The Gospel vs Religion

Last Sunday ( Easter Sunday )at the church i go to ,Austin Stone, our pastor Matt Carter gave an amazing sermon about how in the last 50 years or so, the church has gotten away from what the gospel really means. The church has been teaching more on a works based faith instead of what the gospel really says. What made me want to blog about what was shared was because wearing Tri4Him across my chest at triathlons has always opened doors for those "religious" discussions to take place. I always try to share as best i can as to why i am a follower of Christ and how He has really changed my life, but alot of the time i wish i was more prepared and could articulate the truth of the Gospel better.

One of the biggest talking points i come across is that many people dont want to discount other religions, so here are a some things Matt showed us about the differences between all other religions and The Gospel!!

All other religions say: If you’re bad…and you don’t follow the rules…God will punish you.

The Gospel says: You were bad…you didn’t follow the rules…and Jesus took the punishment for you.

All other religions say: If you want to have relationship with God…You have to fulfill all the qualifications necessary for that to happen.

The Gospel says: you CAN have relationship with God…Because Jesus fulfilled the qualifications for you!

Religion says: “You want to please God? This is what YOU have to do…..”

The Gospel says: God IS PLEASED with you…because of what Jesus has already done!

Religion says: Follow all the rules…and maybe you can earn your way back to God.

The Gospel says: The way back to God has already been earned for you by Jesus.

Religion says: I’ve been good…So I’m entitled to your blessing…

The Gospel says: God…if you never give me anything but the cross…I’m thankful…b/c you’ve still given me more than I deserve.

Religion says: I obey so that I may be accepted…

The Gospel says: I’m accepted….therefore I obey.


If you want to hear the whole sermon - here is the link - http://austinstone.org/sermons/item/religion-vs-the-gospel-2
I usually download them onto my Ipod and then when i am out for 4 hours on my bike i listen to them. Not only do i come back fitter but more enlightened and hopefully a better person that can articulate their reason for faith a bit better if the opportunity presented itself.

Life Lesson Learnt :

Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God’s promises. They never change.

You can only know that you are saved
if your life has been supernaturally changed by GOD
You will have a New Nature to follow Jesus.

It will be a LIFE CHANGING EVENT. It was for me.

Is God Working in your Life? Has He put people in your life to draw you closer to Him and bring you HOME ? is He Changing You?

South Africa Trip Recap

About 2 months too late but better late than never.

So this winter ( South AFrican summer ) i went home to South Africa for my Sister, Nadine's wedding on Dec 17. Since i hadn't been home in about 3 years and wanting to spend some extra time with family, and since it was South Africa's Tri season and South africa 70.3 was just around the corner, i decided to stay for 7 weeks leading up to this race and skip winter here in Austin, TX.







I spent the first 3 weeks of the trip in Kimberley, South africa. Best known for the diamond mines and the Big hole ( which was created from diamond mining ) It's literally a giant hole right next to the downtown of Kimberley and evently the ground around it is starting to cave in. So no doubt in the future Kimberley is going to become a giant hole. Hopefully not too soo, since most of my family still lives there. Besides there being a giant hole, Kimberley now has 2 malls !! This is a huge thing since when i grew up there, we weren't so lucky. With that being said, all time spent not training, sleeping or hanging out with my family, we were at the mall. There was plenty of coffee time and a movie here and there.

Training in Kimberley went great. I was coming off pretty much doing nothing in Oct and November due to being very busy with Tri Team Transport, being an Extra and a PA in a commercial that Steve was working on, and then subsequently falling sick right before the trip home. With that being said, i was in terrible shape and felt like i was starting from scratch. But i was hopeful, and was super excited about putting in some quality training in the heat and altitude. Yeah, no idea that Kimberley, where i grew up, was at 4000 ft altitude.

So of course the first ride i head out with a group of strong guys and one gal that the local bike shop set me up with at 5am in the morning ( gulp ). Within 2 min of the ride they had spat me out the back and my heart rate was sky rocketing at 170 +. For the next 20 miles i literally had one of the guys push me on the back as we rode on what was pretty much a flat course. At the end of the ride our Ave speed was 16mph. I was pretty embarrassed to say the least and no doubt they all thought i was lying when they found out i was actually a professional triathlete.

The good news is that they were awesome and let me ride with them again. The 2nd ride, thank goodness, was way better, but for the rest of my time in Kimberely i was riding like my life depended on it, all trying to prove that i did not in fact "suck", especially after that first ride. Oh, the precious ego. The good news on all that is that my cycling significantly improved in 2 weeks and i was starting to feel a little better about the fact that i was having to race in 3 weeks time.

While i was in Kimberely, i also found a group to run with on the days i didnt have a ride, also at 4:45am ( bigger gulp ). One of my first days there we actually had my sisters bachelorette party till 2am in the morning and then i was set to run at 4:45, so a 4am wake up is in order. I ended up running an amazing 15 miles and feeling great, so there was a definite take away from that run. I can suck it up and train on little sleep as long as no alcohol is involved. Was definitely not going to make a habit of it though.

So after 3 weeks of training in Dec in Kimberley and i was off to a training camp in a National Park at 7000 ft and with some of South African's strongest triathletes and best coaches. Anyone who is wanting to take a trip to South Africa and want to have an amazing training experience, i would definitely recommend this camp. Great training, people and food all in one of the most beautiful places on earth - Golden Gate National Park. The coolest thing is there were horses, all types of deer , zebra's and more all over the place. Almost got run of the road once or twice. I am sure you have seen that video of the mt biker that gets hit by a big buck in the wild. Yeah, i was hoping not to be another victim of that incident. Besides the wildlife, there were tons of hill's , too many in fact, since i of course end up hurting myself on Day 3 of the 8 day camp. Sad face.






After riding hard Monday when we got there, followed by an open water swim and HARD run hill repeats on Tue, the nail in the coffin came when we cycled about 4 hours and about 6000 ft of hard climbing on Wed morning. Way too much on these little legs and my "stupid" calves that keep on injuring themselves. I found myself hobbling away from that ride and for the rest of the week. Calf strain - and 3 weeks till SA 70.3 .BOO....

Well, the rest of the camp was spent swimming and doing light cycling while the physio's and massage therapists tried to nurse my calf back to health. Alot of pity eating was done, so the camp became more enjoyable in one aspect. :)

The next 2 weeks leading up to the race i was able to join Lucie Zelenkova and her group - Trifactri - in Joburg. A seriously strong and really fun group of triathletes, and had an awesome time riding with them and also watching them swim circles around me in the pool. On the side i was able to do a 15 min jog here and there just wanting to get to the start line in zero pain. Less pity eating was done :) and i also found myself leaner than the peak shape i was in the year before, so surely that would help me fake the half marathon coming up.

RACE DAY

My first ocean swim was quite the adventure ! The beach start proved to be harder than i thought since by the time i ran through the sand and figured out how to get through the crashing waves dolphin diving under them, all of the pro's were already circling the first bouy 200 meters out. At one point i saw someone in the corner of my eye next to me, and i was relieved that i wasn't alone and swam over to them to hopefully catch a draft the rest of the way. Only to find it was the CAMERA MAN ... i cant describe how my little heart sank at that point. The rest of the swim wasnt any better. With there being 700m between buoy 1 and 2 and me not being able to see it and only think about how many, many great white sharks lurked a few 100m away, i found myself swimming along the shoreline and not into the ocean where that buoy was, adding some unfortunate time and distance to my already "sucky" swim. To sum up - it took me 37 min and i had alot of work to do.

The bike was decent but not as fast as i had hoped. I was cycling all alone for 99% of the ride, and since it was 28miles uphill, i wasnt sure how hard to push or how much to save so i just kept it steady. Looking back after the race and knowing the bike fitness i was in , i should have pushed a little more heading out. I was able to pass 3 girls eventually and found myself in 6th and heading into transition right as 4th and 5th were leaving transition. I WAS BACK IN THE RACE ! YAY.

That "yay" was short lived - it was now time to run on legs that hadnt run in 3 wks. With that being said, i of course thought at the time i was invincable and was going to run like a madman and catch up to the two girls infront of me. About 2 miles in i was right with them but that was also the time we hit a monstrous hill which proved to be a handful for my run fitness and my calf. I was able to manage up and down it but knew my time was limited and before i knew it, was in trouble and running was no longer an option.

There was no way i was going to pull out, for many reasons, so i just walked along feeling sorry for myself. Usually after 2 min of a pity party i snap out of it and take in the experience, all the people out there supporting us (namely my mom who i just passed all excited to see me running by) and start to put in perspective how lucky i am to be there in the first place and Thank and pray to God trusting in His overall plan for me, but this time was different. I had placed so much hope, wrongfully so, on this race and my future in triathlon. #stupid.






To finish up - i plodded along and walked the next 6 miles, walked across the finish line, walked to the food tent, ate my 4 slices of finishline pizza, listened to my mom love me by telling me how stupid i was to race knowing i was injured and then proceeded to buy my favorite chocolate from childhood that i had deprived myself of eating till post race as a reward. It unfortunately wasnt as delicious as i remember - dont you hate that?

Anyways, The After Party soon followed , and get 2000 South african's in one club, all just having done the one 70.3 South africa has per year, and well , there was alot of Cream Soda and Cane to go around ( ew, but evently Cream Soda is good for recovery.... not sure about the Cane )

Alot of personal growth and lessons learnt on this trip. ALOT ! And all in all, i couldnt have asked for a better time and experience in South Africa. Onward....

I will share all lessons learnt in next blog ! :) Hopefully it wont be 2 mths from now which seems to be the going time from one blog to the next. I need to learn to write shorter stories.....

Tri4Him Team Mate Kirk Nelson's notes on the off season

Hey Guys - I just wanted to share my Tri4Him Team Mates blog post. I am also fortunate enough to be working with Tri4Him as a coach using the TriDot Training system, and I am currently working with a number of athletes all seeing the same results as below. If you have any questions or interest after reading below , please shoot me an email at natasha@tri4him.com

Here's Kirks Post -

a quick update on training the past ~7 weeks.

I took 6 whole weeks off from training following Rev3 South Carolina (10/14) through Thanksgiving. I started up the week after Thanksgiving with Tri4Him head/founder, Jeff Booher.

I have had a few coaches over the years, but was self-coached for most of 2009, all of 2010, and all of 2011. I knew I was interested in working with a coach beginning 2012, but wanted to make sure of the fit before moving ahead. Upon being accepted to the Tri4Him Elite Team, and following several phone visits with Jeff, it was obvious we were VERY like-minded and that his coaching style and methodology would serve me well.

With a family (new baby girl Selah last Feb 2011 and stepson Austin), and coaching athletes, I have a difficult time finding 30+ hours to train each week. As a self-coached athlete, I also struggle with disciplining myself while training -- basically going hard enough when it's time to go hard, going easy enough when it's time to go easy, and stopping training sessions before major fatigue sets in, esp when training for long course. With a coach and a plan, I don't feel the need to swim/bike/run farther and/or faster. Just do the work, recover well, and repeat. Get super tired? Then take a day off and jump back on the track.

Jeff developed the TriDot System, a unique way of measuring training intensities. In addition, he has developed a very smart and effective way of measuring weekly training workloads, basically the stress applied during a week's worth of training. Simply put, workload = intensity x duration. Essentially, you can work up to a long-course worthy workload, without putting in big volume. For example, on just ~20 hours a week, I have a sustained, weekly training load that exceeds many of my 25-30 hour training weeks I put myself through as a self-coached, long course athlete over the past few years.

I'm doing quality (z3 - z5 intensity) 6 days a week spread over 8-10 training sessions (out of 15 total sessions).

Each week, we ratchet up the workload bit by bit, without adding big volume numbers.

The Result?

Time Trial performances on par with my career bests, and it's only January!

Compared to 2011 season Peak fitnesses within each discipline:

Swimming threshold pace 4 sec/100 yards faster
Bike threshold equal to 2011 season best
Run threshold pace 20 sec/mile faster

Thanks to Jeff and Tri4Him for the guidance thus far. Here's to an amazing 2012 season!

If you're looking for simple, yet solid science behind your training program, getting a very high return on your training-time investment, and top-notch guidance along the way, consider working with a Tri4Him coach. I am thrilled to be a part of such a talented coaching staff!

Running for HIM
Kirk

p.s. Charity, Selah, and I will be at the International Christian Triathlon Network (ICTN) camp this January 27-29, in Tucson. Consider joining us for fellowship, training, sunshine, and fun

Way overdue Updates - Part 1

The Update…
Well, this so well overdue, so to catch you up on all that I have been up to I thought I would divide it into 3 Parts ( so that I don’t write one novel ) and then hopefully get you all up to date and keep the blog updated from here on out. These next 3 posts will be factual and then lessons learnt, additional thoughts will follow on posts after that (there were many, as you can imagine)

Part 1 – The end of my 2011 Season
Part 2 – My first trip home to South Africa as a triathlete
Part 3 – My first race of 2012 – South Africa 70.3 Race Report

Part 1 – The end of my 2011 Season ( Post Vineman 70.3 In July )

Boulder 70.3

After Vineman 70.3, I had Boulder 70.3 just 3 weeks later. This was the first time I ever raced at altitude as well as the first time I had ever raced two 70.3’s in a 3 week time frame. Needless to say, it was far from my best effort. Actually, it was the worst I had ever felt in a race and specifically on the bike. Boulder has a lot of downhill and is known for fast bike times, so I had my hopes high for a great bike and was of course disappointed when the first 10 min my legs were feeling like bricks and I was struggling to turn the pedals over. The run was unfortunately no better, and since I had over fueled on Gels on the bike ( hoping to get the extra energy I was lacking ) I came off the bike with stomach cramps ( which is a first ). I struggled the first of a 2 loop course and the 2nd loop decided to take in some coke. Why didn’t I do this sooner? Immediately the cramps started to subside and I was feeling better. Because I had run so slowly the first loop with the cramps, I was able to negative split the run and finish the strongest I had yet to do in a race. One positive I will take away.

To sum up , I think I came 9th but came away pretty disappointed with how bad I had felt, especially after a great race in Vineman just 3 weeks earlier, and knew I had to make some changes when I got home. But not until after I had indulged in an undeserved Truffle burger with truffle fries which was probably the best burger I had ever had. The Last awesome thing about my Boulder race which has me looking forward to returning is that I had the best homestay in Lauren Greenfield. We got along like old friends, cycled the course for my pre race day warm up and even made plans for her to come and visit Steve and I in Austin. Doesn’t happen often so got to mention it when it does. Onward….

Austin Tri – Olympic Distance

The Austin Tri put on by Jack and Adams and High Five events was next on the calendar just 3 weeks after Boulder. As I said, after Boulder I decided to make a few changes (eating and recovering better, and being consistent with my day to day training is the just of it) and that definitely paid off in those short 3 weeks. Despite hearing the day before the race that I had gotten a roll down spot and qualified for the Vegas 70.3 World Champs in a week’s time, I decided to still go ahead and race the Austin Tri just a short 6 days prior to Vegas. And glad I did - I had a great race, placing 4th overall in a pretty competitive Elite field. Besides coming out of the water quite a ways back from the leaders and in about 10th place, I was able to have the fastest bike of the day and cycle myself into 5th place, which I was stoked about since I have really been focusing on holding back during the 40k bike as to leave something for the run. Thankfully, holding back did pay off and I ran myself into 4th place with a 39min 10k and a PR for the Olympic Distance. Next…

Vegas 70.3 World Champs

So I had raced the Austin Tri on Monday and Vegas 70.3 was on Sunday. That whole week was filled with easy workouts since and I felt great, especially coming off a confidence boosting Austin race. I honestly didn’t think too much about racing and was just so grateful that I was getting the opportunity to be on the start line. I was going into this race to just enjoy myself to the max , and learn as much as I could about the course for next year, cause facing reality, I was not at the same level as those top gals I was racing against. Not yet . I was after all the last of the 30 to qualify and be on the start line. So with that being said my first goal was to have fun and give it my all, my 2nd small goal was to not finish no 30.

In Short – I had so much joy that whole day while racing that I ended up having a great race. The big victory of the day was that for the first time in racing a 70.3, I was actually able to swim on some feet and came out with a group of girls in the swim. This was huge for me because I then got to get a feel for what it was like to cycle with girls around me instead of completely alone. This proved to be a great motivation and advantage since it keeps you honest with your effort on the bike as well as bring out my competitive nature. I was able to move up a couple spots coming off the bike and found myself starting the run with Lesley Patterson in 19th spot.

The run course is basically 2 loops of 3 miles down hill, then 3 miles up. I was able to hold my position for the first loop of the run but then started fading on the uphill on the 2nd loop. I got passed by a few gals but was able to keep them in my sight hoping that I could use the last bit of downhill to the finish line to kick it in and maybe claim a spot back. Unfortunately, cramping in the legs stopped that plan and so the last mile downhill turned into a “shuffle and keep moving forwards” which I kept on telling myself. Of course there were many scripture versus and comments thrown my way from the spectators since I was sporting my Tri4Him kit, and the last part of the race I found myself feeding off that more than anything. All in all – I finished 23rd and was super happy with my effort.

Little did I know at the time, but that was going to be the last race of the season for me. My first full year as a pro finished on a high note. More to come…..

Pics Below - No Race would be complete without some post race treats ! ( yes, that was a trip to my first Vegas Buffet )

Vineman 70.3 race report

I was very excited about this race, due to the fact that we were going to be in beautiful wine country,it was going to be in cooler temps, and more so because my coach was going to be there to see me race for the first time. Even though i was excited it was super low key since I had very little time to really think about the race due to the fact that i was so busy working with Tri Team Transport and the 70 bikes we took up with us to Sonoma for our Texas, Arizona and Mexico athletes.

Steve and i roadtripped up there leaving the Sunday before the race picking up bikes along the way. We were fortunate enough to find a pool at every city we stopped aswell as a track for my normal tues track workout, and we found ourselves in Scottsdale, AZ wed morning where i was able to do my last big ride. The rest of the trip all i needed to do was step outside with my running shoes on and go. Don't you love running for that ease of preperation? I also made sure to use my Trigger point therapy kit every morning and evening at the hotel, aswell as use my Compex while sitting in the car for 8 hours a day. My legs felt significantly better when doing so. The hardest thing to do while on the road is to eat well. Sitting in the car.. well you just get bored after a while, and we all know food is a great distraction. I tried to stay as close to my normal at home diet as possible, starting the day with oatmeal, PButter and banana, Oatmega bar( which feels significantly better on the body than any other bar out there ) or a Athletes Honeymilk for my snacks, and salads , veggies and lean meat for my lunch and dinners. Again, being on point with my eating and training had me feeling fresh and ready to go once we got to Windsor.

Fri and Sat we were set up at the Expo handing out bikes and meeting all the athletes that had used us for bike transport. Again, not the ideal situation given the fact that i was racing Sunday. But for the most part i was able to stay off my feet, sit in the shade where i could and made sure to hydrate.

At 3pm on Sat,as we were closing the trailer ready to finally go back to our hotel , it still hadnt occurred to me that i had to do a half ironman in the morning and i really hadnt give the race any thought at all, a far cry from my usual visualization. Sat night was the usual dinner of sweet potato fries, chicken and rice with my coach and Steve out on the balcony of our cabin which was in the middle of the woods next to the Russian River ( Gorgeous ) and 8pm i was off to bed.

Swim -
Well, no surprise here since i havent done a ton of swimming the last 2 mths due to being on the road, i was last out of the water, but had my best 1.2 mile swim of the season and came out in 32 min .I am sure my Xterra wetsuit had something to do with it. For those considering doing this race, do know that it is the most beautiful and calm swim you will ever do in a race. We swim in the Russian river which is a thin channel, where you can sight off the shores and really not have to look up too much. The channel is too small for any speedboats to speed on by and cause waves and make us lesser swimmers go backwards. Why do those speedboats have to come so close to us anyways ?

Bike -
Again, a beautiful course. And i found myself look around to take it in quite a bit on the ride. Something that i am trying to be more conscious to do every race so that i do not get too swept up in the competition and just be appreciative that i am able to be out there doing what i love to do. Obviously, in turn, i end up competing and feeling way better when i do that, it almost revives and energizes me. I passed a few gals right off the bat, and it felt great to blow by them on the bike, since that doesnt happen to much when you are competing in the pro field where everyone is a stellar athlete in all 3 disciplines. So naturally when i blew by em, i thought i was in for a great bike day. Unfortunately about 40 miles in, i started to lose steam, and felt my power dwindle by the second. Again, and to be honest, being on the road, hadnt allowed for too many bike rides over the last month, and when i did bike i knew i hadnt pushed myself enough to make true gains and be able to sustain my max output for 56 miles.

A dropped chain while heading down a hill later ( i got to quit doing that ) and getting off my bike to unjam it, set me back a few minutes and had me rolling in at a 2:36 bike time, about 21.4 mph ave for the 56 miles. I got work to do, but excited about getting some good bike rides in with the Jack and Adams folks when i get home.

Run-
I was really excited to run . I had figured out my nutritrion issues and was excited to be coming off the bike cramp free. The key now was to pace correctly. I usually start out a little excited and too fast. I had my garmin on so i knew exactly what pace i was running and wanted to try and negative split the run. First 3 miles felt great and exactly the way i wanted to feel. I had Steve and my coach cheering from me on the sidelines saying how great i looked, and i really did feel light and fast on my feet. I was running 6:45's effortlessly knowing that i had more to give and could surely build on the speed that i was running. That is until a monster hill, followed by another hill and another hill.... and well , you get my drift. yup, i need to work on my hill running, because that definintely took a bit of the spring out of my step. About 6 miles in , instead of building the pace, the mentalitiy was hold on to the pace. My coach helped a ton in the fact that he was on his scooter and he would ride by , stop his scooter 100 yards up the road, cheer , then continue to do that a bunch more times. Everytime i wanted to give in to the pain that was setting in the legs he was there shouting "Fight for every step", " High Cadence !!!" and " You are having a great run !" Amazing how strong the mind is, and with these positive messages i was able to fight myself to the finishline in a 1:33 time. Just over 7min per mile. I am determined to break 1:30 this year,which is just under 7's per mile. I know i am quite capable right now to do that, but the trick is putting the swim, bike, nutrition and pacing together perfectly leading into the run.

Vineman was a great race for me because i finally and for the first time feel like i am starting to get the feel for racing the 70.3 distance from start to finish . I know that this is honestly how fast i am right now because i gave it my all yet paced and raced within my means. Its amazing how fun racing is when you do that. Now its time to get faster !! And i feel like i am in my next chapter of trying to do that. Stay tuned for Chapter 2 !

After a week of recovery, I was able to put in a heavy week of training this last week, And now i have a slight taper going into Boulder 70.3 next weekend, and i am super excited to race. Funny how quickly the body is recovering week after week. After i did my first 70.3 race, i would never have guessed that a year later my body would be ready and able to do another one a mere 3 weeks later. We'll put the recovery to the full test when i try a back to back wkend race in Oct. The season aint over yet !! Tons of racing still to come for 2011 !

Kansas 70.3 race report

The Ultimate Tri Sherpa and my husband, Steve, drove Lesley Smith and I up on Thur and we headed straight to our good friends and hosts for the trip Mike , Kim ( pictured above ) and their son Michael’s house in Olathe , KS late that night.
Fri morning was a short run in the neighborhood with Steve while Kim and Lesley did a spin then we were off to the expo to get our packets and do a lake swim with other Texas friends Leslie and Tri 4Him team mate Matt.

The group effort for Dinner was Salmon on the smoker by Mike, the yummiest rice ever by Lesley ( salt and olive oil to the boil was the trick ) , Kim’s Salad, and my healthy and superstitious side dish of Sweet potato fries ( baking pan , foil, spray with spray stick olive oil, cut sweet potato into fries, top with Lawry’s salt ( the secret ingredient to amazing fries) and bake at 450 for 20 min ) Honestly, try it ! Every time I eat them I am immediately revived and have my best workouts the next day!

Sat was a short bike and run in the morning and then off to the expo for the pro meeting. I was trying not to gawk at Chrissie Wellington sitting 2ft away from me, but it was hard. She was kind enough to smile every time she looked my way to find me staring at her once again. The rest of the day was spent off the feet, compression socks on, some quality time with my Trigger point Therapy kit to roll out my calves , IT band and quads which have been particularly tight lately and then continual snacking on Oatmega bars and Athletes Honey milk straw-ban shakes before the usual dinner of chicken, rice and sweet potato fries with my last pre race pedialyte. Yes, part of the plan going into this race to try and be cramp free was 1-2 pedialyte drinks per day for the week leading up to the race, Hammer Fizz for electrolytes in every 2nd water bottle I sipped on, and no caffeine for the last 3 wks. Yes , I gave up caffeine ! Those who know me know this is a big deal. We figured out that I was drinking way to much coffee which in turn was dehydrating me as well as making me drink more water and visit the restroom 25 times a day which was flushing out all the electrolytes out of my body. Tomorrow was the big test, and my No 1 goal for this race was nail nutrition, and don’t cramp!! Hopefully all those non caffeine days were not in vain.

RACE DAY
They were expecting 80% chance of showers that day, and I was partially praying this would be the case knowing they would cancel the swim. But unfortunately / fortunately it didn’t rain and we were up for an overcast and windy day.

SWIM –
I started in the water next to Chrissie (yes, while we were waiting to take off I was smiling ear to ear ) and just did that to see how long I could hang with her before she dropped me. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to swim side beside with her and the group for 100 or so yards to the first buoy before the slowly pulled ahead. I maybe got another 100y draft and then I was on my own . But I took that as a good thing, knowing that if I can hang on for at least 200 yards the difference is swim Strength. And fitness .Yes , I don’t have any. I hate to admit this but I cannot do ONE pull up and yesterday I tried to do some pushups to start working on my swimming muscles and 10 pushups has me sore today. Terrible…. Anyway, hopefully more swimming and getting fitter and working on my swimming specific muscles can have me hang in for longer. Swimming is the only 1 of the three disciplines that I find hard to dig deep during workouts and endure the 90 min swims that were being thrown at me at UT masters, so i was either swimming in the slow lane just to get through it, or getting out 60 min into the workout out of boredom and honestly my lack of enjoyment for swimming. They always say you don’t enjoy the sport you are worst at, it’s so TRUE. So I am working on changing my mind set and from now on if anyone asks me what my favorite discipline is, instead of my standard biking answer, I am going to say “I love swimming and can’t wait to swim more” and hopefully I will start believing this.
To finish – The water was a joke. Probably the roughest swim I had ever done due to the winds that had picked up and the boats that were zipping up and down next to us, for what reason, I have no idea. A few times when I tried to lift up my arm out of the water, a wave would consume it and my arm literally didn’t come out. It felt like I was doggie paddling, and I couldn’t help giggle thinking how ridiculous this was probably looking.
Lesley and I worked together on the swim and as she put it “It was like the blind leading the blind” I was drafting off her going out and at the turn around, she tucked in behind me. We are still joking about it because at one point we were swimming at almost a 90 degree angle from the buoy. So Steve termed that swim the “Sailors overboard swim” ( if you can picture sailors getting thrown overboard, with arms flailing trying not to drown, yup that was us ) Lesley and I were the last 2 out of the water with a 34 min swim, and at least we would have company on the bike since usually we are way back chasing the pack.

BIKE -
Bike starts with rolling hills, and from the get go I was struggling to get my breathing under control. You could probably hear me panting from a mile away. As we got out of the park I looked back to see I had put quite a bit of distance on Lesley, so I tried to get my heart rate under control, settle in and get comfortable focusing on taking in the right amount of salt.
Nutrition plan for the bike was 2 water bottles of Hammer Heed and carbo pro and 3 saltstick tablets mixed in each bottle which I sipped on through the ride adding water to it at every water stop. Then a gel every 40 min with 2 salt tablets every 20 min. so it would end up 1200 mg of sodium and about 250-300 calories per hour. I was diligent with the salt especially after feeling some cramps in my hands ( the bad sign and where it starts ) at mile 25 or so, and took some extra salt right away to nip it in the butt, and it worked.
While the nutrition plan was being executed, the hopes of having a strong ride was not, at mile 20 I was ready to get off the bike and usually I feel like I could ride all day long. I usually love to ride the hills and make time up there, but today I was losing ground since I felt like I had no strength in my legs and found myself spinning in the small chain ring just to get up and over them. I did all I could to just focus on the present knowing that I was trying my best , even though my best today was not very good. I found myself asking every 2 min “ Can you go harder? “ and the answer was always “no” I was going as hard as I could today. Came off the bike a disappointing 2:40 ride, 7 min slower than last year on this course, and I knew I was fitter this year, but I just had to swallow it, stay positive and look ahead to the run praying that I wouldn’t cramp today.

RUN
No Cramps in the legs !! Yay!! Usually I feel tightness in the quads right away, but today nothing ! I was so excited that I saw an age group guy running strongly a few feet ahead so I caught up to him to try and get in his draft and pace myself off him. That was stupid. While I was keeping myself from having to fight the wind to its full extent, I was never able to settle in on the run at my pace. I found it hard to get my breathing under control, and soon a side stitch followed. I had never had a side stitch in a race before so hoped It would just go away. Well, 6 miles later it did, but it was unfortunately replaced with right knee pain. There is one steep downhill on the course that we hit twice on the course and after the 2nd time of hitting it too hard trying to make up time I had lost, I found myself unable to bend my knee pain free. So I worked as hard as I could with my left leg, mostly kept the right leg straight as it followed behind and put the arms to work trying to help the forward momentum. My day was already somewhat a bust so I tried to focus on the positive – I was not cramping and any day I get to swim, bike and run is a great day ! I had a ton of friends out there racing, so I cheered loudly for them as they ran by. Shout out to Matt Russell ( Tri 4Him team mate ) and Lesley Smith( picture above - Oatmega 3 Teammate and training partner ) , both had amazing runs, like top 3 of the day in the mens and womens pro division ) 3 miles to go and I really thought “ this better not lead to surgery” as I limped along and considered stopping, but I was so close to the finishline and DNF is never an option. I tried to pick it up with the last 2 miles to go. The mind and rest of the body was willing but the knee wasn’t, so I just tried to bite my tongue making noises that probably sounded like a dying animal ,having most people I was running up on actually look back to see what was coming.
Finished 1h40 later on the run with a 4:58 overall time.

Bitter sweet…

While I was totally excited that I had figured out my nutrition and not cramped for the first time during a 70.3, I had some expectations for a good performance on this race especially since I raced so well in Kansas last year where I did a 4:41 and earned my pro card. I still believe that my training and recent racing has me fitter and faster than ever before, but unfortunately I have yet to put together a decent 70.3 for this season. Again, I am not trying to compare my performance to Chrissie or any other pro’s. I am still a ways off being in the same time zone as them, and trust me, I am realistic about that and my current ability. If I thought I could compete with them that would be stupid and I would be consistently let down wk after wk. I am focused on my triathlon journey and my progression, and know that with time, who knows how long, I will be there. As I have heard many times before and believe to be true – “ It’s HARD WORK and TIME – This sport rewards athletes that are dedicated enough to be consistent with their training day in and out and are patient” It takes time to develop into an endurance machine, and experience to know what is the best way to get there without injury and burnout. Instead of extreme measures and quick results the theme of 2011 has been “Small deposits”. Little by little I am moving in the right direction, and one day I know it will all come together.

Thanks to friends Mike and Kim Brosseit for hosting us in their wonderful home for the weekend and showing us what Kansas BBQ( picture above ) is all about. I would recommend Kansas as a race to put on your schedule. Great course, Great weather and great people. I will be back next year, no doubt.

30th Bday race - My 1st Danskin Tri

My 30th (tear) Bday. And what better way to celebrate and start the day than to RACE !

My Sponsor, Boundless Nutrition, a local company known for the yummy and super healthy Oatmega 3 Bars, and now Perfect Fit Protein cookies, were providing post race snacks for the 1500+ women that raced, and had set me up to race in my first every Danskin race. You think i would have raced this before since it is the biggest womens only race around.

On the way to the race i got my usual Daily devotional. And today it talked about using your God given ability to be of service to others. So that was my focus for the race. I tried to help as many women as i could pre race with putting air in their tires or helping set up their transition since there were many ladies doing their first tri. It was great to be apart of all the excitement and energy of all the women, and i was really trying to just take it in. I was able to squeeze in a quick 10 min run and swim before we took off.

Swim - I had a great swim for me, and came out 3rd out of the water, aobut 2 min behind the leader, and a minute behind Elizabeth Moorehead who i swim with at UT Masters and is an amazing swimmer.

Bike - Having done this course many times before, i knew what to expect. Rolling hills, with a few good climbs. But what goes up must go down which makes it a relatively fast bike course. At about mile 4 there is one steep hill and about midway up it, my chain dropped. I tried to do the pedal back and hope that it would catch thing, but it was down. I had to get off my bike and fiddle with it to get it back on then i had the choice of walking the rest of the climb since there was no way i had enough momemtum to get on the bike and get going, or to cycle to the bottom of the hill circle and go at it again. That is what i chose to do, almost running myself off the road to make that u-turn. When i finally got going and up and over the hill, Elizabeth who was still ahead of me, was nowhere insight. so i just had to put my head down and know i had a tough run ahead of me since there was no way i was gonna catch her on the bike, since it was so short and she is a great cyclist.

Run - Came into T2 1 min 30 sec behind her, and had 3 miles of off road sprinting ahead of me to try and catch her. So i had to run 30 sec per mile faster than her to catch her. I was completely out of breath and working as hard as i could knowing that the 6:20's i was running should catch her between mile 2 and 3, but she was flying too. By mile 2, the volunteer shouted out 1min 5 sec back. Wow, i had hardly made up any time and now i had 1 mile to close. There is one long downhill with a very uneven surface which i knew she would probably run somewhat hesitantly in order to not turn an ankle, so i knew this is where i would make up time if i went after it. So i just flew down the hill praying not to turn an ankle or step into a ditch. The downhill was followed by a long uphill, and at that point i was running on fumes. For a brief moment i held back and got comfortable thinking "just enjoy the run, its your bday,Elizabeth had led the whole was so i should let her have the win today" and continued that frame of mind with about 150 meters to go. As we were running to the finish line, i saw her start to sprint and then i really knew that 2nd was going to have to do for the day. But 20 yards later, i saw her shoulders drop and my competitive instinct kicked in. About 100 meters out and i started a full out sprint for the finishline, finally just passing her between the two timing mats to win by 1 sec. While i felt bad that i had beaten her like that at the finishline,she was a good sport and totally excited to have run about 30 sec faster per mile than she usually does and have had such a great race. Guess that happens when you know you are being chased :). A big congrats to Elizabeth on the race, and a thanks for making me dig that deep !!!



All in All, Danskin Tri was an amazing experience, and i would recommend all women to put that race on their calendar at some point. Its well organized and supported with the bonus of having all our friends out there as swim angels.

Thanks to Trevor and Amy at Boundless Nutrition for the entry and the support, and the delicous Oatmega 3 bars and Protein Cookies that i totally overindulged in on my birthday. yes, 3 chocolate chip protein cookies were my big yummy indulgence for the day. Thank goodness they are the healthiest cookies out there, since i have Kansas 70.3 7 days later.

And most importantly, a big thanks to my husband for putting together the best birthday ever and being such a great supporter and teammate. The below link is one of my birthday presents from my husband. He was evently putting in the final touches while i was out racing. yup, he got the whole family in tears,he's a keeper.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyaiwZJWxQo&feature=player_embedded