Triathlon season comes to an end...

My first official triathlon season has come to an end and I have to say I'm pretty pleased. In the weight arena I'm down to 152.8lbs (5lbs less than the last time I posted in June and 15lbs less than my starting weight of 167.5 in June 2012). Besides the weightloss progress, I've also achieved some milestones and personal bests in terms of triathlons. After Jamestown, I went on to complete 2 sprint triathlons, Nation's Tri (Olympic) on September 8 and ChesapeakeMan Bugeye Classic (Olympic with a half distance swim) on September 21.

Nation's was an awesome race! My parents came to DC to support me, which was super fun, because my dad hadn't seen me race since my 1st half marathon back in 2005. It was also awesome to race with fellow DC Tri Club members and pretty cool to set a new PR.

In June, I joined the DC Tri Club's Olympic Distance Speed Program, which propelled me to become more involved with the club and provided me with an awesome training plan. I swam 2-3 days per week for 45-60 minutes, biked 2-3 times per week, with at least 1 long ride and 2 bricks (bike followed by a run) and ran ~2 times per week. I also did some strength training and continued focusing on my nutrition plan. The results were fantastic! I swam the 1500m about a minute faster than Jamestown even though others complained about being slower in the water. The bike was brilliant and I shaved a whole 7 minutes off my 1:29:05 time, averaging about 17.5mph. The run was hot and slow and I was actually almost 1.5 minutes slower than Jamestown, but my total time was still 6 minutes faster (3:07:46)!

ChesapeakeMan was also pretty cool, because while Pablo couldn't be with me at Nation's, we were able to race the Bugeye Classic together. Given that this race was 2 weeks after Nation's I didn't plan to PR. The race had a half distance (1.2 miles) swim and two transition areas, so I took it as a perfect opportunity to start practicing for the half ironman. I aimed for a 45 minutes swim and ended up doing it in 46:16, which wasn't too bad considering the longer distance and the crazy amount of jellies we swam into (those buggers sting!) The bike was a super flat, but windy course and I was ecstatic to complete the 23 miles in just under 1:17 (close to 18mph, wohoo!!) Like Nation's the run was my worst leg. I don't know if I had just pushed too hard on the bike or if my lack of running between Nation's and Bugeye tooks its toll, but I came in at a weak 1:08:95. My total time was 3:16:25, which given the distance differences was still a better performance than Jamestown, although not quite as good as Nation's.


All in all, I am super happy with the 2013 season and I CAN NOT wait until 2014! In april I was almost an Athena (165lb plus women) placing dead last in my age-group. Now I'm halfway to my goal weight and at ChesapeakeMan I actually placed 2nd in my age group!

This past week I took off from working out, but tomorrow starts the off-season training plan which will last through January when Ironman training begins. The off-season probably won't look very different than my 2013 Oly training plan, except that I'm going to reduce my swim and bike load, mix in some yoga, TRX and other strength training and focus heavily on run speed workouts.

For 2014 I was initially going to sign up for 2 half distance triathlons, some shorter distance triathlons, maybe a couple of half marathons and a full marathon, but apparently I'm maried to a crazy man who has decided he'd like to do Ironman Louisville in 2014.

I had originally set my mind on doing an ironman in 2015 but had recently shifted to the idea of waiting until after I had kids (how cool would it be for your kid to see you finish an ironman?) But now there is a new option and I have to say I'm tempted...I mean if we're going to train together and I'm going to do the distances anyways, why not make 2014 the year of the Ironman?

My main concern is that I want to make sure I can train for it to meet the 17-hr finishing deadline while remaining injury-free. Inadequate training for our 300-mile bike ride left me with 2 painful knees and I clearly remember chasing the clock during my full marathon in Stockholm in 2005...miles 20-26.2 were BRUTAL and I was constantly running, or hobbling, against the cut-off clock. I can only imagine what those miles are going to feel like after a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride. Of course I'm in much better shape now than I was back then and more importantly I have a thorough understanding of the importance of proper training and nutrition. Realistically, I'm actually aiming for 14 hours, which would give me comfy 3 hour window to the midnight deadline....so what's stopping me?

It's probably fear, because why wouldn't you be scared of a 140.6 mile event that's going to take at least 14 hours. Fear is natural when considering this intense event. But there's a reason I recently acquired my first tattoo...



I'm stronger than fear.

I proved that to myself when I overcame a 20-year-old fear of dark water and I'm stronger than the 140.6 miles I'd need to conquer at IM Louisville. I'm still not 100% ready to commit, but I'm definitely getting there....

The finish line!

After a painful 3-hour drive through a bad rainstorm, we made it to our hotel in Jamestown and settled in for the night. In less than 12 hours we'd be completing our first Olympic distance triathlon! Pablo was of course a lot less nervous than I was. I wasn't just going to complete a new distance, I was also going to swim in a river! In case I haven't mentioned it yet, I have...or had...a massive fear of dark water. Growing up in the Caribbean I am used to swimming in clear blue, always see your toes water and while I've gotten into darker water, I've always stayed very close to the shore and before White Lake in April (which was a clear lake), I had never actually swam in a lake. Jamestown was going to be an achievement both physically and mentally.

To calm my nerves I focused on double-checking my gear bag: goggles, bike shoes, helmet, running shoes, gels...I went down the list and after checking it twice got ready for bed. I got a few good hours of sleep and before I knew it, the alarm was going off and it was time to go. We drove to the race, picked up our packets, set-up the bikes and headed to the swim start. THE SWIM START. The James River is already murky on good days, so imagine the brown water that awaited us after a day of storms. I let the fear take over for a brief minute and then I decided it was the perfect day to get over my fears.

Pablo went off on his warm-up swim and I did a pretend warm-up near the shore. I wasn't quite ready to overcome my fear. Then it was go time. Pablo's wave went first and I watched them as they aimed for the first buoy. I chatted with some of my fellow females and finally decided it was time to get a few minutes of swimming. Then it was our turn.

1500 meters, here we go. Yikes, I'm swimming in a dark river...no, no, you don't have time for that, focus! Swim, swim, breathe, swim, swim, breathe, sight, ok there's the bouy, keep swimming. I fell into a rhythm and before I knew it 35 minutes had passed and I was coming out of the water.

I DID IT! That's really all I could think of in T1. That and don't forget to put on your helmet.

The bike went pretty flawless. I was staying above 16mph, which was my goal and I enjoyed the perfect weather and beautiful scenery. There were a few riders with flats along the way and I did a little prayer to the triathlon gods to spare me, because I don't know how to change a flat. Before I knew it I had finished the bike in 1:29:05 (under 1:30, score!)

T2 was quick, because all I had to do was re-rack my bike, take off my helmet and switch my shoes.
The first finishers were coming in and I wondered where Pablo was on the run. The run was partly on trails and partly on a running path. I ran strong and got an extra boost when I saw Pablo as he was on the last mile or so of his run.

I was definitely getting tired during the last 2 miles and my mind starting messing with me, but the accomplishment of swimming in dark water and my self-motivating mantra gave me the boost I needed to finish strong. You got this, I kept telling myself. When I saw the finish line I picked up the pace and sprinted across - 3:13:44. Take that 3:15 goal!

Just last week I had had a disastrous training ride/run and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish at Jamestown and here I was finishing faster than I thought I could. 

The lesson I learned?

Whether it's an Olympic Distance Triathlon, overcoming a fear or simply starting a new journey. Our mind will quickly send us into doubt. I don't blame it. It's not easy and your brain knows it will be hard. It knows it will take strength, perseverance and willpower. Sitting on the couch, making excuses, saying tomorrow, those options are much much easier....but they are not as satisfying as the success you feel when you cross that finish line!

Today I conquered both my mental fear of dark water and the physical feat of an Olympic distance triathlon. Let me tell you, I have never felt so proud, accomplished or happy in my life. I have also never felt so strong both physically and mentally. I didn't come in first, I didn't break any records and I still have a long way to go, but today I accomplished a milestone and I am exhausted and elated!

Overcoming Disappointment

Today I'm down to 156.8lbs. You'd think my 3+lb weightloss this week would excite me, and it is exciting, but it's also going a bit too fast and I worry some of it might have been muscle loss. There's really no way to know other than sticking to my workout plan and making sure I fuel my body enough...especially given the upcoming Olympic distance triathlon next Saturday!

1500 meter (0.9 mile) swim, 24 mile bike and 10K (6.2mile) run. I thought I was ready for it, but my training today has left me disappointed...

We did a 1hr25min bike followed by a 45min run and I burned out in the first 30 min of the ride and never recovered, running my slowest pace in over 3 months.

Was it the 3 hills we climbed right at the start of the bike? Was it the 90 degree weather? Was it the alcohol I had last night? Was it improper fueling? Or is it my fast weight(/muscle) loss?

I won't ever know the answer and most likely it was a combination of those things. What I do know is that the mental game I played with myself today was exhausting. I reached that burn out point and started the epic battle of "I got this" and "no, you don't."

Overcoming your own demons is the hardest battle in endurance athletics...and in weight loss. This stuff is HARD and when things get hard your brain is good at making excuses. When faced with disappointed your brain is good at telling you, "see, I told you you couldn't do it."

So today's lesson is one of overcoming disappointed. Convincing yourself that one bad day doesn't have to mean you failed. That one bad day doesn't warrant quitting. It should actually inspire you to push harder and keep going.

Today I am stronger than I was yesterday.
Tomorrow I WILL be stronger than I am today.