Teresa Nelson

January Catch-Up.

2012-01-27T21:48:00.000-08:00

Two posts in January. Progress?! Maybe?!

I hate to use the excuse "busy"....ever. Because in reality we are all busy. Sometimes busy even means sitting your bum on the couch and doing nothing. It is something that has to be done and must be fit into "life".

In reality, bum-on-the-couch has not been in the cards.

*93-year-old Grandma passed earlier this month. If you know the Webb family you can't help but notice the closeness they all share. A huge part of this loving family was because of Grandma. She was a caring, loving, gentle soul. She embraced her family unlike anything I have ever seen. Tomorrow we say our good-bys, although the traditions she instilled amongst her family will live on forever. She left footprints on every heart she touched.

(Kitty footprints in the snow)

*Did you hear it snowed in Seattle?! Immediately followed up by a rain storm? Then a wind storm? It was fun and crazy all at the same time. We gym hopped to find one that was open, only to find an 86 degree pool. After a 1:30 tempo run on a treadmill a sweaty hot pool is less than desirable. We busted it out. Once we had enough cabin fever we ran outside. In puddles and brown-dirty-slushy snow. But with the right friends we can't complain.

(Run buddy Elizabeth)

*The weather left us bundled inside. I cleaned out my closet that looked like it could have been border-line hoarding. It is officially a walk-in closet again. And I feel lost without all my shoes. But thanks to Zoot, it will be Christmas in January soon!

*It has been 6, yep, SIX entire months of no hospital visits and in turn 6 months of solid training. 6 months ago I held an FTP of 150'ish. This number (although tough to swallow) kept me going, knowing how much further I could push. Seeing gains made me excited to ride, excited to train, and anxious to get stronger. Not one week has surpassed 15 hours, my body has limits. BUT I am excited to enter a race in 8 weeks with the most fitness I have had since August of 2010.

*Speaking of race. We are headed to Costa Rica. I don't own a passport. We are working on that. My picture got denied. No headbands. I don't live a day without a headband. New photo submitted. Convinced I will go un-recognized.

*Humira can cause arthritis. Humira is used to treat arthritis. Makes sense right?! I now have arthritis in my foot. It hurts. But not enough to stop me from sport. So my right foot will be swimming, biking, running OR sitting in an ice bucket. This was determined after multiple (ie:8) doctor visits. No wonder there is no time to blog. Stress fracture, gout, cyst were all ruled out. Actually a huge cyst was found, but it doesn't hurt, so "it" needs to be named because" it" will be with me forever.

*Some non-racing goals were set for the new year. One has been a huge success: Spend more time with girlfriends. Dinners, coffees, mani/pedis, have been super enjoyable catching up with new and old friends. Epic fail on the other: No shopping for three months. The new Coach bag was reaching for me, I budged, but half of it was accounted for through gift cards, so maybe I only failed half way. I will make up for it by spending more time with friends. :)

*Up and Coming events: One hour postal swim on Sunday and Colorado next week!

Live it up!

2012 bam

2012-01-01T20:46:00.000-08:00

WOW! Its the end of 2011 and I just have to post.

I went back to see what I was doing last year and reminisced. I was defining what it feels like to be an athlete. I was trying to figure out what was next. I wrote goals.

Race goals for 2011 was to just show up at a start line and race! Mission accomplished.

Race goals for 2012. A little more lofty and I have to hit some big numbers to get there. So the goal watts and paces are within reach and I am feeling nervous with excitement. Nearly puking every S/B/R....but seeing my race plans and goals flash before my eyes on that refrigerator that sat practically blank at the end of last year is huge motivation. AND, those plane tickets to Costa Rica are purchased!!!

*I was taught at a young age that if you HAND write your goals and post them in a place you frequent then you are more likely to accomplish them. Our refrigerator is full of our goals, what we need to do to get there, and why it is important to us. A trait I feel truly works and that everyone wanting to achieve anything should follow.

*I would post photos but was also taught to only share your goals with individuals that 100% believe in you. Since blog land is, well, blogland, then keeping them private I must. When a goal is accomplished then I can share. I believe I posted a small visual of it once before post-St. Croix in 2009.

2011 Stats:

I tracked my "training hours" and am surprised that this year my hours are higher (bike less). NOW, let me follow this up by saying I fully believe in quality over quantity and measurement of hours is not a true indicator of fitness, BUT it is kind of fun data to look at (amongst all the other fun data I can geek out on). This year was very sporadic but consistently sporadic, last year was full of tons of training until late July and then it cam to a huge halt. Here are the numbers (a little embarrassed but also very proud, I gave it my best!).

Swim: 115 hours

Bike: 224 hours

Run: 127 hours

*34 hours of strength

2010 numbers

In great news the Humira is working besides feeling incredibly tired for 1-2 days. I can handle this (and the bruises too)! Mark just loves being able to prick me with the painful epi-pen every two weeks, twiddling his thumbs in excitement and listening to it go "whoosh" as it is inserted.

Last year I posted about all the things I "wanted" to do this time of year and wasn't able to. My last post stated ALL those things that I "GOT" to do this year! Yipee!!!

Remember the good, let go of the bad, and shine bright in 2012. Happy New Year!

Holiday- Mania

2011-12-25T20:50:00.000-08:00

What is the best way to stay fit during the holiday season?! Make all your holiday gatherings revolve around fitness
Holidazzle run with some super fit, crazy-fun-girlfriends. 4.5 miles around Queen Anne looking at lights, singing, caroling, and picture taking. Thank you Cathleen Knutson for organizing, baking, making CD, etc, etc....you are a super-girl!

(Bridget Jones-BFF!!)
And fantastic jewelry-maker too....no pics from her jewel-polooza party, but her crafts are shiny and sparkly and any girls dream!

(This may or may not have included a bar stop.)
(Caroling)

Prior to the run was some "real" workouts including but no-way limited too my favorite workout day with Curt. Band-tastic Wednesday, and since I have been talking about it alot lately, here is a short glimpse of the fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtwqO_gp6fw
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4TkjmWgNME

*Sorry for the lame post of videos, taking me forever to download onto computer, so this was easiest :)
Then some big swims were ahead!

75x100 with TNM-mates
All in prep for the 10K swim the following week:

(25+ swimmers, in an outdoor pool, in 40 degree air temps, swimming on Christmas Eve)

(The 10K group- 110x100)

About 40 of the 100's were on 1:25, 10 on 1:20. Additional 100's consisted of 10 warmup on 1:40, 5 kick on 2:00, 10 backstroke on 1:45 and a few on 1:30.

Thank you Laura O'Meara for organizing once again and Powerbar for the fuel!

In even better news. My mom has officially retired (at 55!) So proud of you Mom and excited for all your new adventures, probably consisting of traveling and organizing events with your friends/family!

(Mom and I at Cafe Campagne)

Mark is busy with his new toy....he is on his THIRD time "recovering" today and he only worked out once.

Asking for a screwdriver and some more monkey bread at the same time. Ha! And I am getting excited to figure out my new Go Pro Camera!! Yippee!
And most importantly we are just enjoying lots of time with friends and family while taking valuable time out to remembering our loved ones in heaven.

Love you Dad!
(he loves treats too)
Wishing every one of you a year of health, happiness, friends and family. Live your dreams, love much, and appreciate everything. Happiest of holidays!

Pluggin' away!

2011-12-04T18:37:00.000-08:00

This blog has been on vacation while I have been working. NOT FAIR?! Okay, maybe it is because I am so excited to be seeing improvements every week in my training. And if I look back to 12 weeks ago the gains look pretty significant. This is excites me and leaves me with that burning desire to set some real goals and AIM high!

Back up to six months ago when I could workout but could not see any fitness gains, in fact, all I could do is soak in my own pity on how far I had fallen. I had a process in my head that thought:
#1 When you can’t workout you just can’t work out, accept it, make use of your time and heal.
#2 You now “GET” to workout, enjoy it, love it, and be thankful.
#3 You will soon be where you want to be and ready to race. Just like magic.

I believe so much that if you know you are giving all you can and doing all you can to succeed then you WILL succeed. But the success I was looking for was not coming at the rate I was expecting.

The third was the biggest wake up call. After 8 weeks of solid training (ie: no hospital visits, the humira seems to be working, etc), I was struggling. How could it be SO hard to get back in shape. How come when I was in shape all I did was want more. To be faster, to critique my performance, to not embrace the fitness I worked so hard for?

Of course that is a logical method as an athlete looking to be their best. And I understand we must evaluate where we are at and what we can do better to improve BUT why is it so often overlooked when we are at our peak? As an athlete if you have given your all, day in and day out in training and put it all out on the line on race day, then the only thing you should do is embrace your accomplishments. Be proud of your gains and appreciate all your hard work.

I needed a major overhaul in my training and approach in order to “see” improvements. My volume is still very low, my intensity is high, and I am keeping a solid balance in all three disciples. Strength training is up a ton. Not traditional strength training, a lot of pilates and sport specific plyometrics with bands, drills, and dynamic stretching (Thanks to Kinetic Force and Curt). I am doing a lot of the same workouts over and over to see gains. Typically I love a ton of variety, but it is not the best for me right now.

De-training is a must in all training programs, but I de-trained to nothing. Every muscle disappeared. In fact, I had my first shoulder injury from loss of muscle and sleeping so much on one side (when I was sick I slept a minimum of 12-14 hours a day and all on my right side).

I can honestly say that I am doing nearly everything (come on, I love chocolate cake!) in my power to do the best I can right now. Does this mean I am following my plan 100%, NOPE, not the written down workouts, BUT I am listening to my body and doing as much as it allows me to. I continue to plug away each and every day looking for little improvements, setting super small goals and looking at my new goals for 2012!

Lets just say I am loving it!

Tough Pills

2011-10-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

Yep, I am alive. Today was the first day of the Humira treatments and they should come with a "tough pill" to swallow ahead of time. Inflicting pain upon yourself outside of working out is not what I am trained to do. Left feeling nauseaus after the 4th injection the nurse had to lie me down and remind me to breathe. Really, I was embarassing myself.

I was well past the time of a Remicade treatment, in fact nearly 4 weeks late. I was feeling SO great without all the medicine in me, feeling stronger, more energy, etc. But there is still a grumble in the gut occasionaly reminding me that I need to stay on the medicines and that is where I was anxious to start the Humira. Praying for fewer side effects!

Amongst other things we traveled to Hawaii to witness friends and like-minded-crazies in the Ironman World Championships. Was so lucky to be able to bring my bike and train while we were there, riding LONG and solo, and battling the headwinds on the Queen K made for a smiling ME! While Mark and buddies were out on the golf course breaking golf carts, losing clubs, and enjoying the views. Outside of training Mark and I got to spend a lot of time together just the two of us, sort of like a real vacation!

As everyone knows you see all the big time pros out and about the week of the ironman so that was no surprise. BUT, what was a big surprise was being at the Kona Aquatic Center on Friday (the afternoon/evening before the race) at 4pm and seeing 5+ big names (oops, the secret may be out) all swimming and hanging out with their children. These pros never stop! Lets just say my swim was nothing short of absolutely amazing that afternoon!

I believe that was our final vacation of the year, we added it up (well actually were working on book-keeping) and realized we traveled 13 times this year (between May and October). This is way more than this home-body is accustomed too. Thankful for all the splendid journeys this year, but even more happy to be at home with the holidays quickly approaching.

Congrats to all the Hawaii Ironman athletes, now bring on the pumpkin flavored goodies and egg nog! As many are winding down I am just winding up the training, just doing as much as I can when it feels right. Needing many more "tough pills" to get me through all the indoor training ahead!

Black Diamond Olympic Triathlon

2011-09-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Wow! The season is officially over, that never really started. I mentioned in previous posts that I was hoping to land myself in one more race here locally and luckily got the opportunity. Black Diamond has been around since I began triathlons 10 (gulp) years ago. I had little expectation going into the race and set the goal of trying to break my time from 5 years ago. 5 years ago I had never done a full or half ironman. It would be nice to think that I would be fully capable of doing this, but you all know how the story has been all year. I also had a little bet with a fellow teammate and so the goal was to come out on top there too :)

We woke up early on Sunday with the blinds shattering with wind and rain storms that forced us to close our windows for the first time in weeks. A few text messages from other athletes deciding not to race, but it didn't stop me. I knew this course was not very technical and I REALLY wanted to race again. Mark reminded me that if we made the drive I would be racing "no matter what the conditions". GAME ON!

It ended up being absolutely perfect conditions. A tad chilly but nothing over the top, the wind was up and making pine needles fly from the tree with the perception of snow falling on the ground. I would later inhale one of those as I was gasping for air on the run.

I got in the water early, as I have yet to EVER forget how chilly the water is at Nolte State Park. My double cap did the trick and the water was perfect! Mark told me to start further left, so I moved a few more people over to the left, where honestly he meant as far left as physically possible. Immediately the girls to the left had a full body length on me. I will remind myself of that when I do this race another five years from now! I worked extra hard to get to the first buoy first, not to be first but to make sure to round it fast enough in hopes that no one would grab onto my feet. Phew....it worked. I needed a minimum of a six minute lead on my teammate to have a chance at winning the bet.

The bike felt good for the first time in ages. I had a power number set in my mind and the goal was to hang onto it for as long as I could. Not the best pacing strategy (but it would have worked had I been rested going into this event, but since the decision last minute there were no changes to the plan and I stuck with running the 30+ miles that were scheduled). I hung on until the last 5 miles....then faded. Power and HR were dropping. But I just went with it. I was racing after all! And teammate X was nearing!

I felt fantastic on the run, despite teammate X passing me on the way out of transition and asking if I was okay. Yes, I was okay, I just don't run as fast as you (yet!). I held on slightly below 7:40 pace. This is great for me right now, yes, I used to run that in a half iroman, but I will take it for now. That is until the last 2 miles. I figured I was fine and didn't need any gu. I mean really, its only two miles. Ugh! Mile 5 was a 9' mile and mile 6 a 9:30....oops!

(1st overall- yeah!)

The goal of surpassing the 2006 time was achieved by about 30 seconds, the bet..... (ie: Addy-rematch!) by 1:30. I will say that had I taken that gel the outcome would be different (ha!) but I will go with it and be more prepared for next time.

My body is just not yet conditioned to use its stored glycogen as fuel, still being totally dependent on gu and more gu (or should I say powergels). I had 2 powergels and all three scoop of PB perform on the bike (410 calories) and still needed more on the run (way more than I ever take per hour on an ironman). As my conditioning improves I know I will be able to limit this number and push harder in the later stages of the racing game.

I was so happy to do this event because I know it is the start to even better things to come. If I keep setting small goals then the big goals will be here before I know it! I learned a lot about where my body is at now and feel like my season has finally begun. Let the training begin!

Once again I can't thank all the amazing support to the right of this blog and my friends, husband and family, for making this journey so much more worthwhile. Everything is more fun with friends and I couldn't have done this without you!

Summer from the eyes of the camera phone.

2011-09-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

Completely stole this idea from Beth S. But her post cracked me up that I couldn't help but go through my “random/unpublished” photos on my phone and realize that it truly brings back memories of the summertime!

Drum roll please (in no particular order):

Kukio Challenge after party. This man was SO tall Mark had to walk up to him to get a comparison on height. Wowza!

An attempt to ZOOM in on the bee that RIP on the Queen K after hitting my chest, leaving my sternum swollen for days.

Boise resevoir. Cold?!

Attempt to take pic of a pic. Dad and I. Yep, braces and puffy paint shirt for my 13th birthday party! Miss you.

Super close-up anyone?

Rev 3, Mark in desperate need for coffee, three shops later we landed here. Unaware of where we "really" were. Very difficult to make eye contact!

Brent this is a pic of B, for you! She can't wait for the next run date!

Lake Stevens OCD participants vehicle. Must be organized to succeed! And the front seat looks the same.

"You can use anything."- says CDA homeowner. Golf cart gets flat tire, golf cart keys get thrown on roof top. Maybe next time the golf cart will be off-limits. :)

Phone cover. Leopard or trout?!

Anyone doing Canada just may have witnessed these on yellow lake. Gotta love some Betty Designs and then some additional extra flare!

Happy final summer days everyone!

Busy Livin'!

2011-09-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

Not really sure where I left off, not really sure where to begin. But this blog needs some attention :). You see the life of a coach is fun and I wouldn't change it for the world, but you never really get a day off (unless you are super disciplined to give yourself a forced day off). And this is the "high" time for races so time is spent tracking athletes, cheering, meetings, traveling, you get the point.....and what an emotional roller coaster, of lots of highs, it has been!

A quick recap of "life":

Swim for Life is a yearly event I love to do that is not a race, just a fun organized 2.4 mile swim across Lake Washington. I had four great friends on my team that swim practically identical speeds and another 14 TNM teams (each team consists of 4) swim across the lake for the Puget Sound Blood Center. The weather was amazingly beautiful, Mark claims fish jumped over him, and the water was so calm that it made anyone's day beyond enjoyable. I was so sad to miss this event last year, just getting out of the hospital, however, that year was the toughest conditions by far! This event is a fantastic lead up to Ironman Canada so the team really looks forward to it each year.
(swimming through glass)

Then we were of to Long Beach California for my beautiful friend Heather's wedding (whom you will see racing in Las Vegas this coming weekend). It was a weekend full of festivities, including running with an elliptigo chasing us down, 69 cent sunglasses that were the "hit" of the party, and epic eyelash extensions! The pic below truly sums up our friendship. Laughing at the little things and living in the moment. So happy for you dear friend!

Ironman Canada was next on the agenda with 21 TNM athletes ready to race. As always, Canada is exceptionally beautiful and I was blessed to be able to swim/bike/and run to my hearts content while supporting the amazing group of athletes and friends we had racing in the 96 degree sunshine. Each athlete tells a different story out there and I couldn't be more honored to be part of their journey. I am proud of each of you and am excited to watch you grow in this sport and life.

(happy coaches, everyone is in!)

Our highlights of the trip included several bike rides to Naramata (hello bakery!), runs that left Rebecca-ie: mediocre athlete (who is now recognized internationally around the world, and whom will come up with a much more comic blog about this so I won't even attempt) and I gnawing at our tongues for hydration, Bridget devouring bags upon bags of ketchup chips, and just "hanging out with friends and teammates" around the dinner table. Catching up with Kiet (seriously, I could talk with you for hours!)and finally meeting Jill!

And a dear friend/athlete/and TNM coach crushed this weekend at Hy-Vee 5150. Tears of ultimate joy, so proud of you!

Next up: Vegas 70.3 and Kona Ironman. Life is busy, life is good, dreams are coming alive!

Friday Night Swims and Lake Stevens....delayed!

2011-08-21T20:41:00.001-07:00

Friday Night Swim races at Lake Meridian are held twice a year now and land perfectly with the athletes prepping for Ironman CDA and Canada. Since the focus is on my swim I signed up for the 2.4. We arrived early, just to allow for more time to stress over which division to participate in (rubberized or not). Flashbacks of Rev 3 Portland where the temps were 73.6 and feeling warm in the comforting Torque had me debating the actual 75 degree temps of Lake Meridian up until the final minutes. Webb reminded me that this was to be “fun” and no pressure so I figured, if I get hot I could just slow down (what a concept huh?!). I got myself the fresh out of the box TYR Hurricane and TYR tracer goggles and got in a quick warm-up. The water was very “comfortable”. Rumor had it that the first few buoys on the way out can be difficult to site so I played it safe for the first ¼ of the swim, swimming side by side another athlete and leading the first pack of 6 or so swimmers (which had some speedy non-wetsuiters in there). The rumors were true as we could not find the “green” buoy anywhere (the line-up was orange, then green, then yellow, repeat). A kayaker came over to get us as we were way to close to shore. Fellas it’s a good thing there wasn’t a lululemon nearby or we would have really been off course. Never leave me in charge :). By the first turn buoy I finally felt comfortable to swim on my own so I settled into a normal 2.4 mile swim pace and kept myself in check until half way through the second loop to make sure I was not boiling. In the final quarter I added in more power in my arms and a little more bang to the kick to finish it off (Hard to believe if you know how I swim-all legs. Hand me a pull buoy and I drown). I landed first place which got us a huge apple pie that kept my husband happy for days, three to be exact! To note for fun, second place is a cinnamon roll and third a stack of cookies. Always trying to fatten up the podium! (Pie at end of day two!)
Two days later was the Lake Stevens 70.3. We put together a girl relay team with the plan of having a blast. We were the final wave to go off and it was only 3 minutes behind Mark’s wave. I think he stressed all night as to “when” I would catch him. We joked that I would get in front of him and pull him a bit. All joking aside I figured there would be no way we would find each other, UNLESS he followed coach’s instructions of staying on the inside of the buoy line. Relays are always an unexpected abundance of athletes of all abilities. I started out steady to see if there were any “current-collegiate-swimmer-type swimmers”. There was one but not even close to the buoy line where I started. So I swam solo for a bit until catching the wave ahead of us, then the swim went by quick, I felt like I was play frogger in the water trying to dodge swimmers. About a ¼ of the way headed back “home” I saw Mark (he followed instructions :)) ahead of me in his purple cap. It immediately made me laugh…..his fears had come true! Oh, there was so many things going through my head to do to him, but I didn’t want to affect his race, remember this was all about fun for me, he had an agenda (ie: Worlds 70.3). I came up to him on his left, ughhh….he breathes to the right. So I stayed with him stroke per stroke for 5 or so strokes just waiting for him to look over. It was a no-go; he was racing a dude next to him and not even considering looking left. Thinking “I could whack him in the head” OR more kindly I will just get right in front of him, the annoying wife just wanting to say “hi”, and if I do something really obnoxious he WILL notice me. Backstroke it is…..so I did some backstroke with a super-grin and he finally acknowledge my existence in the smelly lake of Lake Stevens. It was LOVE. I continued on and got out of the water knowing my swim time would not be pretty because I felt like I was “playing” the whole time, never really thinking of racing. I checked my watch and it read 28:xx. That sounded about right, until I later remembered (okay, I looked at ironmanlive) and forgot I had started my watch a minute early. Somehow I managed the fastest women’s split of the day! The timing chip was quickly off and handed to my great friend/TNM coach/training buddy Bridget Jones! She hammered out the bike and buddy Karen ran a half ironman PR. We were women relay champs!!! Yeah! Very upset we don't have a photo of the three of us :(

And Double-Yeah to Webb for qualifying for Vegas…bring on the heat and hills and for me the suntan!

Islander Aquathon I

2011-08-08T21:18:00.001-07:00

Although I am banned from any big races, I have received the okay to do some smaller events. I am avoiding the swim/bike/run all together stuff for now, but don’t be surprised if you see my name on a start list of a local tri at end of season :).

The Islander Aquathon consisted of a 1000yd swim and a 10K run. After looking at the results from last year this race would take me right around an hour which is PERFECT for my fitness right now (run course differed this year). We have been working on building up my swimming right now to build up a solid aerobic base, as anything over 2 hours on the bike or 1 hour on the run leaves me exhausted for the remaining portion of the day. I would be sleeping my life away if we had any other plan!

As usual, the decision to race would be last minute. It fell on a Wednesday and the Friday prior I had Remicade and the doctors attempting a new medicine (DHE) to help prevent the post-treatment-migraine-ER-visit-chaos. After 1cc of the DHE (prescription called for 10cc) I had the worst reaction to medicine ever. Jaw went numb, then chest, then closer to my sternum, then began sweating profusely, followed by excessive vomiting (sorry guys!). Needless to say, it didn’t work, and by 2:30am on Sunday morning we cashed in our frequent flier miles once again to the ER. Was feeling fine by Tuesday and wanted to race. I have accepted this now as my just “normal” routine and want to play when by body says play.

By 5pm Wednesday it was a gorgeous 70 degrees so we strolled to Mercer Island to let me race for CHOCOLATE (the grand prize).

(The trusty fast TYR Hurricane wetsuit and myself!)

The swim: I started out fast on this two loop course, okay, maybe too fast….as I dove back in I was a tad nauseous (typical two loop fashion. ie: ironman CDA) and had to slow it down a tad to keep some fuel in me. I was happy to land my one and only goal of the day of having the fastest swim split!

So lucky no one passed me as I was “sitting” in T1 trying to get my wetsuit off, not on purpose, but because I literally fell on my booty trying to get it off using the “tap-dance” style that needs to be re-perfected for sure.

(gorgeous trail run through Luther Burbank Park)

The run: 4 loop hilly up and down on gravel, on grass, on pavement, and on sticks. On loop two I ran into a girl who had made a slight wrong turn landing us side by side. We ran within two feet of each other, taking turns on leader, for nearly three loops. It felt good to be “racing” again and especially to be pushing the pace while running! By the middle of the third loop I will admit, I was D.O.N.E. The goal going in was to just run as this would be my longest run in some time. I found out the girl I was racing was one loop behind me, “phew”. I backed off, or just slowed down in general, and enjoyed just smiling while running!

(On the podium with great speedy friends!)

It was so much fun to be out racing, to push the pace again, and to have so many friends out there! The Luna Chix-Seattle were “manning” each corner and seeing each one of them FOUR times was a treat! And then super-buddy Kirk Sall was there to witness my victorious fist-pump. And of course to have so many teammates and Mark (reminding me of “no-pressure, just fun”) too made the day such a blast. And SO much chocolate we got to bring home!!!!!
The same event falls again at the end of the month…..hmmm….I can’t wait!

*On the medical front we are stopping the Remicade and switching to Humira (assuming insurance gives us the okay). These are self-injections every two weeks with the first treatment being in the ER (lets hope this is the last ER visit for eternity). Fingers and toes crossed that this will have way less side effects, in less than six weeks we will know!

Fat Salmon 2011

2011-07-29T13:01:00.000-07:00

Fat Salmon!

(Fellow fish, I mean teammates and a view of the "scene"!)

(Enjoying this gorgeous day!)

My favorite open water swim race was this past weekend (2010, 2009) . The sun was FINALLY out in Seattle so the day was absolutely beautiful to swim 3.2 miles from I-90 to Madison Beach. Choppy waters made this event a little more challenging than years prior adding 4-5' on most swimmers results from previous years (a long eight additional 8 minutes for me). My past swim buddy was gone from the get-go, so no pedicure for good-ole' Tom while swimming THIS year!

(Tom, the speedy feet dude! 4th overall and #1 Master!)

(Mark demolishes his first 3-mile open water race!)

(Bridget and I ie: partner in crime!)

The choppier the water the more strength is needed. As I long for more strength, that I recognize can not be achieved through swim/bike/run alone, I (and Bridget) have enlisted in my long time buddy Curt Ligot and his Kinetic Force shenanigans to get me in "fightin' shape", as I am now officially now at "fightin' weight" (Insert big smile! Take that UC!!!). Excited for a few focused months of building some real muscle back, the heels and wedges will be in the back of my closet for now!

Thank you TYR for the amazing Hurricane, tracer goggles, and comfy suit to do this super fun adventure!

To more open water swimming, strength, and health....life is good!

Rev 3 Portland 2011

2011-07-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

I did it! The 2011 goal was to complete a triathlon. Seems so minor from where I was a year ago. Seems so BIG from where I have been this past year. (reminder posts: here and here)Who would have thought? Would love to say I did the race to prove to myself “I am back!” but really I am so far from that (but will use that as a blog title someday!).

I did this race for ME. I needed to know that I could do this sport again. Yes, it is incredibly challenging to go to a start line with not even half the fitness I had currently displayed, especially with a little “P” marked on your left calf. The “P” represents professional, a choice I made when my health was at its best for months. But at the end of the day, life is too short, and I wanted to play. I didn’t want to wait around until my fitness surpassed where I was in July of 2010 just because of the “P” status and the expectations that are placed on you while “displaying” it.

This race brought more tears to my eyes than any athletic event I have ever participated in. Everything truly felt surreal.

It is challenging to write this report because it felt so unusual than any other race in my life. There was no second or third gear, there is no pushing the pace, and there is very little fitness to pull from. It was a race of staying steady and making it to the line on both feet. This made it incredibly challenging to “race” as it was nothing of that sort for me.

Although it may sound dramatic, the truth is, my mind could not stop flashing back to the days in the hospital bed (total of 7 nights, over 10 ER visits, and one only 2 weeks prior to this race). To the days of taking 50mg of Prednisone and 3 vicodin for over 5 months (and tapering off these medications have been even more of a challenge). My training is half of what it used to be, simply because the recovery time is twice as long for any workout. I need two days off a week, and typically have 10 hours + a night of sleep. When the going got tough I would just smile thinking about how lucky I was to be out on a beautifully sunny day, with 31 TNM athletes, and countless supporters out there cheering for me. I was awe-struck by how many people had really followed this journey back to health that did not even know me.

I did not need this race to show to me or anyone else how weak I have become (losing over 8 pounds and I can tell you it was all muscle), I needed this race to know exactly where my body is now, how much recovery time is needed, and to help coach and I move forward with my upcoming plans. I needed to just get out there again, experience living, and doing what I love. I got all this and more.
You will probably not see me at a triathlon for the remainder of the year, Coach and Mark and I have developed a plan as my fitness and health improve to get me stronger. With this intact, I am accepting of the strategy to taking a few more months off of triathlon racing. I got my fix and am satisfied….for now!

To my amazing supporters (a little story first):
My swim coach growing up (Dick Hannula) would, along with emphasize the importance of our fitness and health, would also highlight the priority of friendships and the relationships formed in sports. His words were “Your best friends in the world are with you during your highest- highs, and your lowest- lows”. He would reference this as our teammates sharing the same experiences during every practice, every swim meet, every great success, every hardship. And that they were!
It takes a true person, a true company, and a true heart to support someone during their most challenging times to date:
Thank you to TYR, Gerk's Issaquah, RUDY Project, Cyclops, Lululemon,Brian Perry, Peter Schmidt, Mom, Mark, all my teammates, tri-buddies, coaches, doctors and family.

With you guys......anything is possible!

June and on to the other side!

2011-06-29T21:55:00.000-07:00

We've been doing a lot, but who hasn't. Unfortunately, we have been doing so much that I can't even remember what we did yesterday!

Here are some highlights for the month of June (post-Hawaiian sunshine):

Boise 70.3-

*Went to observe the athletes race and planned for a little swim training. The lake, more or less, left us feeling like we were freezing our bodies for future lab testing.

*Friend, TNM Coach and athlete- Kim Pancoast won the overall amateur in her first half ever!

(strong, strong, stronger)

*With athlete-tracking down I played the role of Matt Lieto and Hillary Biscay for a short amount of time to send updated to the world (okay to twitter fans, but you get the idea)
Ironman CDA-
Upon return we had postponed my Remicade treatment to the following Monday so I could enjoy a weekend at home. The training was superb and all I had hoped for this weekend. Thanks to Brent Hardy for keeping me honest, or is it the other way around?!
Monday I had treatment. By Wednesday our nomad-like selves were off to Ironman CDA. An entire week of VACATION! My vision was clear going into this. Loads of times with friends, family, training, and eating. The minutes were booked to the second. By Wednesday afternoon the head was aching.

You would think we know the routine by now but the medicines are still changing so each treatment is different. All that “pre-booked” time became eternity in the “Dream” bedroom of our 6-bedroom rented home. And a visit to the ER. Once the migraine (not sure of the terminology of a migraine-beyond-migraines, but it hurts and I can only accept vomitting while racing an ironman) diminishes it is still a few days of feeling really wonky before returning to normal life. Can’t thank our loving family enough for helping me, once again. (Webbs, Cunninghams, Mom and hubby Webb).

Some photos of what I wanted to be doing:

(These two champs swam in the minus 55 degree water....brrr! Maybe the migraine WAS a blessing...ha!) (Current was so strong that the paddle boat got stuck at shore, these boys came to the rescue but still had to be pulled in by the boaters!)

By Sunday I was feeling up for cheering on friends from all over the country! Every Ironman event is beyond surreal. So many dreams coming true in one day, at one event! The TNM team had an amazing day and Mark came out with more improvements than ever. He continues to prove that hard work DOES pay off!
(the boys an hour before conquering the world)

As for racing, Rev 3 Portland has always been on the table. Taking an entire week off (with only 3 weeks to go) was less than ideal. We are beginning to realize that my training plan is 6 weeks ON, 1 week completely OFF. Once home I was able to get in 4 solid days of training and now sniffles and congestion is settling in. Painfully depressing blog, I know!

So Rev 3 continues to be a yes, then a no, and is an affirmative maybe now. The decision will be made by race morning.

My fitness is far from where it was, and I am staying away from comparing THEN from NOW. My new now is what matters and my fitness has continued to improve since beginning training in the last week of February this year. That is all I can truly ask for.

There was a plan to participate in a smaller race for lead up but for a few reasons I bailed out, primarily due to the torrential downpour, but too, because I was clearly not ready. Not ready mentally. This was a huge eye opener for me because I had not realized the level of confidence you get from racing frequently. There is a level of assurance I had not realized existed in myself. I was so unsure about everything that I knew my day would not unfold in a positive manner. I was more nervous that I had ever been in my life going into a race. I, pulled a quick U-turn and headed straight home. More mental training needed for me!

Rev 3 Portland will mark exactly one year since I have had the opportunity to race.

Fitness or not, my heart is strong and my mind is tenacious with belief, with that, the body will mimic.

Kukio Challenge

2011-06-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

Another trip down and it is always so sad to leave Hawaii! I am not cleared to do a "full" triathlon yet so I continue to enter fun activities and try new things. I heard of the Kukio challenge last year from Kiet and Bree and when I knew I would not be racing Honu 70.3 I jumped on the Kukio Challenge bandwagon.

What it is:

1/2 mile swim, 3 mile run (uphill and then back down), 2 mile paddle board.

Swimming: done that forever

Running: coming back slowly but surely

Paddleboarding: once at Honu 70.3 2010 and once the week of the 2011 Kukio Challenge

We took of from the swim and there was no draft from Flannigan as he took off and we battled the chop. It was two quick buoys and with difficulty sighting the shore I stayed with the board short dudes stroke per stroke to stay on target to the shore.

The run was up and up and Rachel had pre-warned me about this. She sped past me on the way down the hill in her cute Betty Designs signature suit (BTW she raced Honu the day before!).

The paddle: YIKES! Volunteers knew my lack of paddle experience so I was told it was okay to stay on my knees. I saw the far buoy and it was not getting any closer. I had a Powerbar energy gel in my suit but could not reach for it, in fear that I would move back another 10 feet if I stopped paddling. I promised myself that Powergel no-matter-what when I reached the buoy. But it was like holding a donut in front of a starving individual....it was never coming to an end! 25'ish minutes later I made it to the turnaround. I was ready to sunbathe on my board at this point as I lied down to take the ever-so-sought-after gel. I need to train to sit on my knees that long! The paddle back was much more "refreshing" as the waves assisted in the forward movement and the calories gave the muscles power to motor home. In the finish chute I reached the volunteers and immediately a the big Kahuna wave came over me and flushed me to outside the buoys. Yep, I was "that girl" making the grand exit after being on the paddle portion of this event longer than anyone. Flailing outside the finish chute, cutting up the toes, and smiling while running the dirt path to the finish line!

So I was passed by all the islanders, however, somehow managed first in the division (Rachel took 1st overall thrashing the women's field).

I will be back.....and next time on the prone board simulating swimming on a board, instead of submerging an oar into the thrashing waters of the ocean and moving no-where-fast!

Thanks Kukio for the amazing venue, amazing pumpkin pancake, fresh fruit, drinks, and sushi, and super fun event. Kiet we have a challenge next year!

Cross check complete.

2011-05-27T23:08:00.001-07:00

We are off again. Lots of travel has left me far away from the computer. Last week was the TNM CDA (I miss-spell it everytime so it will forever be in initials) camp. And now we are in Hawaii which was our honeymoon and a race for both of us last year.

Yep, its been one-full year that has been a whirlwind and along the way (dang, still need to order wedding photos too!). From sleeping on hospital floors, to taking over my daily tasks, to helping me keep my head on straight, through EVERY doctors appointment and his unconditional love and support our love was tested for sure. I am not sure how I would have possibly made it through without this man in my life. THANK YOU!

We have mastered traveling....Mark packs bikes, Teresa over-packs her luggage, Teresa then SECRETLY packs more stuff in bike boxes and Marks luggage....it is working out nicely and I have yet to exceed the 50lb maximum in any bag. :)

We left early last week for CDA because mid-70 temps were calling our names. We got in some solid training (two 70+ mile rides for me=happy) before and in-between helping the seven amazing campers with their goals for the weekend of training. They are all looking great and in 5 weeks (gulp...maybe closer to 4 weeks) their dedication will pay off. So excited to watch them flourish!

(Sunny biking days, thanks Betty Designs for the super stylin kit!)

(43 degree ice bath...yikes!)

Then it was 4 days of "real work". Getting things done in overtime so we can enjoy some vacay', a little work, and a little play, and top the next weekend off with some weekend racing/cheering in Kona. We nearly pulled an all-nighter, which I am become all to familiar with (the last flying trip the royal wedding was being televised, so it made sense to pack and clean through the night...who's with me here?! :)), to get everything together and I was still 10 min late getting out the door this morning. Luggage-would-not-zip-up! Going to try to redeem myself for the Boise trip up next :)

(Waiting to go play ALL week in Hawaii)

Things are looking again with my health and I submitted the 2011 racing license to USAT. I see a race in my deck of cards by the end of the year. Fingers crossed!

Playin' tricks!

2011-05-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

This weather is really playing some tricks on us! It is amazing how much more of a "challenge" it is to get outside when it is grey, wet, windy (insert more complaining here). I accept it during the winter, but each day this past week has been incredibly different.

One, naturally, would believe that if it is 60 and gorgeously sunny with only a few clouds that the weather man is "off" saying the next day will bring the biggest rain fall yet. But he was right and the plans of riding with the girls all day was quickly knixed! I waited until 6pm on a Sunday for the rain to stop and then played mind games with myself for a bit longer only to land my bum on the bike trainer, as the rest of Seattle (and all those that escaped to Wenatchee in hopes for great weather) had to do.

Luckily there is a bit of flexibility in my schedule (and so do my best training buddies) so we were able to jump on our biking wheels at the break of sunshine for a few great rides this week. Lucky we were! And I really felt like I had a break-through brick workout on one of those that left me smiling for the rest of the day!!

We are looking forward to Ironman CDA camp (we will miss you Kiet, but I will warm the course up for you!) and then the next week off to Honu 70.3 where the weather will have no effect on the excitement to train!

Sunny days ahead and grey skies behind us (please?!).

I want you back....and some Wildflower news!

2011-05-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

My fitness is slow, slow, slowly returning.......and then I get stopped in my tracks....and then it feels like starting from square one again. A few weeks on then 3-4 days off then repeat. Not the most ideal training schedule but it is better than having my bum sealed to the couch participating in online window shopping.

The medicines I am weening off of is going at a much slower rate because they are sparking the headaches/mini-migraines that are wiping me out for a few days. And the fear of falling into the horrific conditions of last year leave Mark and I "playing" it safe and not taking any risks when it comes to my health. Health first, racing second!

The plan was to have me ready to race Rev 3 July 10th in Portland but it is starting to look a bit slim with the constant adjustments to my training plan. Although 90% of it is getting done, I stress over the additional 10% that I feel are key workouts in prepping this out of shape body. Muscle...I want strong, speedy muscle! So instead of stressing too much I am left embracing the 90% (90% more than I was able to do) and just going to see what this body is ready for come July 10.

I have a few big training weekends ahead and anticipate to tackle them with all my might. Primarily since they land directly in the middle of treatments at the point when I feel the most functional!

And a quick Wildflower Recap!
Genevieve-First triathlon EVER....need we say more!

Kara- Wins overall amateur in the last 50 yards!!

Kim took note from our speedy stylin' car and placed second in the Olympic and qualified for her pro license!

Jeff and Mark who raced their hearts out in prep for CDA and took care of all us girls!

With these results one must believe there was something in the chicken (or the peep s'mores) at our campsite.....we are taking reservations NOW for next year!

To all of you racing currently: you continue to inspire me, give me hope, and know that dreams do come true! Let your journey continue!

April Birthdays!

2011-04-18T19:08:00.000-07:00

April is THE month that we have the most closest friends celebrating their day of birth. Call it a cupcake a day, a month of hoopla, endless smiles!

*It started with an "April" birthday ride. 4 of us ventured out together while our 5th gang member was awaiting the birth of his child. Welcome little boy Viggo.

*Then we celebrated Bridget Jones's (amazing friend, co-worker, and best buddy), 30th birthday discussing how once you hit the 30's you have a BIG celebration every decade. Fortunately Bridget and I eat enough cake that we celebrate year-round! The "gift" of the night was the shaker and it provided some major entertainment (and just may be regifted at Christmas):

*Opening night at Safeco Field!

(Mom and I)

*Then a Lululemon photo shoot! The rain/wind left our knuckles red and the makeup in shambles. But the ladies and laughs made the moment one that was so great you can only hope to be able to relive something similar again someday. Thank you Amanda, Grace, Bridget, and Andria.

(So sore from running/hopping for the perfect picture)

*My personal birthday DAY was finished off with dinner at my favorite La Rustica and enough clothing gifts from Mark to compile a new outfit each day until the end of the month (well, nearly).

*Off to Long Beach we were then to have a mini-training camp (Thank you John) and connect with the greatest group of girls (and a few guys) for endless riding, running, and swimming. Was so excited I nearly forgot that my lugguage took a little detour and didn't quite make it to CA in time. But TYR set us up immediately with wetsuits to get in a couple open water swims. Absolutely the best they are. Using yachts as our buoys was VERY new to us! Our last ride was the BEST with very little planning we grouped together and ended up making what felt like a 2 hour ride, that was supposed to be a 3 hour ride, become a 5 hour ride. Time with your girlfriends can do that too you.

Thank you Heather, Megan, and Tracy, Kevin, John and Mark for the training escapade.

(H* and Mega-Meg...can't wait for the wedding!)

*Finally, the birthday week was filled with the biggest surprise of having my super best bud from college (met doing fitness competitions and have been inseparable since), by acquaintance, land herself in the OC the same time we were there! She (Kelley Renae) just finished her second MMA fight (yes, she is a super bad-*ss) and was on a little break. So sun, shopping and food were high on our to-do list.

(There is a reason I did not post a picture of us together!!!)

*The week has left me so blessed, so thankful, and so tired! Happy to be home with the lil' cats and some relaxation before Wildflower adventures come in the next two weeks. And a few more birthdays!

Beyond Gorgeous.

2011-03-27T19:38:00.000-07:00

Rarely running super early in the morning I was missing our breath-taking view in our backyard. Friday I snuck in an early run before Remicade treatment knowing the television would be programmed to Sex and the City re-runs all weekend (NO complaining here) and my booty super-glued to the couch (complaining here). While running, a camera was the only thing missing to capture this amazing view. Unknown to me, a teammate (thanks Genevieve) captured this beautiful picture the following day. Same time, same place, beautiful skyline! If you ever visit Seattle please arise early and take on this Alki scenary. Just may even just roll out of bed and run with you!

Mercer Island 5K

2011-03-25T11:51:00.000-07:00

A lesson was learned at the Desert Tri 10K that I was NOT ready for that distance. So I plopped myself into a race half the distance instead. Over 20 TNM athletes were racing between the Half marathon, the 10K and the 5K, so it would just be "too" much fun to pass up. AND with a tempo run on my schedule it fit perfectly.

Race morning was the deceptive "sunny". While glancing outside you think tank and shorts but in reality its a much needed pants, gloves, and a hat kind of day. Luckily the 5K didn't take off until 9:30 when the temps were rising.

Zero expectations means pure enjoyment. The course is downhill'ish for the first mile and then you climb a summit for the last two. Reminder: you need MUSCLE to climb, mine have all disappeared, so these climbs were a strenuous dig-deep effort coming from the bone. My heart was left beating outside of my chest and by breathe sounding like a smoker. Enjoyment?! Yes, indeed! As for results: Luckily all the "real" runners were in the "longer" events I was able to win the age group and place fourth overall.

(Yes, that is a kid behind me!)

In other training notes, the sun has squeaked out here in Seattle. Old training buddies (and new, thanks Libby for the hook-up!) and the sparkly Specialized bike got out for an inaugural ride. Had to break the reflectors off to eliminate any harassing by the teammates! ;)

This day was a reminder of how much I LOVE this sport and the friendships. 28 miles blew by with humor, hard work, and the sun at our backs. Also happy to report there is no longer confusion when glancing at cadence and power numbers on the Cyclops Joule (it was a sad sight for awhile), feeling a little more robust each week.

We have successfully made it to the next Remicade treatment in superb health. Sitting here being pumped with more drugs and preparing for the next few days of rest I am thankful and happy with the way things are progressing.

The wishes of a solid training block are within days of reach!

Enjoy the sunshine, the races, and the friendships this upcoming weekend and beyond.

Boomerang!

2011-03-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

This boomerang is on the way back!

I am one week from my next treatment and am perplexed by this turnaround. A number of things have changed in a few (not-so-short) weeks.

*vicoden-be-gone (yep, was taking 2+ a day, eventually you stop counting)

*meds cut in half (my face may be returning to normal size now)

*eating fruit and veggies (those got knixed on day one of the hospital)

*sleeping through the night (10+ bathroom trips a night became the "norm")

*sleeping on tummy or any other comfy position my heart desires

*running (or any exercise) without emergency restroom (or non-restroom breaks...oops ;))

Unbelievable how things are turning around (insert happy girl here). Living so much in the moment, I had not realized how gloomy my health had become. There was an acceptance of a "new-normal", a different way of life. Now that I am returning to the "real-normal" I forgot how it feels to be unconfined. Much more appreciation for everything now.

And why, you may ask, did I post the angry bird picture? While away on this hiatus I became addicted to the game (thanks team for the ipad) and (confession!) passed every level. Is that something to be proud of? If you haven't played, I warn you, "don't start"!

But this lil' bird does the "boomrang" and he has to turn-around at the "perfect" time in order to "win". Knew he came into my life for a reason!

Desert Tri

2011-03-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

Yep, this was a couple weekends ago, my excuse: I felt like I ran an entire marathon. Recovery has been brutal!

A few weeks ago (or a month...who's counting...its snow, its rain, its minus 40 degrees out!) we froze and froze and needed a sunshiny place to hang our hats. Nothing better than going to visit three of our favorite girlfriends, Tracy, Heather, and Ashlea, all whom have lived in Seattle and were "smart" and made the move to Sunny California.

Mark had some miles upon miles to put in. I, on the other hand, had some tanning and friend time to be had. It's a tough act balancing sleeping in, waiting for the Havianas store to open, and getting in pool time, but somehow we managed.

Luckily there was a race in Palm Spring to add to the top of this Sunday or Sundae! A few of us are just getting back into the racing front. Thankfully TYR suited us up in their new competitor gear and sent us out to see what we were made of! 1st place!

Heather started us out with her fastest swim to date (was not a surprise seeing her improvements in the pool). If you can check out her FB video you can see!

Mega-Meg busted out a bike split that HAD to have made the men's (and womens) jaws drop as she zoomed by!

And I ran a marathon (okay, 6.1 miles) or so it felt! My goal was to break a: 48 since my training included the following:
Leading up to race week 20-30 minute runs- VERY frequently, VERY easy.
Monday leading up to the race: 4.5 miles non-stop
And two 20' runs all at 8:30's or slower.
Sunday RACE DAY!

I was incredibly happy running a 44ish and a 7:24 pace. Yes, I needed a gu and the last 2 miles were miserably painful....but I wouldn't change it for anything. Hard to believe I could run this pace in a half ironman just less than a year ago. I will be back, time will tell soon and I can't wait!

Mark did phenomenal with his first race of the season. He has been focusing on pacing and running off the bike and he nailed it!

Luckily we will be back in just a few short weeks, this time with my bike and with more miles to conquer.

Missing the ladies already, can't wait for more outings!

Swim meet.

2011-03-07T22:05:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you did something for the first time? This was the motto of my first triathlon ever. The Seattle Danskin. It has stuck.

In getting back into things, it truly feels like everything is "new". A little scary, a ton of unknowns, followed up with a small sense of accomplishment. Attempting to find a routine normalcy, different from what I have become accustomed to the last 7 months. Finding myself feeling like the ugly duckling going into anything, a little awkward, a little gun shy, a little insecure.

With the help of some friends I went back to my roots to get going. Okay, swim meets are not new, but it has been 10 years since doing a swim meet. I figured "muscle memory" would take over...boy was I wrong!

Started with the 100 free, and luckily my swim buddy was in my wave, whom led me through Fat Salmon in July. Ironically we got the exact same time, however, he paced it WAY better than myself. Where I faded by 4 seconds in the second 50....oops.

Then it was the 2011 200 freestyle relay (video) of the year....boo yah! Mark lead us off (no blocks for this guy because those goggles were going to stay on!) His FIRST swim meet ever. Then two law students, Megan and Brent (check out the air-kick that has us crying and laughing in synch). I anchored and the speed off the blocks has gone bye-bye!

50 butterfly was just minutes later and was my favorite event of the day. Then the 100 back. Using the wisdom I acquired from the 100 free earlier in the day, the second 50 was nearly the same as the first. Success!

By my last event, the 50 free, I was TOAST. Slower than the relay, slower than the first 50 of the 100 free performed earlier that day...it was time to call it a wrap!

Thanks to TYR for goggles that stayed on, the suit that let me play, and the bag that carries all the goods!

So much fun to be racing, diving off blocks and laughing with friends again. Forgot how freezing it is getting in and out of the water and having a gazillion towels weighing 100 lbs each after the meet. The good ole' days were celebrated, but it will be another year or ten before you see me doing this again (then again nationals is in April....tempting!)

TYR Kinetic.

2011-03-01T15:20:00.001-08:00

It has arrived!

TYR Kinetic

My girlfriend Heather has been raving about this stuff and I have been eyeing it for months! I was ecstatic to be able to order nearly the entire line (can't wait for the shorts to arrive!). As many of you know my shopping habits mimic my training habits and so I jumped on the Kinect bandwagon like jumping on a brand new bike or any bike for that matter!

What do I love about the gear?

#1 The shirts/tops are LONG...yes, cover your tummy, over the waistband of your shorts, comforted bliss.

#2 HELLO PINK (need I say more!)......and BLUE is following closely behind!!!!!

(cycle short and run capri and kitty)

#3 Thumbholes and/or longer sleeves to keep the paws warm. Warm hands,warm heart!

#4 Matchy, matchy....yep, you gotta order it all to match it all up.....they are still working on the scunchies :)!

TYR did a number on this line with their creativity, design, and providing the athlete with the necessities of looking good and feeling good! The sizing is spot on too. Tops fit perfect to size and bottoms too (but if in between sizes on bottoms I suggest sizing down).

Next week I will be modeling in Palm Springs rather than these fine plastic hangers.

I put the stamp of approval that this stuff will stay!

PS. NO, I did not only get four pieces! Not shown: short sleeved top, tank top, sport top and duplicates :)

Somethin' that'll light up this whole town!

2011-02-18T12:00:00.000-08:00

"If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it"

-Andy Rooney

How can I make this post one big smily face...the title, the body, the ending?!

Curently have been missing from blogland for a reason, I have training to balance into all other "things" now, and that is said with huge joy!

Trying not to jump to far ahead of things, as there is a minor trend of big smile, big tear, big smile, big tear in previous posts. This time around is truely different.

My eyes sparkle to see the suits are stacking up in the tub, the laundry is piling up, the new bike is being fit, and the run shoes are "fresh" (refused to buy new shoes until I was ready to stack mileage on them).

How is this different than previous "attempts"?

Before I was fighting the urge to want to train and do more. NOW it "feels" right and it "is" right. I have no hesitation. It is about being smart in the coming weeks and I am confident I can do that!

Did I mention how ecstatic this makes me feel?!

The update is that leading into each Remicade treatment we have been doing "everything" to not end up in the hospital. Four weeks ago we added in another medicine (Immuran) that I was taking during my last flare up (this was a few months before St Croix in 2009). It takes about 3 weeks to work. The week leading up to Remicade,which was week #3, I felt fantastic, was working out, and now post-Remicade things continue to look up...no set-backs...no ER visits, no migraines, just a

big shine of light at the end of the tunnel.

Moving forward, these next few weeks we build my training SLOWLY until we are further into the "clear" and then proceed with racing plans.

Gettin' chills already!

"A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people your at home"

-unknown

The Simply Bar.

2011-02-07T18:46:00.000-08:00

The Simply Bar.

Not just another bar, a bar I could eat!

It’s just that Simply a FANTASTIC Bar.

With Ulcerative Colitis (or without) it is tough to find good foods that are quick, give you energy, are not heavy and make you feel good (and more or less don’t send you flying to the restroom).

Just some fast facts (like you need to be sold on this bar...the TNM'mates are loving them!):

*Its high in protein! Not the chalky, upset tummy, type protein.
*Its low in sugars and fat.
*It tastes like a rice krispie! (Which keeps me coming back for more!)
*So many different flavors, so many taste buds to full-fill. They are ALL great….but I have a soft side for anything peanut butter. Oh, and the lemon coconut (Kona-heaven), the cocoa raspberry, all super-YUM!
*This bar is natural!
*Gluten free, milk, free, no refined, sugars, no additives/preservative, no bad fats…it does not get any better than this.

I find my sneaky husband wanting them as a little post-workout snack too!

Better yet, they have a Simply Snack for when you need just a 100 calorie snack. GENIUS!

And a company like this would not be complete without their amazing staff! ALWAYS on hand to answer questions and respond to your needs. Absolutely FABULOUS!

If you would like to try a sample email ME! teresa@tnmultisports.com

Addiction

2011-01-24T08:36:00.000-08:00

What to do with all this additional time. Replacing one addiction with another so to say. In the world of online shopping this has posed a challenge but allrecipies.com has been doing okay with keeping my hands off of the Lululemon and Free people "add to cart" button.

Along with studying, applying for a few "said" things (to be announced later) and furthering my education I also became the "real" wife this weekend. ("real"- meaning everything I haven't been this past year!)

It started off with just a quick trip to Target (is that possible), then to Bed Bath and Beyond, then to Staples, then to the grocery store and a lil' Starbucks too. I can't help that they each fall within the same half mile complex. By the time I got home the car was flooding over and I was frazzled on how to get all the goodies inside. Three trips it took and another three to the trash once my "mini-remodel" was complete. This is REAL exercise!

Mark was off on his long endurance ride in prep for CDA. I was on the endurance shopping spree.

He luckily came home to all new bedding and pillows, oh so plush! Cream, with reds and browns, and purples. Oh, but sleeping in a new bed was bliss! I'd post a photo but he's still sleeping in it!!

He also arrived home to some home-made chicken pot pie (I cook about 4 different things, each once a year, and this is one of his faves!). Photo to be found on is FB page. Oh, and some crock-pot chili too. We have food for the week! And more fun recipes to follow.

Then it was back to studying and organizing all things work and education related.

I feel so organized, so on the ball, and have all new systems in place that make life more manageable.

Bring on the day!

Athlete

2011-01-13T21:45:00.000-08:00

I wrote this post prior to my last remicade treatment...it has been sitting in the "edit" section. Do I share? Do I not? What to do? I am just as tired of depressing blog posts and hang on knowing that these will hopefully turn to amazingly exciting blog posts when a breakthrough occurs.

I have decided to share because I may have a glimpse of hope again since my last treatment to race again. And I have landed myself in the pool again. And in the grand scheme of things I have had a couple solid weeks of training, just a tad sporatic, and halted unexpectantly.

For starters I did not end up in the hospital this time, we went back to an old medicine I took awhile back, adding this in may be helping. I have gained 2 pounds and am hungry now....I think this is a good sign of moving in the right direction!

I have decided to share because it speaks from my heart.

I have decided to share because it may speak to someone who may benefit.

So here goes:

December 21.

Since I was young (age 4 to be exact) I was an athlete. An athlete to me is someone who sets goals, aims high and lives and breathes to achieve them. I was this person. I would dream big! Many would say I was naturally gifted. I disagree.

I was gifted with determination, support, and amazing coaches that allowed me to be my best. Many would think my goals were crazy, but without hesitation, would support me as I played day in and day out to reach my dreams.

From gymnastics, to swimming, to bodybuilding/fitness, to triathlon...I have had a ton of fun. Losing, winning, dreaming and believing.

I have been MIA for a reason. I was given hope that I would be able to perform in 2011. Although I have lost huge amounts of fitness, I have gained a bigger heart and still believed that I could pull from the passion to hit some of my 2011 goals. I continued to dream big. But the bottom line is the Remicade is not working as planned. I am sick again...and doing all I can to stay out of the hospital.

Dreaming big to me NOW has very little to do with being an athlete. I would give anything to live as I have since the age of 4, but it is not in my cards...not right now. For the first time in my life my fitness no longer matters, racing no longer matters, and being an athlete is no longer. Okay, it does matter...a ton actually. I am hoping and praying that I someday again, in this lifetime, I will be able, be gifted, and be honered to swim, bike and run....in that order.... on the same day. I miss the training and I miss the smile across the finish line, amongst many other things. I am sure my family misses it just as much.

Trust me, I am not throwing in the towel, that is now how I roll....I have just never had to "just be", not had to recite my goals, visualize a perfect race, nor attempt to jump a mountain as I am now. I never imagined I would be in this situation.

One thing I can admit is that I have always appreciated racing and appreciated my body for letting me race. I smiled acrossed every line! I have shed tears on the sidelines, I have learned from my mistakes and have always believed that everything happens for a reason. When I was victorious I would share the same smile as when I was defeated. Now that I am where I am, I appreciate that someone along the way taught me this (that would be Coach Hannula). Because I am blessed with zero regrets in my athletic history.

Coaching athletes day in and day out has made me realize how much being an athlete defines us...it is such an honor that many never tap into or never fully appreciate. Continue to remind yourself the gift you have and aim to be your best!

SBR stats for 2010

2011-01-01T13:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Stoked to be wearing these new kicks in 2011:

(A huge shout-out to Gerks Ski and Cycle and Specialized!)

We had a fabulous January-late August getting some early season training, racing, and traveling. Things made a turn for the worse with my health late August. In fact, I am not the best at logging my workouts (bad student!) but I pulled up some data for the entire year (I did get some descent training in during mid-Nov to mid-December, but nothing, truly NOTHING in September, October or late December) :

240 hours cycling

92 hours of swimming

110 hours of running

20 hours of other (this does not include eating!)

*Clearly I love to swim!

* I will eliminate any math for you "crazies" and let you know that the weeks I trained this averaged out to approx 14-16 hours/week. Which, with my health and how much I "rest" I am pleased with considering everything.

*The goals for 2011 are not definable at this moment. Fingers crossed I will make it to a start line (sprint, olympic, swim....I'll take anything!)!

Swim Fun/TRX

2010-12-21T22:57:00.000-08:00

Last year my body let me do 100x100. This year I missed out on that fun for two reasons 1. There was no way my body needed to be pushed to the limits, it is not healthy enough to take on that adventure and 2. the need for continuing education was calling from maintaining several certifications, luckily I landed in a full day of TRX training. From much experience with gymnastics and pilates, lets just say, by the end of the day we were doing some crazy- fun moves!

To make up for the missed holiday swim I did 70+x100 on a light interval with several of the TNM athletes. We were at max capacity with over 20 athletes showing up for the adventure of doing as many 100's as possible (okay, coach put a limit on each of them based on their swim fitness) in 2 hours. It was impressive to see these athletes take their swimming to another level, to watch Mark attempt diving off the blocks for the first time, to see some bikini briefs that have been in hiding since Canada and to see non-flip turners becoming real swimmers! Personally I enjoyed just swimming and working out with the athletes which I never do because I want to be "coaching" while they are training. But this was a "holiday special" so coaches got to play!

(Mark and his ladies...I mean lane mates!)

Mark is becoming a real swimmer and just set a 100 PR of 1:11 (and he will remind you that he does not do" cheater-flips")!!!

(the last of the fishies)

The full two hours was full of laughs, coffee, and donuts! Cheers... to doing it again and again (okay maybe not multiple 100's but some swim fun for sure)....as we have the pool for team swims each month now!!! Yeah!!

PS...Yes ,I do have a health update for you, but it will come after the Christmas holiday...now is the time to celebrate fun times with friends and family! Happiest of holidays friends! xoxo

Short Post, Big Message

2010-12-06T21:48:00.000-08:00

We can all learn a lot from this girl! She truly means what she says and does it all with a smile!

You can click on her post and stop reading here :)

Her most recent post on "wrapping it up" hit home, it made me smile (because I am so proud of her), it made me sad (I miss pushing myself to the limits), it made me excited (because she is a true sum of dedication), it made me happy that I could relate to her message.

Charisa and I raced together for the first time in my first ironman (CDA in 2008). I didn't know her at the start, nor at the finish that day. We became friends through blogging, triathlon, and emailing (still need to figure out the butterfly!). We met for the first time in Kona 2009.

Charisa swam a 1:06 at multiple ironmans (3+) leading up to her pro debut this year. I (well, everyone)watched her throughout the year carry the determination to break that 1:06 barrier (this girl became a fish!). At her first ironman this year, she swam a 1:06 AGAIN....she did not give up and continued with her journey with additional fire in the belly. By the end of the season she swam a :59! I think all of FB had a party for her!

She wasn't just this successful with her swim, but with all the disciples related to triathlon and life. Her message in her post says a lot and I believe everyone can learn from it.

Keep believing, keep dreaming, and recognize that at the end of the day it is you, the clock, your dignity, your passion, and only a "tiny" thing that defines you as a person. Make the best of every race. Hard work does pay off! Be the best you can be...on and off the field!

Back in the Splash.

2010-12-03T20:09:00.000-08:00

I never thought getting back in the pool would bring the emotions that it did. I jumped in feet first (normally, I kind of crawl in and don't even get my head wet until half way down the pool...its cold!) and an instant smile from ear to ear and around my head appeared! It was pure bliss!

(Super happy swimmer....the last time I swam....until now!)

The docs often ask what I do to relax...recommending yoga (which you will never find me doing again) and meditation, reading, etc....for me it is SWIMMING that 100% clears my head and takes me away to another land.

The swims these days consist of no clocks, no lap counting, just pure swimming from the heart and doing what feels right in the moment. Some days it is 15 min others maybe 40...it doesn't matter really, the fact that I GET to swim is where the appreciation lies.

(just one of the fun TYR suits I love!)

And what adds to all this fun excitement is that I finally get to wear all those cute TYR suits that have filled my swim bag. Thank you TYR for making swimming that much more of a wonderful thing!

Run....Snow...Thanks...

2010-11-30T16:44:00.000-08:00

Time is flying by...now that I am past the post-treatment effects! The TNM season is coming to a wraps and we finished off with a super helpful run clinic. Since I can only do light/moderate exercise I am officially forced to work on my form, and let me tell you it was a disaster! So I am perfecting my cross over arms, my floppy feet and learning to run more efficiently...at a slow pace.

(group 1 of 2 on the final clinic day!)

Our holiday plans were re-arranged when we were hit with multiple inches of snow. And the days leading up were filled with evenings out with all of our friends in the West Seattle area, there is something so cozy about being in a restaurant and sharing laughs with your friends knowing that there really is no place better to be and you don't really have to be anywhere the next day either....the snow is magical!

My mother was without power for 3 whole days...so instead of heading over to her home to freeze our booties off, we stayed in West Seattle and went running with a few team members. We lined the streets because the sidewalks were loaded with tailbone-breaking black ice and slushy snow. Nothing beats the holidays with friends and family though because that cold run was finished up with some delish hot cocoa and coffee with loved ones.

(Wild Wagner Webb!)

We finished off Thanksgiving with eats and thankfulness with the Webb family.

We later celebrated with Mom once the snow dried up!

The Seattle marathon falls right after the Turkey Holiday and it was blessed with slightly better weather and Mark ran his fastest Seattle half marathon to date...it was impressive to see him determined and ready! His teammates were close behind keeping the event entertaining for us spectators as our members lined the streets nearly every mile and continually updated me via text at the finish line. A huge congrats to him and great things to come for his Ironman CDA adventure.

(Yeah, it was only a little cold at the start!)

Hope each of you had a fabulous Thanksgiving!

Before/Now

2010-11-11T21:37:00.000-08:00

Remicade treatment #4 has come and gone with similar affects of the third treatment only landing me an additional day in the hospital this go around. Yes, it is becoming a vicious cycle that even the doctors are trying to figure out. Being truthful, the positivity is diminishing. It is getting tough. Life has changed so much, and in years from now, this will mean very little. But for the time being the cumulative effect of these treatments are taking a toll. Often I think of what I would be doing, how I would be doing it, and how my life would be different had the UC not been here. In a flash my BEFORE and my NOW are worlds apart. I have learned so much in a short time, some things to display proudly, others that have taken me by storm, but all of which have continued to shape my journey. The moments that make me smile are the times I have been able to spend with friends. I used to rush from one thing to the next without taking the time to just “be”. I think this has been a drastic change. I still don’t get out much, being that I have to spend more time horizontal than vertical, but I have spent more dinners, shopping, movies and quality time with people who care and those are moments I cherish. I can’t say thank you enough to those of you that have shown me how wonderful this life can be and knowing that there is more beyond triathlon makes me feel better about this seem-to-be-never-ending-roller-coaster-ride my body is flailing along on. It reminds me that this is all part of learning, growing, and trying to be the best I can be in this lifetime.

Here are a few of my experiences in changes over the past few months (in no particular order):

BEFORE, finding time to eat was a chore. NOW, meal time is fun – spent with friends, enjoying time chatting, savoring the moments.

BEFORE, I would never take the stairs over the elevator option for additional exercise because I was too tired from training. NOW, I still choose not to take the stairs to save every bit of energy to spend on more meaningful moments.

BEFORE, I had scaly dry skin from the chlorine ridden mind boggling laps in the pool. NOW, I have even more scaly skin from medication and maybe even from the scratchy blankets in the hospital beds.

BEFORE, I took have thick, long braids for granted. NOW, my hair is minimal, but holds a great ponytail!

BEFORE, I woke up anxious to get on the bike and ride for miles. NOW, I am anxious to make sure I can make it through my small task list for the entire day.

BEFORE, I thought I knew..... NOW I know what truly defines a friend.

BEFORE, I would long for a rest/recovery day to catch up on life. NOW I am a little more caught up on life and have more rest days in my plan than I do “active” days.

BEFORE a long workout would start at 8am and be done no earlier than 2pm. NOW the exercise starts and ends in the same half hour.

BEFORE, my head ached from being caloric deprived from a stellar workout. NOW, my head aches from medications in hopes of being back to doing those stellar workouts.

BEFORE, I spent a lot of dolla' bills on triathlon “things”. NOW, I have a little “extra” in between pay checks.

BEFORE, I worked a lot, I did a lot, I loved a lot, I helped a lot, I gave a lot. NOW, I work less, I do less, I love a lot to those who appreciate, I help a lot to those who appreciate, and I give a lot to those who appreciate.

BEFORE, I never read. NOW, I have read more, studied more and probably could have earned myself a masters degree in the last three months. I love the knowledge I have gained!

BEFORE, my heart ached to race, a time when I felt free and my mind was quiet. NOW, my heart aches for all those feelings to return, an escape, a time to truly feel free.

BEFORE, I loved my husband and knew he would be my life partner and stand by me through it all. NOW, I love my husband even more and he has PROVEN that he will stand by me through it all.

BEFORE I lived for the next workout, the next day…… NOW I live for the moment.

Maui Xterra and living FREE

2010-10-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

We were ready to experience Maui, ready to experience Xterra, and ready to cheer on our friend John . We spent a week in Maui, enjoying life, enjoying a vacation without bikes or racing. No pressure. The week leading up to race day was spent at happy hours, in the sunshine, and at the beach, oh and a ton of sleeping. (laughing so hard it hurt!)

We giggled, laughed, and enjoyed the little things, like water slides and crystal clear water and view....this was so important because lateley things have been stressful.... with the minimal training, the body changing and just the fact that life has been "different". This vacation was exactly what we needed. For the first time in a long time I was able to feel free, able to feel a little more like myself.

(Mark was convinced the fish was trying to eat him!)

The non-racing idea didn't last long once we found out there was a 5k and 10k race on the course. We just HAD to experience the terrain, the course, and the challenges that were to be faced on Sunday. So we signed up. I have not ran a step in over 10 weeks so I just went with walk/jog in mind (against doctors orders...BUT I have been SO SO SO good in listening). Really those climbs were so big that walking was all that needed to be done.

I know you must be thinking that I was pushing it because I got a second place podium for the division...which I am happy about, but truly all these "fasties" were in the 10K. I was beat by TEN kids under the age of 13 (I was racing a kid that came up to my hip).

Mark LOVED the race, and was soaked from running along the shore line. But managed himself a 3rd place division slot. However, he is most proud that he got to share in the spotlight on the podium with Yvonne.

The $25 entry fee was nothing when we look at all the perks that came with this race, we each received:
A race shirt
Box of GU
$25 g.c. to Lulu's (not lululemon ;))
6 pack of Gatorade
Pound of Kona Coffee
Coffee Mug

A huge highlight of the week was meeting up with my long lost pal Tracy! It was like we had seen each other every day for the past two years!

We dined to the nines and failed to skimp even in the slightest at Fairmont thanks to our friends the "Swistaks" (and fab bridesmaid!)
(Beautiful sunset!)
The event Xterra event itself was so low-key, so beautiful, and so fun! John had an amazing race at Xterra (and thank you for the beautiful stay), although we could barely recognize anyone with their faces covered in dirt "masks". He has intrigued us all to participate next year...hmmmm...

To living life and to being "free"!

Inspiring!

2010-10-10T20:03:00.001-07:00

So several of you have raced an ironman and I have sat on my boot'ee the entire time......was so intrigued and captivated by your amazing days that I could not even get myself up to eat or go to the bathroom (okay, I did get up but it was fast). Just did not want to miss a moment!!!

However, I did not miss waking up with tan lines like these: (you know each of you have them) Then again that new Scape product could prevent these!

We hurried home from the run clinic and as we pulled in the garage and this conversation happens:

Mark: "Can you imagine if we came home to no internet today?
Me: "Shush, why would you say such a thing?"

As we walk in and rush to get all 3 computers going (Thank you team for the awesome ipad) guess what? Internet and cable are OUT. Yep, OUT! For 45 min and then it magically appeared, then disappeared again around 5pm so we rushed to our favorite Mexican joint that thankfully has internet. Sat there until the computers went dead and came home to internet. Can you say Mark jinxed us!!! Ha!

The race was amazing on all accounts. I had yet to witness a pass in the ironman distance where two athletes hung side by side, stride by stride, it was unbelievable. Witnessing this from a computer, I believe was almost better than being there (although the sun on the back and mai tais were sure missed). I was also busy counting bike and run cadences, analyzing how each athlete raced, how they took fuel, when they were aero, when they stood up, etc, etc. I had a swim coach that made me watch and analyze and it has stuck with me for years. You can learn so much from the sidelines. The online video coverage was amazing and if it was recorded I could continue to watch it over and over and over.

Watching made me think back more and more about racing and the journey. It was a clear reminder that ANYTHING can happen on race day (especially in Kona) and that no matter what every athlete there has a huge amount of support around them from all over the country. The FB posts to all the athletes were amazing to see. Your family and friends just want YOU (the athlete) to enjoy the experience, smile as often as possible and are happy to support you along the way. Times, places, etc, are only a small portion of what racing means to everyone on the outside. We, as athletes are our biggest critics and need to sometimes step back and realize how lucky we actually are...we get to push the limits, test ourselves, and experience the highs of being an athlete. And when we are not 100% satisfied it is important to understand that there are several more races to come and more Kona's too (my day there still awaits...I do believe third time is a charm for this girl!) So many people never take this risk to find out WHO they really are and what talents lie within them. Congratulations to each and everyone of you who raced at Kona, Boston, Chicago, and Victoria. You have inspired so many and I know every one of you will be back for more! Thank you for reminding me of the little things that are truly the big things.

And while yesterday was about sitting, I was exhausted from the emotions.... got myself a nap today, but that was after a 2 hour walk, in the rain! No complaints here though because it was on some amazingly beautiful trails at Cougar Mountain. It was so much fun to be "out and about" and to be with friends. Okay, getting lost for 20 min we could have done without but we managed to navigate our way back to the homeland, soaked, dirty and with numb fingertips.

I decided to log myself back into training peaks since this "walk" was a breakthrough workout. Counting back and it has been 9 full weeks of ZERO exercise (yep, went from 20 to zero hours overnight).

Things continue to look up, but am still under close watch....landed myself in the ER a few weeks ago again and officially am a "frequent flyer" there.....really trying to avoid that place! But the docs and I have come up with a formula for meds (yes, I have to compromise there too, just as I do with the exercise prescriptions) that may be the magic trick going into this next treatment :)

Have a started to lose my mind? Possibly, BUT it is what needs to be done to someday be out there in the races, doing what I love to do. Being sidelined is not "fun" but it is "fun" to see so much from the "other" side. To appreciate racing from a whole other level.

Until next time, the TRX, the bike trainer, and many more walks are lined up and I am STOKED!

Fast feet.

2010-09-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

Things have been a whirlwind since Canada. Nothing new on the workout part, just continuing to improve, kind of like the "two steps forward, one step back". I try a new food, body says no, I drink more ensure, then repeat.....it's not too exciting on the eating front, but at least now I get to "try" new foods.

And I do try a little something new everyday....like one day the salted caramel cupcake, then the snickerdoodle cupcake, then the chocolate coconut macaroon too! (okay, just little bite....I am aware I am not working out!)....but yum...and the fact that it was post shopping at lulu with girlfriends...I need calories right?!

I have spent way to many hours dreaming and believing (and facebooking).

The other day I ran across the street, I felt like Forest Gump.

The first thing out of my mouth to Mark was:

Me: "When I get to run again, I am going to be FAST!"

Mark laughed.

I couldn't figure out why?

Mark says: "When I get back on my bike I am going to be fast!".

I laughed....

Okay, I get it....nobody says that (well that is humble....but it just felt so true...I mean I ran 10 yards and felt like I was winning an ironman (well, what I imagine it would feel like to win an ironman!).

I can't wait to start training, it is like teaching someone from the beginning: fresh, new, eager and READY!

Canada in pics.

2010-09-03T15:51:00.001-07:00

(anxiously waiting are the Cunninghams!)

(pre-race....just trying to catch a glimpse!)

(Kona-bound!!)

(Bill is an ironman!)

(super bud Beth!!)

(We love the TYR Hurricane)

(2 hour ironman PR by Nate)

(This is Tracy below)

(Johnna raced and her girlfriends cheered!)

(I sat as often as possible, even if it meant in the middle of the street)

(Happy Kara even with a flat and two tip-overs on the bike...don't ask :))

(Mark and Laura)

(pre-race photo)

(our line of high fives!)

(Mark's catchers were TNM athletes- Jenn and Joel...thanks for keeping him on both legs!)

(The super Camps!)

(Karen smiling!)

(No more tears...she is now an ironman!)

(Coach Bridget being super stylin!)

(the rain was coming...thank you Pinnacle for the amazing tent!)

(Kirsten sporting the new run tops)

I would put up our "specialized" bikini briefs that many of you may have witnessed on Yellow lake, but you have to race to see those!!!

Ironman Canada 2010

2010-09-01T16:45:00.001-07:00

(the sun came out momentarily for Coach Bridget and I :))

We just had a super stellar week at Ironman Canada. We had 19 athletes racing and all showed up with super spectacular performances. 13 first time Ironman finishers, multiple PR's (by multiple minutes or hours...or so), and a well deserved Kona slot by a super training buddy. These athletes gave it their all throughout the entire year plus and it showed! The next post will be all about the super fun photos of the day!

Each ironman journey tells a different story from year to year. For Mark I tell his story!

(Focus!)

Mark completed his 3rd Ironman (Canada '06, '09, '10) and had a very memorable race. Yes, he had some BIG yet reasonable goals, which he CAN accomplish. On this day he came up only 5 min shy of his PR. A day where his thoughts on the bike ride were "that was the scariest/toughest ride EVER". The hail and downpour coming down from yellow lake was more a game of keeping the rubber-side down than anything. Mark pushed through all three events just missing his PR but when he came in for his final stretch to the finish I saw a man with emotion. A man that had given his all on this day at this time, I saw a man that had supported ME during a time that really ALL the focus should have been on him. The two months leading up to the Ironman were nothing short of emotionally draining on him. And he did not complain once. He kept late hours, got up early, did my duties, and thought more about my food and health care than I did. He kept his chin up and dug deep to keep the spirits alive. He had little reserve for race day. He will not say that nor totally believe it, but I do, and I could see it all in his eyes. This is not an excuse...this is reality, a big one for us.

(check out the paparazzi!)

I felt a sense of sadness for knowing that he did the race with "all heart". Yes he had trained, harder and smarter than ever, but he was thrown some major curve-balls and life-changing decisions that are enough to make anyone's "excitement" to race diminish into just "getting through" the race. The final months were tough, and he persevered. He found strength by recognizing that so many athletes would want to be in "his shoes" on that day, that he was blessed to have the opportunity to race. And most importantly he learned so much and can carry it all over to his next Ironman journey in CDA this coming year.

(he looks the same in every run photo!)

("the pic that says it all")

We learned a lot at Ironman Canada from the racing and the spectating. Our team support was so amazing and inspiring and brought everyone even closer. Watching the athletes persevere and making dreams come true was an absolutely beautiful thing. We can't thank you enough.

(His well-deserved moment!)

Huge thanks to our support system! To TYR for the super fast and comfy wetsuit, to Argon 18 for the super fast and safe ride, Mr Crampys for making it all run smoothly, Powerbar for the fuel that kept him moving like a champ. And to the family and friends for giving him the encouragment and the strength to dig a little deeper. Beacause of you he was able to live it up on his day!!! Thanks team!

Mark, I am so proud and thankful to have you as my buddy through everything, and your selflessness has not gone unnoticed. And you are one strong man to get through all you did on race and and THIS ironman journey. Your time to truly shine is coming real soon!

Thinking BIG.

2010-08-24T18:34:00.000-07:00

Today mark Remicade treatment #2 and now I am resting up for the big Ironman Canada weekend where TNM will be represented with 20 amazing athletes all with different visions, different goals, and different journeys getting them to their race day. So exciting on all accounts.

(Ironman Canada 2009 swim start)

We leave tomorrow to the gorgeous Penticton. I will be on bed rest for two more days and then gradually start my second "block" of training!

With all this down time it has given me the opportunity to think, then evaluate and re-evaluate again. Reading, studying, planning! I am thinking big and dreaming big for the future as my health WILL be better. Mark and I are working together now, literally working together (not just in a relationship) and are excited for 2011. We have fun ideas for our facility, for the business, for the athletes and everything just keeps getting better for 2011 and we are excited! He has taken over the "business" side of things and I just get to help make decisions.....so he does the hard stuff and I get to say how to do it!! Ha!!! Truly though this gives us both the opportunity to focus 100% on what we are great at and what we love to do. And budget and retail are not my thing (okay, they are my thing, when it comes to personal shopping), but not the bulk orders. He keeps things organized and seamless, I mess them up, and then he fixes it again...we are a perfect match (at least I believe so!) . I just write programs, do schedules, and read and learn more and more and talk on the phone....love it!!!

For training and racing I am planning as best I can based on when the doctors think I can race (right now we are looking at a minimum of 5-8 more months before I will be at the start line), but with that said I can at least plan and dream big!!! And the "idea" of exercise is nearing...maybe 8 more weeks (but will evaluate when that time comes, medicine needs to have "time" to work and I am giving it the "time"). I am getting excited just thinking about it.

(Athlete #511 is looking forward to this moment too!)

Thinking big is always a great place to start, details come later!!! Many of you dreamed big a year ago (or more) and the details have all been drawn out, your time is here!!! Good luck to everyone racing this weekend and a special shout out to those of you "going the distance" in the ironman events around the country. Whether your goal to finish, to PR, to learn more about yourself, or to qualify for Kona remember that getting to the start line and crossing the finish line are both HUGE accomplishments in itself. Enjoy your day, your moment, your journey! Looking foreward to the stories, the success and the memories! Ironmanlive.com will be on multiple screens for us!

Dream big and execute!!!

Brighter...

2010-08-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

Things are getting brighter and brighter. Don't get me wrong I am no where back to my "normalcy" but I am closer to normal. It's the baby steps, like eating solid foods (wisely), standing instead of sitting, gaining weight, its all happening slowly! I think of this past week as the first week back to training, you want to do more, your body tells you to do more, but you know that it will create set backs if you do. So you continue to follow your program as coach says in order to flourish in the results later. I am on my first "build" of the program and then recovery week comes a little early (next week) with another treatment of Remicade. But each block will get me a little closer to my "happy, healthy, place!"

I was stoked to be able to go to watch over 25 TN multisporters at Lake Stevens 70.3. I had to "taper" the day before to make it to the race, being on bed rest from noon on! Then we got a hotel room in Everett to have a "calmer" nights sleep since the heat temps in Seattle were record breaking. I was "preparing" for the big day!

The pro field was stacked, TNM athletes were on fire, the heat was up and the results were nothing short of amazing out there. It was fun to be a part of so many athletes "special" day.

(My bum sat like this ALL day! 2 phones, notebook, and a camera!)

(Mark played super coach doing all the "running" around and relaying message from me)

Yesterday was another team event of Swim For Life. It is a 2.4 mile swim across the lake from Medina to Madison park. TNM had 60 athletes participate in the event. In the past the water has been calm and the sun beaming onto the swimmers, however, this year we arrived with lake chop, wind and less than ideal conditions, but the athletes DID it and they MADE it and are stronger because of it! I am so proud of each of them. The money was raised for the Puget Sound Blood Center. Awesome event!

(Team Girls Rock! Johnna, Kara, Bridget, Kim, Karissa, Heather, Ann)

The girls above had to be combined as one team. And I was smiling ear to ear as they took off, 7 blondes, one kayaker and the doubts, nervouseness, and giggles were quite silly coming from these girls that podium at every race! Way to go ladies!

(H* and I staying warm post swim event.....stoked that the braid thickness is coming back from last years treatments!!)

We are now packing up and headed out to Ironman Canada next week. It is a super fun time of year full of excitement. Being sidelined has me balancing rest with building myself back up and enjoying the little things. I am learning so much about "me" and "life" that I can keep with me forever. Excited that things are looking up and we can see little improvements each day. Not so excited that I am SO sore from standing a couple of hours yesterday...unbelieveable, once again...baby steps, think I should go book a post-standing massage for recovery :)

HOME never felt so good!

2010-08-12T16:05:00.000-07:00

All I can really say is WOW. The past few days were tough.

After the first trip to the ER I vowed I would not return…knew I had some doctors appointments lied out for the following week. Days of REST and more rest and I returned to work late Monday. Barely able to make it through the lessons as soon as I hit home things got scary. We headed back to the ER for some treatment and before you know it we were NOT going home.

Severe dehydration, the lack of nutrition, and the intense flare up had me in my worst state EVER. Yes, I had flare ups before lasting 4-6 months but never this severe, they were managed well by medication and listening to my body and resting as needed.

Ironically my GI doctor was the on call gastroneurologist for the week so he was able to come see me every day. It took 7 huge iv bags to have to go to the bathroom. And after losing over 8 lbs, I soon blew up so much that I did not even recognize myself. I didn’t care about anything though, just wanted to get healthy and feel normal again. I soon had cankles, swore I gained 15 pounds (later to find out only three), and looked like I had collagen injectons all over my face.

Many have asked what causes the flare up and so just to address it, it is not “caused” by stress or nutrition. It is that I continually have inflammation due to ulcers in my colon and it needs to be attended too, once a major flare up occurs (which for me comes on quickly and strong) then anything (ie: stress and nutrition) become a huge component it getting it to settle. So I was on complete bed rest, iv bags and liquid diet (chicken broth and jello). They do not know what causes ulcerative colitis but is very similar to Crohns disease (on a smaller scale). I had heard of hospitalizations and individuals having sections of their colons removed but truly never thought I would be in this situation.

My tests all came back negative so I have started the Remicade treatments (yep, they run from t $7,000-$14,000, thank goodness for insurance). I responded very well to the first one, as I was actually moving and was able to eat solids starting the next day. I was pretty exhausted immediately following but with the help of amazing friends and family the time was spent much more pleasantly than having to go through this solo. I had the most beautiful flowers to look at (thank you Johnna, Ryan, Bryn and the Cunninghams!), magazines galore (Thank you Bri, Bridget, Jenn, Kirsten, Sarah, Karen, unbelievable that there were no "repeats!") (BTW the black blazer is the hot item now!), a fantastic new lululemon scarf/blanket/do anything cover, a real toothbrush and toothpaste, room spray (Miss Bridget is like a mom!) , the cards, the FB messages, the concerns, and an ipad that has EVERYTHING a girl could want to watch and the little trip for a cute lulu tank and deodrant was over the top (thank you Beth!), itunes gift card (H* thank you!) , and visitors that made the time fly by (You guys are the best!). And thank you everyone for taking care of Mark during this time too, he was more of a trooper than myself I believe (the sandwiches, the pretzels, the banana bread, a trip to Azteca- he likes food!, but the messages too....I can't thank you guys enough).

I have another treatment in two weeks, then in four, then in 8, etc, etc. It is a progressive medication that does have many side effects but if I lay low and rest then I hope to continue to respond like the first treatment.

As for training, that is no more for now and there is no time to telling as to when. But I promise to be the best spectathlete to all of you out there pursuing your fitness dreams! My time will come! I am pretty okay with it for right now. Just had a small bout of sadness when looking at the pro list for Lake Stevens this Sunday. That quickly changed though when I had to “walk” around the hallway (which I had not been out of my room in 3 days) and felt dizzy just doing that. Amazing to go from 100 mile bike rides, to walking 50 steps as success, baby steps I know! Leaving the hospital was pretty emotional, seeing the sun, going home, and having this new amazing husband that could not have been any more supportive made me appreciate life even more.

I know most of you reading are triathletes and taking time or days off is really hard to swallow. I wanted to just remind you that are bodies are pretty amazing things and they “let” us do what we want on a day to day basis. It is important to listen to it and know when to say when and also to appreciate it and on those days you are looking for motivation just remind yourself how “lucky” you are to just be out there doing what you love. So often athletes are so focused on the time goal, the PR, the winning, and truly it is so much more than that. But yes, I understand that winning is fun! Triathlon has kept me fit, given me the best job in the world, has let me travel the world, but what I think of most is how the sport has one by one added new amazing friends to my life. The support and the messages that rolled in during this past week reminded me of what a family this multisport lifestyle really has become. What I will miss the most during this time is that which I get to spend with my friends, the fun memories we create while doing these crazy workouts and the laughter. The races are the icing on the cake and as much as I love to race….it can wait for now!

Tonight we are hoping for a great nights rest of no more pottying in toilet hats, no more BP and HR reading on the hour, no more iv’s, no more moveable beds (to prevent bed sores), and to the lady next door whom was on “high alert for falling” whom bed sung “Mary had a Little Lamb” like the ice cream truck was driving by every time she would’t wait for a nurse….you will NOT be missed! (PS, this was more than an hourly occurrence, no joke, ask my visitors!!)

Cheers to your health and to being able to appreciating what our bodies can do for us!

New Path.

2010-08-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

So simple, yet so complicated.

It’s simple to say I am done for an indefinite amount of time off of racing and even training. NADA. U.C. (ulcerative colitis), which you don’t see, is that this disease is taking a toll. Nobody can see the disability so it can be hard to believe I have it, but quality of life has diminished.

Amazing that one can be stopped in their tracks so quickly, training and living life to the fullest. One of the reasons I did turn pro was because I had been so healthy for multiple months. Exercise is the last thing my body will accept right now, so now I rest, and rest. I have accepted that training will increase appetite (which I am unable to eat) and adds stress onto my body (that needs to heal), along with adds to issues of dehydration. No fun :(

Two months of trying to get coverage of a pre-existing condition, and now dealing with finding new docs has been a ridiculous challenge. But thankfully, after a trip to the ER the docs finally found it urgent enough to see me quickly and we are on a solid path to getting out of another repeated flare up.

Since regular meds are no longer working it looks like (assuming I pass all the tests) I will be on a lifelong treatment of Remicade or get the colon removed (which honestly, I would not mind at this point). There is a super high success rate with the i.v. treatment , so finger crossed I pass the test to qualify for them. However, there is no end in sight for when and if training and racing will ever begin.
This liquid diet of Ensure is not as bad as I thought it would be (I have tried all flavors now) , but ironically the weight loss is out of control. I always love being fit and healthy and being super thin and not healthy is not the ideal lifestyle. I feel weak. So whoever wrote “ Being Thin Never Tasted So Good” or something to that extent….I don’t agree. “Being Fit Never Tasted So Good” would be my book!

I am accepting this as a path I was meant to take, a journey to make me appreciate health, training, racing, and more than anything living.

There is a big picture to this that I am anxiously awaiting.

Canada Camp 2010

2010-07-28T10:16:00.001-07:00

We headed up the second annual Ironman Canada Camp this past weekend. I will write about our absolutely amazing, dedicated, hard working athletes and their adventures at http://www.tnmultisports.com/.

With the busy weekend of keeping our athletes fueled/hydrated and clicking away at the miles we left early to get in our own "solid" training and get focused on the camp. We left mid day on Wednesday and arrived at a descent hour but were so exhausted that unloading the car was like miles 17-19 of an ironman. Where you are just going through the motions and not really seeing the end in sight. We crashed.

Woke up the next morning, did some computer work and Mark ventured out for coffee and pancakes for us (Denny's 101!). After some breakfast in bed we fell asleep AGAIN! Some training weekend so far, huh?!. We vowed to get up and be on our bikes by 12:30, well 2pm it was. We can't say thank you enough to K-swiss for the amazing cycle gear that not only was comfy, but made us look like the super-matchy-matchy couple (I like it!!!). Thanks K-Swiss! The weather was stormy and there had been talk of thundershowers rolling in on the news. We headed out on the ironman course and we stuck dead on with the wind, it wasn't too bad, until we had to turn around due to a fire, then it was WINDY.

Just when I was "over" the ride, Mark remembered an awesome ride he had down with Thomas while training for his first ironman in 2006. It was beautiful! We cycled for hours, and unlike our cycle to nowhere that occurred a few weeks prior, this one lead to the most amazing little town and spa resort. It was stunning. We stopped to have our water topped off and for some yum pastries.

(happy riders and happy bikes taking a super happy break for delish yums!)

Penticton is absolutely beautiful and riding to this beautiful place made me appreciate it even more. I had quickly forgotten about the first hour of non-sense and truly appreciated this great ride with Mark.

Upon returning home I needed to swim. We biked by the peach and the start and it was white caps galore, no swimming for me in there. While Mark ventured out on his transition run I searched, and searched, and searched for open pools, with zero luck. All having major renovations. I attempted the 90 degree bent 10 yd pool, but the sight of it with lots of children too made me walk straight back to the hotel room and vow to swim the next three days in a row (mission accomplished).

We finished the night off at Earls with an amazing strawberry spinach salad. YUM!!

(take note on who had to be in front to take this photo....ha! J/K...I had intervals!)

Can't wait to experience this ride again and thanks Mark for making it into something wonderful!

Seafair 2010

2010-07-26T17:08:00.001-07:00

This is the sprint race of the year for Seattle and our tri team showed up in full force. I have done this race, um, for YEARS now and each year learn a little more and try to go a little faster. So I went back, did a little research, and as you can see each year something improves, or lacks, or I place lower with faster times. Racing is about fun and learning and you can see by way of time that each year provided a different race, a different result and all on the same course!

In consecutive order from 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010.

Swim: 11:27, 11:07, 9:53, 10:05, 10:10

T1: 1:25, 1:08, 1:04, 1:14, 1:12

Bike: 37:30, 32:44, 33:43, 32:36, 32:25

T2: 1:24, :55, :1:05, :58, 1:05

Run: 24:12, 21:40, 22:25, 22:21, 21.19

Overall: 1:15.39, 1:07.35, 1:08.11, 1:07.15, 106.08

2005: obviously a little new to the sport!

2007: was a transition fool! Need to get back to that and was super ambitious with track workouts!

2008: no fat salmon swim the day before...hmmm, training for first ironman.

2009: Consistent, but uber tired!

2010: one step closer to putting it all together!

This year I made an honest effort to fuel better post Fat Salmon event in an attempt to not be starving within 10 strokes of the swim. Amazing what the power of food brings! I have been working on my swimming and although the time says slower than previous years, I truly believe the course was a tad longer with the top guys (who are always the top guys here being over 30 seconds slower). Backing up a tad, you guys think an ironman start is brutal, try a SPRINT start with testosterone ridden men...YIKES!!! I battled it out with the best of them until the first buoy and then finally made a little room for myself. There was a lead pack, then two guys in another pack and then me and a few fiesties on my feet. After the last turn buoy I caught up to pack two and we all swam neck and neck in for the last 100 yds. Note to self, their dolphin dives are way faster than my swimming, I need to master that! Hence, they hit that timing pad right before me.

Back to the race and it was a mad dash onto the bikes. These guys were all doing their flying mounts as I graciously did my ever-so-not-so-speedy, scooch-scooch-kick one leg over the seat ballerina move. The bike was the bike. I gave all my legs can give going from ironman training to sprint triathlon. On I-90 we do an out and back, unfortunately the tunnel is DARK so it was super challenging to see teammates and buddies, but we all knew were were cheering for each other in spirit!

To the run, I felt great and truly believe the slight change in run training this year is making a big difference on how I feel running off the bike. A little side note though, the national speedster Kim Pancoast was racing and I knew there needed to be a ginormous gap with her running me down (and Johnna was hot on her heels too!). So going into the race I was just hoping to move as fast as I could and better my time from previous years, especially the run, which you can see from above was not my best performance last year. I held that girl off as long as my legs could and she passed me right at the beginning of the downhill at the turnaround. I tried to copy her beautiful gait as she passed and just sense that I was her running, minus the 5 steps I take to her one! I saw Johnna too close behind and another girl who trailed her by 15 yds the whole race, talk about pressure!

(Stellar gals in every way! Johnna, Bridget, T, Kim)

I crossed the finish line in my best Seafair time to date!!! Kim Pancoast was waiting at the line with the win, we were both anxiously waiting to see Johnna round into the final stretch as TNM swept the girls overall landing in at 1-2-3!

This race is a blast for a few reasons, #1 it hurts, but it is a quick painful hurt, #2 all the local fun triathletes come out so everywhere you look you have a buddy by your side, #3 to race and train with these amazing girls makes it even more bittersweet especially whom we know are all in the middle of some heavy training blocks and just digging deep to make this race happen! And Bridget Jones our other training buddy placed in the top 10 too! It was an amazing race all around.

Thank you so much to the amazing sponsors of TYR, Rudy Project, Base and my team of doctors for all your support!!!!

Until 2011 Seafair, thanks for the memories!

Fat Salmon Take Two!

2010-07-19T23:02:00.000-07:00

The annual Fat Salmon event was this past Saturday. A 3.2 mile swim along the shoreline of Lake Washington. A race where the non-wetsuit division is as fast as the wet suit division. Basically all the "swimmers" don't wear wetsuits and the triathletes (the smart ones) wear them. Therefore, I am smart and wore the absolutely fantastic TYR Hurricane wetsuit.

("The fish", myself, and Liz- the most organzied, well-run, supported event EVER! -she rocks!)

We arrived early and did some volunteering, Liz (race director) has been absolutely amazing and supportive of TNM and it was the least our team could do was to help out. Of course there was some competition as to whom had the best writing for body marking!

(Steve and Mark getting ready to do some damage on the numbers!)

Dang the weather has been cold here BTW. It finally hits a high of 70 around 4pm, so race morning didn't have me anxiously awaiting a beautiful dive into Kona-like waters. It was shivers and cold and actually warmer in the water than the crisp air.

I learned a bit last year (chalk one up for a little experience) and planned my race strategy a lot differently. And it worked, but I owe someone half of my 25+ pound salmon. I swim with this man "Tom" often, okay, maybe not often because I can only manage to get in the water at 5:30 in the morning on average twice per month and on a good month 4, but my average is closer to 1/2 a time a month these days.

I started swimming with a pack of about 4-5 (one a girl that kept swimming on top of me....couldn't figure it out since she was on the "feet" directly so it wasn't like I had the "good" seat on the bus). Eventually it panned out into a perfect line and I was in the perfect place, behind two guys. I swam and swam and kept cool, not getting to anxious to go faster. Then leader man, aka "Tom" (whom I didn't now was Tom at the time) kept swimming really close into shore, I kept following, but knew it wasn't the most direct path. Then swimmer man number two in our line decided to venture on his own path. I stuck with Tom a little longer until we hit close to half way and decided to swim ahead and take the lead and give him a break and hopefully swim a tad straighter :) At this point to, I figured he was ready to turn around and clock me with how much unintentionally "tapping" I was doing on his toes. I know "thee-most-annoying-thing-EVER". Good thing he likes me, well hopefully he still does ;)

We swam past the 1.2 mile start and could here cheers from the racers. Mark and some fun TNM mates were doing this event. I could feel their cheers and it made me even more excited to be racing and nearing the finish line!

As we neared the final turn I knew I had some people right behind me so I had to put my head down and go for it. Later found out it was the two guys that lead me through the first part.

I learned that I need to know where the finish line is because, as with anything, I need to be told 101 times before it registers! "Cross the line"! The director stopped me after the first mat to get my number.....they may have been plotting for someone else to win (ie: Tonya Harding style...ha!). Pretty funny to laugh at though!

And WOW to Mark who placed 2nd in his divison for the 1.2 mile swim!!!!!!

Thank you so much to TYR for the amazing non-foggy fit like a glove Tracer goggles and the Hurricane that has amazing range of motion in the shoulders and speed built right into it! Thanks swimmer dudes for the fast feet and happy to return the favor....Tom- as the salmon is being fillet, you will be getting half of it!!!

Exams, Ocean, and Sunshine!

2010-07-14T20:27:00.000-07:00

Late night cramming, mid day naps be-gone, permanent bike fixture in my living room..... some serious catchup going on around here. I have been MIA playing exercise procrastination. It worked well with my college exams, but not sure how great it works with racing. This upcoming weekend is two back to back races. I was O.U.T. of swimming, let alone training, so my procrastination technique will be put to the test. Good thing no "A" races are this weekend, or I would be in double trouble. I just love to RACE, so this test I will take on as "extra credit".

This past weekend we went to Ocean Shores where two of my favorite people raced. Two different agendas to accomplish and two wins were the outcome. I claim Mark won (results say third), he was the first one to finish the entire course...so I give him the victory dance!

(Champs!)

The ocean was gorgeous and I was lucky enough to the opportunity to run along it the day before the race, chilly, but breathtaking.

The next day was my ENDURANCE day and was lucky enough to be able to meet up with my favorite guy riding buddies. We ventured away from the "normal" route and just kept riding, and riding, and riding and vowed to continue to ride until we found civilization (ie: a mini-mart). When we finally arrived, after passing pastures, horses, llamas, 4 wheelers, but not running out of a thing to talk about, we arrived at a mini mart with the long forgotten pay phone (hadn't seen one since forever!). Sorry, no pics since no place to carry camera when the the opportunity for tan lines were out in full force.

We had a blast laughing and riding to nowhere, and that was riding to nowhere fast. We covered 110 miles in record time (it was flat) and chalked up another day of perfect practice!

The sun is gorgeously shining in Seattle and I just wish someone could come up with a neoprene suit we could tan through!

Bliss.

2010-07-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

It's not everyday the sun shines through to the workstation and coffee! Bring on the sunny sunshine!

The 4th!

2010-07-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th!

Our weekend was spent with our friends on Vashon Island, which not only provide a beautiful home, amazing food and the most spectacular fireworks EVER, but the roads on that island make for an epic training weekend too.

Saturday I stayed on the bike trainer but the views across the ocean and the TDF on television made the session fly by (and WOW my cadence was up there chasing those tour boys). Then Sunday we road hill after hill and even found a little side route that had three consecutive (not one or two, but three) St Croix BEAST hills, they were grinders!

Today we are back home, working and getting the wedding gifts unwrapped and settled into our home. Can't wait to eat with all the new plates/cups/and flatware.

Happy 4th everyone and hope you enjoyed it to the fullest!

Run commute.

2010-07-01T12:42:00.000-07:00

Always in "awe" by how many things I can run by, over and through on my run commute. It is simply impressive and amazing what one can see in just 40 min (remember this is city living) So here you get to commute WITH me!

Over a bridge that comes up for the BIG boats:

Seeing a view of the city:

Crossing multiple railroad tracks:

Starbucks headquarters anyone?

Safeco and Qwest fields where when playing the sights and sounds on the streets are roaring and I am playing dodgeball with the fans.

The trolly and all its stations:

With all the pics above on my right going into work, the views on my left are picturesque, with the water and the ferries:

And the amazing views. Always a nice breeze on a summer day!

Love being surrounded by so much fun and beauty!

Indoor training bliss!

2010-06-29T21:29:00.001-07:00

This weekend posted the fastest "long-indoor training ride to date". We always joke that when you are going on time there really is now way to "speed up" to get done quicker. Thanks to all you super fun racers we were done in no time. With two computers, 4 screens open on each for live feed, updates on the races and athlete tracking. And on top of that Universal sports had swimming on. Call it heaven or somewhere close at least! 5 (and someone else had 6) super fast hours fly by.

I think Mark tried not to picture his computer set up on purpose, he had it stacked SO high for viewing convenience. Mark was also racing Andy Potts in for the win trying to finish his 6 hours before Potts crossed the finish line. For the record, Mark won by 34 seconds....now can someone just count how long Potts enjoyed his well-deserved finish chute victory before stopping the clock!

And please don't knock by beloved candy jars, they have saved me (more than once!)

Congrats to Potts and LC for their amazing ironman wins and to all the athletes racing who inspired, dug deep and chalked another race on their sleeve. You are all an inspiration and that inspiration pulled me through this ride with a smile on my face!

Pain in my....

2010-06-27T23:30:00.000-07:00

So, it all added, up...that is the only conclusion I can come to. People often ask "How do you fit it all in?" and the answer is "I don't". If I could fit it ALL in I would and it would look like this:

10 hours of sleep,

Work 6-8 hours a day,

accomplish every workout,

spend time with friends often,

and have a perfectly clean home.

However, this is not my reality, and I strive for it to be, but I don't stress over it (unless I am slacking on one of the above more than I should be).

With the wedding, the travel, the dress fittings :), things were going great. I was somehow getting it all in (for the most part...you see, I try to get 100% of my scheduled workouts in, but I listen to my body and sleep and work come first, or else a colitis attack takes over and I am O.U.T.).

Then things got a little more challenging to fit in and I tried my best to balance it.

Some of the crazy things I accomplished:

Home-made wedding invitations. (This is actually relaxing to me...I do the Christmas cards too)

Run/tan in middle of run/finish run. (had to get in one last spray before the big day)

Extend Hawaii trip (able to train/relax), fly home and be on another flight within 7 hours.

Walking lunges on pool deck while teaching to fit in a much needed workout (Oh, I hope my boss doesn't see this).

All of which, I would never change, as the last few weeks have been a blast enjoying the sunshine-filled life of Kona, watch amazing athletes race, and living it up!

The last day in Boise my body said "no more" and granted me with neck/back pain that has left me sidelined for the past two weeks. Okay, maybe not 100% sidelined but only able to do about 1/8th of my "ideal-fit-it-all-in-life".

It then soon became a balancing act of accpuncture, massage, heating pads, chiro appts. My time disappeared with all this running around (too bad I couldn't do that on my bike).

But now, that screaming achy neck is nearly better and the back spasms be gone (I know this because I can tie my own shoes now and put on jeans....this made it very difficult to shop, which happens to be my cure-all for everything!).

(A pic of my reminder that life is good and everything happens for some special reason)

So things are looking up, as soon as I said forget about the rest of tri season, it turned and I am finding myself signing up for some more races (well, I am going to give it two more days). I love this sport, my friends that I can train with and taking it away was a cruel something, but must have been a must-needed thing that, now I can see the end in sight, will appreciate the lesson and continue to train on!

Where's your SCAPE?! ie: secret weapon

2010-06-25T09:39:00.000-07:00

The sun is breaking through in Seattle and the races are in full force nation-wide so now is a super stellar time for the reminder on how proper sunscreen is key to having a successful race.
At a young age, and still, I look for an opportunity to get a little tan line, living in Seattle mind you, we just had a record breaking 272 days with the temperature not exceeding 70, you have to search these out. Growing up swimming outdoors in the summer we would take “bathroom” breaks to check out if we had the tan lines yet, by end of summer we would have permanent goggles lines!

But at the races, it was much different. Our coach would have us in the shade or any place where the sun could not find us. I remember racing at ASU and having to sit in the wet, grimy, locker room for hours because the heat and sun on the pool deck was unbearable.

As a coach, too many athletes do not understand the effects sun can have on performance. For one sun zaps your energy and two as soon as your skin starts burning your body begins to lose the ability to sweat and cool itself properly. This can equal disaster when you have put in endless training hours for your event.

This “sun effect” does not just happen on race day, but the days leading up to a race too. Sunscreen should be your best friend. And I have a new best friend…it is called SCAPE.
I have been anxiously waiting to try out this hot new product, but with indoor rides and being covered from head to toe on runs, the opportunity did not arise until Honu 70.3.

Here was my testing of my new found LOVE.

Day two in Hawaii was a three hour ride. I lathered with the yellow bottle (missing a dollar-coin size portion on my back) and headed out onto the Queen K. Three hour came and went and just as I was like a kid at the pool, I walked in the front door and headed straight over to check out the tan lines. Was shocked to find zero, except for the one little patch that was red, swollen, and painful (I may need to hire a new sunscreen applicator!).

(Evidence that I was pasty white starting the race)
I was sold! And told my athletes they needed it too. Unlike other sunscreens, those need to be reapplied immediately following an half ironman bike ride, this stuff stayed on the entire time! But wait, this was only three hours and I did not swim ahead of time either.
I continually used the product leading up to race day and when race day arrived I lathered up, making sure that dollar-sized area was covered. Not only did I race for the five hours, we hung out for hours following the race and guess what….ZERO tan lines. This stuff is GENIUS.

(on the run and still no burn!)
What does this mean as an athlete….the sun rays on my skin had zero effect on my performance. And I didn’t have to think about it all day (the heat of the sun did cross my mind post-race, but kinda wanted the tan lines then…but they never came!).

(still looking the same color as photo-one....SCAPE did a PERFECT job!)

Karissa was so ecstatic about the product she was taking pictures with the bottle post-race...we still need to see those :)

During any athletic event and particularly an ironman I am having ALL my athletes use SCAPE. The athletes that used it at Honu from Seattle fell in love too. Jump on this bandwagon now because this stuff will be sold out everywhere soon!

I found myself asking athletes..."Make sure to SCAPE!"

P.S. Someone didn't use the SCAPE and is blessed with weeks of his number and TNM tattoo in his arm!

"to fit into a dress"

2010-06-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

A girl finding a wedding dress and making it fit was the biggest fiasco of everything leading up to the wedding. The dress was purchased at a bridal boutique that sells sample sizes. These are bridal gowns that were used at high end boutiques or for fashion shows. Some replicated, others not. With any wedding dress comes a dress fitting. I was told 4-6. Those 4-6 became 13, tying the alteration ladies records for the most number of fits.

1. A size 10 wedding dress means nothing, could be a 4 or a 6 or a 0 in “street size”. I show up and the thing is falling. Dress fit number one was just about taking some fabric out.

2. Okay, so it is down a few sizes, or inches, or whatever, but it is strapless and this bod can’t do strapless on a dress to big. So hunched over trying to hold the dress up I am TOLD I should really do some pilates exercises for my chest and back.

“Excuse me”.
“Yes, like this, roll your shoulder back open your chest”
*I do this as the dress begins falling and then quickly remind myself that I did do over 1500 hours of pilates certification and have taught for years, it is just not my main scope of practice anymore.
My ears turn off and I just “go with it”

3. Thinking the dress has got to fit now and all of a sudden it won’t zip up! I swam an hour and a half prior and am now told my back is getting bigger! I know swimmers have big lats, but really, my were so “swollen” the dress couldn’t zip….not sure I believed her, I think they took it in to be a minus 00000 size.

4. Tired of dress fitting taking up my Friday mornings, I get up a bit early to join some friends on a ride. Needless to say, the alterations lady was NOT happy with my bike greased hands!

5. We decided I need straps. Snip goes the thin bow to become the straps. We try various ways to make it work. None of which we can agree upon. And decide to add a straight seam through the front of the dress to make it not look as plain in the front.

6. Bring mom to dress fitting to figure out straps. She somehow likes what the alteration girl does; I can’t make up my mind. So I go with it. A double v-formation type strap.

7. Go back solo; mention I want to go strapless. Am told I have “too much shoulder” to do such a thing….GRRRRRRR!!!! Am now CONVINCED I am going straight to buy a new dress. Mark does not think that is the best idea. I try to brainstorm ways I can pull this off without him knowing…not a good way to start a marriage. But he would never know right? He hasn’t seen the dress.

8. Bring bridesmaid and future mother in-law to figure out this strap thing…mind you they were adding seams and such to make the dress look less “plain” in front since we removed the bow. Immediately future mother in-law notices the uneven lines, I see them too, but know that it will get fixed. Not loving the straps I somehow leave thinking the straps look good. Bring veil too, LOVE IT!

9. Now I am losing sleep over wanting to go “strapless” and decide I will convince alteration woman that I am walking down the aisle strapless. I lose the battle once again. As she mentioned AGAIN that I have “too much muscle and that it would just be ANOTHER un-original strapless gown.” Oh, and take out 1 of the 3 boobie cups that were added in portraying a size DDD. At this point there is no fooling anyone on that matter.

10. Swim again before hand leading to difficulty zipping up dress…am told not to change my body and to not swim ahead of time anymore….I did not diet or do anything…my body was the same as day one….dang it!

11. Okay, too many sleepless nights over wanting a “boring” strapless gown. So bring most verbal bridesmaid back and we decide we are NOT leaving until this gown is strapless. As I run to the bathroom alteration lady says to bridesmaid “Just tell her the straps look good, she is so worried about them”. Little did she know our GRAND plan. Bridesmaid does the talking and somehow says the right thing to convince her that I WILL go strapless. Alteration lady threatens to beat head against the wall. Bridesmaid says “don’t hurt yourself”. I stand and smile…..thank you Natalie!!!

12. Aghhh!!! Strapless dress, and seams nearly perfect. Adding straps for reception.

13. Finally complete!!!! Seams in place, no straps…..3 days to wedding!

So thankful that dress fittings are done and I can go back to my lycra-type attire that either fits or doesn’t! And I even want to think of all the hours I could have been training during this time. Good bye to dress fittings. Woot!

Honu 70.3

2010-06-14T20:21:00.000-07:00

Wow! I owe all of you a multiple list of posts, so check back regularly this week for some updates and then beyond that I should be back to the regular once a week postings.

We, luckily, were able to leave for Kona early (4 days early). We trained, acclimatized, and enjoyed some amazing times with friends. I was pretty laid back for this event ,although it was my first pro race, for a few reasons, one I had missed a few too many workouts, but I would never take it back with a once in a lifetime wedding and the little opportunity I had to spend with my friends and family. I truly, try not to stress over missed workouts, but knew I had missed more than a few handfuls (as much as I hate to admit that!). I had registered late as a pro so I was “under the radar” with very little expectations. I had a number somewhere in the 2000 (I never remember…although Mark can tell you every number he has ever had!) and with a mass start the only thing that made me stand out was the white cap!

Leading up to the race we swam with Bree in the ocean with her team. I met Jason and Kiet and found out later that would be a blessing (not only because they are amazingly cool people, but because the laughs we shared in transition are memorable!).

We rode the course a few times too, which at one point left me in tears with my feet clipped out and standing still on the road to Hawi. My new husband had no option but to come back and put his arm around me and try to make me feel better (that’s his job now right?!). I continued to remind myself that my race “game face” would get me through these times, as my training “game face” is much different (just ask my training buddies!).

Race day arrived after a week of meals and beach time with teammates.
I was relaxed, minus the 25 min bathroom wait (colitis suxs!). I had 4 min to spare to get to the water. I hurried in behind the pros and quickly the cannon went off without warning….I am starting to get how these Kona starts work! I was with the first pack until the first buoy and the naususness of not warming up set in. I swam solo to the next turn buoy. I noticed a group/line of athletes swimming to my left, way off course so decided to stay solo to the next turn buoy when we would all meet up. And that we did! I had some feet to swim on the rest of the way home. We plopped out of the water, and by we, I mean Kiet and Jason! Ha!

The biking was a “mess”. Mounting was a disaster (pray no one I knew saw me and thank goodness for the “high” number stamped all on my arms). As I missed getting my foot in and pedaled around in circles, multiple circles, with my shoes dragging on the ground, Kiet was passing me yelling “pedal Teresa, pedal!” I was trying but the shoe….blah…then I hear a “ca-plunk, ca-plunk”, REALLY? The cadence sensor was a-rubbing. No way was I going to put up with that for 56 miles….Stopped fixed and was off. Then magically, or un-magically the chain would not go into the hardest gear in the back. Sort of a problem on the way to Hawi…. BIG problem on the way back from Hawi. And before you know it the chain just dropped straight into the frame (I have dealt with this multiple times…ie: St Croix, Kona,etc). I kept the frustration to a minimum, as I know my bike was tuned and ready with all the work Bike Works had done on it pre-race….blaming it on the overnight winds….grrr!

T2 was quick with a fast potty break and I was off. Everything felt great (minus the first 3 miles). Unable to stomach anything the coke and water saved me! I loved the run course. I had in my mind visions of a super hard St Croix run and it was more like a fun, curvy, trail run with friends. I had a half ironman run PR and think I was blessed with it due to the gearing issues on the bike. I was unable to push the bike like in the past and spent that extra energy on the run (at least that is what I will believe).
Mark pulled out of the race (thank goodness) 3 miles into the run due to a calf issue sustained earlier in the week. Doing the math we truly believe we would have crossed the finish line at the same time (he just had to run 4 min faster than me, which is common in the halfs). How cute would that have been on the honeymoon! Better yet though, he was there at the finish line cheering me through my first pro race.

Post race I excitingly was able to me T-odd and Maggs (who nailed a Kona slot!). Great people!!

The rest of honeymoon week was spent training, laughing with friends, sun bathing and eating like champs. REAL CHAMPS!

Hitched and a Honu-honeymoon!

2010-05-31T18:43:00.000-07:00

Life has been busy in a super fun kind of way, the computer has been far from us and I feel horrible not updating this sooner, but would not take back a second of our busy weeks :). The wedding was the best day ever, and I have several blog posts I could write including that of 13 dress fittings, the "try to fit in training" mishaps, unending cake and my always believed to be "sister"...and trust me they will come....just not yet, as there is too much sun to be had and fishies to swim with right now.

The week was filled with amazing fun with friends from mani/pedi parties, facials, dinner with the girls, and family that I hadn't seen in years. The time flies and the memories of the wedding week will be with me FOREVER
.

We stayed in Seattle for one more week of rain...I mean work, and now we are in Kona for nearly two weeks and loving every minute (well except for the bike mechanical issues!).

Thank you to our friends and family for the amazing wedding and fun-times. We love you!

The Webbs.
xoxo

REDEMPTION.

2010-05-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

(yep that is tumbleweed in the middle of the road)

I promised a post titled redemption a couple weeks back. And the weekend came and went at a blink of an eye. Our story is still yet to be told.

(my fave training girls on a mission)

If you remember we took off to Wenatchee for a girls bachelorette weekend of training and training and training with a few chocoloate stops in between.

We had a "rough" day so to say and, well, as many of us left the weekend feeling super "accomplished" there was still a small piece missing for some.

For me...it was "the climb".

Advance a few weeks later and us three musketeers loaded up the car again for some major redemption.

Day one:
Interval after interval on the bike and then the run and then a major BONK on my behalf. But it was alright, we just rolled in the grass, sat in the freezing water and laughed the "super challenging" workout off.

(Just a tad "out of it" but soaking up some rays cures everything)

Day two:

THE HILL. Yep, some long mileage with a 6 mile climb somewhere in the middle, (although the sign says 5 it is really six from the sign) and 45 min later we were to the top (okay maybe some made it in less than that but I figure the longer you are on the hill the more training you get in right?!).

We rode our redemption ride and with 15 miles left (10 of which are downhill) we had the most AMAZING...homemade...warmed...frosting lathered...double fork fisted cinammon rolls EVER!

We were hit with a rain storm flying downhill in those last 5 miles but that cinammon roll stop made it all worth it!

(Disappointed that I had to set ONE of my forks down to take this picture!)

To MANY more weekend training trips with the girls and a sub 40 min climb!

2010-05-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to father and son....born just a few days apart (and a some years). The cats showed up to celebrate this one!

Until one caught on fire....too many candles will do that to ya! It just so happens that it was Mark's fave cat whose ears were setting off fire alarms. The brown kitty was good!

And Papa Webb got another Mexican Fiesta hat! So did Mark, but you don't want to see that photo:)

Happy Birthday Webbs!

Mom

2010-05-09T17:22:00.001-07:00

Today is an extra special MOM day. My mom and I are alike with our two main extra curricular activities being working out and shopping. She spent this weekend doing what she loves so I couldn't be happier for her.....

Racing with friends (apparently they like ice baths too!):

(She has her own team call Just Us Girls or JUGS for short)

And shopping too....(hats for sure!):

Happy Momma day to my bestest!!!!
Love you mom! xoxo

Super STARS.

2010-05-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

It's Monday, post a blog day, and the day has flown by, just as the 50 mph winds are. The past week, or better yet, the past two days of training have forced me to consume so much food I think I may have been born with a cows stomach...just when 5 of my stomachs are full, the other two are growling for more.

And really who has time to eat when this internet thing is giving us live updates from around the world of these amazing triathletes doing amazing things. I am more excited, concerned, and begging to hear how everyone is doing as I am out on these long training trips. Yes they are trips, I like to consider them ALL day excursions. If only the garmin could display ironman live on a split screen then this could be much better, really I would be happy to not see my HR during these race pace efforts. All the races lead to so much emotion. I find myself crying in excitement, riding like with a smile and an added kick in my step to each mini-break (and that bakery stop in Monroe-wait not Monroe, it was Snohomish as Johnna reminded me.....I don't think I know where Monroe is?? So the Snohomish bakery rocks....going for the cinnamon roll next time....and really doesn't bother me at all when some gets a flat tire) to get 50 text updates from Mark (who happens to have to work on Saturdays) filling us in on how everyone is doing. I wonder, I worry, and I WILL all my little powers (I don't really know what they are) to each of you.

So if you wonder why I have not photos it is because we are too busy checking on updates during our regular photo shoots.

The TNM crew (and fellow blog-lite buddies) is on FIRE right now doing extraordinary things and letting dreams come true. The excitement is contagious amongst the team (PR's, Boston qualifiers-2, Pro qualifiers-3, first time marathoners). To everyone, keep up the training and keep doing what you do....it is EXCITING.

Duathlon Madness.

2010-04-26T08:38:00.000-07:00

(Top 5 women overall! GO TNM!)

Yep, we live in this cold weather climate that makes for zero triathlons in our area this time of year. With Honu 70.3 quickly approaching the "man with the plan" felt the Mt Rainier duathlon would be good practice (I didn't so much agree), but soon found myself registering online. This was going to be a whole different experience RUN/BIKE/RUN.

The first run, 5.1 miles, made me nauseous, probably didn't warm up enough, probably took it out a little fast, probably over dressed for the run- but at 40 degrees and a bike ride ahead you kinda had to be overdressed, and probably underestimated what it REALLY feels like to race 5 miles (I shoot the for 13.1 plus races). I was pre-warned that the swim and bike are typically my "warm-up" into the run so my colitis symptoms are more "under" control. Typically on the run if HR gets too high my gut can flare. So I backed off at the initial stages of sickies and still held my comfortable pace of 7:15 (I seem to run this pace whether it be a 5K or marathon:)).

Next up a 28 something mile bike ride. Figured this would be good practice going into my first pro race because I need to learn to play "catch up" a bit more. And catching up was exactly what I needed to do. I had some time to make up, all of a sudden the "fire" came back and I felt as strong as I did last year. I rode with lots of people around the first loop. From previous race years (I always spectated) I had been warned of "MUD Mountain" a 2 mile climb (or maybe 1.5 mile climb...but I like to round up). I have put a lot of time in on the hills so was anxious to see how these legs would respond. I had zero trouble on the hill and was begging for more...thinking "that was it?"....okay, I take that back, I was not begging for more...but definitely felt better on a climb than I ever have. Loop two got a bit lonely. I had a friend from V02 hanging out with me but sometimes wondered if I was even going the right way...you would think it was a second loop so I should know the route, but I truly check out when racing. Semi-solo I rode for awhile and then saw a little group ahead and recognized it as my friend/athlete/training buddy Johnna. This girl can run like a gazelle, but I pushed hard on the downhill pedaling as much as possible to catch the lead, well knowing she would be flash by like lightening on the run :)

(finish chute...think I am trying to wave here too or dance to the beat of my own drum....hmmm???)

The next run came up....once again running the 7:15'ish pace, but without the nauseousness. Please just let me run off the bike ALWAYS....never off the start of a race ;). I could hear the breathes and patters of runners making up ground and by mile three Johnna took over the lead with her super speedy spring-like legs. I held on for second place, Laura for 3rd, Bridget for 4th (poor girl was sick and still raced), and Heather for 5th (whom I forgot to send the race wheel memo too). Yep, all the girls in the photos from the previous weekend bachelorette party took 1-5, love that we can work, play and race together...and get faster together!

Mark placed 5th in the sprint bettering his time from previous years by 2 min. (race results are 30 sec off on the first run). Yeah!

Bachelorette Weekend

2010-04-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

(The most amazing girls inside and out EVER)

Call me crazy but my bachelorette weekend was filled with endless training, eating healthy (because chocolate is not considered a food but a drug), bed times at 10:30 and wake up calls at 7 (well most were earlier, but I am a sleeper!). But in between all this training FUN were ab workouts created through laughter, emotional highs and lows, snickers bars, and memories to last a lifetime.

Friday a handful of us were off early to Wenatchee to kick off the training (or more like our tan lines). Laura opened up her in-laws house (which is not in the middle of a field in Cashmere) for the weekend blast or as Natalie termed it the "PHAT farm". We quickly dropped off our goods and were off to a super fast/flat'ish course. 80 miles and 3:50 hours later we were quickly reminded that we do not need boys (although they were missed) to include a few smash fest, ride until your legs cant move or you puke moments. These girls were fast and furious and on a mission. Ironically we popped out two flat tires in the last 5 miles, with a little pat on my back for having them switched out in less than 5 min (did I mention girls rule!).

(T, Laura, Heather, Johnna at the only mini mart that was owned by Beth's grandpa!)

Next up an ice bath in the river, where our feet soaked in the mud like quick sand and we took advantage of the laughter associated with it. Until later I had a leech sucking at my foot....YUCK!!!

(Laura, Nat, Johnna, T, Heather)

Made a quick stop and Papa Murphy's to settle our low calorie giggly minds. We soon realized that 3 chicken breasts for the following nights dinner would just not be nearly enough for these athletic girls (Nat- you crack us up). As more and more girls continued to arrive with each holding a Costco size box of snickers and bananas for good health, we realized we could be at this weekend FOREVER!

Followed the night up with 2 ginormous blocks of chocoloate and some good laughs playing games. Watching Laura try to get us to figure out the word "sperm whale" had us thinking she was saying her first bad word or choking on chocolate. Which reminds me, does anyone know what a burrito rat is?

Next morning you can only picture getting 10 girls ready for an all day bike ride....but the amazing oatmeal Laura made kept us all in check. We set off for another LONG day in the saddle, but quickly noticed (through two more immediate flats) that I had busted the side wall of the front tire with the flat from the previous day. I-phone maniacs were able to call all bike shops and we made it to the ONE that was open, waiting 20 min for it to open we vowed that if it came down to it we would buy or rent this bike for the day to get in a ride (after all it does have a 650 front wheel):

Bought the LAST 650 tire. Couple hours behind schedule and we were finally off with the veil in tow (until I got another flat at mile 14 GRRR!!).

(thanks Bridget for the veil surprise...your the best maid of honor ever!)

A super challenging ride to go that left some of us turning back (ie:me), others in contemplating life and basically a ride making each and every girl stronger in some way and later appreciating the days adventures. (Stay posted in the next few weeks for a post titled REDEMPTION).

The night was then filled with amazing fajitas, home made guacamole and a 7 lb cake that was down 6.5 lbs by the time we were done with it. And a little Sangria that didn't hurt us, it was the fruit....and as H*mentioned the drink was like a "reset" button....changed the challenging day around in a heart beat.

The girls picked out some amazing girly lingerie. Someone mentioned I love hanky panky underpants in an email round. Beth thought they were circulating that I loved the real deal "hanky panky". We learned a little about Canadian strip clubs and how they stir your drinks, about the tired paw and a new word (otherwise now known as our new passcode) "sorney", which I am sure Rebecca (miss mediocre athlete) will post on soon, wait, then again she mentioned that the grandparents do read her blog :)

We finished the night with a couple matchy-matchy lululemon headbands, that similar to shoes, you just can't have enough of them.

The next morning was beauty rest before our long run....on a beautifully gorgeous back country road (and once again focusing on the tan lines).

(Heather, Lisa, Nat)

We finished up with lunch that resulted in enough food for us to go on two more long runs. Bridget's husband convinced her that three loafs of bread and about 8 lbs of meat and cheese would keep us full!

This trip has started a tradition (I believe). It was a weekend of girls being girls, and girls being amazingly tough athletes at the same time. I am so blessed to have these fabulous girls in my life, that would go the extra mile (or gazillion miles by car, bike, foot and all) to make this weekend special. I am the luckiest bride ever (in more ways that one). We still have a century ride to master and aplets and cotlets to be had and many more memories to be made!

Happy Birthday to Me.

2010-04-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

op·por·tu·ni·ty: a good position, chance, or prospect, as for advancement or success.

I thought long and hard on what I could get myself for this special day, because we all by ourselves presents right?! I figure the best present I can give myself (besides a new pair of William Rast's) is the gift of opportunity. To learn, to challenge, to advance and to grow...not to mention get to know myself a little bit more. I am opening a new door that will hand me all that has been mentioned.

Life is too short, I am healthy (which I can NEVER take for granted), I am surrounded by amazing supporters and I don't want to pass up a dream of mine for the sake of "fear"....so I bring on my own personal challenge for 2010, an opportunity long awaited for...diving in feet first OR the best way I know how!

Here's to the gift of aiming high and pushing the limits.....Life is GRAND!

Sunday Girls Ride.

2010-04-11T21:41:00.000-07:00

We have been logging a lot of long, hard, scared-to-even-look-at-on-the-schedule-miles on the bike. As Sunday rolled around we were missing several of our "normal" Sunday training buddies. As much as we missed them (races, Masters, and other courses took them away), sad as it was, it turned out that we had a "girls only" ride. Immediately we made a pact that there would be no "smash-fest", ride until you puke, race to be king of the mountain type riding. This was going to be a steady, stay in your prescribed HR, have some fun, have some laughs and enjoy the day, a gorgeous day too. And we started an hour later to ensure our "beauty" rest.

.(Laura and T)

And folks, this is EXACTLY what it turned out to be. A ride that ended wanting to do a little more, a ride that ended going into "overtime". A ride done as prescribed and left feeling GREAT at the end of a 20+ something training week.

Was it the steady effort, the constant fueling, or the fact that it was 100% enjoyed with some amazing girls! I believe it was the latter. We took turns leading, we stopped for chocolate, and we rode our buns off...literally.

(Laura and Heather riding in their shadows)

Passing the "boys" on their bikes saying on your left and having 4 chix's pass by, I have to admit, left a little grin on our faces for a few moments throughout the day.

This change in pace gave us all a little more confidence than some of our normal Sunday "race" to the the finish rides.

(Us girls....with Laura taking the photo)

Girls...thanks..for the ride that was perfectly perfect!

Trampoline Dodgeball

2010-04-11T21:19:00.000-07:00

(the jumpers and the master b-day man in front)

Our GREAT friend and training buddy, Brent, hosted a birthday bash like none other. He had dreamed of the day to rent out the trampoline gym and when his birthday rolled around he made it happen.

(Mark and Tracy)

Prior to the bash we had a 3+ hour ride. I have NEVER seen Brent ride so fast and so "giddy" as he did on this day. He could not wait to get to "his" party. The handful of us on the ride chose to go home and shower and get something to eat, Brent opted to head straight to the trampoline.

2 hours of trampoline dodgeball you would think would be enough for this 20-something year old. But when the 3 minute warning came these athletes were scrambling to figure out "what more" they could do. Another game of dodgeball, some synchronized back flips, and a photo op, oh...and a happy birthday song were all crammed into the final minutes.

(Birthday Brent and his girl Jess)

The video does zero justice to the laughs, the smack talk, and the ball handling skills had by all.

A blast it was....and a few sore muscles!

Happy Birthday Brent!

Easter Weekend

2010-04-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

We had lots of plans for Easter weekend and some weather that caused for some creative training.

Friday we pulled off another 4 hour plus trainer ride, not because we were concerned about the rain and the wind, but more the tremendous flying debris caused by the two. The streets were covered. And there was no chance in cycling over the floating bridges, as with just driving them you were bound to end up in the ocean. Johnna and Ryan opened up their home for the fun computrainer ride...not to mentioned opened all their windows to keep it cool (or better yet filter out the sweet smell we were creating).

Somewhere along the way I decided to play "wifey" and make some cupcakes for the holiday. Now this was a two day process because who really has two hours to bake in one day with all this training.

Next we were off to Vio Tribanali with mom and her boyfriend, Chris. We ate three pizzas and then some....and I was somehow still searching for more!

Post eat-fest we swung by our friend Elizabeth's 30th birthday party:

Sunday was great...we started our workouts a little later (a full 15 min) but it made for a nice little extra snooze time. Had a gorgeousand somewhat speedy (for me at least) run on Alki with more friends before the weather decided to strike again. Luckily we did not have to ride (as Mr. Mark did). Apparently there were headwinds in every direction and all rides were taking twice as long (well, maybe a little bit of an exaggeration, but that is what I was told :))

Then we were off to Easter dinner. The boys were stoked to try on their tuxes for the wedding, and were feeling handsome! (Yes, it is cheaper to buy kids tuxes than to rent them!)

By 8:30 pm Sunday I was in bed, whether it was a food coma, a sugar crash, or just plain tired, it was some well needed rest.

Until next weekend- have fun, train on and maybe even find a little time to bake!

You flip?

2010-04-01T15:23:00.000-07:00

The question that tends to be asked most frequently when it comes to pool swimming:

Do you flip?

Do I have to flip?

Why flip?

In all my swimming life "flipping" was never an option....you just did it!

The famous lines:

"I can't go to masters because I don't flip."

"I don't need to know how to flip because I don't have to in the open water."

"I did flip turns on the main set."

I giggle inside nearly every time I hear it. Simply because I remember those days of "attempting" a flip turn at every wall and half the time ending up in another lane, or drawing blood from my ankles, or water going straight up the nostrils or missing the wall completely. I would laugh at myself and try again, better yet, I would go to open swim AFTER the swim practice just to practice flip turns...determined I was!

I have learned I need to "write" flipping into athlete workouts, just as you would remind athletes to bilateral breathe.

My giggling back fired with the tailbone injury.

Coach wrote on my schedule "masters but NO flip turns".

The first thing I fired back was:

"What's the point in masters swimming if you can't flip".

Lesson learned....flipping is an art, a practice, that once learned is taken for granted.

Flip on...or at least try your best to!

Rain Races.

2010-03-29T08:14:00.000-07:00

Lately we have been blessed with some sunshiny days and have been equally gifted with rain storms. Just when you think you have your day figured out the weather takes control. Last year at this time all training was still indoors, so the fact that we made 4 bike rides outside this week was AMAZING.

I am finding myself either chasing my shadow in the sun (which always makes me look like I am running like a goof). Or chasing the dark rain clouds. Somehow I sneaked in two workouts just in time before there were winds and rain that would blow you sideways into the ocean.

The thought of another 4+ hour trainer ride was making me nauseous but the weather man was trying to make that happen. We opted to "give it" a try and managed 5 hours with only a 5 min burst of rain drops so fierce it felt like pellets were being thrown at me. It also brought back the memories of Boise 70.3 last year and riding through a hail storm. OUCH!

The ride left us with a few ab workouts incorporated within. As always, with friends you are guaranteed some laughs that last a lifetime. The highlight was when we stopped at the 2:30 mark at a gas station.

A sudden bang left us all turning our heads so quickly we could have instilled whiplash upon ourselves.

A man drove off leaving his gas hose in the tank.

Funny, YES, but what topped it off was Tracy asking "Who does that?" and Natalie responding "Well, when I did it.....and they are designed with "tear-away" capabilities."

Then the gentlemen carried it into the mini-mart for his "walk-of-shame."

(Laura, T, Nat. If you look closely you can see the hose missing in the back pump.)

STILL laughing this morning.

The rainstorms were brewing up all night and today I am keeping my fingers crossed I can find a hole in the cloud to get this training done.....OUTSIDE!

P.S. Some of you asked about the sprained tailbone. Believe me, I didn't believe it was possible, but holy OUCH. Worst pain of my life (minus being hit by a bus....literally). I was having some trouble with my back and SI joint....whipped out a bike trainer ride of endless hours and I was sitting slightly "off", somehow my tailbone shifted. Lesson learned: Get back issues addressed immediately.

Cheers to sunny skies and chasing your shadow!

Sunday confirmations.

2010-03-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

In the midst of wedding planning there has been many other things going on including training, the first team race and a sprained tailbone. Some I appreciate more than others :)

This pass Sunday was the first team race at Mercer Island (incredible results BTW). Mark woke up Sunday wanting to race at the last second and a sprained tailbone left me sidelined. But nothing Dr. Clem couldn't fix!

(10k age group winner!)

A few things were confirmed this Sunday.

I LOVE MY JOB! Nothing is more exciting than seeing an athletes hard work pay off.

I have a GREAT SOON-TO-BE husband. He raced, I cheered. He cooks, I eat. He raced and cooked an amazing french toast (with PB) breakfast. I cheered and ATE. THIS will work out nicely.

Confirmation #2 that HE is GREAT. Rode bike trainer for a few hours later on Sunday post race and post work. 5 minutes before I was to get off he mixed up my recovery drink and got BASE Recovery pills out for me. Actually I think he may have been rushing me to get to Mexican food, but I will just say it is a sign of TRUE LOVE!

Climbing high....

2010-03-02T20:51:00.000-08:00

(The best family of athletes that work together to become better athletes....truly amazing people)

Saturday marked my 3rd stair workout of the year. The mini-flight has somewhere around 170+ stairs of less than perfect "safety code" heights, but this last week we ventured over to the not-so-mini flight of stairs, by the time I got there my mind had already surpassed the ability to count pass 10, so I can only say that they are further, longer, steeper, and even more rewarding at the top. I, luckily have the option of having lots of training partners that take away a gazillionth of the pain, however, they disappear when I get home and wake up the next day unable to move. Where did you guys go?

(Yes, I planned the pink, did NOT plan the not-so-matchy mittens)

Mark reminds me that each time I do "the climb" I am OUT for two days...someday, I believe he will be wrong. But for now he is right :) Muscle aches galore, but it continues to get better and I continue to get smarter by booking 1.5 hour massages the following day. I recognize there are huge training benefits for me. But once a month is enough, for the stairs that is, not the massage.

This pass weekend someone came up with a grand idea to do a bike indoor TT, we happened to do it mid-day since we all had "mandatory" workouts that we had to get in prior. Mine happened to be stairs...."What doesn't kill you makes you stronger....right?!" All I can say is OUCH.

There was a battle in the room, and it was inspiring, to see an athlete (or two) squeak out every little last bit of energy to reach their goal...no, this wasn't an "A" race, everyone was TIRED, this was a TT of household bragging rights, but man is this girl tough!

To top the weekend off, Seattle was blessed with the weather that makes you truly enjoy the gift of riding a bike. Sunday was the first Chilly Hilly ride ever that was filled with blue skies and sunshine. The TNM team threw the bike trainers aside and were out in full force. I had a less than stellar day and had to cut the ride short, which I think hurt more emotionally than the physical pain that made me have to stop. Really, can't remember the last time I cried because all I wanted to do was ride my bicycle, is that too much for a girl to ask?

(mwebb looking HOT sporting the new TNM cycling kit)

Probably not, because coach has some grand plans for my cycling and today's hill repeats were enough to make me be thankful I was cut short on Sunday....and my heart was content...for today at least...until tomorrow, my bike awaits!

Wedding Website.

2010-02-17T21:14:00.000-08:00

May 21st has officially become our wedding date. Yep, that was decided nearly 3 weeks ago, or maybe four...I don't know where time has gone. Between work, planning...note to self I NEVER want to be an event planner, and training I have truly been MIA. As said before, I am THEE best procrastinator EVER so I figured I would just bust out the planning. And it is nearly complete! Dj, photographer, dress, venue, shoes (well, I am on my third pair now, but this is normal right?!), flowers, fittings, tuxes, candy bar, bridesmaid dresses, veil, invitations, cake, hummer limo, jewelry, check, check, check, check....

Check out our "needs a lot of work" wedding site.

P.S....none of this stuff would be complete without my wonderful mother!!! Thanks Ma!

Happy reading!

Bikini Ski 2010

2010-02-12T16:12:00.000-08:00

People often wonder why I blog, often, I wonder myself. And then little things remind me of why I do this....this is one reason that I stumble across the other day while lurking on Bree's blog.

What: Bikini Ski 2010

When: Feb 20-21

Where: Monarch Ski Resort

Why: To raise money for the Crohns and Colitis Foundation. $300 raised = one ski run in a bikini, $1000 = two ski runs in a bikini

How: Visit the blog pedestrian runner, and click on the donate button. Leave your name and visit the site for some fun after photos.

In this case, I want to help someone out that I have yet to meet. However, I 100% relate to what she and her family are going through. Had I never entered the blog land I would have never met the few people I know that share the same medical condition.

Here is an opportunity for you too to help someone else along this challenging process, but too, witness some fun pics along the way.

Postal Swim

2010-02-08T08:55:00.000-08:00

To add to our training fun, or more add to the rigorous Sunday training Laura and I somehow convinced ourselves, or guilted ourselves into participating in the USMS postal swim. We awoke early. Our wave was to begin at 7am sharp. Warm ups started at 6:30...so I showed up at 6:53. I am glad I did not understand the magnitude of this nation wide competition until the day before when email strands started flying like crazy amongst the group of athletes participating. Once again, arising the controversy of speed suits and how this was the last "competition" they would be legal. Mind you I italicized participating in the beginning sentences of this post. My speedsuit is so far tucked in some drawer until my next warm weathered race, and I have months to search for it!

All I knew was that I had to swim 1 hour, as far as my little heart and arms would take me, and I would have my friend Laura at my side. There was one person per lane, 5 people in each heat, and someone taking each persons splits for every 50 meters (1 counter per person).

The swim began....7am, on the nose. By 1500 yds I was B.O.R.E.D. To myself I started talking (just like in the ironman run). I decided every 1500, I would do a 25 back stroke. So I did. And it was the perfect mix up and then I just kept swimming, la...de...dah...de...dah! The digital clocks appear at both ends of the 25 meter pool. I decided to maybe start checking my splits, it didn't really matter because my effort level was not there, in fact we still had a half an hour to go. After one split check, I threw that out the door. All I could think about was the long ride and run ahead. The swim looked and felt something like this:

(one flip)

(two flip)

(three flip...can you feel the excitement?!)

Then something happened. You can see it if you look closely. I am getting ready to flip but to my right (left in the photo) is a racer, getting ready to lap me, he came up on my feet and lit a fire under them. My body went into "flight or fight" mode. I swam a little harder, a little faster, and pulled out all my stops to prevent the pass and ended up only 25 meters behind him.

(see how ecstatic the lifeguard was to be there too!)

Post swim and pre-Krispy Kreme knock out.

(still looking delirious in all post swim events)

I am so glad we were somehow bullied into doing this swim event. It reminded me that sometimes just keeping your head in the game and have a little fire at your feet is the little "extra" that can be missing at times. Thanks friends (and Tom...he...he) for the little extra push!

PS. We were not crazy enough to do this ALL butterfly like some of our training counterparts.

Smile.

2010-02-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

Do you ever get that super magical smile while training. Not the smile and laughter of that when running with friends. This is the solo training smile that glows around you, the one where you just find yourself truly enjoying every single moment. The happy to be alive, the happy to run, the everything feels great and I am going to smile and hope the world can see it!

The last two runs have been fantastic and I am finding myself with the grin of joy (okay, maybe not during the tempo portions). It started on the treadmill late last night (not my favorite place in the world by any means). I had not run with an ipod in ages and was having the time of my life the entire 45-ish min run. I thought maybe people were looking at me, maybe even laughing a bit, but nothing matter because it was 100% delightful to be doing what I love.

Today, the sun was out...like spring time. There was enough beauty to make anyone smile alone, but the beam I had included a magical feeling too, undescribable. The tempo run was only a glimpse of what I can remember about the fabulous run.

Of course this was not the first or second time I have felt the love of sport and was not afraid to express it, but for some reason today it hit me a little more than it ever has before.

Make your training smile contagious and enjoy every moment!

No news is....

2010-01-20T19:31:00.000-08:00

Things are going GREAT...
Things are going WELL...
Life is BUSY....
Life is Good.

The new year has brought some fantastic things into our lives. For starters TN Multisports is off with a bang! It is so much fun to meet so many new people, with different goals, different visions, but all loving the team environment that surrounds them.

And, as always, getting a few laughs along the way.

Like, if you forget your shoes, then you wear Lieto's shoes!

We are also loving the new cycling kits.

(Can you guess his cadence?)

(How about what he is watching...for the billionth time?)

I have adopted new training buddies...they have yet to discover they are in for the long haul. It sure kicks the FUN factor in training up a notch. A year ago you would have NEVER found me in the pool at 5:30a.m., but somehow this girl has managed to get me there. And this girl always has a smile on and never has an excuse to miss a workout, so our three bike rides a week together have been stellar. Hopefully they don't fire me anytime soon ;)

For 2010 the "trouble" kitty has started behaving better. We actually sleep at night now and she has been taken off all her medications. So she got herself a new toy. She just can't get enough of the little cut out in the top platform.

(No, she has not had too much catnip)

We have decided to work on eating in a bit more (goal is 3X a week). Don't worry, Puerto Vallerta will not go out of business. We invested in a nifty crock pot. You would think we gave birth to a child, as we had more comments on FB about the crock pot than when we announced our engagement. When Mark mentioned it had a remote I believed him. I thought "genius" now you can ride the trainer and just send remote signals to cook. Really, from the looks of it, wouldn't you believe so too?

(digital!!!)

We now have 3 cook books (crock pot ones specifically) and email recipes galore. We are now taking recipes for 2011!

Two Left Feet.

2010-01-11T14:20:00.000-08:00

I may have officially come up with the best excuse to not do a run EVER, and I did not even put any thought into it, really, brain was not even slightly turned on, literally!

You see we (meaning training buddies), had some grand plans of "getting IT done" this weekend. IT= super long bike ride, not a gorgeous ride outside with the sun beating down our backs, nope, not us. This bike ride was on the trainers in a room of approx 300 sq feet, with 7 sweaty athletes. And the boys had the luxury of getting to ride in front this week, so no television viewing for us ladies. Each half an hour on the nose, we debated whether to keep going, but there is something about being able highlight 100% of your schedule in a week, so we kept those legs a turnin'. Following this non-moving scenery ride we were to escape this room to challenge the winds and cold with a 1:30 run.

And then....

it happened....

while we were in the midst of a speedy transition....

the most genius plan ever....

that is, if you don't really want to run....

Yep....

Two left feet!

Thank you K-Swiss for the amazing shoes, I love them! However, when you have more than 2 or 3 pairs of the same kind, it gets this girl a little confused.

Yes, I was not "hard core" enough to do the run with two left feet, we will save that for my dancing. I ventured home, leaving the last remaining training buddies for the day to also contemplate "the run". However, 30 min later we messaged each other to make sure everyone was finishing up the workout...just with a little longer transition time than expected.

PS: TNM athletes...this is not an excuse for you :)

Teresa Nelson

2010-01-06T21:11:00.000-08:00

Sometimes just a name will get 'cha a little excited. My name, however, does not have much of a ring too it. Yeah, you get the Mother Teresa comments here and there and Nelson, well is Nelson, common, common, common. Might as well be a Webb! Ha!

So the owner of AdventX, John Colver (who just did a 50K trail run BTW) sent over a few shots while in BC...

(And I love a good breakfast...at least its not a pig roast joint)

Yep, Teresa's Cafe! Here is the kicker, check out the street name that THEE cafe is located on:

Now that was enough to make me smile. You think Oprah has a cafe on a street name Winfrey (I think not)...folks, you are in the eyes of the famous! :)

12K's of Christmas

2009-12-30T12:16:00.000-08:00

Not sure what prompted me to participate in this event, maybe the holiday spirit, maybe all the team members participating, maybe just for the fun of a really tough workout. It happened to fall the day after the "forever" long swim practice. And on top of that we rushed to the White Christmas play at 5th avenue that was beautiful, then dinner, then over to watch the Kona Ironman 2009. As if all that wasn't enough to get into the holiday spirit we were up bright and early Sunday to do the 12K's.

(Can't resist a super fun group like this one!)

Last year we showed up for the race but the snowy winter and the icy streets caused the race to be cancelled, that really doesn't happen much around here.

I missed warming up, well if you count running around trying to find a bush to avoid port-o- potty lines then I warmed up, but not true get the heart pumping and ready to race warm up. Kirsten and I arrived to the start line about 3 minutes before the gun. Then it just happened that several other TNM athletes were in the same place, so there was more chatter than race focus, but truly that is what C, or D, or E races are for right?

Within 10 steps I was TIRED and hungry. Not a good feeling to have when you are climbing the first mile or maybe it was 3/4 of a mile. Truly I don't know, I just know that from the start it was not going to be pretty. So I put my "happy" face on and just ran. I cheered for my friends, I smiled the pain away, and the "good" angel helped me fight off all the "bad" angels thoughts of just wanting to drink a gallon of water, snuggling up in a blanket and eating everything in sight. Those prior days events had me wiped out.

(happy face!)

After nearly an hour'ish (I mentioned it was super hilly right?) the finish line was near, those last miles were flat and fast...for most...for me I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. I truly did have fun. Fun seeing everyone, fun looking at crazy costumes, Santa didn't pass me like he did in Las Vegas, and joy of just getting a workout done and checked off the list. Even better it was a PR because I have never done this race nor a 12K so I will take it and just be more prepared next year.

(run away Santa and his wife - Kevin!)

What a challenging course though, and a reminder that hills, hills, and more hills are a necessity to my training in 2010. I guess I need to chase this man around a little bit more ;)

Here's to looking up and getting there a little bit quicker in the future!

TEN GRAND.

2009-12-24T10:39:00.001-08:00

Ten Grand was a gift to myself this Christmas. I could only wish it was in $$, but nope, 10 buckaroos in the pool. Laura had a grand plan to organize the FAMOUS swim set of 100X100. Believe it or not 25 crazies RSVP'd to the event. We swam at an outdoor 25 yard pool and it rained the entire time, only noticed at the start and finish though.

(Type A'ers)

We all went into it a little apprehensive. My goal was to make 75 of them. I had the horrible sickies and only started swimming again the week of the event. So on Tuesday I did 2,000, Wednesday 3,000 and then Friday 5,000 in prep for the event. The workout was broken into sets of 100's and we took a 5 min break around 55 and 80. Let me repeat that we took a much needed, could not live without, survival 5 min break around 55 and 80.

The average send of for our group was 1:30-1:35. By number 70 I was a bit loopy. A little giggly and feeling a little out of sorts. Good thing we had coffee on hand. Shots of coffee after each 100 never hurt anyone right? Then at #80-ish, or so it was a mad dash to whatever food we had in store!

(So out of it!!! Notice the coffee on deck!)

Upon completing 100 a few swimmers/triathletes (not including myself) decided that wanted to make it a full 10K. Excuse me? What? an extra 936 or so yards.....hmm...I did a little math, that is nearly 20 more minutes. No thank you....I was out...and chowing and still giggling at the craziness of it all.

(Yeah! We did it all!)

Sad thing is, I will be back again! Thanks everyone who swam, watched, provided food and drinks, and for organizing. Exactly what I needed to get into the holiday spirit...sorta :)

Got the BOOT.

2009-12-21T21:53:00.001-08:00

Friday December 18th marks the day that Mark gave me the boot. We had dinner plans and Mark decided we should open some "early" Christmas gifts because he had a hunch I would want to wear my gift that night. He pulls out a box of Frye's boots that I was hoping Santa would bring. I open them up and slide them on and click my heels around a bit on the kitchen floor. Mark asks me to take the boot off and starts feeling around in it, thinking maybe he left the recipt in the shoe (wink, wink). Then he looks through the boot box on the counter and says..."oh, the card, there is a card under the tissue there". I reach over and lift up the tissue and there is a ring, no not another Tiffany silver ring that I lost in previous posts, but a REAL ring. I just looked at him and with a little swelling going on in both our eyes he proposes.

(self portrait of my new ornament)

We then went out to dinner at La Rustica (amazing Italian restaurant in West Seattle) where Mark planned for a few of our close friends to join in on the celebration. Connie, Jeff, Christina and Darin. Thanks for sharing our special night with us!

Some additional highlights of the night:

The cat scratched at the door during the proposal so we ended up laughing off the tears.

Mark decided to purchase himself an engagement gift. A new watch, just so he would "always remember this day every time he looked at it".

It was all so real, so normal, and a day we will never forget.

And to Mark....looking forward to a lifetime....love you lots!

Hair Love.

2009-12-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

I was super lucky this year to not have any major medical issues, however, it was at some costs. This year it was at the cost of my hair. New medication and n I was peeling a dead rat out of the drain on a daily basis. I have been cleared of these meds since September and am finally seeing some regrowth that isn't making styling very easy, but I will not complain....soon I will have a full head of locks again.

May 2009= Super THICK braids:

October 2009= Super SKIMPY braids:

December 2009= No Braids (cuz no racing), just some MAJOR flyaways:

Here's looking forward to new hair and hopefully a skin color change too!

CCFA

2009-12-13T19:35:00.000-08:00

The coolest thing about the RNR Las Vegas Marathon is that is was sponsored by one of my top charities, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America. They are making huge steps to get the word out and to help control and minimize symptoms in children and adults. I love that they are now promoting health and fitness through their Team Challenge program (this one is specific to running). They now have bike rides, walking events and running events that help support the cause. Thank you to everyone that came out and supported. Check out the site and your local area, as you may have participated in some of their events without even knowing, or too, maybe it will encourage you to participate in an event you have not yet done. Thanks athletes!

Learn about CCFA. (click on chapters and events for biking, walking, and other events). PS. A couple of us will be working diligently to get this going into the triathlon community....you know who you are! :)

Coming and Going....

2009-12-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

That has been my life. Out of town, in town, out of town. Race, train, race, train. Sick, healthy, sick, healthy.....six continuous weeks. No complaints about traveling and working out...love that stuff. But the third has really but a burden on everyday FUN lifestyle.

Last weekend was the RNR Vegas half marathon. Lots of fun. You start heading "away" (don't ask me North, East, South or West) from the strip and then turn around at less than a mile when you hit the "Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas" sign.

Then you turn around and see the show of fireworks in the sky to the right and the other 25,000 people that have yet to to start the race. It is a straight out and back for the half marathoners, flat, fast and VERY entertaining as nearly half the crowd are those still out from the previous night, or at least acting that way :)

A few of us met up in the lobby of Mandalay pre-fight, I mean, pre-race. We scurried to the start line stopping for water, bathrooms, clothing check, herds of people, wondering how the heck to get to the start line. 25,000 people is not the easiest way to get anywhere in a hurry. We had 6 minutes to start time and still not even near the flood gates, we jumped fences, peed behind trees that were not quite big enough to cover my bum (good thing an unknown spectator was willing to hold up her jacket for our personal coverage), and with 1 minute to go we were in coral 1. I was a little disturbed that three volunteers (while in coral 1) asked to see my bib to confirm I was in the right place.....what'choo saying????? Ha, they were just doing their job I know :)

I knew my legs were tired from the Seattle half and too, I had been battling a cough and the cough was winning, but with over 15 friends participating in the event I couldn't say "no" to this weekend away. Also somewhere, when I thought this was a good idea, I believed that Vegas was always 70+ degrees, nope, 31 fun degrees for the race. I figured such a flat course would be GREAT for me since that is where I flourish, notice I said I flourish, not FAST, just faster for me. I started out right on pace, 7:10 ish, I just had to hold that (since my best time ever in a half is 7:15's), then progressively just got a little slower, and a little slower and a little slower, by mile 10 my legs screamed ouch and I fade to 7:20's, oops, just like the ironman I re-evaluted and figured I could settle for my second best time. Yep, that's what it was just a minute short of a PR. What followed after crossing the finish line was the hacking of myself and all the other participants from the super dry air, and the feeling of a bloody nose. This was not due to my sickies, but the air. I waiting just a few moments for a couple of my friends and we made our way over the, um, fancy-dressed Vegas girls....show girls...flamingo girls....what do you call them? We then scurried back to our rooms to unthaw our toes, nose, and hands, well, our body for that matter.

Note to self: Vegas gets cold...REAL cold and the air is D.R.Y. , oh and the race starts at 6:15 am.....woha!

The sickness has put me out now for 6 weeks, and personally, I am tired of hearing myself talk about it....all 2010 training is on hold. For some reason you need a healthy body to tackle the training.....hopefully soon. Real soon!

Antlers=Vegas Baby

2009-12-04T19:09:00.000-08:00

We are here ready for the Rock n' Roll Las Vegas.

(Elvis, T, Matt, and H*)

There happens to be the national rodeo convention going on too. And we nearly died laughing as we were driving by the Paris hotel and saw this:

(Antler Chandelier for sale)

The humor comes from by buddy who did Ironman Canada this year and also finds opening day of hunting very much the equivalent to Christmas day. He just moved in with his girlfriend and had to cut a run short the day of their house warming party so he could hang up his antlers before the festivities.

I plan on wearing the chandelier over my head on the way home. I am sure his girl Jess can't wait!

So I truly thought the weather her was in the 70+ all year. And then the night before leaving Mark let me know that the high was 50. What? I signed up for this as an escape from the cold during the Seattle winter and now I will be racing in the same get up as last week at the Seattle half marathon. Good thing shopping is indoors (and there is a lululemon here too)! And really it is summer compared to the 20 degree temps in Seattle today. Yikes. Shop on!

Recovery spin...HA!

2009-12-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Is there a such thing as a recovery spin after 2 full months off of any bike, saddle, or two wheels that move?

It took an hour to get my act together to pull this 1 hour ride off. First...tires needed to be pumped, PSI 20....no joke:

It's a bit better than my other half's PSI of "Zip".

For some reason I couldn't get the trainer to work, yes, that is possible, the knob wouldn't turn right. So the mechanic in me had to go to work.

Then I hunted for the bike shoes. Searching, searching, searching. Then later found out they had been sitting right next to my bike. You see,Mark had one job for the day (in my mind), to make sure I got myself on the bike,so he went above and beyond and put the pedals on, pulled my shoes out and got it all ready for me. But my vision did not bother to take me to wear he put the shoes.

Next up, waterbottles! Except "no water". The condo faucets had been turned off to figure out some water leaks in the garage. "Great!" No way to jump back into training than to train without water (not EVER recommended BTW).

Then I hop on the bike...speedometer not on...still on race wheels. Oh well, I figured I really didn't need it that I know what cadence of 90 is. (later to remember that cadence is always on my bike, two different magnets, duh!).

I felt a little tired, but I kept riding, thinking it would get better. I checked my time at 2:57, yep, not even 3 min into the ride and I am wondering "how much longer". Next check at 24, then 45, then 51, then 53, 57, 59....nearly done!

What was worse was the chamois butter was no where to be found (still in the huge box we shipped from Kona). I have as many bottles of that stuff as I do lip gloss. As soon as you need it you can't find it anywhere. Getting back on the bike after 2 months has nothing to do with getting back in shape, it has everything to do with saddle tolerance.

I am officially back in the saddle, as is, the cat on the aerobars (she's missed this stuff!)

Thanks and stuff.

2009-11-30T21:15:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving left me baking some pumpkin caramel cheesecake (with some additional caramel on top), based on past experience I knew this was something I could handle. However, I had this little angel/devil hanging off my shoulder the entire 1:15 min that the darn thing cooked. Originally set the timer for 1 hour. At 55 min he (that is Mark) decided to open the oven to tell me that he "thinks" it may be burning around the edges. I jump up to find that what he though was burnt pie was actually the pecan gingersnap hand made crust crumbling to the side. The buzzer goes off at 1 hour. I check it...still not done so I set it for the an additional 10 min. It only took 5 min later for Mark to tell me I should check on it, just in case I forgot to start the timer and it was burning...ugh...back to the kitchen. Nope, 5 min later it still looked the same. Put it in for 10 more...Mr Mark Panic came back...nervous that I would mess it up. Have faith in your girl that only bakes once a year...you can do it. I pulled it out...for his sake, it could have gone a few more minutes,but man he was making me nervous. The finished product was delish'.

We spent the early afternoon with my mom and her boyfriend and had dinner number 1 of turkey, mashers, and apple pie with cinnamon ice cream...yum! Then we went and joined Marks family for dinner #2. All the same fixin's. Good thing we paced ourselves. The food was our much needed carbo load for the next two days at the Seattle Marathon Expo.

At the expo the legs killed. Calf cramps, aches, stretching, repeat...ouch! We luckily got a hotel room comped at the Westin for 2 nights so it made life a bit easier. The expo is always fun to meet some new vendors (loving the SPI Belts) and to see all the racers getting ready for the big day. The Seattle community is really very small so it is great to see runners I had not seen all year, and then those that I see nearly every day too!

Bri and I had a great time sporting the newest pink and white Gracies Gear tops and the ever popular Bondi Band hair decorations! I also had a marathoner who couldn't resist the great head gear.

Sunday was the big day! Big day as a coach and an athlete. Mark and I were nervous of our individual performance because really we have been some lazy fools, enjoying life, doing nothing structured and working like crazies. And two, because we are always shot after working the expos. I was super excited though to be racing with all of the TNM athletes (15+) that were out there on race day. I truly enjoy watching athletes race, but too, it is also fun to be "part of the action".

We were running late as usual, got to the race start, I had to go potty for the umpteenth millionth time, Mark needed to get front row seating. So we quickly went our separate ways. I let him know ahead of time that it would be okay if he wanted to run a little faster, that I would let him have this one!

With 7 min to race time I couldn't find any of the athletes I was hoping to run with. Instead I was in a panic mode trying to figure out where I could even get into the start coral. It was BUSY...herds of spectators standing around, confused people and who knows what. I pushed near the start line to get next to the fenced off area and jumped over the fence. I look to my left and see the man who was so anxious to get to the front right next to me...yep..it was Mark :) I once again explained to him that I was not going to start at a 6 min mile pace, so he could go right ahead.

As I stood up front, my run coach (who is also the announcer for the event), was talking with all of his athletes, talking pace and such. "Oh 5:30's or so", "6:30's I plan on holding", blah, blah. I know I have mentioned before but I am the odd ball out in this group. He looks at me and says "what's your plan?". Really, he wants to even acknowledge he knows me, does he really want to hear my goal in front of all these "runners". This could be the end of his career if they hear what I have to say. I whisper my goal time of 1:40. Nope, no joke, that would give me a 5 min Seattle half PR. He promises to announce that as my time at the finish, no matter what I finish in. Good coach!

I started out smart, smooth and under control. I knew I would get passed alot in the first three miles, I was all for it. The more that passed the better. They can zig zag passed me all they want, I just dont want to play frogger with others! I felt strong the whole way, had some minor quad cramping issues, but really nothing to complain about. After my second 1/2 of a gu I had a little colitis issue, but nothing that held me back. I ran and ran. I was fast on the flats, fast on the downhills, and literally killed on the hills. The same two people would pass me on the uphills (the girl in the black lululemon capris and the red dri fit and then the girl in the red Nike tempo track shorts with a white dri fit top) and I would repass them on the flats. Luckily the last 2 miles are a bit more of a downhill/flat so I finished ahead of my new two no-name friends :)

I was ecstatic to see a 1:38.55 as my finish time. A 7 min PR on this course. I can not walk today...but I wouldn't change it for the world. Mark had a 1 min PR. If I stay on pace this means in two year I can beat him!

My 2010 training started today and this race was exactly what I needed to finish off my 2009 race season.

I am thankful for the amazing Thanksgiving day we had with both families, I am thankful to have legs to run, feet to stand on, and friends to smile with. Happy holidays.

Teresa Nelson

January Catch-Up.

2012 *bam*

Holiday- Mania

Pluggin' away!

Tough Pills

Black Diamond Olympic Triathlon

Summer from the eyes of the camera phone.

Busy Livin'!

Friday Night Swims and Lake Stevens....delayed!

Islander Aquathon I

Fat Salmon 2011

Rev 3 Portland 2011

June and on to the other side!

Kukio Challenge

Cross check complete.

Playin' tricks!

I want you back....and some Wildflower news!

April Birthdays!

Beyond Gorgeous.

Mercer Island 5K

Boomerang!

Desert Tri

Swim meet.

TYR Kinetic.

Somethin' that'll light up this whole town!

The Simply Bar.

Addiction

Athlete

SBR stats for 2010

Swim Fun/TRX

Short Post, Big Message

Back in the Splash.

Run....Snow...Thanks...

Before/Now

Maui Xterra and living FREE

Inspiring!

Fast feet.

Canada in pics.

Ironman Canada 2010

Thinking BIG.

Brighter...

HOME never felt so good!

New Path.

Canada Camp 2010

Seafair 2010

Fat Salmon Take Two!

Exams, Ocean, and Sunshine!

Bliss.

The 4th!

Run commute.

Indoor training bliss!

Pain in my....

Where's your SCAPE?! ie: secret weapon

"to fit into a dress"

Honu 70.3

Hitched and a Honu-honeymoon!

REDEMPTION.

Mom

Super STARS.

Duathlon Madness.

Bachelorette Weekend

Happy Birthday to Me.

Sunday Girls Ride.

Trampoline Dodgeball

Easter Weekend

You flip?

Rain Races.

Sunday confirmations.

Climbing high....

Wedding Website.

Bikini Ski 2010

Postal Swim

Smile.

No news is....

Two Left Feet.

Teresa Nelson

12K's of Christmas

TEN GRAND.

Got the BOOT.

2012 bam