It's always this time of year when I notice some of my favorite triathlete bloggers go silent. I have come to realize this trend amongst athletes in preparation for the World Championships. Why, you might ask? Well, because they are deep in the pain cave and they literally don't have an ounce of energy left at the end of the day to even contemplate a blog update. So many days over the past month I have wanted to reach back and grab my IPhone to take a photo and simply couldn't find the energy to do so. July was a tough month filled with 90 degree lows and 120 degree highs in the desert, not to mention the Idyllwild fires that made breathing outside impossible for about a week!
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Rise and Shine!
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Really, as if being outside in PS in the summer wasn't hard enough!
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The aftermath of the fires and thunderstorms
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| Thank goodness for friends at the beach! |
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| It's all fun and games at the Del Mar Racetrack! 4 Margaritas deep! |
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| Pinon run at 90 degrees! Thanks to my husband/Sherpa! |
This past weekend, Ben, Anna, and I drove out to Henderson Friday night and woke up the next morning to ride/run the course for the 70.3 World Championships. Yes, I have done Kona 4 times, but never Vegas (or Florida for that matter when it was there). Course knowledge is key. I have been training in Palm Springs, so I found the 84 degree, 45% humidity mild at its worst. We pumped out a steady tempo on the bike and followed it up with a build into race pace on the run. I was happy with my performance and have a good gauge to work from for race day.
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| Riding with Anna da' Hamma! Watch out, this girl is gonna tear up the bike course in Henderson! |
My last race was Rev3 Quassy the first week of June, and I have made a conscious decision to take the time since to recover and just train. First, I had to gain back the fitness I had, and now I am working on taking it to the next level. I am suffering on a whole new level and working on being comfortable with this new discomfort. There is an emphasis on hard and fast across the disciplines. With that said, it is not just willy nilly all the time! It is under the guidance of 3 individuals who are downright geniuses in their areas of expertise. If you could improve through osmosis or proximity to greatness, I'd have this thing locked up! But it isn't...at the end of the day, it's all about YOU!
I started swimming with Piranhas swim coach
Jeff Conwell back in May and since then I have become a new swimmer. There is a high focus on technique and swimming like a swimmer, not a triathlete! I have a whole new level of control over my body in the water! If you too are a stubborn, bull-headed triathlete who likes to swim tons of volume all freestyle (like 8x500), you are not working smart or effectively. The day you realize this will be the first day of the rest of your life as a swimmer!
In the cycling department, I somehow (still don't know how I pulled this off!) convinced
Dotsie Bausch (you know, silver medal Olympian in London & TT specialist) to help me figure out what my cycling fitness was missing. Much like in the pool, it was lacking specificity. I have suffered in a much different way on the bike in the past 6 weeks and the gains are tangible and coming fast! I feel the need for speed!!! It requires a level of courage to "go fast" and to suffer. Dotsie reminds me often to "be brave" and when I feel afraid of what is about to come, I tell myself that over and over until the tension and anxiety subsides.
On the run, I was also able to convince
James Walsh (there was some craft beer involved) to help me out in that department and cinch it all together (which is not an easy task). I am always amazed at how every week I look at my schedule after I send him my swim and bike stuff how he puts it all together. It is usually scary to read and I think, "Oh boy...I've got to do that?" I always doubt myself, but then when it comes time to do it...I pull it off! I suppose some of that is rising to the occasion, but I think (in large) it has more to do with an awesome coach who knows just how far you can lean over the cliff without falling. Kudos, James...you have almost gotten me to puke at least a 1/2 dozen times so far!
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| When I think of my coaches, this comes to mind! |
Finally, on top of all this, I accepted a full time French teaching job with San Dieguito Academy in Encinitas, Ca. I am finishing up teaching my summer class at College of the Desert and will immediately transition to my new job in San Diego. So, there is a bit of life stress going on there, but ultimately it is an incredible opportunity for us! It is going to be a bit chaotic because Ben is going to be splitting his time between PS and SD for the year while Faith finishes her senior year of high school. We always said if the "ideal job" came my way we would have to make it work...and that is what we are doing! I have been most fortunate to have the lifestyle that I have the past 3 years (training during the day and working at night). There are so many things I am going to miss about the desert but at least it's only a 2 hour drive back to my mountains, palm trees, and friends.
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| View from the new place |
So, signing off until at least after Vegas! Thanks to my sponsor
B&L Bike and Sports (aka Mark Palmer) for making sure I have the best gear, and my trifecta of coaches/mentors
Jeff Conwell,
Dotsie Bausch, and
James Walsh. I feel like I am standing on the shoulders of giants right now. Having their guidance is invaluable to me and I can not speak of these 3 highly enough. On that note, it takes time to get results, and a lot of patience. There are many setbacks in sport, and in life for that matter. So, do I expect to go into the World Championships and blow everyone away? No. However, I will be as ready as I possibly can be for the dogfight.
