2015 Detox: Halfway Report

I’ve successfully made it to the halfway point of my 2015 nutritional cleanse.  While I was a bit cranky the first few days, these first few weeks have gone fairly quickly and haven’t given me too much grief (other than missing oatmeal a little).  I have three “mess ups” in my first half and will therefore be extending the whole process by a day (I had a nibble of my peanut butter-honey flourless cookies I made to ensure they tasted alright – I know, so selfless of me, a bite of a bacon dish that I didn’t realize was caramelized in maple something, and a burger with some cheese on it – I had otherwise been avoiding lactose as well). 

So what have I been feeding my inner fat kid with?  Between training, running my business, and tying up loose ends from the accident, my January has been pretty darn busy; it is not rare for me to leave the house at 5 am and not return until 8 pm.  With a schedule like this, it is absolutely vital to plan ahead when it comes to what I’ll be eating.  For lunch, I typically eat shredded chicken (which I just get from the deli), fruit, and veggies; I have a big old lunch box that I pick from as I go about the day.  Here are a few other things I’ve been munching on:

Breakfast

I love breakfast food and tend to eat between 1 and 3 breakfasts a day so this category is significantly larger than the others.



Yes, this looks weird but it's delicious!  I'll make this on weekends or days when I have a little more time and don't need something pre-made. Mashed banana, eggs or egg whites, flax seed, raisins, turkey sausage, coconut extract, and a little salt all mashed up together and microwaved for about 5 minutes (or in a pan if you have time).  I then top it off with a little coconut milk - yum!

On Sundays, I make breakfast smoothies (more of a puree actually, they're pretty thick) for the week.  Depending on how I'm feeling, I usually eat part of it before I swim and the rest right after.  These suckers are packed with fiber and nutrients with a combination of: HAMMER Vegan Protein Powder (chocolate flavor), 1 cup almond milk, kale, spinach, romaine lettuce, beets, carrots, celery, ginger root, and either an apple or some berries. 

I also make this dish up on Sunday evening and divide it into 6 portions: 12 eggs or egg whites, tomatoes, broccoli, onion, and red pepper all mixed up and put in the oven for about a half hour.

 Yummy pumpkin breakfast bake, another recent go-to for my busy days: Can of pumpkin puree, mashed banana, 3 egg whites, ground flax, raisins, baking powder/soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg all mixed together and in the oven for 20-30 minutes.

Dinner

I am the crockpot queen!  Prepare on Sunday, start on Monday, and eat all week.

 Ground turkey, pureed tomato, bell peppers, onions, broccoli, and mushrooms all cooked together and then put over spiralized/sautéed zucchini (ie zucchini pasta)

 



Pork with onion, a little lime juice, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, and chili powder all cooked together and then put in a cabbage leaf shell.

Training Fuel

I’ve done a crummy job of taking pictures for this.  My go to has been baking bars with nut butter, dates (put through the food processor), coconut shreds, an egg white, and baking powder/soda.

 Looks like a brick, tastes ridic: cashew butter, dates that have gone through the food processor, 1 egg white, cocoa powder, vanilla, baking powder/soda mixed up, put in a pan, and cooked for about 10 minutes.

 

Post-workout yumminess: Greek yogurt, mashed banana, vanilla Hammer Vegan Protein Powder, and blueberries.  Sometimes I add an egg white and throw it in a pan to make a giant "pancake."

Having cleaned up my nutrition a bit, I’m feeling pretty darn good.  I do, however, have a vice that needs to be addressed.  I’ve noticed that I consume far too many sugar substitutes; I avoid aspartame but take in way to much sucralose ( ie Splenda) and it makes me feel terrible every time.  Going forward in the next few weeks I think it is necessary for my health to cut out these products and keep sugar substitutes to a small amount of stevia or monk fruit (natural sources of sweetness).  I have also deduced that I don’t include enough fat in my diet and will be integrating more olive oil, avocados, and nuts to balance things a bit.  I’ll let you know how it goes!   

2015 Kickoff Cleanse

It’s that time of year again!  While it’s always bittersweet to wrap up the festivities and look towards the long winter, I, for one, am a bit relieved now that the holidays and off-season have finally draw to a close.  After this year’s non-traditional fall and a month of visitors/holiday happenings it is definitely time jump back into my routine.  In order to kick things off right, I decided to begin 2015 as I did 2014 in terms of diet.  As of January 6^th, I am amid 35 days of no grains, alcohol, or added sugars.  Just in case you’re curious, here are a few reasons why.

Reason number one why I need to radically clean up my diet

1.       Why January 6^th?  Plain and simple, this was the most convenient starting date for me.  I had company through the 5^th and didn’t want to be worried about reading salad dressing labels the whole time.  Also, starting new ventures on a Monday or on the 1^st of something always gives me a little anxiety and I wind up acting like a dummy in the weekend leading up to this date.  Tuesday the 6^th just sounded like a noninvasive date to re-find old habits.

2.       Why 35 days?  The answer is silly, really.  First, I wanted to incorporate the year 2015 somehow so I added the 20 and the 15, making 35.  35 days ads up to 5 weeks which is a good round number and just about 10% of the New Year.  Also, this ends my “cleanse” on a Wednesday.  I am way less likely to say, “Oh hey, it’s the weekend, let’s go get ice cream and margaritas” on a Wednesday. 

3.       Why no grains?  This is something that is probably unnecessary for most people, especially most athletes.  In addition to having a wheat allergy, I have found that my body is just very sensitive to grains in general and I have much better energy and recovery when I find my sources of carbohydrate in produce (primarily sweet potatoes and fruit).

4.       Why no sugar?  I have a nasty sweet tooth and am definitely a bit of a sugar addict.  However, last year, I found that I was able to break this vice after my sugarless month and maintain the habit for months following.  I’ve definitely fallen off the wagon the past month or so and need to jolt my system back where it belongs before I find myself at the bottom of a very slippery slope.

5.       What does this no sugar thing entail?  No sugar means reading a LOT of labels and not doing a lot of eating out.  It’s shocking how many foods have sugar added into them (most sauces, salad dressings, energy bars, jerky, etc) so one has to be pretty careful.  I also do not add sweetness from most natural sources (honey, molasses, juice, syrup) that are generally seen as ok to eat.  This is only a month so I can manage!  Last year I ended up using a lot of spices for flavor and whole or purred fruit for sweetness.  Doing this takes some trial and error, some recipe hunting, and experimentation but the simple knowledge gained by cooking/eating this way are pretty priceless! 

6.       No drinking, what???  Yes, it’s sugar and empty calories.  Also, for me at least, a few cocktails can lead to poor food decisions so it’s best avoided. 

The final “rule” of my kickoff is that I don’t track any outward physical progress for my 35 days.  On the 6^th, I weighed myself and took measurements and pictures but the scale has now been put away until February 9^th.  The ultimate goal is to be healthier and to train smarter, not to see an arbitrary number on the scale or utilize a new slot on my belt buckle. 

I feel so blessed to have my nutritional endeavors supported by Hammer Nutrition.  They offer a variety of electrolyte, fueling, and recovery options with NO added sugars!

Just doing some supermans with my super-fuel

Please feel free to join me on my little venture but by no means feel obligated!  Everyone finds health their own way; this just happens to be what I’ve found has worked for me in the past.  More than anything, I’m posting this as a means of keeping myself honest.  I’ll be sharing recipes, insights, struggles, and progress throughout the month.  Happy 2015 everyone, it’s comeback time! 

Bring it on 2015!

Unbreakable

The world can change in an instant.  Good or bad, everyone has been there: a letter of acceptance, an unexpected phone call, a diagnosis, a second blue line, a natural disaster, a question … an accident.  On October 5^th, I was riding along in the second portion of the ChallengeRancho Cordova 70.3 triathlon when my “instant” came.  With hundreds of miles in my training log, I was primed and ready for the “A” race of my inaugural pro season.  Though I missed the first swim pack, I had still swum a PR and at mile 41 was riding a solid negative split towards a bike PR as well.  My calculations had me in the top ten (money slot baby!) and my best leg was still to come.  I had just calculated that I was riding at about 25 mph when it happened.

Pre race day swim with Erin, Jill, and Abby

Just riding along innocently (Photo Cred: Freeplay Magazine)

 In compliance with USAT pro rules, I was riding near the center of my lane of traffic in order to avoid being directly behind a rider up the road; not surprisingly, this made more than a few drivers upset on what was a fairly narrow two lane highway.  One driver must have been in a particular hurry and felt the need to zip around me on a double yellow.  Cutting back into the lane, the truck clipped a large traffic cone placed on the center line sending it unmercifully in my direction.  I heard it happen but there was no time to react; the cone hit my front wheel sending me over my handle bars and landing me on the pavement.

Thought one: I have to get back on my bike.

Thought two: $*!# there’s a car coming.

Pulling myself to the side of the road, I had one of those movie moments where I heard the screaming before I realized it was coming from me and then couldn’t make myself stop.  But then the little miracles started.  In less than a minute, two or three other racers stopped, one who I couldn’t convince to get back on his bike and race (in my convoluted head I was still concerned about race rules regarding taking outside assistance).  In a completely selfless act, pro triathlete JasonWatson abandoned his own race to stay with me.  He was there as I began to sob with the realization that my day/season was over, he was there to take my bike from the scene and gather my things from transition, he tracked down my phone and made the necessary calls for me, and later stopped by the ER with fellow athlete (and my roommate for the weekend) JillianPeterson.  Three other vehicles stopped immediately as well.  The first person on the scene was a woman, who turned out to be runner extraordinaire Shawn Skillman, who had been driving the course cheering on athletes; she called 911, stayed with me until I was taken away, and has been checking in ever since.  Another driver, a man who had just finished his shift as a paramedic, stopped; I do not know his name or how to thank him but his quick spinal/cognitive checks helped to calm my fears before the ambulance arrived.  The final car that stopped was a pair of women.  They seemed to appear by my side out of nowhere saying, “We are Christians, is it ok if we pray for you?”  The women placed their hands gently on me, said a prayer and disappeared just as quickly as they had arrived. 

When the ambulance arrived, I was checked and loaded up by the exceptionally attractive Sacramento fire department and sent on a ride to UC Davis.  In hind sight, I was still in shock as I refused any pain medication, stating that I still had to drive home to Las Vegas that afternoon (ha).  Soon after I arrived in the ER, my friends Justin Hillman and Katy Fryer (who live in Sacramento and I had spent Thursday night with) arrived to be with me; they were my saviors over the next several days, getting my car and belongings from the race/hotel, bringing me some of my things (since all I had was a ripped up tri-suit), non-hospital food, and much needed support.  They also fed/housed my dad for the better part of a week after he arrived to be with me.  

Heading in to surgery

Some stupidly painful x-rays determined that I had a broken clavicle and elbow (the elbow had gone unnoticed for hours as I didn’t even start feeling it until I had been lying in the ER for a bit) and would be admitted into the hospital to await surgery.  For the record, waiting for surgery after a race is the worst; they don’t let you eat or drink anything – not fun when you started the whole thing off in a dehydrated state.  Because I was in a trauma center and some people have it wayyyy worse than me, I ended up not having my surgery until two days later; a six hour process that has left me with neat hardware in my shoulder/elbow and some sexy scars.

Good times on pain pills driving home from CA with my dad

While crashing was not fun, it has been a blessing in more ways than one.  First and foremost, I saw just how many people care about me as I have been surrounded by love and support by friends, family, and perfect strangers.  My father landed in Sacramento within 12 hours of getting the news so I wouldn’t be alone and he and my mother have been living with me ever since (it takes a lot of love to wash someone’s hair and paint their toes even when said person cries and takes their frustration out on you every day).  I have received cards and care packages from family, friends, the race director, and even customers both near and far.  My sponsor Hammer Nutrition checks in regularly and sent me a legit care package of recovery aids.  Even if Mom and Dad weren’t here, I know I’d be well taken care of as I have received countless offers to provide meals, rides, hair washings, and whatever else I may need; I think I was most touched when my friends Max and Michelle kidnapped me one night knowing I needed to get out of the house but was having trouble actually asking for help.  My race saviors as well as several other triathletes check in on me regularly and encourage me through the process.  My coach, MP Multisport, has of course been nothing but encouraging and supportive.  I’ve even had neighbors grab my mail and take out my trash!  The overwhelming amount of prayers and well wishes I have received both from friends and strangers through texts, calls, and social media has deeply moved me and helped to keep me in a positive mindset. 

Just a few of my lovely care packages

Hospital gifts

People think I'm a little nuts

... and they're right

I can’t pretend things have been all sunshine and daisies since the crash; I have hurt, I have been frustrated, I have had anger, I have felt hopeless, and I have cried (a lot).  But stronger than the pain or fear is a hunger.  Sometimes in heavy training, I used to picture how “nice” it might be to have an injury and sit on my bum for a few weeks.  Yet, within days of discharge, I was out on long walks/hikes (albeit slowly) because moving forward is part of who I am.  In the months leading up to my crash, I had begun to feel despondent, to treat training like a chore and racing as an event to be feared.  I regretfully admit that I had once again started falling into patterns of nitpicking my own imperfections and self-body-shaming.  In hindsight, I wonder if God knew I needed something big, something that couldn’t be ignored to snap me out of it. 

Be it fate, divine intervention, or simply coincidence, this experience has lit a fire in my belly.  I want to run like a mountaineer wants oxygen.  I want to feel the burning of my lungs and the protestation of every muscle that comes with training.  I appreciate now, more than ever, what my body has become capable of as well as the absolute gift that is the ability to be active.  So yes, I will continue to cry from time to time and I will undoubtedly be met with frustration as the rehab process truly begins but I will persevere.  I shall come back not only stronger but happier because my will is unbreakable. #getreadyforthecomeback

Recovery/ROM pics (10 days, 20 days, 30 days)

Never Quit.

#getreadyforthecomeback

A Tale of Two Distances: Utah Half & Vegas Super Sprint

Eek!  First off, I must apologize for just how overdue this post is.  September seems to have come and gone in the blink of an eye.  Two races, one bailed race, and a whole boat load of training later, here is a little update (the benefit of procrastination is you will be spared the boring details).

UTAH HALF

In late August, I ventured to Utah for my first half of the season, the Utah Half.  With the memory of disappointment and severe bonkage from last year’s Rev3 Williamsburg (passed in the last quarter mile and a 103 degree body temp at the finish) still in my mind, I was a little nervous as to how my body would hold up for a distance longer than my typical Oly.  However, Coach Mace is no dummy and I could tell his training had prepared both my mind and body far beyond where it was a year ago. 

Lucky for me, I was pampered while in Utah as I was able to stay with the amazing Schwanz family (Michelle was my elementary GT teacher, they were Wisconsin country neighbors, I babysat for a while, and went to high school with Lauren) who drove me around and fed me fresh/delicious meals.  Everything seemed to be perfect … until late afternoon before the race.  A nasty storm rolled in and brought with it lower temperatures and hours of torrential downpour.  I woke race morning to temps in the low 50s (arctic for my desert bones), thunder, lightning, and sheets of rain.  Once at the race site, we were instructed to stay in our cars and wait for the bat signal; weather had impeded transition/buoys from even being set out.  Fortunately, I’m a nerd who listens to audio books in the car so I passed the time with a little Janet Evonovich (which doubled in keeping my panic regarding the temperature at bay).  When the storm finally passed, we all herded to transition, ready to start the day. 

View from my accommodations wasn't too shabby

The morning was still chilly and the storm had cooled the water a good deal.  When the water had been checked a few days prior, it was determined that the amateur field could wear wetsuits but the pro field could not.  Bummer!  That water was COLD and the morning pretty frigid too.  Hopping on my bike I couldn’t see straight my head was so frozen and it took a good ten miles to stop shaking; I recall noting that I was finally of a comfortable body temperature just after the turnaround (28 miles in).  Despite the frosty start, the skies had cleared over a fast/flat course.  The race crew did an excellent job of cleaning gravel/debris from the course, I really don’t know how they did it so quickly! 

Coming out of the water, I had been told I was in the lead but didn’t really believe it until confirmed at the turnaround.  Second place was not far back though and I have been passed way too many times on the bike to feel confident in my lead.  I was pleasantly surprised to enter T2 still in front; not knowing if (or by how much) the gap had been closed, I took off running.  I held my lead through the run, bolstered by the encouragement of spectators and other racers, crossing the line with my first elite win, woohoo!  While I had come to the race alone, I ran into a lot of familiar faces (Kirstin McCay, Zara Guinard, fellow Hammer athletes Elliot Bassett and Andrew Drobeck, and the welcoming members of the SL Tri Club) who helped me celebrate the moment.  Back at the Schwanz house my excited super fans fed me and let me relive the fun!  After a much needed shower, I headed back towards Nevada for the next day’s visit from my big brother.  What a fun life I lead!

A few race photos: Top left, post-race with Kirstin (won her age group); with Andrew and Elliot (2nd and 3rd overall men); with Zara (who came to cheer on her teammates); on the overall women's podium. 

LAS VEGAS SUPER SPRINT

Somehow, my coach talked me into applying to race the Las Vegas Super Sprint, a Super Sprint Grand Prix event which just so happened to serve as the USAT Elite Sprint National Championship.  This race was a short, fast, multi-lap, draft legal event stacked with some of the fastest women in the world (of 21 women on the start line, 5 were Olympians).  The race was on a Thursday, so I showed up for the pre-race meeting the day before fresh off of my work day and was completely star struck; out testing the course was a hoard of my tri heroes, women/athletes I have followed and looked up to for years.  Holy intimidation and feelings of inadequacy Batman!  Fortunately, there were a few familiar faces (from sources other than magazines/TV) in the mix and the seasoned elite sprint diva Zara Guinard calmed my fears a bit.  Even better, after the meeting, I came home to a perfect home cooked meal and some pampering from my visiting mother.  The awesome crew over at Pro Cyclery let me borrow one of their fancy carbon Giant bikes (road bikes, not TT bikes, must be ridden in draft-legal races) so I was as ready as I was going to be!

This is how they put a pool in the middle of a parking lot in Las Vegas: too cool!

My race itself was far from excellent; I was lapped out and did not make the finals.  However, I wouldn’t trade the experience itself for anything!  On the start line, world champion Sarah Groff was directly to my left and I chatted/shared rubber bands with some other big wigs.  MP Multisport was in town so I had the support of Coach Mace and Coach Frosty along with visiting friend (Hammer athlete I met in Utah, also a really legit coach) Elliot Bassett and local friends Bree Thorpe (son Dash in tow) and Max Jones.  Even cooler was the evening’s final event; what athleticism and how amazing to watch! 

Checking out the course with Coach Mace (in my fancy Las Vegas Masters cap)

And we're off!

Out on the course

Women's Final

The next day, I was back to training, showing off the loop to Frosty and Coach Mace.  Since then , it’s been a solid block of training, highly supported by friends/training buddies/unwitting sounding boards Bree and Max.  I decided to skip out on the LA Tri (sorry Susan) in favor of a solid training weekend when it was changed to a draft legal sprint with a gender-neutral prize purse (not exactly my favor, as noted above).  With three weeks off the race circuit, I’m itching to don my kit again and am super jazzed to be racingChallenge Rancho Cordova (70.3) next weekend.  California, here I come!

Just another training day in gorgeous Red Rock Canyon! 

THANK YOU Blueseventy, Hammer Nutrition, and MP Multisport for supporting me through the highs and lows of training and racing! 

So This is Growing Up: Birthday Reflections on One Crazy Year

I had a bad day on Friday.  It wasn’t bad like my house burnt down and I got three speeding tickets on my way home from euthanizing my cat or anything, just a little rough.  So on Saturday, in what was not an atypical move for me, I stewed in my problems and began to count them (I even added in my impossible-to-keep-clean counter tops) as I slogged through the cool-down of my run.  With my impending birthday just ahead I thought, “Well, the year is almost over.  This next one will be amazing, it will be MY year.”  Then I opened my eyes.

What a jerk I can be sometimes! To say I had a bad year is such a proverbial slap in the face to the bomb-awesomeness that has been my life as a 27 year old.  Of course things went wrong.  This year had been far from perfect but I’m pretty sure that comes with the territory of being an adult.  There are good days and bad, ups and downs; I am one of the lucky ones to say that in the grand scheme of things, the good has far outweighed the bad.  With that said, I’ve compiled a (non-comprehensive) list of all the crap I selfishly think is wrong in my life and how it has been overpowered by the good.

Bad: Being a pro triathlete is hard.  I’m working my butt off (or on if you talk to my strength coaches) and still not getting champagne dumped on me post-race or coming home with novelty sized checks.

Good: Umm HELLO, less than 4 years after the idea of doing a triathlon even crossed my mind, I became a freakin’ professional athlete.  Heck, I even have sponsors!  Enough said.

Bad: I continue to struggle with my nutrition, weight, and body image.

Good: For the first time since I was in primary school, I have reached and maintained a healthy weight.  I’ve learned a lot about what my body needs and grown to love healthy cooking/eating.  While it took 20 years to get here, I’ve finally started to figure out that whole “healthy lifestyle” thing.  Who knew my mother and all the experts were right all along?

Bad: I managed to become even more broke than I had been as a student working as an unpaid intern.

Good: I gained valuable knowledge and experience while at that internship.  I became a real life big bad board certified music therapist and am working in a field I love!

Good: I have incredibly understanding parents who fed me and let me live at home while at that internship so really, my level of broke-ness could be a whole lot worse.

Bad: I just so happened to be around for one of the worst/coldest winters on record in Wisconsin.

Good: I was able to spend a stretch of time with my parents and build our relationship as an adult instead of as a surly teenager. 

Good: I learned a valuable lesson about myself and what makes me tick.  Now, I am more aware than ever that I am exceptionally sensitive to the weather and need sunshine/fresh air to be a happy camper.  That definitely played a role in choosing where to relocate for work.  Now I’m living the dream in the Nevada desert, wearing a sweater any time it’s under 90 degrees outside.

Bad: Marketing and growing business as a music therapist can be really, really hard.

Good: I opened my own stinkin’ business!  I’ve been up and running with Synapse Music  Therapy for less than five months so it’s pretty absurd to think that I should be living large just yet.  While nothing has happened overnight, I have slowly found new clients/contracts and am spreading the music therapy love throughout Vegas!

The good that has no bad to counter it out:

**My family and heart grew two sizes with the birth of my super-rad twin nephews, Connor and Reid.

**My dear friend Megan miraculously had CLEAN SCANS just a few weeks ago!!!!!!!

**Vegas, especially the athletic community here, has really embraced me and I’ve found a wealth of new friends and mentors.

Getting the boys hooked young

Yay for a healthy Megan!

There’s about a million more things I could list but I don’t want to draw away from these major ones (especially the twins and Megan).  It has been an unexpected roller coaster of a year; I can’t wait to see what 28 has in store for me!

Bring it on adulthood!

Racing! Family! Friends! Hooray! - Boulder Peak Race Report

A few weeks ago, bummed out, I told my coach that we’d have to cut a race from my calendar as I just couldn’t manage a way to get to Minneapolis.  Being the awesome coach that he is, Mace took it upon himself to look into flights to Colorado and took all of about three minutes to talk me into signing up for Boulder Peak which took place this past weekend.  I’m so glad that he did!  My brother and sister in-law live outside of Denver with my two brand new nephews; my parents will take any excuse to see the babies and decided to bring out my grandma for a 4-generation of Hinzs long weekend.  

Family Time

As race day approached, things did not seem to be gelling for me.  For a variety of reasons that I’m sure no one particularly cares about, I was feeling (and training) very “off.”  Instead of feeling comforted by the knowledge that my family, coach, and several friends would be cheering me on race day, I was extra stressed by the desire to perform well for everyone.  Fortunately, race magic set in and I started to feel like myself on race-day eve and woke up ready to rock for the Peak. 

Pre-Race with my Pops

Overall, I am pleased with my performance; I came in as the 9^th pro female in a very elite field of women.  Compared to my race at CapTex in May, I closed a few time gaps between myself and the leaders (namely in the swim) but more importantly, I closed some mental gaps.  Now in my third race as a pro, I’m getting used to a few things.  I must say it still boggles my mind to tread the starting line with women I have looked up to and followed for years but I’m starting to get over the “I don’t belong” feeling (of course, it didn’t hurt that I knew several athletes on the start list from my days racing for CSU).  Also, I believe my “grit” took a step in the right direction.  I have always struggled with giving sticking it out when things get tough; I tend to race much better when I’m ahead and have a tendency to give up a bit when my proverbial bum is being handed to me.  Racing the Peak, however, I set my mind to racing my race and pushing my body no matter the situation.  I have not felt so awful within a race or at the finish line in a very long time (if ever), which is awesome!  This means I tested my limits and left it all on the course.  I know I still have a very, very long way to go in my athletic development but every race is an opportunity to learn and to grow as an athlete.  I may not have come home with a pay check or a podium shot but I left a stronger and smarter athlete; at this point in my career, I don’t think I could ask for much more.   

Ready to rock in my Blueseventy Speedsuit

Coming in to T2

Loved the spectator support on this 3-lap run course

Finish line in sight!

Aaaand Done.

Following the race, I was able to relax with friends and family which was just what the doctor ordered.  Of course, Mace gave me about 5 minutes post-race before reminding me that long course training amps up this week.  I’m totally jazzed to take on this next phase of my season.  With 4 races left this season and 6 weeks until the Utah Half I can’t wait to see what is ahead!

My nephews say they're ready to start training

Loved having Coach Mace there!

My friend and fellow CSU Ram Geneva rocked her race!

Thank you Blueseventy and Hammer Nutrition for your unending support; I couldn’t be better attired or fueled! 

San Diego International Tri: Quick Race Report

With my next event all of two days away I suppose it’s time for an overdue race report from the last one!  The last weekend in June I had the opportunity to add an event to my calendar at the San Diego International triathlon.  With this being two weeks before one of my “A” races, within driving distance, a place to stay, and a ride (thanks Lindsey and Kempy!) it was impossible to say no. 

Hands down, the best part of my race weekend was having the opportunity to spend a few days with a dear family friend, Kara, and her husband Dan.  Having crewed for an endurance runner friend of ours just a few weeks prior, they were ready to handle any pre-race idiosyncrasies I threw at them, right down to my 9:00 bed time, 4:00 wake time, and mass consumption of sweet potatoes.  San Diego was lovely as ever and I had the opportunity to do my race-eve workout at/in Mission Beach. 

Ocean Swim!

Lovely venue for an expo

Race morning itself was a bit hectic.  Transition opened only 50 minutes before the race start so my usually pokey self had to pick up the pace a bit.  Fortunately, setup was smooth and well run so I didn’t run into any troubles (outside of the bathroom that apparently didn’t believe in stall doors: only a little awkward in the one piece tri suit – good thing triathletes are used to the pool locker room).  There was a great deal of banter for the in-water start and I was pleased to see a few familiar faces in the mix. 

After the gun, I swam my little heart out (decked out in my Blueseventy gear).  While I was far from the first out of the water, I was pleased to find myself in the second pack (as opposed to missing the pack as I had in Texas) and not superbly far back from the first.  The ride was a bit hillier than I expected but I pedaled my little heart out onto the run.  Hopping off of my ride, I was rather displeased to notice the nagging little pain in my right groin had exploded to a bit more than nagging.  I had all but decided to throw in the towel when it started to loosen up about a half mile in.  While the pain never went away, I was able to run my little heart out towards the finish.  While I posted one of the fastest run splits of the day (second by a few seconds) it wasn’t enough to catch the incredible swim-bikers ahead of me.  I crossed the finish line in a close 6^th, placing me solidly in the middle of the pack.  This was a definite improvement over my race in Texas.  More importantly, my attitude and confidence was much higher.  While I still feel as though I don’t really belong in the pro ranks, I was at least not terrified to talk to the other girls at the start/finish line. 

Heading out of T1

Finish Line in Sight!

Following the race, I enjoyed a gorgeous cool-down along the San Diego harbor and recovered with the awesome setup provided by Game Ready (much more pleasant than my ice bath an hour later).  Another dear friend (Kara’s brother Tyler and his girlfriend Julianna) took me out for a delicious celebratory lunch before heading back towards the desert.  With a bit more training in the glorious 110 degree heat and some recovery, I’m feeling ready to rock this next one.  Keep your eyes peeled for news from Boulder Peak!

One of these things is more fun than the other ... 

My Amazing Hosts!

Thank you Blueseventy, Hammer Nutrition, and MP Multisport for your continued support!