Holiday Weekend

Friday - AM Run/Drills

10 min warm up

Lots o' stretching

4 x 40 jumps /jumping rope in place

4 x 20 high knees (ugh!)

4 x 20 donkey kicks

4 x 20 butt kickers

One lap around track w/6 x stopping to lean forward/backward and run to get body position feel.

15 min easy run around Nike bark chip trail. Oh my, I forgot how hard it is to run on hilly bark chip.

Evening -

15 mins of core strengthening

1500 yd swim

w/u

3 x 100 free

200 pull

100 kick 10/20

10 x 50 - 25 drill/25 free; alternate fist and finger drag

3 x 100 descend

c/d 100

Saturday AM Run

Got up extra early to get my run in before breakfast w/my momma!

40 mins on Wildwood trail. The forest was still pretty dark when I started!
I tested out my new Saucony Peregrine's.

Love these shoes on the trail! They still have a low heel-to-toe drop (4mm) which helps promote natural running. I loved how the tread gripped the ground. I never felt out of control on a very muddy trail. These cool shoes also have gator attachments, if you fear mud. My feet/socks stayed dry and warm. I give them an A+!

Mmmmmmmmm- Bob's Red Mill breakfast with mom! We shared the ham and hashbrown casserole. It is to die for! I had gluten free french toast and 1/2 of a gluten free marion berry scone.

So yummy! After breakfast I stocked up on chia seed. You can't beat $3.97 a lb. I think I walked away with 5lbs. I'm seriously surprised I have turned into a chia.

Afternoon bike- 2:34hrs / 47mi

The plan was to go for 3-4 hrs. Forecast called for 50% rain and hail. Awesome. Do you know that currently Anchorage Alaska has warmer/drier weather then Portland Oregon? This is starting to get ridiculous.

My ride was exceptionally vivid. I rode by a sea of red.

A sea of yellow.

Um, then a sea of black came overhead and I didn't stick around long enough to take a picture. I was assaulted by pellets of hail. WTF?! Let me tell you what. Hail f***ing hurts at 25+mph. Hurts like a mother****er. After the hail let up the rain came down. I was pissed on for another 20 mins. At this point I called the ride over and took my tail home.....as fast as I could.

Sunday AM - Core, Aqua Run and Swim

15 mins of core strengthening

30 mins of Z2 aqua running (thank God I don't have to do long sets of this anymore!)

2000yd swim

w/u - 500 pull

12 x 50 (10r) - 25 drill, 25 free

(Rotate: cu, fdrag, and; fist)

8 x 100 (15r) - 2 sets of 4 x 100

set =

1st - 75 easy, 25 z5

2nd - 50 easy, 25 z5, 25 easy

3rd - 25 easy, 25 z5, 50 easy

4th - 25 z5, 75 easy

c/d - 100 kick

This rounded off a nice 11,400yd swim week :D

Room mate and I spent the rest of the day kickin' around town. First we hiked up Multnomah Falls.

During the hike I learned that my knickers were see-though! Oh my!

Garmin reported back 1500ft of elevation gain in 1.5 miles up to the top. Nice. Then it was off to Aztec Willies for some smokin' TexMex and margaritas. We finished off the day catching The Hangover 2.

It was highly predictable but funny none-the-less. I'll never look at Shitake mushrooms the same.
Ew! Ew! Ew!

Monday - Long Bike

3:53hrs / 70.3 miles

With only a 20% chance of rain I was able to get in my long bike ride - without getting drenched. My goal was to negative split the ride. After analyzing past rides I've learned that

I've been starting too hard and dying at the end. This is out of character for me. In the past I've always been one to end strong. But with a year+ off of official training and or racing, habits will change.

The only way to successful gage the negative split is to have a power meter and to go off watts. Lucky for me I have one. :) I've said it before and I'll say it again, the power meter is the best training investment I have ever made. I split my 4 hour ride by hour intervals. The first was the easiest. The 2nd hour actually ended up being my strongest. 3rd fell behind the second but not by much, and was still higher then the first. The 4th was stronger than the 3rd and just fell a bit short of the 2nd. I finished feeling strong. Over all I'm very happy with my training day. I feel as if I accomplished the workout I set out.

I'm sold on a new malto concoction. Instead of mixing some kind of sugar free Crystal Light or Hawaiian Punch (ugh, sweets provoke acid issues several hours in) I mixed in.....chicken broth. The taste was a little odd at first but I quickly got used to it. I had constant energy the entire time. No highs, no lows. Steady power and energy. I didn't find myself dreaming of killing one of the nearby cows to eat after the ride either. :)

When Nature Calls

I did an over does on Waffle Wednesday. What is Waffle Wednesday you ask? The last Wednesday of every month the staff brings in waffle fix-in's and well, we eat waffles all day at work. Most of us are endurance athletes. What else would you expect? I brought in my favorite gluten free cornbread batter and went a little overboard. I ended up throwin' down 5 ham and cheddar stuffed waffles (medium sized)

and one cornbread coated in pure maple syrup. This was spread throughout a full work day.

Long run for the week – 1 hour on the Wildwood Trail accompanied by Miss Hello Kitty.

Eh, 20 mins in and I regretted Waffle Wednesday. It's going to take some time to train my tummy how to run on a full stomach again. Thankfully I was running in nature when nature called. My tummy and I may have not been in agreement but my legs and feet were on board. I jumped across rocks and trees, and slid through massive amounts of mud....all without falling on my tail! My legs were lovin' me.

Recovered with the best soup at The fresh Thyme Soup Company. This place has a lot of gluten free treats. Mmmmm, they are amazing. After sampling a few different soups I ended up with a Caribbean Chicken.

 Hello Kitty went with the Bean Beef Chili (my 2nd choice!). Gluten free cornbread shellacked in honey accompanied our soups. The best part was the warmed gluten free brownie topped with crushed Butterfinger and a scope (or two!) of vanilla ice cream.

Ironically I woke up 1.5 lbs lighter the next morning. 

Thursday AM Spin – easy z2. More self help books. And guess what? They are helping! I am not at all embarrassed by self help. Strengthen the mind and the body will follow.

Thursday PM Swim – after 10 mins of core strengthening I hit the pool for my long swim of the week. 

warm up

300 -pull

100 kick – ;30 hard/ ;30 easy

200 free

300 - paddles and buoy

Main Set

3 x 800 - descending - mission accomplished! In fact the last 800 was an 800 PR!

c/d

100 kick easy

3400yds total

I'll say it once again. The large swim volume is paying off!

HTFU

"That's what she said."

What exactly does this mean to you? Do you think it's something that you can get better at? Or do you think we are born with this ability? 

HTFU to me means that there is no “excuse”.You deal the hand that is dealt.

I actually believe that you can not train to get better at this. I also do not think it's something that is genetic.

I believe that the mental strength to not live in “excuses” comes from repetitive loss and or hardship. When you lose something or someone, or are constantly against all odds, you have to learn how to dig deep within yourself to move on.....

When this happens enough it becomes habitual. It's rawness, like under cooked meat. 

Meat....mmmmm. “HTFU” is bittersweet. When life/relationships/training and racing gets ugly, I have what it takes to rise above. The bloody sweetness factor. The peppery bitterness comes from 30+ years of digging deep. F***, I'm 30.

Tidbits of the last couple days

Sunday - 45 min trail run along Wildwood with 2 badass friends.

Monday - AM 30 min recovery aqua run. THANK GOD these are becoming far and few between.

Monday - 10 mins of core strengthening.

PM Swim. I wore my camo shark swim cap to scare off Judy (instructor) and the aqua ladies. I wouldn't be so negative towards them if they actually used the time to workout, rather then socialize.

2700 yards

w/u - 10 x 50 (15r)

400 pull w/paddles

200k

4 x 200 (20r) -z2, odd 25 do cu w/fist, even 25s reg

500 z2

c/d - 300p

I shared the pool with my favorite swimmer. Why is she my favorite? She always brings her Ipod with kick ass tunes. Love this woman!

Tuesday - AM Swim

I have to get up at 4:30 to start my swim by 5am. STUPID 24HR Fitness closes the pool from 6am-10am Tues and Fri to clean. Seriously? Why can they not clean at midnight? Or maybe after 7am or 8am when typical US Masters is done with? Because 24HR Fitness hates swimmers. I am sure of this.

1800 yards total

w/u - 200fr, 300p

12 x 50 (20r)- 3 sets of 4x50

each set=

1st- breath every stroke one side

2nd- breath every 3rd stroke

3rd- breath every 4th stroke

4th- breath every 5th stroke

400fr- every 4th 25 do fdrag

200k- 30sec easy, 30sec hard

c/d - 100p

I was tired and flip turned into the wall....not once but twice. These swims within 12hrs apart are challenging. The lack of sleep didn't help. Tried the new chocolate raspberry GU Roctane. Mmmmmm - it was delicious! Went home and laid down for an hour before I had to get back up for work.

Tuesday PM Bike - 90 mins of rolling hills. Challenging ride. Issues breathing and a sour tummy. Somehow I managed to pull out decent watts despite the oxygen restrictions.

Recovered getting sushified with my roommate.

A Panini Of Sorts

It happens to us all. It was only a matter of time. Saturday I had my first meltdown. It was nothing spectacular. No cursing, bike throwing or crying. I felt like more of a half-assed grilled cheese without any special sauce or toppings.

Saturday morning started off well enough. I woke up bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to attack the 3100yd swim on the schedule.

w/u - 300 pull, 100k

10 x 100 (20r) - first seven z2, last three z3

20 x 50 (10r) - z2, alt each 50 with catch up and free

5 x 100 (10r) - build each to z4

c/d - 200 easy

 

With 2300yds

(w/u - 200 pull easy

1 x 1000; every 4th 25 fist/ 1 min rest

2 x 500/ 30 sec rest (descending and fast then 1000 split)

c/d - 100 pull easy) less then 12hrs prior, the 3100yd swim attacked my ass. There goes my bright eyes and bushy tail.

I went home and ate a solid breakfast. Took care of a few chores and got in a very short 20-30 min catnap. Enough sleep to to wake up in drool but not enough to really feel asleep at any given point. I shoveled in a few caramel rice cakes heavily coated in PB and met my friend Alanna for a ride.

The ride is where my grilled cheese got burnt. I'm trying to piece together the error of my ways and figure out what the turning point was. There are so many factors; it's hard to know if it was just one, a combination, or just a “bad day”.

Highlight/Lowlights

*There was nothing outstanding in terms of distance, time or elevation gain. 56 mi with a little over 3100ft of climbing. 2 solid 1000ft climbs w/no attacks, a lot of rolling hills and a stretch of flat land with craptastic paving. “F” you Sauvie's Island. 4Hrs w/Carnage – 3:30 pedal to the metal. Finished in low Z2 avg/ low Z3 norm avg per watts.

*For the first time in forever I hit energy lows. I was using a new bottle to hold my malto and for some reason my malto didn't mix evenly. At the end of the ride I found a clump of it stuck to the bottom. My bottle was filled with 800 kcal. I drank my 80kcal increments every 20 minutes. I wonder how much of the clump (caloric#) was stuck at the bottom. The poor mix may have made a deficit early on.

*Allergies were in fully swing. My eyes matched my red Oakley's and my nose was a snot rocket machine. H-O-T! I was careful not to hit my riding partner.

*Dark clouds taunted but the rain stayed away. My Little Hotties kept my feet toasty. For every low point I picked myself up with a positive. The weather was dry, I could feel my feet and I had a great riding partner.

*My lats ached from the swim. Aero for the 40 min loop around Sauvies hurt. A few times I sat up to stretch. They responded with a whine in the form of pain and fatigue.

*I had asthma issues. The first time in almost a year and a half. The only thing I can think that would provoke the attack was maybe my allergies combined with the climbing. I was hit the hardest during the last 1000ft climb up Germantown. In my easiest gear I struggled up that stupid road. 20 minutes uphill was not ok. My airflow was shallow. My lungs wouldn't open up enough to get a big enough breath in. It took what felt like forever to recover once I reached the top.

*Once we crest the top I asked my riding mate which way she wanted to go home. We could either take a short cut home and shave off climbing and an additional 20-30 mins, OR we could go home the way we came....which would mean more climbing and more time in the saddle. At this point I could care less what we ended up doing. I was most concerned with how she felt. She was 3 weeks post IM Australia and technically still in recovery. Miss Hello Kitty was in a much better state then I was. Her reply was that the training for her race was done. This was my training. It that was exactly what I needed to hear. I decided to HTFU and go the long way home. I can't short-cut a race now, can I?

I dug deep and managed to keep a smile even when I felt like crying. No childish bike throwing or cursing. Sometimes these are the BEST training days. Live and learn. It's good to get them out of the way before race day. So what will I do differently in the future?

1.Always carry my inhaler

2.I'm stick with my old malto bottles (they're still good :)

3.Going to experiment with my wattage range. A decreased avg might be needed. This was my first long bike after a long swim.

I'm thankful for having such an awesome riding buddy on such a challenging day.

Half full

My official start of Spring is the day I can take Carnage out for a ride before work. That day was today. 5:59am and the sun was already up to great me. Well hello Morning Glory! The high for the day was supposed to be 70. The temperature when my ride started? Mind numbing 42 degrees. Agh! At least it wasn't raining!

From a core point of view I was dressed warm enough. Castelli's thermal tights, Zoot's thermal jersey and my Pearl Izumi windstopper baselayer kept me protected from Jack Frost. Who, by the way has over extended his welcome. Go the f*** home and while you're at it take that f***stick Mr. Rain with you. Ahem, let me gather my composure. I did not dress my extremities appropriately. I went with bootie covers but left my Little Hottie thermal adhesives at home. Big mistake. My hands and toes were frozen solid within 5 mins. I think my nose and ears fell off right around 143rd and Cornell. Oy! My only hope was the heat I would generate climbing up to Skyline.

Let me describe an unpleasant wake up call. Climbing up Skyline, big ring Z4/Z5...20 mins after climbing out of bed. My quads cried. I tried to reason with them, explaining the need for thermal heat. They responded as need and got the job done.

A pleasant wake up call (my glass is now half full) is the view from Skyline, the glaring fireball in the sky and a soundtrack composed of a rooster's cock-a-doodle-doo and birds chirping.

I finished my ride by climbing up to the cemetery and then descending along HWY 26 – bike path. Brrrr that was a long chilly descent!

It's nice to have 1600ft of climbing in 20 miles under the belt before 7am.

Skirt Sports was in town to throw down their fun run 5k dash. My outside rep extended an invite which I kindly accepted. After the morning suffer fest and week long build up I was not set up to “race” the dash. Nor had I any desire. The whole point was to run with friends and to be a little silly (Kat-like). I finished in 23:45 which included 25 push ups at mile 1. Right after the push ups was a .5-.75 mile straight up hill climb. Oh the humanity!

Post run I indulged in some vino and food with a good friend. Hello Kitty.

2 glasses of vino in and I was convinced to walk the Skirt Sport catwalk Fashion show. Oh what fun! How I managed to flash the crowd is beyond me. :) Today was a very good day!

Mid-week update

Monday AM 30 min aqua run

10 min w/u

10 x 1 min hard/1 min easy

PM Swim - 2500yd

w/u - 200p

4 x 500s (30r between each set of 500)

- 5 x 100 (15r) - z2, the second 25 of each 100 do fist

- 500 pull with paddles (20r)

- 200 z2 (20r), 100 build to z3 (10r), 4 x 50 z4 (5r)

- 5 x 100 (15r) - z2, the second 25 of each 100 do fing drag

c/d - 100 k, 200 choice

10 min core strengthening

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

Tuesday AM Spin -

1hr 45 min low to mid Z2 - Read more self-help books and finished with a little Dane Cook comedy.

PM Trail Run

31 mins on Wildwood. Oh how I've missed running in the forest.

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

Wednesday AM aqua run - 45 mins

15 min w/u

tempo - alternate low Z2/high Z3 per song - Goodlord how I miss running in the forest!

10 min core strengthening

PM Swim - 3000yds

w/u - 200f, 300p, 100k

12 x 50

3 sets of 4 x 50 (20r)- desc 1-4 (30 sec rest between each set)

200p - easy

2 x 600 (30r) - z2 easy, every 4th 25 do fist drill

c/d - 100k easy, 300p

GOODNIGHT MOON! I've got a 5:30am date with Carnage. My baby and I are going to hit the West Hills!

Words of thought

"When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion, creatures bustling with prejudices and motivated by pride and vanity."


"Don’t let what you can’t do stop you from doing what you can do."


"There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and the lives of the people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will have truly defeated age."


"Practice hope. As hopefulness becomes a habit, you can achieve a permanently happy spirit."


"It takes seventy-two muscles to frown, but only thirteen to smile"


"Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart."


"Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder."


"We smile because we are happy. But we also become happy because we smile. Act the part and you’ll become the part."

Weekend Recap

I don't have a whole lot of time to write. So I'll just recap the parts that stood out.

Got in a 3.5 hr bike ride on Saturday, 60ish miles. The first and last 22-23mi were pretty flat and the middle 11-13 were rolling hills. Sue was kind enough to pull Alanna and I along. I've missed riding with these two. We compliment each other so well. 

Saturday night I went to the LLS Singled Out Date Auction. The event was a  singles auction to benefit Leukemia and Lymphoma. I got the chance to catch up with a LOT of really great people. 

My tall friend is gorgeous! 

After the auction my other friend Alanna drove us to the Hot Cake House on Powell. After one too many drinks (it doesn't take much!) and one too many hours of not eating, we were all ready to eat each other's arms. I knew better then to eat the toxic gluten pancake....but it taunted me. "Katie Eat Me". 

So I did :(

After a pathetic 6hr nap. I got up to start to the day. I was uber swollen and stiff from the pancake the night before. Damn you gluten! Went to the pool and worked out a 3200yd swim. 

Warm up
1 x 600yd F

Repeat 6 x
1 x 50 - 25 zipper/25 free, :10 rest
1 x 50 - 25 catch up 25/ free; 10 rest

Repeat 2 x
1 X 200
1 X 300 buoy
8 x 50yd Freestyle Swim (1 to 4 progressive, 5 to 8 progressive...), rest 0:20 / 50yd

Warm down
1 x 200 pull

That swim ended another 10k week. My speed is becoming more and more consistent at long distances. 

  

Came home and took a much needed hour and a half cat nap...or cat coma. God, it was good.

Late afternoon I hit up the beautiful Wildwood Trail for my long run of the week. 32 mins :)

The trail was muddy and beautiful. I'm oh-so thankful to be back!

I made this for dinner -

Bacon wrapped steak with truffle salt. Sauteed garlic portabella mushroom with parmesan and goat cheese and grilled onions. There was a huge spinach salad as well but that was to big to post :)

I stumbled upon this picture this evening. 

Me and my crazy friends (who I love). Silly pictures are the best. They have a way of bringing out all the good times.  

I am a firework

I'm lively and animated. Volatile and outspoken. So much it could be viewed as a weakness. I could end up as THE grand finale or MY grand finale.

Or, one might view as a strength. To live with full heart. To feel the sharpest pain inflicted from a dull instrument. To experience love so strong that I can grow wings and fly. A firework of colorful passion.

I guess it's one of those glass half-full, half-empty perspectives. To feel and be able to experience such emotion I think is a blessing. Too many people walk around as zombies. 

Controlled by substance or by what other people might or might not think of them.

I'm working on skills to control this firework. How to allow myself to feel with full strength, yet hold back on acting upon emotion. It's kind of like training. Allow the heart to explode and drive motivation to train. Listening to the cues of my body to set my mind straight – backing off and resting (keeping to myself) when needed.

I'll still allow the occasional explosion ...at the right time. (Like on raceday!)

The Aftermath

I had forgotten what it feels like to race. More importantly I had forgotten about the DOMS of racing. I was plagued by restless legs Saturday night. Sunday I got up and stumbled out of bed. I just about fell over! Not sure how my legs had the chance to stiffen. They had been running around all night. In addition to the stiffness I had areas on my legs that were painful to the touch. I was pretty sure I had strained my abductors (inner thighs) while riding the bike. I felt like I had been tossed up against a wall and not in the good kind of way. On a positive foot, my foot felt fine!

I spent most of Sunday stretching and spending quality time with my beloved Trigger Point. I managed to drag my tail to the pool in the evening. I thought the water might help loosen things up.

Swim - 2800 yd

2 x 200 easy (uh-oh....legs are sinking to the bottom. I'm an anchor)

3 x 200 buoy and paddles; rest :30

8 x 100 rest :20 (buoy did not help, legs still sunk like an anchor)
:30 rest

8 x 100 rest :20 w/ buoy and paddles

Warm down

100

I thought wrong! This sucked. Energy sucked. My muscles were tight and limp at the same time.

Sunday night I managed to sleep a solid 9.5-10hrs.

Monday the DOMS slightly improved but my energy level decided to take a dive. I lacked all motivation. I found this as my cue to take the day off from any physical activity and rest my body.

Tuesday I woke up motivated to swim!
Swim - 2500yds

4 x 100yd, rest 0:15 / 100yd

1 x 100yd Single Arm (arm out front) 6 x left, 6 x right, 6 x full stroke, rest 0:20 / 100yd
Freestyle using one arm at a time, focusing on shoulder and hip rotation. Complete 6 arm strokes with the left arm then 6 strokes with the right arm followed by 6 strokes using both arms. The non-stroking arm is held out front in a streamlined position.
1 x 100yd Freestyle DPS, rest 0:20 / 100yd
Freestyle swim with maximum Distance Per Stroke (DPS). Concentrate on long, efficient strokes and a high streamlined body position to reduce drag in the water. Count your strokes per lap and try to reduce.

1 x 500 buoy & paddles; 30 rest
1 x 500 free (landing on 8:10 - ugh);30
1 x 500 buoy and paddles

Warm down
1 x 200

Muscle fatigue and energy was improved but still not stellar.

By mid afternoon my legs were completely pain free and muscles felt lose and free again. Energy was slightly improved. I was motivated enough to do an easy aqua jog for 25 mins in the evening.

Wednesday – AM Spin
90 min low Z2 spin. Legs felt pretty good and energy felt almost normal. I entertained myself by reading mental self-help books for the first 40 mins. I finished watching Chris Rock's - Never Scared. Not as good as Bigger and Blacker. 

PM Run - 20 min easy grass run.

Grinding Gators

Canby Gator Grinder Sprint


I'll provide a little history for those that have never read my blog. This was my first triathlon since Ironman Canada 09. It was my first time running off the bike since IMC 09. I fractured my second metatarsal 8 weeks ago. I've been without pain now for 2-3 weeks. I tried testing my run twice in the last week for 10-15 mins each time. Both times felt ok. This would be my longest run since injury. I spent the last year and a half dealing with running injuries and other sorts of health problems. My confidence in my athletic abilities are nowhere near what they used to be. So what do when faced with fear? Run away? Or saddle up?

I opted to do race this sprint in a TYR training bikini. I did this for a few reason. Contrary to my profile photo, I am actually pretty shy inside. I still have the fat girl image of when I was a kid. No matter how lean I get; I fear I will always see myself in that way. Today my goal was to destroy that image. The other goal was to rebuild my confidence by doing something that I feared. After all is said and done - mission accomplished. When pushed to the limits it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks or sees. It's what YOU DO.

For the swim I rocked my TYR Metallized Nest Pros, Fish Fin swim cap (BTW - I was the only one with a fin!) and my TYR Tri training bikini.

Swim 500yd - I started in lane 2, 4th(last) position. First and second guy claimed to swim 7:30, second guy said 7:45. My most recent TT had me at a 7:37. I would only need to pass one guy......or would I? The last whistle blew and I was off. Holy Moly! I think I was dropped within the first 50-100 yds. Not completely out of bubble drag, but dropped none the less. Holding my own was a struggle. My form was out of whack and I felt like a fish out of water. Flip-flop, flip-flopping around. By 300 I got control of my breathing and my form straightened its self out. It was around this time that dude #2 past dude #1. Dude #3 took a pass at #2 and I took the opportunity to follow suite. #1 went out too hard and we all passed him. Now I was stuck behind #2. I kept tapping his foot and he would not allow me to pass. With 100 to go I just didn't have it in me to sprint past him at the middle lane. Rules said only pass at the wall. I shoulda, coulda, woulda pulled his ankle down and downed him. Oh well, another day. 500 and I jump out of the pool and run to my bike.
Swim time - 7:30 / 500yds - new PR! (7th woman)

I don't remember much here. My head was a blur. I tried to put on my jacket but I was wet and it was a tight fit. I said f*** it, mounted Carnage and we were off.
T1 - 1:04 (first woman for T1)

Bike - Hurt like a motherf***er. I knew that it was possible that I may not be able to run 3 mi. I knew that I may end up walking part of the run. I've thrown down massive watts/climbing in the last week or two and had no foot pain. If I was going to race I was going to push with all I had in the swim and bike and do what I could with the run.

It is no secret that my bike handling skills need improvement. It doesn't help that my feet turn into cement blocks sub 60 degrees. I think loosing feeling in my feet and hands due to the Reynaud's plays a big part in balance and coordination on the bike. On this wet, 50 degree day, I was fortunate to keep the rubber side facing the ground. The course was pretty curvy and hilly. My lackluster handling skills hurt my time. Too many times to count I slowed down and took a cautious approach to the corners. To make up for my time lose I attacked every incline. In 11.5 miles my PowerTap recorded 23 power surges. My quads cried and I told them to STFU. This was not their race. It was my race. What good is racing if you can't see what you're made of? I kept repeating that in my head. The pain in my quads felt like an inferno....yet I think the fire originated in my lungs. Goodlord! Where is the air?! No time to breathe. No time to think. Only mash!
After reviewing my Power Data I hit a new 20 min avg watt PR! And a new 30 min normalized watt PR! I managed to pass a few dudes, poor handling skills and all.
Bike time 37:11 - 3rd woman (beaten by my 2 kickass co-workers Anna and Michelle! I wouldn't want it any other way:))

Transition - My room mate took this little footage of T2. What a clusterf****. I love how my mom offers to help in T2. LMAO!

T2- 1:17

Run - Ok, can't feel my feet. They're like huge cement clunking blocks. Ugh. Both feet were completely numb. Not good. I focused on a slight lean forward, keeping my knees high and landing under my center of mass. Oy! My quads were screaming at me again. And again I told them to STFU. What were they b****ing about now? I wasn't running with my quads. The course was flat. They could rest. It was now time for my backside to put in work. Although I didn't push my pace my breathing was f***ed from the bike and swim. I felt like I was having a panic attack. This brought on a few nasty side stitches that stabbed into my abdomen. I focused on slowly exhaling my breath. I thought a lot about my time in hot yoga and meditation. This helped. By the halfway mark I was in control of my breathing again. Which raised the question, do I push it? You're not really TRI'ing if you can breath. At least not in a sprint. But the answer I came to was NO. I still couldn't feel my feet and didn't want to risk a pick up that would crush my dreams of IMC this year. So on I ran, with my comfortable breathing. The race ended on a track and for the last 200 I picked it up through to the finish.

Run 5k - 23:09/ 7:27 - VERY content 2nd place
                                          
                                          Total time 1:10:13. 1st AG, 2nd place female overall

Now comes the Props

Way to go Anna (co-worker) for breaking course record and winning female OA! You are incredible hun!
Great job Michelle (co-worker) for taking 3rd place!
The top 3 women all work for Team Estrogen and DOMINATED our age groups! Maybe this is because we have a kickass boss?! Thanks Susan for a great TEAM BUILDING event!

Thanks to all the support from my friends over the last year and a half. You picked me up while I was down and accepted all my flaws.

And last but defiantly not least - I have the BEST momma who came out to support me. She also made incredible gluten free monster cookies! My BEST friend MessyJesse Jo for putting up with me for so long. You're what I need when I need it, always. Jessy gave me this beautiful gift afterwards. It's a sparkly snow globe! My favorite. The best part is the message written on it.

And I thank the wonderful man by my side (from a far), who has NEVER doubted me and always encouraged me to shoot for the stars. He often tips my glass over, making if half full again.

I pray that this is the start to a long and healthy race season. My confidence is growing.......

Cheers!

To the best room mate ever!

Hungry, hungry hippo

I've been a hungry, hungry hippo all day! Appetite is insatiable. 

Got ride of the gallon of urine this morning. OMG that was disgusting. Lab tech was impressed with my hydration level and "plump", ideal for pricking veins. Now I wait for test results, yet again. 

I've come to face the fact that I have an addiction

PB and caramel rice cakes. I've been eating these everyday, for way too long now. I think my heart is shellacked in PB :).  Not sure this is going to help my abs racing in my TYR bikini this weekend.

After properly fueled up on PB I joined my friends Sue and Chris for a bike ride. Sue said 45 miles of hills. The map she sent out had 3k of elevation gain. Not the 4k we ended up doing per Garmin. 3k or 4k. Tomato, Tomato same to me. I took the ride overall pretty easy with good effort expended on the hills. Here's the elevation profile. 

And here I am mid ride

This was a confidence building ride. My power and energy grew as the time passed. Endurance is coming around. At the end my muscles felt fatigued, as they should....but energy was still on point. :) Thank you malto!

Later my momma came over and made me dinner 

Baked salmon with garlic spinach - so that I can turn into Popeye over night. 

And the icing on the cake? These bad boys - 

Gluten free peanut butter cups! I LOVE my Momma!