...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

STRESSSSSSSed

Life is CRAZY sometimes.  This is my life right now.  I've recently moved (from a dual household to a single one), I've been sick ~3 times this winter (including a MAJOR case of food juice poisoning or at least that's what I think it was), work travels, work travel delays and the worst case of the WINTER blah's, maybe EVER.

I'm currently battling between beating myself up for missing SO MANY WORKOUTS and being nice to myself and limiting the stress or at least not adding any more to my shoulders. 

This is the hardest thing for me to do.  I had such high expectations for my early season races and I see those goals heading from a Class I rapid to an out of control Class V and maybe VI if I don't get my head out of my ass moving.  I am slowly starting to realize that my body cannot handle both the mental/physical stress of my crazy life right now and me beating myself up over missing a workout (or 10).  It's a vicious vicious cycle and if I don't get off the train soon, I won't be training/racing at 100% anytime soon.  I am so fortunate I have the opportunity to race and train and if that means I have to take some time for a little clarity, work, travel, LIFE, well that's the hand I've been dealt and I will take it on the chin, rest up, get healthy (both mentally and physically) and move on....

I know I am not the only one experience stress and the winter blues this year (right?) so I wanted to share some *remedies* I've found lately.  Maybe I'll try a couple of these this weekend....or something similar. 

**STRESS
snake massage - uh, no thanks...I'll get a regular massage on Sunday
beer bath - whaaaaa???!?!?! I'll drink it instead, K?...what a waste to bathe in it!
ironing - I ONLY iron to make running costumes or most recently...the family Kona UPR outfits
drink more OJ - PASS...considering this is what made me produce projectile vomit
spend quality time with a TWO canine(s) - done
shut up and smile - aw, alright...
talk with your hands - does *****dancing ****hands**** while running count?

**WINTER BLUES
get outside within 2 hours of waking up - easier said/read than done when it's feels like  MINUS 7* but I'll try :)
make your bed - again...UGHHHHHHHHH
get social - easy peasy...DONE.
limit your caffeine intake - as I sip my coffee....
take vitamin D supplements - I will go tan...I know, I know, I really don't want to hear how bad it is for me...
take a winter vacation - DONE...Austin - > Scottsdale 7 days and counting...yesssssssss
EXERCISE - That's the whole GOAL right?

Here's to surfing those waves!!! 

#hangloose

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

Race Recap(s) - In Photos

WILDFLOWER MAY 5TH 2012

Pre-Race Swim in La Jolla Cove, CA

Pre-Race lunch consisted of turkey legs and beer!  One of the many cool things about Wildflower!

The death march, a.k.a 13.1 miles of pure pain.

Gut or not, my main goal for this race was to cross the finish line with a smile!  Proof!

5:55:14 (33rd/119 AG - 560/1861 OA)
Swim - 35:02 (35th AG) - 2 min PR for this distance!!!
T1 - 3:31 (clearly need work here!)
Bike - 3:07:15 (18th AG) - Very excited about this time as I've been working super hard on the bike! 
T2 - 3:02 (again really need to work on these)
Run - 2:06:24 (31st AG) - DEATH MARCH

Wildflower is an AMAZING race!  You can't beat the views/volunteers/spectators (i.e. naked co-eds!).  I was pretty happy with my race.  Wished I would have ran better, but you can't PR all of them! 

Pensacola 3 mile bridge Swim - May 20th, 2012

I really need to look at the camera next time!!!

Total time - 1:50:xx
That' s 30 min PR from 2011!!!! 

Again, fun race.  Way choppy this year, the swells were larger than what we're used to in our lakes around here.  My gals from Kansas made the trip with me!  Having a girls weekend in Florida and capping the trip with this swim was amazing!  Thanks ladies!!

Up next - Kansas 70.3 June 10 and Topeka Tinman (Oly) June 16th...stayed tuned.

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)!

Florida in February

One thing I LOVE about my j-o-b is the fact sometimes I get to travel to fun places.  Last week, I had a conference in Tampa.  BONUS - My mom lives in Pensacola.  After the passing of my MIL, I figured my hubby could use a break too.  So off to sunny Florida we went.

My niece (left) who ran almost 3 miles with me and her friend Hannah who biked with us!

I was luckily able to get some good runs in while visiting my parents/niece.  I am so fortunate they love to get out side and be active.  They are also so supportive of me and my training efforts...lucky girl I am!

Mom and hubby

Of course we couldn't get out of there without celebrating Mardi Gras!  Horrible traffic!  I didn't realize how insane this holiday is!

Parade traffic leaving the beach

At least we had this view while sitting in traffic!

I also told Mom that we had to try paddle boarding while we were in town.  They do it all the time, we hadn't ever tried, so it was a must for this trip.  No worries the water temp was 60*ish, air temps were the same, 60*...we HAD to go!

My niece and I's ride to paddle boarding - yes even my parents helmet has race stickers on it!!

My hubby, he's a natural!

Who doesn't do a family self portrait @ dinner?!

My Mom and her main squeeze.

Well deserved shrimp -n-grits...oh yum.

After a couple of days with Mom we had to head south to Tampa for my environmental conference.  It's always hard to leave.  Luv my momma!  

This was my husbands view of my conference.  I was stuck inside those windows looking out.

My view, except I was stuck inside!

River with tons on collegiate rowers throughout the day.

Reception

And I just could resist meeting and hugging (?) Mr. George Hamilton!  

After the conference we headed west to the St. Pete Beach area for a couple days of R&R just the two of us.  We hadn't ever been to that part of Florida before.  

Loving life!

Well hello!!

Our 'cozy' motel!

A girl can get used to this view!

These little guys are sooo cute!

Run route

Had a great time yet happy to be home.  I'm such a creature of habit.  I get a bit cranky when you get me out of my routine.  Unfortunately I'm only home for a week, then I'm back on the road.  I'm really trying to get these trips out of the way earlier this year.  I've got some training to get done!!!

I'm having seafood withdraws...