G'day Mate!

My original race schedule had me heading to Ironman Texas this weekend in the Woodlands....I have a nice little spot in my heart for IMTexas as it was my first sub-10 Ironman finish and overall amateur title. I'd love to go back and race it as a pro, but I decided to take a different direction. Maybe next year?

With a little magical thinking and dreaming (okay and a little planning too) a couple of weeks ago, I decided to change my spring Ironman to Ironman Cairns in Queensland, Australia. In just about 2 weeks, I'll be on a jet plane headed down under.

Back in Cardiff, CA  I've recovered well from St. George and am trying to pour every extra ounce of energy and time into training for Cairns. I'm trying to leave no stone unturned in what I can do in preparation and am trying to plow through the next two weeks. I've even been working on embracing ocean swimming in La Jolla cove, making it a weekly priority to get out in my wetsuit and put in a few miles.

cloudy day at the cove- the white stuff is bird poop. smells delicious! 

I've also been doing some of my own technique sessions in the pool. This gets tough when I'm working during the day 

at my other job.... #workselfie

and then after work I try to fight the little grommets for a lane in the pool (they always win since they've technically rented the pool for swim team...)

No lanes at the pool afternoon. All dressed up and no place to go. 

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to ride the entire Stage 1 of the AMGEN Tour of California the day before the pro riders )....104 miles with 10,000 feet of climbing... A fully catered and "fun" smashing training day. And my lovely friend Katya is finally back on the bike after an injury hiatus (we're not going to talk about how maybe she had to practically drag me the last 20 miles of this ride despite no training for 8 weeks...) 

The first ToC climb up to Ramona

Big ToC ride....Done & Done! (me & Katya)

Other than that, I'm loving the longer days and early morning and evening light that's keeping me motivated for some longer workouts after work... Now I can get in up to 3 hours with daylight after work and enjoy the 6am and 6pm magic hour in San Diego...Check it....

6:30pm.....

6:30 am..... on my Slice

6:30pm.....

And with that.....I'm off to work. Have a fabulous Friday and enjoy the weekend!
xx, B

Out of True - St. George Ironman 70.3 Race Report

When a wheel is "out of true" and you try to ride your bike, the wheel wobbles from side to side, usually rubbing the brakes and slowing you down. In order to fix it, you need someone with some knowledge- a bike mechanic or such, to spend some time "truing" the wheel to get it back into alignment. The whole bike is not broken, you just need to take some TLC and careful adjustments to fix it.

My race at St. George 70.3 is reminding me that my life is a little "out of true" right now. My alignment is off. I know this. And so, when I raced on Saturday, and placed 24th, I was still happy to get out there and compete with the very best in the world and place in the top 25. Was it a top 10 finish in a stacked field? No. Was it indicative of the fitness I've had before in triathlon or my fitness in the future? No. Was it a good current "state of the union" address of my current fitness? YES. And for that, I can walk away from the race content to have given my best on that day, and ready to move forward.

Part of the bike course (spoiler- it's incredible!) 

The past few months, my training has been a bit half-assed and haphazard. NOT because I don't care or don't want to be my best. But, because life has been challenging with work and personal obligations and I chose to cut myself a bit of a break at times, knowing that I'll soon have the entire summer to get my ducks in a row and train as I should. My bike ride at St. George clearly shows that I haven't been progressing on the bike as of late, and when I look at my training logs, well, it's honestly not a huge surprise. When I'm clamoring to cram in 4 rides per week, 2 of which are only an hour or so, I can't be surprised really that my result doesn't put me in with the top ladies who train their butts off in a very specific manner. My goal right now is Ironman, so my longer rides have not exactly been tapping the top end that I need to be competitive at 70.3. But, I'm pretty certain that I could have pedaled another 56 miles at the same speed yesterday, so that's a good sign.

Me...Climbing on my Slice

Plugging away at the run course...with a view.

Ok, on to my race... The highlights!

• The course is absolutely breathtaking in beauty and challenge. The hills are humbling, yet so so fun. I'd call the course overall the toughest half I've done. Possibly tougher than Wildflower. Add in wind and heat (neither of which were too crazy for us this year) and you've got yourself a recipe for serious suffering surrounded by beauty. 
• I swam in a pack of girls and felt I've had a much better swim in general than my past couple of races. I came out in the mix, and improving my bike would let me stay with these girls and be in contention for a far better result
• I ran fairly well, under 1:30 on a crazy hard course and felt pretty good the whole time. I caught a couple of women on the run and moved into the top 25 overall. 
• Even though I didn't go super fast, the bike course is amazing. Climbing the 4 mile ascent through Snow Canyon state park is truly an "I can't believe I get to do this in a race" experience. 

Pre-race swim w/ Jen- Sand Hollow reservoir is breathtaking (but COLD! bring an extra swim cap and surely your wetsuit)

During the race, I reminded myself of why I do this sport. Especially why I do this sport at an elite level when I am not always prepared to compete with the best of the best. I GET to do this. I GET to toe the line with some of the world's best endurance athletes almost every month. I GET to travel the country and the world and meet amazing people. I get to celebrate my friend's successes even when my day hasn't gone to plan...

#selfie...Waiting for bike checkout post-race

So, friends...We're off to a slow start this year....Thank you for sticking with me through the good times and bad. But things are going to pick up. The bigger picture is coming clear and I'm excited to tell you about what's next! (And look for a post very soon on my brand new BIKE!)

Thank you to all of my sponsors and supporters as I still work on getting this 2013 party started. And thank you to Jen (who PR'd!), Keith (who won his age group!), and Mark (sherpa supreme) for being such fantastic travel partners. 

f1 Fearless pro triathlon - race report

I'm not even sure how I ended up on the start line on a Wednesday night after work lined up w/ a bunch of ITU chicks, (and supposedly 8 Olympians but I didn't fact check this) doing a draft legal double super sprint for a 10k prize purse. Wha wha you say? I KNOW. Seriously, how do I get myself into these things? Quite the venue for my first ever draft legal race, but you know....

And I got to race my Cannondale Women's Supersix Evo (I mean- check it out, SRAM Red, Zipp 404s and light as can be..i'm totally obsessed with this bike & its stealthiness & I ride it every chance I get!)

I'll call that race my #YOLO moment of the month and well, I'm stoked I did it. All in all (spoiler alert!), I got in a great fast workout, I made a little bit of money for working out, I competed in a small field with arguably some of the best endurance athletes in the world, and I only had about 5 to 10 moments where I wanted to go all ostrich-style and hide my head in the sand.

The race was Swim 400m, Bike 6k, Run 1.5k...and then  hop back in the drink and do it again...Double your pleasure double your fun.

women & men swim start #sopro (Photo: Kevin@TriLounge)

i'm in the middle in the black zoot kit (Photo: Triathlete Magazine)

Here's how it played out: I was 30 seconds or so back from the pack on the 1st swim and that gap widened. I biked alone (which is not very exciting in a draft legal race I tell you!) and then made up a little time on the run.
Ostrich moments I can recall offhand: 1) going out of T4 on my bike and mounting WITH NO HELMET and being sent back after riding away to get my helmet. d'oh! 2) getting lapped on the bike (I blame this on the helmet sitch...right?), well, that and the fact that  each lap of the bike was only 1k so there is not much leeway when you aren't a swimmer with gills too.. I wasn't the only one to get lapped though so it's cool...or not... 

I am not near this beautiful lil pack. But they are demonstrating very well how this should be done.( Photo: Triathlete Magazine)

The leaders... (Photo: Kevin@TriLounge)

Repeat that whole swim/bike/run x2. I eventually passed 2 girls and squeezed into 10th place for the last paycheck.
Speaking of ostrich moments...Here's me diving back in for Round 2...

graceful, eh? (Photo: Kevin@TriLounge)

 Oh wait, that's not me....THIS is me. haaaaaaa!

note to self. learn to dive off a dock?(Photo: Kevin @TriLounge)

Gwen Jorgensen & Andrew Hewitt running for 2nd place (Sara Groff was 1st) (Photo: Triahlete magazine)

And...that's proof I was there...Thanks Kevin @TriLounge for the photo

Thank you so much to Lars and USA Triathlon who made the Fearless F1 Pro possible- This format of racing is FUN! For more pics and full results, Check out Jay Prashun's LAVA article.
Thank you to all of my sponsors.....Very excited to be tuning up for the big races to come!

Why not?

Me again...Just checking in...Why not?
This weekend took me on a  bike ride to Lake Wohlford with Bella & Donna, two of my favorite training partners that haven't been around since last summer...

Donna cruising up Del Dios (2 hip surgeries later!)

Was just like old times with the girls & Stingray (that's me...b/c coach Pete used to say I was like a Stingray... always floating off the back. And Bella also had a special friend named Stingray growing up but that's a different story for a different day. )

After a long brick session and some speedy packing, I set off to San Francisco to do some more training and see my best friend from high school with her 5 month old baby archer.

visiting baby A

The weekend has included a couple fun dinners, a "3 hour tour Gilligan's Island" type trail run around Mt. Tamalpais, a long continuous swim session and catching up with the Blancos &  AIMP Coach Hauth.

long swim....5000 straight w/ some backstroke mixed in there...

Somehow I happened upon San Francisco when the temps were in the 80s and there was no fog to be found. #myluckyday

#nofog

Hope you enjoyed your weekend!

Where was I?

Umm...so this is kind of awkward...I mean, I don't think I've gone this long without blogging since I started this blog in 2007 (before I ever did a triathlon!) Here is my 3rd or 4th post....kind of my "backstory". Embarrassing but refreshing to read the old me. So enamored (though I kind of still am).

It just doesn't feel right! I love blogging. Growing up in triathlon through my blog has been one of my most favoritest things I've done in endurance sports and life. The people I've met. Those that have inspired me. Sometimes I hope that I've inspired some as well.

I haven't ignored my blog this past month or so because I've had a couple blah races I didn't want to write about (in fact, those are the EASIEST to write about...the only time blogs are hard to write is when everything is all sunshine and roses and you're winning all the time because then even I get annoyed with myself. That's one of the reasons I turned pro after all...nobody wants to read the same "I won my age group!" race report over and over...

Anywho, I digress. Let's talk about the last couple of months. Well, it's been busy. Here's the thing. Work (like my real job, my day job...Has been on fire. Or putting out fires. Or a combination of both and just flat out really busy. I like to leave work in the late afternoon to get in a workout, but in order to do so, lately I've been bringing a lot of work (psych report writing if you're interested) home. Then there's my other new hobby- coaching through rêve endurance. Nowadays, I tend to spend my free hour (sadly no "s" on there typically) at night and Sat/Sunday afternoons writing training plans and checking in with athletes. I'm totally loving it and its great to see my athletes making progress and getting into the race season.

And I feel like I've been traveling a ton...Cabo took a chunk of time, I hit up Chicago to see my sister and her twin kidlets, I went up to San Clemente for a couple nights, and Oceanside 70.3 felt like it took a chunk of time & effort too even though it was a "hometown" race.

Nephew & Niece- Luke & Elli in chicago

And then theres the training! Well, that hasn't changed much. I can totally handle my training load, it's just that when things get super busy, I don't usually compromise too much on training and try to stick with my plan even if that means forgoing a night out with friends or a sit down to write a blog....
But anyway. This is important to me. I love it. AND, my schedule seems to be clearing up a bit, so no more excuses!!!

So, let's recap...
1) Ironman Cabo!
I ended up 11th woman overall, finishing just under 10 hours on one of the toughest Ironman courses I've encountered...the Cabo bike is a BEAST! Wind, heat and lots of hills made it fun & honest & very very hard. I ran a 3:10 for 2nd fastest female run, but it wasn't fast enough to compensate for my "meh" swim & bike. I was disappointed in my swim & bike but am giving myself a hall pass until the next one. Without getting too personal, I had one of the toughest winters of my life, and combined with the work/life stress, I'm just happy to be out there competing and ready to be 100% by the summer. I've made big steps to move on and get on with my life and racing career and I'm happy to say that I'm already excited about writing the next chapter.

I did have one "WIN" in Cabo. I bet Chris Hauth a margarita that I could run the IM marathon faster than him.  And 76 seconds in my favor (sorry, C, 3:11 not cutting it!) says I did! 

2) California 70.3
Oh, my dear dear hometown race. It was 2 weeks after Ironman Cabo and I knew I shouldn't be racing it. I was not feeling anywhere close to my tippy top form but I just couldn't let go and sit it out. So I toed the start line. I swam 1.2 miles, I biked 56 miles, and then I ran.....for a while...about 6 miles actually. And then I did what I've never done before- I dropped out. Believe me, I know there are people on both sides of the fence about pros dropping out of races. I don't like to do it. But also, I knew I had a chance to recover much more quickly and start laying down a super solid training block for the next race (St. George 70.3) and I opted to do that once I realized that I was far away from earning any Kona/Vegas points or any money. So it was a business decision. And as a professional triathlete, if you are not trying to run a business, then it's really just a hobby that you're REALLY good at. I don't know. I think my lesson learned is that maybe I just need to more fully consider every start line that I bring myself to. And if I can't bring my "A" game, maybe just sit it out. But darn, I really did have fun at Oceanside and I just love that race and I loved being a part of it...

3) Training
Is SO good!

First off, all my new #hotcoral Zoot kits & gear are in and I LOVE them. So obsessed and love the freshness of a new year and new possibilities. 

I'm doing some new stuff swimming c/o Training Bible's Adam Zucco...I met up with him for a swim in Chicago and we did an awesome video/technique session. He's helping me mix it up, see some flaws in my technique, and is giving me some tangible goals to work towards to become a better open water triathlon swimmer. My plan of going to masters swim 6-7 days a week for over a year worked....for a while...and then I plateaud. So it's time to step up my game and get out of my comfort zone (which is really really hard because Encinitas YMCA masters at 6am IS my happy place and my one "known" every day, every week of my training shchedule. And now, I have to (gasp!) THINK! and PLAN! oh my.
Riding has been really fun lately thanks to some fun new training partners and some of the old staples. My watts are UP (that's my power on the bicycle for those who don't know), but I'm still working on translating that into race speed.

Warming up for a 20k time trial (result= 10 more watts than February!) 

We're working on my position and all sorts of stuff and i WILL get this figured out...

recent trainer sesh with Keith (who just went 4:02! and 1st Amateur at Galveston 70.3) 

Keith's pre-trainer "snack" - [those are dead cupcake soldiers.](not pictured- half a jar of peanut butter).  p.s. it was only a 90 min trainer ride. 

Other than that- planning some exciting races in May/June, but they're still on the drawing board so not certain yet. All I know is my next move is the U.S. Championships in St. George, UT on May 4th. It will be an all-star field and I'm happy and excited to race with the best of the best.

More soon....FOR REAL!
xo, B

 p.s I also learned how to properly clean my bike thanks to Marc and learned a super secret weapon to clean the cassette and frame and all the moving parts...

PAINTBRUSH! 

Oh yeah, and for my #twitterbookclub... Read this! I love it so far. 

Ironman Los Cabos... Vamos!

Here we go... Ironman #8 for me...

One more sleep until we lay down 140.6 miles on the seas and streets of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I've never raced an Ironman in March, but I'm ready to see where I'm at and I'm really excited to go for it. I think my bike fitness is on another level and I'm ready to test it on the hills out here. Driving the course yesterday, we found almost no flat sections and lots of long, not insignificant rollers...If you're a seasoned triathlete- think Queek K heading up to Kawaihae or the Las Vegas 70.3 course. The bike will be hard and hot. The run is flatter with a few little kickers. The swim is one big rectangle and I'm just hoping to make it safely to shore in about an hour...

So far, the "pre-race" has been perfect. Lots of good eating, good friends, and a little bit of the working out and getting prepped kind of stuff. But that's all done and I've had my feet up in my Zoot compression socks for the past 2 hours!
Tomorrow the male pros go off at 6:40am PST and the female pros start 3 minutes later at 6:43. You can follow along at ironman.com (they should be posting splits) and my friend jordan will be out on the course tweeting some live updates from @JordanblancoSF ..

swim catch up with the miss hillary biscay

Night 1 dinner locale with Jordan, Rich, Nic, Chris, & Pia at the epic organic Flora Farms

pre race chit chat with Jen who is doing her 2nd Ironman! 

mitch making sure my Slice is tight and ready. 

Until the finish line...Adios!

Emotional Fitness

Thanks, Siri. It's a keeper. 

A few months ago, my advisor Mitch sat me down and had a talk with me about emotional fitness. Which was a funny talk with even funnier delivery (if you know Mitch who is a sarcastic & serious retired Navy Seal). Not surprisingly, this little talk occurred shortly after two teary meltdowns regarding my my cycling equipment. Let me be clear- Cannondale, SRAM, Zipp, and ISM have made sure that I have the best stuff around. However, I have some part in deciding which bikes to ride, what parts to order, what size cranks I need, what kind of bars, how long of a stem (and how many degrees?), and endless other "small" choices about things I know very little about, but are very important when you are trying to go as fast as possible.

Thing is, James always happily took care of this stuff. He also worked with a lot of my sponsors and helped keep my triathlon life running in general while I was spending days & nights working & training. It was always a big stress reliever, but now that I'm on my own, I'm realizing that his help aided my ignorance (my fault, not his) . I used to just show up and ride a bike, something I never took for granted and always appreciated.  I never even learned how to properly clean a bike. I know. I know.

So, gradually this winter, things like this piled up and I was, for lack of a better word, about to lose it. With work stress, training stress, and challenging personal life changes, I just couldn't emotionally handle anything else. I hate the feeling of "not knowing what to do" and all this bike stuff fell squarely in that category. I also have a tendency to be a "can't be bothered with the details" person and had to shift my mentality because the details count and now I was in charge of them.

Mitch helped me see that I could never perform at 100% if my emotional fitness wasn't congruent with my physical fitness. So, I started by learning how to do things I could control. I learned more about the bikes I ride, I reached out to sponsors, I learned how to login to my website, I learned how to ask for help. I learned that the guys at Nytro will do most anything to help me because a) they're good guys and b) i bring good treats- (I guess one more thank you to James for teaching me how to pick good man beer). I was reminded that Nestor at Studeo DNA is always just a call away to help me make a quick decision. I learned that there are really good friends out there who will help me figure out the things I don't know and make sure I get them done. Friends that will come over at 7am with a pedal wrench kind of friends.

Once I made some progress on the concrete stuff, I also ventured into some of the more abstract parts of emotional fitness. On New Years, I made 3 resolutions: "Find Peace. Give Love. Dream Big." I think about these resolutions every day. Especially riding or running on the road alone, I look up, I look around, and I remember them and think about my progress towards all three. And its happening. Little by little, every day I'm seeing these three all around me.

As I wind down the week and head to Mexico to race Ironman Cabo San Lucas, I wanted to thank the people who've helped me become a little more emotionally fit over the past few months. Most of them have also helped me become more physically fit as well, but that's secondary to me at the moment. I've got a long way to go in both arenas, but there are a bunch of great people keeping me company on the bus towards that destination and I feel very lucky:

Thank you to Mitch for taking on what can be only be described as "a very big project". And thanks for taking such a holistic approach, you little hippie.

Thank you to Katya, Courtney, Jess, Keith, Jen, and Bryan for being there whether or not the water came from sweat or tears. (And thank you for making it fun to get faster.)

Thanks to Kristen, Kirsten, and Colleen for being rocks of friendship and sounding boards. See, you help my training by getting me emotionally fit to the start line- whether or not its the start line of an Ironman or life's next adventure.

Thank you to my Dad and my sister, for checking in on me even when I insist that "everything's fine". (But really guys, everything's fine!)

Mitch helping me swap saddles (LOVE the ISM Attack!) 

catch-up cocktail with Kirsten

As my friend (and shoe guru) Dave Jewell says, "It's a good life."

In a week....

think on it

A lot can happen in a week. A full week's vacation from work gives me plenty of time to train, but also plenty of time to think, dream, and sit back and actually take in the lovely life around me. I've been so busy this past year just trying to stay afloat that sometimes I lost perspective and forgot to take in the good around me every day. This past week, I couldn't help but smile in just taking an observational eye into the life I get to lead. I don't know what the future holds for me, but for this week, I thoroughly just enjoyed being in my present. My now. It's not perfect. It's not "the end". But on the trail of my life....It's not the summit, it's not the switchbacky descent, nor the easy flowy singletrack...I think it's one of those foot bridges over a tiny stream. Connecting two parts of the trail. One of those spots where people stop and take a picture, or listen to their feet tap tap on the planks as they walk over. It's a nice spot. Eventually I'll move on, but for now, it's a nice spot.

here and now

In the past week....I watched the sunset in the desert, I laughed and reconnected with old friends, I swam in the noon sunshine, I made new friends, I climbed a big mountain on my bicycle, I listened to good music, I talked to my mom, I ran a half marathon and smiled the whole way, I ate 3 for a dollar Mexican pastries with some of my best friends in the middle of nowhere on a 100 mile ride, I ran alone on the beach at the lowest tide I've ever seen, I tried to cheer up a friend, I drank champagne & ate the best ice cream I've ever tasted, I painted my nails red, I signed up for some races, I tried to be a good listener, I sat outside and drank coffee, and I even took a nap or two.

low tide out my front door

celebrating life in Tucson

climbing a mountain on my bicycle

3 for a dollar! only in Mexico San Diego

p.s. If you're here for the training dish, thanks for entertaining this interlude. And for you.....Ironman Cabo training feels solid and strong. Long day in Mexico in less than 3 weeks.