Ironman Austria update #1

Right now it’s Saturday June 27th and I am typing this up while settling into the little cottage I am staying at in Klagenfurt, Austria. I do not have internet access here, but my plan is to periodically update my trip here in Austria leading up to the race on Sunday July 5th. Before heading over to Austria I had the pleasure of meeting up with Charlotte Johnson (most of you probably know that Charlotte and her husband Paul belong to Team Runners Edge). Charlotte and Paul did the race 2 years ago and Charlotte was SO sweet to take the time and sit down with me to tell me all about the race course, about Klagenfurt and to give me a LIBRARY of books to read all about the area as well. Charlotte is racing Ironman Germany this year and ironically, it takes place on July 5th as well! Good Luck Charlotte!!!
So I’ll quickly run through the details of my travel here. Friday 3:30 PM, George’s mom drives me to the airport. We predict crazy traffic, but luck out! We get to the airport early (unfortunately she is stuck in major traffic on the way home). Im at the airport earlier than I would have liked, but it’s better than being late! I board the plane around 6:15 PM (It’s supposed to take off at 7PM). We FINALLY take off AFTER 10 PM! We sat on the runway for HOURS due to a major thunderstorm. I get to Paris at 11:35 AM…my connecting flight was scheduled for 9:35 AM… Oh well! Missed that! So, I get put onto a different flight and run through the airport to make it on time. I had 20 min to get to the gate and the Terminal seemed like it was MILES away from where I landed (the airport in Paris, by the way is unusually hot! I felt like I was just done with a workout when I finally got to the gate)! We take off from Paris and I arrive in Vienna WITHOUT my bike or my luggage! I have another flight with Austrian Airlines in an hour and a half and I need my luggage, so Im thinking I will have to miss my flight to Klagenfurt, stay in Vienna, get the bags and bike tomorrow and head to Klagenfurt then. Instead, I am reassured that my bike and luggage “should be delivered to where I’m staying in Klagenfurt by tomorrow evening”… Hmmm…we’ll see about that! SO, I check in and head to the gate… Five minutes before we are to board, the airport shuts down (due to a thunderstorm! I can't get away from these things)! FINALLY after a short delay we take off from Vienna and arrive in the quaint little city of Klagenfurt!
Luckily, I am renting a cottage from a local here. This can be a long story, but Henry, a man who lives here and who I was originally going to rent an apartment from, helped arrange my accommodations here at this lovely cottage when his apartment became unavailable. Henry also helped with the rental of a “Smart Car” for the days I will be here alone. He even had the owner of the rental company come in on Saturday and open up the store just for me! In the short time I have been here in Klagenfurt I have had an incredible experience! I was greeted at the airport by Hoerst (Henry’s friend who I am renting the cottage from), his sister Brigitte and her daughter Sylvie (who turned 20 today!) as well as Hoerst’s son Michael (14 years old) who greeted me with a flower. They all brought me to the rental company, then to this beautiful little cottage just 5KM from the race start at the lake. They showed me around the house and the incredible garden where I am welcome to grab all of my lettuce, veggies and fruit that I need while I am here. They also prepared some food for me and Sylvie offered to take me into town tomorrow. Pretty amazing! Their kindness has been so comforting after a much dreaded long travel day. I was most nervous for traveling and arriving here totally alone and they made the experience nothing but a pleasure! My friend Erin with whom I went to College with, arrives Tuesday night. I am looking forward to it, but the days here without her will definitely be more pleasurable and not quite as “lonely” as I thought they might be. Now I just have to keep my fingers crossed for the arrival of my luggage and bike!! Im DYING to get on my bike and check out the course!

Mooseman 2009 Race Report

My mom and I traveled up to New Hampshire last weekend for the Mooseman 1/2 Ironman. Mooseman is a race that many Long Islanders have done and a race that I have wanted to do for a while, but haven't done mainly due to my racing schedule and conflicts in the past. Doing other 70.3 races such as Florida and Buffalo Springs that are just too close in time to Mooseman have made it difficult to fit in. The other reason (or "hesitation") I have had with Mooseman is the historically cold water! Also, it can be a bit chilly up there as well and I try and steer clear of cold races...that being said, it was 95 degrees last year and PERFECT weather this past weekend, so if you have any of these excuses in your head, forget them! The race is awesome... As you can see in the picture on the left, the lake was gorgeous!

So, quickly re-capping the race, I was happy to have a small contingent of Runner's Edge and TNT athletes there that I knew, so it was nice to run into them the morning of the race (*see the Team Runners Edge Results following the post). I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that my friends Matt Long (I Will Foundation) and Frank Carino (along with their two buddies) were doing the race! Both Frank and Matt are doing Ironman Lake Placid in July, so I am looking forward to cheering them on up there! It was great to have them at Mooseman.

Race morning was quite nice as I headed to the lake to do my "warm-up", but the water was COLD! In fact, much colder than the day before when I went swimming in the shallow section of the lake WITHOUT my wetsuit! (It was also sunny and 82 degrees the day before). I panicked a bit as I headed out of the water for the start when I realized that I would be starting in the first wave which included over 100 men and me! Yikes! While some women may think that the idea of over 100 men and them is some kind of fantasy (he, he, he...), I can promise you that it is more like a nightmare! I definitely panicked in the swim and ended up costing myself a LOT of time! As the gun went off I found myself "running for my life" into the water and "sprinting" as fast as I could so I would not find myself UNDER some of these men (he, he, he). Even the small men seemed monstrous in size to me in that water. They thrashed about, they hit me, they swam over me. Finally I found myself doing the breaststroke and clutching at the neck of my wetsuit as I was having a hard time catching my breath! "Where's a kayaker", I thought..."Im done for the day"! OK...I got a grip. I slowed down and tried to find some space. From there I "wimpily" (is that a word??) swam to the shore. I exited in 31:33... "Oh well" I thought...I still have a bike and a run!

The bike was AWESOME!!! Some great climbs, but also many sections where you can just FLY! It was a two-loop course and I loved every minute of it! Nothing more to say about that. The men that I despised in the water were much nicer on the bike. Words of encouragement if they passed me, and also when I passed them! I felt great, which was the best part...something that hasn't happened in a while in a 70.3 race! I biked a 2:38:29

Starting the run I felt GOOD, but not GREAT...I tried to just move along as best I could. I must say that on this 2-loop course the way out has some tough rolling climbs, but the way back feels FAST! I started feeling better and better as the run went on! I noticed the other girls who started in the waves behind me, so I wanted to be sure to run fast enough that they would not beat me. With the spacing of the waves it was hard to tell EXACTLY where they were in relation to me, but I felt that if I ran hard, I would be OK. Steve Shulman from Runners Edge (also a TNT and LI Tri Coach) was a great source of encouragement for me out on the run...I looked forward to the turn-around where I would see him, so thanks Steve! In addition to Steve there were MANY spectators out on the course that were going crazy for me as I came by...it was awesome!!! My run split: 1:28:40

So I ended up finishing first despite the fact that I swam 5-6 min SLOWER than the 2nd and 3rd place women (Oops!!!!). The finish line was a party, the race director (Keith Jordan) was awesome, the race was amazingly organized, the area was beautiful...I have nothing but positive memories from this race and I HIGHLY recommend it! Total time 4:42.

Ironman Austria is a mere 3 weeks away! Im happy to have a good result under my belt and I am ready to rock! one more 20-22 mile run is in store for me on Monday and my last 100+ Mile bike is scheduled for Thursday. I am recovering VERY well from Mooseman and am getting more and more psyched to race Austria!

CONGRATS to everyone who raced last weekend in Mooseman and in the Rev 3 Triathlon!

Oh, and Thanks to Brad Smith for actually wanting to read these posts!!! ;-)

*Team Runners Edge Results:

Ken Cunningham - 5:35:37
Mark Eicher - 5:40:46
Nicole Skidmore - 5:59:33
*Michael Guida - 6:05:27
Tim Daly - 6:26:08
Kathy Keilitz - 6:57:19
Louis Ciliberti - 7:07:33
Howard Kohos - 7:20:21
Maria Diglio - 7:32:50
Diane Basso - 8:01:58

Congrats to our 2 Mooseman Olympic Finishers:

*Michael Guida - 2:53:10
Deborah Young - 3:50:06

*Competed in the Bullmoose challenge completing the Olympic Distance race Saturday and the 1/2 IM Sunday...

6 Week Count Down...

It amazes me when I think about it...I have been "counting down" to an Ironman (or two) every year for the past 8 years! This will be my ninth year in a row without a break. This realization comes to me every now and then I and simply cannot believe just how fast time can fly by! I can remember back in 2001, training for my first Ironman. I was 24 years old and I was training for IMLP at the time, but a bike crash 4 weeks before the race quickly changed my plans. With the help of mom and dad, I was signing up for a charity spot in Ironman Florida the day after my bike accident. During that summer after my accident I was forced to ride the trainer due to the 2 metal plates that were (are) inserted on each bone of my forearm. That along with pins that kept my wrist together made for a difficult time training...but train I did! I was back to running a week later with a cast that went from my shoulder to my wrist! So funny to think about it now! It amazed me just how many yells of encouragement I got EVERY TIME I went out for a run! Due to the severe pain that I would get every time I slightly moved my arm or wrist, I would be running down the road trying to hold my left arm up in the air and as still as possible...Ha! What great form! I am laughing just thinking about it! I felt like a complete fool, but this didn't stop me, oh no...I was out there training for my Ironman. The cheers I got from passing cars were a surprise and a relief...I expected much more "heckling" than I got....in fact, I don't think I got any negative comments!

As for the bike...the trainer became my friend. I would sit on that thing for hours on end...5-6 hour "long rides", intervals, you name it. I even brought it up to a friend's house while I was there visiting. Not only did I perch myself on the side of the road for a workout as a break from driving (crazy girl), but I also set it up in his parents backyard for a 6 hour ride! They must have thought I was a complete PSYCHOPATH! They would have been right! The swim wasn't so easy, so I had to take a couple of months off from that and "wing it" as best I could in the race... By race time, my arm wasn't "fully healed", but I had the plates on the bones to protect them, and the bones were "mostly healed"...my biggest fear was getting kicked in the swim, so I stayed FAR to the side during the start and dodged people as best I could! So, all went well...I won my age-group, qualified for Hawaii and was HOOKED for good! Ends up the accident was a blessing in disguise, as I doubt I had the strength to qualify in Placid at the time...funny how things work out!

Well, here I am starting my 6-week count down to IM Austria and I find that I get many of those same pre-race feelings that I got during my 1st Ironman Prep. I think this may be part of the "addiction" of Ironman. How great is it to prep for a huge event, set your goals, try and do everything right (or as "right" as you can) and countdown to a SUPER exciting day, where the outcome may be somewhat predictable due to your prep and your fitness level, but ultimately it is unknown, due to "unforeseen circumstances" on such a long day. They say that you learn the most from your worst performances... I can say that this is very true. It's during these performances that I question what I am doing with my life (during the race), but then it is these performances that get me to carefully evaluate what went wrong and how I can remedy it ( for the NEXT performance, of course)!

So, I started my "8-weeks of no ice cream/dessert" two weeks ago, a ritual of mine that I started years ago before every Ironman (I regret starting this ritual, by the way, since I usually enjoy SOME kind of dessert on MOST nights and I don't think that omitting it does anything for me really) It has become "ritual", however, and it signifies my "commitment to the race coming up"...or so that's what Ive been told when I was questioning whether I should ditch the ritual or not during a moment of weakness! Ive also had some fantastic workouts and feel quite fit, and I will be racing in two weeks at Mooseman as a type of "tune-up".

All is good in my world and as I was 8 years ago with my prep to IMFL, I am nervous and excited at the same time! The only difference is that I have 11 of these races under my belt now, Im quite a bit stronger from the years of training and it isn't as much of an "unknown" to me now. But I'm sure anyone who does them (even the studs who do 3+ a year!) can agree with me when I say that each Ironman is a bit daunting when you think about it as a whole, but each one is also special in it's own way and the excitement you get during the build-up as well as the thrill of finishing one of these races is worth all the months of training!

Back to Basics...

Wow...Time flies. It's been a while since my last update. Many changes since Oceanside. I took a "turn" after that race and have "revisited" my old training that I found to be so successful for me. The good news: Im not as "de-trained" as I thought I was! Also, after adding some MUCH NEEDED intensity in a short amount of time, I have been on a the fast track back to fitness levels that I reached during my first Pro season back in 2007! :-) I am on track to surpass those levels no doubt...
...isnt that what we all strive for? Getting as strong as possible...finding ways to surpass levels that we once considered to be our best? Because of this "switch", my mental side has also done a "180". I am more confident than I had been in a long time and I realize that I really love doing what I do, which is SO important for success. I try to embrace what I am doing as "it won't last forever"!
Of course, no athlete does it completely solo, everyone has support and I have been lucky to be able to "bounce ideas" off of George in my attempt to regain my power on the bike. Ive learned a lot that I THOUGHT I knew, but didnt fully understand. By looking back at my old training and carefully analyzing what works and what does not work for me in my training, then "picking George's brain", I have been able to really understand what it is that I need to be doing, and the correct way to go about it. It also helps to try and ride side-by-side with him...something I find difficult and frustrating at times, but always rewarding once the ride is over! Also, my coach from 2004/5-2008 offered to help me out again after almost a year hiatus. Having someone who knows my history, my ability and potential, and my goals has been key. Working closely with him again and developing a solid plan for IM Austria has been exciting...especially when I have been seeing the results come so quickly in training! Of course I always have family and friends that support me, like Jen Gatz (amazing triathlon coach, teacher, mother, athlete, etc...) who I can always contact when I need advice on training and who always gives me a solid, well thought out solution to whatever it is I need guidance with. Also, Jamie Fishlow (incredible triathlon coach, teacher, father, athlete, etc...) who has not only developed a strength training regimen for me that helped me to train injury-free throughout this winter (a first for me), but who also became my strength training partner as well as good friend. Like I said, no one can do it alone...
I've been working on my mental preparation quite a bit as well and have been reading, "Fit Soul Fit Body" written by the legendary Triathlete Mark Allen and Healer Brant Secunda. Their website is: www.fitsoul-fitbody.com. Another incredible book that teaches the importance of the mental side of training and racing is Bobby McGee's "Magical Running". I am reading this book for a second time to refresh myself on the lessons that Bobby (legendary running coach) teaches as a fundamental part of any athletes training. Bobby also has some wonderful article's that he has written on his website: www.bobbymcgee.com. Ask any successful athlete and they will tell you the importance of believing in themselves and working on their mental strength and perseverance...something that plays a HUGE role in endurance sports.
So I am finishing up a short rest period after completing a wicked training block and am getting ready to start up again...the next race is Mooseman in June and then Ironman Austria in July. I cant wait to see the payoff from all of this hard work!

Oceanside Race Report...

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of racing the legendary California 70.3 in Oceanside, California as well as attending the Zoot Team camp in Carlsbad, CA after the race. I went into Oceanside with a goal of a “solid finish”, but more importantly a “POSITIVE ATTITUDE”. I promised myself that the doubts that plagued me from the very first 70.3 last season in Florida, till my last Ironman in Arizona would not be in my mind while I raced. If they DID happen to enter my mind, they would be replaced with more positive thoughts and with the feeling that I did indeed enjoy racing and did indeed have faith in myself and my abilities. Mission accomplished. Now, if you look at my result, you might wonder WHY I left Oceanside with such a “bright outlook” on my future of racing. I did not place well. My time was not impressive….why then, am I so pleased? I’ll try to explain as best I can.

The Saturday before the race I did a 4:15 ride with 4x20 min intervals at above race pace mixed in. During the ride, I started to feel “something” in my throat…not a good sign! I tried to ignore it… Sunday, I woke up and did a hard run with intervals in the rain…my throat hurt, I felt stuffed up. I was getting sick! Running that morning in a monsoon was probably not the best decision, but it went well. I went to work and the throat got worse. I NEVER get sick! Oh well…never say never! I chilled out for the rest of the week in New York and by my flight out Wednesday afternoon, I wasn't 100%, but I was feeling MUCH better!


I flew into San Diego late Wednesday night and slept for over 10 hours. The next day I met up with a friend Haley Cooper (fellow Zoot Team member and TALENTED triathlete who I KNOW you will hear a lot about in the near future) and her friends Shelby Madden and Phaedra (both of whom I now consider friends as well). Not only was I fortunate to spend the weekend with these girls, but I was fortunate to be spending some of the weekend at the Jones house, a family that I had been hooked up with by Haley and Shelby. The Jones family (Sally, Ron, Carrie, Ginny, Stacey and their two dogs Molly and Cinders) are a sweet family that I considered myself lucky to be staying with during my weekend in San Diego. I have had such great opportunities to meet fantastic people on my travels and this trip was one of the best examples of that. I felt at home with the family and was honored to be able to spend some time talking with their daughter Carrie who is a two-time Olympian at the age of 25! Carrie Jones is America’s top woman kayaker and an incredible person to have met! She races the Women’s “K-1” in the 500 meter race and I was in awe of her and her accomplishments as she showed me her scrapbook from the Beijing Olympics!

As for the race: California 70.3 was Saturday and I was most nervous for the cold water and air that awaited me in the morning! I picked Haley up at 4:30 AM and we headed to the race. With MOST of my stuffiness and cold behind me, I felt pretty good! The morning of the race flew by! I was “body marked” by the legendary Bill Bell (In case you don’t know, Bill Bell once held the record for the oldest person to finish an Ironman!), I got my bike together, put my wetsuit on and before I knew it, we were lined up to enter the harbor water! It was the quietest start that I can remember being a part of. The pro women entered the water with about 5 min till race start, but no one was talking like usual. Everyone entered the water in an almost “eerie silence”….maybe we were all nervous for the anticipation of the cold water. The air was about 50 degrees and the water was 58 degrees, but to my surprise it felt OK! I was psyched! After a few minutes of warm-up and with the men underway, it was now our turn. The gun went off and I found that I got stuck behind a few girls. After clawing my way around them, I was on my way swimming steadily. I actually thought I was having a great swim, with the main pack just ahead, but as I exited the water and headed into transition, I realized that I was wrong. I must have been following the second pack of women as there were not many bikes left on the racks by the time I got there. Opps! So much for “thinking” I was having a great swim! I didn’t get upset about it though as I have done in races in the past. This was a triathlon, not a swim. I headed on my bike and figured I would do my best on the bike and try for a great run.

So my legs didn’t feel great on the bike. In fact, they felt pretty bad. This wasn’t what I had hoped for, but it’s what I got on that day, so I did the best I could. I saw a few other girls out there that were having bad days as well and I just forged ahead. It is a lonely bike when you exit the swim in the back. Nothing like my age group days… As an aside: This is the biggest difference racing as a pro. It is lonely out there and it is tough! As an amateur, I remember always being surrounded by other athletes. Men encouraged you as the first, or one of the first, age-group women as you biked along. I remember feeling the excitement as I passed people along the course. It was a BLAST! This is not the case as a pro, ESPECIALLY if you have a poor swim. You bike alone. Top men age groupers pass you and are gone. You may pass a woman, or be passed, but then you are alone again. There is no cheering. You usually pass silent. Being out there on the bike is the greatest example of self-motivation and digging deep that I have had to experience while racing. As I promised myself, I wouldn’t let the negative outlook overtake me during the bike or any part of the race. I wasn’t going to let the pressure of a “great result” take over either. “What if I don’t have a great race” did not exist in my mind on this day. I was going to do the best I could ON THAT DAY and wherever I ended up with that effort on that day would be all that I could do.

The bike course was pretty epic! I went through Camp Pendleton and the climbs inland were pretty wicked! The scenery was absolutely stunning and eventually the long hard effort came to an end. In my head I expected to bike somewhere in the 2:40’s on that course THIS EARLY in the season. I biked 2:47. Honestly, it was slower than I had hoped for, but I was happy to keep it under 2:50! I headed out on the run on a mission. “I’m going to catch as many women as possible!” My “mission” faded as the run went on. As I saw the many other women far ahead, my motivation to “catch as many as possible” faded. Also, my breathing was more labored than usual (lingering effects from the cold?) so I toned the effort down to more of a “comfortable” level of exertion and more of an “ease of breathing”. There was 1 quarter mile section of sand that we had to run over 4x throughout the race. I was absolutely PATHETIC on this section! I was literally falling all over the place! I wish I had video tape of the whole thing as I could probably be entertained for hours watching my pathetic self trying to “run” on the sand! This made the run split that Miranda Carfrae posted (1:20!!!) THAT much more impressive after my ill-attempt to run on that section!

So long story longer, I finished toward the back, with an unimpressive 4:58, but I finished feeling HUNGRY to race again! This is something that has escaped me since the beginning of last season. My “negative self-talk” was non-existent as well, which was a battle in itself. I was mediocre across the board, but it helped me to realize what I need to work on and how much more I have in me. The feeling that I had with my race results was what many of the other women that I had spoken to who raced that day had as well. This is the beauty of an early-season race, I think, and I highly recommend it. After the race Haley, Phaedra, Shelby and Ben Harper (our Zoot Team leader from 2008) celebrated with shots of Sake (OK…Haley and I didn’t have any shots after our race) but I did have a great time watching the 3 others do shot after shot at 2 O’clock in the afternoon! Shortly after that Haley and I were off to our hotel that Zoot had put us up in for the 2009 Zoot Camp. That night we went to the Timex party nearby. The Zoot camp continued on Sunday and was a fantastic time! More on that later as I’ve already written a novel, but I can say that the race, the Zoot Camp and the week in general was one to remember!
…OH! CONGRATULATIONS to JACQUI GORDON for her 4TH PLACE FINISH at IRONMAN SOUTH AFRICA this past weekend!!!! WAY TO GO JACQUI!! :-)

2009 Sponsors

I am REALLY excited to report that I will be racing on the Zoot Ultra Team for the 3rd season in a row! I joined the Zoot Team the first year that it was established in 2007. It just so happened that 2007 was also my first year racing Pro and I was SO excited to be accepted onto such a fantastic team and represent the best multisport company out there! This year I am just as excited to be racing for Zoot! In addition to Zoot and all of the amazing products made by Zoot including: shoes, clothing, wetsuits, the BEST compression items on the market, "SpeedZoots", etc., etc...the team will also be sponsored by Orbea. I am REALLY looking forward to getting my new Ordu and will post the pic as soon as I get it! Also, Zipp wheels (speak for themselves, don't they?) Suunto watches (top of the line watches and heart rate monitors...check out the company if you haven't already), GU energy gel and GU2O (my favorites are Chocolate Outrage Gel and and Orange GU2O) , Nutrafig bars (yummy!), Fuel Belt (leading hydration belt on the market) and View goggles (AWESOME for open water swimming)...

In addition to all of the amazing sponsors from the Zoot Team, I will be sponsored by Profile Design which provides the most AMAZING aerobars, stems, brake levers, hydration systems, saddles, seatposts, forks, and other great bike accessories out there! I'll be riding the new CX3 bars this year on my new Ordu this year, which should look super hot. Rudy Project is another sponsor for 2007...I have raced in Rudy Project for years and even wear their Maskeryna glasses when I'm not racing. Of course, Runner's Edge will be a sponsor of mine again for 2007. You can shop there online at: http://www.runnersedgeny.com/ OR visit the store in Farmingdale, NY. It has EVERYTHING you need for running and triathlon. The I Will Foundation (http://www.iwillfoundation.com/) founded by my friend Matt Long is an incredible Foundation that I believe will help to make a difference in many people's lives. You can check out the website, read about Matt and about the vision of the Foundation. I always say that I should add "Commercial Roofing" to my list of sponsors as well, since it is my parent's company and without them, I would definitely not be living out my dream of racing as a pro triathlete! Their support is unwavering, even when I find that living out my dream can be difficult with plenty of speed bumps along the way! I hope to have a solid season ahead and do them, and all of my sponsors proud!

I am fortunate to have such a great backing for my 2009 season and wanted to thank everyone of my sponsors! I'll be psyched to start off the season in California April 4th, at the California 70.3! Many of my Zoot Teammates will be there as we have our "team camp" that weekend after the race. The race happens to be right near Zoot headquarters, so it's a perfect way to start off the season!

Thanks!

Thanks to my friend Jacqui Gordon for my inspiration today! Luckily, I read Jacqui's blog before hopping on my trainer to do a killer workout today. I thought of her and her blog as inspiration as I did my hard trainer workout today... It really helped knowing she was there yesterday on her trainer! :-)