Something Old, Something New

Going into a new season of racing and a new year of life, there are always new things to try and changes to be made, as well as things that should remain untouched!  A few of these things that have been on my mind...

The ELF - Some people seem to change coaches as often as they change underpants - I'm not one of them.  Why mess with success and what works?  5 years of setting PRs and developing as an athlete and she still surprises me with new and inventive ways to push myself and suffer and improve.

Osmo - As a physiologist in training, I've read the research and the argument for gender-specific fueling/recovery made by Stacy Sims is beyond compelling.  As an athlete, the data resonates quite strongly with my own experiences training and racing.  So I'm quite excited to try Osmo nutrition products this year and see how it goes!

Home Sweet Home - With any luck, we should be in our very own house in Colorado in a couple more months.  I'll get to pack up my stuff and move - yet again - but I will finally be living with my husband and Puck again too!

Races - Given that I live in a new state 1000 miles away from my hometown, it's no surprise that every one of my races this year is brand-spanking-new to me.  New people to race against, new courses to tackle, lots of fresh territory to explore!  (The only thing I've come close to having familiarity with is SOMA, where I once raced the old Quarterman as one of my very first triathlons)

Time Management - It's old news that I'm chronically over scheduled.  With a full-time lab job plus classes and teaching AND triathlon training AND dogs, I'm getting plenty of practice putting my time management skills to work.  I find I'm doing more of my training in the evenings after I get home and walk the dogs (I was always a morning-only exerciser!) - in particular, it's been nice to swim around 8pm when the pool is empty and then drink a recovery smoothie and sleep like the dead!

Soaking It All In - I live in one of the most beautiful places around and I can't let that go unappreciated!  In the past I've been challenged in terms of taking the time to relax (possibly a chronic problem with Type A triathletes) but it's critical when I spend most of my time working so hard at school.  One of the ways I'm trying to balance all of my commitments is by leaving weekends open and not entering a lot of dog events (at least for now, when we barely find any time to train) - it gives me an opportunity to catch up and recharge and do spontaneous fun things.  Last weekend I visited Lyons with the dogs (twice) and went to Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park for the first time.  I try to plan at least one fun hike and outing for the dogs every weekend, after all of my training is done.

2014 is looking pretty special so far!

Snow Days

While Jeff and Puck were here visiting, we got a big dump of snow.  Which meant lots of fun and snow-hiking for the dogs, especially Puck who had never seen any before.  We also learned Stanley loves to catch snowballs and is quite good at it!

Bring on 2014!!!

I happily started 2014 in the pool, shortly after the gym opened on New Years Day.  For most of the 90 minutes, I was the only one in the pool and I couldn't keep the smile off my face when it started snowing!  Nothing beats swimming outdoors with Flatiron views - pinch me!

Training has otherwise been going well.  I swim, I bike, I run, I plank/pushup/etc and I know that all this less-than-sexy work lays the foundation for a solid season.  My first bike test in ~10 months was today and it was…not exactly stellar.  But I've been marathon training, not biking, and I know with actual application of force to pedals regularly, I will see improvements.

Lab/clinic work has been busy but life has felt quiet without classes to attend or teach.  All of that changes on Monday so I'm doing my best to pull my shit together in a hurry.

Jeff and Puck came to visit shortly after New Years and Puck got to see his very first snow though, I will try to post some photos and video of the whole thing.  He's having a blast here and it's nice to have the whole family together.  Mostly we've spent the week house hunting - talk about an exhausting process!  Our first day out driving around showed us just how bad the houses can be on beautiful properties (and at too high a price to knock down and rebuild).  Our second day visiting homes with the realtor resulted in at least one possible target, though we'd ideally still like to be closer to Boulder.  Think good thoughts as we head out for another round of homes tomorrow!

As it's already nearly mid-January, I have put the race schedule for the year on the sidebar.  Highlights? Duathlon Nationals in July and a return to the 1/2IM distance in October.  I had to find a race that really pulled at me in order to do that and SOMA is it - I was supposed to race SOMA a couple years ago when the Tempe Town Lake dam broke and the race was cancelled.  It's been calling my name ever since!

Happy new year!

2013 In Review

I'm less interested in recapping miles and races this year and more interested in remembering the amazing things that made 2013 memorable.  It had its ups and it had its downs but it was one hell of a year!

January - we spent 2 amazing weeks biking through Central America as part of the grand prize I'd won in a vegan sports nutrition product sweepstakes. Trip of a lifetime.

February - I coughed up the big news that I was moving to Boulder and explained the process in excruciating detail.

March - I puked my way to a new personal best power on the bike.

April - we visited Stanley's sister's adorable puppies and celebrated a birthday for a special dog friend.

May - I was not eaten by sharks.

June - Woofstock, baby.

 

July - We made our last trip to the beach with our best friends.  Little did we know we would lose 2 of them so soon afterwards :(  We said goodbye to California and hit the road for Colorado.

August - I moved in to our new home in Boulder, sent my husband on a plane home and fell in love with everything Colorado.  Also, it was hot.  Really hot.

September - Jeff visited.  It was still hot.  Then it started raining and thus commenced the great Boulder Flood of 2013.  We evacuated to three different hotels at different points in September.  I should teach a class on this.

October - We moved into a new home after the final straw with the flood and old apartment.  Jeff visited - it was hot again! I continued to train for a marathon in the prettiest place on earth, got chased by a cow, we got our first snow, and I did science.

Also…my mom came to visit Colorado for the first time and we went all over sightseeing. No, really.  Really.

November - I flew home and surprised Jeff and my family as he packed up our house.  I ran my last 20-miler at sea level and learned how awesome it is to live at altitude.  We sold our house in one day on the market.

December - I ran a marathon. Survived finals week and got As in my classes, spent 3 weeks eating like an asshole, and miraculously got back in the pool and on my bike.

If you're still reading and you care about the racing/mileage crap…
I swam 224,171 yards (~128.8 miles), biked 2376.17 miles, ran 903.91 miles, did a little over 26 hours of strength work, and got faster than ever on my lowest mileage in ~5 years.   I raced and podiumed in 2 duathlons and successfully swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco.  I started tri season well with a 4th place in AG, then podiumed in the next 2 races and crashed and burned in my first outing at AG nationals.  I ran 4 run races, made the podium in 3 of them and PRed the shit out of the last one.     Life was a bit hairy this year but I managed some huge improvements and I'm happy to put this racing year to bed and focus on the next one.

With that, I'm off to drink sparkling cider and eat spinach for dinner, hang with the dogs, and go to bed at 9pm.  2014 kicks off early and I need to be well rested!

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Before Christmas, I joined the gym next door to my apartment.  For the new year of training, I can't have any excuses to miss swims or other workouts - the masters group I joined when I moved here simply doesn't have convenient (EARLY morning) hours for me and the city pool lap swim hours are a bit too limited with my work schedule, plus if we're experiencing "weather" it's hard to get myself in a car and drive there.  Instead I now have access to an OUTDOOR pool, a block from home, with a hot tub and sauna and ridiculous number of other amenities.  I swam nearly as much in my 3 weeks of off-season as I did in the previous 3 months of marathon training combined.

Miracle. (And it's truly that nice of a pool)

The beardies and I are back home in Boulder after a week in Arizona visiting Jeff and Puck.  We survived the 13 hour, 880 mile drive back and beat the snow to Boulder by about 5 minutes. And none of the crazy New Mexico drivers managed to kill us either.

Miracle.

I was thinking about holiday miracles earlier this week, when I consumed three rather large vodka-based beverages while out at sushi dinner with Jeff and then three large beers with Jeff and Nigel after. And woke up feeling…amazing.  Like seriously, no hangover, all hydrated and everything. And then busted out my longest swim in ages.

Miracle for sure.

While visiting Arizona this week, I also got back on my bike, outdoors, for the first time in…well, months.  Of course we started with a  ride up a (small) mountain - I assumed I'd be far off the back of the boys, sucking wind and cursing life.  Instead, I felt FABULOUS and strong right on up that mountain.  I rode with Jeff on Christmas and felt super as well.

(Living at elevation and coming down to sea level is a) Miracle.

After 3 weeks of eating a "Western" diet (high fat high sugar), I've managed not to die.

Absolutely a miracle.

Training starts up again tomorrow so today I return to vegetables and healthier eating.  I've never missed something so badly in my life!

Merry Christmas!

From Stanley, Max and Puck

Tucson Marathon Race Report

When I left Boulder last Saturday morning, after a 3:45am alarm (HOLYMOTHEROFGODITSTOODAMNEARLY), it was -5 degrees out.  We'd been dealing with a weeklong cold snap that necessitated boots and coats for dogs for every single walk plus a ridiculous amount of bundling up for me. Every. Single. Walk.  For the most part I was just grateful I made it to the airport without encountering any ice.  And to think I was flying somewhere where everyone had been complaining about cold…compared to Colorado, I was looking at it as t-shirt weather (more on this later).

I flew to Phoenix where Jeff and Puck picked me up and we road tripped about 90 miles down the road to the Tucson area.  Got through the line at the busiest Starbucks ever, spent 5 minutes at packet pickup, had lunch and spent the afternoon relaxing in our hotel.  All the while eating and eating and trying to keep to bland white foods (I am not very good at this).  I had an early dinner and was off to bed around 8:30, with yet another 3:45 alarm on tap.

I practice my pre-race routines for every long workout so they really don't tend to be stressful or different for me on race morning.  I applied sunblock, lubed up, dressed, put my new throwaway sweats on over my race clothes, and started chugging caffeine as Jeff drove me to the high school that served as the bus depot for transit to the start line, way up the back side of Mount Lemmon.  I made friends with my seat mate who was doing her very first marathon and was very nervous.  I wasn't nervous at all, but I knew I was trained and ready for this and I had a very good idea of what kind of PR we were talking about.

It was not especially warm at the start, probably 28-30 degrees with a STRONG wind and an occasional drop of something frozen from the sky.  I reminded myself that I've done all my long running in Boulder in a sports bra and a pair of shorts, even when it was 35 or 40 degrees out, and this was WARM compared to when I left!  Eventually it was time to line up at the start - I set myself up around what seemed like the appropriate pace groups, took off my sweatpants, and decided to keep my fleece till the 1st aid station.

An anthem, a little fanfare, and we were off!  The first few miles were pretty fast as we were rolling up and down but mostly down, and the pace group leader took off like a bat out of hell, at a much faster pace than the time goal she carried.  Still I kept the effort feeling easy and backed off - with 90% of the pace group - when it didn't.  By the aid station at mile 2, I was ready to shed my fleece and settle in for the long haul.

Miles 1-5: 7:55, 8:22, 7:52, 8:16, 8:12

After 5 miles we turned out onto the bigger state highway and the course leveled out a bit, with less obvious rollers.  I felt pretty good and just kept my effort steady and my nutrition/hydration on schedule.

Miles 6-10: 7:52, 7:59, 8:16, 8:15, 8:20

Just before the 10 mile mark, we took a turn onto Biosphere Road and began the long slog upward to turn around at the gates of the Biosphere.  As I got closer, I wondered what had happened to that 3:40 pace leader.  I saw the 3:30 pace leader go by the other direction when I was nearing the turnaround and 30 seconds behind him there she was!  Um…pretty sure you aren't supposed to be that far up the 3:30 group's ass at mile 12 - no wonder she'd lost everyone that followed her! 

We turned around at mile 12 and rolled up and down back to the highway, reaching it a bit after the 13.1 mile mark.  I was probably at my lowest point here…stomach feeling a bit queasy, legs tired and just tired of running into the darned headwind!  I made a restroom stop around mile 15 and upped my water intake - both things I think paid off down the line.  I should add despite the wind and all I was never cold! I got a lot of funny looks for not wearing as much as everyone else but I was comfortable and it was probably like 45 most of the day - WAY warmer than where I had come from!
Miles 11-15: 8:44, 8:52, 8:26, 8:42, 8:35

From Biosphere Road I knew we had about 7 miles before we turned off the highway.  My legs were starting to hurt - A LOT - but I just focused on strong form and keeping my cadence high.  "Your legs are going to hurt regardless. So make them hurt faster." The wind continued to be strong in our faces and where possible I drafted off big dudes.  Still it seemed like no one was quite going my pace - either I passed them or they surged past me and then I would repass them at aid stations.  The road rolled up and down and you never quite could tell what was coming off in the distance until you got there (the joy of open desert scenery).
Miles 16-19: 9:06, 8:25, 8:46, 8:44

Right about at mile 20, something awesome happened - I started feeling FABULOUS.  I may not have been moving a whole lot faster but I got a smile on my face and I started passing a lot of people.  I knew there were still some tough parts to go but I was on the home stretch.  I knew on this newly revised course, there was a steep hill coming around mile 22.5 but I couldn't see it - then we turned a corner and OH YEAH that's a big one.  Still it was not all that different than this one hill I ran all fall on the Boulder Marathon course, back on dirt roads near Nelson Road.  So just control breathing and pace, lean forward and keep running till the top - where I was rewarded by a lovely downhill that I absolutely hammered (because why not? only 3 miles to go and it's not like I'm saving my legs for anything!).
Miles 20-24: 8:37, 8:46, 8:54, 9:05, 8:47

The last couple miles were not the most fun but I knew I was almost there and Jeff and Puck would be waiting for me at the finish.  We also caught up with some of the 19-milers and half-marathoners at this point so the course got busier.  I just kept looking for that last turn!!!  Finally I saw the crowd and the turn into the fire station for the finish chute.  I spotted Jeff and Puck up on a grassy hill (I had promised to not talk to him when I saw him or Puck would notice me and probably rip Jeff's arm off trying to join me on course) and gave him a quick wave as I went by.  Just a few more seconds of running and I was done.

Miles 25-26.2 (or, um, 26.32 if you're me): 8:50, 8:46, and an 8:28 pace for the last 1/3 of a mile.

After I took a few moments to collect myself (look, ma, no puke!), I hobbled over to the timing table to double-check on my time.  Yes, indeed - 3:44:13 - for a 1:02:01 PR over my best open marathon and a 43:44 PR over my best IM marathon.  14th/75 in 35-39 women and 70th/409 women overall.

I knew it was going to hurt and it certainly delivered - but Coach and I have worked long and hard on mental management of pain and it paid off.  Given the changing terrain of the course, my effort was steady and I stuck to my plan well - I knew the downhill miles would be fast and the uphill ones not so much so I conserved well.  That is BY FAR the best I've ever run after 20 miles in a marathon/IM marathon and Coach was in my head all the way keeping me strong and focused.

I hobbled the 1/2 mile to the car (and I'm sure provided much entertainment to spectators) and  Facebooked right about that time: "No. More. Marathons."  Jeff graciously handed me a chocolate milk and drove me back to Phoenix, where I had time to shower and have a meal before my long-delayed flight.  First burger in months, for the win!  With that, the off season is officially upon me!  I'm doing my best to only eat 4 food groups - beer, bacon, cheese and chocolate.  It's a tough job but someone has to do it.

Thanks for all the well wishes!!!  I thought about each of you (and your predictions haha) as I ran.  Of the people who didn't know insider info like my training run times (and my 1/2 PR of 1:44 from a 1/2IM in 2012), Krystyna was the big prediction winner!

PS - this past weekend I got a message from a former tri club teammate who said he ran a trail race with a girl who had run Tucson the weekend before and she mentioned how cold it was and there was this one crazy girl in a sports bra. A blue sports bra! Hahahahahahaha.