Swimming 140.6?

At the Koala Hospital
















Waking from a 20-hour nap.



















Lunch time!

If the torrential rains continue, it may just come to swimming 140.6! It has been dumping down rain since we arrived in Port Macquarie, mixed with howling winds for good measure. Thank goodness the swim course is in a fairly protected river, because the ocean swell is something to behold! MJ was quite amused when I asked whether this was monsoon season in Australia.

There have been breaks in the storm, and during those times I’ve had a chance to view the incredible beauty of this area. It reminds me of a mix of three places I absolutely love: Hawaii, Idaho and the Big Sur coast. It’s truly stunning and the views on the bike course will do wonders to tamper the frustration of the rain, if it does remain.

One very sad note from our crew: Mike has determined that his injury will prevent him from racing, so he’s returning home today. We’ll certainly miss him, but there’s no doubt he’s made the right decision – and there will be many more successful race days in his future once he’s properly healed.

We had the pleasure of visiting the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie yesterday, where we saw a handful of little cuties being nursed back to health from various injuries and illnesses. The animals wind up in the hospital for a variety of reasons and the volunteer caregivers do everything possible to rehab them for release back to the wild.

I’ll have more to report about the Koala Hospital and other features of the town of Port Macquarie in an upcoming article in Triathlete’s print magazine. I’ll also be blogging more throughout race week - but now it’s time to prep for one more training ride. Wish me luck and dry skies!

No Turning Back

A much better way to say "exit."










Mike in a happy travel haze.








Girls giddy from travel.








HPP & MJ - mmmm, meat pies!

Watch for roos!

5:00 am OZ time and I can’t stay in bed any longer. I am, however, feeling much more rested after a rock-solid sleep following the long day of travel. The flight over was reasonably comfortable, plus I had a chance to catch up with friends Tim and Nicole DeBoom en route. Tim looks phenomenally fit and I’m guessing he’ll have a brilliant race. Nicole is bubbly and kind as ever, and will accompany me later this week to the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie to check out one of the unique local attractions. She’ll also serve as cheerleader extraordinaire for all of us, and her smile will be a welcome sight during the race.

Once in Sydney I connected with MJ, HPP and Mike and spent several hours lugging bags about, sampling yummy food and drink (the airport food is actually good here!) and waiting for our next flight. The tiny plane that took us onward to Port Mac was miraculously able to fit all of our bikes, so sighs of relief were widespread. I was seated in back next to the uber-sweet Chrissie Wellington, so we had a fun chat and I enjoyed getting to know her a bit more. She and MJ met for the first time in the boarding area, and immediately gave each other a warm hug – which I thought was particularly classy and a genuine representation of the soul behind our sport.

Immediately upon exiting the rental car lot (and no, I was not driving, but rather slightly panicking at being on the “wrong” side of the road) I saw my first kangaroo crossing sign. No sight of an actual kanga yet, but I’m keeping my eyes peeled.

Once “home” to our apartment at the Flynns Beach Resort, we went to work taking care of the bare necessities. The guys built up all the bikes (thanks guys!) while MJ and I went shopping for supplies. We also searched in vain for a bike shop that was open on Sunday afternoon, since all four of us neglected to pack a pump. MJ and I drove around town asking anyone we could find for a shop; one gentleman was particularly kind and gave us detailed directions – only problem was that he heard my American “bike shop” as “bait shop” and therefore exuberantly described the best place in town to purchase fish. We didn’t bother correcting him; as MJ put it, he was extremely helpful, just not terribly useful.

Rather than ride on soft tires, we all headed out for a short shake-off-the-travel run. I have to say I’ve never in my life felt worse running. I mean it was pure hell. Immediately my lungs started burning and I was wheezing as though in the grips of an asthma attack. That passed after about five minutes, and after I slowed to a barely moving jog. MJ and HPP trotted on ahead, and poor Mike turned back after just a few steps. He’s dealing with an undetermined injury which hopefully is only a shin splint and won’t prevent him from racing – but his first attempt to run in over a week proved quite discouraging.

I ran (if you can call it that) for 30 minutes, losing confidence with every step. I felt heavy, bloated, sluggish and sore (my Achilles has been nagging me for some time, and it was particularly irritated yesterday). I didn’t expect to feel great, following on the heels of international travel, but I certainly didn’t expect to feel that awful. But on the bright side, it can truly only get better from here!

The rest of the evening was spent in a groggy haze. MJ and I cooked dinner and everyone tried to stay awake long enough to synch into a normal routine, but I was the first to climb into bed at 8:00pm. I feel much improved this morning, and imagine that after our morning swim, afternoon ride and one more thick night’s sleep I’ll be perfectly adjusted to the Aussie clock, and my fitness and confidence will emerge from hiding.

Did I mention that it’s raining? Dumping, pouring rain in fact. The 10-day forecast looks pretty gloomy, and we can only hope that the storms pass prior to Sunday. But ultimately, whatever the day brings, we’ll all be out in it together. What will be, will be!

Up and Away

I’m writing this seven hours into my flight to OZ. After sleeping lightly through the night, I was inspired to roust myself with a cup of really poor coffee. It’s dark outside and it seems we may be flying through the black of night for most of the entire fourteen hours, as we land in Sydney at 7:00am local time. I only wish my coffee could be so dark.

I am kept awake more by the excitement of the journey. After much anticipation, the time has finally arrived, and I am ready to relax, relish the moments and enjoy every aspect. I am amused by the number of people who, when told I am traveling to Australia for vacation and to race an Ironman, can’t fathom the connection between the two events. This is definitely my kind of vacation – one which involves international travel, time spent with dear friends and –oh yeah – one helluva long workout in the mix. I learned from my first Ironman experience (New Zealand 2005) that it’s well worth encompassing the race into a grander plan of travel and adventure. Whatever happens on race day becomes slightly less important, given that there are so many aspects to the trip to add to the enjoyment and allure.

I may sound a bit nonchalant at the moment, but don’t get me wrong – I do have a dream goal in mind for the race, and of course I would love to have a brilliant day on the course. But the challenge for the next week is to try my best not to focus on time splits and rankings and to simply enjoy every drop of this experience. It’s far too easy to get caught up in tri-talk about past PR’s and future goals, and to become attached to a projected outcome for the race. If I think of all the people I know who’ve ever raced Ironman events, and how rarely their exact expectations have come to fruition, it’s a small number indeed.

It’s also far too easy to second-guess my fitness at this point – to wonder if I should have spent more time in the pool, more time focused on my cycling cadence, more time in the weight room. And where are those six-pack abs I promised myself? The fact is, given the demands of an adult life, it’s near impossible to fit in every hour of training that I would embrace if I had the luxury of absolute free time. But I don’t, and that’s ok. I’ve done all that I possibly could have, I’ve trained harder and more specifically than I have for races in the past, and I now have the fitness that I will have on race day, for better or for worse. There’s nothing I can do physically in the final week to enhance this fitness aside from rest up in a big way.

Mentally, however, I still have some training to do. Now is the time to really hone in on what it takes to stay focused for an all-day event. It’s a chance to visualize the course, from the heart-thumping mass swim start, through the post-swim-shakiness of T1, over three laps and three rather significant climbs on the bike, through the flurry and relief of T2, three laps again on the run-course and ultimately those emotional final strides down the finish chute. And more than anything, it’s time to practice throwing my time goals out the window, getting the numbers out of my head and focusing on this goal above all else – to listen to my body on race day; to trust it to take me places far and fast and strong; to push harder than I ever have, balanced against pace and distance; to give it my all, revel in it all, enjoy it all. I mean why else would I do this?

Test vs. Truth - Week 13

Now we’re talking taper. Finally I am able to reap the rewards of all the hard work and pretty much chill out. Of course, it’s always a challenge to sit on my duff and feel my fitness fade away (refer back to this post for more on my disdain for tapering), but I know it’s merely a false sense of softness, my body taking advantage of this phase in training to quiet down, rest and prepare for the big day. Plus, there has been so much else to do to get ready for this trip – bags to pack, work to complete, logistics to sort out, loose ends to tie up, doggie care to coordinate – that in some ways its been more exhausting than a full week of training. MJ knew I would be heading into this final week fairly run-down and overwhelmed – which is why she nixed one additional swim workout and strongly suggested a full day of rest. I was about to query her with the same suggestion, so I was thrilled and relieved to know we were on the same page.

Looking back at the past several weeks, I’m pleased to note that I’ve followed coach MJ’s instructions exactly. Here’s what happened in week #13:

Swim workouts – masters x 2

Bike workouts – 1:30, :60 (easy spin on trainer), 2:00

Run workouts – :60 (intervals), :60

Plus one luxurious complete day off!

Test vs. Truth - Week 12

The email from MJ containing my final few weeks’ training plan led with the subject “ALMOST DONE.” And it’s true, the long hard miles are behind me, and now is the time to finish up, fine tune, stay healthy and revel in all that I’ve accomplished thus far. I do believe that getting to the start line of an Ironman is possibly the hardest part - and I’m almost there. It’s particularly cool, in a weird way, when a four-hour workout feels short.

Swim workouts – masters x 4

Bike workouts – 2:00, 1:30, 3:30 + :30 T-run, :60 (easy spin on trainer)

Run workouts – :70 (intervals), :40, :60, 1:45

Hopes, Dreams, Desires – Goals?

When you train for an Ironman, everyone and their mother asks your projected goal time. The thing is, one of the greatest challenges about the whole training and racing process is to try NOT to get attached to a specific outcome. One out of my three previous Ironman races was slightly less enjoyable than the others, and I know it’s because I was too focused on my time. When I got out of the water after a particularly cold & challenging swim, I was cranky because my perfect plan for the day was already shot. Let me tell you, that is no way to feel only one hour into a twelve hour event! When I talked to MJ after the race, she said she always laughs when people pinpoint their projected time – because it’s an Ironman and so much of anything can happen to derail that perfect plan. MJ embraces the attitude that in an Ironman, the goal is to finish - anything else is pure bonus. This, from one of the most accomplished and competitive triathletes the sport will ever know.

So instead of posting a time goal, I’m going to share my hopes, dreams and desires for this race, and for any Ironman that I ever undertake. In no specific order, here they are:

• Get to the start.
• Get to the finish.
• Better my own best time.
• Set a new swim PR – I promised Nick and Natalie from CTS that I’d bake them a huge batch of cookies, should I improve my swim time using the technique tips they taught me. I haven’t baked in years, so that would be fun!
• Smile for the camera – just one decent finish line photo would be nice!
• Smile more than I wince throughout the day.
• Run a kickass marathon. Unlike most triathletes, I look forward to the final leg of the race – so I hope to feel strong when I get there and enjoy every stride.
• Remember the words of support, motivation and humor from my friends, family & fellow athletes when I need them most – it’s amazing how those little phrases pop into my head, mantra-like, during the long hours.
• Have the strength to push beyond my expectations during the high points and to pull myself out of the low points of the guaranteed roller coaster of race day.
• Remain coherent enough to continue thanking the volunteers throughout the day, even/especially through the last miles of the run.
• Make the top-five podium in my age group in an Ironman race. That, I think, would be way cool.
• Someday, some way, gain entry into Kona. I don’t care if it’s through qualification, lottery selection or some other divine act – I just want to do that race once.
• Forget about all these goals during the race and simply swim, bike and run my heart out, to the best of my ability on that particular day.
• Make MJ proud.

Of course, I know that MJ is proud of me already – for all the training and hard work I’ve done - and she’ll be prouder still when, if all goes well, I reach the finish in Port Mac. But I feel a certain extra drive this time around, which I’m sure is a very common component of any athlete/coach relationship. I want to show her how much she has helped me improve.

MJ has helped me in so many ways this year, only a portion of which relates to triathlon. She’s been an incredible friend, support, confidante, travel buddy, home-away-from-home, shoulder to cry on, fashion consultant, girlfriend to LOL with - a BFF in every way. And of course her training and racing mentorship has been invaluable. I can’t wait to get out there and test myself, and also to race at the same time as MJ, crossing paths on the 3-lap bike and run course and sharing words of encouragement – hopefully giving back to her some of the same support she’s provided. It’s stacking up to be an exciting day, with a competitive women’s field and MJ as the home-country favorite. I’ll be cheering like mad for my coach and friend. Go MJ!!!

Test vs. Truth – Week 11

This week I’ve started to get a wee little bit stressed out. I’m feeling the load of a massive to-do list. Work, final training, travel prep and general life responsibilities are making my mind whirl and my sleep less than solid. I’m not feeling as rested as I would like, and thus everything I attempt has an added degree of challenge. It’s no wonder that my self-confidence is slightly cracking. Am I really ready for this? Have I trained hard enough, long enough, fast enough, specifically enough? What will race day bring? Will I feel energized and strong on Sunday the 5th? Will I successfully embrace the highs and combat the lows? Will I remember to have fun?

I know that somehow everything will come together smoothly, and that race day will bring what it brings. And I know that whatever it does bring, I’ll be thrilled to be there in the thick of things. Right now I just have to continue focusing on my to-do list and counting the days until I board that plane.


Swim workouts – masters x 3

Bike workouts – :60 (trainer spin), 2:00, 1:30, 4:00 + :60 T-run

Run workouts – :60, 2:00 (remember, I also had an additional 2:30/:30 double run, bumped from last Sunday to Monday due to last Saturday’s mini-Ironman)