Finding Aloha: Easing into 2018

Somehow it's February.  "They say" that as you get older, time seems to go by faster because it's a shorter percentage of your life span.  When you're 5 years old a year is 20% of your lifetime, and it seems like forever for Christmas to arrive.  When you're 41... well, each year just seems to slip by. 

I (mistakenly) thought that by going part time I would have MORE time.  In reality I have the same amount of time and more space to become less efficient with my time.  Isn't it funny how the more stuff you have on your plate, the easier it is to cram it all in?  You are efficient with your time because you have to be.  *sigh*

I truly enjoyed my off season and took advantage of the extra time to spend with H and DB, and getting ahead of tax season at Cadence.  And by the time it was time to train again, I was chomping at the bit.  We started incorporating strength training right away which was definitely lacking from my schedule over the last year. 

I finished off 2017 with a long weekend in Sedona with the #bff.  We drank a lot of coffee, did a little hiking, talked about life and the book we're writing and plans for the future.  Despite my fear of heights H navigated me up the inconspicuous trail to the top of Cathedral Rock for sunrise.  She literally had to hold my hand on several occasions, not because I was going to fall, but because my mind convinced me I *could* fall.  Maybe this will be the next fear I work on in my mindfulness training...

Cathedral Rock:  worth the climb!

DB and I spent a quiet holiday season at home and for new year's eve, we joined a group of my Team HPB athletes for a 10k swim to finish out a 100k month that one of the girls was tackling in December.  She crushed it and we had a lot of fun on NYE, celebrating with a late lunch after our long swim.  

Colleen's 10k swim! #teamwork

January rolled in quickly and we found ourselves at Team HPB's first annual early season bike camp.  True to her word, Hillary had us ride easy over the 3 days racking up 300 miles and 20k ft of climbing, a good launching point to kick off training for the new race season.  Contrary to April training camp, where it's basically attack, attack, attack for 5 days... we eased into camp with a jog and a sprint swim, rolled up a new mountain each day, and by the end of the 4th day we found ourselves in better shape than when we arrived.  Feeling strong, refreshed and ready to train after the long off season.  We capped off the long weekend with a 10k swim, in true Team HPB fashion.  

Smash Dimond FTW!

Mt. Lemmon climb.

After camp I had a couple solid weeks of training then spend a few days at my favorite place:  The Grand Canyon.  Rach and I drove up on a Monday and after we checked in at the lodge, we stopped by the Phantom Ranch desk to see if there were any cancellations.  The attendant told us there were beds available in the women's dorm on Tuesday evening and we quickly signed up!  

Hitting the road to the GC!!

Our hiking plans changed to incorporate the overnight stay at Phantom (a GC must!!) and we stocked our backpacks in preparation for the next morning before having a quick bite to eat.  On Tuesday we got up early to be fed, caffeinated and on the trail shortly after sunrise.  

Plateau Point.  My heart is full.

We took Bright Angel Trail to Indian Garden where the Plateau Point Trail branches off and travels, mostly flat, for 1.5 miles out to an overlook where we had a break and a snack.  We set our meditation timers and sat for 10 minutes.  It was the most difficult 10 minute meditation I've ever had as I could hear the Colorado River far below me and I struggled to keep my eyes closed against the beauty of the backdrop.  Refreshed and refueled, we made our way back to Indian Garden and continued down Bright Angel to Phantom Ranch.  

View from the Plateau Point

We got checked in and after claiming our beds in the women's dorm we headed to the Cantina to enjoy a beer and some snacks.  We played a few rounds of checkers and chatted with some fellow hikers who were spending the evening at Phantom.  I love the characters that you meet at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.  These are my people.  Adventurous.  Dirty, smelly, hungry.  Full of life and stories to tell.  

Beers taste better after hiking!

The Cantina closed to get ready for the first round of diners and we took a hike back down to the river where we sat and waited for the sunset.  That deep in the canyon, you can't actually see the sunset as the canyon wall to the west blocks the view.  We also discovered that you can't see the moon from the river either-- that night was the super/ blood/ blue moon and we missed it.  A group of hikers we sat with at dinner planned to get up at 2 am to be above the Tonto Plateau in time to see it, but we opted to sleep in and enjoy breakfast before getting on the trail.

I woke up early on Wednesday morning.  The wake up call for the first breakfast is 5 am and I was already lying awake when they came by with a soft knock on the door.  I got dressed quietly, knowing my entire dorm was eating at the second breakfast and slipped out into the chilly morning.  I hiked down to the river and sat in darkness on the beach, just looking up at the stars.  We don't see a lot of stars in the city.  So to appreciate the Milky Way in all of its glory was amazing.  

After a breakfast of pancakes, eggs, bacon, fruit and coffee we headed for the South Kaibab Trail and the South Rim.  I LOVE the South Kaibab Trail.  There is something so beautiful in the raw, rugged, exposed terrain.  It is by far my favorite trail and I love to hike it from river to rim.  On rested legs and full bellies, the climb is much easier than at the end of a double crossing.  And it's easier to stop along the way and appreciate the beauty.  

No filter needed.  South Kaibab and the Colorado River.

After about 4 hours of hiking and sight seeing, we reached the South Rim and hopped on a shuttle back to the Grand Canyon Village.  We stopped and had lunch on our way back to the cabin, opting for food over showers.  The hot showers felt great after refueling and we relaxed in our cabin for a few hours before dinner.  Pizza and beers were on the menu for that night at the Maswik Pizza Pub with a sunset walk back to the cabin to help our dinner digest.  

On Thursday morning we were the only 2 hikers on the early shuttle back to the South Kaibab trailhead.  We hopped off the bus and started down the trail just as the sun was beginning to threaten it's arrival.  We secured our spot at Ooh Aah Point where we sat for an hour and watched the sunrise.  The sky went from dark with a thin line of red and orange, to pink and lavender, to full blue all the while casting amazing colors across the canyon walls.  The red-orange of the rocks never looks more beautiful than at sunrise.  

The terrain of the South Kaibab Trail.

By the time we finished watching the sunrise, and got up to hike out others were beginning to make their way down the trail.  But that first hour and the show put on by the canyon at sunrise was all for us.  We grabbed a quick bite and a cup of coffee back at the visitor center before hitting the road and I dropped Rachel in Sedona to spend some time with the #bff on my way back to the valley... and back to work.  

That afternoon wasn't all a let down though... I submitted my application for the Ultraman World Championships in November!  Invitations don't go out until mid-March so I have a few more weeks to wait but I could not be more excited about the prospect.  Fingers crossed!

Tomorrow I'm "racing" a half marathon.  First official race since Ironman in November.  It might not be pretty, but it will be fun.  I look forward to blowing off the cobwebs from the run legs, and kicking off a block of training where we'll be increasing my run mileage.  Bike camp isn't exactly over yet, I hope, but we need to start thinking about April because racing season is rapidly approaching!   

Happy Training!

Finding Kona: Staying the Course

I have been noticeably absent from writing this summer and I think it's combination time is escaping me and I was struggling with the lack of sunshine and rainbows.  Over the last few months I've had multiple conversations/ reminders from Hillary that what I'm feeling is normal and not to lose sight of reality.  So here's the reality check:

1.  I remember nailing my 12 mile run the day after spring camp ends, when everyone else was sleeping in and enjoying a little recovery swim.  What I forget is that when I found out I had a 12 mile progression run after 5 days of destroying myself I threw the biggest pity party known to man.  Complete with tears.  #notsunshineandrainbows

2.  I remember the feeling of pride after completing the Mt. Lemmon double.  I felt invincible.  I forget crying on the side of the road at Palisades 3 hours into the ride because I was sure there was no way I could finish the double.  And if I hadn't seen Hillary and her group heading up as I descended the mountain I likely would have gone back to my car, tucked my tail between my legs, and driven home defeated.  #notsunshineandrainbows

3.  I remember being so so tired in April, but so fucking strong.  No matter what she threw at me, the hardest part of my day was getting out of bed.  I did not nail every single workout.  But I finished every single thing she asked me to do and I believe that I was rewarded with my (tired + strong) happy place because of it.

The other thing that I've struggled with is the connection with my goal.  The spiritual connection.  The "it" factor.  That one little piece of the puzzle that drives you, keeps you engaged.  Pursuing Kona for so long, and then finally being able to make that dream a reality, and then rolling straight into Ultraman, which is like #findingkona on steroids... you can imagine the difficulty coming down from that high.  I have struggled since May to connect with a "normal" goal.  To feel satisfied in doing normal things.  I didn't realize how much I was getting on an emotional and spiritual level chasing these goals for the last 4 years.  I imagine it's like summiting Everest and then getting back to base camp wondering, what's next?  There are no higher mountains left to climb.

Thankfully that's not exactly true with triathlon, there's always another goal.  Another race.  A faster time.  Higher watts.  A faster swim.  But taking a step back from Ultraman has been, well... disappointing.  I crave that strong + tired feeling from 5 months ago.  I crave that little bit of fear of the unknown.  Prior to Ultraman I told Hillary that if I was going to race UM, and then be too burnt out to race another Ironman I didn't want to do it.  What I didn't realize at the time is that while I would feel physically fine after Ultraman, mentally it would be more challenging to toe the line in something LESS that Ultraman.  And thus far I've avoided doing so.  I joined my sister for a 3 day half marathon series.  I raced the inaugural Alaskaman Extreme Triathlon.  But it's nearly October and right now I'm not even close to obtaining All World Athlete status for next year.

But knowing that I DO want to go back to Kona again, I had to do something to change this mindset.  I reached out to a friend of mine, Jess the YogiTriathlete, and asked her if I could come live in her world for a few days.  Jess and her husband, BJ, incorporate yoga, meditation and mindfulness into their daily triathlon and running training.  They coach athletes and Jess does online meditation instruction as part of this, but I hoped that by leaving my world behind for a few days, and immersing myself in their culture that I could learn to connect with my goals in a new way.  Bring some fresh vision and life to my dreams.  Be all in for those few days so that I can be all in when I line up to race my first Ironman of the year in 6 weeks.

So next week I will embark on my High Vibe Retreat.  Aside from swim, bike and run training with BJ, I will have daily meditation sessions and yoga on the beach with Jess.  In addition we will prepare most meals together in their plant based kitchen.  My good friend, Rachel, is flying in from Iowa to join me for this most amazing journey.  I have watched her embrace life's ups and downs over the last year and I thought, who better to join me on this adventure?  It would be my dream to one day take my whole tribe for a High Vibe Retreat weekend, but for now, the one on one attention that Rachel and I will receive is what's needed.

We're heading out a few days early so I can do some training with my fellow Team HPB mate and my coach.  And we'll soak up some salty sea air and sunshine while we're at it.  I'm sure there will be plenty of updates on Instagram and I'll be back to recap after the retreat!  Happy training!   

Ultraman Training: Finding Aloha in the Uncomfortable

I have started this post about a dozen times.  And a dozen times I've been interrupted, and then more exciting things happen so I delete and start over.  And it's been a month since my last update.  If I tried to explain everything that has happened in that 30 day time period I guarantee you would not believe me.  I'll run through some highlights.

1.  DAYS after my last post, we went to camp.

Our annual Team HPB training camp takes place over a long weekend in March.  During this weekend we smash ourselves and encourage our teammates to do the same.  This year going into camp with a decent amount of fitness I thought, Oh, I'll just breeze through the 100 mile bike ride and 10k swim no problem.  And compared to past years I did "breeze" through them.  But Hillary always manages to make the workouts challenging testing both my pride and my confidence.

For example, I've been swimming loads of yards for weeks now.  10k is really not a big deal.  BUT she made it a big deal by assigning me intervals that I can't hit.  Like 30 x 100 on 1:30, as 75 free/ 25 stroke (alternating back/ breast / fly).  Free no problem.  All those other strokes?  Forgedaboudit.  Or a kick set on 2:00.  (I SUCK at kicking).  But I did survive the swim.  And I was stronger for challenging myself through it.

A little post 10k swim selfie.

My favorite day ended up being our annual team race up Mt. Lemmon.  We divide into groups based on predicted finish time and then when your group hits the base of the climb it's game on.  We were instructed to race up the hill.  So in my little group of 6 or 8, we got to mile 0, I lapped out and gave them about 20 seconds to get moving and when no one did I surged from the back and took off.

First ones to the Cookie Cabin!!  #allthefood

About a mile later, Coach Alyssa had pulled Lauren up to my wheel and deposited her there.  We were instructed to keep the pressure on, work together and alternate miles.  We rode together until somewhere around mile 10 and when I went to take the lead Lauren fell off the back.  Only I didn't realize it so I kept going... talking to myself this whole time.  At some point when I don't get a response, I glance back and see that she's gone.  I'm by myself.

So I continued to hammer the pace stopping only briefly to refill water at Windy Point.  I lapped out at the top of the climb, 3W shy of my all time best, and 3 minutes shy of my PR.

Top of Gates Pass with my Team HPB roomie, Alli!

2.  The day after run.

Camp ends on Monday with a long trail run.  It's more of an adventure run because inevitably you get lost in the desert and 14 miles ends up taking 3 hours.  It's tradition to meet for margaritas on Monday night at the JW Marriott and celebrate the fact that you survived.  After lunch on Monday everyone checks their training plans for the next day to coordinate meeting up for the 2-3k recovery swim.  Everyone's looking at their smartphones and deciding which flavor of margarita they're going to get drunk on.  Meanwhile I am looking at my smartphone and a single tear rolls down my face.

Lost in the desert.  #adventurerun

My plan says this:  12- mile build on river path as 3 easy-3 steady- 3 stronger-3 very strong.
this is not about being fast -it is about doing the best you can on tired legs #ultramantraining

Immediately I am feeling sorry for myself.  Where's my easy recovery swim?  Maybe camp was supposed to feel easy and I don't need recovery?  Then why don't I feel like it was easy??

It was a slippery slope and needless to say there were no margaritas for me that night.  My husband drank a few margaritas to numb his tired body, but opted to retire to our casita early with me so that he could sherpa my run the next morning.

12 mile progression run on tried legs.  #ultramanstrong

We got up early to hit the river path.  My first 2 miles were slow and stiff.  10:45, and 10:30 respectively.  And then the stiffness and soreness from 5 days of camp just melted away and each mile was progressively faster.  I tried to keep them in groups of 3 as I was instructed.  My second 3 miles were closer to 945.  My 3rd set of 3 was around 9 or just under.  My last 3 miles?  824, 813, 735.  Those miles were faster than my progression run after the Mt. Lemmon ride.  And the best part was I felt fantastic by the end.  Like I could run forever.  Tired + Strong= Happy Place

And I still got to do my recovery swim later that afternoon.

3.  THE Ultraman Planning meeting!

After my run along the river path I sat down with Hillary for a 2 hour planning session.  We talked about everything pertaining to Ultraman.  Logistics.  Race strategy.  Nutrition.  Crew strategy.  Clothing options.  Anything and everything that might be important.  We made lists.  We looked at course profiles online.  We went over it all.  I felt a lot better about everything afterwards because I actually had a plan in place.  Hillary also reviewed the calendar for the next 6 weeks and we discussed where we could put all my final BIG workouts so I have a plan in place.

Hillary looks very excited about my impending suffering.

4.  The Lemmon Double.

A mere 5 days later I found myself back in Tucson, this time to tackle the Mt. Lemmon double.  Hillary had a second camp taking place and she thought it would be a good idea for me to climb the mountain twice with some SAG support in place.

I woke up that morning to a 3 am alarm and felt like my brain had been peeled out of dreamland.  You know that feeling when you wake up after a night of drinking and you're not hungover, but actually still drunk?  That's how I felt.  Only there was no drinking involved.  I felt dizzy.  And weak.  And slightly nauseated.  I am 100% certain it was a combination of being slightly dehydrated and calorically deprived from the day before.

The whole way to Tucson I blasted Avril Lavigne and Ana Nallick, while pounding calories and caffeine in hopes that I would wake up.  I parked at Le Buzz and took off on my bike in the early morning darkness.  There was no one in sight.  It was quiet and peaceful and watching the sun rise over the mountain, casting light over the varied terrain was spectacular.

Unfortunately I didn't appreciate my surroundings for long, and soon I was in survival mode.  I felt like dirt.  I drank my bottles filled with the usual calories, and ate some food but nothing was helping.  I cried.  A lot.  But I kept going.  After what seemed like an eternity I made it to the top of the main climb.  I pulled into the Palisades Visitor Center parking lot.  I got off my bicycle and sat down on the curb.  And I cried.  I cried believing that I was not going to do the second lap.  I was going to descend the mountain, go back to my car, and drive home with my tail between my legs.  I ate some more calories, dried my face, and started down.

As luck would have it, Hillary's group was only at mile 1 of the climb when I passed on my way down. I shouted over "this is not happening" and she responded "yes it is. You're fine". I stopped at the bottom of the climb, cried some more, took off my winter descending gear, ate some more and turned my bike around to head back up. It was quite possibly the hardest decision I've ever made. My car was 4 (flat) miles away. My pillow and bed were a 2 hour drive away. And I turned around for another 5 hours on the mountain.

Smiling because I finally caught up with SAG on lap 2!

I started catching the slower riders within a couple of miles and SAG passed me at around mile 3 and my friend Lauren yelled some encouragement out the window-- I immediately burst into tears. I stopped for SAG at mile 6 and basically cried the entire time I was eating/ refilling water.  

After my second trip up I pretty much looked like a zombie.

And then I got back on my bike and kept pedaling uphill. My second lap was much stronger than my first. Having company was such a boost and I forced myself to take in calories every 20 minutes. I made it to the top and sat like a zombie while everyone slowly arrived.

Pit stop with Team HPB teammate, Colleen.

When it was time to go, Hillary biked with me to the top of the climb out and then I descended alone. By the time I finished I was crying again, but not because I was feeling bad, but because I actually finished the ride when everything in me wanted to quit. Physically I've done way worse workouts/ races... but mentally-- major demons were conquered.

Here is what I learned. It is 100% mental. All of it. I was convinced that I had contracted the flu and that's why I felt so shitty on the first lap. I felt dizzy, weak, completely miserable. That ALL went away when I had calories in me and company on the road.

Mt. Lemmon Double:  second time up.

These are the instructions I told my crew that night after eating an entire pizza and sitting on the sofa for an hour:    No matter how many times I tell you I'm finished, I'm not finished. You can let me cry as long as I keep going. Tears felt like the only response my body had after a certain point. Please do not be afraid if I cry. Everything else felt like autopilot. Second lap up, I literally felt like a robot, programmed to do only what HPB told me to do. I had no feelings or emotions other than hunger/ thirst.

I know I am in very capable hands in 5 weeks.  I have tried to share as much of this journey with my crew as possible so that not only do they feel more a part of it, but they also know what I've been through.  And at mile 150 when I still have more than an hour to go on day 2, and 12 hours on day 3, they can remind me of The Lemmon Double.  

5.  Swimming with my paddler.

A few weeks ago we got an email from the assistant race director.  They "strongly encouraged" us to have one of our own crew members be our paddler during the swim.  Of course I immediately have a panic attack because a) I live in the desert b) none of my crew kayaks c) we are less than 7 weeks from race day.  I simultaneously messaged my entire crew/ cheer squad on our private FB page and emailed the assistant RD.  After a few hours, and many, many emails (Thank you, Dayle!!!) I finally came to the decision to do a test run with one of my cheer squad members.  

Marsha is one of my closest friends and when everyone was commenting on my post with "this is not ideal, but we'll do it" type of response she sent me a private text message explaining her background on the water, her comfort level, and her desire to be my kayaker.  Instantly I felt calmed by her confidence.  We set up a date to borrow a kayak from my colleague and take a practice run in Saguaro Lake.  

We were made for each other.  She tested my ability to follow the kayak by steering this way and that way.  I never had to pick up my head once because I could just breathe to my right and she was right there.  I could adjust my position based on how close I was to the kayak and didn't have to worry at all about where I was going.  I ended up swimming about 3/4 mile farther than I should have because I was just in my zen place.  

1 paddler + 1 swimmer + 1 kayak= fun morning on the lake!

And so ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce my 4th and final crew member, promoted from cheer captain!!  (Blog interview coming!!)

6.  10k is the new 5k.

I love swimming and I'm always anxious to see what type of long swims I have coming my way.  The 10k I've been doing lately looks like this:

Warm up: 1500 (specific set but not relevant to this post...)

5 times through this main set:

5 x 100 @ 1:25, 

500 swim for time

500 PBB cruise (so not totally easy, but not race pace)

Cool down:  1000 (specific set)

What I love is that even when I'm at 8k, I can hit my 100s on 1:25 no problem, and my 500s for time were on a 1:22 pace.  That is the benefit of Ultraman training.  During IM training, a 30 x 100 on 1:25 would have put me on the couch for 2 hours.  Now, it's like, whatever, I've been through worse.   I love these long, challenging sets.  I will be a little sad when Ultraman is over.  I might beg to do a 10k once a month just for fun.  :)

7.  Oceanside 70.3

The week of Oceanside we backed off the training just a touch to try to rest my legs for the race.  Even up to race morning I just didn't feel like I had much to give.  I texted my #bff and told her "I don't want to race today.  I want to stay in bed.  I am racing.  I just wanted to say how I really feel."  To which she responded with "LOL!"  Not exactly the sympathy I was looking for.  

I went through the whole pre-race routine and by the time we lined up for the swim start I was like, whatever, it'll be a short training day.  The swim was nothing special, but when I got onto my bike I felt so. fucking. strong.  Ridiculous strong.  Ultraman strong.

Representing Smash-Dimond:  we are STRONG!

I was pushing higher watts than I've ever been able to before in a 70.3, but yet never felt like I was going to blow up.  I could just keep going forever.  My legs were burning, for sure, but it's that tired + strong feeling that you probably only understand if you're doing the kind of training that would push your legs into that zone.  I can imagine it's what a ultrarunner feels like when he lines up for a half marathon.  It is the best feeling ever and if I wasn't so tired right now I might entertain the idea of another Ultraman in my future.  I LOVE this training.  I am eating it up.

Back to Oceanside.  When I got off my bike I had no idea what my run legs were going to look like.  But it was more of the same.  I felt SO STRONG.  I clicked off the first couple of miles a little too fast (like usual) and then settled into my planned pace for the run.  And I just stayed there.  It was amazing.  I've never felt like this in a race before.  I've had good races before but never a race where I was doing this well and felt so comfortable being so uncomfortable.  Ultraman training has definitely taken the ability to suffer to an entirely different level.  And it is so exciting.  

Photo courtesy of @tpspates :  Oceanside run course.

With the rolling start it was about an hour before I finally believed that I had actually won my age group.  There could always be someone who starts 20 minutes behind me in the swim and races faster.  So I waited and waited and the little number 1 next to my name on the Ironman tracker didn't change!!  I've been on the podium in Oceanside before, in 4th and in 2nd.  But this was my first ever age group win!  

And the best part about it was how great my body felt in the days after the race.  There was no soreness.  I was tired, like sleepy tired, but no measurable fatigue.  And when I did my first 30 minute jog a couple days later there was no requisite 10 minutes for my legs to feel like they weren't filled with lead.  I just felt normal.  Like I was going for an easy run.  My body is absorbing, recovering, and adapting, over and over, and it feels amazing.  

Photo courtesy of @smashfestqueen :  Our Smash-Dimond Team kits!!! LOVE!

8.  The final countdown.

Before I go, I want to share the second half of the interview that was recorded by Renee Hodges of Foundation Physical Therapy.  She and several of her athletes were racing in Oceanside last weekend too!  Always great to see them out on course working hard!  Click HERE to open the video!  The first half was shared in my last post-- so scroll down if you missed it and you can find the link there.  

I have 35 days left before I am lined up on the beach in Noosa ready to swim 10km, bike 420 km, and run 84.3 km.  I have 24 days before I board my flight.  I have 3 LONG rides left to do, one trip to the Grand Canyon, and one 50km training run.  I am trying to savor every single day because the time is slipping by so quickly.  It seems like just yesterday that I was nervously submitting my application to the Ultraman Australia team, when in reality it was 9 months ago.... (before Kona!)  And I know that if I blink my crew and I will be sitting at the awards banquet on May 16th and it will all be over.  I am excited and terrified, and hopeful, and grateful, and tired, and strong, and ready.  I am ready to be part of the Ultraman Ohana.  I am ready to do work, Kokua, to give everything that I have and all of my heart to this adventure that lies ahead of me.  I am ready to find my Aloha on the eastern coast of Australia.    

    

Putting the HOW into Ironman Training

There's a lot that goes into being able to train and race Ironman.  I've had some questions over the last few months and I thought it would be fun to talk about the HOW.  How do I make it all work?  Where does the money come from?  Logistically, how do I manage to race multiple times per year?  The why is the easy part.  The how is the meat and potatoes.

1.  Time management.

Each of us chooses how to spend our time.  Regardless of if you compete in triathlon or not, each of us has 24 hours every day to allocate to the things that are important to us.  In theory how you spend your time should reflect your priorities.  For me, outside of my job (which is not necessarily MY priority, but definitely a necessity), training is priority number 1.

For the last 5 years I've worked a full time job with 4 long shifts per week.  So the days I worked were longer - 11 hour shifts.  And I own a small business.  So on my "off" days, I am spending anywhere from 6-12 hours per week at my small business, mostly behind the scenes taking care of bills, payroll, paperwork.  As of January 1, I decided to go part time.  Mostly because I was burned out at work.  After 17 years in the field, I found I was lacking the compassion and emotional energy needed for me to be good at my job.  By stepping back, I feel so much less stress and have started looking forward to coming to work again.  I'm not sure if I will go back to full time at some point.  Time will tell.  But for now, I am enjoying a little extra time at Cadence (my small business) and a little more free time for recovery.

I miss out on a lot of the social things.  Dinners, parties, etc, that take place after 7 pm.  And because we choose to travel and race, there's not a lot of extra money for eating out, shopping, entertainment.  I don't like the word "sacrifice" because it implies that I'm giving up something that I want and other than time with friends, I really don't care about all the other stuff I'm missing out on.

I also realized recently that people seem to think that I train WAY more than I actually do.  For Ironman training, I averaged 12-15 hours per week.  Maybe in peak week I would top out at 18.  Maybe.  And an easy week might be more like 6-8 hours.  Granted, I was working 50 hours a week and really, there's no time for more than that... but even if there was, I'm not sure I would have been assigned more.  We'll see when I go back to "just Ironman training."  (Ha!!)

Having stepped back in my profession, and begun the bulk of Ultraman training I've been a little closer to the 20 hour per week mark.  With Ultraman there HAS to be long bike rides and very long swims.  I never rode 6 hour in one session before an Ironman.  Well, at Ultraman there's a good chance I'm going to be on the bike between 10-12 hours on day 2, so I better prepare for that in training.  And I have to swim 10k in the ocean.  So instead of topping out at 5k for Ironman prep, I am doing a weekly long swim between 7-8k, and soon there'll be a weekly 10k swim.

I'm not going to pretend that I have some amazing formula for work/ life balance.  But I will say that I am blessed beyond belief that my husband enjoys this sport as much as I do.  So it never crosses our minds that we are spending "too much time training."  We make it work because we want to.  And I've found that when you WANT something, amazingly enough you're a lot more willing to make it happen.

Couples who play together, stay together.

2.  Money

Guys.  I don't have kids.  This may be the biggest factor in my being able to train and race triathlon.  Truthfully, I am winning the no-kids lottery here.  Kids are expensive.  I am selfish.  I would much rather spend my money on myself.  Don't worry, that's not why I didn't have kids.  It's a lot more complicated than that but the bottom line is, it's a choice.  One that 100% of people have to make at some point in their lives.  I'm just glad I realized it early enough in my life to take preventive measures.

I'm not rich by any stretch.  In fact, we are well below the median income for Ironman participants.  But my husband and I live in a house that we like.  We ride bikes that we chose.  We travel to races that we want to go to.  We can afford good food- with a lot of organic options.  We don't go out to dinner often.  We don't really spend money on entertainment.  We don't have car payments or credit card debt.  We don't have student loans.  We have an in-case-of-emergency savings account.  We have a retirement account.  And from what I've been told, I can't take it with me when I'm gone so I don't mind enjoying life a little while I'm here.

3.  Habit

We started in the sport of triathlon 12 years ago.  WOW.  That seems like forever!  For reals, that's almost 1/3 of my life.  During the last 12 years we have formed patterns and habits that make training routine.  It's part of our day just like eating and sleeping and going to work.

On a side note, there are certainly a lot of excuses.  A lot of seemingly valid reasons why we shouldn't / couldn't get our training done.  But because we WANT to do it, there are no excuses.  My alarm sounds at some version of 4 am (sometimes 330, sometimes 445) but there is never a morning when I hit the snooze button.  Or decide I'll do my workout "later" (because we all know later never happens).  It's habit.  It's routine.  It's not always easy or pleasant to get up at 4 am, but having a routine makes it so much easier.

One of the differences with Ultraman training is that I'm doing a lot more split sessions.  Meaning one workout in the morning, with a mandatory 4-6 hour break before a second afternoon session.  I will admit that I am very much a morning person and as easy as it is for me to get out of bed at 4 am, it is sometimes equally difficult to get out the door for round two.  Especially if it's something I don't particularly love, like a treadmill run.  In the morning I don't give it a second thought.  In the afternoon, I have to look beyond motivation to get it done.

Nailing an afternoon session with a little help from my better half.

4.  Logistics

Travel logistics present a nightmare for a lot of people.  Over the last few years we've routinely done 3-4 Ironman events per year.  That means traveling to places like Panama City Beach, Lake Placid, and Coeur D'Alene.  We minimize our hotel costs as much as possible by doing research well in advance of when we need to make a reservation.  We try to split costs with friends when the opportunity arises.  And I married someone who is as Type A as I am, so I don't feel stressed about making all these arrangements.  He is so much more on top of it than I am, sometimes.  We have a good system.  I take care of flight/ car rental and he works on hotel.  There's a lot of communication in there but we never get two months out from race day and realize no one has made plans.

Also, along with logistics (and money!), there are a lot of "rewards" credit cards available now that will cover flights and other travel arrangements.  We have two credit cards that we use for business so we accumulate points very quickly.  In the last 4 years we've maybe had to pay for 2 flights which saves a TON of money.  Obviously not everyone has a small business that has purchasing power, but we all have monthly spending that could be working for us.

Update on Ultraman

We are now 67 days from the start of Ultraman!  I had my biggest training week to date last week with 224 miles on the bike, 39 miles running, and 22k in the pool.  It always amazes me how the body absorbs and adapts to the work that is being consistently done.  After my 50k I had a couple of weeks where my run legs were just a little blah.  Ironically, it was after a couple of hard bike sessions that the run legs came around.  My body was absorbing the work that had been done, it has adapted, and now we can take it to the next level.  Baby steps.

I am feeling less terrified of surviving Ultraman and more confident that I will be able to achieve this dream.  Later this week we're off to our annual Team HPB training camp.  Last year I was pretty much dead last in every bike ride.  I am hopeful that the work I've done so far this year will help me to be able to hang in a little bit longer.  And I'm super excited to get onto Mt. Lemmon and see what I can do!

Also I want to share Part 1 of an interview that was done with Renee Hodges of Foundation Physical Therapy.  We sat down in January to chat and she shared the first half of our conversation on Foundation's Facebook page.  Nothing life shattering, just a little more about my background.  I have always believed that if I can do this sport, and THRIVE in this sport, anyone can.

And if you are interested in taking YOUR training to a new level, I am coaching under Hillary Biscay on Team HPB!!  I have been working with several athletes for the last 8 months or so, and as of January, I am officially part of the Team HPB coaching staff.  Feel free to contact Hillary directly for information or comment on this post and I can get in touch with you directly.  You don't have to be winning races, you just have to be committed to the process of getting the best out of yourself.  We work around all kinds of work schedules, family commitments, etc.  And as I mentioned above, don't let the name scare you away.  Each athlete is individual and not everyone shares the same volume of training.  I want to help my athletes in their journey of #findingaloha... whatever that looks like for them.

Ultraman Training: Tired but Strong

A couple of conversations happened in the months prior to my applying for Ultraman.  In one conversation I told Coach Hillary that if I was going to race Ultraman and then never race again, I didn't want to do it.  I love this sport too much to NOT be involved.  She assured me that my teammates who took very long breaks after Ultraman struggled with motivation and she encouraged me to take my recovery seriously and not schedule an "A" race right after Ultraman.  I took her advice and scheduled only fun things in the 4 months following.  Long fun things, but just for fun.

The second conversation we had was about training.  I wanted a mental picture of what my life would look like during training.  She assured me that the total volume or organization of my schedule was not significantly different from Ironman training- but there would be longer long rides, and longer long runs, and longer swims.  She said there'd be more split days-- instead of doing all my workouts in the morning as I'm accustomed to doing, I would have a break and tackle a second set in the afternoon on tired legs.  And similar to IM training, there are several hard days in a row followed by a recovery day.

Sunrise on my long run.  You don't see this sleeping in!

After IMAZ I took several weeks of "off season".  I had a couple of recovery weeks followed by a couple of unstructured weeks, followed by a couple of structured but very much easy weeks.  Just after the first of the year we started to ramp up the training.  And the ramping was very slow at first-- but honestly I felt like total dirt.  Even though I wasn't doing much I would have 1-2 good workouts followed by 1-2 bad ones.  And it was hit or miss.  I couldn't predict which ones I was going to fail miserably.  It's not like I felt like crap running and would have bad run workouts.  I would have one absolutely fabulous run one week and a shitty one the next week.  Or a great bike workout and a few days later one worthy of forgetting.

I was starting to doubt myself and question if I was even going to make it to the start line in May.  I tried to remind myself that this is completely normal and I always have about 5-6 weeks of very blah workouts right after the off season.  And sure enough, just in the last week things have finally leveled out.  And I feel like me again.  Energetic.  Normal.

Tired but strong is my theme right now.   And my happy place.

The miles are building and though I've not done anything longer than what I would in IM training yet (other than swimming!) the arrangement of my workouts leaves me in a chronic state of fatigue.  Not in a bad way, I assure you... just like how you feel in the middle of Ironman training when you're piling on the work and there's no end in sight.  

I don't feel fresh starting the group ride on Wednesday mornings, which is a hard enough ride when I am rested let alone already fatigued from the 3 previous days of biking.  And when the group punches, I can't hang on.  But when we hit our two sustained climbs where everyone attacks, I can get into a rhythm and be ok.  My numbers are fine.  I feel my muscles burning in a way that assures me we're making progress, and I am still hanging on.  Every week I'm thinking, oh shit, I'm gonna get dropped for good.  And every week, I hang on by the skin of my teeth.  And every week I get a little bit stronger.

I can sleep like the dead.  It takes me like 0.5 seconds to fall asleep when my head hits the pillow.  

I can eat like a linebacker.  In the off season, I start to get a little bored of food because I'm never super hungry, and food just seems like a chore.  Now, a calorie cannot pass my line of sight without me consuming it.

My second home...

And I'm having fun.  I'm tackling new workouts.  Particularly in the pool there have been a few new workouts that are super challenging.   My coach has a favorite IM specific swim workout where we do a ridiculous amount of 100s on like 1-2 seconds rest.  Every time I see that swim on my plan I just pray I'm not having an "off" day.  Because even on a good day it's challenging.  Well, that set of 100s has turned into 300s, still on 1-2 seconds rest.  Oh, and make that 15 x 300 on no rest in the middle of a 7500 yd swim.  *BOOM*  That's ultraman training.  And it's only February.  I can't wait to see what April has in store!!

As weeks go by and the big weekend gets closer, my anxiety level goes up a little.  But each day I am building confidence in training, and building a history that I can refer back to when the going gets tough during the race.  I feel really lucky to have a coach that has won Ultraman.  I am in good hands and I gotta just keep doing what she tells me to do.  We are under 100 days now.  Travel plans are made.  There's no turning back.  I've got this.

Build Your Tribe: Ultraman Crew Intro: Heidi, aka: Hiddie

On a scale from 1-10 how excited are you for Ultraman Australia?

13.

LOL, why?

First of all, it's Australia.  Second of all, to get to see you in that environment and racing in that, it's exciting.  Cause this is not Ironman.  This is not 12 hours.  This is all day for 3 days.  Plus everything around Ultraman is so exciting.

How many times have you crewed in the past?

Once.

And it was World Championship?

Yep.

Who did you crew for and how did you end up on the crew team?

I crewed for Dave, the father of a good friend of mine, Kathy.  It was kinda last minute.  They were talking about who to invite for crew-- and I was training with Kathy as she was preparing for the World Championship (WC)-- so they decided I would be a good crew member to help her dad out with specific things-- nutrition related.  I was familiar with their coaching plan/ nutrition plan and understood everything about the event.

If Dave finished that year, which he did, he was going to be the oldest finisher at 65 years of age.  He paid two other people from the island to be crew members, but we figured it would be easier for him to take orders from me on what to eat and when, than a stranger.

Walk us through each day... what did you do?  What was it like?

Basically I was his sherpa extraordinaire.  Anticipating what he would need before he needed it.  Day 1 is super early.  We had planned out in advance what was going to be in the van, how it would be organized, so that everything was readily accessible.

Making sure he was in a good spot mentally and not stressed out before the swim.  When he started the swim, that was the only break we really had.  For the WC, we only had to drive 6 miles, but he was going to be in the water for a few hours.  So we got breakfast, and I got to know the other crew members.

We all need a little dose of 'calm the fuck down'.

We watched the finish of the swim-- saw Kathy come through, and then one of the other crew members caught Dave in the water and helped him out.  Got him through transition and make sure he had anti-chafe, made sure he had his side mirror.  The rest of the day was leap frogging him, making sure he was on top of everything.  He was a strong cyclist so we were able to go several miles between stops.

Toward the end of the day, there was two other guys in his age group and we were keeping tabs on where they were so that he would have a carrot.

The logistics in Hawaii are so difficult because you have to have different hotels every night.  The place we were staying didn't have an "address" we had GPS coordinates, so it added another element.

He finished pretty strong on day 1.  Someone grabbed his bike and gear, I took Dave over to the recovery area, tried to get him going on food/ recovery shake, and then in line for massage.  We refilled our ice chest to get through day 2.  And it was predicted to rain.

I feel like it always rains at the WC...

Yes, I think it's that time of year.

So we get to the hotel and cleaned up his gear- the bike, the bottles, the wetsuit, clothing.  We prepped the bottles for day 2.

OMG I am getting overwhelmed...

You shouldn't be!  You don't have to do any of this.  We will be taking care of you.  Plus, you'll be done earlier than he was-- more time to recover and prep.

Day two.. up very early.  Made sure he was awake.  Packed up the hotel, because we won't be back there.  Got him situated at the start line and then rearranged the van.  He had shipped cases of Gatorade Perform because he had trained with it so we had a huge cooler to move around.  After we dropped him off we went out about 5 miles to wait for them to come by.  It was pouring rain.

We leapfrogged him all day.  There are sections where you can't stop-- no feed zones--  and an area where the drivers have to navigate around.  By the time the cyclists came through there, it was sunny and humid.  He stopped to get into dry clothes.

He was doing great, doing great... and then we got a text from Kathy's crew that the weather conditions were horrible -- super windy and cold on the climb.  We had his clothes hung out the window and hung over the heaters trying to dry them even more.  We passed him his dry clothes.  And then we just tried to keep him in our sight on the entire climb.  People were walking up the mountain with their bikes, it was THAT bad.  Being blown all over the place.

He missed the turn for the descent.  He was close on time, and we were honking to try to get his attention, but he couldn't hear us.  So eventually we went around him (on a narrow road which was scary), and told him to turn back-- he did make the cutoff.  The other two in his age group didn't make the cutoff that day, so as long as he finished day 3, he would officially be the oldest finisher.

Day 3 is awesome!!!  So freaking awesome!!  But the night of day 2 was really rough.  Dave was so out of it.  I couldn't get him to eat or drink anything after a while.  The other crew members were getting pissed at me for being on his ass about the nutrition, but I knew he still had a double marathon to run.  He HAD to eat.

Kathy was sick that night.  I wanted to help her, but I had to make sure Dave was ok, and I was not on her crew.  We had to replenish ice stores.  We had to make room for the bike in the vehicle, so more rearranging of the van.

Everything was soaked, so we had to try to get everything to dry.  It was hot and humid and disgusting.  We didn't want everything festering for another day.

Did you eventually get him to eat?

I found out during the marathon, that he didn't eat.  I found his bottle in the back of the van.  Completely full bottle of his recovery drink.  He ate that night, but didn't completely comply with my orders.  :)

Kathy was so sick that night, and we didn't want Dave to know because if she dropped out we didn't want it to affect his race.  We wanted him to not lose sleep worrying about it.  He needed to stay on his schedule.

You need to friggin' spreadsheet that shit.

What's so awesome about day 3?

You've made it!  All you have to do is finish the run in 12 hours.  And you're on the Queen K-- and it's historical and magical.  And everyone in Hawi knows what you're doing and they come out and cheer randomly.  And you can see the other athletes on day 3-- you're not so spread out.

Plus, watching a 65 year old man RUN a double marathon after all he had already done... it was amazing.  He ran every step.  Kept making forward progress.

You get to run a little bit with him..  He doesn't like to talk while running.  and I don't like to talk running so it was cool to run with him and be perfectly OK not talking.  At one point there was a group of 3 teenagers hitching a ride.  They asked for a ride.  The crew member driving said no.  They got upset, saying do you know how far we've walked?  And the crew member, pointed at Dave and said this 65 year old guy has already run 40 miles.  You can keep walking.  And they were like, no way, that's not even possible, what day did he start?

How much did you get to run with him?

Not much.  Maybe a total of 10 miles.  One of the other guys ran a few hours.  It got so fucking hot out there it was unbelievable.  And windy.

It's hard to tell when you're out there how far you've gone- there's no land marks, your're moving relatively slowly compared to biking.  But as soon as you come around the corner and see that Walmart or whatever it is, and you know it's all down hill to the airport.

I thought by day 3, you'd just be mentally done.  But he had such a good attitude about everything.  He just took one mile at a time, and if you do that, before you know it, you're at that turn.  Plus calculating the whole time, and knowing that he is going to make the cutoff-- it was an added comfort.

Were there any significant obstacles that you ran into and how did you deal?

The weather thing was huge.  In hind sight, I would never let anything stay wet or salty.  I would wash it, dry it, and be ready to use it again.  He would have frozen to death on the end of day 2 if we hadn't been able to dry things as quickly as we did.

I felt fortunate to be on a team with an athlete who had been there before.  And he's an engineer, so he's very precise in his planning.  I never went into it feeling like, oh crap, what do I do.  He basically laid out a plan for us to follow.

Even his nutrition was calculated very precisely- down to the minute.  He had been doing Ironman for so long, he already knew what worked for him.

Communication between the crew members could have been better.  Since we were all basically strangers, it was difficult to manage at times.  We all had very strong personalities.

Plus I'm a ray of fucking sunshine.  I'm damn charming.

Was there a designated crew captain?

I guess it was kinda me, since I knew him... but it was never spelled out.  We split jobs pretty evenly, but I focused most on nutrition.

If he had spelled it out that you were captain would it have helped with communication?

I don't think so.  The other guys were marines, so very strong personalities.  One guy was great, but the other guy-- was harder to communicate with.  As a crew, you're tired too and you start to forget things.  The biggest thing was just to remember that we were all there for Dave, and the only thing we had to do was get him across the line in 12 hours.

One of the guys has gone on to do crazy endurance events because of his experience with Ultraman.  That's pretty cool.

It was really cool at the finish line to see how many people already knew Dave.  From previous ultramans, or just from being there that year.  And to get to the finish line and have his wife, daughter and son in law there-- was really cool.

Do you see any specific challenges that we might face in Australia?

I think there's a big difference between going to Hawaii, and traveling to a completely foreign country.  Everything is going to be unknown.  I think were going to run into a lot of things that we are not expecting.

What do convenience stores sell?  When are they open-- even as simple of things as that.  Getting there early enough to plan everything in advance is going to be crucial.  Where are the gas stations?  Where can we go for last minute items?  If a day does take 12 hours, and the stores close at 9 pm... we have to be aware of the time limits we're up against.  That sort of thing.  Knowing where the local bike shop is.  Knowing where the pharmacy is.  Restaurants.  What if you are in medical after day 2, and we still have to eat at 10 pm.

You've done ragnar... you know what 3-4 people in a van does to people.  It's human nature.  No one has the same personality, so we all need a little dose of calm the fuck down.  And focus on the goal of getting you to the finish line in under the cutoff.

The logistics of getting all your stuff there... you need to be prepared for every weather condition for every day of the race.

Fortunately we have CB for the bike which is awesome.  That would be the scariest thing-- you can't really just go anywhere with the Dimond.

Another thing is not having to stick around at the finish line -- you can go back to our place and start eating and have Marsha work on you there.

I feel like we need to make a list of gear....

You need to friggin' spreadsheet that shit.  And send copies to all of us.  And bring a box of quart/ gallon size baggies to keep everything sorted.

And you need to be prepared for ailments that don't normally happen.  Have cough syrup, immodium, etc, etc.  You don't know what you're going to need and over the course of the three days your body is going to break down.

I think the day before the start we went to Walmart and bought stuff we thought we might want.  I think at mile 40 I might want Twinkies?--- so we bought Twinkies.  That kind of thing.  Hand wipes.  Hand sanitizer.  You're out there so freaking long.  Buckets that we could dunk towels in to keep them cold.

You should start a list now... on your phone or where ever that when you randomly think of things you can add them to your list.  You won't remember everything you will want or need, so start making that list now when things come to you.

Mentally, just assume that stuff is going to happen.  You might lose luggage, etc-- Dave, the day before the start he determined that his bike wasn't working.  It turned out the cables were corroded.  We started taking about renting a bike, and all that jazz, but thankfully the bike shop in Kona was able to re-cable his bike at the last minute.  It's so huge that CB is going to be there for your bike.

Designating a job for everyone will create a lot less crew drama.  You do your job.  You designate each person, based on how you think you will handle things -- who will you take food orders from.
You know which person will make sure your shit is clean.  Make sure your meal is ready.

What strengths do you see yourself bringing to the team?

I think I know you in a way that.... if you just want everyone to just shut the fuck up, or if you're just in pain.. I am pretty good at seeing ahead at what we might need to do/ think about.  Like on the run, if you're dying at mile 5, we need to shorten the leap frog intervals.  We need to make sure we're keeping you warm enough or cool enough.

I don't do well planning ahead for myself, but I am really good at planning for others-- I think having 2 people who have crewed before is key.  Ultraman expects you to follow the rules, and they will call out the teams that are not.  So having people who know the game is important.

Plus I'm a ray of fucking sunshine.  I'm damn charming.  Everyone needs that person on their crew.

:)  You said Dave was a planner, and an engineer.  Did you feel prepared for crewing?

Oh yeah.  I knew what Ultraman was because Kathy had done it before, and Dave had done it before.  I understood what went into it, but you can't fathom it until you're there watching it and doing it.
It's like watching the Barkley's documentary and going oh, those guys are in pain.  But it takes actually being there to see what the fuck is really going on.

And Kathy was really OCD, and worried about her dad, so whatever he didn't do- she was all over it.
Did I tell you about when he called me to ask to crew?

NO!!

I was at my in-laws, who are the same age as Dave and can't do anything physical.  Kathy calls me, all serious, and asks me to crew for her dad.  I was so excited.  I was trying to explain to my family what he was going to do and they were like, no that's not possible.

I think as you get older, the gap in the difference in people's abilities widens.  Some people are as active as they were in their 30s, and other's live on the sofa and don't believe they could ever do anything.

What do you think is harder, physcial or emotional toll?

Emotional.  You can push through physical pain, but if you are emotionally beat, it will affect the physical-- and it's easy to succumb.

My very first Ironman, my friend Kevin told me every time you get emotional and start to think about how hard it is and that you can't do it, just give yourself 5 minutes.  In 5 minutes you'll feel differently and you'll be able to keep going.

That's good advice.

In this longer of an event, the emotional toll is even more prominent.  You become fatigued.  You start to doubt yourself, and think about things you should have done differently in the days before.

Was there anything you saw among other teams where you were glad it wasn't you?

Family bickering.  Family bringing their own issues into the race because you chose to have your wife and your mother crewing for you.  There's no room for bickering between crew.  One of the guys too, I never saw his crew out on the run.  He had just done something crazy- like a deca - not long before Ultraman, and I don't remember seeing his van at all.  I would feel like shit if you didn't finish because we just weren't there.

What are you most excited about for Ultraman Australia?

Watching you finish.  And watching you crush the swim.  I have friends who see your stuff through me and they're all like, is she going to win the swim?

And I think the finish line on day 3 is going to be even more emotional than Kona.

When did you know you wanted to do Ultraman?

That's funny you should ask.  I asked DB when he know that this was inevitable, and he told me Ironman Lake Tahoe 2013 awards banquet.  

Oh yeah... he took that picture of you talking to Hillary..

Yeah, she was getting ready for the WC and I think I was picking her brain about it.  It sounded cool... I knew it would be along way off but definitely something I was interested in.  And then a year later I had the opportunity to crew for my teammate in Canada, and it solidified it in my mind.  

I feel like you can learn so much from crewing... I knew from crewing 100 milers for friends that I could never do an Ultraman without crewing first.  You just gain so much.  Plus it was, like, the most amazing experience ever...

Give yourself 5 minutes.  In 5 minutes, you'll feel differently.

What's my swim pr?

58 something??  From Texas?

(laughing) No.

What is it?

54 minutes

Is it really?!?!  Shit you better get swimming.  Jesus, that's fucking fast.

As crew, do you have any advice for me?  For your fellow crew?

Jesus, your swim PR is 30 minutes faster than mine.

:)  Any advice??...

For you, lean on us for EVERYTHING.  Save all your energy.  If you need something ask us.  That's why we're there.  You shouldn't be going to get anything-- food, water, anything.  The whole time-- not just race day.

For the crew, we really need to communicate and agree... not one person saying, well I'm going to go do this.  The 3 of us need to work as one person.

What does ohana, kokua and aloha mean to you?

Pretty much exactly as it says.  It's the family that you make, family can be so many things, but family and love are the people that I choose, that I feel close with and have a bond with though shared experience.  We didn't grow up together, but we have a bond and love through our shared experiences.

After doing this with Kathy and Dave, I always know that we'll always be there for each other.  We have a bond that can't be broken by space or distance, or time.

Anything I should have asked?

(thinking)  I don't know....  do I have any allergies to strange bugs?  Am I allergic to kangaroos?  LOL.  No, I can't think of anything.

How many epipens do we need to take?...

I have 3 on order.  I am allowed to bring them in the carry-on...

Something for you to remember, even if you say you're ready, you're going to think at night that you can't get through this.. But you can.  And you will.  Knowing you, you're going to start freaking out as this gets closer.  HPB is not going to let you go into this unprepared.  That voice in your head that says you can't do this is a liar.

And I'm placing a bet with CB on your swim time.  And if I win this he owes me #allthebeers.

:)  Last question,  do you ever want to do Ultraman?

I've always thought about it since I crewed for Ultraman.  At one point we had planned out who was going to race what.  Someone picked Florida,  I was stuck with Canada.  I think if I got to a place where I was healthy enough again, I would consider it.

And I would crew for you.  :)

I know you will!!  I have a feeling after Australia it will be even stronger of a desire.

****************************

And that was the 3rd and final crew member for Team Finding Kona!  Thank you, Heidi, for letting me share your very first cup of coffee with you while hammering out this interview!  I love you, #bff!!  So excited for OZ!!