Friday, December 18, 2015

Pillars of Training - A Good Book


An important part to my overall training plan and daily routine is taking time to focus on mindset.  One piece of my mindset building is to read about 15 pages each day.  The books that I select typically focus around training and other’s achievements in reaching their goals or books with strategies on bettering my business practices which I ultimately find carrying over into life practices as well.  

I have read 17 books in the last 12 months.  If you are interested in the titles or would like recommendations, visit my books list on my Facebook page.  I update it each morning that I finish a book.   My book selections come from recommendations that I receive from friends or various conferences and educational sessions that I attend as well as books that I see discussed in my daily news feeds.

My ultimate goal with reading is to set my mind for a positive and productive day.  Sometimes the insight provides a practical application to implement in my routine, other times it is the mentality that if they can do it so can I.  The ultimate goal is to always take things back to basics and attack each challenge one day and one step at a time.  

People often comment to me that they don’t have time to read.  My answer to them is that I don’t have time not to read.  The books that I have read are definitely pillars in my journey - some that will be re-read several times throughout my path and some that provided inspiration along the way.  I challenge you to read along side me in 2016 and report back on how it impacts your journey.

Courage to Start. Strength to Endure. Resolve to Finish.

Friday, December 11, 2015

Time for Me


Welcome to the holiday season.  An extremely busy time of year.  With holiday events, school events (if you have kids), and normal day-to-day routines, things tend to get really crazy.  It is at times like this that it is most important to take time for yourself.  This will keep you focused, healthy and happy as you take on the hustle and bustle.  

People often ask me how I manage to get my workouts in amidst all of the other things going on.  The answer is stated perfectly by Dr. James Rouse - “It's all about priority and when you make the priority exercise you can always find the time.”  

We are all provided with the same 24 hours every day.  How we choose to fill the 24 hours  is up to us as individuals. We have much more control than many believe.  When writing down your task lists for the day - do you list your workout?  When prioritizing do you give it the weight it deserves?  My answer to these two questions is YES.  My workouts set my mindset for the rest of the day and generally yield more productivity than when I press on without them.  

There is no question that sacrifices are made in the process of choosing me.  I have learned that the things that I say NO to to allow my schedule to evolve are typically not items that were supporting my overall visions and goals.   Not everyone understands the choices that I make, but the important thing is that I do.  

I challenge you in the busiest time of the year to make yourself a priority.  It will help you embrace the chaos and leave the holiday without being defeated by it.  Make your health and happiness your gift to you.  


One Day...One Step.

Friday, December 4, 2015

Are You Getting the Most Out of Your Workouts?

Yesterday, while participating in my usual indoor cycling intervals class, an interesting discussion ensued amongst the participants.  The workout happened to be an extremely difficult one - interval builds reaching 120% of FTP - not once or twice but 5 times in a row.  It was hard.  My legs and heart were burning, and I was definitely challenged.  There were five of us pounding through the same workout modified only by individual FTP’s and it was a challenge for all of us.  Yet, when the hour finished, we were all happy to have reached the completion goal for the day, happy to have a solid workout behind us, another step in our journey complete and an additional brick in our foundations.  

The discussion that surfaced as we were completing the workout was if our coach assigned this exact workout to be completed at home on our own trainers or on our own at the gym would we have pushed with the same intensity that we worked as a group or would we have given up when it got hard and made the specs of the workout easier?  The consensus seemed to be the later.  We don’t want to admit it but we tend to put more effort forward with others around us.  Competitive instinct.  On our own, it is easy to say I am going to back off or to convince ourselves that what we are doing is working hard enough.  

We were provided with guidelines to focus on cadence maintenance.  When the going got hard, we all wanted to slow our cadence but we all pushed to keep it up!  I found out that the more I slowed my cadence the harder the pedaling actually became.  Who knew…  

I leave you with a challenge.  Ask yourself - am I pushing myself to my maximum?  Is my RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) where it needs to be to get the most benefit from the workout in front of me?  What do I need to be accountable to myself and to my workout to gain the most benefit.  

Challenge yourself this winter as our training comes inside to push yourself hard and don’t back down.  If you need more accountability - find a group to challenge you!

Enjoy the journey.  One Day...One Step!

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Attitude of Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving!  This is the season of gratitude.  Gratitude translates into a mindset and is a mindset that carriers much beyond Thanksgiving Day.

In taking on our day to day routines and our journeys toward small and large goals, one thing is a constant - you mindset has to be in a place to accept the challenge and to take the actions necessary to move forward.  Do you work on your mindset as much as you work on every other aspect of your daily life?

I do my best to follow a similar routine each morning.  One part of this routine is writing in a journal.  This is a place where I gather my thoughts and reflect on celebrations and things that I am grateful for.  I try to keep this time to focusing on positives and avoid addressing the obstacles that I have faced or am currently facing at this point in my day.  The positive allows me to kick the day off on the right foot and set my mindset to address the challenges that I may face throughout the day.  I find my day follows a much better path when I include this piece in my routine.  

Take the time this week to reflect on what you are grateful for.  There are many things big and small and each one of those has an important spot in our overall journey.  When you find yourself facing an obstacle - stop and remind yourself of one or more of these many items and press on with a new mindset.  Obstacles exist for a reason.  It has been reiterated to me from several directions over the past few weeks - reacting to and learning from the obstacles is a necessary part of the journey.  Set your mind to accept this.  

One Day!  One Step!

Monday, November 16, 2015

A New Perspective on Conference Attendance



I spent Thursday and Friday last week attending a fantastic conference in Downtown Denver.  The information provided by the conference indicated they would be providing a coffee and tea bar, but that all other food would be on our own.  The conference ran from 8:30-4:30 daily.  I packed my backpack with some of my typical snacks and headed out.  

First to reflect back a bit.  I have attended a fair amount of conferences in my day.  I am typically the one that snacks throughout the day and can’t wait for the meal breaks when they come.  I am also typically the one that comes back after lunch and feels like a nap would be a much better alternative than sitting through the next session.  My expectation, with my snacks in my backpack (although much better snack choices than in the past), was for this conference to by the typical.  

I arrived at the end of day one and reflected back on the events of the day.  I drove in enjoying my usual cup of decaf coffee.  I brought with me my 1:1 smoothie which is my typical breakfast and had that when I started to feel hungry around 10:00.  There was a snack provided at the break which included make your own trail mix.  I selected a small bowl, mostly filled with nuts and a few dried berries. (I wasn’t hungry at the moment it was offered, but the selection was too good to pass up!) The lunch break ended up being about an hour behind the original schedule.   I stepped out with a friend for a sandwich and a cookie.  Upon returning we were back at it.  I did not experience my usual need for a nap and found that I remained engaged for the afternoon.  The afternoon snack provided was fresh baked cookies and milk.  I was not hungry and opted to pass on the cookies and in fact did not snack at all that afternoon and enjoyed a late dinner.

I took time throughout the day to observe what other conference attendees were eating, many snacking throughout the day and the choices made with the foods served, and also to notice whether I was able to observe ebbs and flows in their energy.  The delay in the lunch time was the biggest obstacle I observed for people.  Attention dulled and people became anxious.  Post lunch, not seeing what people ate, I noticed people were drowsy and the energy upon returning from lunch quickly disappeared.  Interesting and now, with the training I have received over the course of the last year and implemented in my own life,  I was able to observe the impact of blood sugar types.  

I have spent nearly a year revamping my nutrition choices following the guidelines of Metabolic Efficiency.  The changes in my life have been substantial - body composition, weight, training performance, sleep habits and more.  The conference this week and my observations both of myself and others further reinforced to me - “this stuff works!” I did not experience any blood sugar spikes throughout the day and was focused and attentive throughout the two days.  This transition has been an adjustment but like everything else in my life, I chose to make the transition one day and one step at a time.  There are struggles and obstacles along the way and I continue to grow in my comprehension of the true impacts that it has on my life.  It is nice to have reinforcement of my choices and I am excited to press on with this knowledge and the opportunity to continue to grow personally and to share this with others.

Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Pressing the Reset Button



Do you remember the days of playing Atari or Nintendo (that just dated me a bit!) and getting frustrated with the outcome and instead of finishing the game you pressed the game reset button instead?  I remember many games with my older Brother and seeing the potential that I would lose again and quickly pressing the button.  Boy did that make him mad, and I am sure that there were a few arguments and potentially bruises that resulted from the decision!  Other than a little bit of sibling bonding (as we will call it), there was no major impact of the reset button other than providing new optimism at the possible outcome of a win.

Fast forward to today and what I have been working on for the past three weeks - pressing the reset button.  I came home from my race in Arizona feeling a bit defeated all around.  Our busy schedules, parenting, new activities, job adjustments and no immediate finish line or goal that I was seeking.  I found myself going through the motions of the day and reflecting back at the end of the day to determine that I hadn’t really accomplished anything that needed to be done and that my overall mindset was “trashed.”  As much as we try to avoid the downward spiral, it happens to all of us but fortunately through education, experience and life I have learned that there is an option for the reset button in life as well.

I took the weekend off - a little coaching, a little training and worked on a project that I treasure that I tend to put off and decided that Monday was the day.  Monday, 11-9-2015 I pushed the reset button.  The button stuck a bit and Monday was not exactly as I imagined but I have been making forward progress since and excited about the new opportunities that I am seeing now.

My reset button involves going “back to basics” - to the things that I know work for me and sticking to them.  My biggest item is my morning routine.  I wake up with enough time to read the Facebook Times, something that I enjoy, reading at least 10 pages of a non-fiction book themed toward mindset, education or topics that are of interest and will help me expand, and finally journalling.  I don’t always write a novel but it brings reflection, opportunity, gratitude and more.  I have been fortunate to have coffee delivered to my bedside every day this week by Mike and value the fact that he supports and respects this ritual.  

The next step has been to finish my morning routine by showering and getting to my desk.  This was a spot that I’ve been getting lost and I am working on.  Next I work on developing the task list, focusing on the must dos, the lower priorities and start chipping away one step at a time.   I ensure daily that I make time in my schedule for my workout as I know this is not only something that I want but that I need and I focused on being planned and prepared for what is to come in the next day, week, etc.  

We all break the path of what we should be doing getting caught reading Facebook, emails, articles or busying ourselves with something that is not a priority item.  It’s normal but the key is that we are able to get back to basics and live our lives as we attend to.  

As we near the end of 2015, it is time for reflection.  Are we in the place that we planned to be, have we reached our goals, established a path for continued development and are we on track or is it time to press the reset button.

One Day...One Step.

Monday, November 2, 2015

Reflection: One Year Ago Today



Life is about the journey.  I do my best on a daily basis to take life One Day and One Step at a time.  I write One Day One Step each day that I journal to remind myself to focus on the step in front of me not the step I plan to take in the future.  If I don’t get through the current step the ultimate goal or milestone that I am planning to achieve is not likely to happen.

Our ultimate finish line is the result of the journey to not only get to the finish, but every step that it takes to get there.  Last year on this date I was running my first marathon in New York City.  The journey to the start line involved over 550 training miles, mental preparation and unlimited support from my inner circle. The 26.2 miles of the actual event was a small piece of this journey.  

Toeing the start line, you know that the training is done.  It is now time for execution and with 26.2 miles in front of you, time to reflect on your journey that brought you there.  I remember the string of emotions - excitement, fear, nerves, doubt, confidence and more.  The experience was one that I will never forget.  It was one of the hardest days of my life due to a lot of things but ultimately I came away with a life lesson that has been so important in the past year.  The importance of mind over matter and the importance of breaking things into smaller chunks - one day one step.  

Watching the TCS NYC Marathon coverage yesterday brought back the full gamut of emotions.  I embraced people’s stories and the reflections on their journeys seen on Facebook and through the media coverage.  I found myself glued to the TV, the videos that were posted and to blogs.  A race like this has different meaning to everyone involved.  Keeping this at heart can change your overall day on the course as well.  It takes one person - whether you meet them waiting at the start, talk to them during the course of the race or connect with them after the fact due to sharing something in common.  These are connections that will be carried forward far beyond the finish line.  

I am so happy to have had the NYC Marathon as a major milestone in my journey.  The support from family and friends was absolutely amazing and I carried away many new friendships and connections that I treasure today.  Steps throughout the journey are there for a reason.  Embrace them and carry the lessons forward with you as you go!

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Ironman AZ 70.3 ReCap



A whirlwind weekend to say the least.  I have learned many lessons in my pursuit of Ironman branded events - one being that when you sign up for a race several months before the actual race day, that the picture that you paint of how you imagine it and reality turn into two very different things.  

In the case of Ironman AZ 70.3, I submitted my registration on March 11, 2015.  This was a new race added to the Ironman Brand this year - it existed in another format in years prior but Ironman took it over this year and it was expected to sell out quickly so I jumped on board.  At the time I was excited to be able to race in Tempe close to my parents’ home and in an area that I am fairly familiar with.  I would be able to stay with my parents so race related expense would be reasonable.  The race date also fell during the girls fall break so thoughts of a family vacation came into my head as well.  

Fast forward six months and it was now a month out from the race.  Training well underway and progressing toward the start line.  It seemed as though it was probably time to start putting travel plans together.  The advantage of driving to a race like this is that you have your car and can transport your bike and any gear that you want.  The disadvantage - you don’t have to make plane reservations and nailing down a travel plan can be pushed off!  As the race date approached, reality started coming into the picture and it seemed that the timing of the family vacation was not going to work - nor was it going to work for Mike to join me.  I reached out to my friend Kristen who thankfully ended up making the adventure with me.  Our schedules were aligned - the plan made and we were off.

We arrived in Arizona on Thursday afternoon.  The drive Wednesday night and Thursday morning was fairly uneventful and seemed to move along.  Kristen and I both had a run on our schedule so we headed out together.  Kristen is a trail runner and wasn’t excited about pounding pavement with me so we opted for a trail adventure in the desert at the end of my parent’s neighborhood.  Funny in all the years of coming to Phoenix and all of the miles that I have run there that I never knew the trail was there!  Trail running as my race warm up turned out to not be the best plan for me.  I managed to stumble on a rock and jammed my toe quite nicely.  My theory at the time was suck it up, push through the pain, you don’t have time for injury - it is race week.  I finished out the run in a lot of pain but tried to keep things on the down low.

I woke up Friday morning to a very swollen toe that had no interest in bending.  It was bruised and colorful.  I had a swim on the plan for the day so I headed up to the pool.  I quickly learned that pushing off a concrete wall was not the best option, made some adjustments and made it through my swim.  Fortunately or unfortunately I banged my toe again while I was in the shower.  It hurt like crazy but seemed to have unjammed it and there was movement again.  A good sign with two days until the race.  Hoping for the best.   My Mom, Kristen and I went to Athlete Check-In in Tempe.  It was pouring rain.  We stood in the tent for the athlete briefing watching water rush off the tent.  

Saturday morning’s plan was to drive a loop of the bike course with Jennifer Bendell, then go for a short ride before dropping our bikes at check-in.  We met at 8:30 - drove the course and learned about all of the turn and then headed out for a ride.  The ride was flat, fast and very fun.  We had a few sprinkles on us but all in all it went well.  The only challenge that my toe presented was clipping into my pedal.  I felt ready for Sunday and decided it is what it is!  We dropped our bikes at check in and spent the remainder of the day getting things in order for Sunday and trying to stay off my feet.  

Sunday morning arrived.  A 4:00 wake up came without the alarm but I felt as though I had had a decent night’s sleep and was ready to go.  I gathered my things together, lubed up with sunscreen and body glide and we were ready to go.  My Mom met us in the hallway as we headed out to say goodbye and wish me good luck.  I was excited to have my Mom and Dad see me race for the first time and to know that they would be there for support.  

We drove to Tempe and made a creative exit from the 202 to be able to pick up Jennifer.  The road closures were about to go into effect and I will admit that there were a couple of cone barriers that were dodged in order to get into her hotel.  Kristen dropped us at the corner and we walked into the transition area.  It was dark and cool with a bit of rain but looked like it was going to be a nice day.  Happy to see the heavy rains from the day before appeared to be moving out.  One of these days, I will remember to add a headlamp to my transition list as it would have been extremely helpful.  I rooted through my bag and set up as best as I could and sat down to prepare for the day.  I had had my race day oatmeal (oats, peanut butter and protein powder) in the car on the way and drank a bottle of UCAN just before the start.  My start time was 7:15 so plenty of time to wait around.  I met up with Kristen, found Jennifer again and found Mary Spalding who had come down to cheer on some friends.  We took some pictures and watched as the race got under way.  

Swim:
We worked our way up through the start chute and it was our turn to enter the water.  The race was wetsuit optional and based on the number of people standing in our start group, it seemed that a lot of people had opted for the wetsuit.  Jennifer and I were trying out our new Roka Skin Suits.  We walked down the stairs, lowered ourselves into the water and swam out to the start.  We managed to stay together and to get a wave to Kristen for a picture.  The countdown began and we were off.  I felt like I settled into a rhythm pretty quickly.  A couple of fists, hands and feet to dodge and everyone seemed to settle in.  The water was choppy which made breathing a bit of work but I continued to move along.  I remember in two spots thinking how hot my body felt.  Not sure if it was the water temp, a hotter spot or a product of the increased heart rate from breathing effort.  I kept telling myself push on and get out of the water.  I reached the turn - did what every coach tells you not to do and checked my watch 22:49.  Not awesome but ok.  As I made the turn the swirling water really became a battle.  I felt the need to correct to stay in line with the buoys.  I focused on the next buoy and making the turn hoping that the swirling current would then be behind me and push me back in.  I made the next turn and headed back toward the start.  The swirling didn’t stop, in fact it seemed to increase.  There were starting to be some different colored caps around - wasn’t sure if it was the wave ahead or the one behind or a combination of both.  I rounded the last turn picked up the pace and made the push to the stairs.  Fortunately they had volunteers at the stairs as it was really hard to get your foot up to that first stair and the man that helped me out was awesome.  I asked him to unzip my speed suit and headed to the top of the stairs and transition.  Was fun to hear Mary and Kristen both cheer for me as I came through.  56:00

T1:  4:29
Entering transition it was nice to have several ladies around me at the rack although the conversation was the same among everyone, the swim measured long - my watch said 2459 yds and everyone else had similar numbers.  There was lots of frustration about the slow times.  I was bummed, had hoped to improve my Boulder time and was now trying to make up additional time that I hadn’t planned on.  I had some water, tried to get the dead grass off my feet and headed out on the bike.  

Bike:
I pushed a bit past the mount line - saw Kristen again and headed out.  I tried my best to get some water in and to start pushing.  Lots of bikes around on the course, people coming through on their second and third loops as well as others getting started.  I started picking bikes ahead, trying to catch them and trying to keep my cadence going.  I was feeling pretty good.  I kept looking out for Jennifer - always nice to have someone you know out there and someone to cheer on.  I say Jennifer for the first time around mile 13-14 - she was ahead.  Jennifer is a really solid biker so I made note of where I saw her and set a goal to see her in a similar spot each time.  I navigated all of the turns, and there were a lot, completed loop 1 and headed back out.  Saw Jennifer again toward the beginning of the loop.  Fun to cheer for each other.  She looked great!  As I came back onto Rio Salado, I heard my Mom’s voice cheering.  I didn’t see her but know for sure it was her voice.  I remembered from my soccer days!  That gave me a boost.  I pushed on!  

About this time is usually when I would eat on the bike.  I like whole foods on the bike but ran into an issue as the tri top I had on had different pockets than I was used to and I couldn’t get to my food.  This is a problem.  I had UCAN in my bottles so opted for that.  I focused on finishing my UCAN and getting my bottle of UCAN hydrate in and did switch out my water bottle for a refill at one of the aid stations.  I felt as though I did a good job getting fluids in.  

I passed Jennifer fairly close to the spot that I had seen her on the first loop.  I was excited about this and pushed on.  Lap three was fairly uneventful.  The turn-arounds seemed to improve with each loop and the ones that were really tight were approached differently which lead to pretty good results.  Passed Mary Spalding and her cheer crew with the dry erase board full of funny messages.  She yelled loud which was awesome!  I arrived at the dismount line to my Mom and Dad both there cheering me on.  I felt bad as I felt pretty beat up, told them it was a tough day and pressed on.  3:10:11

T2:  3:38
I went in, switched shoes, dropped the bike gear, grabbed my hand held and arm sleeves, waved to my Mom and Dad and headed out.  

Run:

My goal for the run was to figure out some solid food that I could get in that would not hurt me too bad running.  Definitely needed the energy boost.  I grabbed bananas at the first stop and some water.  I stopped at the second aid station and used the restroom, put some ice in my arm sleeves and headed out.  I wasn’t moving quickly but was running and set a goal to only walk the aid stations.  One Day One Step!  Each aid station was refill ice - either shorts or arm sleeves, water over the head, water on the face, a drink of water and press on.  I went to my handheld for my UCAN Hydrate but found the valve was not working.  I unscrewed the cap and managed to spill all over myself and dump it down the wrong tube.  That was not going to work!  Jennifer passed me as I approached mile 5.  She looked great!  I cheered for her - glad she seemed to be having a great day!  As I approached the finish of the first loop, I found my Mom, Dad and Kristen.  I dropped my hand held with them, frustrated that that wasn’t working.   My mind continued to reinforce that it is a tough day just keep going.  Kristen jumped on and ran with me for a few minutes.  She gave me a much needed attitude check reminded my why I was there and that it was supposed to be fun.  At the time, she succeeded in making me mad but in hindsight she was absolutely right!  

Off for lap 2.  One more lap and I am done.  I reflected on my conversation with Karen Brown about what my post race treat would be.  I very clearly told her In N Out Burger and started to focus on that.  The sooner I finish this the sooner I get my burger!  I thanked the volunteers as I went through the aid stations.  Thanked some of the spectators that had been there all day and had cheered for me by name every time I passed.  The one that stood out was the guy in the unicorn mask and unicorn tights - he had a lot of energy and I told him that I really appreciated his effort all day!  I reached the last section - a long, hot out and back talked with a girl named Deni that mentioned she had spent 6 weeks in Boulder training, talked to another girl that was doing a calculated run/walk segment that seemed to be the same pace as me and a lady named Lori that was an awesome power walker and definitely keeping the same pace as me.  Passed through the last aid station.  There were two kids working the station that were funny offer ice in one hand, water in the other or a combo.  The repeated it over and over and had lots of energy.  Approaching the finish, I saw Mary again, then found my Mom and Kristen right before the turn-off to the finish.  Lori and I took off up the shoot.  Her power walk turned fast,  I backed off a bit so she could have her moment and finished behind her.  I finished with tears in my eyes.  Not upset with the day, just emotional.  It had been a long, hard battle and to be at the finish meant a lot.  Kristen was there taking pictures and videos and met me at the end of the chute.  2:50:58
Total time:  7:05:16

Kristen and My Mom managed to get separated at the end.  My Mom was trying to get to the perfect spot to see me finish.  It took a while but we finally found each other, connected with Jennifer.  I reconnected with Lori in the transition and we reflected on our days.  She found me as I was loading my car and gave me her extra supplies off of her bike as she was shipping hers and not able to take them.  That was so kind of her and I am hopeful that we are able to connect again.  We loaded up the gear and the bikes and headed out.  We dropped Jennifer at her hotel and headed to In N Out.  The burger, fries and milkshake did not disappoint!  (nor the Twizzlers - which seemed to be a diet staple of the road trip!)  Back to my parent’s house for a quick shower, loaded the rest of the car and were on the road back to Colorado by 4:30.  A whirlwind day.  

Reflecting on a tough day, I am happy to say that I can now look back and know that I learned some things, once again have opportunities to improve and am very thankful for all of the support that I had - from my Mom, Dad, Kristen, Jennifer and Mary in AZ,   from Mike - every day and every step of the way and holding down an unbelievable amount of responsibility between the house, the girls, the dogs, coaching, etc. for me to be able to be there to race and train, from the girls - checking in before and after the race and from all of my family and friends sending messages, encouragement and support.  It means the world to know that I am not on this journey alone.  One day and One step.  Learn, grow and press on!   A heartfelt thank you!


Monday, October 12, 2015

Taking Time for You



People often ask me, how do you have time to train with all that you have going on - a husband, three daughters, a full time job, etc.  For me the question is how do I not have time to train.  And in turn, how do you not have time.  

Time is our most precious asset.  We are all given the same amount and it is up to us how we chose to utilize it.  There are people all over the world making millions of dollars trying to teach different time management techniques.  We attend these seminars, notebook and pen in hand waiting for the answer to the world’s problem and telling us how we can fit it all in.  Truth be told we often thrive on having more to do than less - it keeps us engaged and keeps the drive moving forward as we fear not being able to get it all done.  

I take time once a week, typically on Saturday or Sunday to sit down and look at the week ahead.  This involves looking at my entire family’s calendars, and yes, we all have our own.  I look at the events that I have to be at and that I have no control over the time that they occur.  These are built in first.  I then block in my training time.  It is put on the calendar just like any other appointment.  My time allocated to this event and unable to have other things scheduled over it and remains “sacred.”  At this stage of the block, I then reach out to people that I need to meet with during the week and let them know my availability.  By doing this, there is never a concern that the meeting will overlap my training as my training times are no longer available.  No one will know if the appointment that you had at a another time was training or a meeting and it is none of their business as long as you show up prepared at the time that you committed to!  The rest of the day to day tasks are filled in around the above scheduling.  The grocery store, the bills, the desk work or calls - they will all get in the schedule and get done and have a focused time to occur!

I have been following the process above for over a year now.  I have learned many lessons along the way.  The first being that I am much more prepared, engaged and eager to participate after having my workout in.  For me it is an outlet and I feel much better after having the workout done.  The second is that I will not be able to attend every lunch, every activity, every networking event, every social event and that it is ok to say “NO.”  A hard thing to learn but definitely worth it when you do.  And finally, if the schedule didn’t work the week before, I am in control to change and modify it - before planning ahead look back on what worked and what didn’t and why.  You schedule and how much you add or subtract from it is in your control.  Embrace it and be sure to take time for you!  Your mind and body will thank you and so will those that you are in contact with.

One Day!  One Step!  Enjoy the Journey!

Monday, October 5, 2015

The Importance of a "B" Race

October 5, 2015
The Importance of a “B” Race

Who wants chocolate?  I added another race bib and finisher medal to the collection this weekend upon completing the Hot Chocolate 15K in Downtown Denver yesterday.  This race was not part of my original 2015 race schedule but came to be an addition for a multitude of reasons - a solid reminder of why we put different types of events into our training.    

Two weeks out from Ironman AZ 70.3, my training plan called for a long run as my final long preparation for race day.  It is always nice to have a change in venue for the long runs especially this late in the game as most of the time you put the miles in for longs runs in the same spot.  Purpose 1 of the Hot Chocolate 15K - change in venue!  Purpose 2 - Add a little bit of the race day excitement to remind you of the need to control your pace and energy and not get caught up in the excitement.  Practice in this area provides mindset that you are ready and “know” what to expect.  Purpose 3 - A little friendly competition - trying to catch that person that you’ve played cat and mouse with the whole way, the final push for the finish - to provide the spark to remind you why you race!  Finally, Purpose 4 - the opportunity to support friends, family and training partners participating in the race and out for their own goals.  The best and most rewarding purpose for me!

The race report.  

After stopping at the nearest Porta-potty one last time before heading toward the start corrals, I ran into a friend also headed for the start.  We walked together and talked about the upcoming run.  Her goals were to go the distance and use it as a basis for continued training going into the fall.  Her friend had joined her wanting to get a longer distance in - she had completed the Colfax ½ Marathon in May but the longest run since then was 3 miles.  The third person in her group was running the Rock N Roll Half in two weeks and using this as the final tune-up.  We agreed to set off together and part ways if our agendas did not match up.  I am always happy to have company!

Three of us stayed together for about 2 miles.  One peeled off for a restroom stop and asked that we continue on.  The second peeled off at mile 3 as her plan was to run 3 walk :30 and run 3 again.  She encouraged me to forge on.  The pace was good and even with the body struggles this week I felt good and in my groove.  I stepped up the pace a bit and decided to see if I could maintain it.  My first 5K was around 31 minutes.  A normal training pace but not a PR.  Second 5K was about 27-28 minutes which is in the neighborhood of my best 5K time.  The final 5K around 29-30.  Overall time 1:28:21.  Approximately 9:21/mile pace.  I enjoyed the run.  Enjoyed seeing a few people that I knew and enjoyed the race environment.  Overall all purposes were accomplished and it was a fun event!

Looking around at the people on the course - it is important to reflect on your “why.” And to remember that your “why” may be very different from the people surrounding you.  Focus on your journey.  One Day One Step!

Monday, September 28, 2015

Longmont Oktoberfest Triathlon

A last minute decision and a bit of peer pressure late last week found me toeing the line at the Longmont Oktoberfest Sprint Triathlon in Longmont yesterday.  The race included a 750M open water swim in Union Reservoir, followed by a 12.5(ish) mile bike (my watch measured 12.8) and a 5K run.  My goals for the race - push a bit on my anaerobic threshold - hard to do for the long distance triathlete, practice transitions as it has been a while since my last official tri and have a big one coming up in a few weeks, and most importantly have fun!  

I am happy to report that I feel that my mission was accomplished on all three facets!  I finished in 1:25:43.  (16:02 Swim, 2:20 T1, 38:18 Bike, 1:23 T2, 27:27 Run)  This placed me in 13th out of 23 in my age group out of 38th out of 220 in gender and 145th out of 448 total.  

Swim.  It was not nearly as cold standing on shore waiting for the start as it had been last week at the relay triathlon that I participated in.  I did a brief warm up with bands prior to heading to the staging area and entered the water as my wave was called.  The water seemed to be warmer than last week too!  I positioned myself to the right of the group but not as far back as I normally do.  I let a few take off once the horn sounded and then settled in.  Felt strong as I approached the first buoy and the second making the turn toward the halfway point.  There was a bit of funneling at the second buoy and respacing that occurred shortly after.  I started to see caps that were different colors so knew I had started to catch prior waves!  Rounding the last turn and headed to shore I was tangled up with another pink cap.  We swam over each other a few times and I moved to reposition myself.  Fortunately I saw the tandem boat and opted to go to the left as the next thing I saw was her tangled in the line of the boat.  I pushed toward shore - increased my kicking with Bob’s voice in my head and pushed to the finish.  15:13 is what my watch read when I hit the shore - the timing mat was not until the transition mat about .15 from the water’s edge.  This was my best open water pace ever and sub 2:00/100 yards which I have never seen in a race!  I felt jazzed.  

T1.   Now to get out of my wetsuit - what no wetsuit strippers in transition! I did wiggle out pretty quickly at least to my standards - definitely wasn’t the guy that Mike saw that had it off before he stopped swimming and haven’t mastered getting out of it while running through transition.  I did it leaning on my handle bar and didn’t have to sit!  Small feats!  I am used to having a bit of time to regroup as the transition does not usually make or break the race in the Half Ironman Distance and it is important to make sure you are prepared to cover the distance ahead.  I had stressed over sock choice for my bike as I usually do two sock changes in a 70.3.  I decided on my running socks in my bike shoes and slapped them onto my wet feet. Grabbed a quick swig of H2ProHydrate, Helmet and Glasses on and headed out.  

Bike.   Not sure why you would have a mount and dismount in unpacked dirt.  I heard Bob in my head say it is ok to walk/run your bike a bit further before mounting to get out of the chaos - so I pushed a bit farther and jumped on.  I was excited to bike and quickly settled into a groove.  I started passing people and always like to sneak a peek at their right calf to see age.  I passed many but was not finding many in my age group which was good - hoping they were behind me.  I think four people passed me throughout the course (most male).  I played cat and mouse with one who ultimately ended up ahead of me.  It was a fun ride and was fun to see my splits coming in pretty quick!  A lady I spoke with at the parking lot had walked me through a course recon and she was spot on.  Was happy to see a time in her range as she seemed to be a pretty big biker.  

T2.  Not much excitement - racked my bike, quick shoe switch, hat switch and a bit of water and I was off.

Run.  Passed Mike by the eNRG tent.  He ran a bit with me to check in and I was excited to tell him that I felt good.  Now to push myself on these three miles.  Flashback to the Ironman Boulder 70.3 run.  Dirt road, exposed sun and now we are climbing a hill.  I pushed on.  Focused on the max time it could be if I kept moving and less if I pushed.  Slowly chipped away at the time.  Happy to see a 9:10 split on my first mile, 9:01 on my second - found the lady that had passed me and ultimately beat me on the bike and passed her!  Happy to say I finished ahead - we were nice to each other - fun competition!  I did get passed by a few with 40s on their right calves…  Tried hard to catch them but didn’t make it happen.  Mile 3 8:37 and rounded the corner to the finish.  Overall 27:27.  My fastest 5K ever!!  And coming off a bike and a swim!  Makes me want to push this anaerobic a bit more!  

Extremely happy with my results.  Not an A race for me but a definite solid race prep for Ironman AZ 70.3.  Many things learned and opportunities to see where I can push some more.  Going to be an exciting year ahead!

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Ironman Boulder 70.3 Re-Cap

June 17, 2015

It is hard to believe that Ironman Boulder 70.3 is already a thing of the past.  After spending the beginning half of 2015 with this event as my primary focus it is now time to look back and reflect on the day, my training and set goals and plans for the future. 

Saturday, June 13 2015 – Race Day

Woke up at 4 without my alarm (I had set multiple alarms by the way, 4:00, 4:15, 4:30, 4:45 – just to make sure) at the Twin Lakes Hotel in Boulder.  In a room by myself after reconstructing plans several times throughout the week.  The bed next to me with my race day items laid out in order.  Tri Top, Tri Shorts, Sports Bra, Body Glide, Sunscreen, Long Sleeve to keep warm for the morning and Flip Flops.  Wetsuit, Swim Cap, Goggles, Water Bottle and Breakfast in the next pile.  Transition Bag.  Nutrition organized on the kitchenette counter – just need to add water.  Bags with evening items and post race items ready to load in the car.  It was nice to have the room to spread out and definitely nice to be organized and the morning seemed to be stress-free.

At 5:00, Rachel Levi, Andrea Parkhill and I met in the parking lot.  Ready to roll.  We headed out in two cars to the Boulder Reservoir.  Being 5 minutes away from the venue was definitely a bonus – will definitely stay at Twin Lakes again!  The traffic slowed on the road into the res and we creeped our way into the parking lot, watching the most amazing sunrise and the peace of a crystal clear blue sky day emerging.  I listed to Nickleback “What are You Waiting For” several times on the speaker of my iPhone.  I tried to sing along but found myself choked up to be here at this day about to race! 

Cars parked in the muddy field, we headed off to transition to set up for the day.  A few selfies and sunrise pictures along the way.  It was fun to see all of the Team Larry shirts as we arrived.  I was fortunate to have Kurt Kolleth as my onsight bike mechanic.  He got my back tire ready to ride and we bid each other good luck.  My transition seemed very organized and I even remembered to roll my socks which made a huge difference by the way! 

Race ready, we headed to the Team Larry compound where we spent the rest of the morning until race time.  The entertainment of getting wetsuits on and ready and watching personalities expose pre-race jitters.  Lots of laughing and commradery.  Very fun!  We headed out to the beach as the race got rolling.  I was a bit worried about the fact that everyone around me seemed very nervous and I was not feeling the same.  My mindset was One Day, One Step.  All else out of my control.  Apparently I had embraced it.  It was fun to see Mary Carey on the beach and to get last minute words of advise and encouragement.  Also saw KE teammate Joel Zarlin and bid him good luck on his first 70.3.  Sending off our teammates one wave at a time it got to be time for our wave.  Seemed like it came really quickly. 

As it was time for the Red Cap wave to enter the water, I grabbed the announcer Dave and thanked him again for arranging to get Rachel’s friend Mike in as a spectator later.  He acknowledged and then said in his microphone – “have a great race Kim!”  I carried those words with me in the water. 

We counted down to our start time and we were off.  There were bodies around and it was a bit slow at the start but suddenly the flow developed and we started stroking.  I threw my 25 strokes and switch to the other side for breathing out the window pretty fast.  It became a breathe to the right event!  I counted strokes as I went – not sure what I was counting as I always seemed to start at a different number but just kept counting.  Passing the buoys was reassuring – step one, step two – nice that they were numbered too.  Very little contact once we got into our groove – we just kept swimming and counting.  Passing the first turn was a milestone, the half way point and the last turn.  It was fun at this point as swim cap colors started to change – gave me confidence that I was catching up to the wave ahead.  The numbers on the return buoys were going up not down so didn’t know how many were left to shore.  The merger of the sprint course and the 70.3 course was a bit of a disaster.   People on their backs, their fronts, their sides, upright and swimming over the top of everyone else.  Pushed through the last few yards and I was walking out of the water and up the ramp. 

I felt like my transition went pretty well.  I sat down.  Got my wetsuit off, dried my feet off.  Put my rolled socks on without a hitch.  Downed some water and a bite of UCAN and was on my way.  As I headed to the mounting area I realized that I needed to switch my watch.  In the process, managed to juggle my bike a bit and nearly fell.  The result a nice bang on my right shin that didn’t feel awesome by any means!  I mounted and headed out. 

Headed out on the bike course, I settled into my grove.  Time to enjoy the ride.  I found Pete and Julie from Team Larry along the way.  Gave a shout out and continued to watch for more people that I knew.  I found Stephanie from KE on 93 and we played a bit of cat and mouse for the remainder of the ride.  I was excited to look down at my watch and see that I was averaging about 20 mph.  I was giddy and feeling great!  I worked on eating my UCAN bar in the first hour.  The melted mess definitely made for a challenge and I am sure the melted chocolate running down my handle bars, bike gloves and water bottled looked really nice.  What a mess.  I stopped at the second aid station long enough to shift bottles around and grab a new water and headed back out.  I started to feel hungry toward the end so did my best to put down as much UCAN as I could between where I was and the finish.  Got to see Colorado Springs Steven from Triathlon Research on Niwot Rd.  He was working the penalty tent and with the out and back I was able to spot him and then see him as I came back.  A nice pick me up at mile 50.  Passed Pete on Team Larry with a big shout out.  Felt like I was crawling when I got back out onto 119 but pushed my way through the end of the ride.  I looked at my watch at this point and came to realize that what I had thought was a 20 mph average was an actual speed as it now wash fluctuating between 13 and 14!  Buzz kill but at least it was at the end!  Guess I had missed one mode setting on the watch setting but was excited to know that I was coming close to the 3 hour bike.  I even managed a smile for the photographer at the top of the hill.  Pulling in it was great to see Team Larry supporters including Larry in his wheel chair right by the side of the course.  Fun to see Andrea photographing and the excitement of the people lining the course. 

T2 went well.  Sat down, changed shoes and had a big swig of the water bottle that had apparently gotten pretty hot sitting out in the sun.  It was really hot but tasted really good.  I stopped at the bathroom – waited in a bit of a line – saw Joel Zarlin on the way out of the bathroom – checked in on his race and I was off. 

Stopped shortly after starting to make a shoe lace adjustment and pressed on.  It was really fun to see all of the Team Larry supporters along the start of the course and to hear all of the shout outs.  Passing Andrea again she told me that Mike was out further on the run course.  So I spent the first few miles trying to find him.  I found him and Beth Hassett.  He jumped in and ran with me for a minute.  He was in bare feet on the dirt path.  Funny that I noticed that.  It was hot.  I ran a bit and decided that walking the aid stations may be the best bet.  I started to take water at each stop.  Some over the top of my head, eventually adding it to my face and then adding ice to my shirt.  I also took in Gatorade – not on my plan but felt like it was needed.  When I passed Mike again he reminded me that it is all mental at this point.  My training is there.  Just have to get to the finish.  It was fun to see friends – Susan McNamee, Brook Kreder -  team mates – both Team Larry and KE, and supporters – Mary Carey, Kristina Jensen and all of the Team Larry crew out on the course.  Was surprised when I reached Mike’s spot the second time to find he wasn’t there but gave me hope that I would see him at the finish.  I cut away at the miles slowly but surely and eventually made it to the finish.  I think after all of the water and ice that I was actually more wet than I was getting out of the water!  I reached the finish line, did the drop and rolled across the finish.  Success!!  Mike called out to me as I worked through the maze – excited to have a hug once I reached him. 

6:33:10. 
Swim 45:29
Bike 3:05:49
Run 2:30:10
T1 5:09
T2 6:33
Div Rank 64
Gender Rank 329
Overall Rank 1102

This was an amazing message received to say the least:

This is the coach in me now messaging you. OK, I just checked your final splits...and you  SHOULD definitely do a full distance ironman in the next 3 months(if you can). You had INCREDIBLE improvement in division and overall placement with each leg of the race. That’s AWESOME!...and significant. that means your conditioning was WAY better than most. You moved up 22 places in division rank after the bike was completed. (117 places up in your gender division and 129 places overall). you continued to move up with your run...another 10 places in the division,  17 in the gender category and an additional 97 places better overall.  that is something to be proud of. FANTASTIC performance, Kim. - CaCowboy Steinke