Amber Ferreira- Pro Triathlete

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Puerto Rico Does It Better - San Juan 70.3 Race Report

It's True!

The 2013 race season has begun! I chose to start with San Juan 70.3 for a number of reasons. I had heard wonderful things about how the race was organized, it had plenty of Championship points and a big old prize purse and the climate would be warm! I need to learn how to race well in the heat because Half Ironman and Ironman Championships take place in similar environments. Racing fast in hot weather is an entirely different beast than racing fast in cool weather.

We arrived in San Juan on Thursday, unpacked and than walked across the bridge to have a light dinner with fellow racers: Gina Whipple, JR, Keith Shields and of course my partner in crime/training partner Ryan Kelly (who was here to get some BIG redemption on last years race. And just for the record - HE DID!)

After a long day of travel we hit the sack early only to wake to the most beautiful view of San Juan right outside our hotel balcony. The sun was shining, the water was crystal clear and the breeze was warm. Our room overlooked the swim course which was good and bad. Good because I got a birds eye view of the swim section and bad because I was thinking: Boy, that looks far! And, is that a Manatee?

After some tasty PR coffee I headed off for an easy, relaxing swim on course (unless of course you count the minutes of sprinting after I nearly swam head on into a big water creature. Yes, it was a Manatee). Manatees are harmless and love-able and exceptionally slow moving...but scary enough for me to sprint back to shore. Next up was a shake out jog in which I realized that I was not in New Hampshire anymore. This race was going to be HOT!

We spent the rest of the day in the Yunque Rain forest which was a sight to see.

San Juan monkey's sure do look human-like

And so do the San Juan frogs

The monkeys were all over the place!

The coach's orders: STAY OFF YOUR FEET!

The guidebook states: Puerto Ricans DO NOT LIKE TO HIKE. Therefore, they will pave everything they can. So this is the paved, winding path in the Yunque Rainforest.

But this paved path led us to a beautiful waterfall....

See what I mean!? Puerto Rico is absolutely beautiful. After the rainforest and waterfall we found a hole in the wall cafe called: Juice and Vegetables. It was an outdoor lunch place that looked like you were still in the middle of the rainforest. We ordered fresh squeezed carrot and ginger juice and salads that the cook prepared right in front of us by cutting the greens from the garden. SO GOOD!

It is actually quite hard to fine salad and greens in PR but we made an effort!

But there are tons of coconuts

On to the race! All in all in it was an awesome experience. The race directors put on a great event and the people of Puerto Rico were so welcoming and showed up on race day smiling and cheering: Vamos! My goal going in was to execute a steady opening day and I think I did just that. I got in a good swim warm up and said good luck to Ryan as the male professional left 5 minutes prior to the females. Right before the gun went off I spotted some girls I new I should be able to stay with and positioned myself next to them. The swim started off especially fast due to the three olympians in the race. Boy, I need to work on my start speed. Once again I missed the lead pack and swam solo for 1.2 miles. I tried to remain positive and considering this was the first open water swim of the year I actually felt strong and relaxed. The swim goal for this year will be to get MY BUTT OFF the start line and swim with the first pack. Or sprout gills and a dorsal fin. Either or works for me. Before I knew it I was exiting the water and than Carfrae goes flying by me in transition. That girl gets in and out of transition like she stole something. I, on the other hand, spend enough time in transition you can liken me to my Manatee friends. Slow and sloth-like. Gotta work on that.

I left T1 and immediately saw Danny and gave him a big smile and also asked if I was going the right way in which he answered: Seriously? There is only one road here Amber. :)

I have been working REALLY hard on my bike for the past year. My coach has been awesome and he is such a wonderful resource I owe him a lot. But still, I always pray before the race that my bike quads will surface and today they did! I felt very strong and in control the entire bike which is great because the bike course was hot, windy and flat (I like cold and hilly.) I spent the majority of the ride going back and forth with Kim Schwabenbauer and Carfrae. The bike course was definitely flattish but had enough rollers and jumbo sized iguana to keep it interesting. I guzzled down 3 bottles of EFS and GU Roctane, 2 Cherry Lime GU's and before I knew it - RUN TIME!

Fortunately (for sunbathers) and unfortunately (for Ironman racers) San Juan is HOT. And because I neglected to apply the American Academy of Dermatologist recommendation of 1 shot glass full of sunscreen every 2 hours I am looking a little crispy these days. It's hard to comprehend how much a shot glass full of sunscreen is unless you actually go test it out. Do it, I'll wait. Still waiting. So needless to say the run was hot, very hilly, but also extremely gorgeous. The most beautiful run on the ironman circuit if I do say so myself. Part of the course takes you through one of the most historic gates in San Juan and along the sea wall which holds the heat but gives you a breathtaking view of the crystal clear waters of San Juan. Except for the fact that I ran like a complete TURD I would say the race was a success. I crossed the line and promptly submerged myself in the GIANT sized iced bath the race organizers had waiting. Ahhhhhh.

The rest of the trip was spent in Old San Juan exploring the forts, soaking up the energy of the city, swimming in the ocean and relaxing on the beach!

Now it's back to work because I have just 10 days until Oceanside!

Sunday, February 17, 2013

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!

Sunday, January 13, 2013

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!!!!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

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: