Change of Season

Posted on May 24, 2015 in Ramblings, Rants, Training Updates

Change of Season

As the spring came to an end, I found myself at a crossroads in my triathlon career.  For the past year, despite the world’s best training, I have struggled to execute consistent performances in my races. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was letting down my coach and myself, and that it was time to either walk away from the sport or make a change. For the 18 months, I have had the incredible opportunity to live at home and work with Siri Lindley and her amazing team of athletes.  I wouldn’t be where I am in my career without Siri. She has been an inspirational mentor and an incredible friend since she gave me my start in the sport in 2006, and she was gracious to take me on after my season-ending crash in 2013.  Coming back to train with Siri was incredible.  She has an enthusiastic energy and is completely dedicated to getting the best out of all her athletes every day.  On the performance side, Siri’s record as a coach in the US is unmatched; her athletes dominate on the world stage from ITU Olympic distance to the Ironman world championships. Siri is an amazing leader.. But, I couldn’t seem to turn the training into race results. And, while I have no doubt we would figure it out eventually, I also know that my time in the sport is limited.   So, after some very deep reflection, I made the incredibly difficult decision to go back to what had proven successful in the past. Now, I’m here in Switzerland and back under the supervision of Brett Sutton who coached me through the most successful years of my career.  Brett, while with a different style than Siri, is equally accomplished having produced countless triathlon world champions over his coaching career.  I approached Brett Sutton for the first time at the end of 2010 when I was at another crossroads in the sport and considering retirement. This time, I was at a similar point and knew that if he was willing to take me on his squad that Brett would do his best to help me find the consistent race form that I had under his tutelage in 2011-2013.  Brett agreed to help guide me through my final years in the sport.  This change will not allow me to live full time at home, but with the support of my husband, who has once again gotten behind me, we’ll both give triathlon a few dedicated years before I hang up the tri kit. This was not an easy decision to be taken lightly.  In addition, this change has no guarantees.  However, in the words of Arthur Ashe, “Success is a journey, not a destination.  The doing is often more important than the outcome.”  When faced with an impasse, sometimes the only choice is to change direction, push onwards,...

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Me & My SKINS!

Posted on May 19, 2014 in Training Updates, Uncategorized

Me & My SKINS!

I am so excited to be working with SKINS in 2014 & beyond.  I bought my first pair of SKINS on a trip to race my first ITU world cup in 2006.  The race didn’t go that well but I did come away with an amazing pair of compression tights that I still use today! The way I train for Ironman makes recovery crucial without my SKINS I wouldn’t be able to back up the consistent training day in day out! Read my SKINS partnership announcement: http://endurancesportswire.com/skins-compression-announces-partnership-with-american-professional-triathlete-mary-beth-ellis/ Learn more about SKINS: http://www.skins.net/en-US/index.aspx Visit my fan page to enter to win a pair of SKINS so you can recover like a...

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Kona Update #2: Fall down, Get Back Up

Posted on Jan 23, 2014 in Training Updates

Kona Update #2: Fall down, Get Back Up

American professional triathlete Mary Beth Ellis was injured in a bike accident on Sept. 9 in Cozumel. Despite severe injuries and the resulting surgery, Ellis is working toward a goal of making it to the start line at the 2013 Ironman World Championship start line. She will be providing updates on her progress exclusively to Triathlete.com. See update No. 2, along with two videos, below. Triathlon is a different kind of sport. And, as I battle back from my crash and surgery to race, I’ve been thinking about a race I did in 2008 at Escape from Alcatraz that taught me the value of perseverance.  I was winning the race and having an amazing day—until I crashed. The television coverage was hard to watch. One minute I was sprinting out of the saddle up a hill. Then, I was suddenly falling to the pavement with my pedal ripped out of the crank. My dream of winning that legendary race that day was over. Banged up and devastated, I watched the entire women’s field pass me by from the side of the road. An hour later, I was able to find a mechanic to force my pedal back onto the de-threaded crank. I had a choice: I could ride in self-pity back to my hotel or I could keep going and finish the race. In a lot of sports, there wouldn’t be a second thought. Hit the showers. Game over. But, triathlon is a different kind of sport. RELATED – Mary Beth Ellis Kona Update #1: Hurry Slowly I decided to keep going and finished the race with the middle of the amateur field. As I was coming in T2, my fellow women professionals were crossing the finish line. I ran with the inspiring age-group athletes and was in awe of their spirit and determination. I learned that day that in triathlon, you finish what you start. So, as I look forward to the daunting road from an operating room in Vail, Colo. to the starting line at Dig Me Beach in Kona, I want to finish what I started so many months ago—not just for me and my family, but for all those who have endured much worse to get there. My training is slowly improving. In addition, I have made strides with my Howard Head physical therapy team and I am finally seeing some improvement in my arm mobility and strength. Despite all the positive strides, I had a small setback as some irritation on my suture knots forced me out of the pool for 48 hours. However, Dr. Millett fit me into his schedule at the Steadman Clinic in Vail to ensure that there was no infection and get my final check-up post-surgery. We leave for Kona in four days. Please help more athletes stay in the game by supporting the nation’s biggest and oldest non-profit for...

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Kona Update #1: Hurry Slowly

Posted on Jan 23, 2014 in Training Updates

Kona Update #1: Hurry Slowly

American professional triathlete Mary Beth Ellis was injured in a bike accident on Sept. 9 in Cozumel. Despite severe injuries and the resulting surgery, Ellis is working toward a goal of making it to the start line at the 2013 Ironman World Championship start line. She will be providing updates on her progress exclusively to Triathlete.com. “Hurry slowly” is a motto my coach Brett Sutton applies to everything in triathlon and life. My recovery has been like that—a process where I am slowly but steadily improving each day with my physical therapy. Like any athlete, being patient is not my strongest attribute. But this accident and surgery have forced me to slow down and take things day by day. I have been riding the trainer on my race-ready Cervélo P5 this week and am even able to ride in the aerobars more evenly and comfortably. So while I have only been riding on the trainer, I am very optimistic that things are moving in the right direction. The run has also been on the steady upswing. After the first week of recovery from surgery, I ventured outside and have been able to run pain-free. I am confident that the run should not be a problem for my shoulder as long as I can stay upright and not trip over my own two feet. While there is positive news on the bike and run training, I know the swim will be my biggest obstacle. And progress has been slow. At this time, I am still only kicking and one-arm swimming in the pool. But in my physical therapy, I am slowly working on my range of motion with endless arm circles.  I have come a very long way in the last two weeks, but there is still a long way to go over the next 16 days. Ironman is always hard. This one will be my hardest yet. But, I feel lucky. I’ve had the unique advantage of working through a research-based rehabilitation program. I’m fortunate to live near the Steadman Clinic. I want everyone to have this same opportunity… I want to help them help more athletes stay in the game. You can help make people more active by supporting the nation’s biggest and oldest non-profit for sports injury research, a cause I’ve become very passionate about over the past couple week. Anything helps, please check out my page here. Link to article on...

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I Will Try For Kona Start Despite Injuries

Posted on Jan 23, 2014 in Training Updates

I Will Try For Kona Start Despite Injuries

Here is the article explaining my choice to race Kona despite my crash and surgery on September 13th. fter a fifth-place finish in her second attempt at the Ironman World Championship in Kona last year, American Mary Beth Ellis was considered a top contender to take the Kona crown this October. Despite a season full of adversity—she had a plantar fascia injury early in the season, was bitten by a rabid dog while training and then crashed while racing at Ironman France (she went on to win)—Ellis had still managed to add several wins to her résumé, including two Ironman titles. She felt like things were finally coming together when she headed to Cozumel for a final block of Kona training with her teamTBB teammates, but one week after her arrival all hopes of winning the Ironman World Championship title were dashed. “I went down there around Sept. 1 and was training and it happened on Sept. 9,” Ellis says of the accident. “We had a hard track workout in the morning and I was doing a really easy bike ride in the afternoon. I got out there and it started raining—the kind of rain where you might as well be taking a shower—and I was finishing up my two-hour ride and just pulling up into my street. I was probably about 100 meters from where I was staying and I turned to look behind me to see if any cars were coming because I had to make a left turn and I just missed seeing a puddle that was in the middle of the road, and unfortunately I went into that puddle and under the puddle was a huge pothole, big enough that my entire front wheel went into it and I flipped right over the handlebars.” After visiting a local hospital and confirming that her collarbone was indeed broken, Ellis booked the next flight home to Boulder, Colo. and started looking into doctors who could help her reach a full recovery in time to race the 2014 triathlon season without any lingering effects from the injury. At that point, Ellis felt there was no chance of reaching the 2013 Kona start line, but that belief changed when she met with her physician. “I have to credit Dr. [Peter] Millett of The Steadman Clinic with that,” she says of the realization that racing in Kona may still be a possibility. “I was meeting with him and I had mentioned to him that the original goal was the Ironman World Championship on Oct. 12. The primary goal was, of course, to get a full recovery, but he supported the idea of me trying to go for it… I’ve sacrificed a lot of time away from my family and my husband to really focus on Kona. I really want to, if it’s possible, have the opportunity to get there. I’m...

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Salmon and Ducks and Lamb Oh My!

Posted on Jun 3, 2011 in Ramblings, Training Updates

This is supposed to be a take on the scary yellow brick road journey where Dorothy and her ragamuffin band of friends are all scared of the lions, and tigers and bears! Only my yellow brick road is the one down the aisle to get married in about six months and the animals are the ones one the potential menu. Planning a wedding hasn’t been too stressful yet but I guess I am only halfway there. In fact it has been pretty fun and a nice diversion from the daily grind of training. This week, we went up to the mountains where we will be getting married in December and had the arduous task of tasting the menu and desserts. It was so tough just like I imagine an Ironman must be. We tasted a bunch of starters then of course salmon and duck and lamb followed by three different types of cake. Eric clearly was a fan of the chocolate cake as we had to pry it from his hands just to get a taste. As we move closer to the wedding date it is all getting very real! I have been trying to get a handle on all the wedding details that need to be finalized now as I will be leaving to head to Leysin to rejoin the team in early June. Having the deadline of the last training camp in Thailand and now this one in Switzerland makes it easy as I don’t have time to debate over small decisions for the wedding. I just have to interview a few vendors talk it over with Eric then pull the trigger. There is no time to dilly and dally and it has made me more efficient. But I am now starting to get excited for camp as I read about team members already arriving there. I am sad to be leaving Eric and Mr. Fur but eager to get back smashing sessions with the group and Doc. It is hard training solo at home sometimes and will be nice to have the support and camaraderie. Also, it will be nice to have some time to just relax (aka train like an animal then sleep and eat) and not think about selling my house, moving, or the wedding for...

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