"I am proud of how I ran"

With the Boston Marathon and the amazing running that was put on display by everyone, especially couple of Americans: Meb Keflezighi and Shalane Flanagan, I was inspired and highly motivated to have a great race this past weekend. My training has been going really well all winter, and the Twin Lights ½ marathon was the first checkpoint along the way to my two A races this year – Mt. Tremblant 70.3 World Championships in September, followed by Kona in October. It also has been almost 5 months since I actually raced, so it really was time to dust off the cob webs and put myself out there.

Twin Lights Half Marathon although not a major half marathon is an easily accessible local race that holds a special place in my heart because that is where I got that sub 1:30 monkey of my back.  It is where last year I absolutely crushed my then goal time of 1:29:59 by running 1:27ish. Naturally, the goals were bigger and faster this year, and 1:24:59 was the new “scary” goal! I knew I had the potential to run that, but I also had my doubts. Training has been great, except the week before the race my mega (cycling) and mini (running) legs have gone missing. EZ /Steady efforts felt like too much work, and anything nearing my critical power or marathon pace running was hard to sustain for more than a few minutes. Eventually I stopped trying to test the legs to find my top end speed, and hoped for the best on race day!

Then this quote showed up in my inbox:

"I'm proud of how I ran.  When it comes to racing you need to test your limits and put your mind and body on the line. Whether you're a newbie or an elite athlete, everyone needs to race like this from time to time to truly begin to understand racing, pacing, and what your body is capable of."  Shalane Flanagan

What better time to test that statement than now! Lucky me, Jorge instead of breaking course records because he can, decided to pace me because why not when running 6:30s is your EZ pace.  Come race morning, I had successfully shut my brain off, and was ready to run because that was honestly about the only way to stay warm! It was barely 40 degrees, and on and off drizzling rain.  Acceptable weather for January but April almost May? (I think the weather deserves a blog of its own). I only felt a little less uncomfortable lining up in the very first row of runners than last year, and before I knew it, we were off. The picture below summarizes how the day went!   I was in the chase mode from the very first step, and unfortunately whoever borrowed my legs never returned them in time, and I was left on my own way too soon. 

Struggling to keep up and realizing my legs would rather be sleeping than turning over and running at mile 2 of a 13.1 mile race is trouble, but I still had hope that my legs would come around.

Just trying to hold on ... (you will not see this again)

It was early, and I wanted to be fearless today. If I blew up, I blew up. I pushed on but when each little roller felt like a mountain, and I watched everyone I took off with slowly disappear in the distance, I knew Sunday wasn’t going to be a PR day.  Not much later, I heard steps behind me, and a female voice chatting it up.  Sure enough, I got passed like I was standing on another roller (read mountain for my legs).  Jorge was out of sight at this point, but I wasn’t ready to give up my lead just yet. I was going to fight. I went back and forth with the girl that caught me for about 2 miles – she would pass me like I was standing on anything that even remotely was going up, and I would return the favor on the downhills. Miles 1 through 4: 6:37, 6:47, 6:57, 6:36). 

Making my move on a downhill ... 

Come mile 5 which included a few steady climbs, my legs that had absolutely zero willingness to move uphill had enough, and the eventual winner of the race dropped me like a hot potato. Watching her disappear in the distance was frustrating, but my legs just wouldn’t go.  Somewhere in that same section, I was passed by another girl, and as much as I tried to respond to her passing me (the freight train like breathing was a great indication of my effort, but not much return in speed) my legs had nothing besides boat load of pain to offer. My mega legs could have started a fire and keep everyone warm – I was feeling the burn like never before! You know when even the PowerBar double latte gel doesn't give you a boost you are in for a long day! Thank you PowerBar for always keeping me fueled! :) 

I suffered and shuffled the uphill rollers between miles 5, 6 and 7 (7:07, 7:15, and 7:10) and I threw myself down every downhill or flat section I could ignoring the pain. 

Throwing myself downhill - ouch for the mega quads. 

 My quad just doesn't look right! 

Miles 8, 9 my PowerBar Double Latte goodness must have kicked in and I was able to tick of couple of faster miles - 6:46, 6:47.  At about mile 9 or so, I got passed by the 3^rd girl like I was standing again – except this time on a downhill! I tried to stay with her, but I had zero chance. She was flying!  This was even more defeating because it was on a downhill! I watched her disappear in the distance. Then there was one more guy that passed me before the last bigger hill at mile 10. (7:13 pace) That one felt like Mt. Everest to me!  As we started to climb this .5 mile uphill, this dude stopped and started to walk half way up the climb! It took every fiber in my body to not follow suit, but I kept shuffling. My shuffle was just as slow as his walk because the gap between me and him didn’t get much smaller!  Once I finally made it to the top of the hill, I knew I had roughly 3 miles left which were mostly flat or slightly down, so as soon as my legs allowed me to open up my stride, I began to push the pace with whatever I had left. I had set my sights on the walking dude but it took me the entire 3 miles to catch him. He obviously wasn’t walking anymore. Miles 11 – 13 were 6:45, 6:37, and 6:40.

1:29 and change later, the sufferfest came to an end. I can’t say I wasn’t disappointed because I was, but after some thought, I was able to put the race in perspective, take out the positives and let go.

Definitely glad this one was over! 

Even though I didn’t run anywhere near my goal time of 1:24:59, I still managed to run a sub 1:30 half marathon, on a day when I could have very easily quit, get discouraged by my splits that kept getting slower with each mile and pack it in. Instead, I was able to pick up my quickly falling (the wrong direction) pace, and finish miles, 11, 12, and 13 at descending pace that nearly matched the pace of my first 4 miles. I was able to suck it up, deal with what was given to me - shuffle when my legs didn’t want to move, push the pace where I could and I still ended up with a time I would be ecstatic about barely a year ago.

I too am happy to say that I am proud of how I ran even if it wasn't a PR day! I was as fearless as my body allowed me to be on that day. I didn’t just pack it in because the day wasn’t going my way, and I am walking away with a new confidence level that I can and will run that sub 1:25 next time I toe the line.

For now, it’s time to recover quickly, which thanks to the most comfortable compression/recovery tights I have been living in the last few days is a piece of cake ( mmmmm cake) , and get ready for the next one. 

Thank you EC3D for helping me recover quickly

Oh and that cake? This one is to die for and even on the healthy side! ;) Also, the only way I'll eat black beans! Czech it out! 

http://www.somastudio.net/2013/04/black-bean-chocolate-cake-flourless-and-gluten-free/

Living the dream if only for 5 days!

This past week I attended our team’s 2^nd annual team training camp in Tucson, AZ. This was by no means my first training camp, but it was one that was very hard to leave. Training camps are always a blast, but this was the first one, where I really got to swim, bike, and run every single day.  I was literally living the dream – too bad it was for only 5 days! Weather was perfect, and I essentially had everything at my finger tips thanks to the great support of my coach, the wole E3 group that put this whole camp together and of course our team sponsors. My pre, during and post nutrition was taken care of by a combination of many different PowerBar products, and Beet-It shots, while the EC3D recovery tights were my fashion choice for when I wasn’t in my swim suit, bibs or running shorts. All I literally had to worry about was being ready for the next session.

 This is literally what was left (not much), but I love the variety of different gels PowerBar offers and I like to mix it up during all my rides whether it be the flavor or caffeinated/non caffeinated selections. Choices are good! :) 

Yes please! Say goodbye to juicing and the dirt like taste that comes with straight up beet juice! 2 Beet-It shots a day, make any mountains go away! ;) There is a reason I am not a poet, but 2 of these a day (morning and night), and I was ready to conquer the world day in and day out

Always so fashionable! I can't confirm nor deny that there were multiple trips made to WholeFoods in this very same attire! 

Every morning, I would be swimming within 15 minutes of waking up! This sure beats driving to the pool and back and was a huge time saver!  Watching the sunrise over the mountains every morning while swimming wasn’t too shabby either!

I stole this pic from Angela Bancroft who was lapping me in the pool like I was swimming backwards ;) Yup, she is a FISH! 

The pool had no actual lane lines which means at times it turned into perfect open water swim practice.

The calm before the storm! 

 How can one not smile! Outdoor pools rock! 

Swims were followed by big breakfast– eggs/bagels/pancakes/bacon/orange juice – you name it, I probably ate it and sometimes even a little nap! I wish I had a picture of my breakfast, but surprisingly (or maybe not so surprisingly), it was always gone before I even thought about documenting it!

By 9am we were usually riding, and the distances varied each day. Tucson has some seriously awesome riding, but it also has some seriously crappy roads. Think chip seal, plus these horizontal bulging lines that make riding quite uncomfortable. The weather and size of the shoulders or bike lanes and the number different climbs are unbeatable and more than make up for the crappy roads.  

With Kona being one of my big focuses this year, this trip was more than perfect and the weather couldn’t be more Kona like (All we were missing was the humidity ). Heat and strong head and cross winds especially in the first couple of days were the name of the game!

Night time was reserved for running, and we made sure we ran ever y single day. No excuses, one session, one day at a time, just getting it done. For those familiar with Tucson we did the following rides all of which included some sort of a climb of course. As mentioned before all bike rides were preceded with a swim, and followed by a run. 

Day 1: Gates Pass – 46 miles – I would describe this as relatively rolling 46 miles with a short but pretty steep climb known as the Gates Pass. Perfect ride to shake out the cobwebs since last time any of us rode outside was a very long time ago. (December 1^st for me ).

 Aaaah yes, hello AZ scenery! 

 Getting closer and closer to Gates pass

Once we were done riding, it was time to replenish the lost calories, and take a nap! Unfortunately my  15 min planned cat nap turned into much longer than that, so when we headed out for a run at 7pm it was pitch black out! Tucson doesn’t believe in street lights and we didn’t bring head lamps so dreadmill it was. I was certainly not very happy about that, BUT Jorge actually made it fun and mixed some easy running with different sets of plyos that we did every 5 minutes before hopping back on the treadmill. With that, a new secret (maybe not so secret anymore) protein shot before bed and some more food, day 1 was in the books. 

Day 2: Shoot out ride – 42 miles as we turned the ride into an out and back and didn’t complete the entire loop. This was near perfect simulation and just a shorter version of what I remember the Queen K in Kona as - relentless and very strong head/cross winds that turn any flat road into an uphill for 22 or so miles.  Very lonely ride with only a few cars going by making this again a perfect practice for when the going gets tough in a race.  The way back was fast, as the tail wind gave us a nice boost of energy, and we were finished in no time. Quick bite to eat, maybe another little nap (I’ll let you take a guess), and it was time to run. Tonight’s run was the official kick off the camp. Staying on top of a hill is great for awesome views BUT it also means flat running is hard to come by. Little over 6 miles of essentially 3 miles downhill, 3 miles uphill were completed and my legs felt awesome and fresh! More food, another protein shot which was something I started to look forward to everyday, and it was time to sleep, so we could do it all over again the next day.

Day 3: Kitt Peak ride – 103 mile ride with a 12 mile climb up to the top of Kitt Peak. Coach Jorge wasn’t riding today, so he served as my personal sag vehicle for at least the first 40 miles to the base of Kitt Peak! I can’t thank him enough. I headed out on the ride a bit later than everyone else, and alone so seeing Jorge every once in a while making sure I was still alive was awesome and made the 40ish mile ride to the bottom of Kitt Peak go by fast!

How can you not smile? 

I was holding my power steady anywere between 70-75% of my CP and legs were feeling great. As I was getting closer to Kitt Peak I wasn’t quite sure if I already crossed the border into Mexico or what as many border patrol vehicles were cruising by and even doing random car checks. The climb itself was legit! 12 miles of steady up and up and up. Not too steep, but steep enough that you had to work the entire time. The views were amazing, but at some point I just had to stop looking down because it was actually making me a bit uncomfortable. 

Not yet almost at the top! Aaah the amazing views :)

Jorge was again all over the mountain which was awesome and it made the ride up feel that much faster. He may have even played my pre-race song a few times which definitely cheered me up and may have caused some power spikes in otherwise very steady climb for me.

 Finally at the top :) 

The descend back down was probably one of the coldest descents I have ever done and even though I had a wind jacket on, I was fairly frozen by the time I got to the bottom. The ride back was again way faster than the ride out due to bit of a tailwind and just like that my first century of 2014 was in the books. By now you know what happened next. Time to eat, nap and run!  Oh and maybe a little bit of this too:

Day 4: Mt. Lemmon Ride – 65 mile ride and my favorite mountain to climb and descend! Too bad my legs were pretty shot from the 240 miles I had ridden in the last 4 days. Day 4 was all about head games for me. Starting a 27 mile climb (meaning no cruising on horizon but turning over the pedals for at least 2 hours 45 minutes uphill)  feeling as empty  and tight as my legs felt was a little scary. I usually give myself at least 30 min to get the legs going, but I knew today was going to be a struggle both mentally and physically. Good thing I had a wheel to follow, and one that wasn’t going to attack or try to drop me although every time Jorge got out of the saddle, I saw trouble ;). Coach Jorge literally dragged me up the 27 mile climb and then back down.  The name of the game was to just hang on and somehow I did. I don’t usually like to sit on anyone’s wheel but I was so glad his wheel was there for me. It was quite the opposite of how I climbed and attacked this ride last year on fresh legs, but we still made it to the top faster and again right in the 70-75% range. (Although it felt more like climbing at at least 90% of CP)

Thank god the way back is downhill! 

How does one stay warm at the top of Mt. Lemmon - hug the ground!  

I may be a little tired but still all smiles! 

The descend was the bomb! I don’t think there is a descend that can top this one and it’s probably the one and only reason I would consider climbing Mt. Lemmon twice in the same ride …  just so I can go back down.

 Bundled up for the descent! You bet I stayed super warm! This was taken less than half way down

More amazing views! See that tiny little road in the middle of the pic? :) 

I would also eat at least twice in the same day at Café LeBuzz just because the food is THAT good! Again – no pics of food because it was in my belly before I even thought about a picture!  Evening run proved to be very challenging, and the pace I was holding with ease just couple of days ago was now turning into work. Hello fatigue! Ended the day with another protein shot or maybe two and it was time to zzzzzzzzzzzzz’.

Day 5: Madeira Canyon Ride – 67 mile ride and one very deceiving climb that goes on forever (17ish miles) and ends with some steep fun! We probably had 15 mile flattish section with some smooth roads before we started to climb, and my legs felt relatively good! However as soon as we began to climb, my legs started to protest. Thankfully Jorge was there again to the rescue. This climb was even more mentally challenging than Mt. Lemmon yesterday for multiple reasons. First of all – my climbing legs were even more non – existent and holding that steady 70-75% was a huge struggle.  Secondly this climb never seemed to end (maybe because it really didn’t even look like a climb, and I was struggling to hold on to Jorge’s wheel from mile 1 of the climb). I was even fine with just looking at Madeira Canyon from the bottom. I had no interest of going uphill anymore! Don’t get me wrong, I love to ride my bike, but climbing isn’t exactly my strength. I am much better on flats, and usually false flats. 

This was actually on the way from Madeira but you get the picture - I was just repeating this in my head over and over again as we were climbing - don't let that wheel go, don't let that wheel go, don't let that wheel go! 

I was ready to get off my bike, sit on the side of the road and maybe even cry a little. I fought hard to hold on both physically and mentally, but eventually lost Jorge’s wheel once the pitch got steep towards the end. I was happy to hang on for as long as I did and yes, I made it to the top although barely!

 I think I am wondering how I made it to the top! 

Just staying warm, I promise ;) Oh and feed me please .... 1 gel, 2 gels and maybe a coke to bring me back from dead

Once we made it back down we had about a 20 mile flat section to get us back home, and lets just say my mega legs came back from the dead and I returned a little bit of the favor and offered my wheel to Jorge and few others to get us home faster J. I ended that ride on a super high which made dropping my bike off immediately post ride so it can be shipped back to meet me when I return from my work trip to Europe very hard! I wanted to stay longer so so SOOOOOO badly! By now, you know the routine! Post ride food, one more run, and camp was done for me as I had to catch a plane to  Germany bright and early on Sunday am. 

I really didn't want it to end. Sure, I was tired, but I loved every single minute of it, and I can't wait for another training camp. I love to race, but I love training just as much! Many valuable lessons were learned, and living the dream if only for 5 days was out of this world amazing! Thank you again to E3 Training Solutions and all of our sponsors for making the camp as successful and FUN as it was! Till next time ... 

2013 is in the books and dreams do come true!

2013 was nothing short of pretty spectacular, and although I have already set my eyes on what once used to be just my wildest dreams, later long terms, and now short term goals, I have to take a moment to reflect on the DREAM 2013! I'll try to keep it short, but you may want to grab a cup of coffee, glass of wine or a doughnut or two! ;) 

January:

I jumped both feet into "racing", and attempted to defend my 2012 NorthEast Multisport Indoor Time Trial in NH. 

 It started off all smiles

 And quickly turned into very painful “fun” J. I did defend my title and 2013 was off to a great start! 

February:

 Superbowl Sunday 5 miler - the day I only heard two words for the entire 5 miles "Push It" Good benchmark for what was to come

Not even “Nemo” storm that cancelled my 2^nd Indoor Time Trial of the year could stop the USPS from delivering  the message of the year!

"Welcome to the United States of America! It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to permanent resident status in the United States!"

Huge weight was lifted of my shoulders! The waiting game was over, and I could finally travel anywhere hassle free!

March:

I went to E3 training camp in Tuscon, AZ, and climbed Mt. Lemmon! 

 How can you NOT smile? Mt. Lemmon is the most awesome climb EVER, and I am wearing short sleeves in March (bonus) !

 I wasted no time, and was able to combine a work trip to Austria and Sweden with a quick stop in the Czech Republic! I also got to spend my birthday with my family for the first time in 13 years! There was cake too, but I think I ate it before I even thought about taking any pictures! Duh! 

I then closed out the month off with my first ever 5K (19:57) and started the podium streak. Yeah I know it took me this long to run a 5K! 

April:

The work travel continued and this time I got to visit and get a few runs in by the famous Niagara Falls 

 I fell in love with sushi, but my wallet didn't! Just call me "bottomless pit"! 

May: 

The travel has finally died down, training has picked up, and so did the size of my snacks! What can I say - I LOVE to eat and fuel my body! #feedthemachine

I finally showed myself that I can run, and broke my goal of running sub 1:30 1/2 marathon. I am not sure if it was me or Jorge who was more excited to see 1:27:39 on the clock! He trotted along side of me because why not just jog next to your athletes on a brisk May Sunday morning, right ?

I had also crashed the BTT training weekend at Waterville Valley and got in some great miles with lots of climbing!

June:

Let the race season begin!

 I kicked of my racing season in style with my personal best on the unforgiving Quassy 70.3 course, posting the fastest amateur female bike split,winning my Age Group and coming in 2nd overall. 

2 weeks later, I got to do it all over again, this time racing in the Elite division of a local 70.3, and winning my very first overall title! I had the fastest overall female bike split again, but more importantly I also set a new 1/2 marathon PR running of the bike, and brought home a little $ :)

And because June wasn't busy enough, I spent few days up in the mountains of VT having tons of fun with the crew. I also learned it's never too late to start on the jet fuel a.k.a Coca Cola because it may just bring you back from the "dead". 

July: 

I ventured into short course racing, and although I wasn't exactly able to shake the 70.3 watts and run pace,  the effort was there, and I still ended up with the fastest female bike split. My run left me hungry for more, but I did win my AG, and because this was the Northeast Regional Championship, I now have a "Northeast Olympic AG Regional Champion" title to my name :)

My youngest and biggest fan (Gracie) came to cheer me on! Gracie grew up watching me swim and so she thinks anyone wearing a swim suit in a magazine is me! I am her cover girl and the best swimmer in the world! (Little does she know)

August: 

My first A race of the season was on the horizon. Train hard, recover harder! 

I met my new buddy Brock, and spend some quality time with him and his parents on their boat! Summers in New England rock!

First A race of the season, another fastest female bike split this time only getting outdone by the speedy pro Melissa Hauschildt, 70.3 PR and a slot for the 2014 Mt. Tremblant World Championships. 1st mission accomplished! 

September:  

Back to training and eating, and training and eating some more. Between work and training, September was gone in a blink of an eye. 

 My goal was just to continue to get fitter ... 

                                                       And this is certainly very accurate!  

October:

October started off with our annual sales meeting which is always quiet the production, but standing on my feet all day and night although not exactly the best prep for a 70.3 proved to not bother me.  I was already in Florida, and I figured what better way to end a busy week than race one more 70.3 and hopefully in the heat to get ready for Cozumel IM.

Rev3 Anderson turned out awesome, and was a huge confidence booster going into my last training block before IM Cozumel.  Although I didn't exactly have a stellar swim and bike, I was again able to post the fastest overall female bike split, and start the run as the overall women's leader. That meant a lead biker, which was one of the coolest experiences yet. I didn't want her to fall of her bike because I was going too slow, so I had no choice but to keep the pace up, and as a result was finally able to run that sub 1:30 1/2 marathon off the bike! Finally reaching one of the goals I worked so hard for surprisingly leaving me hungry for more! ;) Winning the overall women's title and becoming the USAT Long Course National Champion was just an icing on the cake.

November:

The weather turned a bit chilly, and since I was trying to get ready for a hot and flat race that Cozumel IM can be, I spent a lot of time on the trainer.

My Saturday's were spent on my Fireball sweating away, because why not just say goodbye to the fan, and try to acclimate to the heat. Let's just say that spending 5 hours on the trainer helps to build some serious mental toughness. I can't say  I may have shed a tear or two a few times because I was being a baby and just didn't want to do it anymore!

I was creating pools of sweat in my shoes so I even tried to use sweatbands on my ankles, but had no luck. At least I was styling, right? Riiiiight? ;)   

Laundry became almost a daily chore (This is the damage after 5 hours)

Fuel for 5 hours on the bike

December:

December couldn't come fast enough. THE race was finally here.

No details needed and you can read all about my race on this blog, but Cozumel was a blast, and it all just came together. It was no by no means perfect, but that's what keeps me coming back for more! This will always be my first overall IM win. :)

I even made it into the czech media a few times, and am very honored to make the list of "Best of Czech Triathletes"  on the international scene in 2013 by E Triatlon. 

http://www.etriatlon.cz/triatlon/37114_best_of_v_podani_ceskych_zavodniku.html

Being mentioned as part of such accomplished field of professional triathletes  who have competed and placed at the Olympics, World and European Championships and are winning races or race series at the pro level whether it be ITU, WTC, or Rev3 feels great and I am very honored!.

Having such an awesome season, and adding the USAT "Northeast Olympic AG Regional Champion" , USAT "Long Course National Champion" titles to my name, along with a couple of overall amateur wins all in the same season doesn't happen overnight. Hard work, dedication and the will to succeed are just a few ingredients that helped me to get to where I am today. No one believed in me more than my family/friends who put up with my crazy/hectic schedule, and of course the whole E3 Training Solutions crew and my coaches Jorge Martinez, and Karen Vasso.  Everyone mentioned above should really be standing on every podium with me and simple THANK YOU just isn’t enough. Thank you ALL! 

Topping 2013 won't be easy, but my dream season has shockingly left me hungry for more. There are no secrets in my world, and 2014 is the year that I plan on conquering the world! ;) Mt. Tremblant 70.3 World Championship and Kona … I am coming for you! :)