Rev3 Knoxville

Posted on May 10, 2012 by goSonja| 5 Comments

Whirlwind! Craziness! This weekend was WILD!

On Friday Michelle and I were headed to Knoxville to Work for Rev3, but first we had a little 5 hour training ride with a 90 minute run off the bike. It was a hard training day, but there is no rest for the weary. We can sleep when we die! Fuel of choice after the 2 hour mark into the ride…Rice Krispie Treats…who needs gels, these work just as well!

Since United decided to pop us on a different flight and not tell us, we had an extra hour in the airport…in TERMINAL B…which is the best terminal…with shopping opportunities…which means…welll…I couldn’t resist a new pair of Oakleys. I have a problem…I do realize this. And yes, that’s us on the tarmac at DIA…because we flew in a teeny tiny plane, which makes PIC nervous. I did hold her hand in case you were wondering.

This was Rev3′s American season opener in Knoxville, Tennessee. BIG T! I always think of the movie Blind Side when I am here. I want to say I love Knoxville, and 2 years ago when I came here to race I had a blast. Last year I spent 90% of my time either in Worlds Fair Park at the timing truck, or in a truck delivering aid station supplies, and this year I spent 95% of my time in the bottom floor of a parking garage. But let me say….it’s the BEST parking garage I have ever had the pleasure of spending three days in!

This race Michelle and I were transition coordinators. No big, easy enough, we got this! Oh my LANTA…I am kidding. Ushering you all (yes I mean you all, I’m no longer a triathlete, after seeing how much work you all are, I QUIT) through the beast that is transition is no small feat.

The fact that you all don’t lose half your stuff is beyond me. Michelle and I were given a parking garage, and told where the swim exit was and the run start was…from there on out…we had to make magic!

A Blank Canvas!

We figured out where everything could fit, 1000 bikes! We ran around that garage with the little rolly measure thingee about a zillion times. I made 5 different charts and finally we went with this layout.

At Rev3 you get your name on your bike rack. They are laminated with your name and your number. We really had fun stapling each one on. It’s actually awesome because we get to see all the familiar names and we get giddy that they are arriving soon.

Bike check in! This is where we get to guide people to their racks, make sure they have bar end plugs, and explain the flow of transition about 1000 times. Okay, maybe 980 times…All the bikes are put to bed and we have REALLY REALLY diligent police officers guard the bikes all night. We were still nervous about this, so we were down there until late making sure that none of the WWE traffic was stepping into our transition. The officer put up a bunch of “police line, do not cross” tape and assured us that anyone who crossed the tape would have bigger problems, and then we felt like we could go catch a few hours of sleep.

One little problem. St. George was that day and I had 5 athletes racing. 3 of them made it to the finish line, and I just remember talking to Jen’s husband Mark on the phone that night, and bawling to him because I was so tired, and because I was so proud that Jen had survived the hardest swim EVER and then the hardest bike on the hardest course, in 40mph wind. I cried and people asked if I was okay. Yes, just proud tears. Then I stayed up until my 3 athletes had made it to that finish line and shed a few more tears as I fell asleep.

Race morning. Oy, and I thought our jobs were pretty close to done. I mean, you set it up, and then they just go through it right? Not so much. Race day had me running around with literally not a single moment to spare. It was multitasking at it’s finest from 4am until 1am the following day. Getting the pros through transition without crossing the AGers, making sure the AGers were taken care of all day, and keeping all those bikes safe throughout the day was no small task. Breakfast and lunch never happened and I didn’t even miss the meals. No time to eat, just making sure everything went as well as we could make happen.

At the end of the day, just a few bikes remain and we are busy packing everything up. 12 bags of trash….ewwww. My hands were covered in gel, red bull, gatoraid…and pee. Yup, sugar and urine, that’s what’s left when all the triathletes head home. And yet, I loved every minute of it, because these are my people, and I love them all for their nerves, for their smiles, for their determination, and even for their oodles of leftover gel wrappers.

In the end, PIC1 and PIC2 made it through. It’s great working in a capacity like this with Michelle because we are already so used to communicating with each other. I can just look at her and she knows what I’m thinking. It was a two girl job, and at the end of the day we would look at each other and say “I barely even talked to you, how are you, are you okay?”

What a weekend! The final hours are always the hardest as we pack up everything into the big trucks that will be driven across the county. It’s like a puzzle fitting everything in and we are usually tired, and loopy and living on coke and coffee. But we are also content, because all the athletes made it through the day safely and we allowed people a platform to chase their dreams. We supported them to the best of our abilities and for that we can smile as we dig deep through those last hard hours.

I feel blessed that Rev3 has given me the opportunity to be on the other side of the table. Michelle and I were talking today about the hard work and we were discussing how nothing bad can come from the opportunity to put in hard work. As Ironman triathletes we train for a race that is hard, and any time we spend doing other hard things helps us learn more about ourselves. This weekend required a 3rd..4th…10th wind and so does Ironman oftentimes. Energy ebbs and flows but your attitude is always within your control and to see so many Rev3 staff with a smile on their face when I know they haven’t slept in days, that’s a valuable reminder!

Going up the Sunsphere was on my Bucket list this year. But unfortunately, I can honestly say I did not have a single spare 5 minutes with which to get it done. This was the closest I got to it at 1am on Monday morning, 7 hours before my flight departed back to Denver. Maybe next year…but I doubt it.

I was so proud of my athletes that raced this weekend. Some disapointments were had as StG was about as challenging as it gets. Audra lived to fight another day, you can read about that here. Emily did everything she could, every darn thing and I shed some tears when she didn’t make the mile 65 cutoff like so many others.  Jen had what was really a breakout performance for her. This one will go down in the books as a turning point in her quest to get back to Kona. She was strong like BULL. James, in his madness at chasing the Guiness World Record for 30 Ironman distance races in one year was just about the only person who was glad that the swim didn’t get canceled (because it doesn’t count for him when it does). 7 down for James! And Ron, oh Ron, he had a really great day out there. His determination and attitude can not be beat, he always races with style and this was no different. I’m really proud of his effort.

On the half side Katie learned a valuable lesson about staying positive, and also about putting too much nutrition down the hatch. Emily won her Age Group and was 6th amateur, and Paul finished his first 70.3 distance race. It was a hot day in Knoxville and they really had to be on their game. Also, Mike took 3rd in a 70.3 in Lisbon, and executed a stellar race. Mikki was back home running the Colorado Marathon and I’m proud that she dug deep through the rough patches. One of the coolest things ever…Emily’s finisher medal fit inside her age group winner medal. I thought that was super neat.

I also want to give a huge shout out to Anthony (my big brother Beeson), Tyler, and Katie B. They are great friends from here and they all had stellar races at Knoxville! CDA is looking good for all of them!

After sleeping for 10 hours a night the last two nights I can feel the energy returning and my own drive to put in the long hours of training. I have 16.5 hours just on the bike this week and it will give me some good time to digest all that has happened over the last week. So many lessons to be learned, for me, and for those I guide. If you raced in Knoxville, congratulations, I hope you had a BLAST!

Posted in Rev3, Travel, Triathlon

Off to the Races

Posted on May 2, 2012 by goSonja| 2 Comments

This is a HUGE weekend for me. I’m headed to my first Rev3 race to work. I worked several events last year for them and had so much fun that I’m back this year for more. This time I’m dragging Michelle with me and we are in charge of transition. Should be a pretty steep learning curve, I can’t wait to see the Rev3 family again.

It’s also a huge weekend for me in that 10 (TEN) of my athletes are racing this weekend. It’s been a busy last few days as I make contact with everyone, settle some nerves, and talk a few off the ledge. It’s like all the emotion of my own taper, multiplied by TEN. 5 Ironman Saint George participants, 4 1/2 Ironman participants (3 at Rev3) and 1 marathon, what a weekend! That’s 1,010.40 miles of racing!!!!!

I’ve always be a highly emotional and empathetic person. I like to say that nobody cries alone in my presence. Not such a good trait when I was in the business world, but a darn good trait for training other athletes, and helping them to their goals.

Although all my ponies keep me at a gallop, I love each and every one of them. I feel like that reality show lady on TLC that has all those kids. I work hard to give each of them the work they need and I try hard to be there for them when they need me. As with all things it’s a work in progress and I’m always thinking about how I can give more of myself and my knowledge to them.

I sat back today and realized that I will have 10 athletes standing on a start line this weekend and they are all fitter than they started, not one of them is sick, and not one of them is injured (save for James who with 30 IMs on the schedule this year is basically in a perpetual state of injury in some manner). They are all tapered, and they all have a race plan. I consider this to be a minor miracle.

As I go into this busy weekend I can’t wait to see what unfolds. So much work has been laid down, it will be so much fun to follow along during their race experiences.

So good luck to those of you racing! I can’t wait to hear all the stories of how you negotiated the obstacles of the day and thrived in adversity!

 

Posted in Triathlon

2012 NOLA 67.3

Posted on April 24, 2012 by goSonja| 20 Comments

DUDE!!!! I don’t even know how I’m going to blog about this weekend. I think it was the most fun I have ever had at a race weekend. NOLA is freaking awesome, so much fun fun fun fun, I can’t even explain it. So many amazing stars aligned this weekend and it was more than just the swimming biking and running.

Mama Willis (my maiden name) came with Michelle and I on this trip, we shall call her mama PIC. We also enveloped M into the fold, she’s officially PIC 3 or Trouble 3 or my favorite…Dr.PIC.

I’ll admit, I got a long pep talk from the Dirkinator before the race and it rocked so hard core. I got off the phone feeling like a beast and I felt so ready to put it all out there. Also, since I chopped off my hair, my alter ego has come out. It’s mostly a Justin Bieber, 16 year old, teenager sort of attitude. I’m not sure Michelle is so fond of it, especially after a tweet from Mac that said “It looks like Michelle is dating a rapper” (best tweet ever).

I was really not taking things very seriously before this race, which is good for me, it’s definitely not my norm. Ususally I am sorta Type A planner, organizer Sonja, but this trip I was 16 year old, hat on backwards, whatevsssss, Sonja. The awesome part was that because my mom was there, there was no fallout from my lack of organization. I feel like I can be a kid when my mom is around, she is seriously the most nurturing woman you will every meet.

Friday morning and we woke up and put our bikes together caught a cab to get beignets. They were everything I always hoped them to be. Sugary, fried, dense, totally wonderful. I think I had 4, maybe 5 of them.

We visited the French Market after that and picked up souvineers for the kiddos. PIC and I also found shirts that we had to buy immediately. This PIC thing has really gotten out of hand. WAY out of hand. But that sort of thing is allowed in NOLA, believe me here! Everything is way out of hand, and I love it!

Packet pick up, race meeting (swim canceled and replaced with a 2 mile run), bikes put together, nap nap nap, eat eat eat, bikes dropped off at transition. It was so windy things were blowing around like crazy. This was one of my favorite transitions due to this awesome and photogenic lighthouse in the middle of it. It was a good marker to run to.

We were settling into bed and getting those last minute things taken care of when PIC realized that her heart rate strap didn’t seem to make it into her bag. Crapitty Crap Crap. I could tell she didn’t want to inconvenience anyone because heading out at 9pm to procure a heart rate strap in one of the most dangerous cities in America was not her idea of a fun time. No worries!! We all hopped in the car and went on a heart rate monitor hunt in our jammies. Luckily we were successful!

Race morning was cold, and windy, and cold, and I had to poo. We got that taken care of and then I was in a great mood. Michelle and I ran the 2 mile run course as our warm up and I think we were the only ones. I’m glad we did recognizance on it, it was good to see it. It was quite windy on one section and I’m glad I wasn’t surprised.

The really cool thing about the DU format was actually seeing all the Pros take off together in one group running. You never see that, and it was really cool. Hard to explain but it got me super hyped up. I got to see the PRO men come in and go out on the bike, and the women as well. I tried to cheer for every one that I knew. I saw Michelle go out on the run and she was right with Dr.PIC. With the AGers they were letting us off two at a time in a time trial format. So you started with a buddy.

When I got in line for my turn I found Hailey. I knew going into this race that Hailey and Libby would be the ladies to watch. Libby is coached by Dirk and is insanely strong. Hailey beat me in Kona by several minutes. See, the 30-34 women have this special bond. Twitter/blogging has really helped it, but we have this really cool thing going on. We are fierce competitors on the race course, but afterwards we follow each others blogs, we train with each other when we are in each others towns, and we have deep respect for each other. That’s why it was extra extra special when Sarah P. won the PRO race at NOLA, because she’s one of us, she raced 30-34 last year and we are really supportive of the ladies that were 30-34 and are now PRO. Might I mention we are so so glad they turned pro…

With the TT start Hailey and I just slipped in the front. We were the first two to go off in the AG, and we went off together. It was a bad idea on our part. We should have gone last, but we ended up racing off the front the whole day and then wondering if anyone snuck in there.

How do you run 2 miles before you know you have to bike 52 (course shortened due to storm debris) and run another 13? I don’t know, you just run your ass off. There’s no great way to put it other than…RUN!!!

Hailey and I came into T1 about :20 seconds apart. I was leaving as she was entering. I got on the bike and took off. Hailey caught me 10-15 minutes in and I just consider her a stronger rider than me. When she went by, a switch flipped in me. Usually I am very into “race your race” “don’t let others dictate your pace” “etc etc etc” but a switch flipped and I thought about the fact that this was a duathalon, and that none of it really mattered and I could take some risks. So I went with Hailey. I sat about 5-10 bike lengths back, and when I say “sat” what I mans is…”I biked so insanely hard I thought I was doing an olympic distance race”. But I figured, why not!? Go for broke. Hailey had me against the ropes for the better part of an hour before I got comfortable in the pain. The good thing was that my legs were 100% ready to go, and while they hurt, they also didn’t want to let up either.

If Hailey lost her focus and I saw my heart rate go down, I would pass her, and try to set a harder tempo until she passed me back with an even harder tempo where I would have to fight to hang on. Also, having never ridden like this I was concerned with the drafting. I wanted to make sure I was riding 100% legal because I usually spend most races continually passing people, not sitting behind. I was actually really stoked to be passed 4 times by course marshals and each time they had nothing to say about my position. I was like “Sweet, you are doing this right”.

Hailey set a hard tempo all the way back to T2, and we came into T2 together. Like literally we ran across the timing mat side by side. I could feel both of our competitive juices flowing. We had the fastest female T1+T2 of the day…pros included. We were racing!

Out on the run, we ran shoulder to shoulder for some time. The course was challenging with some causeway type hills, several on each loop. There were two turn arounds per loop and one roundy-round…you know, like in Europe. The “hot corner” was essentially the “hot circle”. I found a way to somehow slowly drift in front of Hailey, she was fierce, and tough, and it was such a highlight to race her neck and neck.

I made my way through the first lap getting passed by all sorts of PRO women, and age group men. I tried to go with all of them. I heard the announcer saying that Sarah P was winning and then I saw her race by on the other side of the road with the 1st place female lead biker. I was so jazzed and inspired! I saw Beth Shutt out there too, she looked so strong and solid, I was happy to see her in her element. My mom was all over the course and it was so great to have her there cheering, and cowbelling. The second loop I started looking for Michelle at the out and backs. I saw her once and she wasn’t too far ahead, but she wasn’t coming back to me very quickly either. She ended up running 2 minutes slower than her open 1/2 marathon PR that she set 3 weeks ago. PICs running is soooo BACK!

In the final mile I saw her in front of me and I picked it up. I wanted to run in with her. But with every step I realized I wasn’t catching her. I tried harder and harder to pick it up. My legs were beat, I tried to pump my arms faster and faster, and I made a small gain on her. As we were probably 100 feet before the finish shoot, I meekly yelled “Ford” and SHE PICKED IT UP. I was hoping for some mercy! I picked it up as hard as I could and coming into the chute we were side by side. I asked if she wanted to hold hands, and she said yea, and that’s how we crossed. What are the odds??? Time trial start, and yet we found each other in the finish chute. I will add that she was 3rd in her AG by 2 seconds…I’m going to go ahead and take credit for that one (just kidding Ford, that was all you honey).

I was really happy with my race. I didn’t know the result. I didn’t know if someone starting behind me had gone faster, but without knowing any of that I was happy. I RACED in the truest sense of the word. I took chances and I gained confidence and I surprised myself with those risks. I have more work to do, it’s April, but I learned that I can go a harder and still survive. I was really happy. I also had a lot of fun. Sure it hurt super bad, but it was really fun too!

Syd, PIC, Dr.PIC, me, Hailey

Mark, Brandon, PIC1, PIC2 = KE CREW!

My racing yielded an Age Group win and also and overall Amateur win. That was icing on the cake really. Or powdered sugar on the beignet! Mmmmm beignets! Oh, and my Kompetitive Edge teammate Mark Hillers, he won the amateur mens title. KE was in full force!

run: 13:29, bike: 2:18, run: 1:33, overall 4:07

Womens 30-34 podium, and the only girls that posed with their arms around each other. Mad respect for each of these ladies, Jocelyn, Libby, and Hailey.

That night we went out and CELEBRATED! We had a twitter/Womens 30-34 REUNION with lots of friends that involved food, drinks, jazz, Gelato, and awesome conversation with great people. I think there were like 13 of us, and we ate like champions! It was such a treat to celebrate Sarah Ps win that evening, so happy for her! After ice cream it was time for Bourbon street. Oh my lanta. There are no words. What happens in NOLA stays in NOLA, but here are a few photos….a la Hangover style!

Dr.PIC, SarahP, Hailey, Stephanie

gelato!!!

Hand Grenade!!

 

 

First off thank you MOM! Not every mom will hold your drink while you….what happens in NOLA stays in NOLA….

Thank you to my sponsors Kompetitive Edge, Punk Rock Racing, First Endurance, Quintana Roo, who are all probably a bit disappointed with some of those last photos!! Also, thank you Troy and Annie for being you… love you both!

Posted in 1/2 Marathon, Cycling, Duathlon, Family, Quintana Roo, Running, Travel, Triathlon

Running Fast

Posted on April 15, 2012 by goSonja| 1 Comment

I woke up this morning ready to run, and run hard. My long time friend and step-in brother, Anthony had offered to have me along for his fast run today. Tony is fast, but he’s nice, and consistent too, which makes for the perfect guy to just run for your life with.

It was chilly today and had rained most the night and snowed in the mountains. We had a nice dusting of snow on the consistently gorgeous view of the Front Range that can be seen from Denver metro. We met on one of my favorite paths to run. It’s dirt, and wide, and it meanders through Denver along a canal. There are trees and fancy homes along the side.

As we get started into the warm up, I’m immediately reminded that fast people warm up fast too. Beth reminded me of this not so long ago and I have been trying to tame the pedestrian in me for the easy stuff. So we ran along at low 8s, chatting and catching up on life.

Anthony is one of those people that you feel a deep calm around. Like you are never being judged, he’s just good people, and I look up to him immensely. I wish I was more like him, just that inner calm that resinates. I could use some of that.

Then we got into the hard work. I clicked over to a screen on my watch that didn’t even show heart rate. I just ran, silently, with Tony, in the brisk air, nothing but the rhythm of foot steps and exhalation. It was therapy in a strange way. There is a peace in running fast because the mind becomes consumed with the task at hand. All other feelings fade in the background and for 20 minutes, we just ran hard.  The miles ticked off and I can’t even remember any of the people we passed as Tony gave them the courteous wave or smile. I was head down, eyes glazed, zoned out.

When we finished the 20, Tony then had to step it up even faster. We turned around and I promised myself that for 3 minutes I would step it up with him. I wanted to go for the full 10, but I promised myself a 3 minute deviation from the plan that Dirk had set forth. Any more than that would become premeditated delinquency, this was merely dessert. It was a fast pace, something near my 5K pace, and I just enjoyed the feeling up huffing and puffing, and running.

Then I shut it down. My cool down ended up being extra long as I was 5 miles from the car at that point. It’s strange because it felt like it took me 10 minutes. I just trotted along feeling a sense of quiet. The endorphins were doing their job, the cortisol gushing through my body.

Some days the stars align and your feet feel under you. It always helps to have friends along. Thanks Tony, here’s to a few more of those before CDA!

Posted in Running

That Was Needed!

Posted on April 13, 2012 by goSonja| 10 Comments

 

 

 

That feels so much better. Sometimes a little change is needed and all that big hair had to go. Ahhhhhh, now I’m ready for summer!

Posted in health

Odds and Ends

Posted on April 10, 2012 by goSonja| 8 Comments

I don’t have any clear and concise things to tell you all, but there are a lot of odds and ends I wanted to share.

I got a splinter the day before Galveston. It was in the tip of my right index finger. I couldn’t type on my phone with that finger. I almost died. Clint and Clints dad looked for the splinter and poked around with needles and such, both determining there was no splinter. 5 days later, I got it out. Amazing how much a tiny fleck of wood can rock your world.

I met Biju Thomas and Allen Lim. I found out through twitter that they were going to be at an event less than a mile from my house! I had a ride to do so I threw my Feed Zone Cookbook up my jersey, rode out to meet PIC and we went and met the guys. So awesome!!! I got to talk to Biju about the recipes I have made and get a few tips on the one that flopped for me. We talked to Allen about the secret drink mix, Skratch Labs, how he developed it, and how he means for it to be mixed. These dudes are pretty freakin’ awesome and I’m stoked I got to meet them and pick their brains.

Biju, Michelle, Me, Allen

They even signed my book for me, then I rode around with it the rest of the day up my jersey…not an easy feat.

The funny thing about it all was when I started cooking from the book and tweeting pictures of the food I was making I said to someone…was it Beth, or PIC?? I said…”Mark my words, I will meet these guys” I just knew I would. I’m sure it’s only the first time. Oh, and if you ride in Boulder, you have to swing by the corner of Broadway and 36 on the weekends, because Allen is usually out there with his rice cakes.

This last weekend my athlete Katie was in town visiting and we had some fun rides. On Friday we went to Ward with a fun little group. The descent down through Raymond to Lyons never gets old, but the howling wind from Lyons back to Boulder got a little old! It was one of the top 5 windiest days I’ve experienced out there, but at least it was warm wind!

Then on Saturday Katie got to ride again, but I drove the car providing SAG support this time, Troy rode as well. I have a whole new appreciation for all the times he has driven support for me, it’s boring! I spent some good time with Annie laying on the roof of the car looking at the clouds, that was fun!

At the top of Highgrade I had to take a picture of these guys. There were so many jokes that I wanted to make here, something about writing your phone number on your ass…dating advise…that sort of thing. But then I started wondering why on earth these guys were painted and I put it together. We just had a really bad fire near here with 900 homes evacuated, 27 homes burned, and 3 people died. So when you ride up Highgrade there are all these signs saying “Thank you Firefighters for saving our home.” I realized these animals were probably quickly evacuated in the fire and they just spray painted numbers on them so they could track who they belonged to. Such a hot and dry spring this year, everyone who lives in the mountains is already worried.

On the way down from Highgrade I saw a sign for eggs. EGGS!!! Like farm fresh, happy chicken eggs! Yes Please! I bought three dozen and will be bringing a backpack every time I ride Highgrade from now on. Fresh eggs…so happy!

Then, since I had all these wonderful fresh eggs I had to make the Frittata from the Feed Zone Cookbook. It turned out really well. I made it in my cast iron skillet, super yummy! It has a red pepper sauce on it that was really easy to make, just some EVOO, roasted red peppers (the ones in the jar) salt and lemon juice in the blender….whirl…and done! Nom!

I had the strangest ride yesterday. I am definitely still recovering from Galveston so every ride feels like a threat to my ego! Haha! Michelle dropped my ass (not the Donkey kind…but oddly on the same climb that the Donkey lives) last week. I always think I should recover quicker than I actually do. The wounds heal, and the legs aren’t sore, but there is always still the hidden fatigue, the kind you can’t see until your really strong training partner drops the hammer and you are left with choices…ride all out to keep up, or get dropped. Off the back I went, to wallow in self pity as we all do when we get dropped.

So yesterday, still nursing my legs and my ego I was out riding some hills when I passed a turkey on the road. Man, you can imagine how disapointed I was when I couldn’t get my phone out quickly enough to take picture of a turkey on my wheel. So sad I missed that one.

BUT THEN, I’m climbing up and I get passed by a girl like I’m standing still. That’s cool, I’m cool with that, you can’t stress when others pass you, especially if you don’t know them, heck, they could be Chrissie Wellington. At least you can convince yourself of that. But, here’s the deal…she’s wearing a boot. YES A BOOT. You can bet that I was pulling out the phone, and riding my tail off to get a picture of this. I don’t get passed by a girl on her bike in a boot without photo evidence. OFFICIAL BAMF!

Wait…here it is a little closer….

So, let’s just assume that my my ego was dealt the final blow on that one. I am reminded daily in this sport that if you take yourself too seriously, you will be humbled beyond belief. Just look around. You may pass a turkey…but then a girl in a boot will pass you back.

Lastly, spring has officially sprung here in Colorado. The pollen count is 5X higher than last year due to the early spring and my allergies have been worse this year than in the last 10 years. I’m not a fan of taking anything but I had to break down and take some medicine. We did have one random snowstorm and I got this shot on my phone. That tree is in full bloom, with snow all over it, I thought it was pretty.

Well, folks, that’s all I’ve got for now! 2 more weeks until NOLA 70.3. 2 more weeks of finding my legs again!

Oh, and Kompetitive Edge is doing a Newton clinic this weekend on the 14th. I’ll be there for sure, sounds so fun! Come out if you are in the area and have fun with us (click to enlarge)!

Posted in climbing, Cooking, Cycling, Triathlon

2012 Galveston 70.3

Posted on April 3, 2012 by goSonja| 11 Comments

I can officially say that the cobwebs have been cleared from the system. Galveston 70.3 was epic indeed. I traveled to this race with my athlete Audra, who is a complete hoot.

I got to meet her hubby Clint, who took the best care of us over the race weekend. His entire family came out to see us race and it was like having my own family on course cheering me on. Thank you to the Adair family for the support and for adopting me for the weekend!

The pre race rituals went very smoothly for the first race of the year. No real hiccups and before I knew it I was standing on the pier with a slew of other light blue capped women of the 30-34 years like myself. As we waited I could feel a little bit of tension and like peoples eyes were on me. It was the Freak. This wetsuit got a lot of exposure. It’s really fast, and it costs a lot of money, and I was wearing it. Suddenly I felt like it caused a bit too much attention, I felt like I was on show. I tried to puff up my chest a little, act like I had big shoulders, do the thing some justice. As you can imagine I was more than ready when they let us in the water. I “warmed up” for the 4 minutes that they gave us, and then got on the front line, ready to find fast feet.

Off went the cannon and a group of 4 of us went off the front. I wasn’t struggling to stay with them as much as usual. I thought to myself, this wetsuit is FAST. I got on the first ladies feet and usually I’m kinda gasping and talking nice to myself to stay on feet. But I wasn’t. I was actually hitting her feet and her calves, and really just generally being a nasty foot tapper, not on purpose. I kept thinking…this wetsuit is FAST. At the first turn buoy I decided the pace was too slow. I figured I would try to pass and if the pace was indeed fast I wouldn’t be able to do so, and would just get back on the feet.

Nope, I went past her and swam away, then I’m thinking…dang this wetsuit is really FAST! I am leading my AG in the swim for the first time in my life. Nobody was on my feet, I was off the front, and feeling fast. I veered right a few times too many. I’m not the best straight swimmer, but I made it to the finish happy, and feeling like I must have swam a 30 or something.

The results were particularly alarming when Troy told me later. I was 1st out of the water, but I swam a 32:10, and would have been 9th in the 35-39AG. I didn’t swim fast, more just an average swim time for me. We just didn’t seem to have any of those studly swimmers in the age group there to pull us (me) all along. Total buzz kill after the race, but during the race, I was like “yea…I led out of the water….boooyaaa…my Freak is so fast”.

Oy…

Onto the bike I saw HR numbers that had me wondering if I would survive 5 miles much less 56. Luckily I have my trusty “Perceived Exertion” scale in my pocket at all times and calmed down and told myself I wold not die. The way out had a headwind, but I wasn’t super sure what to make of it. I tried to ride as steady as I could. A few miles in Brooke passed me. She was 6th at Kona and biked a 5:12 there and she flys on the bike. Away she went. She had an additional 4 minutes on me at the turn around.

Somewhere around 45 minutes into the bike I saw a big slew of cars and cops and whatnot coming the other direction. And then, just like that, this black blur with a Livestrong disc wheel went by on the other side of the road. Lance. I wish I could say that I didn’t get goosebumps, and that I didn’t tell the girl next to me “That was Lance” like I was 11 and seeing New Kids on the Block in concert….but I would be lying. Apparently the Lance effect works on people who are not even super interested in “The Lance”. Then I felt bad for the second place guy because there were like 30 cars following Lance and I wondered what that guy would do if he wanted to try to pass Lance (gasp). Then I actually saw the 2nd place guy and he was riding right behind one of those said cars…and I realized…eh….smart guy. Drafting a car is far superior to drafting off Lance…don’t you think? Less TV coverage though…

When we made the turn, that was cool. Flying at 24 mph, finally I could get that cadence going, and was hoping I could make up some lost time. I rode hard. the heart rate came down like 2 beats…2 beats further away from death was how I was thinking about it. But all in all, my perceived exertion was about like I am used to…maybe a bit harder. The course is a simple out and back, and I honestly really dug it. There was this huge section where we were riding on this bridge sort of thingy, it was at water level almost, but it had water on both sides of it. That was seriously awesome.

Also, another crazy thing I want to note since I talked to a few people about it. I did not see a single marshall, or a single drafting pack. Not one. I’m not sure why because this course is totally flat, but I can’t think of a single incident of drafting that I witnessed (aside from the dude drafting the Lance groupies). Strange…but nice..

Somewhere on the way back Ashley Johnson passed me. She was looking strong and I kept her in sight. Towards the end of the bike I was able to get back up to her and repass her in the final mile of the bike. Turns out…Ashley and I would have a nice long chat after the race, and I would find out that she is also under Dirkinator tutelage. Didn’t know that out there…wish I had…would have tried to team it up (legally)!

T2…uneventful…lickity split.

Off running and I felt okay….well sorta, except my heart was near internal combustion, but hey, I’m a diesel, right?

I thought I had a solid chance at running a considerable amount of sub 7 minute miles. Maybe on a straighter course, or one that lacked evil headwinds. But it wasn’t to be. I got 4 or 5 sub 7s but the rest hovered in that “Not good enough Sonja, pick it up” range. I will admit thought, I was completely lost 95% of the time on this course, and for someone who’s nickname is the Navigatress, that’s a tough feat. They wound us around  and around and around, and they made us run up this random tarmac where Lance’s private jet was sitting there waiting to whisk him away after Jordan Jones pulled out the finishing kick of stardom and nipped him for 6th.

The run was hot, there were 2×180 degree turns on each loop. It took me 2 loops to figure out where the exit to the finish line was, and on loop 2 I was starting to get nervous that I wouldn’t be able to find the magical exit to the labyrinth. In fact, Ashley missed it entirely heading out for loop #4…her final run split is…well….a little long!

As far as how my age group race was going down, Brooke was long gone, never to be seen, schooled all of us like we were wee toddlers. Then Ashley was in front of me until mile 12 when she had a “kaboom” that lead to the aforementioned 4th loop…so I got back in front of her. Then not 5 seconds later, Adrienne Shields zoomed on by and I was back in 3rd for the AG. What a day, what a crazy crazy day.  As Clint’s mom would say “Oh my heart”.

Oh, I didn’t tell you about the heat. Well, I’m sure if you read any other blogs about the race, it will be a prominent fixture. It was hot, real real hot, everything is bigger…and HOTTER in texas. Some sections actually had a breeze (headwind) and other sections were very muggy stale humid evil hot. I noticed on the tarmac that we had evil headwind, and then after the 180…evil hotness. I was expecting happy tailwind…but you never feel those, do you? “The wind at your back” is a silly phrase.

The three loop course made the aid stations crazy town. But I have been yelled at on this blog before for being an elitist when moaning about not being able to get aid because I was running through the stations and lots of people were walking. So I will not moan, and I will just mention that I wasn’t able to (because of my inability to stop at an aid station) grab any aid the last 3 aid stations. So I was a hot mess when I finished and I counted that I drank 8 water bottles of water in a row. I poured another 6 or so over my body. I was actually starting to get quite scared for my predicament, I had trouble walking, talking, or standing up. Again, not moaning, my fault, don’t hate me please.

So that was my day. It was a wonderful day. I loved nearly every part of it, and I just can’t say how much I love this sport. It’s fun, I had fun, it’s an adventure, every race, every course, every time I push my limits. A huge thanks to the women of 30-34 who push me so hard, and send me home wounded, blistered, sunburned, and inspired.

As the years roll by and I meet different people, I have to say that a few stuck out on this trip.

Audra Adair – the woman has her own blog, but if I had to get taken down by 58 seconds by any one of my own athletes, Audra would be the one I would choose, and thank goodness, because she did indeed take me down by 58 seconds. She had a great day, a 15 min PR, a slot to Vegas…but those are her stories to tell. Thanks for kicking your coach’s booty…no more speed work for you!

Mary Eggers - I’ve been wanting to meet the Eggers for so long and I actually got to! First time on race morning and then a pat on the ass as we crossed paths racing. If you haven’t heard, Mary Eggers challenged Lance Armstrong to a 50 kick off to raise $$ for Teens Living with Cancer, and he accepted. You can donate here.

Christine Kenney – Christine ran me down at Ironman Cozumel and I must say, I was waiting for her to run me down again. I saw her out there a few times on some of the out and back sections and we would always make eye contact and wave at each other. This further warmed my already warm heart. We may be racing against each other, but it doesn’t mean we don’t support each other out there. I look forward to being afraid of Christine running me down again in the future!

David Adame and Brandon too – Congratulations to David on his first 70.3!! It was very magical to see Brandon out there with his guide, but for him to know that his dad was racing out there with him too must have been awesome! Relentless Foreword Motion!!!

Ashley Johnson – Such a sweetheart, I can’t wait to race more with her and I’m so stoked she got that Vegas slot. Especially after the 3 IVs it took to bring her back!

The Adair Family – Mr. Clint, you have a wonderful family, and Audra, you are one lucky gal. Thanks for feeding me, housing me, and making me feel at home.

None of these races would be even half as sweet without the Kompetitive Edge boys, my Quintana Roo bike, First Endurance in my belly, and Punk Rock Racing. Thank you for the support.

And, to the love of my life, thank you for letting me live my dreams every darn day.

Oh, and one last thing. My Rev3 family is running across America right now. I thought about them so so much this weekend and I just want to post their fundraising page here. They are amazing, so proud to know them. Please donate if you can.

Posted in 1/2 Marathon, Cycling, Family, First Endurance, Ironman, Quintana Roo, Race Report, Running, Swimming, Travel, Triathlon

Mr. Scott VS Mr. Allen

Posted on March 29, 2012 by goSonja| 4 Comments

I just finished reading Ironwar. While I feel like I’m not really going to do this topic justice, and I always get nervous about writing blog posts like this, I’m just going to do it and hope for the best. So, I read that Ironwar was not endorsed by Dave Scott and Mark Allen. Because of this I was actually going to just not read it. Heck, I’ve got a big enough pile of books waiting for my eyes as it is. But I was talking with one of my athletes Kelly and she had just finished it and her opinion made me want to read it. So I did. I actually found some of the chapters that weren’t talking about the race, just studies done on pain threshold and what not to be very interesting…but that’s for another blog.

Having read it, I can totally understand why Dave and Mark (am I allowed to use their first names?), I mean Mr. Scott and Mr. Allen weren’t too keen on the book. For one, they are portrayed as extreemly one dimensional…and not exactly of a good dimension. I think Fitzgerald plays into the average athletes desire to typecast the athletically successful as unbalanced, unstable, and cut throat. Not cool. These men paved the way for the sport we know and love.

What interested me even more than the personal facts about the lives and backgrounds of Mr.Scott and Mr.Allen was the differences in their training. I mean in 1989 these two duked it out side by side for a 139 miles, and the training they did was so different from each other. What is even more cool in my mind, is that now they both coach, and they both tout their philosophies as the way to harness your true potential. What’s even more crazy is that their two philosophies are the two major roads that athletes take to train for Ironmans.

Long and Slow?

Intense and less volume?

That is the question…which road will you take…because less and slow leaves you unfit, and more and intense leads you to a stress fracture. Yes, if you want longevity in this sport and you are doing Ironmans, you too (or your coach) will have to make this decision.

Not only were those two opposing forces responsible for two of the greatest athletes ever to bless the Ironman, but now they are responsible for oodles of athletes standing on the Kona start line every year. Mr Scott and Mr. Allen are still out there battling it out on the lava fields in the eyes and hearts of their various athletes.

What really got me thinking about these issues is where I stand in my own training. It’s no secret that I spent 2010 and 2011 under the guidance of Chuckie V (who’s blog I really can’t link to any more because he took it down, which makes me very sad…very sad). Chuckie was of the Mark Allen side of the coin. I have read every book that Phil Maffetone has written (advisor of Mark Allen) and I have recommended them to you all on many occasions, along with Brad Kearns book, that I love as well. I train athletes in a manner that will build their aerobic base and I watch them get stronger and faster as I do this. I watched myself go from a 10:47 at my first Ironman in Canada in 2009 to 10 flat at Cozumel this past november. That jump was via long and slow training. No intensity, none.

However, I now am trained by Dirk, who has essentially rocked my world (after he tipped it upside down). He makes me swim and bike and run fast and it was really uncomfortable and partially responsible for my less than enthusiastic blogging over the last few months. It’s bad form to write a blog post that says “WTF” over and over and over again!

I recently watched a Webinar that Dave Scott put on through USAT. Dave does not do these webinars…ever, so it was a rare glimpse into how he trains himself and others. Boy were there about 3 million ahh hah moments during that, and I finished watching understanding where Dirk was coming from a lot more. It’s another way to do things, a way that I thought I understood, but I didn’t.

I wrestled around the intensity versus aerobic model in my head many a night. Troy and I stayed up late discussing things over and over. When Beth was here last week we had such an enlightening conversation since she came from Mark Allen Online for 4 years before working with Dirk. It was such a fruitful talk.

My final feelings: TIME and PLACE….WHERE ARE YOU DEFICIENT….WHERE DO YOU EXCEL?

I look at Mark Allen Online and he got 29 athletes to Kona last year with 4 under 10 hours and 8 under 11 hours. That’s A LOT. I look at Dave Scott, he works with Chrissy, Crowie, and my personal favorite…Terry Nugent (who is an X NFL player, huge guy, and went 9:46 for 3rd in his AG at Kona last year). Dave…Mr.Scott I mean, seems to take strong consistent athletes and make them Va-Voom! Mr. Allen seems to take the masses and make them Kona worthy.

As I sit on the edge of these two training programs I am excited. I think from a coaching perspective, it’s exciting to be an experiment of one. I learn when I am challenged, and I have definitely been challenged. I wonder how many athletes have taken both approaches and in what order? How have they settled into what they know and believe and how do they adjust their programs for different athletes, backgrounds, and goals? Is anyone really using both Dave and Marks philosophies and applying them to athletes depending on where the athlete is in their own progression? Does a coach have one athlete doing Mr.Allen style and another doing Mr.Scott style? I don’s know the answer to that.

What was once a nervous spot for me to be in, has now turned exciting as I realize just how much my knowledge can be expanded over the next few years. I feel lucky to have this opportunity. One thing I know is that I am a beast, a diesel engine, and that makes me sturdy to trying different things.

Like all training changes, it’s a wait and see game. Make a change, stick to it, and watch the results.

Posted in Triathlon

Around the Corner

Posted on March 28, 2012 by goSonja| 3 Comments

I have had such a fun week! Beth was on a layover between training camp and Oceanside 70.3 so she came to hang out with me for a few days. We had so much fun, swimming outside, making new recipes out of the Feed Zone Cookbook, and focusing on recovering. It was really fun to talk to her about her decision to turn professional and to hear about her goals. She has such a calming demeanor, it was just nice to absorb a bit of Beth this week. I’m hoping that when I dropped her at the airport today she felt rested and well fed, ready to tackle her first PRO race. Go Beth!!!

The weather this week has been amazing and I have been treated to many sports bra runs and rides without knee warmers. The outdoor pool has been wonderful to swim in and I even hung out on the deck for like 5 minutes before getting in the water. The sad thing is that it’s March and the probability that this weather will stick is slim to none.

These taper weeks are definitely pretty fun. Dirk is a fan of rest and so this week has been all about chilling and moving a bit here and there. The timing was perfect since we just ordered a California King size bed. This thing is sleeping central, it’s got all sorts of down this and down that…plush, microfiber, etc etc. Any sort of bedroom associated buzz word is currently on my bed. And let me tell you, I have never slept better!

After my victory against Troy in the great sleep challenge he threw down I got my prize. A zeo, which, by the way we have all decided I am the last person on earth who needs one since I sleep like a hibernating bear.

However, Zeo has definitely helped with my decision to kill my inner night owl. Once you put the Zeo headstrap on your forehead and get the tracking started…IT’S BED TIME. Not “talk time”, not “snuggle time”, not “check your email on your iPhone one last time” time. No, it’s GO TO SLEEP TIME. Well, maybe snuggle time is still allowed, but I tell ya, that little Zeo make me want to snooze.

No shocker, it turns out as long as I get to bed early, I am a SUPER SLEEPER. The average adult 30-40 years old gets a Zeo sleep score of 80….my average is 110. The average time spent in REM is 1:31….I’m 2:45. Super sleeper….right here. Despite the fact that while everyone else is being productive…I seem to be sleeping… I’m still happy to be sleeping so well, and hopefully recovering nicely. I am getting some valuable information from the Zeo, along with following the little sleep coaching program it was with it which has some great stuff in it. It’s cool to see a chart like this that shows how my night went.

Apparently, I can go from REM to “have to pee” and back to REM in a single bound. That’s it, I’m quitting triathlon, surely there’s got to be some sort of sleeping competition, like amount of REM in an 8 hour period (I would so win).

Anyway, data junkie over here has been enjoying the Zeo and having fun with it…and sleeping!!!

This weekend, it’s business time! Galveston 70.3 is this weekend and I am heading out there to race without PIC (insert sad face) but with my athlete Audra (insert happy face). It’s the first 70.3 of the year and I’m EXCITED. These early season races are fun, there is this excitement for the “potential” of the season. Everyone is looking to see how everyone else came out of the winter, and then you always look back and see who is still running strong 7 months later…no easy feat!

Here’s to putting myself out there 100% so I can see where I am at. This will give me a good feeling of what needs work and what I am doing well with. The finish line, is the bottom line!

Posted in Travel, Triathlon

The Sleep Study of One

Posted on March 18, 2012 by goSonja| 1 Comment

So I made it through Troy’s challenge to get to sleep before 9pm for 2 weeks straight. It wasn’t easy, there were many times that I was turning off the lights at 8:59, but I really learned a lot.

Some nights I simply couldn’t get to sleep and would lie awake for 10-40 minutes before finding sleep. That was frustrating for someone who usually is comatose shortly after laying down. There was also the frustration of putting down a good book, or not responding to an athletes email because I just didn’t have time. I like to have a sense of completion at the end of the day and sometimes I felt like I was going to sleep with things left unresolved. I also started to see that how close I ate to going to bed was having an effect on my ability to sleep. This recognition is a good thing, but because I’m not quite sure what the parameters of eating/good sleep are, I found myself laying there awake wondering if it was because I ate 30 minutes ago.

So, that was the downside. Here’s the upside. I think I found the holy grail. I have felt so rested, and so fresh and ready to train, especially last week. In fact, on RestWise I had 2 days with a 100 score which means you are ready to train hard. I’ve never had a 100 score before. This was the biggest week that Dirk has given me since we have been working together and I got through it with ease and pep in my step, seeing some awesome watt and pace numbers along the way, and feeling like it was generally a breeze. Friday I trained for 8 hours…2 hrs swimming, and 6 hours riding, and I felt awesome. Just full of life and strength.

A tweet from Matt Dixon (@purplepatch) the other day really resonated with me:

I’m bemused by the focus placed on compression+ice+stretching, but ignore proper fueling, sleep + lighter training sessions.#fingerinthedam

I’ve been one to get 10 hour nights of rest before. But never 2 weeks straight of 9-10 hours sleep. That made all the difference, extended periods of good rest. Wow, is all I can say! The quality of work that comes from lots of good healthy sleep, rest periods in your training, and good food is awesome. I think that until you really feel the gift of extended great sleep, you don’t know what you are missing out on.

Speaking of good food, I just picked up the Feed Zone Cookbook. I have been highly impressed. Thank you Biju Thomas and Allen Lim! I haven’t been eating vegan for awhile now. I went through a period of time where all I could think about was eggs. Eggs Eggs Eggs. I just wanted eggs. A few months back I broke down and bought eggs, and I ate tons of them. About 2 days after that I felt so so so much better. I find that sometimes I eat like crap and then I say “I need to go vegan to get my veggie count back up”. So I do that and I feel great, but then some time after that, I find that I am eating worse than I was when my veggie count was down. I end up eating a lot of hummus and pita chips, guac and chips, and veggie burgers (processed junk). I just have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen to eat vegan and so when I don’t make time for that I eat crappy.

I have a wonderful recipe for vegan scrambled eggs. It’s super good and I love to eat it. It takes me 35 minutes to make. I have a great recipe for non vegan scrambled eggs, it takes me about 5 minutes to make. That, my friends, is where I crumble currently.

Anyways back to The Feed Zone cookbook. What I have made thus far…YUM!

I did some sweet potato cakes for breakfast and then made up some sausage rice cakes and some bacon cashew rice cakes for snacks this week.


Everything turned out really good, and I can’t wait to experiment with more recipes. It was just a stroke of luck that we recently bought a really nice rice cooker (a Zojirushi) and when I tweeted that, everyone started asking me about the Feed Zone cookbook. That’s when I purchased the book (thanks for the heads up @SkratchLabs I love twitter).

There is a fairly lengthy introduction to the cook book which I highly recommend reading, it really resonated with me. My feelings on the matters of athlete nutrition were very similar. A few quotes really stood out to me and I will share.

The context with this first one was that he was talking about bars and quick convenience training “food”.

Though these products are convenient and can play an important role in supplementing an athletes diet, this convenience belies a simple truism about athletics: Being an athlete is hard. And if you want to reach your potential, it’s unlikely that the best way will be easier or more convenient.

—Allen Lim, The Feed Zone Cookbook.


The other quote that I just love really sums up the obsessive nature that we all can get with this sport.

While there is sometimes a large chasm between science and practice, success in either is a lot more about the process of discovery than the regurgitation of facts or techniques.

—Allen Lim, The Feed Zone Cookbook.

It’s true, isn’t it. It’s so easy to get hung up on the idea of what we should do, what science, or slowtwitch, or articles say we should do. When we arrive at what we should do via personal exploration, then it really sticks. Because we are all an experiment of 1 and if we give up on trying new things and experimenting, then I think average is what we will end up. Granted, the “average” triathlete is a pretty darn awesome way to live your life.

Last night (when I stayed up until 10) and this morning as well I have been thinking to myself….how am I going to convince myself to go to sleep before 9 as a long term solution rather than a short term way to score a Zeo? I think about the night owl that I am, about how much I love reading great books deep into the night, and I wonder, how…. how??

Being an athlete is hard. And if you want to reach your potential, it’s unlikely that the best way will be easier or more convenient.

Dang it! I know that my training is more effective on a steady stream of 9-10 hours of sleep. I did the experiment, I convinced myself. Now it’s down to the “do what’s hard” phase of being an athlete.

So, from now on, I will endeavor to kill the night owl in me. DEATH to the night owl.

Posted in health, Triathlon