Ironman Season

My life is seasonal. The year starts with “busy season.” (That’s what auditors call “tax season” because “audit season” sounds like the subtitle for a bad movie sequel. -Wall Street 3: Audit Season) Given that I’m an accountant – a certified professional one – I know I’m going to spend the first couple months of every year buried in work. Lucky for me the weather is usually as miserable as my workload, so I don’t really feel like I’m missing out on much.

About the time the mercury starts creeping up I start spending a little less time with my calculator and a lot more time with my bicycle. That’s when I know it’s “training season” – the time of year when I try to regain the fitness I lost while fulfilling my financial Kona qualification standard during busy season.

And now I’m on the cusp of “Ironman Season.” It’s a short season – just under two months – but it’s my favorite time of year. This is when I get to dig into the inner reaches of my soul. I get to learn about myself – How do I react when things go right? How do I react when things go wrong? Am I stronger than last year? I think I have the answers to those questions, but there’s really only one way to find out.

I’m headed to Louisville tomorrow and I could not be more excited. Ironman Louisville starts in the Ohio River at 7am Sunday morning. With 7 athletes racing, and even more on cheer duty, it’s going to be a Dynamo Multisport party for the whole 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run. Combine that with the all the awesome people following online and on Twitter and I’m predicting a massive amount of positive GREEN energy directed toward Derby City on Sunday.

No wonder I’ve been looking forward to this all year! Bring on the heat! We are ready!

Birthday Weekend!

Last weekend I had a LOT to celebrate! It was my 26th birthday and I made whole weekend of it!

My mom surprised me with the most beautiful and delicious birthday cake

And with all that fruit, it must have been moderately healthy, right?

I celebrated with friends AND family since my awesome cousins Karen and Collin were in town.

Collin, who braved the crazy trail run with me in Montana last month, actually just moved to Atlanta. I've promised to show her some of our Georgia running trails - which I've told her are completely wolf free!

My top birthday weekend priority was seeing the new Harry Potter movie! My friends Alexis and Loren joined me for the Potter Party - and Loren even dressed the part!

And of course I did plenty of swimming, biking, and running - all fueled my my latest shipment of Element Bars!!!

Cake, friends, family, Harry Potter, and Element Bars - sounds like the perfect birthday weekend to me! Thanks to everyone who made it so great!

Louisville Training Camp!

What happens when Coach Diablo and his carbohydrate-loving German coach, Chris Hauth, join evil forces?

The AIMP/Dynamo Multisport Ironman Louisville Training Camp!

A handful of my Dynamo Multisport teammates and I joined a few of Chris' athletes for a long weekend of triathlon training in Derby City.

We covered pretty much every inch of the bike and run courses - which were even better than I remembered!

The bike course heads out of the city through the beautiful rolling hills on the outskirts of Louisville. The course winds through horse farms and cute little towns - and it's so much fun to ride!

The flat run course goes right past a few famous Louisville landmarks like the University of Louisville and Churchill Downs.

We skipped the swim course in favor of the gorgeous U of L pool - but do not worry, I plan to make some serious waves in the Ohio River in a few weeks!

The best part of the camp was the camraderie. And of course, getting some inside tips from Diablo and the German - including Ironman nutrition!

Now I'm feeling better than ever about racing in Louisville next month. I know I'm a bit fitter and wiser than one year ago, though there is definitely still LOTS of room for improvement (especially in the wisdom category, hah!) But one thing is for sure - I am having the BEST time training for this race. And racing with my teammates on August 28th is going to be an absolute BLAST!

Howdy from Big Sky Country!

I spent last week at my family's cabins in the "Last Best Place" - MONTANA!

I traveled to Big Sky Country to visit my family. And since I come from a long line of endurance sports junkies, it was only natural that the week kicked off with a trail run! Ebeth convinced my cousin, Collin, and I to join her for a "not-really-that-difficult" 8 mile race along the continental divide.

Unfortunately, I forgot my mother's definition of "not-really-that-difficult" is completely insane and the run was BRUTAL! The first 5k were completely uphill, followed by some quad crushing downhills, and the entire race was at 7000 feet elevation!

And if that wasn't enough, the race director actually thought it would be funny to have a guy dressed as a wolf scare people on the course! My poor oxygen deprived heart almost couldn't take it!

Ebeth, of course, crushed the course and won her age group!

And once we escaped the wolf unscathed - even Collin and I were all smiles!

I spent the rest of the week enjoying some scenic rides, running along gorgeous trails, and teaching my cousins how to make perfect S'mores.

I even paid a visit to the world's best sandwich shop and enjoyed the world's best tuna sandwich!

It was absolutely delicious!

I was sad to leave my family and Montana, but I know I'll be back, and I have lots of fun training to look forward to in the next few weeks!

There's Going to be a Rematch: My Eagleman 70.3 Race Recap

Mark your calendars! October 8th, 2011 is the official date of the 2011 Kona Swim Rematch! I've lived the past eight months as "the girl who lost the swim," but 2011 is going to be a whole different story.

Thanks to solid performances at the Eagleman 70.3 Half Ironman Race this past weekend both Coach Diablo and I nabbed our Kona Slots! And now I am lazer focused on being the fastest stairclimber the Big Island has ever seen!

I think the 2011 picture is going to look something like this:

Going into Eagleman I had one goal: RACE. I wanted to push the pace and be agressive all 1.2 miles in the water, 56 miles on the bike, and 13.1 miles of the run. The Cambridge, Maryland race is known for being a fast course with fast competition, and that was exactly what I was looking for.

Racing with my Dynamo teammates Kathryn, EJ, and Alberto meant lots of pre-race laughs. And Garth Brooks playing on the loudspeaker as I got in the water meant I was already having a GREAT day!

The Eagleman race course is FLAT. I think the biggest bumps may have been the waves in the Choptank River, but even those were pretty whimpy. This was a bit of a change for a girl who loves riding uphill, but I did not learn to pack my bike and travel all the way to Maryland to race within my comfort zone! I just tried to keep the pressure on and keep racing mile after flat mile.

Luckily, I love flat running courses. But a flat run does not mean an easy run. What the Eagleman run course lacks hills, it makes up for with HEAT:

Thank goodness for amazing volunteers handing out plenty of ice and cold beverages along the course. I managed to survive the run, win my age group, and claim a Kona slot.

HUGE thanks to my Coach and teammates, who inspired me throughout the race, with a special thanks to Alberto's fiance Jill, who logged the fastest run split of the day en route to getting my wallet so I could pay my Kona entry fee (which was nearly $300 cheaper than the IM NYC entry fee - no racing in the Big Apple for me anytime soon!)

Now I'm more excited than ever for summer training and fast racing in Louisville and Hawaii!

Decisions, Decisions: Ironman Louisville vs. Ironman NYC

An Ironman in New York City!?! It doesn't even sound possible! How do you swim, bike, and run through the most densly populated major city in the United States? And given the opportunity, how could you not?

World Triathlon Corp just announced Ironman New York City yesterday. The race it isn't scheduled until August 2012, but it's already causing me major issues!

Most Ironman races sell out in hours, and IM NYC is sure to be no exception. The anticipation for this race is HUGE! And even though race day is more than a year away, registration opens next week! So I have a decision to make:

Will my August 2012 Ironman be in NYC or Louisville?

The only rational thing to do is evaluate each race based on 5 key factors: Date, Location, Course, Cost, and Fun.

Date

This one is easy. Race day in the Big Apple is set for August 11, 2012. I imagine Louisville will be later in the month, likely August 26th. My summer work schedule can be a little hectic, so the later in August I race, the better.

Location

Even though I just became an expert bike packer, I like that I can drive to Louisville. Flying to a race means carefully packing to avoid excess baggage fees. Driving means mindlessly filling the Corolla with anything and everything my heart desires. Being within driving distance also means I can easily visit the course for an early summer training camp.

Course

Crossing the Ironman finish line in Manhattan sounds very exciting. As does running over the George Washington Bridge (I have a bit of a bridge running fetish). Louisville has a bridge crossing too, but it's not named after the first President of the United States. The Louisville bike course is beautiful. The NYC bike course is in New Jersey. The Ohio River is kind of dirty. The Hudson River is...

Cost

I think WTC should publish marital status along with its average income data.

Fun

It's NEW YORK CITY!!!

And there is one very important factor I failed to mention: PEER PRESSURE. I'm a sucker for it, and it often trumps even my most rational decisions. So I have some thinking to do. Some discussions to have. And ultimately, a choice to make. And either way, the end result will be 140.6 miles of pure bliss! Stay tuned!

How to Pack a Bike

Confession time: I've been a triathlete for nearly 3 years and until this past weekend I did not know how to pack my own bike. I've always relied on the generosity and know-how of those far more skilled and generally, just avoided bike travel as much as possible. But, thanks to the great bike guru, Allen Heaton, my triathlon travel troubles are over!

At the recommendation of Allen, his wonderful wife Sarah, and a few other jetsetting jocks I know, I made the big purchase and bought a bike bag. I went with the Aerus Biospeed Travel Case for 3 reasons:

(1) It fits inside the Corolla

(2) It's small enough that I might be able to avoid airline fees

(3) It's made by Blue, and so is my bike

Here's a visual of the set-up:

After getting the bag, the next thing I needed was a set of Albopads! The reusuable bike frame wraps are the genius invention of my good friend Al Bodine. My bike is my most valuable possession (by far - sorry Corolla!), and I need to take care of it! Thank goodness for Albopads - they're protective and efficient!

Unfortunately, Allen took one look at my bike and decided it would be offensive to the entire Albopad nation to use their wraps on such a dirty bike. So, for the sake of demonstration we used inferior foam tubing and tape. Maybe Allen's next class will be on bike washing? Or maybe just how to turn on a hose?

The break-down process was surprisingly simple. With a just a few quick twists of the wrench my wheels, pedals, derailleur, and handlebars were off. Then it just took some crafty tube and tape skills, and Voila!

And the bike slipped right into the bag:

Being able to leave my saddle on "in-transit" is just one of the many advantages of having the body proportions of a mongoose.

At the end of the day I was a happy and much more independent triathlete. HUGE thanks Allen! Now I'm ready for anything!