End of Season, Lots to Sum up!!!

As usual I mean well.
Like I ALWAYS mean WELL.
Unlike other awesome type A athletes, I get forgetful, and things get forgotten about...then brushed under the procrastination rug...then all of a sudden its months later, and I haven't logged anything...written anything...or scheduled those important things, that I was asked to do.

UGH! My battle is trying to balance juggle travelling for work, training, getting my coaching certifications done, racing, social networking, the wifely duties, and maintaining friendships! Something always suffers! Jobs get done, they may not get written down. I may still be trying to drive to Santa Ana to get our wedding certificate, so that I can get my California License...yes, its been WAY too long...I know...I am wondering how all those Super Women do it?! What's the secret? Do they have 26 hours in the day? Do they not have insomnia, so they are still awake at 3am?!

WTF am I missing?

So, without any further procrastination, I bring you one uber long blog post summing up World Champs in September....all the way to HITS in December...with a few more victories in between. All GOOD fun. :) So tighten up your bootstraps, and get ready for the long haul....

Vegas, was as usual, warm and dry....well till the last of monsoon season blew thru....I spent several days before road tripping out there with my fab friend Sara (most tolerant person in the world...and was there for me cheering during my first Olympic race...well over 6+ years ago). We shopped, sunned a bit, and walked around the strip enjoying the 'sights' and people watching. SO FUN!

Race day came fast, and it was pouring. I mean CRAZY rain. GOOD heavens....they opened right up.
Last minute drama of course with my FAB bike though, and had to replace my rear zipp...went flat the night before on the way to check in. GREAT.

Moving on to swim...it was like a milkshake out there...thick, gritty, and disgusting. I had the worst time sighting and getting thru the chop, I decided it was not going to be my swim and just deal with the crap.

Jumped on my bike, and quickly discovered that I had ZERO rear brakes...(all I can figure is the mechanic forgot to tighten them back up when replacing the wheel...) and on a hilly, river-runs-thru it race course...I was freaked out. I zoomed by kev and let him know the issue...then things really went downhill...

I found a mechanic on the highway, and had her take a look...she told me aside from re-cabling...there was nothing she could do....ugh!  THEN....rode 3 miles further into the park...hit something under water on the road...and my seat fell down! GRRRRRR! SO, I stop...AGAIN...punch it with my fist back into position...jump back on...HIT ANOTHER BUMP....and it falls again...but this time my front tire goes flat!
GRRRRRR.....What the Heck!

I took this as a sign. Someone didn't want me racing that day. Hopefully the BIG GUY was looking out for me.
So, my first mechanical DNF happened. At the BIGGEST race of the year. I'm still super bummed about it.


Which is why I kicked my own butt to get after the next couple races......

Big Rock Triathlon in Lake Perris, CA was so fun! We drove out and stayed with Kev's brother Ryan, who totally took care of me with my crazy upset tummy! I had a bout of food poisoning that was really bumming me out!
Quick summary....

Lake swim was awesome! Short, and fast! 1st girl out of the water, thanks to my NEW 1.5 Alpha of course, and onto the bike.

Bike was a fast and rolling 12. 3 loops of up-up-up....then DOWN!!!!!! Super FUN! Ordu, well, she's ridiculously fast. Love love love riding her. (yes, I call my Ordu a female. duh. She's gotten me like 4 wins this year on the bike portions. So yeah, she's a bada$$ reliable girl.)

Came off the bike first...and was holding onto the run...averaging 7:15s wasn't my best day ever...but I've never really been a sprinter...but I still ended up winning by a couple minutes. Which makes me super happy since that's a first for me! Fast twitch here I come!

Tri-Carson
Local growing reverse triathlon, that's just a extra bit long on the run and bike, to make up for the short pool swim. You run-run-run uphill....then have a nice little downhill. 2 Loops. Jeez I was beat, but came in first woman on the run! YAY!

3 loops of the square bike course is almost the same as the run course, except you try to fly over like 6 speedbumps all without losing your bottles and teeth over one side of the square, think cyclocross on a TT bike... 1st loop I overshot a turn...rode an extra mile or more when I realized no one was out there with me....hmmmm....spent the last two loops catching up...and did...at the last second of course! performed a wing ding move when I hit my front brake too hard and somersaulted off my bike into transition....NICE....good one H.

Still running I pick up my bike, rack it, and grab my stuff to swim...all while trying to beat #2 to the pool. I threw on my cap...over my bike glasses! WHAT!? TAKE OFF YOUR OAKLEYS....nerd.
So I threw them on the pool deck, put on my goggles, and busted out the swim....all while wearing my number...which feels like a parachute when swimming with it....another not-so-good idea...
Jumped out, ran to the finish line .1 mi away, and won. With all the dumb moves I made...I'm honestly shocked I didn't blow it....we all had a good laugh about it anyway.

Learning experience! WE ALL NEED THESE CRAZY DAYS! It was a fun race. I got to race with my friends and training partners, and lots of fast kids from our junior tri team. It was a great day, everyone had great success!!

HITS Palm Springs in December was the coldest race I have ever done! However, it is the one I also feel the best about on my run!
The water was about 58....ugh! BRRRRRRRRRR! I decided that I would forgo the water 'warmup', and go run the beach a couple times instead, to get super hot in my suit...and jump in at the very last second. So I jumped in at the one minute till start mark. It took my breath away. HOLY H***, I have to do TWO FRIGGIN loops of this course?????? Anyway, the sun was out, we swam...I got off course...TWICE...swimming into the sun-I swept way too wide...swam about 1.2 in 31 minutes or so. NEAT.

Out of the water in 8th.
GREAT. <---Sarcasm, if you didn't catch it.
Inventory. 2 hands. yes, they are still attached. Okay, now how do I get this wetsuit off with steel posts at the end of my shoulders????? Kev unzipped me, and a volunteer stripped the suit off.
SWEET. <---More sarcasm.....
Trying to warm my body, I put on a jacket before heading out on the bike...I was convinced the zipper was broken...so I borrowed a jacket from our teammate Barry to get warm...Thankgoodness, for this coat. I warmed up in the first several miles and settle in...with my new coat that is quickly becoming a sail. I find out later its a XL. HAHA, nice...It did its job though, and I'm sooo grateful!
Came in 1st by a thread on the bike...and out onto the run...the hubbs tells me that 2nd came in right after me...so I decide to run like my hair is on fire. My watch decided to freeze, much like my feet, so I had no idea how fast I was moving...built 4:30 on 2nd place in the first 3.1 miles, (from the hubbs' watch) and kept up the pace thru the last. Won overall by 9 minutes...shocked and completely stoked to find out I was averaging 6:40s/mile. BIG thanks to coach Kenz, she's deserving of all that credit.

Taking a couple weeks off, getting the mojo back to gear up for next year. Hoping for more success and even more memories and good times.

I have lots of exciting relationships, I feel completely blessed, and cannot wait to play more for them all next year!!!!

Huge THANKYOUS for the amazing support and faith this year to;

Orbea Bicycles-The best ride out there....if you haven't tried one, you're missing out.

Orca- BAR NONE the best wetsuits and swim skins I've ever raced and trained in. They have patented the most flexible rubber you can get in a wetsuit....it beats a few $1200 suits out there ;)

Osmo Hydration- Best racing and training year yet nutritionally...we all know how hard it is to find that proper balance between salts and sugars...without getting gut-rot while pushing to your limits. Plus it's Yummy.

Pro Bike Supply- They specialize in building the best bikes with the best parts you could ever dream of...and darn they are great guys.

Honey Stinger- YUM. Gels, Chews, Bars. Oh my goodness. No refined sugar to make my tummy hurt, and they are Organic! Best racing food!

Relax Reflect- New Designs, and super soft fabric to train in early am or evening! Be seen in their reflective wear!

Nate at Ero Sports-Located at LA Velodrome, he is a super knowledgeable Retul fitter-trained by the best! I've never felt better in my aero position! Love him!

I love these brands so much, all I ask is that you all support them where you can. :) Show the love, Spread the love.

Cheers to a upcoming great 2014. All my best wishes to you and yours, and Happy Racing!!!

Bike fit bliss!

Since I trained most of my early season on my lovely Orbea Orca, I completely neglected getting properly fit on my fab-u-lous Ordu. The hubbs made me aware of how 'scrunched' up I was, and put the bug in my ear about ERO Sports' Nate Koch.

So I've actually never had a formal bike fit before. Maybe I've gotten lucky, as I've mostly just whipped out a wrench and played with my seatpost...pure luck that its worked out, and I haven't injured my knees/hips/etc with my approach. Embarrassing...ignorance is bliss...or not. I tried the same approach with the Ordu as well...however it is a technical bike, and my knees have been killing me lately. SCARY!!!! The only sport I never have pain, was causing major concern!

before my fit, ouch.

Anyway, I set up an appointment with Nate...and made the trek up to the LA Velodrome to get my fit fixed on my insanely fast new bike. To say I was friggin stoked is a complete understatement. Seriously  excited.

A little background on Nate. He's the 2013 national team sprint champion, and headed to Rio for the 2016 Olympics. 100% dedicated to the sport, he's such an asset to bounce performance ideas off of! check out his website at TeamNater.com. His blogs are pretty neat read too!

EroSports (pronounced 'arrow' or 'aero') :) uses the Retul fit system. The technology is cutting edge and constantly being improved.
The process went so smoothly. He first has you ride your bike on a trainer and get warmed up, and attaches sensors to your right side to get a baseline measurement of the angles you are riding at...then sends you over to the Retul bike with his recommended corrections for performance and aero enhancement. If these are not completely comfortable for you, he adjusts them till they are the most comfortable....all the while you are trying out the adjustments, and pushing power for the computer camera so that in the end it will show you the angles that can optimize your strengths. All in all a very very cool, and informative 3 hours!

The company also keeps your measurements on their website for your future use! You can print them off, or if on vacation pull them up for a rental bike company! Awesome!
So I am so glad I finally bit the bullet and went in for a formal fit, since I had no idea what I was missing.

 The end resulted in 4.5cm up on my seatpost, and moving my saddle over 1 cm back! Crazy!!

Feels sooooo much better!!!

Schedule with Nate, at EROSPORTS.COM  Don't forget to tell him you're a friend of mine, he's running a very limited time special for my team mates and friends. :)

TOC and other fun things.

I got lucky enough to travel with ORCA and Orbea recently for Wildflower and 5 stages of the Tour of California! What a blast that was. Made plenty of new fun friends, lots of hard work, and gobs of miles logged in the car sight seeing on our way to the fabulous destinations we were setting up the expos in.

Few pics from my first time at wildflower!

Stage 1 was down in Encinitas, start and finish right on the main street! WOW! I had never been to a bike race before! I cannot describe the feeling you get when crowds are banging on the boards and cheering so loudly for the pro racers. AMAZING.

Stage 2 brought us out to Palm Springs, where we set up expo on the side of the mountain in the desert!   It truly felt like the surface of the sun, the cyclists said it was like racing into a hairdryer. Poor guys, it was at least 115 out there. Ugh.

Stage 3 took us out to Santa Clarita, or where Magic Mountain is!!!! Cute town, and finally back to normal temperatures! Phew! Another day of packing and unpacking the expo booth...which was quickly turning into our crossfit workout 2x per day! Tati and I got super strong! As the weather got more bearable, the large packs of riders started staying closer together with less break-a-ways! incredible having 50 guys sprinting to the finish line all together, holding at least 30+ mph. Jeezus. It was impressive.

We then raced all the way up to Santa Barbara for Stage 4! Swam in a 50 meter outdoor pool for our am workout, before the days crossfit began. Definitely my favorite finish by far!!! We set up right on the ocean, looked at the beach all day, had tons more spectators, ate the best food of the trip (Vegan food is actually amazing!)

Ever in a crazy hurry to beat the race to the next destination, we sped up to Pismo Beach for the Stage 6 end in Avila Beach. Again, I am logging all these little cities as places I need to come back to and stay a while. Yet another great day, we hated to see end, with incredible experiences to pro cyclists left us with from a tight race.

Coming home is tough. I totally miss my normal routine, I'm completely beat from all the insanity, but I hated to see the super fun experience end!!!!

Finally the hubbs gets some creativity back in his food when I'm feeling up to it!
Feeling sassy, I threw some ground chicken, quinoa, and a bunch of other yummy veggies in the rice cooker while I finished spinning out my legs on the trainer.
Stuffed yellow peppers sound soooo good right now. Yum.
Since the filling is all pre-cooked, the peppers steam up pretty quick in the oven when stuffed with the yummy hot filling.
Recipe is easy peasy.

Set up rice cooker, turn on steam cook option.
Throw in 1lb of ground chicken
3/4 c dry quinoa
1 1/4c chicken broth
Proceed to chop and toss in veggies you like! I used:
1/2 med yellow onion
1/2 zucchini
1 med jalapeno
3/4c chopped fresh mushrooms
1/2c frozen kale

When fully cooked (30 minutes) stuff into cleaned and halved yellow peppers, I topped them with a teeny bit of feta cheese. yum. Bake in oven on 375, for 20 minutes or till soft.

Terrible photography! I was soo starving I couldn't wait to take pretty pics!

On a soooper bomb note, got this enormous box from ORCA this week.....

Their new tri bag is loaded with kick a$$ features! I think I'm in heaven....

New Alpha 1.5 wetsuit is just begging me to go out and swim Naples Island before I head to Seattle next week....omg...I'm going to geek out for a sec....its 44 cell yamamoto rubber...holy hell it's flexible!!!! I'm like a kid in a candy store!!!!

Super coolness. My ankle is all healed! I already have like 4 runs on it, number five is today!!! yay!!!

 Hit up El Moro canyon with the Freeman family the other day, I missed it soo much! They showed me some fun new single tracks to run on! what a blast!

San Juan Puerto Rico!!!!!!!!!!!

March has been the busiest month yet!!!

Flew to Seattle for hair trip, then 5 days later Kev raced Bayshore 70.4, and our friend Kathryn flew up from Hawaii to race it too. She flew home, and 2 days later we flew out to PR!

Kenz and I have been working my butt off all winter to be ready for San Juan 70.3! It was the same day at St. Patricks day, so i had high hopes that the luck of the irish on my side. Checking in, number 411. yeah, superstitous....dont judge! ha! 

 Sooo worth the 15 hours of travel time to San Juan. ouch. We arrived thursday am passed out (highly recommend the Conrad) and woke up to beautiful, scenic, hot, and humid San Juan!

We fell asleep that first afternoon in the hammock on the ocean, a definite must do for everyone! So peaceful...waves crashing, breeze blowing the palm trees, sunshine burning my face to a crisp. oops.

Super humid weather on day two was my first shake out run...left me pouring sweat, out of breath and pretty nervous for race day.

Spent the next couple days doing the usual race tuneup stuff, eating delish puerto rican food, touring awesome forts from the 1600s on electric bikes. pretty damn awesome race-cation.

Check-in to the race on friday went sooo smoothly! Very organized race!! I was super stoked too, but crazy nervous..all I wanted was to get my slot to vegas! 

4:50 am race morning wake up call...we had to run our gear bags over to transition, and then walk the mile back to swim start before the waves start going off.

My wave went off at 7:12, soo thankful it was early enough--so I wouldn't be running in the afternoon heat! Had my new fancy 226 kit on from ORCA along with my trusty ORCA Killa Swimskin, and the water was turquoise and looked clear!  The swim was pretty smooth on the way out, but after making the turns to head back to transition I realized why it was soo easy on the first third. ugh. Nasty current and swimming into waves that got more and more intense as you get closer to the exit and the open ocean. Honestly I've never been nauseous on a swim before...but the waves lifting you up and crashing you down was really rough on the tummy. swim time 32:39, 3rd in age group.

Ran a quarter mile to T1, longest yet! Then you run thru a stadium, grab your bike, and run another couple tenths of a mile to the mount line. barefoot. totally trashed the feet, since they don't carpet it. ugh ended that in just over four minutes. yuck.

Bike course was not my strength (flat), but still absolutely gorgeous and scenic. Lots of iguanas too! They're HUGE! Chilling on the side of the road watching you go by...pretty funny. Legs felt super fresh, shook off the swim nausea, and was able to hammer away till it starting raining pretty heavily. Slowed a bit, couldn't see out of my glasses...and I'm always sooo scared of wiping out now! :)  New Orbea Ordu rides like an absolute dream. I can tuck down nice n tight, and hammer away, while she handles sooo steady and smooth. Beyond excited to race her again and again, going to be a fabulous season on her!!! 1st age group off the bike, and rode a 2:36! yay! Only a couple minutes off some of the super badass pro chicks! Love it!

T2 was just a backwards version of T1, so pretty long still...threw on my Newtons and ORCA visor and ran thru the stadium begging for sunscreen! Apparently Banana Boat sponsors the event, so the set up a huge tent at T2 exit....was pretty nice to have like 5 peeps spray the heck out of you with 50-something! Rockin! No burn for me! 

The run course didnt play to my strengths either! GRR! Oh well, it was INCREDIBLE! Sooo beautiful right along the ocean, to San Juan...past the two forts built in the 1600s...then down the cobblestone hills thru to the protected paths on the backside of the forts...right ON the ocean. amazing.

My energy was great! legs were ready to go! Its too bad I felt my right ankle 'pop' at mile 3 of the course, and knew it was pretty bad. Saw Kev on the way back, about mile 5, got my placing updates from him...and let him know I was in pretty bad shape. Like any good husband and spectathlete he tells me I JUST got passed, how far behind her I was, how far in front of 3rd I was, and to STOP whining! So thats what im thinking the whole time...shoot I came this far, I'm in 2nd place...I have a huge lead on 3rd...stop whining--maintain an 8:30 pace and you'll be fine. So thats what I did. I power hobble/jogged up the massive hills. Had a super high cadence, and 'ran' on my right heel till I hit 13.1. Soooo relieved to be done! 'Ran' a 1:56. 2nd in my age group. :) 

Had medical carry me to the tent...and doc could feel the break already...casted it and then she made me promise to go to the doctor when we got home--so I could go to awards, and claim my Vegas slot too...I got super lucky and there were 2 slots for 30-34....YAY!!!!! I definitely thanked God for that little blessing, sooo wonderful! 5:12 with a broken ankle. Not bad.

My dream of hitting a sub 5 HIM will have to wait for another day...had it in my grasp! I have never felt sooo good after a race tho, so much in the tank that went un-tapped...cant wait to have my ankle all healed up!!!!

The next 2 days Kev and I celebrated at the pool, I could finally have a delicious mojito...omg. Best. Thing. Ever. Yum. (And yes, i took my cast off so I could sit in the pool!!!) :)

We found out that its annoying to have a partner on crutches, but great when going to the airport...wheelchairs and personal attendants at your disposal! (trying to be glass half-full here, cause not walking does suck. ;)) 

Anyway, Im pushing for another trip out there already. It pretty much rocks. Loved every second, next time we need to stay a little longer me thinks. :) 

Sooo I'm super thankful for my sponsors this year. They all have gifted me with soo much time, effort, and incredibly fast gear to race and train with. Check them out if you can, you cant beat truly great companies that have amazing customer service and high quality products. Thanks to Orbea, ORCA Triathlon, Pro Bike Supply, and Relax Reflect you have a very grateful chick over here! :)