Falling in love all over again!

Today out on the roads of Las Cruces, New Mexico I fell in love with biking again.
Since my crash in September of last year I have had a bitter relationship with biking. A little nervous at times with cars pulling out in front of me, definitely cautious, but I haven't even had much road time. Riding on the road has felt forced and unsafe with ice, heaps of snows making it tough for cars to see you and the roads took such a beating leaving huge potholes everywhere. Winter has been long and majority of rides have been on my trainer. These rides have not been torture as they have not been crazy long like a few people I know that are training for Ironman, but they have been a bit of a struggle.

Bottom line is I love the outdoors, I love to feel the sun on my back, the wind and have the open roads where you find that sweet spot where you are riding effortlessly, just you and your bike... free!
Well today I felt that and was so happy.The wind was at my back, I was in the aero bars, pushing comfortably, enjoying the beautiful scenery. I love the mountains and the dry air was such a good change from all the rain and snow.






My pool swim was equally as enjoyable today at the NMSU pool. It was great to see Danny looking fit and strong and I look forward to swimming outdoors for the next 10 days. The pool was set up long course and the water was perfectly warm and it felt so good to have the sun on my back.





Tonight Linsey and Lauren come into town and tomorrow Paulo and Tracy arrive. It shall be an awesome training camp and a well needed good quality stretch of training.



Well off to go run...more up dates soon!

Saucony Rocks!

What a great day yesterday...Sun was out and I got a great swim in with my friend Maggie. After a few days of little or no training due to a wisdom tooth being pulled out I felt tapered and my times reflected it in the pool. Which just means I was able to cut a few seconds off my times and I actually felt stronger in the pool than usual.

The weather has been beautiful and I got to ride in shorts yesterday. What a difference it makes to have less layers on and the sun shining! I met my friend Patti for a ride. Patti is amazing. She is the toughest women I know and she is 55. I have never seen her get dropped on a ride ever....she just knows how to dig deep and work hard. Yesterday the two of us worked hard. Some of my best rides are when I have someone sitting on my wheel just there pushing me from behind. Patti has been riding with me for years and I appreciate her feedback. She let's me know if my riding isn't smooth and is always quick to tell me if I am riding strong...which only makes me work harder. Yesterday I pushed hard into the wind for what seemed like most of the ride and she was there after each interval to tell me how fast I was going. It really helped so thank you P. By far my best ride of the year!

I got back to find I had got a nice delivery from Saucony with all sorts of fun workout clothes. Love them....thanks Saucony!!!!
I tried to get Sydney my daughter to take a picture of me with them but that didn't work out to well. I am happy to have new training clothes for camp next week....packing will be so easy now!!! Awesome! Also got a new pair of Progrid Triumph 7's. Can't wait to try them out on my run today!

Inner Drive

What keeps us going...pushing hard...day in day out. A will to win...to be the best!

Training here in NJ has been so difficult this year. Thank goodness Coach Paulo has made my training tolerable to accommodate this brutal winter we have been having. Being a mom with a family you cannot always just pick up and go so I have to make the best of the circumstances. Our boards and trails have been taken away due to heavy snow.....so a lot of my running has been done on the hard roads or on the treadmill. I went for 2 months with only 1 or 2 road rides out doors due to icy roads and freezing temps.
I have tried not to stress out too much about this as I did not plan any early season Ironman this year. Instead I will train even harder when the weather is good so I will be 100 percent ready!

Today was a three hour ride which I chose to do outside in super cold weather. Thank goodness the puddles were just that puddles and no black ice. I did not see a single soul on the the road so for three hours I tried my best to stay motivated and to do the intervals. It was not my strongest riding but I felt good to have got it done and mentally it made me stronger. The whole time I was riding yesterday on my trainer I was wishing I was on the road. Today the whole time I was riding outside I was wishing I was inside on my trainer watching the Olympics, warm and motivated. But both days I was thankful to be able to be healthy and riding on my bike.

So for 2 more weeks I ride in the cold and then hopefully I will be rewarded with some warmer weather in Las Cruces New Mexico where we have a training camp. I cannot wait to have the posse to train with. It's always hard work but fun knowing you are all working hard together , pushing each other!

First race is coming up so need to get faster!

Trakkers launches new Elite team on Xtri

Trakkers Announces Elite and Age Group Teams
2/9/2010




Boulder, CO— TRAKKERS, The world’s first real-time GPS racing device, announces the inception of its Elite and Age Group Triathlon Team for the 2010 season.

“It is with great pleasure that I present the brand new Trakkers Triathlon Team,” says Trakkers head honcho, Charlie Patten. “In order to enhance the way family and friends track their athletes on race day, we created the Trakkers GPS devices. And in order to better promote the product we have created, we are now establishing a top-notch team of individuals racing in the Trakkers colors.”

To coincide with the highly anticipated spring release of the Trakkers athlete-tracking device, a group of world-class professionals has been assembled. The 2010 pro roster is as follows:

Richie Cunningham: 2x 70.3 Champion; 3x Top-Five at 70.3 World Championships

Dede Griesbsauer: 2x Ironman Champion; 3x Top-Ten Ironman World Champs

Mary Beth Ellis: 2009 Escape from Alcatraz Champion; 2x 2nd place at 70.3 World Champs

Amanda Lovato: 2010 Pucón 70.3 Champion; Multiple Half Ironman Champion

Michael Lovato: 2x Ironman Champion; 3x Top-Ten Kona; 3x National Champion

Brian Fleischmann: 1st World Team Champs; 2x 2nd place at USAT National Champs

Jacqui Gordon: Multiple Ironman and 70.3 Top-Ten finisher

Carole Sharpless: 2006 IM Florida 2nd place; 2007, broken back; 2010, comeback year.

To complement the Elite Team, a squad of 36 Age Group athletes is also on board for 2010. Headlining the amateurs is Kathleen Calkins, the top AG athlete at the 2009 Hawaii Ironman World Championships. Additionally, the Trakkers Team is broadly represented in the tri ranks, from the pointy end of the races proudly to the back of the pack.

Partnering with this unique and cutting edge Team, are three triathlon industry powerhouses: Saucony shoes and apparel, First Endurance nutrition, and Kestrel bicycles.

Robert Kunz from First Endurance stated: “This is a perfect partnership for us, not only because of the high caliber of athletes, but also because of the management and philosophy of the team.”

Carrie Bartlett of Saucony added: “This partnership allows Saucony the opportunity to connect with more triathletes and build the Saucony brand within the sport. We are excited to be the official footwear and apparel of the team in 2010.”

Steven Harad of Kestrel commented, “I look forward to a successful season; to have the entire team riding Kestrels and providing feedback will help us continue to grow.”


Keep up with the progress of the pro squad by tuning into www.twitter.com/TrakkersElite, and checking www.trakkersgps.com for regular BLOG updates.

Today, I am thankful...

Well, that last post got me thinking of what I am thankful for.
Today I was most thankful for a slightly easier week of training. It's been a hard few weeks , of which I have been really enjoying. But I was happy to see things back off a bit this week so I can catch my breathe and renew my energy. I am especially thrilled to be feeling like I am getting back to shape. I am grateful to be healthy ,fit and getting stronger. I am especially happy that my neck only bothers me on occasions from my crash and not all day, everyday!
I am so thankful to see how everyone from the triathlon and running clubs, the school and local businesses in the community are coming together and supporting the Soles4Soles charity. I think I am up to about 500 shoes with 2 weeks to go. I am happy I made the decision to do this as I have enjoyed seeing my daughter show a real interest in helping. She really wanted to go drop off the shoes in Haiti herself and was disappointed when I told her that we were going to send them to Nashville and that Soles4Soles would get them to Haiti.
I am thankful everyday to be able to do what I love....swim,bike,run,be outdoors...even if it's snowing every 2 days in New Jersey.
I am especially happy that the things that make me happy in life are within reach always. I find the simple pleasure and always have in being able to see the beauty of things around me everyday. In these rough winter days when we are stuck on our trainers....because it's cold or freezing...it's easy to get cranky. But I know that hard work is hard work no matter where it is and it WILL pay off...
Well I am very thankful to be on a new team this year....The Trakkers Elite Team and I look forward to representing them.
I am thankful as always to Coach Paulo who seems to say "no" alot...but I know is right most of the time.
Lastly I am so thankful to have great friends and a wonderful family that are always so supportive of me!

Thanks Sharon for the good message of the day!

One day the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on a farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"
"It was great, Dad."
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered:
"I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden, and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard, and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them."
The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have!

SUCCESS

My children's principal emailed me today about helping with my shoedrive. He had this on his email. I liked it and thought I would share!

Success...To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent
people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest
critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty,
to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a
healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know
even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to
have succeeded! ~Ralph Waldo Emerson