Santa Cruz 70.3 Race Report

I decided to finish up the triathlon season with the Santa Cruz Half Ironman. Overall I finished 5th in my age group and 30th woman overall.  Not a bad way to end the first season in the 25-29 age group. I was a tad nervous to age up but it is a very fun experience to have to push so hard in competition and the finish is that much more rewarding. 

For now I am signing off the triathlon scene to focus on a few more trail runs and a marathon in November. Any more swim and bike is for fun and cross training, woohoo! I don't have any triathlons on the radar jut yet for next year, so feel free to leave a few suggestions. 





Swim

I don't always wear neoprene pantyhose,
 but when I do, I wear Blue Seventy

I absolutely love being the first wave in the swim, a few guys from the next wave caught us but as a whole it was a short span in the washing machine then a wide open course. Really happy with my Blue Seventy Fusion suit, after a short cold shock it warmed right up and didn't let too much water into the sleeves. 

Having the dock at the center of the swim allowed for some easy spotting. Also beneficial because staring out into the vast ocean provides a bit of an existential crisis, which I just don't have time for. I generally try to avoid ocean swims but this one went very well with a  total time just over 40 minutes.

What I do wish I had done differently would be to have some sandals or something waiting. The run to T1 was a third of a mile and part of it was on cobblestones. I neglected to do so thinking it would violate the rules about outside assistance, but there were many lined up at the exit. It turned out OK this time but is good to remember for the future.

Bike

WEEEEEE!!!!

The bike is always my favorite, while this one was marred with small annoyances I still got to climb up in the rank from 32nd to 5th. My handlebar tape decided it didn't want to be there anymore and my gear box kept opening up to say hello. Luckily both of these issues were easy to fix while on the go and were more noisy than anything else. My bento box full of caramel Bonk Breakers stayed shut and that's what matters most!

This course was less hilly than some I have done since coming to the Bay Area but was not without its tough parts. Right at the 20 miles mark as a decent 2 miles climb with the remainder being rolling hills. Best way to handle this kind of course is a power meter. Maintaining as consistent a power output as possible keeps the energy output lower, leaving more to finish the run. Hills will require slightly more to go up but ensure you take the recover time on the downhill when pedaling is not as effective. Using this methodology, I finish up the bike after 2:43 and get ready to run to the finish.

Run

The first photo, with a costume change!

This run felt down right perfect. I PR'd my half marathon time with a 1:45 finish and managed to maintain the 5th place I had gained on the bike. There was some touch and go with a few other runners but I dropped the last one for good with 3 miles to go and just had to hold on to the finish. As a forewarning to anyone considering running this race, the run finishes with a 3/4 mile stretch on the sand and has a two mile stretch of trail running right in the middle. My Bocos might have been a better choice for these stretches but the Distance Elites, as always, held their own. This also might be the first race where I put more Ruby's on after the finish to protect my feet from the sand in my socks!

See you all next year!

Full Vineman Race Report- Wine Goes Well with 140.6 Miles of Racing!

She tracked me down at the finish!

Another 140.6 miles in the books! Vineman was an very well organized local race and provided some beautiful scenery for the 11:49:40 I was out there for. That time got me to first place in my age group (Female 25-29) and fifth overall. Not quite on the overall podium but closer than ever before. Just have to keep trying!

Swim/Slosh Leg

Like a surprise group hot tub

Stepping into 72 degree water when it's only 50 degrees out is absolutely amazing. Nothing else makes me that excited to pop a wetsuit on and hop it! This swim was my first time doing a multiple lap swim which certainly broke up the monotony. Unfortunately, all rivers and lakes are low here right now, so most racers had to run the turnaround in the shallow water. Not much to be done about that and at least everyone had the face the same obstacle, so an even playing field. Ultimately I did a 1:20 swim, which is in line with my Ironman Texas time from last year. I would like to be swimming closer to a 1:10 time, I will let you know when I figure out the secret to that.


Bike Time!

So... I somehow thought this course would be 1,200ft of elevation gain. I really though I had found the race route from MapMyRide and couldn't help but think "1,200ft? Excellent! I am way over prepared for that!"

Pictured: Not 1200 Ft of Elevation Gain.

Imagine my surprise on course when I can't figure out why I am going 2mph slower than expected. I was able to make myself feel better when my Garmin told me I had completed 4,938ft of elevation, but it was a bit discouraging during the race. I just decided to hold my power numbers where they needed to be and the ride would be whatever it ended up being. This gave me a 5:38 bike time, which put me in line with the front running women. As far as I can tell I came off the bike in 7th or 8th place overall.

A few wineries at the back end were offering free tastings for participants, but it seems inappropriate to stop mid race. Maybe next time. For now I will stick with Bonk Breakers and PhD Nutrition during races. 

Newtons make me smile

The Lydia Shuffle

Almost done! The run course was split into three out and back loops. I spent a few miles doing this math in my head (it gets difficult to do at this point) and each loop is about 8.73 miles, and each leg is 4.37 miles, which is totally doable. Running 4 miles is definitely doable. Original plan was to run to each water stop and take a short walk break as I grabbed a drink and snack. However, there's nothing quite like 112 miles on the bike to make a molehill look like a mountain.

The loped course allowed me to see my Big Sexy teammates beast moding it through the course. Congrats to everyone on their great finishes!

Diablo Trails Challenge 50K Race Report

Long time no see!

Lookin' fresh

I know that I just had a post last week but I had some back-to-back races this month! However, these two races were very different beasts. Sunday I ran my very first ultra marathon at the Brazen Racing Mt. Diablo 50K and, while I can't really move today, it was an excellent experience. I finished up 10th overall woman with a time slower than I predicted (7:26:30 and 8 Bonk Breakers later) but rewarding all the same. I went into this race thinking "Well, I have done an Ironman, so I can do this right?" Whole different story, and while the mental play is about the same, this was one of the more physically tolling races I have done. I certainly wished I had some NormaTecs waiting at the finish line!

Brazen Racing really impressed me with how well this race was organized and I cannot thank the volunteers enough! 


To ease the description I broke the course up into a few sections:

 

Newton make trail running shoes to! BOCO!

Section 1: The flattest part

This section I held pretty strongly, only a few uphills worth walking on but mostly kept up a good jog pace and completed the section with a sub 11 min/mile average. That downhill got a little rough with a blister deciding that was a really good time to show up on the end of a toe, but nothing a band aid and some extra Ruby's Lube at the aid station couldn't fix. I spent most of this section with a few other runners making the course a lot less lonely than I expected. 


Section 2: Where I made the most gains

Here I was picking up girls left and right. I set it up as a mental game where I would run to different 'finish lines' and then have a walk break. Very similar to a walk/run marathon plan, but with a whole lot more walking. Regardless this worked really well and I was in the top 5 women but the time I reached the first summit and held on to it until the second. I also got a handful of gummy bears. YUM.

 
Section 3: The technical downhill

Oh boy. Nothing like a rock slide areas followed by an 8 inch wide soft trail with poison oak on both sides to keep you on your toes. I had be pumping myself up for the downhill and seeing this very tricky slow path was a bit of a mental punch. It was here where my overall placing (and age group) dropped down to my final placement.

 

Section 4: The hill I conveniently forgot.

My legs are not happy here, I was waiting for a wide open fire road going downhill at a steady pace. This hill was super rude and just popped up out of nowhere! Luckily I get to the top of this final ascent and know that no matter what I can finish because there's only 6 miles left. I can run 6 miles right? For sure.

Section 5: The final haul

This wasn't the rewarding easy downhill I had wanted but rather six miles of feeling my dead muscles bounce around. I met a rattle snake, named him Jeff and swiftly ran away. I was holding longer run intervals for the last few miles but unfortunately still taking a couple walk breaks to get there. I crossed that finish line and laid down immediately. A lot of runners were much more confident in their footing coming down and this is definitely something I want to work on. I think it's a matter of trusting your eyes and your feet as you get more comfortable on the trails.

 

Notice: I did not pass out.

Overall I learned a lot and already know trail runs are something I would like to see more of in my future. I would definitely make an effort to have taller socks and will be practicing my descents. Can't wait to do another!

HITS Napa 70.3- Kicking of the 2015 Season

Good chance to rock the new Zoca kits!



This race was intended as my opener/warm up race for the 2015 season. My goal was a top ten overall finish and age group win, neither of which happened but I did lay it down and go as fast as I could that day. This course was definitely a lot of fun and it also gave us a good excuse to go to Napa for the weekend! The huge benefit of the HITS race series is they had all four race distances available so both Meg and I got to race in the same weekend and have ourselves a weekend getaway.






Meg starts the swim

Swim:

The swim was beautiful, very clear and clean water with a course oriented away from the sun. A tad on the cold side (mid 50s) but nothing a long sleeved wetsuit can't handle! I rented my wetsuit this time around, as the one I own is short sleeved but the BlueSeventy is peaking my interest. The long sleeve gave me a little extra buoyancy and didn't restrict my swim stroke at all. Swim time came in at 37 minutes, which is a significant improvement over past races but I'd like to be consistently putting out sub 35s some day. Better keep working! Time was still good enough to get me on the bike sitting in the top third.




Bike:

After a bit of a hold up trying to get my wetsuit off (no strippers at this event, strictly family friendly) I was off and away! As most people who follow this blog know, the bike is by far my favorite. This race was no exception, quite hilly but I was able to maintain an average power about the same as my normalized power at 170 watts. Bike time was 3 hours even, which might seem slow compared to my past race times, but did get me a top five bike split.

I broke one of my cardinal rules which is now new gear on race day but this was my first outside ride with my new Cobb Saddle and I have to say, totally worth the risk. Not a single comfort issue all race. In combination with some Ruby's, I was able to focus just on my power output and not worry about other issues.


Always good to start with a "wake up" hill





This course was also a good confidence builder as there were two turnarounds and I was able to keep track of my overall positions. I was sitting at 6th off the bike and ready to go for a podium.

Run:

At first the run was going pretty well, I had a good pace going, was keeping my heart rate under control on the hills, shoved a Bonk Breaker in my face, all that good stuff. Now to come clean, I started feeling some knee pain after a long run about a month ago and this was my first run since then. I taped my knee up during the transition (any tape I had on under the wetsuit was in a soggy pile in transition) and when it stayed on I had no problems.

 

And then I had some problems.

So KT tape is meant to have some time to set before movement, however in transition time, ten minutes isn't going to work. It unfortunately all came off in a ball of sadness at the third water stop and I had trouble from then on out. 7 miles later, I had fallen down to 11th spot overall and third in age group with a total time of 5:48.

What's ahead for me:

I am biting the bullet and going to a sports doctor to get my knee looked at. I am still hoping to compete in the Diablo Trails 50k Challenge this Sunday but also know that no single race is worth a season ending injury so we will se what the doc says and I will keep everyone posted. It is a race I trained very hard for so everyone keep their fingers crossed that I am told to take an aspirin and walk it off.

In the mean time, if I run Sunday, I will be running to support Save Mount Diablo. You can find my donation page here!

Ironman WC Kona Race Report 2014

Well guys, this was a tough one. I was looking for another sub-11 race but did not come in mentally prepared to make that happen. Every leg of the race took much longer than expected for various reasons but it all boils down to underestimating the course difficulty. Overall I did finish, 21^st in age group with a 13:02 time. It is time for me to take a bit of a break and recover but the next season will be a new age group so I’ll have to get speedy!

Pre-Race Week

Hanging out in a volcano crater, for funsies. 

We got to Kona a week before the race and got to see some amazing sights. Good news

about vacation is you can keep busy all day but still sleep plenty! We got to snorkel, zip-line and hike all around the island!

Food wise, fish here is excellent. Sushi is one of the most affordable dinners on the island. We did pack a lot of dry goods (cereal, quinoa etc…) which saved a lot on costs.

Race morning

This one luckily was a bit calmer than the morning of Ironman Texas. No long bathroom line and transition was right at the start line so we didn't have to factor in a long walk. We got there and were ready with plenty of time to wait.

 

Swim

All is well and good before I hop in

By far the most emotionally charged swim start I've been in. We had about five minutes treading water listening to drum beats and waiting for the cannon to go off. The anticipation along with the excitement of seeing the other three waves start made me a bit antsy on the start line. I knew coming into this race I would not be the first out of the water by any means so I tried to just set up a steady pace and finish it up. I felt great in the water, a bit choppy but nothing like Galveston was. The salt water also introduces some interesting factors like the face numbness and taste. Overall I came out in 1:35 which was far from what I was hoping for, but I looked forward to getting out on the bike course.

Bike

I started off very excited to get on the bike. It’s the leg I am typically best in and enjoy the most. At first it seemed like it would be great! Held a good pace the first hour, even in some of the hills and I felt less discouraged than I did immediately after the swim.

Then around mile 30 the winds picked up.

Now, I know everyone said the course was windy but I figured ‘Hey it’s windy in Texas I’ll be so prepared!’ I quickly learned my mistake. While Texas coasts have a strong and steady wind, Hawaii has a strong and steady cross wind with frequent gusts that were storm worthy. At one point I was going 8mph DOWN a hill pushing into the wind and a gust took me right out. I failed to keep myself upright and was only 40 miles in at this point. Mentally this was starting to break me and I pushed through the remainder of the bike course for a 6:30 total time.

Unfortunately I planned nutrition based on my past race times and only brought three Bonk Breakers which was enough food for about 5 and a half hours which put me in a bad starting position for the run.

Run

At this point I was just mentally pushing myself to finish. This entire course was well beyond the difficulty I expected and I was not prepared and not proud of that. I did know that I did not come to Kona to DNF and so long as I had any say in it I was going to finish.

First ten miles is relatively flat with strong crowd support and I was simply trucking along. Getting to see Meg and several family members along the way helped significantly. It did get a bit difficult once the sun set (6PM in Kona) and I strongly recommend bringing a headlamp or flashlight for this race if you plan on having over an 11 hour race. Good news is the entire way back from the energy lab I could hear the finish line crowd getting louder and louder. I start my trek down Palani and see Meg who has a whole crowd riled up. This helped with one last flat stretch that was much longer than expected. We all know that you have the run the last stretch though because everyone is watching after all. I got through the finish.

Lessons learned:

• Just because the water is calm on Friday doesn't mean it will be Saturday. Never ever assume race course conditions.
• This is not a course for small riders to ride deep rim wheels. Reducing the cross section would have likely helped more than having the aero wheels.
• Also not a great course for long-tailed TT helmets. The wind sweeps up underneath and it pulls up and strains the neck the entire ride. A Rudy Project Wing 57 would have been much more suited for this race.
• There are only two stations for sunscreen, if you burn easily consider carrying some or covering up. I also brought a sample size tube of Ruby’s Lube which helped when the run just kept going.
• Always pack more food than you need, you never know what the course has in mind. 

     Might be a while until the next check in, everyone enjoy the holiday off season!

Road to Kona built by bricks

Here we are with less than 7 weeks to go until Kona! I swear these things creep up a little faster every time. Same as with Ironman Texas I do my 'super brick' at about 8 and 4 weeks out from the race.
 
You might have noticed the lack of updates. Since Ironman Texas I haven't had any big races or workouts. I have however been out of town the last four weekends so didn't get any run over 15 miles in or bike rides over 70. As such this brick went about as you would expect it to with that little preparation.
 
The idea is fairly simple, 1 hour swim, 90 minute rest, 5 hour bike, 90 minute rest and 2 hour run.
 
The Swim
 
Yesterday my Garmin swim watch decided it was done functioning (waterproof is a relative term) so I don't have an exact lap count. I believe it was somewhere between 3100 and 3300. The swim itself was fairly uneventful, but an eventful swim is rarely a good thing. At this point in the year swimming become the preferred exercise just because it's air conditioned.
 
After a quick rinse off I polished off a Bonk Breaker and a few glasses of water and I was ready to ride!

 
The Bike
 


I cannot stress enough how important
it is to reapply sunscreen

I struggled through this one. It was a few too many steps beyond warm and I couldn't seem to pull my
power up where it needed to be. I did a 160 average at Ironman Texas and only managed 138 during this. While some of this can be attributed to the heat, it was also my longest ride in a month so I accept some fault. I finished with 93 miles under my belt and ready to sit. Thankfully Ruby's Lube made it so I could still sit! 
 

Throughout the ride I finished off two more Bonk Breaker bars and 9 bottles of water or Gatorade and 1 bottle of Bio Fuse. The bonk breakers cut into 8 pieces a bar are perfect for a bite ever 15 minutes.


 

The Run
 
So 5PM rolls around and it's still 102 degrees out. Running in the heat is an entirely different animal and it's important to remember that your paces are dramatically affected by heat and humidity. Always watch your heart rate and base your pace off that.

I started the run with three miles strung together at which point my heart rate wouldn't stay below 180bpm so I started taking a walk break every mile. 10.9 miles in two hours is not ideal but I'll take what I can get!






Every pizza is a personal pizza when you
believe in yourself.

Post Workout

As always it was vitally important to rehydrate after this. I finished the run feeling severely hung-over, but four tall glasses of water and some electrolyte later I was like a functioning human being again. I will probably follow the long workout with a short easy spin the next day to get the muscles more recovered.

So my road to Kona is built by brick. Not all of them are pretty ones but they all move me forward regardless. This was not a particularly fun experience but it's an important part of getting ready for Kona!

Ironman Texas Race Report: on the road to KONA!

GOING TO KONA!

I am incredibly happy with the results of this race. I won my age group division by a comfortable margin and met my 'A' goal of an 11 hour finish time. Now we get to go to the big island in October! 

The week before:

I had a very careful diet in the week leading up to the race. One bottle of Biotta beet juice each day and my favorite pistachio cranberry quinoa for lunches. Packing is always the most stressful part so my whole room was covered in lists of different categories of things and small piles of stuff. Looked entirely ridiculous but I promise it worked out. Good news is it all fit into my Ogio transition bag.
Picked up Megan (my one-woman manager and cheer squad) up on the way to race check in so she could keep me on track!

Race morning:
I showed up when the transition opened so I could fill up my tires, put bottles on the bike and check my power meter. Lo and behold, the battery on my power meter isn't working. After a few minutes of panic, I decided to take the battery out of my heart rate strap and put it in the power meter as my only advantage in triathlon is the bike leg. I figured I could decide while riding if I wanted to switch it back before the run started and that there was no use in panicking more when there was nothing I could do to change it. Lesson learned for next time: bring the extra batteries on race day. 

The mile walk to the swim start wasn't bad, just had to follow the giant masses of people. Once we got there however, we saw the longest line I have ever seen for a pot-o-potty.

Swim:



When I still had 30 minutes to go.

I just barely made it in the water on time! A very long wait (40 minutes) for the bathroom left me with 4 minutes to get to where I needed to be. I was hauling myself across the parking lot, Meg pulling my wetsuit all the way on while running and pushing through the crowd. I got to exactly where I wanted to start and the gun goes off!

So I started far off to the right, about three rows back and just sighted off the farthest buoy I could see. As a whole the swim went quite well and I finished up with a 1:16 which is twenty minutes faster than last year. I will concede that the wetsuit helps quite a bit.

Bike:

As soon as I pulled my helmet out of the bag the visor popped right off (Hint: this is not supposed to happen). Took a minute or two trying to pop that back in before I got started and about four miles down the road it pops out on one side so I just tucked it into the ear flap and rode like that. Overall not a major issue, just irritating.

Power wise I held a normalized power of 161 watts and an average speed of 21mph. The way out had a slight tail wind and some strong headwinds made the return difficult. Course was wonderfully supported with water stops every 10-15 miles and great volunteers directing turns.

On the bike I ate three Bonk Breaker bars and 8 scoops of Perpetuem drink mix along with 4-5 bottles of Perform and a bottle of water. Luckily I had Ruby’s Lube keeping me comfy in the saddle.

Run:

I spent the last ten miles of the ride thinking about how I could minimize the time spent on getting the one working battery I had from my power meter into my heart rate strap for the run. Again, big thanks to the volunteers that helped with this! Unfortunately once I got on the run I had a sneaking suspicion my heart rate strap was not reading correctly.

As I am pretty sure I'd be dead.

So I ran the marathon just by feel, walking the water stops and finishing with a 4:15 marathon. I drank 1-2 cups of water at each stop and ate 5 Roctanes in total along with a few orange slices. The cooler weather and carpeting in transition made for a much more pleasant run than last year.

I thought I had no possibility of making my eleven hour time goal, but I came around the corner and saw I had 20 seconds to get up that last hill. I was pushing so hard I thought I might cry and everything just hurt but I crossed that line, meeting my time goal by the skin of my teeth with a 10:59:50 total time.

The fourth leg:

I drank a pint of beer at the finish, for a variety of reasons I strongly (STRONGLY) discourage all you future Ironmen from doing the same.

Lessons for Kona:

1. Bring the extra batteries the morning of the race.
2. Get to the port-o-potty with at least an hour until race start.
3. Don't ever panic. The race will happen one way or the other just roll with it.

Check out who shows up at minute 7:30!

 

Texas 70.3 Race Report

A tad better than my spandex and race face.

Yesterday marked the first triathlon of the calendar year. I placed second in my age group at the Texas 70.3 Half-Ironman in Galveston, Texas. Overall my time was 5:12:16, with a 44:19 swim, 2:28:28 bike and a 1:52:25 run. I lost to first place by 14 minutes, which was quite frustrating given I had expected a much (much) better swim. 

So, as we always must, I will start with the swim.

As my time shows, the swim was pretty rough. Some very strong swells and currents threw me around. My goals through the swim went from "finish in 35 minutes" to "finish mid pack" to "finish" to "live." After swallowing a lot of sea water and the occasional back stroke, I did survive and was incredibly grateful to get out of that water. Things I need to work on include not drowning so much, and not to panic when it feels like I lost a tooth due to a kick in the face. 

So bad start, but hooray for the bike leg!

The discerning observer can see exactly where I turned into the wind

While it was raining for the first 90 minutes, it was a light drizzle more than a downpour and other than low visibility it didn't affect the ride too much. The wind from the north however... great for the first half, not so much for the second. However I was incredibly happy with a sub 2:30 bike ride. I used the ride to test out my Ironman pacing and an pretty happy with the result. Good thing the guys at Flo Wheels helped me get my wheels set up and the bike finally got assembled, just in time!

As far as things I want to change for Ironman, I need to hydrate more. I only drank 2 full bottles in Galveston and last year I went through 9-10 at Ironman, so I need to start training for that. 

And the start of the run signals the home stretch!

Champion Systems, keeping BSR clothed
(Much to everyone's relief and/or dismay)

My run is largely based on heart rate. First few miles I pick a pace and stick with it, that way I don't go out to hard, so I tried to stick with an 830 pace, give or take. After that I just kept my heart rate below a 180. As planned, I stopped to walk at mile 6 and grabbed a Bonk Breaker to keep fueled up. Then every two miles I would walk through a water stop to keep goals that were smaller and much more attainable feeling. This was my first time trying a method like this and I am definitely going to bring it back at Ironman Texas. 


Also! Transitions! I should be better at those. I think this might just be something I have to learn through practice. Maybe after my rides from now on I will get into my run gear like I would at a tri and see if this improves it. 



I have 6 weeks until Ironman! A few more long rides and runs, another super brick workout then it's taper time! I'll check in with everyone when I do my next super brick, then I will see you all at Ironman.

Luckily we all got to have a Schlitterific day

Food of the Week: Roasted Grapefruit

Naked grapefruit!

It's grapefruit season here in Texas! I will be the first person to admit that I have a sweet tooth worse than that kid from Willy Wonka who got stuck in a tube. Luckily I also really enjoy grapefruit and my neighbor gave me a bunch of it!

Good news about this- roasting the grapefruit sweetens it up a bit and you can top it with almost anything. Things I have tried include honey, brown sugar, walnuts and combinations of the three! 



This is an easy peasy one, just roast in the open at 375degF and cook for 15 minutes. I prefer to de-seed after it has cooked but some people do before. This is passable as both a dessert and breakfast so it's like a treat in the mornings after my run when I eat it alongside eggs and toast.

The Super Brick: 8 Weeks to Ironman Texas

So last year we did a workout at 8 and 4 weeks to go until Ironman called a "super brick." It's one of those workouts that challenges you physically but I think also prepared me for the mental strain of 140.6 mile race. 

The general outline is 1 hour swim (~3100 yards), 5 hour (or 90 miles, whichever comes first) bike and a 2 hour run (~13 miles) with 90 minute breaks between legs to get nice and sore and unmotivated. Some lessons I learned last year: wet tar looks just like dry tar,  peanut butter cups are not a good snack before the run, and that the run feels easy, right until you start feeling your legs again.

How it went this year: 

Swim Leg

Last year the swim was easily one of my weakest legs so I have been putting in more pool time this year and the results are very positive. I got a water proof iPod which significantly helped break the monotony and keep motivation up. Only bad thing is the pool doesn't open until 8 on Saturday.

Nothing about this isn't fun

Bike Leg

The new bike is not set up yet so I am still on a friends bike. Right now my FTP (functional power threshold) is 224 watts (4.04 watts/kg) so my set power for my long rides is 145-150 watts. I know there's some more power in there and I'd like to be able to race Ironman at 160 (FTP of 245). Last year my biggest gains in FTP were in the last 8 weeks so we shall see! Of course today there was a torrential downpour so I ended up covered in mud and somehow also sunburnt, but we're going to go ahead and say it builds character. 

I did get to wear my new team kit from Champion Systems, felt good on the bike but did not run in it since I wanted to get the mud out before it stained. 

I ate a Bonk Breaker Bite every 45 minutes, along with my carb drink mix to feel out my nutrition plan for Ironman. All systems go!!!

Run Leg

I'll be honest, when it came time to start the run it took a lot of effort and bribing to get myself out the front door. Once I got moving it was alright, but my legs definitely just felt like hams attached to my bones. Good news is now I can remember this workout at Ironman and know that I have gotten this far before and I can do it again.

Recipe of the Week: Mini Turkey Meatloaves (Makes 12)

I might have gotten carried away with the BBQ sauce.
I regret nothing.

What you need:

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 1 egg, beaten
• Half a yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• Additional BBQ for topping

1. Preheat the oven to 350degF
2. Lightly spray a muffin tin
3. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl, then fill the muffin tin
4. Brush BBQ sauce on top of filled cups
5. Cook for 40-50 minutes (Until internal temperature reaches 180deg F)

I have been bringing two of these to lunch every day with a baked sweet potato and they keep very well.

Other things going on this week:

The guys over at Flo Wheels have the bet customer service! With the new bike I do switch from 10 speed to 11 speed and with a call to the guys at Flo, they sent out the part I needed to make the switch so I am on target for Galveston 70.3! I've said before how much I love these wheels, aluminum rims and good aero performance give a great bang for the buck and good guys to work with to boot! 

The new transition bag from Ogio came in and it's awesome. The separate compartments for glasses, shoes and helmet and a ventilated section for dirty clothes will make packing for races a breeze.

Less than 11 weeks to Ironman, where did the time go?!

So no races to report since the Surfside Marathon debacle, but that doesn't mean we can't do a few updates!

Next race on the schedule is the Texas 70.3 in Galveston, but my biggest focus right now is Ironman Texas in May. This will be my second IMTX, and here's to hoping for a new PR! I did just complete a rest week where I reduce the intensity and mileage to give my body a chance to recover and am ready to hit it hard again! Time to get to it!

The last week had a big good-buy and a couple small hellos. 

Unfortunately this past week I had to retire my Trek Speed Concept 7.0 due to frame damage from a rock :(. Good news is the guys at Campus Cycles in Denver are helping me get on a new Speed Concept 9.5 next month. Until then I will be training on a friends tri bike so I can uphold my aero position strength. 

So sleek, so sexy, so... neon

So it's no secret to anyone that I loved my Newton Running Distance U's and I ran those poor shoes into the ground. But dare I say it, the Distance Elites bring even more to the table. The shoes is a bit lighter, and has some more ventilation through the mesh upper. This is great down here where every tiny breeze helps in the Texas heat. They also have a wider toes bow which many runners (myself included) prefer as it reduces hot spots and blistering on the toes.

It's a wee bitty bonk breaker!

I also recently received several boxes of Bonk Breaker bars. I chose the bonk bites as I use them mainly as a small breakfast-like snack before my early morning runs and a full bar is a bit much at 4AM. I have been running about 8 miles and having a bar before I start helps me keep up energy and not get hungry until the very end of the run. The taste is also quite a bit better than bars I had tried previously!

 

   

Recipe of the Week: Kielbasa Lentil Soup

So I can't take any credit for this one, my girlfriend (who is a much better cook than I am) took a few of her favorite recipes, combined them and came up with this!

What you'll need: 

Nomnomnomnom

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lg onion chopped
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tsp paprika
• Approx 1 lb (14-16 oz) kielbasa, sliced (Could be subbed with chicken or turkey sausage)
• 1-14.5 oz can diced or stewed tomatoes
• 7 cups chicken stock
• 1 lb (16 oz) lentils, rinsed
• 2 bay leaves
• ½ cup white wine (Could sub in water if preferred)
• 3-9 oz fresh spinach (as much as desired)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley 

Heat olive oil in large soup pot over medium heat.  Add onions and sauté until glossy, about 5 minutes. Add chopped carrots, celery, garlic, and paprika; sauté for 10 more minutes.

Add sausage, canned tomatoes, chicken stock, rinsed lentils, and bay leaves. Stir well and then add white wine. Season with salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for at least 90 minutes, until lentils are fully cooked and tender.

In the final minutes of cooking, add fresh spinach and parsley. Enjoy!

Favorite workout this week: Half Mile Interval Run

How it goes: 1 mile easy running for warms up
                       4-5 x (0.5 mile fast + 0.5 miles easy jog)
                       Remainder cool down

What it looks like: 

This is a workout suggested by my training partner, I don't know the exact science behind why it makes me faster but I think part of it is during my long runs I have thoughts like "Well at least I'm not doing my half mile interval pace" and it makes those seem easier.