New Partner SolRX Sport Sunscreen

I am excited to partner with SolRX Sport Sunscreen.  I am out in the sun a lot and have used many sunscreens over the year.

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Winter-Spring Blog 2019

 

The past few years, I have saved up my blog posts for plane rides, because it seems to be the best (and only) time for me to reflect and write.  I am headed back from St. Anthony’s and thrilled to accomplish my goal of attaining my 8th win.  What did the past few months look like towards achieving that goal?  My road was quite curvy, but fortunately it did end up straightening out.  And you know what?  I have realized over the years that the weeks leading into a race are never perfect, but that doesn’t mean a race goal is not attainable. 

I finished my last race of 2018 in December, so I didn’t want to start my 2019 season too early and I figured St. Anthony’s would be a perfect race to start off the season.  When I got back into training mid January after a break, I quickly remembered how three weeks off of swimming makes you feel like cement for three consecutive weeks in the water.  Most of my training is solo these days and that works the best with balancing Nate’s work, the kids schedules, family activities, etc.  The past few years I have told Nate that I want him to focus on what he wants to do for a career outside of my career.  Yes, I miss having a training partner for most of my sessions, but I decided that I did not want my triathlon to hold him back from what he wants to do.  My triathlon is important, but it’s not any more important than Nate’s work, his personal racing goals, the kid’s activities, family trips, etc.  I know I won’t be racing forever and I wanted my racing to have more a overall balanced approach within the family. 

The winter in the midwest this year was wet and cold. We had more snow and ice than normal, so that meant a lot of treadmill running.  I expect to be on the bike trainer all winter, but I realized that doing all my training sessions indoors really wears on me mentally.  I also missed the sun.  Three weeks at a time without seeing any drop of sunshine is tough.  Last winter I recall being able to run outside at least 2x/week, but this year I only averaged one or two runs outside per month. There were many days that it was very mentally challenging to get in the work, but I knew I had a race later that spring and needed to get it done.  I always felt better after the session as well, it was just the starting out part the was the toughest. 

Sometime at the end of January, I started to feel really drained.  I had a bad cold and just seemed like I couldn’t shake the fatigue. I felt ok during workouts, but outside of workouts I felt exhausted.  I would crash every night early after my daughter went to bed (usually by 8:30) and I would have off and on dizzy spells, headaches and bouts of nausea.   I wasn’t sure if it was a sinus infection or an iron deficiency or Vit. D deficiency or just fatigue?  I knew that I needed to do a better job with my diet.  Nate was working many evenings and so I was making dinner for the kids and sometimes would eat their leftovers and cheerios/milk/banana/peanut butter for dinner.   Caroline gets off the bus from Kindergarten at 4:10pm and then a couple of nights a week she has activities (gymnastics/swim lessons/religion class) that start by 5pm, so it’s a mini race for me those nights, (especially the nights Nate is working) and I am trying to get the kids where they need to be and fed in time.  So more often than I should, I was making not the best nutritional choices.   However, I began consciously trying to eat more meat and veggies to see if that was making me feel better.  To all the Mama’s out there, I know we tend to put caring for others above our needs, but don’t forget to neglect what you need to be healthy.  I am trying to remind myself this and be more prepared for better nutritional choices.  I also decided to get a blood test done to check for low iron, but in the meantime, I figured I needed to up my vitamins.  Last winter, I didn’t anticipate that Connor would still be nursing (although he only nurses once or twice a day), I stopped taking my prenatal for several months.   I realized I could also be depleted in key vitamins since he was still nursing, so I started back on my prenatal as well.   Any tips on how to wean my now two year old is appreciated??!! Much, much harder than I ever anticipated!

We had a Florida vacation planned over Caroline’s spring break that I was really looking forward to.  This vacation was a great mental recharge for me.  Ten years ago, I would have thought taking a vacation in March just before race season would be the worst decision ever, but not at this stage in my career.  I realize now, that life and training need to have that balance.  Being in the sunshine and enjoying time at the beach and Disney with the family nourished my soul.  I was also starting to feel better.  No more headaches and dizzy spells.  Most of my workouts in Florida involved carrying around my 30 pound son for eight hours at Disney. He didn’t want to sit in his stroller and it’s best not to have a child screaming at Disney, so I carried him.  I think I got in all my strength training for the month of March during those three days at Disney.  

When I returned back to Missouri after our Florida trip, the weather was warming up and I was feeling much better.  I got in some great training sessions outside and realized how much fun training can be with some company and some fresh air.  I was motivated to be ready for my race approaching.  Unfortunately, the day after we got back from Florida,  I went on a mountain bike ride (which is not really mountain biking…just on smooth gravel).  There was a rain storm the day before and a log was in the trail.  I went over too slowly and toppled over on the other side in soft mud.  I was wearing road cleats that were cranked way too tight and my calf couldn’t unclip and twisted funny.  This lead to a strain in my run off the bike and I couldn’t run for two weeks (when I knew I needed to be getting in my key training for St. As).  I just tried to stay positive and not worry about it.  The good thing about having two kids who keep you busy, is that you can’t get too down about an injury because they take your mind off of it most hours of the day.  And they also put things in perspective, it’s just a little injury.  Fortunately, it healed in time for the race.

In my St. Anthony’s race report, I mentioned how I appreciate each win more than the last and that this past win, “is as much my families win as it is mine.”  Juggling motherhood, being a professional triathlete, and self coaching is a balancing act that I don’t think I could have undertaken without the years of experience I have had in the sport and the support and life lessons from my own Mother. Thanks to all the mother’s out there who inspire me and especially my own Mom who has taught me the most important life lessons of all; to love deeply, have unwavering dedication and a deep respect for yourself and others.   For anyone reading this blog, I hope you can learn through a part of my thoughts and my experiences as I navigate through racing, training and motherhood.  Often on social media, it’s just a smiling picture, but it can’t really portray the life behind the photo!

Ironman Cozumel Update

Unfortunately, life got in the way the week leading into Ironman Cozumel.  I started feeling run down the Sunday prior to the race.  I felt tired and a little sneezy.  I figured it was just a cold and and I wasn’t worried as I knew I would be better by race day.  The cold got a little worse on Monday and Tuesday prior to the race.  I was also fatigued.  Although I was in taper time, very short workouts felt like a struggle.  My lungs were starting to hurt and I was finding it difficult to breathe.  The morning we were supposed to leave for travel, St. Louis had a rare November snowstorm and Caroline had a snow day.  In the mist of trying to figure out how to get the kids to Grandma’s in the snow storm, make it to the airport on time and battle this virus; Nate and I made a very difficult decision to stay home.  Nate did not feel that my body was well enough to handle an Iron distance.  He didn’t want me to get even more sick and risk my health.  Ultimately, it was my decision as I know my body best and I listened to my inner voice (which is tempting to ignore) and decided to stay home.

I was disappointed not to be able to race, but I didn’t dwell on it.  Caroline had a snow day and had a blast in the snow.  Caroline and Nate made an Olaf snowman and Connor and Caroline went sledding.  I remember back in 2011 I was unable to race at the London WTS race due to a calf strain the week before the race. I remember bawling in bed for a couple hours and just being devastated for a few days.   One of the many blessings that my children bring me is life balance and putting things in perspective.

My lungs started to improve each day and I was glad to get a few projects completed around the house that take a back seat during race season.  My racing season began back in April, so this has been a long haul so far for 2018.  The one aspect that stung about not racing was all the hours of training that I would not be able to put towards a start line.  A few days ago, I talked with Nate about doing Challenge Daytona.   It’s a race that’s close to home and in an awesome location.  How cool would it be to start and finish a race on a race track?  I decided to get in a few training sessions to test out my body to see if I would be able to handle one final training push before the close of the 2018 season.  I also wanted to see how my body recovered from last weeks illness.  I have never raced in December before, so this is something new for me, but I am really motivated to get on the start line after a race cancellation in September, a crash in October and an illness in November!  I am excited to make this race happen in December!

Happy Thanksgiving and I wish you all a very wonderful holiday.

Nations Triathlon Canceled

As I type this blog now, I am headed to DC to race my fourth Escape Series race for the year (including Escape from Alcatraz).  Hard to believe that it’s already September and my 2018 season is winding down.  Sitting down and having time to reflect and write a blog these days is a rare opportunity.  I am sure those of you with a toddler on the go can relate!   Thinking back to last April when I began my race season, in some ways it seems like ages ago because of how much the kids have changed since then.  Connor has grown up so much since last spring; he’s learned to walk (although now can run!) and he’s learning so many new words every day.  He is usually sleeping though the night now, but we still have a night one a week or so where he is up a couple of times a night.  My sweet baby has turned into such a busy, sweet and fun loving toddler.  Caroline has grown up so much as well as she is now a Kindergartner and getting busy with her own activities like soccer, swimming and show choir.

It’s an unknown how the remainder of my season will play out, but I am proud of my racing results thus far.  I have raced in six races this year (second at the first race and won the last five).  Last winter, there were many days I thought should throw in the towel and retire as it was a hard adjustment training on little sleep and training during the cold, wintry days.  Back then I told myself to simply focus on the goals and the tasks for that day and not think too far in the future.  I would simply just focus on how I felt that day, or that workout and adjust as needed.  This year, I have only focused on one race at a time.  My mantra this year has been to try and do as little “work” (training) as possible in order to maximize my fitness for race day.  I try to get in my key workouts each week, but I also try to avoid going to the deep well in training.  I figure that I can save some of the extra reserves for race day.  Cutting back on some training volume has given me more energy for my kids and less risk of illness/injury.  After giving birth to Caroline, I felt that I had something to prove, that I had to show that I could return to racing after a baby and still be the same athlete I was before.   This left me with the notion that I had to train harder and train even more intensely.  Although I probably had the best training of my career in the couple of years after she was born, I also had some of my worst injuries.  I had some great races, but had to miss out on some key races and training due to illness and injury.  Looking back, I feel that I was pushing to envelope too hard and too often.

After having Connor, I didn’t feel like I needed to prove anything.  I was much more flexible with my training schedule and not sure how my training would translate in my racing results.  I let that pressure within myself let go a bit.  I still had that competitive fire to compete the very best on race day, but I also was wanting to have more balance in my training.  I didn’t need to compete X amount of hard bike/runs/and swims a week.  Maybe this week I will only hit one hard run and that’s ok.  I’m training hard, but saving energy to have that family balance and I am 100% ok with that.

This year, I have had some of my lowest weekly volumes in my swimming and running.  I may not have quite the top end speed of my ITU days, but most importantly, I am really listening to my body when I am feeling tired.  I joke that I don’t really need to do an easy third workout of the day since I spend all afternoon and evening chasing my little boy around and playing with my daughter, but it’s really true.  What I do now in-between workouts looks very different now than it did 15, 10 or even 6 years ago.  These days though, what I do in between workouts may sometimes feel hard, but it’s so much more fun and very rewarding.

All year I have been thinking back and forth in my mind, “Should I try and Ironman?”  Most of my racing this year has been close to home for several reasons.  Traveling a far distance is tough on the body. I was never very good with jet lag in the past.  Also, I like racing close to home because I can be away for just a couple of days and then be back with the kids.  If a race is within driving distance, than the kids can come along with me!  Emotionally, I feel like I haven’t been able to handle being away from the kids longer than three or four days and a long travel trip would be require being away for at least a week.  With not as many Olympic distance non drafting opportunities now as there were four years ago, I naturally look at longer distance racing as an option.  I am now at the later stages of my career and thinking about what do I want to accomplish as I finish out my career. This year there are new qualifying procedures for 70.3 and Ironman racing (winning an Ironman qualifies you for the World Championships).   I qualified for the 2019 70.3 World Championships last month by winning Ironman 70.3 Steelhead and looking at possibly trying to qualify for the Ironman World Champs next month in Louisville.  As I head into this race; I won’t be overcooked. I may lack some experience at this distance and stepping into some uncharted waters for myself.  There are many unknowns about this distance that can only be answered and achieved by toeing the line and stepping up to race.

 

 

Flying back home last Saturday I continued my blog below:

 

The Nations Escape Triathlon Series race would have been my seventh race of the year; but unfortunately due to weather, it was cancelled.There was some flooding on the course and with more rain to come in the morning, the organizers decided it would be in the best interest of the athletes to cancel the event as per safety concerns.  This morning the swim portion of the race was cancelled, followed by a full race cancellation this afternoon.

Looking at the extended forecast early in the week, Nate and I contemplated cancelling our flights and hotel reservation in fear of a race cancellation.  We have been in this business for quite some time and I just had a feeling in my gut it may be cancelled.  I was looking at the weather that was headed towards DC and I was certain it would be a duathlon, but thought there was a chance we may still race.  We figured that we would be more disappointed if we didn’t go and there was a race, so off we went.

Last night there was heavy rain and thunderstorms for several hours.  Light rain continued today and heavy rain was in the forecast for the morning.  This system was remnants of a tropical storms over the Gulf that affected much of the country.  Unfortunately, the prize money was not split amongst the professional athletes (which is what normally happens in most races when a race is cancelled to help cover the cost of travel).   Being a big city race, this was an expensive travel cost for my family which was a big reason why we were tempted to cancel the trip earlier in the week in case the race were to be cancelled.   Nate and I can joke in the future years how much fun we had on our one day, $2,500.00 date to DC!

Once I heard the race was cancelled, we headed back to the hotel, changed our flights (decided to go ahead and pay the change flight fee) and got on an evening flight back to St. Louis.  It will be nice to spend Sunday home with the family and then it will be back to hard training Monday.  I won’t need a few extra days recovery as I normally do, so back to training it will be.

My thoughts have transitioned to what will likely be my last race of the year on October 14th, Ironman Louisville.   I have a month to go to include some long, solid training into my schedule before my final 2018 race.  September is one of my favorite times of the year to train.  Typically the humidity drops, but the days are still warm and the leaves haven’t fallen yet.  Best wishes to everyone with their end of season racing and training.  Don’t forget to enjoy the journey!

Performance Bicycle May National Bike Month

Thanks Performance Bicycle for the new shoes!! Stay tuned for more videos to come!

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