Every year I like to recap the year, sharing our highs and lows and everything in between. Although 2020 didn't give us our typical year of racing, it provided us with a lot of new opportunities and experiences.
I posted this picture on Facebook on January 21st with the caption:
"When it feels like you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders, remind yourself that it’s better for the world when you first take care of yourself."
With 2020 being such an extraordinary year, it reminded me to never take anything for granted. We are responsible for one another. Every human in this world is interdependent on each other. Your well-being is my well-being.
Although Karel and I love to race, we actually thrived during this year of cancelled races. We stayed healthy and injury free and we kept our training fun and flexible. The worst part of a season of cancelled races was the sadness we felt for our athletes. We really missed the excitement, stress, worry and emotional rollercoaster that becomes part of our lives during "triathlon race season."
I experienced a great amount of anxiety and stress when the pandemic hit in March and began to disrupt the normalcy over the next few months. I really struggled. I found it incredibly hard to be happy when so many people were suffering. In addition to the pandemic, I was also affected by politics, racial inequality and so much more. It's been a really tough year. Although I have so much to be thankful and grateful for, I can't help but feel tremendous sadness as so many people have lost so much.
Personally, 2019 was an extremely difficult year for us as we lost so much. 2020 paled in comparison to what we endured in 2019.
In 2019 we experienced....
-Campy getting attacked by a dog off the leash (requiring stitches in his side).
-The loss of our friend and athlete to suicide.
-Saying good-bye to our16-year old cat Smudla.
-Me experiencing a hip/back injury which stopped me from running for 3 months.
-Me getting my cornea scratched by Campy.
-My grandpa passing away at the age of 93.
-Five days later after my grandpa passed away, we had to say good-bye to our new kitten Felix after only 6 days together, due to pneumonia.
-Karel getting sick soon after returning home from the Ironman World Championship.
After surviving 2019, we had a lot to be thankful for in 2020 - we personally did not lose anything or anyone. If 2020 taught me not to take anything for granted, 2019 taught me just how fragile life can be.
Alongside traveling to promote my new book and a few private camps, I traveled to my alma mater (Transylvania University in Lexington, KY) to speak to the swim team, triathlon team and exercise science students. Karel raced his only "planned" race of the year - a 10-mile road race just a few miles down the road. I had planned to do the race but my hip was acting up so I decided to skip the event. Karel ended up 3rd with a pace of 5:47 and placed 3rd overall after two youngsters.
March - New road bike and a training camp!
The month started out with the arrival of my new Ventum NS1 road bike. Little did I know at the time that I would be spending a lot of time on it over the summer. After a loooong two months of winter training, we were super excited to head down south to Clermont, Florida for the official kick-off of the 2020 racing season. With a packed camp roster of over 16 campers, we were really looking forward to this 4.5 day all-level training camp in warm and sunny Florida. While the weather did not let us down, our camp occurred right before the news started to escalate about Covid-19. This was the last time that we would hug and be physically close to our athletes. Our camp race (which was a USAT-sanctioned event) was cancelled just an hour after we picked up our packets. This was the start of many more race cancellations. To help keep our athletes motivated, we created the Spring Challenge which was a 10-day training plan that we would all complete together for motivation and inspiration. We created our own bib numbers and opened it to the public (it was free) - with several dozen athletes joining us!
As plans changed, travel arrangements were cancelled and races were deferred to 2021, my focus changed from providing race tips and sport nutrition advice on my blog to discussing the importance of taking care of mental and physical health during such an unanticipated time in our life. You can check back to my blog as the entire month of April (and onward) focused on ways to manage during a difficult time of life changes, stress and cancelled races. This was also an interesting time for our coaching business as we needed to change our approach to help our athletes manage their emotions during such a tough time of uncertainty. We needed to find new ways to keep our athletes motivated and learn on the fly as to how to adjust training to prevent burnout in the case of racing in the late part of the season. I also struggled during this month as it's my dad's birthday month, which remains a difficult time of grieving for me - combined with the anxiety and sadness that I felt with everything else going on. Let's just say that April was a rough month. And when the pools were closed, my "happy place" was taken away from me. We adjusted by finding the nearest boat ramp for open water swimming (thanks to Karel for finding this "hidden gem") and we purchased an above-ground pool for at-home swimming. It was an essential purchase that really helped with my mental health. With a bit of a mindset shift, I kept myself moving by exploring new experiences and opportunities.
May - The "Coronaman" and "Mini Coronaman"
Leave it to Karel to do something epic and exciting during a time of cancelled races. Karel planned his own Ironman distance race course - which was strategically designed to be difficult and challenging. I was his on-the-go aid station and support crew, as well as his commentator and photographer. You can check out the above link for the full recap (with videos) of his solo 140.6 mile event in and around Greenville, SC. After Karel's event, I was inspired to set my own challenges. A few weeks later, I completed the "mini" coronaman with our friend Alvi. It was so much fun to feel competitive, even if we were not in a race environment. This reminded me how much I love triathlon and how it enriches my life in so many ways. Sadly, I didn't blog about it. I think I was feeling overwhelmed with emotions as I was excited about my mini coronaman (half Ironman distance event) but also sad with the current status of our nation. A few days later, I took a self-care trip to Lexington, KY (my hometown) with Campy as I needed a change of scenery. It was a very quick trip but just what I needed for a bit of a mental reboot.
June - Birthday trip to the farm.
To celebrate my 38th birthday on May 31st, Karel arranged a trip to Jehova Farm in NC. This was the perfect birthday gift from Karel as he knows how much I love animals and felt so much joy being around so many furry creatures. It was the perfect little get-away. Although we had to cancel our endurance group camp, as well as cancel several of our planned private camps, I found my purpose coming back as we kicked off triathlon week. During this month, we started to have some fun exploring new routes and finding new ways to have fun with our triathlon training in Greenville, SC. During our trip to the farm, I had the opportunity to create a beautiful yarn piece using a floor loom. This really excited my creative brain and helped me discover my love for string art.
Over the next few months, we held a few more private camps and also celebrated our athletes accomplishing their own personal challenges and "mock" races.
With the theme of new opportunities and experiences, it was so much fun to feel all of the emotions, nerves and excitement for a race. While only a 10-mile time trial event just 20 miles away from where we live, it was so much fun to look forward to an event and to see familiar faces. We also kept exploring new routes and finding ourselves spending a lot of time on our road bikes. Over the next two months, we climbed a lot of mountains!
August - Mini training camps, another race and a trip to the Smokies!
With several new precautions in place, we were able to safely pull off two small training camps after the cancellation of our group training camp in June. We decided to hold two group camps (each with 5-6 athletes) for 3-days each. So over 6 days we welcome 10 athletes to Greenville - and by the end, we were exhausted. But it was so worth it! A few days later we took part in another time trial event and this time Karel joined me as a "racer." It was so much fun to feel the good hurt that comes with racing. Near the end of the month, we took a trip to the Smokey Mountains for a bit of a getaway with Campy. We left our triathlon gear at home and traded swim/bike/run for hiking in the mountains. It was nice to change up the normal routine and to get deep inside nature. It was a nice bit of normalcy during such a stressful time. I also got into string art, which has been a great stress relief during this stressful time.
Although all of our planned races were cancelled (a total of 9), in addition to our trip to Europe (to participate in the 7-day cycling Haute Route Alps and to visit Karel's family), we started to thrive during our season of cancelled races and recruited some friends to be part of our quarenteam. We created some epic rides and had a lot of fun exploring our mental and physical limits. We did more 100+ mile rides this summer than ever before (probably combined since moving to Greenville in 2014). It was so much fun to enjoy conquering epic challenges with other like-minded individuals. With no races on the schedule, it was so much fun to use our fitness for different adventures. When we heard that a local Olympic distance triathlon event was a go in early September, we registered and looked forward to our first triathlon event since competing in the Ironman World Championship in October 2019. Of course, it rained on our drive to the race - in typical 2020 fashion :) We called this a "team" race as we had a large handful of Trimarnis out on the race course. Although there were new precautions in place, we didn't mind them as we were all out there doing what we love - and it felt completely normal during the race. A few weeks later, just before Karel's 44th birthday, we participated in another event - a 2.4 mile open water swim event at Lake Jocassee (about 50 minutes away). It was another wonderful opportunity to be in the race environment. We were so thankful to all of the race organizers for putting on such safe environment during such unsafe times. And a week later we completed 6-gap in Dahlonega, Georgia (which was our largest participant event since Kona!).
Feeling the itch to race more in 2020, Karel started to search for more adventures. He applied for the 2021 Ultraman in Florida (which was cancelled in December) and he registered for the Xtreme Florida Triathlon in November. After giving it some thought, I decided that I wanted to participate in the Xtreme triathlon with Karel. This required us to have support since both of us were racing so our friend Alvi offered to take time away from his family and work to crew for us for 3 days. With only registering for the event just a few weeks prior, we spent the month of October "priming" for the race with a few "race specific" workouts and a slight drop in volume. Since this would be our first ultra endurance triathlon, we felt nervous and excited. Still unsure if the event would actually happen, we stayed positive - even in the face of a hurricane passing through the venues just two days before the event).
November - The 3-day Florida Xtreme Triathlon! And the 10-mile Lake Summit road race!
Karel voted for the first time after becoming a US citizen in 2019. A week later, we made our way down south for a coast to coast, 3-day triathlon event. We were amazed with the crew and staff that put on the event as they made us feel safe and special. Certainly this was our highlight of the year as we did something that we had never done before and we even won the event! It was an incredible experience and one that has forever changed me - mentally and physically. After covering 300+ miles over 3 days, somehow my body managed to compete in the 10-mile road race that I had registered for long before the registration of the Xtreme Triathlon. Karel's knee was acting up on the morning of the race so he decided to sit out the event as to not take any risks in this fun run.
December - The Whole Athlete
After a refreshing "off season" break around Thanksgiving, we have enjoyed a bit of a "fun" December. We joined our local master swim team and have really enjoyed the comradery of swimming in a group three times a week. This has really re-ignited my love for swimming (as if I didn't love it enough). Karel is still learning to appreciate swimming :) We also joined a local group ride (GVL WBL) which is a weekly ride on Saturdays at 10am. This ride has been something that I look forward to every week and it also fills me with a bit of nerves and anticipation. But I really enjoy stepping out of my comfort zone and the good hurt that comes with riding in a group of cyclists. I was a bit all-consumed with a new program that I am offering at Trimarni, which is called The Whole Athlete. I spent the entire month of December putting together this program and I learned a lot through this process. I am so excited to finally open it to the public. We really miss traveling. I miss hugs. Karel really misses his family (who is in Czech). We were supposed to visit them after our 7-day cycling event (Haute Route Alps) in late August but since that was cancelled, we aren't sure when we will be able to get back to Czech to visit them. Thankfully there is Skype so Karel can continue to speak to his family once a week. 
Thank you for reading our year in review. I hope that your year was filled with safety, health and gratitude. Life is hard, no doubt. Right now it's really hard. Don't forget to take care of your mental and physical health. I look forward to a great year ahead - and lots of hugs and high fives! 
I experienced a great amount of anxiety and stress when the pandemic hit in March and began to disrupt the normalcy over the next few months. I really struggled. I found it incredibly hard to be happy when so many people were suffering. In addition to the pandemic, I was also affected by politics, racial inequality and so much more. It's been a really tough year. Although I have so much to be thankful and grateful for, I can't help but feel tremendous sadness as so many people have lost so much.
Personally, 2019 was an extremely difficult year for us as we lost so much. 2020 paled in comparison to what we endured in 2019.
In 2019 we experienced....
-Campy getting attacked by a dog off the leash (requiring stitches in his side).
-The loss of our friend and athlete to suicide.
-Saying good-bye to our16-year old cat Smudla.
-Me experiencing a hip/back injury which stopped me from running for 3 months.
-Me getting my cornea scratched by Campy.
-My grandpa passing away at the age of 93.
-Five days later after my grandpa passed away, we had to say good-bye to our new kitten Felix after only 6 days together, due to pneumonia.
-Karel getting sick soon after returning home from the Ironman World Championship.
After surviving 2019, we had a lot to be thankful for in 2020 - we personally did not lose anything or anyone. If 2020 taught me not to take anything for granted, 2019 taught me just how fragile life can be.
Despite so much darkness in the year, there was light. I was able to find gratitude during such a difficult time. Here's a look into the past twelve months.....
January - Promoting my 3rd book - Athlete to Triathlete
My third book was released in December and I went on my first book tour to Charlotte, NC and Roanoke, Virginia. I also had great support from our local running store Run In.
Over the next few weeks, we also had several private camps with athletes from all over. We dedicated the early part of our year to helping out our athletes as much as possible as we had planned a trip to Europe for much of August and early September. My Ventum received a beautiful makeover and I couldn't wait to show it off at the upcoming races.
February - Travel and racing!
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March - New road bike and a training camp!
April - The new normal.
May - The "Coronaman" and "Mini Coronaman"
June - Birthday trip to the farm.
Over the next few months, we held a few more private camps and also celebrated our athletes accomplishing their own personal challenges and "mock" races.
July - I raced!
August - Mini training camps, another race and a trip to the Smokies!
September - We race in a triathlon! And we raced in an open water event! And completed 6-gap!
Although it was so much fun racing in September, the highlight of September was rescuing Sylvester (Sylvi) from a pile of spikey bushes along the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Ella now has a forever best friend and play mate. I still need to blog about his story (it's a good one!).
October - Campy's 13th birthday and our 12th wedding anniversary
November - The 3-day Florida Xtreme Triathlon! And the 10-mile Lake Summit road race!
Karel voted for the first time after becoming a US citizen in 2019. A week later, we made our way down south for a coast to coast, 3-day triathlon event. We were amazed with the crew and staff that put on the event as they made us feel safe and special. Certainly this was our highlight of the year as we did something that we had never done before and we even won the event! It was an incredible experience and one that has forever changed me - mentally and physically. After covering 300+ miles over 3 days, somehow my body managed to compete in the 10-mile road race that I had registered for long before the registration of the Xtreme Triathlon. Karel's knee was acting up on the morning of the race so he decided to sit out the event as to not take any risks in this fun run.
December - The Whole Athlete
