Embrace Change

Today I was able to do my first 5k in 4 weeks! I’m finally recovered from my peroneal tendon strain. But alas, I have new kicks —the Saucony Kinvara which are very lightweight and so far very comfortable. (And yes pretty!). I admit it—I don’t like changing my sneakers, however if there’s a design change and I get a blister or a tweak then I’m out. (Someone is going to have a very nice 3x worn pair of K-ona’s!) I’ve gone from beloved Asics (blister) to Misuno (blister) to K-Swiss (tendon strain) to Saucony over the past 15 years. I’m not one to stockpile as I like my shoes to be fresh (if that’s possible) and wonder if I just happened to get an accidental older pair of K-ona’s, thus making them not as soft and pliable? In any case, I can’t wear them again and am forced to move on.

It’s hard to change —it’s the fear of the unknown in anything that we change and sneakers are definitely a simple thing. Unfortunately a injury or blister is a blip that’s not necessarily pleasant, but the experience is always a lesson in patience. A few weeks of no running was very minor when you put it in perspective and left me with plenty of other things to do. My podiatrist thinks that I’ll be able to do the Eagleman without a planned DNF so long as I listen to my body. (She knows me and understands I’ll want to do the whole thing even though I can be good.)

Like any curve balls in a race, how do you deal with a blip when you think you’ve got it all dialed in?

Accept & Excel

St. Louis Arch 2013

Sometimes you need to accept your limitations and strive to really excel at the things you can do.

Rick Hoyt

Healthy Dessert Options

Remember that amazing chocolate pie I made from Gluten Free Gus back in February? Well, when I find something great like that I make it again and again. That darn dessert is impressive to bring to guests, have at your own dinner party and is just so gosh darn easy to make. But if you know me by now, you know I’m a improvisational cook. I work with the ingredients I have on hand and tweak things to my liking. This time I had guests over and one of my guests has a nut allergy. I was not in the mood to make a pie crust so I decided that a pudding or chocolate moose type dessert would be perfect. Here’s the adaptations:

1-1/2 ripe avocados
1 block tofu
1 tbsp vanilla
3 tbsp coconut oil
1 cup of filtered water
1/2 cup sweetener (I used a 50/50 combo of honey and maple syrup)
1-1/2 cups of unsweetened cocoa powder

Add the cocoa powder and the water last. Blend everything together into a smooth guacamole looking mixture. Add the cocoa powder and mix it with a spatula before blending. I’ve found to get the right consistency, you need just shy of one cup of water, which you add in gradually as you are blending. This takes all of 10 minutes total then put it in the refrigerator until you are ready. If you’re lucky, you’ll have a lovely partner who wants to help and makes a little raspberry and blueberry compote to drizzle on top. It’s not a very sweet dessert, which is nice, but the berries add a lovely contrast. Enjoy!

Coach Troy & Me

Well, I’ve been an indoor biking maniac these past 2 weeks and today I was back in the saddle with Coach Troy from Spinervals today doing the Ironman course in Kona for a few hours. Unfortunately, my injury has me sidelined from running right now. It’s a peroneal tendon strain which takes a while to recover. I’m trying not to let it get me down and have accepted the fact that Eagleman might turn into an Aqua-bike, which I am okay with. I’m always amazed when I hear people running a marathon on a broken foot (yes, I’ve finished a sprint tri on one once when I fell and didn’t realize it.). However, I’m in this for the long haul and don’t want to screw myself up by elongating the injury. Who knows—I might be better by June 9th, but if not, I’ll make sure to have fun regardless.

I’ll admit, not running makes me feel like a bit of a prisoner in my own body, yet I know I’ll heal and am very fortunate for that. How do you deal with being sidelined?

My Triathlon Library

Reblogged from A Promise to Dad:

Great resources can be found here on meltdowntoironman's site!

This is a great list of triathlon books. I'd also add Chrissie Wellington's book A Life Without Limits. What is your favorite triathlon book? (I know you have a stack of them!)

Jessie Donovan’s Come from Behind Win in South Africa

Photo from Ironman.com

What does a pro do when she starts the run 20 minutes behind 1st place at Ironman South Africa? Well, for Vermonter and mom of three Jessie Donovan, the answer is put forth a spectacularly gritty run and never give up. Donovan broke Jodie Swallow with 10K to go and never looked back, finishing just over 6 minutes ahead. Swallow held on for 2nd with Lucie Reed finishing a strong 3rd. Now, I read what I felt was an offensive article saying that Swallow had some injuries and certainly this win wasn’t as spectacular as Natasha Badmann’s age defying win last year, but I say hogwash! It’s easy to give up when you face a 20 minute deficit against a formidable competitor such as Swallow. Even if Swallow’s injury was bothering her, certainly she wouldn’t risk her health or race if she didn’t intend to win. Even she says, “You pay for going hard but I also think that it is an investment for me long-term.” Donovan on the other hand, knew she was going to start from behind from the swim, but then patiently clawed her way back with a 2nd best bike and race best run. As soon as she starts to chip away at her swim time, she may be unstoppable.

Ronnie Schildknecht had a masterful race and won easily in 08:11:23 with Cyril Viennot and Bas Diederen taking 2nd and 3rd respectively. Race favorite Faris Al-Sultan had technical problems on the bike and had to drop out.James Cunnama, who as as local favorite wants to win this race one day had to drop out on the run. He said, ” To go for glory you have to risk spectacular failure in full public view. Ouch. Not my day.” Both Al-Sultan and Cunnama will be hungry to fight another day.

Early Season Mistakes

The More Women’s 1/2 Marathon was part of a plan to get me running outside when I would otherwise be too wimpy with our delayed East Coast spring. It worked and I remembered how much I love running long. I find it relaxing to be alone, listening to my breathing and appreciating that my body can run so far away from home and back. I had a new pair of my trusty K-Swiss K-ona’s that I broke out last week to break in a little bit since I could tell that my current pair was getting too old. I ran 10.5 miles last Sunday and my left knee ended up feeling a little wonky, not hurt, just something not quite right. So this Sunday, like a dummy, I figured I give it another go with the same sneakers, threw them in my bag and then headed to NYC with the girls. After check-in, we had a really excellent meal at a French Bistro along with a little glass of Sancerre. Even though I’d never drink anything alcoholic before a triathlon, since this was a training run, I didn’t see anything wrong. It complimented the meal and I complimented it with a good amount of water.

Race morning I felt relaxed and ready to enjoy Central Park which is such a treat to run in even with the few hills that sneak up on you. The good news is that my knee felt totally fine. The bad news is that around mile 6 (when winner Deena Kastor lapped my group which was actually pretty cool to watch as she whizzed by!) my right ankle started to feel a little sore. Unfortunately the longer I ran the worse it felt. I stopped to stretch and wondered if it was the lack of hill training. I gave myself a little walk, but it hurt more to walk than to run. By the last 2 miles I was near tears it was so painful. I crossed the line in about the time it took for the ladies to finish the Boston Marathon but I was glad that I finished although I was hobbling.

When I took off my sneakers, I noticed that there was an odd bump in the heel that must have pinched me around my achilles and of course I just made it worse by not stopping. So I’ve benched myself for the week (not like it’s possible to run anyhow) and I learned a few things. Um, break your darn sneakers in for a few weeks prior to your race even if they are the same exact ones you’ve bough for years. (I shudder to think how I would have felt if I’d saved these shoes for Eagleman.) And, it was pretty dumb to continue when I could have easily bailed out at mile 6 when I started to feel questionable, although as you know this can be a tough call. The rest of me felt great even with the hills, so that’s the positive and of course it was a fun time and really nice to have an all women event. I’ll be taking it easy this week and hope that this recovery will be swift so I can get back on the track! (Girls on the Track was planned for this Thursday but now must be reschedule!)

Training With Caffeine

Good coffee, really good coffee, is the only coffee worth drinking in my book. However, I actually drink more caffeinated coffee when I’m on vacation than in my regular life. In training, I will have a few caffeinated gels mid-race, but rarely before. Caffeine can make me too nervous or anxious, but I don’t know why vacation is the exception. I know many athletes use it as an essential pre-race jolt. It’s definitely something to experiment with in training. You don’t want to find out that it makes you jumpy the morning of the race.

If you want to make the good stuff at home, you need to invest in a Nespresso Citiz and automatic frother. (I bought the combo on sale for $249 so look for specials!) Ironman champions Hillary Biscay, Maik Twelsiek and the Lovatos cannot be wrong. After a lot of research, I based my purchase on their reviews. It’s so good, it’s actually saved us money since it makes better coffee than going out!

How do you utilize caffeine in training or racing or otherwise? What’s your favorite coffee?

Outside Biking and Beer

Team Indian Wells Tavern

Well, the first outdoor bike ride and first race is in the books with the Montauk Brewery Beer Chug – Row – Bike – Run – Beer Chug. Raul put together a stellar team —Marcus, the fastest beer chugger in the East, Luis, the fastest local and winningest 5k & 10k racer, Paul, the former Irish Rugby player turned rower and me, the little engine that could! It was really fun to be with a great bunch of guys who were out there to have a little fun, drink a few beers and race hard. I loved the local feel and grassroots nature of this first time race and I think the organizers did a great job.

First off, Marcus had to chug the beer and by golly, he chugged that baby in about 3 seconds, faster than anyone else attempting the first leg. It was impressive! Then Paul started rowing. Now, this was interesting—he wasn’t the fastest but he was steady and as the minutes wore on (5000 meters would take around 20 minutes) he got stronger and stronger. The other rowers started to waiver, a few started to pace together, but there was Paul the same steady as when he started. And wouldn’t you know, he also finished 1st and they hollered at me to go! (I told you it was grassroots!)

So having muscled my way to the front of the pack to start at the line, I didn’t pre-clip in and nearly tipped over when I started off. (How embarrassing!) I found my balance and started off, I wanted to push myself since I didn’t have to run after but I wanted to have my mojo for the hills, hoping that there would only be a 1-way headwind and I could battle out the hills. This 20k course is one I know well, as it’s a version of the last spring tri of the season and yes, the views are spectacular if you can manage to look while trying not to get blown over from the gusts. It was indeed a day to use my mantra: It’s Windier In Kona. (Although, not by much!) And then I started to get passed and I admit, I tried to see if I could glom on to the pacelines or at least match the pedal pace, but they were just too fast. Soon I was in no man’s land, riding my own race and hoping not to let my teammates down! The wind was relentless, which happens when you are on an island, particularly at the very end of it. The last 2 monster hills were particularly grueling with a head and side wind – I stood up in the pedals to get some traction because I didn’t want to be the one walking up the hill. (Perhaps that would have been faster!)

My husband drove by looking for me and I thought, “Crap, I’m absolutely last!” But I tried to stay positive and pedaled on and then he came back around with 2 bikes on the rack for the guys who’d flatted out after the hill. I’d offered one guy a tube but he said he didn’t know how to change a tire anyone but to send someone back for him. (Do practice changing your tire!) I came back around through town and back to the brewery and I was happy to see that I wasn’t last after having gone out first, although sadly the first runner came through soon after Luis went out. (He usually does a 5k in 16 minutes.) Luis rallied and ran past at least 5 runners (17 minute 5k–not too shabby!) and then Marcus once again impressively and swiftly chugged the final beer.

I have to commend my team on their very excellent support and sportsmanship. I felt bad about squandering the lead they’d built up and really losing it for the team but they wouldn’t have it. They all had fun and team coach Raul let us know we were top 10 out of the 25 teams—still a very good showing! It was really fun to ride outside again and be able to accurately access my fitness level on the bike and test myself in the hills and wind of Montauk. (Thank goodness it’s pre-season ’cause I have some work to do!)

I also want to give a shout out to All Season’s Cyclist because I used the Serfast Women’s Bike Pump and it was da’ bomb! What a cool and easy to use pump that’s perfect for women and also for someone like my husband who helped me get ready and graciously pumped up my tires. He loved that it was easy to read the gauge and hooked on the valve easily. Thank you again!

Calculated Risk

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“The first is doing something where you know before that you can’t do it. It’s just stupid. Then there’s another kind of risk, where you know it’s possible for you to get a good result. Take reasonable risks, knowing you may not always succeed. After the race, the most important thing is that you don’t have any regrets. Be happy with yourself because you tried.”

Sebastian Kienle – Ironman 70.3 world champion