Posted on May 10, 2008 in Race Reports, Rants
I arrived in New Zealand to rain and cool temperatures on the 1st of April. I was lucky enough to get an amazing homestay family right in New Plymouth, but that is were my luck ended. I woke up the first morning feeling sick as a dog. After calling Heidi to let her know that I caught the bug too, I decided to rest up and try to get better in time for Sunday’s race. Again my great homestay family helped get me everything I needed to recover. By Thursday, Heidi still wasn’t feeling any better either so we both ended up getting antibiotics from the doctor that she was staying with. As soon as I started the antibiotics I felt immediately better; the congestion in my sinuses was still bad but at least the body aches and sore throat weren’t as bad. By Saturday, I was starting to feel better but when I tried to do any hard workouts I wasn’t feeling quite myself just weak and tired. The next day, race day, I woke up feeling not so great and considered skipping the race since I was already high enough in points to race the Olympic Trials. After calling home and breaking down in tears when I couldn‘t get Siri on the phone, I was a mess, I decided to just start the race and stop if I started to really feel much worse.During my warm-up I felt okay and started to be a bit more optimistic. However, as soon as the swim started things went downhill. The effort required to swim was taking so much more out of me than normal. My arms and legs were sluggish but my heart rate was ticking right along at a high rate. When we exited the swim after the first lap, I was exhausted and wanted to stop right there but decided to focus and actually had a good second lap. Exiting the swim, I was down on the leaders but in a good position to get into the lead pack by the 2nd lap of the bike. During the first lap of the bike, I coalesced around a great group including Lisa Huthaler from Austria and Lisa Norden from Sweden both great riders so I knew we‘d get that front pack very quickly. During the first lap on a short but steep descent, I was following Lisa Huthaler’s line as she pulled abreast of her teammate Kate Allen. Then I remember being shocked as Lisa veered quickly into Kate and away; Lisa’s back wheel hit Kate’s front wheel. I saw Kate wobbling out of control but didn’t have any time to react as she crashed directly in front of me; we were both going well over 35 mph. I don’t remember much of what followed except that the left side of my head hit the pavement very hard....
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Posted on May 10, 2008 in Race Reports
The first race of the season is always tough especially when it’s the Mooloolaba World Cup in hot Austrailia at the end of the their summer. Not only did I pick one of the most stacked world cups of the year (it is the Olympic selection race for Australia and New Zealand as well as an important one for many other athletes trying to get their ranking high before June) but also the course and weather make it one of the toughest races of the season. However, I would rather race against the best and get an accurate benchmark of my fitness than have a sub par performance where I score lots of points merely because the field is weak or small.It is such a shock to the system to go from training where you think you are working as hard as you can to racing where you need to give it that extra 10%. The first one of the season is always a wake up call. Not to mention the nerves, I am always a bit more on edge when I haven’t raced in awhile so I was feeling those as well.I left on Tuesday March 25th out of LAX and arrived Thursday morning in Brisbane Australia. I was traveling with and staying with another US athlete Heidi Grimm. The flights were uneventful but I was stuck in a middle seat for our 14 hour flight it was a tight fit between two large men. After we arrived in Brisbane, Heidi started to feel sick, and I kept my fingers crossed that she didn’t pass it along to me since we were staying together and spending much of our time together. I did start to feel a bit sick on Friday and Saturday but it never turned into a full-blown illness. Unfortunately for Heidi she started to feel worse much worse and didn’t get to race on Sunday.The race started out well. I had a very good swim and came out of the water 12 seconds off the leader and made my way into the front pack by the start of the 2nd bike lap. It was a frustratingly slow bike as I was trying not to work too hard and wear myself out like in my drafting races last year, but everyone else seemed to be saving for the run too. I ended up pulling a bit but not the entire way like I would have last year. I started the run feeling very flat and cramping in my stomach. The stomach issues were my own fault: I broke the golden rule and tried something new on race day a combination of red bull and endura which I won’t recommend to anyone plus I didn’t have a bottle of plain water. The run started badly but definitely improved and by the last lap I felt good it...
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Posted on Mar 15, 2008 in Ramblings, Training Updates
I failed in one of my running workouts this week. I was supposed to descend the run starting out conservatively and then ratcheting down the pace every two miles to finish running hard. Unfortunately, I started out way too aggressively running my first 2 miles too fast. Then, I was forced to hang on and suffer for the rest of the run. I completely failed to complete the workout as intended; however, I still improved my fitness and mental toughness by finishing the session with 100% effort.I think that sometimes failing in a workout whether it’s a run, swim, or bike makes you a stronger athlete. If every workout went perfectly as planned, it wouldn’t be a challenge. The interesting thing about doing sports is that every workout is an opportunity to improve my physical and mental fitness. Thinking that there is no possible way I can take another step let alone finish the workout and yet gutting through it to finish makes it easier to get through a tough race when the body really start to hurt. Staying focused and positive when a workout goes poorly is the best way to prepare for that situation in a race. I love this quote by Franklin D. Roosevelt, “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.” I have definitely been at the end of my rope and somehow managed to survive. I remember my first marathon in Chicago, I had an unseeded number so was supposed to start way back from the elite runners. But I wanted to really give it a go in the race so I jumped the barrier and started up to the front as close to the pros as was allowed. My attitude was either your going for it or you’re not, and I didn’t want to finish with any excuses as to why I didn’t have a good race. So I wanted to hold 6 minute pace as long as I could and managed to hit the first half in 1:19. While I paid for the early pace during the last six miles, the risk also garnered me a great finish as well as made me mentally stronger and smarter for the next one. In triathlon, I have had similar experiences where I don’t think I can possibly finish a workout or race yet somehow I manage to get through it. Every time it is much better to finish even if it’s ugly than to quit and it makes the races that go well according to plan even more...
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Posted on Mar 4, 2008 in Ramblings, Training Updates
Confucius, otherwise known as 孔夫子; Kǒng Fūzǐ; K’ung–fu–tzu, or “Master Kung“, was a thinker and social philosopher whose teachings have deeply influenced Asian thought and life. His philosophy emphasized morality, justice, and sincerity. Confucius’ thoughts have been developed into a system of philosophy known as Confucianism (儒家). Confucius emphasized the importance of study and is still seen by Chinese people as a Great Master. He wanted his disciples to think deeply for themselves and relentlessly study the outside world, relating the moral problems of the present to past. One of the deepest teachings of Confucius may have been the superiority of personal exemplification over explicit rules of behavior. His moral teachings emphasise virtue, self-cultivation, emulation of moral exemplars, and the attainment of skilled judgment. What does all this have to do with triathlon? On the surface of day to day training, not a whole lot…. However, after all the workouts and hard training, life and our journey in triathlon still has to have meaning and provide fulfillment aside from success or failure at any specific event. Each day involves personal choices: to give 100% or cheat yourself, to support your teammates or put them down, to appreciate your coach, friends, family or to take them for granted, to see the world through empathic eyes or critical ones, to see your challenges as opportunities or dread them as insurmountable mountains. This season, I want to find embrace each step of the journey and remain calm under all the antagonizing eternal pressures. Here are a few wise quotes from Confucius that really capture the essence of my hopes for this years’ adventures. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do. “ “Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.” “Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses. “ “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” “Wheresoever you go, go with all your...
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Posted on Feb 28, 2008 in Training Updates
I dread every Wednesday morning when our training group meets early in the morning to ride with a group, LaGrange Cycling. While the group is very friendly and fun to ride with, the ride is not. We climb up a challenging 5 mile hill 3 times trying not to get dropped at least not in the first half-mile. Every week, I wake up on Wednesday morning smashed from Tuesday training, and it only goes downhill from there. Some days it feels like my quads are about to explode by the time I reach the top, and I still have to do the climb two more times after that on jelly legs. To add insult to injury the descent to start of the climb for the 2nd and 3rd time up the hill is cold, freezing all the sweat so by the last time down my hands and feet are useless nubs. But, I know that this will pay off when I get to the races this year…it’s just not always easy to remember that when my legs are on fire only 2 miles into the...
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