Work Hard, Race Hard, Play Hard

Work Hard, Race Hard, Play Hard

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Soooo Fitting....

The title of this weeks blog is really for the last two weeks and its b/c my mantra – work hard, play hard, race hard was put to the test last week.  Work was work, long stressful hours.  Besides that I will probably never tell you much about work.  Its long hours that do nothing good for my swim/bike/run.  Other than that I won’t bore you with that topic.  But last weekend being a double race weekend meant race hard…2x in one weekend!  More on that later.  And then in true Irish form (I did after all miss the St. Patrick’s Day celebration in NYC b/c of the races) I made up for it on Sunday.  Love me a good Sunday funday.  Very much miss post race drinks with Sissy, but Cuz was a good fill in :)  Sooo the ‘play hard’ kept me from blogging last Sunday and made for a very painful Monday.  Two glasses of wine turned into 6 hours of wine and two pizzas.  Ill be better next week..

I guess you’re all wondering about the double race weekend?!  Did I hit the times coachie told me I could?!  Well no I didn’t.  But I am still happy with the outcome of both races.  The 4 miler on Saturday was fun!  I was ahead of pace until the last mile…all uphill.  Ohhh why am I so slow on hills??!  I was supposed to do 23:30, but ended up at 23:50.  Still good enough for first place female.  Sunday was the NYC half marathon.   Ran 1:21:33., not quite a 1:20.   Still a 4 minute PR and 9th in my AG(very competitive field of super skinny runner girls) so I was happy about that.  I also know I have a sub 1:20 in me right now.  I'm not one for excuses, so my time is my time and I'll do better next time, but I should tell you that I signed up saying I ran a 2:53 HALF marathon in Carlsbad in January instead of a marathon.  On Friday when I went to pick up my bib I was in the very last corral.  I asked them to move me up, but they would only give me a bib # in the 2000’s.   First 5 miles of the run in Central Park were spent trying to get around people.  I ran the outer most part of the loop which meant I ran longer, used more energy dodging and was off pace.  Lesson learned…be more careful with info when I sign up for races!!  I know my family are laughing at this as this is sooo typical of something I would do!!   Overall I was pleased with the weekend.  Both days were PRs and I love racing…hard!

Other exciting news – I was selected to be a part of the Tribike Transport Ambassador team!  So honored and excited to represent them.  They are awesome and convenient.  No flying with your bike, taking it apart/putting it back together.  Makes racing much less stressful!!

This past week was tough – I struggled on all my workouts and felt sluggish. When I found myself on my trainer Wednesday and Thursday night at midnight I was not happy!!  (yep, more of the same at work).   I am intimidated by hard bike workouts.  Always have been and feels like I always will be!  They seem so overwhelming to me.  Give me a hard run workout and I think - bring it.  Give me a hard bike workout and I think – are you sure?!!   So at midnight starting a hard bike workout was a real test of mind over matter!   Hit the power #s coachie gave me, so I need to remember not to think so much, just trust I can do it!

Well I am guessing I bored you enough for today.  And I have NO PICTURES from the past two weeks.  I know, I know…I am not a good blogger!  I am going to have LOTS of pictures for you next week to make of for this.  I promise J

Next weekend is the first triathlon of the season - Texas 70.3.  Headed to Galveston late Friday night with my mom, Peanut and Riley.  I LOVE having my pups at races, so excited they are coming J  Sissy we will miss you…are you sure you don’t want to come to TX?!  

Off to do my nails.  This weeks color – Exotic Liras.  Since I didn’t blog last week you should know I have had 3 colors on since I last blogged – Koala Berry, No More Film and Sure Shot.

And again this week wasn't all good:
Candy- 2 , Me - 0
Pizza -1, Me - 0

I must be better this week - its Race Week!!

Have a great week!!  

Monday, March 12, 2012

Just Roll With It...

Well its 10:30pm on Sunday and I just finished my hard 16 mile run.  Not exactly when I like to do my training on a Sunday with another tough week of work ahead, but this is what the weekend dealt me.   So just have to roll with it.  That’s really the theme of this whole week.  I wont go into the boring details, but it was one of those weeks at work where I had to get really creative on ways to fit in training.  For instance, splitting up the already missed run tempo workout on Wednesday, I then only had time to split it up on Thursday – 2 intervals done at 5am before a very early start at work, then the other 2 intervals later that night after work.  Not ideal, but just had to roll with it..

Despite a crazy week there were some highlights!
~New Newtons arrived!  Loving their new kicks and colors they just came out with.  I tested out the new Gravity’s this week.  Love them as usual for my training runs.  And Ill be testing out the new MV2 and Distance U’s  this weekend when I race a 4 mile on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday!  Double race weekend…cant wait!!  I have not run a stand alone half marathon in so long and I am really excited to see if I have improved.  Coach thinks I have and he sent me my goal time for the race…woahhh!  I am not sure I can do it, but he has been spot on so far on my estimated race run times, so I’m going to believe J


~New Garmin 910xt arrived too!  So excited for this watch.  I love data because it allows me to see improvement which is what pushes me to work harder.  And now in the pool I can see the data too.  This could be the answer to my lack of swimming problem!!  Let’s see…starting with my swim tomorrow morning.  Will I actually get up and do it?!!

~The Multisport expo in NY on Saturday was a success.  Lots of great speakers, saw so many fellow triathetes, spent some time at the Terrier Tri booth and Health Warrior booth.  HW booth was hoppin’!!  They sold out of all the bags of Chia they brought and everyone was LOVING the new Acai Berry and Coconut Chia bars (also sold out)!!  Have you tried the bars yet?  If not…get on it.  They are awesome!




~I only skipped one workout this week!! 

Wasn’t all good though..
~Easter candy 1 – Me 0

~Girl scout cookies 1 – Me 0

~MUST FOCUS ON EATING BETTER THIS WEEK.           

~And get more sleep.

With that said – I am off to bed after I paint my nails.  This weeks color is Wife Goes On J

Have a great week!!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Success is a Journey, not a Destination...

I thought this quote was a fitting subject for my first blog.  My triathlon journey has been full of bumps in the road along the way, so this quote resonates well for me.  After playing team sports growing up, Field Hockey, Basketball, and Lacrosse in HS and then Division I Lacrosse at Penn State, I began running after college as a way to stay in shape and keep my competitive spirit alive. In 2004 I did my first olympic triathlon, I bought a bike 2 weeks before the race,  swam for the first time since high school and finished 6th.  I was hooked.  I spent the next couple years competing in sprint and olympic races on a very recreational basis.  I didn't train too seriously, often just running, no swim or bike training, but still was finishing top in my Age Group. In 2006 I joined a triathlon team, Terrier Tri and I competed in my first 70.3 (IM Florida 70.3) where I qualified for the Inaugural Ironman 70.3 World Championships in Clearwater.  In  August 2007, I was hit by a car while training for  the 70.3 World Championships in November. I had 200 stitches in my arm, hand and face. I was out of work and living with my parents for 6 weeks as I was unable to use my left arm or right hand. I also suffered stress fractures in my femur as a result of the impact and spent the majority of 2008 unable to race. Late 2008, when I was finally healthy, I signed up for my first Ironman in 2009, the inaugural Ironman Cozumel. I decided it was time to stop putting my dreams on hold and to focus on racing again.  In 2009, training and racing were finally getting back on track,  I won the Long Island Half Marathon, was the overall female winner at the Mighty Montauk Triathlon, finished 2nd in my AG and 3rd Female Amateur at Ironman Cozumel (10:25) and I qualified for the Ironman World Championship in Kona, a dream come true. 

I had some good early season races in 2010, setting PR's in many of the 70.3 races, then in August during my Kona build, I had another bike crash and suffered a distal clavicle fracture and torn coracoid ligaments which required surgery 10 weeks out from Kona. I was devastated as I was given little hope from several surgeons that I would be able to compete in Kona. But I was determined. I spent the next 8 weeks in a sling, trying to remain as active as I could (a lot of walking and elliptical). The sling came off 2 weeks before race day. I arrived in Kona unsure whether or not I would race, after not having swam, biked or run for 8 weeks. But I decided to give it a go and make the most of the experience. I ended up having an unbelievable day given the lack of training and finished in 10:47:07 with a 3:22 marathon time. 

I began 2011 with a PR at the Carlsbad Marathon in January, I finished in 2:59 and 5th female overall.  Throughout last season I had a few decent races and a few subpar race performances.  I showed up to Oceanside 70.3 in April with very little training. Shortly after the race I suffered a foot injury and was unable to run again until the end of May. I was signed up for Florida 70.3 but could only do the swim/bike.  Going into the race I had planned to drop out of the race in T2. Little did I know it was going to be one of the hardest things I ever had to do, the run is my favorite part! I walked out of T2 in tears.  I struggled with training last summer and let's just say I spent more time in my beach chair then I did on my bike. I seemed to have lost a little of the fire in my belly and just couldn't get in any solid blocks of training. I was in a rut!  I did end up having a decent race at RI 70.3 in July and finished 2nd in my AG and qualified for the 70.3 World Championships. My training leading up to Vegas was suboptimal and I had little confidence going into the race. Since I was not well trained for this race, my only goal was to have the fastest run time in my AG, and I accomplished this goal with a 1:29 on a tough course and on a very hot day!  After Vegas,  I decided to turn my season around and hire a new coach, signed up for Ironman Cozumel, got my focus back, really enjoyed the Ironman training and most importantly was excited to race again!!

IMCOZ was another amazing day and I finished in 9:57, first female amateur and qualified for Kona.   I am excited for 2012 and my 2nd chance at Kona.  I hope that I can continue to remain healthy and train consistently thoughout the season!  I kicked off the 2012 season with a Win and a PR at the Carlsbad Marathon in 2:53.  I have alot of races coming up and I'll  do my best to keep this blog up to date so you can follow along this journey with me :)
Happy Racing!!