Journey to the Impossible: Reflections from Ironman Lake Placid 2018

Nine years ago, John and I spectated our first Ironman Lake Placid. At that time, I had just finished my first handful of sprint distance events and one olympic distance event.  I had NEVER seen an Ironman race before (not even Kona on TV), and had only a functional understanding of the distances. Sure, I understood how they added up by the math, but I didn’t quite get how it was possible for the body to actually go 140.6 miles (you know, we all don’t like to drive that far 😜). Even though I had already finished a few marathons, I …

I’m Unstoppable Today

I was in the middle of a speed workout – a series of efforts a little faster than 5k effort, at distances from 400 to 1000 meters, punctuated by 200 meters at best sustainable effort. (Yes, yes, there were recoveries between all of this nonsense.) This sucker was painful in all of the ways that I dislike: air sucking, lung busting, anaerobic torture. But, it is the one type of training that works my primary weakness: I need more BOOM. I can shift into little diesel gear and go for hours, but ask me to sprint, and you are forgiven for not noticing that …

The Gift of the Present: 2017 Ironman Lake Placid Race Report

Feet up and resting the day before Ironman Lake Placid, I scrolled through Facebook and saw this post from my friend and fellow coach Mary: The next morning, I stood on the beach of Mirror Lake, waiting for the 2017 Ironman Lake Placid to begin. In that moment, I lived a different present than the last time I raced an Ironman, 3 years ago. When I first registered for IMLP 2017, I wanted to chase my Ironman past. I felt like I had unfinished business with Lake Placid. I had goals for Ironman – back in 2013 and 2014 – that …

What have I learned?

No matter how much experience I gain, there is always something new to learn. That is part of the appeal of endurance sport – it never gets boring. After a race or an especially challenging training session, my Coach Steve Pye’s first question was: “What did you learn?” This question is the best one we can ask ourselves each day if we want to make our path forward on this journey meaningful. This season has rubbed me pretty raw emotionally, physically, and tactically. All of that rubbing has exposed some valuable lessons, which I’m finding especially useful as I make the final, …

Crono Vino Time Trial: Fake it until I make it – or just keep faking it

On April 10th, I received this text from Karl, an athlete that I coach: I clicked the link. I read through the event description.  And, I realized: 1) Karl would do this event, and 2) I should probably hit the “register” button as well. If I’m going to think of myself as a “real” cyclist, then I need to do “bikey” things. But, the thought of showing up at an event for really real cyclists scared the crap out of me. Mostly, I was certain one or more of the following things would happen: 1) I would greatly humiliate myself, 2) I would get my ass …

I am a cyclist? I AM a cyclist.

I’m coming clean: I’ve been a hypocrite. I’ve talked a time or a dozen about how central our thoughts are for influencing the way that we act. While I walk this talk in most aspects of my athletic life, there is one area where I’ve clearly been lacking – yes, even hypocritical. I’ve said some pretty negative things about cycling. For example, I take credit for the hashtag #BikesArePoopy. More specifically, I’ve said some not-so-nice things about myself as a cyclist. I may have said a time or a dozen that I suck on the bike. I consider a compliment about my …

Eat the elephant one bite at a time 

I started my run on Sunday morning, and I wasn’t more than 20 steps in when I began to hear the voices. My legs are really sore. Why does this feel so hard if I’m running so slow? How am I going to do today’s workout feeling like this? Was that noise my joints popping?!  Ugh. It’s windy.  You know these voices, right? I bet you’ve heard them a time or a hundred. The day before, I had ridden four hours at a base ironman effort – but with a series of FTP intervals interspersed throughout. Fifty-five minutes worth of …

International Women’s Day: Nevertheless, She Persisted

We celebrate holidays because they allow us to celebrate our values and achievements. Consider Fourth of July. This is a pretty big deal for Americans, given our values of independence and freedom. It’s a time to commemorate those values – and to watch fireworks and eat barbecue, of course. For over 100 years, March 8 has been marked as International Women’s Day to commemorate the value and celebrate the benefit that women bring to our lived experiences. Why? Because we value women and the contributions they make to society. We realize that the success of any society – of any world …