Dude..... things are shifting! Okay, so my grand plan to race North Face 13.1 and then do Spooners Cove 25k worked out really well for me. When I have events on the calendar it really keeps me focused on my training during the week. When I first got started in the sport in 2007 I raced like 50 events in 2007. I was a racing junkie but what was behind it was that I needed those races to keep me going. Recently I have been race shy, not wanting to show up and be frustrated, but that was silly. I love racing! The actual act of it, it's so much fun.

North Face was great because I got some serious car time with my friend Prianka, and we always have great long chats, so the 4 hour drive was perfect for that. We had fun geeking out during the 50 miler and watching Super G and the elites race. Super G finished her first 50 miler! So proud of her.

The next day we were up bright and early, me for the 13.1 and Prianka for the 5k. The race was hard, not going to lie. There were three climbs and they were all hard. I started in wave 6 with my friend Alli and I'm really glad I did. The course directors made a mistake and did not have it marked properly around mile 5.5 and pretty much the entire front of the field went the wrong way and ran 1 mile further. I went the wrong way too, but only for about 20 meters and then heard the guy yelling and turned around and went the right way. So then there was a big gap and it was kinda like I was in the top 5. Short story it was a big disaster and many many many of the front runners were really upset. In the end they had me as 2nd in my AG, but I should have been way back from that. I think I was probably about a mile behind the real second lady at 5.5 miles. I did not attend awards. No thank you. Not after all that.

It didn't give me a bad taste in my mouth or anything. I had a fabulous race, I ran hard knowing that every bit I pushed was going to lead to valuable fitness at this juncture. Prianka had a great race too and rekindled her love for running. So happy for her!

After our races Jim, Super G, Pri and I had a really fun trip out on the town in San Francisco. I found myself really happy, and just feeling like I am surrounded by beautiful people who care about me and want the same things out of sport as I do. We might all be different speeds but I care so much more these days about how I engage with athletics, the attitude and the enjoyment, it means a lot to me, and not everyone gets that.

The week after the race was the first solid week of training I have been able to lay down. I actually completed all my bike sessions and all my run sessions. I didn't hit my swims for a variety of reasons. Troy was traveling for work and that always makes 6am masters a no-go because I'm on Annie duty in the morning. I always intend to get there later, but only have time while she's in school to get EVERYTHING in my life done, and the swim always gets dropped. But, I was proud I woke up at 6am and rode the trainer 62 miles one of the days.

The end of last week involved another race, the Spooners Cover Trail Race. A few years ago Mikki, Mo and I did this race and I had just come off an injury so I could only race the 8miler. The 25k looked so awesome so I was excited for it.

Oh the hills! With about 3,000 feet of climbing I was hurting and I'm just not so fast up the hills these days. My heart rate was through the roof but again, I told myself that every hard thing is going to build fitness so press on and keep it fun. The downhills were another story. I love downhills so much so I ran as fast as I could on them. I find them very meditative. You can't focus on anything except not eating shit, so your brain is 100% lit up and turned on. Hello safety mechanism!

At the turn around on the second climb I counted that I was in 5th overall for the ladies. They were all stronger climbers than me and I decided I was going to run as hard as I could down and see what happened. A little ways down I came up on the woman who was in second and she was running down gingerly. I could tell her knees hurt and I felt for her. She told me to pass and I didn't quite have the oomph to do it when she was letting me by and I kinda ran into her, and I felt really bad.

Then with about a third of a mile to go I saw the woman who had been in 3rd. I instantly went into overdrive and ran as fast as I could to the finish passing her along the way. Then I watched her check into the aid station and head back out because she was doing the 50K! No wonder she wasn't running downhill like an idiot like me. She was only half way done and finished 3rd overall in the 50K (boys and girls combined! BOSS! Deep Bow). I love Prianka in my finish picture here! She makes me laugh!

I ended up 3rd overall woman in the 25k and I'm pretty beyond stoked with that. It was a good uplifter and will keep my mojo topped off for a few weeks! Also, the biggest highlight was that I was only minimally sore, so huge win for me there too (unlike North Face where I was VERY sore).

This week has ben gooooooood so far. I mapped out my action plan for the next 12 weeks and looked at what I really need to put in place to get the best out of myself. I'm a planner and I like to see everything laid out, and now it is. This little comeback is actually really cool, because I have so many tools through coaching and running a business that are coming into play. The act of breaking things down, looking at things objectively, setting big goals, that's all been something I learned through my business coaches over the last two years, and it's really fun to apply to triathlon.

I'll admit, posting this picture makes me go EEEEEeee for about 10 seconds. But I'm kinda over all that. If I make the goal, yay, if I don't, back to the drawing board...LITERALLY. I've gotten to the point now where I'm done with the whole hiding bit, and it's the TRYING for the goal that's really the fun part anyways. I've always been a very transparent person. I don't like secrets, or hidden agendas, they make me uncomfortable, so here it is. Can it happen....dunno.... we'll find out!

So far this week I have hit all my training sessions and I have set my week up to hit the rest of them. Some major highlights already, one I joined a gym with a pool. When I did my planning session I noticed that while I ADORE my masters group, I'm not attending it in a way that is going to get me to my goals, and it's simply because of the time constraints. I needed more structure and better pool hours. The gym I joined in SLO is lovely and they have a long course pool, and a hot tub that is outside. This is a major highlight.

Since Muddy doesn't give me swim sets I pulled together some great sets from the Swim Smooth Swim Guru (highly recommend). This online program is top notch, I love all the stuff Swim Smooth puts out. So this week I did a starting CSS test and came in at a CSS of 1:42.5. I was guessing 1:46, so the 1:42 was a pleasant surprise. I did the Red Mist set today (such a classic) and nailed it so I know my CSS is correct. Also, for the first time ever I used an ipod in the water. Holy moly, you can totally judge me, and I know this is such a rookie thing, but I LOVE IT. I'm a much happier fish when I can sing along to the Moana soundtrack. Speaking of that, here are my top three MOJO MOMENTS right now.

(MOJO is the term we use at RTTC for a mix of motivation+enthusiasm+excitement, AKA the stuff that keeps you going towards your goals)

MOJO:

1. Moana, it's a must see, I've seen it twice. I know all the words to all the songs, it's a combination of Hawaii and Disney....so pretty much blew my mind. Loved it. Love the soundtrack, love Moana, love Maui, love the dumb chicken, and cried like a baby over her grandma.

2. Another thing that's been keeping my mojo going is the Iron Cowboys documentary on his 50/50/50 adventure. It's available for rent on Vimeo, $7. I highly recommend it, and I do make a few small appearances. I applaud his 100% honesty, it's a great watch, very inspiring.

3. Last of the MOJO producers, this video about #bellyjelly cuz I got some of my own and I'm F-ing tired of feeling like shit about it.

LIFE HACK of the moment:

I thought I would post this in case any of you are looking for ways to simplify the food game when it comes to being an athlete. Seasonal Meal Plans from Simply Real Health has been a game changer for me the last few weeks. All the recipes, all the shopping lists have been perfect. Troy and I shop together once a week, we do the meal prep she suggests, and then hit autopilot for the week. Her fall plan has been awesome for us and it's all really athlete friendly. When I have healthy meals in the house, I eat them, when I don't, I eat crap. It's literally that easy for me. Keep healthy in the house, I eat healthy. So after figuring that out, the solution is pretty simple. Do everything possible to keep healthy in the house. Period.

Okay folks! That's the update for now. Time to get to bed so I can wake up fresh to hit it again. Thanks for all the feedback from everyone on Facebook, it feels super awesome to be back blogging. I really do love it!