Success is

Success is focusing the full power of all you are

On what you have a burning desire to achieve.

W. A. Peterson



Question of the Week
Are you totally focused on that which you wish to achieve?



I get these quotes from my Dad who has always been a HUGE motivator in my life. He has been able to help me believe that I can achieve anything I set my mind to. This goes all the way back to high school volleyball days when I was in the weight room with the boys lifting in order to increase my jump height, to applying to physical therapy school, to finishing my first triathlon, first Ironman, racing at Worlds etc.

This quote came this week and I have been thinking about it with my athletes and myself. To achieve the goals we set we have to do things that hurt, we may not like, things we dread. That is part of what it takes to accomplish things that may seem impossible. For some, this means getting up at 4:30 in the morning to get their workouts done, others it may mean passing on the sweets and snacks to improve the strength/body weight ratio, others..it may mean spending a little more time staring at the black line at the bottom of the pool, and for some it may mean taking that step towards showing up for group ride.

For me this year it means staying in the weight room (among others things, as I have switched into IM racing again). I've noticed over the past 2 years that once I stop lifting pre-season....I lost my strength faster than before, and then fizzle towards the end of the season, or get minor injuries etc. So, even though this is a workout that seems tedious, or one that could be skipped if short on time (who wants to make another trip to the gym especially when it starts getting nice out), I am going to stick with it through the season and treat it as important as any key workout on the schedule. I started following the BFS weights again in the fall and it keeps it interesting and is always changing. ( more on that later)

Take a good look at what may be keeping you from your goals, and focus on doing what it takes to get the job done.

Firsts....

Good Luck to my athletes Kristi and Miguel doing Ralph's 70.3 this weekend!!!! Race season is officially here and its time to let all that hard winter work pay off. Those indoor long rides and cold dark runs will be worth it when you cross the finish line!

This is the first race of the season for many, and for some a first 1/2 IM ever! You can never get back that feeling of a "first"! That feeling of finishing your first triathlon ever, or finishing your first marathon, first 1/2 IM and then yes, your first Ironman. That is an experience and feeling you can never get back. Running down the finish at my first IM in FL, I had a smile on my face so big it erased the pain and fatigue away (yea almost like having a baby). Its a moment stuck in my brain that still makes me smile. After that, then there is more pressure, and nerves to improve, PR, ....go faster!! Race hard, and enjoy!


First races of the season are exciting too because there is so much motivation and excitement to finally be racing and to see where that winter training has gotten you. It sets a standard to see where your early season fitness really is, and can take you one step closer to your goals.

March Madness

March Madness is.......:

1. Snow on spring break and Easter, especially after the winter we've had.

2. Seeing my client Carmen run recently after she has spent the winter months working on strength and run form, it was like night and day and lead to a 5 min PR in a 1/2 marathon.

3. Adam agreeing to take a month off from running to rest his chronic Achilles tendinitis, now that is MAD!

4. Doing a late March brick workout and having to go from drenched wet clothes from an indoor bike workout, to layers of winter clothes just to run outside.

5. All cute spring summer clothes out in the store, but we're still wearing fleece, hats and gloves.

6. How fast TB athlete Ryan G. ran March Madness, 1:09 that is like 5:10 pace...is that possible?

7. The number of basketball games on in March. Just think if they were all triathlons!

8. Only 4 months until IM USA!

I did it.

I broke down and started a this blog. At first I was apprehensive, because I don't expect anyone to want to hear about the ramblings of my daily adventures in multitasking, but I have had several requests and with some nudging by athletes I realized it can be a great way to communicate information to the athletes I coach, fellow coaches, friends etc. For some time I have sent athlete updates to my athletes with training tips, comments and who is doing what with little race reports, and mostly.....lots of motivation to keep everyone going especially through this winter that won't end. This will be an easier way to share this information as well as allow athletes to comment to each other,plus make it a little more fun and interesting. This has been a process, I set out to start this in Jan, but with the growth of my duties with Trainingbible, my work at Cosport, coaching....oh yea and being a Mom, and wife to my super triathlete husband Adam, and training myself...it got put aside. But with the start of the tri season quickly approaching I thought I should get this going.



Now it is just about officially spring. I love/hate spring at the same time. It means the new tri season is just around the corner, which as an athlete I love because workouts start to get more intense, and we get nice tastes of warmer weather, races get closer; but in Chicago the weather will play games with you. After this winter, I just want it to be nice......permanently. I want to ride outside, and run without a million layers. Soon, several of my athletes who have been working sooooo hard this winter will be getting ready to race their first tri's of the season. I have Meg who is doing IM Arizona along with many other local athletes. Talk about dedication! Training for an IM in Chicago through the dark cold winter! Noooo thanks, I like it HOT, but she has done the work and it showed at our training camp in Tuscon as she was biking incredibly!!! Racing that IM outdoors will seem easy in the warm sun, compared to trainer rides and bundled up long runs with frozen gu!

So bring on spring and bring on warmer weather, tough training and racing ! Good luck to all my athletes, and friends this season!