Crossed my first finish line in over a year.

Long story short...its been a long year. I have lots of stories to tell and lots of pictures to share. I've climbed mountains, crossed borders by bicycle, been heart broken, fallen in love, learned the hard way, laughed harder than I thought possible and I've moved on.

A few days ago I broke a barrier. I thought for a while I'd never race again. I'd never put myself out there, I'd never let myself get wrapped up in competition...Well, for all the ups and downs my family at my bike shop helped me (without even knowing it), cross a small but important finish line. It was just a 5k race, but it was a very big deal to me. I'm back.

Motivation

Click on the links below.... its absolutely amazing...

You Will Do This
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh1yMnrby3w

IronWill
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8l249bM0FE

Ironman Triathlon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EokseUskyDI

The Distance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw6LR__wr4Y

"Do the things that no one believes you can do."


"Your body's potential for greatness is only limited by your mind."


"Energy and Persistence conquer all things."

Previous Year Race Results

2009
Nov 22, Seaside Shuffle 5K, 5th AG, 18th OA, 24:26

2008
May 3, White Lake Half Ironman, 9th AG, 51st OA, 5:57:12
(1st HALF IRONMAN!)
May 17, Surf &Turf super sprint, 2nd AG, 14th OA, 1:08:03
May 31, Low Country Splash, 15th AG, 302nd OA, 52:40
July 13,Triangle Triathlon, 6th AG, 33rd OA, 1:23:54
Aug 31, Hot 100, 7:09:01 - 126.2mi
Nov 1, Beach 2 Battleship, 6th AG, 35th OA, 13:19:19
(1st IRONMAN!!!)

2007
Mar 17, St. Patty's Day 10K, 20th AG, 140th OA, 1:05:58
(1st 10K!)
May 19, Surf n' Turf Super Sprint, 3rd AG, 28th OA, 1:11:14
Jun 17, Ryka Irongirl Sprint, 7th AG, 87th OA, 1:47:47
Jun 24, Kure Beach Double Sprint, 5th AG, 38th OA, 1:31:25
Sep 8, Dog Jog 5K, 26:49
Sep 29, Wilmington YMCA Tri, 5th AG, 57th OA, 1:28:05
Oct 6, Pinehurst Triathlon, 7th AG, 52nd OA, 2:43:54
(1st Olympic distance tri!)
Nov 11, Battleship 1/2 Marathon, 58th AG, 201st OA, 2:00:17
(1st 1/2 Marathon!)
Nov 18, Seaside Shuffle 5K, 5th AG, 36th OA, 24:54

2006
Apr 22, Diligence Dash 5K, 8th AG, 127th OA, 29:42
Jun 25, Kure Beach Double Sprint, 5th AG, 42nd OA, 1:29:40
(1st Triathlon EVER!)
Nov 19, Seaside Shuffle, 9th AG, 59th OA, 27:41
Nov 26, Turkey Trot 4mi trail, 4th AG, 110th OA, 37:55

2005
Nov 20, Seaside Shuffle 5K, 6th AG, 69th OA, 29:52
(1st running race!!)
Nov 24, Turkey Trot 4mi trail, 5th AG, 140th OA, 41:29
Dec 3, Lakeside Classic 8K, 6th AG, 111th OA, 47:27


*AG = age group, OA = Overall Females

Finish line pic and video

It was kinda dark, but you get the point...I finished!!

What to do now?

In June 2006 I completed the Kure Beach Double Sprint Triathlon. It was my first one, and I really thought it was a big deal. I followed an 8 week training program and I was super nervous before the race. When I crossed that finish line my world changed. I was completely hooked. I wanted to go do it again. Somewhere in the mix that feeling got lost, I got busy with other "important" life things and I didn't do another one until May of 2007. Mike talked me into it, I barely trained and I really didn't want to do the race. Well, when I placed 3rd in my age group that changed quickly! I promised myself I would never be too busy or too wrapped up in life to do what I think is the most fun thing on earth...Triathlons! (I also told him that my dream was to complete an Ironman before I turn 30).

So I quit my crappy, stressful, not fun full time job and went back to basics. I got my job back in the resturant I worked in during college, PT's Grille. That was awesome for about a year, I had a flexible schedule, I worked part time and I raced 4 more races in 2007. My life was a blast! Soon enough the resturant thing got old again and I started to feel reality biting. The thought of a real job was killing me. I'll never be a 9 to 5. Then all of a sudden I get offered a job at my favourite store in town...my bike shop!! How lucky am I? I have most fun full time job on the face of the earth, and I don't have to be at work until 10am!!

So in 2008 I signed up for an Ironman (momentary lapse in judgement...happened to work out in my favour), I signed up for a Half Ironman, I completely a century ride and then some, I did that more than once, I got the best job I could ever ask for, I work with my heros, I made some great friends, I broke all my personal records more than once...in short I had a BLAST!! I can't believe how lucky I am. And in the end, I became an Ironman. HELL YEAH!! (for the record I'm now 25, not even close to 30!)

Two years and 5 months after my very first triathlon, and 3 years after my very first running race (a 5K) I became an Ironman. Hows that for progress?? So now I've spent all week pondering what to do next??

Maybe I should run afew marathons before I do another Ironman. Or maybe I should jump right in and sign up for another one? Thats what I really want to do, but I'm thinking I should work on my running fitness first. Run for a year without injury. I also really want to do some of the century rides in the mountains: The Assult on Mt. Mitchell, Fletcher Flyer, Blood, Sweat and Gears...those sound super fun. I'd like to get better at riding hills, and bike handling. I really want to get faster. So what do I do? Either way there will be many more Ironmans in my future, if not in 2009 then absolutely for sure in 2010. Maybe I'll qualify for Kona before I turn 30....

The day I became an Ironman

My alarm went off at 3:30am I think, but I was already up waiting for it. The first thing I did was eat! I had to get down at least 1000 calories! Then I put on my swimsuit and warm clothes, checked over my stuff, mixed 7hrs worth of Perpetuem, and loaded the remainder of my gear (whatever I didn't drop off on Friday) into the car. I made sure I was ready then looked at the clock...4:25am....T1 (transition 1) doesn't even open until 5am (its 10minutes away from my house)!! So I sat, tried to watch some TV but finally gave up and decided we would just drive slow, and get there early.

At T1 I checked in my stuff and got body marked (they write your race number on your legs and arms). Then I opened my toe warmers and stuck them into my toe covers on my bike shoes. By this point there was about 1:30 until race start so I drank 1 serving (260calories) of Perpetuem. I also filled up my water bottles, put my Perpetuem on my bike, checked my tires and pedals, then I was done. I got my wetsuit on and put some warm clothes over it. Mike had to stay in transition to help out with bike support, so I said goodbye to him and hopped on a bus to go to the swim start.
Finally at the swim start I found people I knew...all them actually. I found Nick first, soon enough we found Brian. By the time we were standing on the beach waiting for the horn Billy, Jim, Bobby and some other guys were with us too. During this time I sipped on Heed just to get in some more liquid calories before the start. I think I drank probably 150 calories worth. The beach was freezing, it felt like they made us stand there forever. As soon as I took my shoes off to put them in my gear bag, my toes were frozen. Finally after the national anthem and some talking (I don't remember what was said, I think I was too "in the zone") the horn went off. Luckily I was mid conversation with somebody, so I never had time to get nervous. I was swimming in an Ironman before I knew what was going on!

SWIM
The swim went wll. I found the current (great research went into this in the weeks prior to the race) and roared up the channel. That was the fastest 2.4miles I will ever swim. Beacuse I knew something most people didn't, I didn't get too beat up. All in all it was a pretty uneventful swim, which is always a good thing. I did swim right into one of the anchored floating yellow markers though. I'm glad no one saw that one!

T1At Seapath (where you get out of the water) I put a pair of shoes so that I wouldn't have to run barefoot to the changing tent. The concrete was freezing!! There was also NO WAY that a wetsuit stripper was stripping me of my warm wetsuit when I still had to run to my clothes! So I ran in my wetsuit and my shoes. At T1 I grabbed my changing bag and headed into the way too small and way too crowded changing tent. Changing took an eternity. All of my clothes were sticking to me, it was cold, I had no space, and I had to put on a ton of clothes! (This is what I get for doing a race in November). Finally I get on a bra, base layer, jersey, arm warmers, shorts, leg warmers, 2 pairs of socks, shoes, jacket, headwarmer and earwarmers, helmet and gloves. I ran over to my bike, carried it over to the grass and ran out to the mount line. That was the hardest 16minutes of the whole damn race!

BIKE
With in the first 10minutes I realized my pedal tension was too tight. DAMN IT!! I stopped TWICE to loosen it, somehow I can loosen my pedal tension with my fingers, I don't need an allen wrench....I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. Then I remembered that once again after I pulled my bike out of my car I forgot to re-align my brake pads...they always get knocked around in my car. So I stopped to do that too. Then I was really on my way. I'm sure that was a total of 5minutes wasted. The ride though was AWESOME. There was no wind for most of it, and the day warmed up as I went. I nailed my nutrition too. In the beginning I had a splitting head ache but luckily I had aleve in my bento box. That kicked in and I felt great. I only took one because I was worried about how it would affect my stomach while exercising.

After about 2 hours I started stripping clothes off. First my gloves, then the sleeves off my jacket (I'm SO glad I had them in the beginning), then the arm warmers. It all went into the big pocket in the back of my jacket vest. About 50miles out I pulled my leg warmers up over my knees. Finally at mile 55-60 I stopped at Special Needs and dumped all this stuff and the jacket vest and toe covers into my SN bag. That felt GREAT!! I felt so much lighter.

Me

Bobby

Brian

Jim

Up near Harrells I found Jim and Bobby and hung with them for a bit. I was leap frogging with Brian for the entire race also. It was really fun to be mid 112mile bike ride and see people you know constantly. At the turn onto 421 I expected to turn into a head wind as usual, but no...almsot no wind, and sometimes even a cross-tail wind! It was unreal.

I only really got frustrated twice during this race, both times were on the bike. the first time was the supper bumpy road off HW41, I really thought that thing would never end. (Very convincing reason to invest in a carbon bike!). The second time was the 20mile stretch on 421 waiting for it to turn into 4 lanes. Those were my mental hurdles for the day. Finally it came and went and I cruised back into T2. Towards the end of the ride I was passing a bunch of people that looked like they were really hurting.

My nutriton on the ride worked perfectly:
The first 20min was just water
:20-:30 1 hr of Perpetuem
:50-1:00 Hammer bar
1:20- 1:30 1hr of Perpetuem
1:50- 2:00 Hammer bar
2:20-2:30 1hr of Perpetuem
2:50-3:00 Hammer bar
3:00- 4:00 1hr of Perpetuem
4:00-5:00 1 hr of Perpetuem and 1 Hammer gel
5:00- 6:00 1hr of Perpetuem
6:00- 6:30 alittle Perpetuem and water

I drank almost 1 bottle of water an hour also. I'm not sure if that was right or not because I pee'd 4 or 5 times. Twice on my bike - the first time because I couldn't hold it to get to an aid station and the second time because I was almost done and I was frustrated that it was wasting so much time to get off my bike to pee! At one stop I had to wait for someone else to get out of the ONE porta john they had there. You can probably take 10minutes off my time for pee breaks!!



T2
Riding into T2 felt awesome. All I had to do was a run a marathon and I'd be done! (Everything's relative...) At the dismount line a volunteer took my bike and helmet. I grabbed my GPS from my bike mount, which I luckily didn't have to use. (It was back up incase my bike computer died). I had already turned it on so that it could set it self up while I was riding, and not while I'm running, when I need it. I found my changing bag on the hooks and ran into the changing tent (which was anything but private.) I got all my clothes off and put on my technical t-shirt and running shorts, GPS strap, race belt and hat. The I took the time to wrap my ankle, this also meant I had to readjust my shoe to make the wrap fit just right....time ticked away...10minutes or so after arriving in T2 I was finally out on the run course!

RUN
First of all, I ended up holding my little pouch with the Accel gels and Elete tablets, because having that thing attached to the race number belt, bouncing up and down as I tried to run, drove me crazy within 2 minutes! So I took it off and held it. That was fine.

I had set my watch to beep on 4min/6min invertals. This lasted for all of 4minutes! I got to the first bridge and I was still in a "run interval"...yeah right!! I immediately decided to speed walk the bridges. I didn't want to sky rocket my heart rate at all. So I walked up and ran down with every intention of continuing my intervals, but after the mile 2 aid station, that I walked through to drink some water, I got to downtown. And downtown was lined with people all screaming for ME!! (Or atleast thats what I like to think). So, obviously I had to continue running! And I did...it was probably more of a jog, but it got the job done. I ran to each aid station, then walked for probably 2 minutes while drinking and eating or whatever I was doing. I stopped twice I think to use a porta john.

The whole time I think I just couldn't beleive I was running! Every mile after mile 14 just flew by! At each mile marker 15..16..17... I just kept thinking "Holy shit! This is my longest run EVER!!" That thought was interrupted by the occasional "Holy shit!! I'm running a marathon! And I'm still RUNNING!" I don't think I knew it at the time, but apparently I was smiling the ENTIRE time, all the volunteers on the course kept commenting on how happy I looked. I think I was just completely floored that I was running at all, and on top of that I was seeing mile markers like 20 and 22....thats crazy!! And 24 and 25...and I just kept getting more and more excited!

My nutrition on the run must have also been stellar because I came out on top!
Here's what I did:
Aid station mile 1 - water
mile 2 - Heed and water
mile 3 - Accel gel and water
After I had gotten that far with no stomach problems I settled into a plan. Each hour I made sure to take 2 gels, spaced about 30minutes apart. One Accel gel (for protein), which I carried with me, and one Hammer gel from an aid station. In between those stops I alternated Heed and water and also took 2 Elete electrolyte tablets.

Sometime during my second lap of the course the sun started to go down. That was an odd feeling. I started swimming that morning right after the sun had come up! I remember thinking that the swim felt like it was a month ago. Even the bike ride seemed like it had happened the previous day. The darkness brought cooler air, so when I went by Special Needs I grabbed my long sleeved t-shirt along with the other Accel gels I would need for lap #2. The dark was kind of nice, I always feel like I'm running faster when I'm running in the dark. There were a few parts of the trails around Greenfield Lake that were hard to see though. Soon enough I was on the last bridge and on my way back to the Battleship for the last time.
The finish line was crazy! I heard my name over the loud speaker and my brother and my friend Nate jumped out of the crowd and ran next to me for a minute. I ran down the finish chute and couldn't see anything but that big word "FINISH". It was incredible. It was insane. It was by far, hands down, the coolest experience of my entire life! There are no words that describe how you feel after you challenge yourself to move your body 140,6miles in one day, in under 17 hours, as fast as you think you can, and you DO IT!! CRAZY!!

Me hugging my mum

Thats the volunteer on the right, wrapping me in my silver blanket

Jim and I

Then it was over. I got my silver blanket and my medal and my finishers t-shirt and a cup of Recoverite (very nice touch!). Then I kind of just stood there, with a bunch of people all around me. My parents, brother, most of Mike's family, friends from PT's, Hugh and his sister, Robbie from the shop, Jim and Bobby...I don't know who all else. It felt completely surreal. Part of my wanted to still be out on the course, not done just yet. It was all too much fun. I didn't want it to end.

Mike and I at the finish

I was/am thrilled to be done though! I..Me....ME...I finished an Ironman! That still sounds crazy and I think about it everyday. I have never been so happy. For 13 hours and 19 minutes I think I was smiling. (Except for maybe that bumpy road off HW41). I had the best race you could ever ask for. There are always things you can improve on in a race, but I am nothing but happy and grateful about how this one turned out.

My finishers t-shirt and medal

My very own hand made posters from my cheering section

(artists: Ally and Julie Grissom)

Official Ironman Results

SWIM - 56:10 (rank: 3rd AG, 14th OA)

T1 - 15:50

BIKE - 6:30:32 (rank: 3rd AG, 29th OA)

T2 - 9:59

RUN - 5:26:50 (rank: 6th AG, 40th OA)

TIME - 13:19:19


I came 6th out of 9 in my age group (Females 25-29), and 35th out of 60 in overall females.

(AG = age group, OA = over all females)

**I was in 3rd place in my age group up until the run!!**

I AM AN IRONMAN!!!!!!!

I did it!! And it was AWESOME. I think I was smiling ALL day. That was hands down the coolest experience of my life, and I can't wait to do another one!! I'm not sure what my official time was, something around 13:20. SWEEEETTTT!!!!!!

I'm heading to the brunch cruise on the Henrietta now....pancakes, french toast, fruit, sausage....that's what I'm talking about!

I'll write all about it later. I'm stoked!!

An ENTIRE day of organization

This morning I got up at 7:30am and got out on my bike at 8:15. It was still 35F outside...perfect to test out my gear for the race. Outcome: I was moderately comfortable!!! Hurray!! The trick to being happy when it's 35 outside is hand warmers! (you can get them at any outdoors/camping/hunting place and they are awesome!! It takes a little bit for them to get hot, but when they do they are REALLY hot! I stuck them under my toe covers on my bike shoes and wore two pairs of gloves with them in between. My hands got so hot I had to take them out!

After this monumental success I proceeded to organize all my bags for the race. I also had to go to a "mandatory" athlete meeting at 2pm. I did learn something however: They decided that we will be getting our bike special needs bags back, so when I get hot I can take all my stuff off and know that I'll be able to put it in a bag at mile 50 or 60 or something around there. NICE!

Anyways, as for my bags....this was like planning a 4week vacation, but its really only one day, and its anything but a vacation! Here's what ended up in them all:

Pre-Event Bag
Just whatever I take off before getting in the water at the start goes in this bag, and they bring them over to the finish line for us.

Swim to Bike Transition Bag (very big bag!!)
helmet
ear warmers
head warmer
sports bra
base layer
TWD cycling jersey
arm warmers
shorts
leg warmers
2 pairs of socks
shoes w/ toe covers
2 pairs of gloves
wind breaker w/ zip off sleeves
hand warmer packets
chamoi butter
deoderant
tissues
towel
sunglasses

Bike Special Needs Bag
some back up food in case I drop anything
extra tube for my bike
(this bag will be more useful to put clothes in later)

Bike to Run Transition Bag
shorts and long tights (I couldn't decide)
long and short sleeve t-shirt (again...I couldn't decide)
race number belt w/ a pocket holding electrolyte tablets and 3 Accel Gels
socks
shoes
Ace bandage and picture of the wrapping method for my ankle
hat
tissues
velcro strap for my GPS watch

Run Special Needs Bag
2 more long sleeve shirts (one cotton, one technical)
gloves
electrolytes and 3 Accel Gels
Firefox light for my waist band
warm hat
extra Ace bandage
extra socks
Aleve
warm running pants

Post Race bag
big warm jacket
sweat pants
warm hat and gloves
compression sleeves

You think thats enough stuff!?!? Jeezz..

Oh, I also left a pair of shoes near the swim exit, because it quite a ways from there to the transition and its going to be 40F in the morning, the water is 65F. I'm not running it bare foot, I won't be able to feel my feet when I get there!!

Here's the chaos that has taken over my living room:


While I'm going on about my planning, here is my nutrition plan for the day:

Breakfast (enough to feed an army...or a soon to be IronWoman!)
bagel with cashew butter (480 calories)
perpetuem with a banana mixed in (360 calories)
low fat chocolate milk (180 calories)

No, those aren't options, I'm eating it ALL, for a grand total of 1020 calories, about 3.5-4hrs before the race.

After that I'll drink some more Perpetuem (260 calories) about 1.5 before the start, then drink about 100 calories of Heed 10 minutes before jumping in.

Bike
0-20min:water (let the tummy settle)
After that, during the first 3 hours each hour I'll take in 260cal Perp, and one Hammer bar. The rest of the race will be just 260cal Perp each hour and 2 gels when ever I want them. (I'm taking 7 servings of Perpetuem with me)
Total Calories: 2680

Run
I'm carrying electrolytes (Elete...more sodium per tablet than Hammer Endurolytes has), and Accel Gels (because of the protein...help the muscles to not break down).
The rest I'll get at aid stations. The plan is 2 gels an hour, two Elete tablets, and as much Heed as I feel like I want, and water. That will get me about 250-300calories an hour, and about 350mg of sodium per hour.

Dinner
BEER AND PIZZA!!!!!!!!!! and water and Recoverite and aleve....

I also checked in my bike at the beach transition today as well as my changing bags. I'm sitting here at 7:20pm the night before my first ironman, and I'm relatively relaxed...is that good or bad? I guess by tomorrow night I'll know for sure.

The result of hours of work:

My bike, with cues for aid stations and mile markers that I like taped to it (Yes, I was an A student, don't laugh at me)

My bike all clean and pretty ready for the big day

All my bags, full of all my stuff

My clothes laid out for the morning, with my swim stuff next to it,
and yes, my pink PT's Grille socks...gotta represent!

My baby

Charlie had surgery this week on his ACL. (Which he managed to tear in 2 places). He is so pathetic looking I feel so bad for him. He also has to wear a lampshade around his neck at night and when we aren't home, so that he doesn't chew off the cast.

Poor baby.

Unfortunately for me, he has been whining at night, and wanting to sleep on the bed...meaning my nights have been restless...awesome...right before an Ironman. Just what I need.

He's sweet though huh?

2 Days till the Race

This has been the LONGEST week of my life. Every day dragged on. At work we just talked about the same stuff over and over and over again, the weather, the swim, bike clothes, special needs bags, run plan, electrolytes...on and on and on....Whats worse it that every time a customer came in (usually someone doing the race...I work at a bike shop....) they would have something to add to the mix which would just start the conundrum all over again.

Finally its Thursday and we got out of work at 3pm to go down to the race expo and pick up our packets. Oh, also at work this morning I changed my rear tire, changed both tubes, both rim strips, and checked and re-checked everything on my bike.

The race expo was alright. The athlete dinner was better. Most importantly however I got my packet and all my stuff:Above: All my bags for the race, numbers, brunch tickets, a sweat towel, lots of nutrition, toe and hand warmers, misc.
Below: All my B2B "free" stuff...canvas bag, swim cap, long sleeve technical t-shirt, and Defeet socks..sweet!A close up of only PART of my nutrition for the day:
So tomorrow I am going to go out for a 30min bike ride at 8am, this will be my trial run for the weather. See how warm I am, or how much more stuff I need. Then I will spend the day packing and re-packing and re-checking and worrying and organizing...AARRGGHHH!!! I like training better than racing!! I also have to check in my bike and my changing bags, and go to a mandatory athlete meeting at 2pm.

I can't wait to be on Blueberry Rd, on my bike. From then on its just business as usual...

Worried about the weather

I know my worrying is wasted because there is no way to tell with the race 12 days away, but its COLD. And there is another cold front coming through.

10 forecast right now has:

Thursday October 30th - Sunny, High 62F, Low 49F
Today - Sunny, High 71F, Low 45F

Lets keep in mind here that the race starts at 7am, so any "low" is definitely going to come into play. We also start SWIMMING, in water, that will be in the high 60s at best by then. Next I have to get on my bike, with wet hair and create my own personal wind on top of what is naturally occurring. SO, to see all this in a positive light is becoming difficult to say the least.

I trained all through the summer for this race, my body handles the heat great! Cold however is a very different story. I have lined up a long sleeve wetsuit to borrow, just in case the water temp drops a lot more. I also invested in better gloves, a hat for under my helmet, toe covers for my shoes, and I'm thinking about buying a better wind breaker and maybe another long sleeve base layer.....this sucks...

Its TAPER time baby!

My taper for this race started last week. I thought it would feel good to do less exercise, but I'm tired ALL the time, and sluggish. I feel like I don't want to do anything. Why run for 30min? Why ride my bike for ONE hour? What happened to SIX hours? Apparently this is how you are "supposed" to feel, so its all ok. I'm not sure about that. I feel like the race is over, not like its coming up. I'm not amped up about it at all. Now instead of training I just want it to be over. Here is what I did last week:

Monday - off
Tuesday - swim 1:00
Wednesday - bike 1:30 (2x15min tempo) -- that was fun!
Thursday - off
Friday - swim :30, bike 3:00
Saturday - off
Sunday - run/walk 12miles

4 workouts!! Thats it! A grand total of 8 hours of exercise, the week before was 18! I'm SO bored!! And its just making me nervous and frustrated and anxious AND tired! Argh!! This week is going to be less than that.

Here is what Six-time Ironman Triathlon World Champion Mark Allen has to say about tapering:

The final touches to any training program come during the taper. This is the period of your season leading up to a key race when you cut back your overall training volume and allow your body to absorb all of the hard work you did during your base building and speed phases. Doing the right kind of taper is an art unto itself.

A taper is tricky because of what is happening internally when your body is given a chance to recover. When athletes start to give themselves rest, the system in the body that responds to stress (which is the system that allows you to get up for big workouts) starts to shut down. This is like working on the engine of your car. You cannot give the engine an overhaul while it is running. You have to shut it off.

The same is true for our bodies. You have to shut the "engine" off for it to recover and charge up for the big races. And when you do this, you might feel like you are out of energy, sluggish, and getting out of shape. THIS IS NORMAL.

This requires a readjustment of mindset. Allow yourself to feel less-than-stellar. It is just a signal that your body is repairing itself and getting ready for a big effort in a few weeks. Resist the temptation to go out and test your fitness just to make sure you are not losing it. As best as you can, stick to the plan I will outline for you. This is the toughest part of a taper...the rest.

New training foods

On a ride a few weeks ago a friend offered me a Spree that she bought in a gas station towards the end of our ride. We had probably rode about 100 miles and had 20 or so left and my energy level was steady. I was feeling good. But this sudden burst of sugar, and different flavour in my mouth just shocked my system and woke me up! Suddenly I had TONS of energy and felt great!

I thought this through a bit and figured I would try something similar the next time I had a long ride. The day we rode 115miles I busted out a bag of pink Sport Beans at around mile 105. My taste buds were stoked and my brain instantly perked up thinking, "sweet! candy means this is almost done!" I started the run feeling like I just left my house to go run.

I've also been trying to get more calories in in the beginning of the bike ride when it really counts. And I've been having a hard time chewing, breathing and pedaling all at the same time! I've been trying to drink Perpetuem as normal but also eat a Clif bar sometime before the 3hour mark. This has proven difficult because they are dry and just hard for me to get down. Then, along came Hammer Bars!! These things are great. They kind of just melt in your mouth, and you barely have to chew, you can just swallow. And they aren't all crunchy like Clif bars are.

This eating solid foods idea occured after reading an article in Triathlete Magazine about Ironman bike nutrition. Apparently, your body can't absorb as many calories at the end of a 112mile bike ride as it can in the beginning. Therefore, you want to get in lots early, then cut it back as you go to avoid gastrointestinal destress.

Jamaica's Comfort Zone

This is totally un-related to triathlons, except that it might be the best recovery/relaxation food EVER!!!!!!!! If you live in Wilmington NC go eat here NOW. I can personally recommend the curry chicken roti!! If I closed my eyes while eating it I would have thought I was home in Trinidad!! Go eat there!

http://www.jamaicascomfortzone.com/