Welcome 2011....

....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

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.....

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!!!!!!

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......

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.....

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....

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!