"Cross training"...

Do I want to bike lately? NO. Do I want to go stare at blue tiles on the bottom of a pool lately? NO. Do I want to blare music and beat the crap out of my brother’s speed bag??? YESSS ☺ This morning I asked him to fix the damn thing (he hit it too hard and for too long recently that he literally ripped part of out of the wall), haha I love it. I’m going to have him teach me how to hit it so that when I am frustrated, stressed or just want to get pumped up, I can go into our workout room and just go to town ☺

I’m almost done with week 3 of no running and I am just mad lately. I’m mad I decided to move a 40 lb. box last May, down the stairs, while barefoot, and proceeded to trip over one of my dogs and fall, landing on my heel. Within 2 weeks I had my injury that I’m currently trying to heal. I’m mad I decided to run the morning after I fell, and after only 5 hours of sleep. I’m mad I moved boxes up and down 3 flights of stairs in Oregon with old running shoes on my precious feet; my precious feet that must stay healthy for me to make a living. I’m mad I didn’t listen to my body the day I had to run almost 2 hours, the afternoon I arrived in Oregon after driving for 24 hours and about 3 of it was sleep. I’m mad and regretful of my stupid mistakes I made exactly one year ago. I wish I could go back and change them. I try to tell myself what my physical therapists at Endurance Rehab tell me…”Your bone spur could have already been there before all of that, and your injury could have happened eventually no matter what” ….I’m not convinced, clearly.

Who wants to hear about sad, depressing complaints though? No one…because truly NO ONE really cares if you are having a bad day, week, month or year. In fact I can think of a lot of people that would probably be happy to hear someone else is unhappy. Misery loves company. In the end, all you have is yourself anyway…it’s up to YOU to determine how your life goes…for the better or for the worse.

Biking doesn’t make me feel better. Swimming doesn’t make me feel better. However blasting my favorite rap music while driving and hopefully soon, hitting a speed bag until my hands ache, will make me feel better ☺ Spending time with fun, positive people always makes me feel better. My dogs that I love more than life itself make me feel better. The beach makes me feel better. Cooking and baking make me feel better. Going out dancing makes me feel better. Good food and good beer make me feel better. For the next 3 weeks and two days, I will be doing all of the above, (maybe some all combined into one trip somewhere) I’ll bike and swim only when I feel like it and when it’s time to put my feet back out on the roads, I know damn well I’ll feel muuuuuch better ☺

Wonderful quote and so applicable right now: “You become what you think about”. Damn straight. ☺

On the flip side...

I can’t even express in words how grateful I am to all the people who have supported me in athletics from when I was a tiny little super fast swimmer, short-lived soccer player, triathlete and of course forever a runner ☺ Doing triathlons and running professionally take up most of my time these days and part of my reward is the wonderful feeling of having a support crew (up to 7 of us once going to Cancun☺) sitting next to me on the plane or arriving from other destinations to simply….watch me RACE. Somehow they enjoy getting up early, dealing with me if I am tense and nervous and in a bad mood ;), running around on the course cheering (or hopping on subways all over the 5 boroughs of NYC), standing in the sun (or freeeeezing cold), pouring hurricane rains (Cancun) waiting…and waiting…and waiting…until I am finally done. Ironically, 3 of my biggest career highlights, winning the first ever ACC Women’s Individual title in Cross Country for Duke, winning my first National Championship in 2009 and recently winning the More Fitness Women’s Half Marathon in NYC, none of my family or incredibly special people in my life were there to see any of them. Of course there are great people on the sidelines cheering, friends or acquaintances, etc. yet none of my immediate family or anyone super close to me were there to watch and celebrate. Maybe it allowed me to channel all of my nerves and emotions into the task at hand…go for it, balls to the wall ☺

Not running or racing right now doesn’t fuel that super competitive, fierce desire I have to go out and really make my body hurt. Therefore, going to watch someone race gives me that excitement and I really love it. I got to watch my sister race about a week and a half ago; she had one good race and her second one was really motivating. She raced really strong and made moves when I yelled at her; it got me so pumped up ☺

A quote I saw recently that I really liked…”Winners are too busy to be sad, too positive to be doubtful, too optimistic to be fearful, and too determined to be defeated”

My pic: my awesome support crew from my half Ironman in California.

Almost two weeks down...4 more to go...

Much like dealing with any “stressful” situation in life, there are stages to gradually feeling normal or calm. With these 6 weeks (and hopefully not more) of time off from my running, I am sure I am going to go through a range of emotions. I am on day 11 of no running and once I go past the day 14 mark, it will be the second longest break from running, EVER. IN. MY. LIFE. The last time was over 3 years ago at Duke when I had a stress reaction in my femur and I couldn’t run for 6 weeks. I ended up coming back in time to run a very mediocre 10k at the NCAA championships, and two weeks later the WORST 10k of my life at the USA Track Championships in Indianapolis.

Right now I am in what I will call the “acceptance” phase of my time off, and sprinkle that with a very decreased level of motivation to do anything but have fun, not sleep much, drink a lot of beer and maybe swim and bike whenever I feel like it, HAHA J The only thing I am doing a good job of is my core and strength work about 6 days a week, even if it means waking up at 4:30 to get it done in time to go teach.

After the More Fitness NYC Half Marathon, I decided to go race the Bloomsday 12k in Spokane, Washington. My body was sore and tired every day during the week leading up to the race and I finally felt pretty good on my two mile run + strides the day before the race. During the race, I felt alright, yet it was much colder and windier than in 2009. My time was MUCH slower, 41:56 compared to 40:15 the year prior. I was able to manage 11^th place overall and first American, so I was satisfied and I hope next year I can run faster again. It was frustrating to see that if I had run the same time (40:15) this year, I would have been about 5^th overall! Haha However I had a great time in Spokane, just like last year. The hotel, hospitality suite, brunch, dinner, course tour and post-race food and drinks were fantastic. I love going to Bloomsday and I look forward to going again next year. J

The last time I was on Mr. Specialized was May 6^th, when I went to Tucson again to climb Mt. Lemmon. I did the climb in 2:18 (with a strong headwind for a lot of it) and 1:04 on the descent. I was pretty happy considering the weather and the fact I hadn’t been on my bike in over a week, ha. Last time I swam was this past Monday, in a lap pool at a nice resort in Scottsdale, and then proceeded to relax and people watch afterward….clearly a very serious swim session ;)

Part of the reason I am not stressing too much about my lack of training the past two weeks is because I am teaching almost every day and I am just busy in general. I have not slept more than 6.5 hours the last 8 nights, and quite frankly I just don’t care that much. Now, starting in two weeks when I won’t be working for the summer (at least that’s my plan for now), then heck yes I will be working my booty off J I have written up almost all of my training for the next 21 weeks leading up to Kona and I plan to run in the Women’s USA Marathon Championships in NYC 4 weeks after Kona, so I have to balance everything well, and be ready to go hard again after Kona J Kona marathon goal: 2:50….NYC Marathon goal: 2:29 J I have a feeling after Kona I’ll think running a marathon alone will be easy as pie compared to after running in the lava fields J yet that’s coming from a runner….most triathletes I am sure would disagree with me, haha.

Weather in Phoenix lately has been heavenly!!! I just LOVE LOVE LOVE it….It’s definitely not as hot as last year at this time. Most days are in the 80’s and we had a few last week in the mid to upper 90’s. In the mornings though, it’s cool, in the 60’s, and as soon as teaching is done I can’t wait to get out there and train in the cooler temps J

One of my favorite quotes of all time that I try to live by every single day: "Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't, and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said that it'd be easy; they just promised it'd be worth it."

Don't Stop Believing...

My brother absolutely loves Journey’s song “Don’t Stop Believing”, and whenever I hear it on my iPod I think of him. It’s a great song and it came into my mind during the More Fitness Women’s Half Marathon on Sunday. After Colleen DeReuck pulled away from me at mile 3 and eventually had about a 100 meter gap on me, there were times when I definitely settled and figured “well I’m racing for 2^nd place”. Suddenly, on the east side of the park, between about mile 7 and 8 I realized I was running too comfortable and decided I needed to try and catch her. I figured I had nothing to lose, assuming 3^rd place was far enough behind me, that if I blew up, at least I did it while in gut wrenching pain. J Immediately “Don’t Stop Believing” came into my head and I kept repeating it over and over as I gradually closed the gap.

The entire morning reminded me all too well of the USA 25k champs in Grand Rapids, Michigan last May. It was a super cold, rainy morning and with about 4.5 miles left in the race I made a move and pulled away to win, running the last 4.5 miles in a LOT of pain, grinding it out to the finish line in the rain. In Central Park, around mile 9, with 4 miles to go, I pulled even to Colleen, said “great job Colleen” and made a move. For the remaining 4.1 miles I had no clue if she was 2, 20 or 45 seconds behind me, because all the women in the race, running on the inside to my left on the road, did an unbelievable job cheering and screaming my name. I knew I couldn’t look back to check where Colleen was, so I kept throwing in hard surges, especially on the downhill stretches. Eventually I looked behind me, just to be sure, as I rounded the corner to the finish line and I didn’t see Colleen. It was such an incredible feeling to win my first major road race, the biggest all women’s half marathon in the country J Yes, I won the 25k national championships last year, yet one foreigner beat me by a few seconds so technically I did not win the women’s race.

The weekend in NYC was quick yet really fun as usual. New York Road Runners (NYRR), More Fitness Magazine and Lady Speed Stick impressed me and put on a fabulous event. At the pre-race pasta dinner at the Hard Rock Hotel in Times Square, Ann from the NYRR introduced me with a few recent accomplishments, and then she paused and told everyone how she was so impressed with the fact that I had also just qualified for Kona. J It made me smile and I thought about how many people told me I couldn’t run professionally AND do triathlons at the same time. It got me very excited for Kona, especially that 2:56 run course world record J Alot of women came up to me and asked me all kinds of things about triathlon. I told them I don’t know THAT much, but appreciated their support, admiration and hopefully it will get more women involved in triathlon.

On race morning, seeing thousands of women out there pushing themselves so hard on a cold, rainy Sunday morning made me so happy to be out there with them! I have never had such great support from other people during a race; I could not have run so well that second loop in the park if I hadn’t had their support J My morning was made even more terrific when I got to meet Kristen Davis from Sex and the City!!!! She was at the race cheering and then helped hand out awards. I talked to her for a while about the new movie coming out in a few weeks and asked her if she runs like she does on the show, lol. She was super sweet and I was so incredibly excited that I got to meet her. I cannot wait for the second movie to come out!! There are photos, video of the race, etc. on the NYRR website...www.nyrr.org if you want to look, watch, etc.

After the More Fitness Half, I decided to go and race Bloomsday again in Spokane, Washington. I really really loved this race last year and I had such an amazing time with the race crew, other athletes, etc. so I am excited to go back. I hope to have just as good, if not better race than I did last year. The course is hilly and challenging….perfect for me J I will be thinking of the post-race beer, pizza and massages in the hospitality suite that we all enjoyed soooo much last year. I’m getting pumped to say the least…

I am not sure what my plans will entail from here on out. My plan to take time off may be put on the backburner for a bit, since I am have been able to run pretty darn well off 20-40 miles per week the past three months. There are some races and goals I would like to accomplish through the end of June before I settle down for a few weeks. Taking time off from running in July in Phoenix…sounds just fine for me, lol J For any of you out there that want to truly know my mileage the past 10 weeks…here it is:

27.24, 35.9, 24.23, 41.4, 52.94 (NYC half race week), 28.52 (Oceanside Half Ironman race week), 32.76, 34.48, 27.57, 54.37 (More Fitness ½ Marathon race week)

Biking and swimming has been going pretty well. I have only done both about once per week lately but it’s great to get out there and do it. I have continued my core routines each day as well, and I definitely know that they help me so much. I can feel a difference, especially in my hamstrings and gluteus muscles when I haven’t done the sessions in a few days, after traveling to a race for instance.

Endurance Rehabilitation still helps me so incredibly much; I could never thank them enough for all they do for me. They are so supportive of my goals and help me make big decisions on races and what is best for my foot, etc. It’s nice to have people to give me professional feedback.

I am so grateful to Sole Sports Running Zone, Triple Sports and Marathon Guide for all the support they give me. When I wear their logos and represent them at races, I am so proud to be sponsored by such great companies. I love going into Sole Sports and Triple Sports and having so many awesome products to choose from with such friendly and fun employees working at both stores. I always look forward to it J

One of my favorite quotes in the world...: "Your treasure- your perfection- is within you already. But to claim it, you must leave the busy commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the silence of the heart"- Eat, Pray, Love

New stuff is always fun :)

I received some awesome new Brooks clothing in the mail yesterday and all of it is so adorable! I can't wait to wear it in NYC this coming weekend. I really love the women's Epiphany running shorts and the PR Mesh Skort. The Epiphany bra top is also my new favorite...super comfortable and cute :)
I received a book in the mail yesterday that I have already become obsessed with...."Their Effort Was Like Toothpaste: a Story of Trophies Won and Life Changed" by Geoffrey Owers. My coach in high school has written a fabulous book about his life changing years as a coach at Mountain Pointe High School (my alma mater, obviously). I ordered it online and I cannot put it down. I have decided to save it though, for my 5.5 hour flight to NYC on Friday morning at the crack of dawn ;) If you are a big fan of running related (and VERY inspiring) books, I would recommend ordering it. You can purchase it through this website and by searching for it through the title or his name. http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/their-effort-was-like-toothpaste-a-story-of-trophies-won-and-life-changed/10264742?productTrackingContext=center_search_results
I am going to start writing a new quote that I love at the bottom of each of my blogs, that has either affected me recently in some way or another. Here is mine for today :)
"This is my wish for you: comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, friendships to brighten your being, beauty for your eyes to see, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, love to complete your life" --anonymous

Lil update :)

Running training is going well and I am looking forward to the More 1/2 Marathon in New York City on April 25th!! I always love racing in NYC and this time I will be going by myself to the city (for the first time), so it will be a good chance to explore and relax for a couple days. :) I am so excited to do an all women's 1/2 marathon because I have never done an all women's race and this one is about over 10,000 women!! I hope I run super fast too, because after running a loop in Central Park during the NYC 1/2 Marathon back on March 21st, I really think it's a great course suited for my strengths.
I continue to go to Endurance Rehab to get treatment on my foot and it seems like I am making some progress. Once I can take time off and not run on it at all, I have been told it will heal quickly and that the inflammation will go down, etc. I am so sick of the pain, and when I can train at full strength I will probably cry tears of joy instead of sadness like I have been lately!! grrr :(
I am getting more and more excited for Kona too! I have my days where I get nervous about whether I will do as well as I hope, but I have to tell myself to take it one training SESSION (literally) at a time. When I have 4-5 hours + of working out on a given day, I can't worry about the third session, before I even get out of bed, haha :) So far things are going great, and doing things like climbing Lemmon get me extremely excited. I look forward to focusing on the bike and swim when I am taking some time off from running. Swimming in an outdoor pool under the sun makes me more excited to swim, so this summer I plan to be at an outdoor pool as much as possible!
I want to thank my sponsors for their continued support. There is no way I could be doing what I am doing right now without your help! Triple Sports, MarathonGuide.com, Brooks, GU and Endurance Rehab...you all are the best and I love representing all of you on a daily basis!! I hope I continue to do amazing things as an athlete for you!! :)

Amazing March :)

Gosh where do I begin...March was so incredible in so many ways. It started with the life-changing triathlon camp and it culminated in a qualification to go race at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii on October 9, 2010. After my half marathon/sprint tri double racing weekend on March 6-7th, I worked super diligently for two weeks straight before the NYC 1/2 Marathon on March 21st. I stayed in my routine, worked out anywhere between 3.5-5.5 hours per day swimming, biking, running and doing core work. It paid off immensely in NYC, where I placed 9th in my second best ever time (on a very hilly course), 1:13:58. I came away from the race very happy and elated that I raced so well, off of literally 20-40 miles of running per week, the 6 weeks leading up to the race. I couldn't believe how EASY it felt in the race until about the 11th mile. I was running 5:30's and 5:20's and I hadn't run that fast in a race or workout in a long time!! Therefore, considering everything I've been going through with my running and bone spur, I was pretty darn happy :)

Fast forward to the next weekend, on March 27th, the Oceanside 70.3 Triathlon. I had been looking forward to this race since I signed up last August. There were times I didn't think I should go because I didn't feel ready, yet I said "screw it" and I decided to go for it and just have FUN. I didn't sleep well at all the night before and had a very "non-routine" lead up week, since I got back from New York at 11 pm Monday night and left for California Tues mid day. I spent a few days with my Aunt, Uncle and cousins an hour from Oceanside, and drove down to Oceanside on Thursday afternoon. Anyway, race morning I had been up essentially since 1:45, tossing and turning and a bit nervous for what I had ahead of me. I was the most nervous for the swim, and possibly getting kicked in the face, etc. After some toast, a Power bar and my GU Cran Apple and Strawberry Chomps, we headed to the transition zone. I got to transition, realized I left my bike Garmin at the condo, and my running Garmin had 10% battery. It was time for just an old school regular timex with my entire race time going the whole way.

The swim went smoothly and I was really annoyed when our age group started passing a bunch of masses of people who had started in waves ahead of us. I'm pretty sure I lost at least two minutes swimming over, through and around people. I got on my bike as fast as I could and got going in a great groove. I was passing tons of people and even on the HUGE hills, I was up out of my seat and just going as hard as I could. The bike went pretty fast and the last 11 miles were basically completely flat, and I continued to pass people like they were standing still. Fuel wise, I drank my new favorite GU Brew Blueberry Pomegranate Electrolyte drink with 2x Sodium, and also ate a Mint Chocolate GU with about 15 miles left in the bike. They both helped me a lot yet I think I should have had more gels or more of my drink. Now I know for next time! I was super excited to get off my bike and run people down :) I threw on my Sole Sports visor since it was so warm and sunny and I took off like a bat outta hell down the boardwalk :) After the swim I was 22nd in my age group...after the bike I was 8th..and after the run I was 1st. My run time was decent but I wanted it to be faster...it was a 1:21 yet I think I may have lost some time weaving in and out of people on the narrow race course. Overall, I was 14th female, 2nd Amateur and my total time was 4:45:07... at the awards ceremony I decided to take my Kona slot.

When I was about 13 or 14 I remember standing in my family's living room watching the Ironman World Championships on TV. I was awe-struck at what the athletes were doing. I just couldn't even fathom biking 112 miles and then running a marathon. (At the time I was still swimming on swim team so the swim didn't seem bad-2.4 miles)...Yet I told myself "I am going to do that someday. I am going to compete there"....well, this October I'll be there....and these next 6 months I am going to sacrifice, sweat, and push myself harder than I EVER have in my life...and that 2:56 Ironman World Champs run course record is going down baby :)

8 days of pain!!

WOW, where do I start?! 8 days ago, on Feb 27th, I woke up at 4:45 am and headed to Tucson for 6 full days of intense triathlon training camp. Day one left me thinking "I DON'T belong here, what am I doing?!"...yet as the days went on I tried to stay positive, learn as much as possible and get fitter. We rode our bikes more than anything else, which was fantastic considering that is where I am the weakest right now. My running was really strong and swimming was decent, yet it was obvious I made the most gains on the bike and I definitely got so much more comfortable/confident on it. I had never ridden in a group before either, so practicing that helped me not have so much anxiety being right near other people, their wheels, etc.

I rode my first 100 miler on Tues of the camp and it was crazy (and also 40 miles longer than any ride I had ever done!)...the total time we were all out on our bikes riding, stopping, etc. was about 7 hours. My 100.5 miles I averaged 17.4 mph which I thought was fine, and afterward I ran 5 miles averaging 6:09's. It was a hard day. The great reward was a group dinner to Oregano's later in the evening :p Thursday was the last and final ridiculous workout of the entire camp. We climbed all the way to the top of Mount Lemmon!!! 25 miles, 6 thousand feet of climbing (up to 8200 feet) and giant delicious cookies and coffee awaited us at the top...At one point I didn't think I was going to make it all the way to the top. My quads were definitely burning, but I tried to take it mile by mile, get up out of the saddle a little bit and kept thinking about how proud of myself I would be if I made it to the top. Paul Cross, one of the the coaches leading the camp, helped me get through the last few miles, encouraged me, etc. and it was awesome. Descending down the mountain was INCREDIBLE. Tons of snow covered the last 10 miles of the mountain or so...it was funny to be in the 70's at the bottom and around 40 degrees at the top! Seeing the whole city of Tucson and the beautiful views made me realize it was probably the greatest athletic experience of my life to date :) Marathons of course area always a great experience, yet the pain from Lemmon was nothing like I have ever experienced, ha.

Next up: 2 races this weekend. Yesterday I ran in the Run For Ryan House half marathon and it was a terrific race! I was really impressed with the staff, the course, the post-race food, awards, etc. I ran the race as a workout due to my legs still being tired from camp, and I averaged 6:11's, so it was good. The first half of the race is uphill, so coming down the main hilly road, you could see the city of Phoenix/Scottsdale, the gorgeous mountains and some hot air balloons sprinkled around the sky. So awesome :)

This morning I raced my first triathlon in 2.5 years and it was my first sprint tri. (600m swim, 12 mi bike and 3.4 mi run)...My time was 1:04:04 and I am not sure on all my splits but I know I ran 5:40 pace for the run and averaged 20.7 mph on the bike. My quads were still fatigued from camp and the half marathon yesterday, haha. It was so fun to race a tri again and practice racing in a wetsuit, which I have never done, and get into that routine of transition areas. Now I am even more excited for Oceanside!!

I have two weeks before the NYC half marathon..woooo hoo!!! I am so excited to go to the city again and hopefully have a new PR :) My foot hurts pretty bad, but all I am thinking about is getting through March 27th and then it's time to take some weeks off from running, get tons of treatment and focus on some other things that I have always wanted to work on as an athlete.

The picture is from the end of the ride up Mt. Lemmon, at the top where we stopped for cookies and coffee. :p

Staying Positive!! :)

The past couple weeks I have had some major ups and downs, yet the only thing I can do is keep working hard and moving forward. One great day was last Saturday when I won the Tempe Skirt Chaser 5k for the third year in a row. I ran a pretty good time (17:05) while not racing completely all out. I felt strong and really liked the course this year, going over the Mill Ave Bridge, down Curry, and back to finish in the Tempe Beach Park. Red Rock Co. puts on some great events and the Skirt Chaser race is one that I plan to do every year if possible! It’s super fun to have a different type of race as well, where the women get a 3 minute head start on the men and whoever crosses the line first wins the cash and some other great goodies J

A difficult, yet smart decision that I had to make this week was to not race the marathon I had planned to do this coming weekend. My bone spur in my foot has flared up pretty bad again so I have opted to continue training and be ready for all the other important things I have coming up in March and beyond. I raced the Twin Cities Marathon last October with my injury and not being at full strength going into a marathon is never a very good idea, especially with this one because it wasn’t going to be an “A” race by any means. Mentally it’s very draining to try and prepare and get excited about 26.2 miles when you know that you are only going to do more damage to an existing injury. My long-term career is extremely important to me, so I have to continue to make smart decisions regarding racing. Although difficult, it makes me proud of myself that I can hold back and not put so much pressure on myself to race, simply because I had it on my schedule.

I have four important races coming up in March and all of them will challenge me in different ways. A great local race, the Run For Ryan House (http://www.ryanhouse.org/node/131) I am racing the half marathon on March 6^th up in DC Ranch in North Scottsdale. The race is for charity, the Ryan House, newly built up in DC Ranch. The house will be for children with illnesses and provide assistance and housing to the children and their families, in various ways. Read more about the house here: http://www.ryanhouse.org/about

I am very excited to be the “headline” athlete and race really hard for such a great local charity. I have personally met Ryan, his parents and his adorable dog, so I will be thinking about them while I am racing J

The next day, March 7^th, I am racing at the Firebird Triathlon here in Arizona. It’s a sprint distance, held out at Firebird raceway and I have never raced a sprint distance tri. I am excited to finally do a “rust-burner” triathlon after not racing in one for about 2.5 years. (WOW time flies!) I will feel so much better racing a tri before I go race my heart out at Oceanside 2 weeks later, especially because I can practice swimming in a wetsuit for the first time! I am so happy Oceanside won’t be my first time racing in a wetsuit. I look forward to getting my wetsuit from Triple Sports and have them help me pick out a great one with their incredible expertise!

March 21^st I have the great privilege of racing in the New York City Half Marathon. I am extremely excited to go to New York again. I have not visited in a long time and one of my great friends lives in the area as well. I raced the NYC marathon in 2008, and they put on a great event, and therefore I look forward to another wonderful experience and hopefully a new personal best in the half marathon. It used to be in the heat of August, and now in March I am sure it will provide a prime setting for a new PR. It will be fantastic to have my mom on the sidelines yelling for me and then afterward we can enjoy the city, delicious food and amaaaazing shopping! J

Last, but not least, I will race Oceanside on March 27^th. It’s an official Ironman 70.3 series event (70.3 is the total number of miles you swim, bike and run). I hope I race incredibly well and very strong. The time I am putting in on my new bike (see picture) J and the triathlon camp I am doing in Tucson from Feb 27^th-March 4^th will likely get my booty in awesome shape! I am working harder and harder in the pool as well, so I think all my swim, bike, run will come together well in Oceanside.

First race of 2010...

I raced my first race of the year this morning and it felt good to get in a competitive effort. It was a 10k in Texas, and the course was a bit long, 6.3 instead of 6.2, and there was a strong headwind the last 3 miles. My time was not fast for me at all, 35:19, yet considering the circumstances and the fact that I have been doing mostly marathon work, I am satisfied for now. It was fun to wear the MarathonGuide.com logo proudly, for the first time. I have the Tempe Skirtchaser race on Feb. 13th, so I hope to defend my title with a third win this year :) They usually put on a fun event so I am looking forward to it. I am enjoying the sunshine of Texas and relaxing before an early flight back to Phoenix tomorrow morning. I am super excited to see my three boys, Wilbur, Barney and Winston, and get back in my routine.

I am very excited because I just bought my first TT bike (time trial/triathlon) bike, last week!! It's the Specialized Transition Comp, and I love it so far. I have hardly been on it because I am still getting the seat post cut and also having Endurance Rehab fit me on it perfectly. It feels a little overwhelming to think that I made this huge decision but ultimately I believe it will make a big difference during my half Ironman in the end of March (Oceanside). My road bike is ok for short rides, but I am not super comfortable on it. I really have to thank Triple Sports in Scottsdale for helping me get the Specialized bike and supporting me so much with all my triathlon goals. The staff at the store is fantastic and always super helpful!

The bone spur in my heel has been acting up again, so I have been running less, and biking and swimming more. I plan to run about 4 days per week up until Oceanside and hope that it helps my foot calm down. If it's not healed by the end of March I will evaluate what to do, even if it means taking off multiple weeks in a row. Let's hope that doesn't happen, but I'll wait and see and hope for the best. Of course Endurance Rehab continues to help me, any way that they can, and I appreciate it immensely.

I am excited to see how things continue to go for me in 2010. It's hard to believe that it's already into February. Time flies faster every single year. I want this year to be fun and full of decisions that I make for myself, not based off what others tell me or what I think others want me to do. Last year when I sought advice from too many outside people, rather than listening to my gut, I didn't have the results I wanted and I started to not enjoy competing anymore. I am sure having the foot injury didn't help, because that was always in the back of my mind. However this year I want to go after goals and dreams that are personal and I know I will feel fulfilled, regardless of the outcome, because it will be a year of my own desires and decisions.

Overall, things are going well. Sub teaching is fine and I am at least grateful I have the opportunity to have a job each day if I want. However I am realizing more and more each day that with time flying by so fast and the women's olympic marathon trials most likely coming in the fall of 2011, every single day, week and month matter so much if I want to be in the hunt for a spot on the 2012 marathon team. Decisions I make starting now, will affect my long term development over the next 21 months!!

Well, I will post a pic of me with my new bike as soon as I take one...have a great weekend everyone!

Ranked #9 in the country! :)

2010 is off to a good start so far, and the Letsrun.com marathon rankings at the end of 2009 gave me some great motivation for the year! I put the link at the bottom of this post.

I am ranked as the ninth best female marathoner in the country and hopefully by the end of 2010 I'll be in the top 5. After 2008 I was ranked tenth, so one place higher is a small improvement and better than falling lower, right? The rankings made me realize how much potential I have to improve in the marathon, given my low mileage and being pretty new to the event. My average mileage, even after taking out weeks off last year, was 59 miles per week! Many top female marathoners are running 100+ miles week after week. As my mileage increases and I keep putting in the hard work, I know my marathon time will improve so much. It really excites me to think about what I can accomplish in the event, and makes me proud to say that I am considered one of the ten best marathoners in the United States. :)

Some other great news for this year is that I am now sponsored by Brooks! I am so excited because I love their clothing and shoes. Their women's Trance has helped my arch and bone spur so much. It's incredibly hard to find a shoe that comes with a good insert, so the Trance 9 has been amazing for me. I don't like bulky orthotics either, so it's great. They are cushioned very well too, while also having great stability and some flexibility in the forefoot. Love 'em :) I can't wait to get my Brooks uniform in the mail and wear it proudly, along with my other sponsors' logos!

Training has been going well lately and I think things are finally coming around for me. I was not feeling very great recently and I thought my iron was low or something was wrong. My iron results came back great and I am also feeling a little better on my runs, so I am seeing some progress. I think it was just a matter of not being in as great of shape as I thought. I look forward to racing some shorter races in February to assess my fitness level again, since I have not raced a "serious" race since the Las Vegas 1/2 marathon back on December 6th, after only 11 days of running! I assume the next race will be better and I'll have some more realistic feedback. My mileage was about 80 last week, with one day off and only one double day, yet I feel great and my body seems to be fine after everything I did. I am doing longer runs at a pretty good pace, so I know those are making me stronger.

I continue to get treatment done to my foot with the bone spur, and I recently did a full evaluation with them, and now have some glute, hip, hamstring and transverse ab exercises that I have to do whenever I am up there. It feels great to make these steps toward working on things where I am weak. I know it will pay off as the months go on. I definitely need to get my butt and hamstrings stronger because I am so quad dominant, and my hamstrings and butt get tired the fastest in a marathon, ha.

Well, all for now...one quote I love that I have been telling myself more and more lately if I ever doubt myself is....."You become what you think about".........:)

http://www.letsrun.com/2009/09ranksmarw1201.php

GO Team Marathonguide.com!!

I am so excited and happy to say that I have another new sponsor!! Marathonguide.com has started sponsoring me for 2010 and I am so extremely grateful for their support and faith in me as an athlete. Their website is incredible and offers so much more than a list of marathons, half marathons, etc. They have racing news, quick searches by name, race name, all time best marathon times and more. I haven't ever seen such a great website compile so many races all over not only the United States, but internationally as well! I cannot wait to proudly wear the Team Marathonguide.com logo on my racing singlet and training gear. :)

My training has been going pretty well lately. I have started to do some really hard workouts and my foot (bone spur) is holding up well. I am so happy that I am able to train right now and every single day that I am pain free, even if I didn't feel very good during the run or workout, all I think is "well thank goodness my foot is still doing ok- that's the most important thing". I did a 2 hour and 10 minute run on Sunday and averaged 6:35 pace. I carried 20 oz of my delicious lemon lime GU electrolyte drink and two Jet Blackberry 2x Caffeine GU gels; I swear the gels saved my legs each time I ate one! It was also almost 70 degrees and sunny outside so I wouldn't have been able to finish without the drinks. Doing the run at the pace my coach gave me, made me really proud of myself because I was nervous going into it.

Yesterday was a fantastic day off from running and I did my strength training/core routine followed by 3k in the pool later in the afternoon. The swimming of course felt great and I can't believe how much more stretched out I felt afterward! Today I had another really hard workout of 85 minutes total running with 12x3 min at 5:40 pace and 2 min recovery between each at 7:10 pace. I hit the first few a little under 5:40 pace and a few in the low 5:40's. Eventually my paces got to the mid 5:40's and then into the 5:50's, yet my recovery was also slowing down. I started to get frustrated and freak out but I kept my emotions under control by trying to focus on each 3 minute repeat in the moment, and work on my form and breathing. I got through it and it felt amazing to take an "ice bath" in the pool at my parent's house afterward. :)

Anyway, things are off to a great start in 2010. I am feeling fatigued a lot lately though so I am going to get my iron and hemoglobin tested this week to see if it's low. I set a record at Duke about 2.5 years ago when my ferritin was up to about 150!!!!HAHA... So I am hoping it's not super low right now...I guess I'll know soon enough, and hope for the best.

Thinking ahead...

2010 is about to start and I cannot believe another year has come and gone. 2009 went by the fastest of any year for me thus far. It seems like just yesterday I was starting my "season" back in March; I think all the racing I did throughout the entire summer and into my fall marathon made the time go by even faster. I am still in the process of mapping out 2010 and deciding on races. My problem tends to be that I want to race almost every weekend because I'd rather race than do workouts, haha. Yet when racing involves so much traveling I know I need to scale it back. What I love about road racing is that there are so many great ones to choose from and of course there are those that I LOVE and want to go back again and again! I am sure I'll plan on certain races and things will come up or change along the way, yet I am excited to get things more finalized. I will probably plan things out in shorter blocks of time due to my race goals and managing my foot and heel spur issue that sometimes comes and goes.

I am so grateful for my sponsorships with Sole Sports Running Zone, GU Energy, Endurance Rehabilitation and Triple Sports. Without the help and support from all of them I would surely not be able to do what I love every single day!! Of course I have to thank the Road Runners Club of America for their support as well, the past two years :)

I'm extremely excited because GU has a new delicious flavor out called Jett Blackberry with 2x Caffeine and it tastes so good!! I love that it has two times the caffeine as the regular vanilla bean GUs I eat during my marathons because sometimes I feel I need a little bit more of a "boost". The Espresso Love flavor also has 2x Caffeine yet I can't always eat something that tastes like coffee so late in a race :) I continue to be impressed with the new flavors they develop. Vanilla Gingerbread, their new holiday flavor, was a nice tasty treat this fall and winter as well!

I had a conversation with a good friend the other night about the "pressures" I tend to put on myself in so many aspects of life. I tend to be too serious about my future and worry all the time about how things are going to work out, whether I'll be as successful as I want and just worry if I am making the "right" decisions. She told me that I need to be OK with following my dreams and pursuing what I love, and not look too far ahead. This upcoming year I want to focus more on the present and take small steps toward improving and achieving my goals. I set personal bests in all but maybe 2 races in 2009 and I'm hoping to do the same in 2010, maybe even have an amazing break through marathon :)

So here's to 2010 ....continue to LOVE what I do, be grateful for my lifestyle, focus on each day, week and upcoming race, and to smile and enjoy both the ups and downs of the sport....because I SURELY wouldn't know how much I love running if it weren't for setbacks along the way.

Las Vegasss :)

My race in Las Vegas left me feeling really happy and positive about the coming year. After only running for 11 days prior to the half marathon, I was able to run a 1:16:41 and felt completely in control the whole way. I haven't run anywhere near that pace since my last marathon (Twin Cities) a couple months ago. I think my swimming and strength training helped me stay in pretty good shape. It was extremely cold the morning of the race and I had an entire small tub of vaseline on my upper legs and still felt pretty cold! My nose and face also were numb and burning even after I finished, haha :) Anyway, being in Vegas and experiencing the inaugural race with all the pre and post race entertainment definitely was a nice treat. My favorite thing was seeing the white tigers at the start line! They were up in cages and I was taking pictures of them up until 5 minutes before my race started, LOL. Gorgeous animals! I celebrated my birthday with a ton of fun people on Sunday night and definitely brought in my 26th birthday with a bang :)

I was only home for three days before I left for Charlotte, North Carolina Friday morning. I visited a school my sister is looking at for college and I also got to see a couple friends from college so that was great! My friend Kelly Fillnow lives in the area and she just qualified for the Ironman World Championships for 2010. I got to run with her a couple times, eat amazing food (I LOVE DEAN AND DELUCA!!! :) ) and we also did a swim workout together. Fun times!

I can't wait to get back to Arizona and get into my routine again, ramp up my training, teach for a few days and then have a nice winter break from teaching!! I cannot wait to have a night where I get more than 8 hours of sleep! Every day lately I wake up feeling so tired and it definitely affects my motivation to train, which is obviously NOT good.

I have missed my little doggies these past couple weeks of not being around them for more than a few days. They are the loves of my life and I cannot wait to see them tonight, haha <3

They got groomed yesterday too so they are surely lookin' super handsome ;)

This somewhat blurry picture is from Vegas when I raced. I LOVE LOVE LOVE my new hot pink CEP compression socks. Sole Sports ordered them for me and that was my first race in them. I definitely believe they helped prevent my calves from cramping up because at one point I thought my left calf was about to seize up but it was fine! :)

Happy holidays everyone!