It's Official!!!

I quickly lost a lot of $$$$$....but
I booked my flight to Kona!!!


Flight Itinerary
Leave Tampa, FL: 7:49 AM 06 Oct 2007
Arrive in Phoenix, AZ 9:11 AM 06 Oct 2007
Leave Phoenix 10:36 AM 06 Oct 2007
Arrive in Kona, HI 2:02 PM 06 Oct 2007

Leave Kona, HI 11:45 PM 15 Oct 2007
Arrive Phoenix, AZ 8:28 AM 16 Oct 2007
Leave Phoenix, AZ 9:03 AM 16 Oct 2007
Arrive Tampa, FL 4:25 PM 16 Oct 2007

15 weeks until race day!!!!

Perspective

Sunday was tough...very tough. The workout was great but because I did not have my sunday training partner (celia) I was in a mental battle the whole workout. Karel was off in Deland for the weekend (which he placed 10th in the road race and 9th in the crit..so proud of him!) and it was just me for the weekend training. To make myself go to bed early on sat evening in order to get up at my usual time of 6am (sleeping in) for the weekend was the first battle. Then, once I finished my coffee and oatmeal on sunday morning, I had to convince myself that I was ready to stay motivated for the bike-run-bike brick that i do on sundays. Of course, my focus is on the long run but it is so easy to get the two bike workouts in (spinning the legs) when I normally bike to and from Celia's house. The run is just something we both enjoy and we talk the entire time. Just a great way to do a 2 hour run! So I decided to bike my run course to keep me entertained and to pay attention to mile markers so that I knew my pace for the run. On the weekends I am not too concerned with my running speed. Since the workout on saturday is a short run after a long bike and sunday is a long run, I more concerned about my endurance and stamina..and having fun. I ended up doing 15 miles for my long run and it felt great to be out there. I thought a lot about Kona and I enjoyed being outside and seeing so many active people (walkers, cyclists, runners, roller bladders). I was tempted to make my smoothie immediately after the run but I knew I would pay for it with aches and pains if I didn't spin out my legs after the run. Another 50 minute bike ride (super slow) and enjoyed my time outside before I called it a weekend. A total of 11 hours, 120 cycling miles and 25 miles of running this past weekend (fri sat and sun workouts). That was a big workout weekend and I am already enjoying a semi-down week. Resting the body a little this week and reducing the volume is always needed after a tough weekend. With monday completely off, I was anxious to get in the pool at 5:30am this morning. I told matt to push me hard with more yards so I guess I got what I wanted with a 4200 yard workout (total of 3100 yrds main set!) this morning. Afterwards I joined my friends Tony, Gayanne and Diana for a treadmill run. We all do our own thing, but the company is great especially when it is my interval day. 7.5 miles and the main set was 8 x 3 min w/ 1 min recovery (rest). Descending 1-4 (9mph, 9.1, 9.2, and 9.4), 5-8 (same speed as before). HR was up there but I felt smooth. Felt really strong on the treadmill and I know I need to keep working on my speed and the treadmill is where I feel I get the most speedwork done.
I'm really getting serious for Kona and with Clearwater a month later, i want to get my body in the best shape i can for both races. My goal is an optimistic 10:30 for Kona and I am going to do whatever it takes to have a great race out there. I'm pushing my body to a healthy limit this summer and doing all I can to stay injury free, have fun with my training and stay involved with the tri-community. Speaking of helping out with tri-stuff, I just finished putting together a USAT champions weekend conference for the end of July in Clermont...if you want more details, please email marni@usat-florida.com ....whewww, that was a great relief yesterday when I got the eblast out in the public.
I have three specific goals with my training right now
1) swimming - become more efficient in the water. I want to hold 1:20 for the swim but i want it to be comfortable and effortless...I have a long ways to go for that. If I want to expend little energy during the 2.4 miles, I know I need to keep working on my speed in the pool. Sets on 1:20 right now aren't going to cut it..need to keep stepping it up!
2) cycling - just keep working on it!!! I'm riding with guys (Gearlink) more often so that helps. I just try to draft off them and not get dropped. I do feel like I am getting stronger and I can hang on longer before I do get dropped. All that cycling has really helped my power and since i bought my road bike in the spring, I can tell a big difference with my power. I was riding my road bike a lot but now i am riding seduza more often. I have a long ways to go with my cycling since that is my weakest. Karel helps me out a lot as my inspiration..so I will never be as fast as him but it is amazing to watch him race.
3) running - get faster! I love running and I get in this zone when I run. It's hard to explain, but I just ignore my body and I just go. I love that feeling of zoning out but it only comes when I run long (more than 90 minutes). Therefore, I need to keep stepping up the speed work during the weeks since the weekends are long, slightly aerobic but intense.
I want to bring up something which is not tri-related. I have been watching the news a lot and checking out news-based websites and I am not sure if it is my age (as I grow up) and that I am finally paying attention to what is going on in the world, but I've been noticing that there are a lot of people passing away, getting murdered, suicides and just horrible things going on right now. I was very sad to hear about the tri coach in California who just passed away a couple nights ago (I think he suffered a heart attack but I'm not sure). It might just be me, but it seems like there are a lot of scary things happening in the world. I am very thankful for having wonderful people in my life, many supportive people and many inspirational people. I have a lot of love for life, my family and for my friends and I try to show it everyday.Everyone knows my love for animals, my sport and education and for helping people but I feel it is important that we live each day to its fullest for you never know what tomorrow will bring. And if you are having a "bad" day, remember that there is always tomorrow and your "bad" day may be another person's semi-good day.
Keeping smiling! :)

Finally....

Today was a big day. Last night Karel and I went for a spin as he tested out his spare race wheels for the deland cup this weekend. I needed the spin after my tough workout Friday morning. I made a fabulous dinner of homemade sweet potatoe casserole, homemade mashed potatoes with chives (for Karel), couscous with mushrooms (my new favorite food..next to bread!), baguettes and a salad. We ate well last night! This morning Karel left for Deland for a 70 mile road race at 11am. That's gotta be tough racing 70 miles at 11 in the morning! Congrats to Karel for placing 10th...with a crash just 4 weeks ago, he amazes me and is such an inspiration. I left around 6:30 for a 90 minute spin before I met the group. The Gearlink ride was kinda small and I decided to take out Seduza instead Blue. I needed to be on my tri-bike to change things up. I've been riding my road bike a lot lately and I wanted to really push today.For the first time EVER I completed an entired Gearlink ride (including rotations which I didn't do) without getting dropped!!! This was BIG for me. Although I drafted the entire ride while everyone rotated, I was pushing pretty hard going 24-26 mph to not get dropped. After a 61 mile ride and no signs of bonking (always a good thing after a tough ride) I put on the fuel belt, filled up my flasks and headed out for a 30 min run. The volume is getting big and with a 2:15 hour run with a 1 hour bike before (warm-up) and 1 hour bike after (cool-down), I will enjoy the rest of my weekend by resting on sunday. No computer work and I will try really hard to just rest. Karel has his crit race on sunday morning so I hope he is safe and has a great race. Tonight I went to Christian Engle's going away party. I'm really going to miss him. He will do great things for the Y in NY and I wish him only the best. He has been a major part in my life with helping me discover my strengths and weakness and for always being there to listen. Plus he does triathlons so I like him even more!
Good luck to all those participating in a race this weekend! There are 4 races that you can watch on Ironman.com tomorrow and if you didn't catch it, Alcatraz Triathlon was on TV today as well.

Friday...the end or the beginning?

I love Fridays. Even though I find myself working on the computer all weekend, I still feel like it is the weekend and I can rest. But then again, after Thursday, the volume increases and I set myself up for 3 straight days of LONG training. Last night was a lot of fun. I biked to Howard Park and met 4 of my tri-buddies for a open water swim for 30 minutes. It took an hour to bike there but it was a great way to get warmed up (and everyone knows that i am not the biggest driving fan). This morning was tough. With the heat and humidity, I think the workouts I do are so much harder in the summer. 2 hour bike ride with an hour main set. 15 x 3 min at 80% with 1 min recovery. That was a tough hour but I felt strong during the whole ride. What a difference from last year where I was hurting at the end of my cycling rides and feared a brick because my energy was pretty low. Not only am I feeling fresh off the bike but I am enjoying longer runs off the bike. After the bike this morning I was off for a 50 min run. Loving my fuel belt especially on days like today! I Think I am religous about my hydration and wearing my fuel belt during any workout longer than 90 minutes (running).
Looking forward to this weekend. karel is off to Deland for the Deland cup (racing all three races) and I hope he has a good and safe race. Good luck to the other Gearlinkers and good luck to those racing at st.leo. I'm in for two BIG days of heavy training and hopefully I can squeeze in a nap after my bike/run tomorrow and bike/run/bike on sunday. Volume is def. picking up and now that I am just 16 weeks away from Kona, I am feeling a little bit of pressure to reach my goal of 10:30.
I'm looking foward to the rest of the summer and I am putting the final pieces on the USAT champions weekend clinic that I am putting together for the end of July. It's a lot of work putting together a full weekend of lectures and activities but I know the athletes who sign up will really benefit. How can I complain when I am doing something tri-related??
have a great weekend everyone!!! Be safe and smile! :)

A Wet Week

After this past weekend, I am finally feeling better. Training is going really well and there are no excuses in my mind. Tues, Wed and Thurs are tough, especially when the phone alarm goes off at 4:30am, but I don't mind. Thank goodness for the weekends when I can sleep in until 5:30am. I just love the weekend workouts...long stuff! This week the weather has been a little unforgiving to us athletes but if you train in the rain, you are ready for it in a race. Tues morning was a semi-easy swim workout but the run afterwards was tough. The running isn't getting any easier. I just find ways to push myself harder and harder to get the HR higher and higher. 1 min hard, 1 min easy, 2 min hard, 1 min easy, 3 min hard, 1 min easy, 4 min hard, 1 min easy, 5 min hard, 1 min easy and back down. The 4 and 5 min intervals were really hard especially when I saw my HR approach 170 and beyong...ouch! Tues afternoon was a quick 90 minute spin before I went to meet sarah (who I coach cycling) at a restaurant. Gotta love the girl time to catch up. She just got a gorgeous little puppy so Flash came along to keep the dinner exciting. Wed morning was my normal spin class and it went by super fast. We have a lot of fun in the class and my class works really hard. I am adding a long swimming workout on wed morning after I lift but as of now, I'm only swimming around a mile straight. I will gradually add more yards every wed. I look at it as an easy day to get in the water and work on my mental training. I am also working with a friend Robert who is anxious to step up his training for a full summer of sprint races. I love helping blooming triathletes! Nutrition consultations the rest of wed and wed evening I left around 5:30pm for the Gearlink ride. The clouds were building but the weather did not show any storms. well, that's florida for ya. By the time we started the ride at 6:30pm it was a downpour for about 10 minutes. Once it cleared up I was thinking it wasn't a good idea to try to draft off the fast guys of the group (still a large group even with the rain), so I rode with my good friend Michelle and we caught up as we rode a couple Landsbrook loops. I was a little scared riding home with Karel since the last time we were together on a wed he had his crash but we made it safely home just before 8pm.
This morning was a hard workout for me as the swim group had fins on and I had to swim the 6 x 300's without fins. After 1000 warm-up and the main set, we all did 8 x 50's working on breath control and 4 x 25 to finish the workout. All-out! I put on my running gear and headed out for a 9 mile run. Only had a little rain (what was left from the sprinkles during our swim workout) and the run felt good. Lifted a bit and did core and finished everything just before 8:30am.
I just registered for 70.3 World Championships from my qualification certificate from IM 70.3 Florida. This summer is going by fast and I can't tell you how excited I am for the fall. There is a lot to come this summer and I am looking forward to everyday!
Karel is doing his first race since the wreck this weekend in Deland. Good luck Karel!
GOOOO gearlink!

Quickie...to catch up.

I have been bad about writing on my blog. Life is fun right now. Training is going well. Sad about missing the Iron Girl Triathlon last weekend I heard it was a great success! I knew it would be great, especially with Michellie Jones racing there. Feeling a lot better than last week. I think something is going around so I consider myself lucky that I didn't end up with the flu. Training is going well this week, now that the traveling is over for atleast a month and I can finally settle into a routine. I am doing lots of nutrition consultations and triathlon coaching is going well also. Finally moved in to the new place, unpacked and loving where I live. I am right by the Pinellas Trail (less than 1/2 mile) which is great for the early morning rides. I just love running through Dunedin, especially when it is 95 degrees outside at 11pm and I have just finished a long ride with the guys. Seeing people everywhere really makes it easy to enjoy a hard brick workout. Swim practice was good this morning and I really pushed myself for my tues morning speed workout after I swam. A swim lesson and personal training session to finish the morning and now i am home working on the USAT Florida Region Educational Champions Weekend Clinic I am putting together.

I am really excited about my first published article is a REAL magazine. The july 2007 issue of Triathlete contains an article I wrote on nutrition. This is HUGE for me and I just love opening the magazine to page 140 and seeing my article in print. I am super proud of this and I worked hard for it. I guess it was worth it writing ALL those articles for websites and fitness club newsletters for free. Finally, I see something I wrote in a magazine. Now onto writing the book I have been wanting to write for a long time now :)

Karel has a new Girfriend. She is super pretty and he can't keep his hands off her. Ok-so he got a new bike and I must say that our collection of bikes is growing. He just loves his Pinarello Paris and it is great to see him on the bike again. My friend Ray is still recovering from his crash and I can only imagine what it is like to be off the bike (or stop training) for a couple days...let alone over a month for Karel and Ray. Ray-hang in there...you are amazing!

My brother is moved in to his new apartment in Pitt. His first day at PPG was yesterday and he really enjoys it there. I saw pics of his new place and it is for sure a bachelor pad for my 22 year old brother who is working full time as a business man! Aaron, you have always impressed me and I know you will do great at what you do! And when you own your own business one day..I will call you up and ask you for sponsorship!!! Hehe, only kidding. Love you Aaron. A big thanks to our amazing parents who helped us with two moves in less than 2 weeks. What troupers my parent's are to move me into my place in Dunedin and then 4 days later fly to Pitt to help my brother move from his old place at University of Michigan.

I bought a new laptop yesterday! Unfortuntantly, it was a tough decision for a new laptop or a trip to kona. I had to buy the laptop cause I was in NEED of one..and I'm still putting off the flight to Kona. The condo and rental car are booked...but I should probably start walking (and swimming) if I want to make it to Hawaii by October 6th when I can check-in to my condo. I guess I will have to work even harder now to make-up for my electronic gadget purchase and continue to save money for Kona. I guess it's life...but as long as you are enjoying what you do..it is all worth it!

Back to work!

What a bummer

I was too sick to race. I ended up not going to Iron Girl Atlanta. What a bummer cause I was so looking forward to the race. I guess there were too many germs in vegas and my head cold turned into a cough and runny nose and left me extremely tired this week. This was the first time that I had to pass on a race and it left me that I wasn't able to go. Things are going well right now and I feel like I'm finally getting the hang of the nutrition consultations. Working with Beginner Triathlete has been a lot of fun and even for the people around the area, everyone is seeing positive results with their weight loss and performance.
I'll keep everyone updated on my training. A lot of people have been asking about my "kona specific training" and the volume is getting higher every week. I'm getting super excited but the thought of how much this trip is going to cost is making want to work ALL the time. I love my work so I guess that is a good thing.
I know a lot of people are racing right now (triathlon/cycling) and I am always checking out results. So if you are racing and wouldn't mind writing me an email letting me know what race, I will be sure not to miss it!

Vegas Baby! I'm Back

In addition to moving to Dunedin on Friday, I was setting myself up for a BUSY weekend by finishing the final touches on my presentation for vegas. Saturday's workout was tough. Solo-but tough. Karel and I rode together for the first time since his crash but it was only a short ride. We ended up meeting the Panera ride and those guys were too fast for me. I barely hanging on for the wed. night loops with the Gearlink guys. I rather be pushed with the guys and not hand on than ride by myself. So once I was dropped from the group, I ended up riding 3 hours by myself with 2 x 20 minutes at Half Ironman race pace. Pretty tough by myself but I was having a good ride. After the ride I had a quick transition and headed out for my run. Felt really fresh and 50 minutes went by very quick. The brick workouts are getting easier the more I do them on a weekly basis. Some workouts are long, some are short and some include bricks... but overall, I feel I benefit from every workout. The rest of saturday was spent unpacking. I didn't even sit the entire day. I just love organizing and although moving is stressful, it is a great way to get your life together and up-to-date. Sunday morning was a long run with my friend Celia. We haven't ran together in a year and I couldn't pass up a long 2 hour run to chat with my good girlfriend. I biked my way over to Celia's house in tarpon and after the run I was glad I had another 50 minute ride home to spin my legs. I had to start the workout early in order to get home and get my things together for my trip to vegas. I was hoping to run in Clearwater on sunday with another good training friend, but I was in such a rush on sunday that if i tempted myself for a run in Clearwater, I was have to hit the beach soon after.
The trip to vegas was long and I was extremely tired once i got there. MY goal was to stay on the Florida time zone, but after arriving to the Flamingo at 12 vegas time I knew I was in trouble with a 4am Florida bed time. Monday I was in no mood to train and enjoyed my time in bed. The conference started early and I spent an entire day learning about sports nutrition at the annual International Society of Sports Nutrition conference. I was SO happy to see some of my close friends and especially my close friend Cassandra Forsythe who is almost finished with her PhD at UConn. My other good friend Rachel is amazing and she has racing in her first Ironman in 6 weeks in Lake Placid.
The time couldn't go by more slowly when I was there and on top of getting a horrible head cold and sore throat, I wasn't presenting until 4:20pm on Tuesday. After 2 LONG days of talks, it was finally my turn to talk. I was told I did a good job but I was extremely nervous and felt I could have done better. I guess I am my worst critic and when I speak or write, I expect a lot from myself. With new business cards (and something to put on them! hehe) I was networking like crazy in hopes of someday soon writing and publishing my first book.
After a red-eye leaving Vegas on 11pm on Tuesday evening, I am back in Florida catching up with emails, USAT Florida Region events and nutrition consultation write-ups. I'm glad to be back in Florida and for the 2 days that I will be here this week, I will be trying to work my butt off to make more money for my quickly approaching trip to Kona!!! Off to Atlanta this weekend for Iron Girl Atlanta and I'm hoping I can fight this awful head cold and rest before the race. Because I love Iron Girl, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to race. With Morton Plant Mease Triathlon as an upcoming A-race in July, I just love racing in new places with new faces.
Sorry bout the long blog..thought it was well overdue!
I also want to give a BIG congrats to my good friend Mike Baleno who just graduated from Dental school at Nova University. With a job in Clermont, I'm sure Karel and Mike will have plenty of riding weekends together :) Congrats again Mike!

The CRAZY world that I live in!

SOOOO Busy. No excuse here for not writing. Just training and working. Putting in my normal 6.5-7 hours of sleep (if I can stick with my 10pm bedtime) and working like crazy. I'm really getting busy with the nutrition consultations and helping people around the area and on BeginnerTriathlete.com is so rewarding. Also putting together a weekend clinic for the USAT Florida Region at the end of July has kept me a bit busy. Oh-and I'm moving to Dunedin tomorrow!!! Yippeeee
The kona training is going really well. No injuries and really pushing myself to the max. Last weekend was a killer. Of course I decided to start of my season with a run with Hurricane Barry and I completed 13 miles in the crazy rain and wind on saturday morning. Three things were going through my head: 1) My competitors are probably sleeping right now 2) I will probably race atleast 1 race in the pouring rain or extreme wind 3) This is really cool and I bet the drivers out there think I'm crazy! It was a lot of fun and I just kept laughing at myself (which I do when I am training in bad, but safe, conditions).
Sunday was a tough day. 3 hour bike ride followed by a 30 minute run. The bike was tough since I did a HUGE interval set. 11 miles at 75%, 9 miles at 75%, 9 miles at 85%, 5 miles at 90%. OUCH! Monday was a well-needed recovery spin and Tuesday I had a great swim/run practice.Coach Matt has been telling me to push harder during swimming and I just can't seem to get that little umph and build up the lactate like I did when I was swimming competitively in college. Well, I showed Matt on Tues how much I want to race 10:30 at Kona. Main set with fins was 8 x 125 on 1:40, 5 x 100 on 2 minutes, 5 x 100 on 1:45, 5 x 100 1:10!!!! Was he crazy. Well, I did make some of them, coming in at 1:04. Didn't make the last two and I wanted to puke after the set! What a killer workout!
After the swim was my normal interval run on the pinellas trail. Did I ever run hard! 1 hour and 10 minute run with 2 sets of the following hard at 75% - 5 minutes hard, 2 minutes easy, 4 minutes hard, 4 minutes easy.
Tues afternoon I did my recovery spin on the bike. Around 40 miles and felt just great. Wed I had to miss the afternoon ride with the Gearlink guys cause I was super busy all day and needed to work on the Vegas presentation.
Leaving on Sunday for vegas! I hope I win big with the $5 I am spending there!!!
Have a great weekend everyone. Stay safe and train hard..and have fun!

A Great b-day!

My birthday was great! Thursday morning I went to swim practice at 5:30am and was greated by lots of Happy Birthday wishes and of course a couple sarcastic remarks that I am "so young" and "we are all old enough to be your parents!" from the other triathletes in the water. The main set was for ME and I think the other swimmers were a little bothered that it was my b-day set. 4 x 600's for non-Ironman triathletes is tough...but I Loved it! Went for a 50 minute run and I enjoyed being the BIG 25! I spent a couple hours at Iron Girl helping out Judy with Iron Girl Atlanta articles and I received a wonderful gift from Judy-Lots of Sports bars and the cutest b-day card! I just love Judy! I am SO looking forward to racing at the Iron Girl Atlanta Triathlon in a couple weeks.
The rest of the day was a little stressful as I continued to work on my presentation for Vegas. I leave next sunday and I feel like I still have lots of preparation to do. The power point is finished and I have a lot of research to discuss. I'm really looking forward to seeing some of my ISSN buddies and catching up. A lot has happened for me in the past year and I know all my science-guru's will be excited to hear about my new love of the Ironman distance!
I was greated with roses, a b-day cake and presents from karel. He is so sweet. We had dinner in Clearwater beach and walked along the ocean. I just love the water! We were also celebrating our 1-year anniversary so he received a present or two from me. I always make things, so he received another picture collage from me. Lots of pictures of us with cycling-related magazine pictures for the border. I think he is getting use to me and being very camera excited.
Fri evening I celebrated dinner with the family and it was really nice to be with the fam. I just love them and we get along great. My parents are handling things really well right now with my brother moving to Pitt in a week and me getting more serious with my nutrition-triathlon-related career. I think they've gotten use to my ups-and-downs with trying to make something of myself with my master degree and with my sport, but most of all I am so lucky to have two supportive parents and a great relationship with my brother.
Thanks to everyone for the phone calls, emails and happy birthday wishes. It means a lot that i have so many great people in my life who care about me and are so supportive of my lifestyle. I really enjoy sharing my life with everyone and more than ever...it is busy and exciting!