California 70.3, SoCal....and a BOOK!!!!

The calendar says its spring, all the stores have super cute spring clothes out, but the end of March has still been winter like. My friends and I were whining while sitting in a local bowling alley with our kids during spring break while everyone else was away in sunny places. They really should have "shhhh'd" me though,  because at the end of the week I was able to escape the midwest and head to San Diego to watch Adam race IMCA 70.3, and spend a few extra days afterwards being part of a very cool project!

I landed mid day Friday, with enough time to hang out with AZ a bit and have an early dinner before race morning. I must say seeing him get ready to race was getting me pretty fired up for my first race in a few weeks. Early race morning I hooked up with a good friend who had mini Razor Scooters for he and I  to get us to the race start quickly  from our parking spot!  Yep we took the Razors for spin through the dark on our way to the start line! I have raced this and spectated Oceanside before and it has always been pretty chilly at the start, but this year it seemed perfect. As I was scoping out a great spot to see Adam come out of T1 I saw fellow midwest Wattie Karin Langer, and she immediately saw none other than Massi!  We knew we were in for a very special spectating experience having Massi in the mix! aka...#eurostar!

Massi!

#OGs!!

 Lots of Wattie teammates were also there cheering and racing.  During the bike Karin and I wandered around the pier with coffee, soaking up the sun,  and wondering why we stick around Chicago.

Langer!

 I also checked out a few surfers.  The time flew and before we knew it pros were already coming in to start the run. We scored a great spot to watch the run on a downhill corner and cheered for everyone.

 It was awesome to see Adam having a great race and start to his season. He has been working extra- incredibly hard this winter.

I say it all the time……hard work, discipline = goals met. Just saying.

AZ on the run!

Of course a great race, being in southern California, and tons of friends around deserves a reason to celebrate. The post race party with Mules= fun

After AZ left to head back home, I went for an amazing run on a hilly wood chip trail. Finally a chance to run without all the layers. I was supposed to be putting in some race pace miles, but the hills slowed those miles down, but gave my legs a good workout. Race pace miles have to seem easier after that, and I actually felt sweat dripping off me. 

I had to be in another part of San Diego later that day for the start of the special project. So i spent the rest of the afternoon, checking out the beach, surf shops, and coffee shops.  I could get used to that sort of life, so different than the midwestern burbs of Chicago! (how many years left until the kids graduate from high school?)

I can't say very much about the special project I got to be a part of for a few days, but it involved me taking off work during the week,  photographers in the middle of the desert, a crazy schedule each day and hanging with some cool pros. We ate salads for dinner on the side of the road out in the desert with the sun going down, 

in bloom!

saw the the Octillio bush in bloom with the sun coming up and celebrated with delicious Mexican and Margaritas the final night. I had a 3:30 a.m. wake up call the next day to fly back home to real life.

Yum

And, if you've been following my blog you know March was going to be a busy month. Not kidding!  After about 2 years in the making our book is finally OUT!!! I practically cried when I got the email from Deb Hodgett who took an idea that came about with she, Carla Hastert and I were having a "girls night" sitting around the table at a pizza place while our kids played video games. (now thats a classy girls night !) I don't care if it only sells a few copies, we have a book in print!  "Tri -Mom: swimming, biking, and running through motherhood"  is out now on Amazon. Its full of funny stories about trying to train and race, while trying to still be a good mom. Check it out!! 

GET LUCKY

Get Lucky half marathon......

the KSWISS KRUUZ = fast and lucky

We were supposed to go to Atlanta to do a WARM southern half marathon, combined with seeing family, and  potentially fast race.   Meanwhile life other trips and circumstances and travel happen we decide not to go. It just so happens that  Get Lucky 1/2 was the same weekend. A race  along the lake front of Chicago in mid March is super lucky.  Especially this year. (hardly)  I traveled to the city with my friend DL 1 week post Tuscon camp to run the 1/2 marathon. Not really racing since Kansas 70.3, then  a shortend cylcocross season has left me feeling race deprived, so I  was on a mission  for some race redemption.  Even a cold local 1/2 marathon would do.

pre race freeze out

DL and I  were chauffered to Soilder field  St. Patrick's day weekend for the race.  I had a sweet St. Patty's day race outfit picked including Wattie Gear and Lucky Irish socks,  but it was freeeeeezing with the addition of 20 mph wind coming off the lake,  so I made a quick change in the car adding a layer and taking all  the fun out of it! :(    I managed to run solid race.  The NE freezing bitter  wind was howling from the north east  off the lake for the  2nd 10k. I felt I strong the whole way even though the  last 3-4 miles I felt like I was being blown backwards. I wasn't fading from fatigue, just running into a brick wall. Despite slowing down I still felt strong and passed alot of people dying into the wind, who probably started too fast.  No fun podium pictures or post race party. We were ice zombies at the finish.  We bolted into the nearby Congress Hotel to change out of cold wet clothes and get warm amongst the St. Patrick's day parade goers. DL and I in our cute running clothes looked boring compared to the already buzzed parade goers making 1 last pit stop before the parade began.

I ended up 1st in my AG.  Its funny to me anymore.  I am just glad to be racing again.

4 weeks until New Orleans 70.3!, but where is spring. I am now on a California countdown to escape this frozen Tundra that will never end
ROCK The W!

Tuscon.....and a new Age Group

My birthday falls in that transitional time between being completely done with winter, (yet it still keeps creeping around)  and dying for spring and warm sunny weather. It also falls in that time where training really starts to ramp up, needs to start counting and yet wondering where your fitness really is.    I have spent just about the last 5 birthdays in Tuscon (maybe 1 more ???)  For me, I can think of no better way to spend the day than swim bike and running in the sun, followed by some great Mexican food and maybe a margarita to top off the day.

This year's Tuscon birthday trip fell during TBC's training camp lead by Ryan Bolton and a very fun group of athletes. I knew I was heading into the camp short on bike volume, so  my main mission was to get in some good bike miles each day. We were up early to load up our gear and head out to the meet the group for some Gates Pass, Saguaro, Sandaro, or Kitts Peak riding, swimming at outside  U of A, or yea.... a track workout one of my favorite tracks to run on. Just about every moment of each day was  spent transitioning from one workout to the next with some stops for food a long the way. I laughed at my co -workers when I returned to work and they  asked how my vacation was because it wasn't relaxing, but it WAS just what I needed to kick myself in the pants to get some early season fitness. Ryan did a great job setting up some sweet training days.  Camps like this are great to boost the fitness. I sometime wonder if the hard work stays with you once you come back home and return to a busy work schedule and squeezing in workouts around life. I've done it enough times that I can say it is totally worth it and it does help bring fitness to a higher level that you can keep tweaking once  back home. Now days are lighter, (hopefully warmer soon) and I can keep things rolling.

Thanks to Pappa Joel and our friend Ned who drove us all around Tuscon, helped keep us warm and took great pictures!

my coach before he crashed

My top 5's

Camp highlights:

1. riding outside!

still warmer than home, and a better view :)

2. swimming outside!

warming up after a swim

3. hilly tempo run, outside!.with Adam and Scott on the first day in 80 degrees and feeling sweat drip off my face

4. Watching Ryan's fast kenyan runner Caroline Rotich chase Ben Kanute around the track=effortless and Ben looks like a totallly different runner from seeing him run there 1 year ago. Watch out!

some fast...trying to beat the storm

5. Dinner and drinks for my birthday after a big day of training even though we could all barely stay awake


My camp lowlights:

1. losing my contact lense descending Gates Pass and only having 1 for the rest of the camp, at least I still navigated the potholes

2. not being able to climb Mt. Lemmon because the roads were closed, for SNOW!

3. the weather was a bit on the chilly side compared to how it usually is, but  was still better than home

4. having to pack the bike to come back to reality, could have used 2 more days!

5. pulling jumping choya out of my thigh after a pit stop


So now I am in a new Age group. I've raced in a lot of them and am happy to still be motivated enough to race. I have accomplished all I have ever wanted to do in triathlon, so these last few years of racing have been icing on the cake. Often people come up with crazy goals when they go into a new age group, like doing an Ironman. Ha. I must admit the thought did cross my mind last fall as I momentarily thought about doing IM AZ, but it filled so fast I couldn't give it a second thought, which is a good thing. Why do it just because it seemed like a cool thing. I don't really enjoy Ironman training, nor have time for it so what was I smoking.?

My new AG goals are to just race as fast as I can.

Brain Freeze

 

I usually update this blog a little better than I have lately, but I’ve had a case of brain freeze. By now I usually have taken at least 1 trip to escape winter and get some training in and avoid brain freeze, but my first trip out is still a few weeks away so I believe I am suffering from a frozen brain caused from:

making snow angles after shoveling, and the kids weren't home

~ true winter deciding to make an ugly appearance in February; running into that cold wind, standing on the pool deck in a frozen suit can be mind numbing

~work being so busy its hard to think about anything else, I walk out of there after such a crazy day and my brain is frozen

~ the Midwest mid winter routine of mega indoor training or layering it all up to go out and still be cold is enough to cause ice to form in my head

~wondering if all the getting up early to fit in training before work, and you train and you train but a race still seems so far away, and you wonder if you are making any progress

~fatigue from getting up at the at the crack of early then working all day

I’ve tried to overcome winter a few times with some fun. We took the kids skiing in the middle of a wickedly busy weekend of training, Jack’s basketball and throwing a big super bowl party. Even though it was cold it was a blast and made me want to go home to ski the big hills again.

staying warm

keeping the drinks chilled at Super Bowl

 I started goal mile track workouts again at the Vaughn Center and realized…..with a few layers off and the absence of the bitter wind I am running better than I realized. Its just sometimes hard to tell when you are getting blown backwards or sideways and can barely move thanks to all the layers. 

 WattieInk race kits, KSWISS shoes, BlueSeventy wetsuit will soon be arriving so thats motivation to keep the dark cold training going. 

There is light and warmth at the end of the dark cold tunnel though. Its already light 3 days a week when I leave work now!  March will definitely thaw my head beginning with a Tuscon training trip put on by TBC coach Ryan Bolton and......gulp...... a lot of very fast athletes! That will heat things up.  Several very cool projects are coming together in March which are very exciting, along with another trip to California at the end of the month to train, have a little fun and  cheer on AZ and a bunch of WattieInk Elite Team at Oceanside.

Extremes

Sometimes I like a little extremeness to make life exciting, and I’ve noticed things have been a bit extreme lately. If you were to draw a graph of the extremeness I’ve been observing going on around me it would look like a jagged edge sword.

Lets start with the weather (always good for conversation with my patients who inform me of the weather prediction daily) One day I bundle up and head to the somewhat sheltered trails layered and smeared with Aquaphor to be protected from biting freezing wind, to a few days later riding outside in 60 degrees and swearing because I overdressed!

60 degree ride in Jan

layered up

winter trails

Extreme is: going from multilayered running in cold wind feeling slow to doing a timed mile on the indoor track and seeing a fast split not seen for a really long time and realizing the hard work is paying off

Extreme is: going from smashing myself on the trainer with  snot, sweat pouring out of me while listening to loud inappropriate music, to carpooling four  9 yr olds to basketball practice, driving quietly and laughing inside to what is extreme to them

Extreme is: getting excited to run a 5k in February, just because you haven’t toed the line with anything involving running for a long time

Extremes make life more exciting, less boring. But huge extremes in training aren’t ideal and will only take you so far. Consistency is key.

 If you train so much over the weekend that you can’t get up to fit the training in for the next 4 days of the work week, that extreme weekend effort will only give you so much race day.

If your trying to get power on the bike by pushing so hard or fast but can’t hold it and let up, then realize you are slacking and pedal so hard to get the watts up again, is taxing and burning up your legs (cyclocross style, which is extreme!), but for time trialing you might have fried your legs. Smooth steady pedaling with little extremes and a smooth graph is going to lead you to a better, run  vs. an extreme blow up.

yellow line is steady power

Extremeness adds variety to life and keeps things interesting for sure, but consistency in training will give you and extreme performance!  

What Weekend?...

Every year TBC has an annual coaches meeting. We get together with the other TBC coaches from across the country to share ideas, learn the latest and greatest, do some updating, planning and brainstorm with some of the best coaches around including the founder of Trainingbible, Joe Friel!  Last year we were lucky enough to have the meeting in sunny warm San Diego, this year, not so lucky. …..a cold January Chicago weekend. Travel was minimal, but I could have really used the warm sun to help speed my recovery from the nasty flu. Fitting in workouts and the kid’s activities around a weekends worth of meetings is always challenging and stressful, but somehow we managed to keep it together, the house is still standing in 1 piece.

These 2 managed to fit in their long brick, and watch NFL and heat up the basement

There is always so much great information from the meetings, and walk away with some really great stuff to work with into the coming year.  TBC has some exciting new things in the works that I can’t wait to see get released. There were great talks from Joe and Dr. Post as usual, but this year we learned about bike racing strategies from Rob Kelley, coaching juniors from Chris Palmquist and a very fun talk by Joe Lotus on the athlete’s perspective. …..the brutal truth on what the athletes think of their coaches! 

Joe likes to talk

 And, I never get tired of hearing Ryan Bolton talk about coaching his Kenyan runners. Did you know his athlete Caroline Rotich was 4^th at the 2011 Boston Marathon, and 5^th at 2012 Chicago Marathon? 

stealing some run speed

  And as always Jim Vance shared the latest on social media tips, ideas  to save time or help with coaching. I am time crunched, and not the best with technology and Jim always has a new idea app or device I've never heard of to help make life easier.

The best part of the whole weekend  though is hanging out with a great group of friends/coaches who are all crazy smart and have so much to offer to Trainingbible.  Each coach has a unique specialty and background that adds  to making TBC so fabulous.

The Grind

There isn’t anything too sexy about this time of year.

Holidays are over. The New Year has been rung in and it’s all about getting back to business. The regular routine, the business of getting it done. First races of 2103 seem so far away, daylight at 5:30 am seems non existent, training outside without multiple layers is impossible

january training

(barely….I did run in shorts on a strangely warm January day but still whined because I was cold).

There isn’t anything to fancy about plain old hard work and laying the foundation for the season. Fitness, and results don’t magically appear with THE  winning workout, winning diet, newest piece of gadgetry; it comes with consistent work. Some workouts can be a painful but get the job done, some are in the toilet and feel like you’ve never exercised before, some are boring and you feel like you could fall back to sleep if it weren’t for the coffee in your cup holder , and some…are a knock out, a perfect 10, a gold medal. Those are the ones that give you a glimpse of what’s coming and what you are capable of if you just keep the work up, and stick to the grind of doing the work. But all of them rolled in together are what make you stronger, faster and more fit.

my view at 5:30 in the mornings

To help get through the grind it helps to have a few things to spice it up (btw the grind happens to be from Jan 2 until about first week of March which happens to be my birthday week and usually involves a training trip to Tuscon, more daylight, warmer temps and this year a race!)

I try to spice it up with:

Killer playlists (btw I never watch TV, on the trainer or TM, never listen to books, its 90% loud music and an occasional TBC podcast, its not for everyone but its what works for me)

At 5:15 am delicious coffee is a must; most days I get it ready the night before if I’m lucky; if not I is standing drooling at the machine taking its sweet time brewing

A goal to shoot for; one that is a little bit of a stretch, but within reach; one that with some hard work, consistency and being smart you can reach; yep I have a couple goals this year

Variety: I tend to train solo most of the time out of convenience, but I do like to jump into rides with the guys, or swim with anyone I can (including the 10 U Bullets swimmers on M W nights); or on the very rare chance AZ and I actually get to run together, having him chase you on your intervals through the woods can spice up your run!

Mix it up: I add a bit more cross training with strength and sometimes some yoga. Moving around in motions other than forward is good. My trainer makes me move side to side, backward and up and down…its scarey and feels funny but is a nice challenging change

get strong

But absolutely a must are cute workout clothes!

when all else fails, go shopping! It’s a weakness of mine, I confess. Those companies know how to sell to me. When it gets a little boring; I like to spice it up with a new swimsuit, run clothes or even sweet socks. I just ordered my new WATTIE GEAR for 2013 and it’s not a bit boring! Betty is always a good fix and new run shoes always bring life back into the run. My latest favs are KSWISS Kwicky Blade   Neutrals. They are um,  very pink  which can  surely spice up a dark run .