Winning (a SilverSport Towel among other things)

demotivational posters - WINNING!" title="demotivational posters - WINNING!" height="429px" width="500px">
see more Very Demotivational, Submitted by: Joshua Thunderbird, http://verydemotivational.memebase.com/2011/03/25/demotivational-posters-winning-3/

I've been thinking about "winning" quite a bit these days, not necessarily in the Charlie Sheen sense, but more the sense of what it really means. Obviously, since we are very young we are taught that "winning" is better than "loosing." Or at the very least, that we are to strive for excellence in what we do, even if it means that we don't end up winning the t-ball game, winning the race, or getting the highest grade. I don't disagree with this philosophy, but as I get ready to speak with the graduating class of my high school next week, I'm trying to wrap my mind around all of the different things going through their head. What pressure they must be feeling to "succeed" and what the definition of success or winning really even means!

In racing it's simple, someone crosses the finish line first and they are the definition, technically, of the winner. Think about it though, thousands of us spend crazy dollars to go around the country and race and most us of don't even have that particular goal in our sites. We want to beat last years time, or have a run PR, or see friends and share the experience with other athletes. That's our definition of winning. I just want to stress to these kids that not only will everyone's path not be the same, but one will not necessarily mean they are "successful" if they achieve this particular goal or that particular house, or car or materialistic thing. While one girl sitting there may strive to be the best Mother possible, another may bust her butt to nail her MCAT's and become a surgeon. Not one decision is more right.. it's about what is right and what is meaningful for each one of them.

Now, of course, I'm having all these OTHER additional thoughts after I've already written the dang speech (which I'm pretty sure is right at my cut-off so they'll be pulling me off the stage on Wed!). However, I may try to work some of them in as well.

I guess I just want them to know that even if it seems like I've had some athletic success, it isn't that I believe this is the answer, or the begin all, or the end all.. I want them to enjoy the journey they take, whatever it may be, and give it their maximum effort while still remembering why they started to take that path in the first place. When thinking about them, I can't help but think about my own life, where I am, if I'm happy..

Pictures from my trail run this week which was SO much fun.. I hope I see that on the schedule again soon!

Last weekend I was riding along my good friend Lisa on the most gorgeous Saturday and I was feeling really, really spectacular. Sun on my back, grinding up hills, flying down the other sides and I told her that if rapture came that evening.. I'd thought about my life and I'm pretty pleased.. so let's do this thing! Of course, it didn't come, but I do think it's always good to think like that - if we knew we were going to die tomorrow, what would we do differently? Who would we mend our relationship with before it happened? Who would we call to say I love you?

Morbid for a holiday weekend - I know.. but I can't help it! I guess what I want to say is (from the words of shawshank redemption) "Either get busy living, or get busy dying" because we only have so much time! What's your definition of winning?? I would love to hear so share - please!!

I think last night I considered finding a new cool place to get wood-fired pizza and salad winning!!! Yep.. seemed like a win to me!

Oh..and in other random news, there was an article on Xtri about me last week and it's an interesting read (of course I think that - its about me!). You can read i HERE if you like!

You guys were AWESOME about my new bike.. man! I loved those comments with a passion! Thank you so much for being excited for me and again, I hope like heck we can get it to fit after all this hoopla!

FINALLY - I'm also announcing the winners of the Silver Sport Towel Contest!

Please give it up for Jamie at SWIM-BIKE-RUN-LIVE and Kim K at "TETA" means "BOOBY" in Spanish! Kim - I have your address, Jamie - please send it to me on facebook or email!

Thanks for entering and following! Now, if I could just get over 100 followers.. for heaven sake, I have 99. Someone please buck up and get me over that 100 barrier! Geezz!!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I'll be on my bike for a DANG good portion of it, as Ironman training is in FULL effect. I have 5.5 on Sat. and 4.5 on Sunday. YIKES! Here we go!!!!

Just remember, triathlon is fun..that's why we do it! I hope that we can all share a little laugher at ourselves like my man Jason here.. Congrats to him on a great race at Triple-T among the other awesome races we had last weekend from my Ballou Skies teammates!

Fitting New Green Speed Machine - In a Dress..!!!

This has been tight, lips sealed, under-wraps, secret password protected, if I told you I'd have to kill you...

Until now...

When it's finally time!! I'm getting a new bike!! Yippeee!!!!

My com padres at Top Gear (the best bike shop in the world, no the universe) and I have been working on getting things together for more than a month now.. a month that has been killing me!! Welcome Trek Speed Concept!!
Finally, we did my second fitting, and it seems like it is actually going to work, so I'm excited to share the news!
Of course, the problem is I have unusually long femurs. So, naturally I had to ask today (while in my work dress, with bike shorts underneath - don't worry Mom - those are NOT my underware) "Does this bike make my femurs look long??" Garvin, my good friend and mechanic was not amused!! He is having a heck of a time with it!! I blame my parents. What the heck, I didn't have anything to do with it!
Now.. for the naming process. Much like a child, I just can't think of naming him/her until we get out and spend a little time together. I need to know the personality here. However, I am open to suggestion - so, other than the Green Speed Machine.. any other thoughts?? That's too long anyway.
As you can see.. my brand spankin new Adermo Betty Designs saddle has been carefully crafted and placed on my bike - Thanks Kristen - your designs are amazing and I love them!! I have to say, coming from basically my lazy boy seat that weighed about ten pounds, this is going to take some getting used to.. aka.. my junk better toughen up.. fast.

It's so cute I just have to use it though, so until then I'll just have to suffer! Garvin wouldn't even let my old seat get near this bike! He said no way!

Needless to say, I'm excited. It's going to take some getting used to, as it's different, but I'm hoping to ride it for Eagleman 70.3 in about three weeks. We'll see how fast I can make the transition. If I can't then it will be on for Placid.

Hope everyone is having a great week - help me name this bike!

More Pittsburgh Half Mary Pics & Silversport Towel Giveaway!

The more I think about Sunday, the more I am fine with it. Ok, I'll admit it, at first I was a little bummed.. and a little perturbed that my coach didn't see this coming. Then, I got over myself. It certainly wasn't his fault - I'm the one that planned this race in the midst of hardcore 70.3 / beginning of Ironman training.

Thanks for all the comments and wise-words that were shared! That helped me gain a little dose of perspective and I'll take a little sympathy!! Sure!! LOL!

Lisa, good training partner and GREAT friend pre-race! I'm sporting my socks-turned-into-arm-warmers look! Loved them - never even got too hot to pitch them so I'm definitely going to use that idea again if I have to this season! It will probably be too hot though!
Staci and Monique got up at 3:30am to head down to Pitt just to see me race! Thanks ladies - that means sooooo much to me! A big thanks to K for being the photographer for the day! Sorry I'm a bad wife and didn't get any pictures with you in all the madness!!
As usual, it was a rainy race! It was cool to see all the elite runners come out of the hotel and just line right up in front of the rope holding the rest of us in Corral A back. Yeah, my time had no business being up there with them - none! At least not this time!
The crazy part was, the pacer actually ended up winning the marathon! He was only supposed to help them split the 10 mile and the guy goes on and wins it! How cool is that! The article can be read here!

Here I am showing off my silver towel after the race! My boss is involved with the company responsible for these very cool towel. I am not sponsored by them in any way, but I am helping them out when they need a little assistance! The really cool part is that they are anti-microbal! You can find them for purchase at Dicks Sporting Goods.

I did not propose we use this photo, but this is what they liked.. hey whatever!

Here I am at a video shoot for SilverSport - over toward the corner with my arm up!

It's a wonderful concept that I know athletes everywhere can really benefit from as we are living out of our gym bags, cars, lifting on fitness equipment that who knows where it's been, and spinning on spin bikes with peoples grubby hands all over them! I'm into NOT getting sick as much as possible this season so, for people like me, this towel is a must.

Therefore, I'm giving away two sets of two towels to two lucky people in a very easy way!!

Do one of these = one entry:

#1. Follow This Blog (above - see the box with all the faces)!

#2. Say you like Silversport on Facebook because you read my blog!

#3. Follow me on TWITTER - @fuelyourpassion

#4. Post that you entered this contest to your facebook page linked to my blog

Leave me a comment and let me know what you have done! I'll draw the winners a week from today! (May 27th)

Putting My $$ Where My Mouth Is!!

Sometimes, it's hard being both, coach.. and athlete. As a coach, I am very specific with my athletes and realistic about what's feasible, and what's not. I speak them to in regular goals and "icing" goals. I can usually predict their race time within 5 minutes. I may or may not actually tell them their race time prediction, it depends on the athlete.

Not every race can be an A race. I give them this speech constantly. They probably get sick of hearing it!

It isn't a fun one to give, or receive for that matter, as everyone likes to "do well" at every race. However, some races are meant for training through so that when you do actually get a taper, you see the full benefit of that taper. Plus, you don't miss out on valuable training time as you may have 5-6 races over a season. If you did a two week taper for every one, frankly, you wouldn't have much time to actually be training hard!

This past weekend I competed in the Pittsburgh Half Marathon. I was VERY excited about this race because A. It was in my town - no traveling! B. It has a long history here and they recently revived it last year after many years of it being gone. C. Many of my friends were doing the race, so it was going to be an exciting day to be out there!

Even despite a fairly heavy week of training, I still had high hopes of a PR out on the course. My former best of 1:25 was done at North Park's Just a Short Run two years ago. It had been that long since I had run an open half.

Many of you that know me, know I'm a runner from way back. So, only having to get the shoes and race number together (as opposed to the loads of triathlon gear usually required) was a nice treat! It felt like coming home!!

Saturday was spent running our Triathlon Beginner Clinic from 9:00am-11:30 and we had a great turnout! I spent a little more time on my feet than I would have liked, but hey, that's life. When I arrived on Sunday at 5:00am, I was prepped and hoping to have a awesome race! I feel my run fitness is better than it's ever been, so I was ex-cit-ed to see what I could pull off! Plus, I had a great support team in tow with Kyle, two good friends from Clarion - Staci and Monique, and Lisa M, Meghan and Marni out on the course. I felt so lucky and thankful to be racing!!

I had to struggle to get myself up toward the front of corral A by 6:40am. It was packed - bodies everywhere. The energy was at an all time high. My heart rate was roaring and we were still twenty minutes away from gun time! A light rain falling, I said a prayer and got my game face on.

Yep, there it is.. my game face :)

I couldn't help but realize how much my body has changed as these tiny little runners were all around me. I'm not trying to be a jerk, but triathlon really does reshape you! I look back at my pictures from my running-only days and I was a skinny little thing. Almost no muscle mass up top and not really that much on the quad / glute area either! It was different seeing just how different I looked than these girls.. none the less.. who cares! Let's race!

Needless to say, at this point this picture was taken (in the first 2-3 miles) I was feeling really good. I was clicking away between 6:10 and 6:30 and not really having too much of an issue. I hoped to hold this throughout the entire run. Ha.. I had another thing coming!

Somewhere between mile 3 and 4 my left quad started tightening and feeling almost bruised with every step. Then it was my calves, then up the hills it was my glutes. Fatigue started setting in all over my body...cardiovascularly I was fine, but my legs just continued their downward spiral until it honestly felt like I had just bike 56 miles prior. I kept telling myself it was mental, but alas, it was not. It was very far from mental and I just was going to have to pull whatever I could off and let go of my time goals ASAP. I knew when the miles started slipping into the 6:45-7:00 minute range..that this was going to hurt if I even wanted to stay there.

So, I let it go..the PR, the idea of feeling good, all of it. I did my best to keep my form in check and I tried to stay with a crowd of girls that came by me at mile 8 only to lose them. Yep, couldn't hang. See ya!! Have a nice run!

I smiled when I could and did my best to stay positive. I wasn't planning on a hard training run, but that's what it ended up being. My coach, and I, are still learning what I can handle. Without a day off for about three weeks, one day off before the just wasn't cutting it... at least not for a PR. I did, however, learn plenty of other things and I didn't get too upset about all of it, which was a win in my book. We all went out for breakfast afterward at Eat-n-park and it was glorious when they sat some strawberry banana french toast in front of me!! SOOOO good!

It's tough for us to sometimes see there has to be a bigger plan in place. You just can't have everything.. a PR run race, PR ironman, PR half ironman, PR 5k all within the same time frame or even year. You have to pick and choose wisely and carefully. I had to think about what I really wanted that day.. trust me, I had a long time out there to do it.. and what I really want is Lake Placid, and most of all Kona. Those are what I want to go well, to feel good (relatively speaking). So, I'll just have to wait, and learn to be patient and gather what I can from each experience and use it on those days.

The best advice I have for you is that we all have had those days, those days when things just don't come together, or we mess up our nutrition, or you just don't feel right.. those days are a given. Without those days, we wouldn't recognize the days that we are truly "ON" and everything seems to be in line for us to pull off something huge. So, do your best to recognize both, and when the day where you do feel great comes along - capitalize on it! Love it! Smile and run like you stole something! Slap fives along the way and make your finish huge - because those days are pretty rare!!

Don't worry, I'll be attempting that open half marathon again some day.. until then.. you can bet I'll be hungry to get back out there in an open and try to bust through that PR - thanks for all your support, love and for just refusing to give up on me friends and family. I don't deserve you.. but I sure do love you!

A HUGE THANK YOU to my supporters and sponsors:

Ballou Skies for allowing me to be part of this great team that does so much good for boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Power bar for fueling me with delicious products that never fail me on race day. Newtons for helping me run with good form and hopefully, get speedier with time. Rudy Project for making some of the coolest looking glasses and helmets that also are light and fast. Top Gear for outfitting me with a bike that works and helping me learn how to fix it along the way. CycleOps for making trainers that allow me to ride inside (which in Pittsburgh is quite often). Blueseventy for supporting our Ballou Skies team. Finally, last but not least Infinit for crafting the drink mixes that keep GI issues at bay all Ironman long! You keep me in the game, faster, longer and stronger – I can’t thank you enough!

Scratching, Clawing, Grabbing, OW Pool Swimming for a Good Cause!

This past weekend I participated in a fun event that I had never tried before - open water swimming, but in the pool. Ok, so it isn't open water exactly - but it didn't involve lane lines and it did involve a lot of navigation skills, turning around buoys and a long time in the water. In my mind, it qualifies!!

On Saturday I was up at 6:00am sharp, excited with anticipation for the Ballou Skies Charity Swim!! The Tree's Pool at Pitt was set up with four buoys making it a giant square'o'fun and the choices involved a 3k, 5k, 7k or 10k straight swim (look Mom - I spelled it right, not like George Strait, the singer! She always tells me that!).

Last week was a brutal training week. I thought by Saturday I would be totally recovered, but I really wasn't. I was still feeling the miles of swimming, biking running that were done Monday through Friday!! I decided the 5k made the most sense considering I still had a five hour bike and a t-run to do after.

We had around 25-30 people show up and donate which was wonderful. The Ballou Skies Team was out in full effect so we had lots of representation which was fun.

Beth was really, really excited (as excited as I've ever seen someone be) to swim 10k! Maybe next year! I need to really prep if I'm going to attempt something like that!

Jen and Meredith were ready!!

Joc was feeling that 5k with me so that was good. Especially considering we planned on riding afterward! We look like we just woke up.. oh.. that's right.. we did!

Overview of the pool! What an awesome facility!

I started off feeling really good and strong. There were bodies everywhere and there was really only about 10 or so feet between the buoy and the wall so it was tight when we would end up packed up getting around the corners! Perfect practice for open water!

See what I mean! That's someone (probably faster!) swimming close to the buoy on my left! I did stop a few times to take in some water and somewhere in there, I definitely lost count of my 33 laps. To be totally honest, I wasn't concerned with my time. I just wanted to swim strong, feel good and finish happy with the effort and brushing the rust of my skills.

It was a great day to raise money for Ballou Skies (We raised $1000), see friends, and make some new ones!

After we were done, we hit up Panera and I ate a LOT of food. Swimming makes me so hungry! I still had high hopes for the ride, but it was also raining a little, and it seemed pretty cold. On top of it, all that food had me wanting to nap more than ride. By the time we loaded up, drove to North Park and started it was 11:30am. Based on the weather, I did the math, and there was just no way we were going to get everything in before the next wave of rain moved into town.

Jocelyn, Jen and I headed out and had a wonderful ride despite a few mishaps with my tire / tube (another slow leek). We stopped three times before finally changing it. By the time we made it back to the park to drop off Jen, the dark storm clouds were looming and I knew we were going to get dumped on any second!

After a few more quick laps, the rain just let lose, soaking Joc and I right to the bone. So we road back to the cars, and hour short, no t-run, and covered in dirt. It was just one of those days where sometimes, as hard as you try, you just can't make your training plan work! Sorry coach J! I tried! Have you ever had one of those days? What happened? Did you feel guilty or did you just "brush your shoulders off" and let it go!??

All in all, it was a great weekend and I was one tired girl on Saturday night! I'm so thankful to be part of a group here in Pitt that picks me up when I am down, supports me and loves to do things that help others.

This week may be the best weather Pittsburgh has ever seen! So, I'm getting out there to enjoy it! I hope everyone is having a great week!

Fueling the Mind

As a quick aside before I get into this post, can I just say that I am positive I eat about more bugs per capita, per year, than most other people out there! Granted, I don't actually WANT to eat these bugs, but I swear, if my mouth is open (which if I'm on the bike, then I'm talking, so it probably is, or even running) they find a way strait to the back of my throat where I promptly swallow them. Once they get in there, you really don't have a choice.. you're getting some free protein - yuck, yuck, yuck.

Now that THAT's over, let's spend a moment talking about fueling the mind. Many people talk to me (and I talk to them) about fueling their body with the right foods and fluids to succeed, but how much attention do you pay to your mental attitude and training? How much do you think it plays a role in your race day?

I can honestly say that I believe a majority of the time we spend working out is fraught with mental messages, from our bodies (of course) giving us the usual, this hurts, I'm tired, I want to stop, can't we sit down etc. However, it's also filled with to-do lists, did I feed ____ (insert dog, kids, wife etc.), what will I have for dinner and the list goes on and on. That's normal, we're human, we need to use this time out on the road riding, or between the lane lines to find some peace, sort through problems or just hear the silence.

With that said, I also think paying more attention to this side of things can make a decent athlete better, and a good athlete great. I've been very fortunate over the years. I've been an athlete most of my life and coaches from high-school cross country to college have spent time giving me the tools and the knowledge to put some really important aspects of the mental game into practice. However, some of that, I do believe, is also something innate. It can be taught, and you can change your mental game, but it's not going to come easily. If you've always been a negative self talker "I'm not a good swimmer, I stink at hills, I just can't run fast no matter what I do" then guess what - say a little hello to my friend - self fulfilling prophecy - because you're going to be doing just that.

I couldn't help of think of Sally Meyerhoff who recently passed away after colliding with a pickup truck while bicycling in Maricopa, Arizona. Not only an amazing athlete, but someone who really inspired me with her attitude to be a better athlete and person. While my workout load has been growing, and my sleep and time for myself has been waning I've been tempted to sway from my usual self lately and talk myself out of this interval or that pace during more than one workout. Each time I've come back to Sally and her description as "relentlessly positive" or to some of my other athlete friends making it happen on a daily basis, or even a facebook message someone would write saying that my little posts inspired them or helped them in some way. So I'd go back to one thing:

Not

Giving

Up

I worked through the tough parts, and took those negative thoughts and shoved them way down. During workout one the three, I would promise myself not to think of the next, until I had put every last thing into the current workout. I would talk to myself prior when my body said "I'm tired!" my mental game would say back "I'll just have to go to bed earlier tonight" because there are no excuses on race day. You either have it, or you don't. I'd rather spend my time in workouts pushing the envelope when it needs to be pushed than wonder "what if?".

So, my advice to my athletes and to anyone who will list is really always the same

Stay relentlessly positive like Sally

Don't Give Up

Don't look for excuses, look for ways to overcome

Train with flexibility, be willing to adapt

Injured? What CAN you do? - then do it.

Listen to the voices that tell you the right things, the things you need to hear, ignore the rest

Practice your mental game in training, over and over, remember what worked on race day and use it

I leave you with some pictures from my last few weeks.. they are my life in a nutshell at times!

Mom on the spin bike during her first voyage

Rear view of the four mile race - GO MOM!

Yep, this guy was cool - and wearing bunny ears too!

The amazing pool at the YMCA. Oh my love.. my darling

Sweet, sweet Betty Designs Water Bottle that I won from Chloe! Thanks C- I LOVE IT!

The view I've been seeing a LOT lately (it feels like college!)

The guy we bumped into on our ride.. seriously, this is your mailbox holder?? What are you thinking?

Lisa and I out on our Sat. ride when it was SUNNY! YES - SUN IN PITTSBURGH - what a concept!

Riding hills makes me happy

A stream I ran by last week in the woods

I'm thankful, and I have a good life. Thanks for listening..