RR – Kevin Wright’s 2:25 at the Houston Marathon 2022

Training and Pre-Race

My friend Tristan and I both had less than satisfying results at Ironman Wisconsin in September 2021, and I was still on the road trip home to VA when he identified the Houston marathon as a possible target for the next A race attempt. With a special October edition of a twice-postponed Boston marathon directly in front of me, I thought it would be a sound approach to treat Boston as an interim race to re-baseline my open marathon fitness, with the balance of 3 months or so to build from there to Houston.

Boston presented me with a low pressure, not much to lose kind of opportunity as there were only a few weeks to recover after IMWI. Coach Shelly and I decided to go against my usual negative split race plan and instead experiment with a controlled fade, aggressive race strategy. Despite coming off an Ironman the month prior, I felt fairly confident I could better my marathon PR of 2:38 from Chicago 2018. With three years of intervening training and racing, I just had no idea really by how much.

I blasted out of Hopkinton on race day and cruised to a 1:13:25 split for my first half, recording a 2+ minute PR for that distance in the process. I knew it would be a challenge to hold together through the Newton hill series, but having so much time in the bank I figured I could just go into damage control mode when necessary and still run a sizable PR. I didn’t fully hit the wall, but certainly started to give some time back and ran a few miles that were above 6:00 pace as I soldiered on to the finish. Not a pretty way to run a 2:32 marathon, but it was nearly a 7 minute PR in the end! It felt amazing to push my absolute limits and survive without completely bonking.

The success in Boston, coupled with the encouragement of fall weather and an abundance of training partners created a deep well of motivation for me to train harder than ever before. Never in my almost 20 years of structured run training have I averaged anywhere close to the 74 miles per week I put in for this 11 week block. In retrospect I think the attention to higher volume while retaining a healthy dose of threshold/marathon pace training paid me large dividends. Coach Shelly dialed up some of the tried and true workouts including a race simulator 3 weeks out in which I held goal marathon pace of 5:37 for 13 miles. Completing that effort solo, without tapering, on the uneven surface of the C&O canal towpath in regular training shoes gave me a nice psychological boost.

This increased volume and intensity correlates to higher risk of injury and burnout of course, so not only was I training more than ever- I was more diligent than ever about recovery protocols. Sleep is number 1, full stop. But doing a lot of little things in the margins: prehab exercises, massage gun/foam rolling, yoga, core work, strength training, etc; can add up to a big impact as well. It is hard to quantify but I do firmly believe the weekly attention to these items contributed to my performance also.

Race Day

My visualization for this race did not include the frenetic start that comes with a combined half and full marathon start in a big race. On the plus side, I found myself in a massive pack to tuck into for the first 8 miles after things settled down.

The very top end of the range in my race plan said 2:25 (5:35 mile pace), and that assumed about as perfect as I could envision the day going. Unlike Boston, I wanted to make sure I gave good effort in the early sections but under control and ideally drafting into a group. I clicked off some splits in the 5:20s within the first 10k that scared me a little, so I forced myself to actively slow at times.

At mile 8 where the courses divide, I thought to myself “now we see who is for real” and all but 2 guys way in front of me went left with the half marathon course! LOL. Luckily this shock and loneliness was short lived, as not more than half a mile later I heard a smattering of footsteps behind me. This turned out to be the most pivotal point in the day. A previous version of myself may have let this pack of guys go, thinking I should race within myself. But with my experience and fitness now, I was ready to sit in with them and at least test out the pace to see if I could hang. The pack turned out to be a godsend, as the group of 10 or so of us held 5:30ish for the next 10 miles and worked hard together. It was amazing to run with so many quality runners, all of us really going for it. It seemed as we had unspoken agreements to help each other and rotate time at the front, etc without many actual words being said.

We came through the half in 1:12:57 on my watch, netting a new PR for me and my first time under 1:13. In my race plan, this was right on or slightly faster than I had hoped to be. Despite holding my own within the pack of runners, some doubting thoughts did cross my mind. Did I take it out too fast with them? This feels way too early for lactic to build up, right? Shut up legs, ignore that hamstring twinge! At times I would drop towards the back of the group, but never off the back. Each time, I was able to recenter myself mentally and get back into it. Conversely, there were times I would naturally end up at the front, leading for a mile here or there feeling like it was going to be my day. From this marathon and previous successful races- this mental pendulum means you are pushing the limit. We must flirt with that limit in order to get the most out of ourselves.

Houston has a well-devised and fast course; however, it is not without many right angle turns and even a U-turn near mile 13! Between these turns and coming through aid stations, the pace group would break up a little and reform tightly not long after. After one such turn near mile 18, it appeared there were some that could not make it back into formation. Quite suddenly I found myself in a much smaller cohort of 4. Two of these runners in particular I had pegged as noticeably stronger earlier on- based on their form, breathing, and smoother movements within the pack. As we got into the last 10k I felt the pace quicken to the low 5:20s and strung us out into a single file line. Unfortunately, I did not feel I had the extra gears to go with these three. I never stopped working, but dropped back slightly to resume a pace that was in the 5:30s. In doing the math I knew I was in for a big PR if I just. kept. moving.

The final 5k was tough, as always. I went through all the mental cues I could think of, at one stretch heeding the advice of a spectator yelling at me to “just breathe man!” Mile 25 saw my slowest split on the day, feeling like I had cinder block shoes on. Didn’t matter, I could smell the end from there! When I hit the mile 26 mark, I realized my finish would be very close to sub 2:26 but would require whatever kick I could muster. It seems an arbitrary time milestone but, in those moments, we need any form of motivation we can latch on to. I was ecstatic to see 2:25:58 and realize almost a dead even split as I was 1:12:57 for the first half and 1:13:01 in the second.

Post-Race

There are some races where you feel like you left some on the table, or decisions made that you would go back and change. This was not the case at Houston. For the fitness level I achieved in training and brought to the start line, I could not have asked for much more from this result. It has given me a huge amount of confidence that with even more (smart!) training blocks, faster times are still to come.

I learned and reaffirmed a lot about running, myself, and life over these past few months. The sport of distance running is an incredible teacher. Here are a few of the lessons I can relate:

  • Running for performance is inherently challenging. This is also why it is awesome.
  • Marathon success absolutely demands mental fortitude. Mental toughness is a discipline in and of itself, and must be practiced regularly to rely on come race day
  • Distance running also demands patience. This is a valuable and applicable trait to cultivate not just for the sport’s sake, but in an increasingly “gotta have it now” society as well
  • In the same vein- no great achievements come easy or happen overnight. But this also makes goal attainment that much more gratifying
  • In undertaking any activity or long-term project- proceed with passion. And remain vigilant on how your relationship to that thing changes over time
  • Associate yourself with people that are motivated and share a similar positive outlook; our support systems are everything in good times and bad
  • Teaching others and helping them reach their goals is as rewarding as hitting your own, if not more so

I feel tremendously lucky and grateful to be able to train and race the way I do. I could not be more excited to continue to push the envelope and create all the memories along the way.

December Installment of the Fiv3 Favorites!

Welcome to mid-December and the Fiv3 Favorites Newsletter. We hit an exciting milestone this month with the company’s five year anniversary. Thank you to all the athletes and teammates who have trusted in us since December 1st of 2016. Can’t wait for the next five years and beyond!

The full blown holiday season is here and we are looking forward to a break from the standard schedule to get some rest and relaxation. We are starting to get those meeting requests from athletes looking to lay out their 2022 racing campaigns as well as December was a record number of new athlete starts for our little company.

Here are some of our favorites in December:

DECEMBER FOCUS: THE TRIATHLON SPIRAL OF FITNESS. In the last few weeks we have heard a lot of pushback. Quite a few athletes are expressing that they are resistant to taking a break after their last race and have a somewhat desperate need to rush into 2022 fitness without a focus on recovery and rejuvenation. Some athletes speak of it feeling like their training is taking a backwards turn instead of progressing. Why more than usual? Well it could be pandemic related, or because so many basically trained for 2021 races from 2019 through to 2021 without a break.

Check out the graphic we made that’s our take on fitness year-by-year. Each year is a circle in the spiral where some of the year you are in the heading to the right towards your peak fitness and goal race(s) and the other part of the year feels like you are going backwards (towards the left). But, actually, your fitness is growing as the circle in a spiral grows.

You are, in fact, building your fitness “resume” and the ability to race when it matters, faster. Be ok with the seasonality of endurance sports. Depending on what expert you ask, you can only be at your “best race form” 1 to 2 times a year (for a total of 3-6 months). A break is also very important for your longevity in the sport. Don’t try to be there year round, it just doesn’t work.

DECEMBER COACHED ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT – Matt LoSchiavo. Matt started with Coach Shelly in April of 2020. Understanding that races were likely going to be a long way off, he settled in working super hard to get better at the Ironman distance. His 2021 races went quite well, with PR’s in the Olympic and Ironman distance (40 mins!) and basically tying his best at the 70.3 distance. But Matt has big goals in mind, and after a so-so performance at Ironman Wisconsin where he had wanted a bit more (even with a big PR), we pivoted to focus on shorter races to see how much we could get out of each one – had we really pushed the limits? Since then Matt has PR’d his 5k by 45 seconds, his 10k by 40 seconds and just recently his half marathon by 7 mins (1:20)!! Matt is a great example that the path to reaching your goals (how ever big they may be) isn’t always lightening fast or linear, but hard work keeps moving you towards them! We are pretty excited to see where Matt takes his racing in 2022 and beyond!

WORKOUT OF THE MONTH.

Building bike (1-2 hours):

20-40 minutes @40-60%FTP 20-40 minutes @55-75%FTP 20-40 minutes @70-90%FTP

This is a great workout on days where you aren’t sure how you are going to feel, as the %FTP ranges give you some leeway. It is also a good one for those people that struggle to start out easy enough. Lastly, it’s great for those that love a long warm-up. It can be done outside or on a trainer inside. The last segment can be pretty hard if you stick to the top of the ranges. Negative splitting is how we like to structure many of our workouts and our race thinking at Fiv3 Racing. This workout helps with learning to negative split.

PODCAST/YOUTUBE. Grn Mchn Multisports Interview with Kevin Wright.

This was a fun interview with Kevin talking about his start in endurance sports, his Ironman races early success and some discussion on Ultraman Florida that both Kevin and host Dan participated in 2018. Lots of good nuggets and Coach Shelly was also a surprise guest! You can watch it on YouTube:

Or in podcast form:

BOOK. Out of Thin Air: Running Wisdom and Magic from Above the Clouds in Ethiopia By Michael Crawley, reviewed by Coach Shelly.

Michael Crawley is a 2:20 marathoner and anthropologist who spent 15 months training alongside and living with Ethiopian runners to learn why they were so successful. Why do 6 of the top 10 fastest marathon times ever come from Ethiopian runners? This book was really interesting – and quite fascinating – as so much of their training and thinking is in opposition to what American endurance athletes do. The runners that the author encountered always run in groups, never solo. They run very close together in a pack, making sure to follow very closely the feet of the person in front while mimicking their stride. “Training is not an individualistic, survival-of-the-fittest pursuit, but rather a communal endeavour.” Another interesting part is how the athletes and coaches in Ethiopia are extremely aware of running locations. The athletes choose where to live based on the proximity to good places to run and often drive very far to run on a certain dirt road or mountain. They hardly ever run on asphalt, almost every run is on some sort of other road condition such as dirt or gravel. Lastly, they are very good at taking a long warmup before settling in to the work of the workout. All good things to consider when planning your run training.

That’s it for this month. Please respond to this email if you have any recommendations for things you want to hear about in future newsletters or if you have any comments or questions!

Which “Super Shoes” are the Fastest and More! The 1st Installment of the Fiv3 Favorites

Welcome to the Fiv3 Favorites Newsletter! Every month we will share 5 favorites, be it a focus, a book, a podcast, a workout, an insight, and/or a tip to help turn your goals into records!

November is one of our favorite times of the year. We are finishing up preparing a handful of athletes for their late season races, while the others are either deep in the rest and relaxation of downtime post race or are already deep in their off-season blocks creating a foundation for 2022 races. Here are some of the things we’ve been grooving on including our November focus, which “super shoes” are the fastest, a favorite swim drill and corresponding swim workout, a review of the fantastic 70.3 season of our athlete Jason Albanese, and Coach Shelly’s quick book review of a new favorite.

NOVEMBER FOCUS – OFF-SEASON TIMING & GOALS. Let’s first define what we mean by the off-season.

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The off-season is that block of your training after you’ve had a period of serious downtime. How much downtime you need is really up to where you are in your endurance career. If this is your first season of endurance sports, you may only need a week. If you have been pushing hard for several years – a longer break is probably needed. If you took much of 2021 off, less is needed. Also, when is the first goal race of your 2022 season? Earlier, then less break is ok. But, understand DOWNTIME AND AN OFF-SEASON ARE STILL NEEDED.

Some goals of the off-season include consistency, limiter improvement, return or increase of preventative exercise such as strength, yoga, cross-training and a build back up in volume. Also, during this block allow yourself a bit of a mental break, allowing you to catch up on family, work and life.

Let’s talk about those goals:

  • Consistency. Get some aerobic work in most days of the week. Note the word “aerobic”, unless you are specifically working on a limiter – this time should be mostly nice and easy.
  • Limiter Improvement. Work on weaknesses without the stress of an important race right around the corner. If you have a swim weakness, double down on your swim frequency. Go all in on one or two sports and make them better. We still have plenty of time to get that 3rd sport back. This could also be a period to work on raising your FTP or building up your run volume to prepare for a spring marathon.
  • Return or increase of preventative exercise such as strength, yoga or cross-training. Strength is often hard to fit into the race season. It’s often the first thing to get skipped. Let’s use this offseason to get strong (or get strong again). Cross-training such as yoga, hiking and other sports are also helpful to create variety in your fitness as well as it makes the athlete more of an all around athlete.
  • Build back up the volume. In the seasonality of endurance training, each block is preparing you for the next. While we are working on weaknesses, we are also slowly building up the volume to start to re-build the base of aerobic fitness.

PODCAST. Which new “super shoe” is the fastest? Dr Joubert conducted the “Super Shoe Study”, testing 12 runners using 7 carbon plated shoes and a control shoe (Asics Hyperspeed). The good news is the testing provided a pretty conclusive result of which shoes were the fastest (as measured by running economy at 16 km/hr on two separate visits). The top tier of run economy improvements came from the Nike Vaporfly and Alphafly, as well as the Asics Metaspeed (3.0%-2.5% improvement over the control), the middle tier came from the Saucony Endorphin Pro (1.5%), New Balance Fuel Cell RC Elite (1.4%) and not much improvement from the Brooks Hyperion Elite 2 and Hoka One One Rocket X. If you want to see the whole pre-printed study, here it is:

Our take: This is pretty interesting stuff, especially as it relates to Age Group triathletes and which shoes make sense to purchase, as the carbon plated shoes tend to have hefty price tags and do not last as long, as well as “could” be more risky from an injury standpoint. There is more to the equation than just speed, also including how you individually perform in them. I (Coach Shelly) personally have the Saucony Endorphin Pros as I have heard they are more durable (seems pretty good so far) and I tend to be a “delicate” runner so I wanted something not so risky. Follow Dr Joubert on instagram @labratrundown as he conducts more studies on which shoes best stand up to the speed improvement claims.

WORKOUT OF THE MONTH. We have two favorite swim drills at Fiv3 Racing and this workout helps you really get some serious practice with one: the 8-kicks-per-side-drill. This drill really helps you work on rotation – as my high school swim coach always said, “the fastest swimmers in the world swim on their sides”. Here is a link to a Instagram reel talking all about this drill: and here is the workout:

300 warm-up 6x [200: 50 8 kicks per side 50 5 kicks per side 50 3 kicks per side 50 swim focused on rotation @:30 rest 100: HARD Strong and relaxed, focused on good rotation @:45 rest] 300 pull focused on rotation and triggering rotation from the hips 200 cooldown

The dropping down in the 200s from 8 to 5 to 3 to no kicks per side really gets your rotation on point!

NOVEMBER COACHED ATHLETE HIGHLIGHT – JASON ALBANESE.

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Jason started with Coach Kim in the summer of 2017 after his first Ironman. He’s mostly been focused on the 70.3 distance steadily progressing to top 10 AG finisher, then to World Championships qualifier, to AG top 5 podium and most recently to winning his AG in an IM70.3! The last year was a banner one for Jason including:

1. Qualifying for the 70.3 WC through the Ironman VR series when there were no races happening. 2. At IM70.3 Eagleman he finished 3rd AG 3. At the IM70.3 WC in St George he finished in the top 10% of his AG 4. And at IM70.3 NC (pictured, Jason is all the way on the right) he won his AG!

Jason has a demanding job and is very active with his kids sports and activities so we’ve worked hard to emphasize quality workouts to maximize results. Congrats to Jason on an amazing season!

BOOK. “THE PRACTICE OF GROUNDEDNESS” By Brad Stulberg, reviewed by Coach Shelly. This book has actually taken longer to read than any other book I have read in a very long time. It was so good, including so many good nuggets/quotes/deep thoughts, that I would only read a page or two or three at a time, taking so many notes while I read. The purpose of the book is to share a healthier, more sustainable model for success built on staying grounded. Stulberg describes 6 principles of “Groundedness”:

  1. Accept where you are to get where you want to go.
  2. Be present so you can own your attention and energy.
  3. Be patient and you’ll get there faster.
  4. Embrace vulnerability to develop genuine strength and confidence.
  5. Build deep community.
  6. Move your body to ground your mind.

There is so much that is helpful to racing, training, productivity, confidence, etc. For our current coached athletes, we will be reading this book in December as part of our re-established off season book club (not mandatory but encouraged :)). As of this newsletter, the book is 40% off on Amazon if you have an interest in getting it!

That’s it for this month. Please respond to this email if you have any recommendations for things you want to hear about in future newsletters or if you have any comments or questions!

The Scoop on 2018 70.3 Worlds in South Africa

Last month I was lucky enough to race Ironman South Africa (Ironman African Championships). My Husband, Scott, is from South Africa and the location of the race was his hometown, Port Elizabeth (Nelson Mandela Bay). He and his brothers would even launch their inflatable boat (rubber duck is the South African term) on the same beach from where we would do the swim and transition. We were already going to be in South Africa for a family wedding 2 weekends prior so I decided to race with the many thanks to the family that supported all the logistics involved!

An added benefit is I would learn some useful information on the race that could help my athletes, friends and maybe even an internet visitor to this site racing 70.3 Worlds this year; as it’s at the same location as Ironman South Africa (IMSA).

Here is some of the scoop I learned on the course specifics, nutrition and logistics. It’s focused on travel from the US but many parts are applicable to traveling from other locations.

Course: 

Swim:

The swim is located at Kings Beach about 1 mile from the expo (The Boardwalk) and the location of the swim for IMSA (Hobie Beach). It is a rectangular swim. I recommend at least one practice swim to work on figuring out site lines etc. A big harbor with cranes is located off to the distance that may be useful for siting. It’s a protected bay but can be wavy. Some days the course was quite rough but other days almost flat ocean swimming. Prepare at home by practicing ocean swims and starting from the beach if you have the capability.

Bike:

The bike is slightly different than the Ironman course. The two biggest things I found were the roads are very rough as well as the potential for very high winds. Potholes weren’t the issue but just a really rough surface. Not as much an issue in a 70.3, but can tire the body more than a smooth course. The course itself is one of the most spectacular bike rides I can remember with tide pools, beach vistas and sand dunes. My Father-in-Law told me that Port Elizabeth is the second most windy city in the world to Chicago. Two days before our race the wind was whipping at more than 25mph sustained. It was crazy and luckily we didn’t have that wind on race day. The prevailing winds are easterly or westerly which can make for some fun headwinds on race day!

The biggest climb is right at the start of the ride, ~200 feet over about 7 miles. Nothing like the 2017 Chattanooga starting climb! There are some additional climbs near the turn around but much shorter and about 50-75 feet in climbing each. The rest of the course is flat to false flattish of ~1%ish with some long stretches of minor grades and some light rollers.

If you can before the race, drive the race course. I highly recommend if you do ride it you do the group ride that is in the athlete guide as especially in the first several miles you will be riding on roads with lots of traffic (watch out for the many taxi-vans!!). If you cannot do the group ride, I would recommend going out on beach towards Summerstand and on to Seaview (the second half of the course), and skipping the city part all together (the first part of the course).

Not to be forgotten, you drive on the left side of the road in South Africa! This is another reason to do a pre-race ride if you can to get acclimated to riding on the other side of the road!

Run:

The run is very similar to what we did at IMSA. It is pretty flat. And probably the most highly spectated race than I have ever done and includes cheerleaders! There are several sections where the people were several deep. The South Africans take their sport VERY seriously! Many are not triathletes but just fans of Sport. You will get many offers to join them for a beer while you are racing. So fun!

Cheerleaders!

There are two hills on the two loop course. Both are at the turnarounds. I recommend checking these out before race day. We did the second one during the Ironman and it was not steep at all! This course has about 1/3 the elevation gain of the hilly Chattanooga 70.3 Worlds course.

Nutrition (if you are not going to take race nutrition from the course skip ahead):

The race website doesn’t have nutrition information updated yet, but, the High5 rep at the Ironman expo told me High5 will be the drink provider on the course. https://highfive.co.uk/ 

High5 at the Expo.

You can’t really buy this nutrition in the US currently. We have used Probikekit based in England before (they typically have good prices) if you want tot try the nutrition beforehand: https://www.probikekit.com/brands/high5.list?search=high5 

The specific High5 drink is called Advanced Sports Drink Mix Energy Source (now apparently called Energy Drink). The flavor on both run and bike courses was Citrus. Nutritional information in South Africa is listed differently than in the US and can be a little confusing.

On the bike course it was passed out in these small bottles that were filled not all the way to the top. Each was filled with about 13 ounces.  On the run course High5 was in standard paper cups. Doing some conversions, I estimate that each ~13 ounce bottle has about 150 calories and 200mg of sodium.

Bike bottle and High5 on the course

Also, on the run course, the water is provided in sealed pouches of about 3-4 ounces. To open you just tear off a corner by biting the corner. They are actually quite convenient as you can carry it with you as you go. But watch at aid stations, they can become slippery on the ground!

Logistics:

Getting to South Africa:

Since I am from the Northern VA area, this is centered around leaving from Dulles or the East Coast.

The “quickest” way to get there is on South African Airways – “17 and change hours” to Johannesburg – but note there is a layover in West Africa where you don’t get off the plane and wait as people deplane and board. This layover is typically in the middle of the night. Not very pleasant.

Another option is to fly out of JFK on South African Airways or Atlanta on Delta. The flights are 15 hours and non-stop! There are also several options flying through Europe, UAE or Qatar, but the time to Johannesburg is going to be 4-10 hours longer. Going through Europe/Middle East also allows you to fly to Cape Town.

Then once in Johannesburg it’s another 2 or so hour flight. The race site is only a few miles from the Port Elizabeth Airport.

We carried my bike on our flights (we actually did 7 individual flights on the trip). I have a Ruster Sports Hen House bike box and it worked perfectly. On the domestic flights within the country we paid for the bike in advance. It worked out to about 25 US dollars (R300) per domestic flight which was mcuh cheaper than paying oversize and extra baggage weight fees. The bike was free as it was included in our baggage allotment on our flight from the US. Happily my bike made it on every flight on time!

6 people, 7 flights, 20 days, 6 pieces of luggage, bike box, stroller, car seat, 6 bookbags and no lost or delayed luggage – MIRACLE!

Hotels:

There are quite a few hotels along the run course. I am not sure how many still have availability but most seemed to be centered around the Boardwalk area where the expo is located. If you are unable to find available rooms near the Boardwalk, I would recommend looking towards the beach area of Summerstand over Humewood. Prettier, and felt safer.

We stayed at one of the Lodge properties and it was suitable and very convenient.

Race logistics:

I found racing in South Africa to be very organized. The race briefing was listed as mandatory and I am glad I went. They really explain everything that you need to hear and it’s much more complete than the ones in the US. You won’t get the Athlete guide as early as you want (only a few weeks before the race) but once you get it, I found it VERY helpful.

The race itself had more officials than I had ever seen at a race. Many more than a big US Ironman on the bike (better than Texas – HAH) but what was most different was the run. There were officials walking down the center of the course. I saw at least 10 different ones race day! For example, they were strictly enforcing the exposed chest rule on male athletes.

Tourist stuff:

Addo Elephant park was excellent! Highly recommend it, especially if you don’t have time to do another side trip in South Africa. Near the bike turnaround in Seaview is a predator park. Scott went on his last trip to South Africa and really enjoyed it.

That being said if you are traveling that far I highly recommend visiting some other parts of South Africa. This could be a post in itself but my favorites on this trip were Stellenbosch wine farms (great riding too!) and Cape Town.

Mulderbosch Wine Farm – also had the best pizza I have ever tasted.

One thing we didn’t have time to do this trip was a Safari or visiting a game reserve. There are private game reserves about 1-1.5 hours from Port Elizabeth, but they can be pricey ($300-600 per person per night). Large national parks such as Kruger are a 2-3 hour flight away.

Note: Whale watching season is in September and worth a trip to Hermanus or Plettenburg Bay.

Food/restaurants, groceries:

Food, restaurants, alcohol and groceries are VERY affordable in South Africa (hint hint one of the many reasons I loved the Stellenbosch wine farms). One of my favorite restaurants in Port Elizabeth is Something Good which is located in Summerstrand on the run course. Wimpy is an extremely affordable chain of diner like restaurants (perfect for pre-race and post-race breakfasts and there is one in the Boardwalk next to the expo). If you have kids with you on the trip you have to try out a Spur as most have a indoor play area staffed with a nanny and they have some level of “American” food such as steaks (they call them filets pronounced FILL-IT) and burgers.

Grocery stores were underwhelming. Many things we are used to they just don’t have. I never found a bagel or applesauce. But they had some other cool things like meat pies for breakfast! The nicest (and most expensive most of the time) grocery store is Woolworths.

Communications:

Unlock at least one phone in your traveling group with your phone carrier and purchase a sim card in any grocery store or gas station. You can get 2GB of data for the equivalent of 10 dollars.

Driving:

Don’t take African Taxi-buses. When returning rental cars really look over your receipt, they sometimes like to try and sneak over-charges.

Overview:

The trip to South Africa was just amazing. We had a fabulous time. Hopefully reading this blog helps with your planning to South Africa or helps you make a decision whether or not to take a slot. Email me at fiv3racing@gmail.com if you have any questions!

 

 

 

 

 

 

End of the Offseason, Wrap-up

Tomorrow starts the training for Ironman South Africa! Well actually today does, but I have today as a rest day. Back in the pool for the first time since September and on the bike for more than just fun rides.

The offseason was pretty productive this year. It was ~ 2 months long from my last race in late September until now. South Africa is April 15th so I have a solid 4.5 months to prepare. Some things that I accomplished on my offseason:

1. Lots of rest, no stressing on missed workouts (mostly accomplished) and a break from the trainer and the pool!

2. The run has always been my weakness so I took about a week off here (I believe in 2 weeks a year of time off from the run, typically in 2 one-week blocks). The first month or so was pretty inconsistent, but the last month I ran over 100 miles. My running was mostly base work with some what I like to call “micro-intervals” as given by Coach Liz, http://www.multisportmastery.com. I love these intervals – typically anywhere from :15 to 3:00, they are all about foot speed, run economy and keeping some level of fast running in the training without over taxing the body. I have found over the years that running feels mostly awful if I run less than 20 miles a week. Once over that threshold things are much more enjoyable.

3. Along with the run training I made a trip with my athlete Troy to the UVA Speed Clinic. This was a very useful trip as I learned that the issue with my running was something I hadn’t thought about at all! I know I have swimmers posture, something I have worked on all my life but Max taught me how to work on that in my running! I had been sticking my head/neck too far forward, which caused overstriding and issues I have been experiencing in my hamstrings/hips. With a simple cue of “neck back” my posture was suddenly better with very little muscle engagement and I have noticed I am using more of my posterior chain instead of just being a “quad runner”. This trip also motivated me to get back into yoga as it would help with my postural issues.  https://med.virginia.edu/speed-clinic/

UVA Speed Clinic
Learning my exercises

4. I also did 10 yoga sessions that were really helpful for strength, flexibility and mobility. And they were a great change of pace from swim, bike run. http://fiv3racing.com/news/index.php/2017/10/26/why-i-do-yoga-in-the-offseason/

5. Probably my biggest limiter other than time is weight. Especially post-baby that last 15 pounds has been sticking. I focused on no sugar, very limited grains, and limited dairy for 30 days and lost 6.5 pounds. I made some new habits – swapping rice with cauliflower rice, eating a banana instead of a granola bar, etc, that were quite helpful with the weight.

Now on to IMSA. I have some big personal goals. I figure if I write about them I will be more likely to make them a priority. So here goes:

  • PR the Ironman distance. I have done 4 Ironmans, 3 Lake Placids and one Louisville. Other than being hilly one Lake Placid was 4 weeks post broken collarbone, one was less than a year post-baby and the third is my PR when I put up the most training I have ever completed (12:14 in 2011). Louisville I was in great shape but I had a run injury (2012).
    Lake Placid 2011

    Lake Placid 2016
  • Get back to my race weight. 10 pounds to go!
  • Do the training necessary to compete. The last time I did training that I would find suitable to compete well at long course was in 2011/2012. I took 2013-2014 mostly off with IVF/trying to get pregnant and in 2015 I was pregnant with Bode. Since Bode I have averaged in season about 8 hours of training, will need to double that to be competitive. I focused my time on proper execution on limited training since 2015. Now it’s time to tie the execution to training load.
  • Write about the training every 1-2 weeks. I have learned so much from doing the sport myself. I love coaching races and training others, but there is something about making the sacrifices and doing the work that can’t be replicated watching others.
  • Balance family, work and training. When training put the focus on training, when not training put the focus on work or family. Multitasking only goes so far, productivity is the goal.
  • Find a masters program I really love. I really enjoy the social aspect of it, but I need to do a daytime masters program as mornings and evenings are mostly focused on Bode. I am going to try a lunchtime program 2x a week in January. Swimming is clearly my strength, but my best long course fitness came when I swam a lot.
  • Learn to love long rides on zwift/kickr and get outside when it’s cold but dry. This is going to be a challenge. The garage is setup with tv/plex/treadmill/kickr/trx etc so I really have no excuse.
  • Keep the running going. I’m happy where it is right now and hope with the 10 pound weight loss that it continues to go well.

Why I do Yoga in the Offseason

By Coach Shelly

There is something awesome about challenging myself on my yoga mat. I have found it to be a perfect complement to triathlon training in the off-season months. This is not the first year where I have been consumed by the balance that yoga provides in my training (and in my mind). If you have never tried yoga I suggest you try it out. You do not have to be an expert and pretty much every pose can be adjusted to a beginner or a more advanced level. I practice yoga at Down Dog Yoga in Virginia, www.downdogyoga.com. Here are some reasons I make yoga an important part of my off-season:

  1. Challenge. It keeps me interested in doing something active that is “different” than swim/bike/run. I am challenged by trying something new and seeing how I can improve each of the poses. When I do a pose much closer to correct (I’m not going to pretend that I do any perfectly) it’s a nice sense of accomplishment!
  2. Hip Flexibility. Yoga allows me to focus on hip flexibility and range of motion. This is a limiter, especially in my running. My hips are so tight. Yoga is a wonderful way to stretch and strengthen the hips. At Down Dog, we always end the practice with a few minutes in pigeon pose. Pigeon pose stretches the hip flexors and the hip rotators (glutes). It often feels great because I know how good it is for me, while at the same time feeling terrible, because it feels awkward. But afterwards my hips feel so much better.
  3. Focus. Hard poses require a lot of focus. This is an area that many of triathletes need to work on.. When something hurts and is not comfortable, it’s easy to stop the pose. Staying with it teaches good lessons in mental toughness.
  4. Core Strength. Core is the easy thing to forget to do during the triathlon season. It is also the thing that triathletes first drop from their training week. The off-season is a good time to reintroduce and recommit to core work. Yoga has been great to help work on my core, especially the lower back.
  5. Balance. I have a different amount of balance on each side of my body, that comes from a fall from 18 feet, which resulted in a leg break and a 1/2 inch leg length discrepancy. I am unable to properly fire the muscles in my left leg. This is the reason I manage to feel most of my aches/pains/injuries in my left leg. Yoga poses such as eagle and tree allow me to focus on firing my left leg muscles to allow staying upright during the pose. Hopefully focusing on this inequality will help to make my legs more symmetrical and end the feeling that I can run a marathon with my right leg while my left leg is done after 2 miles.
  6. Heat Acclimation. Down Dog yoga studios are heated to 90-95 degrees. There is also a nice humidifier. A 90 minute practice gets “juicy”. These classes will become more important for  acclimation for an early season warm weather race.
  7. Breath control. As a lifelong swimmer, I have a problem with holding my breath. In yoga I am much more aware of breathing as many of the poses are timed and controlled by the breath.
  8. Cleansing. Yoga just makes you feel better. If I have had a bad night sleep, or have a headache, I typically feel back to normal after class.
  9. Injury Prevention. The years I did yoga in the offseason I just felt better when the training got heavy. Less nagging injuries.

Of all the benefits I listed above, the most important, in my opinion, is how I just feel great after class. I have worked hard, had fun, worked on my limiters and did something active that is just different than the normal swim/bike/run.

2017 Ironman World Championships Fiv3 Athlete Preview!

We are excited for our four Fiv3 Racing athletes racing in Kona at the 2017 Ironman World Championships! Here is a little preview of who they are and how they got to the Big Island!

First up in the qualifying year was Coach Kevin Wright! He raced at Ironman Wisconsin and finished 2nd OA, 1st AG with a 9:14 and a 2:51 run split that was the fastest of the day! Next Ironman up he raced the South American Ironman Championships at Ironman Brazil and again finished 1st AG with a 8:53 and the fastest run split of the day with a 2:49! In fact, Kevin has won his AG and had the fastest amateur run split in each of his 4 non-Kona Ironmans (IMChattanooga ’14, IMLP ’15, IMWisconsin ’16, IMBrazil ’17).  We look for big things this year on the Big Island for Kevin as he’s no longer a rookie in Kona (previously raced IMWC ’15)!

Next up was Colonel (ret) Robert Toth! Rob retired from the USAF one week and the next week raced at Ironman Louisville. He had just finished up his first World Championships at the 70.3 Worlds in Australia and was ready to race really well in Louisville. He finished in 2nd AG with a 9:41! A 1 hour and 50 minute PR! Rob had a bit more of a challenging year this year with knee surgery and a move to Fort Worth Texas. He also raced the 70.3 World Championships in Chattanooga and we are excited to watch him race his first Kona!

Our next qualifier was Matt Gentile. Matt is an CEO Executive Challenge Athlete which has a different qualifying path than traditional Age Group qualification. His first Kona qualification was in 2016, Ironman Mont Tremblant with a quick turn around to Kona. This year he raced Ironman Lake Placid with a bit more time to get ready for Hawaii. This training year had its own set of challenges, with a bike crash and back injury prior to Lake Placid causing him to miss some key training and training camps. He raced really well at Lake Placid, winning his division and secured a slot for the second year in a row! There are 27 other XC athletes racing in Kona this year!

Our last Kona Qualifier for 2017 was Jason Davidson who qualified at Ironman Santa Rosa. He finished 3rd AG in a PR time of 9:43! He also had a PR marathon with a 3:15! This is Jason’s second Kona after qualifying in the crazy heat of IMCDA in 2015, where he ran himself from 20th or so place off the bike into 2nd place, including moving up 5 spots in the last 2 miles (never give up!!).  Jason has also qualified for the 70.3 Worlds a few times, racing in 2015 (Austria) and 2017 (Chattanooga).

We are really excited for our 4 athletes and can’t wait to track them from home and on the race course!

Day to Day Nutrition Lessons from Jesse Kropelnicki Reviewed by Coach Kim Baumgartner

As we approach the end of the season many athletes reflect on their season and either worry about gaining too much weight in the off-season, or regret never getting down to their “race weight” during the season.  Most athletes who have problems reaching their race weight goals fall into one of two categories:

  • They workout to justify calories instead of fueling for performance – leading to less than ideal food choices and improper workout fueling
  • They are not eating enough which is actually lowering their metabolism and causing their bodies to hold onto those fat stores.

I recently attended an advanced Triathlon Nutrition seminar by Jesse Kropelnicki in September.  The seminar focused on two different aspects of nutrition – day-to day nutrition and fueling strategies.  I wanted to share with you some perspectives on day-to-day nutrition to help you develop healthy eating habits to not only stay healthy and lean, but to boost immunity and help you perform better and recover from workouts better.

Like other “diets” such as Paleo, Whole 30 etc, Kropelnicki recommends focusing on eating “CORE” foods that humans have evolved on for millions of years: “Core” Refers to foods that are all natural, with nothing chemically altered or processed.  This helps keep blood sugar stable while delivering enough vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to speed recovery and boost performance.

CORE foods include: lean means fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, healthy oils, lean meats, legumes, and lean dairy while avoiding processed foods with higher glycemic indexes such as breads, pasta and sweets.  Essentially foods with high nutrient density for recovery between workouts and are low glycemic to help keep blood sugar stability throughout the day while not exercising.  These foods also stimulate recovery with protein and provide plenty of vitamin and minerals as well as antioxidants to help protect your cells from free radicals.    A few other tips from Kropelnicki include: Eating very frequently throughout the day with a maximum of 2-3 hours between feedings to help keep blood sugar stable and provide a constant supply of nutrients available for muscle recovery.  Additionally he recommends reducing the fasting window at night by having a protein shake or some other source of lean protein immediately before bed and something the moment you wake up.

Kropelnicki’s strategy, however, is much less restrictive and focuses more on nutrient value rather than whole categories of foods.  You’ll notice that on his list are included legumes and lean dairy which are considered “off-limits” for several other plans.  The Core diet takes into consideration that sometimes life gets in the way and those natural foods aren’t readily available.  For those times when you must resort to “man-made” foods (foods with a label – generally the middle of the grocery store), use the core ratio to determine suitability.  Add total carbs (g) and total sugar (g) then subtract fiber (g).  Divide this by the sum of Fat and Protein.  If the result is less than 2, then it’s a core friendly food!  The only caveat is to ensure that the total Saturated Fat is less than 5g total.  It is however key to remember that this is a “backup” and should not be your first choice for food!

So to sum things up – for those time throughout the day (does not include 1 hour pre workout to the recovery period post workout) in between workouts or rest days:

  • Eat often (every 2-3 hours)
  • Minimize overnight fasting period by eating lean protein right before bed, and again the moment you wake up…. DON’T skip breakfast or routinely do “fasting” workouts. Get that metabolism going!
  • Focus on CORE foods and stay away from processed/man-made foods. Look at every bagel or piece of bread or cookie as a missed opportunity for nutrient dense fruits, veggies or lean meats!

Coach Kim’s take: Having had much success myself following Paleo for athletes, I’m happy to see some of the same principals applied but also accounting for those times when you are in a pinch without access to paleo friendly foods as that always stressed me out!  When following Paleo guidelines, I absolutely felt like I ate a lot more fruits and veggies, that I slept better, recovered much faster which helped me push harder during workouts.  Of course like any lifestyle change – its important to remember not to be too hard on yourself – striving for 100% perfection can be exhausting and everyone slips up now and then.  Those perfectionists tend to take those slip ups a lot harder.  Really striving for 80/20 or even 90/10 is a much better plan that will help you stay lean and fit, fuel recovery and regeneration and still allow you a few indulgences now and then!

Kona Thoughts by Nathan Rickman

As fall approaches and many of us are winding down our triathlon season, the biggest and most iconic race in our sport nears.  For those that have earned the right to be in the water at Dig Me Beach when the cannon goes off, you need to figure out why you are there and what you are looking to accomplish.  There are only two reasons as far as I am concerned.  Some will say there are plenty of areas in between and maybe there are, but for me it is binary, but then again, some say I am little messed up in the head.

  • Are you looking to relish the moment, take a victory lap, be smart and do the best you can? Or…
  • Are you willing to turn yourself inside out, throw caution to wind and do something special, something that you wouldn’t have thought you were capable of?

If the former, no shame in that.  Great accomplishment and achievement making it to the big island and hanging out with the world’s best.  You are roughly the top 2% of those that do this sport just by qualifying. You have 17 hours to finish and you will not be alone. Enjoy your day.

If the latter, you are there to match yourself up against the hardest headed, self-motivated and driven type A’s in the world.  For me, this is why I compete.  If I am going to enter a race; it is a race after all; I am going to do everything I can to cross that finish line knowing I had nothing else left to give on that day.  That may mean crashing and burning and having a historic meltdown and has always resulted in me going to the medical tent after this race.  But maybe, just maybe, that may mean doing something that you never thought possible.  The human body is capable of so much more than we realize and can comprehend.  It is our minds’ that get in the way of achieving our full potential.  Every time I hear, I need to ride “my watts” or I can’t go over “X”, a piece of me dies.  I am not suggesting to go FTP from the gun, but we should be racing to see what our potential is.  Often times, that may mean we fail, but on that special day, it will mean you are able to accomplish what you previously thought impossible.  That is what motivates me and should motivate you.  To be great and do what you previously thought unachievable, it needs to hurt.  You need to second guess yourself.  You need to think this is insane and there is no way you can maintain this.  If you go easier because the conditions are harder, then you have already lost.  This is the World Championships – you should be going harder!  It should be tougher than anything you have experienced.  It is tougher for everyone and if you are able to mentally push through that, you will feel something you have never felt before.  For me, nothing is worse than not giving every ounce that I had.  The sporting events where I have not laid it on the line or let up, I lay in bed thinking about at night.  The what if, the should’ve been moments – those are the ones that will haunt me until the day I die.    You need to embrace the pain and learn how to suffer.  Only then can you truly achieve what you are capable of.  The individuals that perform the best are the ones willing to take that chance and go further than they ever thought possible.  Every race is not going to be their race, but the day that is their day, is the day that they will remember for the rest of their lives.

With that – my advice is to get in the mix in the swim and push the bike.  The harder you ride, the less the wind affects you.  You need to be alert but if you are not pushing yourself, then you will never know what was possible. If you are riding hard, the cross winds, head winds and swirling winds are just that and as everyone else is thinking about them, you are passing them.  Do not skip an aid station and force yourself to drink more than you ever had.  You will lose more hydration and electrolytes than you can replace, so don’t miss an opportunity to get what you can in.  For the run, steady and strong.  Feed off the energy of the island, those cheering you on and your competitors.  Get something to drink (multiple drinks) at every aid station and find a reason to embrace the pain.  For some it is memories where you have excelled that make you feel good, for others, it is times where you didn’t achieve what you were capable of that motivate you.  Figure out what works for you and find a gear you didn’t know you had.  It is hot for everyone, embrace it and push on.  While others are embracing the last mile and taking in the atmosphere, you are putting time on your competitors, digging deep and ensuring you do not leave a second on the course as there will be plenty of time to soak up the atmosphere after you have crossed that line.

Of course, I will be a case deep listening to the Boss singing Glory Days on repeat as you all run down Ali’i Drive in two weeks.

70.3 Worlds RR – Coach Shelly

Back in the pre-Bode days I tried quite a few times to qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Championships. I got “kind of” close but never met my goal. After Bode, when he was 6 months old, I qualified in my first race back for the 2016 Ironman 70.3 Worlds in Australia. I was shocked when a slot made it to me and we took it not yet realizing the race was on Bode’s first birthday. Australia was really a fabulous experience and I hoped to qualify again one day. We decided after I had done three 70.3s and Ironman Lake Placid in 2016 that 2017 would be a year of Sprints. That was until I got a Women for Tri slot for my All World Athlete ranking back in February. Hell yes I will take a slot!

I had been doing no biking or swimming and very little running (since Australia!!!) back in February and quickly got back on board with Coach Liz (Multisport Mastery). We started again April 1st with a season laid out as 70.3 Worlds as my “A” race of the year, with a few sprints and the Bay Swim in the spring race season.

Training in some HOT Virginia weather.

The sprints and the bay swim went well. I was really enjoying my training for the fast stuff, averaging between 6 hours (hello sick baby or coaching training camps) to 11 hours. Very reasonable, I won my Age group in the 3 sprints I completed and was happy with my bay swim time.

In July it was time to get serious about my training, both Bode and I got pretty sick on top of that we had a family vacation. That month was a bust.

Driving around Deep Creek on the Ladybug

August 1st I was ready to GO! I had a great month and some of my most solid training post baby! 10-14 hours and my training was really focused. The highlight of that month was the training we did at Deep Creek at Nathan’s late summer training camp. I never felt so prepared for hills that I would face in Chattanooga between Deep Creek and the couple of rides we did on Skyline. My run was also going quite well for me – hitting a 100 mile month for August.

Enjoying some big ice cream post lots of working out

Race week came and we traveled half way down to the race on Wednesday night and the rest the next morning with a few of my athletes that were racing. When we arrived on Thursday we went straight to packet pickup, ate a bunch of pizza at Mellow Mushroom and then headed over to our house on Lookout Mountain. The house was great – we had hang gliders flying right over the house – the views were spectacular!

Hang gliders so close you could almost talk to the person

 

Mellow Mushroom!

It was a little challenging race week as I was racing with two of my athletes on Saturday (Cindy and Denise) and 7 others were racing on Sunday (Chuck, Nathan, Trey, Jason, Kevin, Michael and Rob). I also had a few doing Ironmans all over the world as well as the big event at home, the Reston World Championships! I was a little scattered but tried to stay focused on the race.

Saturday morning I woke up pretty positive and excited to race. For maybe the first time I was excited the swim was wetsuit legal as I really have found a groove with my new Roka wetsuit. I went to the swim start, made a few friends pre-race and was happy to be in the first AG wave as we had a front line view of the Pro start! I had decided as part of my race plan to take the first half of the race like a training day. Not to overdo it in the swim or the first half.

SWIM 33:24 – 34th AG

I seeded myself right in the middle of the rolling wave start. This format was great – very little contact and the current did not seem that bad. The water temp/air temp were just perfect. One of the most enjoyable swims I can remember. Kept it easy and relaxed and came out with my heart rate not too high.

T1 – 4:56

Transitions at both of the 70.3 Worlds I have done are quite long. Lots of athletes and you do bike and run gear bags like an Ironman. There were wetsuit strippers and everything went calmly until I tried to put my bike shoes back into the bag instead of carrying them to my bike (long run, chose to run barefoot until my bike).

BIKE 3:03:31 – 94th AG

I took the first 5 miles VERY easy. I honestly didn’t feel that good. I think you want to feel perfect the whole race but it just doesn’t happen. Kept telling myself, just take it easy and it will improve. Good news is it did. I loved the climb at this race. It was not easy, but never felt hard. I had told myself that I was going to get passed a lot on the climb and it definitely happened. Combination of a speedier than average swim and a climb (not my strength from a height/weight perspective) – this was going to happen. And it did! I only got passed for the first 15 or so miles! And that’s ok – I told myself I would see some later – and I did. I wanted to keep my watts as low as possible. I was at ~75% FTP for the first 5 miles. At the top of the climb I was at 91% FTP – oops I went as easy as possible and it was still quite high. The top of the mountain was rollers. The highlight of the ride for sure was when my guys came out to the course, took off their shirts and shook them like a lasso over their heads. I could hear ladies behind me hooting and hollering. Fun!

I was really excited for the downhill – as I had driven it and the guys had given me a report when they had ridden it the day before. I knew I could go down it brake-less and that most athletes were going to be focused on the uphill and not how to optimize speed in this section. Oh and this is a place my height/weight combination is a big help! I passed a ton of Ladies here. This is when the passing started – and passing many that passed me on the uphill. Was very fun!

The rest of the ride I honestly felt better than I have ever in a 70.3 I was fueled, excited and just having fun. Oh and I was still passing as many as passed me which is a much more positive race experience! I ended up drinking 4 bottles (2 osmo, 2 GE) and eating 3/4 of a powerbar, 6 salt stick tabs and 50mg of a caffeine pill at mile 40.  I was singing “Drop it Like it’s Hot” in my head. And I did – ended up at 86% FTP for the ride – way above goal.

T2 – 1:55

This one was fast. Bike catchers, got my shoes on and left. In retrospect I was quite speedy and made up a tiny bit of time here.

RUN 2:02:25 – 173 AG

Some of the Fiv3 cheering squad

My goal for this one was sub-2. Which I knew with the heat/hills was going to be a huge challenge. My 70.3 PR is 1:53 on a very flat course and this was pre-baby (aka when I used to train A TON MORE). At Australia last year I ran a 2:06 on a cooler day, much easier course. I was REALLY happy with this run. Especially with the watts I rode on the bike! From the start my legs felt fantastic.

I kept the first out and back controlled, but was hard as there was a ton of crowd there. The first big hill loomed and definitely ran it a bit too hard (my max heart rate for the entire race!). At the 4 mile mark I was still sub 9 and I knew I probably wouldn’t be able to keep that kind of pace on the relentless hills but I did my best to keep pushing. It was great to see Scott and Kevin so many times on the course! And I got another “show” from the guys when I went over the veterans bridge – SO FUN!

I sometimes find my mind wandering on the race course – especially when the run gets hard but this time I tried to focus on finding tips and things I could tell my athletes that were racing the next day. The format of the ladies getting to race first certainly helped me to focus on what I could tell the guys for the next day.

Not much to say here but the run hurt like it should and I don’t feel like I could have gotten much more time out of this race than I did. My midpack finish was actually another one of my goals for this race. I know that my racing is not 100% my priority anymore between my family and my athletes but I am glad I can still do these things and really enjoy them. I really focus on making smart execution plans/decisions and following them through. Do the little things right that are easier to implement than another 5 hours of training a week. Many thanks to Coach Liz who helps me focus the time I do have. As always thanks to Scott for not only enabling this crazy life we have but also being my number one supporter!

Coach-Spectating on Sunday:

The celebrations after the race were quite epic as well!

That view from our house was noteworthy