Happy Days

All good things must eventually come to an end, thus I find myself back home in Tasmania reminiscing of the days of endless sunshine and frozen custard...mmm.



After the Alcatraz Triathlon, Sam and I flew back to Boulder for our final 10 days. I was hoping to recover well and get in a few good days of training before my next race in Pacific Grove, California. However as I swiftly learnt, trying to recover at altitude is not the easiest thing to do and I consequently had a week of feeling sore, tired and flat. In hinds sight I should have stayed down at sea level for an extra few days. But no point dwelling on the past!

So after packing up and saying adios, we jetted of to LA and drove 5 hours up to Pacific Grove. We were lucky enough to get an awesome homestay which was only 200m from race start. Kudos to those in charge there!



The race was an Olympic Distance draft legal triathlon. It began with a 1500m swim known as the "kelp crawl". For most of it we were swimming through masses of seaweed which made for an interesting one. However I managed to have a good swim and came out of the water in 4th place. From here on though my day was one to forget. The further into the race I got, the flatter I felt - this was probably due to not recovering sufficiently from my last two last races. I ended up finishing 6th pro female and learnt a great deal from this race (more so than if I'd had a good one).

So after the race Sam and I drove back down the coast to LA where we spent 3 days visting Hollywood, Disneyland, Malibu and Santa Monica. It was nice to have a few days of chilling out before having to head back home to Aus.

Thank you so much to everyone we met during our journey, you all made our trip memorable and unforgettable. Huge thanks to Pam and Dan for your basement...it was the best!

So for now I am back home in Tasmania. Over the next week or so I will put together a plan of races over the summer and then start planning for next years trip! Not much goes on down here in Tassie so I will back sure to get my blog on :)

Travels

We arrived back 'home' in Boulder last night after spending 10 days on the road travelling to a few races. First stop was Kelowna, Canada for the ITU Premium Pan American Cup which was held on Sunday 22nd August. We were greeted at the airport on the Thursday afternoon by our awesome homestay host Michele. Friday and Saturday were pretty easy days with some lights training sessions, eating, sleeping and movieing. Race day rolled around and I enjoyed a pretty cruisy morning as we didn't start until 11.30am. I was pretty nervous for this one as I hadn't raced for 6 weeks so had little idea of where I was at. However, over the past month in Boulder I had been putting in some solid swim sessions with ironman legend Dave scott and been through some spew-worthy run sessions on the track, so was conifdent that I was in good shape! The field was hot with the winner of the past 2 World Championship events, Paula Findlay toeing the line. I knew the swim would be the key for me for this race, I had to stay with the main pack if I wanted to have a good one.
The gun went off and it was carnage for the first few 100m. However I managed to find some feet and slotted into the main pack of swimmers. After the 2 lap swim we exited the water. Transition was super intense with the main pack splitting up in to smaller groups. I managed to get with a group of about 5 girls. At this stage there was a lead group of 3 girls about 2min up the road and another small group about 30sec ahead, so we had our work cut out for us.


The bike course was 6 laps. Each lap with a tough 500m climb and a tight few corners. After the first lap I managed to get the heart rate down and started to feel good, however we were unable to make up any time on the lead group of riders. Coming into transition at the end of the ride I was in about 14th place and was all set for a rippa run, but as soon as my feet hit the pavement I new it was going to be a loong 10km! The tough swim and bike had taken it out of me and I was rapidly running out of cookies. I tried to stay relaxed and started to come good in the last 5km, however was I was still 5min off what I was capable of running. So the finish line finally rolled around and I came in at 14th place out of a a field of 26. This race was only my second ITU draft legal competition so I learnt a heap from it and have taken away a new confidence in my swim. I know I will adapt through more intense racing at this level and be able to finish of with a super strong run!


So after a few more days in Kelowna it was off to San Francisco for the Alcatraz Triathlon. I was super excited to be doing this race as it is known to be one of the toughest triathon races in the world. In the swim, athletes are faced with strong currents and 12 degree water, then a super hilly bike course and to top it off one of the tougher run courses going around, which includes the famous 400 step sand ladder climb.
Race start was at 7am, however we had to catch the ferry to the island so it was an early start to the day. When the alarm went of at 3.45am the last thing I wanted to do was to go jump off a boat at Alcatraz into the freezing cold waters, however once I was up I was ready to go!
Once set up in transition all athletes got bussed to the ferry terminal. We then all boarded the ferry at about 6am. The worst part of the whole race was sitting around on the ferry for an hour waiting for race start...I kept wondering what I had got myself into! At 6.55am the ferry was floating next to Alcatraz so we all lined up on the edge of the boat. The gun went of and it was game on! As soon as we jumped into the water we had to start swimming so fast as there are 1200 more people about to jump in on top of us.

One of the most challenging parts of the race is understanding the current of the water and therefore knowing where to aim for on shore. It is not as simple as aiming for the swim exit as the current will drag you straight past it and out to sea. So we had to swim a big "L" shape and hope that we'd got our sighting right!
I was feeling really good and relaxed in the water.
I managed to sight well in the swim and came out of the water in 4th place. The bike course was really fun with lots of uphills and super fast decents. I got passed by one girl about 5km in, but was able to hold my ground for the rest of the bike.
Coming into transition I was feeling good and was ready to tackle the tough run course. After 2km of flat, the course kicks up and we climbed up to and under the the Golden Gate Bridge. We then kept going up and up and up (to were Sam was convientelty poised with camera in hand looking for that perfect 'hurt box' photo...I'm sure he would've got plenty!)

We then ran down and down and down to the beach and ran across the sand for a few hundred metres where we were greeted with the dreaded 400 step sand ladder. This was TOUGH! But I new the longer I took to get up it the longer it would hurt so I put my head down and pushed through it. Then it was a fast downhill and flat section to the finish line, where I came in 5th place. I was super excited to have completed the race and happy to get a top 5 finish. This race was one of the funnest I have done and reminds me why I do triathlon.

So a massive thanks to our homestay hosts Michele (Kelowna) and Hailey and Mark (San Francisco), your support was amazing. And to chief bag carrier and supporter Sam!

So for now we are back in Boulder for our last 10 days, then off to a race at Pacific Grove, California and then back home to Aus!

I am still having the trip of a lifetime and enjoying every moment :)

The Search For The Perfect Massage

So I have had a writer’s block of late and have spent the last week pondering what to blog about next when it suddenly came to me while lying on the massage table. It dawned on me that the process of getting a massage is really quite the awkward practice. When you think about it, you’re lying there half naked, trying to create small talk with some stranger while he/she rubs you up and down with massage oil. It never used to bother me that much, however since coming to Boulder I haven’t yet unearthed that top-notch masseuse that I can discuss the world’s problems with, and therefore the comfort level on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the awkwardness of standing face to face with a stranger in an elevator and 10 being the comfort of knowing someone so well that you can take them home to meet your mum) has consistently scored around a 4.

Over the past 8 weeks I have come across all sorts. There was the heavy breather the other week who periodically inhaled and exhaled so loudly that I thought he was about to digress into some form of meditation. Then there was the lady who applied so much massage oil that my skin felt like a slippery slide and was left shinning for days. And then there was the guy who forgot to turn on the air conditioner (in 30 degree heat) so that by the end I felt like I had been in the sauna for the past hour.

Now I’m one for quite a firm massage. I really like them to get right into the muscles and create a bit of burn. So the other day when I fell asleep during the massage I knew that it probably wasn’t quite firm enough. It was actually one of those embarrassing moments when you half fall asleep, then you feel yourself falling and you jump a little and wake up in a startle. Now that’s all well and good when you’re in your
own bed with no one else around, but on the massage table is a little awkward. So for my next massage I made the point of saying that I’m
all for a bit of pressure in a massage. Now this lady was quite petite, so I thought there was no way she would make me hurt, however by
the end of the rub I was close to tears (not because I’m weak...it actually really hurt!) and had bruises to boot. The only problem being that
this particular massage was a 10min freebie down at the Thursday night weekly stroke and stride (swim/run) race and the real thing would
put me out of pocket for the next month. That’s when I had a light bulb idea and decided to investigate the Boulder School of Massage where
the students give out cheap massages as part of their training. I was a bit sceptical at first to get massaged by someone yet to fully grasp
the anatomy of the human body, however after the first few massages that I have received they appear to be the most eager and
enthusiastic masseurs yet, with conversation topics that actually keep me awake.

So for my massage this week I have booked back in to the “school” and look forward to a nice soothing massage that will get me in top-notch shape for my upcoming races. I will be backing off the training this week before racing in a Continental Cup race in Canada on Sunday
followed by the Alcatraz Triathlon in San Fransisco the next week.

And on Friday night Sam and I went to the Baseball to watch the Colorado Rockies take on the Milwaukee Brewers. It was an awesome atmosphere, with the crowd almost more entertaining than the game!

This is no Winnie the Pooh!

Ever since I can remember I have had this fear of being abducted by some wild beast while out training. When swimming laps in Queensland many years ago I was terrified a crocodile would scale the fence, pluck me from the pool and take me home for tea (albeit it was a fully fence enclosed pool). The same goes for the great snake fear. And then there are the never ending shark fears when open water swimming (granted this is fear is warranted as there actually was a shark in the water this one time that nearly had a meal...whole other story). So when I decided to come and train in Boulder for 3 months, the first thing that entered my mind was the non-hibernating, food deprived bears and mountain lions that were longing for their next meal.

For the first 6 weeks in Boulder I stuck to the heavily populated running trails with readily accessible escape routes. However, for my long run this morning I thought it time to venture to some more challenging terrain and put my wildlife fears to rest once and for all.

I had envisioned a nice relaxing run on rolling trails in the cool shadows of the trees, with not a worry in the world...how wrong I was. I tried to ignore the signs at the beginning of the trail advising what to do in the event of a bear or mountain lion encounter: "stay calm, remain eye contact and walk away slowly. In the event that this doesn't work...fight back." (It actually says this!) However I somehow convinced myself that today was not bear weather and they would much rather eat a hiker than a runner.

So off I went with my positive thoughts and a spring in my step for my 20km out and back trot. The first 5km were perfect, great views, open trails, hikers every few hundred metres and plenty of escape routes. However, as the miles progressed the trail began to narrow and the people around me were rapidly decling, until I hadn't seen anyone for about 5 minutes. I began seeing signs pointing to 'Bear Cannyon', 'Bear Mountain', 'Bear Trail', 'Beware of the Bears'. Everything was bear, bear, bear! At this stage it started to get rather eerie. I convinced myself that every dark shaped object (tree) in the distance was a bear waiting for the attack. I was in true bear territory with no way out. I could hear rustling in the bushes and at one point I swear I heard a growl! At any moment I thought I would come face to face with the great grizzly that haunts me daily. It was then that I decided that I couldn't take it any more and today was not the day to conquer my wildlife fears. I swiftly turned around and sprinted back to the car faster than you could say Winnie the Pooh and vowed to stick to the bear-less trails for at least one more week!

Mastering the Art of Procrastination

Since arriving in Boulder 5 weeks ago to have a dig at this triathlon caper, I have truly mastered the art of procrastination. As my days are generally revolved around swimming, cycling and running there is plenty of down time between training sessions. Therefore I thought it best to partake in a new hobby consisting of DVD watching and coffee shop hopping. I have taken DVD watching to a whole new level with my new portable DVD player (best buy of the century!) and so far have watched 26DVDs and 40+ episodes of Sex and the City. There used to be a time when sitting through an entire DVD non-stop was a daunting task, however after much perseverance and determination I can now watch movie after movie no problemo! I have even become a member of Boulder Blockbuster where I get a rippa deal of unlimited movies for $35per month. Ahh the choices!

So anyway enough of the procrastination talk. Now for an update on the last 5 weeks. Sam and I arrived in Boulder mid-June for a serving of altitude training (and to escape the dreaded Melbourne winter). They don't call it the mile high city for nothing (well actually they don't - Denver is the "mile high city", Boulder is the "1655m city"). Anyway, the first few weeks training at altitude were TOUGH, and I don't mean a little more puffed than usual, it was like being the unfittest I've been times 2! So when I saw that Boulder Peak Triathlon was only 2.5 weeks away I was a little worried if I'd make it around the course in one piece. However, after about 14 days my heart and lungs became used to the fact that they weren't going to back to sea level for another 8 weeks and I began to put together some solid training sessions.

So the Boulder Peak Triathlon came around and it was one brutal race, which included an 18% climb on the bike. I had a good hitout and finished 7th pro female which was pleasing for my first race at altitude.

So since then I have been putting in 2 and 3 session days which are always fun. I have been swimming at Flatirons Athletic Club which is amazing. I am constantly star struck with the likes of Chrissy Wellington and countless other Pros wandering around the place. The riding is the greatest with all sorts of terrain - steep hills, not so steep hills, flat, rolling, you name it, Boulder has it. And the running is ideal. There are trails right behind where we live and an aths track across the road. So to sum it up, Boulder is everything and more than I expected. It is truly an athlete training mecca!

So the plan now is to keep the consistency up and then if all goes well we'll head off to do some racing in Canada, San Fransisco and then Pacific Grove.
But for now it's time to buy new bathers! Woohoo.