2012 Timex Team Camp

Last February I was introduced to some of the most incredible collection athletes I have ever met that I am honored to call team mates. I was completely star struck by this collection of pro athletes and elite amateurs of the team Timex. Throughout the 2011 year I got to race with many of them and experience comraderie I have never experienced before in triahtlon. I still remember arriving at 70.3 World championships in Las Vegas and hanging out at the team Timex truck set up at the expo. I was so nervous for the race but being around such support and friendship eased my nerves and I really felt apart of something spectacular.
This year at camp, I was so excited to see everybody again. A HUGE thank you to our fabulous collection of sponsors such as: Nathan Sports (http://www.nathansports.com) that has launched some exciting new products this year, Champion Systems as our clothing provider (http://champ-sys.com), Native eyewear sunglasses which before last year I had never worn before  and absolutley adore now!( http://www.nativeyewear.com/), Challengetech Challenge handmade tubulars which produces high quality, handmade tubular and open tubular tires. Challenge marrys quality comfort, performance and technology. (http://www.challengetech.it/), Shimano who always delivers the the higest quality components. Really excited about riding Dura-Ace Di2 this year. Dura-Ace has been completely re-designed into Shimano’s lightest, most ergonomic and precise road group ever. The top of line 7900 series Dura-Ace system not only delivers the best mechanical performance to date; it also serves as the core chassis for the revolutionary DI2 shifting system. (Shimano.com), Trainingpeaks.com, Justins.com, headsweats.com, beakerconcepts.com, tri-swim.com, powerbar.com, pro-bikegear.com, of course timex.com, but lastly I wanted to introduce our new bike sponsor quintana roo! Brad Devaney, the bike developer did a whole presentation for the team to introduce the new bikes we will be riding this year and I was super impressed. The brand new Illicito is gorgeous looking but besides all that this new frame has some revolutionary features. By removing the nondrive side seatstay, Quintana Roo have attempted to redefine frame design and create their most aerodynamic bike ever. Brad went into detail about how QR’s shift technology concept uses an exclusive 18 mm offset downtube to force airflow form the front wheel down the non-drive side of the bike creating a more slippery route for the air channeling it away from the chainrings and rear deraileur as seen in the CD0.1. The Illicito was taken a step further and this removal of the nondrive side seat stay smooths flowing air. One would naturally think this would compromise stiffness, but Brad explained a new carbon fibre lay-up has been implemented and the non-drive side chainstay has been beefed up to easily take the strain of your most powerful effort!! I have opted to ride the CD0.1 with Di2! (quintanarootri.com) I can honestly say, Team Timex is floored to be working with such an innovative, stellar company!!
I want to thank Team Sports, Inc and Timex USA for the incredible opportunities! I am so honored to be apart of such an amazing team. The 2012 Team Timex is ready for a burnin season!!

Ironman Florida had once again been and incredible experience and journey.  This ironman experience has been quite the memorable one to me because of all the obstacles that were over come leading up.  It makes the whole race more satisfying due to that fact alone. Before I go into how my race played out I wanted to express how inspired I was by Florida Ironman 2011 winner Jessica Jacobs. More then her being the 13^th women to break 9 hrs in ironman, I read Kevin Mackinnon’s interview with Jessica and was even more impressed. She had personal obstacles she had to overcome as well and admitted feeling a bit lost at times which I could relate to. I fought hard this year staying positive and to not give up.  After reading the interview, it was clear Jessica also did just that.

“You take some really bad lemons and you can make some really awesome lemonade. That’s the story of it all. Life can really turn around, but you have to want it and make it happen” states Jessica.  Jessica Jacobs is not only an incredible athlete but a true inspiration to me with her endlessly positive attitude and never-quit approach to life.

I am proud of what I accomplished at Ironman Florida 2011. I finished the course in 10 hrs and 36 mins. Only 3 mins away from a PR I had hoped for.  Race week it looked like the swim would be rough since it was quite windy and the water had been choppy all week. Miraculously morning of the race the water calmed down! I felt in control the entire swim and actually enjoyed it very much. I dodged a Man O’ War during the first lap which was funny. I got in a good pack the second lap and paced myself with them. Getting out of the water I wasn’t surprised seeing a 1:12. I knew perfectly well I had slacked off in swim training all year long. I got my workouts in, but when I needed to push myself that is where I fell through the cracks. I believe I would benefit a great deal from swimming with a group for help with pushing myself. It is different with my running, I can go out to a track and absolutely destroy myself and dig deep all by myself training but that is because I have been a runner my whole life and I know how to push through the pain of running hard. Swimming still feels a bit foreign to me. This is my 3^rd year in triathlon and thus my 3^rd year swimming,  and I have picked up a great deal already and improved so much, now is the time for me to learn to dig deep on hard workouts in the water and that is one of my goals for next season.

Exiting the water I got really excited because the swim was over. I heard my family on the sidelines including my Aunt and cousin who came from Canada to see the race! It was such a burst of energy! Even exiting transition on my bike I saw my friends on the sidelines cheering. I felt so much love and positive energy which was incredible! My boyfriend Josh and his stepdad had even driven out to the bike turnaround point to see me go by! There they were on the side of the road waving. It was so awesome and unexpected!

I felt strong on the bike and tried very hard to stay in a good range of speed, but now looking back I feel like I should have made my range more aggressive. I saw another girl in my age group at one point and we were kind of playing cat and mouse with each other. I would fly by her and try to get away but then she would do the same to me a little ways down the road. We kept that up until I thought, ok this is silly, I am confident enough in my run to let her go. She went by me one more time and I thought Ok chick, I’ll be passing you on the run so enjoy it now (I did within the first 2 miles of the run).

I will flat out say, I am not satisfied with a 5:33 bike split. I felt like I worked harder during my bike sessions leading up to the race that should have earned me at least under a 5:30. Yes, there were sections that were plenty windy, but nothing that I couldn’t handle. I think I was just being safe. I remember looking down at my mph’s and seeing a certain number and thinking, that’s ok, it will average out because I am about to turn a corner and get a tail wind. I don’t think you should ever think that way, I was being too safe and I don’t like racing that way..that being said there is a very very fine line in ironman racing of being safe and in control and gutting it out. I experienced in Kona in 2010 going a bit too hard on the bike and suffering on the run. This is where experience is a beautiful thing, you just sort of learn those lines.

Ok, my favourite part. Run time! I waited all day long to run! I ran out of transition feeling very strong. Before I say too much, I must point out that I am kicking myself for not monitoring my pace on my Timex Global trainer. Silly, silly, silly me! I was feeling amazing and just wanted to go for it but stay in control by feeling it out. During the first mile I saw my friends and family cheering on the sidelines which I thought was amazing and even more, out of the crowd pops my Revolutions Tri Coach Chuck Kemeny! He starts running next to me asking how I was doing and feeling. That meant so so much! I told him I was feeling OK and trying to keep the pace under control. According to my splits I ran the first 5 miles in 7:40 land. I was in 6^th position off the bike and passed 3 girls during the first 8 miles. I sat in 3^rd for pretty much the entire run. I was told I was gaining on 2^nd too. I had a gel flask in my back pocket. I planned on having gel every 30-45 mins along with my salt tab. During the first 30 mins I tried to squeeze the gel out of the flask but it was not coming out easily. I thought the heck with this thing and that was the end of that…..bad move. You would think that after 2 ironmans I would learn a thing or two about the nutrition gods and to not mess with them..apparently not. Well my not eating gels was apparently fine but what happened to me at mile 23 was not and I really strongly believe it was due to possibly going out too fast and not eating the gels. I had hit a wall. I actually have never experienced this before. I describe the feeling as a light switch knob that you turn on and off. It felt like someone was slowly turning the dial into the off position. I felt like I no longer had control of my pace and my body slowed more and more and more until I had to walk. I walked some and then got back going and it was like that all up until the finish. During this time my wonderful boyfriend Josh was randomly on the sidelines at mile 23 and was running along with me. He and I had rode and ran the bike and run course one of the weekends leading up to the race. He had practiced with me in the last 2 miles of the run to drop it down and hammer it in. He told me remember that long run we did here on the course where you kicked my ass the last 2 miles of the run? You need to do that now! But I seriously couldn’t. It had nothing to do with mental toughness and gutting it out. This was physiological and my body was shutting down.  During this time the 4^th place girl in my age group overtook me and I looked at Josh and said OH NO!!! He just kept me positive and running as best I could. As a side note, 4^th place girl was brilliant. I saw her splits and she had some beautiful even spilts around 8min/mile. She did a fabulous job. My splits however, wildly uneven.  So anyway, I made it to the finish! 10 hrs and 36 mins later and took 4^th in the 25-29 age group! What a race! Many ups and downs like expected. But that is the beauty of the ironman and one of the reasons I love ironman distance so much. You really delve into yourself and find out what you are made of. When you get to those tough points in the race you find out exactly who you are. It is fun for me each ironman I do, when I get to those points in the race I witness myself stronger and tougher then the last ironman. I love it. Ironman racing is truly my passion.

In conclusion I have to thank everyone who has helped me through this journey. My team Timex has been absolutely amazing to me. This team is so incredible. During the run high fiving team mate Luis Alvarez was so awesome. Revolutions Tri coaching is also such an important part of my life. Not only will my coach run out on the course with me to see how I am doing and motivate me, they wrote this wonderful message on the road of the run course with all the athletes names doing the race in a big heart! Revolutions Tri Coaching is such a superb coaching company. I am honoured to be one of their athletes. Triathlon Lab has been a sponsor of mine from the very beginning and always comes through for me with anything I need for my races. I am so very thankful for Tri Lab and all that they do for me. My friends who cheered for me during the race and trained with me leading up are the most amazing people I think I have ever met. Such genuinely nice people and their support means the world to me. My family who had NEVER missed an ironman traveled up from West Palm Beach to see the race. My Dad even brought his wetsuit with him to do a practice swim with me the day before the race. I even had my Aunt and cousin who came to see the race from Canada. I hope I inspired my cousin to do Ironman Canada with me one day. 70.3 Muskoka for sure!! (Mary I am holding you to it!!) Lastly, my wonderful Josh and his stepdad came to the race to support me. Josh lives in Sarasota but that has not stopped him from coming up to Tallahassee and Panama City Beach to train with me. Thank you everyone who has been there for me this season. You have no idea how much you mean to me.

There is so much that goes into a race. The preparation the months before, the support along the way, the taper, the mental focus, the race plan and finally the race. This race was an unexpected surprise. I did not expect to claim my slot at 70.3 Florida. I have a special team mate to thank for helping me get to the starting line. Before signing up for my races this season my plan was to put all my focus on the ironman distance. But I think racing in this distance a few months before my ironman was a nice dress rehearsal for my original focus.

I will begin to talk about my preparation leading into the race. I recently began being coached by Revolutions Tri Coach Chuck Kemeny. I can not even begin to describe what a fabulous coach he is. His workouts for me have been focused and intense. He sets me up for success and I trust that.

In my opinion, the best athletes are the ones who can manage all the other aspects of their lives and continue to train fiercely and intensely day after day. No matter what hurdle is thrown at them they can jump over them and be unfazed and continue to keep their heads in the game. This year from me has been a real test of my ability to do just that. I will move on from this season will full artillery of mental prowess and newly found skills of how to overcome constant adversity. I will admit leading up to this race that I had a tough time logging all of my training that Chuck had given me especially (and very obliviously in the swim). I knew natural ability combined with the minimal training in the swim would get me through the swim but I also knew that it wouldn’t get me through fast but I also gambled I could make it up during the bike and run. This leads me to my report of the race.

I was one of the last waves to go off. Females 18-29 took off at 7:50am (third from last). I did not bring my speed suit to race in so I just wore my Timex race suit. The swim was calm and actually a really enjoyable route. We got to swim under this bridge which was really neat. We exited the water in a different location that we entered and had a long run into transition. I later found out that many people believe the swim was long because their times were not accurate according to what they know they can swim. I looked at my Timex getting out of the water and thought, wow, I knew this swim time wouldn’t be pretty, but wow, this is down right ugly! I thought, OK I really need to catch people on the bike and not wait for the run just because I feel like I am way behind.

There was a good little climb out of transition and it was steady climbing until mile 20. I really started to notice the climbs getting worse by this point. I admit I went out hard trying hard to chase down the swimmers.  Any other course this wouldn’t be too bad of an idea but on this particular course that was the kiss of death. This bike course was just too extreme in its amount of climbing for someone to expect to hammer it all the way into t2 and be ok (unless you are just an extremely strong rider) otherwise it is smart to stay controlled on this course and make sure you don’t blow up your legs too badly so you can have a solid run. By mile 40 I was feeling a lot of heaviness in my legs and then mile 46 came and I realized something was wrong. Nothing with me, but my front tire. Flat. My first flat during a race. What a bummer but got back on and made it into t2. I sat in t2 putting my shoes on a little discouraged but thought about the positives and the fact that I just really love running and the only thing that would make my day better right then was to go for a run! I thought, man I just really want to run. I ran out of transition clipping along. There were 3 loops of 4 miles and a good incline we had to run up each loop. This incline was long and you definitely needed to slow up getting up it, so that slowed me down a bit, but otherwise, heat didn’t bother me, I felt good and in control and my nutrition was right on. I took plenty of salt tabs to keep the fluid pulled into my muscles. I dropped the pace the last 4miles like my coach suggested I do and felt unbelievably well. This was a good sign for Ironman Florida. I felt like I could hold that pace forever. Seeing my team cheering for me along the side lines gave me a burst of energy when I needed it the most. I felt inspired to see my other team mates along the way in the race as well. This race would not be what it was without their support. I was challenged many times during this race but knowing Team Timex was behind me every step I took helped me persevere.

So an extremely challenging course and plenty of adversity along the way but I overcame the race. I will admit I am disappointed I didn’t do as well as I hoped but I have my work cut out for me. I know the swim did me in and a flat tire on the bike didn’t help either.

I will say that no matter how a race plays out, I love to race. Slow or fast time, this is a passion. I am fascinated at how the human body can perform such feats. Fascinated by the human heart and soul that wills them to the finish and not quit. After all, I GET to do this, I can wake up every morning and walk and I have a wonderful family who loves and supports me and I have wonderful friends who believe in my and are happy for me when I accomplish wonderful things. I am able to be unfazed by the people who try to drag me down and hurt me. I love ironman triathlon! Ironman is a true testimony of courage and persistence. I have worked so hard and long through the face of adversity. I am certain that the strength I have gained through all of this will enable my passage through any and all challenges I may face or willingly put myself through. I again want to thank all of the tremendous support I have been given through Team Timex, Triathlon Lab, Spire, Revolutions Tri Coaching, my friends and family. I am truly blessed.