Rest & Test Week #2: Rev3 Williamsburg Olympic

This Block

Triathlon is a big part of who I am and historically the sport which I do carries a lot of value in my life. I'm dedicated, I'm determined and I'm driven. I compete and train hard because I love it, but also because it fuelsmy life outside of that, as well. It's a stress relief, its a time management placer and it's a way for me to stay motivated in my academic life, as well. It's statistically proven that in season athletes perform better in season than athletes out of season. This remains to be true about my life even after college. This block was a big struggle for me. I chose to do things for me and not triathlon. I chose to work on relationships over doing PPTs on Sundays and even my long rides. I chose to sleep the week after Eagleman, which my body clearly needed, instead of doing recovery workouts. I chose to travel and do things that made me happy but it ultimately made me unhappy. Because I was slacking in workouts, my grades dropped a little, and because I wasn't working out too much, I wasn't sleeping great, which obviously you can see made a viscous cycle. I love the relationships, and want to continue to build them, but I need to do better this block in finding that balance of relationships and fun to training and fun to homework and good scores. (If anyone wants to learn about time management and how a full time student has time to work full time with two part time jobs and train for triathlons, while still having a social life, let me know! I'm free to teach you all about my color coding schedule ways!)

Rest & Test Week
Once again, the week leading up to my race was both rest and test week. Although this is great for the academic tests, I had so much stress surrounding the week. I was off work on Monday, July 4, which left me 3 days to work 30 hours. So, I worked 10 hour shifts everyday with an exam after work. My body and my mind were exhausted and then there was the thought of my boyfriend meeting my parents that weekend, as well. No pressure, right? With all of that being said, I finished my exams on Friday before my race and had a great ten hour sleep. Having my parents in town was so great-we stayed a condo type resort where my best friend, Rachel, and I got out own bedroom and bathroom then had a large living room and kitchen...20 minutes from race site.

Saturday
Julie and I got the the race site at 10:30a.m. to get our swim and bike rides in before checking in at the expo. In waiting for her to be done with pro things, I hopped in a pair of Normatec boots and recovered the right way. It was a HOT day, so I tried my best to stay out of the sun and in the shade. When completed at the expo, we headed back to our condo and slept, played games and had all gluten free chicken parmesan for dinner.

Race Morning
I strayed from my usual banana bites and banana for breakfast just because I didn't have any. Instead had three scrambled eggs and one piece  of cinnamon raisin bread. Got to transition to pump air into my tires, went for a quick ride and run and a long swim in the overly warm, fast current water.

Swim:16:37
The water was hot but the current was crazy fast, allowing me to have the 6th overall woman swim time, and got to be the second woman out of the water in my division. Despite the hot water, the swim went pretty well for me. I found some feet (!!!) to hang on to for the first five minutes, then fell off (she beat me out of the water by 1:04). Due to the current, the buoys were moving all over the place, so when I came to one of the turn buoys, I was very confused to why all the volunteers were telling me to go around them and not the turn buoy. I then spent the rest of the swim thinking I was going to get DQed for not going around the bouy...in the end it all worked out.

T1: 1:18
Dan's mantra about transitions "Think slow, act fast" worked very well in this transition. I got out of the water, heard my friends cheering for me and put my head down and kept going to transition. I realized that one thing I forgot to do in transition before the race was un-velcro my bike shoes. Forgetting this meant I had to spend that time to do it in transition before putting them on my feet. Other than that, it was a good, quick transition.

Bike: 1:19:32

Look at those leg muscles! 

The first several miles of the bike were me weaving in and out of people in front of me, which I have grown accustomed to over the past few months. After the large amounts of people came the one middle aged man who hated me passing him. I think a lot of women have had this problem in races. You start approaching a slower cyclist in front of you, so you go around them and settle in after passing. He then, immediately goes around you and slams on his brakes, so you go around him again, faster this time trying to shed him off of your trail, but he immediately goes around you again and slams on the brakes. Dude, I'm clearly faster than you, please just let me ride in peace...and after two miles of this nonsense, he finally lets me. Just as Dan promised, I was alone after that. I didn't see people at all, I was just in my tucked aero position going at it. I felt good, my legs felt fresh and like they could go on for another 40K.

T2: 0:43
Quick transition! I attempted and successfully completed a flying dismount for the first time ever. I don't think I thought about it, but as that line approached closer and closer to dismount, I just went for it. Glad I did, because it sped things up for me! Shoes were off, shoes were on and I put my visor and number belt on while running out of transition.

Run: 1:01:02

Hauling out of transition

I flew out of transition and up that hill get go, which may have contributed to my fail at the end of the run. It was hot but not as hot as Eagleman so I knew I could do better. Having this be my first ever 10k outside of training, I was a little nervous for it, but I knew I wanted that podium spot. I know where I am during race, I was second out of the water, second back from bike, so all I had to do was hang on enough to get that spot. In the past, my races have always been swim and bike and lose it on the run. That's what happened a bit at this race, unfortunately. After mile 3, I got a cramp in my left side, so I held on to that while still running. At mile 4.5, I had double cramps in both of my sides and I was hurting. I knew my pace had slowed down a lot and around then, another girl passed me in my age group. It was great having all the Endorphin people around, as it was a team race, so I got good lucks and keep moving, words of encouragement. I could hear my friends when I came around the corner after the hill (I think), but at that point I was trying not to cry because everything inside of me hurt. 500meters left until the finish and one more girl passed me, but I had nothing left. My heart rate was through the roof and I couldn't get my body to move any quicker.

Overall: 2:39:12 (4th/5th?? in AG)
I crossed the finish line emotionless but welcomed the hug from Ashley once I made it! It wasn't the pain of Eagleman but it was the pain o of disappointment. Despite the disappointment, I was surrounded by my friends and family who had come and cheered for me, which always makes the day better. Looking forward, I know that I have more work to do and I get another shot at it next month at Rev3 Poconos.

Next Block:
The next block after this is going to be me recommitting myself to the equal balance of all the things I love in my life, even if that means pulling off the freeway on a roadtrip and doing a trainer workout because you need to get one in, or waking up form a night out and going for a 7 mile training run where you PR your 10k. Life and training is all about balance, passion and time management. Once you figure out those three, you're looking pretty good. Oh! And I'm in the home stretch of school! Of course my final exams are the week of Rev3 Poconos, but then I get a 3 week break!

I also get the chance to cheer on Meghan at Ironman Lake Placid, which will be an amazing experience! I am so proud of all of her hard work over the past several months and can't wait to see her put it all together for an Ironman!

Rest & Test Week: Eagleman 70.3

The block leading up to Eagleman, my debut 70.3 race, was intense! I started school, I started heat acclimation training in Florida and I started my summer work schedule...and I felt like I was training the most I had ever trained.

Vacation to Florida

The great tan lines provided by training
in the sun in Florida!

Heat acclimation training began the day after Kinetic Sprint last month, when I headed down to Florida for a week's vacation. I was told I had to train in the heat of the day to get used to the heat and humidity that Eagleman would bring. So, I did, and it was brutal. On top of the brutal heat came the start of school. Let me tell you, taking two years off of school and going back is very challenging, especially when you're on vacation and don't want to think about anything other than relaxing. My vacation was packed full of good meals, laying out by the pool, studying and training and experiencing how brutal the sun can be if not properly hydrated...there was one run that I ended up cutting short because I face planted into my pool because I couldn't go on. I think it was for this early heat acclimation training that made me keep going at Eagleman. 

Veterinary Technology School

So I'm back in school and sometimes I feel like I'm drowning because I forgot what it's like to be a student after taking two years off. I'm taking a full load of four classes this semester, on top of working full time and training loads. But if you know me well, you know that me without a full plate, is just not me. Keeping a sport and going to school keeps my time management superb and really focuses me on what I need to get done. However, with the start of school came more skipped workouts then I have ever had in the past. Dan understands it though, he understands school and being super busy and he tells me to do the best that I can, so I make my cutoff 8pm. If my workouts aren't completed by then, I scrap it or end the workout then because I have to get in at least two hours of homework every night to stay on top of things. Time management is the key to my life.

So the week of Eagleman was also test week in school. Thus, rest & test week. I panicked when I first thought of this because races come with a lot of stress with me and being not great at tests also comes with a lot of stress, so I didn't know how well that week would go. However, it worked perfectly and I can't wait for next month when it happens again for Williamsburg. With the rest of the race came the necessary time to study and take my tests 

Eagleman 70.3 

This is the real reason you are reading my blog, isn't it? You want to read all about the epic heat we all had to endure and how that translated into our races on Sunday. Well, I'll gladly tell you about my debut to the 70.3 world.

Pre-Race

Dan, Meghan and I drove down to Cambridge on Friday night after work and had a great (but terribly serviced) dinner before heading to bed. Saturday morning we got an early start to the day and headed to the race site for check in and a swim. It hadn't been declared yet whether the race would be wetsuit legal or not, but seeing how Dan's and my shake-out swim went, we were crossing our fingers for wetsuit illegal, while Meghan and Brian were hoping were wetsuit legal. For the non swimmers out there, a wetsuit provides a HUGE advantage as it helps floating and body positioning in the water, two things that swimmers already possess.

Surprised Coach!

After our swim, we went and checked in, and got a quick shake-out ride in. That ride was the best I felt in a long time and it made me really look forward to the bike portion of the race. I'm glad that I went on that ride because I always forget how it feels to have race wheels on, and with the wind, I could certainly feel myself being pushed...

Back to the hotel for packing and race prep. We did yoga, physical therapy and played cards for about 4 hours while salt loading which would help us retain water as it got hotter and hotter outside on race morning.

GRN MCHN Eagleman athletes reppin' the new kit

Oh, and almost forgot the best part: surprising our amazing coach with the GRN MCHN kits! Meghan and I began working on them in October of 2015 and after a long process were finally got them and surprised Dan with them! It was a pretty awesome reveal and he had no idea that it was happening. We want to represent him and his coaching and all the awesome things he does for us.





Swim (29:03)
Sometimes I think that I'll be fine before a swim race, but always, without fail, I get nervous. It's my strongest leg, but I still got nervous before because thoughts of letting myself down and not being happy with my times came through my mind. We entered the water for our in water start and all the girls lines up between the buoys. I stood in front with one of the relay men who explained the course to me and a few other girls. I really love the comradery of the sport because all the girls in my wave were wishing each other luck and apologies for the possibility of kicking each other in the face when we went off.

The gun went off and we were off. I thought that the guy I was talking to would be a good one to hang onto, but within the first 15 seconds I knew I was out of my league. I looked right and left and saw no one around so I knew I was alone in this battle. Within minutes I hit the men's wave in front of us and began weaving my way in and out around them trying my best not to kick them, but took a few kicks to the stomach, as well. Sighting was so much easier for me than kinetic last month. The buoys were bigger and brighter and I knew exactly where I was going. 

Soon there were four different color caps around me and it was a battle to get where I wanted to go, so that meant swimming over some people. Sorry! I did get cursed at twice. One section of the rectangle was choppy but after turning the corner, it was smooth sailing from there. My shoulder started to cramp up and I saw another green cap swimming past me, so I stayed on her feet for the remainder of the swim...she beat me out of the water by 4 seconds. I was second AG out of the water.

Overall I'm happy with the swim, but it's not my best work. Wetsuits freak me out and I think that was a big constricting matter on my big swimmer shoulders, but I've got time to improve!

Transition 1 (2:34)
Wetsuit strippers are my heroes! They made that transition so much easier than my previous races. I did my best to run in to my bike, but the swim took a lot more out of me than I thought, so I did a powerwalk over to my bike and got my things out. Meghan and I were in bad places in transition because we had a far way to go with our bike before we got out, but I think I did the "think slow, act fast" thing pretty well.

Bike (2:48:54) 
Having completed only one half distance aquabike, I knew that this bike wasn't going to be a problem. I'd trained hard and for many hours on the bike and I was prepared for the heat I would face while on the bike. My goal for the bike was to go sub 2:45, and granted the conditions of the race with the wind and the heat, 2:48 is not bad.

Everyone said that the course was windy, but I didn't feel the wind until the last 8 miles. From get go I put my head down and I just rode it on out. My heart rate coming off the swim was 175 and it remained that high (minus 6 bpm) the whole ride. I tried to lower it by breathing, but slowing my legs down, but nothing helped, I decided it was a lost caused due to the heat.

I was passing people like crazy and they were cheering me on as I went, sometimes I looked down and saw my speed at 25mph...sooo fast!

My nutrition in the early stages of the bike was a bust. Within the first 40 minutes I had already consumed 1.5 of my 3 bottles of Infinit. Typically I don't like to grab from aid stations but I did the first two just to get water in me because clearly I needed it after that swim. The next two aid stations I flew by without even lifting my head.

At one point in the race I was about to make a turn and a policeman was standing there screaming at me to stop. I stopped and clipped out because an ambulance was speeding down the road and was going to hit me if I hadn't of stopped. I was pissed and was very blunt about that, but after the ambulance passed I pushed out a mega wattage of 628 to get back going...I regretted that wattage about 2 minutes later.

Those last 8 miles though....sufferfest on the bike started. I was going 25 mph when I turned the corner and hit that wind and then I noticed my wattage spike and my speed immediately drop to 12 mph. A man passed me and said "Mother nature is finally making us work. We've gotta work hard these last 8," and he was certainly right about that. I'm a lightweight person, and when you have headwind and crosswinds coming at you at 25mph, I was swaying all over the place. For the first time the whole race, I got out of aero just so I wouldn't blow into the next lane of traffic. I pushed and pulled my feet and waiting for the wind to change and finally it did with 3 miles left.

It was really challenging seeing all the runners who were already out on the course. I knew that I was going to spend a long time out there and was scared that I would be left out there due to the amount of people that were on the course when I passed them on my bike. I saw my sister and cheered her on and she gave me a thumbs up as we went our different directions.

Overall, I'm happy. For the wind and the heat, I pulled off a great ride. Although not as quick as I wanted, it was 3 minutes faster than Timberman last year!

Transition 2 (1:43) 
I came in fast to transition and did what I needed to do. Re-racked bike, helmet, threw my shoes on and grabbed the things I could put on on my way out. I stopped for about 20 seconds at a volunteer so she could spray my back with sunscreen (I didn't get burned), and then I was off.

Run (2:34:32)
Crap it was hot! I started out just going what my legs could ta
ke me and at mile three I saw my sister, Julie Patterson, who was at mile 10...she was walking. I cheered for her to keep going and she looked at me and said "You'll have a better run split that me this race." Well, that's what I wanted to hear from my pro sister. If she was having a hard time, what was this going to be like for me?

Dan had told me to stop and walk through all the aid stations and I wasn't entirely happy about that. My thought was that if I stopped and walked, I wouldn't be able to start running again. I was wrong. My body was happy to have that time to stop and walk and gather what I needed before going again. I was fueling on Base Salt and Infinit in a flask. When I could get to an aid station, I would take a shot of the Infinit and wash it down with water before grabbing water to dump on my head and ice to dump down my sports bra. The aid stations are what I began to live for on that run.

After a few more miles I crossed paths with Dan and Joe Rosati and I gave them a thumbs down to vocalize how I was feeling at that moment...like s**t. Dan said something like "this heat sucks" and I nodded and kept going. Between miles 4-7 my knee hurt real bad and I had a lot of walking. In that moment of walking I began crying thinking that I was letting myself and Dan down and I would be the last person out on the course because I was walking so slowly, but with the encouragement of the others running past me, I started my "Ironman shuffle" again.

At mile 9 I ran into this gentleman who was packing his shirt with bags of ice and he offered me a plastic bag which I gladly accepted and filled with ice to keep down my shirt. That bag alone lowered my HR by 11bpm. At mile 10 I realized I had run 2 miles more than I ever had and my legs were still moving beneath me. I found a 16 year old on the course and found out that he was a high school swimmer who drew the short straw (the run) for his family relay. We ran the rest of the race together.

So many people were stopping around us and I was giving what I could to them in terms of inspiration and motivation to keep them going because in that moment, I needed someone to do the same for me. I told Sterling (16 year old) that I was fading and that he should go in front of me as I didn't want to hold him back. He looked at me and told me that we were going to finish thing together and he would slow down for me. Sterling was my saving grace on the last 5k of that run and I couldn't have made it without it.

Pain, exhaustion and heat were fighting my body but when we saw that finish line we looked at each other and said, "Let's go" and we both exerted what we had left to the finish line. I gave him a big hug before the waterworks began.

Team GRN MCHN (missing Josh)

I started hysterically crying when I got to the water dump station, where volunteers were dumping water on athletes to cool them down. I think my body was in shock by the cold and realizing how hot I was. I bent over and medical ran right up to me asking if I was okay. I cried and said that I was hot and the next thing I know I had a volunteer with a hose just spraying my back off. Medical wouldn't let me go until I had someone to take me, but Dan was right there for me. He gave me a big hug and told me great job and he was proud of me....I was still crying. I remember him asking if I needed food or water and I said I needed to cool off so I did...in the river.

Looking back, that run pushed me in ways that I didn't think were possible. I hurt in ways that I'd never felt and I experienced a heat that I'd never experienced, despite the hours of sauna and Florida training time. All of that being said, I made it. Having never run a half marathon, and having been injured for such a long time last year and being able to complete that after being out in the sun for more than 3 hours is pretty amazing and I am blessed to have been able to do it. With the help of my friends, family and coach, I not only completed my first ever half ironman, I did it in sub 6 hours and got 7th in my age group!

Final Time: 5:56:46

So much exhaustion...I couldn't stay awake even if I was trying

Aftermath
I honestly don't think I have ever experienced such awful pain in my life before....and that pain continued for days after. The race also came with extreme dehydration and exhaustion, things that prevented me from doing my workouts this week after. I couldn't go into work on Monday, the day after the race, because my urine showed that something was clearly wrong and I should've gotten an IV drip to rehydrate myself; instead I just drank gallons of water. I felt like a slacker for skipping so many workouts but Dan agreed that it would be better for me to get rest then burn up the small amounts of energy that I have.

Although hot and miserable, I can't wait for my next 70.3. Between now and then I have to get things right with my knee again, and run two Olympic distances, have another three sets of exams and then have a great 70.3 amongst the tallest rollercoasters in the world at Rev3 Cedar Point. Thank you for all the support and best wishes, I certainly couldn't do what I do without all of you! 

#nomoreaquabike : Kinetic Sprint Triathlon

Heading into my first triathlon (fully including the running) in about 4 years was a little nerve racking, but I knew from the block before leading up to it, I was well underway of being great out there. My block contained the start of hill bounders, a strength workout that involves bounding up a very large hill over and over again, longer runs and longer rides, and the start of open water swimming.

Lake Anna Field Trip

Swim: I remember there was a point not too long about where I doubted whether I would ever be "fast" again but I am happy to say that those doubts are gone. Granted I will never be swimmer "fast" again, but I am pulling some good solid steady and resistance workouts throughout the week. This block came with the start of open water swimming, something that I am not the biggest fan of. When I can see the bottom of the body of water I panic and when I can't see the bottom of the body of water, I panic, so it's really just a lose lose. Meghan and I told a tri field trip out to Lake Anna one Monday after work and it was our chance to acclimate to the water in which we would be swimming in and get comfortable. I for sure got more comfortable and successfully made it through the whole workout without any panic attacks!

Photo Credit: Coach

Bike: This block came with a lot of bonks and nutrition fails while determining what I could possibly eat that is safe and will fuel me well. Long rides got dangerously close to bonks until I stopped to get snickers bars and the revelation that I was out of neutral position. My long rides have been going okay. I say just okay because my biggest area for work-on is my cadence. Dan tells us that we have to keep a cadence of 90+rpms on the bike and my long rides have been averaging somewhere in the high 70rpms. Not great...and I have really been pushing and trying to fix that but Dan says it takes 1-2 weeks to become a thing. On the trainer I am able to hit that high cadence but when I hit the road I find that I simply cannot. It feels like, although my fit are clipped into the pedals, that if I spin my legs to that kind of cadence, they will slip off and I'll go flying. However, I will continue to work on it because I understand the importance of keeping a high cadence especially before a run and trying to get those run legs ready to rock. I've been doing my PPT hill sprints by myself the past few weeks, so having Meghan and Dan be there with me the last time before my race was great. I always love have company in workouts as they make them go by faster or create them to be more tolerable. Dan is teaching me a lot about my power wattage and what I need to try and hold. While focusing on power has allowed me to get more consistent and has stopped the crazy wattage of burning myself out. I feel that to be successful on the bike I have to focus on the triangle of factors: HR, cadence and power. It'll come along,

Run: I have to say how absolutely blown away I am of my progress made here during this block! In the early stages of training, I was high in doubts that I could ever really understand this whole zone thing and how going slow would actually turn into fast, but I'm a believer. I had a big breakthrough this block with all my runs, especially my long runs! I was finally able to take it out slow and descend my pace throughout and get progressively faster to the point of negative splitting my runs. I had one Sunday where I had long run, PPTs, long run. I was thinking that was pure madness and I was not looking forward to it, but I actually ended up loving it and had run a total of 11 miles that day: more than I had ever run prior which gave me a new sense of accomplishment. My run is coming along more and more everyday and I had a big revelation during this block: I actually enjoy and look forward to running, something I never thought I would say. When I thought triathlon, I always thought swim and bike (AWESOME) and run (torture), but now I can see all three sports together and as something I love doing. 

Knee: I would love to say that my knee has been great and hasn't been giving me problems, but everything cannot be great all the time. During my last long ride I developed this debilitating pain in my bad knee and after e-mailing Lori Strobl (my PT) about it, we determined I was out of neutral position which was in turn hurting my bike fit position, therefore the knee pain. I panicked, this was one week before my race, however, she let me know of things I had to do to get back into neutral and I was extra diligent about getting the work done to get my knee under control, and I think I did! 

Kinetic Sprint Triathlon: 1:30.31 

Pre-Race: Despite Coach's wishes, I was a sherpa cheerleader for Meghan and Dan's kinetic half race the day before my race. It was hot, it was long and it was not the great resting day before the race as he wanted me to have, however, I did everything in my power to make it restful. Instead of biking in between cheering locations, we drove. Instead of standing and cheering, we had lawn chairs, and when I got tired and hot, I hung up a hammock in the shade and took a nap. It was great and I felt that watching the race is what I needed to pump myself up before my race. 

Morning of, I got up, packed up the little I still had left, did some physical therapy and made breakfast. Food before my races are always a battle; I was able to get down three pancakes and 2 scrambled eggs while sipping Infinit. I packed up the car and off I went to the race site! 

Swim: 12:12 

Honestly, there was nothing about this swim that was good. The wind created for a very choppy water swim, which made it very hard to breathe and sight. I ended up going off course a  little as I just couldn't see anything over the waves from the wind and the safety boats taking people out of the water. Dan tells me to shut my legs down and have long catch-up strokes, but I felt like I needed a bit more kick to power over the waves. I was also supposed to find someone to swim with and draft off of. I clearly need to work on this more, because I let two white caps pass me and I ended up swimming solo overtop of people and getting kick every which way. 

I was so glad to get out of the water and make it to transition. 

T1: 2:26 

"Think slow, act fast" is Dan's mantra when it comes to transition. I tried this, but without the use of wetsuit strippers, the removal of my wetsuit was very challenging and I found myself falling to the group when I tried. After the lengthy process, I was able to quickly get what I needed and bolt out of there. 

Bike: 49:06

A sprint course bike is fast and short...two things I didn't really feel prepared for, but I tried to race it as close to Dan's race strategy as I could. In the past I have hammered up hills and taken the down hills as easy, but he wanted me to really watch my power and make sure that there were no massive spikes, which meant I would ride up hills going slow while getting passed by loads of people. It was definitely a course that I was not prepared for. I've been training flat courses, so my legs were in shock from the hills, but I did the best I could. About halfway through I did throw up. I wasn't sure whether it was from nutrition or the quantity of water that I had taken in from the swim.  Looking at the stats now, though, I see that I raced I pretty solid race despite the hills and how I felt. Cadence can for sure be higher, but at least I got it out of the 70s! Power was higher than my training rides and I didn't have any absurd spikes for the hills...

T2: 1:02 

Helmet and shoes off. Shoes and visor and race belt on and off I went. 

Run: 25:44

Mile 1: 8:43 

I got out of transition and up a giant hill I went. Since the bike was so cold and windy, I had no sensation of my feet or really my legs for that matter. I was vaguely aware that I was moving and I honestly thought I was going 10:00/mile pace up the hill. The top of the hill marked one mile and I was pleasantly surprised with how quick I ran. It didn't feel bad. I tried to zone out all of the junior and HPT Endorphin girls passing me. My old triathlon self would've wanted to catch up with them, but I wanted to stick with Dan's plan as much as I could, so I focused simply on me and what I had to accomplish on that run. 

Mile 2: 8:22 

This was the most flat the run course got and I finally regained some feeling in my legs. Dan said that he wanted me to take the water stops slower, but I didn't. I felt that if I were to take them slower or stop and get what I needed, I wouldn't start moving again. I made sure I shouted what I needed before I got there and the volunteers always got the water into my hand. I sipped a bit but it was more to flush my mouth out of the throw up taste. 

Mile 3: 7:45

I love me some down hills and this whole mile was downhill. I still took it in control not letting my legs get ahead of me but a nice and solid run. Before entering the woods to the finish line, I saw these two greyhound dogs that I had my eye on all day before and I shouted to the owners, "I love your dogs, they kept me company yesterday." The owners laughed and told me I had 800meters to the finish. I kicked it into turbo drive and passed 3 people in the woods before the finish line. Michael and Parker of Endorphin were running up along the path to cheer and they cheered for me and told me I looked great, so I pushed as much as I could with the finish line in sight. 

Overall: 2nd in 25-29

I'm not wildly happy with my swim and bike performance, but I am very pleased with my run. Dan says that if my run was that good, I raced well, but maybe I'm just too hard on myself having a great aquabike season last season. I got second in my age group, and was 36 seconds away from getting first. I was the 18th woman overall and 103 overall. I saw things that I can improve on and had some surprises along the way (such as my run). Regardless of how I thought I did, it was a great first race and put that competitiveness back in me for the rest of the season. I look forward to Eagleman and my first ever half in 4 weeks! I, of course, couldn't do any of this without my support of my training partners, family, and coach! More to learn, more to grow! Giddy up! 

Test Week: Anxiety, Sacrifices and Weddings

The week of any test or race is supposed to be filled with lots of rest, recovery and sleep, three things I did not receive at all. My 8K TT was scheduled for Sunday and I was leaving for Chicago, to be in my best friends wedding, on Thursday night. So while I tried my best to get the rest, recovery and sleep I needed before the weekend rolled around, the uncontrollables in life took over and made this week high in anxiety and stress, however, as seen by my test results, I think its safe to say that even with the uncontrollables, I was still able to throw down a great run. 

This week was all about making sacrifices, ("an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important of worth"). This week's sacrifices were: 

1) Gave up my chance to swim in the gorgeous Northwestern University pool and dominate my 400 TT swim for the opportunity to have girl chat and cuddle time.

• I love my friends. I also love my sleep and my sport. But how often do I get to spend time with my friends who live hundreds of miles away from me? So although I was crabby because I was up so late, I welcomed the opportunity to talk with my friends, even if that meant I got 5 hours of sleep and no swim in a pretty and cold pool.

2) Gave up alcohol the weekend of my best friends wedding so that I could stay hydrated and attempt to keep HR down for my Test. 

Cutting of the cake 

• After seeing what happens to my HR after drinking alcohol, I opted to give up alcohol for the weekend for my race on Sunday. That meant I sacrificed toasting a beverage at my best friends wedding but left me drinking loads of water at the bar that night. 

3) Sleep. Coach probably hates me for this one because sleep is a principle that GRN MCHN athletes follow.

• I do everything in my power to get between 7.5-8.5 hours a night because with the amount of training I do, the nightly recovery is so important!! The first night I was in Chicago, I got 5 hours of sleep. The second night I got 6 hours, but thankfully on the night before my 8k I got 8, however, that's not the rest I needed going in this TT. 

So those are the sacrifices I've had to make this week, but what about the anxiety?

For those of you who don't know, I suffer from anxiety and unfortunately get anxiety attacks when my triggers make themselves known in my life. In the nine days leading up to my test, I had two anxiety attacks, something I rarely only ever have once every two months or so. When I have one of these attacks, it's debilitating and so emotionally and physically exhausting that I lose the much needed rest that comes with rest week. Thankfully I was able to take a personal day and make up for some of that much needed rest before heading to Chicago for the weekend. 

Shenanigans in the car before the wedding

Another aspect of the anxiety has been the elimination of all things lotion and body wash. As you are probably all well aware, I have tons of allergies, but all of which are food or medicine. The past two weeks, I have identified that I am allergic to something that I put on my skin whether be body wash or lotion. I have been reacting in forms of hives, so I have now eliminated all of it. 

So clearly the time leading up to my test was ROUGH! However, with the help of my sister-in-law, Cait, I was able to PR by 1 minute in my 8K. 

8K Test 

Opposed to starting the run in the morning, to simulate a typical race morning, I opted to sleep in and go to brunch with my family for my dad's birthday. I was scared to even eat at brunch because lately my stomach hasn't been agreeing with things I eat before runs, however, chowed down on half a salad and a full bag of pretzels. 
I did a solid 30-40 minutes of PT before going out and running. Cait and I ran out to the lake (a warmup of only 5 minutes) before starting the test. 

First Mile: 8:19 
Last test I took it out WAY too fast so I wanted to try and slow it down. I wouldn't of been able to on my own, but Cait kept telling met hat I was going faster than I thought and I had to slow down. I felt great, I could just go at that pace. 

Second Mile: 8:25
Still feeling great. Cait asked if I ever talk while I run. I laughed. No, when my HR at BSE, there is not a chance that I can talk. I can formulate words, but no sentences, so she did all the talking. Still feeling pretty good at this point. 

Third Mile: 8:33 
I knew I was slowing down because my Garmin bings every time I hit a mile, but I continued to push and get after all the people who were out running. I would pick a person out in the crowd ahead of me and tell myself to push until I got to that person, but once I got there, I would tell myself to push until the next person and so on. 

Fourth Mile: 8:47
All hell broke loose and my body hurt like hell. Dan tells me that if you don't hurt in an 8k, you're not doing it right, but this mile certainly proved that I was doing it right. It felt as though I had smashed into a brick wall and was failing to break through it. 

Fifth Mile: 8:24 
There was a blonde girl running probably 25 yards in front of me. I set my eyes on her. It was the last mile so I dug deep and I pushed through that brick wall and I caught that girl in the last 20 seconds of my run. 

Final Time: 42:38 
Overall, lightyears better than my last test and although I did't break the 8:00 barrier like in my last one, I can see tremendous progress and I can feel it, too! I paced it great, there were no dips in HR like last month and it was a well raced test. 

Final Thoughts:
My first race, although a sprint, is in less than a month and I am feeling pretty good! I'm feeling great about my run which I've never said before. I'll feel great about my swim once I can get myself into some open water and the bike will come with time. Dan continues to be really supportive and tough love like when I need him to be. Lately, it's been a lot of positive feedback, which honestly, I haven't been used to, but it motivates me to keep the great work up and strive to be better. 

I've finally reached build phase, and am already in shock with some of the workouts he has me doing but I know his methods will get me to good places, so keep on trusting, keep on believing and keep on pushing. I'm growing and loving the sport more and more everyday. 

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)