Rev3Tri

ATTENTION ALL TRIATHLETES: There's a new race in town and it's gonna be awwwwesome!

Rev3 will be held in Middlebury, CT on June 7th. It will feature a huge pro field, a sweeeet amateur prize purse, it will debut Trakkers for all participants, and it's taking place on a theme park open only to triathletes and their families!!

Check out www.rev3tri.com for more details!! If you are racing IMKY, this is the perfect prep race in regards to the timing and course description.

When you register be sure to enter the following code: NSS144 for a sweet discount!

Happy Training!

Home Sweet Home

I made it!! 14 hours of drive time plus a few more in pit stops and I am sitting at my desktop. It is sooooo good to be home!

My mama flew in to Florida on Wednesday morning and we spent the next two days eating french toast, getting roasted on the beach, sitting at outdoor cafes, window shopping... It was awesome!

We trekked home yesterday making a stop at All3Sports in Hotlanta. The shop is AMAZING and everyone there is truly top notch. It's definitely where I'll be doing my online shopping!

My trip to Florida was a great experience and I learned a ton of valuable lessons. I've come to realize that your body can be pushed much further once you stop telling yourself that you can't. This trip started out full of 'I can'ts', but workout after workout I began to to surprise myself and somewhere along the road I began to believe in myself, and that I can.

Most importantly I've learned that all this hard won't account for anything unless I use it to inspire others. I can run myself into the ground day and night and selfishly expect someone to care, which pretty much describes a typical triathlete. Or I can use this trip, training, and the knowledge gained to help get someone off the couch, into the gym, or through their workout when they really feel like taking a nap. I'm always tired, however, I never regret forcing myself to go for a swim when I really wasn't up for it (which, by the way, is always).

Other bits of knowledge I've picked up on during my two month stint: don't ride over bridges in the dark, don't fuel for a 4 hour ride with water, put sunscreen on your back when you swim in an outdoor pool, don't wear a new pair of racing flats for the first time on a 16 mile run, chocolate soymilk is a gift from heaven, you don't really have to separate your darks and whites you just have to press the 'colors' button, always carry a spare and look at what you're standing in when you pull over to change a flat, always be thankful that you have the ability to complete a workout, and say something positive when you look in the mirror ;-)

Train on!

Power of Powder

I'm out of Carbo Pro. So plain ol' water and Roctane were on board for my 4 hour ride today. It started strong with a few good intervals, but 2 hours into it I had to bag it before I fell over on the side of the road. Plain ol' water just doesn't work the same as when it's filled with magic powder. I managed to pedal into Starbucks for a scone and Vivanno which gave me just enough energy to make it home. Now, I feel totally trashed! Looks like I'm off to the grocery (aka the Gollnick's garage) to buy some good stuff and try again on Thursday. Until then, lots of food and rest are in order.

This past weekend was my last in Florida :-( Friday I headed to Tampa to visit family for the day. Seeing everyone made me more excited to get back to Louisville! Eva, my almost 1 yr old niece, is a pistol! When I left town she couldn't walk, now she runs around with my oversized purse!!

Saturday was a long ride with Jeff and Kelli (also in town from the Ville) and a long/painfree run on Sunday (first successful run in quite some time!). There were also a few swims, t-runs, and open water sessions thrown in there to make it one jam packed weekend.

I happened to be watching the news on Sunday evening and saw the Discovery was launching. I thought, 'I wonder if I can see it from my window'. Below was my view... it was pretty cool.

My Mama arrives in town tomorrow and I cannot WAIT to see her!! We're going to spend two days on the beach drinking cocktails, which will probably turn into her watching me swim laps in Siesta while we both chug water and get sunburns, but none-the-less I'm getting some much needed mom time.

Happy St. Patty's Day!! I don't have any green beer but I've eaten a bowl of Lucky Charms... that's gotta count for something! Peace out.

Biking has done me wrooooong

So there I am, pumping gas on Siesta Beach in my swim suit fresh after an ocean swim. Spring Breakers are driving by in their rental Wranglers, music on blast, making it as obvious as possible that they've been drinking. I'm just taking it all in and chatting with Heather (who refused to get out because she was still halfway in her wetsuit), when, without ever thinking twice, I turn my head and blow a big snot rocket!! Right there at the gas station... surrounded by drunk kids, I decide that must be the best way to rid my discomfort. Seriously!?

Then, earlier that day we were walking to the beach. It was a long drive there and we had to park pretty far, most of the campers were ahead of me when I decided I had to pee. My first instinct was to look towards the bush on my left and thought 'perfect!'. Now don't get too nervous Mom, I didn't do it. But the thought crossed my mind! What has all this riding done to me!! It must mean that I've spent wayyy to much time in the saddle if snot rockets and bush stops feel normal. What's next? Peeing in the fake plants at the mall because 'I just had to go'? This is soo not good, something must be done.

It's been way too long since I've had on 'normal' clothes and did 'normal' things. I keep talking to friends at home who ask if I've gone to St. Armands Circle or Siesta or some fancy smanchy restaurant. My response: I've ridden my bike through St. Armands a few times trying to hold on to the super bikers ahead of me, I do open water swims at Siesta, and the only restaurants I eat at are The Pancake House and Hungry Howie's Pizza Buffet because they serve a lot of food.

My goal for next week: go to the beach to learn how to paddle board, put on a pair of jeans, and no... absolutely NO snot rockets off the bike! Wish me luck!!

The Rundown

My weak lil ankles are making a comeback... this week's run volume consisted of 30 painfree miles!! Nowhere near where I should be right now, but it's a step in the right direction, so I'm pretty pumped.

Our last camp of the season wrapped up on Sunday and we definitely went out with a bang! The Sheriff decided to pay us a few visits, the spring breakers on Siesta were pretty excited to see 'Navy SEALs' training as we showed up in wetsuits, one kid even tried a sneaky move to steal from our bags but was caught redhanded, and we had a rider clip a wheel and go down (fortunatley no major injuries). It was a long weekend... but one that won't be remember for the incidents, rather remembered for the athletes. These campers were the bomb. Hands down. I've met some great friends and learned something from everyone.

Sadly and happily I'm returning home soon. I'm sad to leave Florida, the great people, and the amazing weather. I'm super pumped to see my family, friends, and a homecooked meal!! I've got about a week and a half left and I'll be sure to make the most of it. Off for some run intervals...

Just one of those days!

Saturday was the Gasparilla 15K in which me and my half useful foot had to sit out and watch, but it actually turned out great because I got to see Ryan Hall win the race!! He was absolutely amazing to watch!! Joanie did awesome, and Jeff came in 16th overall! Way to represent KY!! After the 15K I hobbled around for what counted as a 6mile run. After that, my foot was dunzo. So I went to the car and enjoyed the homemade cookies my Mama sent :-)

Sunday was the Tour de Cure in Venice. There was a pretty fun group of riders planning on being there, so we decided to bandit it to get in some long miles. A few downpours later and 30 mph gusts, I was ready to call it! I had lost the group, had no idea where I was, I was pushing Z4 going 12mph. It was not fun... but somehow we made it. A sloooooow 5 hours later I was thawing out in the car (the course was short, thankfully... I'm not that fast!).

Monday was a recovery day. I rode a few miles with Jeff then refueled at the Pancake House with the worlds largest plate of french toast, it was awesome!!

Tuesday was San Antonio, and a beautiful day!! I had changed my back tire the day before and when I got to San An it was flat. So I changed it again with my last spare, borrowed a tube just in case from another rider, and we were on our way.

The ride started out great, then we turned onto the road that hates me and I dropped back a bit. My trusty Scott was feeling off but I blamed it on the rain from Sunday... a few miles later, another flat. This time I actually checked my tire, nothing. So I changed the flat and raced to catch the group (which never happened, thankfully they stopped for me).

After about 30 minutes riding on my last spare it felt squishy again. Seriously?! Give me a break!! So we all stopped, I posted my bike up on a fence post and used the hand pump that another rider had. I was pretty frustrated at this point, so when I yanked the pump out I pulled the little twisty seal off too!! Just as I thought my day couldn't get much worse, I realized I was standing in a mound of fire ants!!! I wanted to scream and throw a fit and sit on the side of the road until someone picked me up to take me back to my car!! I was DONE, I had enough!! I had gone out there to get in 60+ miles, but the last thing I wanted to do at this point was ride more. I want to go hoooooooome!

One hissy fit later, I was back on my bike with the group. I felt aweful for making them wait so many times, especially since everyone was on a time crunch. So I made myself shut up and ride. I had gotten the ants off my leg and had enough air in my wheels to make it. I ended up getting in a solid 50 mile ride; not as far as I wanted but it was quality. I stuck with the group and pulled a few times, I guess being so worked up helped me ride better!!

Wednesday was my first run after going after seeing the PT a few times. I started out super slow on the treadmill with strict orders to stop with any pain. I told myself I would run for 30 minutes. 30 minutes later I felt fine, so I decided to go for 45. At 45 I had to finish out the mile so I ended up running for 51 minutes... and felt great!! I was super pumped! Afterwards I foam rolled the crap out of my calves (Diagnosis: my calves are super tight so anterior tib had to work too hard to flex the foot which caused the tendonitis) and I still feel good! Holla!

After a swim (I got in a 3400 in the same time Heather got in 4300, ouch!) I picked up Max and his super cool sister and we headed to Hungry Harry's Pizza Buffet. We special ordered our cheeseless/all veggie pizzas, loaded up on salads, and ate for two and a half hours straight!!

Camp starts today... last spring camp of the year! I love camp and couldn't be more excited, I'm so glad I've gotten this opportunity and have learned so much from the campers and coaches. I've gotten to meet some really great people, all of which are so friendly and helpful!

The sun is shining and it's supposed to be in the 80's all weekend!! I'm off to bike, run, and swim before camp starts. Until next time...