...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

...you are stronger than you think...

Camp thoughts…where do I even begin? 

I have attended numerous tri camps in the past 6 years…this was my first time as a coach.  How different it all is.  There is so much that goes on behind the scenes, I’ve never been so grateful for everything my past camp coaches have done to get all the logistics in place than I am right now.  It’s tough work…getting SAG bought and set up, marking courses, organizing travel, showering @ 9:30 pm, meeting and socializing with the other athletes, AND making sure you are taking care of yourself (i.e. feeding hydrating, etc.) WHEW! 

BUT here’s the deal…IT IS ALL WORTH IT!  We had some MAJOR breakthroughs this week…seeing the athletes overcome fears, getting comfortable being uncomfortable, climbing mountains in PR record time…all the exhaustion of planning and organizing goes right out the window.  I am not sure Krista and I could be any more PROUD and satisfied than we are right now.  I would call this camp a HUGE success.

We had an incredible group of athletes this year.  Such a dynamic and diverse group, different athletic abilities, different ages.  We had local Scottsdale athletes, a couple east coast, west coast and several of us from the midwest…many will become friends for life.  Everyone stepped up and put their best foot forward and worked hard.  That’s the point of camp right?  Spend 4-5 days out of your routine; build a big fitness base and WORK HARD.  And that we did…

Thursday was an easy ‘optional’ run.  I put optional in quotes because everyone ran it.  Easy social jog, we didn’t want any matches being burned…we had a big week in front of us. 

Even Baxter needed to hydrate!

The Monday before camp, our coach Michelle was having major FOMO and decided to hop on a plane from Hawaii and join us!  She asked Krista and I to keep it a secret so she could surprise her athletes.  That was a tough secret to keep!  We were all super excited about her arrival late Thursday pm!!   (Needless to say her other athletes were super surprised and excited to see her!  Read her camp blog here!)

Me, Michelle, Krista...BSC coaches!

Our version of pillow service for coach Michelle!

Friday morning was a BIG day…huge.  A long bike to Bartlett Lake, a ~40 min OWS in Bartlett Lake then a 14 mile CLIMB out of the lake (where we spotted IM world champ Rinny and Tim) then enjoy the decent ride home.  It would have been about an 80-mile day, except Jen Sparkles and I decided to ride to Cave Creek and added another 12 miles to our day.  Why not, right?  Actually we I missed our turn…my bad.  ;)

Coach and sparkles :)

Either way it worked out perfect.  It was a tough ride and with a little coaxing of the bodies with nutrition, we all pushed through.  Krista and I were able to see some folks pushing their bodies and most importantly their minds…

’you are stronger than you think’

Barlett Lake!

My friend and inspirational speaker, Jenne Fromm so kindly agreed to take some time out of her Friday evening to virtually ‘hang’ out with us and teach us a little bit of how our minds work both for us and against us.  As usual she changed a couple peoples lives that night.  Everyone should check her out here! She’s quite an amazing individual.  I am honored and proud to call her my friend.

We had an ‘easier’ day on tap for Saturday.  ‘Just’ a 3-hour ride, including a jaunt up 9-mile hill.  Pacing and nutrition was key for this ride, especially since we had a mountain to climb the next day.  Krista and I each rode with a different group.  My group practiced pace lines on our way to the climb, super fun when you don’t ride with a big bike group very often!  Once we got to the bottom of the hill our strategy was this…spin to about mile 5, then add a couple of gears, @ mile 8 ATTACK and catch the front group.  And holy shit, we did it.  PERFECT pacing...

’you are stronger than you think’

Solid bunch of athletes!

Off the bike we had a 4-mile run.  We asked everyone to stay inside themselves for the first 2 miles and negative split this run.  It’s a lot harder to do this as most feel really good off the bike and are ready to charge.  It was noon in the desert and the false flat on the way home made for the negative split to be a SOLID challenge.  I think we had an almost 100% success rate.  A quick 3k swim shower and we had ourselves another HUGE deposit in the bank.

Sunday was the day I had been waiting for…for literally YEARS.  The EPIC Mt. Lemmon climb.  We got up early and caravanned the 2 hours down to Tucson.  Having never had experience Mt. Lemmon, I knew had to pace myself and needed to convenience the others to do the same.  WOW.  What an experience.  It was exactly what I had imagined it would be.  HARD.  BEAUTIFUL.  FUN.  And 2 hours and 45 minutes later, I was at the cookie cabin...
 

’you are stronger than you think’

Me, Krista and Sippy!  At the top of the Mnt.

Not too long after that, we were ALL eating cookies and pizza.  It was so amazing to see our athletes push the limits especially mentally and literally arrive at the top.  It’s a feeling that brings tears to your eyes when thinking about the metaphor of climbing a mountain, on a bike, by yourself.  

Pizza, Cookie and Sparky!!!

Then we had to get down.  It would be quick (time), it would be fast (speed), and it would be in a wind storm/headwind.  I am not the best/comfortable descending, but holy shit THAT was fun.  We had a couple athletes VERY hesitant to descend and one actually wasn’t going to, she wanted to ride in the SAG wagon down, but Shane with his negotiation skills convinced her he would leap frog with her down.  She drank the cool-aid and we once again had a 100% success rate of both the climb and the descent... 

’you are stronger than you think’

And all of a sudden it was Monday the last day of camp.  L  We had a l5 mile route and a 10 mile route planned for the group.  How would our legs feel after 190 miles of riding 14k feet of climbing?  Would they show up to play?  But of course they did!  I think everyone was a bit sore/tired, but the run got done.  Krista and I had terrorized marked Paradise Valley in a delirium the night before… & the route was absolutely stunning at sunrise.  Such a joy to be there…running.  Especially after the days leading up to it, there were little to no complaints had by any.

Sparkle and Kelly selfie!

Another quick swim and we were done!  (both literally and figuratively)  It was bittersweet at that point.  I didn’t know if the sadness was actually fatigue or if I was terribly sad it had to come to an end.  I think it was a combo of the two!  

Thanks Planet Sun for protecting us all week!!

Camp was a huge success!  Krista gets all the credit!  She worked super hard with figuring the logistics of the rides/runs.  This camp wouldn't have been without her.  She is a solid athlete and an even more amazing coach.  She's been a rock in my world and I am incredibly thankful to have her in my life.  Thank you Krista!!  You are amazing and I am so thankful for our friendship!

Thanks recoverye21 for our CUTE camp tanks!

I also must thank all of the athletes for working so hard and pushing themselves to the limit.  THANK YOU!  They deposited a huge amount of fitness into their ‘bank’ $$cha-ching$$ and it will come in handy very soon ;)   I wish everyone the most success in 2014.

Thank you to Shane and June.  We really couldn't have asked for a better SAG crew!  Water, nutrition, directions, photos, motivation, you name it - they had it ready for us.  We really couldn't have asked for a better support system.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

And last but not least, THANK YOU to our sponsors!!

Recovery e21 - Amazing product.  This stuff has gotten me through the most grueling training rides/runs and 2 Iroman.  Good stuff.  Get it.

Planet Sun - Did I mention not one person got burned in the desert sun?  Not a ONE!!  This stuff is top notch along with the people/company that run it.     

And here I am.  On the plane…revisiting the past 5 days.  Sad, excited, motivated, ready to race, experience new things, new challenges.  I never thought I would be doing what I love, not only as an athlete but now as a coach!!!  I am so inspired and excited to keep the momentum going.  The love and support I have within this community is crazy strong and I am incredibly blessed and thankful to have TeamBSC as my friends and family. 

...until next time, remember ’you are stronger than you think’

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!

Deep thoughts on Destination Training...

Ok, not really deep thoughts, just some thoughts... I've been meaning to write this post for a couple of weeks now, so the enthusiasm has dissipated a bit.

Swim * Bike * Run * Eat * Sleep * Eat * Repeat

Who doesn't love a good solid training camp?  Away from distractions of home and work....it's brilliant. 

This year I have 3 camps on my schedule.  2 'organized' and 1 was a big block away from home with a fellow BSC'er and a solid schedule from coach.

CAMP (ish) #1 - Kelly and I hunkered down in the great state of Texas this March in prep for IM Texas (her race).  We had a long winter and she needed some solid saddle time in the 'heat'.  We supplied our own nutrition, SAGs, schedule etc.  Not your typical camp but destination training nonetheless.  You can see the numbers here.

CAMP #2 -  End of June, IM Wisconsin preview camp...Madison, WI...another solid weekend.  Away from the hub bub of home/work/etc.  There were 4 of us from the KC metro that traveled up north to escape the heat of Kansas to enjoy some cheese curds and build more saddle time on the beautiful hills in Madison!  Becky is racing IMMOO in several weeks and it was a good opportunity to preview the course.  It's tough, BTW.  This was put on by a triathlon club (I won't name names) so it was supposed to be a brainless operation.  Ya know, marked courses, SAG support INCLUDING nutrition/water out on the courses, encouragement for all athletes, etc. etc. etc.  I don't want to bag this group, but details that can make or break an athlete during a heavy training weekend were not provided to all athletes...I'll leave it at that.  Overall it was serious bonding time with good friends and major time in the saddle and on the legs.  Coin in the bank, hay in the barn...it all adds up.  :)

CAMP #3 - Well...it hasn't happened yet.  ~2 weeks I'll be headed west.  It's bound to be the most bat shit crazy of them all by far (um, a 10k swim @ camp?!).  It's the one I've been looking forward to for a year and a half now.  I'm pumped!  Coach Mama Simmons Kona Camp!  It'll be fun in the sun with some of my favorite people (some who I have never met, but I positive they'll be my favorite ;)!!! I'm excited to 'preview' the course prior to October and WORK HARD. 

I'm sure we'll have LOADs to report...stayed tuned!


To each their own on destination training camps, love them or leave them.  I'd definitely do my homework before forking over some $$.  Some of the better ones I've attended are the more expensive ones, but if I'm going to train away from home, I like having the logistics worked out for me every now and again. :)

Kansas 70.3 Race Report

Emma-Kate Lidbury @ the Oread meet and greet Friday night...ignore my squinty face.

This race is one of my favorites, not only is it in my backyard, but it's THE BEST when it comes to the race director/volunteers/spectators, etc.  Plus, it's my training ground.  #homecourtadvantage

Camping
The race is located at Clinton State Park.  The run is 2 loops throughout the campgrounds.  I've debated the past several years on camping.  Even though it's only a 15' drive from my house, it's one way only into the park so the traffic gets backed up pretty quick.  That with the 1/2 mile walk to T1, it makes for an early morning.  So, this year I decided to have fun with this race and camp.  Although my sleep pattern was a bit messed up, it was the best idea!  Being at the race venue early enough to rack my bike (they allowed race day bike check-in due to some storms that rolled in Sat. night) and set up T1 & T2, hang out at the campsite, bathroom, etc. was so much nicer not having to rush around and it's quite convenient having everything I needed basically @ T2.

What a view...Can you see my house in the background?  Yeah, that's the view I'm referring to...;)

Swim
With no rush getting to the swim start, I was pretty calm.  Weird for me for pre-race as this is usually my panic mode.  I got in the water with the plan to bust ass.  Of course I lined up behind my so freaking fast BSC training partner Lynsey.  A couple of 'good lucks' and we were off.  It was pretty choppy heading out the first leg and I was either running into folks or they were running into me.  Nasty...but for some reason I wasn't ready to raise the white flag like I usually do at the swim start.  Yay!  That's progress right there!  All I could think of was 'get your ass moving..you just swam a 10k in worse conditions...keep going!'  I took a second to check my watch at ~ the halfway mark and saw I was capable to pull of my goal swim time of 35'.  Seriously folks, this is the infamous 35' mark I've been shooting for, for like ever.  My swim times here have been pretty slow (think 40' and 40'+).  With nothing to lose, I just SWAM!  Unfortunately we had to swim around the previous waves and the younger guys were swimming over me, but I knew I was still in the game if I kept moving.  And before I knew it, I was done!

I was stoked when I saw my garmin with the time of 35:11 (19th AG) my day was made.  Finally!!! 

Bike
I love this bike course, I'm on it every weekend.  Lot's of hills, wind, heat...perfect!!  I really surprised myself on this bike.  My watts (power on the bike) stayed well above where I thought I'd race, but I felt good, so I kept it up.  I stayed on top of my nutrition.  It proved me well @ IMAZ so I took in 1.5 scoops of infinite/3 bottles, 2 powerbar gel packs, ~2/hour e21.  There were a lot of guys around me...of course several who couldn't get chicked, but there were others who hollered out encouragement (which is awesome btw, guys take note).  There were several stud women who I attempted to keep in my sight, but man there were some fast girls out there!!! 

Kept my head held high and worked hard the whole time...only felt a twinge of a cramp at the dam(n) hill coming back into the park.  I was a bit worried if I had blown out my legs, but I popped another e21 and kept on.

2:43:39 (10th AG)  Almost 2 minutes faster than my goal time and 7' fast than LY.  I was convinced I was going to have a good day.  Now would my run legs show up after that bike...

See that smile?  That's cause I eat that hill for hill repeats regularly.

Run
Oh the run.  This has been my nemesis for years now.  It can really eat you up and spit you out if you aren't prepared.  This year was GOING to be different.  I planned for the heat and the hurt.  I made sure I was out on the race course regularly prepping for this one.  I knew every turn, hill, shade spot on that course...mentally I had hurt here many times before.  I had this one.

My run had been pretty strong leading up to the race.  I had some confidence.  And I had a plan.  Since the heat has gotten to me in the past, I decided to be proactive and start cooling off at mile 1.  Ice down the top/shorts/hat (hat vs. visor so I could do this...see?  planned).  This run course is so rad cause of the spectators.  Every turn there are folks lined up cheering for you.  And since I had planned this one out, I knew where my family and friends would be...AT OUR CAMPSITE!  yeah!!!  They were the best, really.  Diana had my favorite songs on the ipod to pump me up!  My friend Kelly was at the top of the nasty hill.  Being a local, I knew the folks at the aid stations.  It was sooo cool!  A huge thanks to everyone for being out there!  The spectator and volunteers really make this such an awesome race.  I digress.  Nutrition, I took water/ice/coke @almost every aid station.  Gu @ mile 3 and 9ish (I actually almost forgot to take the 2nd one, I was feeling that good, or the heat was starting to get to me ;)) e 21 ~ 4 throughout the run.

I was hurting, but for some reason I was able to keep pushing.  It was going to be over soon.  It was supposed to hurt, it's a race and I had trained for this.  I could stop when it was done, NOT before.  Plus, I'm super motivated by the numbers and I was on track to hit my fastest 13.1 in a 70.3.  I was about to have a major break through race!  Nothing moves me more than that.

I don't know who took this photo, but I love it!!

1:49:56 (11th AG)
5:13:38 (compared to 5:36 LY)  Woah.  This turned out to be a PR in this distance by ~3', course PR by ~23'.

Still on cloud nine thinking about race day.  Super motivated now to hit another milestone (hopefully later this summer).  I have some serious competition out there in my AG.  These women are just STUDS.  Super proud to be among them.  Top 6 in my AG this year were <5 hours...holy smokes that A LOT of fast women.  I was 12th AG last year with 5:36 and I was 11th this year with 5:13...we are ALL getting faster and that's pretty cool. 

Super stud and teammate Lynsey...Vegas baby!  She rocked it out there!

Could leave without saying hello to Hines!

Smashfest Queens representing

A huge thanks to everyone who supports me and my 'crazy..why do you train so much training' day in and day out.  You know who you are.  You are near and dear to my heart and I am so grateful you are in my life.  Thank you to Sunflower Bike Shop for all the love you give to my dear Ali.  Michelle thank you for instilling this bat shit crazy mentality in me...I love being your athlete and a part of this team.

For this moment, right here, be grateful.  #always

Dig the Pig Gig

Whew!  Another 70.3 in the books. 

Pigman - Cedar Rapids, Iowa

This was my 3rd year doing this race.  It's small town race but BIG hearted race.  My 1st year I had just completed my 1st IM - CDA.  I was not looking for another race after but my arm was twisted and there we were in 2010.  What a tough race, especially that year.  I wanted to throw myself off the bridge during the run.  I went back last year looking to 'finish business'.  Well I did, qualified for ITU worlds and PR'd the distance.  2012, well I wasn't sure what I was expecting.  My 'A' race isn't until November, I had already raced 2 70.3's this year and was coming off a big weekend at the Eurekan.

So here's the quick and durty overview of the race.

Pre-race logisitics - easy packet pickup, easy enough drive to the race venue, ample parking, etc.  No hiccups...love the small races :)

Swim - 37:31 - Ugh, I really had higher expectations for this swim.  I swam 37:xx last year.  Wetsuit legal, time trial start.  I felt like I was swimming!  I was working the whole time, I didn't feel like I went to 'la-la' land either.  I was PISSED though coming out of the water and saw my time.  Back to the pool - LOTS more work to do before IMAZ.

T1 - 2:56 - Looooonnnnngggggg run up a hill to transition.  Ok, well maybe not that long, but long.

Bike - 2:43:07 - This is a flat fast course.  Except with some rollers.  Wowza!  My legs were on FIRE!  Not sure why I was feeling so shitty.  But I was.  Besides being incredibly uncomfortable in my 'seat', my legs just wouldn't move.  I have GOT to figure out something for IMAZ with this 'seat' issue....I've tried body glide, shammy butter, etc but NOTHING works!  Maybe if I didn't spend so much time in the water it wouldn't all wash away.  Needless to say,  I was so thrilled to get off the bike.  Mixed emotions about my effort, I had a good bike, just a tad bit slower than last year but still good.

T2 - 1:32 - See, a bit shorter of a run!

Run - 1:53:56 - I felt so much STRONGER than last year!  This run is pretty brutal as it's on the shoulder of the highway with no shade with some killer hills the last few miles.  Ok, well they may not be 'killer' but they sure feel that way 5 hours into a race!  Strong run, pretty happy with the way I felt, not my time, but I love feeling the hard work pay off.  Best part was that I didn't want to throw myself off the bridge this year.  IMPROVEMENT!

OA - 5:19:00...did you see that?  00  How or when does that happen?  Right on the minute?  Must be my lucky day! 

5th female overall/92, 2 AG/9

83 days until IMAZ!

Happy Training!

The (freakin') Eurekan 2012

The Eurekan

This is a MUST DO race weekend. The weekend events went as follows...

Friday - Super short sprint triathlon
Saturday - 100 mile bike ride
Sunday - 10k run

There is amazing support on and off the courses.  Plenty of nutrition throughout the whole weekend.  TOP NOTCH.

It's based in beautiful Eureka Springs, Arkansas.  It's nickname is the Swiss Alps of Arkansas...seriously.  One Garmin had the elevation gain of the ride @ 6600 ft. and the Garmin doesn't lie...

We decided to make this a girls weekend...some go to Vegas/the beach/shopping, we go inflict 3 days of pain!

Friday - sprint tri 300m swim, 7 mi bike, 2 mi run - 44:08  3rd female OA, 2nd AG.

I couldn't find my breathe @ all during this race.  Are we at altitude in AR????  Either that or I was getting sick.  Crap.  I decided I was just racing HARD (oh, and at 3 pm in the afternoon...on August 10th).  Whew, this short stuff is for the birds..:)  There were some killer hills/turns during this bike and I was trying to keep upright.  It is a pretty technical course.  The run was pretty cool, on the golf gart path throughout the golf course.  The community was super rad and kept the sprinklers on for us!  Bonus for the 3 pm start time.  I knew the 2nd place gal was pretty far up...I just wanted to keep my 3rd placed spot.  Look at me, being competitive!  Ha! 




Post race



Eureka Springs has the best restaraunts!  Here we are Friday night for mexican!  No margs for us though, we heard our 100 mile ride was a bit brutal...maybe we should have though!!

Saturday - 100 mile bike ride.  6:01 (includes aid station stops) 5:43 ride time - 3rd female OA
Note to self, do NOT call this a ride then put a timing chip on me.  Seriously.  Could I get anymore competitive out there?!?!?  The Eurekan 'canidates' had green bib numbers compared to the pink bibs (who were doing just the ride), which meant I had a clear idea of who I was competing against. :)  This was a tough, tough, course.  People were making comments of how it was harder than Wisconsin AND Branson.  Not to deter anyone from doing this ride, it was hard, but holy cow it was FUN!!!



Whew!  that was so tough yet equally rewarding



Another bonus?  FREE BEER :)

Sunday - 10k run - 49:56 - 3rd Female OA - 3rd AG
Again, super hilly run.  I just kept trying to keep my head in the game.  Fly down the hills and not lose too much time on the 'up's'.  The route was pretty cool, a great way to sight see!  Eureka Springs has tons of art shops/galleries, historical homes/B&B's and gorgeous landscapes.  Even though there were 3 or so mile climbs, the run went by pretty fast.  Awesome, awesome run! 

After the last climb @ mile 4/5...ready for the quad busting downhill mile to the finish!

Overall - 2nd Female - 7:34

Woo Hoo!!!  We are Eurekans!  Such a rewarding weekend. 

Can you see the size of those medals?  Dinner plates!

Here's to another girls weekend!!

100 days until IMAZ 2012

Happy Training