TriAngel

My Favorite Moves

2012-02-04T19:26:00.000-05:00

What's you favorite move? And no- I'm not referring to dance moves. I'm referring to A.R.T. (Active Release Technique) moves. Check out my previous post if you are new to A.R.T. Professionally as orthopedic physical therapist and as an athlete, these are my ultimate favorites:

Pirformis
The pirformis is a small triangular muscle that passes over the sciatic nerve.
Why It's Important: If tight it can cause radicular or shooting symptoms into the legs. This muscle can also contribute to low back pain.

Psoas/Iliacus
Psoas and iliacus are you deep hip flexors.
Why It's Important: Both biking and running are movements that require repetitive hip flexion. Biking+Running = ANGRY psoas. If this muscle is too tight, it can actually can alter you low back posture to look like the photo on the right:

Iliotibial Band
The ITB is fibrous band that attaches below the outside of your knee.
Why It's Important: Any serious runner or triathlete knows how nagging an ITB issue can be. With running and biking we tend to move in planes and move our knee at angles that causes more friction of the band along the femoral condyles. Friction of ITB=sharp lateral knee pain.

While A.R.T. is effective for injury prevention and treatment, one must look at the macro perspective. What caused the tightness, pain, problem in the first place? I would consult your friendly local physical therapist to help you permanently fix those flexibility/strength issues.

What is your A.R.T. "money move" that gets you through your triathlon season?

The Big 3-0

2012-01-09T22:35:00.000-05:00

Although I've had my butt kicked by those fast 30-34 girls for the past year, it's finally official: I'm thirty! Wow does it feel weird to say that? Hitting this number has really opened my eyes to look at the past and the future in life, triathlon, and in my career. It has forced me to ask myself: Where do I want to go with this? What have I done well? What have I screwed up? For me, it ultimately boils down to throwing excuses and negative energy out the window. In triathlon it seems that I've always had an excuse: fractured-pieced-together-pelvis..... long distance marriage....graduate school....and then recently age group bump up. Everyone has an excuse. What will you do about it? For me it's time to grow up and man up. Life is too short for lame excuses!

On a lighter note to celebrate the the big day (and my husbands) and bring in the new year, we jet setted off to one of my favorite places in the world: Utah! The pictures tell the story far better than I do...

Although conditions were far from ideal, we still had a blast! And more importantly did not break anything :)

Given the lack of snow, we decided our time would be better spent doing some quality hiking. As you can tell by the photos, it was the best decision we made the whole trip.

Moab was a dream and I can't wait to go back.... Almost makes me want to add St. George to my schedule. Now it's operation-get-back in shape as IMTX training has officially started. Cheers to being a 30-something and bringing it in 2012.

Going Green

2011-12-17T18:55:00.000-05:00

After reading about the vitamix craze on so many blogs lately, I have been sold on more than one occasion. What better way to take in more fruits and veggies? Not wanting to blow 500 bucks on a kitchen toy, Scott and I have been impatiently waiting for Christmas. Well my friends Santa has arrived early. And wow it's even far better than I ever could have imagined!

Let me preface this with... YES many of these recipes SOUND and LOOK gross. And I may never get over the green color~but these smoothies are rockstar. I'd also like to mention that I'm not a vegan.... I'm just an athlete who wants to eat a cleaner diet and eliminate processed foods. With that said here are my top 3 new favorites:

1. Going Green Smoothie

1/2 cup water

1 cup grapes

1/2 cup pineapple

1/2 banana

2 cups spinach

1/2 cup ice

2. Sweet Greens Smoothie

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup cucumber

1 cup spinach

1 cup frozen strawberries

3. Tawnee Prazak's Carrot Cake Smoothie

Anyway.... Hope you are ready for Christmas!

Flex sure is:

Team Rev3

2011-12-11T16:41:00.001-05:00

Well my friends, it is finally official: I've been accepted for Team Rev3 for 2012! I feel so amazingly, blessed! After seeing what Rev3 was all about at Rev3 Cedar Point this year, I knew I really really wanted to be apart of what Rev3 had to offer.

With that said, I'm definitely going to be doing a ton of Rev3 events this year. If you haven't tried one yet, you definitely missing out. Call me biased, but I'm convinced Rev3 is clearly setting the standard for how triathlons are managed. Check it out for yourself in 2012 :)

Anyway please excuse my absence of the past week... After my workouts last Saturday, I came down with the cold from hell. It was severe enough to force me to take off work and to put pretty much all workouts on hold for the week. This weekend I played it smart and opted for lots of R&R and a liquid vitamix diet. Yum!

Thankfully the exciting news made this girl feel a whole lot better! Now if only my man voice will go away....

Turkey Day Surprise

2011-11-28T16:50:00.001-05:00

Dating back to probably age 10, it has always been a tradition in my family to run a Turkey Trot on T-day. Growing up in an active family, it was something that we could all enjoy. I probably took it a little too seriously growing up. But what can I say? I'm competitive ;)

As T-day approached this year, I was a little hesitant to sign up. Knowing I haven't been running much and enjoying the off season in full force, I really REALLY did NOT want to see a run time on paper. Despite this, Scott easily convinced me to swallow my pride and let go of my competitive spirit. After all, what a better to celebrate with Thanksgiving with my NOLA friends and family? And cute doggies:

(best T-day costume by far)

I'm not going to lie, showing up on race day 45 minutes before the gun and signing up on race morning just felt plain weird! But that is exactly what we did. Going into the race, I had minimal expectations. I just wanted to go out there, RUN, and have a little fun! I was pleasantly surprised as I crossed the finish line at 34:01! A new 5 mile PR :) I think my crossfit-ing and TRX-ing are paying off. Now if these gains will only carry over to 2012!

In the end, these small gains show me how thankful I am for what our bodies are ultimately capable of. It's crazy to see what happens when we just let the mind go. For someone who has had it taken away before, I cherish every single day I still get to do this:

Hope everyone had a fun, safe Thanksgiving!

Tightening Things Up

2011-11-16T20:06:00.001-05:00

Although I do LOVE to rock my bootie shorts and probably could use some glute work, this time around I'm not referring to my butt... I'm referring to something far more sexy: SHOULDERS! Yeah.. yeah....

Anyway as I shift my focus away from the S-B-R to my muscular weaknesses, future goals, and to my 2012 schedule, I'm trying for once to be pre-emptive. Not to mention...I've treated far too many swimmers lately that simply have let it go too far:

I've had some nagging shoulder impingement issues in the past most of which have resolved themselves as taper time approached. With a lofty schedule for 2012, I can't afford to have any of those issues. The 5000 meter + iron distance swims and 5 plus hour bike rides take a major toll on your shoulders and neck. I know I've wrote about this before but what can I say? I'm a PT and a stickler for good posture :) The longer you let issues like this go, the higher risk you are for long term damage: Rotator Cuff Fraying/Tears.

With that said, I'm giving my rotator cuff and scapular stabilizers lots of love! Some of my favorite exercises:

TRX 45 degree mountain climbers

T's and Y's

Knee to elbow Plank (for core and scapular stabilizers)

Body blade exercises through arc of stroke ( i couldn't resist this guy)

Resistance Band internal and external rotation

I try to perform these exercises 3x a week now and will drop down to 2x a week once the season starts. Just think of how much good posture can help you swim, bike, and run faster and improve your efficiency.

And as long as I'm on a team called "Hard" Inc... I guess you have to keep things tightened up :)

What about you? What are you tightening up during your off season?

Sherpa Debut

2011-11-09T22:58:00.000-05:00

Ironman Florida was officially my coaching and race-sherpa-debut. Ironically going into the race, I was definitely a little more nervous than my athlete. Anyone who knows Scott or myself would probably understand why.

Even as the non-athlete this round, I found myself almost more stressed out with everything going on....With blogger meet-ups, trips to the airport, volunteer meetings, and then keeping up with my new role it was crazy busy.

Thursday I was fortunate enough to meet up with several bloggers including: Chloe, Frayed Laces, Kristi, John, Garden Tri, and more. Sooo fun to have to the opportunity to meet new bloggers and catch up with friends. It's crazy how these friendships form! And KC too on race morning...

The sherpa part and coaching part went pretty well overall despite my racer's GI issues from excessive salt water ingestion during the swim. In addition to my support role, I was also fortunate enough to volunteer as a draft marshal thanx to Chloe.

After I got over the guilt of handing out my first penalty, it actually pretty fun being out there. Catching cheaters was fulfilling in a sick sort of way but even better~it felt amazing to be out there cheering for my hubby, friends, and teammates. In the end, I was ready to trade my motorcycle for the pink hotness in a heart beat. Ouchies. Although riding 112 miles on a Harley with this dude was....well.... Bad A**.

After my hoo-haa recovered the torturous 112 mile motorcycle ride, I quickly transitioned from race official to cheerleader.....busting out the pom-poms, cow bell, and hydration beverages.

Although sherpa-ing and volunteering was a blast, I don't think I will be trading my bike in for this anytime soon :)

Congrats everyone who finished you first iron distance race! You deserve it! Thank you for keeping us inspired! And especially to my hubby... who not only completed his first Ironman... but raised $1,748 for the Haitian orphanage Hands and Feet Project.

And as a sherpa and coach, I would have to say that this guy has a little too much energy left over? Wouldn't you agree?

An Ideal Schedule

2011-10-24T22:29:00.001-04:00

Ideal triathlete schedule? Does it even exist? To be frank, I am not talking about working a 9-5 schedule and taking 2 hour lunch breaks to work out. I'm referring to those of you who work 50 plus hours during a normal work week, typically work through lunch, and to those who train 15+ hours a week. How do you do it?

Before starting my new physical therapy job back in May, I was asked what hours I wanted to work... I was given 2 options.... 5x8 hr days or 4x10 hr days... Please note those hours don't include paper work only seeing patients :) Anyway I opted for the 2nd option thinking I could squeeze in long workouts and errands on that day.

I couldn't have been more wrong! The 10 hour days easily turned into 12+ hour days and my training time fell between the hours of 4:00 am-6:00 am or 7pm and beyond. Dinner on most nights was close to 9pm. Not fun. My day off, which just happened to fall in the middle of the week, was so jammed packed with errands and training that it was just as draining as a normal work day. I felt like one hot mess.

Frustrated and burnt out with training and work, I decided that something needed to give. I knew my schedule would in no way, shape, or form mesh with IM training next spring. I love love love PT and right now career should come first, but how would I squeeze it all in?

Well my friends... sometimes you just have to ask! I explained my situation to my boss and think I might have my problem solved. New hours starting last week... 10-6? How sweet is that?

Working full time and juggling training is never an easy feat but I think that this just might work! How do you fit it in? What are your suggestions for making it work? Do you ever think your priorities are backwards?

Looking Ahead: 2012

2011-10-09T18:17:00.005-04:00

Dear 2011 Tri Season,
You've been pretty good to me... I was afraid of you. I'm not going to lie. The big girl AG was quite scary and yes-so were many of the girls. With a late Dec birthday, I knew my bump up in AG would mean you forcing me to compete with the best in the country and the world. Like most seasons you brought many ups and downs. Despite you plaguing my season with endless swim cancellations, hard-core-training-burn-out, PT school graduation, and board studying....you helped me to: rock out my first big overall win at Irongirl NOLA, shave 20 minutes off my 70.3 time, and qualify for AG Nationals and the 5150 Championships. Although you did not grant the secretly coveted Kona or Vegas slot, you gave me hope that there is far more good things to come in 2012!
~Love Heidi

There a lot of factors that still need to play out to finalize 2012, but here goes my tentative schedule:

Jackson Day Race 9k-January 15^th New Orleans, LA

Gasparilla Distance Classic Half Marathon-March 4^th Tampa, FL

Memorial Herman 70.3–April 1^st Galveston, TX

Ironman Texas-May 19^thWoodlands, TX

Grandman Triathlon-June TBD Fairhope, AL

Sandestin Triathlon-August 18^th Sandestin, FL

Rev3 Cedar Point-Sept 9^th Sandusky, OH

Santa Rosa Triathlon-Oct. TBD Pensacola, FL

Rev3 Sarasota-Oct. 28^th Sarasota, FL

I'm hoping to do a bit more travelling this year! And yes I'm giving the iron-distance my second shot :) There is also a secret possibility of another iron distance making the list. Last but not least, I'm hoping to get much closer to.... if not break that 5 hour/11 hour barrier for the 70.3/140.6 distances respectively.

What about you? What are your goals for 2012?

Girl-athalon Weekend

2011-10-04T11:23:00.016-04:00

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to spend a girls weekend with some of your favorite bloggers: Chloe from Florida and Maggs in Hawaii. Chloe and I planned on celebrating her 31st with a sprint tri and a girls weekend at Pensacola Beach. Maggs, luckily was in town and close enough to partake in the celebrations. It ended up being the perfect ending to the season.

We started out the weekend of course with the Santa Rosa Triathlon Saturday am. The little race turned out to be way bigger than we thought with over 1200 participants. Chloe and I were a little disappointed to find out that our heat was next to last. I definitely regretted my decision not to opt for the elite division. Note-to-self-for-future....We knew the bike would be a cluster-f, especially with dodging these: In end it wasn't that bad. Minus the crazy gusting wind and jelly-fish dodging in the swim, it was fun race that was over in a heartbeat. Not really worth writing too much of a race report....Quick version: swim 600m, bike 18 miles, run 5k and AG win. Yay for the AG win :) In the end, the actual weekend was way more fun and noteworthy than the actual race....

We didn't wast any time getting the post race party started of course. And yes we tried champagne un-corking over the balcony but it didn't quite work out. The rest of the day was spent: sunning to rid ourselves of our permanent bike-short-tan-lines, sipping margaritas with desperate housewives of Tennessee, and getting yelled at by a life guard who looked like a younger version of this:While jumping on the water trampoline his exact words were, " Now I know you girls are triathletes and all.... But you really need to put on life-jackets." We giggled but were a little too incoherent to argue at that point. Funny Stuff. After margarita #2 my day was pretty much over although Chloe and Maggs kept it going. Definitely an endurance event.

We awoke the next day, sore/black and blue, and super dehydrated. Probably more from the trampoline shenanigans than the the actual race. We said our farewell to Maggs...
And celebrated just a little more....

Happy 31 Chloe!

It was the most crazy-girl-fun I've had in a long time :) Call me a dork for saying this, but my blogger friends are starting to replace my real friends... Am I the only one?

You tell me !

Role Reversal

2011-09-27T13:28:00.012-04:00

As my season winds down quickly I'm heading off into uncharted territory. After my race this weekend I will go from age group triathlete to IMFL race sherpa!

It feels a little weird I'm not going to lie. But with any relationship there is give and take. Scott has always been my biggest cheerleader.... from my first track meets in Connecticut....

to my first Ironman race last year.

It's crazy to think back to where we both started....

Anyway it is now my turn to return the favor for years of his years of rockstar support! I'm super excited to fulfill my new role as race sherpa/iron-wife extraordinaire but question that I really have what it takes? Sometimes I really wonder how other serious Ironman triathlete couples make this happen with both individuals competing? Things are crazy enough around the Austin household when we are just doing our 70.3 training or below. Does one person's triathlon training have to take a back seat to allow the other to succeed? Or do you just put life on the back-burner temporarily?

Regardless, I'm excited, nervous, and humbled to have this new opportunity and hope deep down that I have what it takes to help Scott become an Ironman:

Any advice is welcome :)And speaking off Scott... Don't miss his $100 Newton give-a-way!

P.S. Catching drafters with Chloe, cheering for so many fellow bloggers, and having a few adult beverages might be a little more fun than 140.6 miles this round anyways!

Gone Technical

2011-09-23T10:34:00.008-04:00

Earlier this spring one of my friends and training partners showed up at a race with these cool new rings on his bike. In addition to looking sleek and super cool, he claimed that they dramatically increased his power and speed. He called these rings "rotor q-rings". Knowing my friend is already a power horse on the bike, I shrugged it off and forgot about it. After all I barely know the name of my bike components, forget the brand name. (embarassing-yes I know).

A few weeks later I went on a ride with the same person whom I can usually can keep up with. After being dropped several times in the same ride trying to maintain a 26mph ave, I decided that maybe I needed to perform a little q-ring investigation. What exactly is a Rotor Q-ring? For my technical and non-technical readers I'm going to give 2 definitions.

Heidi definition:

Q-rings are oval shaped rings that supposedly increase your power per pedal stroke and increase your pedal stroke efficiency. They eliminate the dead space with-in your pedal stroke.

Technical definition:

By looking at your pedal stroke in terms of the face on a clock, the most power generated is between the 1 to 5 o’clock position. The Q-rings are designed to have the timing of the ellipse’s larger diameter portion match the powerful 1 to 5 o’clock position of the stroke. While gear inches increase during the power part of the stroke, the Q-ring, in turn, reduces the gear inches during the least powerful parts of the stroke, which is the 11 to 1 o’clock and 5 to 7 o’clock positions, helping speed through the less powerful portion.

I was sold.....

As my anniversary approached you can imagine the surprised look on Scott's face when I asked for bike components (q-rings). And being the good husband that he is... he pulled through. No wanting to change anything for my last A-race for the season, I waited until this week to make the change. In fact this week the pink hotness got a full make over including her Q-ring replacement and fresh hot pink handle bar tape.

So now you are probably thinking... what's the verdict?

It's a little too early to tell but I can say from my speed work yesterday that I was flying. My sprint tri next weekend will also be a good test. Ultimately we shall see in 2012!

And of course every product has it's downfall.... Although I have yet to experience any issues, my bike mechanic forewarned me about dramatic shift changes (from big ring to little ring). Because of the oval shape, I guess there is a higher chance you will drop your chain with dramatic shift changes? With my below sea-level riding conditions I don't see this being a huge problem for me. Happy weekend everyone-

Time for the Big Girl Pants

2011-09-17T21:15:00.015-04:00

Things happen for a reason. Ironically I spent my last post raving about how excited I was to have Scott joining me at the Rev3 Cedar Point 70.3. Unfortunately things didn't end up working out as planned. One week out from the race my dearest Flex messed up his back so bad he was physically dragging his legs behind him. Fearing my dog would be permanently paralyzed and utilizing wheels for back legs, I asked Scott to stay home to help the little guy mend. It was a little traumatic to say the least. I'm sure my fellow pet lovers understand.

In the end, I jet setted off to Ohio sans race sherpa. Although my parents were there on race day, I was tasked with bike assembly for the first time alone. I called it operation "big girl pants". Don't get me wrong I travel alone a lot....but the thought of physically getting the bike to the airport...flying the bike safely to my destination and then fitting it into the rental car... and out of the car... and then putting it together correctly was....

.....

just a little daunting....

My double sized bike box did NOT help my cause. Luckily I pulled the damsel in distress card at the rental car place and at least scored a free upgrade to a full size SUV :)

In the end all worked out and Heidi and the pink hotness arrived safely in Sandusky, Ohio for race day.

My personal parazzi aka my mom made it just in time for race day. The race went off Sunday without a hitch. The water was calm and the skies were clear. It was a beautiful day for race day. I went out hard at the swim start knowing I wanted to try to stay with the amateur leaders. The swim start was a little rough with the 1-2 ft muck like quicksand we had to run to getting to the water. Despite my efforts to stay with the leaders I fell back some. The morning glare made it a little tough to sight and my full wetsuit felt like it was killing my shoulders. Upon water exit I glanced down at my watch.. 36 minutes... goal time 29-32.... uh oh. Not good.

As I headed off to the bike I was a little scared as I hadn't had time to drive the course before. And although I was told my many (northerners) that the course as flat, I had some doubts. Regardless I set off below my 163 bpm heart rate threshold for the first 28 miles. There were definitely some hills... some might call them rollers but definitely hills to this now flat lander. I passed a few girls in my AG and a few passed me. Nutrition was spot on. No mistakes there. After the half way point I picked it up a notch to my 165 bpm threshold and tried not to get too excited as I neared the finish.

Final bike time: 2:45

Right on track. Not going to complain given the hills :)

Off to the run... I kept telling myself... this is it... last big race of the season... no holding back...Starting out I felt good. My legs were pretty tight as I transitioned but my turnover and cadence were good. I started off at a solid 7 minute pace. I was picking off people left and right. I found out a few miles in that I was 3rd in my AG.

Yay! Despite my efforts to hold my pace... it felt like every mile just kept getting a little slower and slower until it was 9 min pace and then even 10 min pace the around 11-12 miles. My quads felt like they were being stabbed. At that point I just started feeling sort of well... content... one mile left .... 3rd in my age group.... this really hurts.... Right around that same time I was passed unexpectedly by another girl in my age group.

Feeling pretty bad at this point, I just repeated my mantra: "stay on her Heidi--just stay on her Heidi". You can't get beat in the last mile of a 70.3! And that is exactly what I did... With about 3/4 of a mile to go I just got this surge of energy. I was not about to throw in the towel that easy. Nope. I dropped the girl with ease and kicked it in the rest of the way.

As I proudly crossed carrying the American flag on 9/11, I couldn't help but think about my lil bro the marine and my naval aviator hubby. After all because of them- they made this day and pretty much every freedom we have possible. Thank you thank you!

Final run time... 1:54. Final time 5:19. A little off my 5 hour goal time but I'll take it!

Despite my time disappointment, I was the 10th amateur and 3rd in my age group. When all was said and done, Heidi put on her big girl pants and got a 20 minute PR. I guess you can't complain about only dropping 20 minutes at a time. Hopefully more good things to come! Thank you Rev3 for by far the most beautifully executed and organized race. Loved it :) Goodbye WTC. And of course thank you to Kim my coach for getting me through and of course for putting up with me :)

Iron and A.R.T.

2011-08-30T15:15:00.010-04:00

For my 6th wedding anniversary my hubby surprised me with lots of wonderful gifts. For anyone that follows anniversary traditions, the theme for 6 years of marriage is "IRON". With iron, you can easily imagine what kind of gifts you would give with a triathlete couple: anything ironman related. Think bike components, A.R.T. therapy, and a hot pink road ID.... And the best surprise: scott is coming to watch me at Rev3!
Last week I reluctantly headed off to my first A.R.T. session. Although I had no glaring ailments, I thought it would be a good idea to start to incorporate into my training regiment. The place I chose in NOLA was a chiropractic place. After being scolded for my bad posture, weak scapular stabilizers/bad scapular mobility, tight hamstrings/hip flexors my guy went to town. He paid special attention to my psoas, pirformis, and posterior tibialis tendon which was super contracted. As a warning the hip flexor technique is by far the worst/most painful. Despite the painful session, I walked out of there feeling A-M-A-Z-I-N-G....

I heard about A.R.T awhile back but never really got around to trying it since I wasn't technically injured. I've heard countless other triathletes rave about how well it works. In case you haven't heard of it.... (from their website):

ART is a soft tissue system/movement based massage technique that treats problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves. With the rigors of training, our bodies can produce tough, dense scar tissue in the affected area(s). This scar tissue binds up and ties down tissues that need to move freely. As scar tissue builds up, muscles become shorter and weaker, tension on tendons causes tendinitis, and nerves can become trapped. This can cause reduced range of motion, loss of strength, and pain.

As a physical therapist, I have yet to read any relevant research or randomized controlled trials for A.R.T therapy. Despite the missing evidence, I can say I've become a huge fan after my 1st two sessions. My belief is that it's better to fix the small issues now before they lead to bigger issues down the road. I think I'm enough of a believer to become an A.R.T provider myself....

The big test will be next weekend.... Bring it Rev3... I'm feeling ready :)

Racing Alone

2011-08-24T21:19:00.014-04:00

Ironically the Sandestin Triathlon happens to always fall on my anniversary weekend. While some may think it's odd to celebrate an anniversary by racing a triathlon, I honestly couldn't think of a better option. Scott and I headed over early Friday from NOLA to Destin, FL. We had just enough time to settle in, crank out the usual pre-race workouts, and to squeeze in some outlet shopping. We stayed conveniently right next door to where the race as being held and caught a glimpse of the most perfect sunset....
The race went off without a hitch. The gulf was calm, clear, and perfectly inviting. My age group was the first wave with guys/gals combined. I went out hard knowing this quasi-OLY/sprint race would be as I say "balls to the wall." With the guy/gal combo the start was a little rough. I drafted a little settled into a rhythm but found myself solo after I hit the 2nd buoy. No ladies in sight.

Hmmm.... Not having a stellar rock star swimmer history, I figured a few girls escaped me. I told myself, "I'll catch them on the run." After I ran the extra quarter mile to transition, I was off on to the bike. A few miles out people started yelling, "Go 1st lady!" What? How did this happen? Me? First out of the water? What?

And there I was. A-l-o-n-e. A guy passed me here and there. But I was out there flying solo. I'll be honest. It just felt WEIRD! It was nice to not have to worry about drafting packs and reckless newbies. At the turn around I caught a glimpse of my closest competition. She was a good 2-3 minutes back. I felt like I was flying on the bike but carefully kept my heart rate under my coaches 170 bpm cut-off. The glassy-smooth Florida roads were like a dream. The 20 mile bike was over before I knew it.

Off to my usual favorite:the run. At that point the sun was relentlessly beating down. As I set off at a 6:50 pace, I immediately scaled it back to coaches orders. I found myself again in a very strange place: ALONE. No guys. Nada. After I scaled my pace back, I found it hard to get the legs going again. As the heat/sun combo took it's toll on my body/psyche my pace slowed. I was spent. I neared the turn around and again saw the same competition still a few minutes back. I just couldn't muster the energy to pick up my pace. The last 2 miles of the 4 mile run were tortuous. The alone-ness was getting to me. I mustered up enough energy to pick it up at the finish line and finished "unofficially" as the first lady and obviously my AG winner. Knowing there was a pro lady in the field, I knew my my chances of winning were pretty slim. Not sure why a pro would race something this small-but I won't go there.

I ended up 4th OA. Hoping for an overall place, I was a little disappointed but knew I lost it mentally on the run. Tagging an extra 2 minutes from my previous years time, it was pretty obvious that I wasn't too comfortable racing ALONE.

Has this ever happened to anyone else? Ultimately, I guess I'm a chaser at heart :) Maybe this takes some getting used to?

Regardless of the outcome it was an amazingly-fun-filled-race/weekend. And I can't forget to sent a shout-out to Scott who dropped a crazy 15 minutes off of his time from last year. Check out his latest give-a-way too :)And to my fellow teammates who cleaned house :)
You gotta love accepting your award in a bikini! :)

I got a Feeling

2011-08-06T15:45:00.005-04:00

Have you ever went into a race with that weird feeling that something just isn't right? Have you you ever drove 5 hours plus to a half-iron race or longer ALONE knowing that it probably wasn't the brightest move?

Those were just a few of the questions that were running through my head going into the Augusta 70.3. In addition:

I still had not signed up....

Getting to the race would require a 9 hour drive ALONE...

With my whole team bailing, I would be staying alone too..

No support.

Nada.

I had to ask myself: Aren't we in this sport to have "FUN" in the first place?

It was just all together a really bad idea. But what can a girl do when she is training her a## for this silly race? There was no way I could waste the hard training I've put in the past few months. I am determined to get a solid 70.3 under my belt before IMTX. A spring or OLY would not do the job.

After some careful research, I have found a new option: The Revolution3 Cedar Point. Goodbye WTC and hello REV3! I've have heard nothing but good things about their races :) And with the close proximity to Pennsylvania my mom aka personal paparazzi will also be able come out and cheer!

(Sigh of relief)... Although I can't say I've mastered the whole bike flying ordeal quite yet.... there is a first for everything isn't there? I think I can swing it.

Sometimes you have to go with your gut. I hope I made the right move. Any fellow bloggers headed that way September 11th? Hope to see ya there ;) I got a feeling... Rev3 is going to be a blast!

Risk Taking with Mother Nature

2011-07-25T21:09:00.012-04:00

Lately Mother Nature and I have been at odds. What's up with this rain gulf-coasters? Seriously!! I think it's been 2 weeks or so non-stop! With this streak of bad luck I've been doing lots of this: (You can tell by my smirk that I'm not too happy to be stuck inside)

This weekend I had one of those days where I said enough is enough. Saturday, I awoke to dark skies and a weather map that was just plain scary. Mentally, I knew I wasn't having one of those days where I could crank a 3:30 ride out on the trainer. NOT going to happen. I double bagged my phone and headed out. My husband just shook his head in disgust....

Somehow I think my luck changed Saturday... I'm happy to say I survived THIS with only getting sprinkled on:
Probably a little ball-sy but I'm glad I went out. After spending my fair share of winters training in the North East... I have to be in dire circumstances to resort to the trainer or a treadmill. Yuck! Some would call me stupid, (especially my husband) but what can a girl do? Hoping for sunny skies soon!

Speaking of sunny skies, a HUGE congrats to my dear friend/coach Kim Schwabenbauer for placing as the 1st amateur/1st AG at Ironman Lake Placid. And also to Jeremy/Jocelyn (the fastest couple ever) for also rocking the race and walking away with Kona slots! It was such an inspiring day watching the race unfold on cyberspace!

Leeches: Stay Away

2011-07-16T16:59:00.006-04:00

I'm trying hard to get back into the blogging world. I swear. Lately, I haven't really had much to write about besides long days at work and long training hours that kick my a**. By the time I get finished with both, the last thing I feel like doing is writing about them!

Here goes my second try to get on back on the bandwagon.... Sorry if it's a bit cynical :)

I've been having a problem lately...

A big problem..... My problem has been: Leeches... cling-ons... filthy blood suckers.... pests....free-loaders...parasites...scroungers

What am I talking about you may ask?

Short description: Middle-aged male cyclists that think it's cool to to draft off of me without asking.

With my time constraints lately, I've been doing most of my riding on the Mississippi River levee which is a 25 mile-long paved bike road. It's great for speed days, intervals, and is a 5 minute bike ride from my house. Despite the convenience, it's pretty easy to draft off of people because it's flat and fast.

In the past week or so, the leeches have been swarming. Many have tried to latch their jaws onto to me. After the first occasion, I simply shook my head in disgust at their bad cycling etiquette. After the 2nd or 3rd time I dropped the leeches like a bad habit. After the 4th or 5th time, it got ugly. I may or may not have dropped a few F-bombs or so to get a leech to un-latch. And-yes it worked.

Let this be a lesson to the leeches out there....

1. It's NOT OK to draft off of a person or group without asking or being invited.
2. If you do... you =LEECH
3. If you cause somebody to crash because of your leech-er habits, you should quit cycling/triathlon all together.
4. As someone passes you going a lot faster, IT IS SUPER NOT COOL to speed up and try to latch your jaws onto them.
5. It is definitely not cool to be a SILENT leech.
6. I can feel a silent leech latch on. I'm not afraid to call you and your leech-er ways out and EMBARRASS you.
7. Last but not least, I'm 5'5 and weigh a-buck-20 and ride 650cs... Do you honestly think leeching off of me is going to get you that far?
8. Dear Mr. Leech: Please stay away......

Thanks for listening y'all! Hope this does not apply to any of you :)

Re-wind

2011-06-22T22:35:00.014-04:00

I'm back for good this time! Where do I even start? I guess I will start off with where I have been.... With nightmare triathlon a few weeks back, overwhelming- PT board- studying, getting horribly sick, taking a mini vacation, oh -and starting a new job... I put triathlon on the back burner temporarily. This could very easily turn into a novel so I'll provide you with the cliff notes version.

The Heatwave triathlon that I did a few weeks ago in Mississippi went horribly wrong. I was burnt out both mentally and physically.... Racing 4 out of 6 weeks will do that. My head wasn't in it at ALL and the 100 degree temperatures were just hell-ish. The swim was so hot that it was suffocating. Simply put: it was just UGLY. After the race, I forced myself to step back a little and re-evaluate some things.

After the race I did a quick orientation at my new job and then jetted off to North Carolina for one last vacation. It would be the first time my little bro and sister and I would be all together in I think 5 years. It was a nice break before heading back to work although there was no break in the rigorous studying. The trip was perfect, amazing, fun, and beautiful. I did:

a little running...

lots of studying...

a little surfing...

and of course for anyone who knows my mom: a family photo shoot lol....

After that it was back to real life for me:

Starting a new job is never easy. I can say looking back that studying for my boards and starting a new job before I passed was an extremely dumb idea. To add to the challenge, after my first day on the job I came down with the worst imaginable virus/cold.... . Regardless of my poor judgement call, hard work and lots of prayer pulled me through. Last Tuesday I passed my national physical therapy boards and am officially a licensed Doctor of Physical Therapy! Three plus years of hard studying, tears, and constant struggles have all paid off!

Thank you to my family and friends for encouraging me all the way! I'm excited to start this next chapter of my life.... For now it's back to work and yes back to triathlon.

Heatwave

2011-06-03T11:50:00.005-04:00

This weeks weather has been no joke. You can tell it's OFFICIALLY summer in New Orleans. Getting quality workouts in has been a true challenge. The problem isn't necessarily completing the workout, but more so staying in appropriate heart rate zones etc. I find my heart rate is definitely a good 10 bpm above where it should be on days like this. Ultimately, I guess all I can do is hydrate... hydrate... hydrate.... and get'er done early....

It's funny because in most areas of the country triathlon season is finally in full swing. It's the opposite here in cajun swamp lands as the race season comes to a standstill. In fact, it's hard to find a race between June-August. In order to get one last fix, I'm headed up to Mississippi today to do this Olympic distance race:

I don't think there could have been a more appropriate race name. It's definitely going to be a scorcher. Anyway good luck to Maggs and everyone else racing this weekend! Stay cool~

Scary Stuff

2011-05-25T20:03:00.005-04:00

Studying and training are a little overwhelming right now~so I'm going to keep this short and sweet. Top 3 SCARY things this week:

1. The scariest of all: Physical Therapy Boards June 21st... It's official! Yuck....

2. (This is pee your pants scary).... During my 2 hour ride today I came FACE to FACE with this lovely 8 foot long creature:

(Hopefully my coach doesn't get mad I stopped my interval in fear of being eaten alive). He was staring at me and covering the whole bike path :(

3. And scary but exciting: I'm officially signed up for Ironman Texas! Along with Chloe and hopefully Miss Fancy Pants :) and maybe even Maggs!

Have a great week everyone!

Iron Girl New Orleans Race Report

2011-05-24T09:59:00.014-04:00

Being a lover of all things super girly, I was stoked when I found out that the Iron Girl series was coming to New Orleans. Although it would mean racing back to back weekends with the 5150, I was so in!

After being a big spaz at the 70.3 and 5150, I wanted to approach this race with a chill and positive attitude. And THAT my friends is .....exactly what I did. It's been awhile since I raced something this short and I knew it would be "balls-to the wall" type racing for sure.

The setting for Sundays race was perfect: temperatures in the 80s, light winds, and glassy-calm water. FINALLY get to swim!

The race went off without a hitch and my age group was the 2nd wave. Although it was wet suit legal, I opted for no wetsuit knowing my clutzy-ness would cost me in T1. With a 400 m swim, I also knew I had to get out hard and fast. Regardless, I got out fast after a few dolphin dives and stayed with 2 other green caps from my AG. We ran up on the 1st heat half way in and I easily weaved past them to the finish.

My garmin that was fully charged the day before decided to die this morning so I had no idea what the time was... I just kept repeating my mantra "balls the wall Heidi-go-go-go". I knew T1/T2 had to be fast no exceptions. T1: 48 sec

Onto the pink hotness for 10 miles. Although my garmin was MIA, my bike computer was luckily working and gave me some sense of how I was doing. I took a few sips of Infinit along the way as this would be the only chance to take anything in. At the turn around there were still 3 women in front of me. I couldn't tell if they were in my age group or from the previous heat. I picked one off quickly thereafter and was gaining on another. After the 2nd turn around, I picked off another and saw that she was in my AG. Just in time! Final distance: 10.7 miles.

I hurled my bike onto the rack, yanked off my helmet, switched shoes quickly, and ran as I put on my race belt. T2: 43 seconds. Scott yelled to inform me that there was only one girl left to pick off and she was about 2 minutes ahead of me. Although I knew she was in the first heat, I still wanted to give her a run for her money.

I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried about not having my Garmin here. This is where it might hurt me. It's crazy how we become so dependent on these gadgets. Somehow I miraculously was able to run on feel and turnover alone.

At the1.5 mile turn around there were 2 girls probably within 15-30 seconds of me. I felt like I was being hunted down. I also noted that the lead girl's gap was closing. I just plugged away as there was no holding back now. With a half mile to go I passed the lead girl. This being my fellow teammate.... she gave me a nice slap on the a** and said you biatch.... It felt so strange being at the front and actually following the lead car/bicycle! As we headed through a grassy area and went up the final small hill, I turned it on.

Thinking back to my 400 m hurdle days in college, NOBODY and I mean NOBODY is going to take it from me in the last stretch.

I'm not going to lie it was close....(6 seconds) But I

did it!

Although this wasn't a huge race for me, this was my first ever kind of big win! Super stoked to be able to do it at such a fun race! Congrats to the survivors, first-timers, and everyone else who finished :) You are the true heroes and what makes this sport so inspiring. And a big thank you to my sexy team and my new coach!

New Orleans 5150 RR

2011-05-16T12:22:00.011-04:00

I think I jinxed my self by calling the New Orleans 5150 swim cancellation too early. My prediction came true and the swim was in fact cancelled. Water conditions were definitely a little rough.... far worse than the NOLA 70.3.

Prior this year I've only had one swim cancellation due to rough waters and this year I'm 2/2 for swim cancellations. GEEZ! Sometimes I think we need to ask ourselves: isn't this what triathlon is about... sucking it up and facing the conditions? I don't think WTC would agree lol.

But getting to the race report, I 'll keep it simple to spare you from my negativity! Instead of the 1500 m swim, race organizers opted for a 2 mile run. Yay! Right up my ally....

2 mile Run

As the run took off, I kept reminding myself not to go too hard or get super

excited. I knew if I did my legs would pay for it on the bike. I went out at a decent pace and stayed with the top 5 women or so.

Run 14:22

40 k Bike

Again very similar to the NOLA 70.3, the winds were a nightmare=gusty and unpredictable.... Given the conditions, I tried to keep up my cadence and keep my heart rate in check. After the first 5 miles or so 2 girls from my age group passed me. I tried to keep them in my sight but my legs and heart rate just said F-U Heidi...I was frustrated but tried to just focus on my race.

Bike 1:13:45 pace 20.2

10k run

I knew if I wanted to be competitive at all in this race I had some major making up to do on the run. I took the first mile easy and tried to focus on my turnover and cadence. After mile 1, I loosened my bike legs and dropped 30 sec off my mile pace. I was able to keep my pace between 7:30-7:50. At the 3 mile turn around, I could see the 2 girls that I needed to catch. They were both a good 2-3 minutes ahead of me. Lots of making up still to do. I caught a group of people here and there but still no sight of my AG girls. As the last mile approached, I tried to keep it up as both my pace and positive attitude faded.

Run 47:24 pace 7:39

Final time: 2:18:03, 5th AG 30-34

On a positive note, my 5th place finish earned some nice swag and also qualified me for the Hy-vee Age Group Championships. Yay for that!

Mary and I are debating Hy-vee... Girl trip?!

Anyway you can probably tell from my tone that I was disappointed with my race... Ultimately I believe certain days we race like champions and on some days we don't. Yesterday was not one of my days. After every race, I try to go back and examine what went wrong... what could I have done better? Looking back at this race there were no glaring, huge mistakes. I haven't missed any workouts. Nutrition was spot on. No injuries. I just didn't have my Heidi spunk. For me, that makes it that much more frustrating! Am the only one? Solid day buy I know I can do better!

Regardless, I will move on and be positive and know that "my day" will happen in the near future :) Congrats to everyone else who tore it up this weekend at the NOLA 5150, Rev3 Knoxville, and the Florida 70.3. And as for next week, I am thinking about signing up for IM Texas 2012..... Who's with me :) ?

That Time Again

2011-05-11T21:28:00.006-04:00

It's race time AGAIN! Yay! This weekend is the first annual New Orleans 5150. When WTC first announced the 5150 series I was so excited. I thought wow this is something I could probably do well at and maybe even qualify for the 5150 Hyvee World Championships. Then I did some thinking... Why would I want to go to Iowa? I think if I'm going to travel I'm going to go somewhere like Florida or California. Definitely not Iowa...(no offense mid-westerners). So I think there has been a slight change in my schedule. No more Hyvee for me. With the cash prizes and hype maybe I will change my mind.

Anyway I was shocked today when I saw the registrant list: less than 500 peeps. Wow-WTC must be losing some big bucks here.

And after checking out the water early this am, I am far less optimistic there will be a swim. Conditions were far more rough than they were at the 70.3. The pressure is on WTC. All I know is that if this thing is cancelled is going to kill the future growth of this race and other races in New Orleans as well. Frustrating. Nuff said.

Anyway who else is racing this weekend? Good luck to: Charisa, Kim and all of the Pittsburgh half/full marathoners :)!

A Girly Girl's Guide to Triathlon Training

2011-05-09T20:04:00.016-04:00

I'm typically the type of girl who always wears make-up, has to have my hair cut exactly every 8 weeks, and cares how cute and what color my workout clothes are. Call me superficial but we all have our vices.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind sweating and getting dirty. And I'm definitely not the one applying lipstick in T2 just for my Ironman finisher photo.... I just like to clean up quickly and want to look presentable when I'm NOT swimming, biking, and running.

To help out all of my fellow girly-girl triathletes out there~ below are my top 20 tips on how to survive serious triathlon training while maintaining a presentable appearance.

1. Wet your hair before swimming and soak it up with conditioner. Especially if you are swimming in chlorine.... Your hair will absorb the water and conditioner before it absorbs the green nasty stuff. It will also prevent the post swim rats nest.

2. Consider investing in a swimming specific shampoo.

3. Always wear sandals at the pool. No foot fungus here.

4. For running and biking on hot, humid days try braids. I get a killer rats nest if I don't.

(And braids and pigtails make you FASTER!)

5. Try these hair things for the braids....

They will prevent THIS:

6. Do NOT wash your hair EVERY day if you can avoid it. Your stylist will scold you big time. Think of all the damage you are already doing from chlorine and sun. Try baby power at your roots or a Big Sexy Hair Dry Shampoo.

7. Assemble a beauty essential bag. Some things you may want to add: shampoo, conditioner, comb, color tinted chap stick, mascara, deodorant, baby-wipes, face wipes, mini body spray, and maybe a compact. Pictured below is mine minus the shampoo and conditioner...

8.Try to upkeep your pedicures. If you don't~ your feet will get that much worse. And maybe wait until after race day because it will get messed up.

9. Always keep some kind of workout clothes in your car. You never know when you might get some extra time to squeeze that workout in.

10. Do exfoliate your skin. Think of the dead skin and sweat and the build up. Gross.

11. Sunscreen is a must for protection and to avoid ugly tan lines. Those lines will not look cute in you summer dresses.

12. Always shower after races if you can and make sure you bring your beauty essentials bag. If there is no shower option, use your baby wipes. You have to look good on the PODIUM!

13. De-tangler is a must.

14. Use some kind of lube to prevent chaffing. Your boyfriend/spouse/or whomever does NOT want to see your saddle stores. Bleaugh...(they might think you have an STD).

15. On the go and don't have time to blow-dry? Try gel and scrunching for the beachy look.

16. Replace sports bras yearly or when worn out. Don't neglect the girls! Nobody wants to tuck those babies in your belt someday.

17. If you wear a heart rate monitor a lot consider using some body glide under your sports bra line. You would be amazed at how easily that thing can chaff.

18. Moisturize after your pool time...

19. Try tinted Burt's Bee's chap stick/shimmer. Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

20. And my FAVORITE: add pink to anything and be instantly girl-i-fied.

Just because we like to swim, bike, and run a lot doesn't mean we shouldn't look cute!

Good luck my girly girls :)

New Ventures

2011-05-03T18:20:00.006-04:00

The last couple weeks have brought about a few pretty big changes in my life. After my poor run performance at the NOLA 70.3, I officially decided to hire a new coach. Given my extensive running history and profession, sometimes I feel like I should be able to do this single handedly. Experience however, has proven otherwise. I've found that it's far more beneficial to have that outside, objective person. While the program and coaching I used in the past was reliable and kept me injury free, it wasn't enough to make me fast. Swimming, biking, and running long slow distance will not make you fast. Yes- you will be able to finish the race but you will race the way you train. To take it to the next level, you ultimately must train the way you race. LSD will not cut it. Not for me.

For the rest of the year, I'm going to be training under my good friend Kim. With Kim's breakthrough performances over the past year, I think she has what it takes to really get me to the level I want to be at. Stay tuned!

And for the other big change...

It's official Heidi is a Doctor of Physical Therapy! So excited to start this new journey... Now if I can just pass those boards :)

Heidi's Dream Land

2011-04-26T17:33:00.010-04:00

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to take some well deserved time off from the triathlon world and escape to to Salt Lake City. Although I wrecked my pelvis there a few years ago snowboarding, I have come to fall in love with Utah. It's definitely one of my favorite places in the world to visit. Given my stellar history, I made sure to book my trip after the NOLA 70.3 :)

I know most of my fellow northerners are sick of the white stuff, but I was happy to escape the humid swamp lands for a bit and enjoy some "freshies". I was surprised as to how much powder was left and how incredible the conditions were.

View from the top of Snowbird

Making fresh tracks out of bounds

After a full day of shredding, my sister and I did a 2 hour hike up the Bonneville Shoreline trail. Talk about a double whammy. I was panting like a dog at the top of this climb.

The views from the top were well worth the hike

It felt so refreshing to try something outside of the swim-bike-run routine! I love love love hiking. Besides boarding and hiking, I did do a little running to prevent losing my base. Running out there was just as nuts and the altitude and climbing were insane. I think I gained almost a 1,000 feet in elevation on an hour run. So much for recovering from the 70.3 :)

As for me, I'm back in NOLA. For now I'm trading my fresh snow and breath taking mountain top views for 90% humidity, mosquitos galore, and a lovely view of the Mississippi.

N.O. 70.3 2011 RR

2011-04-19T11:34:00.018-04:00

When I first moved to New Orleans and saw the abbreviation NO on various street signs - I thought it literally meant the word no. After a few days I eventually figured out that it really was the abbreviation for New Orleans.

Anyway given how the race played out, I found it even more appropriate to title this race report: "NO 70.3". As most of you already know this weekends race definitely wasn't a 70.3- it was only a 69.1

The swim was cancelled because of the rough waters below:

With the swim cancellation, the race officials opted for TT bike start. Even more fun! I wasn't thinking and ended up in the very last pair to leave for my age group. I initially thought they were going via numerical order but that never happened. Regardless, I miraculously did a flying mount past the dismount line and passed a few girls right from the start.

Given the circumstances and knowing the course, I knew things were going to be dicey out there. Negative energy seemed to thicken the air: drafting was everywhere I look

ed, the cross wind was my worst nightmare, and the 30-34 age group girls were just plain MEAN! My race goals were quickly thrown out the window. My new goal was to survive this course.

Eventually the crowds thinned, the drafting ceased, and the wind shifted a little. Despite the bad energy, my nutrition was spot on. I had 3 bottles of Infinite and 3 Gu's. Heading back to transition, I was feeling good.

Goal time: 2:38

Actual 2:40

Bike pace 20.9

I grabbed a Gu in transition and was off to the run. I knew I had to make

up some time here if I wanted to be top 10 in my AG. I started off running comfortably in my heart rate zone around a 7:22 pace. I was passing lots of people. After the first mile or so, I started getting some foot numbness bilaterally. Grrrrrrr~stupid Yankz shoelaces were too tight. Too LATE now.....

I stayed around 7-min pace until mile 7 and then dropped to 8s for miles 8-9 and then to the 9s for miles 9-13. You can do the math as to how I felt during those miles.

Goal: 1:38-1:41

Actual 1:50:22

Final AG: 17th in a stacked field of fast ladies

Final time: 4:33:30

For some reason, I just can NOT get the run together in the 70.3+ distance. Although I'm stoked to have dropped 6 minutes from my bike time last year and 20 minutes from my run time, something still isn't right. Luckily, I've enlisted some help from a new coach to fix this in the future :)

Regardless of what happened on race day, this weekend I made some great new friends and caught up with some old ones. Just to name a few Marni, Karel, Flex's new friend Campy, Barb, Tamra, Michele and her hubby.

And of course can't forget my house guest Kim :)

Cheers to getting the first race of the season done and to many new friendships! I think that is what makes the sport worth it! Thank you for your cheers and support :) Great job to all who raced-

NOLA 70.3 2011

2011-04-12T22:22:00.008-04:00

For 2011 I wanted to do an updated New Orleans 70.3 race course preview. Due to PT school deadlines and my demanding clinical schedule, I wasn't able to pull through. Feel free to reference the 2010 race course preview if you like. Not too much has changed. INSTEAD: I'm presenting the quick and dirty top 10 things to know about the NOLA 70.3. Enjoy!

1. Don't forget the tinted goggles on the swim. You will need them.

2. The swim course is more confusing than it appears- Make sure you understand it before you hit the water. The lake currents are tricky.

3. Be cautious on the bike. Although it's flat beware of gravel, railroad tracks, grates, bridges etc. And cones too. They are killer!

4. Sunscreen is a must.

5. DO NOT underestimate the humidity in NOLA. It will rock your world.

6. Cherish the shade on the run. There isn't much of it.

7. We don't have hills in NOLA, but there is wind.

8. If you need to swim, bike, and run before the race hit up Lakeshore drive. You can do all 3 there. There is also a river levee and Audubon Park for biking/running.

9. Post race please reward yourself with an adult beverage: preferably a hurricane or hand grenade. If you would rather ingest solid calories try some classic Cajun food or some homemade ice cream to cool you off. And don't forget the beignets at Cafe Du Monde. 10. Meet Kim and I in the French Quarter for the continued post race festivities!
Let me know if you are racing here this weekend :) !

It's a Man's World...or is it?

2011-04-03T17:00:00.006-04:00

While I try to finish up my Grad School projects, put in extra hours at my clinical and finish training for the NOLA 70.3, I thought I'd enlist the help of a guest blogger to have something to post. So here is a little something graciously submitted by Austin at Enjoy the Ride:

...

In an interview held just prior to her winning the 2010 Ironman World Championships Mirinda Carfrae made the following assertion:

"I think the bottom line is that the Ironman is more suited to women...Physically. Look at endurance runners - the men's and women's times are very similar. When you get to the last couple hours of an Ironman, the guys' muscle mass isn't helping them go any faster. That's when we start to gain. I think women can better withstand that amount of effort for that duration."

What? How could Rinny dare claim that women are better endurance athletes than men? Most would scoff at such an idea - but I think she is on to something.

Granted, one could easily counter her assertion by noting that the men's Ironman World Record is objectively faster than the Women's, and call the case closed there. However, her claim was not simply that women are faster than men in endurance races, but rather that they are more suited for endurance sports.

At the elite level, male and female endurance athletes' physiques can become nearly indistinguishable. At 5ft 7in Ironman World Champ Chrissie Wellington weighs in at a reasonable 132lbs. Compare that to mens World Champ Chris McCormack, who at 5ft 11in barely tips the scales at 150lb.

"So what's the big deal? Endurance guys are skinny," you're thinking. "Anyone who has seen a high school cross country team photo knows that."

The point is that the adaptation of male and female athlete in response to endurance training appears to move the female to a state much closer to her natural body composition; while the male physique is minimized far below what would be considered "normal" size. The female maintains a healthy composition while muscle mass is stripped away from the male as his body seeks a lighter version of itself to carry over the miles. This is perhaps what Mirinda Carfrae was referring to - the idea that the female athlete is a sort of natural economy car and the male is more of a super charged hot-rod. No matter how fast the muscle car can go, in the long run, the economy car has the advantage over it's gas-guzzling, heavier counterpart. What's more, numerous studies have concluded that endurance training decreases testosterone levels in male athletes, further supporting the idea that endurance racing is something that men are less predisposed to.

So what does this mean?

It may mean that endurance sports are one realm of competition in which the ladies truly enjoy a natural advantage over their male opponents. It may mean that triathlon is destined to become a sport dominated in both participation and performance by the "fairer gender." According to a 2010 USAT report, female participants have jumped from comprising 27% to 37% of competitors at all USAT sanctioned events. Based on that rapid increase, male racers could be in the minority within a couple of short years.

All of this is not to say that triathlon is a sport that is definably "his" or "hers." On the contrary, it is perhaps one of the best sports to provide a level playing field for all. Triathletes of both genders bring their own lists of strengths and weakness to each and every race. And on those early mornings both male and female athletes of varied predispositions toe the line to do battle - not as much with each other, as with themselves.

So, ladies - let this assertion by the reigning World Champ be food for thought and motivation for your race morning. And if you see me out there - maybe you should give me a head start?

Final Countdown

2011-03-27T19:15:00.010-04:00

My longest week of NOLA 70.3 training is done! You know what that means? It's taper time my friends!

(View my my ride last week)

Although I'm not a huge fan of the taper, the much needed extra time will be devoted to my final thesis/research project for physical therapy school. I think I'd rather be training.

In between training, scrambling to finish my 50 plus page paper, studying for my boards, job searching, and oh yes my full time clinical I've managed to squeeze in one of these:

A nap with the best napping buddy ever....

And have rewarded myself with some sick new gear.... I think Chloe got me hooked.

Regardless I'm on the final stretch. I will be back soon my friends! The countdown begins:

5 weeks until I finish my Doctorate of Physical Therapy!

3 weeks until the New Orleans 70.3

2 weeks left of my year long clinical affiliation

1 week until my thesis is due

Maybe I should stop procrastinating :) Have a great week everyone.

Swimmer's Shoulder

2011-03-18T09:08:00.013-04:00

This year I've been dealing with nagging shoulder pain with swimming and biking aero. Despite some early season frustration, I think I've been cured. To help out my fellow triathletes who may be experiencing the same thing, I thought I would share what I've learned from research as well as from my own personal rehab. To keep it simple~ I'm breaking it down into a "to do" list.

In my particular case, I've been dealing with shoulder impingement. What is impingement you ask? Impingement occurs when the rotator cuff tendons are compressed by part of the shoulder blade(acromion) with overhead activity. As the arm is lifted, the acromion rubs, or "impinges" on, the surface of the rotator cuff. This causes pain and limits movement. Please note these guidelines are only specific to that diagnosis.
Heidi's "To Do's" for Swimmer's Shoulder

1. Take a good look at your posture.
Do you have a forward head or rounded shoulders? Do you sit all day in a slumped position at your job/school?
2. Try out a posture shirt.
Although there is no published research yet to support their usage, they can help increase your postural awareness and proprioception. This is the one I've been using for some time from Evidence Based Apparel:
Note: it has to fit very tight to get the job done. I have worn mine throughout the work day and during bike trainer sessions. Because of it's tight fit, I've only worn in it for 1-3 hours at a time.

3. Strengthen your rotator cuff and scapular stabilizers!
Here are my favorite exercises that I've been doing:
4. Avoid kick boards as they put your shoulder in a position of impingement.

5. Stay away from the paddles.

6. REST if you can until you fix the root of the problem.

7. If you can't rest, keep your workouts below 4000 m until the pain subsides.

8. Have a professional take a look at your stroke.

9. See a good sports physical therapist :)

10. And since most of you will ignore #6, I will say it one more time: REST!

Happy Friday!

And don't forget Chloe's sweet Betty designs give away. Their products are sick! In fact, I just caved and ordered a wrist band and shorts last night.

Rouge Orleans RR

2011-03-10T21:31:00.006-05:00

With Mardi Gras and the Rouge Orleans Ultra Marathon relay, I've been burnt out BIG time this week. With that said, I'll leave you with a quick recap of the Rouge Orleans Ultra Relay RR. This race started 1 pm Saturday in Baton Rouge and continued until 8 am Sunday in New Orleans. 126.2 miles total. My team consisted of mostly pilots from my hubby's job.

I got roped into this relay last minute and to be honest wasn't too excited going into it. It was an interesting experience to say the least and I will say that I have a new found respect for you crazy ultra marathoners. I ran 5 legs that totaled around 25 miles. I was pleased with most of my splits despite severe DOMS and sleep deprivation.

I probably took the relay a little too seriously. In fact, I may have had an out burst or two when teammates over estimated how long my legs would take and weren't at the exchange on time. Oops. And one of people I yelled at may have been my husbands boss. Double oops. I'll blame the sleep deprivation on that.

The video sums it up pretty well:

Once I threw my sour attitude and overly competitive spirit out the window, I ended up having a great time with the guys and was glad to experience this aspect of running. Despite our added "transition times", we still won the military division. Yay! I highly recommend it to anyone considering an ultra relay. It's nice to get the team aspect back every once in awhile :)

Let the good times ROLL!

2011-02-27T22:46:00.008-05:00

So excited for my first Mardi Gras in NOLA! This weekend was just the warm up:Scott and I hit up 2 parades over the weekend... the first one Caesar and the 2nd one Barkkus: A dog parade! My favorite by far... Check out these awesome pics:Flex decked out in Mardi Gras gear and taking in the French Quarter scenes

Most creative mini float for sure :)

Combine 2 parades, 60 miles on the bike/brick, 13 mile run, and 3500 m swim and see how you feel Monday. Ouch. I think I'm still paying for it. My 1200 meter track repeats with the fast girls tonight at Tulane did NOT help my current state. I didn't know 1200s could be so painful. Hopefully I make it to the pool in the morning. Taking it day by day for now. Don't forget the give-a-way peeps :)

Tri-tats Giveaway

2011-02-23T13:27:00.009-05:00

Since I've recently passed 100-follower-mark I've decided to do a give-a-way. Winner takes home a tri-tats kit sample of 20 numbers. That means 20 of each number~This may last your whole season....These numbers look way more professional than those messy sharpies! And think of the time you will save on race morning bypassing body marking. Triathletes only.

Here are the rules:

1. You get one entry for being a follower of my blog. (Leave a message and let me know you are a follower)

AND

2. You get 2 entries in addition to the one above if you leave me a comment about how to create home-made nutrition substitutes! (stuff to take on the go for long rides, runs etc.) Without a nutrition sponsor, I'm sick of wasting so much cash on gels, drinks, bars etc. Help out this poor grad student!

The give away ends Friday March 4th at midnight central time.

Mardi Gras Half RR

2011-02-17T12:26:00.015-05:00

After spending most of my days last week at a physical therapy convention and most of my nights entertaining 4 of my graduate school friends in New Orleans, I wasn't too optimistic going into Sunday's half marathon. Despite my efforts to eat healthy and not drink, I succumbed to peer pressure on more than one occasion. Hmmmmm beignets, hand grenades, margaritas, wine. Ooops. I didn't want to be a bad hostess!

Regardless of my shenanigans, I was able to bust out a PR Sunday. My plan was to go out around a 7 minute pace and see if I could hold it. My goal time was a 1:30-1:35. And although I ran in college, my experience running the half marathon distance is truly lacking. I wanted to use this race as a fitness assessment to start the season and help build my confidence for the 70.3.

Unlike my usual triathlon race reports, I feel like they aren't too many details to bore you with. I went out around 7 minute pace and held it. I felt awesome. Very awesome. Until mile 10 that is. My body started tightening up a lot and I found it harder to hold my pace. I started dropping to 7:20s. The last mile I was able to pick it up a little. One of my teammates and I duked it out to the end. Luckily my old middle distance days were good for something: a kick. Final time: 134:38.

It was a very well organized race. I had a blast and the crowd support was unbelievable. A++++ from me.... I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an early season half/full marathon next year and a good after party!

Speaking of after party, I spent some of mine hanging out with Miss Fancy Pants! Great girl with amazing style! Check out her blog if you haven't already.

And in other news my other half has left his very own Bahama island and has returned to me in the cajun swamp lands. Oh does it feel good to have him back.

I know I've been absent over the past week but stay tuned for a giveaway, barefoot running blog, and a swimmer's shoulder blog. Lots of good stuff to come :)

Let's Get It Started

2011-02-08T04:25:00.002-05:00

Super stoked for this week for a number of reasons...Most importantly~I get to spend the rest of the week with 4 of my favorite grad school friends from the University of Pittsburgh.

This week we are all taking a much needed break from our clinical rotations to hit up a physical therapy conference in New Orleans. So excited to spend some quality time with the girls. Especially with the hubby away for another week. And who knows maybe I'll line up a job for after graduation!

I'm topping off the week with the Mardi Gras Half Marathon and some post race beverages with Miss Fancy Pants.
I have some lofty goals for this race and hope that things don't get too out of hand during the week. As sad as it sounds- this is the first half I've trained for seriously outside of triathlon. We'll see what happens.

Who else is doing the half or full? And more importantly, who's with me for the post race party???
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Fueling the Week

2011-01-30T21:16:00.008-05:00

I've been flying solo for a few weeks with the hubby kicking it the Caribbean. Another day at the office for him....

With that said staying properly fueled has been that much harder. I feel like there's so much more to do and so much less time.

To stay properly fueled throughout the week, I ultimately rely on these two staples:

To help stay on top of things I've been making a large batch of steel cut oats and quinoa/veggie combo to last me a week. Although I'm definitely sick of the same stuff towards the end of the week ~it's a HUUUUGE time saver. Especially given that steel cut oats take a good 20-30 minutes to prepare. My favorite quinoa recipe is the black bean recipe I posted a few weeks ago.

These items are also conveniently gluten free.

In other news this week, I have joined up with a new local triathlon team. I am in dire need of new training partners and some new triathlon friends in the NOLA community. Regardless of how it works out, I LOVE LOVE LOVE their style.
So far they've been pretty awesome and fast and I'm looking forward to many hurt fests in the near future :)

Vices

2011-01-29T07:28:00.000-05:00

I've been doing triathlon long enough now to develop a few vices. Some of them worse than others. No matter how hard I try to eliminate my bad habits, it seems I still go wrong somewhere. Here goes my top 10:

1. Not paying attention to nutrition and getting caught up in speed, pace, conversation, and sometimes competition.

2. Rushing out the door on long bike/run days without eating a sufficient breakfast.

3. Skipping lifting 2x a week

4. Neglecting fluid intake on cold days.

5. Opting out of the swim cool down.

6. Kicking with fins when I'm not supposed to.

7. Pulling in the pool when I'm not supposed to.

8. Forgetting post workout nutrition.

9. Hitting the snooze button too many times.

10. Eating dessert because I feel entitled on those long days.

This weekend I made the extra effort to get up early enough Saturday to eat breakfast before my 50 mile bike, 30 min run, and 3000 m swim (vice #2). I knew it was going to be a long morning and I needed a full tank before heading out.

Around mile 40 or so I felt my neck cramping up and a massive headache coming on. Despite my frustration with my physical state, it all made sense when I looked down at my water bottle cage. For the past 2 hours I had taken in less than bottle of my Heed/Sustained energy combo. Dummy! Mental note: you are DEHYDRATED! There was some construction on my usual route and I had to detour a few times. I guess I just got thrown off track. After sucking down some fluid before my run and swim, I felt better within minutes.

Despite my mistakes, it was an amazing workout day with beautiful views of the swamp lands...

And warm enough for shorts on the run.....

Maybe some day I will get it right! I feel like I shouldn't be making these silly mistakes anymore. Am I the only one? What is your triathlon vice?

Upgrades

2011-01-23T18:34:00.011-05:00

Not only does Ironman training take a toll on your body, it takes a huge toll on all of your equipment. With that said, I've had to replace a lot of stuff over the past couple months. And with a new season brings a new equipment! Here are some of the recent big changes I have made:

1) Race Wheels!

I'll be sporting these carbon 650 c Planet x wheels on the Pink Hotness.

2) A New Garmin Forerunner 110(Very much needed after this happened the night before Ironman Florida)

Yes my friends-my Garmin FR60 was held together with electric tape and super glue on race day. Not a huge fan of this watch. (And that was only after one season of wear.)

3) A helmet to match the pink hotness

Anyway Flex says go Steelers!

What big equipment changes have you made for 2011?

Black and Yellow: You Know What it is

2011-01-15T20:04:00.011-05:00

The Steelers did it again! I had to make sure they won before I posted this blog. My fellow Pittsburgh-ers will enjoy this.... Check out Scott's latest Splish creation:

And my new favorite song by the way:

And speaking of the Steelers and Pittsburgh, this week I was fortunate enough to have dinner with these two very special people:

Any fellow football fans recognize this gentlemen in the middle?

I'll give you one clue: Immaculate Reception

And my long lost BFF Kim!

Anyway I'll end my black and yellow binge there.

Besides wasting most of today watching football, I cranked out a 48 mile bike this am. Minus the 40 degree temps and never-ending-dripping nose, I felt pretty awesome. And as much as I've been complaining about it being cold, I'm so thankful just to be riding outside this time of year. And oh does it feel good to be back to training!

Manic Monday

2011-01-10T11:53:00.000-05:00

After switching back to my original clinical rotation things have been busy...busy...busy. I'm back to my full case load seeing about 20 patients a day. All that really means is that I'm on my feet again 8-9 hours a day and that I'm that much more tired by the time I finally workout.

In between workouts I've been doing some of this.....

(I call it "quasi cheering" on the Saints with a guy named "Mud Dog" so Scott didn't get beat up)

And some of this :)

Kim S escaped from the frozen tundra in the great white north to come visit the Big Easy! Let the debauchery begin. Hopefully I don't corrupt her too bad or should I say I hope New Orleans doesn't corrupt her.... lol

Other than that I cranked out a 3500 m swim today with 500 repeats. And there is 2 workouts on the books for tomorrow so I guess I should get to bed ?

Happy Monday Blogger World!

What is your IRONMAN?

2011-01-03T22:10:00.005-05:00

I'm sure many of you are sick of reading the 2010 year in reviews. Please forgive me ~here goes one more.

I started 2010 with one main goal in mind: getting through Ironman Florida and the training injury free. While I was a little disappointed in my marathon split at IM FL, deep down I'm just happy I was able to go from starting 2010 like this:
To ending it like this:
Vast difference eh?

I think we all get too caught up in times, places, splits, and what others are doing. The real part of becoming an Ironman and even being a triathlete is so much more than that. Becoming an Ironman is about the journey. It's about denying odds. It's about digging down deeper than you ever have before. It's believing in yourself when doctors, friends, and family say you can't. It's saying F-U to doubt and every negative thought that enters your mind.

Whether your training for your first 5k, fighting an illness, or placing top 10 in Kona, I believe everyone has their own Ironman. Each one differs. Each one is its own fight. How hard are you willing to fight?

2011 is a new year for me. I know my body can handle so much more. I know I can become that much faster.

What is your IRONMAN for 2011?

For now I'll leave you with this- This is part of my journey to Ironman Florida compliments of my rock star photographer! (thanx mom)

Happy 2011!

Final Stretch

2010-12-29T21:20:00.010-05:00

As I approach the final race of triathlon season, I always aim to finish strong and give everything I have left. Ironically, I finish my off seasons with a very same attitude. I'm sure anyone who's trained for an IM of half IM can relate. Given my last week of freedom before 70.3 training, it was time for my final off season stretch. Instead of swimming, biking, and running I spent the last week:

Climbing... (12.5 repeats of 36 flights~equivalent of Pikes Peak) Boarding... (Good ol' 7 Springs in the Laurel Mountains)

and cross-fitting.... (this was too ugly for pictures)

And can't forget Transitions~They were spent eating/drinking/socializing.

(fried oreos)

dinner with KIM!

Too bad I was finally starting to enjoy the off-season...... As 2010 comes to a close, cheers to next year and for the beginning of NOLA 70.3 training!

Changes

2010-12-21T15:01:00.005-05:00

I know I've been quite absent over the last week in the blogging world....I've been dealing with some clinical problems. The good news is that I've made the appropriate changes and hope that things will get better over the next couple months. More to come on that later.

But I've made some other changes:
Most of you have already seen... I was SOOO over having the same look for the past 5 years and decided to do some chopping! And I want to wear cute pigtails when I race like Julia :)

On the training front, NOLA 70.3 and Mardi Gras Half training begins next week. I've started to get a few more workouts in here in there ~working my swim back up to 3000m and running up to 10 miles. Before I buckle down officially, I'm hoping to squeeze in some off season snowboarding, drink lots more wine, catch up with Pennsylvania friends, and to do a few Cathedral Climbs at the University of Pittsburgh.

Who ever thought climbing stairs would be so fun? Anyway Heidi is "burgh" bound again. Yay for a white Christmas!

Living it Up

2010-12-08T09:58:00.012-05:00

As much fun as the off season is, I'm ready for it to be over. Given I have all this extra time on my hands, I've been trying some new recipes and experimenting with some new food types. Here is one I recently tried and loved...Great for the gluten free types~

Black Beans and Quinoa

Ingredients

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and saute until lightly browned.
Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes,
Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

*I only used one can of black beans and also added some tomatoes. I'm pretty new to quinoa but love love love it. It's so good for you and yummy. And one batch will last you awhile....

Besides baking and eating, I've been doing my fair share of drinking way too many adult beverages. As a matter of fact, I think I embarrassed myself at a christmas party when I told my husband's commanding officer that he needed to do more core strengthening exercises. Oops. I was one hot mess. Needless to say I think I got that out of my system.

Other than that, NOLA 70.3 training starts Dec 27th. Since I'm coming off IM FL, I will start 16 weeks out. I know most programs start at 20 weeks out, but I think 16 is a smarter strategy. Looking forward to it big time! As for now workouts have been swimming, biking, and running an hour or so 1x a week and lifting/cross-fitting/core on the other days.

If you need some off-season inspiration, this is one of my favorite workouts:

"Helen"

Three rounds for time:
Run 400 meters
1 1/2 pood Kettlebell X 21 swings (or 55 pound dumbbell swing)
12 Pull-ups

Other than that, I'm off to the "burgh" tomorrow for a physical therapy presentation at the University of Pittsburgh. Hopefully, I don't ripped a new one and I don't freeze my butt off. I feel bad for all my fellow northerners. Brrr!!!

Tentative 2011 Race Schedule

2010-12-03T13:48:00.004-05:00

This is what I've came up with thus far for 2011...

February

Mardi Gras Half Marathon 2/13

March

April

New Orleans 70.3 4/17

May

Crawfish Man Tri (sprint) 5/1

New Orleans 5150 (OLY) 5/15

June

Grandman Triathlon (sprint) 6/4

July

August

September

Hy-vee Triathlon 5150 9/4 (OLY) (pending qualification)

Alabama Coastal Triathlon 9/10 (OLY)-(if no qualification)?

Augusta 70.3 9/25

October

Santa Rosa Triathlon (sprint)?

I really want to add another 70.3 to the mix either mid-summer or fall. Syracuse or maybe Rhode Island? Anybody do either of these races or have any other suggestions?

Happy weekend!

Cheers to the Off Season

2010-11-28T22:06:00.008-05:00

The 2010 triathlon season is quickly coming to the end.

Are you excited?

I sure am.....

Can you sense my sarcasm?

I'm lost without training! Post Ironman Depression is real!

And I think I'm seriously starting to lose my marbles~I've cleaned closets, cleaned my house, cleaned my bike, cleaned out a filing cabinet, and have shopped for everyone on my Christmas list. Now what?

Maybe some cross fit and hot yoga?

Hopefully I'll figure it out sooner or later.

But for now I'll say CHEERS to the off season and YAY for guilt-free-double-fisting!

What are your plans for the off season? I could use some inspiration :)

650s vs 700s?

2010-11-24T10:43:00.008-05:00

This is a debate that will likely never be won but I'm going there. I'm calling on all my engineering types out there.

650c vs 700c wheels?

Please help!

And before I begin, I'll warn you that my bike terminology sucks. So please forgive me in advance. Here goes!

This is my pink hotness frame:

These are my pink hotness dimensions:I have the x-small size. I'm 5'4" and weigh 120 lbs. As for racing and training in the south, I ride mostly flat courses with minimal rolling hills. I've been very satisfied with my bike over the last 3 years and have become comfortable with the fit. Given my less than stellar bike handling skills, I like the way I can "man-handle" the pink hotness.

Next year I'm debating between upgrading my bike or purchasing some 404 race wheels. I know there's a vast cost difference but it makes no sense to buy wheels if I'm going to switch to 700s later on down the road. Talking to Kim S and Frayed Laces, they both seem to prefer the smaller size as well. And they both are similar builds to me.....

I understand that the smaller frame is easier to handle. I also understand that biking has a lot to do with rotational weight. 650cs are obviously lighter. On the downside, I also know that buying 650c race wheels is much more of a pain in the a**.

The pink hotness has been so good me and I don't think I want to say goodbye just yet. I can be swayed though! Has anyone recently made the jump from 650c to 700c? Are there any other MAJOR reasons I should switch?

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! And good luck to Kim at IM Cozumel!

Newton Love

2010-11-17T15:49:00.010-05:00

For the past couple years I have relied on one shoe brand: Newton. While some may think the brand is trendy or overly expensive, this brand has become one that I trust. Enduring Ironman training and staying injury free with my my pieced-together pelvis is a testimony by itself!

Despite my deeply rooted Newton love, I wasn't happy when I recently noticed this:

With minimal mileage on my racers (a few sprints, olympics, and one 70.3), I questioned my loyalty to the brand.

Dissatisfied with the life span of the shoes, I decided to hit up the Newton Booth at Ironman Florida. Their staff was beyond helpful and explained that there were some stitching problems around the time that I purchased my shoes. In the end, they replaced my racers with these:

They aren't pink but I'll take them :) That is what I call customer service.

What brands/products are you loyal to?

Ironman Lessons/Newbie Tips

2010-11-16T12:57:00.013-05:00

Although I've been doing triathlons for the past couple years, racing an Ironman is an entirely different animal. With that said, I had a lot of questions going into Ironman Florida. To answer my questions and calm my fears, I consulted with fellow friends, bloggers, and coaches. Everyone helped me out tremendously!

Despite being able to figure some things out, the true lessons were ultimately learned on race day. Here is a comprehensive list of things that I have learned throughout my journey and on race day. Please share if you have any additional suggestions!

General:

Register and do the packet pick up as early as possible to avoid the lines.
Stay out of the sun the day before the race.
Stay off your feet as much as possible the afternoon/evening before the race.
Nervousness is a waste of energy.
Do attend the athlete meeting..there may be some race specific details about the course/sketchy areas on the bike that will want to know about.
Fasten a ribbon to your special needs/transition bags. Volunteers will more quickly recognize your bag. (Not sure if this is totally legal but a ton of people at FL did it. Wish I did).
Explain how everything works to your race sherpa, family etc. Tell them what to expect on race day and what support you need from them. (Check out Scott's sherpa guide to Ironman racing).
If it's cold do plan to put on dry clothes in T1. You will thank yourself later. Also-consider adding compression sleeves for leg warmth.
Don't be afraid to direct volunteers in the the changing tent to help you dress yourself. At that point they have seen everything. Have no shame.
Put on your own sunscreen if you want it rubbed in. (Otherwise you will likely have white globs all over).

Nutrition

Do not eat too much fiber the day before/morning of the race.
Do NOT pre-tear gels. You will have on big mess in your special needs bags. (Not sure what I was thinking). But DO pre-tear cliff shots or chews. (especially if it's cold or you aren't super coordinated during the bike).
Need a hydration re-fill but don't want to trust the aid stations or titrate on the bike? Place replacement bottles in your special needs bike bag and throw your bottles before 56.6 miles.
Examine your nutrition products to see if they contain caffeine-there is a lot more caffeine in everything than you think.
Early in your training calculate your sodium needs and consider adding some type of salt supplement.
Place pepto and gasx in your special needs bags (compliments of Kim). You never know when you will need it.
Stick the nutrition plan. Develop a concise schedule as to when you will drink and eat.

Swim:

The race will never be won in the swim.
Observe the buildings/landmarks on the horizon on the swim. This may assist with citing.
When citing during the swim do not attempt to breast stroke or stall. Get comfortable with swimming on people's feet.
While your swim may feel slow, you are likely going a lot faster than you think. Just think-you are drafting off of hundreds of other swimmers.
Wet suit strippers are the best! Use them!

Bike:

Tune up your bike a couple weeks before. Don't wait until the last minute. If something needs to be fixed, ordered, or changed you are screwed if you wait until last minute.
If you are riding with race wheels-make sure you know how to change a flat on those as well.
Drive the bike/run course a few days before if possible.
Drafting will happen and you will likely get caught up in it at some point. Back down and get out of it- you will thank yourself later when you see that peleton in the penalty tent.
Don't forget your lube or hoo-ha cream. Glad I didn't.

Run

Do wear socks in the marathon. Your feet will feel so much better.
If it's cold and you plan on finishing after the sun sets, DO place arm warmers or a shell in your special needs run bag. (Big mistake for me).
Keep your heart rate in check at the beginning of the marathon-this is one long race.
Although you may feel like crap at this point in the race, set small goals of how to finish the race (maybe walk a minute/run 5 etc.) This will help you make it through.

And last and most importantly, enjoy race day and reflect on what you have done to get there! Becoming and Ironman is more than race day, it's about the the journey. Think back to the long workouts, the un-godly early morning wake-ups, the never-ending 100 plus mile bike rides. When you cross that finish line, it will all be worth your sacrifices. And don't forget to thank those who made the journey possible. (Thank you Scott).

Ironman Florida: Part II Run/Medical

2010-11-11T20:21:00.015-05:00

T2 went a lot smoother and faster than T1. Going into the changing area, there was only one other woman. Kind of shocking. Where was everyone? Wow-I must be doing pretty well I thought to myself.....

I stripped off my helmet, switched out my socks, took off the compression sleeves, and then threw on my Newtons. I haven't run much in compression socks and didn't want to try it today. I took two gels with me and was off. The volunteers were far more helpful this round. I thanked them profusely as I exited. On the way out of transition, I hit up the porta-potty to pee and realized that I forgot to take out my removable-Jaggad-chamois. I HATE HATE HATE running with "junk in my trunk" or with a load in my pants. I took off the chamois and dropped it at the end of transition. Sorry to the volunteer who had to pick that up.

T2: 3:55

Departing T2, my legs were a bit wobbly but I still felt like I had something left in the tank. I happily waved to Scott and my mom on the way out.

The run course is two-out and back 13.1 mile loops. Towards the end of the loop- you circle a couple miles around a state park and then return on to the finish/start.

The first few miles went by extremely fast. The local crowd was awesome: drunk 20-somethings in various costumes (Lady Ga Ga, Leopard lady with a whip, cougars galore to name a few). I took my first gel at mile 2 and washed it down with a half cup of water. After that I drank half of a cup of water at every other aid station. With my Garmin mishaps, I had no idea where I was time-wise. I figured I was going between an 8-9 minute pace. I kept a good turn over and kept my heart rate around 155 bpm. This continued until mile 7.

At the turn around of loop 1 I continued to feel good but could feel myself slowing. At that point, I took in a second gel. On the way back I caught my first glimpse of Chloe, her friend Carla, and my training buddy Dustin. It felt so good to see some familiar faces.

As I approached the turn around I started to think "holy sh#%" I have to do this whole thing one more time. I could feel some negativity setting in. I hoped that seeing my mom and Scott would help "miss crappy pants " flee and give me some motivation for Loop 2.

Around 13.1 miles I saw my mom and yelled to see where my hubby was. She yelled back that he was volunteering at the finish line. Oh was I pissed. GRRRRRRR!!! I knew he was volunteering but I thought he would be there. For some reason it just set me off. At that point in the race, there was nothing I wanted more than to just see my family. It was all I had to hold onto. I had a small mental melt down. You can tell by make fake smile......

On the way out I grabbed two more gels and a salt pill from my special needs. Since I was drinking mostly water, I thought the salt might be a good idea. I also thought about bringing my arm warmers but really didn't want to waste the time. Big mistake...I was off for loop 2 of the marathon. Miles 13-17 were slow but steady. Mile-15 I took the salt pill, half a gel, and then some water. After that it was all down hill.

Slowly, I felt my shorts tightening up around my stomach and I literally started growing a Buddha belly. Not a good sign: my body wasn't digesting anything I was taking in.

I tried to stick to my nutrition plan but just felt sick. I attempted to drink some orange flavored Gatorade and instantly I threw up in my mouth. Gross.... After that I tried some coke. Then another coke. Nothing seemed to be working. At that point i said ffffff- it and just quit trying to take in anything. What was the point?

Despite my digestive system going hay-wire, I didn't want to walk. It seemed like every time I walked a little, the more it hurt to get my engine going again.

After mile 19 I started walking a lot. My heart rate dropped to the 120s. My body said enough is enough. I made my way around the park and turned to go back. At that point I started losing track of what mile I was on. I felt so confused. People started passing me like crazy. I knew lots of girls in my age group were flying be me. I started not to even care. It was NOT looking good.

As the sun started to set the temperatures just dropped. It was so cold. My extremities were going numb, my mind was numb, and I felt my entire body just shutting down. As I approached each aid station, I thought about trying some chicken broth but knew it wouldn't settle in my stomach. The thought of dumping the warm broth over my head sounded far more appealing. Around mile 21, some old lady said, "Oh dear are you cold?" I just mumbled back yes.... I wanted to say" No sh#$%%% I'm so f*($)$()*%(%& cold...... Throw me a sweater grandma!

The sun went down and I had a good 4-5 miles to go. Realizing that the sun had set around 6pm and that the race started at 7am, I knew that I wasn't going to break 11 hours. My energy levels dwindled even further. With 2 miles to go I could start to hear, "you are an ironman" in the distance. I knew I was getting close but just didn't have anything to give. I walk-ran the rest of it.

For the last 400 meters of the race, I made a left turn onto the final stretch and knew the pain would be over soon. I kicked it in with a full all out sprint. The crowd cheer was instantly energizing.

Heidi Austin, "You are an IRONMAN"!

Oh how sweet those words sounded.

The run turned out like this:

RUN SPLIT 1: 6mi	6 mi. (49:58)	8:19/mile
RUN SPLIT 2: 13.05mi	7.05 mi. (1:10:13)	9:57/mile
RUN SPLIT 3: 19.05mi	6 mi. (1:06:12)	11:02/mile
RUN SPLIT 4: 26.2mi	7.15 mi. (1:43:49)	14:31/mile

A volunteer grabbed me and escorted me to get my finisher t-shirt, hat, and warming-foil. He then took me to the line to get my finisher photo taken. My mom volunteered at the finish line and was able to greet me as I crossed. The first thing I said to her was, "Where is Scott?????" She looked at me cross-eyed and then laughed. "Heidi, he's holding you up."

At that point, I did not pass go and did not collect 200 dollars. I bypassed the finisher photo area and was taken directly to medical.

They sat down and gave me some warm blankets. A doctor came over quickly and started asking me various questions about when I peed last, when I ate last, drank last etc. He gasped as he felt how cold my hands were. After I told him that I hadn't peed at all during the marathon he directed me over to a make-shift bed and made me lie down. He took my blood pressure and heart rate (98/60 HR 100 bpm). It was IV time. Due to severe hydration, it took the medical student a good 3 tries on my right arm and 2 on my left before they could find a vein. 5th try is a charm~ the liquid magic was in place.

As the IV did it's thing, I started to come back to life. As much as I wanted to pass out in the warm tent with the cozy blankets, I knew my mom and hubby were probably anxious to see me. Before I could leave, the doctors wanted me to drink some chicken broth. Despite severe nausea, I agreed. I sipped down 2 full cups of warm broth. Afterwards I sat up to see how it settle. I felt fine. My BP and HR were re-assessed and far more normal (112/70, 92). Yes I was free to go. I exited the tent and greeted my mom. I explained to her that I had an IV and was feeling better. Mid-sentence I stopped, turned around quickly and projectile vomited the chicken broth.

It came up again.

And again.

I took 2 steps closer to move away from the crowd and it came up one more time.

Yuck.

Ouch.

That hurt.

Scott ran over and yelled, "You are going back to medical!"

Heidi "No I'm not!"

Scott: "Oh yes you are!"

I walked in the medical entrance and grabbed a bottle of water and turned around and exited. I did not want to go back in there. Scott shook his head at my stubbornness. What could they have done at that point besides give me more chicken broth? I wasn't going there.

After my little medical episode, we went back to the hotel to get cleaned up. I really wanted to go back to cheer everyone in before midnight. Scott and my mom didn't think it was a good idea. After some convincing, we were back at the finish a few hours later.

We headed back to the finish line for the last hour and a half. And I'm so glad that we did. That last hour and a half is what Ironman is all about. It felt so good to cheer everyone in.

Congrats to everyone who did it and thank you to my friends, family, and especially to my hubby for putting up with me for the last 20 weeks. You have been nothing less than amazing.

Stay tuned for Part III-My summary of Ironman Newbie Lessons Learned.

IM Florida: Race Day Part I

2010-11-09T19:35:00.027-05:00

On race morning I awoke at 4 am. Breakfast consisted of an Ensure and half of a wheat bagel with peanut butter. No matter how hard I tried, I was only able to get down about half of the half of the bagel. I've never been a huge breakfast-eater on race day or for long training days.

Leading up to the race start I drank 2-water bottles: one water and one melon flavored Heed. About 30 minutes before the start I took in a gel. After I set up in transition I stayed inside the hotel to keep warm.
About 6:35am we headed out to the start. We watched the pros head off and I kissed Scott goodbye! Before the age-grouper start, I took a dip in the water to make sure I was adjusted to the water temps and to make sure my goggles were sticking. I lined up slightly right of the buoys as there was a westerly wind about 5-7 rows back. I think I made I good call on that one.

The swim start was chaotic as I'm guessing any Ironman start is. I was hit in the head, eye, ankle and even had people try to sink my legs. Despite the craziness, I just kept telling myself: "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming", following Frayed Laces advice from the day before. In between, I counted one-two-three breath, one-two-three breath. I wanted to make sure I was keeping my heart rate low and not going too hard.

The course consisted of tw0-out and back loops. The first loop was a bottle neck the entire time. My self talk went as follows: "Wow- Heidi this is going to be so freaking slow"! Despite what was going on in my head, the first loop was over before I knew it. It found it quite strange how the water was cooled as I neared the shore line not the opposite. I exited the water ran up on to the beach and saw 30:29. Oops maybe too fast. The second loop I aimed to keep around the same pace and tried my hardest to relax and take it easy. The bottle neck continued until probably 3/4 through the swim.

Final Time: 1:03 Goal Time: 1:10

Extremely pleased with my swim, I was off to T1. The nice part about the Ironman sanctioned events is that volunteers actually hand you your transition bags. The bad part about doing the Ironman sanctioned events is that the volunteers are required to FIND your bag. This proved to be a challenging task for the high-school kids that seemed clueless. I waited impatiently for a minute before they were able to track it down.

Off to the changing area. I grabbed a chair and haphazardly threw on my Jaggad jersey, my cold-weather get-up (gloves, argyle sox, walmart gloves with the fingers cut off, and calf compression sleeves), and inserted my Jaggad crotch pad. The high school girls in the changing area looked like deer in head lights as naked-ness was everywhere. They seemed afraid to help. I ended up doing all of it alone. Chloe ran in and sat next to me, and then I was off.

On the way out of transition, I caught a glimpse of my mom and Scott. My mom was holding a sign with this picture on it:

Yes my friends-wiener dogs.... Flex and Chewbacca. I couldn't help but laugh and wave.

I don't know if it was the inability to find my bag, donning all of the cold weather clothes, or the wiener sign distraction but my T1 time was just plain ugly. (somewhere around 9 minutes: Yikes!)

As soon as I started the bike, I felt awesome. I reminded myself once again to keep my heart rate low and keep my cadence high. I set a limit of 160 bpm and tried to keep it within the 148-160 range. Looking back, that may have been a little too ambitious of me. Having rode part of the course with Chloe earlier in the year, I felt a little more comfortable about where I was going and what to expect. Everything was going perfectly minus the numb fingers and toes.

"Perfect" is not often the word of choice used to describe any Ironman race. My perfectness didn't last long. About 10 minutes in, my Garmin beeped "low memory." Boooo not now! I thought I cleared my watch. I knew the outcome but thought I would ignore it until it permanently died.

In the mean time, I sipped on water the first 15 minutes of the bike to test my stomach after the salt water swim. All was well. I took in my first gel at 25 minutes. I knew I should have taken it in earlier but was distracted by the turns and the drafting that was going on around me. After that I starting drinking my Heed/Sustained Energy Combo every 15 minutes and alternated with water. Every 40-45 minutes I took in a gel. I felt awesome. Getting nutrition in was more of challenge than I thought it would be due to the frigid temperatures.

Crazy middle aged men in peletons kept zipping by me. I tried my hardest not to let it phase me. The wind was pretty obnoxious as well. I stopped at 56.6 miles at the special needs area to switch out my water bottles and to grab a few more gels and my 5-hour energy. I continued to feel strong and relaxed. It was finally starting to warm up. I ditched my gloves and one of the arm warmers. I kept one for a snot rag. I took in half of my 5-hour energy. My watch died shortly thereafter. Luckily, I was able to clear the memory and had a rough idea where I was time-wise.

Scott and my mom surprised me out on the course around mile 95. I was all smiles.

After doing one last out-and-back portion, I headed south over the bridge into Panama City Beach and hit the home stretch along the beach. There was a decent tail-wind and I could tell the athletes around me were a little too anxious to get to T2. I dropped back and stayed in "Heidi" zone. Now was not the time to go hard and waste energy. I knew this race was no-where near over.

Bike Time 5:40 Goal Time 5:35-5:45 Ave Pace 19.75mph

For bike nutrition: I took in 5 gels, 5 water bottles (2-water, 2-Hammer Melon Heed/Sustained Energy, 1-Heed only), 1/2 bottle of 5 hour energy, and 1-packet chews. I probably should have taken in a little more.

Stay tuned for Part II: the run/medical and Part III: Ironman Newbie Lessons Learned!

Ironman Fl: The Before

2010-11-08T09:38:00.012-05:00

Scott and I headed over to Panama City Beach Thursday. It was an uneventful trip. Upon arrival, we settled into our hotel quickly and then headed over to registration. As we approached the expo we saw this:

For some reason the race organizers thought it would be a good idea to use the 90+ year-old-volunteers for registration. The line took a solid 2 hours to make it through. I was NOT planning on being on my feet that long. (thank you grandma but seriously!) Note to self those doing IM FL 2011. (go Wednesday if you can)

Later that night we hit up the mandatory athlete meeting and grabbed some pizza at the Mellow Mushroom. In the restuarant there was an actual Ironman figure which Scott and I thought was pretty funny. Although nobody else seemed to be amused....Friday morning I squeezed in my usual pre-race workout: 500 m swim, 15 min bike, and 15 min run. Brrrrrr...... The water wasn't so bad but the sand was freeeezing...Note the improvised arm warmers. I most definitely sported these on race day.

After the workout, I had the opportunity to meet up with Chloe, Kolla, and Frayed Laces at Starbucks. Meeting blogger friends is the best!

After the coffee and chit chat we picked up my paparazzi at the airport aka my mom. The rest of the day was spent organizing my special needs bags, dropping my bike off, and scoring some free Newton racers. Yay! That story to come after the race report :)

Final Prep

2010-11-02T21:24:00.007-04:00

Less than 4 days to go until Ironman Florida! Oh boy am I nervous.... Luckily I've been pretty distracted with PT school research and switching clinical rotations. (hence no blogging) I hope I am ready.

Regardless, the pink hotness is so ready!

And even better yet, I have the most amazing support. Check out my surprise from Jocelyn Cornman. (Please note the black and gold cow bell!!!!!) YAY!!!!!!

I'm driving over to Panama City Beach early Thursday morning and we shall see what happens! Scott convinced me to start a twitter account to keep everyone posted. If you want to track me online, I'm lucky number 2225.

Hope everyone is having a great week. Here I come Ironman! :)

Fall Fun

2010-10-20T19:15:00.008-04:00

Somehow in the midst of training, I was able to escape to Pennsylvania for the weekend to get my fall fix. Although I'm over northern winters, there is no other place I would rather be this time of year. The leaves were breath taking!

And despite it being a mini-vacation, there was training to get done. Luckily Kim came to the rescue! Kim and I cranked out a 3500 m swim and 2 hour run Saturday. Minus the pool being a steamy 82 degrees and horribly low energy levels for both of us, the workouts were a success. And more importantly it was great to catch up with one of my best friends. Besides catching up, much time was spent strategizing and planning for our races on the horizon. Kim is also doing a late season Ironman (Cozumel). We topped the morning off with some quality fuel: our local favorite Tomatoe Pie Pizza with feta, basil, and tomatoes. Yummmmm.....

Although I take my training quite seriously, there was still fun to be had. Sunday we scored some awesome tickets to the Steeler's vs Browns game. I was anxious to see Ben Raplis-bergers first game back. We didn't mess around with the tailgaiting and I definitely went over my one-drink a week pre-Ironman rule. Ooops. It was a girly weekend with my mom, sister from Utah, and brother's girlfriend.
And we got a win out of the deal so I can't complain! Oh how I love fall and my Steelers! For now it's back to the Cajun swamp lands with me. Hope everyone is having a great week!

The countdown begins

2010-10-12T22:11:00.009-04:00

Ironman training has been plugging along in New Orleans. I have my good days and bad days. The bad days seem to cloud the good days but I'm trying to stay positive. I'm not in official taper mode yet but things have been getting slightly shorter! Yay for that! And yay for my new training partner Dustin! He is also doing IM Florida. In addition to kicking my butt, he's kept me sane on my 5+ hour rides.

I told Kim S that this is her replacement...

As the season winds down and November 6th gets closer, my heart starts to beat a little faster. It's almost time! 18 days and counting ever so quickly.

Pushing Boundaries

2010-10-06T20:41:00.007-04:00

This past Sunday I completed the longest run of my life:

(3 hours=23 plus miles)

Flex lead the way home...

And even better~ I still had a smile on my face :)

This is the longest run I have before the big day. Bring it Ironman! I'm so ready :)

Happy Hump Day!

Blessed

2010-09-30T23:18:00.008-04:00

Despite my ups and downs and roller coaster ride through Ironman training, my husband Scott has been nothing less than amazing.

He's put up with me slacking on chores, never being around, waking him up at crazy early in the am, and he's even dealt with "Miss Crappy Pants" on several occasions. (AKA~Heidi in bia mode)

He's done things like this......

And this.....

Wednesday I had a horrible day in the clinic and Scott surprised me with these beautiful flowers.

Although my journey is nowhere near over, he's been there to keep me sane, movtivated, and level headed. Wow am I lucky!

Who helps you get it done?

Happy F-R-I-D-A-Y!

Goals for the Week

2010-09-28T21:42:00.003-04:00

Dr. Mr. Blog. I apologize once again for neglecting you. This time around I cannot promise that it won't happen again before Nov. 6th. In fact, it will likely happen again, and probably more than once.

I hate to use my blog to vent but I've been sort of anti-triathlon lately. Ironman training is sucking the life out of me and also squeezing the fun out of training. I'm guessing that is the norm. But anyway, I'm copying off of my dear friend Anne Marie and setting out some goals for the week (yes- i know the week is almost half over) but something is better than nothing right?!???

Triathlon

1. Do not miss any swimming!!!! (and stop skipping the cool down!)

2. Get my mid-week 3 hour and 10 min ride done

3. Lift at least once and don't forget the core!

Social

1. Send my lil marine bro a care package since he's deployed

2. Catch up on all of my loyal blogging friends!

3. No wine/alcohol more than one night a week

Despite my sour attitude, training is humming along. I managed to accomplish my 2 long days over the weekend. Saturday was a 100 mile ride, 30 min brick, and 4500 m swim. Sunday was a nice 17 mile run. Saturday I met up with a fellow MAO athlete who is also training for IM Florida and who is a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. It was so nice to have the company. The longer my workouts get, the more I realize I need the social/moral support to help keep me both sane and accountable.

And although my workouts somehow keep getting longer, the weather in the dirty south is finally starting to cool off. To clarify for my fellow northerners, cooler in New Orleans is temperatures below 90 :)

Anyway hope everyone is having a good week! Good luck to all of those starting their Kona Taper!

From Hot to Cold

2010-09-14T22:12:00.011-04:00

Have you ever had one of those training sessions where everything falls into place and you just feel awesome, strong, and fast? Those are the best. It's nice to experience that feeling every once in awhile. It's especially nice because the Ironman distance itself is so daunting. With that said, that's how I felt last weekend when I went to join Chloe for IM Florida training.

While Scott was playing Baywatch on the beach.....I headed over to Panama City Beach to join Chloe for a ride. We ended up riding about 92 miles of the Ironman FL bike course. It was a perfect day with no humidity and cooler temperatures. We kept a decent pace throughout and I had the opportunity to spend time with Chloe's super-welcoming training group. I felt no bonking what-so-ever and would even go to the extent to say that I felt "relaxed". Afterwards, I joined the group for a post bike 5 mile-ish brick and continued to feel good. The ride was a huge confidence booster for me. I thought to myself ok I can do this Ironman thing. I really can do this!

Going into this weekend I had an Olympic distance tri on schedule: The Alabama Coastal Triathlon. Although I was only doing a 3 day taper, I wanted to PR at this distance. Knowing there was a prize purse, placing top 5 would definitely be a plus. With my past weekend of success, I went into this race feeling a little overly confident.

Things didn't end up working out as planned. Honestly, it turned out just plain UGLY! I won't bore you with the race report, but here is a quick summary of my mistakes:

1. No hubby with me at race=super stressed, wound-too-tight Heidi.

2. Driving late the night before the race=A huge no-no unless you want your glutes to be sore the next day.

3. 3-day taper for an Olympic=Not enough in my book.

4. Never eat a cliff bar for a pre-race dinner. Not enough! I was too tired to eat I guess.

5. Never EVER drink muscle milk the morning of a race. Your stomach will hate your for it (not sure what I was smoking)

6. Sunscreen is a must in September in Gulf Shores. Duhhh!!!

7. Heat exhaustion just plain sux!

In addition to my mistakes, the swim was against the wind/current and was jelly-fish infested, the wind was just as nasty on the bike, and to top it off there was an insane heat wave that went through Saturday. With a 7:30 am start, the sun was beating down so bad on the run I ended up walking a LOT! I went from trying to keep under a 7 min mile pace to just trying to finish the silly thing. With temps well over 100 deg, it seemed like the entire field was walking. It was a humbling-eye opening experience. The run was the most painful 6.2 miles of my life. After the chills and delirium set in during the run, I was simply glad to finish what felt like far more than an Olympic distance triathlon.

It's kind of funny how things work out sometimes. Despite an ugly performance and time, I ended up placing 5th overall and winning some money.

I've learned that not every race will always go as planned regardless of how much training you've put into it. In the words of my great friend Kim, no every day can't be "your day". Looking forward, we can just take these small things we learn and move on. Sometimes your hot, sometimes your cold. I just pray that I'm on fire race day for Ironman Fl. Afterall, that's when it really counts.

Oh and Congrats to Beth and Kim on their 1-2 punch finish overall for the Rev3 Half over the weekend! Rock on girlies!

Ironman Training: Lessons Learned

2010-08-30T21:22:00.008-04:00

As of this week I am 10/20 weeks into Ironman training. And while I'm only half way there, I've learned a lot over the past 10 weeks. Since time is obviously an issue, I'm going to keep this simple. To all my peeps thinking about doing an Ironman or to those participating in one in the near future, here is the down and dirty:

1. No matter how type A you are, things will go wrong and workouts will be missed.

2. Despite how understanding your significant other may be, they will eventually become annoyed by how much training you are doing. They will like it even more when they get stuck with your share of household chores. (especially the extra laundry from your stinky workout clothes)

4. If they haven't told you before, your friends, family, and other acquaintances will tell you are psycho.

5. Half of your grocery budget will be spent on bars, gels, and recovery drinks.

6. Diaper rash cream and A&D will become your new best friends.

7. If you were paid per hour for training time, you would be rolling in some big dough.

8. Unless you belong to a 24 hour gym, the pool will never be open late or early enough to fit every single scheduled workout.

9. Looking at your bike will make your crotch hurt no matter how rock star your saddle is.

10. Naps during your lunch break will become your 2nd best friend.

11. Off days will be like holidays.

12. Waking up at at 4 am or earlier to squeeze in workouts will become the norm.

13. Kiss your social life good bye for a solid 4 months.

14. If you do choose to be social, you will likely be inebriated off of one glass of wine.

15. Your tan lines will be just plain ugly.

16. While you are in the midst of it, you will swear you never want to sign up for another Ironman again.

Anyway it's 9:30 and it's past my bed time! And I'm so out of it I skipped # 3!

This weekend is IM FL training camp with Chloe from Florida! Scott is headed over to Destin to fly all weekend and therefore I get the opportunity to spend Labor Day beaching it on the governments dime. Yay!

Happy training!!!!!! :)

Sandestin Tri RR

2010-08-22T21:37:00.013-04:00

This weekend was a jam packed with racing, anniversary celebrating, and beaching it. Probably a strange combination to some, but for me it was perfect. Scott and I headed over to Destin, Florida on Friday. And although Friday was our real anniversary, we saved the celebration for post-race. After arriving in lovely Destin, we settled into our hotel and did the usual pre-race course-scope and packet pick up for the Sandestin Triathlon.

Despite this being a c-race for me, I was a little nervous about my lack of triathlon racing over the year. With that being said, I wanted to bust out a solid performance with good splits to build my confidence. The course consisted of a 800 m swim, 20 mile bike, and 4 mile run.

Pre-race was uneventful. Scott and I did our thing and headed out to the beach. The westerly winds were in full force this morning and definitely kicking up some nice chop. Luckily the swim went with the current. The swim went off without a hitch. I was pushed around a bit by the chop but still felt strong and comfortable. Sighting was a challenge with the chop and early morning glare, but I seemed to stay on track. I kept reminding myself, "Heidi-this is a sprint triathlon not an ironman-Go hard!" There was a little rip current heading out of the water, but I made it out at last: 15:42. A little slower than I would have liked but I didn't let if mess with my psyche.

Out to transition I went. T1 took a little longer than planned as I got my aero helmet stuck on my ears. Ooops. Guess I need to work on that.

Off to the bike. The smooth Florida roads were awesome. The wind was at my back and I was moving. Looking down at my bike computer I saw 28 mph and instantly remembered the wind. I also reminded myself that I would be headed back against the wind for the second half of the race. I passed a few guys here and there and a few passed me. But there was this one guy that I just couldn't shake. I could tell he was a newbie as he made his path down the middle of the lane and failed to stay far right. I passed him twice earlier and each time after I would make my pass he got some sort of weird inspiration and would hammer ahead of me. I'm not sure if it was because I was a chick or what.....I was keeping my pacing consistent.

A little confused by this rider's intentions, I tried to back it off. But after every time I would back off, he would slow dramatically again. The third time was the kicker. I heard a rumbling motorcycle behind me and I knew it. I was charged with drafting. As they drove by I wasn't sure what was going on as I was far right holding my line and the douche was riding again in the middle of the lane. After the motorcycle passed, I shook him one final time. I was sick of these games. Grrrrr

Despite what happened, I pushed it out of my mind and tried to focus on the present. I finished strong and caught my first glimpse of Chloe on the way. Bike split: 52:29 22.8 mph

T2 was smooth and onto the run. My pace was strong but relaxed as I picked off a lot of runners. I kept it steady throughout the 4 miles and finished strong. Run 28:11 7:02 pace

Final time 1:39:42
Drafting Penalty: +2:00 (my first and last hopefully)

Before and after the penalty, I was 3rd in my age group (25-29)and 6th overall. There were definitely a lot of fast ladies out there. Although the penalty didn't affect my place, I'm embarrassed by what had happened. I almost feel violated. And even looking back, I don't know how I could have handled it better. I guess if it ever happens again, I will make sure I back off more or yell at the guy. I truly hope I'm not the only one that this has happened to. Lesson learned.

Post race, I got to meet up with blogger friend: Chloe. (check out her blog if you haven't already) She pulled out an awesome performance and also took 3rd in the 30-34 age group. Hopefully this was a first meet up of many as we're planning an IM Florida training weekend for Labor Day.

Hope everyone else who raced this weekend kicked some booty!

Check out the video Scott made me to help me make light of my little situation... funny stuff.....

Red Dress Run

2010-08-17T21:02:00.015-04:00

This past weekend was the Red Dress Run in New Orleans which is not only a hashing run but a huge fundraiser for the city. My sister was luckily in town to participate in the hashing. This being my first "hash" event I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't sure how the whole combination of running and consuming alcohol would work. With Ironman training, I rarely drink and classify myself as an extreme lightweight.
The run started around noon near the French Quarter. Self conscious about our silly red dresses, my sister, husband, and I were a little reluctant to step outside and take the street car down to the Quarter. As we neared the street car stop and glanced at the arriving car, it was filled with a red every where. Any sense of embarrassment disappeared instantly as there were men not only in red dresses but other far worse extremes.
We arrived at the event right on time with one drink in hand. We stopped at a place called Port of Call and picked up what's called a Monsoon on the way. (A definite must if you ever visit). But note to self: don't drink to fast.... otherwise you might end up like this:
All 6000 hashers were corralled into a local park given a few beers and then sent on our way through an out and back course down and back up Bourbon St. Here are Scott and Ang holding the map in case we lost our way. This probably the only running I did. (All 50 feet of it....)We stopped for many photo ops along the way... It was hot-hot-hot. Between requests for photo ops with several gay men, Scott stopped to cool off in a sprinkler.
We took a detour and did a photo op in Jackson Square. We thought it would be funny to play-mess-with the tourists. After a few strange glances, we quickly got back on our track. It was an extremely fun and exciting event and I highly recommend it if you ever around New Orleans this time of year. I will say though, I did think there would be a little more running....

Maybe next time! Have a great week everyone :)

Riding S-O-L-O

2010-08-09T21:21:00.009-04:00

I've said this before and I'll say it again: nobody can replace my old Pennsylvania training chicas!
I miss them so---

(especially now that I'm over my head in Ironman training)

I've tried to branch out in the Big Easy, but I've found it hard when you are going

...... x-intensity

....... at y-heart rate

..........at z-distance.

According to coaches orders of course!

Kim, Jocelyn, Jen, and I always just seemed to jive when it came to workouts. We pushed each other but were never overly competitive to the point that it was a detrimental to the goal of the work out. It was a very healthy, comfortable relationship. And given Jocelyn just qualified for Kona, I think we must have been doing something right :) For some reason everyone I've met in Nola, is like "it's Hammer time!!!!! Not exactly the smartest way to train in my book.

Therefore most of my workouts thus far have been S-O-L-O. Reminds me of that silly Jason Derulo song that just came out. Good i-pod song by the way :)

Despite some failed attempts at finding training partners, I made progress last week in finding a track running group at Tulane. I coordinated my speed running days to make it work. I met plenty of fast and fun girls. Very, very glad I went!

I'm starting to get to the point where I need to social aspect to keep me motivated. Definitely makes the workout something to look forward to.

What about you? Do you ride S-O-L-O or make it social?

Blogger Love from Florida

2010-08-01T21:07:00.012-04:00

This weekend I made the journey to Tampa Florida to visit my hubby's family. With the military lifestyle family visits are few and far between. Now that we're settled in New Orleans we figured it was about time.

While in Tampa, I had the opportunity to meet up with a very special blogger: Kristine Concepcion better known as "KC". While I traded bringing the wiener dog over the pink hotness and would be bike-less, we figured we could squeeze in a long run Friday before KC headed off to work. I do love the in-laws don't get me wrong, but any opportunity to escape would be well utilized. Even if it called for a 4:30-a.m.-er to meet up with my fellow blogger :)

Kristine and I met up bright and early in her neck of the woods. We hit it off without missing a beat like we had been friends for years. Besides trampling armadillos and watching for gators, our entire run was filled with great conversation about training, triathlon, running, life, and balance in the early dawn hours.

The neighborhoods and park that we ran through were amazingly beautiful and conveniently stocked with water stops every couple miles. I had major Florida envy.I could tell KC was a seasoned runner as she laid out the route perfectly. She is an amazing runner and triathlete and I'm excited to see how she does later on this year in her first IM, (the Great Floridian). I highly recommend you check out her blog. She is a rock-star marathoner turned triathlete and I'm sure will learn a lot!

I'm thankful that she let me tag along for 12.5 miles at my snail-pace. To finish our run, we had to do the post-sweaty- photo-op.

Thanx KC for saving me from the in-laws and of course for the great run! I love blogger friends and triathletes they are the BEST-est :)

Trail Run, Mud, and TuTu Man

2010-07-19T20:28:00.011-04:00

This past weekend Scott and I last minute decided to participate in a local 3 mile race: The Spillway Class Trail Run. While I've been taking my training a little more seriously and cutting back on silly races, this was a hard one to turn down. Features included:

Running.....

Lots of mud...

beer...

and perhaps the best part: a post race shower to clean off :)

I was sold!

I figured I could substitute my tempo run for a 5k... ( Don't tell my coach!)

The race took place in the local Naw-lins swamp lands of course. And while they may call it a race, this my friends is one of those races you can't take too seriously. Having rode nearly 70 miles the day before and barely surviving my 3000 m swim, my legs were in no condition to truly race. Therefore I have no real race report to provide. Instead, I would like to highlight some of the main events. This my friends is what I call a road race!

Drunk med students sipping beer from a pee-bottle

and Tutu man singing some crazy song about a watermelon..... I think my face describes it all ~

New Orleans clearly takes their post race partying very seriously. Probably a little more seriously than the race. I guess this is what happens when you combine alcohol and super skinny endurance athletes.

Think you can hang?

Join me for the Red Dress Run!

Have a great week everyone ~

Ups and Downs

2010-07-15T20:50:00.006-04:00

This week like most weeks has had it's fair share of ups and downs. The up's included getting in

~all of my training...

~sticking to my healthy GF diet....

~getting a surprise care package from my dear friend Kim...

(the OFFICIAL Ballou Skies PB YAY!) Click the link to get your very own PB and to help progress research for Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy :)

Triathlete friends are the B-E-S-T!

~starting to feel stronger throughout my training

~Capping the oil spill..... (fingers crossed).......

~lastly having the willpower to turn down "patient goodies" at wo

rk. (When you think physical therapy you think-healthy-fit-nutritious.... As patients start to reap the benefits of PT, they try to reward you by bringing in donuts, cookies, brownies, etc. Don't get me wrong-it's a nice gesture but wow talk about self-disicpline. Thankfully I work with abunch of guys who will devour anything!)

The downs included the usual lack of sleep, lots of early mornings, lack of Scott time, and struggling to fit workouts and life all in on the same day. Talk about planning.....

Anyway hope everyone is ready for the weekend. I know I sure am. I'll leave you with this:

Flex the Helo Pilot:

Week 1-2: the transformation

2010-07-05T21:53:00.005-04:00

From my perspective, week 1-2 were a success with training and for the most part ~the gluten free diet. I didn't miss a beat of training. The real struggle was Heidi vs the gluten free post-training re-fuel. And the second struggle was weekend celebratory cocktails.

Ironman training has been ramping up quickly. I won't bore you with details but week 2 looked like this: 15 hours total. ( 3 swim, 6 bike, 3.5 run, 2 lift). Not too bad of a volume yet. For some reason it has felt like a lot more than it really is. My main battle has been the heat. I'm not a morning person at all but would rather forcibly become one than sweat my butt off in the afternoon heat. I am also in dire need of some training buddies. With work, trying to stick to my training schedule, and being new to the area, it hasn't been easy. Luckily my hubby will hang for some of the workouts but I do miss my Pennsylvania girls!

I've had a lot of questions about the gluten free diet. So far.... so good like I said. I'm usually fine during the week but lose it a little on the weekends. Last week for the 4th of July I definitely kicked back and drank a few strawberry flavored Abita beers. (oops)... I also had barbecue with friends. "Eating" is what people do in New Orleans so it's going to take a lot of will power on my behalf.

I'm still learning about the GF diet so I could be wrong or misinformed, but here are some of the staples I have been eating....

Breakfast
Oatmeal (controversial GF-??? Don't think I can give it up.)
Smoothies (Ingredients: a combo of the following: OJ, POM juice, Greek yogurt, strawberries, peaches, blueberries, raspberries)

Lunch
Various salads
More smoothies-(Smoothie King Green Tea Tango is my favorite)
Yogurt-(Danon Greek)
Fruit
Riceworks Brown Rice Crisps
Trail mix

Dinner
Rice/beans
Gluten free pasta
Chicken stir fry
Gluten Free Pizza-NAKED Pizza (a New Orleans must have!)
Stuffed peppers-with rice, ground turkey, fresh tomatoes

I'm usually fine for breakfast and dinner. Lunch is always hard for me as I miss my regular PB & J. I really do miss my bread! For training nutrition, I've been using Gu gels, Melon Heed, Hammer Sustained energy. There may be gluten in these products, but I have not refined everything 100% yet.

I'm going to give this a "go" for another 2 weeks and see what happens. I "think" I feel better but am not sure if it's just some placebo affect. This GF thing has definitely made me more conscious of what I'm eating and I've honestly been eating far healthier overall. No offense to my GF peeps out there, but I don't know if 100% GF is totally for me. I definitely don't have the resources to purchase GF everything at Whole Foods. Secondly, I'm not sure if I can sanely stick to 100% GF while still getting the proper fuel I need. So then I ask myself, is it worth it to do a 80 % GF/20 % non-GF or am I wasting my time?

I'm still learning for now.

One more thing.... Anyone out there doing Augusta 70.3? I have a late Dec. birthday and am moving to the scary 30-34 AG next year and really want to get a fast 70.3 under my belt this year. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Have a good week ya'll ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OnE LaSt Hurrah!!!!

2010-07-01T21:39:00.011-04:00

This week has been a lil crazy to say the least. Two major things have changed: bring on the IM training and gluten free diet. Probably not the best idea to start both at once... but owell I'm a crazy girl of extremes. What can I say?

Luckily before my momentous leap, I was able to have one last hurrah with my Pitt PT girls in Boston. It was a fabulous weekend that included shopping, binge drinking (by my definition more than one glass of wine), spending girly time, racking up PT awards, networking/job searching, and attending a PT course or two.This year I was able to be a part of a wonderful cause to help raise money for the Physical Therapy Foundation. Through the efforts of myself and 3 other girls, we were able to rack up $40,000 to donate to research. There is a contest each year between universities to see who can raise the most. This year we won :) The award looked like our very own Stanley Cup (filled with alcohol of course). We were all super stoked and simply excited to be part of such a wonderful cause. Yay Pitt!
Anyway hopefully I got all of that out of my system. No time for that this week. It's "get down" to business time. We're talking daily 430-am-ers to squeeze in workouts. And I am NOT a morning person!

So far I'm batting 1.00. Long days but I'm glad to really be back. Despite a 2 week hiatus from the pool, I'm not feeling too bad.

As far as the GF diet, it's just sort of something new I'm trying. I've read so many good things about it lately I figured why not? I could probably use to lose a few and really want to be a little more conscious of what I'm eating. I plan on trying it for a few weeks to see how it goes. Luckily wine is gluten free ~although tonite I'm feeling it after only a glass.

Anyway hope everyone is ready for a fun 4th and long weekend! I know I sure am :) I know how I'll be spending it......

Training!!!!!!!!! :)

triathlon vs adventure racing

2010-06-23T22:05:00.010-04:00

A few months ago my husband casually asked to see if I would be interested in filling a spot on his boss's adventure race team as one of his team members were hurt. Not thinking I would really be needed, I said oh yah sure! I'm a triathlete= I can so do an adventure race!

Before participating in my first adventure race over the past weekend, I imagined adventure racing as triathlon with a canoe and mountain bike. Well folks, I couldn't have been more wrong...

Triathlon vs. Adventure Racing

First of all adventure racing is a team sport. There is no "I" in adventure race. Something I am definitely not used to... Team work what? The rules even require you to stay within 50 feet of your team members at all times. And yes my husband, his boss, and I were all on the same team. Probably not the best team dynamic, but we survived.

Adventure racing requires keen navigation skills. Navigation skills... map??? You mean I'm required to think? You mean my husband is giving directions? or better yet his boss?!?

Mountain biking is far more exciting than hunching over for 2 hours plus in the aero position. We're talking tight turns, doing wheelies over tree stumps, navigation over 2x4 skinny bridges. What a rush! Given my stellar bike handing skills, I was lucky I didn't eat it on my borrowed bike. The pink hotness is still near and dear to my heart :)

Bugs, snakes, spiders, and GATORS! Yikes! Nuff said. ( I was too scared to take a picture).

Mud, wet shoes, swamp lands, quick sand, being soaked to the bone for 4 plus hours, humidity, and lots more mud in places you definitely don't want it to be. You mean we need to carry our bikes through this?!???"

Although there were plenty of differences, the post race Naw-lins style post race party was much of the same:

Not the healthiest of options, but it is New Orleans....

While I don't thinking I'll be crossing over to the dark side anytime soon, mountain biking is way fun. Xterra anyone? Happy hump day everyone!

The pill anyone?

2010-06-07T13:10:00.007-04:00

I hate starting out a blog post via apology but sorry for continuing to be MIA. I've been in a weird funk lately... Not sure if it is from getting adjusted from the move, lack of structured training and training partners, or if it's simply exhaustion from being back in the real world working 8-5.

Regardless- I've been sort of anti-triathlon. I needed a solid month to clear my head and put the t-word on the back burner. Not waking up at 4:30 several times a week and not spending 90% of my weekend swimming, biking, and running has been kinda fun. But I think I'm ready to come back. Oh Mr. Ironman training here I come!

Anyway this is a random post but here goes~This week I wanted to get your thoughts on oral contraceptive use in the female endurance athlete population? ???Yes? No???

I started taking Yasmin again about a month ago. Not ready for the whole preggo thing anytime soon. And besides my wiener dog is way cooler lol..

This may be contributing to my bi-polar-apathetic-low-energy funk. I think I'm ready to get off of it already. I feel like a crazy person at times. Not sure how much longer I can tolerate the side effects. And I really don't want it to negatively affect my performance.

So I'm asking for advice! I would love to know if anyone has had success with a certain pill or if I'm better off saying screw it~

Louisiana State Championship RR

2010-05-22T22:06:00.009-04:00

Over the past couple weeks my hubby, Scott, was stuck in a place called Houma, Louisiana. Due to BP's nightmare screw up, he was called to work down there to coordinate air traffic for the president and to fly around Congressman and scientists. After a few days of being lonely and stuck in this crazy city by myself, I decided it was time for a weekend visit. Ironically that same weekend there was a local 5k and some sort of "crawfish festival" thing going on. With Scott working late, I figured why not?

I made the hour trek through the Louisiana swamp lands and did my first local 5k. Three weeks post 70.3 I wanted to see what I could bust out. For a small town, it was a much bigger race than I anticipated. A few minutes before the gun time, the crazy cajun announcer also informed the crowd that this race was the "Louisiana State Championships". Ooops I thought to myself... nice pick Heidi.

The was was quick, painful, and hot as balls. I ran a 20:01 and somehow managed to get 1st overall for the women. I was pleased with my performance, but even more pleased with the after party. I think these folks take the post race party a little more seriously than the race. We're talking endless margaritas, beer, crawfish beignets, jambalaya, rice and beans and that's in addition to the normal post-race-staples. And this was all for FREE!!! I'm so gonna get HUUUGE living here....

I was awarded 2 plaques.... one for the race and one for the state championship... Flex however was not impressed.

But life in New Orleans has been hectic but good... Scott has returned home and I'm finally getting used to my new clinical. In fact, I've almost picked up a full time case load of PT patients. Two years post long distance marriage and grad-school it does feel good to be a family once again : )

I've even worked a lil on my domestic skills.... DON't laugh!!!! Check on the new patio: featuring ferns, flowers, and herbs thanx to Kim. I'm so ready for entertaining and anxiously awaiting more guests! PALEZ come visit :) (when it's not 100 degrees of course)

On the training front things have been steady and un-exciting: 2 swim/2 bike/2 run/2 lifting sessions a week. Part of me still feels lazy when my daily sessions don't go over an hour. On those days I quickly remind myself of the looming 5 plus hour weekend sessions that are on the Ironman training horizon. Fun stuff.

Hope everyone is gearing up for summer and lots of fun races! Yay for race season!

Mid season lul

2010-05-12T13:11:00.005-04:00

So my friends, 1 out of 2 of my A races for the season is through .....so I ask myself now what?

I'm sure everyone is gearing up the the quickly approaching tri season, but I find myself in sort of a mid-season lul. With an early 70.3 under my belt and the hot summers in the south, my next triathlon isn't until July. What's a girl to do with herself? I officially start Ironman training June 21st and don't want to burn out too quickly. BUT I don't want to lose my fitness that I've worked so hard for the last 5 months. As weird as it sounds, I'm sort of at a loss as to what I need to do until then? I know this is where a coach would come in handy but I'm not sure I can afford to pay one all season long.

I'm thinking swim, bike, run and lift all twice a week. (one long workout and one speed).

Lifting: core, back extensor exercises, big muscle groups, rotater cuff for the shoudler....

Then throw in a 5k here or there for fun...

Is that slacking too much?

Anyway hope everyone is having a great week. Help me restore my sanity cuz I'm starting to feel like a big slacker!

Crawfish BUST

2010-05-03T22:45:00.008-04:00

This past weekend was supposed to be my second tri for the season. (the Crawfish Man) A few days before the race Scott was informed he was leaving for two weeks because of BP's huge mess and that he would not be able to do the race with me. I was super that bummed he would not be able to do the race with me...but even more bummed I'm stuck in a strange city....starting a new job... and all alone......Bummer-NESS!!!!!

With the depressing news, I was really looking forward to this triathlon to sort of get my mind off things and to have fun. With the weather report looking pretty ominous Sunday, my hope dwindled. On race morning, the weather seemed to be holding off with just a slight drizzle. Yes yes I thought to myself!!!!

I won't bore you with a race report because there isn't much to worth reporting. The swim went on without a hitch... I knew I was close to the front-probably top 5. I even drafted a little for the first time! I knew I was going to make up time on the bike. And I was right...I passed at least 3 other women. That was until....

the rain came.....

the thunder came...

the lightening struck...

and the monsoon started....

I started getting suspicious at the turn around when I knew there were way more people behind me than I saw on the bike. About 400m from the finish line they were stopping people on the bike :( I instantly realized it was over... 60 bux down the drain and over an hour drive.... Blah!!!!

I tried to get pictures of the monsoon but my bag was nearly washed out of transition. Luckily my camera is waterproof! Sorry to be a downer ya'll but rough weekend for me. I'm not gona fake the funk-

BUT on a more positive note!!!!!

~ the pink hotness got a facelift over the weekend with new tape on the handlebars and new pink wire covers.....

~And this weekend I made some new pilot-wife friends! I spent my Friday evening drinking wine and becoming an artist with my girls!!! There's a place in the uptown area of New Orleans called Corks n Canvas where basically you drink wine and paint.... Below is my first official piece of art:

Anyway hope everyone is having a great week :) Sorry for sharing my bummer-ness!

My Indoctrination to the South

2010-05-01T09:33:00.004-04:00

Need I say more??? Good luck everyone racing this weekend :)

New Orleans 70.3 Race Report: Rolling with the Punches

2010-04-28T22:31:00.011-04:00

Moving is not fun and I apologize this has taken so long... But I'm finally living and settled in down in New Orleans. Here goes:

Race Morning

Race morning was smooth and glitch-less. Having visited the city several times and having Scott who obviously knows the area, we arrived on race morning right on time. Breakfast nutrition was a vanilla ensure and half a Luna bar. We settled into transition quickly and

comfortably organized our respective areas.

Swim

My heat took off right on time: 7:48 am. I got a nice spot right up front. The water was shallow for a while and required several dolphin dives to make it out. I was in the top few girls and felt strong, smooth, and comfortable.That was until I felt the chop...... Although I diligently observed the previous heats, I failed to notice the intensity of the chop and rollers. Oops. It was hard to get down a good rhythm as I was constantly being tossed from side to side. I tried my best to time my breathing with the waves. It seemed to work for the first half. After crossing the halfway mark and making the turn for the second half, I had an extremely difficult time spotting the buoys back. The glare from the sun and un-forgiving chop made it impossible to sight. I tried my best to make a straight track although caught myself too far in and too far out more than once.

I crossed the line. 36:20. Ouch. 4 minutes off my goal.

T1 was smooth and I was off on the "pink hotness".

Bike

I carefully monitored my time and made sure I knew exactly when I needed my first gel. After the washing machine swim, I knew I had to time it correctly. I was determined to nail my nutrition today. 20 minutes into the bike I grabbed my chocolate flavored Power bar gel. Wow-- was I hungry already. As I was so caught up on swallowing the chocolate yumminess, I haphazardly hit some railroad tracks and then a cone straight on.

Down I went....

Shocked at what I just did, I glanced down to both upper extremities and then to both lowers. No broken bones thankfully- just one big gash on my left knee. The blood quickly oozed and dripped down my leg. My mind and body were instantly numbed as I thought was this it?

No way! I was not giving up that easily.

I quickly examined my bike. Everything was intact except for some shredded wires beneath the handle bars. Could ol girl pull me through? Was my bike ride-able? I thought I would give it a shot.

I mounted the pink hotness and continued although I instantly realized I was not able to shift into my big ring. I kept plugging away, praying my pink hotness would pull me through. And she did. Thankfully.

Bike time: 2:46:05 in the small chain ring with a crash.

T2 was speedy and a blur. I felt good just having survived the bike and let out a sigh of relief as I moved onto the run. I took 2 gels with me and figured I could hydrate along the way. I was on to my best event at least I thought so at the time.....

Run

My legs never got moving onto the run. The noon sunshine beat down unforgivably and sucked the life out me and my legs. I felt sluggish, tired, and dehydrated. I couldn't tell exactly if it was nutrition, me knee, the crash, the sun..... Either way it was painfully slow and quite ugly.

Goal run: 1:45. Actual 2:10

Overall goal time: 5:15-5:20. Actual: 5:37

Despite the "mini" crash and not accomplishing my goal time, I still was able to place in the top 10 in my age group. Besides the run, my nutrition plan actually seemed to work. And most importantly, I had FUN!

Goals Accomplished

1. Top 10 Age Group

2. Successful Nutrition (for the most part)

3. Staying positive no matter the end result!

Not Accomplished:

1. Overall Time

I worked so hard for this race and was a little dissappointed with the end result. But with life and with triathlon we all must roll with the punches! Now I'm just hungry for more. I guess I'll have to find another 70.3 before IM Florida. I have some unfinished business. Cheers to 2010 :)

Pre-Race Report

2010-04-20T22:07:00.003-04:00

NOLA 70.3 race report will come eventually I promise!
I'm back in Pittsburgh packing up all my stuff and finishing my last final and presentation. Quick recap: 5:37 with bike crash and a broken bike... Not what I wanted~ but I still had a freaking blast!

Here is proof:

I actually SMILED in a race picture! WOW that is a first! Hope every one has a fantastic week! I'll try to finish the RR during my lovely 17 hour drive in the U-haul.

The Pink Hotness Get-up

2010-04-15T13:05:00.005-04:00

To along with my sexi bike.... I'll be sporting this at the NOLA 70.3:
Thanks to Jaggad!!! Awesome support and awesome product!

Happy racing weekend everyone! I'm off to NOLA :)

Thanx!

2010-04-10T20:36:00.013-04:00

As my two years in Pittsburgh quickly comes to a close, I just want to say thanks to everyone who helped make it through. I could not have done it without you! Although I'm super stoked to be done with the academic part of PT school and glad to be back with my super supportive husband, I will miss everyone. So I'm going to utilize this post to recognize those special people in my life that kept me sane. I hope they don't mind!

First and foremost, I want to thank my hubby Scott for inspiring me to follow my dream and get my doctorate. I love what I'm doing and am so glad I took the plunge. I'm not going to lie and say a 2 year long distance marriage is a good idea but we made it! Thanks for putting up with me!

Thanks to Kim who took me under her wing and was one of the best training buddies and bestest friends a girl could ask for! She has continually inspired me along the way and has always helped pick me up when I needed it. She has taught me so much about triathlon, nutrition, and life. She will truly be missed!
And of course thanx to my triathlon training buddies Jocelyn, Jen, and Lisa. Such a great group of awesome, supportive girls! What am I going to do without these 4 crazy fast bad a** chicas???

Thanx to my sister who has listened to me complain more than once....And the wieners who have brought me lots of endless love....AND of course thank you to my fellow bloggers and friends for keeping me sane, inspired, and entertained :)

And lastly and most importantly I thank God for this awesome opportunity and am excited about what my future may bring in PT, triathlon, and life. It's crazy how perfectly things work out when you just hand it over and let go.

New Orleans here I come!

Girls ride and just a short run RR

2010-04-03T18:35:00.006-04:00

Wow ~I have really been sucking at this whole blogging thing. I can tell my move and finals are even closer. Anyway here is a quick recap of the week:

Last Saturday was Just a Short run in Pittsburgh. Since NOLA 70.3 is so close, I opted for the 5k instead my planned half marathon. I really didn't want to miss a long ride and it just wouldn't have been smart to race a half marathon this close to my taper. Kim decided to join me last minute and switched from the half as well. We took 1-2 overall :) And thankfully they were awarded cash to overall winners! yay! (it paid for my post-race nutrition lol)

It was quick and painful but we got it done! I was not terribly pleased with my time but who cares right? It was just a 5k. Not so meaningful in the grand scheme of things. To prolong the torture, I had a 3 hour girl's ride planned afterward. Can't say it was the smartest idea but I survived. Thanx to 3 other awesome triathlete girlfriends whom I'm going to miss terribly in a few weeks :(

It was oddly cold that day and my booties were packed away. To compliment my 3 layers of pants, I ended up using some sexy-purple wool sox with holes cut in the bottom instead-compliments of Jocelyn. So hot....
Luckily, the weather has changed and it jumped from 30s to 80s in less than a week. It was perfect today for my 3x1 mile, 8x100 repeats today on the track. As much as I LOOOOOVE the track, mile repeats=ouch. But my taper has begun. I almost felt lazy today for not having to crank out a 5 plus hr workout. Speaking of taper~ I shipped my bike Thursday :(

It's official the pink hotness is New Orleans bound! Which means 2 things:

1. Race day is in 2 weeks!

2. My move to New Orleans is in 3 weeks!

Wow things are happening fast. Anyway hope everyone has a beautiful Easter Weekend!

Fast enough?

2010-03-24T13:22:00.001-04:00

Am I fast enough to rock this?

I don't think so.

At least not yet....

Maybe in 4 weeks???

This was late Valentines Day present I got from Scott last week. (We obviously weren't together that day). How luck am I?

Either way I will be sporting this for the New Orleans 70.3. I think it goes with my pink hotness get-up :)

And please forgive me being MIA in the blogging world.... With less than a month before the race, my move, and finishing the last academic part of PT school... it has been INSANE!

St. Patty's Day survival tips

2010-03-17T20:34:00.009-04:00

I wish everyone a safe, green, and FUN St. Patty's Day....

Remember these few things along the way:

Hydration... hydration... hydration....Don't skimp on attire

Watch out for flying cabbages....
And don't drink and drive...
Let's just say if this is ONLY St. Patty's day... I can't imagine Mardi Gras.

Less than 5 weeks until the NOLA 70.3! YAY!!!!!! Who's with me???? Please leave a comment if you are doing this race! We are going to have a good time post race-i promise!

an athletes dream land

2010-03-16T21:35:00.014-04:00

Last week I fell in love with Salt Lake City... I had a tough time leaving my little sis and saying good bye to all of these awesome things:

1. Entire lanes reserved for only runners, bikers, and walkers...
2. Altitude training anyone?
3. Many more open, vast trails into the mountains.....(minus the felines)
4. Quaint little cafes in the mountains conveniently located on bike routes5. Spoon me !!!!!(organic-yummy frozen yogurt) Who thought healthy could taste this good?
6. Goggle tans
7 &8 lots of sunshine and my sister of course
9. Spectacular views like this in every direction you look...
10. Powder run? p.s. i made it out without a hospital visit this time :)

Freshies and Cougars

2010-03-08T18:34:00.014-05:00

So so far so good in Salt Lake City... I'm happy to say after 2 days of shredding fresh powda, I'm having a blast. There is plenty of "freshies" aka fresh snow to go around.

Heidi's paradise

Angela making fresh tracks after hiking up 9990'

After a few tumbles in powda...ooops

The worst thing that's happened to me thus far is this...

(something i discovered 5 miles into my long run and my sister simply failed to mention)

I was on the lookout..... but luckily no mr. cougar sitings this time. (Btw we are talking about felines here NOT middle aged women)

Hope everyone is having a great week! My SLC ventures are coming to a close and I'm headed south to New Orleans. Much more to come!