It has been about a week now since the NOLA 70.3 (or the NOLA 67.1 duathlon, as it actually was), and I’m finally sitting down to write my blog.

Winning New Orleans was nothing short of a complete shock – to me, to my family and friends, to my coaches, and certainly to the rest of the triathlon community who had no idea who I was.  I could hardly believe it (and quite frankly, am still a bit mystified by how it all happened), but it was a thrilling experience for me, and a big win for a little first year pro against a fairly strong field of professional women, including Mirinda Carfrae (2010 Ironman World Champion), Caitlin Snow (the top American finisher at the Ironman World Championships the last two years), as well as Heather Wurtele, Amy Marsh, Magali Tesseyre and Amanda Lovato – all mutli- 70.3 and Ironman Champions.  With the level of competition in Sunday’s race, where I am developmentally as an athlete and the duathlon format – if this were a horserace and I were a horse, I definitely would have been the longshot bet!

Needless to say, the last week has been a huge emotional roller coaster for me.  I was so high on adrenaline for the first few days, I could hardly sleep, much less focus on anything at all.  I was just so amped up and kept on replaying the race again and again in my mind, trying to savor the moment for as long as I possibly could.  On Thursday I pretty much hit a brick wall and crashed big time, and spent Thursday and Friday as a total zombie.  My daily activities included waking up, eating, swimming, napping, running/ cycling, eating, napping, eating, napping, sleeping.  I was exhausted.  Luckily Matt, My coach, anticipated this all, and encouraged me to rest as much as needed, versus pushing myself back into hard training.  I finally feel back on track now and also ready to move on and get back to work.

I don’t normally write out blow by blow race reports, but given the significance of this first win for me in my triathlon career, I’m going long on this report – be forewarned!!

Race Strategy/ Plan:

Heading into race day I felt unusually relaxed.  Having gone through a hard multi-week bike and run block, I was definitely feeling a little fatigued, but on the whole I really did feel great and was looking forward to the race.  I had one simple goal: put together my first great run off the bike.  And for the first time ever, I had the confidence that I could make it happen.

In every race I had ever done previously there hadn’t been a whole lot of strategy.  Even as an age-grouper my races typically went something like this:  Come out WAY behind on the swim; hammer as hard as I could to catch up on the bike; run to hang on.  This time around I was trying something different.  We actually had a bike strategy to set me up well for a good run.  And having learned a lot about how my body responds off the bike in the prior few weeks, I was excited to give it a go and see if I could make the run breakthrough happen.

The other thing that I was going to be trying out was a slightly revised nutrition plan.  I have always had bad stomach issues on the bike, pretty much emitting a constant stream of puke from start to finish.  I always thought it was something in my fueling, but at our Hawaii training camp this spring my teammate, Matt Lieto, suggested that perhaps what I was eating BEFORE the race was playing a role.  Rather than my normal oatmeal with berries, yogurt, flax, chia, and nuts (which is what I eat every morning in training), I decided to take out all the fluff and eat just oatmeal with berries.  I also decided to cut back my fluid intake for at least the first 30 minutes on the bike to allow the nerves to settle and to build into a controlled pace.

One new race strategy and a change to my pre-race meal.  I hoped for the best.

The 2-mile Run:

Race morning came and I have to be honest, I felt just OK.  With the duathlon format, I increased my run warm up to about 35 minutes, progressing as I went, but as soon as I started running the nerves sky rocketed.  I didn’t feel that light on my feet and a relatively slow pace was feeling like a hard effort.  I tried to stay calm, but it definitely had me worried.

My plan for the 2-mile run was to go at a pace at which I would run the first three miles of an open half marathon.  Based on my current training and where my speed was, I figured 5:45-6:00 minute miles would be enough to keep me competitive, but wouldn’t thrash my legs for the rest of the race.  When the gun went off everyone went out as conservative as I, which quite frankly surprised me as I expected it to be a mad dash.  With a big group running together, I tried to take advantage and position myself on the inside to block myself from the winds, which were coming across the lake from the North.  I felt as though a lot of people would expend a lot of energy either fighting the wind or fighting for position, and my goal for the first segment was to stay as relaxed and comfortable as possible.

Coming into T1, I was pumped!  I couldn’t believe the group was together and I hoped that if I could find my legs and have a good bike that perhaps I could come into T2 with the front pack and maybe, just MAYBE, if I had a good run, position myself for a top 5 finish.  THIS was an exciting thought!

The Bike:

My bike, however, started out somewhat ominously.  First, I was a total idiot and didn’t attach my bike computer to the mount before the race, so somewhere between T1 and 200 feet out of T1 my computer was gone.  I only noticed it when I looked down to start it up and saw only the mount staring back at me.  In past races this would have been cause for panic and total freak out, but I had been doing a lot of base rides over the winter where often I would just go out with nothing but a watch to learn to ride by feel – no speed, watts, or cadence – nothing.  So rather than hitting the panic overload button, I stayed completely calm and thought to myself “OK Sarah, you’ve done this before, you just have to ride for feel.”  And with that, the missing computer was a distant memory.

I also had worn socks on the first run, so putting my shoes on out of transition turned out to be an event in and of itself!  My socks kept on sticking to the velcro on the shoes and I was a bumbling fool trying to get my feet in, get moving, and stay upright on my bike (which was proving to be serious a challenge).  Finally I got my act together, but by that point the lead group I had exited T1 with was 20 seconds up the road, and any benefit I had gained from the run was gone.

Going into the bike I knew the winds were coming from NNE, and so I expected fairly significant cross and head winds heading out, and cross/ tail winds coming back.  The wind was no joke on race day – when I was warming up in the morning I saw 15 porta potties get knocked over by big gusts….yeh….it was going to be that kind of day.  But… I also knew if I could stay mentally strong and work hard into the wind and then ride a big gear with the tail winds I could make up a lot of time.

My strategy for the bike was to build in over the first 10 miles, ride hard until about 10 miles to go, and then ease up on the power and spend some time out of my saddle in order to prep my legs for the run.  This was foreign to me.  The build and hammer I knew (and knew well), but the easing off and sitting up/ stretching was something I had to mentally get my head around.  I was scared to lose time on the bike, but I also knew this was the perfect opportunity for me to try out something new being my last race before Ironman Texas (on May 19^th).

As I headed out onto the bike course I felt good and quickly caught up to the group in front.  I wondered if I was biking too hard and missing out on something that they knew and I didn’t.  I did an “effort level” check and felt comfortable with what I was putting up, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disconcerted by the fact that I was suddenly finding myself at the front of the pack.  Not only was it a new experience for me, but one I didn’t expect in the slightest.  I tried to set the intimidation of it all aside and told myself to ride my own race, and if that meant leading, I had to embrace it.  “Race within yourself, Sarah”, I repeated to myself.  And off I went.

The bike was tough.  I am not sure if the winds changed directions or what, but I felt I was fighting a head/cross wind for about 45 of the 52 miles.  It was tiring and you had to continually stay focused on the road ahead.  As I came into T2 my legs were feeling right on the edge of possible crampage and I thought, “Oh Sh*t, I totally messed this up and biked too hard!  This was not the plan”, and then thought “OK Sarah, you’ve got some ridiculously fast girls behind you, and the whole goal for this race is to have a good run.  Just go for it and see what you can do.  If you blow up, you blow up, but at least go down fighting/ trying”.  And so….I ran for my life!

The Run: 

One of the things I had learned in my training the last few weeks was that the first 12-15 minutes off the bike for me are pretty brutal.  I feel terrible, awful, and like I want to cry.  BUT, if I can push push push the limit for those 15 minutes, my legs will open up and I can comfortably hold a strong clip.  So I ran hard and about 3 miles in my body responded just how I had hoped: The pace became easier, I started to feel good and got into a rhythm.  Typically I do a terrible job keeping track of my pace – I don’t even know why I bother to wear a watch.  But, under the circumstances, I was somehow able to focus enough to check on a few of the miles and saw I was running 6:00-6:10’s – perfect.  “Just hold this pace, Sarah.  This is great.  You can do it”, I kept repeating to myself.  I have to say – I have never been one for a lot of positive self-talk during races, but there was a LOT of it going on during that run.  Like serious amounts!

When I hit mile 9, I did a time check on Heather Wurtele and Amy Marsh (who were running 2^nd and 3^rd), and on Rinny.  It was such a shock to see I was holding strong in the lead!  It was at that moment when the thought of winning entered my head.  I was starting to fade and my fear of hitting a wall was going up by the minute, but I just told myself that if I could avoid bonking, I might just have a chance.  I ran hard and I ran scared.  I’d never been in this position before, and I had no idea if these women had ridiculous kicks for the last 2 miles where they could instantaneously eliminate deficits as if they never existed.  I mean – these are PRO triathletes…they all practically have super powers.  I just didn’t know.  So while the THOUGHT of winning crossed my mind at mile 9, it wasn’t until I was about 200 meters from the finish when I let myself smile and realize what was actually happening.  As I approached the finish line I was SO freaking excited, and shaking, and in shock, and just overwhelmed with emotion.  I think there was a constant stream of swears swirling around there too!  I was thinking about my family and how excited they would be, and how proud I hoped my coaches would feel.  And then I started panicking about what I was supposed to do with the breaktape!  I just couldn’t believe it.  My first win!  Amazing.

I feel so fortunate for this opportunity to race as a professional this year, and I feel even more so for having had the chance to stand up on the podium with such amazing athletes and women.  As my coach, Matt Dixon, said in his most recent blog – I am not “world class” and I am very much still a developing athlete.  So it was weird for me (not to mention slightly intimidating) to be standing next to women who ARE world class and whom only two short months ago I was emulating.  I felt star struck by the chance to even meet them.  And here I was, little first year pro Sarah, standing up there with them, and standing up there as the champion.  I’m still blown away by it all.

So….that is the download!  I am so proud of the win, but also proud of having successfully executed the race in the way we had hoped.  I had a very strong bike, and I had that breakthrough run I had been hoping for – a nearly 8 minute off-the-bike PR.  I also, for the first time ever, didn’t throw up ONCE the entire race.  That, my friends, is exciting news.

Now, it is time to move forward – Ironman Texas is less than 3 weeks away and there is much work still to be done!

Thank Yous:

As I look back over the past several months and years, so much of this would not be possible without the help of so many.  I hope you all know how much I value your support, love and encouragement.

To my sponsors:  Saucony, Cervelo, Shimano, Clif Bar, CycleOps, ISM – It sounds so cheesy, but I feel incredibly lucky to be representing your brands and be part of your teams.  Thank you for this opportunity.

To my coaches: Matt and Gerry – you guys are phenomenal at what you do – sometimes I can’t believe how lucky I am to have access to such a world class coaching program.  Thank you.

To my family: Mom, Dad, JM, Jeff, Vanessa, Laura, Marcia, Adam, Travis, Eliza, Zoe and My BFF for life, Avery – Seeing your joy and excitement over this result was OVER THE TOP and it meant the world to me to be able to share this moment with all of you

To my mentors, Meredith Kessler and Linsey Corbin: Thank you SO much for taking the time over the last year to educate me on all things Triathlon, and support my development in the sport.  You are amazing athletes, amazing role models, and incredible ambassadors for this amazing race.  Keep on Keepin on!

To my California crew:  Steve Pressman, Kelly Chrisman, Todd Larlee, Jennifer Tetrick, Sean Jefferson, Marky V, David Lee, Reilly Smith, Holger Beckman, Lanes 1 &2 at Tower 26, Pete Smith, Mark Vermeersch, Tina Geller and Jesse – Thank you so much for the homes to stay in, rides and swims to push me on, countless meals, PT and body work, and all of the emotional support and fun discussions that go with it – you guys are all awesome.

To my NYC peeps:  Kate, Elena, Amy, Heather, Susan Q, Carla, Ben Colice, Paul Behar, Yutaka Tamura, John Park, Daniel Pike – I miss you all terribly, but know I love you and am so thankful for your support

To my host family:  Angele and Dave – I loved meeting you both and once again, laughed my way through the weekend!  You guys are the best!

And Finally – BIG thanks to Todd Elmer – Without you dude, I would still be standing on that NYC street corner, smoking my cigarettes and only dreaming of what it would be like to be a pro athlete!

Until Next Time,

Don’t Dream It.  Be It.

Xx

Sarah-

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I am currently in the middle of a big run and bike-focused training block that has been leaving me feeling a little bit less than fresh.  Last week I got on the bike on the final day of a hard three-day push, and I didn’t know if my legs were going to carry me through.  So what did I do?  I BLARED my music, not just to motivate me, but also to help me look past the exhaustion and visualize what was possible.

The result?  Well… I pretty much blew at the start (ha!), but I stuck with it, my legs came around and I actually had an extremely successful bike workout, and then a great run session and day as a whole.  It was huge for me mentally to see that even when I’m tired and beat down, my body still has the capacity to perform and perform well.  It is often our state of mind that is the limiting factor.

For me music motivates.  It gets me going.  It helps me believe in myself.  When I listen to music I am able to easily envision winning a race, or toughing out a hard part of a course, or feeling great and strong in the face of difficult situations.  Music facilitates positive mental visualization, and it is those thoughts that help push me in every workout that I do.

Every person is different.  Some people listen to heavy metal, show tunes, country.  But for me, its rap, hip hop and techno.

Here is my playlist that got me through Thursday’s training.  And no, it’s not a typo – I have some songs on there multiple times.  Don’t laugh, just enjoy J!!

Little Red’s Playlist 1:

• Where The Girls At – David Guetta (feat. Niki Minaj)
• Right Round – Flo Rida
• Party Rock Anthem – LMFAO
• Love the Way You Lie – Eminem (Feat. Rihanna)
• Lose Yourself – Eminem
• Getting Over You – David Guetta (Feat. Fergie & LMFAO)
• Silence – Delerium (Feat. Sarah McLachlan)
• Sandstorm – Darude
• Angel – Akon
• Chasing Cars – Snow Patrol
• Dog Days Are Over – Florence & The Machine
• All the Above – Maino (Feat. T-Pain)
• Levels – Avicii
• The Show Goes On – Lupe Fiasco
• Rolling In The Deep – Adele
• Without You – David Guetta (Feat. Usher)
• Good Feeling – Flo Rida
• Animal – Habitats
• Good Feeling – Flo Rida
• Good Life – OneRepublic
• Levels – Avicii
• Heartless – Kanye West
• Angel On My Shoulder – Kaskade
• Midnight City – M83
• Young Blood – The Naked and Famous
• California Love – 2Pac
• Yeah – Usher (Feat. Lil Jon and Ludacris)
• American Boy – Estelle (Feat. Kayne West)
• Hypnotize – Notorious B.I.G.

Happy listening!

Don’t Dream It.  Be It.

Xx

S-

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Last week I flew to Galveston, Texas to compete in the Ironman Texas 70.3. This race was exciting for a number of reasons:

1. The Lance Factor – There has been such mixed reaction about Lance Armstrong’s return to triathlon. I don’t care what anyone says – I am excited he is back. Lance is, undisputably, a huge brand and an incredible athlete. His presence brings attention to our sport and it ups everybody’s game – both positives in my mind. And as a little first year pro, I was pretty darn excited to be able to race against him!
2. My First Pro Race (of 2012) – Ok, so this may not have been my first pro race EVER, since I raced at Ironman Cozumel last year, but I felt like it was. Texas was my first race since committing full time to training, and coming in this time around felt different – I felt as though I was competing as a pro for the first time.
3. U.S Pro 70.3 Championships – There were nearly 100 pro men and women competing on Sunday, which made it a huge and world class event. There were more past Ironman and 70.3 champions that you could count on one hand in the women’s race alone, so you knew it was going to be an exciting day.

I went into this race with a completely open mind and no idea what to expect. As my coach, Matt Dixon, put it – it was a blank slate. Rather than being results focused, I was intent on racing my own race and seeing where my off-season training had taken me.

I was excited. I was nervous, but I was also controlled and calm. This winter, most of my training has been all about the swim – by far my biggest weakness of the three disciplines. I’ve been completing more than 8 swims and anywhere from 40-60k yards a week. On the bike I have done a lot of base riding with tons of climbing to work on my glute and hamstring strength, which has also been a big weakness for me. And while running took a bit of a back seat for a variety of reasons I was feeling great.

I felt confident that I would see some good progress in my performance.

Fast forward to the day before the race. I started to get a little bit (read A LOT) more nervous and the confidence I had been feeling was starting to wane. Thoughts like “what if I DON’T swim faster” started to creep into my head. Oopf – no good! During a taper week you often end up feeling pretty crappy and flat in the days before the race. And despite understanding that feeling flat=good, it is hard not to get a little nervous that your mojo won’t show up for race day (Note: on the flip side, feeling great the days before a race is also cause for nervousness out of fear you peaked too early). Needless to say, in my hour long ride and 10 minute jog on Saturday I was having one of those moments where I questioned how I was going to EVER ride 15 mph or run an 8 minute mile, let alone 24 or 25 mph or a 6 or 7 minute mile pace. I felt like poo.

But race day came and all I can say is that I am thrilled with my performance. I still have a ton of work to do across all three disciplines, but I was really pleased with where I am at for the start of the year. My swim was 4 minutes faster than last year and a PR by more than 2 minutes! I know, I know – a 30 minute swim isn’t exactly something to be writing home about, but it is big step for me in the right direction. My bike was solid and was the 2nd fastest female split. I felt great, but more importantly I came off the bike feeling fresher than I ever have before. And my run….oh my run. I had hoped for more, but at the end of the day, even with an average-at-best performance, I maintained my position and I finished 6th, which I was completely stoked about. I made a pay check, and my self-proclaimed pro debut was about as successful as I could have possibly hoped it would be.

A few key highlights from my week in Texas (and in no particular order):

1. Watching Balazs Csoke (My crazy Hungarian Cervelo teammate) eat an entire jar of raw garlic cloves (which is apparently normal for him) – Gross…and really weird!
2. Eating 3 “Frank” Cheeseburgers and a huge bowl of chocolate ice cream after the race in the amount of time it took my homestay mom, Lulu, to finish half of one burger
3. Eating a 4th “Frank” Cheeseburger on the drive to the airport, and then getting some Blue Bell ice cream before my flight….I might have been a little hungry
4. Making some incredible new friends in the Woodlands in the Trimble Family, Austen Trimble, The Gibbons, Daniel Fontana, Carla Stampfli, and Balazs Csoke
5. My AWESOME homestay family in Galveston. They rocked. Be jealous. I’ve already called dibs for next year. They feed me ice cream and cheeseburgers.
6. My PR Swim and a huge PR swim for my Purplepatch teammate Jen Tetrick. We are making strides Jenny T! Heck Yeh!
7. My rocking new Saucony race kit. I love it. #findyourstrong
8. Knowing I made the right choice to pursue this dream. I am happier than I have ever been. It is awesome and a very special time for me.

Time to get back to work now! New Orleans 70.3 is coming up in a few short weeks and then we’ll be making the final push for Ironman Texas on May 19.

A huge thank you the Trimble and Benavidez families for their warmth and hospitality and truly opening up their home to me. You both really made me feel so comfortable and welcome – thank you. To Balazs Csoke, Daniel Fontana , Carla Stampfli, Maureen and Greg Gibbons – Such wonderful people and great competitors – I can’t wait to share many more race experiences with you. Austen – Thanks dude for everything you did last week and congrats on completing your first 70.3.

Last but not least I really need to thank Gerry Rodrigues from Tower 26. It gets me a bit choked up just writing this, but he has been EVERYTHING to me out here in Los Angeles since I arrived on January 1 – a coach, mentor, friend, parent, Matt Dixon’s “eyes”. I have a huge amount of faith in Purplepatch and the Tower 26 programs to progress me as an athlete to be my very best. Thank you Gerry, for all that you have done these last several months, and for being willing to take this journey with me.

Until next time. Never stop reaching for the stars

Don’t dream it. Be It.
Xx
Sarah-

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As a follow up to my blog about my day in the San Diego Wind Tunnel, Cervelo has released a new video as part of its marketing campaign featuring your truly! Please check it out!

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A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to the Slow Speed Wind Tunnel in San Diego with Cervelo to test out their new and highly anticipated time trial bike – the P5.

Every part of my day was simply incredible, and on my drive home the next morning, I spent a good chunk of time feeling kind of over-the-top stoked/ still in slight disbelief that I get to be part of this team and work with such an inspiring group of people (and not to mention ride ridiculously fast bikes).

I thought I would share a little bit about my experience, and why being part of Cervelo now means that much more to me.

Incredible was the opportunity to do testing in a facility where legends have been made.  I got chills as I walked down the halls lined with pictures of cycling and triathlon superstars – Dave Zabriskie, Alberto Contador, Lance Armstrong, Julie Dibens, The Schleck brothers, Spartacus, and Mirinda Carfrae to name a few.  I still can hardly believe that two years ago I was standing on the side of an office building in NYC smoking a cigarette, with all thoughts of being a professional athlete a distant memory.  And now, I was being tested in a wind tunnel on the world’s fastest bike, doing photo shoots with Olympic time trialing hopeful Dave Zabriskie, and being coached by the industry’s finest on how to decrease my drag coefficient.  It all still seems a bit surreal.

Incredible was the opportunity to meet and spend the day with the people, the personalities and the minds behind every Cervelo design.  To say I was (positively) blown away is an understatement.  Not only was every person I met friendly and helpful, but the team dynamic and work ethic of the entire group was jaw droppingly fantastic.  It was a big day of filming, interviews, testing, photos, etc, but everybody worked their butts off and did so all while projecting this almost tangible feeling of positivity and excitement.  I felt like I was being sucked in and welcomed into the making of something BIG.  It was so so cool.

I also quickly sensed a high level of respect and comeraderie between colleagues – something which is easy to replicate in low stress environments, but hard to keep together in higher stress, time crunched situations.  These guys made it look easy.  It made me thankful to be part of a company that encourages the kind of culture and team atmosphere that can unknowingly inspire the average bystander (that would be me!).

Finally (and of course), Incredible was the chance to be one of the first to test ride and see the beautiful, amazing, awesome, stunning, HOLY COW, knock your socks off, I might pee (and potentially even poop) my pants-I am-so-excited Cervelo P5.  The marketing team who came up with the “Simply Faster” slogan is genius.  This bike is not only simply faster, it is simply awesome. I’m not kidding when I say that the coolness factor alone will probably shave 2-3 minutes off of anyone’s bike split.  You get on that thing and you just feel FAST.  No joke.  Anyone who is lucky enough to get your hands on one of these babies should.  It is a winner!

I want to extend a huge thanks to the Cervelo team, in particular Phil White and Lesley Loughlin, who have welcomed me onto the team from the start.  And to Damon for all he taught me during my day there.  And to my other sponsors – Shimano, CycleOps Power, and ISM for all of their help in making sure I had everything I needed for this trip.

Until next time.

Don’t dream it.  Be it.

Xxx

Sarah-

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My oldest brother Jeff was a bike junkie. He was obsessed with bikes, and our basement, which was constantly filled with Jeff’s bike projects, was the proof.

Every couple of weeks, Jeff would beg my mother to take him to the dump where he would scope out discarded treasures. Occasionally I would trail along (as that is what little sisters do), and it was on these trips that my bike education began. One bike had a great frame but a broken derailleur. Another had workable shifters. This bike needed only a new paint job. That one had terrific rims. According to Jeff, the frame was the soul of the bike and the parts were its beating heart. My brother would haul home his treasures, break the bikes down, and then reassemble the mishmash into workable riding machines. He built road bikes, mountain bikes, and even a “ski bike” made by attaching a frame, seat, and handle bars to an old set of skis. Today, in our barn, we still have a mountain bike that Jeff refurbished some 25 years ago, and every summer we use it to travel dirt roads and grassy paths to remote fly fishing pools and streams in Maine’s back country.

After completing my first triathlon in 2009 (on a bike Jeff had purchased in France 15 years earlier, no less) I consulted with my brother and under his guidance splurged on my first NEW bike – a gorgeous Cervelo S1 road bike. I fell in love. When I decided to really give triathlon a serious go and decided to purchase a time trial bike, there was only one choice for me – a Cervelo P-3. And when it came to components, I chose two brands I knew and respected (and of course had the Jeff Piampiano stamp of approval) – Shimano and ISM saddles. I have since ridden on that bike with that seat and those components for the entirety of my triathlon career, including my top 5 finish at the Ironman World Championships this last year. I love it to pieces, and I know it has been a huge part of my success in the sport.

When I turned pro a few months ago, I got to work setting up sponsorships and partnering with brands for the 2012 season. I felt strongly about working only with companies whose brands I use, love, believe in, and can endorse emphatically.

The outcome? I am now sponsored by my cycling dream team. The soul of my bike is in the hands of the folks at Cervelo. The beating heart of my bike is in the hands of Shimano and ISM Saddles. In addition, I have partnered with CycleOps Power, which has been my source for all things power over the past few years. Brands I know. Brands I love. And brands I have believed in from the start of this incredible journey.

As I approach my first race of the season (which is now only 3 weeks away!) I look back and remember how far I have come, and look forward to all the lies ahead. All of these companies have worked so hard to come up with designs that permit athletes to excel. Now it is up to me to use the incredible tools I have been given to do them proud. I want to validate their confidence in me with superior performance to match their superior designs and technologies.

A HUGE thanks to my brother, Jeff. I love you so much. Thank you for your unconditional love, support, guidance, and teaching me about the heart and soul of cycling.

Until next time.

Don’t Dream It. Be It.

Xxx

S-

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Happy New Year Everyone!  I hope the holidays brought a good mix of family, friends, feasting and moments to sit back, give thanks and reflect on 2011.  Now that it’s 2012, it is time to get back to work!

My final two weeks of 2011 were filled with a lot of packing, organizing, logisticizing, and saying farewell to my friends and family in New York City and along the East Coast.  I left Maine just after Christmas and I arrived in Los Angeles on January 1^st after a fantastic few days driving with one of my closest New York City friends, Kate McGlynn.  Kate and I met up in Denver, Colorado, and while the drive to LA can be done in just over a day, we decided to make an adventure out of it.  We drove south through New Mexico and Arizona, visiting the Grand Canyon and celebrating my last day of vacation/ off season by ringing in the New Year in Las Vegas (and winning a bit of money to boot!!)!  It was an amazing trip with tons of great memories!

Training commenced in full force on January 2^nd, and commence it did.  I got my butt seriously kicked last week.  It was a true taste of what living the life of a full time professional triathlete is like.  Between the training, the eating, the downtime between sessions, the massages, the functional strength sessions, yoga classes, and daily (and sometimes twice daily) foam rollering I’ve been seriously starting to wonder how I ever managed a full time job and training over these last few years.  Since arriving in LA my days have been starting at 4:45 AM and finishing around 4:30 PM.  By the time I am done eating dinner, it has been all I can do to stay up to 8:30 PM before collapsing into bed from exhaustion.

Needless to say, my first few days back in action were pretty painful, and saying my performance in week one left something to be desired is a vast understatement.  My swim coach noticed my fitness right off the bat.  I think our initial conversation after the first practice went something like this:

Sarah:  Thanks for practice Gerry!  See you tomorrow!

Gerry:  Tell me – how many times have you been in the pool in the last month?

Sarah: about 4, why?

Gerry:  That is what I thought.

And that, right there, is why the “off season” is both good and bad.  Taking a much needed break is amazing for the body and soul, but it is one brutal climb to get back in the game.

But, despite what was a challenging first week (and what I consider to truly be my first week as a pro athlete), I am so happy I made the decision to come west.  I love being able to go to swim practice every day with a great group of people and a coach whom I trust is going to help me become a faster swimmer.  The riding here is both breathtaking and soul-crushing all at the same time.  And there is an endless maze of run trails to get lost in.  I love it.  I feel so motivated and challenged and excited.

So that is the wrap – Week 1 down – many more to go.  Check back soon for some exciting updates on my new sponsors for 2012!  I can’t wait to announce the amazing companies I have partnered with!

Until then, stay happy, healthy and always reaching for the stars!

Don’t Dream it.  Be it.

xxx

S-

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Question: How do you mentally get through training sessions and races?

If you are like me, when I see anything longer than a 20 minute steady state interval on my schedule for a bike trainer session I start cursing my coach.  While I genuinely love cycling AND riding on my trainer, long stretches at the same cadence and same watts is perhaps one of the most mind numbing things I can possibly imagine doing.  What about that set of 40×100 or 20×200 in the pool?  Mile repeats on the track?

Getting through training and races is as much mental as it is physical and many times our failure is a result of mental weakness.  Just the other day, one of my Purplepatch besties Jess Smith wrote on her twitter “Lesson for the day – don’t give up, even when you think you feel like crap – you might surprise yourself and have a good workout”.  Her words could not ring more true.

Jess’ comment got me thinking a bit about the power of the mind and what I do mentally to get through tough workouts and more importantly, races.

For me it is all about one thing:  Compartmentalization.  Yep…that is right.  I break things down into psychologically manageable time segments or distances.

For example on a hard 20 minute interval on the bike, I first break the interval into 10 minute segments, and then break those 10 minute segments into 5 minute segments and then those 5 minute segments into 2.5 minute segments.  Suddenly that tough 20 minutes isn’t 20 minutes at all, but a series of completely achievable 2.5 minute efforts with no rest between.

In swim sets, I am all about 100’s.  Whether it be 200’s or 500’s, I look at each as either a 2×100 or 5×100 effort.

My run breakdown varies.  If I am doing a hard session on the treadmill, I will often go by quarter miles.  But in a race, and in particular in an Ironman, I typically break up the course into 3 or 6 mile pieces.

In whatever I am doing I believe that I can physically execute at a certain level for a defined period of time or distance, and then once that time is up, I move on and focus on the next increment.  Each period is relatively short so my chance of success is high.  Thus each small success builds upon the former, building my confidence and ultimately increases my chance of success over the entire workout or race.  If I falter, I only falter for that small period and then mentally reset myself only a short while later.

But does everyone do this, or am I the only crazy who compartmentalizes everything?!?!  Perhaps there are better and more efficient ways to psychologically get through training and racing.  My Purplepatch teammate Jesse Thomas talks to himself and uses positive reinforcement by saying things like “You are AWESOME!!” and “You are rocking this course”   – it’s a great idea, but something I have yet to fully be able to get my head around (I tried it…didn’t go so well..).  Nevertheless as I look to make the next step up in my triathlon career, I’m always looking for ways to improve.

If you have any great ways that you get through training or racing, please send them my way!  I’d love to hear from you!

xxx

S-

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