Nautica South Beach Race!

Whew! No crashing, but a solid race! I am thankful to have another race under my belt since Sarasota where I had a fall on the bike. Nautica was run very well. I really like this race venue! It was fun to have Kattie and AD around racing too.
Before heading down to Miami, Ross and I stayed up in Ft. Lauderdale for a couple of nights. We got to swim at the International Hall of Fame Pool again. It is fun to do some long course swimming there. I also rode up in Boca Raton-there was a great stretch of road along the beach that worked great for pre-race riding (Aron from Village Bike Shop gave us the recommendation to ride there--thanks Aron!). It felt SOOOO nice to be outdoors riding...and to be hot! We don't know that feeling yet up here in Michigan. 2 nights before the race we headed down to Miami and stayed a couple blocks away from Southbeach. Miami sure is a hoppin' place. I don't know if it is ever quiet around there! It is even tricky trying to find a place to run at 4:15 in the morning for race warm ups. I mean seriously, the sidewalks are not clear this early in the morning-we have to find streets that just have shops and are closed for the night to be out of the way of people. Kinda crazy! We get some funny looks walking around in running and biking gear at this time of morning...haha.
Anyway, I was glad to have an early morning race so I could try out my pre-race morning routine again. I added in my Generation UCAN for my pre-race meal and that worked GREAT. It was really easy to get down quickly (it can be hard to eat sometimes when I am nervous!). So I liked that.
It was definitely breezing race morning and this made me nervous for the swim! gulp. I wasn't sure how much to warm up in the waves, but I got a good feel and told those waves what was up and got ready to go! We didn't start with the men this time-last year we did. The count down happened and I ran into the water quickly and had a really odd dive into the water--oops--there was a quick drop off. I saw that I was right there with the other girls I lined up by, which was a good feeling. I made it straight out to the first buoy okay, but it was so hard to get a good breathing rhythm. I had a lot of quick inhalations at unexpected times from the timing of the waves. That was tough. I just had to try my best to find a groove and tell myself to relax over and over. I had a lot of shallow breaths too. My diaphragm felt really cramped after the swim. I had a double side ache for the 2nd half of the run and I am pretty sure the swim had a role in this. Anyway, I came out of the water in a good spot-about 6th, but I was close to the others. Cool! I was happy that my swim was solid in the waves! Good experience for me-it was a new challenge. I hopped on the bike and wasn't sure how this was going to feel since I haven't been able to train outside. I had a solid ride, nothing out of the park, but I stuck to my targets. It was great to riding amongst palm trees, a lot of water, and in the warm weather. I made sure to thank God just to be out there! After the bike, I wasn't sure how my legs would feel, but not too bad! I was able to find my legs ok and got in a groove. I just tried to stick to my targets again and surge to make sure I wasn't just settling at a "comfortable" pace. I knew I was pretty behind first 3 girls and I had gotten passed once on the bike. I could still see this person in front of me so I knew she was up there. I ended up finding her on the run turn around and just did my best to close the gap. I had to work for it-had to decide to go for it. My side aches were not helping though. I don't usually have that problem so it was a different pain to endure. I had some noisy breathing to try and get them to calm down. I am sure the people I ran by liked that. :) haha. So, I ended up passing the girl that was in 4th because she was having some issues with the heat. This put me in 5th at the time. Then the current 4th place girl was RIGHT there! I ran my best to get her (she didn't know I was coming!) and I almost, almost got her as we were rounding the finish line. I couldn't quite close the gap in time though. It was fun to try-nice to get some aggression out there! :) I took 5th and made the podium...yay! I definitely felt rusty on the bike and run yet, but that will come around. Nice to have a solid swim under my belt! Lifetime Fitness did a great job with the race. My next Lifetime Fitness race will be Lifetime Minneapolis. Great race too. If you ever want a fun, warm, well-run early season race---check out Nautica South Beach! Pictures to come soon!

Life Time Fitness Race Series-Nautica South Beach Tri

I am getting prepped to fly down south! Miami here I come! Nautica South Beach Tri is the first stop in the Life Time Fitness Race Series. I cannot tell you how excited I am to get to warmer weather. All those from Michigan know what I am talking about. What a cold spring we have had. I haven't had as much time to prep for racing with outdoor riding, which is just something we have to deal with sometimes early on I guess.

I am also looking forward to swimming in the ocean this weekend. I remember wondering if racing in salt water would be challenging due to the taste, but once you get going you don't notice the saltiness too much. I like the extra buoyancy the water provides! The race swim goes right along the shore-it is point to point. Ross can walk along and watch me, but he better walk fast. ;)

I will be on the look out for celebrities racing too! Fun fun.

More to come from the Nautica South Beach Tri soon!

Nautica South Beach Triathlon

I am preparing to race again! On April 7th, I will be doing the Nautica Southbeach Triathlon part of the Life Time Race Series. The race is right in Miami! I did this race last year and really liked it. It is exciting to swim in the ocean and have the run go along the shore as well. The bike is neat as it goes through FL neighborhoods and over causeways...nice views!! This year best friends, Kattie and AD, will be competing too. Fun times ahead!
Anyway, in the past, this race has drawn celebrities who compete. Last year Bob Saget handed out the pro awards. That was fun. I was so into Full House back in the day! haha
I am really looking forward to this race again and checking out the sites. Check out the race here:
http://www.nauticasobetri.com/default.cfm

I also signed up for Life Time Tri Minneapolis and the Chicago Triathlon. I love these races that are part of the Lift Time Tri Series. I have done them for the past few years now! There are a couple new races in the series this year to check out too. http://www.lifetimetri.com/

Run workout excitement

I took some generation UCAN before my treadmill workout at Fitness 19 tonight. I have been taking this for just about 2 weeks now before my quality workouts. I just had to write about how excited I am with how the workout went! I ended up putting in just shy of 10 miles (big deal for me!) that included 5 broken miles faster than race pace. It was tough, but I tell you what, I was mentally solid/stable all the way to the end so I could keep pushing the paces I needed to. I was seriously shocked! Usually I am shot and just wanting to get off because my legs are so tired and/or I am mentally just done. You know the feeling? Well, I felt like I could have put another fast mile in if I needed too. I didn't get that fierce hunger aftewards either from a blood sugar drop. I was able to come home and take my time with my dinner and make something really quality. This had not been the norm for me. I tend to get done with a quality workout and have to force myself not to raid the cupboards while I make my meal. This has helped me from overating and making poor choices! I am just so tickled that I felt so solid! I did a long run (1:30) and the same thing happened where I felt like I could keep going at mile 11. What?! That's crazy talk! UCAN helps the body learn to use fat a fuel and keeps the blood sugar constant--huge for the mental aspect. I didn't even realize how much blood sugar drops affect the brain until I experienced the product. This feeling was just so normal for me-didn't think too much about it. It has been a good learning curve to note other subtle changes about my body fucntioning and put them on my radar. I am still in an adjustment phase with the nutrition product, but I am loving it so far. I got to meet the generation UCAN representatives when I went to my Tri4Him camp last weekend in Dallas. It was neat to ask many questions about the product in person and learn more about the science behind it. It's an interesting and pretty amazing product!

Joining the Tri4Him pro team

I am excited share that I am now a member of the Tri4Him pro team! What is Tri4Him you ask? It is a team of pro athletes who choose to honor God through their racing and training. The team is supported by an awesome group of sponsors as well as by the community of Tri4Him members. At the end of February, I will be traveling to Dallas for a weekend long camp and to meet the other pro team members. By being a part of this team it creates a great opportunity to live out my faith through training and racing and acknowledge who makes this all possible! Check out more about the pro team members and about Tri4Him at Tri4Him.com. I start my racing on March 16 in Sarasota, FL. for an ITU (Draft-legal) olympic distance race. This is a new race so it will be fun to check out a new venue. I will be posting race experiences soon! Thank you for reading!

Check it out! http://tri4him.com/teams/pro-team/ or tri4him.com

Off season training!

While I have had a little break from the regular grind of training, I haven't stopped completely. Recently, I revisited with the TRX for some core work. Let me tell you what, for just 10 minutes of core work using the TRX, I was feeling it for the next two days! It really is amazing how good of a workout you can get when you are forced to balance your body weight. I like to do core exercises such as pikes, plank work, and knee to chest tucks. These are great for swim strength as you work on the connection between the shoulders and core. These are exercises my coach had me do on a physio ball, but then transferred them to the TRX. Ooo wee! If you only have a few minutes-these will let you feel the burn quickly!

Thank You!

Thank you to my sponsors for your support through another successful season of racing (Pioneer Construction, Strider's, Village Bike, Rolf Prima Wheels, Tifosi, Sugoi, Specialized, TRX). Your support helps me to be able to compete successfully at the elite level! I know that having a team of supporters is crucial to helping me reach my potential. I appreciate the partnership developed through triathlon!

In addition, I want to thank Ryan Tanis and Shorline Sport and Spine Physical Therapy, Jason Ross, from Train Out Pain, and Dr. Kornoelje at Metro Health for their guidance through my injuries and extensive knowledge on how to help me strengthen my weak areas. 

And of course I can't forget to thank my amazing husband for his continual support and encouragment. Couldn't do this without you! Thank you to my family as well. You show your support in so many ways-thanks for traveling to many of my races!

Last, but not least, thank you coach Barb for guiding me through another season! Your knowledge is so fun to tap into!

Wow, what a team!!