Today was the Ironman Racine, Wisconsin 70.3 Triathlon which was to be one of my key races this season.  My goal was to repeat last year’s win as the Overall Amateur and secure a Qualifying slot for the 70.3 World Championships this September.  Due to an injury I couldn’t compete, but my client Blake from San Diego took 2nd Place in his 25-29 AG and secured a slot for Worlds!

My race year hasn’t gone as planned.  Winter break was good.  I took a month off to let my body heal from racing in Kona at the Ironman World Championships and running the New York Marathon with Jennie Finch as I coached her to the finish line.

In January I sketched out a race plan and schedule.  When I started training I only swam and biked.  I started running again in February.  The ball of my foot started to hurt to the point I thought I had a stress fracture.  I was building up my mileage to run the Boston Marathon!  I booked it a year ago with my sister and friends to celebrate fitness after turning 40!  I got an MRI the week before the race and luckily it showed that I had an inflamed metatarsel pad that just needed rest and a cortizone shot.  I didn’t want to jeoporadize my race season hurting it long term so I went to cheer and support others.  My next quest was to start racing in March at the California 70.3 Ironman.  My foot healed before my knee developed a Baker’s Cyst.  My knee was swelling from biking into the hills and while running.  Again I was advised by doctors to take some more time off and only do cardio which wouldn’t irritate it.  Swimming was the solution.  I went to PT to balance out my hip and quad muscles that were weak and compensating for other muscles not supporting my knee.  It was a successful combo!   In April my training was going smoothly and I was getting very strong and fast again.

Encinitas Triathlon

I raced in the Encinitas Sprint Triathlon on May 15th and Won Overall Amateur placing 3rd among the Pro’s cutting a minute off my time from last year!   But, during the run I felt a pull in my calf and achilles.  After the race it hurt to walk.  I took a week off and it seemed to be 90% better.  I would jog only 15 to 20 minutes a couple days a week.  It never felt perfect, but it didn’t hurt enough to stop running.  The last two months I’ve fine tuned my body to have a peak performance. Weeks were passing quickly and my June race was approaching.  On a brick run I did off a long 4.5 hour ride my achilles felt good for a mile then started to tighten and my pace slowed.  I was only 10 days away from my next race so I decided to stop running again and go into my race with only swim and bike training hoping for a magical run.  Mentally I felt anything was possible.  The San Diego International Triathlon was one of my favorite races.  I won it and always placed in the top 3 among the Pros. It always had great weather and some of the best athletes in the world.  The gun went off.  I had a stronger swim and bike from my previous year racing, but my foot and achilles hurt the entire run leg.  Here is a picture of how it swelled and proved again I needed to take more time off.  

It’s been a domino affect of injuries on my body.  Today was my Ironman 70.3 World Championship  qualifier which I cheered for my client Blake, Timex Teammate Jackie Arendt, PowerBar Elite athletes along with my sister’s, brother, parents, husband and kids who came to support me.  Even though my body keeps taking a licking, my head and love of this sport keeps on ticking!  I might not get to race a World Championship this year, but next year I will be back!

SD International Triathlon where my achilles swelled up.