Tough Day in Placid

 It’s kind of ironic; 3 years ago I cried becuase I was so happy to finish second place behind Heather Fuhr.  This year, I had to hold back tears of disappointment with my second place finish.  I wanted the win so badly. I wanted to be the first US woman to win Ironman Lake Placid.  I was so close, I could taste it.  I was in contention all day, but the elements got the better of me.  I battled hypothermia and dehydration throughout the day and ended up suffering in the discipline that I thought would be my strength.  Huge congratulations to Caitlin Shea-Kenney, who won and set a run course record.  I will post a report soon.  Right now, I am enjoying spending some time with my family on Long Island, hanging out with my old high-school friends, being very lazy and eating lots of junk food! 

21 More Days!

It’s been so long since I posted an update.  As you know from my previous posts, my spring was sort of rocky, lots of set backs and frustrations.  After FL 70.3 , I thought I was on a roll, but once again, I had another injury flair up forcing me to take another 2 weeks off from running.  I was signed up for Eagleman 70.3.  That was my first Half Ironman back in 2000.  I really wanted to go back and race, so I went for it.  Unfortunately, I had some technical problems on the bike and had to withdraw from the race.  I hoped on my bike and was like what the…….???? my saddle was so low that my knees were hitting my chest. One of the bolts on my saddle somehow got loose and my saddle was tilted all the way down.  I can’t believe this happened. This happened to me once before (Kona 05)  and since then I have become anal with tightening all bolts.  Looking back, I realize it was probably a blessing in disguise.  I needed to rest my injury, if there was any hope in racing at Lake Placid.  I knew that my body would not hold up for another 5 weeks of Ironman training.  As hard as it was I decided to take a full 2 weeks off from running and then hop back into a hard 3 week build up and 2 week taper for Placid.  It was hard to take a full 2 weeks off from running 5 weeks before Placid, but I knew it was my only shot at making it to the starting line somewhat healthy.  The great news is that my coach Lance is a genious.  He somehow managed to get me very fit over the past 3 weeks and I am so fired up to race in Lake Placid.  I just finished up a big training weekend over in Lake Placid.  I am biking the course much faster than I ever have and my transition and long runs have been PB’s as well.  Kelly arrive in Burlington 3 weeks ago and has been kicking my butt in every run.  It helps so much to have someone to chase and I am psyched  with my run training right now.   I have 21 more days to go and I don’t want to jinx myself, but things are looking good!

Aerodynamics

I had to post this. Here is a picture of my niece, Aggie (Kelly’s little  gal) giving her Brother Pre some aerodynamic tips! They are the cutest, sweetest labs I have ever met aside from my Thunder! They are all making a road trip out to Vermont and will be staying with us for 6 weeks! I am really looking forward to training with Kelly again.  I will have to stay disciplined and stick to my training program, which is always difficult when Kelly and I get together! We have so much fun running together, that I tend to neglect my bike and swim and run like mad.  Last time we training together, we both ended up with stress fractures! After that camp,  Brian banned me from Ironman training with Kelly! I promised to be good this time.  Well sort of

FLorida 70.3 Race Recap

Well, the season is now underway and I found out the painful way that I have lots of work  to do! I decided just 2 weeks ago that I would head to Florida for the 70.3 Triathlon. I had to take a big break from running and swimming over the past few months to heal some injuries, so I knew going into the race that my fitness was lacking. I was eager to race and wanted a good tune up race before the Long Course National Championships at Eagleman 70.3 in 3 weeks, so I decided to give it a go, test my fitness and just be happy to be healthy and racing again. 

The field was stacked with some of the best swimmers and cyclists in our sport.  The swim is always a struggle for me and with only a couple of weeks of swim training under my belt, I knew I would have a lot of ground to make up.  My cycling has been going quite well and I was excited to hop on my Cervelo and see what I could do.  My legs came around quickly and I started to move up through the field.  I’m not usually a fan of flat courses, but my new Cervelo and Zipps treated me well and I felt like I was flying! I  entered T2 in 7^thplace, only 9 seconds off the fasted bike split of the day!   I was 2 minutes down from top 5 and felt confident that if I ran steady, I could move into top 5.  It was my first race running in my new K Swiss shoes.  I heard alot of positive feedback regarding the seemless design and how comforatable they are to run in without socks. I was within 2 minutes of top 5, so I knew it would be a close race and every second would count.  I made a last minute decision to go sockless and was pleasantly surprised to cross the finish line without a single blister!  I ran steady and by mile 11.5, I moved up to 6^th place. I was gaining on 5^th place and really gunning for it.  I managed to close the gap to 7 seconds then the dam finish line appeared and I had to settle for 6^th place!

Overall, I was happy to just to be out there racing with some of the best triathletes in the world.  I definitely have lots of work to do, but I’m happy to see that my cycling is right on track and my injuries are healed.  I’m looking forward to the next 8 weeks as I begin my build up for Ironman Lake Placid.

Let the Season Begin!

It is finally spring here in Vermont! The weather has been cooperating and I am officially off my trainer and biking out in the Green Mountains of Vermont! The picture above is my friend Angie and I biking up Appalachian Gap.  It’s only the beginning of May, so I thought it would be ok to take a little break and get a quick photo!! This is one of my favorite rides in Vermont.  Starting from my house, it’s a little under 2 hours to the base.  The first section of App Gap begins gradually and is referred to as “Baby App.” There is a slight 100 M descent  which leads you into the steep section with tight switchbacks and grades peaking at 18% towards the top.   The first climb of the year up App Gap is always tough and I had to make a mental note to myself to put on a 27 now that I am on 700c wheels again!  From the top you can view Lake  Champlain and the Adirondacks.   To make it a good 5 hour ride, I usually descend the other side of the mountain, spin out the legs for a few minutes and refuel at the country store.  On chilly spring days like yesterday, I often opt for hot coffee rather than sport drink! I just pour it right in my water bottle and drink it while I’m climbing.  One of the things I hate most in life is being cold! With coffee on board, I head back up the mountain. This side is about a 40-45 min climb from the base also peaking at about 18% towards the top.  Many people do not know this but Vermont does have some pretty incredible cycling.  App gap is my favorite climb, but there are 5 other mountain passes in this area.  Lincoln gap is the steepest, peaking at 22% grade! 18 is just fine for me!

Training this past month has gone really well and I am excited to kick off my race season.  After a bumpy spring, I decided to skip Wildflower. This was such a hard decision for me as it is one of my favorite races.  My training this past spring was  so inconsistent, that I felt like I need to go back and repeat a few weeks of base training.  Wildflower is a brutal race.  I knew if I raced, I would loose 2 weeks of training; 1 to taper and 1 week just to recover!  I had to look at the big picture and keep my eye on the prize.  My main goal right now is to do well at Ironman Lake Placid and with it being only 9 weeks away, I needed to get a solid base and feel strong again.  I believe that races are great fitness boosters, but you can’t race your way into Ironman fitness, no way.  I am really excited about my race schedule this year and feel my coach Lance and I have come up with a great plan.  

I have just started my rest week leading into FL 70.3  As usual the pro women’s  race will be stacked, but it will be a good test of my fitness as I start to gear up for Lake Placid.  The rest of my Lake Placid prep will include Eagleman 70.3 and the New Balance Half Ironman.  Let the season begin! 

Spring Update

Hello! Well, I know it’s been a long time since my last update.  The truth is, I am one of those people who believe if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say it at all! That’s the thing I don’t like about blogging.  I feel like everyone is trying way too hard to be positive and inspirational.  We’re all humans and we have bad days or bad stretches and sometimes and need time to sulk a little, face our feelings, then overcome and bounce back.  Well , this is what I went through the past month.  I went to Noosa to swim with fast Aussies and improve my swim handicap.  I can’t tell you how many races I loose in the water.  My first few weeks in Noosa went really well. Vermont was in their typical arctic freeze and I was so excited to spend 6 weeks of winter in summer!  After the first week and a half, I tweaked my bad shoulder while getting totally tumbled by a huge wave (see previous post!).  That was it.  My rotator cuff was badly strained and I had to miss 5 weeks of swim training.  I tried to spend the next 2 weeks focusing on my cycling and running, but I was also struggling with posterior tibilais tendinitis. I was so excited to be  in the warm weather and so fired up after a disappointing race at Kona, that I went too hard and too long, too early.  I’ve been home now for almost 3 weeks and I am feeling much better.

Last weekend, Kelly and I went to Dallas to race the Play Tri Half Ironman.  I wasn’t sure if I should go because I have not been able to run or swim for some time now.  The trip was all paid for and we were really looking forward  to spending the weekend together, so we decided to go and blow the cobwebs out!!  Kelly and I finished 2 and 4^th and found out we have a lot of work to do!!  We had a great weekend together and laughed nonstop.  We also decided that it probably isn’t a good idea for us to race together. We goof off way too much! 

Aqua Gymnastics

Last Wednesday,  was one of my favorite swim workouts ever.  We practiced race starts, sighting off buoys and even did a little body surfing.  I was really looking forward to this Wednesdays swim.  Well…. let me tell you, when I got to the beach, I knew I was in trouble.  It wasn’t so much the size of the waves that scared me but the force to them.  It is what the Aussies call dumpers.  At only 3-4 feet, these waves are violent and really just dump right down with immense force.  We started the workout just like last week with a few beach race starts, a short ocean swim and a run out to the flags.  The first few loops were challenging but doable.   Half way through the workout, I was swimming back to shore when a huge wave started to break right over me.  I didn’t know whether to dive under it or body surf it to shore.  I figured if I surfed it, I would get to shore faster, therefore less swimming! So I swam hard and put my head down. The wave lifted me so high and then dumped me so hard.  It slammed me around underwater for what seemed like an eternity. Max, our swim squad coach said I was probably under for about 5 seconds, but I swear it was longer!  After a little panic, I finally made it to shore.  I said to our coach, I am done.  He encouraged me to get back in and overcome my fear.  I sat out one interval and jumped in for the last 3 sets.  I was timid, but I made it out without any major tumbles.  On the second to last interval, I hoped in and just on my way out got tumbled again.   I turned around and swam to shore calling it a day.  I figured that was my second strike and 3 strikes you’re out! Coach Paul said I should get back in the water and finish the workout.  I laughed and walked away, then realized he was serious! 

The funny thing is when I told Kelly about the day, she was shocked.  She actually had a dream that she was in water getting thrashed around and couldn’t breathe.  It was close to the same time that it happened to me.  CRAZY!  We haven’t had many freaky twin experiences, but this is really freaky!!

Later that day, while going to the gym by the pool to do my core workout, I ran into my roommate Katya.  She was heading the pool to do a pm swim .  I asked her why the extra swim when we swam this morning.  She said “ That was NOT  a swim workout that was water gymnastics!”  So true, man am I sore!

NOOSA IS THE PLACE TO BE!

Noosa reminds me so much of Boulder, Pro triathletes everywhere! Just today at the pool, I ran into the Bennets, Brent McMahon, Belinda Granger, Lisbeth Kristensen, Andrew Johns and the list goes on!  The swim program here is better than I expected.  I’ve been doing 4 masters workouts and 2 open water swims per week.  Last Wednesday, we did a killer open water swim workout.  Our warm up included 4x (beach starts, 300 meter swim, beach sprint back to start flags).  Did I mention that was the warm up! The post workout Latte never tasted so good.  Oh and it was at 5:30 am! My friends at home would be so proud of me!  I am going with it, but honestly I really don’t understand why swimmers have to train so early in the morning.  I mean, if you get up at 7am and sun sets at 6ish, you have 11 hours to train.  Seems like plenty of time to me!

The entire crew is now here and we are having a blast.  I am staying with Bree Wee, Eileen Swanson and Katya Meyers and Coach Paul from Lifesport is here to keep us from surfing too much! Tomorrow is my favorite day of the week, the long run!   

OFF TO AUSTRALIA!!

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Maui Training Camp

Greeting from Maui!  I’ve always wanted to visit Maui and when my coach Lance Watson told me about a training camp that he wanted to do with his elite athletes, I jumped at the opportunity.  It does feel a little strange being in Hawaii in February.  I’ve been to the Big Island every year for the past 6 years for the Ironman and this is my first time visiting another Island.  My mind keeps flashing back to last year in Kona.  I trained so hard for that race and to start it injured and have to hobble through race day was extremely frustrating.  The feelings fuel and motivate me to work harder than ever this year.  Four days into camp and every muscle in my body is sore and I love it!  The workouts have been painful at times, but I just keep telling myself, nothing is more painful than being injured and sidelined.  If I can stay on crutches for 41/2 weeks to heal a stress fracture, I can do this dam workout!!  We’ve been doing tons of ocean swims, volcano climbs and long runs in the heat.  My Cervelo feels light and fast and I can’t wait to pop on my new sub 9 and kick off my race season.   Tomorrow is a rest day and as much as  I love to train, I am looking forward to it!