So I get an email from USAT today.

“Six weeks. Six weeks? Yep, it’s the final six weeks of training for the biggest race of your life. The top 16 places in each age group (rolling down to 20) will represent Team USA on the Gold Coast of Australia. Will you be flying into Queensland next year? We hope so. Remember, this is the ONLY race that qualifies you for this Aussy extravaganza.”

Okay #1: 6 weeks, holy molly, I feel the sudden urge to be faster, do more, be more. Calm down Sonja, breathe. breathe.

#2: 16 slots, what the heck? For the last 10 months they have said on their website that it is 8 slots rolling down to 13th. Now it’s 16, rolling to 20th. They are seriously going to need to roll down a little farther b/c some people just aren’t going to want to go all the way to Australlia.

#3: Yes I know it’s the only race, why do you think I’m so stinkin nervous, but yea, thanks for rubbing it in.

So, the time has come in my training where I get to go fast…A LOT. Yes ladies and gentleman, start your engines. My workouts have been quick, fast and peppy. I have been looking forward to this part of training for ooohhh, about 11 months, and now that it’s here all I can say is OUCH. I forgot how much going fast hurts. The muscles are actually groaning every night. I have some sort of “build to race pace” in every workout, it seems. I get home from these epic suffer-fests (that I secretly love) and I am hitting the ice bath, the foam roller, the trigger point rollers, the stick, some husband lovin’, and occasionally the jar of Advil. I wake up the next morning, and the legs are like normal again. It’s just uncanny.

Some Awesome News: Susan won the Leadville 100 mile MTB race this last weekend. Lance Armstrong came out to race as well and he got second in the mens race. But Susan, heh heh, she got first in the women’s race. All that, a week after the Wild West Relay. She is truly a stud woman! Here’s an excerpt from the Rocky Mountain News:

Though the main attraction lived up to its billing in the 15th running of this race, the top female finisher came as much more of a surprise … at least, to her.

“I am just shocked,” Susan Williams, of Littleton, said after crossing the finish line in 8:40:55. “I just wanted to get under 10:30. I just can’t believe how this turned out.”

It was Williams’ first time riding in the Leadville 100, and she knew little of what to expect but stayed focused on what she though her strengths were.

Troy and I headed out to Boulder this morning to watch and cheer those we knew that were competing in the Boulder 5430 Long Course. Apparently we just can’t get enough of triathlon b/c we are still at the races on the weekends I’m not racing. Also, Trakkers had a tent set up and I couldn’t wait to meet Charlie. We missed meeting each other at St. Anthony’s and he has come incredible distance with the Trakker product since then, so I was excited to talk to him in person.

When we first got there we were able to see Anthony and Kirk come in off the bike and go out on the run. I also saw Jordan finish his first loop on the run and was excited to see him in the top 10 in the men’s Pro field. He was throwin’ it down! Troy, Annie and I headed over to meet Charlie and had an awesome talk about the Trakkers product. You guys and gals are going to love this product when it’s out. You will wear a devise during the race and all your peeps back home can watch your progress online. The screen shots of the site look awesome, and Charlie has some great goals of having TV monitors at the Trakkers tent in big races where he will be streaming the stats of the runners wearing Trakkers devises. There are so many places he can go with technology, I can’t wait to wear one in a race! Supposedly he is planning on having 10 athletes wearing the first prototype at Kona this year. Exciting business! Charlie also hooked me up with some great new training aids. A new cycling/tri outfit, and two awesome Splish suits are now making their home in my closet. Many thanks Charlie and Trakkers for making me feel super special today!

Okay, so speaking of Splish. Do you are have any of these suits? They are the bomb and I now know why lots of pro triathletes like Bree Wee and Amanda Lovato are racing in them. You seriously DON’T need a sports bra. The fit on them is awesome. I would love to get my hands on a few more of these!

Note: Troy is cleaning in the background while I am AGAIN embarrassing myself with the built in Mac camera.

Back to the race! We were able to see lots of friends out on the run course. The course was two laps around the reservoir and we hung out by our favorite tree cheering on everyone that went by. Luckily the temps stayed in the 80’s today and overcast which is very untypical for this race so lots of people were having great days and running super strong. Kirk looked like a rock star, Anthony looked strong and like he was having fun. Dennis, Julie, Jill, and Todd were all running great. So much fun! Chelsea though…that lady requires her own paragraph.

Chelsea is one of those competitors that makes me learn things about myself. She is not in the front of the pack, quite the opposite really. She was shooting for the 7 hour mark and I just can’t begin to explain what a different race she endures in comparison to the 4-5 hour athletes. Chelsea came off the bike looking strong and happy. By the time we saw her at the end of the first loop she was playing the numbers game…looking at her watch wondering why she was so off her goal time. I ran as far as the officials would let me with her, and told her to stop looking at her watch, to stop ruining her experience. She took off her watch and gave it to me. Right there…in the middle of her race…she relinquished her watch. I was really impressed. Troy, Annie and I hopped in the car and jetted over to the other side of the reservoir. I walked back along the course and encountered Chelsea running along at what would be mile 10 for her. The lady is determined. I was lucky to walk/run a mile with her and it gave me a new perspective. I guess I was under the impression that competition fizzles out towards the back of the pack. NOT SO. Chelsea is as competitive as I am, keeping her focus, remaining determined, and aiming for a good attitude. Her race may be longer in time, but it is no less intense and focused. We left Chelsea at mile 11, running…to the finish…of her first half-ironman. I was humbled…in a big way.

My Partner in Crime (PIC) Michelle has now entered blog land. Michelle is a totally awesome mom of two beautiful girls who somehow manages to balance a tremendous career, and a phenominal triathlon hobby, all while being a great mommy and wife. She truely does this all with grace, class, and a spunky attitude. She is totally my peeps, and I just love her to death (Can you tell?). We kinda look alike, except she has 6-pack abs. She’s my twinkie!

Michelle has absolutely knocked it out of the park this year. She is a total bad a$$ swimmer, always has been, and continues to beat Steve out of the water every single race.

Her bike has progressed farther that I even think she realizes. She’s dedicated, and she gets in the work. I rode with her last week and as several of us rode in a paceline I was begging her (in my mind) to not pull through as hard as she was. She was pulling as hard as the boys and looked calm and cool doing so. She is super strong and I can’t wait to see her bike times diminish like her run times.

Speaking of her run. This lady ran a 54:32 10K off the bike at age group nationals last year. She walked twice due to a leg cramp. This winter she put in the miles. She ran up mount Evans and is planning a run up Pikes peak this coming month. She has hit the track workouts hard and several weeks ago at Loveland Lake to Lake she ran a 47:53 10K off the bike. Last night at track I ran the last 300 of her last 1000 with her and could not believe how hard she is throwing it down on the track. I jumped into her last interval at the 300 to go spot and she was running 6:50 mile pace. She started to lay it down with me and ran the last part of her LAST interval at 6:15 pace. She LAYED it down.

The best thing about having great friends in the triathlon community is that when they excel or jump a new hurdle you feel that success with them. I am so tremendously proud of Michelle and can’t wait to experience future successes with her. Check out my PIC’s blog, and leave her some comment love.

Check Out Her Blog Here

Chilin’ at TJ’s in Portland

Michelle and I getting our swagger on. Attitude.

I wanted to write up my race report while things were still fresh in my mind. What a day. I was lucky enough to stay up in Boulder last night with my Partner In Crime, Michelle. I love rooming and traveling with her, she’s my peeps! We had a great evening going out to eat with teammates and friends and then settled into a mellow evening, got our stuff together for the next day and hit the hay. 4:20am wake up and I was really ready to go. We were at transition well before 5 and were two of the first 100 to rack our bikes. Primo Spots.

I had like 2.5 hours until my wave went off, so I disappeared to be mellow. Then I saw some PC people warming up and jumped in with them. It was nice to have some company and good to catch up with folks that I haven’t talked to in awhile. We did a long long long warmup, probably a bit over 3 miles. I felt really good and I was excited to see what would unfold for the day. After a long wait in line for the potty I was able to find Troy and Annie who drove down that morning. They were doing quite well, although Troy had missed me. We had to catch up a little. I slipped into my friend Liz’s wetsuit and got into the water to warm up my arms and shake off a little bit of my nerves. I sold my wetsuit to a good friend (it was too big) but I haven’t bought a new one b/c I wanted to try a sleeveless. I LOVE the sleeveless. Something about having the arm movement really helps me out. Liz is prego, so she didn’t mind that I have been hogging her suit for like a month now. I have become really attached to it, it’s going to be hard to give it back.

I was in the last wave to go off. The race was also running late, so my wave ended up going at about 7:50. It was already like 96 degrees out when we started. Ouch. I was quite concerned about my elbow and racing. I knew I could swim the distance on it, but I was afraid of getting into a scuffle with another swimmer and hurting myself. I started WAY WAY right, like so right that I was outside of the start arch. They counted us down and I just got out steady and calmly. Lots of sighting into the sun, but I remained on course. I stayed right, watching the field of competitors when I breathed on my left side, keeping equal distance. I felt good. Every time the elbow gave me a zinger I would really focus on taking big scoops of water and getting my catch in the right place. Then I would get lazy and along would come another shot of pain…it was like shock therapy. Swim bad = zing, swim good = no zing. Around the buoys I went, keeping even tempo, minding my stroke. I exited the water ready to be done swimming, but in good shape. I looked down and saw a 27 number on my watch, but by the time I hit the timing mat it turned to 28, I still felt quite good about it. I always wonder just how far I am back in the age group coming off the swim, this time I went and counted all the ladies with faster times. 40 of them. I was out of the water 41st. Wow! That’s a lot of passing to get up to the front. No wonder why I am always feeling like I run out of real estate.

Transition was quick, although they added another bike rack to the “desirable” end of my row AFTER I had racked my bike. So my primo “first come, first rack” spot was now cramped and distorted. Such is life. Onto the bike and I was feeling good. I just passed, passed, passed ladies. I did get passed by one lady early on, but I let her go, thinking that she was a little overzealous and that I would get her on the back end. Never saw her again. Other than that I felt really strong throughout, strong on Old Stage, strong on the descent, and great on the rollers. I felt like I blew by every single person I passed.

Back to transition and whoosh, I was off. It felt fast, and I was happy to be running. I really tried to run hard…I really did. But it was tough, temps were in the 100’s and I was slow to get going. I would have phases where I would go really hard, then ones where I would loose my momentum and slow down. I looked forward to every aid station and took several cups of water and ice at each one. I tried to wave at teammates and did a pretty lousy job at it. Some times getting out some sort of jumble of noise. I hit the turn around, saw a few ladies in my age group ahead of me and worked on pulling them in, I was able to get every one within sight. I really gave it my all on the run, and even though I knew I wasn’t running my fastest, I knew that I was doing the best I could.

The Practical Coaching crew was cheering up a storm at the finish and I was so utterly happy to be done.

So, a few honesty remarks now. Beware. You are forewarned. When I finished I was ecstatic. I felt like I had a great race and that I had redeemed myself from last year. I had watched my watch the entire way and had hit the lap button several times at transitions and mile markers on the bike. From about the mid section of the race I was feeling pretty good about what my watch was telling me. When I hit the turn around on the run my watch said if I ran a 22 minute last 1/2 of the run I could break 2:30. I ran my heart out for that number and when I crossed the line and stopped my watch it said 2:30.52. I was still ecstatic. Thinking that I had taken about 10 minutes off my last years time. I was high! The next several hours I was my normal, jovial, “just had a great race”, Sonja. When the results came out my time was 2:36.14. The tears just started rolling and I just walked off, I quickly grabbed my stuff and just wanted out of there. I was upset. I was throwing a tantrum. I must have messed up my watch when I was hitting the laps and stuff and somehow stopped it for 6 minutes or so. I felt really defeated and seeing my splits was sad to see the same bike time from last year. I live on my bike now-a-days and to see what felt like no progress was a super duper ego blow. If you have raced with me before and have had a bad race you know I am the first person to tell you not to play the numbers game, that the numbers don’t “define” you. I couldn’t believe I was flipping out and it was amazing how hard it was to follow the advise that I give tons of YOU ALL when you have less than desirable results. I felt ashamed on several different levels. Ashamed of my performance, or lack thereof, ashamed of my attitude, ashamed that I was crying, just ashamed.

I didn’t want to talk to Steve about it, but he found me, and I got a talking to. He gave me a few little challenges, and although I am still processing my pissy attitude, I am coming around to learning some lessons from this experience. My PIC Michelle was right there for me, even though it meant that me dogging and complaining about my bike time was also complaining about hers being that we rode the same time. Again…in retrospect, quite ashamed of myself. I love you Michelle.

So, I wanted to be honest about my hissy fit today. This racing stuff isn’t all flowers and berries. Endurance athletes are hard on themselves, including me. Finding a way to get back to the warm fuzzy feelings I had about my race before seeing the results will be tough, but it’s something I’m going to strive to do. As always, any advise or similar experiences would help me a ton. Feel free to comment, or email me personally.

BTW: The watch I wore at the race has now been deemed bad luck on my wrist. If you would like a new watch (it’s only been worn once) then email me or hit “Contact Me” on the top of my site. It looks like this but it’s blue.

Results are here:
Swim: 28:05 (41st in F25-29)
T1: 1:04 (Fastest in F25-29)
Bike: 1:19:34 (19.6mph 7th fastest in F25-29)
T2: 0:45 (4th fastest in F25-29)
Run: 46:47 (7:33pace 7th fastest in F25-29)

Age-Group: F25-29: 6th (out of 101)
Overall Women: 50th (out of 527)

So it’s come down to it. Confidence, Strength, Mental Training. It’s about having a stellar performance, in the worst conditions, against the most formidable competition. Tomorrow is the test run. Nationals in the final exam, but Boulder Peak is the Midterm. You can expect to multiply your age group placing by 4 to get your nationals age group placing. You can do the math. It’s time to start haulin’ tail, regardless of heat, elbows, or hills.

This course will make you laugh, and it will make you cry. In the end everyone gets through it for the most part. This course can break you, but it’s important to not overthink it. I was re-reading my last years post on this race and I remember not wanting to ever do it again. The only two courses I am repeating this year are Boulder Peak and Nationals. What does that say? It’s worth doing again I suppose. I have some demons to get through, but I’m ready as ever (or at least I am telling myself that). Obviously I have more experience this year, and the newness of everything has worn off. I know myself as an athlete a bit more, and I can start stepping out farther on that limb…testing my capabilities. In the end, I know it will be a fun day, and that’s really what it’s all about. Having fun, enjoying the sun with friends. Practically everyone I know is racing this weekend, so it should be a total blast!

Good luck to those racing Colorado’s most well known triathlon this weekend, the infamous Boulder Peak.

HeHeHe Check this out:

Man have I had a rough week. The elbow is healing slowly and is still really tender. All attempts at swimming have been futile, needless to say I’m a little concerned. Then at the end of last week I came down with a UTI that wouldn’t go away despite all the homeopathic remedies that were suggested. After getting fed up with peeing blood I dragged myself into urgent care late this evening to get set up with antibiotics. Woke up this morning with swollen tonsils, luckily they tested at urgent care and it’s not strep. So, since it’s not strep, I’m pretending it’s not happening. That leaves the elbow, and letting the antibiotics kick in.

I have a recommendation on someone to go see about the elbow. He actually looked at it briefly at the gravel pond Saturday and said it looks a lot like “tennis elbow”. T-riffic (with a capital T).

So last week I asked you all to send healing thoughts. Well, I need you to think a little harder, I’m in dire need now.

It’s the middle of the season, one of my biggest races is in 6 days and I’m a mess. It’s disheartening, at best.

Troy is SICK AS A DOG as well. It’s like a flu thing, sore throat, body aches, etc. I finally went and got him some Theraflu and I opted for the PM variety to knock him out for awhile so he can rest.

Many thanks to my mom who was so sweet to have dinner delivered at our house this evening. She sure knows how to cheer a girl up. Thanks mom!

Annie is fine, happy as a jay bird, peeing and pooing on the potty like a rock star, so that’s been a relief!

I’m holding together, but it’s dicy. I want to take care of Troy like a good wife, but I hurt too. I’m frustrated, I’m mad, and I’m ready for whoever is kicking me while I’m down to lay the (insert favorite cuss word) off.

To a few close friends who need a little advise mid season about expectations.

Your always going to feel under-prepared going into a race. Pre-race confidence comes from within not from training. Confidence is a tricky one. We as athletes tend to think that our training defines us. It doesn’t. Our head defines us. For those of you who have missed key workouts recently, don’t sweat it. The money is in the bank. Take this opportunity to throw caution to the wind.

Read Bree Wee’s entry this week.

Lost workouts are not worth the effort it takes to worry about them. Don’t worry about them, they are gone. Focus on the training that has been done, and smile.

Goals for your race don’t have to be as specific as you think. What about the goal of going out and giving it all you have to give that day. Remember when we get to the starting line without any mental hic-ups we can race in a way that will indicate where we truly are physically. Just get there ready to have a good day and don’t over think where you are at. Give yourself the chance to surprise yourself.

Every single person I know that is training right now has put in the work to have a stellar performance. Every single one. I don’t personally know a single athlete that is slacking on the physical front this season. I do know a few however that need to sharpen up their heads. Do your body a favor and work on a clean and clear head.

I have now officially given you permission to let go of any apprehensions, and to seize the opportunity to race with a clear head, and to become accepting of your current fitness.

Good Luck!

After an evening of nonstop laughter I was so ready for race morning to come at 4am. Michelle, Steve, Christopher and I traveled to the race site and got a primo parking spot. After racking our bikes and getting THE CLOSEST transition spots we hopped in the car and people-watched for an hour. What a total hoot. Triathletes are just funny. They are so different than runners who usually stretch and act calm. Triathletes like to walk around all nervous like, spend unimaginable amounts of time in the port-a-pottie, and strut around wearing too little clothing for 4:30am. They also like to ride their bikes around with no helmets to warm up, which can get them DQed. Doh!

Swim Start

Pook on the beach

Most of the PC crew did a warm up run together, and I probably shouldn’t have gone with them. I was in the second wave and as I got to the swim beach and pulled on my wetsuit I heard the gun for the first wave. I had 4 minutes to get my two caps and goggles on, get in the water, find the right spot to start, and get ready. Boom, I was off and feeling rushed. It was a typical swim for me with a moderate amount of body bumping, and some settling. I sighed pretty well and seemed to hit each buoy with consistency. As we turned the last buoy the next wave started to pass me. I had fun jumping on 4 different guys feet from this group, catching a 30 second draft and giving myself a reason to push push push.

As we exited the water I looked down and my watch said 26 something. My first thought…the swim is short. Ha! Give yourself some credit Sonja! The two minute run to transition was tough in the wetsuit, but a little fun too. Turns out the swim was a bit short, but the swim plus run to transition seemed to be closer to a normal mile swim time. 28:15 was my official swim time…so my first time seeing the 28’s in a race. There was still lots of room for improvement in my swim execution, but it’s getting stronger.

T1 was great. I enjoyed having the primo spot, and it was oddly reassuring to see Steve and Michelles bikes on either side of mine. I was sandwiched by two of my favorite triathletes. 43 seconds later I was on the bike.

So the bike was a total sight unseen course for me. I had heard rumors about the hills and that it was pretty but had never ridden the course. It took awhile to get going. Steve and I just had a pow-wow last week about my TT form and so I was still “messing around” with where to sit, how to sit, how to pedal, how to feel comfortable, and what gear to be in. It took some time. Troy and Chris were ALL OVER the course and they are seriously the loudest cheerers I have even encountered. They really do it up good. Anthony caught me several miles in, and the Tyler caught me a few miles after that. I know I can bike with Tyler so I put some “giddy” in the “up” and started to go hard. I kept Tyler in sight and used him to keep me focused and accountable. The hills were great and Troy said it was fun to be on the course and to watch me eat up all the ladies ahead of me. I just tried to consistently pass people and put in a hard effort. On the last stretch down Wilson Steve passed me and I really wanted to keep him in sight. It was great to ride behind my coach and to watch him in action.

As we came into T2 Steve was first, then Tyler, then me, but we were all within 30 seconds of each other. When I entered transition and racked my bike Steve was departing (and we were racked next to each other). That was cool. I had trouble getting on my second shoe, but even with that, a 38 second T2.

Taking in Water outside T2

I rolled out of T2 and saw Tyler ahead. I worked my way up to him and told him to jump on my shoulder. He hopped on and we ran to mile 1 together. I looked at my watch and in my running stupor I couldn’t get the correct words out and threw down an F-bomb. Poor Tyler thought that I was upset with the first mile split (which was 6:57) and claims that I “took off”. But…this is not true. The f-bomb came b/c I was trying to get the right words out. I was perfectly happy with 7 minute pace. I did however see SEVERAL ladies in front of me, and the truth is when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. I had to go get those girls. So I took them one at a time and tried not to over think things. Whenever I would come up on a girl I would straighten up my form and put a little surge in. This way I would give of the impression that I was running much harder, and then they would feel like they couldn’t go with me. It worked over and over again. Troy and Chris were near the turn around and again…wild and crazy cheering ensued!

Troy and Pook

At the turn around I saw five ladies very close ahead and vowed to get them all. A mile later I had them, but I knew my good friend Amy was on my heels. By mile 5 she had eaten me up, much like I tried to eat up all the other ladies I passed. Ha! What goes around comes around! She had a terrific pace going so I just tried to lock into her effort and drive harder with her.

As we came around the last turns my FIL was there taking pics and Annie and my MIL were playing at the palyground.

Here I am running my guts out and it was crazy to see Annie playing away! As we come around the last turns I see this lady ahead and she looks my age. She is clearly running slower, but I am running out of real estate. I watch Amy kick and eat her up, and even though I am kicking, the finish line is coming too quickly. We cross 6 seconds apart and I see she is in my age group. Doh. That was a tough one.

Can yo see me?

Coming down the home stretch

The point where I knew I wasn’t going to catch her

After a 5 minute section of feeling very near puking (I’ve never had that at the end of a race, but I think it was from the sprinting) Steve and I headed out for a cool down and to chear on others.

Post race Pow-Wow

Post race pook Hug

Practical Coaching had a GREAT day. Steve won his age group, Michelle was 2nd in hers, Beth 3rd, Barry 3rd, Anthony 4th, and I was also 3rd in mine. A great day, and a testament to what a great coach Steve is!

Pook and I on the podium

Michelle and Beth on podium

Results are here
Swim: 28:15
T1: 0:43
Bike: 1:27:17
T2: 0:38
Run: 43:10
Overall: 2:40:04
14th woman
3rd in F25-29

So I know I have a race tomorrow, and believe me I’m excited beyond belief. But, man, next week is shaping up to be some exciting training.

Tomorrow is exciting for several reasons. I haven’t raced this race before, so there is the newness and the unknown that’s exciting. I am recovered from Alcatraz, finally, so I am happy to be going into the race in the right physical frame of mind. Being in the right place in the body helps me have the confidence to get my brain on track. I have an exciting race game plan that I am looking forward to having fun with. All my teammates, and tons of friends will be there, so lots of good vibes on the course. Lastly, lots of us are staying up there tonight and I am REALLY looking forward to hanging out with my team and engaging in some extreme pillow fighting madness.

So, don’t get me wrong, I’m excited about tomorrow.

BUT…next week. Oooh, next week.

On Wednesday we have an all day ride planned from Golden to Winter Park, via Rollins Pass. The road was closed to auto traffic some time ago and the rumor is that much of it is dirt. We are doing it on our road bikes, and have HEARD that it’s passable by road bike. All the photos I can find of people doing it are on mountain bikes, so it should be an adventure!

We are in for a real treat up and over Rollins Pass.

Then Saturday we are heading up Mount Evants on our bikes with the ENTIRE PC crew.

It’s 14 miles to the top and then most of us plan to ride all the way back to Denver, including a few more climbs along the way. Should be a super fun week with lots of mileage, lots of vertical feet, lots of laughter, and probably a good 10 almond butter sandwiches consumed!

Man, mid season can be a giant mind-job. I tell ya, it’s been a struggle for me to keep my outlook consistent. One day I’m up and happy-snappy, the next day I am low and my outlook is grim. Recovering from the extreme high that I had after Alcatraz has been interesting at best. Let’s just say what goes up, must come down. Or does it have to? I’m not entirely sure? So maybe I should say, “what went up, came down”.

I have known all along that it will pass if I just stay patent and consistent, and I think I am on the “other side” of it. I have been doing a better job in public of handling this quiet time. I took a few pride blows after Boulder Sprint, but I am happy to say that I learned a lot about myself. I learned that my pride is not teflon, comments and expectations do affect me, but it’s something I need to take care of, something I need to prepare for. I used to think I could take anything, that I was super strong in my mind… and I am…when I am racing to my ability. But when I have a less than stellar performance, comments and expectations hit me harder. So, that’s something I continue to work on.

The odd thing is, I just want to train more, to train harder. When I am rested, I feel like I am under-trained, and when I am tired, I am frustrated that I can’t train harder. I have really enjoyed the training this season, especially the cycling.

I have my nutrition on the right track: fish, veggies, and whole grain rice almost every night. Breakfast has been right on and my portion desires have calmed down from growing teenager, to trained triathlete. It’s been nice.

So, where from here? I continue to work on my mental outlook, to stay strong, and to stop questioning my training. I continue to work towards performing up to my currently ability, to remain a good role model, and to keep an authentic smile on my face. Consistency, inclusiveness, and light heartedness, despite steep competition, and nerves. That’s the goal.

This weekend is the Loveland Lake to Lake triathlon. It’s a Saturday race, and I’m excited to have friends and family coming to support me. Chris, Roger, and Marla should be there for sure, along with almost the entire Practical Coaching team. Should be good times.