Life Is Beautiful

It's not always easy, but it's definitely worth it....To enjoy the thrill of flying downhill on a bike, you have to climb up beforehand.

Illustration - Albert & Marie

My roommate is a pro triathlete from France. He often says "Life is Beautiful" and I couldn't agree more. But the times when I have seen this the most, are often in the little things - in the roughest, rockiest times of life, or when I was not looking for or expecting something big, a small piece of realizing how much I love life sneaks in. This happens often when I am way outside my comfort zone. I live for these small, beautiful moments.

I will share a few of my recent Life Is Beautiful moments:

• That moment in training when I really think I'm DONE, and I somehow go harder or hang on a little longer, realizing it doesn't hurt any more than it was before.
• Laughing. Loudly.
• Sitting on a swing at sunset (say that 10x fast - HA!) on top of a mountain.
• Crying. Because I care.
• Dancing - everyone should dance more in my opinion. In your kitchen, out, wherever - just dance a little. Just like singing like a rockstar in the car - I love this also.
• Losing. It's good. It keeps me coming back to try again and appreciating the wins.
• Running on trails like I'm 12 years old.
• That tired, hanging-on-til-I-can't-anymore feeling that only comes from Ironman training, and is completely crazy, but makes me feel very alive.

You only get one life. Live it.

Palomar Camping

Four years ago the Tour of CA went up Palomar and some friends and I spectated. This year we rode up the day before, camped at the top with plans to spectate on race day.

We had an awesome camping location, just a couple miles from the top of Palomar. The best part was that friends took our tent, clothes, etc. up in a car while Dave and I rode our bikes to the top.

Seriously good camping!

Sunday morning I got to run along the ridge, up to the top of the mountain and back to our campsite - an awesome trail run.

Snakes galore - not sure what this one is, but we saw several rattle snakes.

Sunday we decided rather than viewing the race on top of Palomar we would head over to the descent on Wolford. Except by the time we had climbed out of Rincon in 110 degree heat and positioned ourselves in the shade (where it still felt 100 degrees) to wait for the Tour to fly past, and realized we needed to wait over an hour for the riders, we were over it. It was HOT. So we rode home, got cold drinks and skipped watching a ton of skinny guys in spandex fly by on their bikes.

It was a great weekend.

St. George 70.3 Triathlon Race Report

St. George 70.3 Triathlon is the US Pro Championship and the field was the most stacked race I have ever started. I honestly believe we learn more when life/racing/whatever gets tough. I learned a lot at this race, mostly about staying positive, never giving up, and knowing what is ultimately important in life. This is how my race went down...

Photo: Triathlete

The setting for the swim is nothing short of breathtaking. We were lucky the winds were calm. I managed to grab feet, get kicked only 4x, swallow too much water only once (without panicking when this happened!), and exit the swim in 29 high with a pack of girls.

Photo: Tri Lounge (these guys rock!)

Within a mile of starting the bike there is a long steady climb. Actually one of many all day that don't ever end - the entire bike course is up and down. It is spectacular, breathtaking, and HARD. On the first climb I felt absolutely horrible, but chalked it up to not yet being warmed up on the bike.

Photo: Monique Fletcher

Ten miles in I felt worse. Watts were low, I was getting dropped, and mostly feeling miserable. I generally save my caffeine PowerGels for after mile 30 on the bike. I took them at mile 10. And it didn't seem to make a bit of difference.

At this point I knew my race was entirely mental. I had a choice to give up and back off, chalking it up to an off-day, or I could will my body to go as fast as possible and keep fighting. I chose to fight. I watched as my watt average steadily declined and would eventually end 10w lower than what I held at IM Melbourne. At least the scenery was awesome! I came off the bike in 2:37.

Photo: Monique Fletcher

I started the run in 23rd. For six miles I saw nothing ahead of me except open road scattered with aid stations offering cold sponges. I didn't feel great, but I was running and reminded myself that I would run girls down. My original goal of top 10 was adjusted to top 20. There was no chance for money or points, everything about my race now came down to digging deep because at the end of the day I knew I would be happy if I gave it my all.

My parents surprised me last minute and drove late into the night before the race to show up and cheer for me. My Dad was on course giving me splits that I had five girls in front of me within 5 minutes, then 3, then 1:30. He knew I was having a horrible day, but he knows better than anyone how stubborn I am and knew I would not give up until the finish. My family is close and having them there reminded me what is really important in life. Ten years from now I won't remember how horribly I raced - I will remember how awesome my parents are.

Photo: Tri Lounge

Within the last two miles (and into the finish chute) I passed five girls to finish 18th with a 1:29 run and 4:40 overall time. There was nothing spectacular about my race on paper. But when things don't work the way we had hoped, we always have a choice as to how we will deal with the situation. I know I can race at the top with the best in the sport. St. George is hands down the hardest 70.3 course that exists and I can't wait race it again. The awesome part about bad days, is that there's always another chance to try again. Live to fight another day and know you are stronger for the experiences you survived.

My next race is in four weeks at Rev3 Quassy. Another stacked field. Another chance to race hard!

I am honored to work with an amazing group of Sponsors.
THANK YOU:

Zoot - Kiwawe shoes were perfect - no blisters.

SKLZ - Awesome recovery products I am loving.

Microscope World - A great "other job."

Cannondale - My Slice is amazing even when my legs don't show up on race day.

Profile Design - Fast wheels, hydration and aero bars.

Extreme Endurance - Recovery at its best!

Powerbar - Fuel that keeps me going strong - green apple gels are awesome.

Bont - Comfortable, stiff shoes that I love.

Rudy Project - Helmet & sunglasses that look great and do their job.

Sable Water Optics - I can see when I swim. Yay! 

Mom & Dad - you may never realize how much it made my day to hear you were showing up to cheer. I consider myself incredibly lucky and blessed to have amazing & supportive parents.

PossAbilities Triathlon Race Report

I have raced the PossAbilities Triathlon three times now. It's a great event geared toward challenged athletes, and it's a perfect race for first time triathletes - especially since the swim takes place in a pool. The triathlon is raced in reverse order - 5k run, 11 mile bike, 250yd swim.

Jose, Karl and I before the start.

It's been a couple years since I raced a 5k. I went out a bit fast (does this ever NOT happen in a 5k?!), then settled in, determined not to let Olympian Julie Ertel open too large of a gap on me. (I've also lost this race multiple times to her, and figured if I had any shot of winning I had to minimize the damage on the run.) At the turn around I picked up the pace and was happy to finish the run in 17:55 - without a side stitch or massively imploding. Julie was into transition about :20 ahead of me.

 Laurel Wassner and I leaving transition.

Photo taken right after my not-so-awesome bike mount...

The bike is 3 loops with one hill on each lap. As in years past, I basically turned myself inside out on the bike trying to catch Julie. I brought the gap down to :10 at its lowest, but never fully caught her.

I ran out of transition chasing her and she ultimately jumped into the pool ten feet ahead of me. The swim is a zig zag across the pool under each lane line.

Every length of the swim she was one lane over from me. And that was how it would end. I finished 2nd to the speedy Olympian once again.

Jose also finished 2nd, and my Dad won his age group.

Someone asked me after the race "Don't you wish she just wouldn't show up one year so you could win?!" And my honest answer is NO, I don't. After 51 minutes of all-out chasing (and each year getting progressively closer to catching her!), I know I gave it my all and raced hard. This is what I show up on race day for. This is what makes racing exciting, and this is what I need in order to become a better athlete.

Seeing the number of challenged athletes, especially kids that participate in this event is inspiring and makes me happy I can be a part of a sport that provides opportunities like this.

I did not discover triathlon until after college and I love seeing kids in the sport.

Men's podium. And Charisa.

Next up is St. George 70.3 US Pro Championship on Saturday...

THANK YOU to my awesome sponsors:

Zoot - I love my speed shoes - they are perfect!

SKLZ - Awesome recovery products I am using all this week.

Microscope World - A great "other job."

Cannondale - I have found my dream bike and I am in love.

Profile Design - Fast wheels, hydration and aero bars.

Extreme Endurance - No leg burning all day.

Powerbar - Fuel that keeps me going strong.

Bont - Comfortable, stiff shoes that I love.

Rudy Project - Helmet & sunglasses that look great and do their job.

Sable Water Optics - I can see when I swim. Yay!

Weekend Update

• Kite came to race ITU San Diego, got sick (it was not from my cooking!), didn't race, then drank Ensure. Mmmmm. Yum.
• SKLZ had an open house event - it involved laughing and food trucks.
• Bike riding for hours on amazing roads took place.
• There was a nap.
• And I smiled quite a bit.

I've decided to jump into a sprint tri next weekend. Because sprints are over in time for breakfast and that sounds fun.

Success in Training

This is a post I wrote for the #SuccessProject...

There are moments in each and every training session where I find small morsels of success. And yes, sometimes this includes simply surviving the workout.

BIKE:

As a female pro triathlete, I tend to ride with a lot of guys who are slightly stronger than myself. While I am not cursing this fact, I am often celebrating small bits of success including:

• The ability to cling to a wheel and stare at a cassette for just a few minutes longer before popping off the back of the pack.
• The day two hours into a ride where I am dying, fall off a wheel, and somehow manage to claw my way back onto that wheel. I will also fist-pump the air when I actually accomplish this. Unfortunately there is rarely someone behind me to share (or witness!) this successful moment.
• Actually counting out calories properly on a hard ride and managing not to bonk. Seriously – this is always a huge success!!

Belgian Waffle Ride descending Double Peak.

SWIM:

Small disclaimer – although I am a pro triathlete, I am NOT known for my amazing swim skills. I was once asked by an elderly gentleman at the pool if I was a professional swimmer. I am fairly certain I kissed him on both cheeks and he made my entire year.

• Realizing that over the past six years I have moved up from lane four to lane two at masters. Serious success.
• Pacing at masters while everyone around me goes out like a bat-out-of-hell and then dies.
• Actually descending a swim set. This actually did happen. Once.
• Continually staring at that black line. Day. After. Day. After Day.

RUN:

I am a runner. It’s my favorite of the three sports – I love that it comes at the end of triathlon. I love running girls down. I love the pain of pushing myself harder. I love the feeling of floating when everything clicks.

• Looking at a run workout on paper and being certain I won’t be able to hit the paces, but being unafraid to try – and ultimately surprising myself by hitting the numbers.
• The last half mile of any run that is a double-digit run starting with the number “2”.
• Finishing those runs that feel like incredibly long slogs.
• Coming back from an injury.

No matter what your sport – I hope you can see the small successes in every day training. Some days they are much harder to find than others, but I promise you they are there and they always make you a better athlete. You can check out all the Success Project blogs here for inspiration.

Loch Ard Gorge

I've been back home for a bit now, but figured I would share the rest of my pics from Australia. These are from Loch Ard Gorge, a place where a shipwreck happened many years ago along the coast - two lone survivors washed up on this beach. The story is fairly tragic for such a beautiful location.