A day in the mouth – Part 1

There have recently been a few articles about what pro triathletes eat on daily basis.  I like many of you enjoy reading such articles and/or blogs and I for one reason or another felt the need to share what “I” as an elite level age grouper consume on daily basis.

For one, I want people to know that I that the reason I am thin, is NOT because I do not eat or deprive myself of food but rather the level at which I train, and also because of my genetics!  I actually love food, and I love to eat – just ask any of my friends.  

I am fit and strong, and I do NOT starve myself. I eat to fuel my body to perform its best day in and day out, and just because you won’t find me eating McDonalds every day or drinking beer or wine every night, it doesn’t mean I don’t eat. (Confession - I am not a beer/wine drinker, and never was. The reason I don’t drink is not because I am afraid it will slow me down, but because I just don’t enjoy the taste! You may however see me consuming way more bread than you ever thought was possible. Why? Because I love it! )

For seconds, I actually really dislike the word “diet”. I am firmly behind the “Everything in moderation” approach. Not giving body what it’s asking for over and over again, will only make you miserable and such approach is simply not sustainable most likely resulting in severe weight fluctuations.

Yes – I am skinny; Yes – I have low body fat; Yes – People still talk about me behind my back (See it doesn’ t matter what shape you are, people will always talk), but I am OK with it. I am comfortable in my own skin, and that is KEY! Yes – I am careful about what I put in my body but I love food, and Yes – I EAT (a lot)!   Food/nutrition is a big part of my training and racing!

I adjust my calorie intake up and down slightly depending on how many hours per week I train, but here is a peak into what I end up consuming on most days during my typical training week of roughly around 16 hours. I picked a random Tuesday which is representative of every other day during the week even when the training may vary slightly. 

6:00 am:  Banana  (8oz of water)

6:30 am: 2500-3500y swim (20 oz Water)

8:45 am: Bowl of oatmeal with a scoop of Chocolate protein powder mixed in to aid in muscle recovery and, cup of fresh fruit (I prefer fresh strawberries/blueberries or blackberries) as berries tend to be lower in sugar vs. other fruits, and most importantly I love berries! I also add a scoop of Coarsely Ground Flaxseed that are rich in Omega 3s and also help with decreasing cortisol levels as well as cholesterol and blood sugar levels.  (I may sometimes add an egg white or two for more protein too) Thank you InsideTracker for helping me figure out what is right for ME! (Blood don't lie) 

11:00 am: Snack. I want this snack to fill me up, but also be light enough so that I can either have a quality short run around lunch time or good SMART session to loosen up the body.  I usually go for Brown Rice Rice cakes (Lightly Salted) with Skippy Natural Peanut butter and sometimes I also add a banana. (There may also be just an extra spoon of peanut butter because I am just a little addicted ;) )

 You may have to tilt your head but I just cant' get this photo to rotate! 

 12:45 pm: 30 min super ez run to loosen up the legs, after the long weekend of training OR SMART session/SS also knows as some quality time spent with foam roller, lacrosse balls, theracane and bands for a good stretch.

1:45 pm:  Lunch. My go to is a sandwich consisting of bread of course (I absolutely LOVE bread and could live of just bread and butter if I had to), Applegate’s all organic natural turkey or chicken breast, mozzarella or provolone cheese, little bit of hummus (my favorite is the  Sabra roasted pine nut), ¼ to ½ of fresh avocado, and I also add a boiled egg white for little extra protein. I then either have a baked potato (regular or sweet) cut up and fried in a little bit of olive oil, or when lazy, I reach for the “Original Green Pea Baked Crisps” my new favorite for a little added crunch pictured here! And finally I always have an apple and can’t forget to hydrate so another 20oz of water. 

4:30pm:  Afternoon snack. My afternoon snack usually consists of a cup of white greek yogurt with cup of fruit and cup of Nature’s Path Organic Coconut Chia Granola! Another great combination of protein, carbs, and fat to fuel the body for the evening workout.

I usually get home around 6 or 6:30 and on my way home (I spend way too much time in my car) I may snack on hand full of almonds.

9 times out of 10 take a quick power nap. By 7:00 I am on the bike for the hardest session of the day so it is really important I fuel well all day!

7:00 pm – 8:00 pm Bike Interval Workout. Although only 1 hour workout, this one packs a punch and works up the appetite. It’s usually something fun like 6 x 4 min intervals with 45 sec rest at 105% of your critical power with the last one hopefully higher and pretty much all out at that point. Depending on how I feel I may either eat a PowerBar Gel right before the workout, and I always have 2 bottles of fluids – 1 with water only, and the other with 2 scoops of Perform to keep the energy high and the legs moving. 

8:30pm:  Dinner. Since this is a late dinner night, I try to keep the dinner on the lighter side but still packed with calories.

Not your average salad

Mix of sweet/regular potatoes

 It’s not just your average salad, and my go to few nights a week for sure. Salad consists of: Mixed greens, kale, shaved carrots, cucumber, strawberries/blueberries (sometimes sliced apple), avocado, walnuts or shaved almonds, feta cheese, ½ large baked potato + ½ large sweet potato cut up and fried in olive oil, and for protein I usually mix it up with either salmon burgers, tuna fish (pictured above), grilled chicken breast or steak depending on what I am craving that night. (I may need to invest in “oversized” plates because I usually have a hard time fitting all one, but definitely not in my belly)

There is always bread on the side (I prefer fresh baguette if available) and I also like to have a piece or two of three or 4 of dark chocolate.

I try not to eat the whole thing, but I can ;) 

Mmmmm dark chocolate - especially when it's from your homeland!

10:30 pm – 11:00 – Protein Shot – 8oz of Chocolate or Regular Coconut Milk with a scoop of chocolate protein powder (20g of protein) to aid in muscle recovery so that I can do it all over again the next day. Unfortunately I usually can't wait to guzzle it down, and always forget to take a photo! 

At the end of the day, I am looking at anywhere around 3300 – 3500 calories coming from real food and that number goes up as my training hours go up as well.

I end up eating very similar on most days during the week. When I am a bit more on the go, I tend to reach for easier to carry snacks, and my new favorite pre-training snack are the Bobo bars! If I have to drive to a workout and then have a drive home, a protein packed snack I tend to reach for are the Betty Lou’s protein balls! You can get both at a great price through one of my sponsors RacePak! If you haven’t checked them out, give them a try!   

I don't leave the house without snacks (EVER!)

I hope this showed you that food is very important part of any endurance athlete, and is not bad for you! We all have our guilty pleasures, and there is no need to go crazy to go fast. Eat up folks because skinny doesn’t mean fast! Fit, strong AND healthy means fast!

Next up Part 2 – which will give you an insight into what I eat during the weekend when the training hours are longer, and there may not be as much time for real food, and Part 3 – how I fuel my body on and around race day. 

Patriot 70.3 Three-peat Race Report

This was my 3^rd year in a row racing the local Patriot 70.3, and I had two goals going into it. One was to win the overall title, and two – to finally break the 4:30h barrier. I have consistently been getting closer and closer and although this was my 2^nd half ironman in just two weeks, I knew Patriot is a fast course, and I had the tools to make it happen.

Racing local is always fun, and especially fun when majority of your teammates are also racing! Seeing so many familiar faces on race morning makes the time go by very fast, and before I knew it, it was time to get in the water.

THE SWIM: 34:31

I started in the elite wave which only consisted of maybe 12 people. My swim is still not where I would like it to be but I keep chipping away at it and getting better. I knew there were a few swimmers that I wanted to keep up with and hopefully let them pull me around the course, but that went out the window very quickly. I started off swimming hard, trying to grab the feet I wanted but unfortunately those feet were drifting left, while I was drifting right and I just couldn’t quite latch on.  No problem –plan B – swim your own swim, keep the effort moderate, and swim STRAIGHT! I did a good job of that on the way out to the first turn buoy but then it happened!  I thought I made the 90 degree turn but apparently I didn’t and just kept on swimming straight and completely away from the course. I know, it doesn’t make any sense, and I can’t quite explain what happened either. I simply made a mistake that cost me at least 2 minutes.  Czech it out. 

Pay attention to the top right corner! 

I sighted and even though I couldn’t see any buoys I somehow just  reasoned to myself that maybe the buoys were hiding and I just couldn’t see them “yet” What a dumb idea! Eventually I started to panic a little because regardless of where I looked I still couldn’t see the buoys or any people for that matter! Saved by the kayak who eventually ended up catching me and showing me the way! The buoy line was so far left that it wasn’t even funny! Live and learn – I can guarantee you it will NOT happen next time.

I was way frustrated about the distance I just added on, and probably over sighted on the way back to make sure  I didn’t get lost again! I literally thought my swim time was going to be at least 40 min, so when I saw 34:xx  on the clock, I felt a little better but still disappointed! 

 Loving my new Helix! 

Loving my new Castelli Stealth Top 

T1: 1:43

Wetsuit off, potato/rice cakes in my pockets and out.

THE BIKE: 2:21:57 (3^rd fastest bike split including men)

Frustrated from the swim, I got on the bike and started to push the pace a bit. My legs felt good, and even though I was at the higher end of where I wanted to be power wise, I just kept powering through. This is a two loop, fairly flat course with no major climbs, but with a bit of turns that can snap your rhythm if you let it. It’s also a very lonely course, but that’s what happens when you are racing off the front. I kept my head down, stayed aero, stuck to my nutrition plan and just kept pushing on. 

Staying aero was the name of the game 

2^nd loop was a bit more crowded and I even got to see my athlete Jerome and Ruthanne both crushing their first 70.3s. Unfortunately when going over a set of railroad tracks on the 2^nd loop, I managed to hit them just right and both of my bottles (1 – Gatorade, 1 – water) ejected at least 12 miles from the next aid station and I was left without any fluids. I had a good rhythm going so I decided to go on without picking up my bottles (big mistake).  My power continued to stay right where it was on the first loop, but as I kept moving forward I realized that fueling without any sort of fluids for so long is far less than ideal. I managed to get down the extra potato/rice cake I had, but that was it. When I finally made it to the aid station around mile 46 -48, I grabbed water and set out to catch up on the lost time. Given my extraordinary sweat abilities, there just wasn’t enough time to catch up, and although I managed to get in couple gels in the span of 20ish minutes (probably too much too soon), the damage was done.  To make things even more interesting, I also managed to hit/get hit by a thankfully very slow moving SUV. I was taking a 90 degree left hand turn, and the car was coming from the left hand side going straight through the intersection. I am an aggressive rider but I always watch the cops to make sure they stop traffic, and I could tell this guy wasn’t sure. In his defense, he probably didn’t realize how much faster I was coming through versus the people he was used to waving through for the last half an hour, but it was definitely scary.  I was already leaning left into the turn, with my left knee out and saw he wasn’t stopping. I tried to correct where I was going but not very successfully and I ended up slamming into his right front bumper/hood/light. Thankfully, we both managed to slow down enough that although the impact was a bit loud, I was able to leave the accident with only a few bruises and my bike was untouched since my left calf/quad took most of the impact. The impact knocked me over to the other side, but I managed to unclip and stay on my feet. I was so mad at the moment, that I immediately got back on my bike, put my head down and rode away. (Probably should have checked myself and my bike first, but I figured I'll do that while moving forward). The cop wanted me to pull over, but since I felt fine, I just got back on my bike and powered toward T2. I dropped my power a little bit after that incident but was able to keep my head in the game and re-focus.

All business here 

Thumbs up! 

T2: 2:14

This is one thing that I wish was changed as the dismount line is VERY far from the bike racks and you have to run on a grassy area with your bike for a very long time. This year even longer than years past. Since I leave my shoes on the pedals as I dismount the bike, my shoes are always a grassy/muddy/dirt filled mess when we are re-united post race.  

THE RUN: 1:33:37

I had high hopes and confidence for this run given my run training and my race 2 weeks ago at Quassy, but it became apparent that the events of the day (mostly consuming ½ of the fluids I normally would in a 70.3) were going to get the best of me. My HR was super high right of the bat, and no matter how hard I tried, it wasn’t going anywhere. I was taking in water and coke essentially every mile, but I just had very limited energy. Every time I tried to pick up the pace, I ended up going slower rather than faster! Since I was the 1^st female, and 3^rd overall human on the run course, it was also very very very lonely. Noone caught me, but I also had noone in my sight to catch. Good thing I got to see my coach every once in a while on his bike because he at least kept me pushing even if it didn’t result in the time we both knew I could run.  

Focused and ready but the energy just wasn't there 

I had long ignored my watch, because I knew that neither one of my pre-race goals whether it be running at least a 1:28 half marathon nor breaking that 4:30 70.3 barrier would happen.

It was about taking it one mile at a time and giving it all I had on the day. I crossed the line with my new course 70.3 PR (3:30 faster than last year), new 70.3 PR of 4:34:01 and a new PR of not peeing once in a 70.3 – Can you say “dehydrated”?

That was a painful run 

Hard to be disappointed with winning with a new 70.3 PR and I am not, but I know there is much more where that came from, and so now I go back to training, because by Timberman 70.3 in August, 4:30 won't stand a chance!

Oh that banner - that heavy banner! 

Three-peat baby! 

Thank you to all my sponsors – Landrys bicycles for always being there when I need something;  Trek for one speedy machine, PowerTap for the watts;  BlueSeventy for the most comfortable and fastest wetsuit that I love so much I decided to swim a bit extra in; PowerBar for keeping me fueled; EC3D for helping me recover day in/day out; RacePak for all the healthy snacks to keep me fueled every day;  Beet It for that little extra kick;  and of course Coach Jorge for coming up with the master plan to help me continue to get faster year after year, and all of YOU who either came out to support or followed from the comfort of your own home. 

Challenge Quassy and the official beginning of 2015 – The Year of Fearless

I couldn’t wait to race. It’s been a long time since IM Cozumel and after I properly and fully recovered after doing 2 IM’s in 6 weeks (I took 4 full weeks of no swim/bike or run without much complaining but I did make sure I was at least foam rolling, stretching etc.), I dove into offseason training with a swim/run focus. I spent a lot of time in the pool, and on the treadmill thanks to the Boston winter we had this year. I used to call the treadmill the “dreadmill”, but I embraced it and made the best of it. Hill repeats, speed work, you name it, I did it. It not only helped me physically, but also mentally. I actually have grown to really like it. There was no hiding from a particular pace. The choice was always mine – either keep the feet moving, reduce the speed or the incline or fall off. I am surprised the treadmill still works because I have definitely left my fair share of sweat puddles behind more than just once.

Once the weather started to get better, I took my fun outside, and to the track. I have done some track work before but on my own, and that’s just not the same as when you are being pushed by others.  If you are local and want come run in circles with me; we (E3 Training Solutions team) meet at the Brendan Grant Memorial Track in Belmont, MA at 6:30 Wednesday at 6:30pm. All levels are welcomed and the more the merrier. It’s fun – I promise! 

 I also swam quite a bit, and a lot faster than ever before. This winter I swam the best 100, 200 and 500 TTs and I can’t wait to translate that speed into open water now that I can finally get in without turning into an icicle in 2 seconds.

I have yet to mention what mega legs have been up to – yes – it’s no secret that the bike is my big strength. I may have not spent that much time on my Fireball but when I did, it was well worth it. Quality over quality approach for this girl. My big winter focus was to first increase my 5 minute power which to my surprise, I absolutely demolished.  I guess those all out, where is the puke bucket intervals paid off. 20 minute power – I am coming after you next! Living up to “mega legs” nickname doesn't come easy. 

But anyways, let’s fast forward to this past weekend. I couldn’t wait to toe the line. This was my 4^th time racing on this course although for the first time under the Challenge umbrella, and I have to say Challenge put on a GREAT race! I went into Quassy wanting to test that swim/run combo and more importantly I wanted to stay in the moment throughout the day and be fearless. Fearless from the beginning to the end, fearless when it hurts, fearless when things get tough.

THE SWIM: 34:22 (4^th AG, 14^th overall female)

Although my official time is in the 34s, I swam more of a high 32 or low 33 as the timing mat wasn’t located right as you came out of the water. Regardless of time, and given my lack of open water practice this season (this was my 3^rd time in open water in 2015), I felt great! It was a very cold morning so I made sure to get in a descent warm up. That definitely helped me with the swim start, because my feet/hands and face were already frozen so when I ran in, the water temperature didn’t bother me. I lined up in the 2^nd row behind a fairly big guy who was swimming as part of a relay team so I assumed he would be a good swimmer. I was able to draft his hip, as well as some feet in front of me all the way to the first turn buoy, when things got a bit tougher with the sun directly in our faces. It was impossible to see any buoys until you were practically on top of them, so I just followed the caps, and bubbles in front of me. Lucky for me, I ended up swimming a fairly straight line with the exception of having to get around a few slower swimmers every now and then from the previous waves.  Once we made the final turn for the swim exit, visibility came back and I was able to swim on the buoy line the entire time. I never once wondered when the swim would end, and the buoys kept coming up quick! My arms/legs felt great, and if it wasn’t for the little extra buoyance, I wouldn’t even know I was wearing a wetsuit! The BlueSeventy Helix is THAT comfortable! I got out of the water feeling absolutely awesome, and ready to ride!  

THE BIKE: 2:40:25 (Fastest Female Bike Split by 7 min, 18^th fastest including all men)

Getting on my bike, I felt great but due to the cooler temps it took a while to warm up. I was definitely very cold for a better part of the first 10 miles of the bike, and my quads felt like two frozen blocks of ice, but I don’t think it really affected my power. I felt great, and just put my head down and went to work. The road was quite congested in spots as my wave was the 2^nd to last one and all male waves went ahead of us, but fortunately I didn’t run into too many issues given the nature of the hilly terrain.  I am quite used to screaming “On your left” and Sunday was no different.  Even though I was a bit cautious on some of the descents, I still topped off at 48.72 mph! No, I didn’t carry any extra bricks with me on those descents  – just potato/rice cakes /PowerBar gels to keep me fueled and one kick ass and comfortable bike fit! Aerodynamics matter – shocking, I know! 

I felt strong the entire ride (we are not going to talk about the fact that I somehow confused AP with NP and as a result rode a bunch of watts lower than what the plan was) I even pushed the pace a bit more in the last 10-15 miles to hopefully put more extra into my competition. My overall power was still very good and very close to my best 70.3 race power output ever, but little did I know, I really needed to drop the hammer (more on that later)  

T2: 0:52

What I didn’t realize until I started to take my feet out of my shoes before dismounting the bike is  just how frozen my toes were from the ride even though I wore toe warmers. I couldn’t feel anything at all, which made for an interesting flying dismount but I made it safe and sound, and sorry T2 crowd; I didn’t provide quite the entertainment I would have had I not made it ;) Helmet off, socks and shoes on and off I went.  

THE RUN: 1:33:58 (5^th overall fastest female run, and a 4 min PR on a harder than before run course - new for 2015)

I really couldn't be happier with the way I executed this run.  I have been running really well in training, but I would lie if this course didn't intimidate me a bit. Trying to run a certain pace (they don’t call it the “Beast of the East” for nothing) on this course is near impossible, and so I set out to go by HR in the initial stages of the run. The goal was to run steady for 7-9 miles, and then just empty the tank. Advice/instruction is one thing, but execution is another. I knew the only way to run well on this course is to not be scared, stay in the moment & be “fearless”.  Paying attention to pace really wouldn't do me any good.

Since I was the first female on the run course (no pro race took place), I had my own lead biker! Last time I had one was at then Rev3 South Anderson where I ended up running my best 13.1 off the bike with a 1:29 split! I love lead bikers! I was off to a good start.  Well except that my feet were two blocks of ice, but mind over matter come mile 3, I was good to go. I left T1 behind a few men and one by one caught and passed them all but 1 who eventually pulled a little bit away from me. I was working, but I was in control, moving well, and keeping my HR around where I wanted to be. I learned I had a 10 min lead on the 2^nd female at the start of the run. I have NEVER had such a great cushion, but little did I know it wasn’t going to be enough.

Come mile 6, my coach caught up to me on the bike and told me my lead is down to 4 minutes (From 10 min to 4 minutes in 6 miles). He has been known to tell me in the past that people are closer than they really are to make me push harder and so I assumed just that, and actually laughed a bit on the inside about his a bit ridiculous math. I had just dropped a couple of sub 7 min miles, and this girl is taking 1 minute per mile away from me? Yeah, right …. Funny coach, funny! Mirinda Carfrae isn’t racing is she?  I kept running, focusing on one mile at a time. 

I was running hard, but still in control and right where I wanted to be. When I got to mile 7.5ish (for those that have done the course, you then take a left hand turn and go down a longish hill – same hill that you have to go back up toward the finish line later), and at that time coach Jorge caught me again to tell me my lead was down to 2 minutes. I stopped internalizing my thoughts, and just yelled out – are you serious? Hoping for no, just kidding – I heard yes – I am serious, and you better run as hard as you can because she is only 2 min away and she is going to catch you.

Game on. I literally threw myself down the hill, running sub 6 min pace and absolutely trashing my quads – at mile 7.5. 

About to throw myself down the hill and drop my running companion in the process 

My old self would have thought ahead and wondered how I will get through the next 5.5 miles, but not anymore! “Fearless” stepped in, and I stayed in the moment. At this point I was running hard and continued to take one mile at a time. I saw a low 6:30s mile go by and thought nothing of it. The steepest hills on the course were yet to come and I didn’t care, I just kept running and before I knew it, I had caught that one last guy that ran away from me in the early stages of the run. I caught him, and I passed him – on a 14% grade uphill – I used to suck at uphill running. Walking would have probably been faster, but I kept moving even though I really wanted to stop (bad). I crested that hill, passed an aid station and not shortly after that (probably mile 9.5 – 10) heard the volunteers telling the 2^nd female that the 1^st female (me) is right there! I am not going to lie – I hated that but at the same time, I was giving it my all. Jodie (the eventual winner) had passed me like I was standing. I tried really hard to keep up, even running another 6:30 mile but even at that pace she was still pulling away from me. Not long after that she was out of my sights, and I just had one more little hill to climb before the finish line.

Losing such a large lead in 13.1 miles when running well (for me) sucks big time, but now knowing the caliber of a runner that Jodie is (she ran 1:21 and has met the A standard (2:37) for the US marathon trials in February – her PB in marathon is 2:34 – I would need a bike for that ;)), I have nothing to be ashamed of. She was the better triathlete on the day, beating me by 2 minutes in her first ever triathlon. Watch out for this girl, because she has a bright future ahead! But so do I because I am not a different racer and there is more to come where that came from.

I didn’t end up on the top step of the overall podium this time, but I am walking away with a ton of positives & confidence,ready to take on the next challenge as I continue to prep and focus on IM Kona this October.  

Patriot 70.3 – a great local race organized by SunMultisport is up next!   

OVERALL TIME: 4:51:36 (2^nd Overall Female) 

Rear-view Mirror a.k.a look back on 2014

2014 was supposed to be the year I ruled the world. The female amateur tri world of the long distance anyways. I was entering the finish line of the first long term essentially 4 year approach/process that we (me and coach Jorge) took to get me to where I wanted to be - the double 70.3 and 140.6 amateur champion. I guess they were right when they said that nothing happens overnight!

The progression went something like this (CZECH is for check):

• 2010 – Race my first few 70.3’s and qualify/and don’t come dead last at 70.3 World’s – CZECH

• 2011 – Continue to focus on the 70.3 distance, qualify for 70.3 Worlds again but this time let’s see how competitive I can be there – CZECH

• 2012 – Win my AG at all 70.3’s with a main focus of qualifying for Kona at Buffalo Springs (One of the few 70.3 Kona qualifiers left at the time) – CZECH. I did my first ironman (1^st marathon) and got absolutely hooked on Kona! I was there for the experience (secretly hoping I would do well of course) - CZECH

• 2013 – One year closer to the world domination, but I knew I had my work cut out for me, and needed at least 2 years to get there. No WC races in 2013, but goal was to start winning 70.3s and 140.6 overall /qualify for both world championship events a year ahead of time –CZECH

• 2014 – Double 70.3/140.6 Amateur World Champion - FAIL

But back to 2014.

• 2014 was the year when my dreams became attainable goals.

• 2014 was the year, I realized why I couldn’t compete at this level back in 2011, or 2012 – I have always loved the process – you know the day in/day out stuff – but it was when all the "why’s" started to fall into places.

• 2014 showed me that I am capable of more than I ever thought I would be, and most importantly that I am not done yet – the potential is there! I know it and feel it.

• It would be easy to label 2014 as a disappointment of a year because I didn’t quite reach the top, but looking back in the review mirror, 2014 was the greatest learning experience that I could have ever given myself. I showed up at both Mt. Tremblant and Kona ready to compete and confident that I had what it takes to win. I came close and just off the age group podium in both races (6^th AG, 6^th overall in Mt. Tremblant; 6^th AG,17^th amateur) , but close isn’t winning. Any other year, I would have been extremely happy with those placings at that level, but not in 2014. Had I been in any other age group, I would have been the 70.3 World Champion, or won the Umeke Bowl but I wasn’t. (Harsh reality) I knew I had what it took to win, but I just wasn’t able to put it all together when it counted the most and that hurt.  Without going into details (Mt. Tremblant Race Report and Kona Race Report), I made choices in key points of each race, that I would want to take back, but such is racing. There were 5 and 16 faster girls than me on those two days, and they deserve all the credit. I raced my heart out, and I failed. I cried my eyes out and my heart hurt, but I learned, and that is KEY!

• 2014 uncovered weaknesses I didn't know I had, and I will now be stronger for those.  

• 2014 was the end of the new beginning – No, I am not turning pro, and no I am not changing my goals. I am also not going to go and train 30-40 hours every single week because that is what someone else that beat me does. It’s not always about just more,rather it’s about the overall process (long and short term), the evolution, and growth. It’s about “ME”, about what “I” need to do to make my dreams a reality. 2014 showed me and my coach what needs to happen next and that’s worth more than winning.

2015 is the year of “FEARLESS”. “FEARLESS” not just physically, but more importantly“FEARLESS” mentally.  Although I do not have plans of racing the 70.3 World Champs in Austria so my double world champ attempt will not happen again (unless someone wants to sponsor me/buy me more vacation days at work), I have already qualified for Kona (Cozumel Race Report) and have my eyes on the prize "MISSION UMEKE"

As always THANK YOU to my family/friends and sponsors for supporting my (to most - crazy; to me - absolutely normal) dreams! 2015 is going to be a blast! 

Two Ironman's in 7 weeks

I take my hat off to the serial IM racers out there, because that is no easy feat.  And if that is something that any of you out there are even entertaining, please make sure that your training has physically and mentally prepared you for the “battle”, because a battle it is. 

But let’s back up a bit. My 2014 season goal was to win the age group amateur title in Kona (Kona Race Report), and IM Cozumel was not on the original schedule. I failed to make that happen, and finished 6^th. 6^th in the world is nothing to be ashamed of, but I was disappointed. I made certain choices during the race, I wanted to get back but such is racing. It was only few hours after I crossed that finish line an Alii’ Drive that I knew I had to get back to Kona in 2015. And that is when IM Cozumel had made its way to the forefront of my mind. My choices were limited, and I was either going to take a big risk and enter an uncharted territory of following up an Ironman with another Ironman in 7 short weeks (IM Cozumel), or I was going to spend the winter riding my bike on the indoor trainer with the heater on full blast, and no fan to try to acclimate to the heat of Texas next May.  I took about 10 days completely off post Kona and then slowly got back into it. After couple of weeks training, the decision was made. 

 One thing that was very clear to me from day 1 post Kona, I was mentally ready to give it a go! I had also felt great physically, and had some great training sessions which indicated I was fully recovered but not ever  following an Ironman race with anything but offseason had left me with some doubt. I was however more confident than doubtful that this was the right decision and all signs were giving me the green light! I paid more attention to how I actually felt during every single training session and adjusted accordingly when necessary. I paid attention to every little detail more than I ever had (recovery/massage/ART/nutrition/hydration), because I was never at any point going to sacrifice my health. And even if I did, my coach wasn’t going to let me.

I left home bright and early on Thanksgiving Thursday, and finally arrived on the island that evening. The last part of the trip involved one rocky (understatement of the year) ferry ride from Playa del Carmen to Cozumel which really started off my “mind over matter” IM Cozumel experience.  The wind was so strong, I am surprised we didn’t reenact Titanic. I am still not sure how I didn’t throw up. When I finally got off the ferry 40 minutes later, I almost blew away!  Bring it wind, bring it!

Friday, and Saturday were spent building the bike (Huge Thank you goes out to Brian Hughes who pretty much put it together for me in record time), registering, and just making sure all systems were go.  I may have still been carrying some residual “off” feeling from the 40 min rollercoaster ride (I mean ferry ride), but it was easy to shove to the back of my mind. 

Seen on one of my two short pre-race rides

Fireball 2.0 ready for its sleepover

Race morning, I was nervous but confident. I was nervous because, I have NEVER backed up an Ironman race with another race, never mind another Ironman. I have always gone straight into the offseason. I was nervous because no matter how hard you train, or how confident you are, Ironman is a very long day where things that are out of your control can go wrong! I was nervous because I didn’t want those 4 or 5 hour long indoor trainer rides in 80 degree temperature, 75% humidity with no fan, followed by long freezing runs go to waste. I was nervous because I really wanted to make the time away from home worth it, and the only thing that was going to make it worth it for me was to come home with that Kona ticket!  

I was confident, because not only did I train hard all year. I was confident because I had some great long post Kona training sessions that proved to me that I was more than recovered from Hawaii! I was confident because I felt very mentally strong. I was confident because I had a new sense of focus that was a direct result of my “failure” in Kona. I was confident and eager to show, I have learned from my mistakes and I just couldn't wait to see what the day would bring. 

Just missing the potatoes in this set up

 

With Cozumel being a two transition race (T1 and T2 are in separate locations), and the swim start being yet another 2.4 miles away from T1, logistics are a bit of nightmare but race organizers did a great job!  Can you say women’s and men’s specific porta pottys? Probably the one and only place with the mens lines being longer than women’s.  Huge plus on race morning!

 

THE SWIM:  1:04:20 (21st AG, 94th female overall)

 

Point to point straight shot, warm, super clear beautiful swim complete with occasional jelly fish stings. For the first time this race also featured a wave start, and although I wasn’t a fan at first, it turned out to be the best thing EVER. Some of the guys may think otherwise, but from a selfish perspective of having a clean race for the amateur females, I would like to think it was the best wave distribution ever!  

 

The current itself wasn’t as strong as one would think based on how it was advertised (IM Chattanooga by far wins that crown), and I honestly didn’t even feel it until the end of the race.I swam relaxed, strong, pretty straight and mostly alone the entire time. As a result, I would sight more often than I normally would to avoid zigging and zagging. I had to do some navigating around the slower swimmers, but I was able to find my rhythm early on and stick with it.

Before I knew it, I was climbing up the stairs, and running down towards T1. 

 

 

T1: 4:29

 

I moved as fast as possible and didn’t really have any hick ups. Unless of course you count the mouth full of “who knows what” that came up out of nowhere as I was running out of the changing tent towards my bike as one.  For a moment I thought that this may make the rest of the race quite interesting, but I quickly shrugged it off and accounted it to couple of the gulps of salt water I took in by accident during the swim. 

 

THE BIKE: 5:14:46 (1st AG, fastest female amateur bike split by 15 minutes, and 2nd including pro's)

 

Having done this race last year, I was ready for a few things. The normal Cozumel conditions consisting of a strong head/cross/tail wind, the sun, the rain and huge draft packs! I was mentally ready to handle it all!  In the days leading up to the race, these signs were plastered absolutely everywhere, so I really couldn’t wait to see if they were actually going to be enforced! 

Among all places, found in the women's bathroom at registration/expo

 

I wasn’t a fan of the swim wave start, as I really feel mass starts are part of the true IM experience, but I also had a bad taste left in my mouth from Mt. Tremblant worlds and the short 3 min gap separating each wave, which was also the case here. However as I mentioned before, sending all females first with the exception of the 50+AG  males was probably the best thing that could have happened– at least for me. The draft packs/pelotons from last year were non-existent, and I pretty much had a clear road the entire time!  I did most of my passing in the first loop of the 3-loop course, and was able to keep my head down, and the pedal to the metal the entire time without any distractions.  I can’t speak to what happened behind me, but from where I was in the race, I saw the least amount of drafting if any at all. I can only wish every single race was like this! Kudos to race organizers for changing it up, and trying to make the race more legal hopefully for all of us.

My plan going into the race was conservative given the short little race I did just 7 weeks prior. Conservative meaning riding around 70-72%. I had mixed feelings about the plan with bike being my strength, but by race day I was 100% committed. Keeping these numbers slightly lower would hopefully mean a faster run split, which is something I have yet to be able to do in an IM but know  I can do.

 

With potato's in tow

 

I stuck to my numbers on the first 2 loops, and even had to hold myself back from going too hard. You can see my power file here (Bike Power File) Pedal to the metal the entire time except for coasting through aid stations, during pee breaks, and the twisty turns through town. 

Making my way through town 

 

Aero was the name of the game

 

I was following my slightly updated fueling plan, which was working like a charm, until the last 20 miles or so of the bike. Remember the little “incident” from T1? This time I was able to keep everything down, but just started to feel slightly nauseous. The thought of another bottle of Gatorade was making me sick, but guzzling down the water seemed to do the trick. The thought of how am I going to run a marathon feeling like this had most certainly entered my mind, but as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared! The power of positive thinking had returned in an instant. I had made the choice to back of power in the last 10 miles of the race, and tried to get this “nauseous” feeling under control. I was still moving fast, flying by whoever was in sight, and with the exception of Gatorade my nutrition was staying down. Another crisis averted.

 

113.5 miles later I was dismounting the bike and running into a very empty T2 ready to run.

 

T2: 1:23

 

The privilege of being in the T2 alone is lots of attention. Too bad I didn't enjoy it for long. I was out of there quick. Thank you volunteers! 

THE RUN: 3:33:46 (1st AG, 8th fastest amateur run) 

 

Going into the race, I really wanted to run well and I wanted to leave it all out there. Running out of T2 into the streets of Cozumel was awesome because the crowd support is absolutely unbelievable. However it also makes you run faster by default. I made that mistake last year and I most certainly did not want to repeat it. Enough with letting my pace drop into the 9 or 10 min paces – I can’t run that slow in training so I really didn’t want to do it in a race!

 

The sun was out and it was hot, but I was ready for that. The course on the first loop was very empty, which made me feel like one of the pro’s. I had the aid stations all to myself, and getting a ton of attention. Plenty of ice, water, coke (in this case pepsi), you name it they had it. I was able to stay right on pace and my targeted HR the entire first loop (8 miles), and was feeling GREAT! I also felt this great in Kona, until I didn’t. 

Mile 7ish - everything is better with a smile!

 

The goal was to keep the same pace for loop #2, but that all came to a halt quickly at mile 10. The “nauseous” feeling from the bike had returned, and my pace right along with my HR started to drop slowly but surely with each mile. I am fairly new to running with heart rate, but I have never watched my heart rate get lower and lower with each mile like it was happening here. To the contrary, given the conditions, I was pretty sure I may see my heart rate higher than I normally would have for my IM pace. I thankfully continued to be able to keep my nutrition down and just kept focusing on one mile at a time. I didn’t look ahead, I didn’t have the countdown going, I wasn’t hating life, I wasn’t wondering why I do this, and I wasn’t swearing of ironman like I have in every single one of my other IM races.

 

All my energy was going into keeping it together one mile at a time, and not letting my pace slip any further. The nauseous feeling would come and go but I was so focused on forward progress, that that became secondary. By mile 19 my legs really started to hurt, and my HR was lower than I have ever seen it.  It was that “hey, what do you want from us, we just did this 7 weeks ago” deal. It was now really mind over matter, but where before I would have slowed down and pondered the “why” am I doing this, or how many miles I left, I was able to stay in the moment, and keep pushing. 

You can see my Run File here and how I had to fight for every single mile after mile 10. 

 

Come mile 24, I started to pick up the pace, and come the last 1.2 I laid it all out. Every fiber in my body was quite possibly screaming to stop, but for the first time in an IM, my head didn’t get in the way. 

Mile 25/26 - focusing on bringing it home 

Rounding the last corner toward the finish line

Steps away from the finish line and the smile is back

 I couldn't be happier with my day. Mission Accomplished! 

 

The second I stopped, I realized the pain I was in, but I was quite possibly the happiest human alive on the entire island of Cozumel!

 

Ouch but oh so worth it! 

 

I still didn’t run as fast as I know I can and will, but I had mentally and physically put together the race I was looking for.

 

I got my Kona ticket, finished 1^st AG (30-34), 2^nd Overall Amateur, and 8^th Overall including a very descent professional field. I ran a marathon PR of 3:33:45, and broke 10 hours with an official time of 9:58:44. More importantly I stayed focused and in the moment every single second of this race not once doubting or figuring out "why". 

 

With that my 2014 is in the books, and although I had failed to reach a few goals of mine, I had learned and grown more than ever, which is something that wouldn't have happened had I not come short. 

 

I can't say enough to my supporters near, and far and my sponsors that allow me to chase my dreams. In no particular order: Landry's Bicycle, PowerBar, E3 Training, EC3D Sports, BlueSeventy, Castelli, RacePak, Beet It. THANK YOU! 

And now, it's offseason time and time to put together the 2015 Race Schedule which will be highlighted with my 3rd IM Kona World Championships next October.