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.

More on Meal Planning: Finding Aloha in Food Freedom!

I have had so many people ask me about my diet and meal plan since my blog on the subject, I thought it would be fun to sort of update where things are now.  I cannot even tell you how many people have confessed to similar issues that I was dealing with-- sheer lack of time-- and desperately want help!

I have been working with Katie of Own Nutrition now for 6 months.  Still the best decision I ever made.  I highly recommend it.

My week looks like this as far as prep:

I usually try to print out my weekly plan before Sunday so that I can make my grocery list as concise as possible.  Each week I receive a daily plan, recipes and a shopping list with EVERYTHING I need for the week.  (This is awesome, btw!) I double check that I have all the spices I need, rice, quinoa, black beans, etc.  In the beginning I was buying pretty much everything on the list.  Now, my pantry is fairly well stocked so I mostly shop for produce and fresh meat/ fish.

Sunday:  I usually shop in the afternoon.  This takes about 45 minutes of my time MAX.  And that's if Sprouts is really crowded.  I'd say on average I'm spending about 30 minutes, but I do love to dilly dally once I'm in there.

I try to buy as much organic as I possibly can, and then non-GMO on top of that.  Sprouts (which is a small chain-- similar to Whole Foods but without the price tag) has a really great selection of organic options.  I realize organic and non-GMO are controversial topics, but it's important to me so I'm sticking it out.

Sunday afternoon I spend about 2-3 hours meal prepping.  This includes:

1.  Grilling.  I preheat the grill, prep all the meat/ seafood for the first half of the week (Sunday pm- Thursday afternoon) and then grill in batches.  I make enough for my meals as well as whatever my husband is going to take to work.  For me this might be a salmon fillet (usually enough for 2-3 meals), beef (usually filet- approx 2 servings) and sometimes pork.  Whatever I'm not eating on Sunday night gets cut up and stored for the BIG ASS SALADS that I eat throughout the week.  I invested in some nice glass tupperware so there's no odor when I store salmon in the fridge for a day or two.

I used to be really intimidated by the grill.  But eventually I got tired of always needing my husband around to light it that I learned to do it myself.  It's not complicated.  And a few weeks ago I took a poll, thinking there were other women (like me) who were on the timid side, but as it turned out ALL my girlfriends are the grill-masters in their homes!

Shrimp and pork chops (on the barbie!).

2.  Rice/ quinoa.  I make a big batch of brown rice and a batch of quinoa that we can both eat from for the week.  I highly recommend a rice cooker.  I received this one as a gift... it is life changing.

Must have!!  Rice cooker to the rescue.

If I want to, I can set a timer and tell it when I want my rice to be done cooking.  It basically does everything except clean itself when it's done-- and that requires very little effort on my part.  Here's another tip-- you can buy rice and quinoa frozen.  Yep, already cooked, in the freezer section.  So if, for example, I'm traveling and won't have Sunday to prep, I can buy frozen rice and still have quick assembly for meals.  *BOOM*

3.  Chopping.  I buy most of my greens already chopped and washed.  It's easy to find organic spinach, kale, arugula, etc already washed and ready to go.  I chop any veggies that are going into my salads (cucumber, peppers, etc) and portion out my salads into large (5 cup capacity) tupperware containers.

Grilled mango with jalapeno crema, pork and avocado.

4.  Boiling.  I typically hard boil a dozen eggs on Sunday evening.  When I need scrambled eggs I just microwave raw eggs (usually at work) when I am ready to eat them.

5.  Packaging.  Each evening, starting on Sunday, I look at the next day's menu and get everything lined up in the fridge.  That way in the morning when I'm packing my lunchbox I can just grab and go.    

Grilled shrimp with a summer salad and avocado dressing.

Summer is my travel season which throws in some extra challenges with meal planning but Katie has provided plenty of resources on how to eat well in a restaurant setting.  I can look at my plan, get an idea of macronutrients and compare with options on the menu.  I recently traveled with a friend who is also working with Katie, and twice we ordered the same dinner!

I'm in the final build before the first Ironman of the season so my nutrition is being put to the test on a daily basis.  I am happy to report that I am feeling good, recovering quickly, and know that in 9 weeks (and 2 days!) my consistency in diet for 9 months is going to be evident when it counts!

Finding Kona: A Day in the Life

Someone recently suggested I write about a typical day/ week and what that looks like.  I thought it sounded fun but rather than do a whole week right now, I thought I'd throw in a day here and there as I build for Hawaii.  I have some fun adventures planned for 2017 where I think a "week in the life" would be more interesting.

With my work schedule I work 4 longer days each week.  I work Wednesday- Saturday, have Sunday off, then work Monday through Thursday and have 5 days off.  That 2 week cycle repeats indefinitely.  So here's my Monday July 11, a typical "work" day:

4:22 am:  Alarm goes off.

Completely random time, I know, but 2 nights ago when I set my alarm I overshot 4:15 am and was too lazy/ tired to forward through the minutes again to hit my intended target.  I've been awake for somewhere between 30-45 minutes.  I often wake before my alarm goes off.  Sometimes I can tell it's still the middle of the night and I am still sleepy, just woken up by my need to pee.  Other times, like today, I can tell that I've finished my sleep cycle and it's time to get up.  My alarm clock is covered because the light bothers me at night, so I lift the veil to reveal that it is, in fact, 4 am.  I lay in bed resting until 4:22.  I've gotten roughly 8 hours of sleep as I was in bed by 8 pm last night.  8 hours is my comfort zone.  I would love 9-9.5 (THAT is in infrequent luxury!).  Less than 8 multiple days in a week and I'm struggling big time.

4:22 am- 4:48 am:  Getting ready for training.

On average if I am swimming or running it takes me 30 minutes to get out the door from the time I get up.  If I am biking, it's more like 45 minutes.  Sometimes an hour if I have to pack my car to drive somewhere to bike.  Today, knowing I am a little behind my intended 4:15 am wake-up, I am spurred to pick up a few minutes.  I'm driving to Lifetime Fitness for my workouts and then will be at work until 8 pm so I am packing for the whole day.  I make my breakfast (a Van's GF waffle with Justin's Almond Butter) while packing my lunchbox and somehow managed to carry all 6 bags to the car in one load.  I'm pulling out of the driveway at 4:48 am.

5:10 am:  Death by Treadmill

First workout today is an hour progression run on the treadmill.  Traffic was light in the pre-dawn drive and so I'm on the treadmill early which makes me happy and lowers my stress level a little.  This particular workout is pretty tough for me so I like to have 10 minutes to just walk on the treadmill afterwards to cool down.  I make it through the first 40 minutes listening to a podcast.  As I crank up the pace the final time, I'm having a hard time processing the words and my body is protesting, my mind begging me to jump off the belt for a quick rest.  Instead of giving in, I grab my iPod, which is conveniently preset to repeat my 3 favorite Eminem songs, and switch out my ear buds, all without breaking my stride.  In my head I'm singing (rapping?) along with Eminem and the minutes tick by.  At one hour, I slow the pace and walk, relieved to have survived.  I drink a bottle of water with 2 scoops of Tailwind during my run.  I don't always use electrolytes but I've been noticing lately with harder workouts that I'm more depleted and feel kinda crappy so I've been supplementing and it's helping a ton.   

6:20 am:  Shower number 1.

I have to go to a breakfast meeting in between my run and swim so I jump in the shower quick.  I change into my suit and throw some run clothes over the top.  I leave everything else in my locker knowing I'll be back in 2 hours to finish up.

6:30 am- 7 am:  Drive to breakfast.

I make a quick stop at Cadence Running Company on my way to breakfast.  I've got to pick up a stack of bills that are due, check my major accounts, and grab the files needed to get everything in order for the week.  I'm last to arrive at breakfast (which is rare!) but it's just 7 am when I arrive.

7 am- 8:45 am:  Downtown Chandler Cafe.

The doctors at my hospital meet once a month to discuss, well everything, so I won't bore you with details.  Breakfast on my meal plan today was a breakfast sandwich with tomato, avocado, eggs, spinach.  I made due with a Florentine Eggs Benedict, minus the hollandaise sauce and with fruit instead of potatoes.  And coffee of course.  Lots of coffee.

8:48 am:  Drive back to Lifetime Fitness.

By 8:30 am, I'm looking at my watch and getting jumpy.  At 8:45 things are wrapping up and I'm standing, ready to bolt out the door.  Three minutes later, it appears as though we're finished and I book it out the door.

9:05 am:  Swim.

I'm poolside just after 9 am and ready to jump in.  After the run and the breakfast I'm feeling pretty lethargic.  Today's 3k straight swim doesn't give my mind any distraction either.  Sometimes intervals are easier to bust out than 45 minutes of just mindless swimming.

9:55 am:  Shower number 2.

Workouts done for the day.  I pack up my crap and head to work a little early.  I will have time to get my bills from Cadence organized and paid before I start my work day.

11 am- 8 pm:  Work.

I'll be honest, I'm just not in a great mood today.  My allergies have been bad the last few days and I don't feel great.  I'm tired and I hate working closing shift because I'm normally asleep by 8 pm.  I feel pretty useless in general past about 4 pm, but we all share duties and I'm lucky enough to have only one closing shift for every 2 weeks.  Tonight is cat night, so I'm looking forward to seeing only cats in the last few hours.  The morning is gone, and the afternoon seems to drag.

Things I eat during this time frame:
Greek yogurt with kiwi, raspberries, and granola.
Banana and a hard boiled egg.
Big-Ass Salad with spinach, romaine, lentils, quinoa, avocado, hard boiled egg and a drizzle of evoo.  I forgot my tomatoes at home.  My salad could have used them. 
Apple with almond butter.
2 bites of a cinnamon roll left over from our breakfast meeting.
Sushi roll (something with spicy tuna) delivered by one of my colleagues.

8 pm:  Drive home.

Some nights I'm so tired I don't remember driving home.  I used to use my drive home to visualize my upcoming race.  I did that for 6 months straight leading up to IMAZ 2014 and when race day arrived I executed the race without even thinking.  I had rehearsed it so many times in my head that everything was routine.  It was pretty amazing to me.  Last year I was too stressed out and couldn't focus so there was no visualization practice.  If nothing else, it was a nice routine to destress after my day, and I always think about restarting.

8:20 pm:  Getting ready for bed.

The hubs is sitting outside when I pull into the driveway.  He helps me unload the car.  I unpack my lunch boxes while drinking a Nocturne shake.  It's late and I don't want to fix dinner, I just want to go to bed.  So the nighttime shake gives me a little calories boost so I don't wake up starving in the middle of the night (you know this feeling from after Ironman, right?).  Plus it has tryptophan in it which helps me fall asleep without my usual de-stress time in the evening.  I can't do benadryl or melatonin, so this is a nice alternative when I don't want to lie awake for an hour thinking about work.  I'm asleep before 9 pm.

Finding Aloha in the Journey

13 weeks.

13 weeks from today I will be racing the Ironman World Championships.

13 weeks from right this very moment I will be mere minutes into the 2.4 mile swim.

Every time I think about my journey and everything that has gotten me to this point I am overwhelmed with joy and gratitude.  As slow as the first half of the year went, time has now sped up and I want to maximize every workout, every opportunity for rest and recovery, every everything that can help me get through race day in 13 weeks.

Many people have asked me my goals for Kona.  I have avoided setting time goals for this race because time goals in general are useless and I think setting them is really silly.  For me.  This is my first time racing on the Big Island.  It's my first time competing in a major championship race.  I do have a rough idea of what I am capable of on a "perfect day".  But I also know that I need to get to the finish line no. matter. what.  Unlike racing in Arizona, I cannot completely throw caution to the wind.  However if I focus on doing what I do every single day in training, and stay in the moment, and stay on top of my hydration and nutrition, everything will be fine.

I'm going to be very honest here and say that the Ironman World Championships scare the sh*t out of me.  I ran the Kona Marathon in 2005 and it was great.  My sister and I were vacationing on Kauai, flew over for the night to run it and then flew back.  It was the same course as Ironman except you started/ ended at the far end of Ali'i Drive (where the run course at IM does the first out-n-back).  It's comforting to know that I've run through the energy lab, granted much earlier in the day, but I did it.  And at the time, I ran a marathon PR.

A few years later when my husband raced in Kona for the first time (2009) I took my bike to maintain my training for IMAZ.  I was absolutely destroyed by the heat and humidity.  I remember going out for a ride one afternoon.  Just an hour shake out.  Nothing major.  I seriously bonked within 15 minutes.  Like, had to sit on the side of the road in the shade of a vehicle to recover, destroyed.  I did my long ride during race week on the Ironman course and it was absolutely the worst 75 mile ride I've ever done.  I remember getting back to our condo and telling the hubs that I never, EVER, wanted to race in Kona.

Obviously a lot has changed since then.  I'm a different athlete, and by the time we went back to the Big Island in 2011 I thought, I could do this.  And that's when I decided to start pursuing the goal (initially chasing the Legacy).

I have worked really hard to change my approach mentally and this past week I was watching the broadcast from last year's race while on my trainer and I thought to myself, there have literally been 40,000+ who have finished this race.  For real.  (Almost) 40 years x 1000 finisher average (this is way low for a majority of years)= 40k.  There is absolutely no reason in the world that if I am on the start line on October 8 I can't be one of them.  None.  Not a single reason.

I will be prepared.  I have a heat acclimation program set in place.  I work every day on making sure my nutrition and hydration are working for me.  I am practicing with all of the gear and methods that I might want to use to help keep myself cool on race day.  There will be nothing left to chance.

The meat of my training is just beginning.  From now until the end of September I will be in full Ironman build mode.  These are the weeks I've waited for and looked forward to all year.  Every day I wake excited and ready to tackle whatever awaits me in WorkoutLog.

I told Hillary after Oceanside that I thought this year was going to be special because I no longer felt afraid, I felt free.  And that freedom propelled me to another podium finish at Ironman CDA 70.3 two weekends ago.  When she asked me my plan for the race, I told her I was going to go as hard as I could on the bike and hold it together for the run.  And I did!  After being first out of the water in my age group, I absolutely attacked the bike course, held higher watts than I've ever raced at before, and still managed to tick off the miles on foot feeling strong.

A few pics of our weekend in Idaho (my favorite race venue!!!):

Post race spin taking in the scenery! #ilovemybike

Pre race dinner.  Ready to smash it!

A little selfie fun at packet pickup.

My gem racked in transition.  Rock star parking!

Ceiling art at Taphouse Unchained.  Post race celebration!

2nd Place Women 40-44!

Next up:  Tahoe Rim Trail 55k!  Finding Aloha in my favorite place to run!

(P.S.  13 weeks from right now I'll be an hour into the 112 mile bike ride....)

Finding Aloha: Ironman St. George 70.3

Since my one and only dnf in 2012, I have owed revenge on the St. George Ironman course.  This weekend I got my chance.

To say that I was anxious would probably be an understatement.  In 2012, I dropped out because I was unable to adjust my expectations when mother nature dished out some horrendous conditions.  I was completely fine, physically.  But mentally I gave up in the swim.  I honestly was shocked that I didn't drown that year.  That no one drowned.  And over the last 4 years, my mind has turned that epic day into a blockbuster movie reel.  One in which the fish are six times larger than reality and the waves could easily swallow up Noah's ark.

Wind, in its greatest power, whirls.

We arrived into Utah on Thursday afternoon and headed straight to Sand Hollow Reservoir to swim before checking into our hotel.  The winds pick up as the day goes on, and so by the time we swam at 2 pm it was fairly choppy.  I was glad to experience that chop before race day and start to put some of my demons to rest.

The swim takes place in the reservoir at Sand Hollow.

On race day, I did not have my usual confidence jumping into the water and even though the water was relatively calm, I had to continuously remind myself that I was OK.  That I could breathe.  That I was going to make it through the swim.  One girl in my age group took off so fast at the gun that no one could go with her.  I settled into a rhythm with another girl and pretty much stayed with her off to my left until the final turn buoy.  At that point I tried to pick up the pace a little and worked on safely dodging slower swimmers ahead of me.  I was thrilled to see a sub-30 coming out of the water.

We had been following the weather for a couple of weeks as I'm sure everyone was.  Rain and 50 degrees were predicted for race day, and that's pretty much exactly what we got.  It was raining by the time I exited the water.  Knowing how my body reacts in cold weather, I had packed my Smashfest Queen vest and arm warmers into my T1 bag.  With wet skin it took me longer in transition to get my arm warmers on, but it was worth the extra minute to be comfortable during the bike ride.

All smiles at the start of the bike ride!

The bike ride was everything you dream about.  It was beautiful.  And challenging.  And fun.  And totally awesome.  I focused on holding my watts according to my race plan.  With the rain making it difficult to see at times, and the wet roads, I was definitely not as aggressive on the bike as I would otherwise have been.  The one thing my husband had said to me on Friday was that he didn't want me descending from Snow Canyon on wet roads.  With Kona coming up in just 5 short months, I cannot afford to crash out and risk my only real goal for the year.  As the miles went by I laughed to myself that, like it or not, I was going to be descending Snow Canyon in the rain.  I really wasn't bothered by it at all.  I was mentally prepared but it was just ironic.

Don't worry, I didn't stop mid race for this photo op!

In fact, coming into this race, I prepared for the absolute worst possible weather conditions.  In my scenario it was more of a repeat of 2012- wind, heat, and more wind.  The cold and rain was much easier to deal with as I can just put more clothes on.  I never felt chilled until the final descent and when you're flying downhill at 44 mph for 8+ miles, it doesn't matter that you have layers on, it's darn cold.

Running into T2.

T2 was once again super long because with cold hands I had a hard time changing into my running shoes.  I was super excited to be off the bike, not because I was happy to be off the bike but because I felt like no matter what happened now I would get to the finish line.  I took off out of transition and saw my #bff about 2 blocks up just as you start the first 3 mile climb.  She got this awesome pic of me as I'm shouting to her:

# whatthefuck #frozen

Apparently I got a good laugh from all of the spectators in her vicinity as they heard me yell #whatthefuck?! #frozen!  In reality, I was staying plenty warm working my way through 70.3 miles.  They were standing for hours in the pouring rain, wind and cold.  Thank you #bff for doing just that!!

There is basically no flat ground on the St. George run course.  You're either running uphill, or coming down.  The good news is that the first 3 miles are uphill, which means that the last 3 are downhill!  In between it's a nice mix of climbing and descending to break up which muscles are being taxed.  I actually really like hills.  And I think this course favors strength over pure speed.  With my experience on trails, I definitely fall into the "strong" category and felt like I was running strong the whole way through.

Running downhill toward the finish!

I decided at the beginning of the run that I was not going to look at my Garmin.  Coach had told me during our pre-race briefing that on this course, it's impossible to sustain a specific pace.  (For example, at Oceanside the plan was to dial in a certain minute-per-mile pace and hold that throughout.)  With the ups and downs, my pace would be all over the place.  Rather than worry about it, I decided to just not look, and hold constant effort.  When I hit 2 miles to go I glanced down and realized that I was going to be well under my goal of 5:30 for the day I was ecstatic!

The camera man caught me running into the finish line... you can see me with 1:17 to go on the highlight video below!  

Happy camper!

Even though I didn't land on the podium at Ironman St. George 70.3, I accomplished all of my other pre race goals:
*Survived (and thrived!) the swim (Swim time: 29:50)
*Held goal watts on the bike
*Finished the bike under 2:55 (Bike time: 2:54:04)
*Finished under 5:30  (Total time: 5:20:09)

And I crushed my goal for the run course finishing the run in 1:47:37!

Post race!

After the race we relaxed and at dinner.  On Sunday morning we slept in and went for a nice easy bike ride with the only goal of capturing some of the gorgeous scenery in Utah.

I had to bike up a 12% grade for this photo op.  #totallyworthit

Our bikes are enjoying the view.

After our ride we had an hour to pack up and check out of the hotel.  This was our starting point...

Help!  A hurricane hit our hotel room!

Up next:
Tempe International Tri (local olympic distance race for fun!)
Ironman Coeur d'Alene 70.3

Oceanside 70.3: Finding Aloha in Racing

Before I get into my race, I'd like to brag a minute on my husband.  He began working with Coach Hillary April 1st last year, approximately one week after Oceanside.  In the last year he has worked really, really hard and the gains, particularly on the bike, have been impressive.  He finished the race with a bike PR and was able to race the entire half marathon, something he's not been able to do in a very long time.  I have no doubt we will continue to see great things as the year progresses!

Oceanside is our favorite race.  We have for sure raced it 7 times, though it might actually be 8... I'd have to go back and look at results.  It is an absolutely beautiful venue, with a challenging bike course.  I don't know if it's the casual beach vibe, or the fact that it's the first race of the season after a long winter, but the energy is absolutely electric.  From the fans and the athletes.

Sunset from our balcony.

Going into Oceanside I didn't have a particular goal in mind, but the last thing Hillary said to me after camp was "there's no reason you can't PR at Oceanside".  Knowing that she had faith in my abilities despite having only 3 weeks of real bike training under me gave me the confidence I needed to just go for it.

I don't know how to put into words what I experienced racing on Saturday.  I was nervous in the morning, like I always am.  Anticipating the day and all the things that *could* go wrong.  When we lined up at the swim buoy before the gun went off I had butterflies in my stomach.  The minute we were released for take off, all the anxiety disappeared and I just executed.

Exploring Oceanside on 2 wheels.

From start to finish, I raced with so much joy and passion.  I felt... Free.  It was such an amazing feeling that the longer I raced, and the harder I pushed, the happier I felt.  I was experiencing the true joy of pushing my body without any expectations whatsoever.

Some thoughts that floated through my head during the race looked like this:

***During the swim, I always go out hard (balls out, baby!) to get clear of the crowd.  I was on the feet of one girl in my age group, with another girl just off to my right when we made the first half-turn to head into choppier waters.  Almost instantly I dropped them both the minute we were no longer in smooth waters.  "I'm a pretty strong swimmer!" I thought to myself, and continued to push hard putting 90 seconds over the next girl in my age group by the time we exited the water.  (Thank you band-only swimming!!)

***At mile 10 of the bike, my Smash-Dimond teammate and superstar cyclist Emily rode by me.  She beat me by 12 minutes on the bike leg at IMAZ, so when she passed me I expected to be dropped.  Only, I wasn't.  For the next several miles I was having an internal debate about whether I was riding too hard because I was staying with Em.  I shouldn't be there, but I was.  In reality, her off-season probably included just as little biking as mine did as she is also targeting Kona in October and we entered Oceanside equally fit.  But on the day, it was another confidence boost.

Power pose!  I love my gem.

***At mile 31 (half-way through the hills) I had another debate about how hard I was riding.  I was over the power numbers coach and I had agreed upon.  I knew I should probably back off, but I was having so much fun.  Riding hard, and feeling strong was something that I missed during running season.  I absolutely love my bike.  It's hard to even put into words how much I love to ride my gem.  And I was riding with so much joy and just loving every second.  It was sort of an epiphany because for so long, I identified as a runner (despite the fact that I am merely an average runner).  For the first time I thought, I am a triathlete!  I don't want to back off from riding hard!  So at that moment, I decided that I didn't care if I was going too hard, I was going to just keep going.

***Coming off the bike I was so excited to start running and see what I could do.  Right away my legs didn't feel fresh, but I fed off the energy from the crowd and I feel like I was smiling the whole way.  I cheered for my Smash friends and TriScottsdale teammates on course and the miles just ticked by.  At one point around mile 6, I ran down the pier onto the strand.  The view of the pier with the perfect-blue waters all around absolutely took my breath away.  Goosebumps broke out on my arms and I felt so incredibly grateful to be there.  It is such a gift to be healthy and able to race at this level.

On the run course!

***By mile 9 I was starting to slow down.  In my struggle I heard the words of the coach in this video that was shared by my friend Steve a few weeks ago.  Your very best!  Your very best!  Your very best!  I wanted to give my very best no matter how much I was suffering.  I thought of Steve and his daily battle and I felt even more blessed and I wanted to honor that feeling with my very best effort.

***In the last mile of the run, I flipped screens on my Garmin to show me the total time.  I realized for the first time all day that I was going to have a massive course PR.  I raised my arms as I crossed the finish line and could not stop smiling.

At the finish line.  Celebrating the DB and Coach Hillary!

I ended up with a 9 minute course PR finishing in 5 hours and 53 seconds.  I had my fastest bike split on this course by 5 minutes, and followed it up with a solid run.  I was first in my age group out of the water, and first off the bike.  I ended up second in my age group and 10th female amateur out of 645 female finishers.  (I was also 228th overall out of 2463 athletes total).  Good enough for a spot on the podium.  My highest finish at Oceanside.

2nd Female 40-44 age group.

It was literally the. best. day of racing I've ever had.  I think that the goal of #findingkona which has been my sole purpose for the last 4 years has been met and a weight has been lifted.  I felt free.  On Saturday there was no more fear.  No fear of failure.  No fear of what-if?  No more questions, no more doubt, no more worry.  I was able to focus on doing what I love, which happens to be triathlon.  I know I have said it before but I truly love this sport.  I love greeting the day with a swim, bike or run.  I love how hard it can be to accomplish certain workout goals.  I love feeling my muscles burn and ache with effort.  I love running on a trail in the early morning darkness and knowing I'm the only one at that moment that is appreciating the full moon lighting the path in front of me.  I love being out on my bike all day on Sundays and feeling the sun gradually warm my skin and my bones.  I love how great an ice cold coke tastes after hard intervals.  And racing is the icing on the cake.  It's the reward for every drop of sweat, every tear, every Sunday afternoon when I struggle to stay awake past 6 pm, every 4 am wake up call.  If I can race in October with as much joy, and as much passion as I did in Oceanside.... It's going to be an amazing day.

No words needed.  #findingkona

         

Finding Aloha: Happiness and Sustainability

Happiness is the joy you feel moving toward your potential.  A friend gave me this quote, pointing out that it applied to my recent success at Ironman Arizona.  It came from this podcast.

Happiness is not freedom from pain or discomfort.  Because sometimes reaching your potential is very uncomfortable, as it was for me in November.  Reaching that potential meant a lot of sacrifices.  Ones I was, and am, very willing to make in pursuit of happiness.  Over the last year I've thought a lot about happiness, and more than that, sustainability, and what that means for me.

After a suicide within my professional community last spring, my boss asked us all a question:  Is what you're doing sustainable?

I felt like I had been gut-punched because I knew the answer and because I was asked, honestly, by someone who cared, I could no longer pretend that everything was fine.  It was not fine.  I was not fine.

I started to look at my life and how my time is divided.  It was glaringly obvious that the things that demand 90% of my time are the things that are least important to me as a person.  But what can I do about it?  I don't know that I have the answer to that (still) but I am thinking about it and making plans.  What I do know is that my life felt devoid of real-ness.  Substance.  I am surrounded by "friends" but often feel really alone.

As January 1 approached on my calendar and I still hadn't come up with the "habit" I wanted to create in the new year (ie:  flossing circa 2013, flip turns circa 2014, #selfiewithmoo of 2015) I started to get a little nervous.  I've always had a "thing".  I needed to have a "thing" for 2016.  But the more I thought about it, the more I realized the answer was obvious.  And it's not a thing... it's people.  Connection.  Relationships.

In 2015, for the first time in 14 years (pause for effect.... f.o.u.r.t.e.e.n.YEARS....) I could say I have a best girlfriend.  I had no idea when I was 8, or 13, or 18, or 23, how valuable, and precious, and rare those friendships are.  Growing up I was always the seemingly outgoing, attention-seeking, but truly introverted girl that had one really good friend.  It wasn't always the same friend depending on my stage of life, but there was always one best girlfriend.  Everyone else was kept at arms length at best.  As I've traveled through adulthood I have come to realize that everyone is too busy, or too socially competitive, or too over-committed to be friends.  I'm talking *real* friends here... not social media friends.  And I'm not immune to these categories either.  It's very easy to let work rule my life.  But it's not fun.  And it's not satisfying.  It's not sustainable.

And though I love my husband and no one can compare with his knowledge of me as a person, and support of me as a best friend and spouse, every girl needs a girlfriend.  Someone to share the silly stuff, the secrets, the "girl" stuff that guys really don't want to know about.  Someone I can talk to about my husband, who will listen and share ideas, and can give me a different perspective on something I'm struggling with.  Someone who loves my cat photos as much as I do and spoils my boys rotten every time she visits.

I actually met my best girlfriend in May of 2014 but I didn't know at the time that we were destined to be bff's.  It wasn't until April of 2015 when we took an impromptu weekend trip to Galveston for the 70.3 that we realized we were meant to be together.  It was instant connection.  Fun and laughter-filled, but with a personal and deep connection.  She is the one friend who knows me, is always there for me, and can give me a reality check when I need one.  She has a wisdom and a way of looking at things and seeing the big picture, weeding out the unimportant stuff.  And she can always make me laugh.

The other friendship that I am cultivating this year is one that's been around for 2 years shy of my whole entire life.  My little sister.  I was always close with my sisters growing up.  They were my first playmates.  And we always loved and supported each other.  But when my lil sis and I went to the same college, we had a standing coffee date and hung out together socially, our relationship was taken to a whole different level.  She knows literally everything about me.  Over the last few years our lives have taken different directions.  She has taken on motherhood and we haven't had the face time or the phone time that we had been accustomed to.  Thankfully, she recently called me out on my attitude about certain things, and I realized that I had been pulling away, building a wall... a protective mechanism I am famous for.  Since that conversation, we have been talking more regularly, being more involved in the every day stuff as well as the important stuff.

More recently, I gained another girlfriend.  Different from my friendships with my bff or my sister, but valuable all the same.  This friendship bloomed out of a most unlikely situation and seemed at times destined to fail, but we both saw something worth fighting for.  It would have been easy to walk away and give a million reasons why we couldn't be friends, but we opened dialogue, and were honest about our needs and our fears, and what we found was that we were so much alike in how we think, and react to things, and viewed the world at large.  She allows me to be vulnerable, without being afraid, and helps me to be a better version of myself.

Never in a million years did I think that at nearly age 40, I would just now be building the friendships that will take me through the rest of my life.  Entering 2016 with a renewed vision and passion for building relationships, I feel so completely... at peace.  Blessed.

This year my focus will be on creating an environment of authenticity.  I want to be intentional in my relationships and the way I choose to spend my time.  Remove the drama.  Remove the excess baggage.  I have often thought back to the Ultraman Canada awards banquet when the Hawaiian words Ohana (family), Kokua (help), and Aloha (love) were used to describe the Ultraman experience.  This is what I hope to build into my life in 2016.  Surround myself with family, both blood and chosen, in relationships through which we can love, support, nurture one another.  Strive to be true to my passions rather than feeling obligated to continue down the path that I've been following because it's convenient.

In 2016 I am going to cultivate the spirit of Aloha to:

- get my finances in order and create a sustainable vision for the future
- be intentional in my training, getting the most out of myself every session, every day
- make myself and my health a priority, starting with my nutrition (or lack thereof)
- learn to say no to things that don't enrich my life or make me happy
- begin to pursue my true passions both in my career and personal life

When I run down Ali'i drive in October, I want to feel true happiness, the kind that only comes from devotion, sacrifice, and dedicated pursuit of my full potential.  I want the warmth of the sun to embrace me in my journey, the pavement to radiate encouragement, the wind to blow away my fears and doubts, and my Ohana to celebrate with me at the finish line.

Aloha.

           

Ironman 70.3: Galveston

The Ironman Texas 70.3 in Galveston has been on my calendar for almost a year.  I had booked my hotel room months ago.  My usual method of bike shipment wasn't going to pan out for this race because my bike wouldn't have made it back to Phoenix in time for me to send it on to Ironman Texas in 2 weeks from now.  So I put off thinking about transportation until the last minute, expecting that I would just make the drive.

As the race got closer and I started to think about it, 18 hours each way in a car by myself did not sound like much fun.  I thought about begging my mom to fly down and drive with me, but my sister had her baby and needed some extra help so my mom was staying with her.  I ended up purchasing the Hen House from Ruster Sports to pack my bike and bought a plane ticket.

On Friday evening April 17th my husband and I were having a conversation about the trip.  You do realize that you're going to have 3 suitcases plus your carry on bag to schlep through the airport by yourself, right?  Well, yes, I did know this but I didn't actually think about this fact.  Crap.  Suddenly I'm imagining myself hauling my Hen House, plus my suitcase, and my carry on bag and wondering how much those wheeled carts cost and crap, I can't take them on the escalator or the Sky Train anyway.  Maybe you should ask someone to go with you, he suggested.

Immediately I thought of my friend HHV.  She would be perfect.  So on Saturday morning April 18 (our flight left on Friday April 24...) I messaged 3 friends, KJ, HHV and SE.  Any chance you're up for an all expense paid trip to the beach... next weekend??  Within a couple of hours HHV responded back-  she was in!  After about 10 minutes of texting back and forth excitedly she asked, where are we going?  Talk about the ultimate Sherpa!  How many people are going to commit without even knowing where we were headed!

So I cashed in some of my gazzilion points sitting in my Southwest bank and bought another ticket.  Suddenly my weekend in Galveston got a whole lot more fun!

Wednesday prior to leaving I met with the owner of Two Wheel Jones, my local bike shop.  He had built my bike when I first got it and he spent 2 hours (!) walking me through how to disassemble it, pack it safely and then reassemble it on the flip side.  In the age of digital-everything, I will ALWAYS support my local bike shop because you cannot buy good customer service online.  (Plus virtual group rides don't sound like much fun.)

We have arrived in Houston!

 After a smooth flight with no delays, we arrived in Houston and quickly got to work.  Well, actually that's not entirely true.  We couldn't check into our hotel for another 5 hours so we ate lunch, went through race registration, bought CO2 (can't fly with them!), drove the bike course, and THEN checked into the hotel and set about rebuilding my gem.

Before... during... and after!  Rebuiding Hope.

Thanks to the detailed instruction from the master at Two Wheel Jones, we had her up and running in about 20 minutes.  HHV neglected to tell me (until after) that she hadn't run since January, but she happily joined me for a 30 minute shake out run before dinner.  We ran along the gulf boardwalk and enjoyed the crashing of the waves.

HHV is one of those people when you meet her, you feel like you've known her forever.  I actually only met her last May at Ironman Texas but we instantly got on like peas and carrots.  She totally gets my sense of humor AND laughed at all my movie quotes (cause there is literally a movie line that fits EVERY situation!).  I was so glad she flew to Texas with me cause I'd have been bored out of my mind by myself.

My sister from another mister.

On Saturday it was raining cats and dogs.  A massive thunderstorm brought rain, lightening, and power outages all morning.  We got tired of sitting in the hotel waiting for it to pass so we drove to Starbucks and chatted the morning away while sipping versions of highly caffeinated beverages.  Eventually, the lightening stopped, and even though it was still raining I decided I better get my butt on my bike for a test ride before it got any later.  HHV drove me out a few miles onto the course where the road widens and there's a nice shoulder.  I hopped on and rode for 15 minutes, just long enough to make sure everything was in working order and get completely soaked.  HHV leap-frogged me in the car and picked me up.  Naturally the minute we pulled into transition to drop my bike off the skies cleared and the sun came out.

Bike check in.  I seriously had the sweetest spot in transition!  

After bike check in, I threw on my ROKA sim shorts for a quick swim in the gulf.  I hate getting into my wetsuit prior to race day because it doesn't dry out quick enough.  Sim shorts are perfect because you get the buoyancy of a wetsuit with the freedom of a swim suit.  Whenever I'm instructed to do a practice open water swim in my wetsuit I grab the sim shorts.  The water was rough because of the storm and winds, and I was having a blast in the waves.  My 20 minute swim was half warm up sprints, half playing in the surf.  Afterwards we hit up our new favorite restaurant for our pre-race dinner and headed to bed early.

Dinner on the pier overlooking my swim spot.

Race morning!  I manged to choke down my entire breakfast before I had a chance to get nervous.  Due to the parking situation, we decided to get to transition early and then just chill in the car with any extra time we had-- I didn't want to end up parking a ways away and walking.  It worked out perfectly.  As I was pumping my bike tires in transition the announcement was made that the swim would be NON- wetsuit as the water was too warm.  This was my reaction to the news...

Yay!  Non-wetsuit!!

I got everything situated on my bike and we had about 30 minutes to nap in the car before walking to the swim start.  Since everyone was expecting a wetsuit legal swim very few people thought to bring a speed suit.  I only saw about 4 other people with speed suits on.  Add another point to my swim advantage!  HHV snapped this photo of me....

At the swim start. 

... and instantly we both burst out laughing because it was totally a fake smile.  At this point, nerves had set in and I was getting anxious for the day.  Once again, she made me laugh and took my mind off of the pain I was about to endure.  She gave me a big hug and sent me off to line up in the swim corral.

I love swimming.  I love open water swimming.  I love flying by people when I swim.  It was so much fun.  I was catching the wave ahead of mine by the first buoy and continued to pick people off the remainder of the swim.  I exited the water in 32 minutes and 18 seconds, 3rd in my age group.  Dodging people in the swim was only mildly annoying, though given the chance I'd gladly start in an earlier wave to avoid this.

After a quick transition I was onto the bike.  I have to admit, I have never had this much fun on a bike before!  The course is flat and fast.  Very fast.  The first couple of miles are a bunch of turns getting out onto the highway, but once there you bike out 25 miles and turn around and come back.  Weather was perfect, overcast and no winds to speak of.  It started raining on me when I got about 10 miles out from the turn around and continued raining on the way back.  So many people were sitting up out of their aero bars, but honestly, the road conditions were perfect and even with the rain I've never ridden a safer course.  I was hauling the whole way.

For the first time, my coach had given me very specific power numbers to hit on the bike.  We wanted to test my fitness and find out what I can plan to execute at Ironman in 3 weeks (I'm still very new to power so this is a work in progress).  It was awesome to ride at that level and see just how much I CAN push the bike.  And I had so much fun doing it!  I was like a freight train!  I seriously was flying past people like they were standing still.  I counted less than a half dozen men (and NO women) that passed me the entire 56 miles.  I was smiling and laughing and having the best time riding my bike.  My total bike time?  2:24-- 13 minutes faster than any previous half Ironman, and 2nd off the bike in my age group!

Coming back into transition the sun was intermittently peeking out and it was heating up.  Thankfully I love the heat and when the breeze hit me just the right way I actually was a bit chilly.  Coming off the bike I could feel the effort in my legs immediately.  What we wanted to see was could I run my pace for 13 miles?  Or would I fade?

This must have been loop 1- I was still smiling!

The run course was 3 loops.  3 very crowded loops.  With 1 U-turn per mile.  And a football field long gravel pit each loop.  Football field long gravel pit with mud puddles.  And even though it was extremely flat, I could feel every single slight pitch upwards.  I dialed in my pace and I ran.  HHV was cheering for me on course, and passing on text message instructions from my coach.  It was so awesome to have her there and I looked forward to seeing her every loop.  When I passed her the last time I shouted "see you at the finish!!"

I ran a 1:47:55, about 2 minutes slower than Oceanside but after a significantly harder (effort wise) bike ride.  I was thrilled and happy to cross the line in 4:48:14.  HHV walked me around a little as my asthma threatened to flare up and got me into the food tent.  Once we were finally able to remove my gear from transition we went back to the hotel to pack up.  In 60 minutes we:  disassembled Hope and packed her in the Hen House for travel, took turns showering and packing our luggage, loaded our rental car, and drove back to the venue for the awards ceremony.

4th place, 35-39 age group!

I took home the 4th place age group award (again!)!  I am hoping to move up to top 3 for IM Texas in a few weeks but was thrilled with this considering where I'm at in training and the competition that showed up in Galveston.  Top 3 girls in my age group ran a 1:30 half marathon...  my half PR (for running race, not post 56 mile bike ride) is 1:35 so I really can't beat myself up about losing to that kind of effort!

We hit the road pretty quickly after awards because we had a flight to catch out of Houston.  I'd like to say I slept like a baby but I couldn't get comfortable on the flight --everything hurt... and I didn't sleep well that night once we got home either.  But all is well and good and now I'm down to 12 days to Ironman Texas.

Best. Sherpa. Ever!!

Huge thank you to HHV for agreeing to go with me on such short notice.  I could not think of anyone I'd rather have had with me in Galveston!  Thank you Chris from Dimond Bikes/ Ruster Sports for being available and for letting me borrow a couple of tools and your hat for the podium.  I'll see you in the Woodlands!  Thanks Larry and the team at Two Wheel Jones for everything you do to keep my gem up and running.  You are much appreciated.

Next stop:  The Woodlands!!

Thank you Dimond Bikes for making the BEST bike on the market!!!