Seattle Ironwoman

I'm almost 5 months into a hamstring injury. I injured it running downhill on Jan 31st. Two weeks later I tried to run on it and restrained it. I've managed to continue to agitate it and restrain it a couple other times. I know injury and recovery are never a straight line, but this has been pretty demoralizing emotionally. I miss running so much.  This injury has been really hard on me. I think it's because this was supposed to be my year to RACE HARD and see what I'm really made of. I got a coach, got power on my bike, and had a taste for some SPEED after finally getting quicker last year (and getting on some podiums)! It's taken some time to get over that idea - the idea of what this year was "supposed" to be. In reality, all I had to do was change my mindset, focus on the positives. I went to Victoria earlier this month for a half Ironman. I had initially wanted to place in my AG and get closer to AWA status. But, instead I DNF'ed. I went into ...

I started writing a post about my 2018 goals, races, travel, all the awesomeness that 2018 should be, but it's hard to dream about racing as I'm currently battling a hamstring strain.  Three days into training with my coach (I am working with a coach 1:1 this year! more info later), fully knowing my knee has felt off for a while (and having it all taped up), 36 minutes into my 45 minute run cruising down capitol hill I got instant sharp pain from the back of my knee up my hamstring. UGHHHHH. It was the kind of pain you can't run through. I've now been a non-runner for about 5 weeks. FEELS LIKE FOR-FUCKING-EVER since I last ran. I know injuries take time but I have almost no patience. I'm taking out my frustration on the bike and in the pool and I cannot imagine how I would be feeling if I didn't have those outlets. I'm going to PT twice a week and finally got cleared to do short and easy running intervals (20 seconds of running, 1min40s of walking), which f...

Quick Summary: Swim: good. PR by 1ish min. Got punched in the eye. Bike: good. PR by 45 minutes. Didn't get a flat, hit my goal time, really enjoyed it. Run: hard. PR by 1 hr 15 min (in Ironman racing). Was proud, but know I can improve here. Best Ironman race without a doubt.   I put together all three legs of the race which was my main goal. Am thrilled with how race day went! To all my friends and family that supported me throughout training, sent texts and messages and love all day - I am so grateful and humbled to have you in my life. Knowing you were tracking and watching all day helped me keep going all day. I love you all! Ironman Arizona Race Report Night before:  Slept three hours. Morning of:  Woke up with a massive headache. Super cranky. 3:45 am wakeup in mountain time is toughhhh. I ate my standard English muffins with pb+j, 2 cans of cold brew coffee, and some nuun. Isaac and I were able to walk to the start line which was only 0.7 mi...

IT'S RACE WEEK for Ironman Arizona. I can't say I'm enjoying tapering, but I am looking forward to heading to AZ! For the first time - I feel like I'm heading into this race prepared. I did 3 - 100+ mile rides. Last year, I went into Boulder having gone 82 miles as my furthest ride. This year, I ran 16.5 miles as my longest run (did that 3 diff times), but on one of those days ran a second time and hit 21 miles running for the day. I swam about the same as I have for every race. Maybe next year I'll actually try to get faster at swimming... :) I know what I can control on Sunday, and that many things will cross my path that I can't control. That's the part that makes it an adventure. KNOWING that things will not go according to plan is really the only certain thing about racing a full ironman distance! This year I've had some success racing - I did two triathlons (olypmic and 70.3 distances) and got first in my age group and top 10 overall for the wome...

Light at the end of the tunnel! Only one month until Ironman Arizona! I haven't hit serious burnout on this training cycle, probably because I took 3 weeks worth of vacation during the 6 months of training (without biking or swimming those weeks!). What I'm looking forward to the next few weeks is being DONE with 6+ hour trainer rides. The weather has gotten too cold/stormy to ride outside. I'm a fair-weather cyclist and have no interest in freezing my butt off outside. However, 6 hours on an indoor trainer is a major mental strain. When you ride 100+ miles outside it's hard, but you have downhills/flats you can coast, scenery to distract you, and a lot of movement in and out of aero position.  6+ hours on the trainer is sweaty. It's uncomfortable. You ache, you sweat a lot, you doubt yourself... a lot goes through your mind. The setup. Towels underneath and all The mental breakdown of 100+ miles on the trainer: :30 - Warmed up. I can do this.  I'm an I...

This last weekend I raced in my first ever 70.3 distance triathlon (half ironman)! I had a great race - not only did I manage to PR my half marathon time (1:47) after biking hard, I estimated a finish time around 6 hours and ended up with 5:26:20! I got first in my age group and 9th woman overall! I enjoyed the course, Raise the Bar put on a great event, and had a blast racing against some stellar triathletes! Swim: It was a 2 loop swim course around a diamond of buoys. I started in the middle of the pack at the very front which is so not my style, and I did not enjoy getting kicked and dunked and slapped around! Someone hit my goggles and I freaked because they filled with water in the first 100m! I fixed them fortunately and focused the first 10 minutes on just finding some space where I could get into a groove! I found this woman who was doing a stellar job sighting and navigating around the slower men so I followed her the rest of the swim and then passed her at the very end. M...

Training has officially started ramping. I wish I could say "I feel so strong!" or "I am so looking forward to 75 more days of training!" but I'm just so. freaking. tired.  I've been pushing SO HARD to get faster... stronger... further my endurance... but I have never pushed like I am now. Mentally, I feel strong while I'm moving. Physically, I feel awesome while I'm moving. But the rest of life can feel like I'm in a haze. I feel nauseous more than I care to admit. I'm having a hard time sleeping. Why does my body have to remind me that I'm not a super hero... I'm merely human and can't go and go and go without rest?  Part of me thinks that I'm just not replenishing my calories enough, and part of me knows this is just the ramp. Do other Ironman athletes feel this way? Am I doing something wrong?  Anyways, less than 3 months till Ironman AZ. I'm killing it on the bike and run. I'm really slacking on getting my ass in...