A Bittersweet Close To The 2013 Season Tastes Surprisingly Good

After my last post, I raced 2 more Olympic Distances before traveling to London for the World Championship. Boulder Peak - where I competed as an 'elite age grouper' - was difficult to get through because of my nagging injury. I ended up 4th in my age group (not sure what place elite).

The following month was spent taking some time off, getting weekly 30 min neuromuscular massages, chiropractic appt's and LOTS of stretching. Over 3 months, with the help of PT's, MD's and more, we have deduced that the crash in my 1/2 Iron distance in the spring threw my body out of alignment. Doing 1-leg squats with a mis-aligned body tore my adductor, which then irritated the crap out of everything around it. From mid-July through just 3 weeks ago, it's been a delicate balance of trying to maintain fitness but not injuring myself any more.

The Steamboat Springs Triathlon was exactly 1 month before Worlds. The goal for that race was to hammer the swim (which didn't bother my adductor at all), push the bike as much as I could without pissing body parts off, and take the run REALLY easy. I was able to do all of the above - even left my TT bike at home just to not be tempted to push harder than I should. The 10k run was the slowest I have EVER run that distance (54+ mins), but knowing I didn't injure myself in the process was a good feeling.

John (my boyfriend) and I flew out to London overnight Wednesday September 11th with compression tights on, sporting Hammer Nutrition apparel, Ambien in-hand. Flying direct, non-stop from Denver to London Heathrow (arriving around noon Thursday the 12th) was the best decision in our travel plans we made. My bike was even out on the conveyor belt (no damage) by the time we breezed through customs. The public transportation system was a total breeze, partially thanks to the travel pass we bought which covered all public transport in London during peak and non-peak hours. Staying with our host - and new friend Monica at her flat was so comfortable and convenient, we felt like we were 'home'. Less than 2 blocks from a major Tube stop, getting to and from the race site and Team USA activities was very easy.

The weather throughout almost the entire trip was nothing short of typical London: Rainy, chilly. Race day morning was the exception. It was just VERY cold - but sunny! It was so cold that the 1500m swim was shortened to 750m due to the 42 degree (F) air temp and low 60s Serpentine water temp. I was a bit disappointed b/c I had worked very hard on my swim this summer - partly by choice, partly by injury default - and I was ready to rock it. I still swam decently, but by the time the pack had thinned out and was losing steam (while I felt great), we were exiting the water. The transition run from swim to bike was LONG. Same for the Bike to Run. With over 2000 athletes, the transition area was so big, they had to make it "fair" for everyone, so the officials had the T set up for everyone to run the same distance no matter where your area in T was. 7 mins out of my total 2:12 race time was T. Normally, my T times together are less than 3 mins, most less than 2.

The bike course was amazing, albeit very technical as expected. The 2-loop course took us around Hyde Park, THROUGH the Wellington Arch, in front of Buckingham Palace (twice!), along the Thames River, turning around at Tower Bridge, and back. My 1:09 bike time (40k) was not bad, but I did slow down through the technical areas so as not to crash and I slowed a bit more to enjoy some of the sites - when else would I get to do that again?

The run was 3 loops around the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park. Paved trail, flat. The first loop went pretty well - I went out fairly easy, concentrating on my stride and testing out the good ol' adductor. It did pretty well at just sub-7 min pace, so the 2nd loop I put the gas on a bit more. Coming into the 3rd loop, my body rebelled against that push. With no speed behind me and minimal run training all summer, I simply couldn't hold onto the  6:30 pace I wanted to push. I backed off, concentrated on my form and enjoyed the spectacle of the site. Making the ~180 turn into the finish shoot was a bittersweet feeling. I managed to bust out a small burst of speed to push the Aussie girl in front of me (she ended up having a better kick), and we shook hands and congratulated each other on the other side of the finish line. I had just finished my first World Championship - a huge accomplishment in itself - but not at the top of my ability. I did my best under the circumstances, and was proud to represent the USA at such a humbling event.

The next few days were spent touring London (even squeezed in a 2-day excursion to Paris), eating, drinking good wine, and soaking up everything we could in the 2 cities. It was a lot to fit in 1 week, but it was all SO worth it - even if it did leave us completely exhausted.

I am eternally grateful to all my sponsors this year - I could not have made the trip or had such great success without their support. I am also happy to report that my adductor is making good progress, which will make planning next season a bit easier and more exciting.

Bottoming Out

Piriformis, bottom, butt, tush, derier. Whatever you want to call it, it sure can cause a load of pain.

When you're a healthy athlete, you don't think about what it would be like if you weren't. You just enjoy being healthy and keep pushing your body to the next level.

When something hurts and is hindering your hard-earned progress, there is a feeling of overwhelming dread and hopelessness that starts to set in. You wonder if you'll ever feel 'healthy' again and what it would be like to run without pain radiating down your butt and hamstrings. That's what I've been experiencing for the past month. I've had 3 ART sessions, a neuromuscular massage, a dry-needling session and foam rolling every night. Last week I finally let up on the running. My butt is getting better, but it's not totally happy yet and it's been hard to stay positive.

I raced Loveland Lake 2 Lake Tri a few weekends ago and finished 1st in my age group, but it was a painful race - especially the run. I'm racing Boulder Peak this coming Sunday and am not sure how my rear end will hold up, or if racing will negate all the progress I have made in healing. I have no idea what I did to it. Well, I HAVE an idea, I just am not sure what ultimately pissed it off to begin with.

Thankfully, I'm still able to swim and bike without hardly an issue. So, this Sunday I'll see how hard I can hammer those 2 disciplines and run as best I can. I will be competing in the Age Group Elite category- which is exciting and intimidating at the same time. I am just hoping my butt can handle the pressure.

Being 'injured' also seems to cause additional stress in life. Getting past this increased burden has been another challenge for me. I try to keep my head up and look for the positives, the big picture and tell myself that all this will pass (and to never do 1-leg squats followed by speed work again). Until then, I look forward to the next day and make the most out of the day I have b/c worrying about anything else is as useless as "trying to solve a math problem by chewing bubble gum."

Bottoms up and out.

Kicking Things Off

The pre-season has gone by in a blur, but it's been promising. After a solid run in Napa Valley Marathon March 3rd, I took some recovery time before ramping up for the HITS 1/2 Iron distance last weekend to kick off the tri season.

HITS was a bittersweet race. I felt ok about the training I had put in, but I wasn't sure how fast I'd be in the Texas hill country heat. As it turns out, all those indoor trainer and treadmill sessions paid off as far as heat preparedness goes. My body certainly didn't like it, but I didn't shut down, even after crashing on the bike less than a mile from bike-to-run. A large pickup truck decided to blow through traffic cops and turn directly in front of my line, leaving me 2 options: 1) hit him straight on and splatter, or 2) swerve as much as possible out of truck-splatter range, but still hit pavement. Option 2 was the better of those and I skidded to a stop on my right side just under his bumper.

After unclipping on the ground, I didn't feel too badly damaged, so I picked myself up, assessed that I was dinged up, but nothing broken or sprained, so the next question I asked was "is my bike ok?". After the cop got over his shock of my not wanting EMS called, he handed over the bike for me to check out. I determined it was still good to ride the 3/4 mile to transition and I would finish the race.

Running 'easy' is not easy when you're hurt and pissed. I passed the #1 girl within the first mile of the run and kept truckin. I knew I was doing well, and that kept me going - I was not going to NOT finish and NOT win at this point. After a total of 5 hrs and 9 mins I tasted my first 1/2 Iron distance WIN.

It's almost a week later and the road rash is healing well, although it's still a bit painful. The bike, thankfully, will just have some cosmetic scars like me, but nothing structurally damaged. I will be taking it easy for another week or so before ramping up and getting ready for my Olympic distance season.

I have nothing but thanks to all my sponsors this year, especially CSHP and Cafe Velo (Specialized) who helped put me on an amazing bike, Hammer Nutrition who keeps me properly fueled, HumanaVitality who just helped with my fare to London, The Colorado Running Company who has been there since day one with advice and LOTS of shoes, blueseventy for the race suits and wetsuits to keep me comfy this season, and Rudy Project for keeping my brain intact!

Over the past week, I've had several people comment that they don't know how I do what I do, and that if it were them, they wouldn't have finished the race. Why? is the question I've been hearing a lot. Well, why not? I still had a fully functioning body, it was just feeling painful and bruised/bloody. But it wasn't bad enough to justify not finishing, and what a sweet feeling that was. You can't buy that feeling with any amount of money in the world.

Looking forward, this will be a tough season but a very good one. Hopefully the crashing is out of the way...

Leveling Up

It's been one month since I was diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia and I went back in to the lab this week to have my numbers re-tested after being on constipatingly high doses of iron for the past 4 weeks. I haven't received full results yet, but at first glance, my blood is looking much healthier. The fun part is that I didn't really need the test to tell me that - my workouts have been feeling respectively better as well and that is exciting. I will find out my ferritin levels tomorrow and hemoglobin, which will tell me the "big picture". Just in time for Napa Valley Marathon taper!

Next week marks the beginning of an exciting tri season - the most challenging I will have met. There is something so intimidating yet so exhilarating about it. My goal this year is to take one race at a time and recognize that not every race is my "A" race. They all have a purpose, as does each training session through every week. Competitive athletes are not good at this, as we all seem to want to go out to win every race, but having a plan and sticking to it so the most important/biggest race is our best one is the key to success.

I continue to hold my head high and lead the best example I can in the local tri community, and in supporting my peers, I support myself. A positive attitude goes a long way, and it's the best way I can think of to start off a stellar season of racing. Here's to reaching the next level.

Vitality and Perseverance

There is a corporate wellness program though Humana (insurance company) that we have in place at work which I have been a very active participant in for over a year now. The program is Humana Vitality and about 1/2 way through last year, I made it to the top level. I achieved that mostly by training and racing for triathlon, but in order to make it to the top, I had to focus on complete well-being and not just athletics. For the first time in a while, I was looking at other ways to be healthy besides exercising. 

Part of the system of earning Vitality Points includes biometrics testing (cholesterol, BMI, Body Fat %...) I have kept track of those numbers for a couple years now and am proud to report that just this past week, I have never seen them healthier. 

Another part of Vitality is a "Risk Assessment" - answering questions about your general well-being, i.e.: how many fruits and veggies do you eat a day, alcoholic beverages, do you smoke? Like many people, my fruits and veggies answer was less than par. However it gave me a new life goal - and a healthy one at that. 

While I continue to persevere through early season and marathon training, Vitality is racking up my workouts and everyday I step that much closer to my goals.

In reflection of this past year, and in looking forward to the future season, I am not only excited to once again aim for that top level of Vitality, but also to improving my overall health- not just my fitness. I believe my training and racing can only benefit from it, not to mention also earning points to spend on items in the Vitality Mall - just another perk of leading a healthier life.

Knocking Down Walls

It's been almost 3 weeks since I had my blood tested and discovered an iron deficiency. The good news is that it's iron deficiency and I can do something about it now in my pre-season. The bad news is that it's iron deficiency and I'm in a constant state of tiredness/lactic acid fatigue.

If I've learned anything in this early part of my season, it's patience. It will take 120 days until my blood is healthy again, and at least 30 before I start to notice a difference in how I feel. I'm also teaching my body to be more efficient during this process. Running at a lower heart rate and slower pace than I'd like has taught my body to recover faster. The 20+ miles I ran yesterday hardly feel like half that distance, however slow they may have been.

Through the frustration of iron recovery, I keep pushing forward with consistency as smartly as possible. The name of the game right now is getting healthy and having fun gearing up for pre-season. Knowing that I'll be rocking my training in a few months if I let my body heal and recover while building my iron stores is incentive enough to tone it down a few notches now.

Train smarter, not harder - more relevant now than it ever has been. I am learning more about myself during this time, but am determined to knock down the walls in my way and become the athlete I know I can be.

Thank you to John O'Neill at CRC for his advice and guidance. And the kicks in the rear.

Re Capping and Gearing Up

I ended my 2012 season with a solid top-10 finish at Age Group Nationals in Burlington, VT to snatch my goal of making it on TEAM USA for London 2013 World Champs.

As time off is part of my training regimen (if that makes sense), I did indeed take a few months to play around, let my skin have a break from chlorine, and to reflect on the seasons past and future.

January is almost through, and I have registered for some high-profile mixed with low-profile races for the upcoming 2013 season. First on the list: Napa Valley Marathon for some good solid keep-the-winter-weight-off endurance training. Second: HITS 1/2 Iron Course. Yes, getting those endurance/long course races knocked out early, then it's short course and fast twitch focus until Worlds.

I am beyond excited for this season, as I have been offered a few beneficial basic level sponsorships from my favorite companies: Hammer Nutrition, blueseventy and Rudy Project. Garmin also came through with a small but appreciated discount, and I am forever grateful for the continued support of The Colorado Running Company. Triathlon is an expensive habit, but I love it and am very appreciative of the help I'm receiving this year!

The new hurdle I must tackle before competing: overcoming iron deficiency. I somehow managed to put myself in a deficit, but it's fixable, and in 2-3 months I should be golden. Just in time for race season. Lesson learned: when building endurance and training, always take iron supplements and maintain a healthy diet. Oh, and most importantly: good sleep.

Thank you to my sponsors who have put faith in me this year - I can't wait to show you all off!