MALAIKA HOMO, PRO TRIATHLETE

What A Year It Was

2011-12-31T14:08:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be fitting on this final day of the year 2011 to sit down and reflect on the events of past twelve months. It's difficult to encapsulate everything that has happened, so I'm just going to list some of my favorite memories/events from the past year. And here's a bonus: it's the illustrated version!

Good times from 2011 (in no particular order):
- Puttering around in the garden and eating the fresh tasty veggies it produced
- Watching Sherman (our black lab) perform amazing acrobatic feats during games of chuck-it
- Seeing Suzzie (our German Shepherd) transform from a neurotic toothy terror to a sweet, playful, and eager-to-please beauty
- Having brand-spanking new windows installed in our house
- Backyard grilling...almost every day this summer, yum
- The liberating feeling of commuting to work on my bike and the Frontrunner train
- Catching up on years of missed reading while riding the train
- Vegas Trip #1: being the impetus for getting my mom to fly for the first time in over 40 years!
- Vegas Trip #2: great shows, great food, great hotel, great memories with Albert
- Learning to surf (sort of) in Costa Rica
- The sweet taste of victory at a big triathlon while smashing my own expectations for a predicted time
- Sharing the above victory with a very special group of family and friends
- In fact, having a faithful contingent of friends, family, and fans at pretty much every race I did this year
- Getting to know the really wonderful people at REV3
- Awesome home-stays along the way
- Long bike rides in Ogden Valley with Rich
- Sunday hikes at Snowbasin with Albert and the doggies
- Trail running, my new love
- Learning to run fast again
- Meeting my new baby nephew
- Watching my niece (successfully) try out for the swim team
- Visiting the Salt Flats & Antelope Island with Val and Gemma
- Happy hikes with good friends
- Many loaves of fresh homemade bread
- A countless number of stunning Ogden sunsets

Here's to another great year in 2012!

Long Distance Worlds Race Report

2011-11-11T16:19:00.001-08:00

Last weekend I celebrated my final race of the season at the International Triathlon Union Long Distance World Championships in Henderson, Nevada. It was unlike any other race I've ever done for a number of reasons, including: 1) it was my first time officially being part of a Team USA contingent and wearing our country's colors in competition, 2) the 4K/120K/30K distance was an unknown, 3) presenting my uniform for a pre-race inspection/check-in was a new experience, and 4) I was uncharacteristically stressed out in the days leading up to the race. For some reason there were a lot of little details to attend to, and everything seemed to take forever which got me feeling really edgy. I certainly didn't enjoy being around me---too bad it's hard to get away from oneself!

Luckily I found my rhythm by race morning; the routine of applying the race numbers the night before and then getting up before the crack of dawn for breakfast has become familiar and calming. I must say (and I'm probably going to jinx myself here) I've gotten to be an *almost* pro at applying temporary tattoos! I remembered to take all the plastic backings off first, and only one of my 3's ended up facing backwards. :)

I arrived at the T1/swim start area right about 5am which gave me a good two hours to set up my gear, warm-up, and make the requisite Porta Jane visits. Coach KT White (the Team USA manager) was waiting at the transition entrance and informed me that the ITU officials were discussing cancelling the swim because of the combined cold water and air temperatures; not five minutes later the official announcement was made. Hmm. No swim? That's not really what I prepared for but I think it was the right call----getting out of 55-degree water and hopping on a bike in 37 degree air temps is a great way to get hypothermia, especially for the slower swimmers who might be in the lake for over 2 hours. The new format was to be a 120K bike/30K run with a time trial start going in 5 second intervals in order of your bib number. That meant the elite men would go off first, followed by the elite women and then the age groupers. The span from the first elite woman to the last was going to be about 2.5 minutes and I was seeded somewhere in the middle, about 1:10 behind the first girl. Some of the fastest swimmers started behind me, so the dynamic was quite different than what it would have been with a swim first; in all honesty (and I cannot believe I am saying this!) I think the cancelled swim worked to my benefit. The strongest swimmers probably would have gained at least a 2 minute advantage over me coming out of the water so it was nice to not have any deficit to make up coming out of the water. On the flip side, I would not have the usual cushion over the slower swimmers going into the bike/run so the strategy basically became to race full bore the whole way and see where I landed at the end.

The biggest decision race-morning was figuring out what to wear in the chilly temps. I was most worried about my fingers and toes so full-fingered gloves and toe-warmers were a must; the big debate was if arm warmers would be enough to keep me from freezing or if I should consider some type of vest or jacket over my race kit. In the end I went with just the arm warmers which ended up being perfect. My nutrition basically stayed the same: 8 PowerGels in water, a bento box full of red creamer potatoes, and water on the bike, then 2 gel flasks (with 4 PowerGels each) throughout the run with hydration at every aid station.

I knew going into this race that the course was going to be tough and boy, did it live up to its reputation! OUCH. There were no flat sections anywhere on either the bike or run. With the exception of the Three Sisters (3 short 16-18% grade climbs around mile 60) the hills weren't steep, but they were that special kind of long & steady grind that you find so often here in the western United States. I have a love-hate relationship with this type of hill. I train on hills like this all the time and have gotten strong on them, but that doesn't mean I necessarily like them!

On the bike I passed a handful of girls early in the ride, then was passed in turn by Nikki Butterfield (a former pro cyclist) around mile 20 and then by eventual winner Rachel Joyce just after the Three Sisters. I kept pushing to catch up to USA teammate Meredith Kessler but couldn't quite manage to bridge the gap and eventually lost sight of her once we got off the bike path and headed towards downtown Henderson. Thank you uber-coach Michael Lovato for calling out splits and encouragement along the way! Despite the time trial start the field was relatively spread out and it seemed to be a pretty clean race---thanks in large part to the challenging nature of the course I'm sure.

I started the run in 6th place with the knowledge that my running legs were with me on this day. The course consisted of four loops of out-and-back one direction then out-and-back in the other direction. It was essentially downhill for the first 1/4 lap, then uphill for a 1/2 lap, then downhill again for the last 1/4 of each loop. I've grown fond of looped run courses because it helps me to mentally break them up, plus it's really great for spectators. And I had a fan club with me at this one! My mom, Aunt Candy, and college roommate Courtney all made the trip out to Vegas to cheer me on with signs and cowbells, a vuvuzela and classically-trained singer's lungs! They were great and definitely gave me a boost every time I ran past. Thanks to EVERYONE who cheered for me out there---it was pretty neat to wear the country's colors in a world championship event and hear the shouts of "Go USA"!

The run felt GREAT for three laps; the fourth lap was still strong but I was definitely in the hurt locker by then. I focused on turnover, form, and landing lightly. I was only passed by one other girl at about mile 4 (Leanda Cave---the fastest run split of the day and certainly not someone to be ashamed of being overtaken by) which put me in 7th place, and then somewhere along the run two ladies ahead of me dropped out. I didn't realize this until the last lap, when I saw Meredith storming to third place and gave her a whoop and she yelled that I was holding 5th. I would have liked to have gotten 5th place by virtue of running down a couple of girls instead of them dropping out, but I'm still thrilled with the result. 5th place at Worlds! And 5th-fastest run split of the day. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that would ever happen! Boy oh boy, does that ever get me fired up for next year...

To top off the day, the USA women took home the Elite Team title based on our combined times (Meredith Kessler in 3rd, me in 5th, and Amanda Lovato in 12th). Jordan Rapp nabbed the overall elite men's World Championship title, and Nick Thompson ran his way into 5th place. All around a very good showing!

Check back again soon for a season recap including reflections on lessons I have learned this season. As always, thanks again to my sponsors (PowerBar, Rudy Project, blueseventy, Maxxis, and Wasatch Running Center) and to all my family, friends, acquaintances, and random people who have cheered for and supported me throughout the years.

Pics From ITU Long Distance Worlds---5th Place!

2011-11-07T20:46:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple of official snaps from the International Triathlon Union Long Distance World Championships last weekend in Henderson, Nevada. The swim was cancelled due to cold water and air temperatures, so it ended up being "just" a 120K (~75 mile) bike ride followed by a 30K (18.64 mile) run. Who would have ever thought that eliminating the swim portion would work in my favor?! But I'm pretty sure it did, and all the hard work I've put into cycling and running this year really paid off. The highlight statistic for me was clocking the 5th fastest run of the day, averaging 6:53 per mile (which is right at 3 hours for a marathon). Woohoo! I can play with the big girls now!

Speaking of playing with the big girls: Meredith Kessler, Amanda Lovato and I combined to win the Elite Women's Team title based on our combined times. Woohoo Team USA!

Hopping on a plane...

2011-11-02T08:12:00.000-07:00

...and heading to Vegas later today for the ITU Long Distance World Championships to be held on Saturday! Send some positive vibes my way. :)

Racing Within and Without

2011-10-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

(all photos courtesy of Eric Wynn)

Last weekend I had the pleasure of competing in the final event of the 2011 REV3 Triathlon Series in Anderson, South Carolina. This was a special weekend for many reasons, including that it was a reunion of sorts with my host family-and-friends from REV3 Knoxville earlier in the year. Thank you Toons, Todd, Doc, and Trish for embracing me as one of the gang, and congrats to everyone on their races!

While I'm in the "thank-you" mode, I'd like to also extend my thanks to Charlie Patten and the entire REV3 crew for yet another top-notch event and an overall fantastic series. I've done every single race that REV3 produced this year and can attest that they provide a level of organization, professionalism, and attention to detail that is unlike anything I've ever seen before in my eleven years in the sport. Everyone is taken care of at a REV3 event: the pros, the age-groupers, the spectators, the kids, and the staff. The staff itself is made up of friendly and approachable people who really seem to share a passion for triathlon. I have yet to meet an unhappy staff member or volunteer at a REV3 event, and I think that speaks volumes for the quality of the company. It's been a real pleasure getting to know the "behind the scenes" people this year and to witness the REV3 series really take off. I'm looking forward to what they have in store for 2012!

Back to the race itself. This was by far the largest professional field assembled for any REV3 event, and with a large field comes good depth. For the ladies there was an interesting mixture of ITU, middle-distance, and long-distance athletes on the start line. I knew that it would be tough to pull off another win in this field, but I felt that I had recovered well from the Full Rev at Cedar Point and that a top-three finish was definitely within reach. The relentless rolling hills on the bike and run certainly made it a "strength" course (which suits me) and the windy conditions on race day simply added to the toughness of the course.

The swim was unique in that the course went around a peninsula, so that we entered the water on one side and exited on the opposite side of the point. It was a non-wetsuit swim for the pros which is fine by me, although in retrospect with the speedy ITU girls in the mix I probably would have benefited more from a wetsuit legal swim. With my emphasis on long-distance racing these days I don't spend nearly the same amount of time in the pool as I used to and it becomes glaringly obvious when the short-course ladies come out to play! I exited the water about 2.5 minutes down from the lead group---not great, but nothing to panic about when there are 69.1 more miles of racing to go.

The hills began immediately out of T1. I overtook one of the other ladies on the first hill, then found myself trading back and forth with one of the pro men for a few miles. He eventually made a gap and I rode alone for a while until Magali Tissyre came up beside me. We traded back and forth a few times, and I must say it was really great riding with Magali for a couple of reasons: first, she is a very clean rider with a good understanding of the positioning rules. Secondly, at REV3 Knoxville earlier in the year she came zooming by (on a similar course) and I was not able to hang with her, so it was a good sign of my improved bike strength to be able to comfortably ride with her. I knew, though, that Magali is a dangerous runner and I did not want to get off the bike at the same time as her; I had to make a move at some point if I wanted to have any kind of cushion going into the run.

That move came when we rode up to Lauren Goss, one of the ITU super-swimmers in the field. I got slightly stuck behind the two of them going up a small hill and into a left-hand turn, and to stay legal I had to drop back a bit. It was a little weird how all the traffic converged at once; three cyclists, a USAT official motorcycle, and a media crew all going up this hill and through the turn at the same time. Once we made the turn I accelerated and flew right through the middle of the two other cyclists. I'm not sure if it surprised them or not, but it seemed to have been enough to make a bit of a gap.

Eventually I started catching glimpses of another rider up the road. I didn't know if it was a guy or a girl but that didn't matter: it was someone to try to catch! When I got to the little town of Pendleton I was surprised to find that the rider had suddenly gotten a LOT closer, and that the rider was Meredith Kessler. She is an uber-strong all-around triathlete who rode away from everybody at REV3 Portland in July so it was strange to be catching up to her so quickly. Then I realized why: she was riding standing up WITHOUT A SEAT!!! Talk about perseverance; by the end of the day she had ridden 20 miles standing up, then topped it off with the 2nd-fastest run split and 3rd place overall, only 1.5 minutes back of the win. That is one tough lady!

Once I passed Meredith I was sitting in 3rd place and that's where I stayed for the remainder of the ride. It's funny how I used to look forward to the end of the bike in a half-distance race because I would get so uncomfortable riding for that long, yet at the same time not be especially excited to run. Now I'm usually a little surprised that the end of the bike course comes so quickly but I'm eager to hop off and see how fast I can run. I left T2 about 2:45 behind the leader and with second place in my sights. Time to go fishing! I got a quick look at Magali and Meredith (!!!) coming into transition as I was starting the run, but tried to focus on what was up the road ahead of me.

This was by far the most exciting, competitive, duel-of-a-run that I've ever been a part of. The course was an awesome tangle of hills and turns, with one long challenging out-and-back section that allowed you a good look at where your competitors were. I could tell right away that I was gaining ground on second place; unfortunately just as I caught her she dropped out...I ran a few steps with the "2nd place" lead bike...and then was promptly overtaken by Meredith and Magali! I had been holding a good clip up to that point but they were obviously running faster---but not TOO much faster---so I decided to see if I could match their pace. It was FUN! We stuck in a little paceline for a bit, then Magali made a gap, followed by Meredith, and I just focused on not letting the "string" break. Eventually I saw some signs that Meredith might be cracking and I reeled her back in and made a move just before the far turnaround point at mile 7. I thought for sure that her legs had to be cooked by then, after her phenomenal stand-up effort riding the bike. I could see Magali up the road and it looked like she *might* be coming back to me a bit too. So I dug deep and ran hard...perhaps a bit too hard too soon because I started paying for it in the 10th and 11th miles. Meredith clawed her way back up and overtook me and at that point I couldn't respond. She established a gap that ended up being about 30 seconds by the end. Magali fought to the very end and passed long-time leader, Tenille Hoogland, within sight of the finish line. The final gap between 1st to 4th place was 2 minutes. It was an exciting finish, a great show to cap off the 2011 REV3 series, and I'm so thrilled to FINALLY have the fitness and speed to duke it out with the big girls.

At the end of the day, it was my third time this season (and ever!) cracking the 4:30 barrier in a half-iron race and my second time under the 1:30 mark for the run split. My run is what I'm most pleased with because I went into uncharted territory and actually ran 10 seconds faster than my open half-marathon PR. A little belief and a lot of hard work go a long way! I also wound up second place in the overall REV3 Pro Series which is a nice bonus as it wasn't even on my radar at the beginning of the year. I signed up for the REV3 races because I was ready for something new and I wanted to race in places that were easy for my family and friends to come to. REV3 delivered on both counts, and in so many more ways that I didn't even expect. Thanks again for a great year!

Cedar Point Pics

2011-09-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures from Cedar Point.

1) Joking around with Kate Major at the swim start (photo by Sue Hutter)
2) Caught smiling on the bike (photo by REV3)
3) Focused on NOT getting caught on the run (photo by Sue Hutter)
4) The joyous finish! (photo by REV3)
5) The world's best cheering squad (courtesy of Betsy Evers)

Running Down A Dream: A Big Win at REV3 Cedar Point

2011-09-17T15:06:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I had a "good" triathlon dream where I found myself running down the finishing chute in first place for my first win as a professional at a big race. This was unusual since every single other triathlon dream I've ever had has been more of the nightmare variety where I'm late for the swim start, my helmet is nowhere to be found when I arrive at my bike in T1, or my wetsuit has inexplicably shrunk and I can't fit into it no matter how much I wriggle and suck in my gut. It's funny how the mind works when we're asleep, latching onto our deepest fears and desires and presenting them plainly yet fleetingly during our moments of repose. I haven't been able to rid my subconscious completely of these bad triathlon dreams, but I've held that one rare perfect dream close to my heart all season long; and as I watched my fitness progress through the hours of consistent hard work I allowed myself to believe that perhaps the dream could become tangible reality after all...someday.

Well, "someday" arrived on September 11, 2011 when I surprised myself by winning the REV3 Cedar Point Full Rev (iron-distance) race in Sandusky, Ohio. I'm still over the moon with this outcome! It was one of those rare near-perfect days when everything simply fell into place and it *almost* seemed easy. I had just two minor blips during the bike leg (keep reading for the full scoop) but otherwise things went smoothly and the race ended up being a great celebration of all the hard work that has gone into this year. It was actually a double victory, as fellow Purdue University grad Andrew Starykowicz won the men's race. Andrew and I both got our starts in multi-sport with the Purdue Triathlon Club, and REV3 Cedar Point was the first major triathlon win for either one of us. Boiler up!

Here's how my day unfolded: I led wire-to-wire, which was a scenario beyond my wildest dreams! I fully expected super-swimmer Hillary Biscay to lead out of the water; she is one of the strongest swimmers on the long-course circuit and has more than 50 Ironman races under her belt. I had a great start in the sludge-y shallows of Lake Erie and was able to establish an early lead, thanks to the dolphin dive training from my draft-legal racing years. I felt good and quickly found a solid rhythm. It was a wetsuit-legal swim, which honestly doesn't matter to me one way or the other as long as the water temperature is measured accurately; I'm equally comfortable in my BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit, PZ3TX, or PointZero swimskin. I was waiting for Hillary to come zooming by, but in the meantime I focused on keeping my stroke balanced. By the start of the second lap I had become acutely aware that my goggles were too tight for this long of a distance, so that was a good motivation to keep swimming fast and get out of the water and onto the bike. When I exited the water I took a peek back and was surprised to see a bit of a gap back to the next swimmer. Bonus! To borrow from Chris McCormack's book, I had built myself a nice little "margin of error" early in the race.

T1 went smoothly; my Rudy Project Wingspan helmet was waiting for me right where it should be in transition, I grabbed my bike, did a good flying mount (thanks again to my ITU days!) and settled down to work. One really fun thing about the bike is that I got to ride right by my host family's house at both the start and finish of the course. Thank you Krista at REV3 for setting me up with this homestay, and thanks to Hope and Roger for your hospitality and support the entire race weekend! I really enjoyed the bike course; it didn't have the hills that I loved so much at Quassy, but I grew up only 3 hours east of Sandusky and the gentle rollers through the cornfields feel like home to me. I felt strong for most of the ride, with just one slightly down patch early in the second loop when I wondered if I had gone too hard at the beginning of the ride.

The two blips I alluded to earlier occurred late in the first loop; neither one cost me a lot of time (maybe 30-45 seconds each) but they were momentarily jarring. Blip #1 was a right-hand turn that was marked which should not have been a turn at all; due to an unfinished section of road the REV3 team had been forced to change the course a couple of days before the race and this was an arrow from the original course that had inadvertently been left on the road. Whoops! Several of the pro men rode extra miles, and the two guys near to me at that point (as well as the camera crew) all made the wrong turn. We quickly realized our mistake and turned around to get back on track, and one of the guys (I believe it was Brandon Marsh) stopped and peeled the errant arrow off of the road to prevent the entire field from straying off course. That was a classy thing to do; I'm a bit ashamed I didn't think of it myself.

The other blip was that I was initially given a stand-down penalty for a dropped water bottle---which I didn't drop! Just past the town of Berlin a motorcycle pulled up beside me and the camera crew, and a race official called out "Number 27, pull over and stand down for a penalty!" I slowed down and asked what I had done, and he said that I had dropped a water bottle at the last turn. I looked down at my bike and saw two water bottles---which is all that I had carried the whole day! I was flabbergasted and tried to explain that despite having 3 bottle cages on my bike, I had purposefully only been carrying two bottles all day long, and seeing as I still had two bottles there could be no way I had dropped one of them. I told the official he could look at the race footage if he didn't believe me, that the camera crew had been following me most of the day. I'm not sure why I said that, considering that it would have taken them longer than what my penalty was worth to go back and review the race footage...but I'm glad I did say it because it made the camera guys realize what was going on, and they looked at their own motorcycle and realized that THEY had dropped a water bottle!!! The camera crew then came to my rescue, revealed to the official that it was in fact they who had dropped a bottle, and the race official grudgingly let me go. He even apologized a little further up the road which I appreciated. I have all the respect in the world for the race officials, and in the grand scheme of things it wouldn't have been the end of my race to just keep quiet and serve the penalty...but I knew I was not in the wrong, and that if I let a bad call like that go it would have somehow been an insult to my integrity.

After those mishaps, the rest of the bike went smoothly. I stayed right on track with my nutrition plan (consisting of Kona Punch PowerGels, PowerBar Energy Bites, and boiled potatoes). It cooled down a bit for the last ten miles or so and there was evidence of rain on the roads, but I didn't get caught in any downpours all day long. I was able to build my lead a bit more throughout the bike, so I hit T2 with a decent cushion. The big question mark was if it was going to be enough to hold off the strong runners in the field. 26.2 miles is a long way! Kate Major (a.k.a "Mrs. Consistency") has been running me down all season long, and Kathleen Caulkins was riding well and is a dangerous runner. My run splits the first several miles made me a little nervous; they seemed a bit fast but I felt good and decided to adopt my "zen running" attitude that I generally follow in training. There are a couple of spots at the far end of the run course that give you a look at where the competition is and it appeared that Kathleen and Kate were gaining ground. I tried not to panic, to instead focus on holding my rhythm and remind myself that it's a long day and you never know what might happen. My next look at these ladies was at the beginning of lap #2; Kate had just moved into second place and Kathleen was walking. Her day unfortunately ended early but Kate was still creeping up behind me. I thought, "If I don't blow up I should be able to hold on for second place." At about mile 21 that mantra surprisingly changed. I got a good look at Kate on two successive out-and-back sections, realized she was about a mile behind and losing ground, did the mental math...and that's when it dawned on me: I was going to win this thing!

The last 5 miles were a real pleasure to run. I know that's a little batty to say after already having covered 135+ miles on your own manpower but it's true. I had the best cheering squad of family and friends that you could possibly hope for yelling for me at various points along the course the entire day, plus the incredibly supportive REV3 crew, spectators, volunteers, other competitors, and the positive energy of a whole network of friends and family who couldn't make the trip but were still rooting for me remotely throughout the day. Thank you one and all for your part in making the day so special! Running down the finishing chute, waving the American flag and lifting that finishing tape up above my head was an even sweeter feeling than I had imagined in my dream back in the beginnings of this season.

The breakdown: swim 56:09 bike 5:05:10 run 3:14:12 overall 9:19:15

This is a huge breakthrough for me, with an overall improvement from my lone other iron-distance triathlon by 48 minutes. The biggest chunks of time came off the bike and run splits. I've been known as more of a swimmer/biker so it's especially satisfying to throw down a respectable run split, proving to myself and those who doubted my running ability that I am becoming what I aim to be: an all-around strong triathlete. REV3 Cedar Point 2011 is absolutely the best performance I have ever put together. The momentum is with me now, and I'm excited to see what the future holds!

Thanks to: REV3---you guys are like family to me now!; my awesome cheering section consisting of Mom, Betsy, Zach, Courtney, Lucy, Zuzana, Alex, Mishka, and Jill; Hope and Roger Franklin for hosting me; Albert for accepting the inevitability of early mornings; Rich for his company on the long brick days; and to my sponsors PowerBar, BlueSeventy, Rudy Project, Wasatch Running Center, and Maxxis for their support.

Back To The Midwest

2011-09-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

It's funny, people out here in Utah think they live in the Midwest and that where I'm originally from (Elkhart, IN) is "back east". Little do they know! So I'm packing tonight to head back to the true Midwest for an action-packed week of family/friends time with a little bit of racing thrown in for spice. I've been looking forward to this trip all summer long and now it's finally here! Three top priorities for the week: meeting my new week-old nephew Brayden; picking my niece Maddie up from kindergarten on Thursday (she will get a kick out of that!); and venturing over to Sandusky, OH for a little iron-distance triathlon hosted by REV3 on Sunday. Woohoo! I'm currently sitting in third place in the overall REV3 Pro Series and I have a shot at moving up after this race. Can't wait to get out there and celebrate all the hard work I've been putting in! And I'll have a nice big cheering section of family and friends to help me along the way...that is always a great boost. I'm so lucky!

A Good Day At The Office

2011-08-21T07:19:00.001-07:00

Just a quick recap of the Mountain Tropic Tri held at Bear Lake last weekend and produced by BBSC Tri. I did the half ironman distance with the purpose of using it as a final tune-up race going into the REV3 Cedar Point Full Rev (iron-distance) next month. It was low-key, close to home, and the timing was just about perfect. I have done one or two BBSC events in the past and they do a good job with race organization, and Bear Lake is simply a stunning backdrop for an event like this.

The night before the race was a little hectic. Albert and I had the dogs and were camping---as it turns out, everybody and their mother was also camping at the same campground as us. I have never before seen so many people crowded into a campground! It was a zoo, and with loudmouth Suzzie telling us whenever a little kid ran by or if there was another dog cruising through if was far from a relaxing experience. Next time we're going primitive!

The race itself went really well for me: decent swim, strong bike and run. I chose to swim in my a speedsuit rather than a wetsuit because the water temp. was just on that fine line of being too warm for a wetsuit. The men had about a 3 minute head start so there were definitely people to chase down once my wave got started. I ended up exiting the water just on the heels of another girl and with only a handful of men out ahead of us. My transition was quick and I mounted the bike in first place for the women. The bike course consisted of two out-and-back sections, the first on the busier west side of the lake and the second on the more remote (and more beautiful!) east side of the water. The nature of the course gave you a good look at where you were in relation to the other racers. There were just a couple of men up the road from me so I got to work on trying to close the gap. I caught one of them but was passed by another, so by the time I hit T2 there were still two men up the road from me, the closest one having about a 2 minute lead. I decided to "go fishing" and try to reel them in, using the game to pull me to a good run split. My little game worked and I passed both men by the time we hit mile 4. From there it was a matter of keeping my rhythm and staying on top of fueling, which was really good practice for the times in the full distance next month when I'll be spending a lot of time in my own head.

The end result was 1st place female as well as first overall, with a new PR at the half ironman distance. And it was at almost 6000ft. elevation! All in all a very successful training day and a good indication of things to come next month.

Also a shout out to my client Nate Marcotte for his stellar day, placing 3rd overall male and improving his half ironman time by a good 40 minutes. Way to go Nate, and good luck at IM Louisville next weekend!

Thanks to Albert for taking care of the dogs while I was racing, and to the Philpots for their cheers out on the more lonesome parts of the course.

Next up: REV3 Cedar Point on Sept. 11th!

Shooting the Gap

2011-08-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

I arrived back home early this morning (the 12:30am type of early) after a quick little jaunt to Illinios/Indiana/Ohio for the Giant Eagle Triathlon in Columbus. This race caught my eye after the Battle at Midway (aka BAM, one of my all-time favorite local Utah races) was sadly cancelled this year and I was left looking for an alternative Olympic-distance event in late July. HFP Racing did a nice job assembling some great corporate support (Giant Eagle, Muscle Milk) and put together a weekend-long multi-sport festival which included a strong professional field in Sunday's race. It was kind of fun to "step down" in distance and test myself against some really speedy short-course specialists at this point of the season when most people are pretty fit.

Unfortunately I was coming down with a bug and never really felt great at any point of the race, but I was able to squeak into the money with a 7th-place finish in a respectable time of 2:01:59. It was a FAST course with the top five ladies all breaking the 2-hour mark; in retrospect I'm pleased to have been in the same zip code on an off day. My swim was horrendous, probably one of the worst open water swims I've ever had. The water was a steamy 84.9 degrees which is bad news for me; I'm not sure if it's having a lot of surface area from being tall, growing up doing 6am swim practices in an unheated outdoor pool, or if I just plain run hot in the water...but I am a much happier clam swimming in cold water.

Whatever the case, it was hot and I swam poorly. This made me mad so I started off the bike like a bat out of hell. The first section of the course was on some nice smooth rolling roads in the area just south of Alum Creek State Park, before continuing onto "The Main Drag" (Hwy. 23/High Street) for a straight shot south into downtown Columbus. It's neat doing a point-to-point course into a big city and I have to hand it to the local police department and race volunteers for doing a great job directing traffic at the intersections. There was, however, a glitch in between the intersections. While the far right-hand lane was coned off for the race the entire way down Hwy. 23, there were still some cars parked in that lane once we got closer to the downtown area. It was feasible to ride to the very left of the coned-off lane to squeeze by the parked cars, or if it was a really tight fit you could even swing outside of the cones into the left lane and still be relatively safe. The real problem occurred when a city bus stopped in the left-hand lane directly beside a car that was parked in the right-hand/bike course lane to let passengers off...at exactly the moment when I was barreling through at 24 miles-per-hour. My choices were to a) slam on my brakes, b) swing suddenly out around the bus on the left-hand side into on-coming traffic, or c) try to shoot the gap between the car and the bus. I wasn't sure exactly who/what was behind me so I made the split-second decision to stay in my lane and try to zip between the two vehicles before the bus door actually opened and people started getting off. I almost made it. No one was hurt and I didn't have to come to a complete stop, but I'm certain that if the bus passengers were not fully awake as they started climbing off the bus they surely were jolted to attention by my yelling! Nothing profane, just a string of loud "heads-up-heads-up-heads-ups"!

Once I got past that obstacle the rest of the ride was uneventful. T2 and the finish line area were in a really pretty grassy square called McFerson Commons in the Arena District. I hopped off the bike with two other girls hot on my heels so I took off hard on the run to see if I could drop them. The first one caught me about a mile in and I wasn't able to match her speed, but when the second girl pulled up beside me I pushed the pace and really raced her for a solid mile on the backstretch of the first loop. It felt good to have the mental and physical strength to be able to do that. Eventually I cracked though and she opened up a gap that remained pretty constant until the finish line.

This race was a good reminder that there are always going to be things beyond your control; it’s a matter of preparing for the more constant variables and then keeping a cool head when faced with unexpected mishaps. I can do things in training to prepare more effectively for swimming faster in warm water and for improving my ability to hang tough in a duel on the run. The bus/car incident, on the other hand, was one of those random things that you don’t ever imagine being an issue during a race. Sure, the event company could have posted “No Parking” signs the night before the race and then towed away any stray cars that were there race morning. But the fact of the matter is that they didn’t and I had to decide how to react in one of those weird perfect storm situations…and then carry on with the task at hand.

Overall it was a fun little trip to the Midwest despite having a sub-par performance. I flew into Chicago, took the Orange Line train downtown, hopped on the South Shore Train bound for South Bend, and then met my mom at the train station for the 40 minute drive to Elkhart. It was a dry run of the same travel arrangements that I’ll follow in 5 weeks when I head back to the Midwest for the REV3 Cedar Point race. It was great having my mom and brother out supporting me, as well as my dear friend Courtney and her 9-yr-old daughter Lucy. Lou---you did a great job blowing the vuvzela!

Thanks to Shannon Kurek and the HFP Racing crew for organizing this event; to Ryan and Jill Cantzler for their awesome hospitality in absentia; to Mom, Adam, Courtney and Lucy for coming out to cheer; to Nicki and Megan for the tasty post-race banquet; to Albert for tending the garden and taking care of the dogs; and to PowerBar, BlueSeventy, Rudy Project, Maxxis, and Wasatch Running Center for their continued support.

REV3 Portland

2011-07-14T19:34:00.000-07:00

It's been seven days now and the dust has settled after my latest adventure in the Pacific Northwest. Albert and I loaded up the car with camping and triathlon gear, settled the dogs down in the way back and headed northwest for a week-long race-cation in Portland, OR. We were lucky enough to have family to stay with for the majority of the trip (спасибо Edward and Valentina!), and even more family and friends to come out and cheer on race day. Many thanks to the REV3 crew for their impeccable (albeit inadvertently so) choice in race locations!

The days leading up to the race were filled with similar activities to what we normally do at home; some swim/bike/run mixed in exercising the dogs. Our "challenged" dog does not have very nice manners around other canines but we're working on improving that flaw. There is a really great dog park close to Gresham where we took Sherman and Suzzie almost everyday for some much-need social skills training and hiking. It was just what the doggie doctor ordered! Suzzie is not 100% cured but she's doing a lot better now...it's a relief to know she's not going to eat every single other dog we come across---just the smaller tastier ones. ;)

Back to the race. I was much more relaxed going into this race than I have been for the last few events and was able to sleep soundly the night before. I chalk it up to being in a familiar place doing familiar things. For once race morning did not come early! A solid night's sleep, plus traveling one time zone west and having a rare 8:00am start time made for a nicely relaxed morning. The big question mark as everyone was setting up their gear was whether or not it would be a wetsuit legal swim for the pros. The answer was no which was fine by me; I had packed my trusty BlueSeventy PointZero swimskin just in case and I prefer a cooler swim anyway. The women's pro field took off at 8:05am, five minutes after the men. I chose a spot to the far right of the field for the beach run-in because I prefer to avoid the tangle of arms and legs and find some clean water as quickly as possible. The sprint to the first buoy was FAST. After the first turn the pace let up and I was able to swing around a couple of girls and settle into a nice rhythm in second place. The leader's feet were too far away to catch (holy smokes Meredith, that was a great swim!) but I focused on keeping my turnover up and my head in the game. Ha---keeping the turnover up is all relative of course; I saw some footage of the swim and compared to the other girls my arms move in slow motion! But then again, my wingspan is about twice as wide as any of the other ladies who were racing...that makes a difference, right?!

I exited Blue Lake about a minute behind Meredith but with another minute lead on the next pack of swimmers. The run to transition was almost a half mile long, the highlight of which was seeing my sister and her husband cheering for me somewhere along the path through the park. Have I mentioned how great it is to race in places where I've got family/friends to come out and whoop it up?! T1 went smoothly and I got out onto the FLAT FLAT FLAT bike course quickly. The original course was going to be extremely hilly with the swim/transition/finish all in downtown Portland but there were some last-minute permit issues and the REV3 crew had to scramble to find a new venue so that the show could go on. They did an incredible job bringing it all together and the REV3 experience did not suffer one bit from the eleventh-hour changes.

The bike was two out-and-back laps on a road flanked by the Columbia River on one side and the Portland Airport on the other. There was a nice view of Mt. Hood on the second half of each loop---if you had the presence of mind to lift your eyes from the road for a minute to see it. (I did.) Some people might assume that a flat course is an easy course, but staying focused and keeping the pedal to the metal for 56 flat miles is not a walk in the park. There wasn't much wind to speak of, but there was a section of rough and "humming" road that took some mental fortitude to endure. I rode a good part of the first lap keying off of two of the slower pro men, trying to control the damage that Meredith was doing to the rest of the field while increasing the gap between me and my pursuers. I knew I would need a considerable cushion going into the run because it is my weakest link and there were some fleet-footed ladies on my tail. On the second bike lap I focused on catching whoever was up the road, which happened to be a string of age-groupers on their first lap. At one point I even tried racing an airplane that was just revving up for take-off...I thought I had it for a minute but then it kicked into a higher gear and left me in the dust. :)

The run: it was probably in my best interest that it ended up being a flat run course. I've been working hard at sealing this chink in the armor but there's still a lot of work to do; at this point it's easier for me to hold my form and pace together on flat terrain. I was greeted at the start of the run by my cheering squad which was a nice boost and put a smile on my face. The first few miles ticked by pretty quickly and I was pleased to settle into a relatively comfortable 6:45 pace. If I held it together I would be able to break 1:30 which would be a first for me in a triathlon. The initial out-and-back section of the run gave me a good look at who was behind me and what kind of gaps there were. Time for some mental math! I figured it would be a real battle to hang onto second place and even third place might be questionable, so I buckled down and kept my feet moving as fast as I could. It took Kate until mile 8 to catch me which is 2-3 miles longer than at Quassy so there's an improvement! Coming back from the far turnaround I got another look at the field and knew that barring a complete blow-up I would come in third. Miles 11 and 12 were long straights that were mentally challenging, but they were followed by the nice surprise of a somewhat short mile 13. Rounding the last bend into the finishing chute was awesome and I'm sure I was grinning like the Cheshire cat. At the end of the day I ran a 1:28+ split with an overall time of 4:25 and change, both of which were significant improvements for me.

It's such a great feeling to FINALLY have gotten my act together in training and to see the consistent hard work paying off. I've definitely got some good momentum going right now and I'm eager to keep it rolling through the second half of the season. Five races down, five to go!

Thanks go to: Charlie, Eric, Krista, and the rest of the REV3 staff and volunteers for making this race happen; Stu, Jen, and the entire camera crew for the great coverage; Albert, Valentina, Edward, Val, Kira, John, Rachel, Nathan, Marie, Daniel, Dave, and Kara for all coming out to cheer; the ladies field for the strong competition; my clients/athletes for understanding the week-long absence; and to my sponsors PowerBar, BlueSeventy, Rudy Project, Maxxis, and Wasatch Running Center for continuing to support my athletic endeavors.

Results so far:
REV3 Costa Rica 8th
REV3 Knoxville 5th
REV3 Quassy 8th
Dino Tri 1st
REV3 Portland 3rd

Upcoming:
Giant Eagle Tri (Olympic)
Mountain Tropic Tri (Half)
REV3 Cedar Point (Full)
REV3 South Carolina (Half)
ITU Long Course World Champs (a really weird longer-than-half-but-shorter-than-full distance)

Getting It Done At Dino Tri

2011-07-02T08:34:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I competed in the annual Dinoland Triathlon in Vernal, Utah. I must say it certainly is nice to do a "local" race every once in a while, with minimal travel logistics to organize beforehand. Nothing like packing up the tent, hopping in the car with the dogs, hitting the road for a few hours and voila....you're there! This race is fun to do for several reasons: it's well-organized, has a nicely challenging course with a unique finish on a high school track, and it features a bit of a prize purse which typically draws in some quality athletes from Utah, Colorado, and Idaho. This year was no exception. There were some slight changes to the bike course due to road construction and the run course was entirely revamped (which I LOVED!), but the heart of the event stayed true. So did the finishing sprint around the track!

I came into the Dino Tri in the middle of a big block of training so I was not exactly fresh on race day, but my mindset was to get out and race hard to get in a good tune-up going into REV3 Portland (on July 10th). The swim is held at Red Fleet State Park in a gorgeous little piece of water with sandstone walls. The elite men and women started together, which can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the size of the field. This is a smaller race so it made for a relatively friendly swim---not much clobbering going on. I was in a little pack of 3 or 4 swimmers for the first lap, then was able to build my effort and create a bit of a gap on the second lap. I came out of the water in 4th position, with two men and one woman up the (steep) boat ramp ahead of me. I peeled off my BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit and transitioned quickly, hitting the mount line ahead of the girl who out-swam me. So I was sitting in first place among the ladies, a position I was determined to hold for the rest of the day.

The first two miles of this bike course are downright tough; the climbs are reminiscent of the hills coming out of the water at Wildflower, only they occur as soon as you get your pedals moving. This was my third time doing the Dino Tri so I knew what to expect but it's a humbling experience nonetheless. I'm sure the altitude has something to do with it as well---I believe Vernal is about 1000 feet higher than Salt Lake, and coming out of a hard swim and having to tackle those hills right away on the bike makes you acutely aware of your lungs!

The other challenging part of this bike course is the false flats. After the initial climbs out of Red Fleet there is a nice bombing downhill section, then a long section where you wonder why it suddenly feels like your brakes are rubbing. Once you hit the turnaround it becomes obvious that you were actually going gradually uphill the whole time; then you can really turn it on and feel like a rockstar! Overall I was able to put in a solid effort on the bike and built about another minute onto my lead over the next female competitor. Two men had passed me early in the bike leg, so at this point I was sitting in 5th place overall.

Once I hit T2 I was ready for a good run. I had seen at the bike turnaround that my friend BJ (who is a helluva runner) was riding with the second place female; my goal was to hold him off as long as possible. So I took off like a bat out of hell to see if I could be "out of sight, out of mind". It worked until maybe 2.5 miles in when BJ came roaring up behind me. Then my strategy changed to hanging onto his coattails as long as I could...which wasn't long, but I was pleasantly surprised to keep him (almost) in sight the rest of the run. The final 300 meters on the track was a blast, and hitting the finishing tape first among the ladies (and 6th place including the men!) felt great. I found out afterwards that my official run split was 39:45---my first time ever under 40 minutes on a legitimate 10K run course. I know that's nothing compared to what the top ladies in the sport are running, but it's a step in the right direction and a good sign going into Portland.

Thanks go out to the following for this race: Mark Mason and the entire Dino Tri team for putting on a great event; BJ for the extra motivation out on the course; Albert, Suzzie, and Sherman for their cheers and woofs; my training partner Rich for humbling me into running hard off the bike; BlueSeventy, PowerBar, Rudy Project, Maxxis, and Wasatch Running Center for their continued support; and to the community of Vernal for supporting this awesome event. Can't wait to come back and defend the title next year!

REV3 Knoxville and Quassy Videos

2011-06-12T19:24:00.000-07:00

REV3 does a great job with media coverage, including post-race recaps. Here are the links to the Knoxville and Quassy event recaps...you have to wait until the very end of the Knoxville one for any mention of me (and they slaughter my name but I'm in there nonetheless!) but I get some good coverage on the Quassy video. And they got my name right on that one. :)

http://vimeo.com/23773835

http://vimeo.com/24723325

REV3 Quassy Trip in Pictures

2011-06-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

REV3 Quassy Trip

2011-06-12T17:03:00.000-07:00

It's been one week since REV3 Quassy and things have finally settled back into a normal rhythm. Quassy is a race that I've had on my mind for the past year and I'm so glad that everything came together so that I could make the trip back east to compete, visit family, catch up with old friends and make some new ones along the way. It was a very full and fulfilling trip; one that I look forward to repeating next year.

It started with a flight into NYC. Why did I chose to fly in and out of the Big Apple, you might ask? Location, location, location! It was central enough to all the places I wanted to visit while out there so that my furthest drive would not be more than 3 hours. My plan was to visit my friend and once-upon-a-time training partner Rudy (Adam Rudin) whom I had not seen in six years (!!!), not since the last time I did the NYC Triathlon. Rudy also set me up with a place to stay while I was in New York...in a convent! I had to chuckle over this since I am not exactly nun-worthy material, but it ended up being a wonderful place to get a good QUIET night's sleep as my friend Betsy pointed out. It's not actually an active convent anymore and there are only three (non-nun) girls living there at the moment, so there's lots of space to rattle around in. I met two of the girls, Jayne and Terry, both extraordinarily friendly and generous people. Thank you ladies for your hospitality!

After my night in the nunnery I made the drive up to Middlebury, CT, to the race site at Quassy Amusement Park. What a location! Lake Quassapaug is a perfect little piece of water to swim in, the amusement park itself is a friendly size, and the surrounding countryside is picturesque with wonderful leafy green trees and rolling hills. I knew immediately that this course was going to suit me. I did a bit of training and previewed the bike course, then met up with my homestay Kim Dubord later in the day. Thank you Kim and Sheri for adopting me for this race! Kim raced in the Olympic-distance race on Saturday, and both she and Sheri came out to cheer me on in the Half-Rev on Sunday. They were awesome!

Saturday consisted of an early morning run on the rail trail close to Kim's house, a rousing game of frisbee with Hannah the Golden Retriever, then the usual day-before-the-race routine of organizing gear, pre-race meetings, and trying to relax. It helped that Saturday was "movie night" at my homestay house. I finally wound down for bed a little later than I would have liked, but it didn't matter because I barely slept a wink anyway with all the butterflies dancing around in my stomach!

Race morning came early (why do I insist on traveling east to race?!). I was able to get to the race site without any problems (unlike Knoxville) and I had plenty of time to set up my gear and warm up properly before the gun went off. The pro men started at 6:50am and the ladies followed 3 minutes later. The water temperature was just above the allowable limit for professionals to wear wetsuits, so I suited up in my BlueSeventy PointZero3 swimskin. The swim was solid---I was able to build my effort throughout and work my way up to 6th place coming out of the water, right on the feet of defending Hawaii Ironman World Champion Mirinda Carfrae. My transition was quick and I got onto the bike ahead of Rinny, although I almost blew my usually smooth flying mount when one of my cycling shoes flipped and I had a bit of a wobbly struggle to get it righted again. Thank goodness I didn't tip over! That would have been rather embarrassing. I headed out on the bike course and got right to work. I've been putting in a lot of cycling miles lately, what with my commuting routine and doing long rides with my awesome training partner Rich on the weekends, so I was not afraid to attack this course. I overtook a couple of girls within the first few miles then realized that I had company with Rinny and Jessica Meyers right on my tail. We rode in a nice little pack for a while and I was pleasantly surprised to not only hang with them but feel completely in control of the pace. Eventually we reeled in Liz Blatchford; at that point I threw in a little acceleration up a hill and was able to establish a bit of a gap that lasted the rest of the ride. There had been a media crew following us pretty much the whole way, and I assumed it was because Rinny was in the group---the World Champ definitely deserves the coverage! I was a bit surprised that the camera followed me on that break, and it wasn't until somewhere between 35-40 miles when a spectator yelled at me to "go get her!" that it dawned on me that I was in second place!!! Wow, that was a pretty cool position to be in amongst such a tough field of competitors. It was a MASSIVE breakthrough for me...realizing that I can ride with some of the best ladies in the world and, more importantly, giving myself permission to do so.

Hopping off the bike in second place behind the great Julie Dibens at Quassy is hands-down the most exhilarating moment of my triathlon career thus far. But there is still work to be done. My running form is not where it needs to be to compete at the top level in this sport. It was a good run for me considering where my training currently is and how challenging the course was, but there is plenty of room for improvement both physically and mentally in the third leg of the race. I slid from 2nd place to 8th place by the end of the race---a statistic I am not especially pleased with. I would have been absolutely thrilled with a top-five finish at this event; top-eight is a good showing but I am hungry for more and I know what needs to be done to get there. So now it's back to work before the next string of races!

This race was special to me not only for my performance, but also because my Aunt Candy (#1 Philly Fan) was able to make the trip up from New Jersey to cheer and share the experience with me. She is a classically trained singer and knows how to project her voice---a great quality to have in someone rooting for you! After the awards ceremony we hopped in our respective vehicles and caravaned south (through NYC traffic---ugh) to the Philadelphia area where I spent two very special days visiting my relatives in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and getting back to my eastern roots. I visited with my elderly grandparents as well as a smattering of aunts and uncles, and met one of my cousins for the first time ever. I also had the opportunity to go up in the new Comcast tower in Philly (my aunt works there) and meet a bunch of her co-workers, who apparently know all about me and are part of my Philly Fan Club. We also made a side trip to where my aunt takes horse-riding lessons (she competes in dressage) and met her wonderful trainer Joanie and her mother Joanne. Wonderful people! Crossing paths with so many great people made the trip that much more memorable...thank you each and every one for your part in making my journey a special one!

On my way out I headed back to NYC where I had a nice pizza dinner with Rudy and his girlfriend Lucy, packed up my bike, and spent one more very short night in the convent before catching an early morning flight back to Salt Lake. When Albert and I got back from the airport we were greeted by two dogs with vigorously wagging tails...I think they missed me...and by some new plants poking their heads up out of the ground in the garden! I can taste those fresh home-grown tomatoes already. Yum.

Thanks as always to my sponsors (PowerBar, BlueSeventy, Rudy Project, Maxxis, Wasatch Running Center) for their support, to the great folks at REV3 for putting on a good show, and to my family, friends, clients, training partners, and other random people I've met along the way who have encouraged me and contributed in some way to my success.

Next up: a local one at Dinoland, then REV3 Portland on July 10th---another family trip!

REV3 Knoxville Pics

2011-06-12T16:49:00.000-07:00

REV3 Knoxville Report

2011-06-09T19:39:00.000-07:00

Triathlon season is in full swing and I've been a busy little bee the past month! I traveled first to Tennessee for the REV3 Knoxville Olympic distance race in mid-May, then made an excursion to the east coast this past weekend for REV3 Quassy in Middlebury, CT. One of the reasons I have chosen to race the REV3 series this year is because 3 of the 6 events are close to places where I have family...and it's turning out that I now have friends in all these places, so I'll just have to come back and do the series again next year!

Before I go any further I want to send out a huge THANK YOU to REV3 for the great races they are putting on. It's wonderful to go to events and feel like you really know the people behind the scenes...because you do! The same people are on location at each race doing what needs to be done and doing an extraordinary job of taking care of the athletes and making sure that everyone has a great experience. The races are well organized and professionally done, with great media coverage and all the little touches (like personalized bib numbers and bike rack labels, and your picture on the jumbo-tron when you finish) that make a race like this special. The courses are challenging and fair, not to mention beautiful! Keep up the awesome work, REV3!

REV3 Knoxville:
I went into this race knowing that I had some consistent hard work under my belt, but not really having a good point of reference for how my fitness would stack up amongst a tough field of competitors. My weekend started off on a less-than-smooth note when my flight out of Salt Lake was delayed 3 hours and it was questionable whether or not I would make my connection in Denver. Frustrating! We FINALLY got off the ground in a little puddle-jumper plane (one where I was looking out UNDER the wing instead of above it) and made it to Denver with 10 minutes to spare until my connecting flight took off. Whew! I watched them load my bike on too so that was a huge relief. Otherwise the trip to Tennessee went as planned. I flew into Nashville then rented a car to drive over to Knoxville, where I stayed with my wonderful host family, Kellie and Bradley Toon and their boys Kaleb and Evan. The Toons also had visitors from North and South Carolina in for the weekend who were all racing as well (Carin, Trish, and Todd) so it was quite a house full of triathletes and bikes! Huge props go out to Krista Baker for setting me up with such a great host family!

The day before the race we all headed over for packet pick-up and meetings and to check out the course. Knoxville is a really cool little city with a lot of character; the swim was in the river going right under some bridges, the bike course headed out into the rolling countryside, and the run meandered along the river, onto a bike path through the University of Tennessee campus, then back and finished up right in the middle of the Worlds Fair Park. I knew as soon as I started driving the bike course that it was going to suit me---I LOVE rolling hills! And the canopy of trees always makes me feel like I'm in Star Wars "Return of the Jedi", zipping through the forest on a flying motorcycle. We don't have close trees like that out west so it's always a real treat to race in a place with a deciduous forest! The rest of pre-race day was pretty routine: organize the gear, relax, get a good dinner (thanks for the wonderful grilled chicken Bradley!), and trying to get as much sleep as you can expect when there are butterflies dancing around in your stomach.

Race morning came EARLY. Nashville is only one hour ahead of Salt Lake, but Knoxville is two hours ahead, and that makes a BIG difference! I insisted on leaving the house half an hour earlier than everyone else, but I might as well have left with them because I got a little turned around in the old part of Knoxville and spent that extra 30 minutes trying to get myself oriented to where our secret little parking lot was. So I arrived a little flustered and later than I planned. Not much time for a good warm-up! But it turned out alright and I had enough time to set up my gear, visit the port-a-potty, slip into my wetsuit and jog down to the swim start. The swim itself went pretty well; I've been working on a higher turnover and more efficient arms and I felt really comfortable in my new BlueSeventy Helix with its super-flexible arms. I came out of the water in 5th, behind the usual suspects but ahead of some strong swimmers as well. A mile into the bike things started to go a little bit wrong: I followed a straight line of cones that appeared to mark the course through an intersection, only to discover that I was off course! This was a first for me in a race. Luckily I didn't go far before realizing my mistake, but probably lost a good 20-30 seconds getting myself turned around and back on course. It was only later that I found out I was not the only one... apparently at least four of us went of course early in the bike. Could it have been marked a little more clearly? Yes, but ultimately we as competitors are responsible for knowing the course and that's that.

That was error #1. Error #2 became evident right after I strayed off course. My front-mount water bottle was loose! This was a problem because it is an oddly shaped aerobottle that does not fit into a normal water bottle cage. It was an even bigger problem because it was the only source of fluid I had with me and I wasn't sure if there would be an aid station on the Olympic distance course. But I had to make a snap decision and risk it...so I "took care of the problem" and crossed my fingers. Luckily there did turn out to be an aid station at Mile 15, and the weather was cool enough that going without fluid would not have turned out to be a disaster anyway.

Error #3 reared its ugly head once I hit the hills out of town. I had spent a fair amount of time on my race bike on the trainer over the winter, but had only just stared riding it outdoors two weeks before the race. The bike behaved alright on the trainer but it was NOT behaving properly on these hills in Tennessee! The chain kept shifting from the big ring to the small ring at inopportune times...like when I was stood up to climb a hill. So while I loved the bike course, I did not love myself for having failed to get the bike tuned before racing season. Dumb mistake! One that I vow to never repeat. My bike got some major TLC as soon as I got back to Utah, believe me!

Bad thing #4 occurred at the bike turnaround on a narrow country road. It was a tight 180 degree turn, and I had two girls right on my tail...and a media or race official motorcycle alongside us. Whoever was driving the motorcycle was not paying attention because as I rounded the turn, they swerved to the left lane---the very one I was turning into! YIKES! Luckily they realized their mistake before crashing head-on into me, but it was pretty scary and got my heart rate up for sure!

Despite all these mishaps on the bike, I still rode a respectable time and felt strong. It was a good reinforcement lesson that even though things do not always go smoothly, you have to keep a cool head; it would be easy to let these things get in your head and ruin your race. I was able to react quickly and learn from the mistakes that I had control over, so I won't make those same errors again. I got off the bike just behind another girl in 6th place, then decided to go for broke on the run. I was able to establish a gap right away and just kept my feet moving as quickly as I could. At the turnaround point I was able to see who was behind me...it was a whole bunch of really quick runners! I felt great and kept pushing, determined to hold off the chasers. And I did! I think this is a first for me in higher profile professional race; usually I get swallowed up by the faster runners. I was absolutely THRILLED to cross the finish line in 5th place female and 2nd American in a stacked field. It felt almost like I had won the whole thing!

After finishing I went back out on the course with Bradley and the boys to see Kellie, Todd, Carin, and Trish start the run. It was so great to cheer them on and be able to see them all cross the finish line...Kellie and her boys all together, of course! All in all it was a great day, and we celebrated by going out to a delicious dinner involving steak and potatoes. Thanks again to the Toons and their house-full for making me feel like part of the family...can't wait to see you all in South Carolina this October!

In retrospect, this race was an big step for me. I learned that I need to be a little more professional about inspecting my gear before a race and making sure everything is in working order. I was tested on how well I react to hitting various snags while on the race course. Most importantly, I learned that I really do belong in the thick of things; there is still much work to do and I'm certainly not resting on my laurels, but it's heartening to know that I have finally given myself permission to race with the big girls---and that I am doing the right things in training to back it up.

Thanks as always go out to Powerbar, BlueSeventy, Maxxis, Rudy Project, and Wasatch Running Center for their support; to Albert for carrying a large part of the domestic load so that I can train; to my family, friends, clients, and fans for their understanding, encouragement, and cheers; and to my training partner Rich for helping to draw out the best in me. I couldn't do it without all of you!

Coming soon...REV3 Quassy Report and pictures!!!

Images from IMSG

2011-05-10T20:03:00.000-07:00

Giving Back

2011-05-10T19:56:00.000-07:00

I had the opportunity to volunteer at IM St. George this past weekend...what a blast! I spent most of Friday in the PowerBar booth at the race expo, hanging out with fellow Team Elite member Travis (a short-track speed skater) and talking to people as they wandered through the expo. That afternoon I helped out at the kids run---what a hoot! On race morning, I was stationed in T1 to identify swimmers coming out of the water and get their gear bags to them before they went into the change tent. Later in the day I was at the Journey Junction aide station on the run course. I handed out a lot of ice and coke, but I figure I still have a long way to go to make up for all the cups that have been handed ot me over the years...

It was a really great day, hot but pretty good for racing. Here's a shout-out to my athletes, Rich Webb and Nate Marcotte, who had strong days out there, to BJ Christensen for nabbing his Kona slot, to Chris Eaves for a phenomenal day, to Sarah Goldberg for killing it in the swim, and to all the other athletes who were Ironmen on that day. Congratulations!

Also, thanks to my friend Shay for the fun trip, and to the Olsen family for letting us stay at their house. You guys are awesome!

In a couple of days I'll head to Tennessee for the REV3 Knoxville Olympic Distance race. After nearly 3 months with no triathlons I'm really itching to go!

My Famous Family

2011-04-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?ID=540111

Here's a nice little story from the Elkhart Truth about my dad and my brother. They coach track and cross-country for cross-town rival high schools in my hometown (Elkhart, Indiana) and are currently in the heart of their track season. Enjoy!

One Foot In Front Of The Other

2011-04-17T19:12:00.000-07:00

As you can see from my previous post, life is pretty busy in the Homo-Wint household so you'll have to forgive the severe lack of blogging. Weekdays are typically jam-packed from dawn to dusk and by the time the weekends roll around I just feel like slowing things down and doing more "normal people" activities. Although somehow I keep signing up for running races on the weekends. I just counted it up: I have done running events on six out of the past ten Saturdays! After next weekend I'll be at seven of eleven. I also sneaked in an Olympic Distance triathlon (in Costa Rica) and signed up for a metric century bike ride (which I bailed on due to really crappy weather) in these same past ten weeks. Isn't this what perfectly normal people do with their weekends?!

My rationale for the running races is that it's all great training for the bigger picture. It keeps me motivated by providing "mini-targets" to aim for while at the same time it's a great way to measure early season progress and get a little practice racing and pacing. It's a nice way to reaffirm that the hard work you're putting in is paying off. I've incorporated running "training races" in my early season plan the last several years and adamantly believe that it has been a huge help in setting the groundwork for a strong triathlon season. Although I must admit, this year definitely tops them all for the total number of early season running events that I've done!

I actually started this year a bit less running fit than past years, due to taking some extended time off in the winter to work through a lingering ankle and foot issue. So I've found myself racing my way into running shape; it has been a new and interesting experience! With the exception of one minor blip in Moab (where I ran an all-around dumb race that was made especially memorable when I got tangled up with another runner) I've been able to maintain a steady rate of improvement. For the real running aficionados out there you can search my results at:

http://www.slctrackclub.org/raceResults.html (10K and 15K)

http://www.moabhalfmarathon.org/halfmarathon/results.cfm (Half Marathon)

http://www.stridersrunning.com/ (10 Mile, Half Marathon, and soon-to-be 30K)

http://www.racecenter.com/results/ (Salt Lake City Half Marathon)

Despite all these various events, I really do manage to squeeze in some normal activities as well! Yesterday I spent most of the day (after running the Salt Lake Half of course) tinkering around in the yard and preparing the garden beds for planting. We're putting in raised beds so that we can manage the soil more effectively and (hopefully) keep the dogs out of the vegetables, so Albert and I made a trip to our favorite home-improvement store Lowes (I swear we live there!) to buy lumber, steer manure, soil, and wood chips. I also played around with my brand-spanking-new cultivator! I turned a whopping two rows before I managed to get it stuck in the firethorn bushes along the back fence and had to call Albert to the rescue.

I've also recently worked on a little art project for my mom: two sets of Russian nesting egg dolls for her (belated) birthday gift. She had requested one set of birds and another set of safari animals. I think she originally envisioned that Albert the resident aaaah-tist would paint them for her, but he's been so busy studying for his CRT exam that they just weren't getting done. So I took the bull by the horns and painted them myself! And had an absolutely marvelous time doing it. It was really great to get back to my artistic roots and let the creative juices flow...and they turned out really well, if I do say so myself! I was really looking forward to her reaction when they arrived in the mail…too bad that my parents’ too-smart-for-his-own-good border collie Erskine took a liking to them and ate the zebra and the chimpanzee within ten minutes of my mom opening the package. Oh well, I guess it gives me an excuse to paint a few more eggs…

The third big recent project has been the installation of our second bathroom...which is going to take more time but we're not in a rush. We spent a weekend knocking out the old galvanized steel pipes and replacing them with PEX, which was actually rather thrilling! I never though I'd be one for plumbing but I really enjoyed it. It's another of those projects that we started but had to take a break from because of Albert's exams. His semester is essentially over now though and The Big Exam has been passed (!!!) so we'll probably start tackling the bathroom again soon.

As you can see, there is never a dull moment...

...stay posted for upcoming events! I've got several exciting ones coming up: REV3 Knoxville on May 15th, REV3 Quassy on June 5th, and REV3 Portland on July 10th are the next set of three. Check them out at http://rev3tri.com/ and come on out to cheer me on if any of them are in your neck of the woods!

The Egg Project

2011-04-17T19:10:00.000-07:00

A Day In The Life, Or Why I Am So Bad With Updates

2011-04-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

Here is what a typical weekday looks like for me:

5am wake-up time
5:30-6:30am swim practice
6:30-6:55am rush home, eat breakfast, put on bike gear
7:16am catch Frontrunner train
8:07am arrive at Salt Lake Central Train Station
8:07-8:30am bike to 24Hour Fitness
8:30-8:55am shower, eat breakfast #2
9am-noon train clients
12-12:40pm strength training or run workout
12:40-12:55pm shower, eat lunch
1-3pm train clients
3:10pm leave the gym
3:10-4:40pm bike intervals up to Farmington Station
4:46pm catch Frontrunner Train to Ogden
5:16pm arrive at Ogden Station
5:30pm arrive home
5:30-6pm unwind, check e-mail
6pm easy trail run with dogs
7pm dinner
8pm organize for the next day
9:30pm bedtime

Costa Rica Favorites

2011-03-06T13:30:00.000-08:00

It's been two weeks since my adventure in Costa Rica...plenty of time to reflect and mentally compose a blog post in my head, but unfortunately I haven't actually had the time to write anything down! Here is a day-by-day summary of the highlights:

Day 1: Wednesday, February 16th
- Early morning flight, SLC to Houston...escaped with no fee for the bike!!!
- 6 hour layover in Houston (joyful)
- Landed in Liberia, Costa Rica at 8:30pm in excitingly windy conditions.
- Tiny open-air airport in Liberia, customs were on the casual end of the spectrum.
- 1 hour 20 min. shuttle to Hacienda Panilla with Sebastian, the friendly tour guide.
- Met strict security at the entrance gate to the resort but eventually admitted.
- Randomly drove around the resort for a while before finally finding Casa de Golf.
- Settled in for the night!

Day 2: Thursday, February 17th
- Nice light breakfast with yummy fresh Costa Rican papaya, mango, grapes, & banana.
- Went for a run in the resort, which is also a wildlife preserve. It was HOT.
- Saw some anorexic cows.
- Met two of the other girls in the house, Bree and Annie.
- Built bike and rode it. Saw a squashed iguana in the road. :(
- Hitched a ride with some other athletes to the race site resort, Reserva Conchal.
- Even tighter security at this place. They did not want to let us in!
- Finally allowed into Reserva Conchal, did a really fun group ocean swim.
- Had my first experience with sea lice. Luckily the stinging does not last long.
- Grocery shopping on the way home. Great time to practice my measly Spanish!
- Arrived home to discover that the oven and stove do not work.
- Cooked a mean microwave chicken instead (the trick is to put it in water).

Day 3: Friday, February 18th
- Short run in the morning. Adjusting to the heat.
- Met more of my housemates at breakfast. Went for a ride with Kelly W.
- Afternoon at the race site: race meetings, media, etc. Another refreshing swim!
- Dinner at Reserva Conchal. The anorexic cows are lovely. :)

Day 4: Saturday, February 19th
- Mid-morning swim with Bree, Annie, Kate and Amanda at Playa Longosta.
- Collected shells, played in the surf, missed our shuttle & were almost stranded.
- Annie discovered a frog living in her toilet!
- Legs up the rest of the day...now I see why people enjoy tropical vacations.

Day 5: Sunday, Februsry 20th...Race Day!!!
- Up at 3:30am...ugh.
- Sublime moonlight beach run for warm-up, complete with a mariachi band.
- The race: stunning and memorable course! Swim was long, but I don't mind a little extra time in the ocean. Bike course came complete with killer hills, a 200 meter unpaved section (x2), cows, chickens, and other random animals in the road, and a bombing descent back into transition. The run was spectacular and included a section on the beach and a jaunt through a dusty little beach town before returning to the resort and zigzagging through the golf course. I was treated to a breathtaking view of a tall ship out on the ocean when I reached the peak of the course on the second loop before diving down the hill to the finish line. Finished in 8th place after holding 6th most of the day...simply didn't have the fitness to hold it together the last 2 miles of the run. Not a great performance, but an honest reflection of the training I have under my belt so far this year so I have to be satisfied with it.
- Post-race: 20 min. beach jog with Annie, where we were mistaken for being the lead women in the Half Ironman. Oops!
- One more ocean swim with the girls from Casa de Golf. Saw a stingray.
- Surfing in Tamarindo! A great way to spend a post-race afternoon.
- Ghetto taxi ride back to Hacienda Panilla...that car was running on pure fumes!
- Was convinced to join Facebook...21st century, here I come.
- Microwave pancakes for dinner...who knew you could do that?

Day 6: Monday, February 21st
- Another 3:30am alarm, this time to catch the 4am shuttle.
- 4am shuttle does not appear.
- Finally leave at 5:15am with a different taxi service...muy rapido por favor!!!
- A nailbiter of a taxi ride...the driver took "muy rapido" muy seriously! 100km/hr, complete disregard for stopsigns, no passing zones and school zones.
- Made it to the airport in 55 minutes, luckily in one piece and without killing anyone or anything.
- Paid departure tax, checked bags, poked around the gift shop, boarded plane.
- 3 hours flight to Houston over gorgeous tropical waters, 9 hour layover (who booked these flights?!), 3 hour flight to SLC, 45 min. drive home with a 75 lb. German Shepherd in my lap, a foot of snow in the front yard...welcome home. :)

Thanks to REV3 for their hard work in making such a unique race happen, to the other athletes for making it a good race and a fun trip, to the AWESOME spectators lining the course, and to PowerBar, BlueSeventy, Rudy Project, and Maxxis for their continued support.

Costa Rica in Pictures

2011-02-23T19:19:00.001-08:00

Changes in Attitudes, Changes in Latitudes

2011-02-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

Whew, mid-February already! The year certainly has started off with a bang. I'm soooooo excited about this year of racing...I feel that I've finally gotten into a good groove as an Ogdenite and am looking forward to tackling new challenges this season. The shock of completing an Ironman, buying a new house, and moving to a new city all within the span of a week really did a number on me last summer. It seems that I took most of the latter part of 2010 recovering from that shock; I never really found my feet after the Ironman last year, and felt that I was merely dabbling in the sport from July onwards.

But now it's a fresh season and I've turned a new page! Gosh, it feels so good to be focused instead of simply meandering along. I guess a good place to start updating is to provide my planned race schedule so that all my wonderful fans and supporters out there can track me this year! And who knows, I may be coming to a race near you. :) Here is it:

Jan 11th: Battle at Soldier Hollow Winter Triathlon (7th place w/ a 20 minute PR!!!)
Feb. 12th: Salt Lake Track Club Winter 10K (6th place)
Feb. 20th: REV3 Triathlon Costa Rica (Olympic)
Feb 26th: Salt Lake Track Club Winter 15K
March 12th: Striders Winter Circuit 10 Mile
March 19th: Moab Canyonlands Half Marathon
April 16th: Salt Lake City Half Marathon
May 15th: REV3 Triathlon Knoxville (Olympic)
June 5th: REV3 Triathlon Quassy (Half Ironman)
June 25th: Dinoland Triathlon (Olympic)
July 10th: REV3 Triathlon Portland (Half Ironman)
July 16th: Battle at Midway Triathlon (Olympic)
Aug. 14th: Mountain Tropic Triathlon (Half Ironman)
Sept. 11th: REV3 Triathlon Cedar Point (Ironman)
Oct. 9th: REV3 Triathlon South Carolina (Half Ironman)
Dec. 4th: Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Marathon

The big change in latitude is coming up in just a few days!!! Yep, I'm heading off to Costa Rica this Wednesday for the first in the REV3 Series this coming weekend. There will be three events in all: the age group Olympic-distance race is on Saturday, then the Professional Olympic-distance and the open Half Ironman are both on Sunday morning. I originally was thinking my race was on Saturday and looked into booking my flight home for Sunday...good thing I didn't do that or I would REALLY be making the airlines rich!!! I'm looking forward to a bit of tropical weather (TRULY tropical, not just the weird 50-degree-February-in-Utah) and taking in some new sights. I've never been to Costa Rica before but everyone I've spoken to who has been there has absolutely glowing reports of the country's beauty and the friendliness of the people. It'll be fun to christen my brand-spanking new passport with a nifty little Central American stamp! Thanks to the REV3 team for picking such a neat spot as a season opener, and for all the hard work they've done to put this race together.

I'm not sure what sort of internet access I'll have once I'm there, but you should be able to find results quickly at the REV3 Costa Rica website:

http://rev3tri.com/!/costaRica/index.htm

I will try to update as soon as I can post-race.

Pura Vida!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T14:28:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and productive 2011! Here is a list of the most memorable events that occurred in my life over the past 12 months, and some pictures to illustrate what we've been up to.

2010 Favorites:

Albert was accepted into the Respiratory Therapy Program at Weber State University.
We became home owners!!!
Suzzie the German Shepherd joined our family.
I completed my first full Ironman.
We had many great visits from out-of-state family and friends in our new home.
My parents came to watch me race in Clearwater, and we had a wonderful vacation.
I became a bike-and-rail commuter.
I did not break any bones this year!!!

Finally! Some Pics From CDA

2010-11-20T19:03:00.001-08:00

Here are a few images of the place where I had the privilege of racing my first full Ironman this year.

3 More Sleeps...

2010-11-10T18:27:00.000-08:00

...until Clearwater! This is the 70.3 World Championship triathlon event, and my first time competing in it. Should be a hoot! Mom and Dad are making the trek down from Indiana to spectate. I'm not quite sure they know what they are getting themselves into...half Ironman races take a lot longer than cross-country events! I hope they bring lots of sunscreen.

Back From The Dead

2010-10-26T17:01:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the long-lost triathlete! It's been a long and wild summer, and today it is snowing. Looks like we skipped over that while "autumn" season.

My apologies for being a complete sloth with regards to this blog. It's been almost 4 months (!!!) and no word from me. I took some time off after the Ironman to do some grown-up things, like buy a house. Albert and I closed on a lovely brick bungalow in Ogden two days after the Iron-experience, then from there we had a slew of friends and family come from out of state to visit. To make things even more exciting we decided to adopt a second dog, Suzzie the German Shepherd. Then Albert started school, and I've been busy adjusting to being a homeowner and commuting to work in Salt Lake 5 days a week. Oh yes, and figuring out how to maintain my training regimen within all of this. Never a dull moment, as my mother would say!

I've done a smattering of races since the Ironman, including a few running events and two triathlons. Other than winning my first 5K ever (and finishing ahead of Albert in the process!) the running events have just been run-of-the-mill for me. I'm still struggling with some lingering issues in my left leg so training in that department has been sub-par. Swimming and biking have been going pretty well, on the other hand, and it shows. I put together two solid performances at the Kokopelli Triathlon in St. George (Olympic Distance) and the other weekend in the 70.3 Austin. I just wish I had the run to back up my swim and bike going into the World Champs in Clearwater in a couple of weeks!

Next post: some pictures illustrating what I've been up to in the past few months!

Quickie

2010-07-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

Just a little teaser update from the Ironman last weekend so that the Gilmour Girl in Memphis stops giving me a hard time (thanks for keeping me honest, Laura!):

Despite the fact that I have been doing triathlons for 10 years now, the 2010 Ironman Coeur d'Alene was my first stab at the full ironman distance. It was a good day and I'm pretty pleased with the effort considering my long-distance rookie status. I was 4th out of the water, 4th off the bike, then wound up 9th female at the finish in a time of 10 hours, 7 minutes, 15 seconds. Obviously there is room for improvement, especially on the run segment, but it was a solid effort. The feeling of running along Sherman Avenue to the finish line was overwhelming, with the crowd cheering and sticking their hands out over the barriers for high-fives the whole way down. My first marathon in Chicago is the only other race that I've experienced that level of exhilaration running down the finishing stretch. Coeur d'Alene is a picture-perfect setting for this kind of race and the citizens really seem to embrace the whole event. I can definitely say that this is one of my all-time favorite races and I'd love to come back in future years and have another crack at the podium.

I have a few very special people to thank for their support at this race: my AWESOME host family, Sandy and Tom Vas Dias, for opening their home and supplying me with treats from their Sweetwater Bakery; my dear friend Tim Johnson for explaining the finer points of Ironman transitioning and providing encouragement on the run; Rebecca England, client and photographer extraordinaire who flew up just to cheer me on; and of course, Albert for making the long solo drive up from Salt Lake and then putting up with my incessant moaning about swollen ankles on the way back home. Thank you also to all the other people from Utah who were up there and cheered me by name, and to the friends and family who sent kind messages of encouragement and positive energy on race day. Your support really does give me wings!

Now back to boxing things up for the big move tomorrow. (!) More details, race and house pics to follow as soon as we have the internet set up in our new house.

Three More Sleeps...

2010-06-24T10:15:00.001-07:00

...until the Ironman!!!

Insanity

2010-06-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

Things are crazy around here! I saw it lurking on the horizon like a storm cloud rolling in from the distance, but now that it has actually descended upon me I realize it's not just any old storm...it's more like being caught outside during a tornado. Lucky for me, I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie (as my realtor keenly observed) and I tend to be very productive in times like these. Here's just a taste of what the current 3 weeks of my life are like: it began with the trip to Boise for the 70.3 triathlon this past weekend, while Albert and Sherman headed off to Portland for a week to visit family and run what ended up to be a non-existent 5K at the Portland Track Festival. We are also attempting to close on a house before the 30th (fingers crossed for the tax credit!) and with Albert being gone I am the one responsible for organizing fun things like the house inspection. Not to mention we are less than 2 weeks out from Ironman Coeur d'Alene (my first stab at the distance!)...and we'd like to move ASAP after that event...in time for my parents and college roommate Courtney to roll in from Indiana for a visit. At the same time. Which means a very full house (Courtney will have her 10-year-old daughter with her) and only 1 bathroom no matter which way you look at it. But a place with 4 bedrooms and 1 bathroom (for 6 people) is WAY better than a place with only 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom!

Needless to say, I don't have much spare time right now. So this recap will have to be short (by my standards, that is).

The Boise race on Saturday was my final tune-up going into IM CDA. I'm mostly pleased with this race, but there is part of me kicking myself for not sucking it up and being a little tougher in dealing with a rough patch on the run. I had a legitimate shot at being on the podium and I blew it between miles 5-8 when my stomach started doing something funny and I was reduced to walking in patches. Damn! Even so, I'm pleased to have mixed it up with some ladies who have pretty impressive resumes and I'm heartened to be in striking distance at this stage of my training. The swim and the bike were dreamy...I was out of the water in 2nd place thanks to my BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit, then held that position until about mile 35 of the bike. The two girls who passed me before T2 are both very strong cyclists and I was pleased to have held them off that long. The run started off well, then I hit that rough spot around mile 5 and took a few miles to get it together again. Here's a big THANK YOU to my friend and PowerBar teammate Tim Hola for offering up some encouraging words when I was struggling out there! I started feeling better just before mile 8 and picked up enough steam from there to finish strong. Two girls passed me on the run which unfortunately landed me in 6th place, just one spot off the podium. Next time! It was my highest finish at an Ironman branded event, and with the stellar field I have to be pleased with the overall result.

Boise itself is an AWESOME little vibrant city, situated in a picturesque location and full of friendly and enthusiastic people. If I were not buying a house in Utah I would seriously consider moving there. The course was great, the spectators and volunteers were amazing, and it was honestly the most fun half ironman event I've ever done. Thanks to the race directors and the city for putting on a good show, and to my wonderful homestay Rachel Corey for adopting me for the weekend! And congrats to all the people from Salt Lake who made the trip up for the race...way to represent SLC!

Discovery

2010-06-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

In the course of training for an Ironman I have discovered that I really enjoy doing long solo bike rides...really REALLY long solo bike rides...followed by long runs (of the 10+ mile variety)...

Can't wait for Coeur d'Alene!

Girls On The Run

2010-06-08T11:07:00.001-07:00

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to participate as a running buddy in the Girls On The Run 5K at Sugarhouse Park. Girls On The Run is a wonderful program aimed at getting elementary-aged girls involved in running, giving them a sense of empowerment and achievement and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. One of the masters swimmers that I help coach, Susan DeYoung, is a GOTR coach at Backman Elementary and she recruited me to be a running buddy for one of her girls. We did a practice 5K at the school about month prior to the "real deal", so I had already met my runner, Jenny, and was looking forward to pacing her through another 5K. I knew this would be tougher because the course at Sugarhouse is hillier than what we practiced on, but there was no doubt in my mind that Jenny could do it!

Despite being hot and (relatively) humid, it was a great morning for a run. The festivities started early, with face-painting and hair-coloring available for the girls, as well as samples of Jamba Juice for everyone. After meeting our runners at their designated table, all the different schools came together for a group warm-up led by Cari Jung of OPT-IN Fitness. Then we headed over to the start line and the horn went off! The course consisted of two laps around the road in the park, then a little straightaway at the end into the finish line. Jenny got pretty hot during the run because she was wearing long pants, but by adopting a strategy of alternating running with walking and making sure to stay hydrated she was able to pace herself and complete the 5K in a respectable time. It was so awesome to run down the finishing chute with everyone cheering for her! Each girl got a medal as they crossed the line, and everyone also got pink GOTR t-shirts with the race #1. It was really great not only to see so many girls running, but to also see a lot of familiar adult faces out there supporting the cause. My clients Rebecca and Jordan brought their cute fluffy dog Beau along to run with their two younger kids, and I also bumped into another lady I trained for a while, Shelley Snow. It was a great event and is something I'm excited about being involved with again next year.

Going Postal

2010-05-23T17:53:00.001-07:00

Today I swam a 5K (non-stop in a 50 meter pool!) as part of the United States Masters Swimming 5K/10K Postal National Championships. Will Reeves, one of the faithful morning crew swimmers, joined me for the effort and Albert stood in as our official timer/lap counter. The only other time I have done this distance non-stop was for the exact same event seven years ago when I lived briefly in Bloomington, Indiana and swam for the IU Masters. I somehow managed to become a national champion that time around...probably because most competitive swimmers in that age group have just finished up their collegiate careers and don't even want to get within a mile of a pool! I think my current age group will be more competitive and I don't anticipate a repeat performance. However, it was a solid effort and a great workout to get under my belt to remind myself what over-distance swimming feels like. Now 2.4 miles in five weeks is going to seem like a piece of cake!

Pics From Galveston and St. George

2010-05-17T14:45:00.001-07:00

Pics include my awesome Galveston homestay, Hud and Christine Hopkins; the funny Teapot House on Galveston Island; IM St. George spectators at sunrise; IMSG lead swimmer; bike gear set-up; cool tattoo; and kids playing in the fountain.

Long Overdue

2010-05-17T12:38:00.000-07:00

There is a double meaning in that title...first of all, this update is well past due! The reason is that the past month has been a whirlwind of activity and travel. I visited Galveston Island, TX, the final weekend of April to do the Memorial Hermann 70.3 Ironman Triathlon. The race was originally called the Lonestar 70.3 but it was designated as the US Pro 70.3 Championships and renamed when a new sponsor stepped in. The additional prize money drew a strong international field including a smattering of previous world champions and Olympians. It was a real honor to be part of this event, and I had the luck of being hosted by a wonderful family during my stay. A big thanks to Hud and Christine Hopkins for adopting me and showing me the very best of Galveston!

The race was a good one for me…and I finally figured out the food part of the equation for this distance! The nutritional aspect of longer distance racing has been the monkey on my back for a while now. I know that my running fitness has come a long way, but I’ve struggled with maximizing that fitness because I have been getting hungry and puttering out on the run. No mas! I’ve FINALLY figured out a formula that works for me. Who knew that I could eat so many PowerGels in so little time?!

The swim part of the race was rough due to the relentless wind and I ended up getting out of the water about 5 minutes slower than usual for the 1.2 miles. It’s funny, I don’t usually think much about the swim but on that day it was the hardest part of the race for me! The bike segment was a flat out-and-back course with a steady headwind going out and a nice tailwind coming back. I tried to ride conservatively in the first half then build into a stronger second half, and was able to split 10 minutes faster on the way back in. My other focus was on having a steady intake of fluid and calories on the bike because I didn’t want have a repeat of Oceanside and run out of steam on the run. Mission accomplished! I closed with a 1:32:11 run split, a good 6 minutes faster than I’ve managed to run at the end of a half-ironman before. It’s still not in the league of what the best are running right now but, as I jokingly told Albert, I was the fastest of the slower runners on that day. My effort was good enough for 8th place female and 5th American; best of all, I nabbed a spot for the Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championships in November! It’s nice to have that qualification out of the way so that I don’t feel the pressure of chasing a spot the rest of the season. Now I can focus on getting down to work for the next big task at hand…training for Ironman Coeur d’Alene!

And speaking of Ironman races, we had one of our very own right here in Utah! The week after the Galveston race, Albert and I drove down to southern Utah for the inaugural Ironman St. George. I signed up to volunteer with body-marking, which ended up being an 8-hour date with an air-brush on Friday before the race. It was a different way of marking the race numbers and I sucked in more ink fumes than I care to remember, but it was a great way to meet the athletes up close and personal and to see things from the other side of the fence. Race morning started very early with driving out to the swim venue at Sand Hollow to help catch any stray people who needed last minute body-marking before the cannon went off. Once the athletes headed down to the swim start, I put on my spectator glasses and cheered for everyone I knew out there. It was so much fun! We watched most of the swim and some of the last bikers going out, then we took off for a little training run before heading back into town to catch more of the action. It was perfect timing; we had just gotten some sandwiches and settled down along Main St. when the first riders started rolling in! The run course was two out-and-back loops which ended up being great for spectators because we caught everyone going past four times. Aside from the cold water and some wind on the bike, the weather really could not have been any better for this time of year in St. George. The best part was knowing so many of the athletes and being able to cheer for them by name…what an inspiration! The most amazing thing I saw all day was the guy who had crashed near the end of the bike and broke his collarbone…then proceeded to walk the entire marathon. Talk about tough as nails! The real tear-jerker part of that tale is that two of his buddies ended up stopping their races and walking it with him. Very cool to see. So it was a great experience for me on many levels, not least of which was to see an Ironman in person and draw inspiration from it for my own upcoming stab at the distance. Thank you to Paul the body-marking captain for all your hard work, and to the Olsen family for giving us the run of their house for the weekend!

Since then, I’ve really been able to wrap my mind around the Ironman distance and have been training in earnest for the end of June. My training includes plenty of solo time in the saddle getting strong and practicing nutrition, as well as an increase in running volume. So far so good. I’ll do a test drive at the Boise 70.3 in mid-June (I’ve wanted to do this race the past two years but because of one broken bone or another have had to sit it out…) and then the big one is on the 27th. Anyone want to take a trip to beautiful Coeur d'Alene?!

Spring is Here!

2010-04-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

Something really exciting happened over the weekend…it suddenly became springtime in Salt Lake! It’s really wild how quickly the seasons can flip here. Our neighbor’s magnolia tree was completely bare on Friday, then got down to the serious business of flowering on Saturday and somehow reached full bloom by Sunday afternoon. The flowers are up, the grass is green and the birds are singing again. And I’m riding my bike outside quite a bit now! It certainly is much more enjoyable when it’s sunny and 70 degrees as opposed to snowing and 25. I’ve been able to get in some quality time in the saddle over the past few weeks and am looking forward to testing out my bike strength next week at the Memorial Hermann Ironman 70.3 on Galveston Island, Texas. This event is serving as the 70.3 US Pro Championships this year and from what I hear the course is flat, fast, and windy!

But first, I had the pleasure of participating in the Salt Lake City Half Marathon this past Saturday on what turned out to be an absolutely perfect spring morning. This is a really fun race for me because the route basically goes right through my stomping grounds and I know the course inside and out. It’s also a treat to race locally because there are always people I know along the route to help cheer me on. In fact, there are always lots of people I know actually IN the race as well! This year was no exception and I ended up doings lots of chatting in the first part of the race with several different people I know from the running and triathlon communities. My mindset going into the race was to have fun and be conservative for the first 8-9 miles then to pick it up if I felt like it and see where I finished. I thought the 1:30 ballpark would be good, considering that I was running on tired legs and have a half-ironman coming up next week, but I wasn’t really as focused on my pacing as usual---in fact, I missed the majority of the mile markers! I was slightly annoyed at myself for that because I do like to see the numbers afterwards. Oh well.

Once we swung into Liberty Park I caught a girl who said, “There are three more girls just up there, go get them!” That’s when I started looking up the road and saw that Amanda Theobald, the girl I ran most of Moab with, and Mel Lemon, my nemesis from the Salt Lake Winter Series, were not that far ahead. I had let them go early in the race and honestly had no intention of racing them going into the event…but when I could see them up ahead I thought, what the heck?! Let’s see if I can catch them! So I got down to work. I think going out more conservatively definitely paid off (chalk another one up to negative splitting!) and I was able to catch them both going up the long grind on State Street to South Temple. I remember that stretch was much more of a death march last year…it helps to be in better shape, but I also got a lift from my clients Rebecca and Jordan who were on the sidelines cheering with their adorable dog Beau when we passed the City/County building. That was AWESOME! Beau bears a strong resemblance to a Muppet or Wookie, and it was really cute to see him and Rebecca bounding down the sidewalk and cheering.

Once I rounded the corner onto South Temple I knew it was downhill to the end of the street and then just a couple of quick turns into the finishing straight at the Gateway where the crowd would carry me home. I had gotten my split at mile 10 (one of the few markers I actually spotted!) and had figured out that a sub-1:30 was in the making. But I was absolutely delighted to see 1:26 and change on the clock as I came in the finishing straight! That really was quicker than I had planned to run but I’ll take it! I know it’s small potatoes compared to how fast a lot of the girls are running these days in triathlon, but it’s a big step for me physically and mentally to run under 1:30 consistently and to do it with complete control. The next step is to build the bike fitness and dial in the nutrition so that I can put my new-found running legs to good use at the end of a triathlon!

Believe it or not, I wasn’t the only person running on Saturday. :) Albert had a good run, taking 4th place in the men’s race with a 1:13:19. My client Jed ran a 3:10 marathon, while another past-client-turned-friend, Betsy Pollack, won her age group and ran a 4:47 in her first stab at the distance---at age 61 nonetheless! These are just a few of the people I know who ran the various races; there are too many to list them all but congratulations to everyone. And thanks to PowerBar for keeping me fueled during the race, Rudy Project for keeping my eyes protected with style, and to Glen and the gang at Wasatch Running Center for supporting me in my running and triathlon endeavors!

Next up: a little trip to Texas…

Oceanside

2010-04-01T13:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I don't really know what to say about the Oceanside 70.3 last weekend other than thank goodness it's early in the season and there's a lot of time for improvement! The race itself is very well run with a great venue, and it was nice to spend a few days in sunny southern California. My homestay was TERRIFIC---thanks Felicia, Forrest, Gus and Laird!---and I had the opportunity to explore the area a little more than the last time I did this race. I also caught up with Tim Johnson (the WTC swim course director) who I know from my days at the training center in Clermont, FL, as well as some other athletes that I haven't seen in a while.

Race day itself was a mixture of ups and downs. It started off with an up: a great swim effort! I felt strong and comfortable in my BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit during the whole swim and was the fourth female out of the water, behind perennial top swimmers Leanda Cave, Pip Taylor, and Kelly Williamson (who I knew as Kelly Handel from our days as age group swimmers back in Indiana). It was a good indication that I'm getting my swimming groove back after the collarbone injury last year. T1 went smoothly, it was really great running up out of the water with all the volunteers and spectators fresh and excited!

Once on the bike I tried to settle into a rhythm and keep an eye on the other cyclists around me so as to stay in contact yet out of trouble. The ride had both highs and lows for me; I definitely felt stronger on the flats than on the hills...so guess what I'm going to be working on in the next few weeks?! I knew my bike fitness was just average going into this race, and it was especially apparent on the hills and in the windy sections. The hills were a bit harder than I had remembered and it took more out of my legs for the run than I had expected. One positive that came from the bike is that my shoulders and neck stayed relatively loose throughout the ride; in the past I’ve tightened up so much that I can’t wait to get off the bike and stand up straight! I think there might still be a couple of important positioning tweaks to make to be comfortable for an Ironman, but this is a step in the right direction.

Mentally I was prepared to run well, especially after the Canyonlands Half Marathon, and I started off running sub-7:00 pace miles. However, I quickly realized that I was low on fuel. I found myself slowing down significantly on miles 4 and 5 and gobbled up whatever I could get at the aid stations. The food helped and my second wind kicked in, only to sputter again just past the 10-mile mark. So my run split ended up being much slower than what I was aiming for, which is really disappointing after all the hard work I've put into it. However, as always there were good lessons learned along the way. First, EAT MORE! This goes for the days leading up to the event as well as the pre-race meal and on the bike. Nutrition is going to be key during the Ironman distance, and I need to get it figured out before then. PowerBar supplies me with all sorts of great fueling options and I need to diligently experiment with calorie intake to find how much I need to eat on the bike to be strong when the run comes around. Second lesson learned: you can have all the running fitness in the world, but if you haven't put in the time on the bike it's really hard to show off that run fitness!

I’ve got another 3.5 weeks until the next half ironman race in Galveston, Texas, to continue improving my fitness and race-nutrition. It’s going to fly by, so time to buckle down!

The Sub Club

2010-03-22T14:31:00.000-07:00

FINALLY!!! That 1:30 barrier in the half-marathon distance has been hanging over my head for a long time. This past weekend I "broke on through to the other side" with a 1:28:36 effort at the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab, UT (see pictures below). I'm really pleased to have joined that particular Sub Club, and to have achieved it through negative splitting the race. It took me a little while to settle into a pace early on and I never really had that wonderfully effortless feeling that you get when fully rested, but it was a great run nonetheless and a good fitness check going into the half ironman this coming weekend. The Canyonlands course certainly feels much better when you are in good running shape! I ended up running quite a bit of it with a girl I know from Salt Lake, Amanda Theobald, who works for the Salt Lake Running Company and runs for Westminster College. It was the first half-marathon that she has trained for and she asked if I minded if she paced off me. No problem! It was really fun running with her, and awesome to see her break 90 minutes as well. We finished just one second apart in 12th and 13th place. Nice run Amanda!

All in all it was a great weekend. Moab was its usual gorgeous self and we enjoyed some good hiking and photographic opportunities. We had dinner one night and went hiking the next morning with our new friends Christian and Kate who also ran the half and are just really awesome people to hang out with. They both ran PRs as well which of course makes the trip even more fun. (Albert did not run a PR but I suppose that when you're as fast as he is that best times don't come quite as often.) I also bumped into a bunch of swimmers from Steiner...Erin, the twins Megan and Marisa, Ben, and Katherine...it was great to see so many fish tackling the dry land event! And of course we saw lots of familiar faces from the running and triathlon communities...BJ and Chrystelle, Clark and Kristy, Chad Derum to name a few. Congrats to everyone who ran!

Next up for me: a short work week in Salt Lake then a flight to sunny California on Thursday for the 70.3 race in Oceanside on Saturday.

Moab Pics

2010-03-22T14:22:00.001-07:00

Hypothermia (Or A Case Of The Stupids)

2010-03-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was not a great day to be outside riding, but I had a 4.5 hour ride on the schedule and had talked my friend Allan into doing it with me. The plan was to meet at Allan's house in Bountiful and then ride northwest towards Antelope Island and maybe even over the causeway, time permitting. I knew that the forecast called for an 80% chance of rain and snow but stupid me, I was in denial. Surely it couldn't be that bad! We met at 10 and started rolling at 10:15. Another rider from the Bountiful Bicycle Club, Gary Gardiner, also joined us but was planning to only ride a couple of hours. It had already started sprinkling a bit by the time we got started and Gary turned off after only 15 minutes saying he was under-dressed for the weather. That should have been a sign because Gary is hard-core to the point of senselessness, but it still didn't seem so bad. So we kept going. And it got colder, and the rain came down harder.

After 45 minutes Allan said he would be fine with calling the ride at any time, and (silly me) I said we should go for another 15 minutes to at least make 2 hours. That was one of the dumbest calls I've ever made! The roads were getting wetter and wetter, and so were we. As is typical in Utah on a bad day, there was a headwind no matter which way we turned. My feet slowly disappeared, then my hands followed suit, making operating the brakes a tenuous endeavor and shifting darned near impossible. And then I noticed that the rain had decidedly turned to snow at some point. I was already more miserable than I've ever been on a bike before, but the snow sent me plummeting to a dark mental place that I've never quite experienced before. It was a real struggle to keep going and I think if I'd been on my own I would have stopped to have a good cry. Thank goodness Allan was there to keep me going! The last three miles were a death march on wheels but we finally made it.

I was so cold that dismounting was a trick, and then I couldn't even lift my bike or take off my shoes or helmet on my own. Allan wasn't quite as badly off as I was and he helped get me inside, made hot tea, and made me sit by the heater wrapped in blankets to warm up. I had some dry clothes in the car but was shivering so uncontrollably that I couldn't think straight and didn't have the dexterity to peel off my wet cycling kit immediately anyway. After about 15 minutes I started thawing out and was able to change clothes and instantly felt better. I eventually got it together enough to drive home, toying with the idea of trying to finish up the ride inside on the trainer. I rethought that once I got home and a) the bike on the trainer was not cooperating and b) my body felt like all it needed was a good nap. Lesson learned: listen to the weather man, and do not be so bull-headed as to try to finish the workout at all costs!

I'm feeling fine today and am back on track with training. Now the focus is to stay WARM and healthy leading up to my season openers: the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab next weekend, and the 70.3 California in two weeks!

Rounding Out The Series

2010-02-28T13:15:00.000-08:00

Yesterday marked the final race in the Salt Lake Track Club Winter Running Series, and we were finally graced with a clear and sunny day. Oh yes, and windy! I don't think it was as blustery as the 10K was two weeks ago, but what seemed like a fairly innocuous cross-wind to begin with turned into something to be dealt with as the race progressed. My goal once again was to build up the pace throughout the run; in a perfect race each mile would have been progressively faster. That ended up being a tall order on this particular day, but I was still able to produce a solid negative split (running the second half of the race about 30 seconds faster than the first half). It also was my best time for an open 15K (although I've only ever run 4 of them), and I took 4th place among the women with a 1:02:56. The week leading into the run hadn't really gone very well training-wise so I was pleased to be able to pull it together for a good effort.

Now if you read my post about the 10K two weeks ago you must be wondering...did I catch Mel this time? And the answer is yes! Of course it's all in good fun, and I'm absolutely thrilled to be in the same ballpark as Mel at this point. Since I'm working really hard on perfecting the negative split technique I let a lot of people go early in the run, including Mel and my client Jed and his training buddy AJ. Once I hit the turn-around I started picking it up and tried to reel them back in. I ran out of real-estate with Jed and AJ, but I managed to pick off Mel with about a mile to go. It took me a long time to catch him, but then I saw him falter slightly when another runner passed him and I knew that I had to make a move right there if I wanted to have a chance at crossing the finish line ahead of him. It was a real internal battle for me but I'm really pleased to have recognized the situation and faced it head on. So thank you Mel for unwittingly taking part in helping to make me a mentally stronger runner!

Albert also had a decent effort for the day. He had been a little off kilter this week and felt crappy during the race, but was pleased with his time end effort under the circumstances. The series has been a really great training tool for both of us in preparation for the Canyonlands Half Marathon in three weeks in Moab. That's always a fun trip, and this will be the first year that we're both running it. The week after that will mark my triathlon season debut at the California 70.3 race in Oceanside. But first, a few more weeks of solid training are in order!

Neff's Canyon

2010-02-28T09:45:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from a recent hike in Neff's Canyon. I love going there in the wintertime because there's something really magical about the place. It's good for hiking, running, skiing and sledding...and we even saw someone mountain biking up in the snow once!

Winter 10K

2010-02-20T10:22:00.000-08:00

Oh how the week has flown! We've been so caught up in watching the Winter Olympics that little else has gotten done, including blogging. So here is a quick catch-up: last weekend was the Salt Lake Track Club Winter Series 10K, the second of three installments. Just like the 5K, my goal was to build my pace throughout the run and finish strong. Unfortunately I was not able to entirely achieve this goal but it was still a pretty strong effort for this time of year. All of the races in this series are out-and-back courses on a frontage road sandwiched between I-80 and the Great Salt Lake and the winds can be really fierce out there. We were lucky to have a nice tailwind on the way out...which in turn translated into a beast of a headwind coming back home in the second half. I was pleased to be able to beat the wind and maintain a building pace throughout the first four miles, but the wind eventually won out in the last 2.2 miles and my pace slowed. I was still able to hold onto 4th place for the women with a 40:49 time, which is actually one of the faster open 10Ks I've ever run. Things are looking good for some fast half marathon times this spring!

I'm beginning to have a friendly rivalry with one of the local male masters runners, Mel Lemon, who we know from the Wasatch Athletics running group. He has always soundly beaten me in the past, but with the improvements I've made in my running over the last six months I've been getting closer and closer to him in each run. I actually passed him soon after the turnaround in this race, but he tucked in behind me for a couple of miles and conserved enough energy to be able to swing around me with maybe a half mile to go. Argh! Maybe next time I'll get him. One of my swimming clients, Jed Brain, is also doing the series this year and he watched the scenario unfold from about 10 seconds behind. He said jokingly afterward that Mel should give me half of his trophy from winning the Grand Master Champion state title at this race, since I pulled him along for a good part of the race. :)

While there were fewer participants than at the 5K, there was still a good turnout and lots of familiar faces were there. Albert took third place again, just squeaking in under 35 minutes with a 34:59 effort. He was really pleased with that. Jed ran well, and his training buddy Randall Cooper (also a triathlete) had a solid performance too. They will both be racing at Ironman Canada later this year.

Next up, the 15K! My goal again will be to build up and negative split the run. And see if I can best Mel this time! Until then, it's back to putting in consistent solid training and laying a strong foundation for the rest of the season.

Winter 5K

2010-02-02T21:15:00.000-08:00

Albert and I ran in the Salt Lake Track Club Winter Series 5K over the weekend. This is a great little training series which includes a 5K, 10K, and 15K run, each 2 weeks apart. It is a great winter motivator, fitness gauge, and training build up for an early season half marathon, which is convenient because we're both registered for the Canyonlands Half Marathon in late March. It was a solid day for both of us with Albert taking 3rd place male (16:56) and me landing in the 5th spot for the ladies (19:22). I was really pleased to run a smart race---in a 5K nonetheless!---building up gradually so that each mile was faster than the previous one. This is the third consecutive running race that I've managed to negative split, and over three vastly different distances. Maybe I’m starting to figure this running thing out! It certainly feels much better to run this way than to go out too fast and end up in the inevitable death march.

Overall the training is clicking along. All three disciplines feel good right now and I’m just working on staying consistent and not getting too carried away early in the season. I visited Glen at Wasatch Running Center over the weekend and he helped me get fitted into some good training shoes for the start of the season. We had a really good conversation about training and nutrition, and he told me a great quote that someone once said to him: “There is no such thing as overtraining, only under-resting.” What great words to keep in the back of my mind! If nothing else, I’ve really learned the value of proper rest in the past two seasons and I’m so excited to apply this knowledge to a full racing season and see where it takes me.

Winter Fun!

2010-01-19T21:29:00.000-08:00

Whew, I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post! Lots of things have been going on. I took some down time after the Vegas marathon and did a stint of basic drill work in the pool and shoulder rehab exercises for the collarbone... and played around with cross-country skiing! The snow hasn't been that great yet this year but there's enough to groom a ski course. We’ve been going to Round Valley near Park City to escape the lovely inversion air quality in the valley (people here call it fog but I’m not fooled---it’s really smog). In addition to having cleaner air, the Park City folk are a little more laidback about dogs off leash and so Sherman gets to come along and enjoy the fun. He’s become my regular x-c skiing and trail running companion and is getting into pretty darned good shape! We’ve spotted several moose but thankfully have no charging incidents to report so far this year.

Skate skiing is a lot like swimming in that it’s very technical and takes a lot of focused patient practice to get good. This is the third winter that I’ve dabbled in x-c skiing but a lot of the subtleties didn’t really begin to click until this past month when I was able to get out consistently. I actually got to the point where I felt I wouldn't completely embarrass myself in an organized event, so I signed up for the Battle at Soldier Hollow Winter Triathlon as something fun to work towards. Incidentally, it happened to be the US National Championship event and the ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships qualifier this year. First winter triathlon ever? No worries! Why not go big early?!

The event was held at Soldier Hollow, sight of the 2002 Winter Olympics Cross-Country ski course and a stone’s throw away from Salt Lake. Wasatch Area Race Productions (WARP, also known for the Battle at Midway Triathlon) put on the race and did a great job as per usual. The Championship event consisted of a 5K run, 10K mountain bike, and an 8K ski, all on beautifully groomed cross country ski trails. Race morning was cold and FOGGY---real fog, not the soupy brown stuff that hovers over Salt Lake frequently at this time of the year. The cold actually made the fog freeze on people’s hair which was a comically magical sight. Albert (he did the race too---his first individual triathlon of any kind!) and I warmed up by doing one loop on the bike course, which honestly made me more nervous than anything else. It was tricky! The snow was softer than I had anticipated and it was a lot like riding a bike in sand. I’m a bit leery of mountain bikes anyway since the 2008 crash and my ninny instincts were kicking in. But there was really no time to dwell on it because we finished our warm-up just in time to do last-minute gear checks in transition and then BANG---we were off!

It was a mass start, with everyone starting at the same time regardless of race distance. I decided the best thing was to start conservatively then ramp it up if I felt good, but not to go crazy on the run because I would need my legs for the bike and even more so for the ski. It ended up being a wise plan because I learned an extremely valuable lesson within the first 400 meters: DO NOT RUN ON THE EDGES OF THE GROOMED TRACK!!! I saw two people get too close to the edge and KERFLOP! They sank into the soft snow up to their knees and fell right over! It was pretty funny, and I don’t think I’m the only one who laughed…but I took care to run towards the center of the track after that.

I haven’t been running much since the marathon, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that ski fitness translates pretty well to running and I was able to work my way up and finish the run near the top of the women’s field. The next order of business was tackling T1. Normally I’m really good at fast transitions, but with unfamiliar gear (not to mention frozen fingers!) I was a little slower than usual. The first part of the bike was slightly uphill over a bridge and very mushy (especially since the run also went that way), so I ran the bike to the crest of the hill before mounting. Right as I took off someone yelled to me the best piece of advice and Valuable Lesson Number Two: PICK A TIRE TRACK AND FOLLOW IT! It made a world of a difference in being able to handle the bike! Granted, there was definitely the occasional fishtail going on, and the one HILARIOUS moment when I looked at where I DIDN’T want to go and ended up riding right off the course into the deep snow (harkening back to the flailing runners earlier)…but by the second loop I’d figured it out, relaxed, and (dare I say it?) started having an absolute blast! The bike ended up being the most fun part of the whole race for me, and it was a huge mental boost in getting over the lingering fears from the broken arm crash. I’m pretty sure I was grinning from ear to ear by the end of the second loop.

The final leg was the ski and I knew that this was going to be the most physically challenging for me because I’m still not a natural skier. The course was pretty demanding, especially when your legs are already feeling worked from the run and bike. I knew the best thing for me to do was to focus on my form and not worry about anyone else. It definitely helped that I had practiced a couple of times on the course prior to the race, and the fact that it was a two-loop route also helped to mentally break it up. It wasn’t the best-feeling ski I’ve ever had but I paced myself and saw it through. The experienced skiers definitely had an advantage in this race and it’s something to aspire to. And even though I was plodding along rather than swooshing and gliding like the very best, it was still pretty exhilarating to be out on a world-class ski course on what turned out to be a gorgeous sunny blue-sky day!

The really amusing thing is that I ended up placing 9th overall and winning my age-group…which technically qualifies me for the ITU Winter Triathlon World Championships in Norway next month! HILARIOUS!!! It would be a really cool experience, but there’s no way I’m going because 1) it’s not in my budget and 2) I’d be WAY out of my league…those Europeans are SERIOUS about winter triathlon while here in the States it’s still a “growing” sport. But maybe next year if I work hard and feel I’ve really earned it…

Unfortunately, Albert did not have as good of a day out there. He experienced equipment malfunctions on every single leg of the race. What is the likelihood of that?! :( On the run his yak traks were too big and kept slipping around, then his bike wouldn't shift and he was stuck riding the whole course in a big gear...and to top it off he broke one of his skis! He was able to finish one lap of the ski but bailed after that. Despite all that he had a good time and wants to do it again next year.

Until next time.

3:02:38!!!

2009-12-12T16:19:00.000-08:00

That was the time that I ran in the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Marathon last weekend, much to my surprise! My initial goal when I started training back in September was a 3:15, then as the weeks of training went along I began to think a 3:10 was possible...and then MAYBE a 3:05...but 3:02!!! I'm absolutely over the moon with that one! And I even managed to negative split it (1:31:50/1:30:48) on a course that was decidedly more difficult in the second half. It's so rewarding to have put in all the hard work and have it pay off, especially after losing a good chunk of the season to the collarbone injury. This was my second marathon but really the first one I've actually trained for, and the process has proven to be an extremely important learning experience for me. It will make a good stepping-stone for tackling the Iron distance next year---assuming I can keep my wheels rubber side down!

Now it's time for a little R&R...which in my book involves snowshoes and xc skis! Thank goodness the weather is cooperating and bringing us some snow just in time for the off-season!

And before I forget, here's a big THANK YOU to all my supporters out there...friends, family, clients, fellow athletes...who have believed in me and helped me along the way! Here's a shout-out to my 2009 sponsors: PowerBar for keeping me fueled and clothed; Glen Gerner and Wasatch Running Center for making my feet happy and helping me discover my inner runner; Trigger Point Therapy for helping me ward off avoidable injuries; Rudy Project for keeping my noggin and eyeballs safe; Maxxis for supplying top-notch tires; BlueSeventy for helping me swim like a fish; and to Brad at Pool 'n Patio for being my reliable swimming gear supplier. And a few special thanks go out to Barb for encouraging me to get back in the saddle, Sherman for being my faithful running partner, Aunt Candy (my #1 Philly Fan), Sean for making sure my easy runs were really easy, Demetrio for providing me with inspiration, to my hiking friends who were patient when I disappeared for a while, Alex and Zuzana for their friendship and wealth of knowledge, to Albert for putting up with me...and of course, to Mom and Dad, who haven't minded that I still behave like a kid, or at least they haven't shown it. :)

FROM COLD TO DEEP FRIED (TURKEYS)

2009-11-28T08:46:00.000-08:00

I started off this year's Thanksgiving celebrations bright and early with the annual Cold Turkey Run in City Creek. The only thing "annual" about this event for me is that I usually help out with taking numbers at the finish line while Albert runs...this year we switched and I had the opportunity to run! It's a fun little 6K course with a steady climb from the Capitol building up into City Creek for maybe the first two miles, then a nice bombing downhill into Memory Grove for the rest of the course. I surprised myself with feeling equally strong on both the uphill and downhill----thanks to all those marathon miles---and finished second place overall for females. It was a good way to sneak in a little last minute "firing of the cylinders" before the marathon next weekend.

Later in the day we went to our friend Neal's house for a deep fried turkey dinner. We all like going to Neal's house because the company is good and he really knows how to make FANTASTIC meat dishes...and he brews his own beer! Neal is kind enough to invite all the "strays" who don't have family nearby over for the Thanksgiving feast. And this year dogs were allowed too, so Sherman got a kick out of hanging out with Jake, Hanza, and Layla. All in all it was a great day.

Now we're just over a week out from the Las Vegas Marathon...down to the nitty gritty task of tapering!

I just held a Stradivarius!

2009-11-23T22:08:00.001-08:00

...and it was so LIGHT! The Talich Quartet from the Czech Republic came to Salt Lake to perform this evening, and (lucky me) I have connections from the gym who are board members of the SLC Chamber Music Society. They have asked Albert and me to help sell cds during intermissions this season, in return for tickets and a chance to meet the musicians. We had the honor of driving the cellist back to their hotel after the concert and picking his brain about music, art, and life in eastern Europe...and I got to hold a 1729 Stradivarius violin! I was instructed to hold it just so, with my fingers on one hand touching the chin rest and metal plate at the base of the instrument and my other hand carefully holding the neck so as not to touch the varnish. It was kind of like holding my friend Zuzana's baby for the first time when she was a week old---what the heck do I do with this thing, and what happens if I DROP it?! Pretty cool that such a small, delicate instrument could make such a full and mellow sound. What really struck me after the concert was that while onstage, the instruments seemed so large and the musicians relatively small, when in "real life" up close the instruments were smaller than expected and the musicians were much taller. Funny!

AMICA CHAMPIONSHIP

2009-11-08T13:19:00.001-08:00

I decided a few weeks back that since I seem to be getting into pretty good race shape, it might be worth my while to sign up for the Amica Championship Triathlon. It was the grand finale in a new series of sprint triathlon races held throughout the year in various cities around the US. The Championship was located at Lake Pleasant, a stunning body of water out in the middle of the desert northwest of Phoenix. It was a small event but really well organized, and the prize purse attracted a solid field of professionals attempting to capitalize on their end-of-season fitness.

It's a bit funny doing a sprint triathlon, especially the week after doing a half-ironman, because I'm so used to an entirely different kind of pacing. Of course it's all relative, as a "sprint" triathlon is usually at least an hour of racing...Usain Bolt would probably NOT consider it a sprint...but for endurance athletes a race that is "just" an hour or so means a red-line effort. The course itself also made for a challenging day, with some tough steady climbing and headwinds on the bike, quad-killing hills on the run, and absolutely NO shade in sight.

I took care to get a good warm-up before the race because I knew it would be a hard effort right from the gun. The swim went by quickly and I got out of the water as the second woman, about 10 seconds back of Alicia Kaye (wife of '08 Olympian Jarrod Shoemaker, who also raced). Immediately out of the water we had to negotiate a STEEP boat ramp, maybe 200 meters long, up to the transition area. If the heart rate wasn't up already, it sure was after that little sprint! The first transition went smoothly, a good improvement over the previous weekend. Once on the bike, we had to navigate a climb right away before hanging a left onto the main section of the course. It was a 5K out-and-back stretch that we had to do twice, with a general steady grind uphill on the way out and a gradual downhill on the way back. The downhill was not the sort of "friendly" grade where you can really get going and freewheel it: instead, it was the type of downhill where you had to work hard the whole way, and the headwind made it even more challenging. After that section we headed back towards the transition area, with one little detour on Cottonwood Road "just for fun" (as the race director put it). Then it was a bombing downhill back to the transition area, into the racing flats and off onto the run course. The run started the same way as the bike, up the big hill and out past the guard station. Instead of turning left onto the main road we kept going straight onto a dirt road that had a few good little poppers to run up and over. Once you navigated those hills, it was mostly downhill to the finish line the last half-mile or so. I feel like all my trail running really helped me with this course, as it was very much a "strength" course. I remained in second place the whole way, and was really pleased with my effort and to finish up the abbreviated triathlon season on the podium.

Now I'm focusing primarily on running for the next month as I log my final miles in preparation for the Las Vegas Marathon on December 6th. I'm going to continue swimming regularly as well, because it just feels GOOD! The South Davis Swim Meet is next weekend and I'll hop into a few events there...just for giggles. I'll have a few weeks off after the marathon before gearing up for next year...can't wait!!!

TOO MUCH SUGAR, NOT ENOUGH SALT

2009-10-29T11:56:00.000-07:00

That's the big lesson learned by this gourmet chef wannabe...salt brings out the fullest flavors and best results, whereas too much sugar is overwhelming and makes you feel sickly in the long run. Literally. I learned this lesson after a meltdown around mile 6 on the run course of the Longhorn 70.3 race last weekend. (70.3 is the number of miles in a half ironman, it just sounds catchier as the marketing experts have discovered.) Anyway, back to the race. I traveled to Austin, TX last weekend for the Longhorn race, an event I was really looking forward to for a number of reasons: 1) I had never OFFICIALLY been to Texas before, 2) I've been working on my run and was excited to test it out, and 3) who wouldn't be excited to race after being laid up most of the season with an injury?! Things went smoothly and I took care of the pre-race details; locating hotel, finding the race site, checking out the bike course, pro meeting, packet pick-up, etc. The weather the day before was a little nippy in the morning and I found myself wondering if toe- and arm-warmers were going to rule the day. Nope: race morning temperature was 66 degrees while we were still setting up the transitions in the dark! The race organizers did a FANTASTIC job with the event, right down to timing the start of the first wave for when dawn just began to break and the sky went black to gray. The swim start was a bit silly for the pros because it was a deep-water start at one buoy, and everyone kept creeping forward before the gun actually went off. Despite generally being a strong swimmer who can deal with a bit of physicality at the start, I'm still a bit protective of my collarbone, so I positioned myself a little off to the right side so as not to get my arm yanked off in the melee at the beginning. The crowd counted us down and off we went! I was able to initially grab the feet at the back of the first pack, but I lost them after the first turn buoy and ended up swimming essentially on my own. I felt good but it's always disappointing to lose a good set of feet, and mentally I was a bit down on myself for that. I reminded myself that in the half-iron distance the swim is the least significant of the three disciplines so losing a little time there was okay. As it turns out I was actually the third female out of the water, behind uber-swimmer and defending 70.3 World Champion Joanna Zeiger and this year's 4th-place finisher at the Hawaii Ironman, Tereza Macel. Not too bad! I think my snazzy BlueSeventy Helix wetsuit must have helped because honestly the swim has been the hardest thing to get back after the accident. In any case, off to the bike! My transition was a little slow because my feet got a little stuck in that snazzy wetsuit (cut the ankles higher!) and because in WTC rules you have to wear your race number on the bike and I started to put my helmet on my head with my race belt/number tucked inside of it...oops! You'd think I was a rookie or something! So that took a few extra seconds. Once on the bike the biggest thing was keeping my eyes on the road to navigate the numerous potholes and wheel-eating cracks in the road, while remembering to eat, drink and be merry. The course was a nice rolling tour of the Texas farmland, but by mile 40 I was ready to be off the bike and onto the run. My shoulders were tightening up from being in the aero position for so long, and I could tell I was favoring my left shoulder a bit and the right side was beginning to pay for it. I know that I hadn't quite put in the big bike miles for this race, but I split a decent time (2 hours 30 min) and came off the bike in 5th place. This race was logistically a bit tricky because it included two separate transition areas, but Utah actually has a lot of races like that so I was okay with it. T2 went smoothly, and the coolest thing was getting to start and end the run with a run through Luedecke Arena! The crowd was great, and kudos to race director Keith Jordan for coming up with that design. The run course itself was TOUGH. There wasn't really a flat section anywhere, just continuous up-down rollers. I was ready for that though, and really excited to run. However, I knew within the first mile that something wasn't right. I felt heavy and just couldn't quite get into that nice ticking rhythm that I've been working so hard on. Mentally it was definitely a gray patch...or rather, pitch black! I was having a real battle with myself to keep going, but then the first lap was over and the crowds were cheering and I just couldn't stop right there. So off I went on lap #2. I trudged along for a couple of miles, then came to an oasis of Greek gods and goddesses...an aid station! The volunteers were AWESOME. They pulled up a chair for me as I wobbled to the side of the course and plied me with coke, salt tablets, and pretzels. I felt a little dazed sitting there, watching the other runners of all shapes and sizes stream past in their bright spandex outfits. By this time the course was getting crowded with age-groupers and I saw some people who probably felt worse than I did...it was getting hot out there! I thought about how quickly my fitness had come back after the injury, how lucky I was to be able to spend a Sunday morning celebrating life this way, and how shameful and disappointing it would be to tell all my friends and family who were rooting for me that I hadn't been able to hold it together and had simply given up. I'm not sure how long I sat there with these thoughts...at least five minutes, maybe ten. Somewhere in there I won the mental battle and talked myself into getting up and running at least the rest of that lap. My Greek god helped me to my feet (that camp chair was LOW!) and off I went to re-join the herd on the course. As I went along I started picking up steam and suddenly realized...I felt GOOD! REALLY good. The type of good I'd been training for. So I went for it, even though many places in the women's race had passed me by while I was sitting at the side of the road. By the time I finished the second lap I was cruising, and I glanced down at my watch out of curiosity to try to get a final lap-split. The third lap was by far my fastest; I was running the pace that I had trained for, which would have put me in the neighborhood of 1 hour 30 minutes had I been able to start out that way. As it was, I spent 1:47 out on the run course (boo!) but some of that was sitting, and I was able to pull myself out of that dark hole and finish strong (yay!). Although the run was disappointing, I'm overall very pleased with my effort and I learned a way more valuable lesson than I would have if I'd had one of those magical everything-goes-your-way races for my first big race back after the broken collarbone. Eat more salt! In my post-mortem, I realized that everything I ate on the bike was sweet; I was so focused on calories that somehow I failed to consider what TYPE of calories I was eating. I've never experimented with salt intake before, but will I now? As a rather infamous former vice-presidential candidate would say...YOU BETCHA!!! And boy, I can't wait for the next chance to apply my new-found knowledge!

Autumn Is Here!

2009-10-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

I suppose for most triathletes the racing season is just winding down...or maybe the 2010 training is just beginning...but as for me, the 2009 season is just about kicking off! Next week I'm traveling to Austin, TX for the Longhorn 70.3 race. This will be my first real stay in the Lone Star State as all of my previous excursions to Texas have either been a mistake or just passing through the airports. I've put in some solid training since coming back from the collarbone surgery and I'm excited to see how it will come together. And I hear Austin is a funky place...should be a fun trip!

I'm also in the midst of higher running mileage in preparation for the Vegas Marathon in December. That should also be a fun trip! Like Texas, my previous stints in Nevada have just been drive-thrus on the way to California. We'll actually spend three whole days in Vegas and are even planning to go to a show! Don't know which one yet, but there are lots to choose from.

Speaking of marathons, last weekend we traveled to Illinois and Indiana for the Chicago Marathon and to visit my family. Albert and our friend Alex Tomas ran, as well as a couple of other guys from Utah. Alex was shooting for a 2:17 while Albert was aiming to crack 2:30...it was a pretty successful day with Alex going 2:18:58 (he skipped from the 2:30s to the 2:teens!) and Albert clocked a 2:29:55. The day was a little on the chilly side for marathoning but the sun was out and spirits were high. My mom, brother, and good friend Betsy came up for the race and we embraced the role of spectators, dashing from point to point along the course. It was really fun, like an urban cross-country course! It was a "planes, trains, and automobiles" type of trip with lots of little travel segments along the way. We really only spent one full day in Indiana which was too short, but it was nice to be with my family and hang out with my 3-year-old niece. As Albert said, "Oh, you talk now!" And talk she does!

Bear Lake Brawl

2009-09-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

I participated in the Bear Lake Brawl triathlon this past weekend, located (as the name suggests) at Bear Lake on the Utah/Idaho border. It is gorgeous up there! With the sun shining the water is a deep stunning blue, and the nice soft sand almost makes you think you might be at a real beach. We stayed at a really great campground (complete with a doggie agility course!) and partook of the famous raspberry shakes that the area is known for. It was a good weekend.

My purpose for doing the race was to test my fitness coming back from injury and to blow out the cobwebs in preparation for the Austin 70.3 event in October. I was especially looking forward to running as I've been working very hard on improving my form and I wanted to see how it would come together at the end of a race. It was solid across the board---good swim, good bike, and a run split that tells me I'm doing the right things to make it better. I felt great the whole time which was a nice surprise considering that I really don't have that much training under my belt yet. Very encouraging!

Unfortunately in the days after the race there was a bit of controversy surrounding my time, particularly the swim split. Apparently some other participants found my time to be unbelievably fast and questioned whether I had done both laps of the swim leg. Of course I did do both laps, and if anyone had bothered to do a little research they would have easily found plenty of evidence indicating that a 21 minute swim is perfectly reasonable for me, if not even a little slow. It's all been resolved now and I was officially named the winner, but it still stings a little to have been accused of cheating. I did the race to celebrate coming back from injury and to test my fitness, not to become embroiled in a petty controversy. I feel sorry for the people who let their day be soured by my performance, and I hope that everyone can look back and laugh about the whole situation down the road.

Now it's back to a big block of training to become even more "unbelievably fast" for the rest of the season!

It's September Already?!

2009-09-09T13:31:00.000-07:00

Wow, time has really flown the past couple of months! That's a good thing when you're recovering from an injury. I'm back to doing swim-bike-run again, and even swam my first strokes of 2-arm butterfly the other day! My collarbone is recovering nicely and I'm getting my strength back. I've had to change plans a bit though...no Ironman this year, there's just not enough time to fit in the training. So I've readjusted my focus to training for a winter marathon instead. This will help build a good running base to jump-start my season next year. I've made some important changes in my approach to running and feel like I'm already reaping the benefits...in fact, I ran a near-PR half marathon the other weekend AND negative split it in the process! I'm pretty sure that's a first for me.

Swimming and biking are coming along nicely too. My first triathlon back since the injury will actually be this weekend at the Bear Lake Brawl in Garden City, UT. It will be my first time racing this event which is always fun...not to mention that the location is simply gorgeous! We're planning to make a weekend of it by heading to the Uintas post-race for some quality camping.

We had a visitor last weekend when my sister swung by on her way to Indiana. She was just here for one day but we packed it full with outdoor activities---hiking, running, and open water swimming. She'll be back through in a couple of weeks for a little longer visit this time. We were hoping to put together a triathlon relay but the race we were eying sold out---bummer! But I'm sure we can come up with something else fun to do.

I've been running in the early mornings three days a week with some of Albert's friends at Liberty Park...we're calling ourselves the Morning Marauders and have expanded from 2 to 6 people! The guys are really fun and it ends up being a nice soft recovery run for me. I think I've talked one of them into doing a half marathon this winter!

Two Arms, To Arms!

2009-07-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

I am so pleased to announce that I swam my first real two-armed strokes of freestyle and backstroke yesterday! My left side is still pretty stiff but I was able to get through (almost) the complete range of motion with minimal pain. Woohoo! And kicking with a board is getting much better...and I also did a bit of sculling and doggie paddle today with great success. Watch out world!

The Joys of One Armed Swimming

2009-07-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

I had a follow-up with the doctor this past week and am so pleased to announce that he gave the official O.K. to run and swim again! Until now I've been spending a lot of time on my "rides to nowhere" on the bike trainer, as well as using the elliptical trainer and doing some strength training. Thank goodness for the Tour de France! That and all the great coverage of the recent ITU races have really helped keep me going. (And of course, my buddy Alex Trebek---haven't forgotten him!) I have to admit I was a little naughty in the days leading up to the doctor appointment...it's been so stinking hot lately that I just HAD to get in the pool. At first I told myself I would just walk a little and enjoy being surrounded by water. Walking quickly turned into kicking on my side, which then turned into one-armed swimming! When I saw the doctor he asked if I'd been behaving myself...when I said "mostly" he said he didn't believe me...I think he knows my type all too well! He only mildly scolded me though, and it was more or a reminder that it doesn't matter how fit you are, that bones take the same amount of time to heal whether you're an athlete or a couch potato. That and to remember to lather up on the sunscreen to help the scar heal nicely. He noted that my range of motion is really good (I think his words were "you're pretty loose for being a sling for the past 4 weeks"---ha!) and that I don't need any formal physical therapy. He left by saying that whatever I've been up to is fine (he said this a little too knowingly) and gave the go ahead to start running with the sling on, doing whatever I can in the pool, and beginning some specific range of motion exercises.

So...I'm really tuned into one armed swimming right now! (The masters swimmers get to enjoy my enthusiasm for one-armed drills as a result.) I discovered I can do all four strokes, and I was even able to sort of hold a kick board out in front of me yesterday. Running has also been added back into my repertoire. I ran a whopping four miles yesterday! And I can now rest comfortably on both the handlebars and aerobars on the bike, which makes my rides to nowhere much more enjoyable for my tailbone.

So there's the update. I spent the morning yesterday spectating at a local triathlon, cheering on a handful of friends and athletes who were racing. It was fun to be able to devote my entire attention to their races...but I must say I'm itching to get back in the thick of things myself!

A Nice Article in the Elkhart Truth

2009-06-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

http://www.etruth.com/Know/News/Story.aspx?id=486891

Back In The Saddle (Again)

2009-06-28T08:26:00.000-07:00

Things are humming along pretty well for having an injury. My surgeon did a FANTASTIC job of repairing the broken collarbone and it's feeling better everyday. He took the stitches out about a week and a half ago and gave me clearance to ride the trainer! So I've been doing a lot of "rides to nowhere"...in the backyard in the rain (thanks to Barb!), in the living room testing my trivia skills with Jeopardy (I'm seriously addicted), and in front of the computer watching live coverage of the ITU races in DC and Des Moines. That certainly keeps me motivated---WOW! Pretty awesome races, I felt like I was right there in the pack. I've also been doing some elliptical workouts and strength training...lots of lunges and one-armed band exercises! People look at me a little weird and tell me I'm going to be lopsided if I keep it up but I just can't stand sitting around being a sloth anymore. My energy is back and it feels great to move and sweat, so that's what I'm doing. I'll have another follow-up with the Doc in 1.5 weeks and at that point he'll tell me "what other kinds of misbehaving" I can do. (Those were his exact words.) Hopefully that "misbehaving" will include ditching the sling and getting back in the pool! Of course there will be some rehab exercises involved to regain my strength and range of motion, but I've been through that before and know what to expect.

Now it's time to go for a little bike ride with my buddy Alex Trebek!

2009-06-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

Rainy Saturday

2009-06-13T15:07:00.001-07:00

A good thumping thunderstorm just rolled through...thunder, lightening, water rushing down the sidewalks, the works. We don't get too many of those in Salt Lake so I savor every single one.

Since the clavicle incident I've been catching up on sleep and movies. I've become addicted to Jeopardy! I was taking a snooze when the storm moved in, but the thunder stirred me up and I just couldn't resist getting up to look at it. I wonder how the weather is holding up in Boise? I was supposed to be racing there today but for obvious reasons had to withdraw. A handful of friends are out there on the course, I'm sending them speedy vibes.

I'm disappointed about not being able to race today because my fitness is very good and mentally I was all ready to go. The season was rolling along nicely; a win at the Danskin Tempe Triathlon, 4th place (behind some pretty stellar ladies!) at Memphis in May, and right on schedule with my training. But sometimes life throws you some curve balls and you have to figure out how to catch them and run. There will still be time for a season when this injury heals and I'm sure I'll learn something along the way. (Like being more cautious going over wet RR tracks.)

Damn. Double Damn.

2009-06-10T13:31:00.000-07:00

After starting the season off with a bang, I hit a little snag over the weekend in the form of a broken collarbone. The classic cyclist injury! Now I can say I'm a true cyclist...although come on, we all know I paid my dues to the goddess of cycling injuries last year.

Here's the story: Albert and I headed to Portland on Friday to visit family in Oregon and watch the Pre Classic Track Meet in Eugene. This is our third year in a row making this trek and it's become a really fun tradition. I had looked at my training plan beforehand and realized that I needed to bring a bike with me to squeeze in long ride Saturday morning. So. Up early on Saturday, out the door by 6:30 and rolling toward downtown Portland. Everything was going smoothly, I was feeling good and enjoying the sensation of a cool drizzle on my cheeks. At one point I even noticed a few stray cats hanging out along the bike path, and wondered if having a white cat cross your path was a sign of good luck. 1.5 hours in and it was time to turn around. I remember thinking that I could now add Portland to my list of cities where I've ridden my bike. Suddenly WHAM! I was on the ground. I didn't even have time to attempt a correction. I had hit some wet RR tracks at not quite the right angle and the wheels just flew out before I could think. I should know better, but I guess the saying is true: experience is the best teacher!

What did I do next? (After a couple of curse words that is.) I got up, noticed my left shoulder was not quite right but otherwise I seemed okay. Scrapes on the knee, hip and elbow but nothing serious. Just that darn shoulder that felt like it was in the wrong place. Then I inspected my bike. Twisted left brake hood and the chain was off. Putting the chain back on was tricky but I managed and got myself back on the bike. I thought I would test it out and see, if it wasn't so bad I would ride back to the house and do a more thorough investigation of the damage. So that's what I did. Looking back, I realize it was slightly crazy to ride close to 20 miles with a broken collarbone. But honestly, a normal hand/arm position on the bars was a little uncomfortable (especially going over bumps) but it didn't really hurt too much. Or maybe I was just in denial. In any case, I made it back to the house without any other mishaps. It was when I saw the big drop in my shoulder in the mirror and had severe difficulty getting my own shirt off that I knew I was in big trouble. A trip to the emergency room for x-rays confirmed it: I had broken my collarbone and would need to see an orthopedic surgeon as soon as I got back to Salt Lake. A few phone calls later I had an appointment all scheduled for first thing Tuesday morning...and somehow I rolled into surgery later that afternoon! Now I'm just hanging out at home recovering and catching up on blogs/e-mails...just me, my computer, and a nifty little metal plate screwed into my left clavicle.

You can bet I'll be uber-cautious around RR tracks from now on!

Pics From Memphis

2009-05-21T11:25:00.001-07:00

Just a few shots from Memphis last weekend. Race updates from Tempe and Memphis coming soon!

Triathlon Clinics

2009-05-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy bee with various triathlon clinics this spring. The first one was through Utah Masters Swimming and the focus was Open Water Swimming Skills and Drills. The idea was to take triathletes through various pool exercises that you can practice to become a better open water swimmer. In Salt Lake there is a severe lack of convenient open water swimming venues so we must do what we can until the weather warms up. It was a great clinic with FANTASTIC coaching talent. The overall numbers were lower than I expected but it was fun and everyone learned a lot.
A big thanks goes out to our sponsors...PowerBar, Rudy Project, Trigger Point Therapy, Pool 'n' Patio, Wasatch Running Center, and Poco Loco for their support.

The second clinic was through the Desert Sharks Triathlon Club and I was a guest coach. Again, the focus was on swimming and open water techniques. I got to work with one of my favorite people, Brad Gale, who manages Pool 'n' Patio in Salt Lake (the BEST place to go for swimming and triathlon gear in Utah). We had a lot of fun taking the intermediate/advanced group through some swimming drills then analyzing videos of each swimmer's stroke.

The most recent clinic was this past weekend and was the second in the series supported by Utah Masters Swimming. It was divided into three parts: Nutrition, Transitions, and Mental Toughness. My friend and swimming buddy Barb Sherwood, R.D. presented information about nutrition as it relates to endurance athletes. Melinda Houston, a sports psychologist from the University of Utah did a segment on the importance of mental strength in sports. Then I got on my soapbox and taught the group about transitioning. We set up a mini course in the side parking lot with bike racks and all (courtesy of Wasatch Area Race Productions) and had them run through a 50 yard swim, 2 lap bike, and 1 lap run course with the focus on setting up a good transition and moving quickly from one discipline to the next. It was a booming success despite---despite a torrential downpour all day! Thanks to Barb, Melinda, Brad, Keena, Andrew, Rob, and Kevin for the help in making it a success. And a thanks goes out to our sponsors: PowerBar, Biker's Edge, Pool 'n' Patio, Wasatch Running Center, Trigger Point Therapy, and Poco Loco for their support.

I will try to scrounge up some good photos from these clinics and post them soon.

Now I can turn my attention from clinics to....racing!!! This weekend I'll be taking a little trip to AZ for the Tempe SheRox Triathlon on Saturday. It's part of the Danskin/SheRox all-womens race series and should be a great event. I've raced in the area before and since it's a sprint distance it should be a good chance to blow out the cobwebs. The following weekend I'll be heading to Tennessee for the Memphis in May Triathlon. This race is always a blast with its unique time trial start and great post-race BBQ. The triathlon crowd in Memphis is really enthusiastic and I'm looking forward to hanging out with the Terrapins again!

Salt Lake Marathon Weekend

2009-05-07T14:56:00.000-07:00

This update has been a long time coming, but I swear the time has just been flying by! I can't believe it's already been over three weeks since the Salt Lake City Marathon. I have to give first kudos to Albert who cracked the 2:40 barrier for the first time and landed in 8th place with a 2:39:54. Excellent work! The next round of congrats go to my client Shay who knocked 10 minutes off her best time and made her Boston qualifier in the process. I was worried about her because I biked backwards over the course to find her and when I did I figured she was going to miss the time standard by about 10 minutes...BUT it turns out she was still on the Trax at the start of the race and didn't even cross the start line until 10 minutes after! Thank goodness for timing chips. My friend Alex Tomas certainly has some cheers coming his way since he won the half marathon in style with a 1:06 and change...smoking fast! And the England/Kimball clan gets a shout out for completing the half marathon under their goal time and beating Albert by a hair in the process. Very well done. My own race was decent, not a best time but in the ballpark and I ran a smart race. My personal victory is that my first mile was not my fastest mile (despite the downhill) while my final mile was one of the fastest splits. Woohoo! Maybe I'm starting to get the hang of this running gig.

Bike Handling 101

2009-04-16T14:47:00.000-07:00

Here's a great article written by Paul Huddle:

http://www.multisports.com/news/1239667253.shtml

Solid Day

2009-04-03T07:06:00.000-07:00

5:05am alarm
5:30-6:45 swim
7-8 coach
9-10 train a session
10:05-11:15 treadmill speedwork and strength training
11:15-noon eat, e-mail, and shower
noon-12:30 train a session
12:35-1:45 home to nap
2-3 train a session
3:15-4:45 hike with Sherman and Albert
5-7 hill repeats on bike trainer
7:30 dinner and wind down
9:45pm bed

Time Warp

2009-03-31T21:21:00.000-07:00

Okay, as my #1 Auntie Fan keeps pointing out, I have been a complete slacker with blogging! I swear I've been in a time warp for the past month. I think there was maybe one weekend since the last time I blogged that there wasn't some kind of event going on. Let's see...:

Feb. 21st: Utah Masters Open Water Swimming Clinic
Feb. 28th: Salt Lake Track Club Winter Series 15K
March 7th: Desert Sharks Tri Club Clinic and Utah Masters Board Meeting
March 14th: Nothing!!!
March 21st: Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon
March 28th: Utah Masters Swimming State Meet

The Open Water Swimming Clinic was a success and we got rave reviews from the participants, although honestly the turnout was a little lower than I'd hoped. It made for a great coach:athlete ratio, though, and with the quality of coaches that we had on board the athletes really got way more than their money's worth! The feedback was that it was a blast and everyone learned a lot. Thanks to PowerBar, Wasatch Running Center, Rudy Project, Trigger Point Therapy, Pool 'n' Patio, and Poco Loco for helping out!

Onto the 15K: it's really not worth mentioning from a race standpoint as it was more of a training run for me. However, it ended up being a slightly amusing run because on the way out I was more engrossed in watching two airplanes fly in a very strange pattern above the airport and the Salt Lake. I kept wondering what they were up to...the best I could come up with was that something was amiss at the airport and the planes were being put into holding patterns until whatever it was got cleared up. My friend Neal came up with the theory that they were "birding" planes looking to clear the flight path areas of unwanted birds. Whatever it was, it was enough to pique my interest and distract me from the business at hand.

Desert Sharks Tri Clinic: this was FUN! I think the best part for me was that someone else was in charge and I could really relax and get into my coaching groove. My good friend Brad Gale and I paired up to take the intermediate/advanced group through some open water skills and drills that you can do in the pool. It was set up so that each participant was filmed and we reconvened after the swimming portion to review the videos and offer stroke analysis. The group was very attentive and lots of people came up to me with questions afterwards. Then I had to dash off to the Board Meeting!

Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon: I did this race last year and was determined to be better prepared this time around for the very deceptive course. However, luck was against me as the week before the race I took a nasty spill on ice while hiking with some friends and really did a number on my tailbone. Walking and sitting were both extremely uncomfortable for about 5 days and I was only able to manage two 20-minute jogs with Sherman leading up to the race. I seriously considered doing the 5-mile run instead, and even that was in question for a few days. But my backside started feeling better and I decided to run the half as a training run and otherwise enjoy a weekend in Moab. The first 11 miles in the canyon were really enjoyable...then you go under a bridge and pop up on the highway to begin the 2 mile Death March to the finish line. I hate those last two miles! It's a real letdown after all those miles between stunning red cliff walls with the Colorado River gurgling along beside you to suddenly find yourself wedged on the shoulder of a highway with cars zooming past. Not to mention it is ever so slightly uphill to the finish. Argh! Next year I'll beat that race...

Swim Meet: I've been a lot more active in the swimming arena since taking over a couple more swim practices and becoming the Utah Masters Swimming Registrar. I figure I'd better practice what I preach and set a good example by swimming in meets. This meet was a lot of fun for many reasons. First, I was in charge of check-in and it was great to meet face to face the swimmers whose registrations I have been processing over the past several months. A bonus of being more involved is that I've gotten to know a lot more people which always makes things more fun. We didn't get things organized to have a Steiner relay, but I was asked to be part of a South Davis relay and we ended up winning it! Always fun. And I swam a well-paced 500 freestyle within .07 seconds of my predicted time, and gave our Open Water Swimming Rep a run for his money! It's been a long time since I've really raced in swimming and I'd forgotten how exhilarating it can be. Woohoo!

Aside from all these weekend events, I've been fitting in some good swim/bike/run time as well. And work keeps me busy...and pottery class was keeping me busy...but now that's over and things seem to be slowing down a bit and I can focus on really ramping up the volume and intensity a bit.

Next up: Salt Lake 1/2 Marathon on April 18th...then triathlon season starts in May!

Back From The Dead

2009-02-19T08:13:00.001-08:00

Long time no blog! Things have been a bit busy to say the least. I've gotten in some solid training in the past few of weeks...lots of solid INDOOR training I might add. My bike trainer and I have been very friendly, and my feelings towards the treadmill are actually softening a bit! I'm back to early morning swims with the "grumpy old men" group at Steiner---they are so much fun! Work has been really busy too which is not surprising for this time of year. We always get a large influx of "New Years Resolutes" in January, plus this year with Bally's closing we had a lot of people switch over to our gym. So my schedule has filled out nicely---with little effort on my part which is always nice!

Coaching is keeping me on my toes as well. I do Tues/Thurs am in addition to Wed pm workouts now. Add that to a Monday night pilates class and Tuesday night pottery...and you get a very busy me! This weekend is the first Triathlon Clinic hosted by Utah Masters Swimming. I'm not officially in charge, but since I have experience with putting on this sort of thing I've really been responsible for quite a bit. The focus this time around is open water swimming skills. We've got a GREAT group of volunteers involved and hopefully we'll get a good turnout...I'll post an update after the fact. If anyone reading this is interested, check out the flyer above.

I've also been busy on the weekends with some local "tune-up" events. Albert and I are signed up for the Salt Lake Track Club Winter Series and we did the 5K a few weeks ago (still both recovering from illness so we jogged through it together), but we flaked out on the 10K this past Saturday. We woke up to snow and wimped out, justifying it with the fact that we had a lot of other things we had to do that day and driving in the snow would take too long. Apparently we weren't the only ones who thought this! However, the next day I did get my act together and swim in the QUAC swim meet at the U of U pool...a 50 back, 100 IM and 50 fly. Ugh! Everything except the 50 fly was terrible. There just isn't time to get up to speed in those short events! But it was a fun event and good to get out and show support for the Quackers.

What is coming up next? More solid training, then a 15K next weekend followed by more training before the Moab 1/2 marathon towards the end of March. That should be a fun little trip...I may even bring the mountain bike along!

I Love My Dog!

2009-01-29T16:29:00.001-08:00

I'm sure that every dog owner is convinced that their dog is really something special...but how can you look at that picture and NOT admit that my doggie is just so handsome?! The bandana is a recent addition, we found it on the floor of Albert's car a few weeks ago...I think it was a remnant left behind from when his brother Val was visiting before Thanksgiving. I think Sherman really likes wearing it and getting it touch with the rogue side of his nature.

In other news, I missed a bunch of training last week after coming down sick with "post-marathon" illness. Albert started it then was kind enough to share. So we were both pretty much sloths for a few days...I didn't even bother to get out of my pjs all day Saturday! This week is much better and I'm hitting all my workouts. The focus has switched back to multi-sport after doing more running and strength training for the past few months.

Also, if there are any local (as in the state of Utah) triathletes out there reading this who are interested in becoming a better open water swimmer, please join us for the Utah Masters Open Water Swim Clinic on Saturday, Feb. 21st from 9-noon at the American Fork Recreation Center! Swing by www.utahmasters.org for more info and a registration form.

This weekend is the beginning of the Salt Lake City Track Club Winter Running Series...the 5K, my favorite (NOT!!!). Albert and I are both scheduled to run but I think it'll be a real leg and lung burner for both of us considering how much gunk we're both still hacking up. Lovely! Albert designed the t-shirts so we are "honorary entries".

More soon!

PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Phoenix Half Marathon

2009-01-22T15:54:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Albert and I flew to Phoenix for the PF Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon (he did the full, I did the half). It was a great time to leave Salt Lake because the first bad inversion of the winter had set in so we had a welcome escape from the nasty air for a couple of days. The Arizona sky seemed to blue and sunny in comparison---and it was WARM! The high was 77 degrees on race day, a little too warm in fact. Luckily neither Albert nor I were out there long enough to really get toasted in the (relative) heat. The run was a success for both of us: Albert PR'd with a 2:41:21 in the marathon, while I finished with a respectable 1:32:53. It was a solid training day, good enough for 50th overall female (out of 14,000 and some) and 8th in my age group. I took it out at sub-1:30 pace and held it for the first 10K (it just felt so good!) but then realized that holding that pace for another 7 miles was going to be a little more than I can handle at this point. I'm sure that if I had taken it out more conservatively I could have been closer to even splitting...but it's a good place to start with some valuable lessons learned.

Pictures to come if I can figure out how to upload them!

Escaping the Inversion

2009-01-16T20:47:00.000-08:00

Albert and I are headed off the Phoenix tomorrow morning for the Rock 'n Roll Marathon (I'm only dong the half). It's a good weekend to go because the first real inversion of the winter has started settling over the valley the last couple of days and it's only supposed to get worse this weekend. Lucky timing! It's not very nice when you can see the air you're breathing. The winter inversions are really the only unpleasant part of living in Salt Lake---otherwise it's a pretty spectacular place to live.

Phoenix has just recently opened a light-rail system so we should be able to get around very easily this weekend. I'll have a full race report as well as a report on the light rail when I get back to Salt Lake!

Snow Globe!

2009-01-06T20:58:00.000-08:00

Today it looked like a snow globe outside the windows all day long! I don't think it let up at all until the evening. It made the pm commute a nightmare because all the roads turned to sheer ice (thank goodness I rely on my own two legs to get me to and from work!). We officially met the across-the-street neighbor today because he accidentally slid into Albert's car and put a big dent in the door. Not the best circumstances to meet someone, but he was a good sport and rang our doorbell to confess and give us his insurance info. I did my intervals inside today---not my favorite way to do speed work but it was effective and saved me from any mishaps on the ice.

Sherman Meets His Nemesis

2009-01-04T19:55:00.001-08:00

Today we took Sherman for a quick walk through Miller Park, a relatively secret little ravine where the Red Butte stream slices through one of the more upscale older neighborhoods in Salt Lake. We take him there sometimes when we're a little pressed for time because it's close and you get a lot of bang for your buck. This was the first time I've brought my camera along and I'm really glad I did because it was a gorgeous (albeit freezing!) day, and we also witnessed a priceless moment when Sherman met his nemesis in the form of a 3-pound toy of a dog in a little fur-lined pink sweater! Sherman: meet Daisy.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T11:51:00.000-08:00

Dog Days

2008-12-28T14:36:00.001-08:00

We borrowed Hanza (Sherman's best friend German Shepherd) today and took the dogs for a hike up Neff's Canyon in the afternoon. It was a good chance to try out my new gaitors (thank you Albert!). They passed the test with flying colors---now I just have to wait for my new snowshoes to arrive and I'll be all set! I also picked up a new set of poles since mine mysteriously disappeared during the summer. They are nifty Black Diamond adjustable jobbies that will work well as both trekking and snowshoeing poles, maybe even for downhill skiing if I get the urge. My new racing shoes also came in this weekend (thank you Glen at Wasatch Running Center!) and I replaced my old Timex Ironman watch with the same of the newest version. This is my third one---I love the watch because it is feminine yet has all the features I need. However, I play hard and that tends to take a toll on the watch after a while...

Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

2008-12-26T19:17:00.000-08:00

Back in Salt Lake

2008-12-26T18:45:00.001-08:00

I just got back from a trip to Indiana last night...bang in the middle of a snowstorm in Salt Lake! The pictures above are the 'leftovers' from today on our walk with Sherman at Bonneville Golf Course. It's really pretty snow, nice and powdery and perfect for skiing. Perhaps the xc skis will make their first appearance of the season this weekend. The Indiana end of the trip yesterday was fine---just very cold!---but once we got into the Rockies there was a big storm brewing. I just assumed the runways got cleared off BEFORE planes landed in a snowstorm...I learned last night that that's not the case! We landed on at least 6 inches of the white stuff. The baggage claim was a zoo, and there were no cabs to be found. Thankfully our good friend Alex came to pick us up with his new snow tires, which definitely came in handy since I-80 hadn't been plowed at that point!

The trip to Indiana was nice and relaxing. I ended up mainly just hanging out with my family, amusing my little niece, and reading books. Albert and I never really adjusted to the time change, so we stayed up late and slept in every day. We weathered the cold and ice and ran a few times while we were there, but I have to say despite the lower altitude (and subsequent greater lung capacity!) it wasn't really much fun running there. A minus 34 degree windchill has a way of putting a damper on your spirits. My family celebrated the holiday on Christmas Eve which was really cozy and a tradition that I prefer anyway. It reminds me of the annual Christmas Eve party at my grandma's house when I was little...very fond memories. I wanted to try out a wonderful recipe for homemade cranberry sauce but unfortunately the cranberry shipments got caught up in the storms and none of them made it to northern Indiana. So we had canned cranberry sauce instead.

SNOW!!!

2008-12-13T10:31:00.001-08:00

We are snowbound this weekend! After an amazingly HUGE full moon rising over the mountains last night the weather suddenly became very unsettled with gusting winds and foreboding warmer temperatures. This is usually a sign that a big dump is on the way. We were not disappointed, as the snow started falling at about 8:30 this morning and looks like it's settled in for the weekend! I suppose I'll have to get reacquainted with my bike trainer and rollers. I was able to run outside this morning---just an easy 4-miler---but Albert didn't make it out for his 22-miler. That may have been due in part to the after-effects of a holiday party last night, but the weather certainly would have been miserable for a long run anyway. But it's great for cross-country skiing! Can't wait to dust off those skiis.

Come on Snow!

2008-12-02T18:28:00.000-08:00

We're currently stuck in the doldrums between the stunning colors of autumn and the fresh brilliance of winter snow along the Wasatch Front. I was browsing through some recent photos and found this one above, taken on a hike at Snowbasin in Ogden Valley, Utah. It dates from late September, when the leaves at the higher elevations had changed to a patchwork of gold, red, and orange. Now most of the leaves are on the ground---or already bagged up and shipped off to the city compost---and we're just sitting here twiddling our thumbs waiting for some fresh white powder to dump on us! I hope it happens soon, my xc skis are ready to come out of the closet!

South Davis Swim Meet

2008-12-02T08:13:00.001-08:00

Here's an update for my Aunt Candy (my number one Philly fan) who wanted to know how the swim meet at South Davis went. It was my first trip to the South Davis Rec Center in Bountiful, and what a beautiful facility it is! From what I could see there are multiple swimming pools, ice rinks, state-of-the-art cardio equipment, aerobics rooms, and weight machines. It has a real family feel to it (unlike the gym where I work). The competition pool is 10 lanes, 25 yards, with an additional warm-down pool and diving boards in the deep end. The meet itself attracted some 150 swimmers, which is a pretty good size for a masters meet. The first event of the day was the 1650yd. freestyle, which my friend Brad Gale (of Pool 'n' Patio fame) won in good style in about 18:30. Next up was the 400IM---my first event. Keep in mind, I took 3 months completely off with the broken arm and since then have been swimming 1-2 times a week! I'm not quite sure what I was thinking in signing up for the distance IM. But I swam it and won the women's event---not in a very fast time and certainly not with ease! The butterfly felt great which was surprising because I really haven't had a good rhythm in practice. When I got to the the backstroke, however, I realised that the fly had probably been a bit too fast---and I had 300 yards to go! Yikes! I made it through, albeit with dead legs. Next time I'll pace myself a little bit better.

I also swam the 100 and 200 IMs, 50 freestyle, 100 breaststroke, and the 200 medley and freestyle relays. I won the 200 IM, was 3rd in the 100IM, 2nd in the 100 breast, and about 5th in the 50 free. My times were pretty awful, but as I haven't swum in a meet since college and I certainly don't get near to that same kind of yardage, it's hard to know what is a good time anymore. The relays were a lot of fun, especially the freestyle relay at the end of the meet because 74-year-old Jim DeMet was our anchor and he out-touched the next team by 6 one-hundreths of a second! Way to go Jim!

There are a few more masters swim meets this winter and I'll probably do as many as I can. I'd like to play around with some different events and see what I can do. Swimming the breaststroke was just too depressing---I can't even get near to what I used to swim!

Next event up: P.F. Chang's Rock n' Roll Half Marathon in Phoenix on January 18th! Albert is running the marathon so we're both in the midst of some specific run training right now. December is a busy month, what with holiday parties and spending a week in Indiana, so it's good to just focus on running and let the swimming and biking sit on the back burner for a bit.

Sherman in the Leaves

2008-11-14T17:28:00.000-08:00

Most of the leaves came down suddenly last weekend, and Sherman seemed to enjoy the new carpet in the back yard. It wasn't very long lived though---the neighborhood leaf pick-up is this week so Albert and I spent a few hours raking and bagging (with Sherman's help, of course!). Now the yard is bare and dismal. Come on, snow!

Busy week and a SWIM MEET!

2008-11-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

Whew! It's been a busy week...busy couple of weeks, actually. Two weekends ago I flew to Indianapolis for a surprise 30th birthday party for my dear friend Betsy whom I've known since the first day of kindergarten. It was great---she was SO surprised! My brother and his wife also made the trip to Indy for a day and we took their two-year-old daughter (my niece) Madelyn to the Indianapolis zoo. Maddie is on an elephant kick right now so of course that was a big hit. She is a strong-willed little girl, very articulate and TALL. If what they say about doubling the height at age two to get an estimated adult height is true---watch out WNBA!!!

I've recently picked up a new responsibility as the Registrar for Utah Masters Swimming. It's a volunteer position that involves processing all the Utah Masters registrations, printing out the new cards, and sending them off to the swimmers. I met with the out-going Registrar on Monday to learn the ropes, and since then it's been a crash course because 2009 registration just opened and there is a swim meet this Saturday---and they all need to be processed before then! So I've been a bit frantic with getting all that sorted out.

To make things more exciting, I'm actually swimming in the meet this weekend! I think I signed up for 5 events but I can't remember all of them---100 and 400IM for sure, 50 free, 100 breast, and one other event that escapes me right now. Should be a hoot! I'll be sure to post an update of how it goes!

Quickie

2008-10-29T20:38:00.000-07:00

This week is a whirlwind! On Friday I'm flying to Indianapolis to spend the weekend with my good friend Betsy whom I've known since kindergarten. She is turning 30, which means we've known each other for 25 years!!! The only people I've known longer than that are my family. If things work out, I'll also get a chance to see my brother, his wife, and my little niece Madelyn. Can't wait!

Training is going well. Monday marked the first official day of my organized running plan for the Phoenix Half Marathon in January. After six weeks of consistent strength training I'm feeling strong and ready to tackle some higher mileage. This is a perfect time of year to run, the leaves are changing and falling on the ground, making a nice soft carpet on the trails. Sherman and I have been thoroughly enjoying our Pipeline runs, and we usually top them off with a rousing game of chuck-it in a nearby schoolyard. He is getting quite good at giving the ball back after fetching it. It's great to have such a food-motivated dog!

The Break

2008-10-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

It doesn't really take a trained eye to see that somethin' just ain't right!

The Arm Story

2008-10-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

As I'm not always so great about keeping in touch with people (hopefully this blog will help!), I've had several requests to hear the story of what happened to my arm. So here goes. July 5th, 2008. Morning bike ride with a few roadie friends, great ride, up and over Emigration Canyon, then up East Canyon. It was one of the best rides I've ever had; what is usually a pretty tough grueling climb felt easy that day. A couple hours later, some other friends called to see if Albert and I wanted to go mountain biking. Good old gung-ho me couldn't say no. So we were riding up a trail in City Creek Canyon with our dogs in tow. A mile or so up we crossed over the road to head down a small path on the other side to where the dogs could get water from the creek. Coming off the road there was a sharp left hand turn onto the path with a drop-out. I've always been a bit shakier at left-hand turns than on rights, and when I saw the drop-out I freaked out and slowed down too much. I wish I had a great story of a high-speed-moose-stepped-out-on-the-path-and-I-flew-over-the-handlebars kind of crash, but alas it was more of a tipping over sideways and taking the brunt of it in my arm. I'm guilty of breaking Rule Number One of bike crashes: never stick out your arm to break your fall! You end up breaking bones instead.

Which is exactly what I did. I snapped the radius clean across just above the wrist, and chipped the ulnar process (the knobby bone on the outside of the wrist). It was obvious right away that something was broken. My hand looked like it belonged to someone else and had been crudely stuck onto my arm instead. Luckily we were near the road, unluckily the road is closed to cars. So an ambulance was called and the canyon road subsequently closed to pedestrians and cyclists to avoid a collision with the emergency vehicles. Once at the emergency room, the doctor set my arm (which was actually kind of cool to watch) but told me he wanted to keep very close tabs on me because of the severity of the break. I saw him again two days later and he put me in a hard (waterproof!) cast. If the bones stayed in place there would be no need for surgery. Unfortunately, at my three week check-up the x-rays were not so good and I had to go in for surgery two days later. They put five removable pins in my arm to hold the bones in place, then wrapped me up in a clunky (non-waterproof) cast. With the pins poking out of my skin under the cast, there was a huge bump on the back of my wrist and it was bent forward at a funny angle to make way for the pins. So my arm basically looked like a big white lobster claw. Very attractive. Luckily I only had to wear it for three weeks. Then the pins came out (with pliers, made me queasy) and another waterproof cast was put on. Two weeks in that then I was home free! Or so I had thought. But my arm was pretty weak and shrivelled, and no matter how much my brain told it to move my wrist simply would not bend even a little bit. A little time and some rehab exercises have done wonders though, and as you can see from my last post, I'm back in the saddle again!

Powell3 Triathlon and Red Canyon

2008-10-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, Albert and I celebrated the changing of the seasons with one last trek to Southern Utah to enjoy the relative warmth and desert scenery before winter seriously sets in. The main 'excuse' for heading south was that in a fit of enthusiasm after completing the Legacy Bike Tour in September, I decided that my arm would be healed enough to hop into a late-season triathlon and see if I still remembered how. The race was the Powell3 Triathlon, a small second-year event which I also did last year. The setting is absolutely stunning and, with the exception of having practically invisible swim buoys, the race is well organized and stress-free. Two laps on the swim, 2 laps for the bike with a steady challenging uphill then a swooping downhill, followed by an out-and-back run. I surprised myself by not only winning the event, but posting a time that was almost 5 minutes faster than last year! I'm beginning to think training is over-rated. :) Needless to say, it certainly felt great to get back to competing and to end the season on a positive note.

We decided after the race to head a bit further north to camp and hike near Bryce Canyon. Ever since Sherman joined our family, we've had to look a little further off the beaten path to find places where dogs are allowed. Bryce Canyon = National Park = no dogs allowed. So we settled on Red Canyon instead, a little to the east of Bryce but with the same kind of red and gold "hoodoo" rock formations. There's a visitor center, a gorgeous little campground nestled among the red rocks and pine trees, and a trailhead to an extensive trail system all within 1 mile of each other. We tucked in for a cozy night of camping, then in the morning packed up and headed off for a 3 hour hike on the various loops in Red Canyon. Gorgeous! I've posted several pictures from the hike below---I tried to cut it down to just a few but there were just too many good ones! All in all, it was a great trip and a good way to hail in the coming of winter.

Red Canyon

2008-10-19T18:02:00.000-07:00

Dog Sitting

2008-10-14T21:38:00.000-07:00

For the past week Albert and I have been borrowing our good friend Anna's dog while she is away on vacation. Hanza is a beautiful German Shepherd about the same age as our black lab mix Sherman, and conveniently enough they are best friends. They are so much fun to watch! Hanza is very high energy and focused (especially when it comes to sticks, tennis balls, and frisbees) and we are all getting plenty of exercise. Over the weekend we took the boys on a hike in the foothills and they had a good romp in the new snow. Above are some pictures taken from that day.

And We're Live!!!

2008-10-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new website! I've created this blog to keep an easily accessible record of my adventures as an elite triathlete. While I plan to primarily post updates and pictures of training and racing, I reserve the right to occasionally include completely non-sport related ramblings!

So here we go. Yesterday was the 2008 Hawaii Ironman World Championships in Kona. It lived up to all the usual hype, and then some! Despite being a non-Ironman competitor (so far), I've actually been following this year of Ironman racing with a higher level of interest than usual. Part of this was due to the fact that I was laid up for most of the season with a badly broken arm(a story for another time) and had some extra time on my hands. The second reason is that the Ironman distance has been taken to a whole new level on the women's side in the past twelve months. In past years, the men's side has generally been the more anticipated race and has drawn more media coverage. This year the women definitely topped the bill. The incredible Chrissie Wellington had a lot to do with that, but there have been some absolutely stellar performances produced by other Iron Ladies this year (Erika Csomor, Sandra Wallenhorst, Belinda Granger, Yvonne Van Vlerken to name a few). I won't go into all the details (you can find them at a number of other websites), but when the eventual winner is stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire for 10 minutes and STILL manages to secure a victory by 15 minutes, you know she is in a league of her own. Also having two women run sub-2:59 marathons (the two fastest female run splits ever on the course) speaks to the talent of the field. Simply amazing! And kudos certainly go out to Linsey Corbin, the top American who finished in 5th place. Yeehaw, you go girl! Also congrats go to Caitlin Snow, running a 3:01 marathon in her Kona debut and finishing in 12th place (qualifying with a win at Lake Placid in July and a sizzling 2:59 run split!). It's really neat to see someone I used to race against at ITU events taking a successful crack at the long distance.

As for the men, Madam Pele was her usual temperamental self, smiling on some but not on all. Defending champ Chris McCormack was one of the unlucky ones cursed with a mechanical issue on the bike that took him out of contention. In the end, last year's runner-up Craig Alexander prevailed, nipping the jack-of-all-trades Eneko Llanos of Spain by three minutes. Uber-swimmer Andy Potts, 2004 Olympian and defending 70.3 World Champion, was top American in 7th place despite never having done an Ironman before. Watch out gentlemen! When he starts training specifically for that distance he is going to be unbelievable.

One other notable I must mention is my good friend and former co-worker BJ Christenson. In his second trip to Kona, he placed 21st in the 30-34 age group with a 9:37:19. He had significant improvements on his swim and run legs from the last time he was at the Big Dance, and overall was 3 minutes faster than last time on the course. Way to go Beej!

So what did I draw from the Hawaii Ironman this year? It was definitely inspirational, but I sort of felt like a kid left at home from a party that everyone else was invited to. I can imagine how magical it must be, but there's no way I would really know unless I experienced it for myself. I'm finally starting to have a gnawing interest in my gut, wondering what I could do if I tackled that distance. Guess there's only one way to find out...