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1 week til Leadman

1 week until I swim 1.5 miles, bike 70, and run 8.

1 week til I see where my fitness is at going into Wildflower

I have no expectations for Leadman. It was a last minute sign up. There has and will be no real taper. It’s just a really really hard training day. My friends, Jené and Andrea, talked to me into it, so no matter what it will be a fun girls weekend!

This week was a challenging week. I had a lot of different work/social commitments that made for a challenging week for training, but a good week!

My brother was in town for a conference. He owns a company called, Songwhale (www.songwhale.com), which does the payment processing for infomercials through texting. (text to pay). Super weird and interesting business, the conversations about different products, was fascinating. Have you ever heard of Mr. Lid? Forever Lazy? P90x? Yup, these are some of my brother’s clients. Maybe someday I’ll do a blog series on my bro, cause he’s got a super interesting story…

Anyway…

It was fun to see him! We went to the Hard Rock hotel both Tues and Wednesday night for happy hour drinks…

Love Aerosmith! Favorite song…”Going Down/Love in the Elevator”

And then went to a sushi place on Tuesday night for dinner (Taka), and a new restaurant called Gang Kitchen on Wednesday night. I never go downtown, so it was fun to check out that scene two nights in a row.

Hold on..back up…

Monday – I ran and did strength – felt good…solid day

Tuesday – swim and bike

Swim – I went to the pool and well…I can’t do flip turns. Randomly when I was turning away from the wall one time, I turned funky…and I pulled something in my chest. I kept swimming though. It was kind of uncomfortable, but I wasn’t weak or anything, it just hurt when I grabbed the wall with my left arm to turn myself around. I finished my workout, and thought…weird. What a LAME way to “injure” myself….

Wednesday – Swim

I went to master’s, and although swimming was “fine”, I couldn’t grab the wall with my left arm, AT ALL. I occasionally would do this weird doggy paddle motion just so that I could turn myself around by grabbing the wall with my right hand. Alrighty, this is worse than I thought, I thought to myself. So…I called up my massage therapist, Gina, and she could get me in on Friday. No swimming til I saw her…

Thursday – Strength and Torrey Pines hill repeats I LOVE Torrey Pines hill repeat days (yes, Beth, you heard me…I’m totally okay with this being on my schedule every week)

When you have a view like this…what’s not to like?

Stole this pic from Beth…

Friday – Run, MASSAGE, Going away party for my friend Linzay

Run went well – I had a tempo run – and did this on the treadmill so that I could control my speed and environment

Massage – was BRUTAL. Definitely got my a$$ worked. I was sweating so badly, I’m pretty sure I drenched the sheet covering me. ha! But, I think we got most of the gunk worked out.

Going away party for Linzay – Linzay worked at competitor as an editor, and got a great job at a start-up company in San Francisco that she couldn’t refuse, and she had been wanting to move to SF for awhile now. Fortunately I get to see her in a couple months when I go up there for a wedding!

Pouty faces

Saturday – Long ride and brick run

Andrea had invited me to come on a ride with her and some other kids. I was excited to check out a new route, and meet some new people. Immediately, Gerry “stole my heart” Gerry is a 75yr old man, who is full of life and energy. He is a total badass in triathlon, and just won his age group at Oceanside. He also qualified for Kona at Ironman Arizona in November. Surprisingly, he turned down both his Vegas and Kona slot…ha! His big goal is to beat the record of 8hrs for his age group at Wildflower in a few weeks. His wife Dee, is a real sweetheart too, can’t wait to try her Pad Thai that he was raving about the entire ride!

I really enjoyed riding with this group! They were a lot of fun and everyone had GREAT stories. That’s one of my favorite parts about riding bikes with people, there is really no better way to get to know someone. Your out there, and the only real way to entertain ourselves is to chat it up.

Some photos from Saturdays ride through the California hills/mountains…

Gerry, THE most bada$$ 75yr old there is…

We had some spectacular scenery

Fun pit stop

De Luz School House for a little history lesson – this one room school house is still in use. There was a guy who renovated, and preserves the grounds, and he actually let us inside to see it…and use the bathroom

All the children have these boots to wear, for certain activities…we were in a school house, so I had to make the photo look kinda old

I finished up Saturday with 65 miles of riding, 6700ft of climbing, and a whole lot of fun! I then headed out for a t-run for 45min Solid day of training

Sunday – After falling asleep at 9:30pm on Saturday night…and waking up at 8:30am…and still being sleepy…I decided to have a lazy Sunday morning. I was exhausted, and starving. So I made some breakfast (eggs, spinach, pico de gallo, a greek yogurt, and a banana), then I was still super hungry, so I had a kind bar (coconut almond). I then lounged in bed, fell back asleep. And ultimately, the day was slowly turning into a rest day. I hadn’t had a rest day in three weeks, and I think my body was telling me something. At noon, I was getting ready to start the days workouts, when coach texted me, and I just asked her…rest day today? long run tomorrow? Questions ensued…and ultimately, we decided…rest day today. I’m already starting to feel better, and I’m pumped for tomorrow’s workouts Sometimes, you just gotta listen to your body.

Ultimately, that’s Beth’s method, when it comes to rest days. I remember her telling me that early on. She doesn’t really plan rest days into my schedule, unless it’s right before a race. Generally, I go, until my body starts telling me something. I think this is waaay better, than to plan it. Sometimes you just need one. And sometimes, you can train for two or three weeks straight and never need one. Use your energy while you got it, and give your body rest when it needs it. It’s the same way how we pace ourselves off of feel in races. We go hard when we are feeling good, and we might back off a bit, when we feel like we need to.

So, today…I have chatted with friends, watched a lot of hulu, caught up on some reading, eaten a lot of food, and napped. It’s been a solid day of rest.

The best part of my day?…

Facetiming with my niece, London. She is 10 months. I got to see her take 3 steps before falling down. THE best part of this is that, when you say “hello?” “hello?” whatever she has in her hand, she puts it up to her ear to “answer”. It is the sweetest thing. In this case, it was a remote. Made my day <3

How often do you take rest days? Planned or unplanned?

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No, not these kinds of building blocks…

Building blocks for training…

This week was a BIG week, the biggest yet…I don’t really like always sharing hours/distances, etc. because it’s all relative. Depends on how many hours a day you have to spend on training, how your body is feeling, what your goals are, etc. But for me it was a big week, and a successful week. Okay, ok, ok, ok…I’ll share…this week was 19 1/2hrs that I put in…the funny thing is…I didn’t even realize it til the end of the week. It just kinda sorta added up. Beth of course had a plan in there, but sometimes certain workouts took longer than expected, or I decided to stay in the pool an extra 15min because I was having fun. The truth is, I know that this past week, and this coming week are huge building blocks to support my fitness for the rest of the season. We are definitely building a foundation, and I’m enjoying the process.

I think my favorite thing about training so far is finally having training buddies! When I lived in Chicago, I spent most of my time training solo, and indoors. For me, I didn’t actually mind. BUT, now that I’ve tasted the other side, ummm….how did I spend 6hrs on the trainer practically every weekend for 9 months? I had almost run out of t.v shows and movies to watch, and now I can’t seem to keep up.

This week…

Run hill repeats on trails (to get ready for Wildflower)

Torrey Pines Hill Repeats

With coach…

Rehab United Triathlon Strength Training Class

Oceanside 70.3 Spectating…

Beth crusin’ out of T2…

It was sooo much fun spectating on Saturday. I really enjoyed watching all my friends race. You all kicked butt and had awesome races! Congrats! The weather was perfect…probably will sign up to do it next year…cross my fingers we don’t get the rain/wind/cold that we did when I raced in 2012.

On Sunday, Jen and I headed out on a long ride…that was supposed to be 4hrs, somehow turned into 5+…we just kept climbing…but I honestly forgot how long we had been riding simply because we just chatted…girls definitely know how to make time fly by chatting…

Waking “The Sleeping Indian”…

A few things to note about this week:

1. I have now gone 14 days without bread or processed sugar! My goal is to make it 30…

2. I am religiously using myfitnesspal to drop the lbs…

3. I have lost 2lbs since starting (1lb a week.

Leadman 125 in two weeks! Wildflower in five!

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When SKLZ asked me to be a part of their Success Project, I honestly was surprised. Me? I thought to myself. I am no professional athlete, no Olympian, I haven’t really had any “real” setbacks…why me? But the truth is, success comes in all forms. What does success look like to you?

I will be featured on the SKLZ Success Project blog weekly for the next 8 weeks or so…you can check out my first post, and the start of my story here.

Also, check out the Success Project video…featuring yours truly

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This week was a BUSY week, but a FUN, week.

I knew I had a recovery “week” at the beginning of the week, so what do I do? Jam pack it with everything I can think of, dinner dates, hair appointments, etc.

Monday: What did I do with my extra time? More celebration of Jené’s birthday! Andrea had planned a surprise birthday dinner for Jené at Crush in Solana Beach. Jené was definitely surprised (p.s notice that I figured out how to put the accent on the e!) haha. That means we all skipped RU (Rehab United Triathlon Strength Training Class) for a night of girl talk, wine, and awesome appetizers. Sorry Bryan!

Andrea, me, Jené

The whole group of ladies

I LOVE quotes, and as I find ones that I like, I give them to people who I think might enjoy them. So…I stuffed Jené’s bday card full of a few quotes that I thought she might like…well I didn’t think about the fact that she would be reading them as if I was giving them to her, from me, haha…this one got us cracking up…

Tuesday: What did I do with my extra time? Taco Tuesday at The Brig – YUM! 

Wednesday: What did I do with my extra time? Dinner with my friend Nicole.

The largest potato chip I’ve ever seen…

Thursday: Hair Appt – followed by a running MAF test at Cathedral Catholic High School. Poor planning…but I was in desperate need of a highlight, and a cut…it had been 12 weeks! My roots were killing me…

So…I headed to the track to test out how fast I am, while keeping my HR below my MAF HR which is 157. As I ran around the track dodging lacrosse balls, since the boy’s lacrosse team had practice, I somehow found a way to zone out and have one of the best runs of my life. There is something meditative about running around a track, and NOT sprinting. Just going around, and a round. I didn’t mind it at all. I did a 2 mile warm-up, and then did 4 miles keeping my HR 2 beats below my max MAF HR, 157. To say I was surprised is an understatement. After a pretty messed up year last year, I was pretty bummed to see where my fitness was at the start of this year. I was running pretty much 10min/miles with my HR in the 160′s…when I had been running 7:30′s/8min miles off the bike in 70.3′s in 2011. We all go through our lows, and our highs, and last year was a low, I road it out, and now it was time to get to work, and get my fitness back. The dedication, consistency, and hard work are starting to pay off.

Mile 1: 7:40 – avg HR 148

Mile 2: 7:50 – avg HR 151

Mile 3: 7:50 – avg HR 151

Mile 4: 7:52 – avg HR 152

I texted Beth, and immediately she called me, we both were SURPRISED! Holy crap! The best part is, it felt smooth and easy. What I love about the track is it doesn’t lie. It’s flat, consistent, and you can really gauge where you are at in your training. To go from 10min miles with a high HR to 7:50′s and keep my HR fairly low (for me), was enough to keep me on a high the rest of the week! Needless to say, Thursday was AWESOME – hair appointment and a bomb.com run test.

Friday/Saturday – Oakley was in town!

I LOVE my Oakley family. They just are all such rockstars! Oakley Women’s has teamed up with Shape and the Diva Dash and is heading to cities all over the country putting on Oakley Progression Sessions – Fitness Style. 200 ladies come and get some sweet schwag, take a bootcamp by Cari and Carrie, a yoga session by Lacey Calvert, a nutrition seminar by Marni Sumbal, and also get a chance at becoming an Oakley Women’s ambassador! It was so much fun meeting all the women who attended the event, and I’m excited for our new addition to the ambassador family, Caitlin.

Christine and I manning the social media booth, where women could come and post photos to Instagram, etc. and sign the Oakley Women’s Contract.

I will use this for “Swim, Bike, Run” NOT “hanging out in the sun”.

Shawn Parkin – who is a badass photographer was there to take photos. Fun mini photoshoot…

Shawn caught me on my phone at least a dozen times that day…

What can I say? I was in charge of the social media tent

After the event, we headed to the Hyatt in Mission Bay for some post OPSFitness bevies and appetizers with Shape Magazine. Cheers!

Saturday/Sunday – Long ride on Saturday followed by a 40min OTB Run, and a long run and swim on Sunday.

Saturday I met up with Beth, Jené, and Courtney for a 4ish hour ride. It was Courtney’s bday, so we let her pick the route. Once again, I got my BUTT kicked. I seriously hope that in a few months, I’m not DYING going up hills and mountains to keep up with these girls…

Some of the awesome scenery we saw on our ride (photo courtesy of Jené).

Sunday I enjoyed heading out for an early run, and then went to master’s swim practice, where I had another big gain! We had a good long set, that was mostly just putting yards in. But at the end of the 2 different sets, we had to do a fast 100 for time. For the first time ever I got in the 1min and single digits! 1:09 to be exact.

It was a solid week! Packed full of fun and good training.

Side note: I signed up for Leadman 125 in Tempe, AZ on April 14th. I have a few friends who talked me into doing it, and well it sounded fun, and it’s a good place for me to work on my weaknesses, swimming and biking. So, my next race, although since it’s last minute, I have no expectations, but excited to see where my fitness is at in 3 weeks.

Side Note #2: I am going 30 days without bread or processed sugar…I have made it 7 days so far! Only 21 more days to go…who’s joining me?!?!

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I realize the title of my blog is “triing for pro”. So, I get asked a lot “Are you trying to go pro?” Fair question. And I realize the tag line of my blog also is “the journey from novice triathlete to pro triathlete”…maybe I should change the tag line…

How and why I came up with the title…

I have always been a dreamer. I will never forget walking a mile to elementary school when I was probably 8, in little Fox Point, Wisconsin, and singing “Under the Bridge” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, and “hoping” that someone would “discover” me, and I would become some famous singer. haha. Ask me to sing…that was NEVER going to happen. I then remember pursuing a “modeling” career, and I ended up getting a job in a commercial for the Admirals (local Milwaukee Hockey Team) with Bob Uecker. My line was “Look Dad, we’re going the wrong way.” I then had dreams of becoming an actress, and as soon as my parents realized that I was going to be missing a lot of school, the answer was “No”.

I was a gymnast growing up, and as I was moving up levels, I had a dream of becoming an Olympic gymnast. I went to gymnastics camp, and was coached by some of the best coaches in the sport. I would spend hours at the gym – approx 20hrs a week, starting in 5th grade.

I then had dreams of being a D1 collegiate soccer player. And although, I didn’t end up playing D1, I did end up playing college soccer at DePauw University. I LOVED every single minute of being on that team. And we actually went to the final four my freshman year.

My second semester senior year of college, when my soccer career was over, I thought, what am I going to do now? I love setting goals, and being a part of a sport, and so I decided to sign up for a marathon. I had never done a running race before, and well I like to “Go Big or Go Home” – actually learned this quote when I would have to climb the rope to the top at gymnastics and at the top of the rope it had that quote. I’ll never forget it. Side note: I also have another favorite quote that I think about daily, that my dad always told me growing up (since I’m small “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” Anyway, I finished my first marathon in 4:14:XX at the St. Louis Marathon.

After having a fun, decent first race, I decided I wanted to try to qualify for Boston. Yes, even though I had to get a 3:40 to qualify, I wanted to PR by that much. And this was before I knew anything about PR’s, or how to actually train. I remember training for my first one, and my friend telling me I just had to do one three hour run, and I was good to go. Pretty sure I did it after a night of partying, and also pretty sure I walked at least 30min of it, probably because I was hungover. Anyway…I signed up to do the Chicago marathon…and qualified.

Probably could have run harder and faster, if I’m clownin’ around…but who doesn’t like to have a little fun while their racing?

Always gotta have my chocolate milk after a race.

I finished in 3:30:44.

I headed to Boston, which is right around the time I started this blog. So, I hadn’t even done my first triathlon.

My first triathlon And my mom’s first too!

But, after qualifying for Boston, I knew I wanted to start getting into triathlon, and that was where new dreams formed. I knew I just wanted to see how far I could get. I loved running, and I knew in my heart that I was going to love triathlon. I love setting goals, and improving, and challenging myself. And so…even if I never get to the “pro” level, my intention is to become as good as I can get, and if I get to that level, awesome! If that means I qualify for Kona, when I’m 70, that’s awesome too!

Before my first half ironman (Racine 70.3 in 2010)

Finishing my first half ironman.

And my first Ironman. Ironman Wisconsin in 2011.

So…I will…

And we’ll just see how far I get…:) I think the biggest thing is I’m having fun, and that’s the most important part.

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This week’s training was jam packed full of good stuff! I knew I was heading to L.A for two days for work, so Beth planned a rest day and a max HR treadmill test for when I was away. I also was up there for a shoot with Oakley!

My friend Lauren and I had some work to do in Anaheim, and so afterwards we had playtime in the park!

Here are some snapshots of the behind the scenes of the video/photo shoot with Oakley! The shoot was specific for their sports bras and the exclusive Sunglass Hut sunnies “unstoppable”.

After the work was over, it was back down to San Diego…

This week was a BIG week of training! But, I was stoked to tackle it…

One of the highlights was doing the Palomar Punishment Ride for my friend, Jene’s (with an accent on the e) bday! I needed a good butt kicking, and I need to ride outside more, and what’s better than to ride with three other girls? It makes the time fly by!

So, Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early and headed out to Escondido. It was FREEZING. CLOUDY. And, I was considering riding with my down vest on. BUT, Jene told me that that wasn’t an option. haha. I’m pretty sure I was going to embarrass the girls, if I couldn’t “man” up, especially since I’m from Wisconsin. But, I definitely wasn’t riding without my mittens!

After the first climb, it was time to take the arm warmers off…

Still with mittens…

There were jokes the whole way…aren’t you glad you didn’t wear your vest…how are your hands?…Have you seen any snow?…

My sassy responses…”I’m doing a parafin treatment”…”I’m a hand model”…

Let me tell you there were some sweet tan lines that came from this move…Have you ever seen someone with cycling jersey and mitten tan lines? Check me out in the pool sometime this week…;)

When we made it to the top of Mount Palomar, we had covered about 5,100 ft of climbing. And we had only gone about 35 miles at this point, and we were doing a total of 68 miles for the day!

left to right – Me, Julia, Kebby, Jene (accent on the e, bday girl)

A birthday celebration at the top was in order…poppin’ champagne…

It was then back down, and another climb or two to go. We ended up climbing approximately 7,500ft in 68 miles. It was a goooood day! My legs were beat, my sugar intake was over the top at the SAG stations, and I was ready to just chill. Of course I had to have one more cookie for the bday girl…

These “cookie sliders” are da bomb! Two vanilla wafers, a peppermint paddy stuffed inside and kept all together with dyed vanilla frosting. YUM! Made by our very own, Kebby Holden. On our drive home we stopped at Starbucks so the bday girl could have an iced coffee, and then Whole Foods to refuel! The new Whole Foods in Del Mar is shnazy. We sat at the little wine/beer bar, and had more girl talk, before we called it a day.

When we dropped Jene off, I was about to take out my bike, when Kebby says “Do you want me to take him home and clean him?” I responded, “Are you serious?” Yes, yes, she was serious. Clearly my bike needed a cleaning, as I hadn’t cleaned it since I bought him. OOPS. (I won’t tell you when that was) I seriously know nothing about bikes…I just ride them. Probably should start learning Soas Racing – hands down best sponsor ever! So…Kebby took my bike home…and cleaned it…boy do I OWE her!

Best bike cleaning staff around!

Thank you Kebby for cleaning my bike! I hope Night Rider behaved. Although, I’m sure he enjoyed the extra attention Next time, we’ll tag team him…#mustlearntocleanmyownbike

I finished out the weekend yesterday with a 1hr 45min run, and a 40min swim. To say I was smashed is an understatement. First 17hr week in probably a year. But, I feel good, strong, and more fit!

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I remember my Dad driving me to school, and one morning I decided to put on the following to pump myself up for the day…”Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” by Will Smith. Surprisingly, my dad started to pump up the jam…I was..

1. impressed

2. thought my dad was kind of cool

3. suddenly got embarrassed when we pulled into the school circle jamming out to Will Smith together in my dad’s gray cadillac…

http://www.mtv.com/videos/will-smith/10018/gettin-jiggy-wit-it.jhtml#artist=1161

This song was released in 1998, which means that I was in 7th/8th grade. Will Smith’s album, Big Willie Style, was my jam. That and of course, who didn’t want to be a “Spice Girl”?

1. Miami by Will Smith

2. Men in Black by Will Smith

3. Waterfalls by TLC

4. Ironic by Alanis Morisette

5. Mmmbop by Hanson

6. My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion

7. My Name Is by Eminem

8. Wannabe by Spice Girls

9. Semi-Charmed Life by Third Eye Blind

10. Wonderwall by Oasis

11. Two Princes by Spin Doctors

12. Killing Me Softly by The Fugees

13. 3am by Matchbox Twenty (let’s just say this whole album)

14. One of Us by Joan Osbourne

15. Criminal by Fiona Apple

16. Peaches by The Presidents of the United States of America

17. Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai

18. Sex and Candy by Marcy Playground

19. Jump by Kriss Kross

20. Mr. Wendal by Arrested Development

21. Bitch by Meredith Brooks

22. Stay by Lisa Loeb

23. River of Dreams by Billy Joel

24. Crash Into Me by DMB

25. Don’t Speak by No Doubt

26. Black or White by Michael Jackson

27. Macarena by Los Del Rio

28. One Headlight by Wallflowers

29. A Kiss From a Rose by Seal

30. I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) by The Proclaimers

The list could go on…will probably need to do a “Middle School” playlist part II.

 

 

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Last week, was a crazy week. My boss just recently went on maternity leave, and my plate has gotten crazy full. I’ve had to do a few damage control items for clients, and had to make a last minute trip to L.A that unfortunately put a bit of a wrench in my workouts last week. I HATE missing workouts. Seriously, I have a hard time dealing with feeling guilty, or feeling like I should make them up. How does one move on? Well, like all things, eventually enough time passes, and you forget that you missed a workout.

I’m 8 weeks out from Wildflower, the first big race of the season, and slowly I might be being talked into doing Leadman…not sure yet…either way…8 weeks is gonna fly by! That means every workout counts between now and then, at least I feel that way. Yes, a workout here or there might be missed, but I like knowing I did everything I could to put together my best performance on race day.

I definitely made up for those missed workouts this week, and that feeling of guilt, when I had my first 4hr ride on Saturday, and my first real brick too, with a 30min t-run! I forgot all about those missed workouts, and enjoyed the day.

And riding is ALWAYS better with friends…

As per usual, I got my butt handed to me. These two girls (Beth and Jen) were tapering for Ironman Cabo, and just out for an easy ride, and I was huffing and puffing the whole way. We did the Elfin loop, which has some nice climbs, and is a good 3ish hr ride. They dropped off, and I finished up my last hour along the coast, letting my heart rate come back down, and spinning out my legs. Beth gave me permission to stop since I had a hard ride, BUT, I had missed a couple workouts, no way was I not going to do all 4hrs!

Sunday is a day for “fun” swimming. A day to just float, kick, do some drills, and just have fun in the water. So, when my friend Jene, invited me to go to a swim clinic, I was all in. It was perfect, we learned to swim with a “boom”, and like Cadillacs (thanks Alan for all the AWESOME new swim lingo). I definitely learned A LOT in this swim clinic. It was probably the best swim clinic I’ve ever been to. And when I put what I learned into practice at Monday’s 6am swim practice (which by the way was brutal to get up for due to Daylights Savings), I was crusin’. It felt awesome!

I had a long run to do that day, and ran a new route in a new hood, and it made for a really fun run. I then had one more workout to get in, and even though it was optional, again I saw it as a time to “make up” for those missed workouts. So I headed out along the coast for an easy 90min spin. It was 72 and sunny. And it was 5:30pm and the sun wasn’t even close to setting. It was the perfect end to a perfect weekend.

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Pre-Race

My friend, Jen, and I woke up early Saturday morning, and left Cardiff at 6am, in fact I think we were even 5min early, due to the fact that we both are morning people and love to be on time. haha. So, we packed up the bikes and bags real quick and headed out to the desert. We got there at about 8:30, exactly a 2 1/2hr drive, but then we couldn’t get to the race site, because roads were closed while the sprint distance race was going on, so we headed to IHOP (where I haven’t been since probably high school) for a good hearty breakfast. We both got the “Healthy and Fit Two x Two x Two” – 2 whole wheat pancakes, two eggs, and two strips of bacon. It was the perfect balance between sweet and salty.

We then headed to the race site, to pick up our packets, and then head out for our long rides that we needed to get done. I had to ride for 3hrs, and Jen, 5. We decided on a route – Box Canyon Ride.

There was a steady climb, and a bit of a headwind which made for a fun day

The view coming down from the canyon was breathtaking.

Jen caught me taking a pic of the view…

After my ride, I headed to the “swim practice” at the race site, while Jen went out for another two hours. I always love getting in the water at the race site before a race. I just feel more comfortable on race day. So, I swam about 700yds, just to get a feel of the temperature of the water, which was perfect! And, put my wetsuit on for the first time since SuperFrog.

I met up with Dawn, who is also on Team Soas, and pro triathlete Rob Lea.

I was feeling good after my workouts, but hungry. So, while I waited for Jen to finish up, I headed to the grocery store to pick up an Odwalla, a Chocolate Milk, and who knows why, but I bought a lunchable (GROSS!), but it tasted so good. haha. I’m not sure why I bought it, or ate it, I probably haven’t had one in years, but seemed like a good idea, and it was.

I headed back, picked her up, and we went to our hotel. We were a little nervous when we saw the sign:

But hey, we just needed a place to lay flat for a bit, no need for the glits and glamour for one night of sleeping. As long as there were beds, and a bathroom, and a lock on the door, we were happy.

Chipotle was for dinner (this tends to be a typical pre-race meal for me for some reason), and it didn’t fail.

There’s a first time for everything

RACE DAY!

Pre-race sunrise – NO FILTER…It was unreal.

Breakfast – Almond Cherry Chunk Bonk Breaker and water – ate it about 1hr before the race start

During my warm-up jog:

Seriously, one of the most scenic races I’ve ever done.

Pre-race with Anabel, who was 3rd in our age group!

Swim: 22:06 (I’ve heard different distances for the swim, so let’s go with 1400yds) – which is an avg of 1:35/100, which would make perfect sense, as that is what lane I swim in at master’s.

I LOVED the swim. I usually hate the swim, but I knew my swim has come a long way, so I was actually excited to see how I would do. I still feel like I could have gone harder, but it was a huge improvement. I felt like my siting was great, I drafted off a few feet, and I have gotten so much more confident in my swimming ability which made for a more enjoyable start to the race.

Bike: 1:09:00 (24 miles, avg. 20.8mph)

It was a perfect day for a bike ride. We had some great cloud cover, so it didn’t get too hot. I took in 200 calories on the bike from my First Endurance EFS Liquid Shot (flavor vanilla). The bike is SUPER flat. Some roads were a bit bumpy. It is too loops, and I played cat and mouse with this one guy, which kept me pushing. Loved it. We had some headwind, but nothing obnoxious where I was getting frustrated or annoyed. I definitely feel like I pushed it as hard as I could on the bike. Although, every time I finish, I always wonder if I could have gone harder. Again, major improvement, and it’s just the beginning of the season.

Run: 43:42 (6 miles even, so they say on the site, I think it was even a bit shorter than that, but I averaged 7:17min/miles)

Overall a rockstar run! The run was two loops around the lake we swam in, and it was totally flat. We ran on some dirt trails, and I had to dodge some rocks here, and there, but overall, I felt really strong on the run. I paced a few people, which was kind of fun, as I was feeding off their energy, and felt the pressure to stay at my pace, because I definitely didn’t want to get passed. haha. I took in the rest of my First Endurance EFS liquid shot, which was 200 calories. I definitely feel like I rocked my nutrition. It’s one area that I feel like I’ve gotten down, surprisingly.

Sweet photo by Tyler Olson. My first badass professional photo during a race! Thanks

Total Time: 2:18:34

4th in AG (25-29)

AND a 12min PR! Even though the course is super flat, I’ll take it. There are always discrepancies with Olympic distance races, and I know the other two Olympics I did, had their own discrepancies in accurately measured distances. So, I’ll take it!

Post race:

Pool Time at the Esmeralda Hotel in Palm Springs with Jen, her husband Mark, and Keith who won overall!

And of course the bikini was accompanied by one of these…

Post race adult bevvie is a must!

Jen and I post race. Jen got 2nd in her AG!

So besides the awesome weather, the 12min PR, and the awesome scenery, I also had a BLAST!  It was so much fun to race, and put swim, bike, run together, and see what I had in me. Now it’s time to get back to business, so that I can have just as much fun at Wildflower in May.

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I’ve always really enjoyed music that is pretty much just a guitar or piano and someone’s voice. It’s soothing, mellow, and most songs have really good and/or interesting lyrics. I started listening to “folk” music, primarily because my older sister (5yrs older), did. At the time I thought she was the coolest person ever…haha (still is . But, I definitely was one of those younger siblings who would follow my older siblings around, and dress, listen to, do, whatever they were doing, simply because I looked up to them. And there began my love for simplistic music, that is lyrical, and has a great melody.

I also went to camp every summer growing up through about Sophomore year of high school. I went to Camp Manitowish, where camp lasted 3 weeks, and we would go on either a canoe trip, kayak trip, or hiking trip for 3 to 30 days depending on what year you were at camp. And when you weren’t out tripping in the wilderness, then you were at camp, participating in crafts (making candles, bracelets, painting your paddle), riflery, archery, swimming, sailing, canoeing, guitar class, I tended to hang out at “laundry”, where the cute laundry boys were. haha. It was a single sex camp. So, there were two sessions for all boys, and one session for all girls. And when it’s all boys camp, all the staff (not counselors), but “waiters”, “lifeguards”, those teaching the classes on riflery, archery, etc. are all women, and when it’s all girls camp, all the staff are men (for the most part). So, typical me, I was hanging out at “laundry”, flirting with guys that were waaaay older than me. haha. Anyway, camp was full of “camp songs”, lots of guitar playing, and singing around campfires. My love of folkish music really grew when I was at camp every summer.

And with that, I listen to this playlist, when I’m in reflection mode. Or I’m feeling emotional.

1. Danny’s Song by Kenny Loggins

2. House at Pooh Corner by Kenny Loggins

3. Wild World by Cat Stevens

4. Can’t Keep It In by Cat Stevens

5. When The Day Is Done by The Samples

6. Send Me On My Way by Rusted Root

7. Two Coins by Dispatch

8. Either Way by Guster

9. Hook by Blues Traveler

10. I Don’t Want To Wait by Paula Cole

11. Amy’s Song by Joshua Radin

12. Nothing Lasts Forever by Brett Denin

13. Flake by Jack Johnson

14. Sleeping to Dream by Jason Mraz

15. Criminal by Fiona Apple

16. Silent All These Years by Tori Amos

17. Babylon by David Gray

18. Ice Cream by Sarah McLachlan

19. What’s Simple Is True by Jewel

20. Closer To Fine by Indigo Girls

21. Ghost by Indigo Girls

22. Snow White by Ryan Long

23. Both Hands by Ani Difranco

24. Lonely by Christina Perri

25. Loving You Tonight by Andrew Allen

26. Gone, Gone, Gone by Phillip Phillips

27. Flowers In Your Hair by The Lumineers

28. You Were Meant For Me by Jewel

29. You and I Both by Jason Mraz

30. Brick by Ben Folds Five