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!!

2012 Seaston wrap up

Hello! It is that time in the year again where the intensity of training backs down, I get to rest the mind and body, and dream about the next season! 2012 certainly had its challenges, but it offered plenty of learning opportunities as well. I had several solid races to the start of my season, but did suffer an injury in the middle of the summer. I developed some serious tendonitis in my glute of all places! Literally--a pain in the butt! Anyway, this injury prevented me from being able to run, bike intensly, and do glute strength work, which was tough to endure patience through. I had to be okay with going through the motions for awhile with light training. While this injury was a setback (reflecting back over the season), I can still be thankful for the many races I was able to compete in and for the improvements I made despite the setback. I belive my 2012 season was where I made significant gains in my swim, allowing me to come out of the water with the main chase pack at elite nationals and put me in a solid position for non-drafting races at the start of the bike leg.
I learned the importance of balance in life and training (well, I am still learning about this and what this looks like!). I realized it can be so easy to just go go go and get stuck going through the motions forgetting to step back and reflect on how I am enduring the workload (in and out of training). I am finding when I am out of balance, I don't recognize when I need more rest and/or if I am on the verge of injury. It is like symptoms almost get masked. Anyone else know what I am talking about? On that note, it is important to remember to pay attention to my life outside of training too!

Anyway, I ended my season with the Race to the Toyota Cup Championship race in Dallas, TX on October 7th. Ross and I were pumped to be leaving MI since it was supposed to 50s and rainy--the Fall weather was moving in. Well...Dallas was not offering any warmth and sunshine. Shocking really! Race morning it was in the 40s, cloudy, and not warming up or getting sunny (the day before was the same). I was thinking I wouldn't be too affected by this since I am from MI- and usually when I race Reed's Lake in September it is in the 50s. No big deal! Well, it was a challenge, but you can't focus on what you can't control. I did my best with that, but coming off the bike with cold, numb feet was something different to experience...ha! I had gotten sick the weekend before the race and while I tried to ignore the symptoms and any effect it might have on my race, I still felt under the weather. the cold weather didn't help that either. Boo. Eventhough, I put together a solid race, not what I had hoped for, but ended up 8th in a very solid field of pros. It was definitly a bitter-sweet end to the season, but again, I am so thankful for the many race experiences I did have. It was challenging to not let doubts creep in at times knowing I hadn't been able to put intense training and solid strength work for a good period of time. Good mental toughness training though!

At this point, I am fully healed and working on my weakness to be even stronger for 2013! I look forward with great anticipation. I will be working on my schedule as dates come out. Exciting to look foward (all while having some good off season reflection)!!

Thank you to all of you who follow and cheer me on! I appreciate the support so much!

Reed's Lake Tri

What a fun time! I just love doing this race because so many friends that I don't always get to race with participate too. It is also fun to have family there to watch! I like racing with Ross too-he always like to go after Reeds. Anyway, I was victorious on saturday for the women, which was exciting. I had to drop out last year after the bike (mostly by choice) since my injury was acting up and I didn't want to risk re-injury on the run. So to be back feeling healthy was just awesome!! Here is a link to an article about the race.
Pictures: http://photos.mlive.com/4469/gallery/reeds_lake_triathlon/index.html
Article: http://www.mlive.com/sports/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2012/09/rainbow_inspires_reeds_lake_tr.html

I am now prepping for Buffalo, NY this saturday. It is an ITU (draft-legal) race. Woo hoo! Should be fun. I haven't done an ITU race since March.