Race Season 2016 - Sponsored Athlete

A friend shared a post a couple of months ago about Pearl Izumi building an all female national triathlon team so I thought what the heck, it might be fun to race with a team again.  We had to sign their pact to apply and I felt like they were channeling my own mantra... so I'll share it here: http://thepact.pearlizumi.com/

I will endure, I will enjoy.

I shall only partake in this crazy sport I love, because I love it.

And I will quit when I quit loving in.

I am a representative of this sport.

As such, I will do my part to take the "ass" out of ambassador.

No matter how goofy somebody looks, I shall not mock.

But I will move myself.  Often.

I will show respect to everyone I see with a wave or smile or nod.

Maybe even all three.

If it's not returned, I will not shake my head.  Because I do not know what is going on in theirs.

I will be inclusive.  Even of the exclusive.

I will encourage the beginner, the professional and everyone in between.

I will place joy above performance, use my fingers for peace, not profanity, and I will focus on the scenery more than the scene.

I will believe in positive vibes as much as power-to-weight rations; good karma as much as good form.  Whatever my jersey or bib my say, I know we are all on the same team.

And when I am suffering the most, I will remember that this is not life or death.

Even if it is my life.

#ENDUREandENJOY.

So with that I was hooked.  I found out a couple of weeks ago, they picked me to be on their team.  I am pretty excited and am working up my race plan for the season.  It includes a couple Olympic distance triathlons, maybe a sprint and for sure another 1/2 Ironman in late June. 

I'm also looking into doing my first marathon.  I did my baseline testing last week and have my first session with my coach tomorrow.  I look forward to sharing my experiences for yet another season... I hope you enjoy the stories.  As always thanks for reading!

MS Update - The Invisible Enemy

Life has been roller coaster of ups and downs since my last post. We had the holidays roll through, the start of a new year, and all the other activities that fill up a week and leave me mentally begging for time in a quiet cabin with a pile of books and a yoga mat by myself. But alas the demands of life (work, kids, spouses, pets) while wonderful and things I am grateful for continue to take away from things I want to do and downtime my body needs.

The funny thing about MS is that unless your disease has progressed, to bystanders, it is hard to tell there is an invisible enemy dragging you down. The last week has been tough for me. I know I have mentioned in past posts that what I struggle with what you can't see. The bladder urgency issues that mean I can't wait until the last minute and if you see me racing towards a restroom please get out of the way. Of course the restroom in my building is closed for three days so I have a flight of stairs and an extra 50 yards to go to get to the closest one. Fortunately bladder issues come and go so I may have a few weeks or a few months between bouts.

When I am having what I call a flare up, I can also have muscle weakness on my left side. This effects my walking gait a bit and can make me a little wobbly. It also effects my hand strength and my ability to grab and hold on to things with my left hand. During a flare up I also get incredibly tired. I take an herb called MitoQ that helps with that so the flares end up being less intense and not as long but part of that makes me worry it allows me to push too hard.

I won't stop taking it though because my most frustrating unseen symptom is what I call swiss cheese brain. Yeah I'm getting older and yeah some of this supposedly comes with the territory. I guess I disagree... let me give you an example. I had three weeks of no herbs between refills as my MitoQ comes from New Zealand. I was in a meeting at work and my boss had to step out so he handed me the dry erase marker to keep writing down ideas on the white board. I was in the middle of spelling a word and completely lost the last five letters. I had to ask my coworkers for help finishing (yes I am a bad speller, no that isn't was going on here) It seems my brain is often on a five, ten or thirty second delay so patience is important if you are waiting for me to extract something.

The National MS Society has done some great videos on invisible symptoms so if you have the time and are interested in learning more check out the links below. I just wanted to give you all something to think about today. What you see on the surface doesn't always paint a clear picture of what is real. This is true for people who struggle with MS, cancer, depression or any other illness that doesn't always leave a mark on the surface. Take the time and patience to learn about what is real. As always thanks for reading... now if I could just get the kittens to let me sleep until the alarm goes off that would be super!

Here is a scientist take on MS fatigue I thought was interesting... “Fatigue is something we all have, but lassitude is related to myelin damage itself," Burks says. "The myelin’s job is to insulate the nerves so that messages get through quickly. When the myelin is damaged, the messages don’t get through as quickly. It takes more energy, and the energy that it takes can cause people with MS to get overly tired.”

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Programs-and-Services/Resources/Invisible-Symptoms-in-MS-Part-1-(video)?page=1&orderby=3&order=asc

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/Programs-and-Services/Resources/Invisible-Symptoms-in-MS-Part-2-(video)?page=1&orderby=3&order=asc

http://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/multiple-sclerosis-symptoms/invisible-ms-others-cant-see-symptoms/

Race Report - 3rd 1/2 Marathon of the year - Season Wrap Up

 I want to share this great card my husband and kids gave me after my 1/2 Ironman race in September.  They are pretty amazing and my secret spot is formulating some dreams for next year, but until then here is my last race report for 2016. 

Card my husband and kids gave me
after my 1/2 Ironman in September

Card my husband and kids gave me
after my 1/2 Ironman in September

Well, another season is officially in the books.  I have a couple of fun runs left yet this fall but last weekend was my last A race with the IMT Des Moines half marathon.  This was the third time I have run this race and I had a plan.  In 2011 this was my third race in my first year of doing them.  I finished it with a PR and a serious runners high.  It was amazing.  2012 -13 seasons had me laid up with injury issues and a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis.  2014 was a test the waters year with five triathlons racing with the Kyle’s Bike triathlon team.  I did this half last year as a test to see if I could build back up to ½ Ironman distance racing again and was pleased with my results even if I wasn’t back up to the speed I was hoping for.  I did Dam to Dam ½ marathon this June but wan’t happy with how the run felt and was determined to have a good wrap up run.

Since march I have been training with John Mongar getting “strongar with Mongar” he says.  John is an experienced runner and triathlete and I worked with him last year as I built up my racing abilities again.  He helped me have some strong late season finishes at the Hy-Vee and Cyman triathlons and I was determined to dream big for 2015.  I knew I could hit my mark with his help keeping me on track.  John and I managed my workouts with assistance of Google docs to track my monthly workout plan and actual workouts accomplished.  Most weeks I had a strength building session and we would take a minute at the end to see if I hit my primary workouts for the prior week and set some focus areas for the coming week.  John’s positive encouragement kept me going when I felt like I couldn’t train another mile.

At the start of the season these were my goals:

1. Finish another 1/2 Ironman - done
2. Get my run at distance at a 9 minute mile - see my two des 1/2 marathon blog write ups for my two best halves with splits. - average 9.30 for the half but have been doing 8:30 ave for 2-4 mile runs so getting closer
3. Get to a 20-22 mph average on the bike - I've been all over the place on this in past years but a strong ride for me last year was in the 18-19 mph range. I need to do the miles in the saddle and that is where I fell short in 2011 training for my last half.  Still stuck in the 18-19 mph range so lots of room for improvement.
4. Have an age group top 3 in a race or two and not because I am the only one in my age group. - had a second place finish in my ½ ironman
5. Figure out the mental override for my run on hot/humid days so my training overcomes my MS - had a lot more early morning training sessions to avoid the heat … but not the humidity
6. Trim down a bit - guess I like to eat too much.  :)

My A races were the 1/2 Ironman in September where the run got the best of me, and this race.  I’ve been having some really great training runs leading into this race with 2-4 mile runs with 8:30 minute miles so I was optimistic going into this race.  I wasn’t sure I would hit a PR but I thought I could get pretty close.

Yes!

The morning of the race it was around 35 at the start but I love the cooler temps so that works for me.  Joe and I drove down with plenty of time park, use the restroom and find just the right start spot.  I was determined to hit a time somewhere between 2:05 and 2:10 so we lined up about 50 feet in front of the 2:10 pace sign.  We got things started and I knew I needed to hit mile times that were under 10 minutes.  Once we got out of the first mile of traffic our next three miles were under 9:30 (8:52, 8:59, 9:14) and part of me was ecstatic and part of me was worried we went out a little too strong.  Around mile five on the backside of Water Works Park I was trying to mentally pull things back together and had what was supposed to be my first of two honey stinger gels.  This gave me a boost from a 9:46 minute fifth mile to the next three being 9:11, 9:19, 9:20.  The irony here is I was just running but not feeling like I was running fast. These miles also had a bit of a head wind so I am surprised they were faster.  I had been taking on water every other stop the first six or seven miles.  Around mile 8 I decided to take on Gatorade instead of waiting until I got to Grey’s Lake to take another gel.

The run around Grey’s Lake felt a bit slower with miles that ranged from 9:29 to 9:47.  I was definitely slowing down and having to talk to myself a bit to keep the wheels on the bus.  I don’t think I was physically laboring or feeling bad, just in a weird place mentally which was holding me back a bit.  This lack of focus is where I lost my shot as matching my best time although I wasn’t paying close enough attention to get myself back on track.  I started taking on water at most of the stops seems like mostly to have an excuse to walk for a second and took on another Gatorade just out of the park.

Joe and I at the finish line.

We got to the little ½ marathon out and back and I saw the guy with the 2:10 sign coming and picked up the pace a little bit.  I didn’t realize how close we were to the finish once we got into downtown so turned up the pace later than I should have but managed a strong last three block finish anyway.  I am happy with the outcome of this race and have high hopes I can get below my PR next year.

Here is the breakdown between 2011 and 2015:

2011 - 6.5 mile time 1:07:46 / ave 10:26 min mile - final time 2:06:27 / ave 9:40 min mile /  final place 191 in division (this race had me negative splitting as I went)

2015 - 6.5 mile time 1:05:08 / ave 9:41 min mile - final time 2:08:12 /ave 9:48 min mile / final place 113 in division (this race had me maintaining a nearly constant split but slightly slower second half)

Milo and Ash our new kittens

Flowers after my 1/2 Ironman
race in September because
my family is awesome.

I feel good about how the year went and am looking forward to even bigger goals for next year that include another ½ Ironman and maybe even a marathon (testing the waters for doing an Ironman distance in 2017 or 18).  I want to say a huge thanks to my family who supported me in my racing training efforts this year.   Thanks to the people who picked me up when I was harder on myself than I needed to be.  Thanks to my coach and my training buddies who gave me something to look forward to each week, kept me on track and helped me achieve my goals. And now I am going to play with my two new little buddies. Too cute!

Race Report - 2nd 1/2 Ironman Triathlon - Finished but not done

Place - overall place 65/88 overall women 13/26 age group place 2/4 Times - swim 30:48 T1 3:31 bike overall 64 - time 3:16:40 bike ave speed 16.5 T2 1:46 run overall 69 - total time 2:34:57 average speed per mile 11:56 final time 6:27:42

Well, It's done. 1/2 Ironman number two is in the books. To recap a 1/2 Ironman is 70.3 miles - 1.2 miles swimming, 56 miles biking and 13.1 miles running (1/2 marathon). This is my ninth season doing triathlons and I love training for a goal, but race day is even better. I expected the race to take me somewhere between 6 hours and 6 and a half hours depending on how my day went. I worked up my fast (A), average (B) and slow (C) estimated times for Shawn sightings/goals for the day. After a couple months of several days a week with multiple workouts it felt a bit weird to cut down the mileage, frequency and duration of my training the two weeks leading into race day. I wanted to make sure my body had a chance to recover before the stress of race day.

Horsing around the day before... Go State!

With Joe out of state all week we were still formulating travel plans clear up to Friday before the race. We ended up driving up to White Bear Lake, MN Saturday morning after Joshua's soccer game.  Abby and I dropped the guys off at my cousin's house where we were staying and then headed out towards Stillwater to check out Square Lake Park and see the course. First assessment, the lake was probably the clearest lake I have ever raced in and the water was warmer than expected. Second assessment, this was going to be a much hillier course than anticipated since the course is next to the St. Croix river valley. Transition from the swim to the bike was up a very steep slope with wooden stairs so it was good to get a feel for the course area. From there we drove down to Stillwater to meet up with the team. There were to be six of us from the Ames area racing together, four who were new to this distance and myself and my primary biking buddy Galen who have done one or more. The day before race day we were still five strong plus some cheerleaders and we met to watch part of the ISU Iowa football game and talk race day.

Team shot prerace - Galen, Shawn, Lara, Jill Steve

Prerace on the beach

Abby and I headed back to WBL and had pizza with the family for dinner (easy but not the best meal choice before a race). I checked my email and saw an awesome message from my coach loaded with encouragement. Then, I headed to bed early as I was worn out from traveling and nervousness. Unfortunately miss Adney the dog woke me up at 3 am looking for her mom (who was out of town) and I couldn't get back to sleep. We were all up and ready to roll out by 6 am to get to the course by 6:30. They had changed the run and bike out locations from the sprint race the day before so I ended up racking my bike at the run out side of transition but decided to just go with it as transition was pretty small compared to many races I had done. I set up my gear (realized my sunglasses were in the car somewhere and Joe graciously offered to go find them for me) and headed down to the lake for body marking. I never did hear what the water temp was but they recommended a wetsuit so wetsuit it was... it is a pretty long swim after all so a little extra buoyancy never hurts.

My team gathered on the beach and as we were all in the last two waves we had fun listening to the music rocking, chatting with family and watched the first few waves get started. Then we were up. It was a standing water group start, which I prefer over a time trial run in start. I was able to get in and get out ahead of everyone right away and had my own lane for the first leg (rectangular course with .25 miles sides and .05 mile top and bottom with two laps). I caught up with the wave in front of us at the first right turn and was in traffic off and on the rest of the swim. The section going back towards the beach was rough with bodies and sun right in our face making sighting the buoys tough so I lost some of my rhythm the first go around. I had a strong second lap and by the closing leg the sun had shifted enough I could sight a bit better. I swam through two of the waves that left before me (3 minutes between each) and came out of the water and hit the mat at the bottom of the stairs at 30:48 which was an A pace time for me. Off to a good start.  

Towards the end of my first lap - MinneFoto

Heading for T1 - MinneFoto

T1 was around 3:31 for me which is ok. I had to run up the three flights of stairs, shimmy out of my wet suit, dry off enough to get my bandaid to stick to my heal (had a massive blister on my heal from a long walk in my bike shoes) that was partially healed. Then off on the bike and into two miles of up. Once I rolled through the first few miles I got into a good rhythm and was maintaining around 18 mph ave which was right where I wanted to be. The bike course is two laps of the same course. it had rolling hills, beautiful countryside and amazing wide shoulders for safe riding. I had done some long tough rides so I was optimistic it was going to be a good day. The back side of the first lap takes you down into the river valley flats and then up a couple of miles of gear grinding hills back out of the valley and to the start of the second lap. Part way up the second half of hills towards the end of the first lap I blew a chain but was able to get it back on quickly and keep motoring up the hill. The other thing I noticed about the same time is that the wind was starting to pick up. As far as my nutrition plan goes I was eating my peanut butter pretzels, taking on EFS and water (one bottle each by the end of two loops), and towards the end of the second lap some stinger gummies as well. The wind was pretty consistent the second
lap but with all the turns we make to cover the course the direction was constantly shifting with the hardest part down in the river valley towards the end with the big climbs and a headwind.

Coming into T2

Walking out of T2

I finished the bike in 3 hours and 15 minutes which was a B time prerace but I give it an A time considering the wind and hill factors with a final average of 16:40 miles per hour. T2 was a 1:46 for me which was a bit quick as I should have eaten my banana because my tummy was rumbling. At this point I was 3 hours and 50 minutes into the race but I'm afraid the hills took more out of me than I thought and heading into the run the first two miles were mostly uphill and I found it impossible to get into a good comfortable running rhythm. A good run for me would have been around 10 - 10:30 minute miles. I saw three miles of that in the first five but it all pretty much imploded after mile five and my splits kept creeping higher close to 12 minute miles. It was in the mid seventies by mid run, windy and the hills just kept coming. The first, middle and last three miles were all in bike lane on the side the road. The rest of the run was on a short segment of bike trail from 3-5.5 and again in the other direction on this out and back course. It was pretty gruelling and I never felt like I did much more than shuffle along.  

Joshua Photo bombing my finish

Nothing left

I saw all my teammates at one point or another on the run course and we were all feeling the hurt from the course, hills, wind and rising heat. Nutrition on the run for me was water at almost every stop and gatorade which I had not trained with but had used in the past. Turns out the gatorade didn't  

agree with me this time and by halfway through the run I wasn't feeling real great with building GI distress. To finish the race we had to run all the way past the length of the park to get to the road in and I saw my family on the other side cheering and I choked up. I was walking up the last hill (otherwise only walking through aid stations) and they got me going again along with a gentleman from Bloomington who was going the same pace as me most of the run. I was elated to finally finish the race still shuffling but almost immediately got light headed and needed to sit and catch my breath (then race to the facilities.)

Waiting for our last teammate to finish

Galen and I with our age
group Medals

All in all it was mostly the race I hoped for although for the first few days after the race I was pretty disappointed by the run. I had several people tell me about their run implosions in race situations and I realized it happens to everyone. It was a tough course and I did the best I could that day. Will I do another... during the run I was cursing my decision to do a second one but as of today I say absolutely... I have upped my No Limits threshold and am looking towards next season which may hold my first marathon.... maybe some day will find me doing that one Ironman Triathlon I always dreamed about (but not for a few years anyway). 

 A huge thanks go out to my training buddies Galen, Jill, Steve (Lara), my coach John, and as always my amazingly patient husband and enthusiastic children. I couldn't have done it without you all. Next up the Des Moines Half Marathon in October and the Living History Farms cross country run in November.

Almost there - Half Ironman 2015

A training ride on a heavier bike with the tag a long
Yes we had one "training ride" for donuts too.  :)

Those who know me know I need to have a fitness goal in the hopper or I get really lazy which is really bad for my MS maintenance. Well, it is just ten days until race day.  My second half ironman triathlon (that’s 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run).  My first one was in 2011 where I learned a lot and you can read the race report here..  I had hopes for an Ironman the next year but then struggled with health issues for a couple of years. Last year I had a great season with five shorter triathlon races so I decided to give a longer race a go.  I did an indoor sprint triathlon in January but this is my only big triathlon of the season.  I found I have volunteered at more races than I am racing in this year.  It will likely take me just over six hours to finish this one.

My trainer/coach (the "Stronger with Mongar" program) assures me that I am ready.  When he said get in more run miles I did.  When he said add bike miles I did managing all the details in a Google Doc.  We’ve been working on my strength since the beginning of the year.  My distance totals from 2011 at about the same point in my training.. swim miles 20, bike miles 687, and my run miles 322 (I over trained on the run a bit that year.)

A training ride with Joe on the trails

As of today I am at 51 miles in the pool on the year which is what I use to shake things loose when I am having a tough day physically, mentally, etc.  I am at 752 miles on the bike which I was a bit under trained for in 2011.  I am at 252 miles on the year running which feels about right.

I’ve had several conversations about what I might have done to better prepare myself.  Things like more speed work on the run, more high intensity cycling, etc but really I feel like I got done what my body would let me do. I recently red the blog linked below and will note this is generally how I race, in the moment, dealing with what the day delivers.

https://triathlonresearch.org/blog/my-epic-triathlon-race-day-failure/

I have to say since my MS diagnosis, I went into some of my races last year with worry, but I am hoping to go into this race, the biggest physical challenge since my diagnosis, with an open mind and a body that is willing.  I have “practiced” resetting my chain on a hill and changing bike tires as I trained this season.  The weather could be anything in Minnesota in early September but I have trained in the heat and the cold, humidity, rain, and wind to build some mental and physical toughness so I feel like I am ready for anything at this point.

A family 5k training run because you have
 to have a little fun working out

My coach says I have done what I needed to do and has been wonderfully optimistic even when I am hard on myself.  My husband has been great about making my training schedule work for everyone in the household.  My kids are getting excited with me.  
So as I wind down my training intensity and duration the next ten days (with the exception of another really windy bike ride this afternoon) I will continue to check in with my body, try to get restful sleep, have a little labor day fun with family, and finalize my race plan, gear, etc.  I have some goals that range from “happy to finish” all the way to “wow I crushed it” but I will share those in the post race recap.  I am racing with five awesome teammates and that has been a great part of training for this race.  So for now I am grateful to be ready and able to race.  If you are in the upper twin cities and looking for something to do September 13th I’d love a cheering section up at Square Lake north of Stillwater.  Wish me luck!

MS Update - The good and the even better

these are pretty darn nice seats

A couple of great things to share today. The last couple of weeks have delivered some happy surprises.  The first one was winning two great seats at the ICubs game and being able to go with my family and my wonderful Aunt Joyce.  The coolest thing was I got to throw out one of the opening pitches.  As a result I got to play catch with my kids and Joe to make sure I could still throw a ball 66 feet.  Needless to say I got the ball from the mound to the box just right of the plate so not too bad for someone who’s pretty rusty these days.

throwing out the pitch

The other pretty great news came yesterday.  It was my annual meeting with my neurologist.  Despite feeling like my appointment was rushed, along with the “ride in the can” (35 minutes in an MRI machine) the outcome was worth the effort.  My neurologist was beaming when he came in.  It looks like there is no active disease progression showing in my MRI ( had a lot Feb 2014). AND my Doc said I have an almost a 50% reduction in the lesions on my brain too, so something I am doing is healing some of the damage (not that my symptoms are resolving) that was done from my MS and the med (according to the doc) are keeping me from relapses.  Only bad news is he won’t let me go down to the half dosage so I am stuck with yucky injections three times a week at the current dosage which makes me feel crummy for a week usually once a month. Even so my mom, my boss and my hubby all said it was worth celebrating so we got a couple of tasty sandwiches and a refreshing beverages. Yum!

At the MRI appointment the tech asked if I wanted to take the elevator or the stairs and I told her as long as I am able to take the stairs then the stairs it is.  Then, I was at the pool yesterday in between appointments (shocker I know) and a disabled man was struggling across the deck and I am thinking in my head that that could be me some day.  I stopped in my tracks and asked him if I could help as he was trying to get a lifeguards attention.  All he needed was a seat so I brought him one.  Every day am thankful for my mobility and my mental capacity.  All in all I am feeling pretty lucky.  Sending thanks into the universe.

One last cool thing is our butterfly garden has has some activity. We have monarch butterfly caterpillars working on their bush so excited to be doing our part to continue to support their population.

As always thanks for listening.

MS Update - Training, Lemonade, and Volunteering

I started this blog two weeks ago… trying to get caught up with my thoughts.  The summer is blowing by me with hardly any time to catch my breath.  I have been working hard to get ready for my big race, a half Ironman Triathlon, this coming September.  I was supposed to do a prep race last weekend however things didn’t play out quite as I had planned.  In the last couple of weeks my training had pretty much been on track.  3.6 miles of swimming on the month (38.7 miles on the year), 75 miles biking (422 on the year), 12.2 miles running (178 miles on the year) but a couple of Monday’s ago our super busy summer caught up with me and I ended up down for the count for the better part of three days with fatigue and mental muddle.  To add the misery it was a super hot muggy week.  Then I found out I was double booked and the race I thought was Sunday was actually Saturday.  I was also supposed to be coaching a youth triathlon clinic which Abby had planned to attend with me.  

After the week I had it was time to make the best of a challenge (lemonade from lemons) and I opted to not race for fear of another setback.  I got to move my race fees back to next year and Abby and I got to spend a whole morning together.  We volunteered at the triathlon with race set up, water station set up and body marking.  It was fun to chat with my teammates and support a great race which made up for not racing.  Then Abby and I raced down to Ankeny in time to coach the kids I had been working with off and on all summer.  Plus Abby got a chance to do a dry run for the triathlon she would do the following weekend.  I also volunteered at the youth triathlon the next weekend and got to see my baby and all the kids I coached find some success in finishing the triathlon they had trained all summer for, and I have to say I teared up a bit.  They are a pretty amazing group of kids and I really love working with them.  

Hugging my baby girl at the finish of her second triathlon

Since then my training has really ramped up with final miles for July at 8 swim miles, 142 bike miles, 37 run miles for July with a current total milage on the year at 43 miles swimming (it makes me happy) 490 miles biking, 215 miles running (31 in the last ten days).  I’m starting to build my run speed and distance again but still need a lot more seat time on the bike but have added bike to work once or twice a week for extra miles on my heavier bike as well as some shorter family rides.  Starting to get excited and hoping to have some solid training in August.  I also want to give a shout out to my amazing coach who has been helping me build strength and confidence.

Inspirational MS racing story to share (no not me): Runners world MS Survivor racing Endurance Race Badwater http://www.runnersworld.com/ultrarunning/ultrarunner-battling-ms-competes-at-badwater-with-help-from-famous-friends