Week of Thanks-Running

This year I am thankful for so many things.  I am grateful for the opportunities I have had, new friends I have made, and the support I received from my loved ones every day. 

I am particularly grateful for having the opportunity to race so many incredible events this year.  I genuinely appreciate all the encouragement and understanding of everyone around me that enabled me to participate in these races.  I couldn't have done it without you!

With Thanksgiving only days away, I figured it was a very fitting time to officially end my 2014 season and hit the next one (literally) running with a week-long celebration of run-giving (or Thanks-running?)! 

I think my athletic season sort of ended after the Silverman 70.3 in October, as I took a break from workouts to get more involved in work projects and other fun endeavors like supporting Larry as he and his band played their first live shows in SF!  Night Herons rock!

Over the past two weeks, I got back into the exercising mode again and was warming up to setting some new goals for 2015.  Three 5Ks and eight days later, I was feeling much better and looking forward to 2015!

Here's my play-by-play of this week of 5ks:

November 22: Alameda Holiday Kickoff 5K
Running for MMRF and a pint glass

I saw a flyer in the gym a few weeks prior and decided to check this race out.  This inaugural event had a lot going for it: it benefited the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF, a charity I supported during my CdA adventure), it was close to home, and it had a grassroots feel to it that I really appreciated.  The race was organized by a local coach / triathlete in honor of his Dad, who passed away last year.  This event was really fun and had all the great stuff you want in a race (personable and professional race director, great shirt, chip timing, reasonable post-race refreshments, good support team, organization) without all the extras you don't really need.

Rockin the RED to 3rd place!

Although it was raining pretty hard most of the morning, over 100 participants toed the line and had a great time out there on the Bay trail.  I saw online that they were giving out pint glasses to the top 3 in each age group... so I was determined to earn a new glass to fill with holiday cheers!  My strategy was to run somewhat conservatively at the start and progressively get quicker, especially after the turnaround. 

I managed to push the pace through the puddles and earned that 3rd place pint glass for my age group.  I think this is actually the first time I won something running?  Pretty cool!

This race was over pretty quickly, but it was really fun, they had beer at the finishline, and the people out there were really nice.  There were also lots of fast runners which was cool to see at such a small event in the rain.  Lots of Oakland Tri Club members, Alamedans, and visitors too.  I am way out of practice in terms of running race strategy though... I actually thought I was running in 2nd in my age group, however I completely underestimated the time it would have taken our 100 person crowd to start the race, and some gal beat me by about 30s (started behind me / finished behind me somewhere?).  Not sure I could have run much faster at that point anyway, but it would have been fun to chase someone I might have been able to catch... other than the speedy local teenagers who I recognized from training on this same trail.*(random side story below)


November 27: Brentwood Turkey Trot for Schools 5K
Volunteering and representing at a great event!

Thanksgiving day started dark and early for me this year, as I made my way out to support a great event benefitting K-12 athletic programs in Brentwood, CA.  Brentwood is the home of our college's satellite campus where I began working this year.

Over the past few months, I've been volunteering with the Brentwood Turkey Trot for Schools organizing team whenever possible.  It was an honor to work with this dedicated group, and I was really proud to represent our college while supporting this wonderful cause.   

Race morning was really fun, and it was great to see some students, faculty, and administrators from my college participating in the event.  It felt good to be out there volunteering and providing a great race day experience for others!  Some of those triathlon lessons came in handy during this race prep too.  My early morning transition setups taught me to always bring a headlamp to early races... and this was incredibly handy as I sliced oranges in the dark to setup post-race refreshments.  After getting the food chopping assembly line going, I moved over to helping direct participants to check in and selling raffle tickets.  For a while I was selling more tickets to myself than to other people, but I did a better job as we got closer to the start of the race.  Really cool that two people I purchased tickets for won some good prizes!

Trotters full speed ahead!

Turkey Trotters lined up at the start

Once the race began, we got back to work making sure the finish line was setup and the volunteers were ready to grab timing tags as they corralled runners.  I was actually leading the race for a few minutes because I forgot I had my bib/chip in my pocket... and I walked right across the finish line during setup.  Oops!  I had just picked up my packet to give to a race-day registrant friend so she could have my shirt since we ran out during registration.  I win!  Speaking of winning... the guy who won came flying across the finish line in 15:42! 

The highlight of this event was seeing how happy some friends and students were completing their first 5K.  So awesome to play it forward and get others interested in sports!  They event attracted way more runners than anticipated, and it was wonderful to see how supportive this community was of the event.


November 29:  One4One Virtual 5K
Running for Mermaids!

Ran wearing some Mermaid gear from past events

A week after the Alameda 5K I was back on the trail repeating the route for another great cause: the Mini Mermaid Run Club.

I have participated in several Mermaid Series events over the past few years (10K, Triathlons) and have really enjoyed each one and cannot say enough great things about the organizers.  They really know what they are doing and they have an incredibly positive message.  When I received an email about their One4One Virtual 5K to support their girls' running program (Mini Mermaid Club), I couldn't resist!  I really appreciate the efforts this group is making to increase girls' participation in sports, and I try whenever possible to support local charities doing great things.  My entry fee for the One4One Virtual 5K will sponsor one girl through their running program.

Views from my run

evidence of the 5K along the Bay

Although I've ended my week of Thanks-running and officially closed the 2014 season, I am really looking forward to the next year of athletic adventures.  Although I haven't officially signed up for any races, I'm working on some ideas and plans for fun times ahead!  The first adventure will be the RPM tri camp in January, which should be awesome!  



* Random story about those kids:  We crossed paths 3 times during one training run, and although they were way faster than me, they waved hello each time.  Finally on the last lap they cracked a smile as they waved.  They were probably wondering why this crazy lady was still running... although I like to think of it as a smile of approval. :) 

Always bet on RED

This is a really late race report from Ironman 70.3 Silverman that took place October 5th, 2014...

Henderson sunset

Yes, there is something wrong with me... I packed my best RED outfits and hopped on a plane to Vegas (baby Vegas)... to do a triathlon?


Someone decided Ironman Silverman 70.3 would be a fun team event, so I signed up and got excited to race with everyone from Red Performance Multisport (RPM)!  I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to visit family  and get my race on too.


The weekend was full of firsts for me:

• first time traveling with TSA pre check (which is totally worth it if the lines are open?)
• first time flying with my bike and the excitement that accompanies that adventure
• first time racing with my coach there doing his coaching thing (& not racing himself)
• first "ironman branded" 70.3
• first time racing a former student (who crushed me of course!) 
• first time I felt so sick during the race I was almost in tears  :(
  

Bike parts all in their places after the flight!

Bike case rented from Sports Basement.

Here are my favorite stories about these firsts and the entire event weekend!
 

Livin' large: bike cases come out on the regular carousel in Vegas (baby Vegas)!

Assembled! Mug says it all!

One you get the hang of it, disassembling some of your bike to fit it into a travel case is not a big deal.  I made some comical mistakes (to be expected - who needs straight handlebars?!?) and showed off some new wrestling moves to remove the pedals after the race, but I managed to do it all!  I cannot take complete credit though - I did have a little help on both ends:  Larry advised on the packing and Coach Jim checked my assembly work.  Many thanks for all the tips!  I rented a Thule box from Sports Basement for a week ($45 - decent deal!) and they gave me a few accessories to help with the packing too.  Unfortunately it flies as oversize luggage, but I was on Southwest, so the fees were much more reasonable than other airlines.  (You can get some really cool cases that pack your bike in normal sized bags - check out the armored hen house, for example).

Race turtle helping with gear bags

1st Branded Half: more than half the hoopla as a full branded race
Yes this was my first "ironman 70.3" race.  I have raced the 70.3 distance, but never one run by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) (ie, Ironman the company).  The branded 70.3 had a lot of the same hoopla you would find at a full distance IM event - similar check in, gear bags (1 for morning clothes, 1 for bike gear, 1 for run gear), people with m-dot tattoos... After helping them sort out the swim cap color for my wave*, I quickly exited the athlete village according to my usual plan at these types of events.  I knew I would spend plenty of time here for gear check and racing over the next few days, so spending time with family sounded a lot better than hanging out at the race village.

so many bags... the post-race mess

These WTC folks do know how to organize a race, and they have everything worked out from check in to the post race massage.  Having been through a few other events like this was a huge help in terms of pre-race & race-day anxiety.  I will be the first to admit I have been intimidated by the entire check in / pre-race shenanigans that goes on at these events.  This was the first time I genuinely felt comfortable through all the check ins, gear drop (at 2 separate transitions), and pre-race prep.  It was also the first time I looked calm enough that a few fellow athletes asked me a few questions, and I helped settle some nerves about their first 70.3!  

nice view from T1

This race confirmed that my coach was totally right (of course!) to have me do a bunch of shorter races leading up to my 2014 goal race, IM CdA.  The more of these you do, the more confident and comfortable you become.  Seriously - take a look at the pros at these events - cool as cucumbers through all the pre-race stuff.  These long tris are not the most beginner friendly experiences, so I highly recommend checking one out as a spectator or volunteer prior to racing if you can.  Most people racing are really cool and will help you if you need anything - always ask if you need advice or help!  It is awesome to have a race buddy / coach there for support too if possible.  Sometimes you need someone to remind you to ignore the loud mouths around you (don't worry about their IM conquest stories, flashy gear & general douche-baggery) and that you belong there as much as they do!  This is where mantras help too - they can be used through the entire process not just during the race!

  (*thought I was about to have another accidental registered bandit race when I was handed a blank light blue cap & all the "official" signs had my wave wearing a different color cap?).

all smiles having the correct cap!

team cheers from my cap!

If your belly is unhappy before a race...racing will not make you feel better
The week leading up to the race, I was having some GI issues, that I hoped would leave my system by Sunday.  No such luck, so race day was somewhat of a pain in the a$$ (literally).
I knew the day was going to be rough when I had already made multiple trips to the restroom, and I hadn't left the house yet.  I still needed to drive to the finish line parking area, walk to find a shuttle, ride a bus for 45minutes to T1, walk about 1/4 mile down a hill in the dark, get my body marking on, get my bike gear setup, wrangle my wetsuit on, ...and then propel myself 70.3 miles in the desert.  A handful of Tums later... and off I went!!!

distant view of T1 from where the shuttle dropped us off...glad I remembered the head lamp for a change!

I managed to get all the way to the start without any GI issues (even had a banana on the bus).  I was thrilled! Felt good after hanging out with my coach and started the murky Lake Mead swim no problem... The first sign of discomfort came about 3/4 way through the swim... Oh no, here we go... What is the proper race etiquette for getting sick during the swim?  Luckily as I slowed down the belly felt better because I seriously didn't know what to do.  I know what to do if you vomit while scuba diving but I wasn't sure it was helpful for swimming in a crowd?

view from T1 toward the bike course

Next up the bike...where things went from ok... to UH OH somewhere around mile 25.  I started out riding fine and according to the race plan.  I was eating and drinking and riding in a controlled effort up to mile 15 where the aid station was... missing...then it came up a few mikes later... and I was back on track. Then I dropped my chain once, got yelled at by some DB (who was riding close to another dude who made sure clarified that he was not the one yelling - pretty funny), and started not feeling so hot (although by this time it certainly was hot out).  I kept eating & drinking as planned and was maintaining a decent pace, until I started feeling really sick at the turn around where I was supposed to pick up the pace.  That rumble in my gut I felt during the swim was back with a vengeance, and I could no longer eat or drink anything without feeling like I was going to decorate the course with my stomach contents.  The tums I packed were not helping either.  The rest of me actually felt pretty good, but I was now faced with one of the 2 things I know that bring my body to a screeching halt no matter what I am doing: stomach issues (other is a migraine headache).  Although I have plenty experience throwing up during sporting events, I knew I probably didn't have the bike handling skills to do this while riding.  I also really didn't want to end up alone in the desert puking my guts out in the hot sun.  I somehow got myself to the mile 40 aid station in a hunched over haze and decided I needed an intervention.  No way was I quitting, but I was almost in tears because I felt so horribly.

So, I did what any triathlete would do... and stuffed my face with bananas, drenched myself with water, drank my gu brew, and got back out there.  I saw a teammate at that aid station which helped me tremendously, too!   

A few more hills and I made it to T2... I still couldn't eat anything but managed to drink a little more GU Brew.  How the heck was I going to run?!?  The run was a hilly 3 lap course where you headed downhill from T2 about a mile, then uphill for 2.5ish, then back down toward T2 to repeat two more times.  

I ran really conservatively (ie, snail pace) at first.  My focus was to fuel up and hydrate as much as I could especially on lap 1, because I knew I had drained all my fuel on that ride.  I made some friends as usual - a chem post doc from Texas kept me going as we chatted a little about science to kept our minds off our guts for a while!  One of my transition setup friends also recognized me, and I ran with her a while which was great too!  Any and all cheers were most welcome and running with other athletes definitely keeps you moving forward during any race!  Thanks, ladies! 

I also made quite a few people laugh as they saw me grab several cups at a time and made jokes about the buffet I was helping myself to (coke, ice (for hat/clothes) water, pretzels/ banana).  Buffets are a Vegas treat of course!  After 2 laps I was actually able to run faster, so after all this  insanity, I actually ran my fastest on lap 3.  Better late than never!  Good evidence that proper fueling is certainly the 4th, and possibly the most important, discipline in triathlon!

Other awesome run memories included shouting at a former LMC student that he was doing great (and schooling me on triathlon of course!), high fiving a teammate each lap, cheering for a fellow Blazeman Warrior out there rocking the #179, and giving high fives/updates to my coach who was out there in the crazy hot sun cheering for us!  I also was honored to Blazeman roll across that finish line after such a tough day!  After the race it was great to talk science with a UC Davis grad student in the food tent (yay science!) and chat with/cheer for teammates and their families too.  

a sparkly medal... only in Vegas!

My RED team is awesome
One thing that blew me away from this entire experience was how great my team is.  I don't know many people from Red Performance Multisport (RPM) since I live in Nor Cal and many of them are in SoCal, but everyone I have met through races or social media has been great.  Such a supportive group and I have been really happy all year to be part of a team of such excellent people!  Here are a few things that stood out as being really awesome at Silverman:
No one judged you based on speed or ability or how many of these events you have done or not done before - or if your bike accidentally flew out of the truck & landed in the fast lane on the way to the race (true story).  This bunch of really friendly athletes just showed up to race together, hang out, cheer each other on, and congratulate each other no matter how fast, slow or sick you were.  Really good people who were all happy to be part of the same team.  One athlete (Robert) and I kept crossing paths on the run and the high fives were a huge morale boost!  The family member fans who cheered for us were fantastic (awesome cheers, Julia!!!)!  Thanks so much!!!  I can't wait to race with this group again - always a really positive experience with the RPM crowd!

The coaches were fully supportive all weekend too.  I try to come to as many RPM events as I can because I genuinely appreciate the team experience they are trying to build.  In an individual sport like triathlon it is hard to get a true team going and Coach Jim and Coach Bob are on to something really good here.  Plus they really know what they are doing as coaches - I highly recommend them both!

race morning view from T1

I definitely want to give a shout out to my coach (Coach Jim) for being such a good ambassador for the sport.  He is a pro triathlete (so being a professional is his job), but not all pros have the same dedication to the sport.  Coach Jim did everything from cooking us a pre-race dinner for our Saturday meeting to pumping up my tires and checking my (self assembled) bike on race day.  Seriously - how many pros do you know who would go to transition, in the dark, when they were not racing, and pump up their athlete's tires?!?  I offered to do it myself, but he insisted!  He also was out there on the same run course corner in the blazing hot sun the entire time we were racing.  Getting high fives, race tips, and smiles made a huge difference, especially in the rough condition I was in at that point.  After all the exceptional support I received, I felt really bad I didn't perform better out there on the course.  At least my last lap on the run course was decent and made coach smile! :)
Overall being part of the team for the weekend was truly awesome! Thanks so much RPM!


 


Since every race is a learning opportunity... Here are my top

Lessons From the Race

* Traveling with a bike is totally do-able.  Not the most convenient way to travel but with practice I am sure this gets easier.

* Have a backup to your backup nutrition plan for when your gut revolts.  This may seem excessive until you need it.  Tums won't help. Bananas are your friend.  (learned that one previously - also highlighted as survival technique on the excellent podcast Jim and the Other Guy)
 
* Ice in your sports bra keeps your core body temp down as everything else heats up.  This really works - and lots of us were doing this.  Ice in your shorts / hat / random garments - all good.
 
* Smile regardless of how the day is going - it will make you and those around you feel better!
 
* Have something to keep you going when your race plan derails - sometimes you may need to adjust your goal, and that is ok!  There are always more races...
 
* Thank everyone who helped you along the way and gave you the opportunity to have a race day.  Thanks to my family for the race weekend support and for being understanding when I wanted to head to Vegas with my favorite spandex outfit (my RPM race kit of course!).

Lake Mead a little low on water

Racing with Gratitude: Medals for a Support Team

Awesome gift from a super support team member!

If you've ever raced a long-distance endurance event or watched one (in person or on TV), you know that those athletes out there on the course got there with the help of a solid support team.  They may want to believe they did it all on their own, but there is always someone who helped along the way, whether it was a family member with constant good luck wishes, a neighborhood athletic shop providing great technical advice and products, or a fan who sent positive messages of support via the twitter-verse.


I've been thinking a lot about this over the past year, as I attempted to get through my iron-distance triathlon training and racing without completely falling apart... It took me countless hours of training, a ridiculous amount of trial and error (especially before realizing I definitely needed a coach!), many practice events, and literally blood, sweat and tears to complete that distance.  I finally did it with a smile this June, but I definitely could not have done it without my incredible support team. 

During an ironman race, you spend the good part of a day covering (or attempting to cover) 140.6 miles "on your own."  When you cross that finish line, they call you an "ironman" and hang a big medal around your neck to congratulate you.


The real people who deserve the medals after a journey like that are all the people who helped you get to that finish line.  The people who gave you a high five along the way.  Those who inspired you to begin your journey and set big goals for yourself.  The ones who cheered for you when you doubted yourself during your training.  The team who picked you up when you crashed.  Those who made you meals when you were too exhausted to cook or even scavenge the kitchen for food.  The ones who forfeited weekend plans so you could do some ridiculous combination of swimming, biking, and running.  The people who taught you everything you know about these sports and who took you to practice, coached you, trained with you, or pushed you to do your best throughout this journey.  Those who understood when you had to miss a party or couldn't be there for a special event because you were chasing your athletic dream.  The ones who believed in you when you questioned your own abilities.  The people who cheered for you both near and far on race day, and especially the ones who endured the entire day of iron-spectating (which seriously may be harder than participating in the race itself).

Symbol for my new element!

I wanted to make all of these people proud by crossing that finish line on race day.  They are my incredible Support Team and they are the ones who deserve the medal!

If I made medals for all those support team members, they would be made out of something much stronger than iron and much tougher than an ironman.  Being a huge science fan, I went straight to the Periodic Table of Elements looking for the perfect element for this medal.  I was bummed because no element on that Table truly represented the bad@ssness and awesomeness of my support team members.  Larry helped out and gave me a great name to use for a new element: Supportium (Symbol: Su).*  


My support team medals would be made of the toughest element: Supportium!

Here is a little background on this incredible material:   

Supportium is an elusive element found in the hearts of all those who help others do their best and reach their goals in all they do.  Sorry Chemists... This atom has an atomic number of infinity because its size has no limits and it will continue to grow in size over time.  You also cannot accurately measure the atomic mass of this crucial element because is resides in the hearts many support team members around the world (hence the heart symbol)!

Maybe the medals would look something like this:

All supporters of endurance athletes are stronger than, & greater than (>), iron (Fe)!

Many cheers to all my Support Team members near and far!  You are truly stronger than iron and mean the world to me.  Thank you for all you do, and I hope to keep making you proud on and off the race course!

*Supportium cannot be found on the Periodic Table of Elements.

Racing with Gratitude: Thanks Coach!

Tomorrow (Sunday, July 27th) there are an overwhelming number of sporting events I'm excited about:

Tour de Larry final stage: Larry's annual event that coincides with that bike race in France. I'll be riding the final stage with Larry on Sunday up Mount Diablo #tourdelarry

La Course: 1st women's pro race at Le Tour de France. For a great article and series of videos about the event check out this post.  I may have to get up at 3:30am to watch this online! (and start cheering for the next events...)

San Francisco Half Marathon: My good friends are racing: Jen 1st half, Isa 2nd half! Go ladies, go!

Ironman Lake Placid: Coach Jim and Kevin from RPM are racing.

Ironman Canada: Friends I met on the run course at various races or friends of friends are racing.



Inspired by the many awesome athletic events going on... I wanted to start a series of posts: Racing with Gratitude.  Hopefully I'll post something each week! #racewgratitude

First official Racing with Gratitude entry: Thanks Coach!

Thanks Coach!

This week I'm dedicating this post to Coach Jim at Red Performance Multisport.  Maybe it will bring him some good luck at IMLP tomorrow... or at least a smile!

I found Coach Jim thanks to Fairfield U.  Unless you are from the Northeast or are a dedicated NCAA basketball fan (we sometimes make the tournament - Go Stags!), you may have never heard of Fairfield University, a small Jesuit University in Fairfield, CT.  I am still great friends with my first college roommate, Colette, who brought my attention to an article in our alumni magazine published just after my Ironman Lake Tahoe DNF (DNF = did not finish).  Being one of my greatest supporters of all time, Colette knew how disappointed I was with my ironman debut performance, and she had a good feeling this article could turn my ironman frown upside down. 


The article was all about Jim Lubinski '03, a Stag alumnus who was a professional hockey player turned professional triathlete.  The article said he also coached and hosted a popular podcast, which sounded interesting.  I knew I could really use a hand with this ironman training, so after reading everything I could find on his racing and coaching, and listening to a few podcasts, I decided to email him and see if he'd be willing to coach one more athlete... 

Fairfield Magazine

The rest is history!  Coach Jim was able to get me into top shape really quickly and was incredibly patient with my crazy schedule.  Thanks to him, I ran my fastest half marathon ever after working with him for about 2.5 months (without this being a goal), and completed the "World's Toughest Half" ironman for training (?!?) on my way to finishing Ironman Coeur d'Alene with a smile.  I couldn't have done any of this without his help.  His methods really work, and I know he genuinely cares about all his athletes.  I highly recommend him for his skills as a coach and for being a good guy.  He's also built up a club racing team and has great ideas about building team spirit in the individual sport of triathlon.

T1 Auburn Tri in RPM gear

 
In honor of one of his recent podcasts (episode #9) on Jim and the Other Guy with Coach Bob and another RPM athlete, Mary (who writes a great blog called Slippers for Sneakers), I made some lyrics up for his "new" RPM theme song... "Party Rock Anthem" and a warmup dance to psyche out the other competitors at the start line... Coach Bob says they should play it as all our RPM athletes cross the finish line, and I told my coach he should request they play this song at the start of any of his races.  



Yes, he completely acknowledges he is "a little late to the party" on picking up on this song's awesomeness as a get pumped to race tune (with the classic Dumb and Dumber reference to "we landed on the moon!")... but it makes for a hilarious segment on the podcast, and I genuinely appreciate the team spirit he's trying to build.  I also appreciate the coaches' willingness to "walk to the sound of their own drums" (in lines with pre-game excitement song #2 on the podcast mentioned above - and also on my workout playlist) and build a team unlike any other in the field of triathlon.


So coach, here you go... when you are singing that anthem in your head to get excited for your next race, replace some lyrics with:

RPM Race Anthem (to the chorus / beats of Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO)

RPM is on the course alright,
Everybody has a really fast time.
Our speed will make you loose your mind
Everybody has a really fast time.


RPM is on the course alright,
Everybody has a really fast time.
Our speed will make you loose your mind
Now we wanna see you... race that..
RPM is hustling... (instead of everyday I'm shuffling)


Then... if you want to really look crazy... you should warm up by doing this during the next beats in the song when they all dance like crazy during the video:

freestyle stroke 1
freestyle stroke 2
arms in aero bars, with one leg pedaling simultaneously (2 revolutions)
then jog, jog, jog,
grab the imaginary finish line tape with 2 hands (as 1st place finisher of course)
and raise that tape over your head (ending at the last beat)

See how much space that gives you at the start! :)  Just kidding... but seriously.


Maybe as a team we should also rock some red party sunglasses and other fun gear while still racing hard and crushing the course?  Although race gear in triathlon already looks pretty silly so I'm not sure what the next level looks like in terms of party rock racing while maintaining full function? flames painted on helmets? mismatched compression socks or arm warmers? maybe request a skull and crossbones rather than smiley face during body marking?  I'll have to work on this a while longer... 

 

Anyone racing this weekend - feel free to get pumped up with our RPM tune or try the warmup dance... if nothing else, it should crack you up and take away the start line nerves!  If that doesn't work... turn to the person next to you and tell them that second place is first loser.  That always cracks me up because I can't say it with a straight face! :)



Thanks Coach Jim for getting me to the finish line with a smile on my face each race. Thank you for believing in your athletes & for working so hard to help others achieve their goals.

Tomorrow, as everyone heads out there... remember to do what Coach Jim says and RACE HARD!

RACE HARD! Mermaid 2014

On a side note: Fairfield U is an incredible school.  I've made some amazing connections with faculty and students there that truly changed my life and set me on a path toward many great things.  Right now, I have a good group of Stags in my life: I'm currently coached by a Fairfield grad, I am collaborating on a research project with my Fairfield biology advisor (who now works at another college, but I met her and was inspired by her at Fairfield), and I am still best buds with my first roommate there! Go Stags!  

Top 10 things I learned becoming an ironman

10. "Anything is possible" - This is Ironman's catch phrase and it's a good one!  I genuinely believe this statement and tell my students this all the time. 

9. "You are stronger than you think" – This is one of Powerbar's slogans, and I like it.  You are strong.  Go do the things others say you can’t.

Thanks Coach Jim! (@RedPerfRaceTeam)

8. Trust your training and your coach - If you put in the time and followed the plan, you are ready!  Your coach believes in you.  You should believe in you!  

7. Set goals and work hard to meet them – Be sure to celebrate milestones and progress along the way.

World Toughest Half 2014

6. Learn to be flexible - Things don’t always go according to plan in triathlon and life.  How you deal with ups and downs makes all the difference. 

5.  Smile often!  A contagious smile makes everyone happy.  I received so many positive comments when I smiled my way through race day.  I figured, why would you do anything but smile when you’re allowed to play a sport all day?!?

Cold Start to a rough IMLT 2013

4.  Every experience is an opportunity to learn.  I have gained a wealth of information from this year of ironman training.  Although my Tahoe DNF was painful, it was one of the most incredible learning experiences I have ever had, and I am grateful for all I have learned about sports and myself.

Race Hard, Mermaid!

3. Don’t be afraid to unleash your inner awesomeness.   If you know you can do more to make the world a better place or achieve more in your daily pursuits, go for it. You will be happier once you do!

2.  "Show your winning attitude and always race (& train) with gratitude" (- my tweet, see #1).  Thank everyone who has helped you along your journey (from Mom driving you to practice as a kid to the race day volunteers you meet on course).  Be proud of how far you’ve come.  Respect everyone and everything around you.  Appreciate how fortunate you are to play a sport like triathlon.

Mermaid Alameda 2014

Mermaid Capitola 2013

1. Focus on the positive in racing & life… it's a better way to live.  Surround yourself with positive people and avoid dwelling on negativity, it will make a difference in all aspects of your life.  30 days from the IMCDA race, I started tweeting something positive/motivational each day.  This simple act, plus all the cheers and support I received from my positive circle of friends and family, really brightened my overall perspective on racing and life.  

Thank you all for helping me smile so brightly everyday!

 More posts to come about the awesome people who inspire me to always do my best!