This Week: Rollercoaster Ride

This week certainly came with it's own set of highs and low, just like my HR in my new set of HR zones for my runs. However, even with the highs and lows, some big progress in my training came, especially in my running.

Last week ended with this beauty coming in the mail. All American Aquabike. Although I was injured last season, I was still able to make the best of the situation and throw down great races every month. It taught me that I have the endurance, strength and mentality to push through all sorts of pain and accomplish great things. So I am very excited for this season and what lies ahead for my triathlon career.

Swimming
I reached a breaking point in my swimming this week, and not in a good way. When Dan went to look over my stats for the week, he saw what I had left him in my athlete notes. I was pissed and I was having very large doubts about whether my swimming was going to ever be good again. I have this bad habit of comparing myself with people, because a lot of times in my past I never felt that I was good enough and I would push harder to be better than my peers or my teammates. After my long pull set on Wednesday, I had a big wave of that again and compared myself to two extremely close people in my life. And I said "I suck at swimming."

I think everyone has stumbles and doubts in their training but it shows a lot about you in how you respond to those stumbles and I did not respond well. Dan responded in the way that he knows I will listen. Gotta love those tough love e-mails where I know he is probably as pissed as I am, but it got to me and I realized I need to do the same for swimming as I do for my bike and run: put my head down and just go. Really focus on what Dan wants me to accomplish during those sets and disregard my goals and my feelings. As Dan says, "Let me do the thinking."

My friend Aaron helps me a lot in all of my training, as well, even though he is in Boulder. I text him and rant all the time, and I am so thankful that I can do just that. He knows me really well and knows where my head is at in training and races and so he can link a situation back to something and have really good perspective on it. I told him what I had said about my swimming earlier this week and he provided some really great feedback regarding all of it.

I really am thankful for both of these men in my life -- my coach, Dan for yelling at me and making me see the big picture, and for Aaron who puts things into perspective and shares experiences. I'm sure that without either of them, I'd be a doubting, angry triathlete. No one wants that.

Biking

I can't tell you how excited I am for next block of cycling.  And you are probably all laughing at that comment, because that means I have PPT's, Tabatas and low cadence in Z2, but at least it's a bigger variety? Or maybe I'm excited and come the first week I'll regret that statement. Or maybe that it's just that I REALLY miss riding outside. I hate that its sunny and warm outside in the afternoons, but because of my chaotic schedule, I am riding indoors, on my trainer at 5:30am.

The trainer has certainly provided a good foundation, one that I am actually able to see, for my cycling and my HR. I am a lot more consistent on the bike with my HR than I was a few months ago, but I crave the opportunity to get back in the saddle on the road.

I think the biggest thing I miss though, is riding outside with Dan and the guys. That was my favorite part about my training last season. I was always the only girl but being the only girl pushed me to do better and push harder and keep up with all of them. I haven't had that opportunity yet, and I truly hope that I will be able to again soon.

Running 
I'm actually excited to run. Say what? Yes, I actually get excited to go run now because I am seeing that progress being made and not feeling the pain in my knee along with it. I started running hills this week which came with a lot of apprehension about my knee and my HR, but we saw HUGE progress along with it. And huge soreness in my calves. The below is a short run that I had during the week and didn't expect the large hill at the beginning but kept plodding along until I realized what I was doing was certainly not a plod, more a jog. Although still near the top of my Z1 (144) I was able to continue to desc my HR throughout the run.

Nutrition
I feel as though I am dying without sugar. When does this diet end? When I no longer ask that question...

I had a big hiccup in my diet regime, as pointed out by coach earlier this weekend. I love Larabars and I eat them all the time (because they are gf free and allergen free). I really like to eat them before and during rides but coach let me know earlier this weekend that that is BAD. Larabars pack a lot of fat which is bad during workouts and could be the cause of my GI problems on the run. So, I am saying goodbye to Larabars and am on the search for new quick and easy snacks for my workouts. And some of them may be the delicious looking recipes that Meghan keeps posting on Facebook!

Looking Onward
I'm feeling really great about my training and where I am at because I'm seeing progress and I'm one that needs to see to believe. Contrary to what coach believes, I trust his process more and more everyday, even when I do have doubts.

This week will hopefully provide some outdoor riding accompanied by being the only triathlete not running in the Monument 10k this Saturday. I'm gonna keep listening, keep eating good foods and keep pushing through!

Oh, and the countdown is on for my first half!!

End of Feb-March Block

It seems that I fell off the blogger train there, but what can I say? I've been busy! I just finished off another training block and entered into my final base phase. Dan tells me to enjoy this last block because things will begin to get harder and longer as I move to the build and loading phases of my training. So this Feb-March block that just ended was probably my most improved block thus far and the first time I could say that I truly trust the HR process.

The Bike
Thank goodness it is now nice enough and light enough to ride outside! My butt and legs thank spring time and daylight savings for that one. The trainer is good, but nothing beats riding outside. Two weeks ago I did my first long ride outside, for the first time in months, and it felt so good. I spent the first 45 minutes or so riding side by side with Meghan ensuring she was comfortable on her bike.
We broke up and I went at my own pace after that. I know that she really appreciated having me there and around in the case that anything were to happen, but I don't think she knows how much I appreciated her being there for me. It's sometimes hard for me to self-motivate when I am miles and miles away from home...I could simply slack off and try not as hard, but knowing that she was behind me and I was helping her, she helped me, if that makes sense. So thank you, Meghan, I'm glad it was a win win ride!

The frustrating thing about that ride though was not being able to dominate the hills like I have in the past. Hills have always been a strength for me but I couldn't make it up the hills even going a sad and depressing 9 mph. Other than the hills, I realized that I need to work on my overall consistency as seen below:

My heart rate is all over the place and it seemed very challenging to be even near the top of my zone. That also came along with my cadence, which I have always struggled with. Dan tells me a high cadence will help in the transition to the run. However, if you have ever seem me ride, you'll know that I'm more about high power and low cadence, so that's a big change. I know Dan hates that I even look at my speed, but I know that will come once my cadence and heart rate become consistent and I'll (hopefully) be more of a powerhouse on the bike than I was last year.

I'm very happy that I can take all my Garmin information and get both my feedback and "learning lessons" as well as Dan's expertise coaching advise on it. Having both I know what I did well and what I can continue to grow upon.

Swim
The transition from swimmier to triathlete is proving harder than I had originally thought. Changing something that is natural in my stroke is hard! Dan tells me that opposed to using my legs as propellers I need to use them as flotation devices. When I started college, I had a two beat kick and Dan, my college coach (yes same name as my current coach), worked very hard in getting me to a six beat kick. He worked so hard that its become like a foreign concept to me that I have to break it. Even when I think I'm not doing it, I am. It's very frustrating but something I continue to be aware of.  

My other frustration is my fading swimming shape. He understand this frustration, as he too, was a collegiate swimmer. He tells me my days of going fast in workouts is long over. My days of holding 1:02 on a set of 20x100s is gone. I'm building endurance to swim length but I did that in college. I trained endurance to swim fast. Now I'm training endurance and going the opposite of fast. My 400 time trial time has gotten progressively slower in the past four months. To see that, from a swimmer perspective is kind of heart breaking and so frustrating. We both agree that my swimming should be a strength in my triathlon and he says I'll get there, but get there by going in the reverse direction?

Nutrition

Part of this block involved the start of my newest diet with one of my co-workers, that of the no sugar diet. No added sugar, no candy, no fruit snacks...it's hard. We were both highly addicted to sugar and when you work in an environment like us, sugar is always present. It's challenging. I am allowed sugar when working out though, so I wouldn't completely shut down when training. This diet has certainly challenged me to eat healthier and eat a lot more natural sugar in the form of fruit. The office is now going to start the Whole 30 challenge, so I think I will continue on my no sugar for those 30 days because it is unrealistic for me to start the Whole 30 with so much more training ahead of me.

For those of you who judged my meal plan that I posted months ago, you should be pleased to hear that I eliminated the loads of cheese from my diet but still live by the high protein diet. It's amazing how much I eat, and how frequently I eat, but that's the lifestyle, I guess. I hear that if you are hungry, you are already behind. With me, it's a hard thing because I have already such a limited diet that my day consists of me eating all the time in order to keep up with my metabolism, but just another thing I know I have to work on.

Run
About five months ago I began my running process after taking nearly a year off due to injury. Before my injury I was holding 7:15-7:45 pace for 3 miles because that's the furthest distance I ever had run. When I got cleared to run, I thought that's what I was going to do, that's what I wanted to get back to. With the heart rate zones, I was running in the slowest possible way I could and holding 14:00/mile pace in order to stay in zone (which is slower than I walk). After getting scolded at time and time again by Dan, I finally got pissed off enough to actually say in zone (after numerous times of going outside zone).

After making a conscious effort every run to watch my heart rate and to breathe well while running, I was finally able to see improvements in both the distance and pace of my running. My long runs in this block became anywhere between 7 and 8 miles, the most I had ever run at one time. I now know what things make my body fall apart and my knee to begin hurting and I know how to fix my form to try and ease the pain if I ever get any. I think it was finally for this confidence that I was getting to be a stronger runner (and the help from my friend John, that I ran a pretty good 8k TT to finish out my block.

8k TT
I got up two hour before I had planned on beginning my run and had two scrambled eggs, many banana bites and a few sips of Infinit. It was the first time that I ate something that I didn't end up seeing again on my run, so that was a huge improvement.

I met John at St. Catherine's at 8:30 after I had done a 15 minute warm up, and we just went from there. I didn't think about pace, just thought about running and felt really good. Probably too fast if you look at the rest of my pacing. Really the first 3 felt great and then I hit the uphill and I kept screaming at John that I hate hills but I kept moving, never stopped, but you can see in my pace that was a hard hit of really slow running. At mile 4.64 I started getting my infamous side cramp that took me down last time and with that the IT triggered but was able to push through and finish strong ish. By looking at my HR the last few minutes, there is a mighty big dip which in turn means my pacing was way too fast the first few miles.

Coach says I shouldn't have even been in the 7 minutes for my first mile, but the next two things I need to work on are my pacing and hills. It was a definite improvement but still leaves room for lots more improvement.

Looking Forward
From my 8k TT came new HR zones, unfortunately. However, new HR zones is a good thing because it means I'm becoming more aerobic. I'm supposed to get used to my new zones in this next block before the really hard stuff begins, so I am learning how to run very slowly again while I incorporate hills in.

It's been a battle the last few months but I have definitely put my head down more and really focused on the process and now I can see results and I'm finally happy after I complete a workout instead of unhappy. It's the baby steps and having complete trust that your coach knows what is best for you, and this past block proved both of those things for me. This next block brings more craziness in my life as well as a weekend wedding in Chicago where I will be drafting one of my siblings to run my 8K TT with me along Shore Drive. It's gonna be a good month, I can feel it.

The Importance of Support

I recently started thinking about the importance of support in a sport and how that affects the athletes' mentality and performance. Being a swimmer I had that support. Being on a team with whom you were forced to spend mornings, evenings and weekends with training and racing created a swim family, a group of people who knew your goals, your strengths and weaknesses and the insane mind behind being a swimmer. That family grew as I shifted to college. Calvin provided not only a phenomenal swim family, but a swim family that grew in faith and were there for each other when you felt lost in the world. Even if you didn't think you had support from others, you always knew you had your swim family. Those support groups provided everything I needed to feel supported and loved in my journey of being a swimmer.

I think it's important to have support through everything you do and there have been numerous times in my life where I didn't feel that from people who are close to me. Some of them laughed in my face when I told them my goals for this summer and making my debut into the half ironman world. Some told me I was idiotic and should focus on the "more achievable" things like a sprint, because apparently that's all they think I can do in life. I'm hurt when those who I care about say those things to my face. Do you not believe in me or support my goals? Have I done something in my athletic career to make you think I don't have what it takes to be a long distance, endurance athlete? It's because of these people that make me the one who pushes and tries to be the best I can be. I want to prove to them that I can do something I set my mind to even when they doubt everything I do. They also make it so I need a strong a support system.

For me, I excel when I have a strong support system. If I have that, I feel like I can accomplish anything. So, let's talk about that triathlon support system:

Julie Patterson - Pro Triathlete, and amazing older (but smaller) sister. Growing up Julie was my inspiration into the triathlon world. I wanted nothing more to be her coach and made "Coach" and "Athlete" t-shirts that we wore to every race. I took her to the middle school, which I was attending at the time, and practiced transitions with her. I snuck in with her to just about every transition area for pre-race set-up and I tracked her, because I wanted to be her. I didn't start my triathlon career into late high school but I'll give it to her for starting the sport. So now that we are both actively involved in the triathlon world, she continues to support me and cheer for me and gives me little pointers. After she got married, she gifted me her old Endorphin Fitness tri kit which had her maiden name, my current last name, on the front. I proudly wore that and rocked her aero helmet art installation in all my races as well. Julie tells me that she is proud of me and pushes me and runs next to me during run tests. Julie is my primary support in the world of triathlon, and I want her, and all of you, to know how much she truly means to me :)

Elizabeth

Swimmer, wife, mom to two cats, and my distance freestyle buddy in college. However, all those titles don't do her justice. Elizabeth is a truly amazing individual and although we are separated by many states, we still stay in contact. College was rough, especially for me, and so became each others accountability partners and we remain that two years after college. I call her in the car to all my far away races and we chat about training and everything that is going on in life. She was interested in some triathlons, so I shared my knowledge, and we just talk. I have a lot of friends that I just talk to, however, Elizabeth knows me sometimes better than I know myself and she's my go to person for long drives to races. It helps to clear my mind when talking to her before a race.

Dan Szajta - I would certainly hope that my coach would provide me support and Dan certainly does. Through his experience and knowledge of the sport he is able to provide extensive support for me through training and races.

Meghan 

I am so blessed to have Meghan in my life. It was through Dan that I met her and we have become friends/training partners/"team"members. She supports me and motivates me through long rides and runs. She's the one I go to when I have frustrations or challenges in my training because I know a lot of the times, she's feeling the same way. Meghan has her amazing goal of Ironman Lake Placid which I fully support and hope that I can help her along the way, as well!


Endorphin Fitness 
Although I am no longer coached by Endorphin, I still live for the community that comes out of this amazing place. I am a coach and love what I do and love the chance to continue to train with, hang out with and spend time with amazing athletes who have great goals.

Aaron- So when this kid left RVA to go to Boulder, I was not pleased, but he continues to be a strong support and friend in my life. I'm sure he probably doesn't want to hear half the stuff I have to say, but he has been so helpful in all of my tech/bike/shop needs (although he no longer works at a shop). We chat about injuries which we both have and the insanity of his thought process of injuries and running....and, of course, food! He thinks he has allergies, I know I have allergies, so we support each other in our messed up food situations.



Rachel- (and the Nelson family) Incredibly blessed to have met this amazing athletic and Godly woman. We are so similar and like minded that it was an easy friendship to start. Having both been swimmers at Christian Colleges with the mindset of pushing ourselves to be the best, she continues to show support even with my changed mindset of that. Although she lives in Charlottesville now, we communicate daily and see each other when we can. The Nelson's provide me my family away from home. Holidays and weekends I'm invited over for food, fellowship and friends. This family provides so much support and caring towards me, I thank them everyday.

*This of course is not the extensive list, but the top 7 list* 

So, support, it's important for all aspects of life, especially triathlon and committing yourself to the roller coaster of emotions that comes with it. I am so incredibly blessed to have these phenomenal people in my life, as well as others, and hope we can continue to grow, challenge and support each other in the future.

*****

Last week I got back in the saddle after 5 days off from my wisdom teeth extraction. I was relieved to see that everything sprung right back with me after taking some time off, and the rest was appreciated (even though it was not addressed that way). I had an IT band scare. That's what happens when I don't do PT for 5 days...I thought I'd screwed myself over again, but Lori promised me it was simply because I hadn't been putting in the work, so I'm back to being fully committed. I never want to feel that pain again so will continue to do what I can to keep it away. 

It was an uneventful week other than that, but hope to continue to put in great work this week.

Goals for this week: 

1) PT everyday (+1 if I run that day) 

2) Re-learn how to swim without a 6 beat kick (which is a swimmer thing) 

A Letter to My Coach (Part 2)

Dear Coach,

I've been wanting to write this for awhile now, and I just didn't know how to phrase the things I wanted to say. Like my last post to you, I wanted to say thank you. I wanted to say thank you because a lot of times my gratitude for what you do for me is lost behind my stubbornness, my injuries and my exhaustion for workouts. This time around though I wanted to thank you for being patient as I adapt to new workout structure, new HR zones and a new form of trust.

I think in order for a relationship to work you have to have immense trust and great communication with that person. The same goes for being in a coach and athlete scenario. First off, the athlete has to trust the process. As you have heard and read, this has been hard for me. Trusting the process which is totally different than the process I had been training on for a year, is hard and frustrating. I didn't understand why you wanted me to run so slowly that I could walk faster. I didn't understand why I couldn't ride side by side with you on a long ride. I didn't understand a lot of things and for that reason, I was really unhappy. But, like a great coach, you began the process of teaching me the methods you believe and coach by, making it easier for me to understand the concepts behind slow running and not riding with the best training partner I've had (I'm still not exactly pleased about that). For you, it's about the HR and the effort you are putting in, not about the pace, and I've learned that if I stick with the HR, the speed will come. So, thank you for communicating with me about the process and keeping me accountable through it, even when I have ridiculous off the chart workouts...

The second part about trust is trusting your coach to know what is best for the athlete both in training and in how your body works. (For everyone who is reading this, you need to know what a phenomenal job Dan does of this). Back in the first month of us working together you pushed me and pushed me to go see Lori Strobl and get my knee fixed. You raved and raved about how spectacular she was and how I needed to go. So I went, and now, months later, I am running free of pain. When I had Achilles pain, you stopped me and we worked out what the pain could be and now I am pain free. Most recently, I had my wisdom teeth out and I have spent four days, as of right now, without anything training wise and you tell me we need to focus on me eating my regular diet and getting full mobility of my jaw back (because I can't open my mouth fully), before I started training anymore. Do I like this response, after I have been cooped up and snowed in to my house for the past four days? Hell no. However, you have yet to lead me astray in my world of injuries. Even though my mouth has nothing to do with workouts, it is still leaving my body in a compromised state and as I know from you, my health is my #1 priority So, I am listening to you and going to focus on my swollen cheek and stiff jaw (but I will still call my Dentist tomorrow morning).

Another part of this trust is sticking to the plan. As you know sometimes I "disregard" the workouts you have written for me, not because I don't feel like doing them, but because...I don't know. Honestly, I don't know the answer to that. In the pool I do it because I want to keep up and my swimmer mentality has trained me that if I do poorly in practice, I'll get bumped from that relay (which happened on a National qualifying relay). I push hard in swimming because that's what I know. In biking and running its gotten better. You've drilled it through my head enough times to know that I need to and when I see my heart rate spike in the slightest amount of see my cadence as being really slow, I'm scared I'm going to disappoint you. And, there is one thing I hate more than disappointing myself, and it's disappointing others.

So, Dan thank you. Thank you for being patient and for teaching me and for sending me those tough love e-mails and texts that scare me into doing what you have written. I'm seeing progress and improvement, although small. I now trust you and your process completely in my triathlon journey. That doesn't mean I'll stop asking you dumb questions, but it means I'll be less stubborn and less hard-headed. I'll put in the work because I know you've got my back.

I will say the one thing I hope we can communicate about my goals and how I truly am going to get down to running 8:00 miles or so. I want to talk to you about my fears and concerns because once you hear them I think you'll have a better understanding of why I push and have that competitiveness.

Thank you for continuing to put up with me and push me and motivate me. You as a coach and athlete inspire me to do great things in my triathlon career.

Thanks, coach!

Base-Recovery Week

I must say by the time base-recovery phase comes around I am loving it. I don't see how much training takes a toll on me until I get a rest day where I go to sleep at 8pm and sleep twelve hours. It's kind of magical how my legs come back and I don't feel so sluggish. This week only consisted of three workouts- Strength and Swim and a Z1 Short Run. Why not many workouts, you ask? Because I got my wisdom teeth taken out, of course!

However, I made a breakthrough with my runs last week (which I didn't post about), that I am very excited for. HR training is challenging and it has been very difficult and frustrating for me to learn, however with my first ever run above one hour last week taught me that I am headed towards the right direction, although still running very slowly.

Dan has been trying to teach me that you have to have this gradual rise in your heart rate opposed to being all over the place (which I had been). Below is of a run I did a month ago. My HR, as seem is all over the place, going up and down all the time.

This run below is my run from Sunday, my most successful HR progression to date. The two large spikes being my 30 second pick ups, which you see I maintained well after. I am learning and I am seeing the process. My biggest question is that of how do I negative split my runs like Meghan and Dan do, and also how do I go from running this slow to running fast, but that is all part of trusting the process even more. 

Wisdom Teeth Removal: 
Over the past couple of months I have had this horrible sensation that my wisdom teeth were coming through, and lone and behold, my top left tooth began breaking it's way through the gum, causing me much pain. I now understand why babies cry when they are teething...it hurts! I went to the dentist for a consultation a few weeks ago and we decided I was going to get it removed. Removal date: January 21, 2016--Base-Recovery Week. Perfect!


I wish I could tell you more about my surgery, but I remember taking my drugs before surgery, sitting down and getting a mask and being told to breathe, then sitting on my couch back at home. My roommate, Emily, says I was talking a lot in the car and was very excited about how many texts and phone calls I received, none of which I remember reading or texting back.

However, having a med student for a roommate is wonderful. She continues to take care of me and tell me when I can take the drugs, continue icing and to swish salt water...and tells me that I can't do anything active, which in turn is kind of great because we have about a foot of snow that needs shoveled and I have been exempted from it, but also means that I can't do workouts or my time trial tomorrow.


Pain Med Nightmares:
I give it the pain meds for these insane and very vivid dreams that I am having at night. Last night, was my first triathlon related nightmare. I was running a full distance ironman and the transition area was a nightmare...more like a maze. All my friends and teammates were finding the exit but I couldn't find my way out. I was stuck and I panicked. I think this dream might have something to do with the fact I am not allowed to work out until I am healed from this surgery. I have been wearing the same clothes since the snow started, and have been on the couch and on my bed the whole time. I am going stir crazy and the thought that everyone else is training while I am not is making my mind think I am going to be behind. But of course, like a good coach, Dan tells me "You're consistent enough. You'll be absolutely fine. Last thing you need is dry sockets."

Training will continue again after I am 'healed,' so once my chipmunk cheek is less swollen and I am able to dig my car out of the snow drift that is currently under, I will be back and working hard. For now, recovery shall continue.

Celiac Disease: 1 Year Later (And How I Still Fuel my Sport)

Excerpt from My Messy Masterpiece, Dated February 9, 2015:

“Remember that time when I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease? (After 5 previous food allergies diagnoses)…So you can see my life has been crazy. Reading labels, convincing myself that I am doing this because I’m healthy, and I was! I joked around with my sister that by the time I was thirty, I would be allergic to every preservative, forcing me to eat totally organic and unprocessed food…I had never thought about what allergy might come next…but it did. For four months I was sick. I was tired, my skin itched and itched and I would scratch until skin came off, I had night sweats, I couldn’t sleep at night, my body ached all the time. It may sound ridiculous, but I thought I had cancer. I went to the doctor and they ran every lab they could think of…Two weeks later I got a phone call. I was devastated. I had celiac disease. How am I supposed to eat no grains with five other preservative allergies? I still can’t tell you the answer.”

Today, January 12, 2016, marks the one year anniversary of my diagnosis of having Celiac Disease, something that shook my world and made my rethink if I could be an athlete based on my nutrition options. I must say that the first few months certainly weren’t easy. I lost a record breaking twelve pounds which I didn’t have to lose in the first place. I skipped meals because most times I just didn’t know what I could eat or was scared to try something new. This was no life for anyone, especially an athlete who was still working out twenty hours a week. I became tired from not fueling myself properly and became very self conscious about my body weight, so I sought out my best friend, also a Celiac friend, and recruited her help in introducing me to the ways of the gluten free lifestyle. Having her and her mother, a Trader Joe’s employee, were my saving graces in my first few months of this lifestyle. I learned the best (and worst) kinds of bread out there, how I cannot eat anything even processed in a wheat factory, how much I love polenta, how Joe-Joes actually resemble something close to an Oreo and how I can still be an endurance athlete while having tremendous misfortune in the nutrition department.

Years ago, there were not nearly as many options as there are today, so my friend grew to only like one or two things, where as me, I got to try a variety of breads and pastas to determine what I like the best. Having been a swimmer my whole life, I was well acquainted with the high protein and high carb diet. My first choice of breakfast was toast. My first choice of lunch was a sandwich on delicious homemade bread, and my choice of dinner was pasta and meatballs with a side of my best friend Claire’s homemade French bread. I ate gluten all the time and I don’t think I realized that until it was taken away from me. So, I had to learn that my first choice of breakfast was eggs and protein smoothie, for lunch I had deconstructed tuna salad or ham sandwich without the bread with a side of fruit, and for dinner I had a large portion of protein with copious amounts of rice and vegetables. That lifestyle got old as that was the only thing I ever ate, so I knew I had to reach out and look for how I could continue to live the high protein and high carb diet.

Don’t get your hopes up, I’m still looking. I can nail the high protein one to a tee, but the high carb is something I still struggle with simply because it is so pricey. Gluten free lifestyles are so expensive, especially for the young working professional with not large amounts of money. So, rice is my solution. Lots and lots of rice. I buy gluten free bread about once a month and love it when my parents buy me gluten free pasta or quinoa because that stuff is upwards to $5 a box.

I’m not going to lie and say that my life as a gluten free athlete is 100% solved, but it is so much better than before. I have a healthy community of those who continue to help me through the uncertainties and the recipe trying, I have a better understanding of what I need to look for in labels when it is unclear whether it says gluten free or not and I have gained ten of those twelve pounds back. I don’t complete workouts if I know I don’t have sufficient nutrition in my body and sometimes I will be five minutes late to work if it means I have to cook one more egg so that I can get my calories back in. I will say the greatest resource to me thus far has been the wondrous world of Pinterest. From a procrastination tool, and a way to plan my future life, to a resource I rely on thoroughly, it has provided numerous amounts of recipes and education for a newbie, like me, to Celiac Disease.

So what does the lifestyle of an endurance triathlete with six food allergies look like (I only chose my favorites, this is not the whole list):

Breakfasts:

Cheesy Sausage Quiche

Oatmeal Muffins 

Ham Cheese and Quinoa Cups

Cheesy Breakfast Casserole

Famous Banana Bites that have swept the triathlon world (My own creation)

 

Snacks:

Banana Bites

LaraBars

Easy Potato Skins

 

Lunch:

Leftovers from Dinner

Made Ahead Chicken, Potatoes and Veggies

Quinoa Veggie “Fried Rice”

Spaghetti Squash with Bacon, Spinach and Goat Cheese

 

Dinner:

Honey Terriyaki Chicken

Melt in Your Mouth Pot Roast

Cilantro Chicken Burrito Bowl

Chicken Tortilla Soup

 

Training Nutrition:

Infinit Salted Caramel No Protein Added Formula

 

So one year later I’m healthier when dealing with this diagnosis, but I’m not perfect. I still seek out nutrition products and recipes that can fuel what I do both before, during and after. I’m always up for breaking the stereotype of gluten free products only ever tasting like cardboard. I didn’t choose this lifestyle, so I should be able to at least choose what I am eating and make sure that it’s delicious and can keep up with my training.  

Goals of the Season

I've never been open about sharing my goals; I think it's about fear of letting others down if I make it public. If it's just me or me and my coach knowing, it's less people. However, there are bonuses to people knowing, such as accountability and encouragement. So, I'm going to do something a little different and share my goals with you.

1. Get Healthy
This may seem vague, but I have two subsections to this one.
      a) Knee and Achilles- I'm still diligent about my Physical Therapy and working with Lori and Dan. I'm seeing definite improvements but I want to be healthy and have a great season that involves me running.
      b) Nutrition has always been hard and it's getting more challenging with the more things I'm allergic to. Eating proper foods to fuel my sport is hard by having so many allergies makes it that much more challenging. I frequently find myself underweight and having to eat A LOT to bump myself up. My goal is to remain a healthy weight by eating healthy, nutritious and good food for the amount of working out I do.

2. Run a 10K Without Stopping 
This may seem small, but I have never done this...and I'm going for a 70.3 (or 3). This past season was supposed to be my season where I competed in my first ever Olympic distance triathlon. It was my first Olympic distance aqua bike, so that leaves me still with never having run a 10k. It's the small things.

3. Run faster than a 1:50 half marathon 
This is an 8:20 pace or faster. This is hard to to figure out whether it's obtainable or not because of where I am in running, but I was taught to reach high for your dreams even if it takes years.

4. Sub 2:38 Bike Split for 56 Miles
At Timberman this past season, I rode a low 2:50, so on the right course, I should be able to do this.

5. Work on My Stubbornness and Trust the Process
Dan has Kona under his belt--what do I have to prove? He clearly knows what he is talking about --trust him and don't be so defensive or fail to accept the changes he makes in my plan. I've been stubborn my whole life, it's a gene that I definitely got from my grandfather. It's not something I'm proud of and something I continue to struggle with and learn from. I'm stubborn and get defensive when my views on how I currently do something needs to be altered. However, I just had a breakthrough in my running and truly feel that I'm getting there and it's because I'm trusting the process.

Summary
Now, I'm telling you these not because I want you tracking and analyzing my races, but because I want you to know that these are my goals. I won't try extra hard to make these happen, especially when my training isn't about times and paces, more about heart rate. Dan tells me they will come with time. My goals are directly related to me trusting the process. Trust the process and put in the work and success and goals will come. For the ones I can control, I need to be more confident in my coach and trust him that he won't lead me astray. When this happens, there will be less stubbornness and more success.