J and A's

[update: June 14, 2008]

Check out the latest newsletter from the best bike shop in the world…..

Jack and Adam’s June newsletter

Boise 70.3

[update: June 05, 2008]

Every trip away from home to a race or extended training trip begins the same way. Usually it begins with a final trip to the best bike shop in the world, Jack and Adams. This time I was picking up my Guru complete with its spanking new SRAM Red groupo …awesome! Then I was onto some final workouts ending with the sound of the clips on the bike box closing signaling my first sigh of relief all day. My forever will be a puppy Pandora always tries to plant herself in the middle of the bike case as I am packing my bike which initiates the first of the very sad feelings to leave her and to leave my home. Her tail goes down between her legs and I am convinced that she is in absolute hate with that bike box (as am I!). This trip would be a long one as I was getting ready to leave for Colorado Springs then on to Boise for the 70.3, to Boulder for training and lastly to Coeur d’alene (meaning “heart of the neighborhood” as informed by Elli Kennedy) for the Ironman on June 22…..then back to Pdog! Needless to say I was armed with a massive amount of luggage…..my bike box, wheel bag, duffel bag and back pack. I was carrying so much stuff in fact that a woman in the airport actually asked me if I had a piano in my bike box. Practically lady, practically!

The cab showed up at my house and Pandora ran along the fence as we left looking devastated. Ug. The cab driver then went on to say how great the pot was in Boulder….what?! and very kindly helped me lug all my stuff to the ticket line. I could breathe a sigh of relief once I said goodbye to the monster piano at TSA. My visit in Colorado Springs went really well. I had my first VO2 max test in 7 years and was finger pricked a ridiculous number of times in my poor little finger during a lactate test. Chris Carmichael and my new coach Lindsay were all screaming their heads off at me during the VO2 test and all I could try to think about was that I was going up a mountain in Boulder rather than sitting on a metal bike with a tube shoved up my mouth. We accomplished many other in a short few days and I am really looking forward to working with these guys….they are treating me right and their knowledge will be invaluable in my build up to Kona.

I was then on my way to Boise and back to the good old airport with another go from the noodle arms in an attempt to carry too much luggage. I arrived late Friday night and was so happy to have Paul meet me in Denver to help me out over the weekend. Race morning began with an epic 800m climb up a dirt path to transition area and the balmy reservoir ..not! I watched the men take off to the first start buoy. The wind was blowing and I was shaking in my wetsuit and adorable warm cap…my feet were already numb standing in the water just watching them take off! Oh this swim was going to be a blast. The men bravely took off from their start buoy and I swallowed all negative thoughts as I dove into the water, the sting of the cold was a shock. They did not have us bobbing in the water for long and the canon went off. I felt great the first 100m until my noodle arms lost their fire along with the lead pack. I saw all the little pink caps moving ahead into the distance. I was alone in the cold choppy water, trying to breathe as the water was taking my breath away. 31 long and cold minutes later I exited the water somehow passing two pro men who had started three minutes before we did (and I thought I had a lousy swim). I saw Lindsay Corbin just ahead and shoving my numb feet out of my wetsuit I was suddenly on my bike and trying to catch her. My dad (who has now acquired his own Fuzzy Duds sponsorship- www.fuzzyduds.com) yelled that I was three minutes behind the leaders.

Onto the bike course, had I been feeling my usual bike shape it would have been a blast. There were fun climbs, lots of flat stretches and rolling hills….I just was not in my usual bike like an animal with rabies mode. Off the bike in 6th place my friend and Guru rep Adam happened to call a great deal of attention to me as I made my way from my transition spot straight to the porta potty. Pretty funny actually. Coming off in sixth place I had some catching up to do. I thought about all the hard tempos I had done during my trials training and just tried to run like a mad woman. I managed to move into second place with 5k to go and at that point I was just ready to sit down. I held off new pro Heather for the last 5k and was happy to finish 2nd, waaay behind a very strong and very sweet girl Kate Major.

I was happy with the effort and know that I have some work to do for my upcoming races. Next up is IM CDA (I am not going to write that one out again) and I am really looking forward to my first attempt there.

Thank you to my supporters: my awesome new coaches at CTS: my new SRAM Red components runin’ like butter: Jack and Adams bike shop in Austin for bending over backwards for me always; to Zipp for sending my super fast new wheels super fast; Accelerade for it’s new yummy Hydro product; Badger Ford for my pimp ride; Oakley for my pimpest shades; Asics for making the best shoes on the market; TYR for my very comfy race uniforms and goggles:; Guru for my fiiiaane Crono daisy bike: to Carri Bennet who works day and night for me; to my mom, dad, brothers, Paul and the amazing friends I have in my life. You guys all come together to make my job seem easy! You guys ROCK.

I am in Boulder now staying with a lovely Canadian family who love hockey so I am actually watching the potential final of Stanley Cup for the first time and really enjoying it!

One of these days.....

[update: June 03, 2008]

This is by far the biggest break I have taken from writing and uh what can I say…I’m back!

It has been a busy couple months beginning with the trials, which did not go as expected but was an experience I will never forget. Running with the lead pack through the half, which we went through in 1:16…and then trying to hold on as Deena decided to desecrate the field was quite a humbling experience. I actually dropped out at one point somewhere around mile 18. I sat down, drank some water and started walking back to the start, already planning my refocus on the upcoming tri season. Thankfully my brother ruined this entire plan and told me that in a month I would be a lot happier if I just finished. “It’s the Olympic Trials Des, you dont have to win just go out and there and have fun with it. ”. This was something I had not considered doing before but after that I thought…ok so I am going to finish this thing. I jumped back in the race and ran a lap with felllow Austinite and friend, Cassie. I am SO glad I ran into my brother and that I did not quit. For many reasons, finishing is always better than quitting barring a medical condition. It was refreshing to actually just run for “fun” too. The crowds were incredible and like I said it was an experience I will never forget.

I have also learned that although it was a pleasant change to focus single mindedly on running for four months, to compete at the top level in marathoning I would need to spend much more time on the running than I did. I am back to swimming and biking now and those things are coming along slowly. I am trying to be patient with it as although I reached a new level with my run, my arms have become weak and noodely and my legs have lost some of the horse muscles I used to have. This little “experiment” has also taught me that running high mileage with very minimal swimming or biking for four months will make it much harder to carry luggage through the airport. Triathletes are MUCH stronger than distance runners (watch out for an explosion straight from the charming forum of letsrun.com). Ha ha ha!

More on that luggage lugging story in my Boise race report coming soon….