Richelle Love

Blog Slacker

2011-11-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

Wow, it is hard to believe that it has been so long since I have blogged. Life has been busy. The store (Tri It Multisport) was extremely busy all summer as was coaching a number of athletes and training for Ironman Canada again! I will post soon about my day at IMC as I feel I learned a lot and it was an important day in my world.

Other noteworthy news in my world these days are:

I raced a few MTB races early season but got injured after crashing hard and was off for about 3 weeks. I did my first endure and spent longer on my MTB (or any bike for that matter) than I had before, 7 hours and 50 minutes!

I have left Team TriLife as a coach and will be on my own. I want to follow my own passion. it is a good move and I am still close friends with all from TTL.
I did Ironman Canada again. It was a tough day, but a great day!

I did the Bow 80 (http://bow80.com) I have always wanted to do it with lousy weather it has been cancelled the past few years. It was a beautiful sunny day and although I more participated than raced as I was only 3 weeks post Ironman, it was a great experience. These guys put on a great race.
I met Geoff Kabush - my MTB hero! I am friends with his sister but can never seem to connect when he is in town racing Nationals.

Jeff and I went to Moab on vacation. It rained the whole time and was super cold (as in unlike Moab). Oh worked on my skills and on one trail Jeff couldn't believe I held his wheel the whole way down. And the fact that he was super proud of me made it even better. He loves that his wife is a tough MTB chick! I love watching him go down things I can't even begin to imagine how I would get down.

We are remodelling our main floor. My patience is being tested when I can't even go into the kitchen. I don't like take out :(
I raced my first cyclocross race and all I can say is I am addicted! It is 40 minutes of anaerobic hell but yep, so much fun!

Well, that is all of the major stuff for now. I am hoping that I am back on top of this now! I hope that this will also let friends and family know what I have been up to. I know that is one way Mom keeps up with me :)

I am a Luna Luminary!

2011-03-18T07:42:00.000-07:00

I have been chosen to represent Luna Sport as a 2011 Luminary! I am so excited about this opportunity as I love everything Luna Sport stands for - supporting women and getting them involved in sport.

LUNA Sport, makers of luxurious cycling clothing for women, has created a program that provides local influencers with LUNA Sport product. LUNA Sport Luminary program will outfit 50 influential women around the United States and Canada with a full complement of LUNA Sport clothing and accessories.

The Luminary program is inspired by the efforts of the women working in non-competitive roles in cycling and fitness -women who work as hard as Olympians, but purchase clothing, bikes and equipment to conduct their businesses. The Luminary program aims to provide these strong leaders with access to performance cycling product sufficient for all of their workouts and group events.

I will be working again with Luna Pro, Danelle Kabush to get local women involved in off road triathlon events and of course mountain biking!!!!!

They asked me what my favorite outfit is and I have to say it is:
Pro Team Jersey (the race cut genesis of our popular Stripe design)
Pro Team Shorts (LUNA’s Italian T.S.F.™ fabric and Tranquility™ Base chamois)

Even though I am not a pro I love the pro kit! But if I am not wearing this I joke that I could not live without my Valtellina shorts. I ride with them all the time and I may not have made the 7 days in a row riding in Moab last holiday without them.

Concepts of Exercise Physiology for Runners

2011-02-14T11:48:00.000-08:00

NOTE - This was taken from: http://www.copacabanarunners.net/i-exercise-physiology.html

Exercise physiology is the science behind what you do on the roads and trails every day. And while you may run to improve your racing times, to relieve stress, or to lose weight, your body is constantly adapting and improving. Running does many wonderful things to make your body a more efficient running machine. Here are 6 concepts from exercise physiology for runners:
I. Your muscles adapt very specifically to training
This means is that if you run on flat terrain, you will not have trained your muscles to run uphill. And if you run slowly, you will not have trained the additional fast-twitch muscle fibers needed to race at a faster pace.

Your muscles are composed of several types of muscle fibers. You have probably heard the terms "slow-twitch" and "fast-twitch" fibers. The fast-twitch fibers actually come in 3 varieties, fast-twitch A, B and C. When you run slowly you use your slow-twitch fibers almost exclusively, but as you increase speed, you also use your fast-twitch A fibers, and at peak speed you use all types of fibers.
What does this mean for your running?

When you train slowly, you only activate your slow-twitch fibers, so the fast-twitch fibers stay untrained. You need to train those fast-twitch fibers in order to improve your racing performances!

Sounds like lots of speedwork, right?

Not necessarily. Dr. Phillip Gollnick, an exercise physiologist and biochemist at Washington State University has shown that the recruitment of additional muscle fibers is determined by the amount of force required by the muscle, not the speed. What this suggests is that you can increase your speed by increasing the force your leg muscles can exert.
The best way to increase the force your legs can produce while running is to run uphill. Uphill running will increase the power of your leg muscles, and you can translate this into increased speed. And while you won't be able to completely replace speedwork, you should be able to reduce the frequency of interval sessions. Hill training can also provide a welcome alternative to going to the track on a cold, windy day.

There is one additional point that needs to be made. There is also a neural component to increasing speed. This means that your nervous system has to allow you to run fast.

Sounds like lots of speedwork again, doesn't it? Well, you can teach your legs to run fast relatively painlessly by running strideouts (short accelerations of about 100 meters), or running down gentle downhills, preferably on grass. Teach your legs to turnover quickly and rhythmically, and let the strength you developed running uphill increase your speed.

II. Why you "die" when you go out too hard in a 5K, 5 miler or 10K In races of these distances, you are running at close to your VO2 max, and at or slightly above your anaerobic threshold. What this means is that you have very little room for error. If you go out too hard, your muscles will quickly build-up lactic acid. Your muscles then become more acidic. This shuts down the enzymes that drive energy production, and you find out all about rigormortis, "the bear", and how it feels to run carrying a refrigerator.

VO2 max is the maximum amount of oxygen that your cardiovascular system can transport to your muscles (oxygen is a very good thing) and that your muscles can then use to produce energy. Your anaerobic threshold is the percentage of your VO2 max at which your body starts to build-up lactic acid rapidly. Since with even pacing you are already running at or slightly above your anaerobic threshold in races of 5K to 10K, going out too fast puts you into "oxygen debt", and the only way to repay that debt is to slow down!

To run your best times at these distances, therefore, you should run an even pace. You can afford to run 5-10 seconds faster for the first mile, but even this small gain will probably be given back by the end of the race. If you have a tendency to go out hard in races and then slow down, try running a more even pace next time. Exercise physiology says your times should improve.

III. Delay fatigue in races lasting longer than 1 hour by taking in carbohydrates during the race
If you consume carbohydrates during races lasting more than one hour (10 miles or longer), you will supply extra carbohydrate fuel to the muscles, and delay or prevent depletion of your muscles' glycogen stores.

Glycogen is stored in your muscles and liver, and is your primary fuel source in races from the mile up to the marathon. Your body can only store a limited amount of glycogen. How much depends on your level of fitness, how much you rested for the race, and the quantity of carbohydrates you ate in the last 3-4 days before the race.
When you start to run low on glycogen, your body uses more fat, and fat is 15% less efficient than carbohydrate as an energy source. The easiest way to consume carbohydrates during a race is with a sports drink. Sports drinks have the added benefit of providing needed fluid too.
How much is enough?

If you drink 7 oz. every 15 minutes (that's about the maximum amount that will empty from your stomach) of a drink containing 6% glucose, you will take in about 48 grams of carbohydrate per hour. Each gram of carbohydrate contains 4.1 calories, so you will be taking in 200 calories per hour. If you run the marathon in 3 hours, therefore, you will take in about 600 calories during the race. And since the average runner uses about 100 calories per mile, you will potentially delay "hitting the wall" by 6 miles!

What makes a good sports drink?
Make sure that the drink is no more than 8% glucose (or other sugars) because high concentration drinks stay in your stomach and slosh around longer. In addition, make sure the drink contains sodium to increase absorption. Although you will lose other electrolytes in your sweat, it is a relatively small percentage of your body's stores, and won't hurt your performance.
Finally, make sure that you can tolerate the drink while running. Practice drinking during training to ensure that your drink tastes good after 10 or 20 miles and doesn't upset your stomach.

IV. Why do you get so sore after races with big downhills? (Why do you walk downstairs backwards for a week after the Boston Marathon?)
The soreness that you feel a day or two after a hard effort is called delayed-onset muscle soreness or DOMS. DOMS is particularly painful after races with a lot of downhills. I was reminded of this several years ago when I was given the predominantly downhill leg of the Lake Winnepesaukee relay in New Hampshire and was unable to walk downstairs frontwards for 4 days.
Running downhills feels easier, uses less oxygen, and builds up less lactic acid than running uphills. So, why does it make us so sore afterwards?
When you run downhill your muscles contract eccentrically. You have probably known for some time that you are eccentric (if not ask your non-running friends), but this is something completely different. Normally when your muscles contract they shorten, but when your muscles contract eccentrically they lengthen. Eccentric contractions use fewer muscle fibers than normal (concentric) contractions, but appear to make those muscle fibers contract more vigorously and make the surrounding connective tissue take more shock.
Dr. Priscilla Clarkson and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts, has shown that this increased concentration of force causes microscopic damage to the muscle fibers and connective tissue, which leads to swelling, which stimulates nerve endings, which causes pain. This is why you have to walk downstairs backwards.

The good news is that DOMS can be reduced with training. Say you want to prepare for the Boston Marathon, there are 3 approaches you can take. The first is to run some downhills in training and each week to progressively increase the steepness and length of the downhills and the speed at which you run them.
The second approach is to dive right into a tough downhill workout, get sore as hell, and get it over with. Your subsequent workouts will hurt less, but you may be in a lot of pain for several days.
The final approach is the one that Bill Rodgers used to prepare for Boston. Bill would run 10 to 15 miles over the famed Newton hills a couple of times per week in the months leading up to "the marathon". He no doubt developed some muscle soreness each time, but by marathon day, his legs were used to both uphill and downhill running. Although he may not have realized it at the time, Bill prepared his muscles to run eccentrically. He won the Boston Marathon 4 times.

V. The role of protein for runners Carbohydrates and fats provide over 90% of the fuel you use while running. Protein, therefore, supplies less than 10% of your energy needs, and then only if you are already low on glycogen. So, eating more protein to provide energy is a waste of money.

Protein is important, however, in other ways. It rebuilds body tissues, and enzymes, hormones, immune system cells and hemoglobin are produced from it. So, how much protein does a runner need?

The average person needs approximately 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram bodyweight per day. Studies have shown that a distance runner in heavy training needs, 1.2 to 1.6 grams per kilogram bodyweight per day.

This means that Olympic Marathoner Cathy O'Brien, who weighs about 105 pounds (48 kilograms), needed about 76 grams of protein when she was in heavy training. A 180 pound man (82 kg.) in heavy training, on the other hand, would need, at most, 131 grams of protein.

How much is that in ounces? There are 28.4 grams in one ounce, so Cathy's 76 grams equals 2.7 ounces of protein, and the 180 pound man's 131 grams equals 4.6 ounces. What all these numbers mean is that you don't need much protein. Unless you are a vegetarian, you probably eat much more protein than necessary to rebuild body tissues, and build enzymes, hormones, etc. And vegetarians, if they balance their meals properly can also easily meet their protein requirements.

VI. To recover more quickly, eat carbohydrates as soon as possible after a race or long run.When you run long distances, you deplete your body's glycogen stores, which are your body's stockpiles of carbohydrates for energy. Part of the recovery process before you can run hard again is the replenishment of those glycogen stores.
Studies have shown that your muscles will replace their glycogen stores at the fastest rate during the first 1-2 hours after running. Glycogen resynthesis continues at a higher than average rate for 10-12 hours after a glycogen-depleting run. After 10-12 hours, the rate of glycogen replenishment decreases to the normal level.
What this means is that you will recover more quickly if you eat and drink carbohydrates soon after your long runs and races. Don't wait several hours to eat. If your stomach doesn't feel up to a meal within an hour or so after running, eat a bagel or a banana, or drink some carbohydrates to get the replenishment process started, then eat more when your stomach can handle it.
By re-building your glycogen stores as quickly as possible, you will recover more quickly, and be able to train hard again sooner.

Top 4 Exercises for Hips & Glutes

2011-02-14T11:27:00.000-08:00

A great video to improve strength for cycling and running:

Top 4 Exercises for Hips & Glutes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTJPb4-YOmc

XTERRA Canada Press Release - February 03, 2011

2011-02-14T10:02:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, March 13, XTERRA Canada is proud to present the 1st running of the ATB Financial XTERRA Canmore Winter Triathlon which includes a 500m pool swim, 3.5 km trail run and finishes with a 3km cross country ski on the Main Street Track!

Individual and relay team categories are available. All ages and abilities are welcome !

What town dumps 850 cubic meters of snow onto their Main Street in March, just so they can go cross country skiing? Canmore, Alberta does!

Building on the overwhelming success of community activities surrounding the 2010 World Cup last February, the folks in Canmore are up to it again with the presentation of the Canmore Ski Nationals Community Celebration 2011, March 11 - 14, to welcome the 600 + athletes who will be in Canmore for the 2011 Haywood Ski Nationals, which are the Canadian Cross Country Championships.

Presented by the Canmore Destination Marketing Fund and The Canmore Downtown Business Association in association with the Canmore Nordic Centre this year's expanded event will once again include a ski track on two blocks of Main Street and a host of activities for all ages. These activities will include many of the popular events from last year including JackRabbit Races, Dog Sled Races, Welcoming and Awards Ceremonies, Street Hockey, Fun Races and Public Use times.
New for 2011, will be a Block Party and the availability of free ski equipment loans from Trail Sports during public ski times. Chandra Crawford's' Fast and Female team are back for their 2nd urban experience and will be hosting a Ladies’ Pink Power Ski Night with prizes for best costumes.
For more information on this incredible and unique event visit http://www.active.com/triathlon/canmore-ab/xterra-canmore-winter-triathlon-2011?int=29-6

For a full festival event schedule please visit http://www.downtowncanmore.com/.

Bikes for Kids

2010-12-14T21:03:00.000-08:00

Check out the amazing things that are being done around our sport. Every kid should have the opportunity to have a bike. Think what a bike does for you. Shouldn't everyone get to experience that!?

http://bikesforkids.ca/

2010 Xterra World Championships Race Report

2010-11-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

We arrived at the race and headed straight for transition on the beautiful Makena Beach golf course. It was warm out already which was so nice; a change from the usual freezing race mornings I am used to in Canada. I got my transitions set-up and headed to get body marked. It was a very relaxing morning with only 600 racers and hardly and lines to get things done. I wandered around and found other Calgary folks who were not racing - they were all amazing support. Lots of hugs and high-5's to calm any nerves.

I found Madi and we warmed up. Then, all racers were called out of the water to get a Hawaiian blessing by Reverend Alalani Hill, before heading to our preferred starting spots amongst the other athletes for the mass beach start. I found Kristie Schneider and we stood on the beach together in the crowd of racers. We laughed that we were actually here at the World Championships! The helicopter swirled overhead making it seam even more surreal! Finally the cannon went off; we screamed, grabbed each other’s hands and dove in.

I got into a rhythm fairly quickly and focused on swimming to 1 buoy at a time (it was crowded but surprisingly I did not get kicked or punched). Each time I hit a buoy I would not allow myself to focus on more than the next buoy. This made for a more relaxing swim as I tend to focus how much more swimming I have to do. I finished the first lap and came out to run the 75m beach run before diving back in for the second lap. My heart rate had skyrocketed due to the beach run and I struggled to get back into a rhythm again (that and the fact that the waves had picked up and made it very hard to sight or take smooth strokes). I also got a few mouthfuls of salt water due to the waves. Despite the rough lap, I couldn’t help love that I was swimming in the ocean. I stayed very happy throughout the swim.

T1 went well and was fairly fast. I was organized and knew my routine. I grabbed my bike and off I went. I was very excited, yet very nervous to get on my bike. Normally with mountain bike racing you pre-ride the course but, at the Xterra World Championships they do not let you pre-ride the course. It is read and react as you go. This weighed on my mind as I headed out of T1.

I got one entire bottle of Eload down before we got into the climbing section, as that was what Jordan had told me to do. Then up Heleakala – all the way up to 1400 feet. I worked to stay calm, at my appropriate heart rate, and continued to get calories in. The course was congested and so many people were on the side with flat tires. I also passed a girl who had fallen and her shift level had actually punctured her arm! Luckily medical staff was already there. We continued to climb for several miles and I worked to stay hydrated, keep getting calories in, and enjoy the experience. The lava rock was definitely interesting to ride on, and you had to worry about the lava rocks actually slicing the side walls of your tires if your tire pressure wasn't right or you hit the lava rock the wrong way. There were also the crazy Kiawe thorns that could puncture your tires. Many competitors were on the side with flats. I prayed for no flats.

When we finally hit the downhill I loved it. Not technical enough for my liking, but still so much fun! I took very aggressive lines on the way down trying to make up time for being so slow of a climber. I didn't really seem to make up very much time though, as during the uphill sections I got caught by many of the people I had worked so hard to pass on the downhill sections. I took it a bit easier and enjoyed some of the views from Heleakala as we headed back towards Makena beach.

I was feeling great off the bike and heading into transition. I had paced well on the bike and had gotten in enough calories (not the usual case for me in an Xterra). I found my bike rack right away, as a competitor I had met in transition had placed a bright orange shoe lace on the sign for our rack. I scrambled to get my bike gear off and gather all of my run gear as the helicopter swirled overhead (I knew this meant the first pros were finishing). It was loud and chaotic and I tried to yell Rose that Madi was OK out on the bike course. I was rushing and when I started to run I realized I went in the wrong direction out of T2 and had to run back the other way to the run exit. I was like a chicken with my head cut off. Worst T2 ever for me! But hey, I had made it onto the run.

As I headed along the road I felt like I was taking the shortest, baby steps and moving nowhere! I was running but, because so many others were running so well it magnified how slow I was going. I was happy though. I was on the run of the Xterra World Championships and I had survived the swim and bike thus far! I did pass a few walkers and tried to encourage them but one girl said “English, I don’t speak well”. Oh right, this is the World Championship. When I hit the climb I just tried to push forward with a combo of walking and running; survival under the Hawaii sun. I walked ever water station with the routine of asking for two waters – one to drink, and one to dump on my neck in an attempt to cool. When we finally turned to go down, I quickly realized the down would not be much of a reprieve. I ran as fast as I could on the loosest, rockiest, gnarliest terrain I have ever seen. I went over on my ankle and when I can back up couldn’t believe my ankle was OK. However, my toes started tingling and the side of my foot ached. I sucked it up because that is what Xterra athletes do! I focused on running strong while having fun on this amazing course.

When I hit Makena beach, which was the first beach run (a ¾ mile beach run), I worked hard to remember to shuffle and not push off to hard so I wouldn't sink in the sand. A lovely competitor with whom I had been on the bike with passed me and offered me an ice cube. So nice! The beach seemed to go on so long and I was thrilled when the flags directed us up off the beach. Next up I hit the spooky forest – over and under trees and logs. I was so tired and very worried I would hit my head, or trip over a log and land flat on my face but I managed to get through the forest without incident. Then, the next beach run which was thankfully fairly short, and then onto more lava rock! I walked/ran, trying not to slip as I knew I was so close to the finish.

I was relieved to hit the golf course grounds. I jumped over the last rock wall, and ran strong headed for the finishing shoot. I was so excited to see so many friends as I headed into the finishing shoot and crossed the line. I survived the Xterra World Championships!

I am so lucky to have done this race and am so proud and honored to have gotten to experience and learn from two amazing triathletes - Madi and Jordan. Love you both! Thank-you for helping me, teaching me, and and pushing me.

You can watch 2010 Xterra World Championship race highlights here:
http://www.xterra.tv?bcpid=96876705001&bclid=30080813001&bctid=649834914001

Amazing Xterra Women

2010-10-27T20:12:00.000-07:00

Me and Julie Dibens

(Julie was 2nd place at the 2010 Xterra World Championships)

Me, Shonny Vandlandingham, and Madi

(Shonny is the Women's 2010 Xterra World Champion)

My life over the past 2 months in a nutshell

2010-10-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

I know it has been 2 months since I have written but I have been so busy. Many athletes raced Fall marathons or half marathons which kept me busy on the coaching end of things. I also was busy with Tri It activities and trying to get a few races in myself.

Here is a quick recap of the past 2 months (in point form):
-went to Ironman Canada as I had athletes competing at Ironman Canada - WOW! What a day!
-was supposed to race the Bow 80 but, it got cancelled
-went to Interbike in Las Vegas
-raced Xterra Utah - placed 2nd in my AG!
-completed my NCCP Competition Triathlon coaching certification
-went on an amazing 2 week holiday to Moab to mountain bike for 7 days with my husband
-raced the Xterra World Championships in Maui

I am in Maui now leaving tonight and very excited to get home. I will have my Xterra World Championships race report up soon!

I made Xterra news!

2010-08-22T21:08:00.001-07:00

Not sure this will happen ever again so I am so excited!
http://www.xterraplanet.com/news/press_article.cfm?id=2844

Xterra Canmore 2010

2010-08-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

I woke up without any nerves today which was nice for a change. I even emptied the dishwasher as I drank my morning coffee before hitting the road to Canmore. I think I hit repeat on Katy Perry's new song "Teenage Dream" the whole way - it is catchy and has a good beat!

When I arrived I parked at Quarry (swim and T1 area) and ran into a few of my athletes and other friends. I set up my own T1 and then headed up to the Nordic Centre to set-up T2, get body marked and get my timing chip. I found my friend Erin and after Tony's official pre-race meeting, we boarded the bus to shuttle us back down to the swim/T1 (yes, lots of logistics in this race). Full course women were last which meant I had an hour from the first group to go until I went. I had a great time cheering on Erin, Cindy, Kerstin and others and hanging out on shore. I still wasn't nervous and felt very relaxed. This is very unusual as normally I am dry heaving at this point! Yes, it is true! I get so nervous I dry heave before most races.

Then it was finally our turn to go, women - full course. I did a quick warm-up and then waded into the water with the other women. "Ok, everybody be nice!" I yelled, "let's all be swim friends" as Tony did the coutdown. And we were off! The swim was very uneventful and no contact (thanks ladies!). I did keep veering right as my right arm seems to be stronger than my left these days. Possibly a hazard of not really swim training this year I guess. I tried my best to sight and stay left but kept veering right. I worked on not pulling as hard with my right arm to straighten mysef out and it helped a little - I am sure my swim form looked hidious! As I rounded by shore the wonderful TRi It staff was on shore cheering. I took a second to wave (yep and they even saw me wave!) and then completed lap 2 of the swim. As I got out of the water I knew I was about mid-pack.

I ran all the way to T1 but man, it is a LONG run from Quarry Lake to T1. I had to sit to get my wetsuit off and shoes on as I was dizzy. Caesar from Terrascape Racing (my mountain bike team) was helping out in T1. He packed my wetsuit into my bag and even offered his shirt to dry my hand to get my gloves on quicker. Thanks Caesar! And I was off on my mountain bike - whew, now I was in my element! I quickly worked on passing girls but remaining patient. I climbed to the Nordic Centre and headed out on my first lap. I hit the technical sections and cleaned then nicely. I had several spectators and men racing comment on how fast and confident I was riding. Love it! Before I knew it I was at the long climb (Georgetown to Matching Jersey's). I flew up it faster than normal as I have wridden this for several races this year. Back to the stadium for lap 2 and I continued to pass more men and women. As I passed and encouraged a few men on the climb at the beginning of the lap one guy said "I am trying not to like you because you are making this look fun and easy. Stop being so nice". I laughed and pulled away. The ride was uneventful in that nothing bad happened (such as a fall or seeing anyone else fall) but I just know I had a HUGE smile the whole time. I was having so much fun! I LOVE BEING ON MY MOUNTAIN BIKE!!!!!!!!

I hit the stadium and went through T2 as fast as I could. My athletes who were racing the sprint were all done and there cheering me on with the Tri It staff. As I headed out on the run someone told me I had 6 women in front of me. I knew that I could not likely catch any of them but simply run scared to hold onto 6th. I was having a great run and hit the technical sections without incident. I manged to pass 1 women which brought me to 5th women overall and still running scared! My buddy Rob ran with me for a bit until he pulled away as we neared the stadium. Just then I saw Danelle behind me (Danelle Kabush, Luna Pro Xterra athlete). She would be heading towards the finish as I headed out for lap 2. I did not want to get lapped so I tried to push but had nothing so I jumped and screamed instead. "Nooooo Danelle!!! Don't lap me!" I screamed and laughed. She told me I had too much energy and better run fatser if I had energy to scream and jump. She passed me 100m before the finish/lap area. Darn!

My second lap was much slower than my first as my quads were fatigued. I just kept pushing forward and only allowed myself 5 steps when I needed to walk on flat but, had to walk the hills. I continued to look over my shoulder running scared as I knew a women had to be close behind. As I saw the stadium I tried to run faster but fatigue had set in and I hit a root and landed in a full skid on my belly. I jumped up and quickly assessed - no blood. OK, get going. I ran my little heart out as I hit the stadium securing my 5th place women position. Thrilled!

More thrilled when I found out 1st in women (30 - 34).

We then hung out in the sun for the rest of the afternoon. What a great day! Tony really puts on great events and this is now my favorite race! Triathlon and kick-ass mountain biking combined! What more could I ask for!? I love Xterra!

Jordan Bryden

2010-08-17T19:51:00.000-07:00

Jordan is an amazing triathlete who is working so hard to achieve his dreams! Go Jordan!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxDZ3zjyRgQ

Cycling Physio

2010-08-17T19:48:00.000-07:00

A great link from a friend Sarah:
http://cyclingphysio.com/?cat=12

These are cycling exercises!

TR3 (3 days of hell!)

2010-08-13T22:38:00.000-07:00

The Globe and Mail described TransRockies racers a cross between rockstars and mental patients! After doing this race, I see why.

Pre-Race Day
Upon arriving in Fernie we headed straight to the package pick-up. First person we see is Matt from United Cycle (a racer who also races on the Alberta mountain bike circuit with me and who is an expert bike tech). He is an ambassador for the week meaning he rides the course and helps people fix major mechanical problems. He gets me checked in and I stand in each line gathering all that I need. I then run into Lisa (my teammate from Terrascape) and we discuss start times as day 1 is a time trial start format vs. a typical mass start. I wonder why I am starting in the morning and not afternoon like I had thought and go back to the registration table. I am on the list twice! I opt for the afternoon start and Jeff and I then head to get settled into camp. Jeff is along as my amazing support crew and expert bike tech. The rest of the day is relaxing, attending the pre-race meeting, and visiting my friend Danielle who lives in Fernie.

Day 1 – Fernie Time Trial (31km – 3:52min)
Thought of the Day: This is really hard!

We wake up to a ridiculous amount of rain. Great! Love those muddy, wet, slippery MTB courses. The morning is spent anxiously waiting my 2:15 start time. Jeff points out that I am being unusually quiet; I am nervous and don’t have much to say. Passing the time, waiting for an afternoon start is hard. We scout out the start area and see everyone coming back covered head to toe in mud! It is so muddy people arrive back with not a single spot on their body not covered in mud. My anxiety grows as wet courses make for tough mountain biking and slower times.

When it is finally my turn to go, I get to the start area and the sky has cleared and it is not raining. However, I know the course will still be very wet and slick – and chewed up as 500+ riders have riden it ahead of us. I wait in the start zone.

The beeps go and I am off. The first section is not bad as we head from downtown Fernie to the trails. We start climbing, and climbing, and climbing! My legs feel so dead – I knew this was coming as I chose to race a ½ Ironman last weekend – suck it up Richelle and just do it. For over 6km we climb straight uphill over technical roots sections and 180 degree switchbacks. I know the top riders are riding this, but not me. I let my mental state deteriorate as I am frustrated with how much climbing there is. When I finally reach the quick technical down which I love I am not even happy. I can’t seem to turn my mood around. I pass a few of the girls who had passed me on the up and I try to focus on how much I love these downhill sections. Ok, maybe the climb was worth it. I focus on being positive.

A few more ups and down, a quick fire road section and I am at the final checkpoint with 11km to go. I am feeling good. I was told the last section is fast and has a lot of down. Well, that guy lied! I can see how it would be fast when it was dry, but with it being totally muddy/wet and being one of the last riders to ride the course that day it was a tough slog the last 11km. I started to get very frustrated and hit a big mental low as I dragged me and my bike that last few kilometers. It was an amazing bunch of single-track but, I was not having fun. This was really hard and I was pushing my bike way more than I am used to. I love mountain biking – I am supposed to be having fun but, I am not. I had a few more hissy fits, a big crash that sent me flying off my bike, and a few more slippery falls. I also slammed into the front of my steer tube at one point - yes boys, it hurts when girls crash into their bikes there too! I yelled and cursed as the last few kilometers seemed to take an eternity. Finally I see the end of the trail. As I hit the pavement into the finish area I was relived to be done and as I crossed the finish line there were no smiles. Jeff snapped a quick picture and came over and asked how it was. “It was hard!” as I burst into tears. I tried to put myself back together as I washed my bike off and talked with a few racers who raced earlier that day. I was choking back tears as best I could.

I then rode to Danielle’s for a shower (there was no way Jeff was letting this muddy girl into the truck). On the way over I quickly took stock of what I just did. You know what?! That was hard, and I freakin’ did it! Stop the pitty party princess I thought to myself. I felt better and realized I needed to celebrate the accomplishment. OK, pitty party over. I showered, ate and we then had to go to the route meeting for the next day. With some very cool animation we were able to get a great idea of how tomorrow would look. I also got to see friends who I had not seen all day and hear about their days. Jeff Nielson gave me a quick pep talk and food consumption advice for the next day and we were off to bed. Jeff quickly tuned my bike for the next day - lucky me, my very own mechanic. Day 1 done.

Day 2 – Fernie to Sparwood (72km – 5:59 min)
Thought of the Day: If there is any down, you will climb back up.

I didn’t want to eat breakfast but, Jeff forced me too. I was anxious again and the weather was not looking promising. I sat back down after my failed attempt to leave with eating only 2 bites of oatmeal and took 3 more bites and claimed I was done. I felt like I was 5 years old again! I gathered my gear and got on my bike and rode to the start line in downtown Fernie. Danielle met me in town and Jeff followed shortly too. Pictures and hugs and into the start shoot where I found Lyndsay. We joked around and chatted with other racers as we waited for the start. The gun went and because we were in our designated start shoot (near the back) it took well over a minute for us to even reach the start arch. A quick lap around downtown Fernie (to help spread us all out) and onto the a fire road. Lyndsay and I found Bev, and the 3 of us biked and chatted until they eventually pulled away and I climbed on my own. Not to worry though as I found a pack of boys my pace right away and we chatted and climbed together.

It was long climb and there was nothing else to do but chat up other riders and just keep pedaling. Up and up and up. At around 16km I had to laugh at the boys behind me pondering how much longer till “beer time”. I laughed at them and found they were from Calgary. I hung with them until the next checkpoint. My back started to ache from all of the climbing. I got off and stretched as best I could. It sometimes alleviated the pain for a minute or so and other times did not. I was not frustrated though and was having a great day. We popped into some single-track, the first of the day so I was ecstatic. I worked to pass a few people until we hit the wall. The wall is a huge rock that you have to haul you and your bike up – in bike shoes. A fellow from Spain who I was near had gotten there just before me and was already on top of the rock. He told me to hand him my bike which I did and then he grabbed my elbow and yanked me up too! Well, that was easy – he he! Talk about right place at the right time! A bit more single-track t the top was great except when I had to stop, slipped off my pedal and put a cog tooth or two into my shin. Ouch! Blood! I was oddly excited as I was not really hurt but I knew it wouldn't be a true TransRockies experience without a little blood! A few more minutes of climbing at I final saw the Porky Blue sign which was the downhill section!

As I screamed down the downhill portion I knew I had a grin ear to ear. This was an amazing downhill! I loved it! I caught the girls from Brazil and had a laugh with them as the 3 of us ripped down the descent. It was almost 6km of wicked downhill. I was loving it! As we hit the fire road again I felt like a kid who wanted to go back for a second ride. Again! Again! But 49km of fire road still awaited me before the finish arch.

I suffered immensely over the next 50km. My back ached bad! I have not been on my road bike a tone this year nor ridden fire roads as mountain bike training. I held on stopping often to stretch. It was fairly uneventful and nothing to do but push as best I could. have to I saw the finish from across the river and did everything I could to just hold on and cross that line. As I rounded the corner to the finish I saw Jeff (head down looking at pictures on the camera). I shouted for his attention and he looked up as I flew by. Ha! I give him more than credit for waiting for me each day never knowing how long it would take me. When he found me he asked how today was and the response was “hard but fun! And a wicked down!” – all said with a smile!

We found Lyndsay and we all got loaded into our truck as opposed to having to wait for a shuttle like the rest of the racers. We were lucky as we arrived back at camp early and it was mostly the top racers only back already. We hit the showers early and had time to get organized for the next day all before dinner. Got to see my favorite buddy Ken who had stitches on his knee! Again, yeah Ken! True TransRockies exeprince with stitches. Memory exscapes me how he cut up his knee but I am sure it was an epic fall - right Ken!? :)After the route review and slideshow for the day Luke tried to adjust me seat for more comfort and ease my back pain for the next day. Jeff had done a great job cleaning and tuning my bike as it arrived both days now COVERED in mud. Here it is after Jeff got his hands on it. She is beautiful and ready to go for the next day!

I think I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

Day 3 – Elkford to Etherington Creek (62km – 6:41min)

Thought of the Day: More up! Really!

As I got on my bike I immediately had the OUCH factor - you know when your butt hurts to sit on a bike seat after multiple days of riding. I rode to the start hoping it would go away when the adrenaline started. I found Lyndsay and we stretched and got a few pictures before our final day of TR3.

We started the day with a parade loop around the community centre and back onto fire road. There was a big crash up ahead and a few top riders went down. I avoided the crash and quickly found Matt and Stu (TransRockies ambassadors and racing friends) and rode with them for a bit until they had to stop to help fix a mechanical issue another rider was having.

My back ached a lot and I had to stop a lot to stretch my hip flexors to take the pressure off my back. It was not working. It ached! The first checkpoint I flew through and was excited to get to #2 that had pretzels (that I thought were the best tasting things ever!) So, 40km down and 3 hours in at checkpoint #2 and a fairly uneventful morning despite this crazy sore back. We turned off the fire road right at checkpoint #2 and onto single-track. Yeah! I finally started to pass people instead of forever being passed and my back was feeling better. But just 2km later I hit the hike-a-bike section. I knew this was coming but, I am not sure I was prepared for it exactly. For the next 2 hours and only 8km distance wise, we pushed our bikes straight uphill for over 1000m in elevation gain! Yes, that means straight up and pushing, not riding your bike. At times it was so steep we had to carry our bikes up the hills. Oh, and did I mention the alder bushes that completely covered the trail and attempted to grab your derailleur and tear it off your bike?! They were unsuccessful at getting my bike but, I did see a few riders they did get.

I met a new friend, Kevin who was from Banff and we chatted as I used him to keep me distracted through the push up. I would think we were near the top and we would turn and then, more up. Again we would push and then turn a corner to…more up! This was crazy! We were headed over the Continental Divide and I just couldn’t believe how high we were. It was beautiful but, I was too tired to really appreciate where I was at the time. We hit the last pitch to the top and had to throw our bikes over our shoulders and scramble to the top. I saw a park ranger standing beside a sign and I knew this was for real – we were finally at the top! Many riders stopped to take pictures and put on jackets. With the rain clouds looming I opted to just get on my bike and hit the down! My arms hurt and I rode hard down. I started passing a lot of riders and was so happy to be on the down. One girl commented that I always pass her on the down but, I reminded her since that was the case she always beat me on the up! The down was fun and technical at parts which I loved. So much fun! It then went to a fast down with short ups and bunch of river crossings – Augh! Wet feet! Trying to carry bike and wade across knee deep water was sketchy. Other riders were falling and getting completely soaked in the freezing water. Yuck! When I finally realized we had just 8km to go we were back on fire road. I pushed as hard as I could to stay ahead of the girls who I knew were now close behind me. The Calgary boys from yesterday caught me with 3km to go and I tried to stay with them but did so unsuccessfully. However, before I knew it I saw a volunteer ahead at a corner and I asked how much further. “30 seconds” she said. I pushed past camp set up to cross the finish line with a big smile! I did it! I survived TR3!!!!!
As I crossed the finish line it almost felt anti-climactic as although I had just completed 3 epic days, over 300 racers still had 4 more days to go. I did have a big smile that the announcer commented on and all I could say was “I survived!”. My excitement was quickly gone though as I found out Lyndsay had broken her collarbone on the descent. I tried to see her but they would not let me into the medical tent. They assured me her husband was on his way and she would be fine. So we packed up and headed home. As we drove home I went back and forth in my head of “yes, I will do this again – what a fun and amazing experience” to “no, I am never doing this again – that was way too hard!” and then back again. I am still back and forth and I am sure I will be until registration comes around.

For now, I am on recovery (or attempting to be) as this will take about as long as Ironman recovery to get over. My legs are still like dead weights and I can’t walk up the stairs without taking a break at the top gasping for air. Worth the experience? Yep - wouldn't trade it for anything in the world!

Wednesday - Aug 4th ride

2010-08-03T20:09:00.001-07:00

Meet on HorseCreek road at 6pm tomorrow night. Easy ride for folks who raced last weekend. Intervals for everyone else! Bring your runners if you did not race on the weekend.

See you there!

Calgary 70.3

2010-08-02T14:50:00.000-07:00

I woke up around 2am to rain and thunder - ugh! I dozed in and out of consciousness until 4:15am when my alarm went off. Up and dressed, and breakfast in. As I got my bottles ready I started to get sad. Jeff was not there as he is on a kayaking trip with his buddies. Race morning he is always so great with helping get me organized and ready to go, and of course give me hugs and encouraging words to keep me calm. However, I was lucky to have Angie picking me up and delivering me to the race start and I knew Jeff was sending me good race vibes from afar.

When we arrived at Ghost I was less than happy to be there in the rain, and was extremely anxious about the swim. I had not swam in 2 months and had only swam 3 or 4 times in the pool previous to that since Ironman! That leads me to why the hell am I even at this race! I hadn't trained at all on the swim, or run, and for the bike - I've been only riding and racing my mountain bike. I had signed up for Calgary 70.3 last September and had decided that I was was not going to do the race a few months later, but a few days ago decided - what the hell!? Luke instructed today to be a long training day as Trans Rockies (a 3 day multistage mountain bike race) is next weekend. The plan was to survive the swim, bike hard and go easy on the run without pain. OK, dial it down. But I still had the "little" 2 km swim and I was very nervous. I know people tried to talk to me but I could barely compute what they were saying and forcing a smile was out of the question. Unusual for me. Gerry helped me get my wetsuit while I tried not to hyperventalite over the fact that I was actually doing this, and I then haeded to the water and did a quick warm-up. My friend Erin and I held hands and hugged while I tried to push down the nerves before the start of our heat.

The gun went off and I just went. Nice and easy and I quicky found open water. There was no kicking or punching, and I did not get hit. I was just swimming. I was actually nice. I focused on just one strooke after the other and before long I was at the last buoy to head to shore. It was all happening so quick! II hit shore with relief. I ran out and was my usual happy self again. "I did it" I yelled as I saw Coach Sarah and crew. I was so happy that I had survived the swim. It really is like riding a bike - it all comes back to you.

I went through transition as quick as I could and was on my way passing people on my bike. The bike was going great and I was feeling strong. I hit the TTL aid station and sat up and cheered and yelled as I went through! I saw so many happy TTL friendly faces - Hope, Danielle, Angie, Ally to name only a few! There were so many of you guys, THANK-YOU! I continued to push and ride strong until I saw my friend Amy walking her bike near the bottom of HorseCreek. I knew she was trying to qualify for Clearwater so I stopped. She needed a CO2 cartridge. As I got off my bike a cyclist with his head down came towards us and saw us at the last minute. He swerved but hit the ditch! He then went over his bars and landed on his head. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He lay there unconscious. I screamed for a cell phone as cyclists passed until a rider stopped with one and I called 911. Then I saw a car and flagged it down and it was Richard (one of my athlete's dad). He got some jackets on me as I was shivering as I was talking to the 911 operator. The ambulance pulled up and Richard told me to get going. I really wanted to call it a day though. I was cold and this was an intense situation. The race official that had come up too told me and the other cyclist who had stopped with the cell phone that we should go, so we did. I got back on my bike but my head was still not all there and I could not believe the events that had just happened. However, after a few minutes I started pushing the pedals and working to pass people all over again. By the way, it felt like way more hills this year than last year!

I finally hit Glenmore Park despite being at a complete stop for over 15 minutes on the bike, and really wanting to quit. It was tempting. I was welcomed by tonnes of cheers off the bike. I went through transition and out on the run. I saw so many people cheering and giving me high-5's that it put me back in a great mood! There were so many people on the course and you have no idea how much your cheers are appreciated! THANK-YOU!!!

When I hit the Weaselhead hill to go down I hooked up with my friend Kristy who ran and walked with me until we returned to the top of Weaselhead hill again (about 14 km). Thank-you Kristy! We walked when my IT band hurt, all of the hills and aid stations. I was dialing it back and having fun cheering on others and just working towards finishing. And Kristy is one of the few people who yells louder than me so with the 2 of us yelling and cheering on the course we were having a blast! The last 3km did hurt however. My IT band was sore and I started to get impatient to just be done. So I pushed a bit in the last few km more than I should have. With 1 km to go Madi biked along side me and gave a few words of encouragement that I am thankful for. I turned the corner and into the finishing shoot lined with TTL crew! Yeah! So exciting to see you all!

Final time 6:05. Got my second belt buckle! Not the ideal day but pretty darn close to how I wanted to execute it. And, I proved you can do a half Ironman on mountain bike only training but I do not recommend it! Now to recover and get ready for TR3 (TransRockies 3 day mountain bike race)!

In the Cochrane Eagle - again!

2010-07-29T20:36:00.000-07:00

Made it to the Cochrane Eagle again! Thanks to Kelvin for the great photo from GWN and letting them use it.
http://www.cochraneeagle.com/2010/07/athletes-gear-up-for-local-ironman/

24 Hours of Adrenaline

2010-07-25T20:52:00.000-07:00

The Trailstars composed of myself and 4 other wonderful women set off to race the 5 person - female category at the 2010 24 Hours of Adrenaline in Canmore this weekend.

Lap 1 (12pm Saturday) - The race starts at 12pm on Saturday and it is the first lap of the day. It starts with a Lemans start the consists of running almost a kilometer in your bike gear (shoes and helmet included!) and then back to your bike to head out on your lap. The run was OK. I felt slow but knew I would get people on the bike. The first lap I pushed hard but there was a lot of congestion on the course so there was alot of waiting on hills and my heart rate dropping to recovery before the "log jam" as they call it moved on. This is the advantage of being a good starting in mountain biking - you avoid the log jams! I am far better at technical down than climbing which also tripped me up on the first lap as I could not go as fast I would have liked on the downs. In any event, with 5km to go we finally got spaced out and I rode near one of Jeff's friend's, JF and we had a blast pushing each other to the finish. Lap 1 = 1:20

Between laps I socialized, wandered around and helped Jan (Luke's mom) do feeds for Luke.

Lap 2 (7:30 pm Saturday) - Lap 2 I headed out feeling strong again. Bear had been reported on the course so I was a bit nervous as I thought they would not be around with so many people out there. Fairly clear trails so I pushed hard on the ups, rocked the downs and got a great compliment from a strong rider as he passed me going into the biathlon stadium after a technical down. He said "Girl, you got mad skills". It made my day! Lap 2 - 1:10

After lap 2 I ate some lasagna someone brought by, got all my bike lights on for my night ride and laid out my gear/clothing for my next lap. And then, crawled into my sleeping bag.

Lap 3 (2:55am Sunday) - after dozing in and out of consciousness and constantly hearing the calls in for bear sightings (we were camped beside a checkpoint/water station and I could hear the radio - and bikes buzzing by; and "water? Gu?" being yelled) I decided to get up and get ready for my lap. I suddenly realized I didn't have much time. I quickly got changed and headed up to check in for my lap. I was tagged off and away I went with my Seca 900 Lumen light and headed out on course. I had to stop about 3 km in and tighten my light system as it wanted to wander and not point on the trail. I then headed off again. I then started to feel hungry. When did I eat last? Crap! I grabbed the 1 gel I had with me and ate it. I had to stop to do this as it was so dark I couldn't ride and eat in the night light - even with my kick ass light as at night your balance is not as good as it is in the day. I was riding slow and I was hungry, I felt it. I hoped the gel would kick in soon. Luke rode by me and was sightly incoherent but managed to give some advice on adjusting my pro pedal. I wasn't sure if he was "all there" as some of his words were slurred (yours would be too after 15 hours of riding) but, advice coming from Luke is always good. I pushed on but my stomach continued to growl. Why didn't I bring more food!? I did not feel strong and rode with a much lower heart rate and made some silly technical errors. I also had to laugh at myself as I was nervous at some points because of the bear and found mysef riding alone and sang loudly "Hey bear! Go away! You don't want to eat me today!" At one technical spot I ran into a guy without a light so I rode behind him so he could see with my light. He was grateful. I was happy I was riding near someone else. I felt demolished last 3 km which was all uphill and I was just so hungry. Stupid mistake of not bringing enough food with me! Lap 3 = 1:25

Immediately after finishing my 3rd lap, I walked to Luke's tent/camp and begged for food from his mom. Scarfed down some food and headed straight to bed. However, heard radio going all night of all mechanical problems riders were having and kept waking up to text the next rider up to make sure they would be there on time. Felt like longer but after just 3 hours of "sleep" I got up and headed to see how Luke was doing. He was in 4th when I went to bed but had ridden into 2nd place! I then got coffee and food into me and got ready for my and the team's final lap.

Lap 4 (11am Sunday) - we had all ridden 3 laps and we had time for 1 more and I really wanted to go out there and giver'. I was tired and not feeling great but, funny thing is whenever I have felt this way this season I have a great race. I headed out after the first hill I really was feeling great! I was really just dying to go throw 1 more lap on my bike! OK time to push. My legs felt a bit heavy for sure but, I gave it all I had and sucked it up! Lap 4 = 1:15

It was a great weekend in the sun! Our team got 6th in our category and had a blast doing it! TriWay coach Luke Way took home 2nd place in solo male! And I am thinking maybe solo next year.....

The Cochrane Eagle

2010-07-20T18:28:00.001-07:00

I made the local newspaper! This is from my race on Sunday.

http://www.cochraneeagle.com/2010/07/silver-lining-for-love-at-nationals/

I want to race - video

2010-07-20T13:50:00.001-07:00

Simon Whitfield posted this. It will PUMP YOU UP!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A-XLnNR-64

Pace Strategies for Race Day | Active.com

2010-07-20T13:45:00.000-07:00

Check out this article on racing zones and warm up:
http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/Pace_strategies_for_race_day.htmcmp=306&memberid=30578115&lyrisid=20732675

Wednesday July 21st bike practice

2010-07-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

Hey gang!

We are at Edworthy again this week! Yeah hills! I have to leave a bit early so I would like to meet earlier this week (5:30pm) and head to the hill right away. If you cannot make it on time, or miss the group, do not stress and just come to the hill when you can get there. Smiling faces will await you!

See you then!
Richelle

Change of Plans - July 14th ride

2010-07-14T11:45:00.001-07:00

Meet at Edworthy Park (meet by the cafe) at 6:15pm and we will head for the hills! Bring your shoes.

Ride - Wednesday July 14th

2010-07-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know it is Stampede but given the choice over riding or Stampede I will choose riding everytime! Very informal training session as I know many plan to attend Stampede. Meet in Bearspaw at the Lions Clubs (where we normally meets). See you there at 6:15pm.

July 4th Racing Updates

2010-07-08T00:17:00.000-07:00

Another fabulous weekend of racing!

Denise - Denise raced her first ever Olympic distance triathlon in Canmore this weekend. Despite deciding to sign up 5 days in advance she became ill 2 days out and like the trooper she is, still raced (and in the 13 degree Quarry Lake)! She had a great day and now has some experience in the Olympic distance which she enjoyed placing 2nd in her age group. Up next for her is the Kelowna Apple Triathlon.

Angie - It was Angie's first 1/2 Ironman this weekend at GWN and she did so well! She had a fantastic day (with a very cute cheering squad who were very proud of their mom). Angie finished the course on a very windy day in 5:48:56. She has been training so hard and always giving 110% which is why she is seeing progress. Angie is now going to settle into fall marathon training but she is still going to swim and bike!

Sue - Although we couldn't spot Sue as she was not in TTL gear, I got to see Sue throughout the day smiling away (even when she couldn't feel her feet until 6km on the run!). With a 3 minute time improvement over last year, all of the running Sue has been doing has really paid off! It has been hard to get alot of the long bikes in due to the weather and she still biked well (her husband told her she would and now she has to tell him he was right!). Just 4 weeks out from Calgary 70.3 Sue is going to take what she learned and apply it to that race. Way to go Sue!

Danielle - Danielle zipped by me, happy as I have ever seen her, at the 17km mark on the run at GWN this weekend and I simply couldn't believe how fast she was going! Danielle had an amazing first 1/2 Ironman this weekend! She swam strong despite being a bit nervous, and she executed her bike perfectly saving her legs for an outstanding run where she had her fastest 1/2 marathon time ever, 1:46:12! After finishing GWN in 5:33:28, Danielle will be doing Calgary 70.3 next month and now belives in herself enough to go to Penticton and sign up for Ironman Canada 2011! Yeah Danielle! Congratulations girl!

Maureen - Maureen is another 1/2 Ironman first timer. Maureen too raced happy the entire day, executed her entire day perfectly and smashed her time goal of 8 hours crssing the line in 7:03:55. She planned every detail and it really payed off in her racing. At the finish line exclaimed "that wasn't as hard as I thought it would be!". She had a huge support crew come out to cheer her on and a Champagne toast at the finish line was a great way to end the day and a new hoodie with IWHBIDI on it to celebrate her accomplishment! Way to go Maureen. We all knew you could do it!

Coach Richelle - I too raced this weekend. However I opted participate on a team and just to do the bike as I have not been swimming or running enough to do the race how I would like to. When we arrived at the lake race morning I was calm until I could not find my bike computer. I was literally shaking until we found it! Ha! And I thought I wasn't going to be nervous for this race. I buzzed around for the rest of the morning helping everyone into wetsuits and then got myself organized once the swimmers were off. I had a great 50km and the last 40km hurt more than I thought it would but, I knew I was going faster than in previous years. I raced strictly off my watts and heart rate and did not look at my time until after I got off my bike! It was wonderful to not worry about time and just push myself where my body told me I could. I hopped off the bike and handed the chip to super runner Chris Kennedy who ran us to a 5th place finish!

I had a great rest of the day cheering everyone alongside my husband. We cheered people on the run course and then went to the finish for celebreations as everyone came in. That was more fun that racing myself. I am so proud of everyone!
Up next for me are the National Mountain Bike Championships (I am doing the Citizen Challange) on July 18th.

2010-07-02T06:23:00.000-07:00

Here is Gerry rippin it up at the Oliver 1/2 Ironman last month. Way to go Gerry!

I am so proud of his dedication and hard work. He is gearing up next for the Desert 1/2 Ironman next weekend - his last race before Ironman Canada! Go Gerry Go!

Xterra COP - June 26th

2010-06-28T09:12:00.000-07:00

This week's Xterra COP was a 10km mountain bike/4km run/10km mountain bike. Although after racing it on Saturday morning, I am not sure if you can call running straight up COP to the top, then running 200m flat, and then straight down the COP hill, a run?! More of a hike; which suited me fine as I have not been running very much. But it was a blast.

From the time I arrived I was so impressed with how well organized it was. A variety of athletes of all levels came out for the challenge which makes these races appropriate for almost anyone who even owns a mountain bike. I was racing this week, along with my wonderful athletes, Cindy and Sebastian!

After a warm-up on the course (and some pictures), they called us to the start line. We were off with about 30 other athletes for the first leg of the mountain bike. It thinned out pretty quick and it was 2 loops of approx. 5km for each leg of the mountain bike. Then down into T1 before running up the mountain and back down (for the record Luke Way was in T2 when I was in T1! Way to go Luke). On the second leg of the bike I got to see both Sebastian and Cindy out on the course. Both were having a blast and were all smiles. I was all smiles too as I was racing my mountain bike - which I love more than anything.

We finished and cheered each other in. Upon crossing the finish line we got Crave Cookies as medals (which thank-goodness Cindy's kids were there to eat mine) and then received lunch while amazing draw prizes were given. I strongly recommend trying the next Xterra race!

Wednesday Night Ride - June 23rd

2010-06-23T09:44:00.001-07:00

Tonight's Wednesday night ride is on Horse Creek Road. Take Highway 1A all the way to Cochrane. Continue through Cochrane. Once you pass over the 22X go about 1km - 1.5km's until you see a sign on the right that says HorseCreek Road. Turn right up the hill. Go about 200m and we will be oon the gravel road on the right.

See you there! Ready to ride at 6:15pm.

Athlete Updates

2010-06-21T08:53:00.000-07:00

A great showing for TTL athletes this weekend!

Kelsey - Kelsey ran the Loops for Troops 5km this weekend. She went out hard and hung in for a 26:20 placing 1st in her AG and 2nd women overall! Way to go Kelsey! She plans to work on her run pacing before her next race which is in just over a week (the Turner Valley Triathlon!).

Sue - Sue ran a leg of the K-100 relay this weekend. She had an interesting day!
"I met Marc about 5 minutes after he finished leg 5, and our leg 6 runner had not shown up. So I threw the dog's leash at Marc, raced down to the sign in desk, scribbled something that didn't even look like a name, raced back to Marc, grab his number belt, and started running. I had about 3 cups of coffee so far that day, didn't have my "running shoes" on, still had my sweats on. Marc met me about 2 km into the leg, I stopped, changed shoes, took off my sweats, grabbed my water bottle and took off again - I still didn't know how long the leg was. Next thing I knew I hit the 1 mile to go sign, cruised through the finish line, and then sprinted to the port-o-potty. Interesting day."

Congrats to Sue for helping her team out in a desperate situation!

Note: Coach Angie also ran a leg and had many people notice just how speedy of a runner she is; (she ran on a team of "runners" ie.non triathletes) and she held her own! Nicely done Coach Angie!

Summer Soltice Mountain Bike Race

2010-06-20T18:17:00.000-07:00

This weekend was another MTB race - The Summer Solstice. It is on the Sulpher Springs loop which is a challenging loop that feels like there is more climbing that fast downhill. I actually was dreading it the night before knowing it would be a sufferfest. The sport women only had 1 lap of 12km though, which helped knowing going into it.

I was nervous race morning, but Ken and Kerstin Hurd stepped in to help alleviate that. Ken halped with what to do for warm-up and just being his usual supportive self, and Kerstin was her usual sweet self, which simply calmed my nerves being around her - she is lovely and not racing this year as they have a baby on the way! Here is a picture of them I pulled of Facebook:

When it came time for us (the Sport Women) to line up I was a wreck! I actually didn't even want to race! However like triathlon, once the gun goes off all nerves are forgotten and you just go. Race was fast with lots of climbing and a HR in the 170's (this is high for me but typical of mountain biking) until the fun downhill sections that make you smile ear to ear. There was also alot of mud which left many of us look like we were auditioning for a Tide commercial. And my Ibis got very muddy and several times throughout the race of trying to dislodge my chain (including 5 seconds into the race!) due to chain suck. However, mud in the eye, all over the bike, all over us and even in our teeth - but it was a fun day and I was on m MTB which is where I love to be.

So I let my HR recover and Bogi and Ramona came up and asked if I wanted to ride another hour. Hell yeah! So we rode up a new trail and made it back in exactly 1 hour. We all then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out in the sun. Ramona, Bogi, Carthy, Shawna, Allistair and a few others helped make the afternoon so much more fun as we chatted, ate, re-capped the race, and won draw prizes - and they all actually made the podium! A great day of mountain biking.

Triathlon - what we do - not who we are.

2010-06-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

Triathlon is not “who we are”... it’s “what we do”. This article supports that sentiment.

http://www.triseries.ca/news_article.php?id=172

The Organ Grinder

2010-06-15T14:11:00.000-07:00

Q: What is the Organ Grinder?
A: A 5 hour enduro mountain bike race put on by the BowCycle Cyclemeisters.

I had a great day out at the Organ Grinder out at the Canmore Nordic Centre this weekend. I managed to complete 4 laps (48km) in 4 hours and 33 minutes. This is the longest I have ever rode my mountain bike and there were a few lessons learned as this was my first “enduro” mountain bike race. After I was able to pre-ride the course on Friday I actually had nightmares about two of the sections “Laundry Chutes” and “Devonian Drop” but, when race day came I conquered my fears and rode them! This was one of my goals and I was ecstatic!

The other goal I had was to not go out to hard but yet I did. I had to again re-learn that if you go out to hard that you will slow down as the race goes on. I did stay happy though as I looked forward to the fun technical sections but, like I said, I did get slower on laps 3 and 4 - so I have to work on that. There was also a lot of climbing on this course which left some athletes wobbling and falling over on the steep climbs and muscles and lungs burning!

One crazy thing that happened on race day was that half way through the race they notified us there were bears on the course! Many racers actually saw her and her cub but, thankfully I was not one of them.

It was an extremely well organized event with amazing volunteers! I can't thank the volunteers enough - they cheered, they sat in the forest at the technical sections, directed and even fed us! Thank-you!

Next weekend I am racing the Summer Solstice Mountain Bike race and I can’t wait to be racing my MTB again.

Athlete Updates - Wasa weekend

2010-06-15T14:02:00.001-07:00

I had 6 wonderful and hard working athletes race at Wasa this weekend. Here are the updates on their races:

Cindy Spence – Cindy accomplished many goals this year at Wasa which left her thrilled! Despite last year’s swim course being far shorter that this year, Cindy had almost the same swim time as last year (showing she really has improved her swim!). The other goal accomplished this race was that she was able to push herself hard on the bike and run. She worked so hard that even other athletes noticed her super effort! Cindy has been spending most of her bike time these days on her mountain bike as she is headed to Xterra Canmore later this summer and just loves her mountain bike! Oh, did I mention she is throwing Calgary 70.3 in there too?! Look for more from Cindy this summer.

Maureen McDonald – Maureen had a fantastic day in Wasa (although she might tell you otherwise since she is so hard on herself). With a 1 minute improvement over last year, this doesn’t account for the longer swim compared to last year. She was able to take a whopping 5:30 off on her bike time and a 1:30 off her run time. There was a lot of learning she is taking away from this race involving chin straps, speed laces, planning and strategy, and more! I know she will take that learning forward with her into GWN. I am proud of her for hanging in there and representing TTL so well! Congrats Maureen!

Jeff Binda – Despite not having any TTL gear as he just joined TTL less tah 2 weeks sgo Jeff represented TTL very well at Wasa. He really wishes he had TTL gear at this race as he loved seeing others run around in the bright orange and purple. He loves the team and is excited to get to know all of the amazing athletes on the team. He had a blazing fast race with an excellent effort on the swim, bike and run. He is a very strong runner and his goal is to work hard on the bike so that he does not have to chase down so many of the fast boys on the run (which is his specialty) in his next race. He is has just registered for Calgary 70.3 and we are excited to support him in his efforts there!

Angie Winkler – Angie was a bit nervous going into this race but WOW did she ever have a great day! Not sure what to expect, other than to do her best, she had the swim of her life, an amazing bike and a stellar run. Despite losing her bottle with all of her calories in it 25km into the bike, she was able to finish the race strong. She has been working hard and was using Wasa as a trial race to try things out and get ready for GWN next month. If Wasa was any indication, Angie is ready to have a great day there too!

Danielle Michaud – Danielle had a fantastic day at Wasa! She struggled on the swim but, was able to push the doubt out of her mind and get the swim done (also, despite the fact that she had sunscreen in her eyes and could hardly see where she was going! She said she just hoped the white caps all were swimming in the right direction). She struggled to get through transition and wants to work on speeding this up for the rest of her races this summer. She did however flew through the bike and run and cracked the sub-50 min mark on the run! She is headed to GWN in just 3 weeks and is happy with her dress rehearsal at Wasa!

Denise Roberts – Denise sped her way through the sprint distance triathlon on Sunday. Denise has worked very hard on her bike and run and it showed race day. Her run keeps improving and we are scared to see just how much faster she is going to get! She was thrilled with her run and actually called herself a runner when I talked to her today. Denise won the women’s sprint distance race and placed 5th overall. She has a few more key races this summer that might possibly include an Olympic distance triathlon. Whatever she chooses, I know she will do it with a smile!

Congratulation team!

COP Wednesday night (June 16)

2010-06-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

The forecast looks good! See you at COP - meet at the main entrance to the day lodge at 6:15pm. Please be ready to ride then.

No COP tonight!

2010-06-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry folks but, I am cancelling the ride at COP tinight.
Note: all of my coached athletes should have their indoor workouts. I emailed that out a few minutes ago.

See you next week.

Athlete Update

2010-06-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

We had 2 athletes from my TTL crew racing last weekend.

Gerry
Gerry had a good day at the Oliver 1/2 Ironman. He finished in 7:35:05! I am so proud of him as he has been dedicated to his training and executed this race very well. He is taking some lessons away from this race and going to apply them to his next race - the Desert 1/2 Ironman!

Here is what Gerry had to say:
So, if I add up all those lost minutes I figure I threw away about 23 minutes,… at least 20:00. Considering it is still early in the year there is time to improve and I think I know what to focus on for the Desert ½ in July. The temperature will really need to be watched for hydration and the ride will be very tough (Richter Pass both ways). If I can bring in Osoyoos in under 7:30 I believe the original estimate of 16 hours for IMC can still be achieved.

Way to go Gerry!

Sebastian
After coming off an exceptional 2:57:37 marathon at Vancouver just a few weeks ago, Sebastian ran leg 4 (16.5km) of the Banff to Jasper relay. He placed 2nd overall on his leg and was less than 2 minutes back of a guy who was over 15 minutes ahead of him in Vancouver. I say he has recovered well and ready to go as he starts training for 24 hours of Adrenaline and Xterra Canmore. Oh, did I mention his team won the Corporate division! Go Seb!

Good luck to Jeff, Maureen, Danielle M, Cindy S, and Angie W. racing the Olympic distance race this weekend in Wasa. And to Denise who is racing the sprint distance in Wasa this weekend. If I recover from my sickness I will be at the Organ Grinder Enduro MTGB race in Canmore.

New TTL athletes

2010-06-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Team TriLife Jeff and Kelsey!

Jeff:

Jeff comes from a running background and recently ran the Calgary 1/2 marathon in a blazing 1:34. He is focused and has his sights set on Boston. He has been working hard on his bike this year and has just registered for Calgary 70.3. I am looking forward to watch his move towards triathlon and know he will experience great success! He is racing the Wasa Lake triathlon this weekend so look for him out there.

Kelsey:

Kelsey comes from a competitive swim background. She has done a few sprint triathlons and will be doing her first Olympic triathlon this summer. She recently claimed the F25 - 29 Provincial Aquathon Champion title! She is a high school teacher and also works at a gym part-time. She is excited to get back to training and competing and we look forward to seeing her succeed! Welcome Kelsey!

Got a little muddy today

2010-06-06T20:43:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I headed up to Powderface loop today. I don't like to ride wet trails as it can wreck them however, we figured it would be snow on the way up and dry on the way down as it is West facing. WRONG! But we had a great day! I feel like when I ride wet trails though that I owe extra trail maintenance hours!

Pushing my bike up! My shoulders really started to hurt after an hour!

At the top before we went down!

Yeah, it was muddy!

My poor dirty bike! Not to worry though she is all cleaned up.

And, as we started the trail we ran into Cal and his Critical Speed crew as they were riding 120km on the road! Hope you guys had a great rest of your ride!

June 9th Ride

2010-06-06T20:34:00.000-07:00

Forecast is not good....however, plan right now is meeting is at COP (Canada Olympic Park) for hills! Meet me in the main parking lot by the doors to go into the lodge.

Wasa Lake Triathlon Athletes - you will be doing a different workout. Some of you already have it on your schedule so you can find a flatter location to get this done (or get it done on the trainer). I will update the status of practice on Wednesday.

Great articles from Coach Angie

2010-06-04T10:13:00.000-07:00

Coach Angie found some great articles this morning. If you have some time to check these out please do as many of you have your first race of the season very soon!

http://www.active.com/swimming/Articles/Key-Principles-of-Open-Water-Drafting.htm?cmp=306&memberid=30578115&lyrisid=20688374

http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/The_taper_blues.htm?cmp=306&memberid=30578115&lyrisid=20688374

http://www.active.com/women/Articles/Beginner-Bike-Handling-Tips.htm?cmp=312&memberid=20819436&lyrisid=20701002

http://www.active.com/women/Articles/5-Common-Pre-Race-Nutrition-Mistakes.htm?cmp=312&memberid=20819436&lyrisid=20701002

Athlete Update

2010-06-03T14:18:00.000-07:00

Maureen McDonald – Calgary 10km
Maureen is improving in strides on the run this year! With a solid winter of training she has been racing up a storm. Maureen wanted to go race the Calgary 10km and compare her results to last year. Coach Loved decided that was great but with Wasa around the corner there was no time to taper. With no taper and a 5km “warm-up” Maureen PB’d by 1:15! Taper smaper!

Danielle Jackson – Ottawa Marathon
“All goals achieved” was the email I got! Danielle smashed her goal of finishing in under 5 hours with a 4:49 finish! I am so proud of her as she played mental games with herself over the course of the marathon, pushed through and won! She even made up some time during the last 9km to finish strong (and not in as much pain as her last marathon!). Despite the hot, humid conditions which are so different than Calgary weather she did extremely well! Congrats D!

Danielle Michaud – KGH Triathlon (aka Aquathon)
Danielle questioned her sanity as she hydroplaned down the snowy highway from Calgary to Sylvan Lake on Sunday. However, she had signed up and she was doing it! Well, it is a good thing she did as she took time off her swim and run despite the “less than favorable” conditions! Way to go for getting out there while many would have stayed in bed, Danielle!

On the agenda for this weekend: Gerry is racing Oliver ½ Ironman and Sebastian is racing on a Kananaskis Relay team. Have fun boys!

Look for Maureen, Danielle M, Cindy, Denise and Angie W at Wasa next weekend! They will be proudly decked out in TTL gear! I (Coach Love) will be racing a 5 hour endurance mountain bike race called the Organ Grinder where the goal of the race is to survive the 5 hours!!!!

June 2nd practice

2010-05-31T13:33:00.001-07:00

This week we will meet at the Bearspaw Community Centre again. This was a great location as it was easy to find and not too far out of town. Please be ready to go (ie. tension to the chain) by 6:15pm.

I will post an indoor option at by 5pm at the latest if it looks like rain. It says rain in the forecast but I am crossing my fingers that is not the case.

Richelle

Indoor option for home

2010-05-26T16:03:00.000-07:00

I am not officially cancelling practice but it looks like it could rain..... I will go to Retreat Road to meet those who want to go. I am not riding as I am injured but will give instructions for the ride.

Here is the INDOOR option for tonight to be done at home if you do not want to come all the way to Cochrane.

Description: The intervals in this workout are done in zone 3, (If you have 6 zones on your program, these are zone 4 intervals. If you have 5 zones, these are zone 3 intervals.)
RPE 7 - 8 / 10. Your heart rate should rise as you progress through the workout and you should find it easier to get into zone 3 later in the workout.
- If you don't have aerobars go into your drops instead.

Warm up: 25 min
0:00-5:00 5 min easy spin
5:00-10:00 Increase your gearing by 1 gear each minute and hold RPM at 90 - 100
10:00-11:00 1 min easy
11:00-20:00 3 x (1:00 SLL / 1:00 HCS / 1:00 SLR / 1:00 HCS)
- SLL = single leg left, SLR = Single leg right, HCS = High cadence spin
- Single leg is done in a big gear at 60 rpm
20:00-23:00 3:00 easy, get a drink

Main Set: Zone 3 (z3) pyramid.
3 x's through pyramid
3:00 z3
:30 easy
4:00 z3 in aerobars
1:00 easy
5:00 z3
5:00 easy
- RPM never drops below 85 rpm throughout.
- Rate of perceived exertion should start at 6 and build to 8 through the intervals.

Cool Down: 15 min
- 1 min at 115 rpm
- 1 min at 90 rpm
- 2 min at 110 rpm
- 1 min at 90 rpm
- 3 min at 105 rpm
- 1 min at 90 rpm
- 4 min at 100 rpm
- 2 min at 90 rpm

Wednesday May 26th

2010-05-25T17:06:00.001-07:00

Hey gang! Sorry for the late post as with the long weekend and all I am just a bit behind.

We will be riding at 6:15 meeting at the top of Cochrane Hill. We will meet at the corner of Retreat Road and Highway 1A (at the top of Cochrane Hill). I will get there early so people can see me. I will keep my phone on so if you get lost you can call me.

We will do a warm-up along Retreat Road and then ride up through Glen Eagles a few times!

See you tomorrow!

We are riding!!!

2010-05-19T16:15:00.000-07:00

See you at 6:15 at Angels Cafe!

May 19th

2010-05-19T14:45:00.000-07:00

Rain is holding off! We are still a go for tonight unless it starts pouring in the next hour or so. I will update you at 5pm(ish).

Wednesday Night Bricks

2010-05-15T20:52:00.000-07:00

It was great to see everyone out on Wednesday night. We had a great group of riders all ranging in ability. If you are thinking about coming out you should! There will be someone to ride with and it is always a great workout as you are challenged at your own level. Please read blog below as a reminder of what to bring to each session.

Wednesday - May 19th
We will be doing Edworthy Hills! Please meet (and be ready to ride at 6:15pm) at Angels Cafe which is in the parking lot at the bottom of Shaganappi Trail.

Any questions, just email, text or call!

Wednesday Night Brick sessions

2010-05-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

Hello riders!

We start the Wednesday Night Brick sessions this week. Rides are always on Wednesday night at 6:15pm and I will be posting updated information on my blog (www.richellelove.blogspot.com) to keep you updated each week on where to meet and if, due to weather the ride must be cancelled. If the weather is questionable I hope to make the call by 5pm.

Please be fully organized and ready to ride by 6:15pm each Wednesday.

A few things to remember/have with you each week:
-have bike maintained and fully tuned each week (ie. check it over routinely to ensure it is in proper working order – also please pump your tires each week!
-bring appropriate clothes along with extra clothes just in case for the weather
-have full water bottles and food (ie. gels or a bar) with you for the ride
-bring running shoes as all workouts are brick workouts
-if dropping into workout, please have appropriate change ($10 per session) as I will not be able to make change
-road ID or a recipe card with the following written on it:
Name:
Age:
Emergency Contact info #1: (a contact name and number)
Emergency Contact info #2: (a contact name and number)
Allergies:
Known medical information:

If you have questions Wednesday during the day, please use one of the following ways to contact me:
Email: coachrichelle@gmail.com
Phone: 403 554-7532
Text: 403 554-7532

For our first ride we will be meeting at Rocky Ridge. The Rocky Ridge meeting spot is actually the Bearspaw Lions Club parking lot.
DIRECTIONS: To get to the Hall, take Highway 1A (Crowchild Trail) west from Calgary toward Cochrane. One half mile past the Calgary city limit sign, exit at Bearspaw Road (Range Road 30) going north and immediately turn right (east) onto Nagway Road and proceed along Nagway Road. The Hall is on the north side of Nagway Road and is sign-posted. Parking is available along Nagway Road and on the west end of the property.

Spinathon

2010-01-11T10:11:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a huge success as Tri It held their 2nd annual spin-a-thon. The spin-a-thon is a 6 hour spin with all proceeds raised from registration fees and silent auctions going to help local triathletes achieve their goals. Many pro triathletes do not make a tonne of money as triathlon does not pay out like some other professional sports. And as many of you know, triathlon is an expensive sport. With funds like this, Janelle and Jordan can help pay of some of their mounting expenses and focus on training.

There were over 80 riders throughout the day. We also had many wonderful friends, triathletes and other supports stop in to say HI throughout the day!

The day was a huge success and everyone had a alot of fun while riding (sessions led by Luke Way, Janelle Morrison and Jordan Bryden. Also lots of social time with a DJ, and watching the Ironman and Xterra World Championships on the big screen.

Here are some of the amazing women I am lucky enough to coach! (far right is Terry and in the middle is Maureen). They had a blast and spent longer on their trainers than they ever have before! "IWHBIDI" was proclaimed.

Good luck this season Jordan and Janelle! We are all behind you 100%!

The Team TriLIfe Torch Bearer

2010-01-08T17:18:00.001-08:00

This is one of the athlete's I lucky enough to coach - Cindy. Cindy had the honor of carrying the Olympic torch. Cindy carried the torch on December 27th in Ontario. I don't think the smile on her face could get any bigger (although Cindy later told me she was laughing and crying at the same time!). Congratulations Cindy!

But I can't!

2010-01-04T17:01:00.000-08:00

Well, today was the official start of me being back in the pool. I have been biking like crazy, running a little, and swimming...well...I have only swam 4 or 5 times since Ironman in August. So after my run this morning I headed to the pool. I decided to do an easy technique focused workout to get me used to being back in the water. After about 200m I realized I had skipped breakfast and a post-run snack and was freakin' hungry. I know better than that too! I decided I would suck it up for the rest of the hour and get it done though.

Then, Angie showed up (insert evil villain music here). She swam for a bit and then informed me that we would be doing 10 x 100 on 2 minutes. "I CAN'T!!" I protested. "NOOO!" I exclaimed and whined. "I have to finish the workout I started". But nothing worked. I was doing them; she had her mind made up. "Stay on my toes" she said - HA!!! Good luck! I thought. I managed to stay on her toes for the first 25m of each 100m. She dragged me to a 1:36 on our first one which I knew was too fast. I decided to slow it up or I would blow up at 500m. The next 9 were all 1:45 - 1:50 which is slower than I normally am but, was happy with considering how much swimming I had done over the last 4 months. And got it done.

Today was one of those times where I thought I couldn't do something, but I did it. Even though it hurt and it wasn't ideal, I got through something I actually didn't think I could do. I will admit that between almost every 100 (when I could actually breathe) I complained how hungry I was. Angie told me to suck it up each time and I did.

Now go do something you don't think you can do.

Spin-a-thon

2009-12-27T11:17:00.000-08:00

Many people have been asking me. And yes, Tri It is having another spin-a-thon.

January 10th, 2010 at Rundle College (4336 16th Street SW)

There will be both a live auction and a silent auction. A few special items will be auctioned off during the ride. A silent auction will be a great chance to get a good deal on unique triathlon inspired gifts.

To register: email: triitspin@gmail.com or come visit us at the Tri It store!

9am – 12 pm: Spin #1
12pm – 1pm: Break!
1pm- 4pm: Spin #2

Entry fee includes:
-Swag bag
-3 or 6 hrs of riding with top coaches and elite athletes
-Instruction from the best in the local community
-Spolumbo’s Sandwiches
-Nutrition Samples
-Door prizes
-The chance to meet people and other
-Spin a thon races and contests will take place
-Help local athletes get to the next level
-Awesome giveaways
-Great workout!
-Tons of fun
-Awards to best dressed, biggest puddle o sweat, dirtiest bike, and funnest person!

For more information go to: http://web.me.com/jordanbryden/Site/Spin-A-Thon.html

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T21:46:00.000-08:00

I anxiously awaited the arrival of my brother and his wife here in Portland (at my parents house) Christmas Eve. Unfortunately after a ridiculous day of delayed flights, cancelled flights and flights that came to Portland but couldn't land due to fog, they finally arrived Christmas day. So, we had Christmas afternoon instead of Christmas morning. You really realize that it is being with your family that all that matters for Chrsitmas.

Since they have arrived we have been playing Wii (which by the way I think I have done something to my shoulder from playing these crazy games), playing cards, shopping, eating mom's cookies, and playing card games. It has been a wonderful break of taking it easy, however my waistline might not agree.

It has been cold here in Portland (well, cold for Portland) and I did not get as much running in as I wanted - I only packed shorts! Luckily today it was warm enough to head out for a great run in the sunshine. It was nice not to have to contest with the extreme cold and snow/ice that I have to at home. I am such a fair weather runner.

Portland is a very cool place to run in and I love it here. Dad and I are planning my trip here in May for the Eugene 1/2 marathon, and all that we are going to see while we are in Eugene. We are most excited to see the University of Oregon and look around there. It is supposed to be an amazing university. I am so excited to go to Track Town, USA (what they call Eugene) and see a few pieces of track and field history.

Back to Calgary and reality tomorrow. I think I will get a run in before I go!

As of lately

2009-10-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

I am at home from work as I am totally sick! It kills me to know I have laundry, vacuuming, recycling, and bathrooms to clean and yet it takes all my energy just to get off the couch. So, I will briefly let you know what has been going on with me.
-Brian and I have been re-organizing the store (with Rose's blessing) as she has been gone this past month to Hawaii. We still have a few things left to do but we are very excited for Rose to come back and see it.
-coaching is going really well and I am loving my Monday night swim group and Wednesday night spin group. I also have a great group of athletes I coach through Team TriLife who I adore (and who are all doing so well reaching their goals!)
-my mom was here for just over a week and we had a great time. So nice to have her around. We spent 2 days in Banff and stayed at The Banff Springs, which was wonderful!
-spent a fabulous weekend in panorama with Angie - great girls weekend! We were supposed to be working but decided relaxing was far more important. And we despite it was my first time playing Scrabble, we are both very competitive at that. What can I say? We are competitive triathletes - our competitiveness carries over to other things in our life.
-I have not been training much as my energy levels have been so low. With the way I feel today I am not surprised. I have been fighting this sickness off for a few weeks (Jeff has had this). No worries though I will eventually get back to it. I had a fantastic race season and do not feel the pressure to race as hard next summer.

That's the update for now. I am sorry nothing to exciting lately. Will keep you updated once I get better.

Interbike 2009 - Las Vegas, baby!

2009-10-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

On Monday, September 19th, I headed off to Las Vegas for Interbike 2009. Interbike is North America's largest bike retailers show. The entire Tri It staff attended to learn more from our manufactures and see new products that we may bring into Tri It.

I headed down a day early so that on Tuesday I could participate in the Outdoor Bike demo. Here I am with some of the Kuota boys. I had to ride a Kuota! I love my Kuota Kalibur but, decided to hop on a road bike - I tried a Kuota Kebel. I loved it too and if I could have both I would! For now I just can't part with my Kalibur.

The ride was only 45km but, it was hard! Lots of amazing riders that included some pros. By 9am it was around 34 degrees Celsius and we had a hill to come back up that was over 10km long! I definitely got a bit of a migraine due to the heat. When we got back from the demo, I sat around the pool at the Mirage.

The rest of the Tri It gang arrived that night and I was so excited to have them there to share in all my excitement. Over the next few days there were many highlights:

attending all of the seminars
visiting all of the manufacturers booths
seeing the new 2010 products
attending Ka (Cirque du Soleil)
seeing my mom
attending Le Reve
seeing the fountains at the Bellagio
playing craps in the casino
sushi at Okada
just being in warm, sunny Las Vegas!

Alright I really did go to Las Vegas and work hard!

Some of the highlights on products I liked are:

GU (www.guenergy.com)

-new Gu Roctaine flavor - Pineapple

-new Gu flavor (for the holidays) - Vanilla Gingerbread

Both are VERY YUMMY!!!!

Power Bar (www.powerbar.com)

Had a number of amazing products:

-if you have not had their Gel Blasts - you must!!! However, only 1 flavor available in Canada so far.

-Energy Bites - delicious and in a resealable package so you can have few without having a whole protein bar. Seal them up and have them after your next workout. Unfortunately, not available in Canada yet.

-Endurance Beverage - love this drink. Comes in Fruit Punch and Lemon Lime. I loved them both but again only limited flavors in Canada.

SPORT BEANS (www.sportbeans.com)

Some exciting new things from these folks:

-new easy-to-open resealable pouch bag
-new formulation that includes, all natural flavors and colors, tapioca syrup, naturally sweetened with evaporated cane juice, and six real fruit juices
-two new varieties:
Berry- a refreshing blend of blueberry, raspberry and strawberry flavors come together in a single bean.
Assorted- includes Lemon Lime, Orange, Berry and Fruit Punch all in one bag

SKIRT SPORTS (http://www.skirtsports.com/)

The 2010 line is amazing and I love the colors and prints they have gone with while keeping the same amazing skirt pieces! I finally got to meet Nicole (Nicole DeBoom - aka the genius behind Skirt Sports. Here we are both wearing Skirt Sports.

Tattoos

2009-09-18T14:48:00.000-07:00

Tattoo #1 - Ironman tattoo
This tattoo was designed by my staff Joanna and Heather. Joanna gave me the idea and within minutes Heather was drawing it up on the computer. I love this original tattoo that incorporates Ironman, me being Canadian and of course the fact that Ironman Canada was my first Ironman (yes, there will be more Ironmans for me).

Tattoo #2 - Everyday is a gift
Sorry Mom! I know it is big and mom's typically hate tattoos. My mom handled the one I got on my foot when I was twenty very well (just don't ask about what my dad thought!). My heart actually jumped into my throat yesterday when my mom emailed me and asked me about it; it is funny that your mom can still make you *gulp* over certain things. So, this tattoo was actually inspired by my dear friend Terry Toma. I am not going to elaborate at this time other than saying that I never really appreciated every day. like I do now. I now wake up every day and take a look at the opportunities presented to me. I am thankful for everything I have, my friends, my family and more.

Note: Thanks to Jordan Bryden for taking these amazing photos to help me show off my new tatoos.

Short Hair - what was I thinking!

2009-09-15T20:54:00.001-07:00

OK, so ever since I had cut my hair shorter before I went to Australia this year, I have really liked my shorter hair. It was chin length so not too short but definitely not long. And no more freakin' ponytails! So, before Ironman I wanted to cut it short but, my friend Lyndsey Clapperton convinced me to do pigtails for the race (which I did and loved!). But I really wanted to try even shorter; inspired by Tracy McQuillan - a friend/training buddy also on Team Tri Life who simply rocks her short hair. So last week I decided it was time to be brave and go short.

Well, I kinda like it but am really unsure. I maybe didn't want to go this short but here I am! I finally was brave enough to get Jeff to snap a few pictures at the request of many of you. So, here are the pictures of my new short hair. As my mom said, "hair grows".

And if you do have any styling tips, please let me know! I simply can't figure out how the heck I am supposed to style it yet!

Eugene Marathon

2009-09-13T08:15:00.000-07:00

OK, so yesterday Rose was saying she was going to do the Eugene Marathon at the beginning of May next year. I really wanted to do a marathon in May (I was looking at Vancouver) and I did one day want to do the Eugene marathon as I can combine a trip to see mom and dad in Portland with this as I did last year when I ran the Portland marathon. Mom and dad are an amazing support crew with getting me whatever I need pre-race, cheering during the race and taking care of me post-race. So, I called dad and he had a hotel in Eugene the night before the race (as it is a 2.5 hour drive from Portland) booked within 10 minutes! I then went online and registered for the race! We have to still book flights but now with direct from Calgary to Portland, which I will be flying at Christmas, it makes for easy travel down there.

I am very excited! - http://www.eugenemarathon.com/

Ironman Canada 2009 (Race Report)

2009-09-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

When my alarm went off the very thing to pop into my head was "today I am doing an Ironman". I had slept really well which is surprising for the night of my biggest race ever. Jeff and Annie got up right away with me. I even managed to eat breakfast which I usually can't do before a race as I am usually so nervous. Today, I was just plain excited! We made the dark walk from the hotel down to race start with the other triathletes and supporters. Annie said her good-byes early and then Jeff and I walked to the athlete transition entrance. I thought I would cry when it came time to say good-bye to him before the race but, I gave him a big hug and headed in. I dropped by bags off and saw Cindy's husband, Scott. He pointed out that I was about to put my run special needs into the bike special needs bin. Whew! Nice save Scott! I then headed up to body marking and saw Cindy and Carla. Quick pictures and it was off to my bike. It was alot darker than I expected but, I saw the unmistakable TTL jacket standing by my bike. Rena was right beside me in transition. It was so nice to see her. She loaned me her pump and then I saw Carla Jackman (big hugs!), Jane, and Susi. Susi had a few tears and we had a moment for Terry. She would be our Iron Angel today. I know she would be with us! With my bike all good it was time to head into the porta-pottie line.....luckily I found my friend Carolyn for this 45 minute wait. When I finally had that taken care of, I found Danielle Genung and we got our wetsuits on together while her husband Jeff chatted with us through the fence. It was so weird as it is usually Jeff Genung on this side of the fence. When I was ready I walked over the timing mat stating my intention to participate and walked onto the beach. I shook my head in disbelief that I was actually doing this. This is crazy! Normally I am on the other side of this fence - spectating. My day was finally here!

I found Annie, Jeff and my parents along the wall among the thousands of spectators and said a quick "HI" and then headed into the water. I swam out just as the pros started and knew I was 15 minutes away from starting the race. I found a customer from the store and we chatted away the remaining time. She was really calm so it was nice to just chat with her before the race; it kept me calm and relaxed. Suddenly Steve King announced 1 minute before we started and before I knew it we were off. I didn't really think about it. I just started swimming. The swim went fast out to the houseboats and the turn-around point. I got a bit beat up but not too badly. I got kicked in the face but my goggles stayed in place! (for the record I was wearing the Kayenne goggles from Aquasphere). The swim back felt like it took a very long time. I tried not to look at my watch but, I did and knew I still had about 1/2 hour to swim. I just swam and finally saw ground and realized I was very close to exiting. Wow! I actually made it. I put my feet down but it was too deep. My calves cramped. Ouch! I had to keep swimming and finally hit ground where I could actually stand and walk out.

I flew through transition (thank-you amazing volunteers!) and was on my bike. I headed down Main street and saw my family. I waved as they all screamed "Go Richelle!". So exciting! I was actually heading out on my Ironman bike! I took it easy (as Angie says "easy cheesy") as many racers flew by me. I knew enough that if I was conservative here in the first 60 - 70km, it would pay off once I hit Yellow Lake. The ride was fairly uneventful. I saw alot of people that I knew who were spectating which was honestly very exciting. I waved and said HI to everyone I knew and rode very happy. I was having so much fun! The biggest challenge though was working to stay out of people's draft. So many people were passing me I had to keep dropping back. At the out and back I finally got to see a few friends up ahead and get special needs. This was not very exciting though as all I grabbed was my fresh bottle of concentrated Infinit and put some Vaseline on my neck as it was chaffed from my wetsuit. After that point (120km) I really started passing people on the bike. Many of these people were athletes who had passed me early on during the bike. I was feeling fantastic and was excited when I hit the climb of Yellow Lake where many of the TTL crew and Cochrane spectators were. This gave me a huge boost as I climbed and pushed on back towards Penticton. As we headed down with only 10km left on the bike I got passed by pelotons of men! Yes, pelotons that were 5 across and 3 deep! It was unreal! Where were the freakin' draft marshalls? I continued to ride clean back into town and was ecstatic to see all of my friends and family as I headed into T2.

T2 was fast and again had an absolutely amazing volunteer who helped me make that smooth transition. These volunteers really are amazing! And just like that I was out on the run. I came around the corner and saw Jeff and stopped for a quick kiss. I then headed along Lakeshore Drive and saw a tonne of friends, store customers, and my parents. I stopped and hugged my parents and thanked them for being there. And I was off to run out of town. I hit Cherry Lane mall and saw Angie. I gave her a big hug and she laughed at me over the fact I was still so happy. I really had to watch my pace and control it by slowing down so I would not blow-up by the half way point of the marathon. I hit Skaha beach and was still thinking this is so surreal, I am doing an Ironman! I continued to feel great but for some reason I suddenly wanted nothing to do with my gels - bad situation because these were my calories for the run. I stopped taking them and tried a banana but, started to feel sick so I stuck to water and Coke. I continued to keep an eye on pace and slowed myself down as I headed out to OK Falls (the turn around point of the marathon). When I hit OK Falls there were alot of spectators which again gave me a huge boost. Jason Chow yelled "come on Love" as he usually does at races and I hurried to get my special needs bag. Although I had gels in there I did not really want to take them as I knew I was done with gels for the day. However, I took them anyway (hey that's $8 worth of gels!). I came up out of OK Falls and was feeling great with renewed energy from my friends and other supporters.

When I hit the 25km mark and I distinctly remember that my excitement and fun on a scale out of 10 went from a 10/10 down to about a 7. I know I ran past that sign but it felt like I stopped and stared at those large sign, "25km" for an hour. I knew I could finish this 17km though - and it was a good sign that I could still do math! Although my stomach was hurting I knew I would finish today. Angie's words came back into my head, "on an Ironman day, if something goes wrong you have to deal with it and fix it right away". OK, I had let this stomach issue go on for 8 km and I need to figure this out. So, I saw 2 guys running together up ahead of me with multiple Ironman tattoos on their legs and I ran up beside them. I explained my situation and asked for advice. Not only was I in alot of pain from my stomach, the thought of a gels made me want to puke and I was a bit hungry! They told me I most likely needed salt and to go for the chicken soup broth or pretzels. They even offered one of their gels to try a different kind of gel! I thanked them and ran off to the next aid station. (I really can't thank these men enough. I don't know who they are, and I unfortunately did not catch their numbers but, I owe them BIG time!). So the next aid station I tried the broth. I took one swig and asked the kind volunteer if I could give it back. He laughed at toook it and got me some Coke instead. I them grabbed a handful of pretzels and got those down. I ran to the next aid station and got a few more pretzels in. I saw Rose Serpico (my boss at Tri It) at the 30km mark and I vaguely remember saying "I was having fun until 5km ago" which she reminded me of later. She gave me a big hug and away I went. I hit Skaha beach and I knew I only had about 7km left to go! There was an amazing crew of spectators there including a bunch of Cochrane folks and other people I knew. When I ran though they were playing "I'm in a hurry to get things done"and I got a huge lift! I was so close now. I then saw a bunch of customers from Tri It not a kilometer further down the road - Colin, Kendall, and Tanya! Tanya ran beside me for a minute and chatted and Kendall told me to get my ass to the finish line. I was working on it!

I rounded the corner and was back on Main Street - so close! I struggled as this is finally where my hip flexors started to really ache, my stomach pain was excruciating and I realized my lungs were hurting so bad I could not take a full/deep breath. I was so close though and I knew it. I got cheers from Tony Smith, Joanna from Tri It and then Grace, Michael and Sylvia Wetherup which was amazing. I stopped quickly get a hug from little Grace and her dad, Michael leaned over and said "in 2km, you are gonna be an Ironman". I smiled but, I am not sure I even believed it at that point. I ran onto Lakeshore Drive where the main crowds were to finish my last 2 km. I heard so many people cheering and saw so many people but, I was hurting so bad there were no smiles. To be honest at this point I finally realized I could go sub 11:50 and I pushed the last little bit with my husband and friends yelling, my parents screaming and so many others encouraged me on. At the last pylon I made my final turn to head to the finish it was still very surreal. Annie was there and ran along and yelled. I unfortunately couldn't even crack a smile or say anything at this point. "Get to the finish" was all I could think about. I ran as strong as I could and hit the blue carpet of the finishing shoot. I ran and jumped over the finish line though the tape. I was an Ironman!

Some nice volunteers ran up to me and started to walk me away from the finish area. Shannon from TTL suddenly appeared and I threw my arms around her and let my weight go. She held me up and told the other volunteers that she had me. I was so excited to see her! She was with Brian (my other boss at Tri It) and they walked me through the finish area. They got me organized with finisher gear, pictures, and made sure I was OK. I couldn't believe I was walking, talking, etc. I didn't want food and did not need medical so we found Jeff and they left me in his capable hands. With the help of Jeff, Leslie, Heather and Jae we walked to get my bike and all of my gear. It took us over an hour to walk that 1.5km as I kept seeing people I knew and stopped for a quick chat. Tonnes of hugs and congratulations all around. It was an amazing day!

Thank-you to all of my friends and family who helped me finish my first Ironman. With your support I have realized my dream of calling myself an Ironman.

Note: there were so many other stories and moments of my Ironman day that I could not list them all. Thank-you to all who cheered me on, gave me hugs, talked to me pre-race, talked to me on course and congratulated me post-race. You all helped to make my Ironman day so special. And thank-you to all of those who encouraged me throughout the year, gave me anvice and pep-talks and swam, biked and ran with me! You helped me here and I will never forget that! Thank-you!

Ironman Canada - leading up to the race

2009-09-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

The few days leading up to Ironman are very busy. You always have some thing you should be doing or could be doing! It is a fine balance between doing everything you need, some of the things you want and resting. I tried to do my best not to do too much and stay out of the heat. There are lines wherever you go and like I said always someone wanting you to do something, or something you should or could do.

Here is my attempt at doing as what I needed to do and a few things I wanted to (in a very short recap):

Wednesday
-worked at Tri It until late afternoon
-flew to Kelowna and drove with Kori and Mike to Penticton
-checked into the hotel and tried to organize the mass of gear and stuff I brought with me
-went to Salty's for late night snack and chat with Annie

Thursday
-open water swim
-stood in line to get race package (almost 1.5 hours)
-stood in line to get free Crocs (almost 1.5 hours)
-went back to hotel to relax and again try to organize gear and start organizing gear bags!
-went to dinner with Annie

Friday

-did the underwear run
-rode my bike and went for coffee
-went for lunch with Peter, Elaine, Sarah-Jane and Jeff C.
-attended the IMC pre-race dinner and meeting (couldn't stop thinking....WOW! I am really going to do an Ironman in 2 days!

Saturday

-met the team for a swim (that I did not do so I just talked to everyone who was on the beach) and a team meeting; we talked about Terry and shed a few tears
-finalized all of my gear bags
-Jeff worked on my bike and got it working perfectly!
-put my bike and my 2 gear bags in transition (swim-bike and bike-run
-went to the IMC expo with Jeff
-drove around looking for lip moisturizer/sunscreen as I had lost mine
-made dinner and had dinner at hotel with Jeff (thank goodness for the kitchenette)
-bed!

Xterra Alberta

2009-09-10T07:49:00.000-07:00

Many people thought I was crazy racing Xterra 1 week before Ironman. In fact, I did nopt tell my coach until after it was over. Luckily I was not hurt so she didn't get mad. I had a great day and LOVED this event. For those of you who do not know, I came from a mountain biking background. I raced mountain bikes and one day bougt a road bike to cross train. Well after I started riding road bikes, I knew I could swim and run so thought I would put it all together. I did and the rest is history!

OK, back to Xterra!

The day started off early as I had to bring some of the registration packages from Calgary out for Tony. I got there early and headed down to transition to meet Colin who had kindly brought my bike to Canmore for me as I had all of the registration stuff jammed packed in my car. I got settled asnd I had a few comments that went like this "Arn't you racing Ironman next weekend? Are you NUTS!!! You shouldn't be doing this race!". I laughed and commented on how life is to short. "Seize the day!" I said.

I was very calm about this race as I wanted to race hard but knowing with IMC 1 week away this was not a priority and if I felt pain, got scared, didn't feel like doing it that I would pull out at any point. I don't normally race like that but given my Ironman dreams for the past 5 years with 2 years prep I think it was warranted.

Pre-race was great. I headed back up to the day lodge at the Nordic Centre and chilled. I had 2 athletes racing so we just hung out and talked. I was so relaxed it was wonderful! It was finally time to get on the bus and head down to the lake. I actually realized the girl sitting next to me (Amy) was a girl who I used to mountain bike race with. So cool! We got into our wetsuits and I helped about 10 girls who knew I was from Tri It and asked for assistance and headed to the lake - I love how small Quarry Lake is. A quick warm-up and we were off. The swim was great and I didn't even get banged, hit, kicked, etc. once! This was great! When we came out it was a LONG way to run to T1. Whew! I blazed through T1 and manged to get ahead of many of the girls who beat me out of the swim. When will you learn? Keep transition simple!

I headed off on the bike and realized something was wrong with my bike. Doh! I forgot to put my seat back up after it had been transported. Ok, there is such a thing as being too relaxed before a race. Maybe that uptigt triathlete side of me is not such a horrible thing. I jacked it up and away we went (this is after many girls passed me back). I was then on Amy's wheel which was a perfect spot. We passed few girls who has passed my when I was fixing my seat and I thought "This is great". Then Amy realized we were off course. We turned around just to see the girls we had passed head up the trail before us. Rats! I stayed near Amy for the rest of the bike. The bike course was awesome. It wasn't too technical but it was so fun! I encouraged people as we rode the hills (some of which I had to walk). I made a few technical errors such as gearing due to not being on my MTB for almost 3 years but I didn't care - I was having so much fun! I also played with my seat a few more times (up, down, up , down; thank goodness for quick release). The second lap was a bit better but we slowed up as the duathlon people headed out right before our second lap and many of them were not as experienced on the MTB. So I chatted with another racer and it was nice to get my HR down a bit.

We headed into the stadium for our run. It was great to see so many spectators! I took a second to look where I was; it is beautiful here! I am so luck to be here and doing this! I headed out on the very hilly run course. I was sucking wind pretty hard but was still having so much fun! I got passed by quite a few girls on the run but I was laughing. This was the most intervals I had done all summer. When you do 30km runs you are just not at the speed for these short 7km runs. The girls who all passed me were wonderful and encouraging. Such a friendly environment these Xterra folks! On my final lap I haeded into the stadium and heard my Tony call my name over the PA system. I crossed the line and threw my hands in the air. Mike Whittle and Greg Bradly were there to laugh at me and tell me I was lucky I wasn't hurt.

I cheered my friends, other athletes and my athletes for the next bit until everyone was in and we headed for a delicious lunch.

I loved Xterra and can't wait to see what Tony has in store for next year. I hear registration is already up and the date is September 5th. See you there!

Ironman Race Report

2009-09-09T18:21:00.000-07:00

I am working on it! I hope to have it up by the end of the week.

Calgary 70.3 (better late than never!)

2009-08-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

I had no expectations (other than to have fun) going into the day because I had not tapered due to the fact that Ironman is just 4 weeks away! On the Thursday and Friday before the race I was exhausted and had a 3 hour bike on the 70.3 course with a brick and a 4km swim where I was so tired I couldn't even hold form - I flailed in the water. I was done. When my husband asked me to check my gears on Friday night after he had worked on my bike for race day, I was out of breath riding around the block. Crap. I really didn't want to go to the start line on Sunday. Then on Saturday Angie reminded me I only had 2 more weeks until I get to taper for IMC! That coupled with a full rest day on Saturday (I did not even have a pre-race swim workout to do - a full rest day!) did my mental state and my body wonders.

So for 70.3 I and then was hoping to have fun, and ride and run as hard as I could (I will be honest - I always just hope to survive the swim). I wasn't nerveous all day which was nice for a change. The morning was fun as my friend Carrie came to our house to catch a ride out to Ghost Lake. I tried to eat but all I could get down was coffee. I brought a PB and bannana sandwhich hoping I would eat it before the start of the race. We got our bikes set up quickly ht the porto-pottie line which we stood in for almost an hour and then it was time to put our wetsuits on. I tried to think about food but couldn't as I really was not nerveous. I ate 2 sharkies and put the rest of the bag away...nope, no food for me today. The swim was great as because it was wave start it meant all the people around me were women my age! Carrie and I snapped a shot before we started and I knew it would be a fun day. I hardly saw anyone during the swim and swam mainly by myself. At one point a girl grabbed my leg and we were the only 2 girls around. I kicked her hand off my leg, turned around and yelled at her "that was uncalled for!". She apologized and we continued on. I hit land and was happy. As I hit the boat ramp I saw my wonderful husband cheering me on and taking pictures.

T1 felt slow but I went through as fast as I could. As I approached the dismount line to haed out there was Jeff again taking pictures and cheering me on. "Have a good ride babe!" he called as I clipped in and headed out. The ride was great! This is where I ride all the time! My home turf! I felt so comfortablle and pretended I was out training. I started passing alot of people and that is what I did for the next 94km! All in all, I think about 8 men passed me and I passed several hundred people! The course was fun as I said before, this is what I usually ride. And I felt great. I kept thinking that I shouldn't be feeling this good. My legs should be hurting but they didn't!!! I saw so many people on the course and the highlight of the ride was going through the aid station that Team TriLife was handling. I got to see a bunch of my friends and teammates which was amazing. It toatlly pumped me up as they all cheered as I rode through.

T2 felt fast (I had an amazing volunteer help me) and I headed out on the run feeling great. I wasn't going fast but I felt steady. Suzanne Boyd went by me at about 4.5km as we headed down into Weaselheadand. She told me to go with her as I do to her so many races. I did for about 200m, and knew if I held that pace I would not last. Darn! I eased back into my pace. The hills were challenging but good! I actually liked them - even though I walked up all of them. My stomach still was not cooperating so I started alternating Coke and water so I could at least get something into my body. At the 9 km mark I started to feel strong and worked my way through the field, finally passing some people. One of my staff, Ciara ran with me for a bit and encouraged me on. I started to see alot of people I knew both racing and spectating. I started to feed off the energy and felt strong running....that is until the hill to come back out of Weaselhead. I walked up it as fast as I could. At the top I knew I was just 4km from the finish. I pushed on until just 2.5km left when I found myself walking. Suddenly a girl ran past me and said "Come on Richelle, you can do anything for 2.5km". I started running with her and tried to hold her pace. I started to fall off until "Come on girl, let's go!" she said. I got beside her and held her stride. She was my saviour! I looked at my watch and if I held this pace I would do a sub 5:30. I did not want to see taht clock roll to 5:30. I would get a 5:29!!!!! I pushed on and passed her. I saw Madi and Heather. They started to run with me and some guy yelled "just 800m to go". "800m!?!?!?!?!?" I screamed. Madi and Heather quickly pointed out he was wrong and it was 200m. Madi told me to run hard to the finish and I went as hard as I could. As I hit the last 50m Rose yelled that there was someone right behind me. I looked back and saw no one. I flipped her the bird (OK, not a great idea to do to your boss) and ran to the finish. I saw Leana with a big smile as I hit the timing mat. Next thing I knew Susi grabbed me and I put all my weight on her. The volunteers at the finish were amazing (actually the entire volunteer team for Calgary 70.3 was amazing!!!) and helped me get food, water, and my finisher shirt before I headed to find my husband. I chatted with many competitors as I made my way to my #1 cheerleader/supporter, my husband. My mother-in-law also came to cheer on and was so excited. It was neat for her to finally see what it is I do and am so passionate about.

We gathered my thinks and headed home for an ice bath. I then showered and got out to over 8 messages on my phone. I had qualified for Clearwater (70.3 World Championships) but missed my spot as you have to be there to claim it. I shed a few tears and after Angie calmed me down let it go - in the cards another time.

I had a great race though and highly recommend Calgary 70.3!

GWN Triathlon

2009-07-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

This is not a race report. I will post soon. I am feeling great today and extatic about yesterday's race. My biggest success of the day was that I had no shin pain (ie. from my stress fracture) and no IT band pain like last year.

I swam strong, biked hard in the head wind and ran almost as fast as I did last year (except I took more walk breaks this year due to the heat) with having 10 weeks off of running.

GWN 2009 Results
Swim 36:04 (:31 seconds faster than last year)
Bike and Transitions 2:46:36 (1:59 faster than last year)
Run 1:51:27 (:34 seconds slower than last year)
OVERALL TIME 5:14:06 (1:55 faster than last year)

Age-Group Placing 15/95
Overall Female 23/300-ish (we were told that there were over 300 females registered)
Overall Placing 162/672

Here are some pitures for now (as for the picture of transition - I am in there if you look carefully at the first rack; I am wearing purple and orange; I am bent over trying to get off my wetsuit!).

Race report to come!

Getting into my wetsuit - it takes so long!

The swim start - always chaos.

Into transition and out on the bike! I love the bike!

The final stretch of the run - I felt so strong!

Chinook Olympic Distance Tri

2009-06-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

As I drove down Macleod early race morning I had no idea where I was supposed to turn to get to Lake Midnapore (aka race site for the day). Feeling very unprepared for this race - not usually like me. I was just about to call Rose to figure out where I was going, when I saw her car. Phew! I got behind her and followed her to the lake. I parked and followed the heard of triathletes. I got into transition, chatted......chatted some more, and more until someone told me we had to be out of transition by the time the 1/2 Ironman started - that was 10 minutes away! Crap! I stripped to my race suit, grabbed my wetsuit and headed to the beach.

Waiting over an hour to race start without access to transition was less than desirable. Thank goodness Kelvin lent me his sweater or I would have been very cold. I was starting to get more nervous too as my first tri of season got closer. When it was finally time to get into my wetsuit, I did and Brian and Ang from Tri It were there for hugs and to help adjust my wetsuit. Brian joked that if I disgraced the store with a bad race that I should not bother coming into work later. "Is that motivation enough to go faster?" he asked. Brian is hilarious! I am pretty sure he was joking, cause I still work there. Oh did I mention I forgot my earplugs in my tri suit under my wetsuit!? I realized this was about 3 minutes before race start. I found Brad's girlfriend and told her my predicament and we managed to get them. Boy, do I ever owe her!

I barely remember the gun going off but into the water I went. It was a rough start and I got hit and banged and could not find my rhythm. As we hit the first buoy I realized this was not going to be just 1500m. I am not sure how far extra we swam but, we swam extra. I hit the beach after lap 1 and heard a number of cheers for me (which was so appreciated) and headed back for lap 2. It was mildly better for lap 2 in terms of congestion but still a fair bit of contact. I was so relieved to be done the swim and as I popped up onto the beach I looked at my watch and saw 30:08. Augh! I was less than thrilled but knew it was a longer swim.

I ran into transition beside my friend Caitlin who luckily informed me I had run by my bike as we flew through. I did a 180 turn and ran back to find my bike. I can't believe I did that! I have never done that before. The bike went by fast even though I was tired. My quads pushed as hard as they could, which wasn't as hard as I liked. It was my first race with my new bike and my aero helmet. I love them both! (Note: since that race I have adjusted my seat with a new seat post and like my bike even better - I feel like I have another gear!). I ht the turnaround and tried to see where I was in the pack. This cost me focus when I should have been focused on pedaling harder.

I heard my name being yelled as I hit T2 but could not see anyone as I was so focused on getting onto the run course. With T1, the bike and T2 my time came to 1:15:09. I had no idea at the time and just wanted to get out on the run.

The run hurt. I won't lie. It hurt the entire 10km. I felt like I was going so slow and struggling to hang on. I walked the water stations as it was so hot and I was tired. I never normally walk water stations on a 10km....grrr. At the 8km check I actually wanted to stop and be done with the race. I finally got to see who was behind me and saw a few people right on my heels. Crap! I picked it up as best I could...until the hill. I walked up part of it, chatted with James Keeval who was spectating and jogged the rest of the way up the hill. I was at a mere jog at this point and I just couldn't push any harder. With 0.5km to go Jason Chow yelled at me to pick it up and I really just wanted to stop and again, be done with the race. I really was only around the corner from the finish and ran it as Caitlin who had finished already ran it in with me for a run time of 51:25 and an overall time of 2:36:41.

I know I sound disappointed with my race. I was tired, mentally and physically and still am. I do start to taper on Sunday though for GWN tri. When I put it in perspective though it is not my time I am disappointed with it was how unprepared I was, how I was tired (this is the first triathlon I have not tapered for) and how I let my mental state get me down during the race. The reality is that I should be happy that I am healthy enough and lucky enough to do this wonderful sport. I really do love this sport!

The best part of the day was that I promised that after the race I would head straight to work at Tri It right after the race however, transition was closed until after 1pm so I couldn't get my bike and stuff out. So, I stayed and chatted and congratulated everyone I knew. I loved it! I can't imagine a better place to hang out other than at a race in the sun! Congrats to everyone who raced. Especially all you first timers - I welcome you officially to this wonderful sport!

If anyone has pictures of me from Saturday (other than Carla who caught me on camera with my shirt on backwards - oops) please send! Thanks!

Update

2009-06-17T20:11:00.001-07:00

Ok, where do I begin? I have been so bad at updating my blog - all due to training, work, coaching, eating, sleeping, and repeating. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining but I have just been bad about updating my blog and lately housework. I am really a clean freak but with increased training volume, Ang has told me I have to "let it go" for the next 3months (hope my parents understand when they visit next month!).

So, on the Tri It front, the store has been busy and I love it! I get to see so many of my friends all the time! Don't tell Brian I hardly consider hanging out at the store all day talking about triathlon work. Ha!

On the coaching front. My athletes are in race season now and doing well. I am so proud of them all and many of them have been racing hard, overcoming fears and having fun being in the sport of triathlon. I may have mentioned before that I also helped coach some KOS (Kids of Steel) camps which I loved! Here is a picture of one of my athletes and I at the Footstock KOS race last Sunday (LEFT). Probably one of the coolest kids I know! I was the swim captain for the race and it was great to see a number of the kids that I did the camp with race (RIGHT). They all did so amazing! I am again so proud. Swim coaching and my run clinic all end next week. I am sad but a bit excited to be able to focus a bit more energy to my Ironman training. Oh, and in case I forgot the Aquathon (swim/run) we put on 2 weeks ago went really well. No catastrophes, everyone had fun and we plan on doing it again next year. The big success of the day was that all the kids had fun and succeeded.

On the training and racing front. I am tired. Ang is happy about that and wants me to race tired this weekend for the Chinook Olympic. "great!" I am thrilled about it as you can tell. I raced last weekend at the Footstock 10km. My legs were tired but I ran as hard as I could to a 49:35. Although it is 2 minutes off my PR I promised my self I would be happy with anything sub-50 after not training hard on the run due to my stress fractures. I raced without pain, was pain free post-race and pain free the next day!!! BIG SUCCESS! Yeah!! Ross took this great picture of me during the 10km last weekend. Although I am suffering - alot - I actually really like it. Thanks Ross!

Ok, I know that is a short crappy update (and I am tired and have to go to bed now) but I will try to update more regularly and maybe even get a race report up from this upcoming weekend at Chinook....

I love my bike!!!!!!!!!

2009-05-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture as promised!

2009 Kuota Kalibur with SRAM Red

I LOVE my bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blog slacking again

2009-05-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

Seriously? I haven't blogged in a month!? Sorry! Life has been extremely busy. The store is crazy everyday, which I love as I just get to talk about triathlon non-stop all day, every day. On top of that coaching has been super busy as we head into race season. And still on top of that my training. Training has been going well and the highlight to date was riding in Penticton on my birthday last Sunday. We rode the course and Jane and I rode so well together and had a blast trying to beat the boys (Jason, Jeff and Peter). I could not have asked for a better day.

I am excited too as over the next 2 Sundays I will be coaching a KOS triathlon camp in Cochrane. It will be great to see these young kids who already have been exposed to triathlon at such a young age. Triathlon truly is a life-long sport and I just wish it had been bigger when I was a kid!

For those who have been asking, the shin is finally able to hold up to some runs so things are looking up for me actually running the run at GWN. Fingers crossed.

And yes, I promise I will snap some pictures of my bike very soon and get those up. I really love it and all I want to do these days is ride. Angie has had to remind me several time that I am a triathlete and not just a road biker. I just got my power tap today and am excited to have watts on the bike - I am such a numbers geek.

OK, that's it for me for now. I promise I will try to be better at blogging in the weeks to come - especially as race season approaches.

Now stop reading my blog and go get on your bike or something!

Back to it

2009-04-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

Well, I am home now and it has taken me a full week to feel like myself again (get myself sorted/get things organized, catch up on sleep and get back into my regular schedule). One thing I realized after taking 2 weeks off is that: I have a very busy life! My schedule is always full and I never have a down time moment to spare! I am not complaining though, as for those of you who know me well, know that when I do have "down time" I end up trying to fill it anyway! So in any event, I am very happy to be home! I had a wonderful trip and I really loved it but, I missed my regular life.

On the bike front, it still has not arrived!!!!! I a crossing my fingers for tomorrow or Tuesday! Today I borrowed Ang's bike (we are the same size and her bike is exactly like the one I am getting) and went for a 2 hour ride with Ken and Phil. We headed out early enough that we only saw 1 other cyclist on our route. Afterwards, I attempted a brick run which I have not done in about 3 months due to my injury - let's just say it was less than spectacular. But, it takes time to come back after an injury and I know that; however patience is not something I have. Not much I can do though but stay positive; at least I am running again - even though it is slow. I do know though if I stay calm and keep at it, it will come.

Well, lots of work to do (swim planning, athlete programs, clinic planning, etc).

When my bike does come in, I will post pictures. Fingers crossed it comes this week!

Heading back home

2009-04-11T15:41:00.001-07:00

Just a quick entry before we leave for the airport in a few minutes. Yesterday (my last day in Australia) was a great day. We slept in after a late night at Easter dinner and then got up, went for a run, went for a swim and then we came home and hung out and packed. We then headed of to watch an AFL game (Aussie rules football, or "footy"). It was so much fun. I love this game. It is fast paced and rough! I could very much be a fan and go to many games if I lived here. I do have pictures but no time now to post the so I will do so when I get home.

Ok, I am off to sit on planes and in airports for 30 plus hours bow! See you soon!

Past few days

2009-04-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

Here is what we have been up to:

Wednesday - We got up and went for a morning swim (in the outdoor pool of course). We then headed to Southbank for the afternoon. This is basically Brisbane's equivalent to what Eau Claire should be in Calgary. We found some cool shops and I managed to find an Australian bike jersey. We wandered along stopped for lunch and then Carole wanted me to try some Hokey Pokey Ice Cream (Hokey Pokey is a flavour of ice cream, invented in New Zealand and consisting of plain vanilla ice cream with small, solid lumps of sponge toffee).

It was delicious! So we sat in the sun for a bit and then headed back home via the Cat to go to Carol's spin class at the university. It was finally sunny as almost everyday that we have been here it has rained.

Thursday -we went to Carole's friend's house and had a traditional Aussie Barbie with rissoles (hamburgers) with beetroot, and snags (sausages). We also brought marshmallows from Canada for them to try and they loved them as they are quite different here in Australia. We taught them how to perfectly roast a marshmallow, how to make ghost gum, and we made S'mores.

Friday - today is a bit of a mellow day as it is Good Friday and most things are closed. Tonight we are having a big Easter dinner at another one of Carol's friend's houses. She is amazingly talented and a fantastic cook and baker - so I was told to go hungry! We might head up to Mt Coot-tha today as well; this is apparently Brisbane's best lookout point.

Tomorrow we are not quite sure what we will do during the day but tomorrow night for my last night in Australia we are going to AFL game (Aussie Footy)! I am so excited!!!!! The Brisbane Lions are playing the Sydney Swans. I have heard it is quite a brutal game. It also seems this is the league the bad boys play in as every paper you pick-up here has a headline about something either illegal or stupid/extremely controversial a pro footy player did.

I can't believe my trip is almost over! I will enjoy these next few days as much as I can before the 30 hour journey home on Sunday.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

2009-04-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

Yep, I got to hold a kola today! We went to Lone Pine Sanctuary today. It is a sanctuary with koalas, kangaroos, wallaby's, wombats, and more Australian animals.

Up until now I had no idea that koalas can be so active. They still sleep 20 hours a day but, we happened to be there at feeding time. These little guys are so cute and inquisitive when they are awake. They love their food (Eucalyptus leaves) and love jumping from branch to branch in search of the very best leaves. We watched them for hours. We were so fascinated with the koalas, and we hung around them most of the day. There were so many of them in various parts of the grounds. In total there are over 130 koalas at Lone Pine. And the handlers can tell all of them apart.

Today I also saw a spider that someone had to say "stay away from that one!". It was a Green Jumping Spider that is not toxic to humans but, has a very painful bite. Yikes!

To Janice (my mother-in-law) - I haven't emailed because I don't have your email address! I am really missing you though!!!

The loss of a dear friend

2009-04-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

Although I am having a great time here in Australia, I have to let you know of some sad news. Many of you follow my blog and know that it has been sparse over the past month up until now. The truth is I have not wanted to share what was going on. My dear friend Terry, has finally lost her battle with cancer. A few days before I left for Australia I had the opportunity to say good-bye, which was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. She told me she wouldn't be there when I got back and part of me knew that was true. On Thursday, I got the email from Ang that I had been dreading. It is easier being away but, the reality of missing her funeral and being away from my friends is hard. I have been able to suppress it for now but I know once I hit home, it will be hard. The reality that my Monday routine of going to Terry's for tea and cookies (and what ever else she would bake us) after swimming has forever changed.

I will miss Terry very much and will keep her memory alive.

Seeing Chrissie Wellington at Ironman Australia

2009-04-06T06:06:00.000-07:00

Ironman Australia spectating

2009-04-06T05:34:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the pool from a fabulous evening swim at the University of Queensland. I love outdoor pools. It is just so different to swim outdoors all the time. I am going to be sad coming back to Canada and having to swim indoors again.

We just got back from Port Macquarie today. It was a fabulous (but very rainy) weekend. I don't suspect I will arrive back in Canada with a tan. Friday we spent driving down to Port Macquarie with a quick stopover in Byron Bay to frolic in the ocean.

Saturday we walked about town and mostly hung out in the cabin as it was very rainy. We tried to go see what was going on with the Ironman 1km Ocean Swim but it had been cancelled. The waves were huge and we were both a little relieved after we saw the huge waves. Sunday morning I woke up to the most pelting rain I had ever heard. I felt sick to my stomach for the athletes. It had cleared u however by race start but not before it dampened T1 and T2 as much as it could (it was already more than damp!). We missed the pros going off but were there for the 1500 age-groupers as they headed down the river. We followed much of the race moving from spot to spot to see the pros and age-groups race. It was very exciting to see Chrissie Wellington and she really is amazing! She was smiling and waving at the crowd even as she pushed on throughout the race. I got alot of photos of here and an autograph! She is so nice and I also got some amazing video footage of her which I will post when I can figure out this darn video camera. Her finish and post race interview was amazing (for the record, she finished in 8:57!!!!!)

We left Port early this morning and it took most of the day to drive back up to Brisbane. As I said before, I snuck away for an evening swim and now we are just hanging out at Carole's. It could be an early bed tonight as we were up late last night cheering on the late night Ironmen and Ironwomen.

Busy Day in Brisbane

2009-04-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

I woke up early and puttered trying to get my luggage sorted out. We then gathered our things and headed out for a run before the heat of the day hit. Finally after 9 weeks of no running I am able to start slowly running again! It was so nice and warm I was loving it - I wanted to run forever - I really miss marathon training. We ran along the river path and Carole had to constantly remind me to stay to the left (in Canada we would stay to the right). We ended up at a great coffee shop and the girl looked at me oddly when I asked for a coffee; Carole had to explain to me that they don't just brew coffee you have to have a specialty drink. OK, twist my arm, I'll have a latte. It turned out to be the best latte I have ever had and we even got fresh squeezed apple juice.

We meandered back home, I collected my swim gear and walked to the university (University of Queensland) for a swim - unfortunately leaving Carole behind to study. The pool is a 50m outdoor pool and it was a perfect temperature. It was 28 degrees out and I had a great workout. After I finished, I got out and chilled on the grass eating my post-workout snack. I then headed back to Carole's. We ate a big lunch and headed into Brisbane via the Cat. We made our way to the Story Bridge for the bride walk. Did I mention I am afraid of heights? As we headed up my legs were starting to shake but, as we climbed higher I actually started to relax. The views of Brisbane were spectacular!!!!!

Today it has been pouring rain!!! There are floods on many of the highways so we delayed heading to Port Macquarie until tomorrow. We are heading down the coast to watch Ironman Australia. I am so excited to go see. Some of the big names racing on Sunday are Tim DeBoom and Chrisssy Wellington. Although we wanted to be racing and are not, it will be a great weekend. I am always happy racing or watching any triathlon and love being around all the hype of Ironman. I will try to blog but may not be able to until we get back from Port Macquarie.

Until then....

I arrived in Australia

2009-03-31T16:24:00.000-07:00

Vancouver to Auckland, NZ was an OK flight. It was not as bad as I thought - being in a seat for 14 hours that is. We had a late dinner shortly after we took off, I watched a movie, and then went to sleep for the night. I tossed and turned and woke up every hour but before I knew it breakfast was served. Man, if I could eat a breakfast like this everyday I would be very happy! I then watched another movie and we landed.

We arrived in Auckland and headed to the Air New Zealand lounge. I had a wonderful shower and another latte and then we got to board our plan to Brisbane. My ankles were quite swollen by this point (despite the compression socks - this is because I kept crossing my legs) and I did not want to sit any longer. I tried to focus and read Triathlete to pass the time.

Finally! We arrived! We cleared customs without incident and were off to Carole's house. There was alot of screaming and hugging! We explored her house and then had to walk her to school for her final class of the day. After we dropped her off I was dying to go check out the outdoor pool so we went and saw that and the track. Two high priorities on my list of things to do when I am here.

After Carole's class we came back home and went for a big walk into the city. The pathways are crazy here and Carole keeps having to remind me to walk on the left of the pathway. Don't eve get me started about crossing the street - let's just say I make Carole hold my hand cause I can't figure out which ways the cars are coming. It was a wonderful 28 degrees and I was in shorts and a tank top. So much better than that darn Calgary snow. We walked till we finally hit a Starbuck's! Sweet! But holy cow is it ever expensive here. I didn't mind though as I love Starbuck's! We then wandered over to the CityCat (the catamaran that is the river bus) back to Carole's house. The novelty that the bus was a catamaran was very cool and if we had these in Calgary I would actually ride city transit.

Then a few of Carole's university friend's came over and we hung out I layed against the wall with my legs up trying to get my ankles to return to normal size. We finally went to bed and I had a fantastic sleep and am now fully adjusted to the time change. And, my ankles look normal again!

Ok, I am off for a run!!! Not only do I finally get to go for a run (even if it is only for 1/2 hour - as I promised Ang I would go easy for my first run) but, it is already 24 degrees so I am off for a warm run in shorts and a sports bra! No darn tights, mitts, toque, jacket, neck warmer, etc!

I will try to keep updating as we have an excited few days ahead of us.

Off to Australia

2009-03-29T19:28:00.000-07:00

I am sitting in the Maple Leaf Lounge in Vancouver airport, leisurely and very happily drinking a latte. In just under an hour I will get on an Air New Zealand plane to head off to Auckland and then on to Australia. I just talked to Carole and she is getting excited for us to get there.

This morning before I left, we at Tri It had a spinathon to benefiot some local professional traithletes. I had a great time teaching and got to talk to Sam McGlone again. Angie and I asked for a picture, and she is so kind she happily obliged.

I unfortunately got the 4th hour teaching slot - and that is when most people decided that 4 hours on a bike trainer was their limit! So needless to say if I hadn't know people were planning to leave, I would have been thouroughly insulted as they left. Ha! Ha! The spin-a-thon was great fun though and we will definitely do it again. I hope we were able to raise enough money for some of our local tri heroes like Jordan Bryden.

I will try to keep blogging as the trip goes on! I seriously can't belive this trip is finally here!

Chaotic Life

2009-03-22T14:13:00.001-07:00

I am not complaining. For those who know me, I can't sit still. I come by it honestly (for those of you who know my parents! Mom and Dad start to go crazy when they have even a second of down time. And yes, I am like that too - even though I swore I never would be!).

In any event, work is going great. Who knew you could have a job that you go into everyday excited to see everyone and get at the task at hand for the day! I am definitely Living the Dream! For those that never got to see the Impact Magazine shot, here it is. (Mom and Leslie - I am mailing you both copies).

I am still not running but will attempt my first run next week. I am also off to Australia next Sunday to see my dear friend Carole, and I cannot wait to spend some quality girl time with her. She has promised we will get a bit of training in while we are there. Yes, I am dying to do an ocean swim, get a swim workout in an outdoor pool, run in warm weather, and try to get a short bike there too (it may be hard as Carole says there is not much biking near her). We also plan on heading to Port Macquarie to watch Ironman Australia!!!! It will be a blast. I also plan to surf! It should be a great trip and I will blog along the way when I am there.

Still injured......

2009-02-24T11:13:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the support and concern from everyone regarding my injury. I really appreciate it.

I thought I would report on the progress - the little that there is. I am still having pain and the rule is that I must be 100% before hopping back on the bike (don't even get me started on when I will be allowed to run again!). So, I wait patiently and am still missing being on my bike more than you an imagine.

Coaching however is going extremely well and I am putting all my extra energy into creating new workouts and training plans. I figure I can use this injury and be productive. I also have sorted through files, cleaned closets, organized tri and running gear and more! Ha! So all is not lost. I just need to focus on getting healthy and not let it get to my head (ie. go crazy!!!).

Thanks for checking in! Train smart!

Stressed Out

2009-02-12T08:49:00.000-08:00

Ok, I am not referring to my mental state here, but rather my legs. As many people know, I have a stress fracture in each of my tibia's. My friend Sara who is a physio got my records and luckily it did only say minor (that is good news). So, I took a full week off of nothing (yes NOTHING!) and have water run and swam - with a pull buoy this week. I am being good and staying off the bike for another few days; for those who know my obsession with biking - this is killing me! I can't even fathom when I will be allowed to run again but, it is better to take care of this injury now and allow it to heal fully so I am not off this race season. I have learned over the years that when you are injured you have to rest and let the injury heal before you get back to it. The only reason I know is I have not done this in the past and paid dearly for it in the way of missing a race season.

So, I am freaking out but staying off my bike. It is killing me but patience now will set me up for a good race season. Not much new other than that but I promise I will try to blog more often as I used to.

Train smart!

Pool to Path Aquathon

2009-02-08T10:15:00.000-08:00

Pool to Path Aquathon
June 7th, 2009
2009 Alberta Provincial Aquathon Championships

The Pool to Path Aquathlon is a fun race that encourages involvement in sport and success. The 2009 race will also be the Alberta Provincial Aquathon Championships. Please note that participants must be members of the Alberta Triathlon Association in order to receive their Provincial level placing.

Age Adult Distances
18 ys + 500 m swim/5 km run

Age KOS Distances
6 – 7 yrs 50 m swim/500 m run
8 – 9 yrs 100 m swim/1 km run
10 – 11 yrs 150 m swim/2 km run
12 – 13 yrs 300 m swim/3 km run
14 – 15 yrs 400 m swim/4 km run
16 – 17 yrs 500 m swim/5 km run

The Pool to Path Aquathon will take place in Cochrane, Alberta at the Big Hill Leisure Pool. The race will start at 8am. Heat times will be posted on the Team TriLife website a few days prior to race day.

Registration
Adults (18 +)
$30 – with ATA membership
$45 – without an ATA membership; this will include a one-day membership fee

Kids (6 – 17 years)
$20 – with ATA membership
$25 – without an ATA membership; this will include a one-day membership fee

Registration is available only through the Alberta Triathlon Association (ATA).

For more information, please email myself or Angie Anderson.
Richelle - richelle@teamtrilife.com
Angie - angie@teamtrilife.com

2009-02-05T16:44:00.000-08:00

"Win or lose, you will never regret working hard, making sacrifices, being disciplined, or focusing too much. Success is measured by what we have done to prepare for competition."
-John Smith

Update (yes, I know - finally!)

2009-02-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

As you know I have been very busy. Here is a quick update on what has been going on:

I have some shin splints (again, I repeat as I have done this and said it before, do not add random run workouts into your program; coach gives you a tongue lashing! and then you get injured). I will be on the darn elliptical for the next 2 weeks.
I did my VO2 max test yesterday on the bike. Hit 250 watts. In my mind before the test started I figured I would hit 240 watts. So, when I hit 240 watts I wanted to stop. If I had not mentally defeated myself I may have gone higher. But, I did get my HR up to 189! I got my test done at FRESH! Fitness with Tim Borys. VO2 max test are extremely valuable to help you with your training to ensure you are training right. As before, the FRESH! staff was outstanding and I highly recommend getting your test done through them. Although I did tell Tim I hated him at 240 watts - that was the high HR talking.
I am coaching swimming for the Cochrane Red Rock Runners on Monday nights. A great group who have welcomed a new coach part way through the season with open arms.
Coaching spin at TriIt is going great. A fantastic group who keep me laughing and shaking my head. I invite any of my friends to come check out a class. Wednesday nights with tension on the pedals at 6:30 sharp.
The preparations for the Pool to Path Aquathon in Cochrane on June 7th are going great. For more info visit Team TriLife.
My new bike is on it's way - it's like freakin' Christmas. How many more sleeps?

OK, that's all I have time to write for now and I figure at least I got a few things in.

Take it easy and train smart!
Richelle

So busy!

2009-01-27T14:59:00.000-08:00

OK, I don't have time to write as I am very busy. I train, go to work, coach, and go home to sleep. I repeat this everyday. I love it. I am not complaining but, unfortunately I have nothing exciting to report to you at this time.

Life is good! That is my motto (stolen from my friend Terry!).

I have also attached a picture of Kita (my little puppy). The picture is entitled "Exactly what are you accusing me of?"

Fighting my way back

2009-01-13T11:11:00.000-08:00

On Friday I went down for the count! Sick that is. I got up early for track practice feeling a bit tired and sniffly. I got to practice and did a 15 minute warm-up and felt OK. Ang and I started into our sets. Ang is faster than me but usually I can at least hang onto her for a few laps. The first fast set I hung on. The second I got dropped and jogged it in. On the third I jogged from the get-go and walked (yes walked) it in! I looked at Ang, "I think i have to go home". I crawled back into bed where I remained for the next 24 hours! I attempted to go to work the next day but got sent home after about 15 minutes (did I mention I sat in a chair staring at the wall during that time?). So, over the next few days I was confined to the couch staring longingly at my bike and runners.

Yesterday I managed an 20 minute run with one of my athlete's but still had trouble breathing. Today I am attempting the Bow Cycle workout and will hopefully be back up to speed by next week. The good news is that this week is a rest/easy week for me so I have less workouts than usual so I am not missing too many.

I also want o send out a huge congrats to TTL athlete Leana who PR'd her marathon last weekend by over 26 minutes! Outstanding!

Team TriLIfe Clothing has arrived

2009-01-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

I have not been on my blog much lately and still have many friend's blogs to catch up on. I have been very busy this week. With a bunch of new athlete meetings and setting those new athletes up, along with the planning for my spin classes that I teach (NOTE: Which I need music ideas for, so please email me ideas on songs for my class). I have also been training alot and hitting all my workouts. As you know, training is time. I won't say how many hours a week but, it is quite a few!

The new Team TriLife clothing arrived and looks great. My friend Leana who is so organized agreed to take some pictures of herself in the gear. I forgot to tell her I was going to post them on my blog too! Ha! Ha! WE also got new race tops and shorts which you will see. She looks great in it and we will all make an impact at races this year. This morning a few of us ran and we were all in our jackets. It makes you feel like a real team!

That is all for now. Training is going great and I'll update you later.

New Years

2009-01-02T18:33:00.000-08:00

On 2pm New Year's Eve day I headed out of the Shark Mountain parking lot with Josh and Alyssa. We were off the the Bryant Hut to meet Jeff and some other friend's who had been doing some backcountry skiing. We were on backcountry skis (which I was less than thrilled about but, my dislike for skiing outweighs my love for my husband). The 2 days of skiing were my workouts for those days although those who know me know I would have much rather been swimming, biking or running (or at least cross country skiing). Anyway, I sucked it up for Jeff as sometimes we have to remember to do things other than triathlon!

The first half of the 14km in flew by as there was quite a bit of downhill. When we reached a map at 7.5km in Josh pointed out the "Half-way Hut" on the map. I looked at my watch and it was 4pm. It said 16km to Assinaboine Pass. I started to panic. Alyssa assured me it was only another 7km but the map said otherwise; I was confused. We went another 3km and stopped for a bathroom break. I was not happy and was really starting to worry. As Josh was off at the bathroom I expressed my concern to Alyssa that we could be in trouble. Then Alyssa explained that the hut Josh pointed to and the hut we were going to were 2 different huts and that she was sure we only had another 4km to go. My mood completely changed. I was so relieved! We got back on the trail and after 2km my wonderful husband and his buddy Brad met us. Jeff took my heavy pack and we finally made it to the hut around 5:45pm.

We ate, drank and chatted until midnight. Most of us watching the clock to see how much longer we had to go. We popped the champagne I had carried in at midnight and then all went to bed. Yes, the boys were fairly tame this New Years. The next morning we had an amazing breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and coffee before we hit the trail. As soon as I put my boots on though I could feel how sore my shins were from the previous day. We got to the map point again so I knew we only had about 5.5km to go. This is where my shins jumped from a 4 on the pain scale to a 5 on the pain scale. Within 1km more it jumped to a 6 and then a 7 and then an 8. We still had 1km to go. I would so much rather have IT band pain from running or chamois pain from a long bike! This really hurt and it was from a sport I don't love. I got fairly grouchy and knew I would miss my bike or run the next day because of sore shins from those darn ski boots! I winced in pain and had to stop a fair bit over the last km. Alyssa and Shawna were so kind to stay and ski with me and sympathize with my pain.

In any event I made it back to the truck (whew! It was over!). Seriously though my husband appreciates my efforts to do his sports since I am so wrapped up in triathlon all of the time. Training can take many forms so if you need to make the effort to do things with your spouse or significant other, make sure you do that. I saw today and will get a brick in tomorrow. On Sunday Jeff and I will get a cross country ski in which is great training ,and a happy medium for a joint sport for us.

I hope everyone had a great 2008 and is looking forward to a wonderful 2009!

My very own Christmas break mini training camp

2008-12-30T09:49:00.000-08:00

What do triathletes do when they have extra time on their hands.......you guessed it, train harder! My parents didn't end up making it for Christmas so I had some extra time on my hands. I decided to take advantage of it and do some extra training. Please note though, I do not advocate up-ing your mileage too much, or bike 5 days in a row like I did. In fact I usually stress the importance of rest to my athletes. The past week I worked hard and will take today off completely to allow my body to catch up on some much needed rest. Here is a rundown of what I did last week:

Dec 23 - 1 hour run and a 1 hour bike
Dec 24 - 45 minute run on the track with an easy 1 hour spin
Dec 25 - 50 minute bike with hard intervals
Dec 26 - 3 hour brick (2 hours hard on the bike followed by a 1 hour easy run)
Dec 27 - 1:45 bike with Sara Gross and Chris Brown
Dec 28 - swim camp; 5000m
Dec 29 - swim camp; 4800m

My parents did finally make it on the 27th and we had a wonderful visit. They even put up with me after I came back from 2 hours of swimming on Sunday and Monday and was tired and cranky (gosh, my parents are patient and understanding people). When we visited my Grandma on Monday I sat on the couch and fell asleep! Mom didn't get mad she just said "let's get you home". I love that I have such supportive parents. They know my goals and are so encouraging and supportive of them. Although mom and dad would still be happy if I were to decide not to do Ironman. They came to World's in Vancouver this year and stood in the rain and nearly freezing temperatures to cheer me on but, think Ironman is a big feat for their "little girl". I have assured them that many other "little girls" have done this race and been just fine.

In other news, we finally got our new Team Trilife clothing! It looks fantastic and we will surely be seen at all the races this year. It is also really comfortable - very important!

Lastly, as of today it is just 8 months until Ironman Canada! If you are not racing it is a blast to come out and watch. Last year I watched and volunteered too for a couple of hours, and it truly was a rewarding experience.

You are never gonna believe what I did!

2008-12-22T20:28:00.000-08:00

Ha! Ha! The past few days have been a joke for training! I have been so busy trying to get ready for Christmas. been a little sick, enjoying being with friends and I guess just needed a little break from training hard. Let's see.... Friday I woke up and the cold I had been ignoring all week had finally hit me. I usually do speedwork on the track Friday mornings and I love the sessions. I had promised an athlete I would go and do a gait analysis on him, so I dragged myself to the track. I managed to do a bit of work and run a few laps and had to call it a day. Which also meant I was missing my swim. Saturday was not much better. I woke up still not feeling well and decided to miss my Saturday AM swim. By Saturday night I was feeling better and headed to the annual Cochrane Ironman party. A few drinks later, and it felt like I didn't have a cold at all. We watched the yearly video which Ken did a great job of and danced the night away. When it was finally time to go Susi and I ran to her car and then it happened. Bam! I went down on the ice. It didn't hurt at the time but, I sure can feel it now! The next day we suffered through a swim. Talk about punishment! We then went to spin and I had a flat. I decided it was a sign and went home to rest. Today I had a swim and run. Ang and Ken met me at the track to run and then we headed to the pool. Ken got in and Ang and I sat on the side for a few minutes. Until......we finally decided to hit the hot tub! I know! We did! We laughed and giggled as we could not believe we were skipping a workout. We usually swim in the mornings and now I know why. Well, I will take it easy for the next few days as my parents will be in town and enjoy the down time from training and hope to come back stronger after a break.

I need to figure out how to skip sleeping.......

2008-12-17T13:17:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I haven't blogged in almost 10 days. I would be giving all my blog friends heck if they went that long. The truth is I haven't enough hours in the day lately. Training is going great which is part of it. I am hitting all of my workouts (except when the Cochrane pool closed last Friday morning, so I missed one swim) and feeling great. My workouts are going so good. I am stronger on the bike than i have ever been, and faster in the water and on the track than ever before! I just hope this trend continues.

I have not gotten much Christmas shopping in however, and I am thankful malls are open late. I think I will have to go tonight after I teach cycling. I also have to do a bunch of grocery shopping, baking, and cleaning; as my folks are coming next Tuesday. I suppose I could miss a few workouts to get this all done but, I really don't like missing workouts. If I could just figure out how to add more hours into my day by avoiding sleeping, my problems would be solved! However, we endurance athletes need our sleep!

I also wanted to share what happened at cycling last night. I rushed from work to Bow Cycle for the TTL spin. I got there with only a few minutes to spare so I rushed as I threw my bike on the trainer, got dressed and went to get on my bike. Before I did though I realized I hadn't really eaten dinner and was hungry. There was no way I could make it through the workout without food. I usually have bars, gels, and other random food in my bag. I say usually because except for tonight, I do! I searched my bag several times for an energy bar or even a gel. Nothing! I did have M & M's but, I knew they wouldn't do the trick. But, that is all I had, so I grabbed a handful and headed to my bike. A few people asked what I was doing with a big handful of M &M's. "Dinner" (with a sigh) I said. At that moment, without hesitation, Frank quickly pulled out a bar from his Bento box. "Here you go, Richelle. I also have gels if you are still hungry after the bar". WOW! I was overwhelmed that he didn't even think about it. He just handed it over the second he heard I needed something. Thank-you Frank! I really would not have gotten through that workout on an empty stomach. It would have been my own fault but it is so nice to have great friends to bail you out when you need it. And for the record, his wife is just as nice and last night we made plans to trail run this summer!

And for the record, I do plan on putting on 2 - 3 pounds in the next week! Bring on the yummy Christmas-time food! Ha!

Training update

2008-12-07T19:37:00.001-08:00

I thought I better put in an update on my training for the past week. I did 4 bike workouts in a row! NOTE: THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED!

Monday - Ang and I ran for 1 hour and I taught Jill's evening cycling class at Tri It
Tuesday - I did a 45 minute speed work session on the treadmill and did the Bow Cycle cycling class
Wednesday - I swam in the morning and taught my usual Wednesday night cycling class at Tri It (which is starting to fill up for January session)
Thursday - Greg's cycling class; this was the first time I took Greg's class and I really liked it despite the few profanities muttered under my breath that Leslie heard. My legs were really tired and I really had to mentally push to keep up. But, I loved it! And, I also picked up a few drills I am going to incorporate into my classes. Thank-you Greg!
Friday - off (had a long day at work)
Saturday - off. I am a SLACKER! OK, we all have missed days and I usually don't miss workouts.
Sunday - 1.5 hour run on the treadmill (I wanted to get this run done outside but the snow was just too deep).

And I am feeling great! Despite that I am upset about the missed training day.

Hey Jason.....better train hard so I don't cross that finish line before you.

Team TriLife news

2008-12-07T19:06:00.000-08:00

So many exciting things are going on with Team TriLife these days; I will give you some of the highlights.

- we are hosting an Aquathon (500m swim followed by a 5km run) in Cochrane, AB. We are currently working on securing it as the 2009 Provincial Championships! Registration will be available soon on the ATA (Alberta Triathlon Association) website.
- May Long Weekend Tri Camp in Radium. Angie and I wanted to host a camp that will accommodate not only Ironman athletes, but Half Ironman Athletes, and Olympic Distance athletes too. It is sure to be a great camp.
- Ironman Camp for 2009 has been moved to July 24 - 27. The switch is to accommodate those athletes wishing to do Ironman 70.3 Calgary on August 2nd.
- Nicole ran a great 10km last weekend at the Jingle Bell Run. Nicole is new to TTL and has some great running goals for 2009. During the run she met some other TTL athletes (thanks to our great clothing, and a very social Leslie).
- 2 more weeks of Bow Cycle spin classes. Although Angie is away this weekend, I will be leading this week. Remember on the 17th we will be heading out for a post-session celebration. We hope everyone can join us.
- We have a number of new athletes to TTL starting in January! Look forward to seeing some new faces and training partners for the new year.

That's all for now.

Train smart!

The new currency in Speed!

2008-12-01T12:20:00.000-08:00

Media Release – December 1, 2008

TRI IT MULTISPORT EXCLUSIVELY OFFERS THE ZOONIE – THE FIRST RACE DAY RUNNING SHOE THAT IS DISTINCTIVELY CANADIAN

33 000 000 Canadians- 600 pairs – 1 Store

Tri It Multisport in Calgary presents the Zoonie, a running shoe to honour all Canadian athletes and those who support them. The Zoonie is based on the2008 Zoot Ultra Race shoe. This ultra light, high performance, and innovative running shoe was immediately recognized in the spring of 2008 for its benefits to both runners and triathletes. Now Tri It presents its own unique version.

The Zoonie is a limited edition runner with a distinctively Canadian look. Tri It is the only store in Canada offering the Zoonie . Pre-orders for this shoe will be accepted beginning December 1 at Tri It and on its online store. The Zoonie will arrive on May 1, 2008.

Visit Tri It Multisport (2640 Parkdale Blvd. NW or www.tri-it.ca) to check out the Zoonie and many of our other fine products for the triathlete and the runner.

Tri It was recently voted the best store to shop in for triathlon apparel by the readers of Get Out There magazine.

Training

2008-11-27T16:34:00.000-08:00

Training has been going really well! Since last week I have done:

Friday: run speedwork and some strength work at the track followed by a 1 hour swim (I was very tired during the swim)
Saturday: 1 hour swim at the pool
Sunday: brick at the U of C - 1 hour bike followed by a 1/2 hour run, and strength work
Monday: rest day; I hated this day as I usually have a swim as my rest day. I was dying to get on my bike (or even my elliptical!) for just 1/2 hour but, I resisted. Seriously, what to non-triathletes do in their spare time!?
Tuesday: 45 minute treadmill run and a 1.5 hour bike at Bow Cycle
Wednesday: 1 hour swim and I taught a 1.5 hour bike at Tri It
Thursday: a 1 hour 15 minute bike followed by a 20 minute transition run - I made the mistake of wearing capri tights in -10 degrees, and got a crazy cold rash! I guess it is time to put away the capri's for awhile.

Other than that I am boring and have no new news to tell you but, I will have some exciting things next week!

Tri It now has a Blog!

2008-11-22T10:54:00.000-08:00

Tri It now has a blog! Keep up up-to-date on all the latest happenings at your favorite triathlon store. We will have race reports from sponsored athletes and staff, local race information, training and nutrition tips, special events, product information, and more!

Check us out at: www.blog.tri-it.ca

Like the Tasmanian Devil

2008-11-19T11:22:00.000-08:00

Is it the Tasmanian Devil off of "Loony Toons" that spins around in circles everywhere he goes? That is what I feel like these days! Don't get me wrong, life is good.....just really busy! I have to write down every thing I have to do because if I don't, I am onto the next thing and I forget what happened 5 minutes ago. I apologize to all my friends whose emails I have not returned and whose calls are still parked on voicemail. Please don't hate me; I am just really busy...Tasmanian Devil busy, actually!

On a side note, training is going great! My plantar faciitis is a tad sore but the bike is phenomenal and I had a breakthrough at swimming this morning. I was doing a set of 4 x 100's at the hardest pace I could go in the pool. I usually hit around 1:40 for this. I went on my first set and hit 1:34 (29 stroke count/lap). I couldn't believe I hit in the 1:30's. I was ecstatic! My friend Chris pointed out I was not pausing during my stroke and simply taking too many strokes. I agreed but I have always had a high stroke count. He gave me some quick pointers and I went again The sets ended up looking like this:
Set 1 - 1:34 (29 stroke count/lap)
Set 2 - 1:34 (22 stroke count/lap)
Set 3 - 1:34 (23 stroke count/lap)
Set 4 - 1:37 (23 stroke count/lap) - with a pullbuoy
I am on cloud nine and I feel like something clicked in the water today. I know I can replicate this again as I get it now.

Ok, back to whirling around I go.

Changes

2008-11-13T18:20:00.001-08:00

How things change. I have decided that I am no longer going to do Ironman Australia. I have put my pride aside (of the fact that I have told so many people I am doing it) and listened to my wonderful coach and a few other people who I respect greatly such as Greg Bradly. Ironman is a big commitment and the chance of jeopardizing the rest of my season and burning myself out just wasn't worth it. And spending 6 hours by myself in my basement on my trainer! It is the right decision but, I am hoping to still go to Australia and do an Olympic distance race on the Gold Coast (no, not Age Group World's; although I did qualify!).

Another change is that I am now coaching a drop-in spin session on Wednesday nights at Tri It. Not everyone can commit to a weekly spin session and this gives people the opportunity to try out a spin class or sneak one in when they can.

That is about it for now. Maybe more changes to come.... guess you will have to check back!

WETSUIT FOR SALE

2008-11-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

Women’s 2007 Helix

Used 1 triathlon season

Women’s small (WS)
** size will fit a variety of sizes, from 105lbs - 135lbs

Price: $250

Let me know if you need more details, or would like to try it out: richelle@triathlete.com

Lesson Learned

2008-11-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

When your coach tells you not to add workouts.....you should listen! I have been feeling good and chomping at the bit to do more than my wonderful coach has scheduled lately. Part of it could be that I don't know what to do with myself when I only have 1 workout in a day. So, this week almost daily I added either a bike or a run. Nothing too long really - just short workouts but adding workouts. I woke up today feeling tired. I had a brick to get done. I suffered through the bike and could not give my pedals the power that I should have. Secondly, my darn heart rate would not get to where it was supposed to! I tried but I was just too tired. I got off my bike and headed outside to get my run in. I wanted to run just 15 minutes but had to get through 45 minutes! I suffered but tried not to let it show....until... the last 20 minutes. For one all I could think about was coffee, eggs and toast, and two, I was tired! I even walked up a "hill" (it was actually more of a bump). I made my way back home and finished. For the rest of the day I have been dragging. I do know if I hadn't tried to be a rock star and ignore my coach I would be fine. Lesson learned! I plan to sleep in tomorrow and only do the workout on my calendar.