I’ve decided to write what I will deny writing and stay oblivious to until October 13 at sometime in the evening (see item 1 below).

The First Trip To Kona.  Thoughts, suggestions, preparation:

1.  Don’t talk about it.

Why?  Isn’t it true that if you tell someone you are going to do something that you are more likely to do it?  Yes.  But, that is in the realm of behavior modification.  OCD’s (obsessive compulsive disorder) like me (and perhaps many of you) don’t need that.  What I learned is to not give my energy away to all the casual conversations about “what is your next race?” and “are you going to Kona?” and the must-be-avoided “what will your splits be in Kona” (if I nail that, I’m hitting Vegas, baby).  Possible responses:  I might do another race, I did some bike racing recently; maybe I’ll go to Kona; maybe I’ll go and watch.  All the people asking are trying to be kind and thoughtful, I just have to be conscious of my energy.

2.  Letting go of what I don’t control. 

Like what?  Ankle sprain, adrenal fatigue, bike crash, Autumn (my daughter), Michael (my spouse), basically everything around me except me. 

3.  Flow instead of Force.

I have to say that this has been the most significant lesson over the past 2 months.  I took a break in July then began training for IM again in mid- to late-July.  Initially, I tried to force my swim stroke to come back, push the pedals harder, make myself run faster.  Taking a step back, I re-engaged with the joy that is in my heart when I train.  I let go of the expectations and focused on that moment on the process.  For me, that is “long and strong” in the water, “from the hips” on the bike, and “straight forward and back, get those knees up” on the run.

 Enjoy your journey!

 The majority of women in the sport of triathlon do not have enormous hair…and there is a reason. I was looking back on my many (2) years of being a triathlete and thought I might share a few “hairy” moments with you.

Before retiring, at the age of 11, from the sport of triathlon, I rocked the perfect triathlete hairdo. My hair was cut short, and tightly permed into a large ‘fro…I am not kidding…it was awesome. So when I made my triathlon comeback, at the age of 21, I was not sure as to what do with my huge blonde hair. So I had my friend, Lissa “Fisch Face” Fischer, french braid two cute pigtails. The braids were rad until I got to transition, and couldn’t fit my helmet over the braids. I ended up perching my helmet on top of my head, with the straps suffocating me…I don’t even think that is legal.

I was not yet totally turned off on the braided hair idea. The night before my first Ironman, I went to a salon in Tempe and asked the woman to braid my hair TIGHT, so I could comfortably get a helmet over it. The braiding was about a 10 on the “it would hurt less to shove a pencil in my eye” scale. When she finished, she asked if I wanted “product” put on my ‘do to hold it in place. Now, I am about as low maintenace as it gets, so the only “product” I am educated on is deoderant. I now know one thing about hair “product.” When you jump into the Tempe Town Lake, it will flow down your face like a slow moving oil spill. It tastes like 11 pm on a Saturday night, and if it gets in your goggles, you might as well chuck them.

Previously, I participated in the Boulder Stroke and Stride series. The event is super low-key (I was mainly there for the pizza, and the boys in speedos…in that order) but the swim start is BRUTAL. As I took off, I got hit in the face. Hit so hard that it broke my goggles, which held my cap on, so when my cap came off, my hair was everywhere. I was like the Boulder Res Loch-(Hair)ness monster.

The next Stroke and Stride I survived the swim (woohoo), ran into transition, put on my shoes, race belt, tied my hair up…oh wait…I forgot a hair tie. So I ran like a beautiful stallion with flowing hair behind me, yeeeeeah right! My hair was so long by then that the people who were on there way back, running in the opposite direction, probably got smacked in the face by my less than glorious mane.

So I decided to get a bit cut off. My dad told me he had a gift certificate to a salon in town. I figured it had to be better than the last time I went to Fantastic Sams and got the twitchy lady to unintentionally layer my hair. I went to the salon to find ESPN on the TV, jerseys on the wall, and my hair cutter was wearing an umpire uniform. I fully expected to be offered a beer when I sat down in the chair. “So,” I started, “do you, um, get many girls in here?” That was when she told me they only cut men’s hair, but they couldnt legally turn me away…uh huh. “So, have you ever cut a girl’s hair before?” “Nope” uh huh. The hair cut ended up NOT being better than the one I received from the twitchy lady…dang it. I think it is time to bring back the ‘fro.

Under-19 age grouper Avery Visser surprised us with a victory at Danskin in Austin.  What a great moment for the future of our sport. 

The day began a bit stressful.  Uncharacteristically of me, I didn’t get to the race early enough for me to go through my ‘pre-race warm-up routine’.  Danskin caters to the masses, and the parking-to-race venue busing takes a significant chunk of time.  So, I wasn’t warmed up.  And, for my 37-year-old body, that is not recommended.  For a sprint triathlon, I need to sweat before the race.  This is not an excuse - just a reminder to get the HR up prior to a fast race, particularly for those of us who seek long events.

Pre-race I felt tremendous energy from all the athletes and spectators.  Many women are competing for the first or second time with lots of support from friends and family.  I flew solo that day, as Autumn (my 7-year old) bagged going to the race in favor of playtime with Grandma (Michael was playing in a golf tournament).  She did the expo with me the day before and thoroughly enjoyed the Crocs booth, where she scored a sweet pair of pink shoes with a bicycle, ‘ruby’, dog, and turtle Jibbitz (why didn’t any of us think of that idea).  She absorbed the extra attention the Trek and Bontrager wheels received as we checked in the speed machine.  Trek sponsored the race, so we had the opportunity to meet Julie and her compadres. 

Race day comes quickly and the race went fast — 71 minutes as hard as I can go.  In Austin, you never know if that will land you at or near the top or not.

I have been swimming better, so I was pleased to see that my BlueSeventy goggles helped me gain on the field in that area (relative to last year).  The stunning part of the swim: when Avery came blowing by me in the swim.  I raced with the first wave in this race, so when I felt her come by, I knew she had already put a minute on me (and several others).  She had the fastest swim of the day, and put over 3 minutes on me in 800 meters.  Now, this isn’t totally surprising, as I learned to swim 4 years ago, almost to the day.  So, I’m grateful for the progress my body continues to make.

The Trek and Bontragers ride sweetly, and even without a warm-up, we put down the fastest bike split of the day, just a smidge under 25mph, in the attempt to chase down the race leaders.  I ran smoothly — it was a ‘trail run’ — so that shook things up a bit. It was a bit strange, though, as the gaps ahead and behind me were fairly substantial, I didn’t see racers out on the course.  The support was fantasic, and the energy high.

Overall Results:

1 - Avery Visser 1:08:44

2 - Jeannie Sampson 1:09:09

3 - Katherine Bertine 1:09:44

4 - Juli Fiocca 1:11:31

5 - Joni Moore 1:14:14

http://results.timberlinetiming.com/results/index.cfm

I am realy shocked by my progress lately. I set 2 PRs in the past week! I ran the Lake Placid Half Marathon on Sunday June 10. A beautiful day, nice and cool, sunny with some clouds. It did heat up, but in the Adirondacks, the shade that early in the morning is still great air-conditioning.

So my last Half Marathon was a 2:09. That race was awfully cold and I was under-dressed. My IT bands also kicked in for that race and I was reduced to a hobble for the last 3 miles.

ANYWAY…..I set a big goal. I wanted to run under 2 hours to see if I could do it. I had my Bodylink on and the GPS unit on my arm. So by monitoring my heart rate and my real time pace I was going to go for it, or go at that pace for as long as I could! The first couple of miles I was in a big pack of people. Then it started to thin out. I was never really alone and I was trading spots with a couple of people depending on who stopped at what aid station. I have to say the station volunteers were great and I was out of character and a little rude to one person. VERY SORRY! I am not used to pushing myself like that and I think it really got to me towards mile 9. I also couldn’t understand what he was telling me. Totally my fault. EVERYONE - thank your volunteers!

So, in order to come in under 2 hours I had to maintain a sub 9-minute pace for the whole time. I was doing pretty well and my splits were really great in the beginning. I ran 4 miles in 32 minutes, then 7 miles in 1 hour. For me, thats pretty quick! I knew it would float up towards the end and it did, but by pacing myself this way I was able to buy time for the last mile or so that is mostly uphill. I hit mile 10 at 1:27. So I thought to myself, even if I run 10 minute miles, i will make it under the 2 hour goal! Phew. BUT I didn’t let up, and that was the big lesson I taught myself this weekend. Push yourself, you don’t know how far you can go and what you can withstand.

For those of you who have run the Ironman course there, it is about 85% the same course. A little different for the start and finish (ugh, that finish) but the majority is the same. A lot more pounding downhills in this course that I thought would be the end of my knee! (Big shout out to Cassidy and the TP roller!)

So the finish is this big ugly hill with SWITCHBACKS. When I hear that word, that can only mean one thing. STEEP. Oh man, they were steep. I was reduced to a jog, but i kept running. Then I ran the oval to the finish with very dead legs, trying to hold off anyone from passing me. I had a little over 1 minute when I hit the oval to make my sub 2 hour goal. My husband had finished ahead of me and came back to run the oval with me. He was giving me a countdown as I was trying not to blow up too soon. I paced it very well and had a kick at the last 100 yards. I always like to do that no matter how hard it is or how much it hurts. I made it! 1:59:18. WHOO HOO!

My other PR I did last night was a time trial. The Trek Equinox 7 WSD rode great for me. 10 miles, rolling hills. A month ago I did a 32 minute race. Yesterday was a 29:20! That was the first time I had broken 30 minutes on that course. I am so happy!

We are going up to the Whiteface Uphill Bike race Saturday June 16 and Ironman Coeur d’Alene June 24. Come and join us for some climbing pain! (I have a compact and a 27)

Tonight I held my first annual triathlon clinic at Bike N Ski in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. I have previously worked at this store for 7 years before school became a year-round proposition. Whenever I am back home I seem to find myself hanging out at the shop quite a bit, and when the phone rings its hard not to answer it or go up and help customers. (It still feels like I work there). The triathlon clinic was open to anyone in the area, and to whatever topics people had questions about. We had several beginners/ first-timers that came so we mainly focused on the basics and how to participate in a triathlon. I think that the event was a success for everyone that came and hopefully we will hold more clinics in the future. Most importantly, we gave away some free stuff, some visors from Timex and some Triathlon calenders from Bike N Ski.

Check out the store at www.bikenski.net