Tag: Challenge

The 9% Solution: Take the Tough Option

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Last year, my coach Vince scheduled a treadmill-specific hill workout that had a series of different inclines, from 3% to 9%. As if the changing incline wasn’t enough, I did each interval at the same pace (approximately tempo effort) – without any recovery interval throughout the duration of the workout, which was typically 45 minutes. Despite the lack of a recovery interval, it’s amazing how a 3% incline at tempo effort can feel like a recovery after a 9% interval. The first time I did this workout, the 9% interval crushed me. And, when I say crushed, I mean smoke blowing …

5 Tips to Train the Brain: Mental Training for Endurance Athletes

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John and I were just moments from jumping into the river at Ironman Louisville. The line was moving at a fast pace, and I was quiet. John asked, “Are you okay?” “Yep,” I replied. “I’m just getting ready to go to work.” I was calm and prepared. Flashback to Ironman Mont Tremblant in 2012. John and I are on the beach, in the moments before the start. He asked me how I was doing. I burst into tears. I was nervous and scared. What was the difference between these two moments? Simple: My brain. Most of us spend 7 days a week training our …

Extraordinary Moments

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Life offers precious few truly extraordinary moments. These opportunities are particularly limited if we do not seek them out.  We cannot wait for the extraordinary to come to us. We must make the extraordinary happen. But, it is hard work that brings with frightful challenges and frustrating barriers. Yet, meeting the challenge and overcoming the barriers lead to a reward so rich, so deeply fulfilling that I cannot help but seek these moments. Let’s face it: I’m an addict. Endurance sport is the fix. The challenges of training for and racing Ironman push me past my comfort zone and are …

Miley Cyrus is right: It’s all about the climb

With two laps of Mirror Lake completed, my fellow Fireman Ironman training partners were stripping their wetsuits, drying off and heading back to their accommodations to prepare for the long run, which would begin at 12:30 p.m. Me? I was trying to avoid throwing a pity party for myself. With less than 5 weeks to go until Ironman Lake Placid, I’m sidelined from running thanks to a cranky right leg that is suffering from a mixture of tendinitis and ITBS. Good times. So as I exited the water, I did not strip my wetsuit. I did not dry off. I …

Promises to keep

There’s nothing like biting off more than you can chew, and then chewing anyway. ~Mark Burnett   My cycling was a disappointment last season. While my first Ironman was best day of my life so far, I made a promise to myself that this year, my performance will be better. And by “better” I mean faster. A lot faster. In the afterglow of IMLP 2010, I initially set what I thought was an aggressive goal: a 12 hour and 30 minute Ironman for 2011, which would be 1 hour and 3 minutes faster than my debut effort. John’s response? “You’ll …

Feeling the awesomeness that is life

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We are a little more than 17 weeks away from our second go-round with Ironman Lake Placid. And, I know we have entered a new phase in the training. …Not because the volume is increasing. …Not because speed and hill work are weekly regulars in the training schedule. …Not because I need more sleep to make up for the longer training hours. …Not because the pantry is bare just days after we stock it. Nope. None of these. I know it’s a new phase in the training because I’m weepy. I am not a did not used to be weepy …

The best day of the week, even if it hurts

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Sunday is my long run day. It’s the crown jewel of the training regimen. The piece de resistance, the bees knees, the cat’s meow, the best part of waking up, the main event. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I really enjoy the long run – even when it hurts. While I mess around with this triathlon gig, running is my thing. It brings me joy, peace, and just the right amount of pain. I feel most alive when I go on these long, almost-always solo jaunts, during which time I experience the gamut of human emotion …

Hard work isn’t easy & easy isn’t worth it

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I was riding my bike on the trainer on Tuesday. To lessen the boredom, John hooked up a TV in the garage so we can watch while we ride. As I flipped through the channels, I noticed that various fitness products were being reviewed on Rachel Ray. Eh, I guess I will watch this for a minute. The show’s producers had several former Biggest Loser contestants test various “get thin quick” fitness products – you know the ones you see on informercials late at night? The BL contestants, Amanda, Sunshine and Matt, were to use the products for several weeks, …

Training begins anew: setting goals for the new year

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When I was a young girl, one of my favorite things about the beginning of a school year was a clean notebook, with its crisp white pages just waiting to be filled with notes of my learning experiences. Today, I still enjoy the promise of empty pages, waiting to be filled. Now, however, those clean pages are those of my training log for the 2011 season. It’s time to start filling them with experiences as this week marked the beginning of the 2011 training season. It’s not like I have being doing nothing. It’s just that I’ve been working out, …

What will I learn today?

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About a year ago, I met with my University’s public relations guru, Barbara. (She is a media coverage rainmaker!) She had heard that I was training for my first Ironman, and that I would be raising money for a scholarship during the process. She wanted to help me promote the scholarship. We had lunch, during which she asked a series of questions about my athletic and academic history, about the training, about my motivation for raising money for the Iron Scholarship. At one point she asked, “Has this training helped you be a better teacher?” At the time, I said …