What’s Next? The Hail Mary Pass, Of Course

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So, what’s next? After my close call with a Kona qualifying slot at Ironman Lake Placid (race report here), I’ve asked myself this question quite a bit, as have my family and friends. I didn’t make any plans for races after Lake Placid. I poured every ounce of mental energy I had into that race, so when I came up short, I had no idea what the answer would be to this question. The day of the roll down at IMLP, our friend Eric texted John to find out if I nabbed a slot. When he got the news, he …

Fear(less)

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As far as emotions go, fear has its uses. For example, if faced with the Zombie apocalypse, a certain amount of fear can be useful. Just the right amount of stimulation to the nervous system gets the adrenaline flowing, and can help to put the fight in the fight or flight response. But, too much fear can paralyze you – and BAM! Just like that, there goes your brains, a tasty treat for a rotting corpse. So, that’s one thing that triathlon and running have in common with the zombie apocalypse: In order to survive, you need to keep your head. …

Rational Brain/Emotional Brain: 2013 Ironman Lake Placid Race Report

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I wanted so badly for this race report to be a zero-to-hero story, the dream-come-true-story, the local-small-town-girl-goes-big-Kahuna story. I wanted to be the dark horse that no one saw coming. I wanted to be the American Dream equivalent of Ironman racing – work hard, realize your dreams. I wanted to qualify for Kona. But, I didn’t. Despite giving this race everything I had – mentally and physically – I came up short for a Kona slot, 4 minutes and 53 seconds short to be exact.  That’s how far ahead the 4th place woman was. She earned the last Kona slot in …

Ironman Taper Progresses: A Case of Whoa Nellies with a Side of Joyful Weeping

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It’s just days from Ironman Lake Placid. And, I’m well into the taper, as I wrote last week. If you’ve ever experienced a taper from endurance training, then you know that it brings with it a range of emotions, from irritability to anxiety to excitement to joy. The irritability stage is usually first for me, and on Monday it hit me pretty hard. I spent most of the day trying to keep myself from hurting someone – especially after the women in the aqua aerobics class hit me in the head and hand with the lane rope. GRRR! But, yesterday’s episode of taper …

I have a secret… I love to taper

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That’s right. You read that headline correctly. I. LOVE. TO. TAPER. In fact, I think it’s pretty darn taper-ific. I realize this taper-love makes me something of an endurance-weirdo. I read the tweets, Facebook statuses, and articles that attest to how much people hate to taper, or find the taper as something that must be tolerated, not loved. Sure, I understand the taper-tantrums. The first time I did a “real” taper was before my first marathon. I didn’t like it so much that first time. But, on race day, I was able to run so well, on such fresh legs …

Off the Plan: Does spontaneous dancing count as cross training?

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Sunday morning I woke up and was all ready to knock out my scheduled training plan for the day. First, I was all like:   Then, I was all like: Normally, after a long day of training, John and I stick to a pretty set plan of the 3 R’s: refuel, recover, and rack out on the couch. Yet, by the end of the day on Sunday, we were all like: What happened, right? With just under 4 weeks to go until Ironman Lake Placid for me, and just under 3 weeks to the Vermont 100 for him, this type of …

Instant Gratification & Endurance Sport

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As a culture, we’ve become increasingly absorbed by products, services and experiences that promise instant gratification. In the world of endurance sport, maybe this translates to taking supplements (legal or illegal) to lose weight quickly, to build strength quickly, to boost endurance overnight, to eliminate fatigue. Maybe it means we expect unrealistic results, before we’ve put the time in, before we’ve done the work we need to do in order to achieve the goals that are worth achieving. Maybe it means we compare ourselves to others, thinking if we do exactly what they have done, we’ll have the same results. …

Life Cycles

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During the second week of June, 2012, my mother began what would be the last week of her life here with us. Of course, at that time, we didn’t know that. My family and I went about the routine we had established in the previous 7 months, caring for her as the cancer, which began in her pancreas, was tearing through her body like a school of ravenous piranha. My sister, brother and I went about our usual routine, which typically included us bossing her around — a fact which she was quick to share with the hospice nurses. “Mom, …

These Are A Few Of My Favorite Things: A Triathlon Gear Geek’s Must Have List

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I didn’t used to think of myself as a triathlon gear geek. But, one look around my house and my garage will quickly call that assumption into question. When I first started in triathlon, I had just the basics: a used bike that was 2 sizes too big for me, $20 bike shorts (ouch!), a grocery bag for my transition bag, and I was just learning about the value of some type of butt butter. I had no idea was Zipp was, nor did I own a single pair of compression socks. How on earth did I ever finish those …

2013 Eagleman Triathlon Race Report: Possibilities, Penalties and Mudpits

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“5 seconds… 3… 2…,” the announced said, and then the siren went off. And so began the 16th swim wave (females 40-44) at the 2013 Eagleman Triathlon. With 30 Kona slots and 40 Vegas slots, some of the biggest studs in triathlon come to play at Eagleman 70.3. And there I was, in the water with them. I felt like I was swimming strong, passing caps in my age group once the fray settled down. After some time, I was also passing caps in the 2-3 waves prior to mine. I thought I was swimming strong. I thought I was sighting …