Racing the Quebixans and Riding the Trainer East German Style

The winter is flying by! I have mixed emotions about this as the International Quebec Snowshoe Race and 2013 Winter Carnivale was so fun and is still fresh in my mind.

Danny, J Mass and his wife, Steph and I traveled up to the winter wonderland that is Quebec City on February 1st.  The winter Gods really wanted to give us a taste of Canadian weather and didn't let it get above 1 degree the entire weekend. Brisk! To keep warm you either stayed under the sheets OR (and the far better option) bundled up like an Eskimo and drank copious amounts of the below beverages.

But before we could enjoy the Winter Carnivale we had a little 10K race to get on with. J Massa had been hot on my heels at the Whitaker Woods snowshoe event and promised to give me a run for my money in Quebec. The course was a 4 loop flat-ish, fast-ish course with modest amounts of snow because Quebec had suffered 5 days of rain prior to the weekend. However it was cold and there was enough snow so we really could not complain.

Looking at the start from the bridge over the outdoor speed skating rink.  Quebec is a winter wonderland!

The race it self was a challenge and a half. I had developed a smoker's cough and couldn't breath through my nose. I some how managed to survive the pre-race bike ride I had on the training schedule but all I wanted to do post ride was sleep...not race. I didn't drive 6 hours North to be a big wimp so I bundled up like the kid from the Christmas Story and tried to get psyched up! However, racing with the inability to breath through the nose OR the mouth (blame it on the face mask) proved to be hard.

 I spent the first half hacking up a lung as J Massa ran farther and farther into the distance. The second and third lap I spent trying to hold off the second place girl.  Halfway through the final lap she passed me despite my best efforts and yelled something at me really loud in French.  Bonjour to you and I now I am a little hard of hearing. The rest of the final lap I spent trying to catch the now first place girl and NOT get caught by girl number three.  I crossed the line happily in second place and decided I had just did my own little test of altitude training.  I may have also lost some brain cells due to the time I spent being anoxic but hey, now I'm fitter.  A little dumber, but also a little faster.  I will take it.

J Massa did indeed give me an A$$ kicking so I went all Luo Ferrigno on him post race until he cried uncle.

The rest of the Quebec trip was spent at the CARNIVALE! Which was grand and full of arctic spas, beaver tails and ice sculptures.

Beaver Tails?

The FAMOUSLY SPEEDY KEVIN TILTON and a little Beaver Tail snack.

The remainder of February was spent preparing a 2 hour presentation on How to Treat the High Level Athlete in the Physical Therapy Clinic for the APTA and....TRAINER RIDES! Biking, biking and more biking on the trainer! Oh for the love of the sport. No secrets just some old fashion work.  Sometimes I go East German style (no music, no t.v and bike facing 2 inches from the cement wall.)  And if you read my last post about the central governor I did indeed give him a run for his money at my second indoor TT of the year.  I love when hard work pays off! Whatever you are working at keep working!

And yes I am biking with my helmet on. Just in case I fall off ;)  The interval work does get intense.

The racing season is almost underway with 4 weeks until San Juan and 6 until Oceanside!

Set Your Central Governor Straight!

This morning I finished the first of two indoor time Trials that will take place in January.  After my initial season opener Time Trial in December I had a discussion with my coach about the central governor.  I was arguing that I pushed as hard as I possibly could in that time trial and I had nothing left to give. His response? "You always have more in the tank!"  

The proposed CG theory is a constantly occurring process in the brain that regulates exercise and calculates safe exertion by the body.  We crazy athletes NEED this or we would all go threatening homeostasis by causing anoxic damage to heart and muscle tissue. The CG limits exercise and thereby thwarts off death by reducing the amount of neural recruitment of muscle fibers.  This reduced recruitment = fatigue. 

However studies have shown that even when riders bonk or DNF from seemingly insurmountable fatigue, they still have glycogen stores and fresh muscle fibers at their disposal.  The Governor simply decided it was best to not to go on. He is an overbearing mother hen! So it's time to teach your Governor that your tougher than he thinks!  Prove to him that you do have more unrecruited muscle fibers and extra glucose stores and that your not a big wimp! And how you ask?  Listening to music or even just BELIEVING IT. You have to make the decision that today is your day. Once you start doubting, you change your brain chemistry and you’re done.  And practice makes perfect. You can train the governor in a bit of a role reversal. 

So even though I'd rather race the Mount Washington Hill Climb, complete 1000 repeats in the pool, run a marathon, race an IRONMAN over doing an Indoor TT I will be at it again in 2 weeks. 

It's me versus the governor and he's going down!

GRRRRRRRRRRRR!

One more thing! Make sure to put Ironheart 5K, 10K and mile on your schedule for 2013!!!!

What a ride!

One of the goals of this blog is to inspire people to EXPLORE the big, beautiful world!  The rivers and hills and roads and lakes gives us abundant avenues to FIGHT APATHY and go discover who we are, push past our boundaries all the while smiling and sweating and hurting and ultimately discovering that:  

"Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!"

This year we went from Oceanside to New Orleans to Bristol to Maryland to Gilford to Franconia to Maine and then more Maine to Poconos to Miami to Arizona! 

In no particular order and in beautiful photo format here was the 2012 situation:

Doing my #1 dance move before the Poconos 70.3

Llamas? Hairy Moose?

On top of Mt K.

LOBSTER after REV 3 TRI

Dancing on the Moon

Trying to avoid Popsicle status  on LaFayette

Zooters at Eagleman!

My twin!

Everyone needs a lift 

Mooseman!

Biking....

...EVERYWHERE!

Very true

Working on my aero situation

Dancing in the rain

:)

Doling out some love

Rock and Race!

thinking I am much more aero than I actually am...

Fueling the tank

Tri Bike Transport ROCKS!

This was taken soon after IM Arizona. Laughing because I just realized that due to recent quad pummeling I may be permanently occupying this chair

This was also taken soon after IM arizona. Laughing because I have been hiking for 5 minutes and I am near cardiac arrest

Exactly.

Chasing down Danny

Sweating like a pig

No limits!

Cheering on Glo bug!

Climbing again

Dancing again

That's a wrap!

Save The Best For Last - Ironman Arizona Race Report

Let's do this a bit differently:

11th Professional Female

67th out of 2,954 Athletes

Swim:  56:53

I went into this Ironman wanting badly to break the 55 minute mark. Arizona's one loop swim course is perfect for me; smooth, cold water and female professionals were starting 5 minutes back from the males.  Meaning the swim would be slightly less of a late-night all-out brawl variety.   I positioned myself right next to Ironman Champion super swimmer Meredith Kessler and double World Champion Leanda Cave .  Gotta set your sights high, right?! :)  This particular race start is so exciting because of the size of the pro field and the fact that thousands of spectators are whooping and hollering above us on the beautifully lit bridge.

The familiar Ironman Cannon signals the start and I hung on to Cave and Kessler for about.....5 minutes.  Ugh! I really have to work on sprinting off the line.  I also had not-so-conveniently found myself in no man's land.  I refused to swim this Ironman as the lone guppy so I focused hard on catching the few girls ahead and as many male pro's as I could.  At the first turn around buoy I sighted a sliver cap - male pro number one! Go get him and don't let him sit on your feet!   I made the pass and sighted another silver cap - male pro number 2!  The swim would continue like this until I exited the water in 56:53 in 7th place.

Transition: 3:53

Thank you to the 6 (six!) Ironman volunteers for stripping my wet suit. I have the lovely habit of getting stuck in that thing. I'm still a work in progress.

Bike: 5:07:50

WOOHOO!  [Insert me jumping up and down and doing the happy dance].  The bike portion is a huge work in progress but the race proved that things are coming along.  And I have the man below to thank for that.

Kurt Perham of PBM Coaching - My Coach!!

I was super excited for this bike course because in my honest opinion(IMHO) breaking 112 miles into 3 loops is the way to go.  I started the first lap smooth and steady and tried finding speed everywhere I could.  Linsey Corbin passed me about 45 in and yelled GO GIRL!  I am a huge Linsey fan and I secretly hoped she would win. (She did!)  No more Mrs nice girl now. When Corinne Abraham  tried to pass I fought back for 92 miles, saying tiny prayers that my groin didn't cramp like it did in Miami and resisting every urge to lift my head even a centimeter to soak in the beautiful Arizona landscape.  As per usual the wind made a 180 degree shift the second loop.  I rolled into T2 in 5:07! WHOOP WHOOP!  And next year I will get my hands on a Zipp disc so I can go all WHOMP WHOMP on the Bee Line highway.

T2: 1:21

Rolled in, shoes on, rolled out.

Run: 3:24

Ugh. This 26.2 was also known as Amber's Arizona Tour-of-the-Port-a-Potties.  Ooops.  The run PACE left a lot to be desired. For the most part it was a mix of low 7's and then high 7's, potty stops, and then the last 5 miles I am calling upon every little mitochondria to try and run sub 8's. The good news was I saw my twin Angi Axmann  who always makes me laugh-even when I am hurting!

Finish: 9:34:51

A solid race on my favorite course. I will be back next year for sure!

Thank you to all my sponsors: Zoot, GU, Garmin, SPY, PR Bar and MYLES CHASE of MC CYCLES

Poke - a - Nose 70.3

Out with the old and in with the new! Before I get into the race report I wanted to take a second to say goodbye and good riddance to something that my friend Ryan should have retired back in 1988. But he didn't. He hung on to that dear, wrinkly, decrepit wetsuit for some unknown reason to the rest of the triathlon world who could clearly see it resembled the creature below.

It was so textured and NON buoyant that he could actually strip it off without unzipping.  So when we arrived at the Pocono's 70.3 expo we started our hunt for an upgrade to the 'elephant.'  As imagined, it wasn't hard to find an upgrade.  But apparently 2012 neoprene is a world of difference from neoprene circa 1988 and I think Ryan still might be wrestling with his wetsuit somewhere in the Pocono's...

The next day we drove the course which proved to be an EXCELLENT idea as part of the course had wash out - twice!

We were also able to ride the technical portion of the course prior to race day which proved to be EXCELLENT idea number two! Read on for the deets...

Race morning was cool and misty - just the way I like it. I had enough time in transition to realize that I would go sans arm warmers and gloves. I walked over to Ryan's transition and saw that he would be doing the exact opposite.  His transition site was complete with all the winter riding gear including the one piece snowsuit from The Christmas Story ('just in case' he told me).

We were in the water before we knew it as the announcer was yelling: Pros have 5 minutes before the start. I took 3 strokes and then I heard: Pros have 90 seconds before the start. What was that?! Oh well, here we go.  Except it was super misty and foggy and no one could see a thing. Everyone was shouting: We have no clue where we are going! The announcer shouts back: Just follow the jet ski! We shout back: where the heck is the jet ski!?  BAM! Here we go into the mist.  The blind leading the blind. It actually added a new dynamic to the swim. I swam without a clue where I was until about the ten minute mark when who do I see to my right? Ryan! And who do I see to my left? Tenille!  Perfect spot. Just stay on Tenille's hip. This proved difficult as this girl can swim.  I exited the water and clicked my Garmin 901XT.  (By the way if you don't have one of these - GET ONE.)  My Garmin showed 24:01 - short swim! But we all swam blind - so I will take it.

I was out of transition in 3rd and decided to approach the 4 mile screaming descent the same way I approached the swim - blind!  Don't worry - I didn't close my eyes but I did cover my Garmin because historically as soon as I hit 40mph the breaks go on. But not this time my friends! I passed girl number 2 and was proud of myself for once not being a chicken. It was only later when I looked at my Garmin Power File that I realized I had set a new personal downhill record of 48.3 MPH!!! OH YEAH!!! This little chicken learned how to bike downhill!

TWO THUMBS UP FOR NOT BEING A SCAREDY PANTS

                                 

The next section was a flat-ish out and back. At this time I was riding steady with 3 other girls. There were two Referee's on motorcycles escorting us the entire out and back making sure we were being legal and not drafting or slotting in.  I was feeling antsy like I wanted to just GO when super biker Beth Shutt when flying by, making a 100 yard gap in no time.  I put my head down and the chase began! This was a race after all!  I watched the Watts spike and starting to think: Coach Kurt will most likely rip me a  new one for this little stunt.  I had already committed though and once I caught Beth decided to make a move to see if I could shake her.  Nope.  The course then took a jog to the left onto a roller coaster section complete with sharp downhills and banked corners. The one section I had practiced over and over and over and over and over the day before.  I took advantage of this and tried to make another move on Beth.  Didn't work. But, we did shake the other three girls and for the rest of the ride it would be me and Beth going back and forth.  The plan was to get as far away from the rest of the pro girls as possible going into T2 because the run fitness is coming along....but it is a work in progress.

Beth and I entered transition together and I remember thinking how awesome this bike course is - but I was excited for the run!   Especially because I got to wear these BAD BOYS:

ZOOT!

Despite what the course map looks like - the run is NOT flat. That's just false advertising. It starts up hill and goes down hill, then up hill, down hill, up, up, up, up, until the turn around and then repeat. When I hit the turn around I had the pleasure of seeing 6 pro girls within 1 minute of me. GULP! RUN AMBER!!!!!  The closest was Beth and she was so close at times that the runners going in the other direction would cheer for me and 5 seconds later I would hear them say to Beth: Go get her! She is dying! You can catch her! This really lit a fire under my posterior and I willed every little mitochondria to MOVE!!!  Beth was not giving up and every time I committed the cardinal sin and looked behind I felt like she was gaining.  I also knew that the Ironman Lake Placid and Ironman Mont Tremblant Champion was running strong behind me along with a slew of other quick runners.  I have never had to will my legs to turn over while constantly trying to convince myself I wasn't dying so frequently. I fought harder than I have in a long time.  The runners going the other direction were encouraging and I used their energy and cheers to power my stride.  In what felt like an eternity I finally passed a spectator who yelled: 200 yards to the finish. FINALLY!  I sprinted as fast as my little legs could go and crossed the line in 2nd. Just 22 seconds ahead of the speedy Beth Shutt. Phew!  I gave Tenille ( the winner) a big hug at the line and smiled big! In the end it was a good, honest, gritty race to the end - just what I like!!

Two thumbs up to the Pocono's 70.3

                                              Next up is Miami 70.3 - WOOHOO!