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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

ITU Aquathlon World Championships - Auckland

Auckland, New Zealand


One the best parts of being a triathlete is having the opportunity to travel to amazing places to compete in races, then taking time afterward to do some exploring.  Last year I got to see Beijing, China, which is a place that I likely never would have visited were it not for the opportunity to compete there at ITU World Championships.  This year, I got to go to New Zealand and had the trip of a lifetime!
Walking in the parade of nations
The atmosphere at the World Championships is like no other race I've ever done.  You walk in the parade of nations, surrounded by your teammates, and athletes from all over the world.  People line the streets just to watch to you pass by and cheer and wave!  You may even get the opportunity to meet some of your favorite professional athletes.  I got to meet Jonathon Brownlee.  Watching one of the U23 races, he rode up on his bike and hung out for about half an hour cheering for team GB.  He told us all about Alistair having to get his appendix taken out before his trip to Brazil (awesome!)
me, Jonathon Brownlee, and Charles
Last year Chris "Macca" McCormack came the same after party I was attending and we had a beer together.  

SO, the race!  This year I opted out of bringing along a bike and competed only in the Aquathlon.  It was a 1000 meter swim and 5k run. The water in Auckland Bay was the coldest I have ever swam in, about 55 degrees, and only my second salt water swim.  It was tricky course as the tides changed the direction of the currents depending on your time of day.  At 2pm for my race, there was a strong current into the wharf.  SO swimming out was difficult, and at the end of wharf, the water was extremely choppy from the high waves.  

Of course that means the water pushed you into the finish, so the swim into the platform was quick!  My swim was only okay.  I think I swim much better without my wetsuit, but clearly can't skip that in 55 degree water!!  I came out of the water in 27th position.  
swim start in Auckland
The run was a completely flat course, with strong wind drafts near the water.  I had a great run despite pulling my calf with a mile and half to go.  (I pulled it 10 days before the race in Atlanta and had been nursing it - it got the job done as best it could).  I posted the 10th fastest run time in my AG moving up to 21st place.    Charles' wave started 30 minutes before mine and he was nearly finished before I started the swim.  I was thrilled to see him when I exited the water and started on my run. He placed 13th in his AG at his 4th World Championships.
Me and Charles, after the race

Cheering on my fellow Team USA members
Last year on the 13 hour flight to Beijing, Analise and I sat next to Geoffrey Kennedy, one of Team USA's paratriathlete competitors.  I was thrilled to see him again this year!  If you are need of some inspiration, I recommend going to watch the Paratriathlon races.  These athletes have the most incredible stories and overcome unbelievable obstacles to be here.

Geoffrey, Bronze medal winner for the USA

After the race I spent 2 weeks traveling all over New Zealand.  It was fantastic to see people everywhere we went wearing gear from the World Championships to identify them as other athletes doing the same thing.  We ran in to athletes from Canada, the Netherlands, Great Britain  etc. all easily identifiable with the same ITU hoody I was wearing!


kayaking to the Tasman Sea

Kayaking in the Milford Sound



Sunset on the beach near Dunedin

Lake Marian

The Blue pools

En route to the Milford Sound - near Lord of The Rings filming locations

playing with the Kea's

Scenic view on our drive 

on the way to the Milford Sound in the fog

At the Champagne pool (my photo contest entry photo for the Enterprise!) 


And so, my 2012 season has come to an end.

Looking ahead at 2013 I only have a few races picked so far.  First, the New Orleans Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon, The USAT National Championsips (of course!), and the ITU World Championships in London in both the Aquathlon and Sprint Distance events.  .

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Lake Lanier Island Sprint, what do you do when your race plan falls apart?

I wrote this blog before I left for New Zealand and forgot to hit to 'publish' button.  So here it is now and stay tuned for the race story of the world championships coming up later in the week....

The Lake Lanier Sprint was my last scheduled triathlon for the season, and the last race I planned to do before the World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand.  In addition to that, I would get to do this race with my awesome roommate Olivia, who would be experiencing her first triathlon.  So I had a lot of reasons for wanting to do this race.  It's a short one - 400m swim, 12 mile bike, 5k run, on a course I know well, and placed 5th overall on last year.  But, what I didn't anticipate was coming down with a viral upper respiratory infection 5 days before the race.

 What started as a slight sore throat - grew into a raging sickness that had me completely out of training for the next 3 days.  Though my sore throat began to get better, other symptoms began to add up, coughing up a thick fluid from my lungs, congestion, fever.  With the race looming, 2 days out I went for a 3 mile run and barely held 9:30/mile pace.  One day away, I rode the bike and run course (about an hour on the bike -easy) with Lauren Lacey, and squeezed in an easy 20 minutes of swimming.



Race eve, I had completely lost my voice and my cough was continually getting worse.  I went to bed not knowing what to expect in the morning.  And when I did wake up, it was clear I was worse than the night before, my cough was productive, my throat burning, I had no voice.  A shot of Tylenol cold and flu, an allergy pill, some Mucinex, and we were in the car heading to Lake Lanier.

The thought in my head, "How am I going to race like this?" but then, I really just want to be here for Olivia, and for Lauren, worst case I could drop out if I'm really struggling.  So at this point, there's no race plan, it's just see what my body can do like this.

Running with my inhaler as a precaution due to my struggling lungs.

Trust your training.  Trust your coach.  

Swim - I'm lining up in the water and cannot believe I'm about to get in it.  Lauren and Olivia are already in the water.  3... 2... 1... Go.  And I find myself pulling away from the pack.  Is this really happening?  I'm the 7th or 8th person out of the water.  Most of them, I pass in transition and head out on the bike in 3rd AG.  I'm coughing.  I feel terrible.  Dig deep.

The bike - I'm coughing, but holding a steady pace, I see Olivia and squeak out some support with what little voice I can find.  To add a little excitement, as I was coming into the last three miles on the bike, there is a turn where we have to cross and intersection.  For some reason the police allowed a car to pull out in front of me and nearly struck me, forcing to slam on my breaks and nearly crash.  A race official nearby on a motorcycle came to check on me and be sure I was ok and told me the police should not have let the car through.  Never a dull moment!  I hold my place on the bike and transition quickly to the run.  RUN - I'm forgetting I'm sick now, and tear through the next three miles, working my way up the pack and into 3rd overall.    Unbelievable.  I had a fantastic race and finished in 3rd overall.  Soon after, the sickness took over me again and I couldn't speak for the next few days.  I was sick for the next two weeks.


At the awards ceremony

Olivia did amazing in her first triathlon.  She was one of the first girls out of the water with an incredibly strong swim.  She muscled through the bike and the run into 13th place in her age group.  An incredible natural talent, I can't wait to see what she does next season.  She had a small set back as well, having to unexpectedly get her wisdom teeth out 2 weeks before the race.  (Look for a blog from Olivia on her first race experience - coming up!)


I love how these two photos capture Olivia in the run section of the course and leaving the water to transition in the same moment of her stride!!

Olivia killing it on the bike!

Lastly, I can't forget to mention my crazy teammate and training buddy Lauren.  As coach Dan put it "Peas in a pod, and trouble!"   Lauren ran to a second place AG finish, with a time 6 minutes faster than the winning time in her AG the previous year.  Tough field out there!  The crazy part, she did it with a stress fracture in her foot.  Yup, crazy.  So probably neither of us should have been racing, but you can never predict what a day will bring.  It was Lauren's fastest 5k to date.

Lauren (right) coming in after the swim next two Megan D. (race winner and ranked #1 AG in the Southeast region)  then, Lauren on the bike.  

Lauren on the run with her broken foot. 

And, two Team EC athletes, shining up the podium despite our illnesses.  
Not to say I would recommend anyone racing while as sick as I was, OR with a broken foot.  But this race showed me I can race under most circumstances.  And the you have to trust your training, my body was prepared for it despite the virus.  Thanks coach ;) 

And now, off the World Championships!!!  Here I come New Zealand!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Monique's caught the triathlon bug!

I think, as athletes we all have someone in our lives who inspired us to go for that first run, get in the water for the first time and swim, or whatever sport it may be.  For me, my dear friend Karen Cramer was the one who suggested I try a triathlon.  And after watching her at two races, I was determined to try one myself.  I am still grateful to her to helping me find this sport that I have truly fallen in love with.  She still kicks my butt in the swim too! (Congrats on her first place finish this weekend at the Swim For Your Life race here in Atlanta)!!

The more triathletes I meet, the more incredible the stories I hear about people coming into the sport or continuing on in it after, a horrible car accident (Coach Josh S), a terrible bike crash (Dannie), even cancer (Brittany).  Triathletes are resilient people!  Which is why I wanted to tell you all about my friend Monique.  She's someone I like to think I had a little bit to do with getting started in the sport  ;)  Check out how far she's come.
- Laura 


Monique and her new bike!
From Monique:"In 2002 I was in a car accident that shattered my collar bone and busted my right hip. I was attending Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine on St. Kitts Island at the time. I had to take months off school, and it took forever to even be able to get out of bed by myself. If it weren’t for the extensive support of the university and my classmates I may have had to stop attending vet school all together! The doc said I had permanent bursitis and nothing could be done; I wouldn’t be able to run again. My hip hurt intermittently for several years, but in the spring of 2011 the pain lasted for months. I got it checked again, and come to find out, there was no damage to the joint at all! The orthopedist recommended an evaluation by a PT, where I discovered I had scar tissue in my piriformis muscle, and with certain stretches and strengthening exercises I could easily control the pain.


Monique at a 5k with her son, Liam
 Right around then my son told me that he “knew I wasn’t old because I wasn’t fat!” It made me realize that though I loved growing up in New Orleans we’re not exactly known for our healthy lifestyle! Less than a week later I was on a plane to Saranac Lake, and I happened to sit next to a guy reading Born to Run which he highly recommended. I also got my hands on I’m Here to Win by Chris McCormack. While I’m not sold on bare-foot running, what I learned was these people were getting Better as they got older!  Macca even won Kona when he was older than me! I had no idea this was possible. In Saranac Lake we got to watch [Laura] win at Lake Placid, I walked over 40 miles on the Bench Tour, and all this along with Nic becoming such a healthy influence in my life really inspired me to make some life-changing decisions.




After believing that I couldn’t do it for over 7 freaking years, I started running on 14 August 2011. I had a lot to prove; I was 33-years-old and just starting to learn how to be beautiful and strong and independent, about what I could accomplish as a single professional mother working 2 jobs, and how to teach my son to live a healthy lifestyle. I ditched cable and fast food and learned(ish) how to cook. I would lap the 0.45 mile loop around my house to get my running in. The local running store Geaux Run was VITAL in my training, it was so important to get correctly-fitting shoes and the wealth of information and support I got (and still get!) from them was invaluable. A couple of months later, at 7 AM the morning after some extensive birthday partying, I decided that I was going to run my first race. There just so happened to be a 5K that morning at 8:30. I woke up a bewildered friend to meet me at the race and watch my kid, registered 10 minutes before the start, ran it exhausted and dehydrated, then rushed off to work after crossing the finish line. Come to find out, I placed 3rd in my age group! That was an incredible stroke of luck because it was my slowest race ever and I haven’t reached the podium since then, but also that’s when I got hooked.



Monique at the New Orleans Rock n' Roll Half Marathon 

In March this year, I was training for the Crescent City Classic, and my long run was up to 10 miles when I learned about the New Orleans Rock-n-Roll marathon/half marathon in 10 days. Somehow I got it in my head that this half marathon was Mine, something I wanted all on my own with no help from anyone. So I ran it! I would’ve done better if I had actually trained for it, but it was incredibly fun and I was stoked. [Run time = 2:16:17]


Post race with Nick and Liam
Not 2 weeks later one of my dearest friends from college Jenny underwent multiple heart surgeries for a congenital anomaly. I was scared she was going to die - the last time I had seen her she was on oxygen because the drugs weren’t working anymore - but instead she got better! She improved so much she started spinning classes to keep her heart healthy. Jenny’s crazy amazing and a supermom, and she somehow conned me with her persistence into being interested in biking too. I wanted to go even Faster; and cross training helps my fitness even when I can’t run, so I finally got a bike and I Love it! Then I realized I could swim at the ULL pool for free. Having 
[Laura's] blog and watching several other of my friends find time to progress in triathlons really inspired me to be part of that too. It’s amazing to see how successful you are all the while excelling in school, getting multiple degrees, and teaching! The final straw was finding out about “The Big Cajun,” an Olympic distance triathlon taking place on my 35th birthday; to me it would be a great symbol of how far I’ve come since my first 5K that would be exactly 1 year prior. I have a lot of work before I’m ready, but I think I can do it! I Could be watching TV, or playing video games, or out partying, or whatever, but that would get me nowhere fast. This is something I can improve on over the next few decades.




I’m in love with racing; it’s my way of dealing with the incredible amount of stress in my life. I’m not as fast as I’d like to be but I improve all the time, and the changes to my lifestyle that I’ve made to become faster have all been positive. My 5-year-old now already makes incredibly healthy decisions about his eating habits and stays very active. The hardest thing, of course, is finding time to balance it all. Maintaining strong relationships with the people important to me is my top priority, especially my son and Nic, so in order not to lose any quality time I start with the time I have with them and work around that. I make sure I don’t sit too much at work, I stand up at my computer, and I do a lot of drills and stretching in my office since I can’t get a lot of practice in some days. Maybe it looks silly to my coworkers but I honestly don’t care; it’s such a small sacrifice to maintain that important healthy balance in my life!"





Since then, Monique has now competed in 3 triathlons! 

Tour de Scott - 300m swim, 13 mile bike, 5k run - 2nd AG!!

300m swim 7:07.1 - started in the Rain, lightning all around but not actually ON us, and it was dark, and my goggles are mirrored so I couldn't see anything I just had to rely on everyone in front of me to go in the right direction. I got so scared I actually stopped a bit. I thought about quitting, but wtf you can't quit in the middle of the damn pond so I had to keep going. I honestly swore that I would never do this again, which my immediate next thought was that just having that "never do this again" thought means that I'd probably become addicted. Ugh. Finally reached the shore - in front of people none the less! I have no idea how that happened. Whew!  Holy Hell how am I going to bike after this???
Ready for her first open water swim!
13M bike 16.1mph 48:30.3 - this started on an overpass, not even a little bit of flat road in front of it. Please remember I'm from Louisiana; there's NO way to train for hills unless you're in a parking garage or something. And it was windy and rainy....AAAAHHHH!!! I've been averaging about 18 mph, I have SO much more training to go on the bike I suck, but I didn't do it this time. I knew I wasn't pushing as hard as I usually do, but I was already crazy tired (maybe I didn't eat enough beforehand?) Anyway, it wasn't a terrible time compared to the other girls, about the middle of the pack.
5K run 9:14/M 28:38.0 - I was tired. It hurt. And it started again immediately on that same overpass and I almost walked but couldn't quite bring myself to do it. That's all I really remember about it, just being freaking tired and remembering that no matter what running off the bike always feels sucky so might as well go fast. My second best 5K race time (next to the Turkey Trot) but I've been doing much better than that training lately.


Games of Acadiana Triathlon - 200y swim, 8 mile bike, 2 mile run - 1st AG!!


CajunMan - 800m swim, 21 mile bike, 5k run - 7th AG!

I was incredibly scared to race open water again and I wasn't looking forward to it; my only goal in the water was to not freak out like last time. However, a little over half way through it I realized I Wasn't freaking out, even though I was still getting pushed down and kicked in the chest etc etc. I have NO idea what changed. But I just decided that I could totally kick ass and passed a lot of people from then on. My time was 20:36.3 (41:12/M.) Even though my total swim time was slow, now I can't wait until the next one because I think it's going to go really well! My bike time was horrible compared to the other women, but I kept a pace of 16.7mph for 21.3 miles. This is Fantastic for me, because not even two months prior my first time trial was only 10 miles and I was at 16mph. And my run rocked too; I beat my 5K PR by almost 2 minutes - 27:18.5 (8:48/M.) I can't wait to run a straight up 5K to see how much better I am - I was really disappointed in them for a while!

Also, this race I finally had my transitions timed: T1 I was 1st AG, 2nd OA by less than a second, and T2 was 2nd AG 5th OA (I struggled with my race belt.) If my transitions weren't so good there's a chance the next girl would have beaten me, so I'm glad I worked on them so hard! And even though I didn't get anywhere near placing, for me this was my biggest personal racing accomplishment to date!


Gold medal winner !
Her next race is "The Big Cajun," an Olympic distance event on October 23rd.  Go get 'em Monique!!

Friday, September 14, 2012

John Tanner Triathlon 2 - A 'Tri the Parks" Series Race

Another solid race in the books!  This race was a lot of fun!  Now that my A-race is beyond me and my season is winding down, I'm trying not to take it so seriously and just have a good time out there.  Coach Dan was off competing in the 70.3 World Championships in Las Vegas, so I got to drive EC1!  Our team had a fantastic showing at the race with 15 EC and Team Cadence athletes on the course.
On the hood of EC1 - thanks to our sponsor - Subaru of Atlanta
Every race has a story behind it.  This one for me was proof that you really don't need to sleep the night before racing!  Mishap after mishap kept me out of bed til nearly 2:30 in the morning the night before this one.  Rolling out of bed at 4:30am so I could be at the race site with EC1 by 6am wasn't easy.  I drove to John Tanner Park in a daze.  
Exiting the water
This was a 600m swim, 14 mile bike, and 5k run course.  My favorite kind of sprint.  With so many friends around I was able to shrug off the exhaustion and dig deep for a strong race.  I felt so much better on the swim this week than in the past few races I've done.  Two girls took out the swim strong and quickly pulled away, but a pack of  about 6 of us all tackled the course together and came out of the water side by side in about 12 mins.  Two people in that pack w me were Yvonne B, and teammate Amanda P.  Amanda and I were only 1 second apart and went into T1 together.

T1 - 30 seconds - 2nd fastest, with Team EC coach, Martha Hall, nudging me by 1 second.  



My bike split suffered.  I just felt... tired... out there.  Not necessarily because of the lack of sleep, but my body, my muscles, just felt tired and I struggled to push myself like I have earlier in the season.  I was able to hold my position for the most part but did watch Christine Grant, who beat me at nationals by over 2 minutes, fly past me on the course - making up the over a minute advantage I had on her from the swim.

T2 - 28 seconds.  Fastest womens T2.

Finally, the run.  I had a solid run and caught quite a few ladies in front of me from the bike portion.  My run time of 21:11 was the second fastest of the day beaten only by (ARCH RIVAL) Yvonne Bedell (just kidding!!), who I will see at the World Championships in New Zealand next month, you go girl!  I also managed to catch up to Christine and pull away by a few seconds.  We finished 5th and 6th overall, and I took FIRST in my Age group by an almost 4 minute margin, and Christine taking FIRST in the masters division. 

Gold medal AG win
 I have to give props to all the other athletes out there that made this race a success for Tri the Parks, Team Endurance Concepts, Team Cadence, and friends of the teams.

Amanda, Ashley, and Brittany

Amanda finished strong right behind me - in 3rd place in our 30-34 AG, love being on the podium with that girl, with Team EC taking 2 of the top 3 spots.  Ashley B (Team EC) was the overall winner in the aquabike category in the biggest field we have seen at these races yet!   Brittany B. took first place in the 25-29 AG.  

Christine, Yvonne, and Rob

Christine G., who smoked me on the bike, was the masters OA winner, finishing hot on my heels, Yvonne (Team All3Sports), was the 2nd OA finisher, Rob R (Dynamo Masters Swimming) was the 2nd OA male finisher, right behind my Cadence teammate Thomas Pilliod.

Lane, Eddie, and Jason

Lane Nichols captured 2nd in the Clydesdale Category,  Eddie Ferguson was 1st in Male 30-34, and Jason I. was 9th in his AG for Team EC - Jason has lost 30 pounds since I met him last year - amazing work out there!  

Lauren, Mike, and Thomas

Lauren Lacey made her triathlon debut!  Coming out of the water in 2nd place and finishing first in the W20-24 AG, Mike Johnson (Team EC) was first in his AG for the Duathlon, and last but not least, Thomas Pilliod, was overall Male.

I apologize to anyone I have forgotten or couldn't find pics of!  Thanks to all of you for making it such a good time.  Specially Thomas for bringing the keg for after race celebrations, woohoo!!!

Aquathlon World Championships are just over a month away... looking at you October 17th!