...live in the moment, repeat...IMKS

I am not sure I have ever been so chill coming into a race.  I was in California the week prior...perfect taper right?  Just a couple of fishbowls beers were consumed.  Even with getting home on Friday and only having a day to prep for the race, I was just chill as can be.  #odd

I knew I didn't prep like I had last year.  Last year was a whole different caliber.  This year has been a completely different beast to tame.  My head and heart have been all over the place.  So I took the fitness I had and decided to just race to the MY best in that moment on that day.  No pressure, no major time goals, no disapointment...high five EVERY kiddo, smile, push, live in the moment, repeat.

Typically pre-race I feel sick to my stomach, have major anxiety, and sometimes cry.  Prior to the race on Sunday, there were no butterflies, no wonky stomach and not a single tear.  But there was a dramatic photo shoot at the swim start. #evenbetter  Yup, #hotmess #Imadork

Lovely Liz, of the RED LADIES, #Casey'swife

COME HERE CASEY (the stud who just rocked IMTX also on #teamBSC)

CHEEEEEESE

Sandy Brown says...look like you're gazing over the H2O...who does that with a straight face!?!?!?! #nostressinghere

high fives and two thumbs up

Was not my fastest swim at this race, nor was it my slowest.  The conditions were perfect so I might have needed to be a bit more serious and attempt to swim straight and not take the long way around the buoys.  No excuses, it was 3 min slower than my PR at this distance and for what I've put in this year...I'll take it.

The bike...hmm, despite some Garmin snaffu's the bike was pretty ok!  My legs were on fire until.mile.40...SERIOUSLY LEGS?  Well at least they warmed up right?!

I had an AMAZING cheer section at mile 35 on the bike.  at the top of a pretty good hill.  Damn my girls are the best.  #lovemyathletes It was such an epic section of cheer, I was asked on the run if I was 'the Kelly' from the bike course!  Ha!  So.much.fun.  THANKS LADIES!!!  (I'll add more pictures later, I have some good ones!)

The run...hmmm, no real major issues.  I have been running pretty good lately, if I had any expectations for this race, it would have been on the run.  Being present and in the moment was an intention I made from the start.  I wanted to make sure that I was working as hard as I could at that particular moment and if so GREAT!...if not, well I needed to get there.  My legs didn't feel great...ever during the 2 loops.  My mantra during the 2nd loop was "round 2...fight"...is that from a video game?  hmm. weird as I don't even own a DVD player, much less a video game thing...oh wait, I do have the original Nintendo.

After reviewing my race plan, Michelle wrote me to high 5 every kiddo and I did just that.  Try it!  It totally makes you smile (i.e. have fun!). 

Overall it turned out to be exactly what I had hoped.  I smiled almost the whole race, I finished in a respectable place/time and I had FUN!  I won't lie, it is was so nice not chasing PR's, world champ slots, etc, etc, etc.  & even with all the fun I had, I was only 7' slower than my PR on this course...with way less fitness.  I think there is something to be said about limiting stress and having fun in this sport.  Sounds like a good plan for the rest of the season, no? 

Post race shenanigans...

Kept my eye on the prize.

Getting the new babe (no, not mine) ready for the "LaPan medal" photo shoot.

Tuckered babe

Despicable me and aloha pants #chillin

Big thanks to everyone who reaches out every.single.time I race.  It means a ton hearing from everyone.  Lots of xoxoxo to my coach, #teamBSC and my athletes.  #lovebeingacoach 

hashtag.lotsofthem

Happy Team BSC Scottsadale Camp Eve!

It's less than 24 hours away.

Team BSC Scottsdale Camp.  My 2nd camp with this amazing crew.  My first as a coach.  EIK!!!  We have some amazing bat shit crazy sessions planned, (many thanks to Krista for all of her planning)! There will be an amazing speaker, a Mt. Lemmon climb (and the obligatory cookie), and we have a MAJOR surprise for our athletes!  I am so excited!!!!

I have not done much outside riding this year...thanks ol man winter and me turning into a wimp in the cold.  #ihatethecold  Later this week...I will have 12 hours of saddle time planned in 3 consecutive days.  Talk about a pain in the ass.  I'll be hurting for sure.  But the benefits of training camp is the huge fitness boost one gets when all has been accomplished.  I'll need it.  Race season is just around the corner for me.

This has been a stressful past couple of months for me and nothing will heal my soul more than 5 days with friends who are just as BSC as I am.  Riding long will help clear my head and get me motivated for the season ahead!  I've had to majorly adjust my race schedule, but there is still an IM on the books for this year...and maybe 2. ;)  Time to get moving!!

Cheers to BSC camp #2!!!

Kona Camp 2013 - Part 2

Ok, let's wrap up camp...if you missed part 1, here it is...Part 1...

Sunday - Long Bike IM course to Hawi and back

A couple of us rented bikes for camp.  Super easy.  Big props to Kona Bike Works for getting us set up in record time.  'Murdock' was my Cannondale Slice for the week.

The ironman course is tough.  Well of course it should be, it's the world champs, right?  The ride started out really well, I was having a blast!  We rode as a group taking turns riding with coach.  I felt GREAT!  I asked for the most brutal weather so I would have an idea of what could be in store come Oct. (it was actually pretty nice to us).  Here's a hint for anyone riding long (whether you're in Hawaii or Kansas) don't forget your nutrition, i.e. quit yapping and eat!.  By the time we got to Hawi (the turnaround 1/2 way mark) I was toast.  Completely defeated.  It just wasn't my day.  I learned a lot of lessons on the way home.  I made some good friends who lifted me up on the way home too.  A big thank you to those who listened to me in my lowest time (s).  Just a couple of the thoughts going through my head for 56 miles back to the house...I don't belong here, I don't deserve to come back in Oct., I should be riding with the girls up front, I am the weakest athlete, etc. etc. etc.  Purely depressing.  How could I let my mind wander that deep when I am in freaking Hawaii!??!?!  What the F was wrong with me.  Ugh, I am so frustrated I let my thoughts go in that direction.  Blah, whatever, I got my ass handed to me and I now have a huge RESPECT for the course.  Either way, I now know what's in store come October 12, and that's a beautiful thing.

View from bike, stunning!

I got out of my funk with the help of a good T-run off the bike.  JUST RUN IT OUT!  I ran through the tears, the heat and the hurt.  It was perfect.  Krista and Shane ran the same route and we met at the water fountain and outdoor beach SHOWER.

Krista and I during our T-run.

After all this fun, Pam and I had scheduled a private swim lesson with the great Karlyn Pipes!  Awesome session, although now I have 6 weeks to implement new swim techniques! 

Pam getting her lesson with Karlyn!

Monday - Bike hill repeats/run and the SOCIAL RIDE

Michelle had scoped out a 'special' hill for us to ride hill repeats!  This session's goal was to purely build strength in the legs.  Easy breezy.  Today I felt like a new person.  GRRRRRR 8 times up the hill!

Coach giving hill repeat instruction/goal of session

Run of the bike was spent with Michelle :)  I loved having some one-on-one time with her to pick her brain.  She has so much knowledge of this sport (and now of me as well) so her insight is invaluable.  Thanks Coach!

We were able to catch a quick nap before our social ride Monday afternoon.  We need some motivation to get back on the bikes so Moana (Michelle's daughter) was there to provide us with some cheers.  Thank goodness we had that...we had no idea what was in store ;)

Our 2.5 hour coffee/social ride turned into a 3+ hour 3k climbing with some rain/rush hour traffic and a closed coffee shop!  Ha!  Some of us turned HANGRY.  I'm not naming names on the blog.

Lynsey was happy to have found an open coffee shop!

3 - 2 - 1 and the sun has set

Tues - LAST DAY OF CAMP :(

Tues was our big run day.  We started out with a 5 mile 'warmup' before our last OWS on the IM course.  It was supposed to be a fun swim, look for dolphins, honu, etc.  I swam with my swim crew, Krista, Kimberly & Shane.  We took some super fun video with the LaPan's GoPro....I wonder where that footage is??? :)  Getting out of the water and we saw a honu (turtle)!!!!  I am in love with these guys and was super excited to get to see one in Hawaii...finally!!!

After the swim, it was run time again!  15 miles til the end of camp...sigh.  I had a good run.  I decided not to beat myself up and start any negative talk with myself so I didn't focus on pace but instead focused on HAVING SOME FUN!  I'll have enough runs coming up to stress about pace.  Here are some views from my run.

I am an awesome photographer, no?

I think I found my calling

Of course we had one more opportunity to run up the 'pit'...Tiffany is rockin up it!!!

After the run, we had our last lunch all together before we headed our separate ways. What a week, what a group...there were some lifetime memories made this week. 

Cheers!

Don't forget this face...she's a CHAMP!

Downstairs girls exploring downtown Kona

funny if you're a 16 yo, or a railroader...

I cannot express my thanks and love to my coach and teammates for pushing me further than I thought was possible, lifting me up when I was down...mahalo for all the laughs, hats, beers, bugs, sweat and tears. Until next time!

Week(s) Rewind

So I am a horrible blogger.  I am on the computer every single night, yet I cannot get a post written for 3 weeks! 

That being said, I'll keep this one short with a short recap of the past week or so.

Saturday - My dear friend Michelle hosted an IM Arizona party for all of us that are racing in November.  Sort of a meet and greet, have some cocktails and get to know each other a bit better.  She pulled it off flawlessly, the food, booze, and conversation all were just beautiful!  Thanks Michelle for having me!

Sunday (Easter) - Brunch @ above mentioned Michelle's with her fiance Paul.  It was a lovely day with lovely company!  The fun had to come to an end Sunday afternoon when I had the symptoms of some sort of food poisoning.  Yuck

Monday - ***4 week til Wildflower *** Holy sh*t.  So I swam.  It was about the most I could get done feeling so shitty (literally).

Tuesday - 30 min session with Whitney, my trainer.  I am starting to tone up working with her 2x week, LOVE THESE!  90 min progression run after.  30' easy, 30' moderate, 30' hard.  I ended with 8 min/miles, so I was thrilled with the effort.

Wednesday - 3500 swim followed by an easy hour trainer ride.  I love these rides only b/c I can catch up on DVR'd shows. :)

Thursday - AM trainer session and pm run.

Friday - I PURCHASED A POWER METER!  Awesome.  So pumped to start using power.  Oh, and I also SCORED a sweet Louis Garneau Vorttice helmet!  Waaaahoooo!  I was so busy running to KC to get these new toys, I didn't have a chance to get a sweat session in.  Yes, I could have swam in the am BUT it was lightening/storming out, I know, excuses, excuses!

Saturday - 7 am bike start!  It's so nice to be able to start riding that early!  I was able to get out with my girlfriends for a solid 3.5 hours!  Of course I had a run after...It's ****3 WEEKS TO WILDFLOWER!****

Sunday - B/c of the weather in the area, I slept in and let the storms pass.  It was LOVELY!!  I decided to head back out on the bike - 2.5 hours on tap.  Woo weeeee!  That was a tough ride.  77' straight south into 30-40 mph winds.  I decided to go into the ride with zero expectations, no mileage goals, no power numbers, no HR targets, just ride.  And so I did.  And you know, it wasn't that bad.  Was it windy? Yes!  Did it suck?  Not so much.  It's so important for me to have the right mind, especially in situations like this.  Needless to say, the ride home was a blast!!!

And so a new week has begun and even better than just a new week, it's RACE WEEK!!! 

The local 1/2 marathon is this Sunday.  It's always a fun time and this year won't be any different!  Catch ya next post, it'll be a race report!!

happy training.

Travel + Training = PLANNING!

I've been on the road for weeks now for work.  Tampa, FL, Fort Worth, TX, Barstow, CA and here in a few minutes, Denver, CO.  I'll admit, a couple of day this weekend are fun filled family days!  My niece Cambridge will join us for St. Patty's day and ski school!  Even my brother and his girlfriend will be able to join us for the weekend!  Fun times!  The temperatures are better for riding than skiing, so 'Ali' will be joining us on our trip as well.  Maybe even get in a good mountain ride!
Back to the purpose of the post.

It's been tough getting in/planning all my scheduled workouts, BUT its totally doable!  I've had to pre-plan when I can do what, when.  I am always able to come home on the weekends, so my long rides and runs are usually non-negotiable. 

• Running, well, that's easy...even in crappy hotels, most have a treadmill.  Yes, those days suck sometimes, but you gotta do what you gotta do, i.e. better than running in a strange location by yourself.  Depending on the day, I sometimes can sneak in a 2nd run on the dreadmill (bonus miles!) 

• I try to get my flights a little later in the morning so I can get a swim or bike in before I leave.  Easy enough, until your flight is incredibly delayed b/c of a gash in the fuselage and you don't arrive to your destination until midnight.  Not fun people.

• And do the opposite when returning, get a super early flight and then you should have time to get in a swim or bike when you get home!

• OR...find a pool in your city!  I just found this swimmers guide.  Genius!

Traveling and training is totally do-able.  Just plan ahead!

The season is about to kick in and I'm super excited!  I'll be done with my whirl-wind days of traveling, and my life can get back to normal....normal to me anyways!

Happy training, enjoy the journey (wherever that may be)!

Lean and Green

My dinner every most nights include 6 oz lean protein and something, anything green.  I'm always looking for new and creative ideas, so I'm not eating chicken and broccoli every night.  Fortunately, there are some really creative and healthy athletes blogging and sending me emails to help with just this.  Nell Stephenson is a creative and extremely athletic lady.  Here's her version of Fish & Chips.  Yum!  I can't wait to try this this week.

Training notes and 'other'...
I've been off work since the afternoon of the 23rd.  Lovely!  I was so excited to have a huge training week and get sh*t done around this house.  Monday - swim 3300 yds.  Tues - swim 2000 yds, strength 30 min with my trainer, run 1 hr (sucky, sucky, sucky) and waBOOM.  I was sidelined.  A cold.  Wednesday I was able to get in a 1:15 hr. bike on the trainer, barely.  Thursday/Friday - I completely took off from training.  Saturday - I got in a 2 hr. ride on the trainer (thank goodness for movies on demand!)  Sunday - I finally got outside for a 7 miler run.  Now, I'm on the sideline again until Wednesday pm when I head to tri-camp here. 

Here's to a short week and a speedy recovery.