This week I had a very interesting discussion with a couple of very different people (who don’t know each other) about perfection.


First, though, let me tell you something about me.  I am a classic over-achiever.


Shocking, I’m sure.


I made straight A’s in high school and graduated from undergrad with a 3.92.  I was the kid who would be upset with a 95 instead of a 100. Seriously.  I remember a few times arguing with a teacher over those points that kept me from an A+.  The hardest part about this, was that I was (and still am) aware enough to realize how geeky that was, yet I still couldn’t help myself.


As an adult, I see this classic trait in many areas of my life. In general, I don’t think being an overachiever is necessarily a bad thing, but when the striving for perfection is coupled with a heavy dose of self-induced guilt, the only thing that follows is a perfect mess.


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Categories: Triathlons

Most of you know I’ve been dealing with some heel pain in both feet off and on for about a year.  How it usually goes is it won’t be terrible for a while, then it gets a little bit worse, so I take a few weeks off of running.  It gets a little better so I go back to running…repeat, repeat, repeat.

During all of this I have also started weekly chiropractic treatments that include Graston technique, which I do believe helps me manage the pain.  I have also started to incorporate Movement Prep before all of my runs, which also helps A LOT!  If you are not doing this, you should be!!

Well, a few weeks ago I got to the low point of the cycle.  I feel like it was probably brought on by a lot of stress in my life,  a lot less time to take care of myself (get to the chiro, do stretches, ice, etc.), and a build-up in my training. I demoted myself voluntarily to pool running and decided I really needed to get to the bottom of this once and for all, so I made an appointment with my orthopedic doc who specializes in sports medicine and happens to be an Ironman triathlete.  I’ve been to him before and really trust his judgment…don’t even ask me why I waited this long to go this time.  I think deep down I was…

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Categories: Uncategorized

Like I said in my last post, I seem to have a bit of writer’s block leading into the New Year.  What I want to do is write a funny, inspirational, bringing-it-together kind of a post for the last post of the year.  For some reason, though, I feel a bit frozen this week.  My thoughts just won’t flow.

I went back and read a few of my posts through the year, and it was almost as if another person wrote them.  Where is the person who wrote this?  And this?  And this?  Where has my blogging mojo gone??

So, in lieu of funny, inspirational or other, I will simply give you some numbers.  There is something nice and solid about numbers, don’t you think?  Especially when the numbers tell you how far you have come in a year.

2010 Training/Racing Totals:

Swim: 92h 25m 12s   221,813 yds ~ 126 mi
Bike:  213h 32m 24s   2517.31mi
Run:  150h 58m 48s   695.37
Walk/Hike:   9h 42m   32.12
Strength/Yoga:  19h 20m

Total:  485h 58m 36s  3379.8 mi

2 Half-Ironman Triathlons:  Rev3 Quassy and Syracuse 70.3

1 Ultramarathon:  Mendon Ponds 50K

2 Sprint Tris:  Iron Girl Syracuse and Skinnyman

1 Duathlon:  Du the Lakes

and a few road races here and there

I was also very blessed to have been given the opportunity to be…

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Categories: Triathlons
Tags: family, sponsors, Training, Triathlon

I am in the middle of a huge swim block these days.  Today I swam for the 3rd time this week with two more swims to go.  I’ve been working a lot on my technique, and I’m really starting to feel like a swimmer.

Except for one thing…

flip turns.

Yep, I’m pretty much terrified of flip turns.  The funny thing is what scares me is not getting water up my nose, or scraping my back on the bottom of the pool.  No, I’m scared of getting seasick!!  I get motion sickness VERY easily.  If I’m flying, I automatically take Dramamine, no matter what.  Even in the car, I have to be very careful. (Actually, just writing about it is making me feel a little off.  But that might be the wine.  Or all of the cookies I ate today.) Sometimes when I’m doing a lot of slow drills in the pool I feel that feeling coming on, so I’ve been very reluctant to add flip turns into my swims.

But as I have improved, I feel a little silly not doing flip turns.  I know as a triathlete it is not all that important since there are no walls in open water swim (thank God), BUT I do feel like in the pool flip turns help sustain momentum that can be lost at the wall.  My husband and I got into a fairly heated discussion about this, but I…

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Categories: Triathlons

Yesterday I ran my first 50K.  Now that is something I will never get the chance to say again.

I have so many thoughts rolling around in my head from the day, I don’t even know where to begin.  I think I’ll just start with a recap and go from there.

My friend, Ben, who is an ultra veteran with several 50Ks and a couple 50-mile races under his belt, was excited beyond belief when I told him of my plans to run a 50K.  We have done several long runs together leading up to this race, and he has really been a guide to me during this process.  He decided to race with me, and will play a big part in this report, so I would like to tell you a little about Ben.  He is married with two lovely children.  I am close friends with his wife as well, although she would never be caught dead running on a trail or anywhere else for that matter, and for that, I adore her even more.  Ben and his wife are the perfect combination of yin and yang and balance each other just about perfectly.  Ben is a teacher and talks of his job with great passion, which I love.  He also loves endurance running and training, and for him, it is so much more than fitness, it is a true way of life – a way of life that…

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Categories: Triathlons

It’s that time of year when we are finishing up the last big races of the season and looking forward to some down time.

Or, if you are like me, you are thinking about next season!!

For the past two years I have had the opportunity to race at Rev3 Quassy. You can read all about my 2009 race and my 2010 race, or this year you can do it yourself!!

Rev3Tri has 5 races currently scheduled for the 2011 season. I’m hoping to get to at least 2 of them. Here are some of the things I love about Rev3 Races:

• They are very family-oriented.  The races are always held at venues that are fun for everyone in the family, whether or not you are racing.  They also have events for kids, which is great if your kids are showing interest in the multi-sport lifestyle. This picture is from Quassy in 2009.  They have a great waterpark there that we enjoyed after my race was complete.

…

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Categories: Triathlons

My first 50K trail race is 14 days away.

I’m sure you know I’ve been doing a lot of trail running to prepare, but I have found there are other things I have to do as well.

One of the most important is dialing is my nutrition.  For triathlons, I rely almost entirely on what I call “racing” food. By racing foods, I generally mean gels, drinks and blocks. I use First Endurance EFS Drink and EFS Liqud Shot.  I also like Clif Shot Blocks to change it up a bit.  What I have come to learn about ultras, though, is that many runners rely on real food.  The kind of food can range anywhere from boiled potatoes to pb&j to M&Ms to Pringles.  Definitely not healthy, but they pack a portable, easily digestible, high-calorie punch.

In my long runs I have been experimenting with nutrition, so I can be prepared for whatever might crop up.  My basic plan is to rely mostly on EFS Drink (I prefer fruit punch) and EFS Liquid Shot while I am running.  I know these products work well for me, and I like them. Since the race is 5 10K loops, I have a built-in fueling session every 6.2 miles.  At the end of each loop, I will grab a new bottle of drink and liquid shot (if needed), and supplement with a couple bites of real food.  So far I…

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Categories: Triathlons

My first 50K trail race is 8 days away.

I’m sure you know I’ve been doing a lot of trail running to prepare, but I have found there are other things I have to do as well.

One of the most important is dialing is my nutrition.  For triathlons, I rely almost entirely on what I call “racing” food. By racing foods, I generally mean gels, drinks and blocks. I use First Endurance EFS Drink and EFS Liqud Shot.  I also like Clif Shot Blocks to change it up a bit.  What I have come to learn about ultras, though, is that many runners rely on real food.  The kind of food can range anywhere from boiled potatoes to pb&j to M&Ms to Pringles.  Definitely not healthy, but they pack a portable, easily digestible, high-calorie punch.

In my long runs I have been experimenting with nutrition, so I can be prepared for whatever might crop up.  My basic plan is to rely mostly on EFS Drink (I prefer fruit punch) and EFS Liquid Shot while I am running.  I know these products work well for me, and I like them. Since the race is 5 10K loops, I have a built-in fueling session every 6.2 miles.  At the end of each loop, I will grab a new bottle of drink and liquid shot (if needed), and supplement with a couple bites of real food.  So far I have…

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Categories: Uncategorized

So, all of you know by now that I am training for the Mendon Ponds 50k Trail Run in November.  Because of that, I have been trying to do as much running on trails as I can, and that can only mean big muddy adventures for this Trimommy!

The Mendon Ponds 50k is in Rochester, NY,  in a beautiful park that has meandering trails through meadows and woods.  I happened to be in Rochester yesterday getting my swim stroke analyzed by Coach Mary (more on that soon!), so I took advantage of my time and went for a little run.  The course itself is a 10k loop that is run 5 times.  (There is also a 20k run on the same day for people who are not as crazy as myself!)

Now let me just say that I have been known to have some directional disabilities.  You can read about another one of my trail running adventures from last week here.  Since I have been known to make a wrong turn here or there, I emailed the race director and got some specific directions, including a map.  I downloaded the map to my phone, and took my phone along for the ride.

Not that it really made a difference because there are no street signs in the woods.  Every now and then there was a tree with a big green splotch on it.  Of course when the…

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Categories: Triathlons

Pop some popcorn, sit back and relax…this is going to be a long one.

So, this was my first Ironman branded 70.3, and the biggest race I’ve ever participated in.  It was also in my hometown of Syracuse, so I knew a ton of people that were racing, spectating and volunteering.  Going into the race, I surprisingly did not feel any pressure to “perform.”  Actually, it was not surprising because I had been intentionally working on some mental things about the race that had nothing to do with beating anyone or competing.  My goals for this race were to stay within myself for the bike, push hard on the run, have fun, smile, be thankful, and encourage others along the way.

The weekend started out with a trip out to transition to check-in our bikes.  This was the first race Kel and I have every done together, so it was fun (but also a bit nerve-wracking since there was two of us with pent-up nervous energy.)  This was also Kel’s first half-ironman, so I wanted everything to be very smooth for him leading up to the race.

We checked our bikes in.  I had an okay spot almost at the end of a rack, but the run to and from bike out/in was very far.  I decided when I saw the long grassy run up a hill to the mount line that I would start…

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Categories: Triathlons