in particular is doing an amazing job at adding paths and bike lanes. I want this to continue.

The only way this is possible is for them to know who is doing what on which roads, paths and trails.

Let's talk about privacy:

1.) The data sent to the government is anonymous. It is strictly numbers.

2.) You do not have to be an active member on Strava. Automatically upload your activities. Make your profile private. Make all your activities private. (This is done automatically in your settings). Don't accept any follower requests. Your generic data will still be sent to your local government.

BOOM. YOU never have to log into Strava again.

3.) You don't have to buy a fancy Garmin or Timex or anything. Strava has a phone app. When you start your walk or run or ride, simply turn it on. (Again, everything can upload privately if you turn on the settings).

4.) The best part is that Strava is FREE.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

The Quest



It's been awhile.

In the past month a lot has happened. I guess the biggest tri-challenge was that I did 4 races in 4 weeks.

It was one of the harder things I've done.

I'm coming up on my final tri of the year. I have fully recovered from the 4 weeks of racing.  I still have one race left. Of course, I'm being asked, "What's your schedule look like next year"?

Other than 2 races, which I'm pretty set on, I haven't decided. I told Liz about a month ago that I was planning on taking time off.

I want to use that time to think about goals for next year. I also want time away from triathlon where I can look back over 2017 and clearly look at what I accomplished.

I can tell you this. One of my goals for 2017 was to get athletes excited about short course. I wanted to change people's perspectives from short courses being stepping stones to the 70.3 and full IM to training for short/intermediate races as the end goal. 

This all happened because I was surprised to find out that many athletes are unaware that
1.) They can qualify for Nationals.
2.) At Nationals, they can qualify for the World Championship.
3.) When people find out you've qualified, they instantly refer to you as "the fast one".

All good stuff, right?

They didn't realize that short and intermediate distances had an entire population of people working toward becoming a part of Team USA. 

You want to feel the excitement? Join this FB Group.

As it happened, in July, I qualified for Nationals in 2018.

I'd been planning on making 2018 a year of 70.3 focus. Well....then.....*everyone* actually started getting excited about trying to qualify for Nationals.

All of a sudden, triathletes, who....for YEARS....tried to convince me there was NOTHING BETTER than doing Ironman.....wanted to qualify for 2018 Nationals.

Short course triathletes are a different breed. Not better. Not worse. Just different.

I realized that I can't get people excited about qualifying for Nationals, and then NOT SHOW UP MYSELF.

For those of you who have been asking me about Nationals in 2018. YES. I WILL BE THERE. My plan is to do the OLY. I've done the back to back a couple of times now. I'd rather stick around and cheer for people on Sunday than race again.

Along these lines, I told Liz that I was going to take some time off, starting right after my next race. We got into a very short conversation about next year. (Srsly, mentally...I just didn't want to go into 2018 goals in much detail).

She said a couple of things that struck me. I sort of tucked them away for when I was ready to deal with them.

This week, I was ready to think about the conversation that Liz and I had.

Based on recent training, I knew that I had to/wanted to change my approach to some goals. Based on recent training, meaning that training has been going exceptionally well, I am ready to change a few things around.

I scribbled out a bunch of notes:
--race time goals
--qualification goals
--training goals

I want to finish off 2017 strong.

Then, I'll have some downtime.

THEN, I'll see if those goals that I scribbled out, early one morning, still make sense.

After that is all said and done, I'll put together my race schedule for 2018.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Nationals weekend: Chasing dreams

Last weekend was Nationals.

I have never had more fun over a weekend than I did last weekend.

Liz had 13 athletes at Nationals. I don't know how many other athletes were there from the other coaches.

MSM had a pretty big showing. I was the self-proclaimed Party Coordinator for race day.

Here are the highlights:

1.) Racing an oly and a sprint on back to back days is physically and mentally exhausting. Prior to the race I had a conversation with Dina about my week leading up to the race and how to fuel & recovery between races. It was the best thing I could have done. Because of the stress of threshold racing on back to back days (versus one really long day at Z2-Z3), she gave me pointers that I hadn't thought of.

2.)I have never been more prepared for a race of this level. For weeks, I had been exhausted. Then a day or two into taper, I started to feel like I could take over the world.

3.) Results:

Oly:
In 2015, I did the oly at Nationals. I came in 119. This year, I came in 46th. That's a huge jump. Although the courses really can't be compared, this was a non wetsuit swim. In 2015, the water temp was low 60's.

Oly swim: An unusally slow swim for me, even without a wetsuit.

Bike: Fastest oly bike. I averaged 92% FTP for the race.

Run: RUN PR!!! BY 2 MINUTES!!! I don't think I've ever been more excited about a 2 minute PR.

Sprint:

For the morning of the sprint, it was pouring rain. Sadly, that morning, in transition, I sliced open my foot and had to go to medical. They medic said that I could race, but that it would be painful. He was pretty sure the bandage would hold up, though.

The swim: Unusually slow.

My bandage came off.

I limped up to transition and sat there for awhile debating whether I should continue. I had brought socks with me. I thought, "I've trained too hard for this. If I can get my sock on, I need to get on my bike".

If you know me, the worse conditions are.....the better I will do. I slowly put my sock on and squeezed my foot into my shoe.

I hopped on the bike. Because there's no pressure on your foot (cycling comes from your legs not your feet), I felt really good on the bike. It was raining for my swim, and it was still raining when I got on the bike. Mud and rain is splashing up.

I avoided puddles. I avoided the paint.

I KILLED THE BIKE. I held 95%FTP the day after riding hard for the oly.

The run:

When I got to transition, I made the decision that I was going to finish the race.

Getting my running shoes on was brutal. I was soaking wet. My socks were wet.

Along the entire run, I cheered for everyone and anyone. If someone had a Team USA kit on I yelled for them. I cheered for my team mates. I cheer for local athletes that I knew.

At the halfway marked, I looked down at my shoe, it was covered in blood.

When I crossed the finish line, I knew I hadn't blown away any of my times (except on the bike). I limped over to get my gear bag. All I wanted to do was get my shoes off.



Later that morning, I ran into Chris (Liz's husband). He came in 4th in the 40-44. I also talked to Jen Harrison.....who completely dominated the women's 45-49 (both days). (Chris raced both days, also, but I can't remember where he finished).

It was so nice to talk to both of them. Even though, they were podium finishers, and I came in 46th on one day and (maybe) 30thish on the 2nd day....our bodies had felt the same. We all woke up with our backs screaming at us. We all thought, "How am I going to do this"?  We all thought, "Maybe once I get moving, I'll feel better"?

Once we got to the swim, we all felt pretty damn good.

I have another story. One of the MSM athletes name is Nick. He ran passed me on the oly. I yelled at him and he gave me a smile.

When he ran passed, I thought, "OMG. He's running a sub 6 mile. He doesn't even look like he hurts".

He ran a 5:30 pace for the 10k. I know he was hurting.

It doesn't matter if you run a 5:30 or an 11:30.....the pain is the same. That's what makes this sport so much fun and the athletes so supportive.



The week after Nationals, I have been doing hardcore recovering. I'm recovering this week and (basically) tapering next week because I have another race in 2 weeks.

Liz is giving me a whole new level of  "recovery workouts". I have been eating really well. Today, I woke up feeling pretty good.

My foot is healing up just fine.

Liz and I talked about my weekend. We talked briefly about my ongoing goals. Briefly. I was so wiped out after the weekend, I didn't even want to THINK about triathlon. I wanted to lay on the couch and never move again.

Anyway, Liz said something that stuck with me. She made a comment about the next time I go to Nationals. My first thought was, "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME"?

A couple of days later, I was feeling better. I realized that she (only) stated my own personal super secret goal. It was a goal that I had never told anyone. I thought, "She knows me better than anyone". She knows my abilities better than anyone. By sharing her thoughts, she was showing me that she believes in me and my goals. I thanked her for her vote of confidence. Sometimes it's hard to see ourselves for who we actually are when we are going through training like that.

I sat down and drew up a plan. It was a general plan for next year.

If I have a goal and if my coach believes I can get there......isn't it worth working for?

My plan for next year was to focus on the 70.3.

On Tuesday, I found out that I qualified for Nationals next year.

It was almost like a sign to keep going, keep chasing that dream.

Monday, July 31, 2017

1.2 mile swim race

This picture was taken by SwimLabs at the open water swim race I did. This show the start of the 2.4 mile swim. A friend won the 2.4 mile swim and swam it in 50 minutes. So, I'll just let you ponder that for a minute. 


In other news, I did an open water swim race this weekend. You can't even see the turn around buoy in this picture because it's waaaayyyyy out there. 

The purpose of the race was to work on pacing. Liz wanted me to surge for 200-400m, swim moderately, then surge 200m to the finish.

There were over 100 people doing the 1.2 mile swim.  

It was a very congested swim start.   

As we were waiting to start, there was a woman in front of me. I know her from my old masters. She immediately started talking loudly about how she was going to be last.

I know her. She would be one of the top 3-4 finishers. 

I tried to hide my eyeroll.

I hate that shit. 

The one thing you know about me. I NEVER sandbag my time. I NEVER lie about my times.  You might disagree about my assessment of myself. (For example, I will say the run is my weakest event....which it is.) But I HAVE NEVER said, "My 10k time is 1:10" when my 10k time is :59.

I never refer to myself as "slow". There is ALWAYS someone faster. There is ALWAYS someone slower. 

SO....eye roll galore.

When we started, it was an absolute slugfest. I surged. I got stuck between more swimmers. I surged again.

I had a hard time separating from the swimmers. 

I decided to take a risk and go all out. I didn't have to go far. I needed just enough space to separate from the group I was stuck between. 

I surged, like I've never done it before. I put a gap of about 10m between me and some other swimmers. I realized I could do it. I could surge and regain composure. 

You see, for those of you who are not swimmers, surging and going fast is hard because unlike land sports, where you can catch your breath relatively easily; with swimming, it's harder because your FACE IS UNDER WATER.

I felt my triceps and back really working. My breathing was hard, but I immediately went into a moderate pace without missing a beat. I'd never done that before! I was so happy. I kept swimming and held a good pace throughout.

The only problem I had was that I didn't expect a cloudy/drizzly morning. I didn't even think about it, and I had dark goggles. My clear goggles were sitting in the car. 

 I was still able to see, but it was challenging. My second win of the day was that I trusted my internal gps this time. In my races this year, I kept stopping trying to get a good visual. 

I didn't stop today. If I couldn't get a good line of sight, I kept going, trusting myself. 

As I was approaching the turn around, I realized that I didn't remember turning on my garmin. I glanced at it and was shocked to see my time of 16:15. What?! That means I just swam a PR pace for 1.2 miles.

With that, I got super excited. I started picking up the pace. I was running into more 2.4 mile swimmers, some of whom were doing the backstroke, so there was some dodging on my part. There was a guy who was zigzagging all over the place. I took the time to surge again. Feeling more and more confident that I could surge at a 1:10 pace, hold it for awile, then settle back into a 1:30 pace. (Of course, at the time, I had no idea what my pace was. I was merely going by how I felt physically and how my breathing sounded).

There was a woman who was with me the entire time. She was a little faster than me. I decided to pull in behind her and use her draft. She started going faster with about 300m left. I stayed with her, swimming really hard to keep up. 

When she stood up, I saw that I was drafting off someone who swam without a wetsuit. She was one of those stupid fast swimmers.

I stood up, started heading out when I realized that I forgot to give the timer my number. (There were no timing chips).

I also forgot to turn off my garmin and went all the way back to my back pack before I remembered to turn it off.

I looked at it. 32:56.

Holy cow. If I subtract off the time from the water back to my stuff, which was easily a minute, that means I swam a 32:00 1.2 mile swim. 

That's a 2.5 minute PR for that distance. 


I was THRILLED.

I want to say something about swimming, specifically MY swimming. If you've been reading for awhile, you know that I have worked very hard on my swimming.

If you want to get faster, you have to train faster. I have done that. I have pushed my comfort zone and taken risks.

In open water swimming, there can be a lot of external factors that affect a swim time: bright sun, bad conditions, etc. 

Sometimes I will be first out of the water. Sometimes I will be 4th. It changes from race to race.

None of that matters. I have absolutely NO swimming background. I taught myself to swim when I started triathlon.

There are few things that I am as proud of as how much I have improved with swimming. 

When I finished, I stayed to cheer on the the last of the 2.4 mile swimmers. The last 2 swimmers, were escorted in by the SUP team. 

I remember my very first tri, when that was me. I was one of the last out of the water, and I had my own personal escort into shore, with the guy telling me that I was doing great! Just keep doing what you're doing! You're almost there!

I always stay for the last of the swimmers to cheer them in because I know what it's like.

It didn't happen overnight. There have been tears and mostly a lot of fun making the improvement that I have. 

It doesn't matter what distance you are working for, you have to get out of your comfort zone in order to get faster. 

Get out there. Go fast. Hit the wall breathless. Then do it again. 

That's the secret recipe.

 



 

Monday, July 24, 2017

I never said it would be easy....

I started with Liz in Jan 2014.

I set a goal of qualifying for Nationals in the next 5 years.

I qualified for Nationals in 2014 (for 2015).

In 2015, I raced Nationals and set a goal to make Team USA in 5 years.

In 2016, I focused on the Sprint distance. I made Team USA for the sprint distance that year. Yes, 2016....the year I set a 5 year goal to make Team USA.

In 2017, I started focusing on the Oly distance in an effort to make Team USA at the Oly distance.

In 2017, I forgot about my 5 year goal. Actually, I forgot that it was a 5 year goal. 

You see. I was getting frustrated with myself. I picked a very tough race schedule this year to get me ready for Nationals. Every now and then, I'd see glimpses of greatness. I'd do something incredible that I'd never done before. 

Mostly, though, I had a growing frustration with myself over some things. I'd look at my times and paces and realize that this probably won't be the year I make the team at the Oly distance.

Over the past 2 weeks, I realized that I let those small things take over my head. I let those little things take over the fun of the sport. For weeks, training had become an irritating chore, like doing the laundry.

I stepped back for a minute and had to remember that I set a 5 YEAR GOAL. I already achieved that goal at the sprint distance, FIVE YEARS EARLY. 

The Oly distance is excruciatingly difficult. Coach Liz says it's the hardest distance.  I have only done two Olympic distance races this year. AND I PRd both races. 

My times might not be where I want them to be, but Rome wasn't built in a day. 

It's a daily, constant reminder that great things take time....and certainly more than 2 races.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

4 Down, 4 to go. A race report



A few weeks back, Coach Liz had a heart to heart talk after she could sense my growing frustration with my swim.

Her advice to me was, "Stop killing yourself on the swim. Put your energy into the bike and run".

My initial response was....

What?!

The SWIM is my STRENGTH.

You want to take that away from me?

What will I do?

I'm sorry......

Of course, my emotional outbursts last about 30 seconds.

It takes 30 seconds for me to remember that she is the mastermind.

Saturday morning, I wake up to an email from her wishing me luck. I told her that I'm going to take her advice.

I'm not going to worry about the swim. I am going to put my energy into the bike and run.

Sunday morning rolls around. After a week and a half of dealing with personal issues, I didn't really know how the day was going to go. All I knew was that I was going to give it everything I have.

I racked my bike and ran back to my car. When I returned, the racks were full. Several women were talking about how this race was going to be a tune up race for Nationals.


I frantically sent off a text to J. 

"OMGOMGOMG. THEY'RE ALL RACING NATIONALS. THEY'RE ALL FAST. OMGOMGOMG"

You know your real friends when they answer your frantic text at 6am on Sunday

Of course, his response was, "They're all thinking the same things about you".



oh.


I decided to leave transition and go find my zen.

I was pretty sure I left it near the porta potty.



About the race itself.

I didn't worry about the swim. I got to transition and saw one bike already gone. At the time, I didn't know how far ahead of me she was. I found out later that she beat me on the swim by seconds. I beat her in transition by seconds. 

As soon as I saw that I was in 2nd, possibly 3rd, I had one goal in mind: 



 AND I WILL PASS YOU.

I DON'T CARE HOW FAST YOU ARE.

I WILL BE FASTER.


Within 2 miles, I passed a woman with 50-54 age group on her calf. 

What if she isn't the only one?

I kept going. 

I had my BBS segment watts. I knew what I goal wattage I needed to hit.

I kept riding as hard as I could.

I had another goal for this race. For YEARS, I have wanted to break 47 minutes on this ride. I have come painfully close multiple times.

I pulled into transition, not knowing what my time was but knowing that I gave it everything I had. 

I start running toward the racks. There are no bikes in yet. 

I'm in FIRST.

At this point, I have a 3 minute lead. I just didn't know it at the time. 

My plan was to use the HR monitor to keep me honest on the run. For some reason, my HRM didn't work; even though it worked perfectly fine yesterday. Without it, I started strong and faded a bit. That's on me. I know I shouldn't count on technology. 

I ran the first mile strong. The last 2.....I just kinda fell into a rhythm. 

I was passed on the run. She only beat me by 2 min. I didn't know she was only 2 min ahead. I didn't know I had a 3 min lead when I started running.  I am a really competitive person. Had I know all of this, I probably/definitely would have run harder. 

I'm learning that as long as I ride hard and give my best run, I can compete with these women. One of my goals is to learn how to use my competitive spirit to push me to be my best....with or without technology.

I finished in 2nd place and 11th overall female.

When I saw my bike time: 46:31 and a speed of 22.3mph. I held 95% FTP. I was nothing short of glowing. 

I grabbed my ticket with my finish time. In disbelief, I sent off a text to Liz, Mr. Tea & J. 

I remember my first podium. It was a fluke....one of those where I was 3rd out of 3. Then I got my first 1st place, beating second place by over 12 minutes. I thought it was a fluke. Then, I regularly started stepping up on the podium.

To this day, every time it happens, I am in shock. 

But today was bigger than any podium. Liz has given me the courage to take risks, to do things I've never done before. Today was a breakthrough like I've never had before. 

I sat at the picnic table at the awards ceremony. I thought about where I'd been and what I still want to accomplish. Some days those goals seem SO far away. Then, I have a day like this; where all the work starts to show.

All top 5 women in the 50-54 AG beat the podium finishers of the 45-49 AG by over 10 min. That's how strong this age group is. There were many of us in the 45-49 age group who aged up this year. I know these women. I have been racing with them for years. They are nothing short of amazing.

It means so much to me that I can hang with them. I'm learning something at each race. I'm getting stronger and smarter. That's a good place to be.


4 races. 4 podiums. 4 races left.

Up next Nationals.