RAAM Training Has Begun--Training Camp!

Over my winter break, I had the most incredible opportunity from 12/27-1/7 to train, relax, and mentally prepare myself for Race Across America. George and I traveled to Fort Lauderdale and stayed in the luxurious B Ocean hotel thanks to my partner-in-crime/training buddy/mentor/sponsor/adopted big sister/confidant Laura! You remember Laura, right? We have gone on crazy adventures together before including Ironman St. George, Tashka 50k, accompanist in the double iron, and double-scoop training weekend in Florida! She's my girl!

We actually had 6 bikes in our room! Here's a few of them!

There are really three parts to this training camp:
1. The training for a total of 775 miles in 8 day!
2. The people
3. The FOOD!

1. The Training:

12/28

On our first day in Florida, I had an on/off workout on the schedule. These are my new "RAAM simulation rides." Since the race will be each of us taking turns, we are working to train my body to "get back up again" over and over and over. This being the first day, it was 1.5 hours on and one hour off three times to total 4.5 hours of riding. George and I rode on the A1A together for the first two and took a break for smoothies in Delray and then rode back. We picked up Laura after an hour and went back out for round three. All in all a really great start to the week!

12/29

We heard that there would be a group century out of Cooper City with a group from Z-bikes, so we decided to head out there! George and I rode about 90 miles on this day (the length of the ride). The ride was really fun because it went through downtown Miami, out to Key Biscayne, and through South Beach. It was the kind of ride that you probably needed 60 people doing to feel comfortable on those roads. We enjoyed the group and met some great people.

12/30

The next day was a two hour-one hour off--two hour on-one hour off- two hours on. Laura and George rode with me for the first two blocks. In the middle, we stopped at a little cafe and had a great brunch, and then we did the second segment. The third was solo, and it was WINDY! You aren't going to accidentally be ready for Kansas though, so this was a good practice!

12/31

George and I rode out the A1A down to Palm Beach and back. Holy Giant Houses and Yachts Batman! We got in about 5 hours on the bike and saw some pretty incredible homes. Felt like being on a bicycle Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous!

1/1

George and I did a century together to welcome in the new year! This was the first day that we found it tough to get out the door. This was supposed to be a bigger effort day. We pushed it pretty hard, so there is no photographic evidence! It was a great ride that we were both very proud of! Anne flew in and was at the hotel when we got back!

1/2

This was one of the most fun days! George, Anne, and I drove down to South Miami and met up with Leslie (one of the Team Shepherd riders this year) and her boyfriend Ken. They took us all on a magical 70 mile ride, and we had a BLAST!

We went to Biscayne National Park. George called this photo GLOR or Gorgeous Ladies of RAAM.

The fish are serious down here.

Then we kept on riding until we came upon this true gem of Americana! Richard is Here fruit stand. They make Key Lime Milkshakes. Period. Yum!!! We had a blast watching the petting zoo Emus and Tortoises while we ate our milkshakes. It was a surreal, but wonderful rest stop! George got a mango that they sliced up for him and he put in his jersey to eat on the bike. Totally normal in Florida ;-)

Then we kept on riding until we came upon this bakery that Leslie had been telling me about! WOW. Sticky bun heaven! Yes, the five of us did order a dozen of them, and yes, that is totally acceptable.

I thought you needed a close up.

Then we wrapped up the ride and will a rejuvenated spirit from good food, new scenery, and great friends, we headed back up to Ft. Lauderdale.

1/3

Ok--this is the day that I decided on while we were down here. I had talked to a guy on the A1A about his ride from Key Largo to Key west. Then, on the second, Ken told me that you can start it is Homestead on the mainland, and it is more like 130+ miles and even better. So a plan was born! George, Anne, and I woke up really early and drove to Homestead. Then, Anne proceeded to be an incredible crew member and providing us with awesome on the road support. George and I rode along through some really incredible scenery. It got better and better as the day went on!

Anne took off her crewing hat and replaced it with a helmet and joined us riding over the 7 mile bridge. Yes, it is a bridge that is 7 miles long and surrounded by incredibly beautiful water!!

A few hours and 132 miles later, we pulled into Key West!! What an awesome ride!

We spent the rest of the afternoon really enjoying Key West! What a fun place!

Anyone know why the chicken crossed the road in Key West?

Ok--wasn't actually a joke, I was just wondering why there were so many chickens!

Then, we had a long drive back to Ft. Lauderdale to get ready to ride one more day!

1/4

Last day of riding in Ft. Lauderdale! I went back out to Palm Beach with George. Anne popped into the ride for the middle 40 of the 85. Then, I went back out by myself until Laura came back. Then, she and I went out to top of the last bit of my training camp riding. It was just perfect to finish the week of riding with her! And I was done!!!

2. The People!

What an awesome trip! I got to spend the whole time with George, who I love hanging out with! He was able to ride with me more that I thought he would!

Laura came down on the bookends of the trip, which was awesome! It was also really great to get to spend some time with her family too! John is a blast and her kids are fantastic.

 Our buddy Scott Rigsby came town for the first weekend. We got to hang out and grab some tasty food together! He was happy to be with us too!

I was so excited to have convinced Anne to join us! We had a blast with her, and I am so proud of her 70 mile ride!! That was her longest ride yet!!

3. The food.

This really deserves it's own post! We ate REALLY well during training camp!

Fresh mozzarella made at the table! It is hard to imagine ever eating normal cheese again after this!

Our "dive" night where we had some killer fish dip!

One of the best dinners ever in Boca Raton with Laura's family and Scott! These were crab cake balls on fresh penne and vodka sauce!

We had a LOT of family style food that night, and of course, dessert!

Take out Thai food in the hotel room. Casual, yet delicious!

Cuban food in South Beach, which was just the perfect place with fantastic music!

And back to the mozzarella place for another great meal! Family style! (that's how we ate everything at training camp! It's more fun that way!)

A brunch at the W Hotel with Smoked Salmon benedict and crab and avocado benedict on our last morning!

Awesome pizza on the way to the airport!

So this was basically a week+ of bicycles, friends, and great food in beautiful weather!! One of my best weeks ever!!!

Powerbar Cookies and Cream and Kona Punch

These are my two favorite nutrition products for long ride days.

Ok, let's be honest, they are my favorite nutrition items for short rides too.



I have talked plenty in the past about my love of the cookies and cream bar. There have been many days when eating that bar is my reason to train! There is something about this bar that has me hooked. When I tried going vegan for a few months (instead of my normal vegetarian), this was my one exception. THAT is how much I love them.

This puppy is one of my go to pre-ride snacks or a mid ride pick me up on long days. If you ride in the morning, they go very well with a steaming and warm cup of coffee. That's a pro level tip people.



Powergels are my go-to gel for most any workout. I love how thin they are. They are much easier to get down than most gels. My favorite flavors are raspberry and Kona punch.

They are light and bright flavors with just enough tang to them to keep you from getting fatigued. I use them every 30 minutes in long days and then I do something longer on the 2 hour mark. For example, in the double iron, I literally went through multiple cases of them. I brought 4 cases to our training camp in Florida last week and only came back with one! I do not like drinking sports drinks, so I love that I am able to get the nutrition and the electrolytes I need in quickly and easily, and then I prefer to drink water.


Love these things, and cant' wait to keep pounding them as a part of my RAAM training this year!

Off Season Before RAAM

Between my 200 mile race, and my training camp that starts on December 28th, I have had a bit of an off season. My training has been pretty low (about 12 hours a week), and not particularly intense. Nonethelss, I have had some  goals that I have been working on:

Bike Fitting

I went to see Eddie O'dea again at 55Nine. We worked on my pedal stroke, my fit, my posture, my cleats, and replacing my saddles. Working with him in invaluable.

Nutrition Redux

I went back to Ilana Katz to work on my nutrition plan. She has been working with my coach on periodizing my nutrition based on my training and setting goals for progress. It is tough to be on a plan around the holidays (and trust me, I haven't been perfect), but it was good to get a jump start on my goals.


Fundraising

Dani and I had an awesome fundraiser at All3 Sports where Craig Alexander spoke and went on a group run. Thanks to sponors, friends, and donors, we raised almost $4000 in a weekend for Camp Twin Lakes!

My awesome partner Dani--I am lucky to be partnered with someone who works SO hard.

Family Time

I am close with my family, and I have really enjoyed spending some great days with them. We went to see Circdu Soleil together, we have had some great holiday dinners, we still have a "girls christmas dinner," and Christmas day celebrations. I love having some time to spend with my family.

Mind Games

This topic deserves, and will receive it's own blog post. After my last race, I knew I needed to work on my head. So, I met with a sports pscologist and a regular psycologist that specializes in anxiety. They were both amazing. It was incredible how quickly they figured me out and the tools that they have given me to work on. George and I are also reading a handful of books about the mind and sports. This is certainly an ongoing process that I truly believe is vital to my training and racing RAAM.

Enjoying Christmas-Time!

Contrary to the nutrition plan above, I have baked a lot of cookies for us, family, friends and a cookie swap this week! Pictured below are my hot chocolate cookies (with mini marshmallows!).

Decorating our tree!

Running with Friends

It was really good to get out on the trails and just run. I also ran a half marathon on Thanksgiving day. I did some runs with my mom. No real need to pay attention to time or distance, but just to get out there and run with some friends and enjoy their company.

Dinners with Friends

In my version of an off season, I have the time (and am not so tired I just want to sleep) to have some time with people I just really enjoy being around.

Paperwork

Completing RAAM is more than just riding a bike. We have been working on sponsorships, fundraising, logistics, crew seminars, training camps, setting up finances, and well...register for RAAM.

Guess it's real now.

Only a few more precious off season days, and then to training camp in South Florida!

Kona Spectator Report!

So this has taken a while to put this together, but it was a really wonderful long weekend in Hawaii.

We flew into Kona on Wednesday. That's a lot later than most, but we can only be away from our students for so long. I was determined to get the most out of my time on the island!

After we landed, George's parents and I found the house that our friend Laura booked the year before. We said hello to our friend Scott Rigbsy who was staying across the street, and we headed out to explore. George's parents picked Anne up for the airport and we all had a wonderful dinner at Huggos overlooking the water.

This place has purple sweet potatoes on their menu. What else could I need in a restaurant?

By the time we made it to bed, we were exhausted.

Thursday was all about getting George ready for the big dance. We woke early and George and I saw that Chrissie Wellington was headed to the practice swim from Twitter. So we hopped in the car and went to meet her. So cool. We went for a beautiful and fun practice swim. That water was just stunning! Then we went back and got the whole family and walked in to get George registered...

I would share pictures of registration, but apparently I am not invited!

So we waited for him to come back, and then took some lovely family photos at the giant flowery M-dot.

Then, we all headed to the Kona Brewing Company to have some great food, and look at all of George's numbers and swag! Starting to get real!

Then, we enjoyed the craziness around the expo, and drove George down the Queen K so he could ride up to Hawi. Anne and I went shopping in a delightful store before Hawi and ate dragon fruit! I love this stuff. We ate a ton of it when I was in Vietnam on Semester-at-Sea in college, but have not really gotten my hands on it since then. Plus, it looks really really pretty!

That evening, George, Anne, and I went to the athletes banquet. They ran out of chairs, so we sat on the ground, but it was fun to see all of the videos. The banquet was long, and we had to leave eventually to go get George's parents, but they did have people who threw these awesome fire batons around. That wins me over!

Friday was my day to go play! George was all about relaxing and staying out of the craziness, so Anne and I started the day off right with macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup at Lava Java and Kona coffee. That place lives up to the hype! Yum!

Then Anne, and I headed out to our paddle boarding lessons! We had SO much fun! We went about 3 miles AND we learned how to do back flips off of those thing. I might go pro.

We finished the lessons and bought some delightful hawaiian dresses. So necessary.

Then, headed back to the house to hang with George. He was very very chill.

That night, Anne and I went snorkeling in the dark with manta rays. Might be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. They were like 15 foot giant ocean angels! I love them.

This is not my picture--I stole it from the internets :-)

Race morning! The reason we came (other than paddle boarding and manta rays of course!).

We parked and started getting George through all of the check in business.

George sends me a text that he needs a paperclip. So I went on a mission to find one. Morning of an Ironman, you don't ask WHY your athlete needs to combine papers neatly, you just find the paperclip (I think it wasn't for papers actually). While begging for paperclips at 5 am, I see a map of the roads that will be shut down until 1am, and realize that is where we parked. So, I frantically called George's dad Buddy. I brought him the map, and he said, "no problem," dissapeared, and saved the day. He figured out where to part the car so we wouldn't be trapped.

In the meantime, we got sunscreen on George and gave him lots of good luck hugs!  I could tell he was really nervous.

So I decided to be a little goofy to lighten the mood! It took a while to break through--

And finally, a smile! And I feel ok to leave him to go through the race.

After we dropped George, we all settled in, and got ready to watch the start. The start in Hawaii is truly unlike anything else I have ever seen.

We moved our way onto the bike course and waited. Waited past the "hopeful goal time." Waited past the "more likely" goal time. Waited past the "bad swim goal time." And waited. And waited. And waited. This is when I started to freak out some. There are no pictures of me going to the medical tent--or asking if I could go out and look for George on the kayak. Or talking to the family tent and having them tell me, "we have kayaks, boat, scuba divers out there. We have never lost a swimmer, and your husband is doing going to be the first." It all sounds kind of funny now, but at the time it was ANYTHING but funny.

This is where I will direct you to George's race report. I can't tell you how poorly the swim went for him, because they wouldn't let me go out there and swim/paddle board/kayak to go find him (I tried). 

Needless to say, it wasn't good.

Then he had a great bike--but we never saw him. I still don't know how this happened, except that I was in a panic. But, I did have some great friends (Laura and Erik) texting me as soon as he appeared on the tracker. That was so wonderful. I was so happy to just see his times come up and know he was safely trucking away and killing it on the bike course.

We all went out for a breakfast, Anne and I went exploring, and then we all met up at Lava Java to cheer for the runners (along with MANY other people! Check out this tunnel of people cheering!).

As soon as George went by, I hopped on my bike and started following him. He chatted with me a little bit, and I would ride ahead and then catch him again. He started to look stronger and stronger. 

I darted around and we met back up on the Queen K. He started having stomach problems and was falling apart. I don't know if I have mentioned that it was hot on the lava fields. Really hot. It was tough to be on my bike and watch him struggle so much. I just wanted to take some of the pain off of his hands. That's not how it works though. Instead, I just encouraged, I read him facebook posts, tweets, emails, and texts. I tried to give him all of the love that people were sending him.

Then he had to run the 4 miles in the energy lab. You can't follow them on bikes down there. You just have to let them go--that was tough. I had to just wait on the corner for him to come back--and that was where it was the hardest. 

When he finally came back out, he was not running like he normally runs at all. It didn't even look like running for him--but his face looked different. He had a new resolve, and I knew it was going to get better.

I talked him through getting more from the aid stations. I knew he was READY to come back to life, we just had to get him there. Ever aid station, he took on as much as he could, and then I would ride next to him and continue to give him encouragement from me  and from friends that were sending messages to me. 

His entire body started to change, and he was able to start moving again. He picked it up, and was not really talking to me, but he was running again. It was incredible to watch him come back out of the awful place he had been. I knew he was going to be fine.

He told me to go ahead so I could see the finish, so I pedaled up about a mile, but I just couldn't leave him yet, so I waited and cheered for him one more time. I am glad I did. I missed the finish, but I saw him at 25, I sent a message to Anne and his parents to get ready, and they really saw him finish. 

I locked the bike, and went to wait for him to come out. I knew where he had been mentally, so I wasn't sure what I was going to see when I finally got him out of the athlete area. He was a shell of George, but I was so proud of him I could hardly stand it.

We brought George back to the house, and cleaned up.

We got George some food, and then we headed back to the finish line. Even really exhausted (as George was), the midnight finish is amazing. This one was particularly spectacular. The people crossing the finish line at this point are stories of overcoming the odds.

In the end, I couldn't be any prouder of George.

The day after the race, we got on up, had some breakfast, and went exploring. We had a flight that evening, but we wanted to soak in as much of Kona as possible before we had to leave. George's parents gave George finisher gear presents, which was a blast.

This kind of scenery is just the usual in Kona. It is amazing we came home!

That afternoon, I had booked a boat ride on this crazy navy SEAL boat. We went looking for some whales, and ended up seeing some dolphins. They did some wild maneuvering and Anne almost lost her breakfast :-) But, all was well, and it was beautiful. 

One last dinner, and we had to pack up and say goodbye to this amazing island. I truly hope that we spend time here again. Thanks to everyone who made it possible--my incredible husband, my loving in-laws, my adventurous friend Anne, and of course, my always supportive adopted big sister Laura.

RAAM Challenge Series 200 Mile Race Report

This weekend, George, Anne, and I headed down to Daytona, Florida for the RAAM Challenge Series 200 mile race.

This was intended to be a check-in race to see where my fitness is. Then, after this race, I have a period of recovery, and after Christmas a RAAM kick off training camp, and then Janurary begins real RAAM training.

The week before, we were experimenting with doing a really long ride. Not gonna lie, it wore me out. I was really struggling to recover throughout the week. I was trying to sleep more, but work was also stressful, and the combination meant that I just wasn't bouncing back like I wanted. Live and learn. Fortunately, I have a coach who is willing to look at our training and adjust it for the next time.

As evidence of my pre-race exhaustion--here's a serious blonde moment. I put my race bike inside the car. But, I decided to bring my road bike as back up, and we put it on the bike rack. And locked it. And I forgot my key to the lock.

Clearly, this bike was completely useless to me, since we tried to cut through it. At least I know it's a pretty good lock now.

I tried to ride it attached to the rack. Yeah, that doesn't work.

So, we arrived in Florida, went to the check-in and headed to the #1 rated resturant in Daytona on trip advisor--Don Vitos. This place was a gem. Goodfella's posters, GIANT plates of pasta, and George got accused of being in the FBI. If you find yourself in Daytona pre-race, please, do yourself a favor, and head over to Don Vitos.

The race started at 5am, so we were up at the lovely hour of 3:30 to get rolling. It's pretty dark then. My garmin file didn't load, so I didn't know where I was going. The race director said we could stick together for a about 10 ish miles and chat, plus our crew cars couldn't get to us yet. So....my "super easy and relaxed first hour" race plan was thrown out the window. I was riding with the group, talking to people, and nervous about getting dropped and not knowing where I was in the state of Florida. Eventually the group split up, and I found myself off the back with my car. After not following my race plan, and being totally alone off the back of the group, I was not in a very good mental place.

I try really hard to be very positive in my online presense--but I had close to no fun for 100 miles. I was miserable, unhappy, and my legs were tired. I am glad that no one can see inside my head. It was a bad place. One of the lighter moments was when I just started listing things that I hate. You should try it sometime. I also started writing texts and emails to people. They were ugly. I am glad that I had no internet access. AND, I started quitting things. Lots of things.

Eventually we made it to Sugarloaf Mountain. I was a little nervous, because I hadn't been doing any climbing lately. I turned onto the road, and George yelled, "This is what they call a mountain in Florida, you can see the top!" I saw it, and kind of giggled.

 It was short, steep, and really really fun! A quick climb and descent, and I loved it. Fred and Rick who own RAAM were cheering for me at the top along with George and Anne. What a cool way to run a race.

Then I started picking it up. The conditions were windier on the way back, but I started to feel better. I fell back into the bad mental trap one more time, but was able to pull it together. About mile 175, I passed Daniela Genovesi, who was the other woman in the field. And not just any woman--Daniela is a RAAM solo champion. Amazing.

My last 20 miles were super fast. Like, the fastest I have ridden 20 solo miles in months. That's pretty cool, but twisted. Why can't I feel that good in the beginning?

In the end, I finished in 11:07, and my Garmin had my ride time as 10:50. I lost 17 minutes at stoplights and nature breaks. Mid pack and first female.  Not bad. Not what I wanted, but I learned a lot.

I must say that I have some mixed feelings about this race. Glad I did it, learned a lot. I know what my weaknesses are, and I know what I need to work on. I think the best part of the race was spending 2 hours on Sunday talking with Fred and Rick about RAAM. It was like a private tutorial about how to succeed at RAAM.

My biggest regret is that I wasn't as nice to my crew as I should have been. Anne and George were SO good to me. They took care of me, and they treated me really well. When I was in a tough place, I mostly just ignored them. As evidenced from Anne's clothing choice after the race, it is just as exhausting to be crew as it is to ride.

I am beyond lucky to have supportive and loving people in my life. Even more lucky to have people who push me to be my best, and who accept me at my worst. For now, it is time to relax, recover, spend time with people that I love, and prepare myself mentally for the biggest adventure of my life next summer.

Tracking George in Kona!

We are headed to the Big Island tomorrow for my amazing husband, George, to race in the Ironman World Championships.

This has been a big goal for him, and I couldn't be a prouder wife!!! Seeing someone you love so much achieve their goals through hard work, dedication, and sacrifice is truly one of the great joys in life.

So here goes!

His number is 1375, and you should watch for his run times :-)

Here the link to his blog where he goes into a great deal more detail about his training and such!

Oh, and I might also be paddle boarding, snorkeling with manta rays, and going on a speed boat ride.

Just sayin'

If you can spare any good thoughts/vibes/prayers for his success on Saturday, I'll take it!

GO GEORGE!!!

6 Gap Down and 200 Miler to Go!

On my quest for the biggie (2 Person-style):

Coach Will has broken up my training into some early sections.

First we were just working on a big old fat base. Low stress, high volume, get it done. The final event of this section of training was the Six Gap Century this weekend.

 

 

If you are not familiar with this little gem of a bicycle ride, here is the description:

 

"The Six Gap Century's ultra challenging route takes you up and down six of the steepest climbs in the North Georgia Mountains. Test your stamina with more than 11,200 feet of vertical climbing over the 104 mile course."

Fun, right?! Well it is! This is one of our favorite places to ride anyway, but add a few thousand other people to the mix, and you have a downright party while climbing!

I got a personal PR on the biggest climbs, which made me happy.

Now we are at the end of this part of the training, and I get to have 6 weeks of focusing on an actual race!

I am registered for the 200 mile event, and I am looking forward to doing it! 5 weeks from Saturday, and I have a few mega weekends on the calendar! Hopefully, I'll have some good weather.


Now, in 8 days, I'll be in Hawaii......But who's counting?