Surfacing... Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!! (well technically a few hours away) but it’s already July 1st in Newfoundland and that's my favorite province.

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Indeed, I've been slacking in blog land...but I live in MN and summer has finally arrived! That pretty much sums it up, and making the most of the great weather undoubtedly trumps blogging. Summer is my favorite season. I love the warm temps and the increased energy all around. This last week was a down/recovery week in my training, which you’d think would allow more time to blog. However, luckily for me, rest week meant more play time with friends and family. We even hosted a YndeParty at our place Sunday afternoon- I could get used to this rest week stuff!!

I received this greeting card in the mail last week, and I thoroughly loved the message. Sometimes its easy to get caught up in the pressure of racing, training, work and everything else,but this card helped remind me of all the simple pleasures I have each and every day- Big hugs and kisses to all my charming gardeners... You certainly make my soul blossom.

More photos coming...I can't seem to find the right external Hard Drive.

Racing update: Did HyVee Oly 2 weeks ago after Kerry and I finally decided (two days before the race) to go. We figured it would be a fun road trip, and exciting to watch the pros duke it out for the final Oly team spot. I had a good race, and I was happy to walk away with a winners check.... This past Sunday I did another OLY race in Rochester (Yup, 3 olys in 3 weeks). I'm sure its not ideal to race this often, but I took it down a notch and made it a solid training day- and managed to grab another winners check!! $1250 in two weeks-Time for a new toy-I'm thinking Power tap!!

This coming weekend will be race # 4/6 in my 6 week racing spree. I'm doing a popular local sprint, but what makes it really exciting is that Kiersten, my stepdaughter, is also racing! We'll be wearing matching Fastskins with Yndestad on the bum (thanks to Gear West and Speedo I have two), and it will be fun to watch her celebrate that special joy of reaching the finish line for the first time. …

The two of us had a fun training session together tonight. She’s now comfortable on my road bike (vs. her hybrid cruiser), which should make the 13 mile bike a little easier for her. She actually told me she wants to sign up for more races…OK-this is what she’s saying before the race. Stay tuned to see if that sticks

Make it Count

After a short lived sadness last week (see previous post), I reflected on my slogan: You have a choice in your thoughts and actions, so do your best to choose positive ones. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the mayhem of busy schedules, poor weather (cancelled races), psycho ex-girlfriend stalkers (actually funny in my case, but I couldn't resist), but thinking about those things with negative energy is simply fruitless. Life does not stop; rather it’s a constant string of moments that we GET to choose to use as we see fit-I believe it’s the manner in which we use these moments that shape our lives and happiness.

As I mentioned in my last post, I had plans for a banner training week in preparation for the Hy-Vee OLY distance race on the 22nd. As the flooding conditions continued to deteriorate in Des Moines last week, race directors made the call Wednesday evening to move the race and have a Duathlon (10Kr-40Kb-5Kr). I’ve mentioned before what I think about duathlons, so I immediately started looking at race calendars to find an alternate playground. With the HyVee Triathlon now out of the picture, my next KEY race is the Lifetime Fitness race July 12th. I worked with my coach and we came up with a great plan to optimize preparation for that day. I would continue to train hard through the week (monster Track session on Thursday), but jump into an OLY race on Saturday. I finagled my way in, so I had every intention to MAKE IT COUNT.


I couldn’t wait to race again. It was a beautiful day and the friendly faces were plentiful on Saturday morning. I arrived early, but gregarious chatty Cathy was in overdrive, and before I knew it, transition was closing (I think I was the last one out as I scrambled to get things organized). It was a great race: Swim was pretty uneventful, the bike was super fun, and the run was my highlight. My total time was 2:08:30, which I think is a PR for OLY distance.
I was worried I’d have no legs after my tough speed workout on Thursday, but I pulled off a great run, and negative split the out and back! I broke the course record and finished 5th overall including the men. My Nirvana!! A bunch of us went back out on the course to watch the half Iron distance race that was happening at the same time.
It was great to cheer on so many people-many of whom where making their half iron debut-Extraordinary camaraderie all around. If interested, Kate Monster (AKA FUN Girl) posted a more detailed Race report with photos... Thanks Kate for all the kind comments.

Making the most of our time requires that we make the most of our gifts, constantly striving to bring out our very best each and every day. I hope you choose to use all your gifts in positive ways- Make it Count :-)

A Few Tears...

Last Thursday, I finally made the decision to step out of the box, seek a new challenge and race in IA. Although I can't regret the decision, I was devastated as I woke up Sunday morning to severe Thunderstorms, and flash flood warnings in full effect.
Curt and Christine came over Saturday afternoon, and we made the 3.5 hours drive to Des Moines. We picked up our packets, drove the bike course and checked into the hotel...Pretty standard pre race flare, and I was getting the usual pre race anxiety. There was a Pro from Boulder on the start list but the RD still assigned me #2 as the top female seed!! I was trilled with the expectation and couldn’t wait to get out there and give it my best effort. # 1 was assigned to Daniel Bretscher, 2007 USAT Amateur Triathlete of the Year and first year pro, who made an 8 hour drive to Des Moines from Indiana.
Race start was schedule for 8am, and there was plenty of chatter regarding a potential delay. This seemed inevitable as the sky was an ominous grey and the rain was coming down sideways. Bikes were blowing off the racks and everyone was freezing.
At 7:30 we were promised an announcement regarding the new schedule…WE GOT IT-CANCELLED... and volunteer’s immediately starting stripping chips from all the racers. WOW...at the time I couldn’t believe it...I was standing with Curt and Daniel. We were all devastated, but poor Daniel…his first words…”But what are they going to do with the 5K purse”…I felt so bad for him. As we drove out of there, it was obvious the RD made the right choice. According to the radar, there was no break in sight, and the bike and run courses were under water.
The drive home was nasty at the beginning, but conditions improved as we headed north. Curt and I were already planning monster workouts for the afternoon, and thanks to Kerry we received updates from the local Manitou race.
A big congrats to defending champion Kevin O’Connor who broke the Men’s course record, and to Kate McCann the new female champion.
I finally arrived home around 12:30pm; I had just hung up the phone with JH, who told me about the great day at Manitou. I was very happy for her as she had a strong 2nd place finish, but it made me so sad that I was not there to share in the excitement. This was the first time that the reality of my morning set in; the emotions starting flowing, and couldn’t help but cry... I guess that's a true indication of my Passion and Love for triathlon. I couldn’t help but think of all the Athletes in Vancouver at the World Championship and what they faced on Saturday. I was feeling their pain, but I believe it’s the joy, passion and love for the sport that keeps all great performers positive and moving forward when faced with the ups and downs of the journey.
I rallied from my sadness and prepared to capitalize on my free afternoon. I came up with a monster workout plan, and Kerry was eager to join in on the FUN!!
We set our bikes on the Compu trainer, loaded a flat 2.5 mile course, and laid our racing flats by the door…On the docket: 6X 2.5 mile bike at LT watts, followed by a 1 mile run loop at race pace. After a nice warm up, we were ready to go. I went out hard, pushing well over 300 watts for the first few minutes (yup, lots of built up emotion coming out there), and pulled off a 6:07 on my first run loop. I was hurting pretty bad after that, and had to take it down a notch on my next rep. That one hurt more, and my run split crept up to 6:22, and didn’t think I would make the entire workout, but I finally settled into true LT pace on the bike (instead of VO2max effort) and was able to descend my mile runs and pulled off a 6:04 for my last mile. It was hard, but great at the same time. I pushed through plenty of mental and physical barriers during that workout- A true victory!
I took a few hours to recover, then ventured off to the pool for a swim: 1000m strong cruise pace, 500 w/paddles race pace, then in honor of DKTs great race at Alcatraz, I did 20x 50s DKT style! I was having one of those workouts- Effectively clearing my mind of all distractions; I was motivated and focused on stretching my limits.

A received a great surprise when I got home from my swim- My dear friend Jen was waiting in my kitchen to give me a big hug. She knew I had a rough morning, and was there to ensure I was back up. It was great to catch up and hear her stories from the race. She won a new QR Lucero carbon frame in the Gear West sponsored raffle at Manitou, and to simply say she was excited would not do it justice!

I do not have any racing on the schedule this weekend, but I plan to do the TNT tomorrow night. I’ll make it a big training week as I build for the next round of 3 Oly races.

So on the DKT note, The Escape from Alcatraz was the first race in the 10K CATCH DKT challenge, so it was awesome to see David crush the bike (probably a new bike course record) and finish with and a solid 4th place. AWESOME JOB!!

Congrats to everyone who had the opportunity to race this weekend--I'm so envious~

Pigman Sprint-The Equalizer!

No time for suspense…David caught me!! No real shocker there, but it was a great day and a fun twist for the spectators. The RD was so kind - repeatedly asking us what we thought the equalizer should be. He even asked me in private to eliminate any potential DKT influence!! David came up with the suggestion that we simply make the equalizer the difference b/w the M and Ws course record. That seemed pretty fair - David probably figured he could better TJs mark from last year and I was planning on beating my record from last year. Besides it would have been embarassing to lobby for a larger equalizer time and then win…no real victory there :). I was fired up and ready for the challenge. (TJ came down with the stomach flu so he was a no go on Sunday morning.)

The race start crept up faster than I expected, but I was so excited to get going and finally have a chance to do an open water swim (my only other OW swim this year was a race in AZ at the end of April). I took off fast and got out to a quick lead. Swim was pretty uneventful aside from the fact that I forgot to sight, and went a tad off course a few times. Basically the same split as last year.

The bike was awesome! Once again, it was a blast to be up there with the pace car. He was driving with his flashers and just leaning on the horn…It was a good day on the bike as I ended up PR’ing the 15mile course by 45s-Whoa! I was stoked. I told David before the race I was hoping to close with a 19 min run, and when I came out of T2, I had over 20:20m left to break the record. I thought I was in a great place and continued to race hard. I didn’t feel abnormally spent but when I hit the first mile marker I saw 6:45-YIKES..OK there was still time to make that up..i tried to DIG DEEP, but David passed me with a little over half a mile to go… I also looked at my watch and was pretty sure my record would not to be broken. I ended up running 20:50, which was  disappointing. Although I won the Women’s race, I’m still thinking about that run… People seem to think the turnaround was off (most think it was 20-30s off), but STILL??? Of well, maybe the bike took more out of me that I thought. David and I both cashed in with $600 winners checks, but he also received the $750 equalizer money. In addition, this race featured a Team award, and our stellar Gear West team won,
taking home an extra $250 between five of us (top 3 M and 2 W). It’s wonderful that races are stepping up and awarding cash prizes-it really adds a nice bonus.

So, on the topic of Prize Money, I’m faced with a decision for this coming weekend…Go for the $$$ or go for the Fun???? Basically there is another race in IA this weekend offering a great prize purse (just under the USAT 5K limit, but only goes 3 deep). There is also a great local race here in the Cities that I love. Both races are the same sprint distance. Kerry will be busy on kid Soccer duty, and my girlfriends are all staying to race locally, so I'd be leaving the homies. At this stage of my tri life, I DO race for fun, BUT, this would be a new challenge/adventure and a step out of my comfort zone. I'm sure I would still have an enjoyable time in IA (Curt and Christine are going)...

So I created a list to help organize my thoughts-HELP :-)

Manitou (Local):
-Love this race-Great venue and organization.
-Won the last 3 years.
-Get to see a bunch of friends that I have not seen in a while.
-Get to sleep in my own bed.
-Hang out at home Saturday afternoon/evening with my family
-Watch Karin’s soccer game-(My 13 year old step daughter is a star)

-Competition is strong but somewhat predictable
-Already registered and don't like to be a NO SHOW
-KERRY and kids will be there to cheer!!!!

IA race:
-Big money on the line
-Stepping out of the box and the routine to test myself and grow as an athlete
-Good to race against different people that you know nothing about
-Important to see how traveling alone feels (important if I consider going pro)
-Have to drive 3.5 hours each way by myself (but may car pool with Curt and Christine)
-This race would mean 3 trips to IA in one month (I’m doing HyVee in a couple of weeks)
-Get to meet new people.
-The RD has been contacting me, and it is nice to support the race when the RD makes the effort to reach out.
-Important to support the RD who puts forth the big money-which is the only way it will continue.


I will decide on Thursday night, but now I'm off to bed to prep for a solid Butt kicking at the track at 6am tomorrow morning. 200s HeHa!!