LINDSAY ZUCCO

Quick trip/Quick post

2012-02-12T18:49:00.000-08:00

This week I was supposed to be in Death Valley coaching athletes and getting a little bit of my own training in. However, I found out a week ago that my Dad has MS. It comes as a shock, for sure. My Dad has been the one person who has always, no matter what encouraged me to dream big and chase it. "No dream is to big!" he said to me numerous times. When my races tanked, he is the one who could set me straight again. I chose to take some of the already scheduled time off and make a quick trip home to Portland to take my own little assesment of what is going on, see what was up and make sure steps were being taken to manage his symptoms.

While there, I was able to get a few hilly running and riding in. I always love training in the foothills of Mt. Hood.
I climbed over the hill and rode along the river farther than I have, deeper into national forest.

I was frozen, dressed more for 60 deg vs. a damp 45, but loving every moment. I am still amazed I used to live in such a place and took it for granted, coming back makes me appreciate it so much more. I didn't get nearly the training in that I would have if I'd gone to DV, but I cheered myself up by saying its early Feb, and I'll be less trashed come Sept. and at least I wasn't back in the snowy 10 deg. temps that Chicago had.

I learned a lot about my Dad's symptoms and how he can manage them. One way is diet. He has been following a strict Paleo style diet (actually called MS recovery diet) and has felt better with diminished symptoms at times. I have to admit to having a little anxiety in the chance that there is some genetic component to this. After doing some research and reading I have decided to try the Paleo diet for athletes. I am attempting this for my overall long term health more than for athletic performance. So if I get the added bonus of racing faster then hot damn. I luckily have had a happy stomach in at least 95% of my races, don't have a sweet tooth and for the most part happy with my body when it comes to race nutrition. I love my bagel with PB, and Spaghetti for dinner. I am busy. Fitting in workouts can be challenging, so trust me adding "Top Chef" to my already extensive resume by adding chopping and cooking to the list, isn't something I'm dying to do. I don't have time to shop organic, chop, cut and eat whole but, when overall long term health is concerned I'm game to try at least to see if the effort is worth it.

At least I like shopping at Trader Joes.

FACE THE PAIN

2012-02-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

I sometimes watch UFC fights with AZ and have gotten to where I can do so without covering my eyes the whole time. I’ve watched enough now that I can even name a few of the fighters and have even developed a few favorites. Favorite fighters for me are:

#1 how fit or hot they look, of course
#2 if they are a good sport,
#3 where they live (i cheered for a guy, just because he was from Oregon)

If you uncover your eyes enough you can see they these guys are very unique, but amazing athletes. I bet most of them have better hamstring flexibility than I do. Each fighter gets their own walk down song, the song that must pump them up enough to jump into a ring they could potentially be killed, or hurt very badly. One guys' song is “Face the Pain”, I forget which fighter and I forgot who sings it but it is a a loud, naughty song that I have on my ipod and save it for when it really starts to burn, hurt or get really ugly. Now,... I am a physical therapist and work with people every day on facing their injury and pain, which is a different kind of pain that you shouldn't ignore.

I love the phrase ” face the pain”. When it starts to hurt, burn or get ugly in hard workout, interval set, race what will you do? Face it head on and stare it in the eyes? (um these fighters are great at giving frightening stare downs), or will you crumble, fade and walk away from it. Good places to practice facing the pain are in workouts. Face it in those uncomfortable sets, least favorite workouts, or least favorite conditions. The more times you face it, the better you get at dealing with, and taking on whatever is thrown at you. For me, facing a solo swim when I am tired, cold and without a real workout is a a painful experience, but I have been staring down the eyes of it more often and getting better at putting up the fight. Facing the Pain doesn't always have to be pushing through a hard set or even be related to working out It can also be facing head on whatever you least like doing. I once read in Apolo Ono’s biography No Regrets , that he used to put bowls of his favorite candy out in his house when he was trying to drop weight, just to “face” the temptation and walk away. Ouch!

Training hasn't been too unpleasant to face. The weather has been phenomenal for Feb and I have been outside and happy! Runs have required sunglasses and not as many layers, and my bike hasn’t really been stuck on the trainer. I was faster on the track last week and almost felt like I had arms in the water a couple times. My awesome Coach Scott Iott has been pretty nice to me so far, but with some time off work and a trip home to Oregon I see some real work ahead of me! Time to Face it!

The Battles

2012-01-29T18:44:00.000-08:00

I have been having a lot of mental battles with myself lately and a few times there has been an all out war go on in my head. The battles aren't too often negative (although I was pouting on my run today because of the icy wind cutting my face) or due to lack of motivation, but rather pressure to make the right choice to get the most benefit out of whatever it is I am trying to do. Don't you hate making a choice, then regret it later? I don't have tons of extra time, so I want to get it right, and I want to get the most out of the choice I've made.

This time of year in the midwest creates many opportunities for battle. My motivation is up there. Its January, and races have been scheduled and paid for. I want to see how fast I can go in 2012! But when you wake up to hear the howling wind, snow flying and a high of 25 making it feel much colder, the battle starts. Not whether I will do the workout or skip it. But..... is it better to spend 20 min bundling up to run through the cold wind and snow feeling like the Michelin Man, or get the quality work in on the dreadmill. I don't like the TM unless its for a speed session, but do end up on it more than I like due to convenience or cold.

Today I started my run on the TM, but got so bored, I ended up layering up and doing the rest outside in the cold. Yesterday I rode outside in 14 degree wind chill on my cross bike in the snow, because being cold sounded more fun than riding the trainer. Jumping into a cold pool when you've already been frozen twice that day is a battle I face every time I'm on the pool deck. I've been better at talking myself into this one. Sometimes neither choice seems fun but getting it done is what counts and not doing it is worse. I want to be ready for the races and not be 3 steps behind when race season gets near.

Dad and I cheering for Adam in Kona

I had a big battle in my head regarding my trip to our TBC Death Valley Camp. This will be an awesome event with miles of great outdoor riding and lots of fun friends and training partners, but I have decided to take the time to make a quick trip home to Oregon to see my Dad who is having some medical testing done and I really feel I need to see for myself what is going on. Tough decision, but absolutely the right one and... going home to Oregon is never something I dread doing! The easy decision that put up no fight is that I will still take my bike to snag some outdoor Oregon bike miles in the foothills of Mt. Hood

Transformation....

2012-01-17T18:45:00.000-08:00

Its been almost 2 weeks since CX Nationals and I have been in the process of transforming myself back into an athlete than can move steadily forward for about 5 hrs or less. I’ve been a patient girl with some pathetic and some promising workouts at the pool and running, all with the hopes of turning myself from this:

Into this:
VEGAS 70.3 finish line!

I spent most of the fall on my cross bike, outside. I did very few trainer rides, very little running (maybe 1-2 x a week totaling less than 8 miles a week) and no swimming until Nov at which point I really only swam 1 x a week. This was all in an attempt to be the best I could at CX nationals. I rode my bike 4-5 x a week, many times very hard with explosive intervals. Now I am getting ready swim, TT 56 miles, then run 13. It is a work in progress and it takes patience. With experience comes some wisdom (maybe) and some guts (maybe). To mostly stop running and swimming and focus on something else takes a some faith. Faith that is will be there again. I've been through having a baby and racing at the World Championships 6 months later. That is enough to teach you that it will come back. Part of the fun is the work it takes to make the change. To just swim bike and run the same rate all year long would put me to sleep. Last year this worked. Lets hope it does again this year because this:

looming in the horizon and has been enough to get my tail moving

I have some awesome new friends supporting me along the way with my Wattie Inc. Elite team. It’s a crazy fun group and must admit its been challenging keeping up with everyone. I have already experienced incredible support,and encouragement along with a little fun and hazing on the side. Plus I get to use some really sweet stuff to help me go fast.

2012-01-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

CXNATZ and Rockin the W in 2012

Huge shout to Ali Engin/ Endurancepicture.com

Racing a bike outside in January in Madison is a frightening thought but rolling up to the starting grid of Cyclocross Nationals on Sunday with the best CX bike racers around had me shaking in my muddy shoes. I haven’t been that nervous for a race since maybe my first Ironman which was like a million years ago. It was only a 40 min bike race which to my triathlon friends might seem like nothing. But on this day, it would be like seating yourself at the back of the pack of a swim start at US PRO nationals triathlon and having your result count against 1st place. My start positon in the elite race was like 73rd out of 82 . I needed a telescope lens to see the top women on the front row. There was so much energy at the start it was a complete rush and so amazing. The support guys for the other girls at the back were awesome at calming us down and just saying go for it and try to beat your starting position. Most of us had 0 UCI points which puts you at the back of the bus, but I was so pumped to just be on the starting line and had worked so hard all season just to get there. I have never started a bike race of that size and wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but just as I imagined, it was a lot like a mass swim start in triathlon

After a lot of warm up, rubbing embro into my legs, peeling of layers, stops to the porta potty for nervous peeing, and scraping mud off the bike, the whistle finally blew and the start was so fast for a long stretch on pavement at an all out sprint. Yes, I bumped elbows more than one time and once we hit the grass and mud it was chaos. Girls were going down, sliding into the stakes holding up the course tape, or crashing into each other. I managed to slide through without going down which meant I met my goal for the day! (shh, I did wipe out in the warm up and got to start the race with mud on me) The mud was thicker than my Thurs race and super rutty making the ride rough and crazy. At times it felt like you were riding through cement. I felt amazing on the big hills and the stair run up (my favorite parts of that course). I rode as hard as I could,while trying to keep the wheels on the ground (an interesting combination in mud) but the officials started pulling us off the back. I would have loved another lap and I did beat my call up number.

Thank you! Eric Goodwin

Cyclocross for me started 2 years ago as a fun way to stay in shape in the off season, however, I have grown to love it as much as triathlon. I’m sure my tri friends think I’m crazy riding my bike out in the cold and mud, and I’m sure my CX friends think I crazy to swim and run, and not race bikes much in through summer except for some 56 mile TT's. But trying to be the best I can at both is what makes it fun for me, and I really can’t remember the last time I was truly burnt out. Now I am starting my conversion back to triathlete and there will be some ugly swims and runs for awhile. My coach Scott Iott has been through this with me once before and always has some good tricks up his sleeve to turn me back into a triathlete.

To top off my whirlwhind weekend of racing with trips back and forth to Madison, Friday I found out I was selected to be on the WattieInc Elite team for 2012. My phone started chirping at me like crazy when I was trying to hammer out some work. When I applied for this I was looking for some fun new ways to spice up the 2012 race season and have to confess wanting a sweet race kit was part of the motivation and was actually quite shocked when I found out I had been selected.

So, in addition to being a TBC coach/athlete, I am super excited to be a part of this edgy new team. There are some amazing sponsors providing support Thank you to them for the opportunity to rock!, check them out here : http://wattieink.com/2012/01/2012-wattie-ink-elite-team-roster-announced/

2011 Top 5s

2011-12-29T18:56:00.000-08:00

The end of the year always brings out classic lists, best ofs, most memorable, year in reviews.Its fun to look back at all the pieces (good and bad) that make up 1 great year. After all some of the tough experiences help you learn and move on and become even better. If you have been tuning into the TBC podcasts, you’ve heard some great top 5 lists. I was in tears laughing at my computer one day while working and listening to Scotts’ top 5 where NOT to eat the night before a race. 2011 has been good to me and I thought I’d share some of my own TOP 5 memorable moments...

TOP 5: listed from 5th to 1st

Kick A$% Training Moments to Write Home About;

5. Nailing goal mile splits on the track faster than I had seen in years
4. PR in a long hilly training run in the 100 deg heat 6 days after doing KS 70.3.
3. Biking to the top of Mt. Lemmon with friends on a birthday training weekend

2. Performing 28 full body pull ups at the personal trainer without help
1. climbing and conquering 6 Gap in GA, and being 2nd to the top of Hogspen in my group

TOP 5 stellar blow ups

5. most swim workouts
4. totally missing those same goal mile times on the Tucson track when trying to squeeze the workout in straight from the airport

3. running the day after any cyclocross race in the season; it’s like I’ve never run in my life
2. cramping in my calves so bad causing me to walk like a stork in the last 50 yd of Racine 70.3 and getting passed by 2 girls coming into the chute

1. my epic ride with Adam and the K –Swiss team on my rented bike on the Vegas course; I rode all out and hung with them for about 30 miles then blew so bad, I wobbled my way through the desert back to the hotel; classic in front of top level pros ! 

Top 5 Mom Moments:

5. Mom duty on Muncie 70.3 weekend; taking kids to the IN Dunes for the first time on the way to watch Adam race Muncie

4. Mother’s day celebration at Jack’s school; treated like royalty by 8 yr olds

3. watching Jack at his first swim meet, and loving it

2. cheering for the kids at their first triathlon

1. standing on the 50 yard line at Homecoming Celebration for Kaneland youth football

Top 5 Racing Moments

5. feeling stronger as the race went on at the Elgin fox trot 10 miler, and racing a girl up the hill at mile 8 and dropping her

4. Indian Lakes Cyclocross races; I finally had cx legs again

3. running into the French Quarter at NOLA 70.3 with a run split I hadn’t had in a ½ IM in years
2. Passing 4 in my AG on the tough run course at Vegas 70.3 world champs in Sept

1. Being in the starting chute and racing with elite/pro women at CCCNY race. To even be qualified to be there was pretty amazing; unfortunately I raced horribly in the extreme mud and this experience could also fall under stellar blow ups as well

Top 5 Zucco Moments

5. Hosting a Venezualeaun and Austrailan as house mates for a good chunk of the summer

4. combining a race weekends with a trip to Great America

3. shopping for groceries in bike kits to fit it all in

2. getting all dirty and muddy mtn. biking with AZ through the desert, then dressing up pretty for a night out in Vegas

1. There were too many great moments of 2011 to nominate any as number one

Have a great 2012!

Tis the Season!

2011-12-18T19:25:00.001-08:00

SNOWY-cyclocross

Winter has been slow to arrive here in Chicagoland, but ready or not the holidays are here. We finally had our first real snow and I raced my bike in it. And, I finally finished the Christmas shopping. The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas fly by with decorating, shopping, party hopping, along with trying to hold onto some fitness while it keeps getting darker and colder. Add to it that my work gets very busy at the end of the year. People come out of the wood works with their pain and injuries at the end of the year filling up the schedules and keeping me running all day.

So tis the season for bundling up, Christmas trees, lights, good food, giving gifts, celebrating, cold weather

AND:

MULTI-TASKING....say what you want about a mini van, but can you do this?

Caffien-ating in the afternoon, to stay awake and warm!

RENEWING...everything/ I have been dishing out serious $$ to USA cycling for new multiple new licenses, and USAT for renewing coaching certifications

CHILLAXING by the Christmas tree

MUDDY BIKES

Happy Holidays! Enjoy all the season has to offer :)

Chicago Cross Cup, Wrap Up

2011-12-09T05:28:00.000-08:00

Face the Pain!

Montrose

SAND!

Huge thanks to Ali Engin for taking amazing so many amazing pictures! Check out more at EndurancePicture.com they make muddy painful CX look artful!

Cyclocross season started 6 days after I did the Vegas 70.3 World Champs and has been a whirlwind of racing finishing with the CCC finale at Montrose Harbor this past weekend. I am super happy with finishing 5th OA in the series after a sluggy, slow start racing early with TT legs, a flat and 2 missed races due to island travel. It took some hard work on the bike, in the rain, dark to convert myself back into a cyclocross racer, but each week I felt stronger and eventually started having some decent results and began to crawl my way into the top 10. With more girls in the women’s 1,2,3 field the competition strong and I learned more each week about racing in cyclocross. Being low on points I raced every week to scrounge up as many as I could as my goal became to finish as high in the top 10 as I could.

Montrose is typically freezing and snow covered for the last race which always throws a big twist to the race. This year I was sweating as I was warming up and it was nearly 50 deg. I haven’t worn my super cool BH thermal suit yet and its Dec! Wind and sand was the factor, with some mud from a full day of rain the day before. The wind blew sand all over and the course had way to many sandy sections for my liking. As the horn sounded I took off as hard as I could and and had a great start (that was 2 in a row!). My legs were there and I was happy with how I rode the sand for the first 2 laps. Sand is typically my weakest part of cross racing but I managed to stay on the bike except for the deep section I had planned to run through. At the start of the 3rd lap a guy wiped out in the sand in front of me, causing me to take a bad line and I went down and dropped my chain. I fumbled with it with frozen hand and gloves that kept snagging …This let more than a couple girls get by me…but once rolling I caught a few back. The sand and mud made it a slow course which was frustrating as I felt strong and wanted to go harder, but my favorite section was coming out of the muddy trees and attacking up the hill into the wind. I ended up 8th, but with enough points for 5th OA in the women’s 1, 2 3 field. So thanks to all my coaches who put up with me, and to all the women in the 123’s for so much great racing all season. I have to thank Adam too for putting up with me racing every weekend. I missed his awesome IM FL race where he was leading ALL the age groupers for most of the day, because I stayed home to race Woodstock. He'll just have to do it again at the next time so I can see!

Some most memorable moments of this CCC season are:

1. how bad race 1 (Jackson Park) felt 6 days post Vegas; come on its only 45 min!
2. racing in a vampire costume at Campton Cross
3. racing in extreme mud at Carpentersville, and having to stop to rinse off the bike (I need a pit bike, but our garage couldn't handle it)
4. finally getting good starts coming close to a hole shot at Teds’ Double track
5. keeping the wheels down (mostly) and riding the sand at Montrose

Even though the CCC is over, there are still some huge races including the CCNY event at Indian Lakes. This is a UCI race, with very big competition on New Years weekend. Its so special that I need a special license LOL, and will be toeing the line against some of the big girls. I have 0 UCI points so will probably start almost last in line, but I am looking forward to getting some experience at this kind of race. Nationals will be my last CX of the year and will also be hugely competitive and racing in Madison in January will be adventuresome.

Its beginning to look a lot like......

2011-11-28T18:04:00.000-08:00

***.the end of cyclocross season; my legs are covered in bruises, my bike and shoes are caked with mud, my running shoes are lonely and my arms are whimpy in the pool, but I have never gotten tired of riding on the trails this fall, even wet and muddy. This weekend was off from racing and I was out training hard on wet trails and crashed a couple time. I am fine only adding a cut knee to the collection of bruises, but I hope my bike recovers by Sunday for Montrose/ IL state champs. I bent the derailleur.

***winter: there are gloves, hats, leg warmers, and gloves and leg warmers without their mates piled on the dryer, dresser, and in laundry baskets. Its dark early, its grey more than its sunny; I’ve started the routine of drinking coffee in the afternoon, and wearing my coat around the house to stay warm and I saw some snow flakes today.

*** festive 5ks: there are turkey trots, reindeer runs, santa fun runs, or frosty frolics every weekend; I did run a turkey trot on Thanksgiving day on run training consisting of 0-4 miles per week for the past month. I’ve scaled my running way back with hopes of adding a little power to the cyclocross legs. The cyclocross, bike racer guys keep telling me so. So I was well tapered for the North Shore Turkey Trot. I had no speed so didn’t even have the capability of going out too fast and dying like usual. I actually hit each mile within a few seconds of each other. I was surprised to win my AG and finish 10th female, but the sad part is with a pace quite close to what I raced 10 miles at in May.

*** end of 2011/beginning of 2012 ; Ive been busy talking to new clients about next season, meeting with current clients about wrapping up this season and setting goals for next year , catching up with friends at dinner and STARTING to think about my own race schedule for 2012 . Yes its time to start doing that I guess. It seems like I just did that.

*** CHRISTMAS! I went a little crazy, and spent 2 days in zone 5 decorating the house, porch and tree for Christmas. Its done. Its festive. It’s a lot of work and I was tired at the end. Hauling huge plastic bins up the stairs, unloading …then hauling them back down the stairs on legs that had been trying to out sprint Adam on the bike was exhausting. But with 4 weeks to go it is done. I’m in training now to be able to put it all away in a few weeks!

Tis the Season …..Enjoy 

Rising to the Occasion

2011-11-15T15:11:00.000-08:00

photo by TippingPoint
True Champions have the ability to rise to the occasion. They can get the job done when it counts. They don’t cave under pressure; they remain calm, execute the plan, take it to the next level, are in the right place at the right time, and fear nothing. Rising to the occasion can happen in a breakthrough workout, local race, world championship event, regional playoff, choosing between hitting the snooze button or rolling out of bed, or speaking up in the grocery store line. When it comes to crunch time, can you rise to the occasion?

Kaneland U8 White Football team didn’t rise to the occasion. They collapsed under pressure not making it to the playoffs. Devasting for 8 yr olds. They gave it their all.
Kaneland White preparing for playoffs
The unfamiliar shoot- out format of play on a late Sunday afternoon took them out of their element. Does this happen to you? Does everything have to be just right in your day to have a great workout, fabulous race, or can you rise to the occasion when its too hot, or too cold or under unfamiliar circumstances because you’ve rehearsed it and practiced it when its hot, when it rains, or when you’re tired.

Cyclocross is in full swing; actually we are down to only 2 races left in the Chicago Cross Cup :( To do well these days in the CCC you either have to win some races or race every weekend. I have finally clawed my way into the 6th place in the Women’s 1,2,3 ‘s of the series after a pathetic start to the season. Racing every weekend presents plenty of opportunity to rise to the occasion and every race is a little different all for the good of making you a stronger racer. I am still learning the strategies, because I have had the tendency to let girls sit on my wheel and do lots of the work (not trusting my fitness and being put in unfamiliar situations.) I came OH so close to the podium in Day 2 of Indian Lakes Races, but probably pulled too much all day and lost it in the last few turns of the race, not quite rising to the occasion. Lesson learned. But 2 4th place finishes in 1 weekend is the best I’ve ever done.
photo by JasonKlein

A client at work and I had a discussion about speaking up in regard to the politics of her son’s traveling team. Knowing when to keep your mouth shut, or speaking up is difficult. Sometimes bringing up an issue can have more long term consequences. Can you rise to the occasion when it’s appropriate? You know, speak up and say what no one else wants to. Sometimes it is appropriate to keep your mouth shut, other times its appropriate to speak up. Rising to the occasion is making the right choice. When someone cuts in front of you at the grocery store line with a cart full more than yours to you say “um, excuse me” I was here first, or do you let it slide, or just mutter it under your breath.

When you volunteer to host a family party to celebrate several birthdays amongst a weekend of football, cyclocross racing, Ironman training, and working with athletes can you pull it all together for a fun celebration with good food, family and friends. Rising to the occasion is doing it with a smile on your face, not caving under pressure, and party planning like a champion. This is great practice for larger events like hosting Thanksgiving or Christmas eve dinner amongst a busy work week, holiday shopping, bike racing, Turkey Trots, Christmas decorating.

don't worry, this isn't this year's tree; I'm not that organized

Practice rising to the occasion each day on small things so when its crunch time you can perform like a champion.

Halloween-a-thon

2011-11-02T16:52:00.000-07:00

Campton Cyclocross=Halloween on bikes in costumes..

.. I was a Vampire minus the teeth so I could breathe)

This time of year is like its own Ironman. Halloween kicks it off and then it is one party and social event from Oct 31 until shortly after New Year's. Halloween parties, trick or treating, post season race parties, tail gait parties (haven’t been to one in years, but love them), office parties, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s celebrations all with multiple events each for family and extended family and then the make up parties that can’t be scheduled “in season” are made up shortly after the first of the year. I was in a local store today (Nov 1) and looked up only to see greenery hanging with red ribbon and bows. Was that up for Halloween or, did that wait until 12:00 a.m to hang it?

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a good time and don't need much of an excuse to celebrate. I look forward to end of the season parties, giving thanks, wishing Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

(MultisportMadness end of season party 2010)

However, it takes some serious focus to make it through this time of year in one piece and ready to roll next season. Careful planning is in order or you will do just that, roll right into the New Year. I bought 6 lg. bags of Halloween candy this year to pass out and all but about 2 handfuls were passed out! However my kids raked it in this year and replaced all that was given out with the same amount or more. Honestly it is gross to look at there is so much, and have you ever noticed that when it all sits there mixed together and sits there for awhile it doesn’t taste the same. The chocolate starts to taste like sweet tarts or laffy taffy. The kids will get bored with it and Adam will ask me to hide it and it will be taken to work to pass off on someone bored and roaming the office for a snack.

To make it through Halloween-a-thon and beyond, come up with your own training plan addressing your weaknesses for this time of year, and I'm not talking limiters in swimming biking or running, I'm referring to weaknesses such as Christmas cookies, fudge, rolling over and sleeping in, or sitting by the fire under a blanket. Treat the season like it's an Ironman or marathon event to help keep you focused and headed into the New Year on target.

A few suggestions are:

1.Set a goal: like run a 5k for the first time, or try to PR a 5k; very little training is required and yet it keeps you moving, plus there are so many fun turkey trots and jingle bell runs; and going out for a run before heading out Christmas shopping all day might just keep you sane when standing in those long lines

2. Come up with a holiday nutrition plan: such as: eat breakfast every day and not graze over the cookies first thing in the morning, or no stealing the kids’ Halloween candy, or skip the coffee shops’ peppermint, gingerbread or pumpkin specialty drinks, (unless I just finished long run/ride in the freezing cold, in which case it is earned!)

3.keep track of your workouts; staying honest with what you are doing or not doing can keep you on track. Channel surfing holiday bowl games, climbing the ladder to hang Christmas lights, pressing out Christmas cookies don’t count, (although the many trips up and down the basement stairs to put away all the Halloween/ fall decorations and haul up the Christmas decorations definintely counts!)

4. sign up for a big spring race; nothing like an early season marathon or ½ Ironman to spur you into action and keep you from away from a 3rd piece of pumpkin pie. It’s no fun being out of shape and rolling into the south or west coast to race those tan warm weather ladies.

That being said I m T-minus 2 weeks away from the start of Naper/North masters swimming. Anyone who follows my blog knows by now, swimming hasn't been my favorite the past few years. I used to be better, but I used to swim more. I think a little holiday shopping for cute new swim suits is in order and maybe searching for my goggles should start happening. Part of my Halloween-a-thon training will be returning to the water.

Off season???

2011-10-25T18:07:00.000-07:00

I started an an awesome post about off season, but it seems to be everyone's favorite topic. I know it will be discussed in a soon to be released TBC podcast. I have a behind the scenes preview! BTW, Have you checked these out yet? You can hear me talk about spectating/supporting in Kona (Yea I still get the chills), and a little bit about what's lacking in triathletes, what it takes to get there, and of course cyclocross. Find it on Itunes or facebook, its free!

So I'll let my post on off season die with the exception of a few bullet points:

*keep moving, do something

*do something different.....if you want to get faster or make some improvements, you HAVE to change it up; season after season of moving in the same way at the same pace will keep you....right where you are; are you happy with that?

*address your weaknesses

I was asked to write a race report for the CCC series race #6/ ABD Sunrise Park for the Chicago Women's Bike Racing Blog. You can read it below.... or check out www.cwbr.blogspot.com. and this is how I love spending my triathlon off season, and my cyclocross in season!

ABD Sunrise Park, Oct23 2011
By Lindsay Zucco

Sunrise Park lived up to its name providing an amazing day with the bright sun and perfect temps. Just like the many 180 degree turns throughout the course the conditions were a complete 180 from last week’s Carpenter’s Cross Mudfest. While the mud is fun, it was nice to have the sun, some dry conditions, and no need for bike scrubbing post race. The just over 2 mile course is the longest in the series with a great mix of obstacles to put you to the test including the challenging 6 pack of barriers, heckle hill, wood chips and uphill sections out of turns.

Women’s 123 welcomed newly upgraded Kim Brokhof/ Spidermonkey to the start line along with Holly Klug/Pony Shop making her come back post baby. I had to laugh at her comments about timing nursing with racing. Even though it’s been a few years for me, I myself have experienced a swelling chest near a start line. At least in cyclocross you don’t have to run much! There were 20 racers at the start and I have to say it is so much better having more girls in the field this year. With more girls on the course there are more people to chase, or to hold off, which can elevate you to the next level and make you stronger in the end. I have never been one to shy away from competition and think racing against the best will only make you faster.

After an absolutely horrible start I found myself not in a good position through the tight turns at the start of the race and was hung up behind the main field making it difficult to pass. This always frustrates me, but I tried to relax knowing there were plenty of sections to make a move. The front girls took off incredibly fast and my CX legs are still making their come back from a summer of ½ Ironman racing, but once I hit the woods and I finally felt like my legs were with me and I was able to move up a few places. I could still see a few of the front girls which motivated me to put my head down and dig. I caught a few more going through the barriers. By the time I worked my way around back to the start I could taste blood in my lungs, and saw we still had 3 laps to go. Wow. I thought ouch, but at the same time was glad because I could see a few at the front starting to fade and I was just starting to feel good. I eventually caught Ellie Blick who always has great starts and could next see I was gaining on Holly. Every spot I could, I surged to make up some ground. She kept getting closer and closer a few times I even got on her wheel, but it became obvious to me how well she can handle the turns and I still slow down too much. All the hard efforts I used to get closer would get erased in the corners and I simply couldn’t get the job done. Through much of the 2nd and 3rd laps I could still see Ellie and Lindsay Knight battling back and forth behind me. I was a little worried all my hard surges might come back to haunt me and one of them would catch me in the end, but in the last stretch through the uphill turns, the 180 into the woods and around heckle hill I dug as hard as I could and finished 8th for the day and in the prize money which makes 8th seem a little more tolerable.

Congratulations to all the W 123 racers, and to the podium for the day:
Sam Schneider 1st, Kim Brokhof 2nd (wow what a debut) and Mia Moore 3rd. Thanks to ABD for putting on an amazing course. Up next: Campton Cross, my home course! Bring your Halloween costumes and candy !

RockStars ***

2011-10-13T19:21:00.000-07:00

Having the opportunity to go to Kona to watch the best race at the highest level is always an unforgettable experience. The best are there to race and lay it on the line. All the athletes have worked so hard all year just to qualify, and show up there ready to race. Sure the pros are Rockstars that are amazing to watch, but I love seeing the top age groupers kill it and have the race of their life. Race morning at the pier I can hardly breathe. With the beat of the Hawaiian drums, the helicopters flying, and the sun coming up over the mtn. and Mike Reilly getting the crowd and athletes fired up its hard not to get excited and nervous. I am more nervous for Adam on these mornings than I am for my own big races. I see on a daily basis the hard work and dedication that goes into showing up at the start line in Kona.

(hanging out the night before the race)

AZ had another amazing day in Hawaii. Not feeling tip/top he gutted it out and still had a race he used to dream of. The competition is tough there, and there is nothing like racing against the best to take you to the next level.

This is my blog where I like to talk about myself, and share some of my experiences and knowledge, but this time I’m going to highlight a few of my amazing athletes who had their own rockstar seasons. As a coach I see almost on a daily basis the hard work and dedication my own athletes put into their season and each having unique obstacles to deal with that add to the challenges of training.

Cori Frayer

Cori was 3rd in the 25-29 AG at IM Wisconsin, good enough to qualify for 2012! She is an amazing runner and can run like the wind, but on the tough IM Wisconsin bike course she had a break through bike performance. Cori had been diagnosed with melanoma about a year prior resulting in about 9 surgeries to remove the skin cancer. This made riding outside in the Arizona heat and sun all summer not the wisest choice, so much of her riding was done indoors. I tried to create tough indoor trainer workouts that simulated the steep climbs in Madison. She was dedicated to getting the work done and did those tough long indoor workouts and the results paid off and will be heading to the Big Island next year!

Sarah Arnold

Sarah had made steady improvements over the past 2 years I’ve been working with her. She is an amazing mom of 4 young kids and balances her training with coordinating the activities of 4 very involved kids, and a husband who also trains and races. (hmm I know a little about this myself!) This year Sarah qualified for Vegas and was 3rd in the W 40-44 AG at Muncie and 4th AG at Steelhead and completed the season by winning the Female amateur (nonelite) OA at Chicago Triathlon. She is extremely dedicated and hard working and completes the work, logs in her workouts and has proven she can race at with the top girls. Elite Waves next year Sarah!

Lorna Im

Lorna has made huge improvements in just one year of working together. She was dedicated to improving her swim bike and run and followed the workouts as planned. She is a busy MD who has "on call" hours making balancing work, training and family challenging. She follows the plan and gets the work done which allowed her to make huge improvements. Her goal this year was to PR her marathon time and to finish a 70.3 race. She accomplished both and went on to do 2 more 70. 3 races. She raised her FTP significantly over the season which gave her the confidence and ability to surved our killer Georgia camp.

There is no substitute for hard work and dedication. I see it every day in my own home, every time I check the logs of my athletes and every year in Kona.

Getting Dirty/ and Kona Taper

2011-10-03T19:06:00.000-07:00

Cyclocross season is on!....but I’ve been feeling like I’m still in complete taper mode. Cyclocross training and racing is TOUGH, my HR goes way up and I am sucking air, and even walk around a little stiff and sore, but I still feel like I’m tapering because the overall volume of time is so much less than what I’ve been doing all spring and summer. This has become my Kona taper for the past 3 years. Mid October I take a break from the bike head to Kona and do some running on the island, swim a little (hmmm I’ll have to find my goggles) and cheer on Adam and this year a lot of friends. I cross train by doing some surfing and stand up paddling. I’ll miss race number 3 of the CCC. I always do which leaves me behind in the series with a lot of catching up to do, but it’s worth it. Plus this year the CX season is extra long. Nationals are in Madison in January with a whole lot of races before then and I want to make it to the starting line.

I’ve raced twice already and done numerous wet, hilly, dirty rides. I’ve come home muddy, and bloody a few times, but I have LOVED hitting the trails and riding off road. Triathlon was fun and rewarding this year, but I have also been anxiously awaiting the start of cyclocross. The benefits of switching gears like this are huge, both mentally and physically. Triathletes have the tendency to end the season, take a short break then get right back at it so they can get fitter and faster for next year..... because that’s going to be the year to qualify for Kona. Many skip doing strength, technique, skill, or work on weaknesses. This leads to going back to using the same muscles in the same way (often the wrong way) and then wonder why they aren’t getting faster, or the same body parts keep hurting. Cyclocross riding puts your body in a different position on the bike, takes you on grass, trails, sand, or snow. Much of the pedaling is done with a higher cadence and incorporating fast explosive surges and uses the muscles differently. Racing cyclocross is also a mental change. The goals are different, there are no paces to hit, other than all out. You race as hard as you can for 45 min and that’s it. It is a laid back crowd that is still competitive, but supportive and out to have some fun.
The first race of the series was 1 week out of Vegas 70.3. My mind was ready for change but my legs were completely confused what to do with the fast surges, and my technique for tight turns and cornering were rusty since I had been riding aero all summer. By the 3rd lap I was ready to go and felt like I could keep racing. That is so “triathlete”. The course was slick, wet, muddy and full of tight turns which made it difficult to use fitness to get ahead. I don’t mind the mud, but like a tougher course. For some reason girls from Michigan and Wisconsin came to race and the field was stacked. So with triathlon fatigued legs and a kick ass field I wasn’t happy with my finish, but left motivated to put the CX back in my legs. Two weeks of training on trails and dirt left me feeling much more ready for race 2 in Dekalb. Hopkins Park has a flyover, a small hill and some areas to test your fitness. This is one of my more favorite courses. I had a great start and worked my way up into 3rd place before the end of the first lap. I felt so strong and I usually gain on girls as the race goes on. However, during the 2nd lap I started feeling my rear wheel sliding out from me as I was cornering hard. Then I felt like I was going nowhere and finally couldn’t corner at all. Sure enough a flat rear wheel. I rode on it flat to the wheel pit and I managed a wheel change thanks to Bicycle Heaven Eric. However it took way to much time and threw me completely off. I knew if I finished I’d at least score some points. Once rolling again I just rode as hard as I could and actually caught back up to the end of the field. I walked away frustrated because I was riding strong and racing near the front (minus the cat 1 who showed up), but excited at the same time because I know I can be up there.

So I’ll come home little rested, maybe somewhat tan and, way behind in the CCC series, but highly motivated to climb on the cross bike again and race.

Viva Las Vegas!!

2011-09-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

“Loving and/or long live the Las Vegas life! “

My World Championship weekend in Las Vegas was as spectacular as the big giant casinos, crazy clothes, neon lights and all the glitz and glam that goes with Vegas, without ever even making it to the strip or into any of the famous casinos (although I did pack some sassy shoes just in case post race I found my way to Las Vegas Blvd). Hanging with my family and friends in such a cool place while getting ready for a big race was incredible. I did play Blackjack for the first time ever 2 nights before the race and was a winner, so maybe Lady Luck was on my side.

This weekend and race topped off an amazing triathlon season for me. It has been 3 or 4 years since I took the tri season serious, but finishing it up Vegas style at the World Championships was a perfect ending. I worked hard all season for this race and am thrilled that it ended on the upside!

The logistics of this race were as challenging as the race itself. But luckily we have been out there a lot and knew our way around so we were ready for a lot of the back and forth. We stayed out at Lake Las Vegas Resort, which was the swim start and T1, but 15-20 min away from the expo, finish line and T2 and all the good food, however, it was nice to just walk out of the hotel and across the bridge to the swim start race morning and took away a lot of the race morning stress of getting to transition on time.

I knew how challenging this course was going to be and did everything I could to be ready for the hills on the bike and run. Add to it a non wetsuit swim and racing against the top 70.3 athletes around and that is a true race to be ready for. The start list alone was enough to motivate me to work hard. I love this kind of challenge and racing against the toughest, it takes you to the next level.

My race: I couldn’t have been more ready thanks to my coach, Scott Iott, who wrote such challenging workouts and kept me psyched up and motivated even on the bad days, but I couldn't have gotten there without the help of my amazing husband.

There is no slacking going on at the Zucco house, and when we both are training hard, it gets a little crazy. He had to put up with a little more disorganization this summer including size xs skinfit tri shorts winding up in his drawer and into his workout bag LOL! I wish I could have seen that. I am continually amazed at the plain old hard work Adam puts into training and tried to do my best at playing along. Standards are high in this house!

Swimming in Lake Las Vegas without wetsuit wasn’t so bad thanks to my Skinfit Plasma (so worth it). I swam strong and felt smooth, but a few too many laps short will leave you off the back, so I sprinted the loooong run to T1, and couldn’t wait to ride the hills. The bike is challenging with like 5000 feet of climbing, but nothing like Georgia. When we preveiwed the course we actually rode farther out which include a much bigger climb before the turn around. I was bummed it wasn't in the race. I loved the hills and passed lots girls in my AG especially going up! When Adam came by me so fast, it was startling! He yelled as he was flying by and I kept him in my sights going up the next climb, then he was gone on the decent, and then I dropped my chain! This is the only negative thing that happened in the race. Maybe I was distracted by how fast he went by! I stayed cool, tried the back pedaling thing to get it back on but no more lady luck. I had to stop and get off to fix it. GRRR. Extra motivation to ride faster. I went from 36th to 16th on the bike. The run was challenging but I loved it.There were 3 loops with basically 2 hills up then down and little to no flat making keeping a normal stride going interesting.

It finally felt hot, but not the super extreme that was predicted. I found my legs quick and was able to follow the plan of run strong uphill and go fast downhill It was working. I never felt bad, although the 3rd time ups the long nearly 2 mile climb I did slow down some and wondered when it would end. I went from 16th to 12th on the run.

Now it’s off season or is it in season for cyclocross? plus a little Kona spectating training.

My Mom and Dad were there, they are training for Kona spectating too!

GA, 6 Gap, and more!

2011-08-26T04:58:00.000-07:00

Climbing, climbing and more climbing! By car, foot, or bike I spent much of my time in GA going up and down and around the hills. Just driving in and out of Big Canoe will leave you hanging on the edge of your seat. Training here is NEVER easy. The hills are steep, and never ending. They are different than the long climbs in Tuscon up Mt. Lemmon or up the long grades in the foot hills of Mt. Hood. This camp was set up for those with late season big races, and was not for anyone who wasn't willing to hurt a little. Everyone worked hard and had awesome training days!

My legs are still talking to me after several big bike days, 1 big brick with some swims and steep hilly runs and I crawled home to try to recover and while running around getting ready for back to school, back to work and back to normal life.

Here is a short summary of the TBC Big Canoe camp as I experienced it:

Day 1: Swim in the morning, then; Preview of the 6 Gap ride.
This section of North Georgia is part of the Blue Ridge Mtns. and in fact you cross the Appalachian Trail in 2 spots. The bike course calls the climbs “gaps” not really sure if its because of the gap it makes in the side of the earth, gap it makes through your muscles as it shreds it while you climb, or the gap in the teeth of some of the locals. Our group road 3 gaps, roughly 60 miles. It was hot, the the hills were tough and I had forgotten how these steep climbs just keep going around every curve. At the top of Nells Gap I caught my breath, saw a phone booth, and tried calling 911

When was the last time you saw a phone booth! The last climb of the day was Woody Gap, with an amazing view across the Blue Ridge mtns at the top. I am partial to the Rockies, the Cascades,and mtns of the west but, these hills are amazing. At the top of this climb you think you are home but there is still about 20 miles of big rollers back to the car.

Day 2: Swim in the morning: my arms felt worse in the water than my legs, then:

Long brick on tired legs. This ride was closer to home and included Sunrise climb. Don’t let the name fool you, she is a b@#% and comes after a 7 mile steady climb, followed by a long decent where you can’t really pedal allowing all the blood and lactate to pool in your legs before starting back up. It was 90 some degrees on this day and running on a gravel logging road off the bike up and down more hills made me feel like an ox.

Day 3: supposed to be an “easy” day with a swim in the morning, and a trail run. After 20 min of running, my running legs finally came to me and I actually could push the pace up and down the steep hills. Later in the day I tried to relax with the kids and camp BBQ while preparing for the big day....all 6 gaps.

Day 4: 6 gap; that would be Jack’s, Unicoi, Hog Pen, Wolf Pen, Woody and Nells in the order we did them. That is 6 big climbs ranging for about 3 miles to 8 miles long. We did 81 miles with something like 9000 feet of climbing. For some strange reason, I felt the best on this day and was able to keep climbing and ride strong keeping up with the boys. My favorite was Unicoi, and I yelled bad words climbing Hog Pen which is the steepest goes for about 7 miles. I can't remember the % grade here, but I think it was in the high teens. I probably should have been on my road bike with a 25 in the back, but was on my flatlander TT bike with the 23 in the back, because well, Vegas is close, and that’s the bike I’ll be racing on there, but not an ideal choice for this terrain. Maybe that explains some of the strange looks from the other bikers out there, but at least it hopefully made me stronger.

We came home to an empty house, the Aussies have moved on to Arizona. We must have worn them out, or they are afraid of Chicago winter. I now have a 3rd grader who can technically ride his bike the 2 blocks solo to school. I haven't let go on this 100%
and walk 1/2 way with him!

Only a few more weeks of training, and its Vegas baby!
Then let the cyclocross begin!

Peaks and Valleys

2011-08-16T13:37:00.000-07:00

a
hoping all jack's FB practices will be this nice

Anyone who knows me well enough knows I LOVE the mountains. The peaks and valleys, the views, the lifestyle. I love the desert mountains of Arizona and have made my way up Mt. Lemmon and Kits Peak. I love the lush green mountains of the Cascades in the Pacific Northwest where I grew up and seeing the peaks of Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helens when cruising around Portland. I love the way they look and I love climbing them on my bike. (Yea, why do I live in Chicago?)

I help injured athletes every day climb up and down the peaks and valleys of rehab from an injury. The pain starts to feel better, ROM and strength improve, and I guide them through stressing the area a little more, then there are a few days of increased pain and swelling as the injured area adapts to the new stresses. It never fails the patient will always complain that they feel like they aren’t getting better, and always ask why is it still painful or swelling up.

still learning the long board

As a coach I create these peaks and valleys in blocks of training. You stress the body, you work hard pushing the volume and or intensity, stressing the body a little more then build in some rest. The body adapts to the load you’ve dumped on it and you become fit and fast. This process does not come without some discomfort or maybe few subpar workouts. These valleys aren’t pleasant to pass through. It’s not fun to feel like dirt, or like moving through quick sand sometimes it even feels like you have never worked out a day in your life before. The key is to press on, not collapse in the valley in order to make your way to the next peak.

Athletes also have a hard time accepting those valleys especially when things have been clicking along great. It is nearly impossible to stress the tissues, build the training, increase the volume and intensity without eventually…slowing down, getting sore, tired, sick, or completely bonking in a workout. When a subpar workout slaps you in the face, take a look back…..have you been killing it like a rock star for a few days, have you taken a dip into the poor nutrition valley leaving you operating on fumes. Or maybe you've been really loading up the training hours. Sometimes forced rest finds it way into your schedule due to horrific weather, unexpected travel due to work, or an illness that forces you to dip down into the valley.

If you find yourself in the valley, stay consistent, stay positive, and do all those things that are sometimes harder than training….rest, eat the right things, hydrate stretch, relax and most importantly be patient and before long you will be crawling out of the valley to the top of the next peak.

We are in North Georgia getting ready to start a TBC camp with a group of athletes training for Vegas, Hawaii, and other late season races. Tomorrow we are riding 6 Gap, which was part of the tour of Georgia. I am confident I will be experiencing plenty of peaks and valleys throughout the week all in an effort to be ready for Vegas in Sept.

Tales from the Draft.....

2011-08-02T11:32:00.000-07:00

....a summary of my Madison ride behind Adam’s wheel.

I do 95% of my training solo, not because I am totally opposed to training in a group, and I am definitely not anti social, but primarily it’s because I have a crazy schedule. It is often more work to coordinate workouts and meet up with people. I have my windows to fit in the workouts, without a lot of room for error. Training with others has its benefits and purpose especially if the group as fast as or faster than you and your goal for that workout is to push yourself. Other times training in a group can slow you down, or make you work harder than you should on an easy day. On those rare times I get to train with Adam, I am always pushed to my limits.

We spontaneously decided to take a trip to Madison for a change of scenery and to get some hillier miles along with our Aussie athletes. This meant I’d be riding with 2 very fast guys on a tough course, but I was up to the challenge and definitely bored with my flat cornfield routes. We packed up the car Fri afternoon, headed north, and checked into our hotel by the capital. Thanks to priceline.com we scored huge last minute deal. We roamed around State St. and grabbed a late dinner. Madison is such a fun town, and as we were showing Courtney and Raija the swim course, finish line etc for the IM, I had little twinges of…..if I ever did an IM again I would love to do this one…. but then I quickly came to my senses!

We decided to start the ride in Verona because doing the loops with places to re fuel works so great and none of us are actually doing IM MOO, so to heck with the “stick”.

My goal for the day was to stay with the boys for as long as I could, and not to worry about power, pace, HR etc. and “work the uphills”. My plan was to do 2 loops/ roughly 80 miles.

Loop1:

I stuck to his wheel like glue. On the downhills I would lose him some and would have to hammer in my hardest gear to maintain contact. I road the uphills hard, just to stay as close as possible. Some of what went through my head on loop 1:

>Thank goodness my legs feel ready for this!
>It’s hot already
>Why is my left hand sweating more than my right? Weird.
>There are lot of riders out here, there must be an IM coming soon.
>It’s hard to let go and take a drink trying to stick to his wheel, let alone take a gel
>We are flying past these people really fast, but I can’t look away to see who they are
>Already done with loop 1, that wasn’t so bad

Back in town we re-filled our water bottles and laughed about the macho guy who decided he was a better rider than the OA age group winner of several 70.3 races as well as the Champion of IM Australia and was racing us at the end decked out in his race wheels, aero helmet and aero bottles. My guess is he eventually drifted off into a cornfield somewhere completely shelled.

Loop 2:

Because I was still felt human, I decided to keep hanging on. I did notice the pace seemed a little quicker and on the flatter sections I was having to work harder to stay in the draft. I made it a goal to work as hard as I could to stay on that wheel until 3 hrs of riding and then I could cruise, but until then keep pushing. Those steep uphills through the farms after Mt.Horeb hurt a bit more the 2nd time around and that is where I noticed my HR getting pretty high and starting to feel the effort.

Thoughts from loops 2;
>Wow it’s hot
>Hmmm we are going a little faster this time
>This is definitely how you aren’t supposed to ride this course if you are racing the IM
>Where is the next uphill, hammering in these flats is getting tough
>Wow we are already back to here
>When I trained for the IM here years ago these loops seemed to take much longer

I made it to nearly the end of the loop but lost contact with them on one of the hard uphills almost back to town, that was at about 3:40 hrs of riding. I was very happy to see Verona. I did my transition run practically smiling the whole way even though it was sizzling out.

I never looked at my power, really, the whole ride, because I was really staring at a wheel and a nice pair of legs for almost 4 hrs, but what is interesting is that even though you save about 30% of the energy by drafting, my normalized power for the 81 miles was right smack in the middle of the wattage range I try to hold for my ½ Ironmans.

No pics from this outing, I was too busy holding on for life!

Racine

2011-07-22T04:38:00.000-07:00

This year I was actually looking forward to racing in Racine. It has not been my favorite course in years past. It is flat with horrible roads, there is a big tendency for drafting, and the Lake Michigan swim hasn’t always been good to me. But I often come back because it is so fun to race with all my Multisportmadness friends, its close to home and is always competitive.I'm always up for a challenge, so I took the bad with the good, and headed up to Danny’s house on the lake for a fun race weekend. I had big goals for this race. I knew it was going to be hot so I packed extra salt tabs, decided to braid my hair to cut down on the frizz (lol/ jk!), and tried to stay hydrated.

Pre race day in Racine for me typically involves packet pick up, soaking the legs in the cold lake, pre race pasta dinner with all of MSM, and hanging out watching highlights of the tour,and sometimes working a little physical therapy magic. Who can beat accommodations across the street from the race with friends. Thanks Danny!

Casa Delgado becomes its own little bed and breakfeast triathlon style! This year athletes were tucked away in all corners, and included 3 pros. It was hard not to sleep past 4 as everyone was up early ready to race!

The transition area was huge and packed. It seemed very crowded compared to previous years. I kept bumping into the people behind me when trying set up my transition and pump up my tires. I set up my space, and made the long walk up the beach to the start. It was warming up fast and I waited as long as possible to put on my wetsuit, and hung out talking with friends waiting for my start.

Swim: it is a shallow start, so I did several dolphin dives out to the deeper water. I was right in the front with the leaders for this part! For me I had a good start and made it to the first turn with the lead pack. Then I settled into a decent rhthm. The water was perfect, and I felt good. I swam strong. And finally made a little headway on my swim.

actually smiling at the swim start!

I think some of the swim time includes the long run up the beach. Its not where it should be or where it used to be but there is a glimmer of hope in the distance for my swim. Once I hit the ground I ran as fast as I could through the sand, passed 3 girls in my AG before getting to my bike. I made a quick transition and was on my way. I should have taken a few seconds to rinse the sand off. As I was riding away I felt like a snickerdoodle sugar cookie with sand all over my arms and hands.

Bike: the first few miles of the bike are out of town and a road with big cracks. I was building my effort and letting the biking legs get in the groove when I hit a big crack and launched 1 water bottle. I;ve made the mistake of leaving it on the road in a different big hot race which was the wrong move and lead to a meltdown. So I stopped and went back for it. Smart move because of how hot it was, and it seemed like there was 1 aid station short on the bike compared to most 70.3 races. It was windy and it seemed every turn there was still wind. Maybe my legs were flat I don’t know but the ride seemed hard. It was hot and the roads were full of cracks. Not the most pleasant ride or fun ride. I kept passing girls in the AG which was motivating when I wasn’t feeling the best. I finished strong, but was glad to be done.

Run: I started the run feeling pretty good, took 2 salt tabs at mile one and was able to follow the plan for the first few miles. At the first turn around I could see a few girls in front of me weren’t that far off. My run has been good to me this year but I wasn’t feeling as snappy in the 100 deg temps. Slowly I was reeling 2 girls in front of me. I kept trying to pick it up to my goal pace but it wasn’t happening. I saw AZ coming at me and he looked good. He is having such a good year its hard not to feel like a slacker, so I kept trying to kick it into high gear. I felt like I was running through mud! Finally I caught the girl in front of me with about 2 miles to go. The aid stations became a nightmare to negotiating even slowing the avg. pace down more. I had to wait in line, or grab my own drink/ ice etc. It seemed all those people I was bumping into in transition were in my way when I was trying to plow through transition. I wanted to quit several times. This race wasn’t so fun, it was HOT. I wasn’t meeting my goals, I had already had so many good races and had my spot to Vegas, so felt like why was I out here doing this! But realizing Vegas is on the horizon, I started to tell myself keep running its going to be Hot, and hard in Vegas. I tried to hit that last down hill right before the finish trying to run fast only to have my calves cramp up causing me to hobble and wobble. The girl I had worked so hard to pass, caught me back and then 1 more with in yds of the finish.

I always try to take away something good from every race, even when they aren't what you set out to do. I was disappointed to be 7th, but 4th -7th were within seconds. I finished 5:01+ and on such an extreme day, isn't so bad. But, I feel even better about sticking with it and pressing on when it got tough and the goals for the day weren’t happening.

Awards Ceremony

2011-07-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

Own up to it, standing on the podium at an awards ceremony can pretty much seal the deal on a lot of hard work making the pain, sweat, fatigue, days of walking around with wet pony tails and goggle marks on your face worth it. Whether standing top step of a local race, or top 10 of a huge national event leave you smiling for a few days. An Age group award, a well deserved PR at an A race, or getting a ribbon at a swim meet is the ultimate goal/ …the goal that gets you out of bed when you’d rather roll over, allows you to hang on to the end of that interval, or motivates you to swim in the fast lane.

I have been living with my own elite AG for years, but add a couple of professionals to the mix and I’ve come up with a few observations. Training has been in full swing around here and big races are on the horizon. Being a 40 something AG female who works and has kids living amongst them has been humbling, but who can complain about having 3 very fit men hanging around the house! Nevertheless, I have been compiling my own little awards ceremony for the members of the IHOT;

1. Healthiest Eater > Cesar , he can make a fruit plate look fabulous

2. Most artistic > Miss Kaitlin Zucco; I had her color flags for our International friends on the 4th of July

3. Least likely to fatigue> Adam, hands down, unanimous decision

4. Most patient> Courtney, he arrives and winds up with a stress fx, but always greets you with “Morning Mate!”

5. Most frequent PR’s> Jack , my 8 yr old; easy to do when you have a swim meet every other week and can add a flip turn to a 50 free

6. Best stretcher> Cesar; he is a physical therapist’s dream patient

7. Messiest Hair> toss up between Courtney and myself/ heat, humidity and chlorine does wonders, so why even try

8. Most creative>Adam; can turn a regular training weekend into a camp for athletes, and a race weekend into a vacation !

At the end of the season maybe I’ll be able to come up with a “best of” blog, but for now I wish nothing but the best for all the athletes in the house at Muncie, Racine, and at the last swim meets or tennis matches because I've seen all the hard work put into making the awards ceremony!

IHOT

2011-06-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

Our totally traditonal Chicago western suburban home has become IHOT. Who would have thought a house in Kane County would be such a sought out training destination this summer. If the breakfeast world has IHOP….our house has become IHOT; International House of Triathletes!

Add 1 Aussie with his wife arriving next month (and yes she is a triathlete too) and 1 Venezualan arriving this week, to our house of 2 Americans made of 1 midwesterner, and 1 transplanted Oregonian, plus two kids and there you have IHOT! Getting fit, racing fast and having fun is on the agenda for everyone this summer. Some are getting ready for IM, while others just finished one, some are racing 70.3’s. The kids are both on swim teams gearing up to race 25 fly, 50 free, and relays while perfecting tennis or gymnastics on the side. If my neighbors didn’t think I was crazy before, they most definitely do now.

It’s a busy IHOT. The dishwasher runs more often full of water bottles, there is a lot of food being consumed, a lot of sweaty clothes, the garage is full of bikes, wheels, and gear. At night there has been a lot of smack talk about how training that day has gone. As expected there have been epic performances and total blow ups by all. Even the 8 yr olds have fun training stories about their practices or events.

We’ve had pros stay at our house before. The biggest difference between the pros and the rest of us is that they definitely treat triathlon training and racing as a profession. I notice they take recovery much more seriously, make more of an effort to eat properly, and they don’t get as frustrated if they don’t nail every workout. Most likely this is because they have the time to focus more on these other important parts of our sport. Recovery, nutrition, mental edge are things we all know are important but in our busy life it gets so easy to slack somewhere. I always have good intentions but resort to heating up frozen food from Trader Joe’s way to much. I try to stretch at night (I preach this daily) but get busy.
I think Courtney thought I was a crazed woman on Saturday as I got up early to volunteer at Jack’s swim meet for 4 hrs before heading up to Lake Geneva all before packet pick up for Bigfoot Triathlon shut down for Sunday’s race. I swung by home ran in the house to pick him up plus a few forgotten things, and was throwing some food together to eat for lunch as we headed north. This was my attempt at being healthy vs. hitting the drive through. He was helping put together some assemblance of something nutritious as he said did you even eat a “proper breakfeast, mate !”, knowing I was racing the next morning. We laughed at the thought of me relaxing with my feet up to focus on the race!

Pro, elite age grouper or even the 8 yr old kids there is one common theme running through the house right now and that is hard work and determination. Courtney has a stress fx right now so today he did a double swim....gasp!

As for Bigfoot, I had a great race considering all of the above and not making that race a priority. Finally a decent swim, I was out of the water in about 5th in my wave, and passed several up in the long transition run and on the bike. My powertap read 1:04:08 when uploaded to Trainingpeaks and I ran a 45. It was all for good measure and love of doing it. It seems my chip wasn’t recording because there were NO results for me to be found. Chalk that one up as a great workout all for the better good of fitness for the next race.

Scott and I laughing at how we need to swim more if we are going to do well at OLY distance

With this much triathlon going on in the house I may need a spa day, or a night out in the city! Check back once the house is at fully capacity for more IHOT adventures.

Follow The Yellow Brick Road.....

2011-06-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

After 3 races in 2 weeks, plus work, organizing a clinic, meeting other deadlines for articles, performing gait annals and training clients I feel like one of those flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz.... or maybe like Dorothy as she just got blown out of the tornado. There have been moments I wish I could just click my ruby shoes to get the job done, but that might just mean that everything that is going so well right is just a dream. 

At times over the past few weeks, I have felt a little like the scarecrow who needs a brain because with taking on so many projects, during this time of year which is so busy …I have wondered what was I thinking, and did I even have a brain? Other times I have felt like the cowardly lion wanting to run and hide (i.e. my adventure with the K Swiss team on my rented bike), or jumping into the fast lane at masters with Adam, Kelly, and Keith. As for the tin man, I have only felt like him after the Elgin Fox trot and a few other hard workouts; like I needed my joints oiled and I might have been making a few creaking sounds as I walked around. He was in search of a heart, I think mine is there.

I have been looking forward to KS 70.3 since last year. I love this race, and the challenging course. It is so much more fun to have hills! And um, there happen to be just a few in Vegas. At New Orleans my goal was to qualify for Vegas. I wanted to get it early so I could have less pressure the rest of the summer. With that accomplished, my goal in KS was to be aggressive, take more risks, without the pressure to qualify, plus I wanted to win my AG. So we loaded up and drove down to Friday afternoon with our good friend Danny Delgado. Listening to disco, and 90’s hard rock music helped us to make the 8 hr drive go by fast.

The course is out in a state park which makes for a nice race, but it does have its share of logistical challenges making the pre race ordeal quite a process. We got through it as quickly as we could, checked in our bikes and covered them with bags because huge thunderstorms were predicted. The radar looked like a bomb was going to explode over Lawrence right at 7 am. I was thinking great another duathlon, but race morning the storms stayed off in the distance and the bikes stayed dry.

Swim: I had a great start this time; no goggles getting kicked off like at Leon’s, and made it to the first buoy with the leaders. But then it got ugly. The wind was blowing across the lake making a huge chop, making the swim challenging too. It was really hard to get a normal rhythm going. I have been working on my swim trying to get it back to where it used to be, but you sure wouldn’t know it by that performance! I was so glad to finally hit land; I sprinted through transition and was so happy to be on my bike.

Bike: I immediately felt great even going up and down the steep rollers heading out of the park. I didn’t think about time, power etc. I attacked the hills, and passed several girls in my AG pretty quickly. I was having a great ride, but not completely sure where I stood in the AG but tried to just keep riding strong. At about mile 45 Adam passed me going so fast. He started like 34 min behind me, and I had made a bet with him that he wouldn’t catch me. Ha Ha, there was a day that might have been enough time, to hold him off but he has simply just gotten too fast.

Run: I love this run. 2 loops through a campground with 3 / turnarounds to see where you are, and 1 big hill to cover twice. I felt great right away, tried to get it up to pace and keep it there through the hills and turns. At about mile 3.5 I passed the girl who won the AG last year. I was pretty sure at that point I was in 1st, but couldn’t tell who was coming from behind. So I just kept running strong. I felt good until about 4 miles left and then it started to get painful. My quads were feeling those hills from the bike, but my energy was good and I just kept pushing. 1 girl passed from my AG passed me on the run at about mile 7. She was flying, and left me in the dust pretty quickly. My friend Jen Harrison informed me she had the fastest AG women’s marathon in Kona a few years ago. I can see why!

I finished 2nd in AG with 8th fastest swim, 2nd fastest bike and 2nd fastest run in my AG. A solid second. And, what can I say about Adam, other than he totally crushed my bet. I lost big time. If you are looking here for any secrets on his training and why he keeps getting faster, I can only say a massive amount of hard work!  And now he has a new friend to play with. Courtney Ogden is here from AUS staying with us now. Check him out here: www.courtneyogden.com He is super fast, has a really cool accent and already fixed our garage door! I warned the neighbors there will be more boys running in spandex around the neighborhood. Who would have thought Elburn would be a triathlon headquarters!

Trying to Catch my Breath!

2011-06-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

I have managed to stuff myself pretty good the past few weeks with an over indulgence of saying yes. My days have been maxed out with work, extra projects, training, racing and a few birthday parties. It’s been fun, a little bit exhausting and definitely not boring. Some people ask how do I do all these things…my answer is, I have no idea.

It started in early May with our trip to Vegas. We met family on the strip for a mini vacation, with a smidge of training. I have grown to really love our trips to the desert. Day one we mtn biked through Red Rock canyon for a couple hours and I absolutely LOVED it. I would SO mtn bike more if we had um…mtns and trails to train on. It’s a little more exciting than riding in squares around corn fields. I wiped out once and found cactus parts in my rear, but couldn’t stop smiling. We raced back to the Mirage to get dressed up, meet up with the family and see “0” Cirqde Soleil, which was one of the main reasons why we went to Vegas in the first place.

(i can't resist the chance to blow dry my hair and dress like a girl once in awhile)

While there, we were invited to train with some of the K-Swiss team out on the 70.3 course who happened to be there at the same time. This really wasn’t intended to be a “training trip”, but we couldn’t resist the chance to see and train on the course, with some of the fastest cyclists in the sport. Gulp. Not wanting to fly our bikes out for one ride, Adam borrowed a bike, and I rented a lovely aluminum, heavy, Cannondale road bike that didn’t fit quite right. I was so nervous I almost peed my pants, but was laughing at myself so bad inside for showing up to ride with THIS crew on their brand new Trek TT bikes, and me on that rental. I had to get over myself swallow some pride if I wanted to see this course. We all took off on these desert roads which are VERY hilly, and with lots of climbing. Between heat, desert wind, and never ending climbs, it will be a tough race in September. You will definitely want to be in shape for that one. I road my tail off to stay with them for as long as I could. I lasted a little over ½ the course before my legs fell off, but I kept riding all out sucking air up and down these hills that never ended because I didn’t want to fall farther back. I did a 3 mile T run on these tired legs at the Lake Las Vegas Resort, and the next day I felt more sore than after New Orleans!

From that point forward, I have been 1 step behind, trying to catch my breath and get on top of a few extra work projects that have come my way, keep my training going with great group ride efforts, nailing track workouts, and surviving end of school activities. It’s crazy, but good, and I feel lucky to have so many opportunities!

Memorial Day weekend was a whirlwind with 2 birthdays, a kid’s triathlon, and a Fox Trot. Who was I kidding to think we would do some traditional Memorial Day things and BBQ and do a few projects around the house. I haven't even planted any flowers yet, but something has to give and with as busy as we are they would probably die from lack of attention. The kids were simply amazing finishing their first triathlon, I was hyperventilating inside for them, but they were rock stars!

(they left their numbers on for a week)

Monday morning we did the annual Fox Trot. It finally decided to warm up and my body forgot what it was like to sweat! It was a hot hilly 10 miler. I hadn’t done it in a few years and had forgotten about some of the hills. My job was to go out and race it. I started off feeling sluggish, and actually felt stronger over the 2nd half of the course. Maybe this is a good thing. I came within less than a minute of my best time ever there, finishing 5th OA woman!! 5 days later we headed to Hammond IN, to race Leon’s. This race is called Worlds fastest, and it drew a big crowd of some of the fastest local athletes. Its not pretty, the roads are full of cracks, it smells bad, and the bike was 3 miles long so I’m not sure it is really worlds fastest, but the competition was awesome, and the race director did a great job of treating amateur athletes like celebrities. Comcast was there interviewing athletes, and covering the race. Look for the Zuccos on Comcast in 3 weeks!! Thanks Mike Adamle! My race was an average performance. I left some of myself back in Elgin at the Fox trot. My goggles got knocked off leading to a slow start on my swim, it took 30 min to get my legs moving 100% on the bike, and my legs did not have high end on the run. Even with all that I was moving up in the field on the bike, caught 1 girl and was gaining on 5th place. I was trying so hard to get the high end going to catch her and she kept getting closer, but I finished 6th by just seconds. I normally don’t like to race tired, but feel good about my effort and it was fun racing with so many great local athletes.

I see no chance to catch my breath in the near future, maybe after we go to Hawaii in Oct! Did I mention we have some pros arriving this week to live at our house for some of the summer and Friday we head to Lawrence to race Kansas 70.3?

Running Clinic for Women

2011-05-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

Come hear what I have to say on running injuries, prevention and footwear!
I'm giving a fun talk at Cosport Physical Therapy, June 16, 6:30-8:30 pm
We'll have food and some fun give aways. Spread the word

All the Right Ingredients

2011-05-13T14:11:00.000-07:00

I really do like to cook. Its true. My family probably doesn't realize this fact because it doesn't happen as often as it should or as much as it did before kids. I can make homemade spaghetti sauce from scratch, chocolate cheesecake from scratch, lasagna, chicken enchiladas and more! I admit I skimp on it usually because of lack of time or lack of ingredients in the house (again lack of time to go to the store, Peapod.....please come to Elburn!) I admit there have been times that in a rushed attempt to make due, I have skimped on ingredients or rushed the process of whatever I'm cooking just to get the job done. The result...a fair resemblance of a spectacular dinner. It ends up being just fair. Not a true picture of what I am capable of if I had taken the time and used all the right ingredients.

The same is true with athletes and race performances. Motivation and desire might be high, but lack of time is missing or time management is missing. Or...the time to train is there, but skill is not. Or, time and skill is there, but motivation is not. To succeed in high level performance such as.... qualify for Kona, World Championships, Boston, or even just PR huge and beat the local rival it takes all the right ingredients. That means, all of it mixed and stirred to complete the perfect recipe for success.

All the right ingredients for a successful performance are:
1. completing workouts as written
2. not fudging or skimping
3. resting only when its called for
4. believing in your coach/ training plan and sticking to it
5. believing in yourself
6. learning from mistakes, and moving on
7. going out and getting the job done come wind, or heat, or cold, or power meter dying, or training partners bailing.....or insert any excuse
8. proper nutrition to get you through the day, the workout, and help recovery after. (what really are you putting in your mouth. does it help your performance?)

So my homemade recipe for successful performance is:
1. one mega doses of plain old hard work,
2. multiple cups of motivation and determination,
3. 100s of tablespoons of not giving in to fear or failure
4. 1000s of teaspoons of patience and sticking to the plan

Go on a shopping spree before your next big race. Take the time to invest in all the right ingredients to experience a spectacular finish vs. thrown together concoction of what you are truly capable of.

For Moms with an Endurance Habit.......

2011-05-03T15:48:00.000-07:00

I’ve been a mom for almost 8 years. Before taking on this job, I had no experience other than caring for my 2 dogs that didn’t talk back, did what they were told and I could leave alone in the house for hours. My own Mom is the best there is and I have tried to follow in her footsteps, while at times continuing on the path of endurance junkie. Trying to be good at both worlds isn't always easy.

In only 8 years I have experienced so many memorable moments (good and bad) that it’s a job I wouldn’t trade this job for anything. With Mother’s Day approaching I have taken some time to remember some of the crazy things I have already experienced in my 8 yrs of motherhood.

It all started immediately after I gave birth to Jack when my doctor was stitching me up and I asked how soon I could run because I had a World Championship race to get ready for in 6 months……

I have:

Woken up at 3 in the morning to nurse a newborn before leaving to race at 10 weeks post partum

Done a track workouts 8 weeks post partum with swollen boobs that actually bounced and jiggled something I’m not familiar with (Gross!)

Gone to work with puke on my clothes and not known about it until an hour later when I could smell it

Sat in a pre-school size kiddy chair being served tea with trashed cycling legs so sore I could barely stand up

Driven around in the car solo with kids music still playing and singing out loud

Cried in front of strangers watching him go to kindergarten, and cried again when he graduated, only a mom would know.

Sat outside the school at the start of 1st grade to make sure he made it all the way in the door… for the first month.

Ridden my trainer watching Backyardigans, Scooby Doo, and more recently star wars clone wars, now that’s mental toughness

Used bribery to get him to stay in the jogger longer so I could fit in an entire run workout

Sat at soccer, baseball and wrestling practices so tired from getting up at 5 a.m. I could barely keep my eyes open, yet didn’t want to miss a minute

Skipped workouts or races because sometimes…….being a mom is more important.

Stressed more about figuring out how to fit in a workout than actually doing it

Been up for hours in the night with a sick kid and still managed to fit in workouts the next day

Tried to set a positive, balanced example for my kids that fitness, training racing and goals are fun and rewarding

Happy Mother's Day

Southern Style.....NOLA 70.3

2011-04-19T18:54:00.000-07:00

Early season BIG races aren’t usually something I enjoy getting involved in mostly because of the environment we have to train in from Jan to spring. A change in venue for the 70.3 World Champs, some huge motivation that came from taking about 4 yrs very low key in triathlon and caving to some peer pressure from friends, i.e. Joe Lotus!!!!, convinced me to sign up for an April half Ironman! So I trained in the cold, and wind, and did the killer workouts, to get myself as fit as possible for a Chicagoan in April and headed south to the Big Easy to do the first triathlon I actually cared about in a long time. My goals were to qualify for Vegas. I hooked up with Joe and his gang, including several other TBC athletes for a race weekend southern style!!!! This included country music, a cab driver who didn’t seem to understand numerical order, and a new nick name for me……Quiet Riot.

When explaining to my patients at work who have been to NOLA that I was heading south, I got many tips and advice on where to eat like Emeril’s, where to go, and what types of drinks to order! Drinks with names like Monsoon, Hurricane, Hand Grenade….not Gatorade!.... I was really psyched to head somewhere totally new and different, and of course warm, to race. I laughed at my patients and told them Cajun jambalaya, crawfish, and Hurricanes probably wasn’t the best pre race nutrition. They also couldn’t believe we were swimming in Lake Ponchatrain!!

I did my pre race brick out at the lake and swam in the worst chop and white caps I can recall. I shook it off and assumed it would be calm in the morning, and figured if anything it would just be a rough swim. I felt amazing on my pre race bike and run. Adam let me use the Bontrager disc and front set up he had in Cali, and I of course was hoping for some of that 2:18 bike magic to come my way! LOL. I was a little concerned about the cross winds with the disc, and that I might be blown into the lake. I was also wondering why I felt so good on my pre race brick. Scary, because normally I feel lousy during a taper, and my motto had always been feeling lousy in taper workouts = a good race. So I didn’t know quite what to expect. I also mentally had the most confidence going into a race than I had in a very long time.

Race morning I woke up excited and psyched to race….no feeling of dread or ugh or what the heck am I doing! On the drive out to the lake, Joe got a text from someone already out there that the swim was canceled. I didn’t believe him, and neither did anyone in the truck! I actually didn’t believe it until I heard the race announcer saying it while I was getting body marked. I was bummed there was no swim even though its my weakest of the 3, wondered why they didn’t just shorten the swim, and disappointed they didn’t do some sort of 2 mile run first to break up the field and make the race harder. The wind was crazy, and someone most likely would have drowned, so I guess it was a safe call. But you can’t stress or be pissed about things like this. You take what the race gives you and that is the race, so race it. Of course it changed the dynamics of the race, but on that day the race was a bike/run so saddle up and race.

We stood around for an extra 30-45 min before the TT style race started. It was chilly, I wished I had a few more layers, but hanging out with this crew kept me laughing and entertained until it was my time to go.

The bike was windy and flat, it seemed we went for ever into a big killer straight flat headwind. There were 3, 180 degree turns, and 1 section into the bayou, 2 bridges over the Mississippi out and back. I don’t love flat courses, but this was fun! I felt strong and passed a lot of girls in the AG, but kept riding as strong as I could because with the TT start I didn’t know who was ahead or behind or doing what. We had the tailwind behind us coming home and I felt like I was sailing, almost wiped out on a downhill right turn I was going so fast before entering T2. My legs felt almost perfect right away running my bike through the grassy transition. I tried not to get too excited, put on my running shoes and Garmin and heading out for 13.1 miles from Lake Ponchatrain to the French Quarter. I felt great from the start and tried to follow the plan of starting the first 3 miles controlled before hitting race pace I have to say I loved this run course. It goes along the lake, then into a park. There are 4 maybe 5 out and back sections but through a park with tree lined streets, great crowds. After the first 3 miles I picked it up, took some risks and just ran. I caught several more in the AG including 1 who I know from racing over the years as a cyclist phenom. The last 3 miles were into more of the headwind and along a rough surfaced road as we got closer to downtown. A right turn and a long straight finish into the heart of the French Quarter and I was running with a huge smile because I had it a 1/2 IM run PR. Half Ironmans have not been good to me. For so long I focused on Olympic distance or Ironman throwing in a few halves here and there which never seemed to completely click until then.

In the end I finished 2nd in the AG, with a spot to Vegas!

The AG winner kicked our tails pretty good, so I don't think having a swim would have changed the results in the top 3 at least. All the TBC athletes had great early season races!!!! Sure I was disappointed in no swim and what could have been my best ½ IM ever…at the lovely age of 40 something! We all celebrated by heading to Port of Call in the French Quarter for burgers and Monsoons in honor of the Monsoon like weather we were treated with race weekend. I laughed so much my cheeks hurt. Would I go back to NOLA to race, definitely it is a very cool venue and a very fun destiation race to excape Chicago.

Thanks to my coach Scott Iott, who had me so prepared that I actually felt confident and like I could take risks and race for the first time in a long time, and to Joe Lotus for convincing me to sign up for the race and come to Tuscon and train, and to Adam for sharing his bike goodies and balancing kid duty when he is IM training. He actually started his long run on the TM on one of the nicest weather days, so I could go run the Dewey Dash 5k!

Next up. Recovery! Then re-group. The great part about all the winter hard work is getting to just train, and do whatever races sound good through the summer to prepare for Vegas.

Spring Cleaning.......

2011-04-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

I recently had a serious need for a detox diet from the self indulgences and over connection of triathlon life, which prompted a trip home to Oregon to the foothills of Mt. Hood to clean the mind, brain, lungs, muscles fibers, and even my TT bike Scotty P got a daily cleaning as every time I saddled up to ride. Every ride I did, though, I was covered in rain, mud, road slime, and pine needles requiring a serious clean job after each ride. I try to take good care of Scotty P.

Even though seriously drenched I loved riding through the hills and green forests. Riding from my parents puts you in Mt. Hood National Forest along the Clackamas River within about 3 miles.

I was in heaven... even completely soaked or being pelted by hail. Running under these conditions was a bit easier, and luckily the skies cleared for goal mile day and I nailed my best goal mile track workout ever leaving me pretty excited for things to come. And thanks to the North Clackamas Aquatic Park for such an awesome pool. They have entire 8 lane regulation size pool designated just for lap swimming with extremely convenient times and, wow, it coast 2.00 each time I went.! Imagine that, no kids with floaties or water aerobics classes to fight with! There is a separate pool for that. Why is it other cities seem to get the pool/ aquatic centers right? And Chicago and vicinity seems to just not get it?

Yes, I trained, but then totally tuned out. I read a lot and 1 book I read was Apollo Ohono’s, NO REGRETS. This was an incredibly inspiring book. Did you know he could leg press like 2000 lb!, and I loved hearing about the ways he challenged him self to deal with discomfort, even in daily life situations like standing in a long line at the store, or …this is my favorite: ...he would buy his favorite candy which I think was Nestle Crunch, and put in out in a bowl to tempt him as he walked by, but he would teach himself to deal with the discomfort and not indulge! How about that for discipline and focus. For me it would have to be chips and salsa sitting out.  I had a new appreciation for focus and discipline after reading this!

Race season is upon us. Many have toed the line and crossed the finish line already testing themselves in their early season form. This is a good chance to re-evaluate, re-assess and then move forward with the rest of the season. Following an early season race you still have time to do some “spring cleaning” on the entire training plan. What needs tweaked, added, cut out? Do I need more strength, less sugar or fat, more power, less brain clutter, more speed, less poopy pants ( remember I’m a mom), more focus etc. You get the idea. If you wait until mid summer to test the waters, even in training, then that leaves little room for changes and more work to be done.

My first race is less than 2 weeks away now, it is early! Ouch. And, yes I want to do well my first race of the season. I’ve been working hard trying to be prepared to race and see where I am. Maybe I should have read Apollo's book in Jan. though!

Spring is in the air; my landscapers have shown up to make our yard pretty since we can’t. Races are approaching. Are you in need of some spring cleaning? Are you even aware that some spring cleaning in your training plan might be needed. Can you show up to race with “No Regrets?”

Open the windows, shake out the rugs, spring is here. Time to race!

I AM SO LUCKY!!!

2011-03-13T17:35:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been dramatically reminded how precious life is, and with that realize how much I take for granted. I whine sometimes, and stress and feel too busy to stop and smell the roses because I need to get X workout in, or X thing crossed off my list. I take the path of least resistance because it fits better, works more smoothly and gets done faster. I'm a perfectionist and want to be good at it all. I know I miss out on some of the really good stuff when I do this. Sometimes I feel like I skate through life.... 1 task to the next without appreciating all the good things. So on my flight home from my 2nd trip from Tucson in 2 weeks(LOL/ oh my!), I decided to think about how lucky I am and came up with this:

I have 2 incredible kids who keep getting more and more fun. Its not like they weren't fun at 3 and 4, it just keeps getting better. They make us laugh, they remind me of how we used to be, they keep us on our toes. Jack and Kaitlin are 8 now. Where has time gone. They are amazing kids.

I am a successful physical therapist in a sports medicine clinic. For so many years, this was my dream. I studied like a psycho triathlete trying to qualify for Kona to get into PT school, and then get out. Now I get to help people walk again, lift something overhead, or run again. I also get the privilege of helping triathletes, and runners achieve their dreams through coaching. TBC is an amazing company to work for. And having putting in the time, the combination of both gives me the opportunity to periodically take off for the sun and mtns and train.

After "Xty" some years in the sport of triathlon I still love to go out and swim, bike, run, do pull ups, push prowlers, race, and do cyclocross. Some days or weeks I like biking more than running, while at other times I the reverse is true. There have even been times I'm excited to go swim. I still love that at 43 I still have the motivation and drive to go out get fit and want to race.

I have an amazing family that is so supportive of all the "unconventional" things Adam and I do. I have amazing parents and in-laws who have always encouraged me to chase my dreams. My family spreads from Oregon, to Illinois, to Georgia, and a few places in between. 3 amazing brothers, and 3 amazing sis in laws!

I have so many incredible friends who share the same dreams, challenges, ups, downs and crazy life as me. Where would I be without my friends to fall back on!

Last but absolutely not least, I have an incredible husband, who continues to amaze me and and leaves my jaw dropped in all that he can accomplish with racing and growth of TBC for sure.... but also as a husband and father.

Of course there are many more things I feel lucky to have...but, what things are you lucky for?

To Run or Not To Run.............

2011-03-07T19:28:00.000-08:00

…..that’s the million dollar question I am frequently answering.

With years of experience treating orthopedic and sport related injuries as a physical therapist, years of training and racing myself, and coaching my own incredible athletes I am often helping coaches, athletes, and my own clients answer this question. Is it ok to still run?

Athletes invest a great deal of time, money, energy, sweat, heart and sole into following their dream and achieving their goals (if you haven’t noticed just signing up for Ironman isn’t cheap). When training catches up to you and your body starts to talk back in some way telling you with pain that it’s not happy, it’s hard to stop and interrupt the training. Athletes often push through the pain, keep training, ignoring the symptoms which often results in even more dysfunction.

Over the years I have developed some guidelines for my athletes, and clients in the clinic who find themselves in pain, injured or trying to train through an injury. I’ll share some of these generalizations here and you will see a lot of it is common sense, but when dealing with pain, the desire and motivation to keep training all rational thoughts and common sense is sometimes lost. My ultimate goal as a physical therapist and coach is to keep the athlete running or participating in their sport. However, there comes a time when resting is the smarter choice and will allow the injury to heal more quickly. When all conservative options, such as rest, ice, modifying training still results in pain, then use common sense and seek professional medical help to get some treatment. This will ultimately help speed up the healing and recovery process, and allow a quicker return to training.

Don’t Run When:

1 Obvious trauma: severe trauma resulting in exposure of bone, inability to contract a muscle or stand or walk. Laugh, but you’d be surprised! I’ve seen it all!

2 Limping or severe compensation: running with pain to the point where you are limping, significantly altering form, stride or foot placement to avoid pain. This will likely lead to tissue breakdown somewhere else only adding to the problem

3 Pain with ADLs: when pain (other than general muscle soreness) is experienced during normal day to day activities just walking, standing, sitting at rest; then likely running is not an optimal choice

4 Pain increases during a run: if experiencing pain and it worsens or becomes more severe and sharp while running, then stopping is recommended

5 Increased pain at night or when done running: this is your clue that you are dealing with some injured tissue and likely continuing to run without modifying the training or seeking treatment will only aggravate the condition.

Run When:

1 Pain decreases throughout the run: its ok to keep running when you start out
and feel pain or discomfort and after a short duration it diminishes and goes away, then it is ok to continue the workout. This may take 12-15 min. as the blood and oxygen circulates to all the muscles. Running for this amount of time will most often not worsen or aggravate a condition. If pain does not diminish during this amount of time, pain increases, or compensation/ favoring is occurring, then stopping the workout is the best option; when coming back from an injury sometimes you will feel it during the warm up. The injured tissue has to adapt to the stress of running again. As long as it doesn’t continue or increase then continuing the run is ok.

2 Injured tissue has gotten a rest/and or some treatment and pain has decreased: try the above option and see how the injury responds. If pain does not diminish or decrease during the warm up, then stop. Running for this short amount of time most likely will not set the athlete back.

3 Modifications have been made: sometimes injured tissue will tolerate running
at a slower pace, or decreased volume and still allow the healing to occur. If the symptoms are minor, then try slowing down and cutting back. If after trying that pain is still present then seek some professional help from a physical therapist, chiro, physio or medical person with some expertise to guide you through the injury and return to running.

Run Smart and Train Safe :)

This is how we roll!

2011-02-28T18:07:00.000-08:00

This is one of those posts that won't offer too much in from a coach or physcial therapist perspective, its just about some fun training.

I LOVE to get out of here in the winter as much as the next person and passed on a few early winter trips leaving me dying for some sun and warm weather training. Gasp. I've never waited until the end of Feb. to escape Chicago in the winter! Our ritual trip to Tuscon in February wasn't initially scheduled as Adam and I were planning a low key trip to San Diego instead to be just train and hang out. We found out 2 days before we were supposed to leave that rain was in the forecast for the entire weekend. I can handle rain, but I didn't pass on other trips, take time off, or want to spend $$ to be stuck indoors, cold and wet. We almost canceled the trip and tried to re-schedule for another time, but when?.......we are booked out until next Oct practically! :)(thats how we roll !) So last minute tickets were booked for Tuscon. Thank you Southwest! and Pappa Joel for making room for us at the house and my "Jerry McGuire" husband for pulling off a last minute ticket switch. This is how we roll!

No glitz no glam just get up train, roll from workout to workout, hang, and crash pretty much sums up the weekend...and thats how I wanted it. Just put my head down, train, suck it up when it hurt, then chillax with AZ.

Some highlights:

I literally stepped off the plane and headed to the track. A track workout outdoors and running in shorts and a tank on a regular track vs. the 200m indoor track with mtns in the background!!! What a way to start the weekend!

Riding to and climbing Kits Peak. Ouch this is a TOUGH climb. I didn't climb well and that is usually my thing. It seemed way harder than Mt. Lemmon. But I thought it was just that I had been riding behind Adam for the 2nd day in a row and my legs were starting to go. Apparently though it is a steeper grade. Same elevation gain but shorter distace. Whatever the "excuse" it was still hard, but awesome to see different Mtn. We also got to see tons of Border Patrol out keeping us safe. Is it good or bad if you see tons Border Patrol vehicles all a long the way?

Sun mtns, climbing...just try to wipe the smile off my face.

We usually found ourself swimming at 7 or 8 at night at an outdoor pool. I loved this pool. Who can beat swimming outside with the sun setting in the background. Even tired, I felt like a good swimmer again.

We watched MMA Sat. night. LOL. Weird, I was actually looking forward to it. I can't even believe I'm saying that. I don't care for the repeated head bashings, but it is amazing what kind of physical shape they are in and what they can do, and...their hamstring flexibility blows mine away! And we both said that no matter how bad our killer brick workout the next day would be it wouldn't hurt like that. And, it makes our little pathetic boxing workouts with the trainer seem like nothing.

I did my Sunday long run at the end of a lot of good efforts. I was suprised how good I felt running on our hard hilly loop at the end of all the training. Tuscon had snow Sunday morning so I had my Skinfit layers on and was attacked by this:

This porky prickly thing must have wanted to try some skinfit too and came with me for the remainder of my run because I couldn't pull it out of my arm!

Next up, another trip to Tuscon! This time with some other Trainingbible and fun Chicago athletes!

Training Camp, Local Style!

2011-02-22T14:36:00.000-08:00

Heading into a long weekend home with a forecast of warmer weather on the horizon, Jack gone on a long weekend to Florida, and Adam off working in Costa Rica (I was so close to going on this trip, but passed so I could save some days off for some upcoming training trips!!! ), I informed my awesome coach, Scott that I had some extra time and he could load me up with some good training. This is one very cool thing about having a local coach ! We looked at the weather re-arranged some things and voila….my own little local training camp. The only interruption in this would be 6 hrs of work on Friday rehabbing the injured.

While adventuresome travel off to train in warm sunny places is always fun and usually very beneficial especially during the winter months, there ARE some benefits of a training camp from home.(well at least thats what I was telling myself) Luxuries such as of your own king size bed to crash in at night when walking up the stairs becomes a challenge, stress free travel, larger supply of clean workout clothes to select from, familiar training routes, a little extra cash in your pocket and a lot of motivation, because after all if you can train in flat, cold grey, windy climates, it makes warm and sunny seem easy.

So here are some highlights of a training camp from home!

Thurs: this is my day off from work, and with 55 deg temps on the way, we made this my big brick. It was my first ride outside on my TT bike since Aug. I was anxious to see how the power intervals would feel outside vs. the trainer. This time of year we are always provided wind that can blow you to Canada and I was psyched to hit my threshold and it seem easy compared to the trainer.1 minor mis-hap= flying through Maple Park and crossing the slick tracks a little too fast, caused my rear skewer to come loose and my rear wheel drop out!!! Good thing I love cyclocross because I had good bike control and didn’t crash! Make sure your screws are tight! Off the bike with T-run and a goal to hit. I’ve been doing a lot of short hard bricks but this was the first run off a long ride. I felt great and hit the target. At the end of this I headed out with girlfriends to Bien Trucha, locally the BEST for quality mexican food and margaritas. No need to go South of the Border for food like this.

Friday: a little trickier to fit in workouts but it was sunny and warm. A swim in the morning before work. Here’s proof I’ve been swimming some:

6 hrs of treating some really cool clients and seeing them walk, run, raise their arm overhead again made working a little more tolerable. Then I took the cross bike out for a recovery spin. The wind was crazy but the sun was out and it sure beats the trainer. Friday evening was spent celebrating D. Delgado’s 40th. Probably not the best for recovery to dance walk and dance around in these:

But I couldn’t miss the chance to dress like a girl, and be out with friends, and hear a U2 cover band.

Sat: I was up early enough to make coffee before masters, only to find my coffee pot had died, oh the nerve! So I sucked down a caffeinated Gel to get a jolt, and headed out. I was lucky enough to see this on my way in to swimming:

My typical lane seemed a little crowded and the fast lane a little sparse, so I sucked it up and moved over. I felt good and didn’t mind very short amount of rest until about 2000 m when calves reminded me I had been dancing in heels and were cramping. I managed my way through the full 4000 though. The day warmed up and stayed sunny and I didn’t have to dress like a snowman to do my long run. When it hits 45 deg this time of year people are driving with windows down, sun roof open and music blasting like its summer. All kinds were coming out from the cracks and depths of hibernation making my usual route more entertaining. I did have to stop ½ through to strip down a little. I chilled Sat night and tried to do a better job recovering. Next up Sunday…..my Goal Mile track workout. I love this.

Sun: Track workout. Finally the tracks are clear of snow but it is freezing rain, slushy and cold again. I kept debating in or out/ but wimped a little and headed to the VAC (Vaughn Athletic Center) where there is an awesome 200 m. indoor track. I had recently been watching an indoor track meet watching the UBER fast women run circles indoors. If they can do this, then so can I. I usually do this workout of the week rested, so I didn’t know what to expect trying to hit these times at the end of some solid training days. Can I just say I hit the times and ran as fast as I nearly ever have, ever? Hmmm. was it dancing to U2 music in heels? Bien Trucha? running tired? Fitness coming around? Who know I’m not questioning it. I had an easy spin to recover which I had planned to do outside but our typical Feb. weather returned found my way to the trainer again.

Final item on the training agenda was a massage right here at the house!

CABIN FEVER

2011-02-09T17:35:00.000-08:00

Winter training has been taken to an all new level this year.

Old man winter has provided us with everything winter has to offer, snow, arctic temps, ice, more snow, wind, blizzard complete with 20 inches of snow and gale force winds enough to shut down school and….everything else (including Cosport where I work which in the history of 16 yrs of working there, has never closed) and then more arctic cold.

To those training for Boston. I commend you long runs outside in this…or, on the TM…ick. I’m not sure which is worse. Which is why as long as I live in Chicago, Boston is never a big dream of mine.

To those training for an early season IM or even ½ IM……..I commend you. Long rides indoors, long runs out in frigid temps or on the TM, jumping into a pool when you are already frostbitten from just walking into the health club…. I commend you. Oh, wait. I am 1 of those people training for an early season ½. April as it turns out. When I signed up I was hoping for a mild winter. 

Below are some tips I have found to ease the pain with that comes with hard core winter training:

 wear Skinfit, even just during ADLs (in PT world that means activities of daily living) and during outdoor workouts
 put your coat, running gear, etc in the dryer for 10 min before putting it on
 use the blow drier at the health club to heat up your swimsuit and cap
 put the Garmin in cadence mode when running over black ice or glazed over snow to avoid seeing the slow pace, focus on form
 create an awesome, lengthy, and killer playlist for you Ipod with all your favorite rockers push you through those long indoor workout sessions
 go to Carla’s Sunday morning bike class to help pass the time with “gossip topic” of the week, 3 hrs is nothing!
 drink LOTS of very HOT coffee in the early morning and laugh at the thought of giving it up
 Mtn bike through deep snow because you are sick of the trainer, ouch.
 wear your coat for 20 mininuites when you come indoors
 plaster Aquaphor all over your face before running outside in arctic temps, then re-apply all the best moisturizers repeatedly on the hour afterwards to avoid the cracked, scaly, summit of MT. Everest look
 FOCUS and BELIEVE………. that this will only make you stronger and faster and APPRECIATE the warmer temps …..when they finally come…. even more.

And yes, I actually do all of the above.

Maintaining Balance

2011-01-28T04:56:00.000-08:00

This isn’t one of those blog posts, where I ramble on as I often do about how I carefully try not to fall over the edge cliff, or cross the tipping point, and maintain balance in all the areas of my life. Work, take care of kids, and an Ironman, coach and train can sometimes unravel you at the seams and leaving you running in crazy directions. But I’ve been conquering and managing that balance and have made it through 1 month of 2011 feeling under control.

This is about maintaining balance of your musculoskeletal system. The body that allows you to swim bike run, and cross the finish line is pieced together like a puzzle and when all the pieces line up right it works efficiently and move you to do amazing things. When balance is lost and the pieces start to not line up right and joints, tendons, muscles and more start to get irritated, inflamed, weak, tight and then those amazing things you can do start to not feel so good wonderful.

Triathletes spend many hours moving forward, flexed, and using the anterior (front) of their body. Reaching forward to swim, flexing forward into aero bars, or slouching over the bars and lifting / driving legs forward while running. Follow that up with commuting in the car, and sitting hunched over a computer (more seated and flexed postures) and the anterior muscles become tight, flexed, contracted. Sometimes so much so that it becomes difficult to even stand up straight. The muscles on the back side (posterior) are nearly forgotten! They become weak, atrophied, and saggy. (Ok a little exaggeration). But this imbalance can lead to any number of overuse injuries that creep up and suddenly seem to appear from nowhere.

Here are some examples:

Shin Splints (which can ultimately turn into stress fractures): the calves and deep leg musculature obviously get tight from running and even cycling. They can become overdeveloped and tight, while the anterior leg muscles which are small and almost seem non existent in comparison. The tight posterior force and with weak anterior leg can lead to a shearing force causing the pain.

Low Back Pain: Hours in the saddle flexed forward and pedaling the bike can significantly tighten the hip flexors of the anterior hip. As they become tighter they can pull the pelvis forward, placing strain on the low back. If the small trunk musculature and core is weak and can overcome the anterior pull, then back pain can develop.

Knee Pain: When the quads and ITB become tight from miles of pedaling and running without an equal amount of strength from behind (literally), extra force and strain can be loaded to the knees. Restrictions, knots and tightness can easily build up in the quad, and all those hours spent moving forward doesn’t allow much chance for the glutes to work and active which have an important role in stabilization of the trunk. Weakness here can also contribute to extra pounding to the knees.

Shoulder Impingement: leaning for hours on those aero bars following repetitive reaching and forward with a swim stroke can significantly tighten the pec, neck and chest muscles. Without addressing the rhomboids, middle trap, lower trap and posterior shoulder muscles, extra strain can be placed on the front the the shoulder causing irritation and inflammation and a sore shoulder making even simple daily activities like combing hair painful.

All of these together can leave a triathlete with the gorilla posture I’ve talked about before.

When the miles start to add up, maintain some balance in your body.

Spirit of a Champion

2011-01-18T14:38:00.000-08:00

What goes into the making of a Champion? Having the right genetic profile certainly helps if you want to win Gold at the Olympics, or win the Boston marathon, or race in the Tour De France. But we can all become a Champion of our own dreams. Champion of the local Sprint race, age group champion of a 5k, champion at cyclocross race, or champion of the group ride sprint to the stop sign, or top of Town Hall hill. It certainly takes a championship attitude just to finish an Ironman or your first 1/2 Iroman.

Some characteristics of Champions are:

Attitude
vision
perseverance
character
courage
self motivation
positive
purpose
disciplined
confident
enthuiam

I coach many athletes in pursuit of their dreams... like, qualifying for Boston, or championship events, or finishing a marathon or Ironman. It certainly takes many of the above traits and more to achieve a big dream. After racing and coaching for years, I would also add several characteristics to the list.

Direction:Having a plan, believing in it and sticking it to it will get you to your dream. Bouncing from 1 thing to the next without direction won't get you there. Realize, "your" dream may take a few years to get there, and if you fall short 1 or 2 times...you can't just give up and change focus. Stay on course, stay focused and follow the direction.

Taking Risks:Sometimes you have to do what seems impossible like...swim in the fast lane once a week , sign up for the race that seems like a long shot, invest in a "techie" piece of equipment that may offer some crucial data, or hire a coach who can do the "thinking" for you. Break out of the comfort zone, and take it to the next level, if you want to get to the next level.

Do what you hate:
Usually our weaknesses or limiters are what we aren't superbly great at. It is what is uncomfortable. These are the dreaded workouts, but the ones likely needed the most. Those limiters might just be what are keeping you from your dream. And this is what certainly separates a champion from the average....doing the ugly and dreaded, most uncomfortable pieces of the puzzles. For some, not working out or resting might be what is most awkward. Or, are you leading the race because you swim like a rock star only to be passed early on the run, and does it happen every time? Well its apparent some hard, hurting run sessions that a swimmer might no enjoy is what might hold the ticket. If the only way to get your workouts in during the week, is to get up at the crack of dawn before work and kid obligations when its dark and cold, do you do it? Its not fun, because it is so warm and comfy under the covers, but getting those workouts in during the week might be the key. I personally don't love to swim unless its a masters practice, but that isn't always an option so, I have to do what I hate and that is swim alone sometimes.

Set Demanding Goals:A champion will set goals that are a stretch and then put everything they can into reaching that goal. They might have shorter more attainable goals along the way, but the real goal is the one they are ultimately after. It is specific, and not vague. They understand the process and discipline it takes to get there.

Never Quits:Champions don't quit or give up. If it all falls apart in one practice or race it isn't the end of the dream. A champion will learn from what went wrong, make the necessary changes then move on and go for it again.

Believes:A champion never stops believing in their dream.

Do you have the spirit of a champion?

One word.....

2011-01-12T17:06:00.000-08:00

The New Year 2011 is in full swing and how have those new year's resolutions gone? 2.5 weeks in have you kept to your resolution?

I myself did not make any resolutions. However, I did hear on a morning talk show about a different way to think about approaching the new year. Pick 1 word to describe you in 2011. Instead of focusing on cutting out the negative such as I want to lose 20 lb. or 5, or cut out, meat or, sugar , or gluten, or dairy, or all of the above, or coffee, or caffeine, or swear words, or ...._____/ insert your choice of things to "cut out".

Or the opposite: I'm going to exercise more, do yoga more, stretch more, balance check book more, save more ....or ____/insert "something more"

Most of the times it is hard to stick to these changes because it requires action on our part, and, wow, I don't know about you, but I am already maxed with plenty to try and "do", fit in, and schedule. So instead, try to pick 1 word to describe yourself and try to "be" that word and the rest will follow.

I'm all about change and improvements, becoming newer and better, but haven't made a new year's resolution in .......years. (secretly for a brief few moment I considered forgoing coffee. Gasp. A failed resolution for sure) But I have tried the one word approach. And 2 days prior to 1/1/11 came up with my word. I am not sharing it right now, but so far so good. One word is easy to focus on and easy to self correct if you find yourself derailed. The idea is to be that word and the rest will fall into place easily.

I have had to lean on my word a lot lately as I have decided to undertake more than usual this year. With the kids a bit older, and several years of laying pretty low in triathlon, I have the bug to get serious again. Yes...that bug bit me in the bum. So I need my one word to keep me "real" as I try to become a closer version of my former triathlon self from years prior as well as manage all that I currently do, ...plus some. Yea, I also decided to increase my hours at Cosport to help fix more of the injured. So as you can see, eliminating coffee is not really an option.

Come August we will see if I still like my one word as much as I do now, or you might find me sprawled out with my bike on the side of the road next to a tall cornfield, screaming at that word. Stay tuned.....

If you had to pick one word, what would it be?

In search of my arms

2011-01-06T18:19:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to find my arms and shoulders. After months of cyclocross with lots of biking, some running and NO swimming...I misplaced my arms. Sure I had to hoist my bike up and over barriers during races and sometimes practice but that what about the extent of my upper body training all fall and the late stages of 2010. So my arms disappeared and seem scrawny.

Once cyclcross ended, and I enjoyed a short break, but I have been staring at a 1/2 Ironman in April motivating me to find some arms again so I can swim and not drown. I dug out my goggles and returned to the pool, and yes more than 1 x a week like last year. I also resumed my killer sessions with my awesome trainer Mark Nilles in search of finding some upper body strength again. And in these sessions we sometimes Box. Yes punch the heavy bag, gloves etc. Talk about arm fatigue and a great way to punch out the stress all in one. A few times I even had a training session then went straight to masters afterwards. Not so pretty early on when my arms were MIA.

There are signs of life in my arms though as I was able to reach an all time PR on pull ups doing 21 full body, unassisted pull ups (yes broken in sets, but superset with another upper body workout without rest). I also managed a good chunk of MSM's annual 100 x 100s New Years swim.

So I'll keep after it so my arms don't stay like scrawny sticks poking out of my body like a snowman, so I can swim, not drown and pull myself through the water, so I can stand and climb on my bike and stay steady in aero, and run with power.

Welcome 2011....

2010-12-27T19:09:00.000-08:00

....I am ready for you.

Good bye 2010, I've had enough of you. Thanks for some fun times in Tuscon and Oregon, and seeing my 7 year old lose his top 2 teeth, play soccer and wrestle.

Thanks for an amazing cyclcross season and seeing my athletes qualify for Boston, Clearwater and World events.

But I've had enough of you 2010, I'm bored with you now and am ready for your friend 2011.

2011 can give me new challenges, new goals, a new coach, a new start to a New Year and a new season. Some new races, and new places.

2010 is pretty much history, in the books. All those workouts, races and performances (good and bad) are just that... history now. 2011 gives you the chance to start with a clean slate, lay the foundation down right for great performances all year long.

TBC even has new logo and for me a stylin' new blog look.

Happy New Year

Oregon Run

2010-12-22T04:19:00.000-08:00

I started my Christmas celebrating early by making a run home to Oregon. My dad turned 65 and I was in the mood for some TLC, and early holiday fun at home in the suburbs of Portland and foothills of Mt. Hood.

We crammed all the typical holiday traditions in a short 5 day visit just to get this season started off right. I'll skip the details of all the tree trimming, cookie baking, shopping (Oregon has no sales tax.....also will soon be the first state to ban plastic grocery sacks!! ) and gift exchanges. But 1 event that topped the list on this trip was a ride on the Polar Express. If you doubt there is a Santa or stopped believing then you should make a trek to Hood River Oregon and board the Polar Express that takes you to the North Pole. Along the way you get all the goodies just like the movie, Hot Chocolate, cookies, music...the hobo, and of course....Santa who will give you a bell and tell you to "believe". How can you not believe after that ! The highlight for me was the bathroom break on the drive there at Multnomah Falls.

how is this for a pit stop!

Traveling home to Oregon always gives me a great chance to get in some scenic and HILLY running. A very welcome change of pace this time of year and much different than the treadmill or the frozen subdivision loops. With no bike, and not easy access to a pool I ran every day. Nothing crazy or long or fast, no special workouts just ran in the hills. I ran on a trail along the Clackamas River, I ran a hard hilly loop curved up hills and down into valleys with grade's steep enough that I could reach out and almost touch the road. I had runs where I turned the corner and had views of Mt. Hood in the distance. Every run I could smell Christmas trees, and wasn't layered in all weather gear. And.... I only got sprinkled on for part of 1 run. During my running I thought a lot about 2010, the good and the bad and changes for 2011. As an athlete with a new year, new season on the horizon it is hard not to get excited for new goals, new challenges and new perspectives. For some reason at 42 I still feel the need to set goals and challenge myself. It may not always be in the sport of triathlon, but have always tried to have something out there.

As a coach this time of year gets busy setting up the yearly plan for athletes. Encouraging them to pick out races, or camps and convincing them to set high goals (and to be specific). Dream big. Why not. There is nothing to lose. In the last few days of 2010, give yourself a holiday treat and go for a run, leave the Ipod at home and indulge yourself on dreaming big and ......
BELIEVE!

Frozen Evidence.....

2010-12-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

Many of my triathlon friends have been asking...did you really ride your bike outside last weekend to race? Well.... I did and here is the proof! I'm have like 3 base layers of various forms and fabric, tights and leg warmers and a race kit, plus socks (2 pair), super thick gloves and headband for my ears. The only thing cold were my feet and face. Such an extreme contrast to racing in say....Memphis this year!

The real question though, is that if I could do this then technically I should be able to keep riding going outside....at 25 deg or warmer! Ha, that is a challenge to myself! We'll see. I don't like the trainer except for short hard intervals, I don't like the treadmill, except maybe...some hard intervals, but I also don't like extreme cold. That makes training this time of year for me a challenge. I realized that I am doing a half IM in roughly 4 months. Luckily my new awesome coach has me pretty motivated so I better suck it up buttercup, layer up, and get out there as much as I can.

Today I tried Bikram Hot Yoga. It is 90 min of manipulating yourself into unnatural poses in a room that is heated (not sure ..but it felt like 90 deg!) I have made my way to my fair share of yoga classes especially in the fall and winter. I do really like it, but I've never done it HOT. It was very intense and challenging. Maybe if I lure myself to Hot Yoga after riding or running out in the cold, I'll be more likely to get out there. It is also quite evident that I have spent way too many hours biking and running and I do not move the same way the yogi's do into these positions and could really benefit from sweating and stretching it out regularly.

5th OA in Chicago Cross Cup!!!!!!

2010-12-06T19:23:00.000-08:00

The final race of the CCC took place in the city on Sunday Dec. 5. It was 25 deg. and snow covered.....I am not a lover of bitter cold, but was so excited to race I didn't think twice about bundling up and racing.Maybe I should have been dressed like this guy:

I had so many layers on I look at least 10 lbs. heavier in the pictures and it took 24 hours for my feet to fully defrost, but I loved it. I even stayed after to cheer on friends. I need to figure out the cold though, because Nationals Cross Nationals are in Madison next January.....brrrr!

It was an awesome day and all the really fast girls were out to race. I had a good start but had issues with snow and ice freezing to my cleats and I raced for pretty much 45 min unclipped. I didn't have any issues with gravity though and kept the wheels on the ground, which is huge improvement for me under these slippery conditions. It was more of a technical race (not my favorite) vs. one to really go hard all out for 45 min and race but that is part of cyclocross. I finished 8th on the day, but that kept me 5th OA in the series which I am thrilled with. I had to claw my way up through the rankings after 1 mechanical and 1missed race which = 2 races without points, but I was aiming for top 5 once I upgraded to cat 3. My 5th in the women's 1,2,3...which was 2nd (by only 1 point) in the women's 3.

I have to say I loved racing with the top girls. In the races I had good starts and rode with them for a lap, or ...part of a lap in some cases I was pushing myself so hard. I think it only made me a better rider and pushed me to get good starts and just ride frickin hard, almost like when riding Colonial on Tues nights. With more girls upgrading to 3 next year, I still hope we race as the women 1,2 ,3's because racing the best only makes you better.

Thanks CCC for putting on such an awesome series, and thanks to Rob Kelley my cyclocross coach, Bicycle Heaven, and all my cyclocross friends who were so supportive all season long.

Up next....a trip home to Oregon (can't wait)the holidays, then bring on 2011!

Just a little bit......

2010-11-21T15:59:00.000-08:00

of cross racing left :( .....

and with that brings some changes.

First are some changes with my training. Its no secret that the CCC series has been as important to me as any triathlon I did this year. Everything has been going great, but last weekend was a double race weekend and it comes sort of late in the season and I couldn't really find my legs. Hellooooo legs where are you?...I have taken for granted that they should always be there because the hours per week of training is so little compared to triathlon season....but as Joe Friel would say...I have lit a LOT of matches. I have tried to maintain some decent run form which I honestly think has helped me in cyclocross, but it is still a match lit with some track workouts and tempo runs, that with lots of fast racing every weekend and pooof I was tired at Indian Lakes. I didn't place as high, the conditions were the toughest so far with down pouring rain 1 day creating a mud slide....

to wind and bitter cold the next day. But I did manage to hold on to 5th place in the series but felt fried. So we made some changes to the training and wow what a difference.

I actually found my way to my first masters practice since sometime in Aug. I had to dig a suit, cap, and goggles out of the depths of the back of the garage. Some of that stuff was HIDDEN in my tri bag way back behind all the bikes and helmets. (we have a LOT of bikes in our garage!) Several months off from swimming and you will pay in the water!!!, but I have found that it comes back fairly quick IF 2 things are true:

1. you have some depth...years of experience and aren't a newbie. While I did not start swimming for real until after college and was never on a swim team until I joined a masters team....I have been "swimming" for a lot of years now, and it does come back !

2. you have some consistency in the water....well that is what I didn't do so great with last year but plan to be better about this year.

So my first time back in the water we swam over and hour and more than 3600 yds. Aerobically I felt fine, but my arms have been forgotten with all the cross racing and pooped out at about 2000!!! I resorted to solo swimming on the weekend to just practice form and get used to swimming again. But I forgot how much I dislike solo swimming burnt myself out on that rather quick.

Another change is my triathlon coach for next year. I LOVED Simon THOMO and have no complaints what- so -ever! He pulled me out of triathlon burnout ...and helped re light some fire in triathlon and actually helped me pull out some decent performances on half assed training. But he is kicking butt in AUS with TREK AUS and has stayed down under. Sometimes a change is good and I LOVED the idea of a local coach. So, I have Scott Iott, coaching me for triathlon next year. He is a TBC coach too and just broke 9 hrs. at IM Florida and will be heading to Kona next year......and yes I hired him before he broke 9!!!! I think change is good...sometimes scary, but can take you to another level when you mix it up. He has been very patient with me and my cyclocross habit.

And finally, another good change!

I had a great start at the Northbrook race and stayed in a pack with the lead girls through about 1/2 a lap before the top 2 broke away on an open section and I later found myself on the ground on a slippery slope :)

Only 1 more race, the state championships on Dec. 5 at Montrose after a week off to eat turkey! Happy Thanksgiving!

Rolling.....

2010-11-09T17:30:00.000-08:00

Through the off season! Or is it?

Woodstock....the barrier run up/ my favorite part of the course/ Thanks to Bill Draper for this pic and Chris in the background for heckling me.

I have to say I am just having so much fun doing "off season" with cyclocross, but is it really an off season for me or...a change of focus? I can't tell. Its too fun, and manageable to feel totally serious, and I am going out and being social and having fun...so it feels like off season, but....I do care tremendously about cyclocross season and doing well, so much so that I gave up on some late season triathlons and races and even some running races to do well in the series. So I'm confused, off season? or ......what? I've even T O Y E D with the idea of going to Bend for cyclocross NATIONALS ....because of course Bend Oregon is 1 of my favorite places on this earth.....but a girl can only do so much!

Trust me the hours per week training are way down compared to triathlon season, but what I do do is short and sweet and I am racing every weekend. I haven't been swimming (oh my ...that day is coming that will not be pretty in the water!!) but I have still been running some to include 1 track workout a week, doing weights and of course biking, but the biking is on trails, off road and a total change from triathlon training. I haven't visited my Scotty P since Chicago Tri. It feels like a walk in the park in terms of commitment and time, but today when I went on my easy 40 min run with some strides....I was shuffling for the first 20 min because I was sore. Seriously....sore from a 45 min race on Sunday? YES! Either I truly went ALL OUT in Woodstock which was my best race yet, or...it is off season and I'm getting out of shape !

This past weekend we had the annual Multisportmadness Triathlon Year End banquet which is always fun. So of course it feels like off season. Seeing all those friends that you see so rarely, receiving the crazy awards, and watching the year end video surely means its off season. Each year a video is compiled of a summary of pictures and videos clips from the year into 1 awesome DVD with music. This years was so cool, thanks to Megan Martin Becker and her cool husband for putting it together. I saw friends I haven't seen in a long time and Megan and I decided to put together an off season WILD TURKEY TROT! oh my.

Carla, Megan and I planning a Turkey Trot

So rolling through off season has been fun! I keep rolling up in the CCC standings!!! Now 5th!!! Upcoming a double cross weekend at Indian Lakes resort. Not many races left!!!! and not much daylight left :( Get out and ride and enjoy the off season!

wicked weekend....

2010-11-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

The last weekend in Oct. was crammed with big fun, cyclcross at home, and of course Halloween.

Friday started the weekend off wild with a girls night to the city to see the Blackhawks play! Carla's client set us up right and chauffeured us to the city and showed us the ropes at the United Center and how to cheer like Blackhawks fans do.

Even though they played bad and lost; it was still fun to dance to that song they play and high 5 your neighbors when they score. Lucky for us it was a fairly high scoring game just to keep it interesting. Add to that it being Halloween weekend, and the United Center was full of all kinds of crazy fans dressed up. I am really out shape and de-conditioned for staying up past my bedtime and was bonking fairly early in the night compared to a die hard Blackhawk fan who is superbly trained for this kind of event. Not too much harm done though, because this was just the first leg of my wild and wicked weekend.

Jack's last soccer game of the season was bright and early Saturday morning. We were lucky enough (ha ha) to have the first game of the morning out in the very chilly temps. It was like torture standing in the freezing wind watching 6 and 7 yr olds try to play who hadn't had practice for 2 weeks in the cold early morning and stand around and kind of act like they want to play this make up game that was added on. I think all they were thinking about was how much candy they would get the next day and when they could put on their costume. Later in the day we headed out to venue for Campton Cross to help set up the course. I have to say this is my absolute favorite course on the circuit. Not just because its close to home, but it is the craziest and wildest course because there are actually some hills and a single track section through some woods. FUN! I had gone out there Thurs night with my cyclocross coach, Rob Kelley, to practice starts and he came up with some FUN additions to the course. There is actually a lot of work that goes into setting up 1 of these courses. There are tons of stakes and flags, and taped off sections that go into making 1 crazy loop. The Bicycle Heaven guys did an AWESOME job making a fabulous course and great race. I only helped a little setting up the course. I can't imagine taking it down. Thanks guys!

Sunday of course.....Halloween and cyclocross ! What a fun mix! I pseudo dressed up as Pippy Longstocking with crazy striped tights and braids, but I wanted to be able to race hard and not have a cape or some costume get in the way.

I was so psyched to race this course, and the field was more competitive than the week before. We lined up and again I had a slow start. All the good practice didn't help when I was caught off guard. They didn't start us in the usual way....most the time they give us a warning......but for some reason they didn't this time and the start came fast and I wasn't ready.......but caught 3 or 4 people by the first uphill section. I felt great the entire racing and kept gaining on the girl in front of me each loop. The crazy uphill off camber section that stressed me out in practice went great and I tried to just power up all the uphills and fly through the barriers. I finished 5th and scored some more $$ again. I feel more proud of this probably than the 3rd place last week because of the strength of the field. The winner is phenomenal. I heard she was like 2 minutes off the front??? Seriously? My pippy longstocking leggings came down cause I was pushing so hard and I probably finished with snot coming out of my nose and mouth but was happy with the result and finally am moving up in the series now in a 3 way tie for 7th!!!

Jack had so much fun practicing on the course he decided to race too. He was in costume and even got a call up! He was so excited to race. For his age he would do 2 loops. After lap 1 I thought he was going to be done. He looked soooo tired, but determined. He kept going and did the whole 2nd loop and was so focused that he forgot and started a 3rd lap! I had to run across the field to stop him! Hmmm do you think there is some competitiveness in there from somewhere?

Adam also raced 2 x (ouch)!. This is about as opposite from Ironman training there is...but he did awesome. We all had to hustle home to get ready for the Main Event...trick or treating. We had a Ninja and Camouflage fairy in the house anxious to get out there. (see ....all my training is not just for racing, its for weekends like these!) After trick or treating at threshold levels we finished with way too much candy in the house.

I was not rested and tapered for a weekend like this, I went into it head first with a bit of fatigue but managed to pull off a stellar performance on all events!

Podium Shot

2010-10-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Amongst some rain and mud I found my way to the podium on Sunday! I won't do race reports each week........that would get old, but a podium finish is fun and walking away with cash even cooler. I managed to keep the wheels on the ground when there were lots sliding out in the mud (if you only knew how much I was on the ground last year!). I was getting oh so close to 2nd but got too cautious the last lap!

Next up Campton Cross! My home course......come out and watch the craziness on Halloween day...yes there will be costumes!

Back on the Mainland....

2010-10-21T15:49:00.001-07:00

.....life is moving on at a really fast pace. I luckily returned to really nice fall weather and warm temps which makes facing reality easier . Returning from a week away at "paradise island" and we are half way through October, the leaves have turned more and are falling, and I am searching for gloves in the morning when walking Jack to school. When away in Hawaii, you are in another world so far away from real life and even though it was only a week...the dogs racked up a huge bill at the kennel, Jack got bigger, and I fell to number 22 in the CCC standings!!! Ouch, a mechanical in race 1, missing a race being kona bound and others cat ing up with some points left me in 22nd on the Sunday flying home from Kona :( That does not make a competitive girl happy. Luckily I had a double cross weekend to try an score some points and do some catching up.

Saturday's race was way up North in Wauconda at Psycho cross (how cool is that name). The course was very flat with long straight sections. It was a crit or road racers dream/ not very technical. The trickiest section was some dirt/ gravel transitioning to a grassy dip. There was also a flyover in the middle of this course, but I have grown to love these and use them as a chance to pass people running my bike up the stairs.

I had a good start at this race (finally) and stayed with the lead pack until the soft gravel section going into grass where I lost contact with them. When you start a race like this you are redline from the go, I feel like I am dying and how can I possibly make it 45 min. Somewhere though in that first lap I found my groove and road strong catching a couple girls. As the laps went by I could myself gaining on 2 of the girls ahead of me. I kept ...getting...so ...close ....and by this time...I was feeling good and wanted 1 more lap. I have to say I love the 45 min of cat 1,2 3! I finished in 8th amongst the field.

Sunday's race was in Carpentersville. This was my first race ever last year, and I was remembering how clueless I was when I showed up to the start last year. They had the course set differently and I got there early enough to check it out and warm up the legs. (its hard to believe you can get sore from 45 min of work!) This course was more technical with off camber steep downhills, tight, narrow turns and a bmx style pump section coming out of a hard left turn into soft dirt. I had a good start (getting better) and again was with the leaders until a tricky tight uphill section when 1 of the girls went down right in front of me causing me to have to clip out and go around her on an uphill!!! Damn again off the lead girls. BUT, this course was trickier and had enough power sections that I tried to hammer and attack on. At the tricky dirty pump and bump section I managed to get through quite quick and would go ahead of girls here (go figure did I miss my calling as a bmx'er?)

Again, as the laps wore down I found myself catching girls and feeling stronger. I found myself cat and mousing with a couple girls. I tried to pass on the hard sections and never let up. I raced so hard and again the 45 min did me good. I could have used another lap because I was getting oh so close to catching 1 more. I finished 7th and really had raced to the point of my lungs and legs almost exploding, yet with a huge smile on my face because that was fun.

So with 2 more decent races under my belt in 1 weekend, I moved to 11th. This is more tolerable but I want to move up higher than that. The fun part about racing in a series is to see how far you can go. Its not about getting a time or distance on 1 event, its about racing week after week and scoring points.

I am truly having a blast doing these races, I had set my whole triathlon season up around doing as much of the series as I could and I don't regret saying no to going after other options 1 bit. I passed up on some races and travel and other triathlon stuff to help afford a new cross bike.......and it is all worth it because my Cannondale Super X is like a dream :)

Ride on!

My Kona Adventure

2010-10-15T08:37:00.000-07:00

Stepping off the plane at the Kona airport in the nearly pitch black is a feeling I always look forward too. It is warm humid and often smells really good like flowers. This was the 4th time I've stepped off the plane there. On this trip I was looking forward to hooking up with my friend Jenny Marine who is now a local resident of almost 2 years and taking off on many island adventures, as well as do some training and of course support Adam and our other MSM friends racing.

Day 1 Jenny and I headed to the beach and just chilled. We swam along a reef and saw amazing fish and an eel. We hung out and chatted. I don't talk to Jenny much throughout the year but it is becoming a tradition seeing her once a year on the big island and its like I saw her yesterday. It is interesting to hear what her life is like on the island, especially when Ironman is not in town. Kona is a much different place.

This day was also was the first my arms have swum a stroke since the Chicago Tri! What a great way to get back into it. I also saw a Honu and was on such a roll with swimming I went again later with Adam and some friends at the Kona Athletic Center. Who can beat swimming outdoors in a beautiful huge pool. I certainly wasn't swimming too fast, but the cool thing is that it didn't feel completely foreign to me.

As each day gets closer to the IM, Alii drive becomes more crowded with triathletes, more structures start going up that comprise of the actual finish line and long stretch you see athletes running down at the end of their day. Also as each day goes by you see that serious, focused look become more intense. The same holds true for Adam, but I must say it was the most relaxed I have seen him going into this race. I knew and he knew he would have a spectacular day.

I had dinner 1 night with my client Sarah Arnold and her husband Jim out at the Four Seasons. What and amazing place and beautiful place. They are a very fun couple and Sarah was getting in some solid training for Clearwater.

Because I was without a bike to train on, I was doing a lot of running. 1 day I had hill repeats on Palani. Um, this is a long tough hill. I got up early and ran the 2 miles down to the hill and proceeded to do the hill repeats. Of course some must of thought I was nuts, but it was a good hard workout. The 2 mile run back home I was hurting pretty good. And what better way to recover than going stand up paddling later in the day! Adam's coach Jim and I rented stand up boards and paddled out into the ocean. Trust me this isn't a super easy thing. Think wall squat on a bosu ball while paddling, and with Palani hills in my quads, my legs were shaking the whole time.

Later in the week I had a longish run to do and was really getting bored with Alii Drive and all the compression socks, M dots, and logos. Jenny had told me of a trail up the hill and away. To get there you had to run up the mountain a good 3 miles, once on the trail it is a long gradual uphill along the side of the mountain with spectacular view of the ocean. When you see the ocean and coast line from up there you really see that you are truly on a rock in the middle of the Pacific.

The night before the race I cooked Adam's traditional pre-race pasta. Nothing special or fancy, and left him to chill,and finish packing his stuff. I headed out with Jim,Yuri, Joe, Trevor and others to a party called TGINR.........thank god I'm not racing!!! LOL It was hosted by Competitor Magazine and attended by many supporters, pros, elites etc not racing. They had open bar, buffet, right on the edge of the beach. They even had baseball caps made up with TGINR on it. They also had good mai tai's!

But we didn't stay out late because as anyone who cheers and spectates knows it is a very long day and in Kona.........it is hot, tiring, you don't get to see as much as other Ironman. Race morning I was nervous, I had butterflies like I was doing the race. When the one you love puts so much into an event you just want everything to go right and have it pay off. We found a good spot to watch the swim. There is so much energy at the start. The athletes are nervous, they have to tread water for quit a while before the gun goes off and you are just waiting anxiously. The Hawaiian drums and chants start it gets pretty intense waiting for the cannon. You can't see much at the start but it is always worth it to me to get down there and feel that energy. The cannon goes off, and they are on their way.

AFter getting MORE coffee, I made my way over to Palani Hill. I like to watch the start of the bike there because they are slow and climbing. I saw Adam and he looked great, focused and climbed it fast, and after that I cheered on the rest of our friends, then had several hours to kill. I had kept getting texts from home with Adam's splits. He was doing so great at each time check and I knew things were coming together for him, and before long I realized he was going to break 5 hrs on the bike! I usually watch the run on an out/back section on Kuakini Hwy. I found my spot and watched the pro's start the run. Before long, though the top age group men starting coming. Adam finished the bike 4th in his AG. I yelled this to him as he started the run. He looked fast. I could see it in his face, and knew that it was his day. After he comes back on this spot it is about mile 10 and he still looked great. This is where I grab a bike sprint up palani and ride out onto the Queen K. I like to do this for selfish reasons too. It gets hard just standing there in the heat. Hopping on the bike and riding out there you can see more athletes, cheer, get off your feet and feel a breeze. At mile 13, Adam was still flying, and he yelled out 1:32! I told him he was only a little more than 2 min down from Tim Hola who is an amazing racer in Kona. I road on to the energy lab. At the entrance you can not go in, only the athletes. So I cheered like crazy as he headed in, then parked myself on a rock. The athletes coming out of there looked horrible. Not many were running, those who were....shuffled. The women pro's were coming out some looking bad. Some of the top guys in front of Adam were looking rough. I told him it was getting ugly in front and to get it going. He told me he was on a mission, was going to dig deep, was fine, and head to the finish line.

I found myself a spot close to the finish, but where there were no barriers in the way. It wasn't until then that I finally looked at the clock to see what time it was and what his time might be. I had to count backwards because I leave my watch set on Chicago time. (I'm a dork I know, its a mom thing wanting to know what time it is at home. I had to do it several times to check myself. When I looked and figured it out it was 9:08 into the race.....and Adam was so close to the finish. Tears started rolling down my face because I knew this was going to be amazing. He high 5'd me hard flying down the finish and Mike Reilly said same very cool stuff,as I sprinted around all the barriers and people to get to the post race area. Is is messy back there and I have usually found him near the medical tent. When I found him he was already eating pizza, looking like no big deal!!!!

All the hard work paid off and I am so proud of him. Watching an event and performance like that leaves you pretty motivated. The next day I said good bye to Jenny and told her we'd most likely be back next year :)

what to do with 4 hrs....

2010-10-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

So I am in LAX on a 4 hr layover to kona. When was the last time I had 4 hrs to kill...without needing to squeeze in a workout, go to the grocery store, fold and put away laundry, go to work, write schedules for athletes etc.

I am sitting here and paid the 7.99 to be able to connect to the Internet to surf the Internet and kill some time. I bought a book at home..but it is just so so and not keeping my interest. Partly because I am excited to get to Kona, still not relaxed from getting everything set to leave. I felt so nervous this time leaving. It is hard to be gone for a week, and my parents are the best to come step in and keep it all going. This has become a yearly trek over to the island each October. I said today I don't know if I'd keep going if my parents couldn't come help. So as I sit here trying to figure out what to do with 4 hrs.... and a nice man is serenading us at the gate with some acoustic guitar playing. It is actually nice and not annoying.

I did my first race as a cat 3 yesterday in the women's 1,2 ,3 field. It was very hard and I made myself hurt a lot. I think I will have the sexiest legs on the island...with a few new bruises, and a nice gash on my shin thanks to a tree trunk that flipped me on lap 1. This was a fun course complete with a flyover which consisted of running up a flight of stairs carrying my bike.....mounting at the top (and I tell you there was not a lot of room) then flying down a steep decline.

It reminded me of a jump my brother's used to make to do with their big wheels only adult style! This was scary at first, but then was no big deal. I actually loved the stairs and the 1 hill with barriers. The top girls start Fast. They are powerhouses and I lost contact with the top 4 -5 pretty quick, but held my own throughout the race trying to gain a few spots. There aren't a lot of girls in this field so I was glad when the men that started behind us came through so I could catch a wheel. I was lucky to have friends and family at this race cheering me on while racing against the big girls. Thanks to Kristi coming out on a Sunday and cheering, she took some great pictures, and my parents were there with Jack who rode his bike the entire time and cheered me on from his bike telling me go faster!!!

I finished 9th in the women's 123, 6th in cat 3. I have a lot to learn still, but have always been one to want to put myself in a position to race against the best to make myself faster and a better athlete, even if it means finishing a few places lower in the process.

I am just a few hours away from Kona now where I get to cheer for Adam and my Illinois friends racing at the Ironman World Championships. I plan to do a little running, and biking and maybe I'll put some goggles on and swim a little which I haven't done since Aug!!!! Then I will hike to the beach and cross train with surfing or stand up paddling.

Aloha!

Preparation...

2010-09-28T18:39:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of preparing going on around our house. The reality of heading across the Pacific to Kona is staring us right in the face. The time is finally here after months of preparation. Yes for Adam the prep has been much different than mine !!
The packing has started, my lists of things that need done and taken care of before leaving have started. Never fails....I tried to be so organized to get it all covered and I am still scrambling at the last minute. Thankfully I have awesome parents who are coming from Oregon to stay at the house and keep a 7 yr old on track with school and soccer along with keeping 2 crazy yellow dogs in line.

As an athlete I know the hard work, and dedication it takes to get into peak shape for the biggest race of the year...whatever it may be, and to finally get to the starting line after so much hard work and sacrifice. It is a feeling that can't be described. I've been there and it is worth it all when you have the race you've dreamt about for months. It makes all the pain and suffering through hard workouts worth it when you toe the line at the big event. Standing there at the start against the big competition with chills down your spine, butterflies in your tummy and a lump in your throat ....you are ready. All those workouts the ones you rocked and took it to a new level to the ones that were a struggle leaving you questioning yourself have prepared you to race and be your best. Truly though you are just ready to race. Enough preparation. Lets do this thing!

As a wife and IM supporter, I have seen all the hard work and dedication made towards getting ready for the biggest race of the year, felt the super soaked sweaty clothes, piles of sticky water bottles, and witnessed the hours of swimming biking and running logged in while gone training. As a super fan and supporter I am ready to do this thing too. I am ready to watch and cheer my a$% off. Adam has been so focused and worked so hard. He is ready and I can't wait to watch it unfold.

I am now a cat 3 cyclocross rider. I took the leap and upgraded. Yikes this means racing with the big girls for 45 min. Trust me, on lap 3 45 min will seem long compared to the 30 min I was doing. Its definitely not Ironman training but I have been hitting it HARD on the bike and even on some runs. I also started heading back to the killer trainer....for some of what looks a lot like this:

....except I'm not quite as graceful as Lindsey Vonn.

I've been preparing to get myself in the best shape I can to toe the line with these fast girls. Sure I'm nervous, but its pushing me to work harder.
Sunday will be the first race in the new category about 24 hrs before I leave for Kona. And on Saturday there is soccer. Jack has been practicing and preparing with his team the Monsters.

Good Luck to everyone who is stepping up to the start line soon in their big race

And the fun begins!

2010-09-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

Jackson Park was the first Cross race of the season. I was so rev ed up to race, and was even a little nervous mostly because I knew it would hurt, and my fitness for this type of racing has been feeling great, but would the technical skills be there and I wanted a top 3 finish! I had been coming on strong last season with a 4th and a 2nd crawling my way towards the top 10 overall due to getting a late start on points from missing the first 3 races. I was out having fun in Kona!

The course was all flat, some tight turns but nothing really crazy. The key would be getting a good start. Since this was the first race there were no top 10 places in the series for call ups so they randomly pulled names from a hat to start on the front, then all 50+ of us lined up behind them. Think mass swim start but on a bike, a few elbow nudging here and there to get up front. I held my own and had great spot right behind the front girls who got the lucky call.

When the whistle finally blew, I took off along with a mass of women. I had a great start and quickly moved up to a front group of about 5. I was feeling great and was hammering hard through the few straight sections, and somewhere just past the first set of barriers moved ahead into 3rd place and was going strong.

After the first lap the bike started feeling squirrely going around turns and I was sliding out a bit, and just thought I was rusty with the tight turns and cornering...I real possibility. It kept getting worse though and when I would go to hammer the straights and I wasn't going anywhere I finally looked down and saw a squishy front tire. I thought I would ride it out, but it kept getting flatter to completely flat and I simply couldn't corner those tight turns in the dirt without completely sliding out. Plus I was on a set of borrowed race wheels and bike. Bad karma I guess borrowing a bike and a set of race wheels. I have a new cross bike on order..... and have been waiting and waiting and waiting for it.

I also should have used the wheel pit. In bike racing you can stash a set of wheels or even a bike to replace if you have a mechanical. I just didn't take advantage of this luxury! You can bet I will next time! Lesson learned.

Despite the mechanical I had a great time as always, am sporting at least3 lovely bruises, and am excited that my fitness and technical skills are leaps and bounds better at the start of this season compared to last when I started rather clueless!

Next up Hopkins Park in 2 weeks.....1 day before I leave for Kona!

The Finish Line!

2010-09-14T04:33:00.000-07:00

With all my years of racing, I have crossed a lot of finish lines, mostly all triathlons, a good number of running finish lines, and lately some cycling finishes. Too many finish lines to count and they have been all over the world. It is a great feeling working so hard towards a goal, sacrificing, working hard, putting yourself through painful workouts, getting up early and to finally cross the finish line in that big race is a true victory. I was at Geneva Running Outfitters the other day, a cool new local running store and a new employee there asked me what my favorite race was. I had to think because I've had lots of favorites. Of course Worlds in New Zealand was the top of my list because I loved the course, the day was perfect, and it was one of those races where it all came together. Crossing the finish line at my first ever Ironman (Florida) was of course another favorite. It seemed surreal at the time. Back then I had no coach, didn't have a clue about Ironman racing and just trained with my friends and had a great day. I felt like I was in a different world crossing the finish line.

This past weekend I had 2 athletes cross the finish line in their very first Ironman. For both it took a lot of hard work and sacrifice to make it there. I have to say I was so excited for both of them to see their dream come true.
Diana is a breast cancer survivor, and has worked her way back from chemo and radiation 2 years ago to an Ironman finisher this year in 13:35! She put so much hard work into her training, planning and preparation. She followed the workouts, followed the plan and executed the perfect race. She had an awesome day. Courtney is a new triathlete and has the personality that will take on anything. She is so positive and that energy is fun to work with. She worked so hard on learning how to swim and bike like and Ironman while balancing work, at Lululemmon, and a teaching career. She too is an Ironman.

For many athletes this is the end of the season. I had so many athletes have great finishes this year. John qualified for Boston, Carmen finished the Big Sur 20 miler, Tonya raced in Budapest at Worlds. Andy completed a 12 hour cycling road ride (yes nonstop), Paula finished her first 1/2 IM. All fabulous performances with lots of hard work along the way to get them there. The greatest part about these performances is the work and sacrifices they made to reach their goal, regular people with big time jobs and families.

For some athletes the big finish line is still out there. It is getting closer. You can see it in the distance now. Hard work, sacrifice and discipline will get you there and it will be worth it.

XXX Cross!

2010-09-05T05:53:00.000-07:00

Bring on the CCC! (Chicago Cross Cup) Its 2 weeks out from the first race and I am getting ready for the kick off race.

Last year I was nervous and clueless going into my first cross race ever, but this year I know more what I am getting into and am psyched to race these crazy things again!

I have been getting a lot of questions about cross: mostly why? or what is it!

A few years ago I watched Adam and friends from group ride do the cross race in St. Charles and always thought, that it looked so fun and wanted to try it, but by the end of tri season was always ready to hang up the bike, or was always focused on just running in the fall. Last year I finally gave it a shot and loved it. I didn't know you could hurt that bad, and have that blood/mental taste in your mouth from just 30 min on the bike. It hurt so bad but was so fun at the same time.

The courses are always different but include barriers, mud and or sand, a few hills or whatever they else the race organizers can find to make it challenging such as a toilet bowl....(a continuous turn that goes around and around itself getting smaller, with a 180 going in the opposite direction to go around and around to come out of it), or BMX jumps! The courses are usually 1 mile or less, and you go around it as hard as you can as many times as you can for the duration of the race. Women's cat 4 is 30 min.

Some skills you need for cyclocross:

>Starts: a fast sprint to find a good position in the front. Sometimes the courses get narrow quickly making it difficult to pass or get around people and yes sometimes there is some bumping going on

>Barriers: dismounting, lifting your bike and running over a barrier and getting back on quickly...they are about 16-18 inches high

>Run ups: sometimes there is a hill so steep or muddy it is easier and faster to get off and run your bike up it then get back on. I always like it when there are some of these on the course because I think my tri fitness gives me a boost.

>Riding through sand: (i'm still learning this one!)and the question is always can I run through it better than riding through!

>Cornering tight: keeping your speed up while going through sharp turns; ie. not braking!

I'm sure there are more, and I am still learning.

You also need: some guts, leave fear and your ego at home crazy stuff can happen like some silly wipe outs and there are hecklers on the sidelines ready to heckle or pass out hand ups of $$, or food. You also need some lungs because you'll be breathing hard

(a little winded!)

I got hooked on it last year because it is a super hard workout, but fun and different. I loved going out and riding off road through dirt and mud to train. Its also great for bike handling skills. The races are a blast; and you start to see and race the same people each week. The atmosphere is fun, laid back, and a little crazy but still competitive..a welcome change from the super focused, serious triathlon world. The Chicago Cross Cup is a series, that you score points in each week. You can keep accumulating points each week and the series itself becomes a race and new type of challenge to accumulate a lot of points.

I'm still going to run some, and do some 5ks, with very little swimming on the schedule. I'll head back to the pool when the time is right and I have my sights on next year. For now, season number 2 is about to begin!

Ugly Betty

2010-08-30T17:35:00.000-07:00

.....that was me on Sunday in Chicago!

or maybe I should title this...'where did that go' as a sequel to my last post! HA!HA!

The crazy thing is that I was feeling good about things going into this race and crazy enough this was supposed to be my big race of the year, and the 70.3's the side races which I was really unprepared for! I had some great workouts on the bike, running, and even in the pool going into Chicago.

Doing the Chicago triathlon is always an adventure. Many people swear it off, others do it every year. I find it hard to pass up a big competitive local race. With the elite wave you can bypass SOME of the congestion and race against some REALLy fast people. That is exactly why I like to put up with the huge expo, the very early morning start (my alarm went off at 3:30!), the massive transition area, biking over the bumps and cracks on Lakeshore Dr., the ordeal it is to get your bike out of transition after the race, the huge hotels and crowds everywhere. But I like the competition and going fast, especially when it all comes together.

So when Sunday finally came, I was ready to race. It had felt like a long time since I raced last. I woke up before my alarm and didn't have the Ugh feeling like...yikes what am I doing!!! I was fired up to race. It was not going to be cold like last year, ick,...I hadn't raced in a while so bring it! I wanted to race, no holding bike for 70.3 efforts, hard!

The I lined up for the swim and my wave was the elite women and a lot of men......not sure what age or who they were but it was a big wave. They were actually quite nice to talk to at the transition area. My instructions were to be aggressive and go out hard and then find your pace. The start was so crazy and fast I was pummeled. Worse than Iroman. The narrow section of water and short distance to the first bouy with elite people and big men trying to go fast made for a CRAZY start. I inhaled so much water and hyperventilated so much I wanted to either die or swim to the wall and get out. Now my swimming is not where it used to be, nor where it should be, but even unless I were Michael Phelps I think it would still have been just as crazy. But...I knew if I just made the turn at the bouy I'd get some open water find some feet and be fine. Which is exactly what happened, I think I got swum over by some big men, but did find some feet after the turn. However it felt like I was swimming upriver the entire way to swim finish.

Biking on Lakeshore Dr. is its own beast. Its flat (really not my strength, but who cares), its fast, sometimes you can see your competition coming at you or behind you at the turns. But the road is awful. You really have to be careful of those seams and bumps and the sprint wave out there. I felt good on the bike and rode hard. The second loop was definitely more congested but I felt strong and tried to push it hard. This was the best part of the day. I have biked faster there, but knowing how I used to train and what I do now, I was happy with the effort.

The run felt good for about .5 miles. I felt good on the grassy section until you hit the pavement near the museum, and then it was sooo ugly. Sorry to those who came up behind me. After being bent over puking 2x, I wanted to quit, again. I at 1 point even started walking backwards on the course because I felt so bad after throwing up that I just wanted to quit and be done. That is so lame though unless you are dying or a pro making a living off of your results. So I turned my sorry AS@ around and shuffled to the next aid station drank a bunch of water and mosied on. I started to feel a little better at mile 4 and then cruised it in. I simply could not go fast. Seriously......isn't this what people experience in Ironman! Near the finish I saw Adam. Waiting. He probably thought I died on the course because I was soooo slow. I ran over to him 200 ft. from the finish and bent over so embarrassed with tears, and frustrated. I do not know what happened, I felt great going into the race, yes it was HOT, but its been hot all summer. Yes I inhaled a ton of lake Michigan, but I've done that before too. Who knows, its wasted energy trying to figure it out.

In every race, key workout, or test set you do there is something to be learned. Good or Bad. My Dad,( an awesome coach ), told this to me before the race. What did I learn from this ugly performance?? Hmm still trying to put my finger exactly on it this time, but maybe that I'm not a quitter, or I like to step up to the challenge and compete, or I should not do Chicago Tri anymore, or get to the pool more often, or time move on to cylclocross. Its 1 lesson learned the hard way.

where did that come from?

2010-08-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

My track workout today was a workout to remember. Don't you love those? They are so rare or they wouldn't be worth remembering. I have plenty of icky ones stuck in my vault of workout memories, more than I'd like to share, but some really good ones too and now a new 1 for the collection of greats. My workout was a version of a set of 1000s which I have been I've been doing off and on all season. Thomo and I even talked by skype week and he gave me a good pep talk (he is awesome for that) about my fitness, racing next weekend and specifically this workout. He gave me a set of times to hit and I'll admit that I might have choked on my water and raised an eyebrow when he said the splits.......see, its been a while since I've run like that, but I was up to the challenge.

So today I headed to the track like I have been doing off and all summer. I was psyched to run on the track, because I love those workouts, but was a bit nervous and somewhat doubtful. I didn't let the doubt get in the way though, because that can be the death of the workout. Instead I just let it fire me up..something to really shoot for. It was so hot and muggy already in the morning, and I felt awful warming up and even thought, maybe I just don't even want to do Chicago. Its an insanely crazy race, but I kep warming up, did my dynamic warm up, drills, and strides and started feeling better. So off I go on the first 1000 feeling good thinking about cadence and turnover. I felt good but only peaked at the watch just a smidge because I didn't want the numbers to get in the way. I felt great and thought I'd be close to the high end of times that I did last week, but no! To my surprise I hit the exact time he wanted me to! I was thrilled; almost did a cartwheel on the track but probably would have cramped up. So I continued on with a little more pep in my step for the next few even going 1 sec. faster on 1 of them! I did my cool down with a big smile on my face trying to remember the last time I ran those times and I believe it was the year I was training for Worlds in Switzerland, which was 2006! Yikes (which by the way is 1 race I would love to have back; all others I'm sure I got what I deserved good and bad...this one though I think I was in my best shape of my life and got a flat tire).

I"ve been working with Thomo for about 1.5 years now,

and this season we have had about 2 key run workouts that have been the staple through the entire season. Nothing fancy or earth shattering, or magical; just different versions of the same key workouts each week, like more intervals shorter rest, or fewer intervals more rest various paces based on where I am with racing. Needless to say I have run a lot of 1000s and I've grown to like that distance on the track. I've been consistent with the workouts and plugged along having many decent ones, some ugly ones too. But today it came together. I think we as athletes forget how the training accumulates and all feeds into the overall fitness leading to a great performance.

Whatever happens next weekend in the mass of thousands racing, this is a fun little win for me to nail the times on the track back down to where they were pre-40ish!

Surviving Solo

2010-08-13T16:22:00.000-07:00

For the last week I have been manning the fort, been captain of the ship, president of the estate or maybe more like the Queen B! Adam has been gone Kona training in California which I'm sure is more interesting than riding and running a zillion miles around tall corn fields, at least the heat and humidity lately has been close to Kona like giving me my own bit of Kona training at least to spectate. So for all those Kona bound or want to be Kona Ironmen... I say get out there and feel it. Its been ALMOST like it is in Kona. I've been overheated just watching the race and my feet burn from just standing on the Queen K. But I digress, that's not the point of this post.

I usually do very well, I must say, at keeping things running smooth and getting everything done plus some. So far, I have had only had 1 minor catastrophe involving milk left outside in the Oberweis cooler, but the big milk drinker is gone anyway so no harm done. Yesterday though I did come the the realization that I need a wife. My own wife. One that will do the laundry and actually put it away, keep the cupboards stocked full of the right food and have a healthy well balanced meal ready for dinner when I get home from work!

My training does go into survival mode. And I have to admit that I sometimes have to go to plan B, and other times priortize workous. I have gotten creative at fitting in some good bike workouts by resorting to the trainer (something I don't like to do mid summer because I love riding outside, but hey it works), and running on several occasions with Jack on his bike. Now that he is older and likes to ride, I can actually run, and do intervals etc. I'm not likely to get more than maybe 1 hr run in doing this (along with maybe a few bribes). My swim workouts end up suffering the most because its difficult to make a 5:30 a.m. masters and an evening masters 40 min away is a challenge when you are trying to fit it ALL in. So I solo swim when I can fit it in amongst everything else.

There is a short list of positives that come with surviving solo, like...the sweat drenched clothes that go into the washing machine are just my own and the laundry pile is a little smaller. I can listen to my playlist or choice loud while cleaning or paying the bills, or watch chick flicks when I crash at night(hmm sounds good, but I haven't done that one yet). I can fix a kid his favorite meal which might be something simple and pour myself a bowl of cereal (easy yes, but I don't recommend it if a big training day is on the horizon). Trust me on this one.

I know the hard work and dedication it takes just to make it to Kona, let alone the effort it takes prepare to perform your best there. Surviving solo can be challenging at times but I've mastered it and it will be worth it in the end to see the Ironman run down Alii Dr, hopefully with a smile on his face.

shifting gears....

2010-08-09T18:13:00.000-07:00

Do you know when its the right time to shift gears? Do you sometimes find yourself in the wrong gear going up or downhill? or maybe when trying to surge ahead and drop someone when passing in a race. I have on occasion found myself in the wrong gear trying to stay on a wheel going up Town Hall, or trying to sprint at the end of a crit race. It leaves you feeling kind of helpless for a short moment until you shift and get it in gear! the right gear that is.

What about in some of the choices we make as athletes....(like Lance in the tour this year;) do you ever find yourself pushing the limits maybe 1 too many times and wind up injured or blowing up huge and ending on a sour note? OR on a more positive turn.... things are clicking along great with training so why not switch gears and step it up a notch, enter a race in the elite wave, or go off to Nationals or pick a race with some real competition. Shift gears and move ahead and take it to the next level!

This year August has come so fast and I am already feeling a shift in gears so to speak. I have to turn lights on earlier in the morning and in the evening, I've been school supply shopping for a 2nd grader and seen football on tv. Adam is gone off Kona training and I have only 1 more triathlon on the schedule. Work is slammed, and I say SLAMMED with people wanting to come in hurt, to be fixed and put back together before school starts back up. I had seriously thought about ramping it up for Nationals or another 70.3 ..but laughed at myself in the mirror realized I would be crazy to attempt this now and I might wind up like Lance with a big L on my forehead. So after Chicago its time to shift gears.

I already feel the shift in my training too. Shorter more intense workouts, the kind I LOVE and fit best into my world. Chicago Tri is the last triathlon on the schedule for me so I've been trying to find more speed and snap with workouts involving a lot more intensity.OUCH but love it. While Chicago is the last tri, it not the last race for me. I'll be stepping up the biking and gearing up for cylcocross season which begins in Sept.and finishes in Dec. at Montrose. Like here

I hope to make it on the call up list each week and race at the front of the pack. So even though 1 race season is coming to an end, another one is just beginning!

The Look

2010-08-02T04:52:00.000-07:00

We headed to Michigan for the Steelhead 70.3 this past weekend; me to coach and cheer on friends/ athletes, Adam to race. I did manage a little training along the way with a stop in Naperville for an outdoor masters swim on our way out of town Thurs night, and a good ride on the course Friday.

Watching a race is never easy for many reasons; its a long day, its hard standing around waiting, if you're an athlete you'd rather be racing. The Steelhead course isn' too spectator friendly and the day started with rain. If you do watch, you can learn some things from some of the best, like when the fastest win.....most of the time they look like it hurts too. Its not a cake walk. You can also witness some crazy things of what not to do in a race like put your helmet on backwards, take off on the run with your helmet still ! (yes I've seen it)

This weekend though, I witnessed "the look". I saw it on more than 1 occasion. The look of pure determination, 100% focused, in the moment that you are going to do this thing! I've seen this look from our kids when they are giving it their all trying something new and big. Andy Schlek had this look chasing down Contador after he made the gutsy move to attack him during a mechanical.

Jack racing in his first triathlon

I saw it on Kelly Williamsons' face,(first place female pro) as she was coming into the finishing chute to win her first 70.3. It made an appearance on my client Sara's face who was digging deep and finished her very first 1/2 IM ever, doing so under 5 hrs.

I showed up in its greatest form this weekend on Adam's face as he was rounding the corner into the last finishing stretch. I had just said to the friends I was with "if he is having a good day we should see him any minute"....and a few seconds later there he was running fast.....with that look. I wished I'd had the camera, but don't know if I would have captured it. I knew from that look he was having his day and it had all come together. I sprinted through the sand and people to the end of the finish (got sore calves from that!) and find him. When I did, the look was still there, because it was one of those races we all are in search of. Where it ALL comes together.

I don't think "the look" is something you can just pull out of anywhere on some random day, or workout. You can fake one sometimes but it is just an false image of that true "look". You may see glimpse's of it at times when you are digging deep and putting out a good effort, but it really makes rare appearances and when it does show up you know there is something amazing happening!

Turning Point

2010-07-27T04:56:00.000-07:00

I am at a point in this season where I have come to a crossroads. Where do I go from here? What should I do next? Keep training and racing? I am motivated to, although its also that part of the season where that hard workout and race soreness is taking a little bit longer to go away....or maybe that is because I have spent 2 separate weekends water skiing and wakeboarding. I love doing this but haven't done this in years and... wow, you really use some muscles that are untapped swimming biking and running.

This season hasn't had a lot of direction other than to train, get fit, and race. No big goal to qualify for anything, go to Nationals etc. I wanted to do some different races than normal and race some 1/2's which I hadn't done in a long time. I didn't start the season with a set race schedule set in stone back in January. For some this would drive them crazy not having every race planned to a T for the entire summer and fall. I have to say this was new to me too, but having things a little open ended has been good because it has allowed for some flexibility and room to play around and adjust based on how training is going, time I've had to train etc. But that leaves me where I am now.....in a bit of a strange spot, still motivated to get out there and swim bike and run, but not sure what exactly to do next which isn't a bad thing. I had signed up for Chicago Tri (grr I have a love/hate relationship with this race). It is huge competitive, and close to home, I love the course, but hate the logistics and ordeal it can become. I had signed up for it a few weeks ago, thinking it might fill and it was 1 of the few races I knew I wanted to do. But recently I checked to confirm my entry and I must have been have asleep, short on caffeine or something because I clicked the wrong box putting me in the AG waves, not the elite wave. This would probably start me in wave 36 or higher, leaving the bike course an absolute zoo to navigate and try to go fast. I'm sure I might sound like a princess here , but I just don't want to race it that way. Of course I missed the deadline to make changes in your entry. Maybe this is a blessing in disguise or a sign just to do something else.

So here I am at the start of August trying to figure out whats next.

Another 70.3? ....this would take big travel and bigger $$$ coordinating with back to school schedules etc... but not totally out of the question

Kiss the tri -season good bye, and focus on getting ready for cyclocross (which I am so excited for), and do some crits etc.....not a bad option since all the pools around me seem to be doing their yearly cleaning and maintenance at the same time.

Find another local race I've never done before and make it an adventure

Become a regular person and just walk the dogs....might be fun for 3 days, but then I'd get antsy

Train just for wakeboarding and water skiing...sounds fun but that will be very short lived as summer is coming to an end; and I don't like cold water

All are good options but so hard to pick! In the meantime we are headed off to Michigan this weekend for Steelhead. Nooo I'm definitely not racing although several were really trying to convince me to race again 13 days after Racine. I still don't feel normal so more power to those who can race 1/2's so close together. I'll be coaching and cheering. Good Luck to my incredible athletes racing there Wellman, and S. A. doing her first 1/2 ever!

what it takes

2010-07-19T04:37:00.000-07:00

I know what it takes to be world class, and finish at the top. It takes dedicating everything you have, the majority of your time energy and thoughts towards racing to to top. Many sacrafices are made along the way and you become 1 with your goal. I know this because I have followed this path in my triathlon career and had much success making it to World Championships and tops of podiums. Right now though I do not have the time or metal focus to follow such a narrow road. Mostly because I have been there, done that for a lot of years and now there is a lot more going on around me with kids, work, and an Ironman training 20+ hrs a week. In fact someone asked me this weekend when we were geting ready to race in Racine, "I thought you retired". Well I guess I sort of did from that kind of racing/training. But it got me really thinking.

I started this season with no particular goal or accomplishment that I was after other than I was motivated to train and race and see how fast I can go without tipping over the balance point where it stops being fun... my kids say, "mom why do you have your bike clothes on AGAIN"... the house collapses in a hole.... I miss out on too many other things that look fun.....or I have to just invite a babysitter to live at the house because the 2 of us are training like crazy. I've made it to soccer games and practices, hosted a block party and acutally gone to a couple other of our Flamingo Fridays in our subdivision and met our neighbors without workout clothes on. I had a fabulous long vacation that was actually a vacation in which I had fun playing with my kids and family and not stressing about fitting in training. I actually signed up for Racine while on vacation when I was out there without a bike, barely swimming and really not training much ! (mostly because I didn't want to just spectate that race again)

I raced hard in the HOT steamy conditions in Racine and after bad swim. The start was so shallow you had to dolphin a bunch on the way out my goggle filled up, I had to stop and fix them, then I was in a bad position and then I was just plain slow. This started me too far back from the front of my AG. I road strong but smart and caught a lot of girls in my AG. Simon and I have been working on a strategy of not biking my brains out so I can run better off the bike. It has worked but I was about 7 min slower than my best time there. So was I too conservative or ...maybe some lack of saddle time. And BTW I am not exactly sure why everyone loves this race so much. The roads are terrible. They must have run out of orange day glow spray paint in Racine marking all the holes and cracks. I came off the bike feeling great right away and ran strong in the heat and a torrential downpour which was a blast and caught a few more girls. I was happy with my race know I gave it my all and felt strong even on a sticky hot day and knowing haven't tipped the balance point. I gave it all I had with what I have done training, but to be at the top...I know I haven't put in the time. And I am ok with that.

But...I am competitive and it is sometimes hard to accept finishing a few places lower than you'd like.....knowing very well you have the ability to be a few places higher up if you put in the time. So I guess I am my own kind of world class right now..... training and racing, but doing what it takes to keep life in check, and not miss out on some of the fun things going on around me that I would have said no to before.

integrity.....

2010-07-13T04:54:00.000-07:00

On one of my solo long rides recently I was thinking about integrity. Hang with me on this one, maybe the heat and humidity was getting to me, but this post may become deep. A number of strange situations have come up lately both inside and out of the triathlon world that got me thinking about integrity. Details aren't important but 1of these events included credit card fraud on the internet with my card! Who does this and feels good about themselves. I knew integrity had to do with being honest and moral but was curious as to the exact definition so I looked it up.

Noun: adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.

I like the part about adherence to moral principles, and soundness of character. It is so easy to act all moral when it come to things that are easy or part of your passion or dream...or if it is to your benefit, but fall short in parts of life that are hard or something that you don't like or care about. In the same respect, its easy to point out the flaws in others without taking a good look inside at yourself. To truly have integrity is to adhere to those moral principles in all aspects of your life, not just the ones you pick.

Being a mom I am constantly telling kids, finish your vegetables, turn the light out when you leave the room, pick up your wet towel off the floor, or try your very best .....but then I sometimes have to check myself; am I doing these things myself. ?? If I want my kids to do these adhere to these principles, am I setting a good example and adhering to them myself or am I just all talk and no action. Same holds true for me as a coach and therapist. Its easy to want others to be honest and moral and treat you accordingly, but are you doing that yourself? and gut check here....throughout all aspects of your life?

Integrity can be seen on the outside by others in your actions and relationships, but integrity can be between you and yourself and what is happening on the inside. Are you honest with yourself; do you uphold the moral character you present to others on all those little things on the inside that no one else can see. Like, did you try your very best on those intervals, do you really have that much time to train for an Ironman, or.... if you want to qualify for Kona or Worlds or Boston.....are you truly willing to do whatever it takes to get there? and what about honesty with your diet/ did you go back for seconds... or eat the whole thing?
Or what about something simple like replacing the toilet paper roll, or throwing out the box when its empty if you take the last one?

Something deep and thought provoking for the next long workout.

HOT and STEAMY

2010-07-08T04:41:00.000-07:00

Since returning to the Midwest from Oregon its been nothing but humid and hot! I'm not complaining though, it is summer after all and its nice to have it actually feel like summer, plus before I know it I'll be hauling that warm weather gear back out of the closets. NO! I'll take covering up with sunscreen over base layers, hats and gloves any day.

I spent the long holiday weekend sitting on my bum. On the bike that is...working on my biker tan in the heat and getting in a lot of good miles after being off my the bike for 10 days during vacation. I signed up to do Racine, so getting some riding in was probably a good idea! Racine isn't my favorite race, the bike is too flat, but I'm tired of being the cheerleader there so decided to race this year. Last time I raced the 1/2 there it was 107 degrees and the weather channel was featured all the crazy athletes out racing in those conditions. We crawled our way to the lake after crossing the finish line and just floated. Lets hope its a few degrees cooler than that this year.

I was even hot and sweaty leaving the pool last night. I finally made it back to masters in Naperville after being such an MIA masters swimmer. It was good to finally work hard enough in the water to get hot and not have to dodge water aerobics classes or kids doing cannon balls.

And you know its HOT when the Tour is on! Hot for a lot of reasons.... Great competition, amazing bikes and uniforms, fabulous racing, cool accents, and yes I'll come right out and say it great looking legs :) The tour is on in our house 2-3 x a day, and we don't get tired of it. Some of the stages are more exciting and it really heats up when they start to climb the mountains. I can't wait for that. I don't know who my favorite rider of the tour is yet; I have to see the competition heat up some more to pick a favorite.

I was hosing myself down in the backyard the other day after a run where I was melting. My fast version of a pseudo ice bath when short on time and ice. Why can't the Deschutes River run through my backyard in Blackberry Creek that would work so much better. My neighbors were shaking their heads!

Pacific Crest Weekend

2010-06-30T04:25:00.000-07:00

The highlight of my vacation to Oregon was the days we spent in Sunriver just outside of Bend. Getting my family all together for a weekend and racing in the Pacific Crest weekend was something I have been looking forward to for a long time. Adam the kids and I headed over Mt. Hood from Portland to a house we rented for the weekend.
Mt. Hood

We were planning on racing in the Pacific Crest endurance sports festival as well as have lots of family fun. 2 of my brothers and their families along with my parents were all part of a wild and crazy mix. Sunriver is an this awesome place in the mountains with amazing views of Mt. Bachelor. In my college days we'd spend weekends there for house dances with the fraternities or head over to go skiing. I was in vacation mode much of this trip and didn't want to stress out about racing a big 1/2 IM, but the course looked so much fun I think I need to go back and do the 1/2.
My plan was to run enough to hold onto some fitness and race the 1/2 marathon, but to also have fun and enjoy Sunriver. I did manage to get a little training in the water done.

As well as a few bike workouts!

I cross trained by riding horses,

and then took an ice bath in one of the many Cascade lakes near the top of Mt. Bachelor.

Saturday was race morning and Adam headed towards the top of the Mtn. and me to the run start. He's all bundled up because its chilly up there in the morning, but it warmed up to mid 80's in the day.

I wasn't sure how I would race. I had been in a low key training mode since KS and enjoying lots of vacation fun, but decided to just go give what I had and enjoy the beautiful course. There were about 1000 racers in the 1/2 marathon and some of the women looked like "real" runners, Oregon style! Fast! The run had some false flats and a couple gradual hills, but what made the course tough was the continual winding sharp turns and curves on the paved trails through Sunriver. It made keeping a constant pace challenging. I did my best to run the tangents and keep the turnover going. I felt surprisingly good and was running the first 7 miles like it was a 10k (too fast!)But what the heck I was having fun At about mile 8 on the course you come out of the wooded section into a meadow and get this awesome view of Bachelor off in the distance. About this time I started feeling my legs get heavy and started slowing down, not just to check out the view either!!!! The last few miles were slow and hurt, (thats what you get for starting way to fast), but a fun finish. I learned later I had won my AG (because really 1st place was in the top 3 OA) and was 11th OA female with 10th just a few seconds ahead. Cool prizes a Widmer Brewing mug and a free micro beer from Widmer Brewing Co.

Now we are home and facing reality again. Loads of laundry and thigs to unpack, back to work, and oh yea. I signed up for Racine. Crazy me. I found my bike yesterday and went for a hard ride hanging on Adam's wheel for a 2 hrs. Vacation is over.

trying to stay in shape on vacation!

2010-06-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

Lucky for me when I go home to visit my family, I travel west to the mountains. I have been looking forward to this vacation for months! A trip home to Portland, Oregon! Vacations for most mean indulging in treats, staying up past bedtimes, sleeping in without an alarm clock, playing, having fun and spending the day on all kinds of adventures, napping and sitting around doing nothing. A vacation like this for us in the summer is a challenge. It is race season, not just for Adam and I, but all of the clients we coach. However, we have managed to plan a great week out in Oregon with a little something for everyone  My goal on this trip is to relax some, train some, and have the time to take off on adventures and not stress about fitting in a ton of workouts. I didn’t even bring my bike. I questioned it several times knowing how awesome the riding would be, but opted to go without. I did pack my running and swimming gear though.

The running has been great, cooler temps perfect for running and hills. Lots of them. Long ones, steep ones, rolling ones. Hills with awesome views when you get to the top making it all worth it, hills through trees with rushing streams off to the side, and hills with fresh air that smells like pine and evergreen. I did find a pool for some lap swimming. From the website it sounded great as a few club teams swim out of there. Adam and I showed up in the morning to swim and it was mostly “old timers” and the pool was nice but for some reason everyone was “open water” swim training because they didn’t have the lane lines in. They must also be training for Midwestern races with water temps of 77.5 and wetsuit legal. Nice warm water that feels good going in but ½ way through your set can feel your head sweating under your swim cap. I’ll be ready for the next “hot” swim on my schedule 

When on vacation and back in this part of the country you always want to try out the good stuff you can’t get at home. There are awesome coffee shops (the local kind!) with incredible baked goods, awesome restaurants and local micro-brews Oregon is famous for. Restaurants with outside seating and amazing views. We ate last night at the Stone Cliff…..famous now for being filmed in “TWIGLIGHT”

The adventures have already been amazing. We spent one day at Cannon Beach during the Sand Castle weekend.

Now here is a competition for you. Spending your day building the most creative and amazing sand castle. We tested the waters. Typically ocean water here is very cold. On this day it wasn’t so bad. If my legs had actually been trashed or sore, it would have made for an excellent ice bath…Pacific Style! We also headed into downtown Portland 1 day taking our kids with their cousins to an amusement park. Chasing after them in a place like this is a workout. They “ran” from ride to ride. By the end I felt like I had done a huge brick!

Today we head over the mountains to Bend. On the weekend are the Pacific Crest races. There is a race of every distance and type throughout the weekend. Because its vacation I opted to just run the ½ marathon. Adam is racing the ½ and Olympic distances triathlons. We rented a house, the whole family is coming and we are going to fill the day’s fun. Hopefully I can manage to keep some fitness together with all the fun.

Anti-Gravity!

2010-06-15T04:42:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the chance to try out the ALTER G....anti gravity treadmill and since I was still sore and recovering from Kansas with sore lead legs and blisters; I jumped at my invitation to come check it out.

I treat many injured runners and triathletes as a physical therapist, as well as coach many athletes to get faster I couldn't wait to see what this was all about and the potential it has for keeping athletes in action...but had to experience it myself first hand.

Lucky for those of us in the far western suburbs this is right in our back yard. Apparently there are only 2 others in all of Chicagoland, both being downtown in the city. I learned that NASA developed this treadmill technology and it has been tested by Nike headquarters.

To begin you have to pull on some tight spandex -like biking shorts that "zip " you into the liner on the treadmill. These fancy shorts alone felt good on sore quads. Tight and supportive. Once zipped in, the treadmill calibrates your weight then you are ready to roll. I started out running at 50% of my body weight at a good clip much faster than any warm up pace I would normally hold especially with post race legs. The first thing I noticed is how quick my cadence was ...without even having to focus on it. This is because with less "ground time" your stride rate increases. After warming up at bit, I decided to take it down to 25% of my body weight and increase the speed some more. As I did this my turnover increased, my legs were firing quickly, and I felt like I was running with very close to normal run form...just at a very fast cadence. I felt like I was getting a good workout, and was sweating, but my heart rate stayed as if I was working in zone 2, and my breathing was normal as if I was out for an easy jog. I was able to hold a conversation running at 5:15 pace LOL!

As a physical therapist treating injured runners this is a fabulous way to keep an athlete training and running through and injury. Imagine finding out you have a stress fx 6 weeks out from an Ironman you paid nearly 500$ for 1 yr prior and couldn't run. Now there at least are some options other than pool running which....lets face it is boring and really doesn't feel like running at all. From stress fractures, other overuse injuries such as ITB syndrome or plantar fascities athletes could keep running.....while addressing the the source of injury of course via rehab. And it is an absolute must that any athlete suffering from and injury would have to have physician clearance in order use use the G-trainer.

As a coach, and athlete myself, there is great potential even for the uninjured. This forces you to run with a quick cadence and turnover. It also forces a good foot strike and placement. So for an athlete needing better efficiency and run form this is a fabulous training tool. Alter G also trains the neuromuscular system to fire quickly. Have you ever had that feeling on the track or a hard run where your fitness and engine felt great like you could run faster but your legs were wobbly, and uncoordinated ...like they just couldn't make you go any faster. That is the connection between your brain and muscles being murky; or not understanding how to really get it going. Running on the Alt-G allows those connections between the brain and muscles to happen and your running muscles can fire quickly. Even from a volume standpoint, someone who really wanted to ramp up some run volume without risking injury from pounding out too many miles on the road could do so by incorporating some mileage on the G-Trainer.

Thanks to Physical Therapy Advantage for inviting me to experience the alter G! For more information go to www.ptadvantagepc.com

Kansas...a good day!

2010-06-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie, that I almost pulled out of even doing this race. The week before Memphis I had several long chats with Thomo (my coach) about whether I wanted to still race Kansas 70.3 I was having some major doubts that I had done enough training, that on top of feeling like molasses at the end of a hard training block didn't leave me feeling too confident. Of course I knew I could finish, but when I do a race, its because I want to "race". So I came home from Memphis, did a big brick 2 days later and felt great and decided to quit thinking so much, trust the training (gee I say that to my athletes all the time) and go race already!

Lawrence KS is one of those really cool college towns. We stayed in this incredible hotel called the OREAD. It was brand new, and right the campus. We had this incredible room with huge windows that overlooked the city, and a balcony. It kind of made we want to stay a few days after the race .....or go back to being an undergrad because of amazing views of the campus.

We did our pre race routine in nearly 100 deg temps and air as thick as soup. I was sweating just standing in line to pick up my packet and check in my bike. This venue was beautiful and the race site was fabulous, but it was a bit logistically challenged. A double transition area, long walks from parking to the expo and between transitions, shuttle buses in the morning made for a lot of extra effort just getting to the start line. Thankfully once it was all finally in place..it cooled off and race day had perfect temps for racing.

Race morning came with a very early start. We were up at 4 trying to allow enough time to get to the race, shuttle ride and transitions. There was a long traffic jam getting into the campground, which left me a little short on time to get set up at both transitions because I was in a very early wave. I did not have much time left to warm up by the time I walked from T2 down to T1 and set everything up. Thankfully I was feeling loose and ready, and used the long walk from T2 to T1 as my warm up. This would not cut it in a short race!

What is it with these warm lakes this year? The water was 77.5...so wetsuit legal but barely. This time I did get HOT. Insulated in neoprene and swimming in warm water, left me nice and toasty. I felt great on the swim other than being warm. The course was very well marked and easy to navigate. Several people said it was marked long. I have no idea...maybe it felt long because there was a little head current coming back in. But its all relative. I was so glad to be done though and peel off my wetsuit and hop on my bike.

This bike course was very fun. It is quite hilly with several out and back sections. There were some flats but a lot of climbing a well. Parts of it reminded me of the IM Wisconsin course. A new first for me in a 1/2 IM though....a dismount to cross an oil slick on the road. Could this oil be from the Gulf seeping its way up to Kansas? LOL. They were making everyone get off their bikes and walk across an area with oil which apparently was quite slick. I tried to use my cyclocross skills here! I felt great on the bike but did hold back a little more than I would normally on the uphills. I wasn't sure what to expect from myself and knew it was a challenging course and just wanted to be able to run. Only 1 girl in my AG passed me on the bike and I knew she would as she is a rocket on the bike. I have raced her for years and know she can kill a bike course. On 1 out and back I heard Adam yell at me. He started nearly last and knew he would be trying to hunt me down. Me the rabbit!

I started the run feeling good, it didn't take long to get the legs going. This run course had 3 out and back sections that you did 2 x. Each loop had 1 big hill so you had the pleasure of doing it twice, and a section of a lot of twisty turns on a paved path through the campground. I liked this run and even the big hill was tough in some weird way felt good on the legs. I had a solid run and felt strong the entire way, and even started chasing down a few girls in the last mile or 2. No one in my AG passed me but with all the out and backs I could see I was gaining on 3rd and 4th places. I caught one girl with less than a mile to go, and was quickly gaining on 4th. She kept getting closer and closer, I was digging deep and trying so hard to catch her. By the time we made the right hand turn into the finishing stretch I was nearly sprinting (at least that what it felt like), but ran out of road...by 8 seconds. I have to say it felt so good to be able to RACE at the end of this! I finished 5th in my AG and very happy with my day.

If I had trained any more than I did for this I would be feeling guilty about being a bad mom or wife, but I might have finished a little higher up, but. if I had trained any less I would feel like not racing or prepared to even go do a big race like this. Thankfully quality over quantity works for me and in the end the training was there!

A special HOORAY for my client Courtney....who finished her first 1/2 IM ever in KS. Not an easy 1/2 to start out with but good prep for her big day in Madison!

Off to see the Wizard

2010-06-01T16:24:00.000-07:00

I needed the help of the Wizard this past week.

I had an Ironman of a week which included 2 birthday boys complete with parties...one including 9 1st graders at the house and a treasure hunt, the other involving friends at the house and a UFC/MMA fight that ended at midnight which is way past my bedtime. Add to it in-laws in town, end of school, all coming off a long trip home from Memphis in addition to the normal work routine and coaching routine. In an ideal athlete world I would have spent some time doing all those perfect things to speed recovery, rest, stretch, eat well, easy workouts and not sit in a car 8 hrs immediately after the race to rush home for work the next day because of a 1/2 IM in the near future. Instead I managed some of the above, and recovered fairly well for me except for 1 huge nasty blister ( wound acutally) that is taking its sweet time healing. I did manage to fit in a few solid 70.3 race specific workouts in the midst of all this.

I haven't done a 1/2 IM in a few years and the last 2 I did ended ugly. Dead man walking in a heat sauna, and a DNF with a dead leg. Oh so lovely. Ugly enough to not avoid anything IM, 70.3, WTC, or super long for a few yrs. These sorry efforts were the result of some bad burn out that I caught and had been brewing for a couple years. So why did I sign up for this race?, a 70.3 ? I don't know, ha, LOL at myself. Trust me I don't need a repeat of those ugly races, but I have overcome my burnout and have found a good groove again. I know the amount of training I can fit in with my crazy life, what workouts and type of schedule I can follow and still keep my sanity with everything else I have to do. It might not be the most idea 1/2 IM training schedule little on the light side with a fair amount of quality but it gets the job done. I simply can't spend every free moment devoted to training, because I would miss out on too many other fun things going on around me with the kids and I'd be back on burn out row trying to figure out how to fit it all in. And that was worse than the actual training.

So I'm off to see the Wizard in Kansas. Maybe he'll have some answers as to why I felt the need to tackle a 70.3. It sounds like a fun race, something different, a new challenge in performing well in a 1/2, a celebration of overcoming burnout. Who knows what he'll say once I get there. All I know is I will be pushing my tail hard as I can along the yellow brick road all the way to the finish line and when I get there I'll high 5 the Wizard.

Memphis in May....Mixed Contradictions

2010-05-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

I don't typically like to write race reports specifically because I don't think people really are interested in what I ate for breakfest what my pre race brick was like etc, but I do try to share interesting race experiences. Whether it is soemthing funny that happened, or some kind of ugly blow up, or anything that I might learn and can pass on to others ...there is usually something that comes out of a race weekend that is worth passing on.

Memphis in May is an all time favorite race, but say good bye to good old Millington, Casper Lake, Plantation Oaks, the flat bike and hilly run through northern Memphis. They announced that next year Memphis in May will be in some other town which is actually in Mississippi and will be sponsored by Harrah's casinos and will be held at a new location to make it bigger and better! Wow, end of a legendary race...a race I did as a begginner just trying to break 2:30...and one where I went fastest ever and won AG several times. I wonder if they will still do the time trial start? I guess all things progress and change.

This years race was a mixture of high points and low points. All starting with our hotel. Usually we stay at the lovely Plantation Oaks, tradition! It is close to the race venue and all 15 Multisportmadness friends that were racing were there, but our room when we checked in smelled like someone had just partied all night. Between spilled alcohol smell combined with smoke stench we lasted 15 min before my eyes were watering and lungs were closing. Usually I can suck it up and deal with it but this was past that point. It smelled like it was a hell of a party. We ended up in this fancy Hilton in Memphis.! 30min away but clean, plush and new!

At 77.7 deg. they allowed wetsuits! LOL! So I did wear mine and while got a little toasty swimmming...it wasn't the worst warm wetsuit swim I've done, and I set a swim PR on that course, which cracks me up because I manage to swim 2 maybe 3 x a week these days. Crazy..and I get my fastest swim ever there. I guess experience comes in handy some times. I did find Jordan's feet (1 of the former MSM kids) for a short ways around the first turn which gave me a boost!

During the first 12-15 miles or so of the bike I didn't feel I had 100% of my legs. I had that lovely burn which didn't go away until about mile 15. But despite this I just kept pushing despite the burn hoping eventually they would come around. I did eventually find all parts of my legs and managed to pick it up more. I love that right hand turn on the big smooth highway back to transtion. My bike split was close to my PR that I did back when I was 34!

My run started off ok, but got ugly pretty quick. Hello heat and humidity..where have you been! But really the worst part more than the heat was the weight of my legs. I felt like I was running up and down the hills with the weighted sled my trainer Mark has me pull through the grass! Seriously. Did he show up and secretly attach it to me. The run there is hilly and its hard to get a rhythm going. And I had none. I trudged along, never able to get it going.

Here is the crazy part of it all, I was 2 min faster than I have been in the past 2 years there, with a faster swim and close to fastest bike for me. It was my second fastest Memphis time ....even with an trudge of a bad run. But despite that I placed the worst ever there at 7th in AG. ICK. Go figure! There were some very fast chicks in W40-44 this year. Congrats to them! The winning time in the AG was right there with the top OA times! 2:09 I think? Who says old ladies can't go fast!

So lessons learned:
> I was a bit tanked the weekend before Memphis. I had trashed myself. Feeling a bit behind in training because of some lost time training being hurt, and feeling the pressure of a 70.3 coming on, so I crammed and paid for it. So I did rest a lot going into Memphis, and didn't start feelng normal until Friday, but I was coming around. Its good to know I can still push through when maybe not feeling 100%. And don't cram it doesn't work.

>You improve on your time, but wind up worse in your AG!

>90+ deg. is HOT; in case you forgot

>Old ladies can still go really fast!

Race Ready?

2010-05-18T04:02:00.000-07:00

Its race week for me, and in just a couple days we'll be packing up and heading south to Memphis for my first real race this year. Typically I have done some other type of race event prior to lining up in Memphis just to get the kinks out. This spring has been super busy with kids in soccer and gymnastics that it became a challenge to find an event that worked in my life. I managed a local 5k, and a bike crit. The 5k was marked short and I ran a good race for what they had marked,.... but the bike crit was a blast. It was an all out ride for 40 min riding in a circle. I felt strong and kept up with some really fast girls, felt good cornering in a pack going crazy fast, but a sprint to the finish is key in a crit something I'm not used to doing in triathlon. They don't give you a time in crits, and a 5k that was off leaves you wondering a little where your fitness is!

On the far right getting out sprinted

I've had some great workouts and some total flops this spring, but that's normal. The total flops with trashed legs means at least I know I did some hard work somewhere....but why is it that the blow ups tend to stick in your mind more than the ones your rocked. I'm guilty of this and certainly I have many conversations with my athletes convincing them they haven't gone backwards in their training. A break through workout doesn't get erased the next week if you blow up. Admittedly I have to remind myself of this at times and my coach Thomo is great at this. Just because I might have fallen flat on my face in a workout dead tired doesn't mean the faster intervals a week ago have faded away.

I've done Memphis a million and 1 times and other than Wildflower it is just about my favorite race. Not sure why.... the lake is nothing spectacular and actually a little gross, the bike is flat and I love hills, and the run is usually hot and tough for those of us from the northern tundra to experience 85+ deg. in May. But for some reason I love it. Maybe its the road trip south to really warm weather when its still chilly here, or maybe its seeing Elvis in transition, or maybe its that the course is typically always the same and it is very familiar.

So this week I am resting up a little, dusting off the race wheels, taking the race number off the aero helmet that is still on from the last race which was.(...what was it? oh Chicago Tri!)... lacing up the EZ laces on my racing flats, digging out a race suit, and road tripping south to Memphis. And, yes I am psyched up to race finally!

Racing!

So the question is are you ever really Race Ready. You can nail workouts, or pre-race events and test sets. You analyze graphs and charts and graphs to see your fitness progress power and pace averages go up etc, but does that ever tell you if your truly ready to race. Do those things tell you your head is in the right place and that you are focused, and that you've hydrated and eaten the right stuff to recover and allow for the training to adapt...and that you've tapered properly. Not always. You have to trust your fitness, your training, your experience...believe that you are ready and ....get after it.

1 of my clients did just that this week. Some ups and downs in training, and a big goal to qualify for Boston for the first time after several tries....and he did it with 5 min to spare!!! He was race ready!

Crazy Mama

2010-05-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

I'm fairly sure my neighbors think I'm crazy. I'm not the typical suburban, subdivision mom. They see me come and go on my bike, or running at odd hours, or doing strange things like drills, skips and strides in the front of the house. Sometimes they see me jump off the trainer in garage and take off running fast as I can , only to come back and do it a few more times. Sometimes I show up to pick up Jack from school sweaty and in running clothes, or I roll up to the house covered in mud on my cross bike and stand out back spraying it off. They might occasionally see me working in the yard with my bike clothes still on. My co-workers see me heading out for runs at lunch (sometimes the only time for myself in a day), or sprinting out the door at the end of the day in a bike kit to make it to a group ride.

cyclocross is probably the craziest thing I do

Even though they see me do these crazy things, and I may not seem like the typical mom, I'm still the first to show up for spring concerts and sit there with a smile on my face and tears in my eyes watching him sing, jump up and down on the sidelines of a soccer field when he scores a goal, or send him to his room when he talks back.
I am hard core when it comes to homework and reading and am thrilled when he comes home with minus zero on tests. I am there to help him with his work, I just might be wearing sweaty workout clothes. I've had to learn a little about Pokemon and Bakugan battles, and listen to Miley Cyrus and Kidz Bop songs in the car. I can barely pick up Jack anymore, he is getting so big and becoming his own person.

(I used to be able to hold him up on skates)

Both he and my step-daughter Kaitlin are getting their own lives with sports, school and friends which keeps us on the go and making workouts a challenge at times.

But like any mom, you just want the best for them when it comes to those things and will go to crazy extremes sometimes so they can while still keeping some time to myself. It might mean getting up super early, for-going travel or too many huge races, or wearing workout clothes to the grocery store but its worth it. ( BTW, someone played a cruel joke on me from Peapod...sending me an email saying they will start delivery in our neighborhood!!! I was so psyched.....then several hours later they took it back and said it was a mistake :(

I might be a crazy mama, but I'd like to think that by doing so I am showing the kids how to be themselves, be active and disciplined and that they can achieve anything they want with hard work and discipline.

(nothing better than Ice Cream after soccer practice)

Happy Mother's Day to all the other Crazy Mama's out there!

Barefoot Running

2010-05-04T03:46:00.000-07:00

I was running at Peck Farm the other day and coming at me from a distance was a fairly large person running in what looked like bathroom slippers, or maybe a flimsy pair of dressy flats. I thought to myself, wow...she wanted to get her run in but forgot her shoes. When I got closer I realized she was in fact wearing the Vibram 5 finger shoes! Then again last night, I was finishing up a run in our neighborhood when my neighbor stopped me and told me his son ran an entire marathon in these barefoot shoes. So, I decided it's finally time to write this blog on barefoot running which I have been thinking about for awhile.

I've been a physical therapist for 16 years, and treated countless overuse injuries from running. ITB syndrome, piriformis syndrome, achilles tendonitis, plantar fascities, stress fx's you name it. So most of what I'm going to say comes from my clinical experience in treating numerous athletes, some hard cold facts from continuing education on running and foot mechanics, and some of my own experience as an athlete.

Here are some of the positive facts of barefoot running:

1. decreased contact time with the ground
2. decreased flight time
3. less impact force which equals less stress to joints, tendons,and ligaments (this occurs due a pre-loading effect where muscles of the foot and ankle store elastic energy prior to hitting the ground which supports the joints at contact)
4. increases sensory input
5. increases running economy

In a perfect world all of the above equals faster running....and fewer injuries, and is enough to send people fed up with injury or wanting to get faster out the door barefoot. As a coach I work hard to get athletes to work on form and technique...in swimming biking and ...running. In all sports, the more efficient you are the faster you will be with less energy expended, and.....less injured because lousy form can lead to injury.

But, running barefoot does place a good deal of strain on the muscles and tendons of the foot ankle complex. The preloading effect really activates the gastroc/ soleus and deep leg musculature. If they are not adapted to being used repetitively as in running, they are going to get sore, tight and talk back to you. There is also the bottom of your foot which is used to the soft, cushiony protection of the latest fancy running shoe out there. There are nerves between bones there that can get really irritated and cause numbness if too much pressure is applied too often (not to mention skin irritation or abrasion to the foot)

Which leads into the thought on shoes. The big hot trend on barefoot running has gotten started from the "BORN TO RUN" book. There is a lot of discussion on how running shoes create injury and poor form, and the natives can run for days on end barefoot and never get injured. However, they grew up this way and have lived their life barefoot. Do I believe that many of the running shoes out there are over kill? Yes. They are big heavy and many do make it difficult to use good run technique. Sometimes there is so much cushion and support and control you can't help but heel strike, or ...the shoe over corrects the pronation. Pronation is not evil. Your foot is supposed to pronate some. I think that shoe fitters sometimes see a foot pronate a little....and then put people in a stability shoe when its really not needed. I pronate excessively. My entire foot is flat and collapses in. Years ago I used to wear orthotics to correct for this. But as I got into racing more competively and wearing racing flats without socks etc. I noticed I didn't really need them. I was also at the time working on my run form...going to a more midfoot strike, quicker cadence. I recall 1 summer walking around for months with calves that felt like I had softballs in them. But I no longer wear orthotics (and I tell you my feet are flat as a pancake), or heavy stability shoes. Now in addition to this I work a ton on strength and core which is a huge factor in being able to have the strength and support to do this and is a huge component to staying injury free.

So my 2 cents for what its worth:

Do I think barefoot running has its place? Yes. I've been known to take my shoes off before or after a track practice and do strides and drill barefoot in the grass. But I believe there has to be a training effect like anything to be able to do it.... such as doing core and strengthening exercises barefoot, activities around the house, yardwork, then maybe running drills and strides. This can help with run form, technique and efficiency. Small amounts of barefoot running can help you learn good run form.

Do I worry that the type A obsessive athlete/runner might just go out for a 10 mile run barefoot and wind up hurt? Yes. Not a smart move.

Do I think that you can get away with "less shoe"? yes. With form training, and gradual progression of getting used to less support and control you can improve your run form and efficiency. But it has to be done gradually and with caution.

Do I think that if someone is plugging along great without injury or issue they should change shoes/ or start running barefoot? No. The body is very adaptable and for some they have the right amount of strength alignment form that what they are running in works. If its working, don't mess it up.

Do I think that if an athlete is struggling with injury and considering barefoot running, or changing shoes they should see a professional who can point them in the right direction? ABSOLUTELY

In the end, the most common reason for running injuries is overuse and training error. As in... too much too soon, or too intense too soon. The body can adapt to the stress we put on it but, if you overload it too much it will not like it and you can wind up hurt or injured and not running.

Fantabuloso!

2010-04-25T14:17:00.000-07:00

I believe this is a big concert event in Chicago this summer, which sounds really fun, but its a cool sounding word.

My pity party with myself for being uber practical didn't last long, and I put my nose to the grindstone and had fatabuloso self induced training weekend, pretty much all solo except Saturday morning masters, even that was sparse because of state swimming and an early practice start time. Thankfully Angela was there to keep me moving.

A few other fantabuloso moments of the weekend:

> 1 killer track session complete with lost toe nail

> very windy long bike ride holding the wattages, without getting wet

> a girls dinner out at Za Za, to include dressing up and actually looking like a girl free of ponytails and spandex (rare)

> longest run I've done in weeks. I did get majorly downpoured on, but only for like 10-15 minutes, and at least it wasn't cold. I was laughing it rained so hard.

> watching Jack's soccer, he made an assist and actually sort of looked like he knew what he was doing

> hard brick workout again; warm with sun and no rain on tired wobbly legs, reminding me of all the good work I've done this weekend

> athletes logging in their workouts so I can see how they are getting faster!

> working on accommodations for our trip to Bend OR, in June....I Love Bend so much and could so live there. I am so excited for this trip to visit family in Portland and do some racing/training with a few days in Bend. Looking at the condos in Sunriver got me super excited for this trip.

Now I am sore, wearing compression socks, and not feeling so bad about being practical.

SOMETIMES....

2010-04-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

I get so DARNED mad at myself because I am so practical and full of common sense.

Sometimes I wish I could just not think about it so much and just GO with it. Adam is off to Vegas this weekend to do Xterra, and he kept trying to get me to go. But the totally practical side (and sensible one too because of the cost of a last minute ticket), kept saying no.

My reasons being:
I had missed some training being hurt, and wouldn't want to take my bike out there and for some crazy reason I signed up for a 70.3 race in June....so I need to get in some longer rides and runs and doing in this on the strip seems...logistically challenged.

I'd only be there for like 2 days total at the most so not worth the astronomical cost of a ticket, dog sitting, and coordination involved.

NOTHING would get done at home, etc etc and all the Moms know exactly what I mean. Getting ready to leave and returning is as much work as the trip itself with kids, dogs, work, and there is always mom guilt.

Don't get me wrong, the thought of rushing off to an adventure in Vegas is so me at heart, warmer weather, mountains etc. But the darned sensible side won this time, well again actually. There is plenty of chaos in the Zucco house on a normal weekend.

I'm not regretting my decision, but now it looks like I am facing a weekend of rainy training. Hmm. That might mean trainer or cross bike, wet running shoes, and cold trips in and out of the pool. Definitely not Vegas, but you can bet I'm going to get the absolute most out of every minute of training I do for passing up a trip to Vegas :)

Mind your P's and Q's....

2010-04-16T05:10:00.000-07:00

....and keep your eyes on the prize.

My coach, Thomo, wants me to run a 10k this weekend. It had been in the plans and I was really reved up to do it prior to my crash because everything was clicking along great. Then I missed a couple weeks of running and when I was able to return, I felt like I was starting all over. Luckily though, it has continued to improve quickly and I have been able to add some intensity back in, but know I am not where I was prior to the set back.

I'll be honest, as an athlete, I don't like to race if I'm not prepared. I like to race, not just do the event...whatever it is 5k, 10k, triathlon, bike race etc. I like to feel ready to do my absolute best. The thought of doing this little local 10k, not feeling fast isn't my favorite.

BUT, as a coach, this is exactly the sort of thing I try to get my athletes to do all the time. The information you can get from a test/ race is so helpful to see where you are at with fitness. It is much harder to plan workouts for athletes when they don't follow the plan, or do these test sets, or races (or even log in the workouts). I know that athletes fear the results, are afraid to fail, or let themselves or whoever else down, and then won't step up to the plate and take a swing at it. When this happens, it does make it tougher to keep progressing them towards the big event or "A" race. The little smaller races also help you practice a pre-race routine, deal with the nerves and butterflies, and experience moving at a race effort with other people around. You can't get that in the depths of your basement on the treadmill or bike trainer, no matter how loud you turn up that i-pod.

So doing this local 10k makes perfect sense to me as a coach, probably even more so than before the crash because now with bigger races quickly approaching it is even more important to see where I am since losing some ground. Simon can then plan the training the best way possible over the next few weeks. As an athlete, I'll have to get over myself, suck it up and just go out and give it my best effort. It can only help the training going into the next few weeks before Memphis.

Some of my awesome athletes are facing their big day very soon! Good luck to Wellman at Boston, John R at "The Rage in the Sage", and Carmen C. at Big Sur!

Road Trip South

2010-04-05T05:35:00.000-07:00

Now that I have a first grader following a regular school schedule, I passed up on a couple of our usual late winter early spring training camps ( snif snif), to take time off at spring break. I was really looking forward to having a large chunk of time off work to train some, play some, and relax some. We decided to road trip to Adam's parents who live outside of Atlanta, so we loaded up, and drove 12.5 hrs south! I love road trips, plus who can pass up 12 + plus hours in a car with her husband strapped and seat belted in and no where to go! (ha ha j/k!) We had a great trip, beautiful perfect weather, and I managed to train, play and relax all in 1 trip!

Training:
The jammed tail bone from my crash has been on the mend. Prior to the trip I had gotten back out on some rides easy, without too much pain, but had definitely lost some zipp in my legs. Running is another story. Unfortunately I couldn't run a step without significant pain for almost 2 weeks. It has kept improving, but by the time we got to Georgia, I was hoping it would be feeling well enough to step it up with the running otherwise I think I would turn into all "roadie" for the season. We were about 1 hr north of Atlanta and it is very hilly as this area is part of the Appalachian Mountains. We set out 1 day to ride "6 Gap" which is part of the Tour of Georgia course. In places you could still see paint on the road cheering for Lance. This ride was tough. It leveled me flat. It was the hardest ride I have ever done, yes topping Mt. Lemmon climb, and topping Horrible Hilly! The climbs are steep like the 1 mile hard part of Gates Pass....that last for 7 miles long....and there were many...of these 6-7 mile steep climbs. We did 85 miles worth. I was cooked like the boiled peanuts we saw signs for everywhere. I love climbing on the bike but seriously by the end of this I was done! Add few swims and a few runs,( each one getting longer and a little faster) made for some good training.

I'm the boiled peanut

Playing:

This area of Georgia where Adam's parents live is vacation like and in the hills. There are great hiking trails, play fields and all sorts of adventures. They did a great job entertaining Jack so I could go train a little, but I wanted to play with them too. We took a fun hike that cut through the woods and along a stream and ate lunch on a rock with with water rushing by. I am such a mountain girl, and love getting out in hill and trails. I miss not doing it regularly. Jack had done this hike once already and educated me on how to read the trail markers, explained various trees, and sites he had seen along the way. We also played Frisbee, flew some kites, and went to an Easter Egg hunt that looked like a mass swim start at an Ironman.

Relaxing:

Just being able to wake up with an alarm, a list of things to accomplish, and an itinerary to get through the day makes for relaxing vacation. Enough said.

Big Canoe Georgia

Back home things seem to have been growing, plants are coming up, and the grass is turning green. Spring is in the air! I'm wondering if it is safe to put away the winter training clothes!

Sacrafice

2010-03-25T04:01:00.000-07:00

"THE CAVE YOU FEAR TO ENTER HOLDS THE GREATEST TREASURE"
JOSEPH CAMPBELL

I'm not sure who Joseph Campbell is, but I like this quote. To achieve great things.... things that don't seem possible you have to make sacrafices, test the boundaries, break out of the comfort zone and ..yes enter that fearful cave from time to time.

Race season is really here. Many sacrafices are made along the way to finally get to race day. First race of the season, last race, A race, C race....they all take committment and sacrafice just to get to the starting line.

Sacrafices made along the road to success may include:

track workout with snow on the ground=sacrafice

holding the suit juice and calming pre race nerves=sacrafice

>Sleep: I know many athletes (including myself) who get up at the crack of dawn to fit in workouts around life...that is work, kids, spouse's training etc. And for those of us who aren't pro's who can come home and rest, there are no naps later in the day.

>Sweat: it takes consistent hard work, some serious sweat time to get fit and in race shape; you should see the puddle under my bike after indoor trainer sessions, and my laundry pile could talk

>Pain: it hurts sometimes to get fast on your feet, powerful on the bike and fluid in the water; you have to push yourself to new limits to make gains you're after; it doesn't come easy and it won't magically appear

>Patience: for some having patience is a sacrafice. They want immediate results..or the speed without the foundation, or the Ironman qualifying spot without the work. Patience and hard work will get you there.

>Limiters: lets face it no one is the perfect athlete and we all have weaknesses, find your weakness and address it. Its not fun doing drill after drill in the pool on a warm sunny day when it would be more fun to be outside if you exit the water at the back of the pack; or if your FTP on the bike is "girly like" then pump some iron and get some muscles

There are many more sacrafices we are all well aware of like the $$ that goes into the sport, time away from friends and family, and no ice cream before bed.

Those are obvious, but the ones less tangible or obvious similar to pain patience sweat limiters etc are what can make the difference between average and outstanding.

Temporarily Derailed

2010-03-18T17:14:00.000-07:00

Daylight savings, 60 deg weather in March are the perfect ingredients for the first group ride of the year, better known as Colonial. I was excited to get out and ride hard with others if anything to see where I'm at with bike fitness. This ride is a great chance to put it out there and make yourself hurt. It is about 40 miles of HARD with some really fast riders. So Tuesday afternoon I had that funny feeling of nerves in my stomach like I do before some big races, but this was the perfect day to get out and get after it!

I kept telling myself, maybe they won't go too hard because it's the first ride of the year, or...maybe that will make them go super hard because they are all rev'd up. Then I thought...maybe there won't be that many guys because the ride is starting an hour earlier than normal....just because it is still getting dark before 7. All the silly self talk to myself making me believe it will be ok...when I know how this can hurt. Well.....at least 20 riders showed up and they hit it hard once we hit the open roads. More so than I expected! The great thing was that, I was hanging in there with them. There were a few touchy moments where I was almost dropped off the back and left for dust, but my legs were there (thank you Mark and squats and dead lifts!) and I was able to bridge up and hang on for dear life.

About 3/4 of through the ride, the group is acting weird. Sometimes I can't figure out what they are doing, but I am eyes up and looking at the wheel or bum of whoever is in front of me. They must think I am a B*&^ because I don't chit chat much for fear of someone making a move and I'm looking the other way. But, I think between a cross wind and getting ready to sprint to a stop sign people were up and looking around and they were all over the road. Before I knew it someone was sideways and going down directly in front of me as I am surrounded by guys with nowhere to go but down, taking someone else with me. A 3 biker pile up. Bike fine/ check. No serious pain at the moment/ check. Everyone seemed ok and luckily we were all able to ride on home. I was left with some lovely road rash, and bruises keep appearing, but my sacrum was banged pretty hard and I've been walking around like I have a corn cob shoved you know where,....and like I did after having an 8lb 13 oz baby boy.

It's a temporary pause in a good start to spring. The athlete in me is mad and angry because I don't want to lose what I've worked hard this winter to gain, the coach and realistic person is ok and realizes it could have been worse and sometimes these things happen for a reason. My bike is fine but not shifting great, so I'll have to go see The Bike Shop boys, but that could have been worse also.

As athletes we inevitably experience all kinds of set backs at 1 point or another. Injury, poor performance, getting sick, missed workouts due to ...life (for those of us who do more than train/race for a living) such as sick kids work/travel etc. can put a kink in training. The important thing is to not let it get you down. There is always something to be working or focusing on to help better your performance like stretching and flexibility which always seems to get neglected, core work, even laying on ice visualizing the perfect race is work towards achieving your goals. A few days on the sidelines can also re-light the fire inside, damper any burn out and fatigue allowing you to come back even stronger.

W40-44

2010-03-09T05:15:00.000-08:00

I recently had a birthday now making me 42. I was lucky enough to have a fancy girls dinner 1 night which included getting dressed up and blowing the hair dry, and then a surprise visit from my Dad who was traveling through for work. My Dad is a retired football coach and has always been the best for encouraging me to dream the biggest dream, and chase after any goal. During high school sports, or college volleyball, or training for my first Ironman when things went wrong, he always had a way to make something positive out of it, and taught me how to set goals and go after them. So, as I sat there with my Dad for my 42nd birthday dinner he asked what races I was doing this year, he gets excited to hear what races I have planned, how training is going and still gives me pep talks! :)

I am no longer a newbie to the W40-44, and I have been a part of this division for a couple years now. So here are some of my thoughts and observations on the W40-44.

1. At big races the times can be still quite fast and fierce, while the depth of the fast times might not be as big. It is still a very competitive group, but I do notice a little more relaxed attitude at the start line, even though the fierceness is still there. I think this comes from experience, which leaves a lot of the uptightness at home.

2. You now get to compete for the "masters" overall. Hmm. not sure what to think about that. The first year I raced in this age group, I completely forgot about that it was even there, because I don't think of myself as an old master and I am still out there going for it and don't want a special category. I have raced long enough to have an award in the W20-24....and I can remember in being in my early 30s seeing the W40-44 getting awards and thinking wow, they look great for their age, but what are they still doing out there? ha....now here I am/ that person!. Somebody please tell me to excuse myself from the sport if it gets too ugly!

3. Most of the women are managing kids, house, and work and whatever else is added to the plate, PTO, fundraisers, kids activites etc; so when their time comes to race and train, they are putting it ALL out there. They've managed and muli-tasked their way into some training and racing time, add a little mom guilt and that is enough to light a wicked fire. They are smarter with their training doing what they know works, either because that is all there is time for, or...they have learned from past mistakes. Too much training and being pulled in too many directions doesn't work and leaves can leave you feeling flat as a pancake.

my 40-44 y/o friends

4. Many in this age group have figured out that doing all the tricks for faster recovery is a big part of still having success. At first I didn't think I fell into this category, but it it took several bad races and bad workouts following killer efforts to make it sink in that it takes a little longer to recover. So you become smarter with planning out the training, racing, and take recovery a little more serious. Choosing to do an Olympic Distance race 2 weeks after a 1/2 IM just isn't an option if wanting a good outcome. When I take the recovery process serious, I can still go out there and pull out some good stuff.

5. I think most may agree that it takes a little longer to get the high end speed back after time off, and most likely the high....high end isn't quite as it was. I refuse to admit it, but it is a little bit of a hard reality.

So what races and goals did I tell my Dad at my birthday dinner? Well the funny thing is that the training I've been doing has been going great. I have felt great, getting fit and fast again, and I've been motivated to get up in the wee hours of the morning, or step out into the artic tundra we get to train in through the winter. The thing that is different is that I don't have any super high goal of qualifying for this or that or racing sub this or that. According to Simon Thomo(my coach) this is how you want it, truly loving the training and the journey of getting fit and fast, then the rest (races) will fall into place. It seems like in years past it was always the opposite. Pick a huge goal, race/races then train like a madwoman and go for it leaving everything in else in the dust. It worked for awhile then things fell apart behind it in the dust cloud. This also is part of being 40-44. Coming full circle. In this age group some have already figured it out, some haven't yet.

So my season starts with Memphis in May, continues with a 1/2 IM in June (haven't done 1 in a few years !), and from there who knows. That's another part of being 40-44, having 2 kids and being married to an Ironman... going with the flow.

What I Love Lately

2010-02-25T04:12:00.000-08:00

This time of year seems to drag on and on. Winter seems like it will never end, and getting to the starting line of the first race of the season seems so far away. Goals, improved perform ace, "qualifying", beating "x" training partner in the race" or hanging on in group ride are all worthy and motivating to crawl out of bed at 5:00a.m. or bundle up in all the many layers just to go run. But, here are some of the things I love lately about training to keep me going until spring decides to show up:

1. Nike Lunar Glides: I LOVE this running shoe. It is super light weight, but has a little stability and control. It tends to run a little narrow so if you have a wide foot you might not like it as much as me, but I have been loving doing long runs, tempo runs, and speedy runs in them. Right now I have 3 pair that I rotate around.

2. NNHS Masters swimming: I joined a new masters team this year, and it involves a 30-40 min drive to Naperville, but it is so worth it to swim in a big 12 lane, brand new, real swimmer pool. The workouts are TOUGH, and I get to swim with some old training friends, and some new.

3. Trips to Tuscon with Adam: A mid-winter trip to Tuscon and riding with Adam trying to stay on his wheel is quite motivating to keep my butt in gear, plus views from the top of Mt. Lemmon and Gates pass are always worth the work to get there.

4. Vancouver 2010: I LOVE the Olympics. It is amazing to watch these athletes in all these other sports compete at the highest level. Their stories are incredible, and I love hearing how they get to where they are in sport. I was glued to men's ski cross the other day, hearing about this guy (forgot his name sorry) who at 1 point was dealing with some big issues with drugs and alcohol and was found passed out in a river 1 night in Vail CO. He overcame these issues and was skiing for gold in Vancouver. I sat there crying because he crashed in the finals. I wanted him to win. But in his interview he said he wanted gold, not bronze so he went for it over a hill and launched himself so high/far to try to move up to first that he lost control and crashed. That's hard core! and the Olympic spirit.

5. More daylight: last night I noticed it was still fairly light at almost 6 o'clock. There's a sign spring is coming and Colonial rides will be starting.......that alone is enough to keep me on the trainer.

6. Breakthrough workouts for my athletes: I helped an athlete through a personal 10k run (since there are so many around here this time of year... we made our own). In the cold snow covered neighborhood he pushed himself to a new level! My Boston runner has "torched" his long runs more than once. All the data on HR, paces, cadence, charts and graphs are wonderful tools to see progress measure and track fitness for athletes but seeing an athlete just dig deep and and push to a new level in their workouts is so exciting.

7. Run workouts from Simon: My coach has been giving me some really good run workouts this winter. I love that he isn't afraid to give me quality/ speed focused workouts to do even this time of year.

8. My Skinfit Parka: Adam gave me this awesome Skinfit down parka back in like Oct. because I hate being cold....and I am cold a lot. This coat is so comfy and warm I practically live in it.

I have had a little more motivation and fun training this winter with the help of all of the above. Go "torch" your winter workouts! Yes, I stole this quote from the log of my Boston runner!

The Neglected Ones

2010-02-09T04:49:00.000-08:00

Glute Medius

This might be a bit overdue since it was supposed to be a "part 2" to my last post where I was blogging about the importance of strength and the benefits I have been seeing with working to get strong for the past year. It is a little delayed because I was putting my strength to the test in Tuscon for a long weekend getting in some warm weather training. This trip was just Adam and I .....yes so..... very rare! But it we had a great time just hanging out and doing some training. Whether it was trying to keep up with Adam on the bike on the Gates Pass loop on my 3rd w/o of the day..., or climbing up Mt. Lemmon....my strengh was put to the test.

As I was saying in my previous post, as triathletes we over work some muscles and others.......get neglected. We swim, we bike and we run. We move forward only in the most streamline position we can. And...we do it for hours on end! We use our quads and IT bands, and anterior shoulder and neck muscles, but we forget about our glutes, or lower traps. Doing this long enough....and you'll end up with the posture of a gorilla. I went to a continuing ed course 1 time for physical therapy and when you do this you get evaluated and inspected. Standing there getting my posture assessed and the other PT.s who knew nothing about me immediately said...she's a swimmer ...ha ha ha I laughed, if they only knew!

The most common injury I see in the clinic when it comes to marathoners or triathletes, is ITB syndrome. That is Iliotibial band syndrome for those who have been lucky enough to have never hear of it. Second runner up is piriformis syndrome, and not far behind is plantar fascitis and or Achilles tendonitis. Each of these mostly likely develops because of muscle imbalance. This means somewhere in the body things are to tight....and else where, things aren't strong enough resulting extra strain to somewhere in the chain.

So lets focus on ITB syndrome since it is the most common. We spend hours running forward, sitting and bent over our bikes. This uses quads, and ITB a lot. The job of the ITB is to stabilize the knee in standing, and in running which is single leg stance it is actually upwards of 3x your body weight for every step you take running. Then add that the ITB is actually a tendon/ connective tissue down by the knee which means there is not great circulation like in muscles which equals easy irritation. With all the forward swimming biking and running the poor glute medius gets neglected. Its important job is to stabilize the hips in single leg stance. ....keeping the hips level and not dropping or sagging on the opposite side. You've seen it in the race photos...the one that looks like you're doing the "jig" because 1 hip is dropped. When the hip drops or sags, then all sorts of things can happen depending on how you are put together. That hip can roll in (biking or running), placing strain on the knee, you could be landing harder on 1 side when running causing shin splints which lead up to stress fx's, or simply landing improperly causing Achilles pain.

Same goes for shoulder or neck pain. We swim mostly freestyle throwing our arms forward for yards and meters at a time, then we slump over in aerobars for hours at a time.......and top it off with hours in the car commuting , or at the desk or computer working. Everything is moving anterior or forward.

So, you see how important it is to stretch what is tight, and strengthen what is weak or not used! Don't deny that your posture is that of a gorilla! Some of these injuries are lurking. While seasons may have gone by injury free, you are still using all the same muscles over and over mile after mile, meter after meter. Eventually, if you don't wake up the neglected ones....an imbalance will likely develop. Maybe not this year....but maybe its next year. It may show up as injury or even poor performance.

So do your body good, work those forgotten muscles, and stretch those that get overworked...and have patience. The results are only positive.....getting to the finish line faster, and injury free, and of course....... not walking around like a gorilla.

Strength Does a Body Good

2010-02-03T05:06:00.000-08:00

Last year about this time I started working with a personal trainer to push me around a little and keep me honest with getting stronger. I like to lift weights and have done so on and off for a long time. In fact I started back in high school as a way to jump higher and get faster. Being on the short side for a volleyball player, I wanted an edge up(always a competitor!)

I used to lift in the triathlon off season to get strong and prevent injury. Being a physical therapist I know how important strength is to preventing injury and combating the muscle imbalances that creep up seemingly from no where and all of sudden there...it is ITB syndrome or a stress fx. Yes Ive even had my share of a few of these uglies. But...once spring would come around I'd stop the weights and really pound out some training and still be able to make it through the season feeling strong.

Then I began to notice something in my mid to late 30s. By the end of the summer....I didn't feel as strong, or that I had lost power... a few more aches and pains..some slower times. How can that be? ....after training all summer...I'm getting slower not faster? What I began to realize is that I hadn't lifted a weight or done anything to maintain strength since early spring. Its a brutal fact that as you get older it gets harder to maintain your strength. I knew this but some how didn't think it applied to...... me!! So for a few years I did lift on my own to keep the strength going but fully confess that though I liked lifting its an easy one to blow off....or just slap the same old weight on there and push it around, without much care..never progressing. 2008's tri season ended ugly and injured.

I started working with Mark Nilles last year this time with my client MM. We rotate through a circuit and get pushed..nothing fancy. Much of the work is full body strength lifts with heavy metal (weight and music), some super sets, some plyos, and lots of core. Its hard and I often get sore. And just like periodization with the tri training, we perioidize the weights.

Last season I noticed some good changes and stayed healthy and strong through the summer plus a hard core season of racing cyclocross every week come home with bruises all over me. But now is when I am really starting to see some big benefits... 1 year of consistent work on some serious strength and core work. My long easy run paces are faster than have been the in a few years and my form is holding up through the entire long run and I haven't been doing anything different with my run training. I credit this truly to getting stronger in the muscles that get forgotten with all the swim, bike, and running.

These muscles that get forgotten and left out in triathletes are the glutes, and hip extensors, posterior shoulder muscles, along with the abdominals and trunk stablizers. We triathletes LOVE to use our quads, IT bands, pecs, anterior deltoids and wind up walking around like gorillas when it all gets too tight.

Next blog I'll write more specifically about these neglected muscle groups and why they are so important in keeping an endurance athlete in 1 piece, and moving efficiently through the water, on the bike and across the finish line fast!

Patience=Progress

2010-01-28T15:11:00.000-08:00

Right now our basement is under consruction. We decided right before Christmas to finish it off. Our basement is big, so a huge portion is going to be a tv/game room and the other portion a workout room. Once its done it is going perfect for kids, games, and yes...indoor training. In the meantime, it has been challenging living with things upside down. All the Christmas stuff is boxed and piled up in the dining room, complete with fake Christams tree still standing (grrrr). The TM is out of commission for right now with all the work being done and the trainers...have come up stairs into the family room for riding! Decisions on paint, carpet, lights etc. is time consuming. Have you ever seen so many selections of carpet, and paint? So, you see my patience has been tested, but when its all done, it will be a bomb of a t.v and training room.

"Good things come to those who wait", We've heard this a million times and its true. The quick fixes, easy way outs, cutting corners..don't usually pay off with good return. Or if it does, it is usually short lived.

Recovering from injury take patience. I see it every day. Too often athletes who are injured want a quick fix just to make the pain go away and try all sorts of crazy things rather than really addressing the problem of why they might be injured. Working on tightness, or weakness takes time. Results aren't seen right away. It takes patience.

Getting faster takes patience, qualifying for Kona takes patience, getting stronger takes patience. Often athletes want these results in the first 3 months of being coached, or working towards a goal. It takes time and hard work. I read once that Kara Goucher was injured for 6 years at the start of her pro career!. Wow now look at her. She had to have a great deal of patience to overcome all those injuries and doubts.

So follow the plan, and don't cut corners just to check it off the list. Have patience and you will see the result you want.

Don't Be Afraid!

2010-01-18T05:18:00.000-08:00

Kids are Fearless
Cyclocross State Champs, No Fear!

Fear can be what holds you back from reaching your potential, or achieving your goals. Fear of failing, not measuring up, not performing, or letting someone else down can all stop an athlete from making there way to the top. Instead of facing that fear head on, often athletes avoid those things they are afraid of. Things that may help them in the long run become a fitter, faster, and fully reach their potential.

I can remember as a new triathlete many years ago (I won't mention the year), I used to be afraid of going to swim practice. I played college volleyball, and had not ever been on a swim team. This was WAY before there were so many great masters programs... and well before Naperville Waves, and definitely before triathlon coaching programs evolved, Internet with you-tube videos, swim clinics etc. What was I afraid of? I was never afraid of the water, I loved the water, but I was afraid of looking foolish, not being fast enough, not knowing how to flip turn, people laughing, and how awful the burning lungs felt. But I wanted to become a triathlete bad enough that I eventually overcame this fear to kept going. I kept improving, got faster, learned how to flip turn and eventually that fear went away. Now I may only have swim fear if I find myself at a MSM kids practice or in Adam's lane at masters. And then its just fear of possibly throwing up in the lane. (ha ha, j/k)!

Cyclocross was new to me this year. I love riding the bike hard and love showing up to Colonial Rides with the guys, but to race off road and jump over barriers, and race through mud, sand, or off camber tight turns was enough to make me a little nervous for the first race or 2. The unknown of bike racing, and if I would be able to control my bike and still go fast created some fear. But that fear turned into adrenaline each week which helped push me along. By the time the state champs rolled around, there wasn't any fear (other than the joyous pain that comes with all out efforts), just the good nerves that can make you go fast.

The fear of failing or not meeting expectations is enough to stop some athletes in their tracks. One of the best tools I can use as a coach is a test set or field test to measure or mark fitness. But so often this scares athletes off and there often seems to be a glich with their power taps, or garmin, HR monitor etc. or something comes up and the test can't be done. These little tests are nothing to be afraid of. They are not World Championships, or Olympics. Life and death or your ability to breathe doesn't depend on these tests, but, they do help the coach write better workouts, and help mark fitness. And, as an athlete it only helps you build confidence and see your progression in fitness. So don't be afraid! Don't' be afraid of the numbers, or results, or not being fast enough.

Often fear stops us from working on what limits us. What limits you as an athlete? Biking aggressively? Like...really racing the bike? How about hurting on the run and racing someone down near the end of the race. If you're training partner starts coming up behind you in a race...what are you going to do? ease up and let them go? or...race. What if strength is your limiter because you can produce no power, but the thought of showing up to the weight room sends you into a panic attic. Will you avoid the session with metal or pump some iron to get some muscles. To face these fears in practice type settings, little races, group rides, test sets only helps you handle the fear. Toeing the line in practice type settings only increases the ability to handle that fear and to face it head on, look it straight in the eye and go for it. Then when its time for the real deal, ... you will be confident and ready!

Much of what I've learned about fear came initially from my father who is a great coach and motivator, plenty years of experience at racing, and also Cheryl Hart who is a wonderful sports psychologist who has spoken at Trainingbible clinics, and some Life Coaching stuff from Simon Thompson!

So many athletes and people I meet along the way have such big goals and dreams which is wonderful! Dream big and go for it, but think about what you're afraid of or could be holding you back, then face it head on! Don't be afraid!

Joys of Winter Training

2010-01-12T04:38:00.000-08:00

The Holidays are done, and its a start of a new decade, a new year and a new month.....and the motivation is running high among athletes, myself included. Along with the big gear up towards more training has come more snow and frigid cold making training interesting. My coach has loaded me up with some good training hours and workouts. He is "down under" right now where they are having a heat wave which must have gotten to him when he wrote my schedule...(ha j/k), so I have been using my creativity getting the training in. This is not my favorite time of year. I don't mind snow but despite frigid cold, and no the sun being out doesn't help, when it negative 20 out. But I'm not going to whine about the cold and living in Chicago in the winter this time. Instead....here, in no particular order are a few of the good things about winter training while living in the Midwest.

Indoor biking: you won't be burned out on the usual "bike routes" by the time your first race comes around. Months of riding indoors will give you a break from the outdoor scene and you will have the joy of that first outdoor ride to look forward to.

Tempo runs on the treadmill: when the tempo run appears on the schedule and the roads are covered with snow/ice and its -15 out, the treadmill is not a bad option. I am not a treadmill lover, I'd rather be outside any day, but reverting to the treadmill does allow you to set a pace higher than you would out in the snow and cold. The treadmill is also good for foot speed, and turnover, which may slow down when outside in the cold

The long run: the day the long run shows up on the schedule and it is again, -20, and snow and ice are down, this is an even tougher choice. What option can I come up with here to make this the best workout possible. This is way to long on the treadmill, just to go easy. My option this past week was snow shoe running along the trail. It is wooded and more sheltered from the cold. Plus it is hard. I went off the trail, and around the Campton cyclocross course, plowing my own way through shin deep snow...yes still running. I wasn't sure I would last the duration of my scheduled long run, but was having so much fun the time flew by. When I was done, I felt like I had run through the mountains of Colorado, because my legs were so tired.

Swimming: this one is good for those with swim limiters! No excuses, because the pool temp is always the same no matter what its like outside, and if your cold going to and from the pool, there is always the hot tub and sauna to help. Splish, Speedo and TYR also get to cash in keeping me going to the pool when its cold. New suits always make it more fun to swim!

New music: I listen to my ipod more than usual while during during the winter months. In the summer and outside, biking and running I seem to forget about it, but I am not a t.v. watcher when training indoors, so coming up with new and motivating songs to keep me going for several hours can be fun. My playlists have old forgotten and new never heard of music of all different categories to make the time go by.

More likely to make it to end of season in 1 piece: training outside year round might lead to more burnout and injury, while cold and nasty weather might keep you under control through part of the season and keep you from over training. Midwesterners might not be in top form at the first race of the season, but potentially less burned out and less injured come the late season races.

Destination training: living in the cold gives you the excuse to plan some get away camps and training trips to escape the cold. Traveling to Arizona, California, or wherever the warm spot may be is a motivation in itself to keep the winter training going. Knowing you will be climbing Mt. Lemmon one day soon can keep you on the taininer a little longer. Plus, while away, you are for the most part able to focus more on training and recovery when there are, with fewer distractions of work and day to day chores that face you at home.

Stay Warm!

Hello 2010!

2010-01-03T17:54:00.000-08:00

Last year's clinic; we were 2x as busy this year!

Welcome 2010, I am ready for you! As we say goodbye to 2009, I have no regrets. In fact it was a pretty incredible year for me in a ton of ways, beyond just triathlon My racing and training was good, I got myself into some pretty decent shape, on some short volume but sweet quality workouts. But getting a grip on what works for ME in order to make everything else work around the Zucco house and my life is what came out on top in 2009. Beyond that, I rarely like to look back, only forward!

2010 started out with an awesome dinner downtown with a couple of new clients we had never met before. At first I was stewing a bit about having to "work" on NY day, but a nice dinner in the city always helps! There's always an unknown to make dinner plans with a couple in the city you've never met before, however it was quite the opposite and we had a very awesome time with a very cool couple from IN who will be starting with us for coaching.

Jan 2. Trainingbible hosted a Tri-Clinic at Delnor Health and Wellness Center. This was an all inclusive/ comprehensive day in which athletes get to come get poked/ prodded/ and evaluated in the pool, on their bikes, running on the treadmill, hear some good talks, and given a physical therapy screen. Many of Trainingbible's great coaches were out spreading and sharing their knowledge. It was a long day, but I met some great athletes with great ambition for doing all they can to work towards reaching their goals. My job was to screen the athletes flexiblity, strength and foot mechanics. Yes, I was fried by the end of the day. We had double the amount of athletes as our inaugural event last year. But I made some interesting observations. Things I know well and preach consistently to the injured runners/ triathletes who come in for therapy, but it was so very obvious when checking out triathletes one after another.

Flexibility: poor in triathletes mostly in those who had been in the sport a while....hmmmm, take note everyone, get to stretching. Trust me it can help. You don't have to become a yogi guru and put your leg behind your head, but I challenged the athletes Sat. to stretch effectively (more than just a second or 2 against the wall, or pulling their foot back) Try it 3 -4 x a week for a month, and see if they felt any better in their workouts, or even just getting out of bed in the morning. If anything, you'll stand up taller!

Strength: weak glutes....medius to be exact. I see this and preach it constantly to the injured who come into the clinic with hip flexor, piriformis, ITB problems, or really...any biomechanical fault. When your butt is weak, you compensate, and can make anything down the chain unhappy.

Shoes: overkill with gigantic stability shoes and orthotics. This is not always necessary, especially if you keep your core strong, and muscles loose. Add to it some proper run form, and there is no need for the big shoes.

I'm still finalizing my race schedule for 2010. My plan is to keep it much the same as last year with maybe a few fun fillers!

Happy 2010 training, start now working towards your goal!

There's Place Like Home....

2009-12-22T04:38:00.002-08:00

Especially during the holidays!!!!

I was able to score a quick trip home to Oregon, at the cost of Adam having to do some work out there. Business for him in Oregon and I got to tag along, lucky me!!! I needed a "mountain and fresh air fix" and headed west for a few days. Along with visiting my family, I was planning on doing some running, and playing in the mountains.

I packed my "medium" warm running gear. No need for the heavy stuff running in the outskirts of Portland, even in December. However 10 min. into my first run, I am stripping off a layer. It was a damp 50 deg, out in the morning and I was too hot. I have taken some down time from training since my last cross race, so I was looking forward to just going out for a run with no agenda. My parents live in the foothills of the Cascades 40 miles from Mt. Hood. So it is very hilly there....like real hills, and way too scenic. I had a big fat smile on my face the whole run. Even huffing up the hills.

We also did a little Christmas shopping, Christmas cookie baking, relaxing, and decorated a tree.....but

the other part of this trip was supposed to be a "no work, no computer, no Blackberry, no "training or racing" trip for Adam and I. I try to nail him down on this 1 x a year. I think the only way for this to really happen would be to take a cruise (no cell towers.....but I'm not a big fan of cruises), or trek off some remote location like Mt. Everest. But we came really close with a trip up to the top of Mt. Hood and a night stay at Timberline Lodge. We weren't looking to summit the peak, just hang out in the mountains. The ride up there is amazing, even when raining. We hadn't planned to ski, or really know what we were going to do, which makes it even more adventuresome. I had wanted to snowshoe/hike, but daylight hours were limited by the time we got up there. We checked out the lodge (very cool old place actually filmed in parts of THE SHINING!), with the snow has high as the windows on the 2nd floor. My only request was to get out there and do something in the snow. So we decided on night skiing, and it was awesome. The slopes weren't crowded and as the sun started going down it cleared up and it looked like you could see all the way to California!

Its always hard to leave there, but stepping off the plane back in Chicago, and I am faced with work, a Christmas party, 2 days left until Christmas, hosting Christmas eve dinner, and the start of our basement being framed and dry/walled. I may have gotten a little out of shape during the past 2 weeks, but I am up to the task. I know how to dig deep during crunch time like late in a race when you've dropped your gu, or salt tabs, ( or like the time during Horribly Hilly when I missed the last aid stop and its 100 deg. out) Its exhausting, sometimes but worth it in the end!

Happy Holidays!

Ick

2009-12-13T03:56:00.000-08:00

The brown and pink explosion template was over the top, too much for me!
The basic black is much better :)