New website: Lean Green Island Girl

I have some exciting news!

After blogging on and off on three sites for the past five years, I have finally found a way to bring them all together! I am so excited to announce the creation of Lean Green Island Girl - A site dedicated inspiring you to join me on my journey towards a healthier, happier and more sustainable life.

It's bittersweet giving up IslandGirlLoves2Tri but change is good and I am still IslandGirl and I will always love 2 tri!

If you’ve been with me since I started blogging, thank you! I hope you enjoy the new blog as much as you have enjoyed this one! If you’ve just found me, check out the new blog and I hope you come back to visit many times!

George Washington Parkway Classic

As the rain pours down and we anticipate a 27 degree low tonight, I sit here with my mid-day coffee and calf compression sleeves remembering the perfect day we had on Sunday for the Pacers George Washington Parkway Classic 10 miler.

While I missed my Cherry Blossom PR by 1.5 minutes, I still managed a sub 10 min/mile pace and, even better, I ran a negative split on very tired legs. The Cherry Blossom 10-miler was during a rest week and the 30-minute bike ride the day before was nothing like the 3-hour bike ride I did this past Saturday. 

To anyone training for an ironman or half ironman, you amaze me!

While I am a firm believer that every single one of us can do whatever we set our minds to, including completing an ironman, it is not an easy road. It requires many hours of training, endless amounts of willpower and months of dedication and I am truly honored to call myself an aspiring ironman.

I feel the same way about calling myself a runner and being surrounded by thousands of runners on the George Washington Parkway on Sunday felt amazing!

The morning started off with a short jog to the bus loading area. We boarded an Alexandria Dash bus, who like the Parkway Classic is celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year, and were taken ~10 miles down the road to the beautiful Mt.Vernon Estate & Gardens.

Yep, you read that right, we boarded a bus that took us 10 miles away, just so we could run back. Silly runners!

The morning was a bit chilly and since we had about 45 minutes before the race, we joined the hundreds of other runners by wrapping ourselves up like burritos in space blankets. We skipped the coffee and water, having brought our own pre-race snacks, and about 20 minutes before the start we headed for a quick warm-up.

I used to never do more than a few pre-race stretches, but in recent years I have started appreciating the value of the warm up and I recommend warming up for at least 10 minutes, if not longer. I know what you're thinking: I'm about to run 10 miles, I don't want to exert any more energy than I need to!

Trust me, a solid warm-up is your friend.

Running on warmed up muscles decreases your chance of injury and allows your body time to get ready for the race. My heart rate, for example, has a tendency to spike whenever I start running. If the spike happens during the race, I lose time, because I have to slow down and get my heart rate under control. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather take care of that pre-race.

The race started a few minutes late and there was a bit of shenanigans with 2 buses arriving late and parking in the middle of the starting corrals, but once we started everything was perfect!

The run follows the George Washington Memorial Parkway, a long flat road along the Potomac River surrounded by trees. While there weren't many spectators for the first half, I was definitely not alone. It was actually quite breathtaking to look in front and behind me and see nothing but a sea of colorful runners surrounded by nature.

The volunteers were once again fantastic, providing water (and Nuun) about every 2 miles and as we reached the various neighborhoods spectators lined the course cheering us on and waving signs. As always, the cheers boosted my energy, especially when I saw my friends John and Amber!

The crowds picked up once we reached Alexandria and the last stretch down Union Street was pretty fun. Seeing the finish line for almost a mile before you get to it is a bit of a tease, but knowing this would be the case, I saved some energy for the last mile. As soon as I saw the finish, I gave it all I had, using the supportive cheers from the crowd to hold my fastest mile of the race!

Pablo, who finished the race in an amazing 1 hour and 8 minutes, was right at the finish line cheering me on and after receiving my fun 30-year-anniversary medal we headed to the Finisher's Festival.

While I was disappointed that there were no bananas and bagels left when I got to the Festival area, I enjoyed the treats in my Recovery Pack, the live band and of course a cold cup of Port City Brewing Company's Optimal Wit.

We had a great time celebrating your 30th Anniversary George Washington Parkway Classic!

My first very awesome Cherry Blossom!

My Cherry Blossom race review is the perfect post for Motivation Monday, because it has left me super excited about all upcoming 2014 races especially my next half marathon. I don't actually have one planned yet, but if my performance at Cherry Blossom is any indication of what I am capable of this year, I CANNOT WAIT!

My last half marathon was the 2013 Nike Women's Half here in DC, which had a course similar to Sunday's Cherry Blossom. Let's put it this way, had Sunday been Nike, my 9:48 pace would have brought me across the finish line well below the 2:15 half marathon goal I have been chasing since I finished my first half in 2:43 in 2005.

But enough about my half marathon ambitions!

The Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run was awesome for many other reasons. Besides the fact that the cherry blossoms weren't actually in bloom yet, there isn't really anything to complain about. The race is a lottery system, which can suck if you don't get in, but the nice thing is that if you are running with another person, as Pablo and I were, you can register together so that either both of you run or no one runs. Luckily this year we got in!

The course is flat and fast and, whether you're a tourist or a local, running past DC sights like the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial and the Tidal Basin never gets old. The DC crowds also did not disappoint and I discovered something while running with over 17,000 other people; while I love running alone, I love racing with crowds! I know it sounds counter intuitive, because crowds can be annoying when someone steps right in front of you or when a turn causes a bottleneck effect, but there is something special about sharing your race experience with thousands of other runners.

The crowds on the street also did not fail to deliver. People lined the streets carrying signs, cowbells, riding their trainers -yeah DC Tri Club- and even handing out beer (which I politely declined). There really is nothing greater than a “You got this Gabrielle” at mile 9 or high-five from a little 4 year old smiling up at you. Those moments make the entry fees, aching knees, and early mornings totally worth it.

Then there are the volunteers. If you ever run a race, consider taking some time to thank all the people at the start line, water/aid stations, finish line, medal distribution and recovery stations. Most of those people are volunteers and all of them are typically wearing a big smile, handing you your water, gatorade and banana lifelines while offering encouraging or congratulatory words. Sunday's aid station volunteers worked hard. I swear at one point I saw a guy holding out 8 cups of water at the same time! If you volunteered on Sunday, THANK YOU! My race experience was wonderful thanks to you!

I was also impressed by the event's environmental initiatives. As someone who is always trying to reduce my environmental footprint and live a more sustainable life, it was great to see recycling and compost bins at the finish line. Even better was the fact that there was actually someone there helping runners use the correct containers! Did you know there is a Council for Responsible Sport? Now that I know that, I am definitely going to encourage other events to make efforts to reduce their environmental footprint!

Last but not least, our parents (in France and Curacao) got to see the start of the race and watch us cross the finish line thanks to the webcast, which is still available here. How cool is that? Oh and I can't forget the medals...I like to say I don't race for the medals, but who am I kidding, medals are pretty cool and the 2014 Cherry Blossom Ten Mile medals do not disappoint!

Bring on the heat!

If you're in the DC area, you know how we went from beautiful Spring-like weather to super windy low 30s almost overnight. Despite having done all but 2 of my runs outside this winter, heading out tonight was brutal...it's time to bring on the heat! Yes, I had kind of gotten used to running in the cold and even found myself complaining about the heat during my runs in Curacao and Miami, but the reality is complaining about the heat is just not an option for me, because our race in Louisville is going to be HOT HOT HOT!  

Louisville is notorious for its brutally hot course. The swim is never wetsuit legal, the bike is sunny and hot and the run...well, I've heard horror stories of dehydration and even those that survived the course warn that it is basically going to be miserable. So, if I can't handle the heat on short vacation runs, Louisville is going to kill me!

Lucky for me I watched a webinar a few weeks ago called The Psychology of Suffering. In the webinar Mental Skills Coach Carrie Cheadle talks about the importance of training your brain for the race. Completing an ironman, or really any endurance event, takes a lot of physical endurance, but a huge part of it is also your mental strength and just like you have to train your body, you also have to train your brain.

As Carrie says, "sometimes the greatest obstacle between an athlete and their goals is themselves." I'd go even further and say that:

Often the greatest obstacle between a person and their goals is themselves.

This is a topic that is very interesting to me on both a personal and professional level, because I think we are often our own worst enemy. For over 20 years I had a debilitating fear of dark water. A fear that limited my ability to pursue many of my goals and dreams. A fear that I finally overcame last year using a combination of mental skills training and systematic behavior intervention. Now whenever I feel fear I look at the wave tattooed on my left wrist and remember that I am stronger than fear. I created what mental skills trainers call a personal mantra that I know will get me through those moments when fear is likely to try to take over.

I've also found a way to deal with my next mental battle: Louisville's heat.

The fact is, I can complain about it all I want, but it's not going to go away and unless I learn to embrace it, I won't survive it. How's that for some psychology of suffering?

So, how am I going to handle it? While I won't tattoo this mantra on my body, I am definitely going to be repeating it to myself many times during training and on race day, because 

If IslandGirl can't handle the heat, who can?

Ready, set, GO!

If the Ironman was a 28-day event, I'd be so ready for it! But since I only have 17 hours I'm nowhere near ready..That's what the next 6 months are for with our IM training program officially starting this week!

Total February Miles:
Swim - 9000 meters
Bike - 147 miles
Run - 50.5 miles

February was actually a great training month as I finally got into a steady 5-6 days a week pattern. Of course our IM training schedule is 6-7 days a week, so I have some more adjusting to do and I think it'll take some time getting used to not having days off, but there are a few built into the schedule and I have great plans for those few rest days we'll have over the next 6 months (think massage, couch, books and shut-eye). We're not jumping in head first our first week as this week is an easy assessment week and I'm feeling good about it. I can comfortably swim 2500 meters in a pool, most rides have been on a trainer but 2 hours don't feel quite as long anymore, and I probably upped my run miles the most and am stoked that despite running as much as 20 miles in a week, my knees have felt strong.

When I think about the road ahead, it's still a bit daunting, but I am also excited beyond belief! We had our kick-off training meeting last week where we met our coach and program leaders and I know we are in awesome hands for this journey. They're going to be great resources and it was also nice to meet some fellow program members. We're the only ones in the group doing Louisville, but there's something powerful about knowing that you have a group that will be going through the same process you are!

Pablo and I also realized how lucky we are not only to have each other as training partners but also to have flexible jobs because it sounds like by the time we hit summer all we'll be doing is working out, eating and sleeping...I'm not going to lie, I'm pumped about it!

Just what does Ironman training look like at it's peak?

Here's a snapshot of our heaviest training weeks:

May - 16hr10min

June - 15hr25min

Photos: Weekly Summary taken on Trainingpeaks app for iPhone (which is awesome!) 

The newbie becomes a mentor

Pablo and I recently volunteered to become mentors for the tri club’s new triathlon program. As relative newbie to triathlons I felt funny signing up to mentor, but I am also really excited about sharing our love of triathlons with others and helping a new group of triathletes find their way around the sport.

While we are by no means experts, we have enough races under our belt to be a decent resource for new sprint and Olympic distance athletes. We have walked down that road or shall I say swam, biked and ran down that road and as we continue our 2014 Ironman adventure I know I am always looking for others to help me, so I am happy to pay it forward. A quick shout out to one of our resources, fellow DC Tri Club member and blogger TriDreamer Holli (check out her blog), who has completed IM Louisville and just became a member of the Snapple Elite Team. Go Holli!

Mentoring and becoming more involved with the DC Tri Club is also just exciting, because it allows me to meet more kindred spirits! Most people I talk to about triathlons either tell me I’m crazy or say they could never do that, so when I run into someone who actually wants to go out and tri, I can’t help but get excited! And by the way, if you’re in the “I could never do that” group, YES YOU CAN! (Consider joining the DC Tri Club or your local triathlon team).

Mentoring is also a great learning opportunity for me. In recent months I have made the decision to not only begin shifting my behavior consulting practice to include services for adults, but I have also decided to focus specifically on health & fitness. I have started taking nutrition and exercise courses and post-Ironman, when I get my weekends back, I plan on completing a health coach training program. In the meantime I am excited for any opportunity to begin practicing these skills through the mentoring program. Of course I’ll also get to practice on myself, because the truth is, Pablo and I are definitely going to need to work on balance. As we embark on this Ironman journey (our coached training program officially starts March 3!), we are faced with balancing our personal, professional and social lives with our training schedule and we’ll each need to work on ensuring we get the proper nutrition to support our training and balance our training schedule with ample rest and recovery so we can stay injury free!

If you had a health & fitness behavior coach, what kinds of things would you want to work on?

Making Time for Recovery

Today I was reminded of how important the recovery part of our training is. While I was feeling a little tired when I woke up, I figured I'd be okay because I woke up without my alarm. I went out for a walk with Kyle, shoveled some snow, did some chores around the house and by 11am, I was ready for a nap. I tried to convince myself I was just being lazy, but when I basically fell asleep mid-conversation, it became clear my body wasn’t just asking for sleep, it was demanding it!

One of my recent power naps

I used to make fun of Pablo’s need for 8+ hours of sleep. After all my favorite quotes used to be “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” and “No one looks back on their life and remembers the nights they had plenty of sleep." Even after my friend who is a fitness instructor told me all she does on busy work days is workout, sleep and eat, I didn’t take sleep seriously…sleeping a lot, I used to say, is a waste of time. Well, I was wrong.

Great things DO happen when you sleep, especially if you’re an athlete! As our coach says, if you skimp on sleep, you may as well not do your workouts. That’s probably a bit extreme, but the point is that sleep, and other recovery methods, are a super important part of your training. When you rest your muscles rebuild themselves and your body adapts to the stress you are putting it through when you workout.

Kyle sure knows the power of sleep!

Besides sleep some other recovery methods are proper pre- and post-workout hydration and fueling, stretching, massage and yoga. I have learned to embrace all of these and have found that incorporating them into my schedule not only helps me improve my performance, they also help keep me motivated and injury free! I love my monthly massages, weekly yin yoga classes and nowadays I treasure every second of sleep I can get and can’t imagine surviving on anything less than 7 hours!

You might not look back on life and remember the nights you had plenty of sleep, but without those nights you won’t have great things to look back during the day either!

New Bike!

Buying a bike is both fun and a total pain in the butt. There are so many things to consider and so many options it can be quite overwhelming. I tested an endless amount of bikes for countless hours, but in the end, it was well worth it, because I love my new bike! I don't know how long this love will last since we will soon be spending way too much time together, but for now I'm infatuated with Emma. She's good looking, fierce, strong and ready to tackle Raleigh and Louisville with me! 

During my search for my new bike, I spent a lot of time in bike stores and on the road, but I also spent a lot of time researching bikes online so I wanted to share my experience with you and hopefully provide some guidance for someone looking to buy their first or second bike.

First, decide when you're going to use the bike. Will you be commuting, riding trails, doing road races, triathlons or a combination? Do you already own another bike or will this be your only bike?

Originally I considered getting a road bike with aero bars. I wanted to stick to a road bike because I was scared I couldn't handle the shifting on a tri bike. In the end, I decided that fear was not a good enough reason to avoid a tri bike. Just as I had previously been scared of clipping in, it was going to take practice for me to get comfortable with the gears on a triathlon bike. Our intensive training program would give me more than enough practice and I already own a road bike, so I decided to buy Emma.

Triathlon bicycles can get mighty pricey, but if you're like me and have a limited bike budget, don't despair, there are some great entry-level bicycles available (Checkout the Triathlete's 2013 Buyer's Guide). Emma is on that list and is a Quintana Roo Dulce with an affordable price tag which becomes even more affordable if you find a previous year's model like I did. Many times models don't change very much from year to year, so buying a 2012 or 2013 in 2014 is just going to give you a nice discount. Many bicycles, like the Shiv are also available in a wide range of prices depending on the components on the bike. The components are definitely important and I recommend that you always compare how much bike you will get for the value. Pablo for example found a great entry-level Felt B16 with Ultegra components for only a little more than the B16 with 105s. If that all sounds like a foreign language to you, Choose My Bicycle has a great hierarchy list for both Shimano and SRAM components.

Components however are not the only thing to consider. The reality is that if you are aiming for an entry-level triathlon bike you'll probably end up with 105s, ultegras or SRAM's equivalent. Much more important is how the bike feels. You can read reviews telling you about the road feel, stiffness and ride quality, but the best way to know what the bike feel like is to ride it. Test bikes, many many bikes. I tried a wide range of road and tri bikes, even trying a few above my price range, just so I could get an idea of what they feel like. Of course the bike won't be an exact fit until after you get a bike fit, but it can still give you a good idea and you should try to ride the bike for a decent amount of time, especially once you start narrowing down your search (I rode Emma for 15-30 minutes the first time, then did an hour and fifteen minute ride right before purchasing her).

During your test ride focus on how the bike feels on the road, aka how does the bicycle's interaction with the road impact you. Is it smooth, is it bumpy and what feels the most comfortable to you? While you'd think we'd all like the smooth ride the best, you'd be surprised how differently the same bike can feel to each of us. 

Another thing to consider is maneuverability and how the bike responds to you. Does it shift easily, how does it feel when you climb, how does it feel when you make turns or speed up? I had never really considered how different the various bikes could and would feel, but once I'd tested a few I started to notice pretty significant differences in how easily I could maneuver each bike.

Lastly, think about comfort. Whatever distance you will be doing, you will most likely be spending a good amount of time on your bike, so comfort is very important. Consider the saddle and seat adjustability, the bend of the aero bar extensions, the padding of the elbow pads and the handlebar stem adjustability. The Dulce for example has the adjustable ski-bend (also known as J-bend) Profile Design T3+ aero bars, which I preferred over the S-bend, and a high-quality split-nose Adamo saddle, which I thought was super comfortable. 

While many parts of the bike are customizable, some things are fixed so make sure to keep that in mind. The Cervelo P2 for example has great road feel, but the aero bars were too narrow for me to ride comfortably and their limited adjustability meant I had to take the P2 off my list. That said, remember that each of us are looking for something different, so don't take the P2 off your list just because I did, because it might be perfect for you.

Once you've narrowed down your bike preferences, consider these two additional things...I know you really shouldn't buy a bike for it's looks, but you will be spending a lot of time with your bike, so it's a nice perk if you like what the bike looks like (obviously from my cheesy smile in this picture, I love my newly purchased black and pink bike). You also want to make sure you like the store you are purchasing from. While Craigslist and Ebay are definitely options, buying from a local store is a good idea if you will be riding a lot. Many stores offer discounts on parts and accessories and some include free annual tune-ups with your bike purchase. You'll definitely be seeing them again in the future, so it's a nice plus if you get along with them.

In the end, enjoy the journey. Like I said, it can be a pain in the butt, but it's really fun and who doesn't like bringing home a new toy to play with! :-)

Workout Partners are Awesome

I typically like working out alone and have always looked at those Find a Workout Partner articles and thought, not me, I don't really need a partner, I'm cool working out on my own. Well, maybe I was wrong, because over the last few weeks I have come to really appreciate my workout partners and I've learned that a love for exercising alone is not incompatible with having workout partners. So here I am writing my very own Workout Partners are Awesome post, because my workout partners are definitely making my road to Louisville easier and I think they're pretty awesome!

Besides making exercising more fun, exercise partners also significantly increase the likelihood that you'll actually work out. Maybe it's the fact that you don't want to disappoint your partner, or maybe it's just better to run 10 miles if you know someone else is doing it too. Either way, having a partner limits your lazy side's ability to win the battle of to do or not to do. A partner also pushes you to work a little harder than you would on your own. When you work out alone it's easy to slack off or convince yourself you've reached your max, but with a partner you'll push yourself just a little harder and longer, because your partner might be motivating you or maybe you're secretly trying to show off your skills or compete with your partner.

My partners have done all of the above for me this winter and I know I'm going to depend on them as I get ready to tackle the Ironman and possibly some other athletic endeavors this year!

Let's start with the Pacers Fun Runs. Like I said, I like exercising alone and that applies specifically to running, so I have been hesitant to join Pablo on his weekly runs with Pacers. Two weeks ago though, I changed my mind. Why? First of all, I've noticed a significant increase in my completed runs when I run with the group and second, the beauty of a group run is that you can make it whatever you want. Feeling social? Run with a pace group. Feeling anti-social? Run the same route as everyone else but on your own. You start the together and end up at the same place and if you're in Alexandria on a Tuesday, you get to wine taste together too. The results: you push yourself a little harder and in my case do a 4 mile run at a 9:25 min/mile pace (I'm a 10 min/mile runner on a good day on my own!)

Another awesome example is actually the incident that prompted me to write this post. A few days ago we woke up to 9 degree weather (-22 Celsius) and I was not in the mood to leave the house for an hour in the pool. I had a snow day from work, it was brutally cold and my warm bed was calling my name. Pablo let me sleep an extra 30 minutes and then he started nagging me to get ready to go to the pool. I was super tempted to tell him to just go on his own, but I knew it would not only disappoint him (this Ironman journey is after all a journey we decided to embark on together), but I'd also disappoint myself and probably kick myself in the butt when I would either have to own up to skipping a workout or have to venture out to the pool by myself.

So there I went in the cold and when I first got to the pool, I just was not feeling it. I felt slow, my arms hurt and my lazy side announced that I would just swim for 30 minutes, maybe at the most 45. As I continued my laps however, those complaints and negative thoughts slowly melted away....I remembered how it usually takes me about 750 meters to get in my groove and by 900 meters I felt like I had grown gills and my arms were gliding much smoother through the water. I was even practicing flip turns and before I knew it I had completed my planned 2000m workout.

I could go on and on sharing examples of the ways Pablo, Emily (my yoga buddy), Pacers and the DC Tri Club have helped me, but the main point is they're awesome and I highly recommend finding workout groups and partners. My internal motivation to train for this Ironman is definitely there. I want it and I know what I need to do to get there, but sometimes when it's cold and miserable outside or when it feels like the couch is calling my name, it sure is nice to have training partners to keep me on track!

Happy New Year!

I hope you've had a wonderful start to 2014!

I had a nice trip home followed by a wonderful trip to Mexico, but I'm not going to lie; working out while on vacation is hard! I'm not setting any new year's resolutions this year, but I would like to get better at working out while traveling. I love to work out, I love to travel, now I just need to merge the two!

My lack of workouts, and excessive eating, has taken a bit of a toll on me and my post-holiday weight is almost 6 pounds more than my lowest weight of 2013! I am however not really bothered by it at all, which is a huge mental milestone for me! It could be because I know that Ironman training will quickly take care of those extra pounds, but I'd also like to credit my new "it's not a diet, it's a lifestyle" mentality. My old self would have freaked out about any weight gain in the off-season, but for the first time ever I am not beating myself up and you know what; it feels great!

I am by no means ignoring the weight gain or allowing it to increase past this point, but I am being realistic; it's the off-season, it's the holidays and I'm doing more strength training than cardio, all of which has resulted in some weight gain. The biggest thing is that I'm still down 12lbs from my heaviest weight and while my last DEXA scan showed a total weight loss of only 1.5lb, it also showed a 5lb decrease in body fat and a 3.5lb increase in lean muscle, which is AWESOME! That just goes to show that muscle does actually weight more than fat and that the scale alone is not a good indicator of progress.

My goal this year is to gain about 6lb of muscle and hopefully shed 10lbs of fat, which should bring me pretty close to my ideal racing weight. I don't want to bore you with the details of my plan, but if you're interested in a similar plan, send me a message and I highly recommend (yes I've recommended it before and will continue doing so because I just love this book) reading Racing Weight.

This week I'm officially back to the grind. Pablo and I have started base training and in about a month and a half we'll start our official half and full DC Tri Ironman program. I'm also hoping to do some fun other races, so stay tuned for a preview of 2014...it's promises to be an adventurous and athletic year!

What are your 2014 plans and aspirations?