Warhawk Triathlon Race Report

March 15, 2014
Monroe, Louisiana

Time flies when you're training hard! The winter months have come and gone and it's officially tri season. My goal race is the Nautica South Beach Tri in Miami in April, but I was looking for a warm-up race before then. The Warhawk Triathlon fell into the perfect time frame for both myself and training buddy Brinn, who is getting ready for 5i50 New Orleans in a few weeks.

We got a late start on Friday evening because of the Hattiesburg Irish-Italian Fest 5K. We had 25 BRAND NEW runners from our New Beginnings Training Program complete the 5K. This group faced some serious challenges- pretty much every training run was cold, raining, or both. They are pretty tough, though. GREAT race turnout, perfect race-day weather, lots of happy faces, great success! Very proud!

We arrived to Monroe late and the morning came too soon. There was definitely a little anxiety about kicking the season off and racing again so I didn't get much sleep. We arrived early to the race site per usual to check in, get settled, and warm up. Somehow Brinn and I BOTH got our timing wrong and thought the race started at 7:30, so at 7:10 when we arrived to the pool ready to do our swim warm-up and the pool still wasn't open, we started freaking out a bit. The lifeguard arrived, we jumped in and did a couple hundred meters plus some pick-ups, then looked around confused at 7:30 when we were still one of the few athletes in the pool area. The race started at 8... Whoops! And that's why we're here- to get the mistakes out of our systems and PRACTICE! We spent the rest of the time with a long warm-up and practicing starts and turns.

Swim 6:06, 1:32/100m
The swim was a time-trial start with about 5 seconds between athletes. I was number 22 in the water and it was pretty congested. I asked the guys around me what their EST's were and they all said 5:30-5:45. LIARS! Within the first 50 I caught up with the person in front of me. By the next 50 we were swimming 3 wide with the guy two spots in front of me. I didn't feel comfortable trying to pass the guy in front of me and being able to hold pace, so I swam next to his hip for the next 100 and took advantage of some drafting. At the 200m mark, I decided I needed to pick it up and had a strong but still chaotic second half. All this week I'd been working on a strategy for snaking the pool, but the turns were too congested so my plan went down the drain. Finish time 6:06. A little slower than I expected, but ok considering all the congestion.

Bike 29:18, 22.5 mph


Today I wanted to see what I was capable of with the bike. I've had some pretty solid rides over the past few weeks and have been feeling some real improvements. Today I wanted to see those on paper. I felt strong from the beginning. There were a lot of turns, but when I wasn't slowing down or speeding up, I was putting in some fast efforts and I felt like things were finally meshing. The course was flat, but challenging. After the race someone said they didn't realize they were going to be doing a crit today. On the drive home, I replayed the course in my head and counted 19 turns. But there may have been more... 29:18, 22.5 mph. Not as fast as I was expecting, but I still feel good my moving speeds.

Run 20:47, 6:57/mile

Finishing up the run & cheesing big
because I just won my first tri
of the season!

Most of my anxiety for today was about the run. I didn't know how my body would be feeling at this point or how it would respond to the fatigue today. The past few weeks have been pretty volatile. One of the guys on the bike told me the girl behind me was a strong runner, so I needed to move it. Focus on form, get my head in the game, quick feet, don't think about how bad it sucks- you can rest in 21 minutes, just keep moving. A couple men passed me with some speed, but no sign of any girls (I peeked on the turns). Most of the course was on concrete sidewalks, which made me nervous. I tried to stay on the asphalt as much as I could to avoid the harder surface, even if it meant a few extra steps. 3 miles felt long... I don't think I had much more speed today, but once I got into a rhythm things were ok. I think I'm set up for some strong 10k's this summer (fingers crossed!).

Finish 57:37. 1st Overall female 
Took away some fun hardware and prize $$, which is ALWAYS a plus. This was a solid race for me. I'm happy with today's performance, but am more excited about this season. None of the legs were particularly outstanding, but none of them held me back. I'm looking forward to continued improvements. It's going to be a good summer!


Results HERE

Some Days We Just Don't Have It. Mississippi College Open Track MeetRace Report

March 1, 2014
Clinton, Mississippi

Fatigue is a reality I've yet to completely comprehend as an endurance athlete. As a scientist, I know the physiological causes and stages of fatigue, both short and long term. As a coach, I understand the cyclical nature of training for performance- challenge, recover, repeat. As an athlete, I experience discomfort, both general and localized. Sometimes the discomfort is painful. I try to listen to my body so I can identify this as a normality of training versus a warning sign of an oncoming injury. Then, I adjust.

The problem is here: distinguishing the difference between discomfort & a real problem, and pinpointing exactly when I need to back off and let my body heal.

The greatest challenge in training is doing so injury free. The athletes who can stay healthy through intense training phases are the ones who will have the best performances on race day.  This is why I value the phrase "Train Hard, Recover Harder". Make the most out of your non-workout time so that you can have quality training sessions each time you hit the water or pavement.

This means actively practicing the following:

• eat when you're supposed to
• sleep when you need to
• give the legs a break and sit during downtime (I prefer to stand- it keeps me focused at work. SHAME!)
• stay hydrated
• wear your compression gear (Always Swiftwick socks! serious recoverysocks) http://blog.swiftwick.com/the-secret-to-recovery-swiftwick-compression)
• practice self-massage, & schedule massages when necessary.
• DON'T just do these things when you're not feeling 100% (Guilty. But then again, when's the last time I've felt 100%?!).

Let me describe the past week of training.

Sunday we started our first week back of speedwork. Kyle says this was by far our best speed session. It was pretty aggressive (but manageable) for our first week back.
4x400 hitting 1:25-1:30 goal with SHORT rest intervals
400 recovery
repeat 400 + recovery
4x200 hitting 40-45 goal.

Monday was the usual- masters swim + run. BUT since we do bike intervals & long run on Tuesdays, we decided to move the 90 min. run to Monday to allow recovery time & get the most on the bike. The run was rough from the beginning, but I kept waiting for things to loosen up. After 50 min. I finally came to terms that my body was not going to cooperate so I stopped. MY LOWER LEGS KILLED! Shins, achilles, calves... both landing and pushing off were painful. At the end of the run I was having difficulty balancing on one leg. Spent the evening massaging muscles that have never before bothered me & hoping I hadn't overdone it.

Tuesday- Bike intervals- SPEED! Then short recovery run with our New-B training program. Not good. They were definitely pulling me along!

Wednesday- masters swim. Took the afternoon/evening off & massaged.

Thursday- Swim + short brick (1.5hr + 15min + striders). Legs felt ok (except on striders)- still a bit stiff in the lower muscles but MUCH better than Tuesday... I might be ok on Saturday! Keep massaging.

Friday- masters swim + shorter brick (45min + 15min). Legs better, striders less painful. More massage.

Saturday- RACE DAY! Spent the morning at the Superhero 5K for Terrod Jackson (serving NUUN to thirsty runners), BUSY day at the shop, then left early afternoon for the track meet.

Arrived to Jackson, checked in, then got to work. The warm-up felt more exerting than I thought it should have, but my body was giving me a red flag during our dynamic stretches. Impact was extremely irritating, I was having difficulty toeing off and felt like I was just dragging my legs along. With about 15 minutes to the race start I just sat in the grass massaging my achy legs and hoping they would stop throbbing long enough to get through the race. Kyle gave me a pat on the back and told me to get it together, we're here to race. Conditions were perfect and there were 19 girls running the 5K- COMPETITION. Wimping out was not an option, I was chasing the 20 minute 5K.

20 minutes came and went, but I could have told you it would before the gun went off. The goal pace was 1:34 per 400m, which was realistic, just not today. I hit my times on the first mile, made my passing moves strategically, and felt ok. After that first mile I could feel my body want to stop. I tried to ignore it, but my physical limitations beat out my mental strength. I went into survival mode- just finish and do the best I can today.

21:23- Nowhere near my sub-20 goal. It was a painful finish, both physically and mentally. Emotionally I was disappointed because I feel like my goals and expectations for this race were within reach, and conditions were PERFECT. But physically this was all I had today. Before I could get too discouraged, Kyle reminded me that we don't have GREAT races every time we gear up for competition. The goal is to always work towards getting faster; some days we just don't have it and that's ok, because the big picture is that we are better today than we were last year, month, or even week.

And guess what?!? 21:23- a "BAD" race by my standard- is STILL A 3RD BEST TIME! So I can still blow up terribly and have a pretty solid race. I might not have the number just yet, but the level of improvement over the past year is significant, and that is what we really value. At least until the next open track meet...

Elmwood Classic 10K Race Report

Last week I posted about the importance of training through the colder months in my "W is for Winter... & WORK" post. I believe 100% that you HAVE to take advantage of the winter months if you want to see real, sustainable improvements in your overall athletic performance.

Sure, you can take a break when it's cold and gear up for those summer races when the weather is more cheery, but if you cycle through race seasons in this continual pattern, you will constantly be playing catch up. You will loose fitness from the end of one season to the beginning of another, so not only are you trying to improve from last season, but you're trying to get back to where you were AND improve. Any performance gains you see from year to year will be very modest compared to what you COULD have if you were to train consistently.

Training is one source for improvement, but there's another, equally important source that needs to be tapped into: RACING.

I've been training consistently for the past year and a half, and last summer I graduated from being a "knowledgeable" age grouper to a "seasoned"  triathlete. It was towards the end of the 12-race season that I realized the transformation was taking place. With every race, I was gaining more EXPERIENCE as a racer. Experience that carried me from race-to-race and would lead me through the off season and into 2014.

Unfortunately my experience as a triathlete is lacking in each individual discipline, and my readers will know that this goes against my "Swim like a swimmer, bike like a biker, & run like a runner" philosophy. I have no problem being inwardly mean and pushing myself through all three sports. The run, though more painful, seems to bother me less than a stand-alone road race. I can put a mediocre swim, bike, and run (by the standards of each individual sport) together to be a pretty decent triathlete. BUT, when the 16-year-old cross country runner beats you by :06 at the local 5K, the aging ex-collegiate swimmer slights you by :02 in the 400m free, and that same swimmer comes back and hits the wall first in the 200y free at the following swim meet, there's a glaring weakness, and it's not lack of grit, determination, or athletic ability.

The problem - lack of EXPERIENCE.

The solution- take advantage if opportunities to race.

This Saturday Kyle and I were working at the shop when a visting customer told us he was thinking about going to New Orleans (Metairie) to run the Elmwood Classic 10K. I part of me jumped for joy. I have known for a few weeks now that I need to race a 10K, but despite the 100+ 5K's in Hattiesburg, 10Ks are few and far between. Not to mention, I need to RACE a 10K- someone other than my training buddies. There are a few quick girls (triathletes) that I know of in the New Orleans/ Gulf Coast region, so this was an opportunity to travel a short distance and hopefully have some girls to run against. We hit the road Saturday evening and arrived in Metairie with enough time to wind down with some Sherlock Holmes and Suzy-B.

I awoke feeling fresh and ready. We arrived at the race site with plenty of time to register and warm-up, especially since they started the 10K about 15 minutes late (seriously, late races are no good! Some of us time our warm-ups perfectly, and late races make us cold, especially when the temperature is in the 50s!).

 I was hovering around the starting area trying to walk briskly to stay warm when I noticed a crowd of people appearing to line up. I hadn't heard an announcement, but I started heading towards the crowd to wait for some instruction. I realized they were about to start the race, so I stripped off my pants and jacket and ran to the starting line. I jumped into the second row just in time before the gun went off.

Fast. Too fast. The pace felt comfortably hard, but how long would it feel comfortable? I hit the first mile marker at 6:44... oops! Strategy was to not look at my watch; I was only wearing it so that I could go back and analyze later. Don't think about the pain. Focus on what I'm doing - form, forward lean, pump the arms and USE them for muscle elasticity. Focus on the race- run hard and actually race!

Finish- 43:29, 2nd Female overall 

Definitely not first class, but a PR by several minutes (last 10k- May 2010 48+, pr 10k at Dallas tri 46:17). Avg pace 7:00. I feel my time could have been A LOT better had I not  gone out so fast in the first mile, but we learn by experience and I won't be making that mistake again. The course was FLAT. I would recommend this one to anyone shooting for a PR, and I would come back to track progress. Definitely happy about the results and feeling optimistic about continual improvement.

Results HERE

This was one of the funner races I've been to in a while. New Orleans knows how to party. Made some new friends, chowed down on delicious jambalaya, enjoyed the live band, and made $100. It was a great day!

W is for Winter... & WORK... and eventually, Winning!

A lot of triathletes take the winter months off to recuperate from the previous season and prepare for the coming months of training & racing. The terms off-season and pre-season may sound familiar. My personal favorite is "hibernation".

NOT US!

We swim. HARD. Then we enter swim meets and show down with the real swimmers. The benefits of this are two-fold.

• 1. We compete against people who are former swim studs. Collegiate swimmers, regional champs, national champs, whatever. It's quite humbling to get lapped. It's also humbling to exit the water hyperventilating but pleased with your 1:05 best time for 100 free, then watch the next heat & the guy swimming a 100 fly swims 10 seconds faster. "Hey, just in case you forgot, 'pretty fast for a triathlete' is actually not all that fast". HUMILITY.
• 2. In order to swim fast for the long stuff, you have to swim fast for the short stuff. My priority for swim meets is to swim a distance event and get a time. We work harder and perform better in race situations, but we also have people to swim against. If there's someone moderately close in speed, it's a race. COMPETITION.

At the University of New Orleans Short Course Meters Southeastern Championship. I'm in lane 5; first in the water! Not bad for a newbie swimmer. Teammate Elizabeth is next to me in lane 4. Apparently coach Kyle does a nice job of teaching Hub Fins Masters to have quick reaction times!

We don't swim hard everyday in training. But we are in the water 5 days a week and each day is focused on some important aspect of training. Stroke technique; long aerobic sets; fast, hard threshold training. Swimming is by far the most technical sport in triathlon, and it takes YEARS to master it, so we don't take any rest time & our fitness carries over & improves between race seasons.

We bike. Outside as much as possible, but we're sometimes forced to the misery of trainer sessions. We have our weekend long rides, our weekday short rides, and our interval days depending on what training phase we're in. Some days it's cold, some days it's pleasant (we're in MISSISSIPPI, so there are the occasional 70' sunny afternoons in January), but we always get the work done. Winter is the PERFECT time to build up the base phase and prepare for fine-tuning the speed and power once the weather is more consistently cheery before the early season races.

We run. The volume and intensity would be unimpressive to the elite runner. Again, this is a base building period to prepare the body for the speed it will be going through in the coming months. The long runs feel less agonizing, the 'moderate' pace begins to feel easier, the once 5K race pace feels like it could endure twice the distance. Quite simply, running feels less miserable, and I love it!


Tri season is approaching. QUICKLY. I am only 11 weeks out from my season opener, the Nautica South Beach Tri. 11 weeks seems like a long time... heck, that's almost 3 months! Well, it's not! I have full confidence that I could go out and complete an Olympic Distance with a halfway decent time right now, probably even on par with last season. BUT I don't want to be on par with last season, I want to be faster than last season. The huge gains I'm chasing need to happen now (in the winter). There's just not enough time to use the race season to get faster. Why? Because we're racing! Summer is a time for sharpening. There's no better feeling than having a successful summer and knowing that the winter work you put in on those cold days and nights paid off. Work now, race with the big girls (or boys) later.

Looking forward to 2014

2013 is in the books. It was a roller coaster. I've got my sights on 2014, but I feel it's necessary to reflect on the past year before I put it behind me completely. I made mistakes & learned tough lessons, but I also did a few things right. You take the good and learn from the bad; overall it was a successful year.

Accomplishments (in chronological order)

• 1st overall at West Point Lakes Draft Legal Triathlon
• 3rd overall (& prize $$) at Girl Power Triathlon
• 2nd overall at Crawfishman Triathlon
• 4th overall (& prize $$) at Indian Creek Triathlon
• 1st overall at Sunfish Triathlon
• 5th overall & age group win at Music City Triathlon (Olympic Distance 2:25:15)
• Re-Organized the Team H.A.M.R. Triathlon Club thanks to a gentle shove from Ginger Spansel :)
• Competed in the open division at Rocketman Triathlon (Olympic Distance 2:33:57)
• 2nd overall (& prize $$) at Girl Power Triathlon; shed 2 minutes from my spring time
• 1st Elite Amateur at Lifetime Fitness Tri U.S. Open in Dallas
• 1st overall at Mighty Magnolia Triathlon; shed 3.5 minutes from last year
• Top 10 1500m time for women 25-29 in US Masters Swimming National Rankings (21:57)
• Helped A LOT of people reach their fitness goals through leadership in training programs (2x5K, 10K, 1/2 marathon, & triathlon)
• Co-organized monthly women's only group ride in Hattiesburg- The Monthly Cycle- with Brinn Strange

Ladies of Hub City Velo & Team H.A.M.R. get together for the December Monthly Cycle.

Lessons Learned

Awards ceremony at the
Lifetime Fitness Tri in Dallas.
Biggest and best race for 2013,
spontaneity means no pressure!

• A race is just a race. As a former competitive cheerleader, I've grown accustomed to the concept that one performance determines whether the year was a success or a failure. As a result I've built up goal races in my head and create unnecessary pressure; and this is a recipe for disaster. Races shouldn't be a source of anxiety. They're an opportunity to let the hard work come together and finally work for you, and that's FUN. Races are never perfect, and things don't always work out the way you want them too. That's ok, because there's always another race, and if you've put the work in, success will follow. 

Ginger, me, & Brinn in Sumrall for one of last group rides.

• I get by with a little help from my friends.  A LOT of goodbyes were said in 2013, but I'm still surrounded by many really great ones. Some of them simply put a smile on my face, but some of them get me through the training. If it were not for my training buddies, I would really struggle through a large percentage of my workouts. The hours spent pounding the pavement, spinning the wheels, and surviving the water are where true friends are made! I'm so grateful to the people who accompany me and get me through the workouts. It makes the training fun.
• I can't control how other behave, only how I react. I've come to the sad realization that not everyone shares my moral standards. I can't control, or even understand, why some people choose to behave the way they do.  Responding to negativity is a waste of energy, and will only result in bitterness. Instead, keep an eye on the goals at hand and focus on what is RIGHT. And very reverently, CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES.
• Attitude is everything. I know this is silly, but sometimes I view workouts as punishments. This usually occurs at the peak of a hard training block, when I'm mentally and physically exhausted. I sometimes pout and act pathetic, hoping that Kyle will take sympathy on me and back off on the training load. This rarely happens, though, because he and I both know I need to suck it up and get to work. Consequently, I often approach workouts reluctantly and in a negative mental state. Bottom line- the work needs to get done, I'm need to do it, so approach it with a better attitude and life will be happier.

Goals for 2014

• Keep getting faster (duh!)
• Eat healthier (My new nutri-bullet should help)
• Go to bed earlier (8:30-9p.m. will put me around 7.5-8 hrs a night)
• Limit media time (I LOVE to veg out on occasion and just be entertained... but this is time I COULD spend sleeping...)
• Read for education (how about, for every book I read for pleasure, read another for education)
• Blog more (because everyone wants to know what's on my mind...)
• Use my degrees- research and report (because this is actually a talent of mine, and I'd LOVE to do it professionally one day)