Ironman Nutrition

I've had a number of people reach out to me re: my Ironman Lake Tahoe nutrition debacle and ask how at #10 do I now have this figured out.

So I will go back.

Ironman's 1-3- I used Carbo Pro in a concentrated bottle- 1600 calories and a 6 lines drawn on the bottle- every 30 min I drank 1/2 of a line and chased with water and consumed 24 oz water/hour.  Every 30 min 2x salt tabs at 400mg - so 800mg salt per hour.  AND it worked well!

Until Ironman # 4 and it was hot and humid
AND around his time there was a lot of talk about adding protein to your nutrition to better sustain you.  But don't do this in the Kona sun as it will thicken and not be drinkable. So I tried Infinit.  Special blend based on my sweat test etc.  6 bottles - 3 on the bike and 3 in special needs.  Yes they were hot but I had practiced this and all was fine, until mile 70 and I started vomiting.  Let's just say 60+ oz of red infinite on the bike came back up.  The funny thing is I never stopped riding (just leaned over and let it come up)  and soon thereafter a guy in a white kit covered in red spray rides along side me.  I start profusely apologizing to him and he than says "If I have been 10 meters back I would not have gotten hit.  I've been drafting and well "karma sucks"  and he rolled off.  Gotta love that

And so I rode on, not keeping anything down, not even water for the remainder of the ride.   I started the run and at mile 6, still unable to keep anything down, I blacked out and woke up under a palm tree with some medical staff.  Eventually I was in the car on my way to medical and was 11 lbs down from the start, severely dehydrated  My day was over.

Even though there were other circumstances (aka being sick, heat etc) I have never tried Ifinit again.

So my next approach was drinking water and water with NUUN and eating solid food every 30 min. This is how I train and so I decided to race that way, supplementing with Salt Tabs and it worked great - in cooler temps.  Solid run, no GI issues and I found out what worked.

Until I returned to the heat and make 9 porta pottie stops on the run and walked for many miles.

Ill be okay if I
never drink this again 

So.... I have now figured out -in cooler temps I can tolerate solids and run well.  In warmer temps I simply cannot digest them so I end up with non stop diarrhea. (despite taking immodium)

So....that is how I got to the 8x bottle of Gatorade Endurance + 4 bottles of water for Ironman Lake Tahoe.  But that simply did not work..
1- keeping track of how much I took in was a challenge
2 - once I threw all my bottles away when I had a minor temper tantrum  I was at a loss for what I had taken in
3- the genius move of changing my A4 front bottle on Saturday so I could easily read power was not so genius as I could not not reach the straw.  So I tossed that away too.  Literally throwing $ away at this point.

We all have that wonder when a new engineered product comes out- is this the magic formula to make me faster, run better etc.... so we keep looking. My advice to all those who don't suffer GI issues in Ironman- DONT change your plan!   stick with it.

And for me I simply cannot put the same stress on my body in training that I do racing.  It has to be the adrenaline and nerves that f with my GI on race day.

So back to the preverbial drawing board before Ironman Texas!
And I have to buy a new front hydratino system. 

Ironman Lake Tahoe Race Report

12:12:55- my slowest Ironman to date.  This was #10 for me, slowest and possibly the most difficult- mentally that is.

I want to thank everyone for all the great support and kind words.  Yes it was a hard race, yes I finished, but we all have our own goals and I fell short on Sunday.  I simply did not race to my potential and I carry disappointment with that.  I injured my back a few weeks ago but it was feeling good so I was optimistic.  The combo of my back and a botched nutrition plan was the cause for a sub par race.  I am proud I finished, I have never wanted to quit a race more so I will hold onto that.

Swim: 50:44- as much as I would love to say I swam that fast,,,no way- course had to be short.  I did work extra hard on my swim and did swam really hard- arm to arm with Heidi, it was a dog fight the entire 2nd loop. I was expecting a 53:xx- 50: xx not possible, looks good but lets be realistic.

After swimming on Friday when it was 33 degrees, the balmy 48 on race day was great. I was also dressed for it. Tri top, long sleeve shirt, long sleeve jersey, beanie, sweat pants, socks and shoes.  Plus the changing rooms were open for us to hand out in, so it was really comfortable. I did my "Micheal Phelps" move and cranked up Black Eyed Peas, put my headphones in and jammed and did my mobility.   T1 was on the sand coming out of the swim.   It was dark and I went to check on my gear and there was a table there and a guy shouting " if your bag is missing come see me. "  On the table were 30+ bags shredded. Apparently around 3am a bear hit the beach and smelled all the yummy snacks in T1 bags- luckily for me- nothing to eat.

The swim was interesting, Rolling start,  So I lined up in the front on the sand - 1:00 and under group. The lake is shallow due to the draught so there was about 100 yards of just above ankle deep water until we could swim.  The announcer said- WALK, don't run.  Cannon goes off and everyone is running.  Classic.  Its hard to run in water that deep but it was too shallow to swim. Finally did a flat dive and went for it. Water temp was 55-58- My Roka Maverick Pro kept me really warm, water sealed in.  I wore 2 regular caps- no neoprene and I was fine.  I went out hard and soon lost the feet I was on.  Swam loop 1 alone and as loop 2 started Heidi came along side.  We definitely pushed each other.  Exiting the swim we had the same shallow run to do and running along I f'ing tripped and went face down, scrambled my way up and Heidi ran past me across the mat for a.02 victory.

T1- I pulled off bathing suit- tri shorts on, aero jersey on top of wet tri top, arm warmers, vest, jacket, socks and gloves.  Hurried out and was glad to have all that on- it was 48 degrees- COLD getting on the bike.

BIKE- 6:03:xx-  I was glad I had all the layers as it was cold.  I felt great initially and keeping the power down was hard, I was loose and holding back the first loop.  I dropped my jacket and gloves at mile 17, about 45 min too soon and was really cold - but I knew it would warm up fast and it did.  The course is beautiful and I was really having fun, until mile 60 and my SI started to seize up and it got progressively worse.  I was up and down trying to stay comfortable and around that time my plan of Gatorade only went south, I was burping it up and just could not drink it any more.   I stuck with plain water and my gut started to feel better and I knew I needed calories and my only option was cliff bars.  I lost track of calories, liquid etc and was trying to keep my power up and my back happy.

T2- I hopped off the bike and was in serious pain,  It was a slow shuffle to T2 and that feeling of sitting in the chair wanting it to be over.  I had tears in my eyes, got up and headed out.

RUN: 5:08:51 -
First mile I tried to run and it was just slow, pain in my SI and piriformis.  When I saw John at mile 2, I was crying and told him I couldn't do it.  He said come on, good job, keep running.  I was wanting him to say, okay call it a day. So I kept shuffling along, it was painful to run at all.  I managed 10 or so miles at a slow pace and felt worse and worse.  John was amazing, riding along trying everything to keep me going, "think of Roo - happy puppy running" was the best.  I tried to rally and just could not.  So I took it 1 mile a time and tried to just keep moving.  At one point he suggested I sit and stretch and I finally tried and could not get up, my quads completely locked up.  Now I realize i was low on calories and sodium.  My hands and feet were so swollen I was convinced I had had too much salt... The guy from BASE Salt saw me and told me I looked terrible, he hung with me for 5 min and convinced me to take salt and drink.  I did - soon I saw John and he asked if I wanted to call it a day, which meant I was out of the running for  a slot, but by that point I was like "what, now you say I can quit?  Really I have 10 miles to go.  I'll just suck it up."  I told him he may as well go back as it was going to be a long 10.  I also remembered I had anti- inflammatory and I popped those and around 20 I could shuffle again and by 21 I was "running" .  Then it was a horse to the barn, just get it done!   I even passed a girl in my AG at mile 25.7 and ran in.

I crossed, puked and nearly passed out.  Felt like a much harder effort that it was.

I missed Mike Reilly- the announcer was very low energy and no high tempo music (although John says there was- so maybe I was just out of it)

So...there you have it
1- hardest race ever and worst performance-  that is Ironman for you
2 - I did not quit
3- I have the most amazing and supportive husband -  I love him more than anything and appreciate his commitment to me and supporting this insane sport
4- Tahoe is amazing, altitude sucks
5- took me 48 hours to figure out my next race-  NO not an Ironman
6- Returned 2 pairs of Hoka's- simply cannot tolerate the blisters- 5 blisters, will lose 2 toenails -  Need a better option
7- I still love this sport
8- 200 oz of Gatorade endurance is NOT an option for me.  I tried all liquid due to so much GI distress from solids.  Yes I practiced this in training- but training and racing are so different. I never have GI issues in training.  So back to the drawing board re: Nutrition.
9- I did all I could- went 12 days early, yes 21 would have been ideal, zero alcohol for 3 weeks, lots of beets, clean eating - no processed foods 2 weeks, proper sleep and ideal taper- but there was more that happened on race day... so be it!

Thanks again to all who followed and cheered me from afar!

36 hours before an Ironman

Wake up from a nightmare at 3am that I left my power meter and all my nutrition in my hotel room.   Get out of bed and check bike, power meter and write a giant note NUTRITION.

5am wide awake thinking that in 24 hours I will be en route to the start- check iPhone for weather see 32 degrees and try not to think that is the temp of freezing.


Confident texts with Coach!  Fired up? Yes! 

Make coffee and scroll through emails with that start of a nervous bubble in my stomach.  Eat roasted sweet potatoes and egg + avocado, Today is about storing calories for tomorrow.

Drive to freezing cold lake, get out and decide that freezing on Friday and again tomorrow was enough and return to my "favorite" pool in Truckee for a shake out 2k swim.  Swimming calms me.

Hit up Wild Cherries for Almond Milk Latte + 24 oz bottle of H20  + 2x NUUN, While it maybe 32 in the AM it will be over 80 on the run so I am hydrating as well as caffeinating and storing calories. 

Go to CVS and buy a  new Power Meter battery, just to be safe.  Return home, more coffee maybe a bad idea, and some brown rice, small amount of spinach and daiya cheese.  Charge Di2 battery and go for a 15 min run.  Run the finish line again only to find myself in the middle of the IronKids race- oops. 

Run around the parking lot and see all the Ironman athletes invading and get really nervous excited to see them all! 

Bubble in stomach bigger.  Need to get out of the mayhem.  Batteries all charged and replaced and bike ready to go.  Grab Bike bag that is overflowing
- tri shorts
- aero jersey
- arm warmers
- vest
- jacket
- gloves
- socks
- toe covers and shoes
- helmet
- sunnies

Tie up the bag and off we go to Kings Beach- 10am and is 65 and sunny. Lake is stunningly clear and blue and looks inviting. Insert picture that I wish I had taken but was too nervous excited to do so.  Drop of my bike- lonely on the rack. Swim exit is up the beach so bags are on the sand.  Done- crap, I mean yeah!  Checking the bike is making it all real.  Not that I previously thought this was all a charade, but you know- right? Or am I just crazy.

Back to Condo and pack up run bag
- garmin
- hat
- running glasses
- belt and race #
- socks
- shoes
- 4 tiny bags- 3 bags with 4x salt tabs and 1 bag with Imodium and ibuprofen
- tube of glucose tabs
- running shorts

Drop of run bag and meet up with Mike ( my athlete who is racing- final course talk, prep and I am glad to worry about his race vs mine)

all the bags

Back to condo (again)  and eat Mediterranean pizza left over from dinner.  48oz powerade zero.  

Nap- but no sleeping- get horizontal and read emails and settle into Netflix complete trashy series- Scandal.  Ideal for pre- Ironman.

Work on a few schedules, repack AM clothes bag for the 4th time,  lay down and get up 10x.  Start pot of Quinoa and sweet potatoes. 

Visualize finally drinking wine again the last 8 miles of the day-  mentally prepare to suffer and practice how I will deal with that.

Freak out that I forgot something in my bike and run bags- mental check list- all good

Take call from Mom wondering how my race is going.  Alert her the race is tomorrow. She was worried.

Peruse Facebook....awesome messages of good luck from so many!  Love this one


Start to panic relax and think about the day and write a blog..... 4:18.  there you have it!

Ironman Insurance Policy - IT WORKS!

Life happens, injuries happen.....this was a great move on the part of WTC.  They outsourced it to Stonebridge Benefit Services, Inc.  Even better- let another company mange the "problem"

I have used it twice this year for a 70.3's.  IM St George 70.3 when I was injured and IM Santa Cruz 70.3 due to injury sort of...because of my injury in March/April/May I was not able to race Ironman Canada thus I transferred to Ironman Lake Tahoe which is 1 week post IM Santa Cruz 70.3 and thus IM Santa Cruz was not feasible.

So for an investment of $80 I have recouped $580.  Well worth it indeed.

The process is simple, download the refund request form, fill it out and provide necessary documentation and email it off.  72 hours after the race takes place you receive a notice like this. The check arrives a few days later.

Booking races months in advance can be risky...with this in place, the downside is much less.

IM Lake Tahoe - need a pool

Week of an Ironman I like to swim every day.  In a majestic location like Kona it's awesome to swim in stunning Kailua Bay every day, even grab a coffee.  But here in stunning Lake Tahoe this am it was 44 degrees with 16mph winds with a  "Wind advisory on Lake Tahoe, Small Craft advisory"  My assumption is that if a small boat is not recommended on the Lake neither is a person in a wet suit.

So I returned to the Truckee Pool.

1- It served the purpose (3rd time since I arrived) for a solid swim
2- it is NOT the Encinitas Y nor Alga Norte nor any pool I have swum in lately. 6 lanes indoor.
3- I hit up Masters on Friday and the coach was in the water and we ALL ( 5 of us) went on the same interval.  So the main set base on base + 25 for me, which um never happens. But I was respectful and swam along,  Finished up in my own lane.  This was not a Hux kinda workout, just sayin.
4- Pool temp 83 degrees.  Good for heat training? But since the lake is 60 and the air temp is lower, not sure the benefit.
5- No shoes on deck.  Bizarre- you go barefoot or they have handy shoe covers as you enter
6- $5 drop in fee.  Thankfully it is reasonable.
7- Pool was full today.. lots of triathletes with the same idea. We managed 3 to a lane, different paces and different workouts.
8- Locals are incredibly friendly and apologetic for fires - again.  One nice lady  offered up, "how do you feel about the snow forecast on Thursday?"  Well I cannot be surprised, it snowed 2 years ago.

It's all good.  Windy today but the rain last night cleared the air at least in Olympic Valley and it nice and clear.    Now I have a cool new app to track it AirQuality

Ironman Lake Tahoe Run Course Recon

1:It's not FLAT
2:It's at Altitude

if you did not know about 1 and 2 you are in deep shit trouble as we are 6 days from the race.

T2 is at Squaw Valley -  you ride 2 full loops of the bike course and start a 3rd loop but peel off at Squaw Valley. As you ride up those 2 miles to transition a little voice in your head maybe screaming thinking I have to run up this hill (twice). Yes you are correct.

Run- 1.5 miles mostly downhill is an awesome way to start the run not so awesome way to finish and then you turn right and do a loop around Squaw Creek Resort which is a 1+ mile loop and 250+ feet of climbing in .5 miles and you exit back to Squaw Valley Road and head to the River Trail.  The River Trail is awesome, shaded, along the river or creek, and a nice place to run.  Miles 4-5 are "gentle up hill" and than it flattens out with some small ups and downs to mile 9 where you turn around and come back.  You don't Squaw Peak on the way up (thank you Ironman) BUT the first .5 miles onto Squaw Valley Rd are the steepest, once you pass the soccer pitch it is a gentle up hill to the finish (just kidding) because you are only at 18 miles.

Back down, loop on Squaw Creek, and then almost to the bottom of Squaw Valley Road and your turn around and head back up that m'fucking  gentle climb to the finish line!

This is NOT a hard run IF
1- it was not at 6600 feet
2- if you had not ridden 112 miles with close to 7000 ft of elevation

But you are at elevation and this is an Ironman.

Fuel well
Dig deep
Take it 1 mile at a time
Be thankful you are able to race an Ironman!

Sun sets around 7-7:30 and that is when the temperature drops.  The River Trial is cooler than other areas and is very dark.  If you think you maybe running in the dark, I'd suggest a headlamp and a long sleeve shirt, gloves

Ironman Lake Tahoe Swim Recon

We arrived Wed, 12 days prior to race day!   Why? Because we can.  John is able to work remotely and I don't have an office, so we are a mobile couple.  Empty nesting has it's advantages.  Don't worry Roo/Mako/Zen have good people living at the house taking care of them.

We rented a great condo at Squaw  - right at the finish line.

Sunday- was Swim Recon.

Air Temperature at 7:45 47 degrees- this is one hour LATER than race start, but well we are on vacation so I did not hop in the water at 6:40.  I will later in the week.

Water temp 60-62.  COLD

I swam 2.4 miles and the start of the swim was calm and relatively nice. Definitely chilly but tolerable.  At the turn around the wind picked up and it was choppy and tough to navigate.  My Roka wet suit fits like a glove, no water in the suit and really comfortable,  If your suit is big you will be flooded with cold water the entire swim- I'd suggest getting a new suit- you want your wet suit tight, really uncomfortable on land.

As for booties- I won't wear them, but consider how long you will be in the water and how cold your feet get.  Neoprene Cap- I will opt out but I think it is a good idea.  I'll do a double cap for sure.   Bring multiple goggles- visibility was low due to the cloud cover and smoke from the fire - so I wore clear goggles.

At the turn around 30 minutes, I was chilled.  I picked up the pace to generate some warmth and felt good swimming.  Strong finish but I was shivering with blue lips and cold hands and feet.  The idea of hopping on a bike wet was NOT desirable.

So consider this when planning your T1.    I may completely change in T1 so I am dry and warm on the bike.  Think about what 45 degrees feels like on a bike!

Any questions...message me, happy to answer if I can. 

Bubble Wrap

The fact that when I googled "bubble wrapped person" I got and entire page of images is slightly alarming..... or kind of funny.

13 days from an Ironman it is time to be really careful.  Especially given the fact I am clumsily and accident prone.   "Move with purpose" my husband says.  Slow down, look where you walk etc.... Which for me IS necessary.  The number of injuries I have sustained from day to day tasks is surreal.

I was signed up for the Labor Day Pier Swim in Oceanside- figured a good 1 mile OW race would be perfect timing.  Sunday night Liz points out that she was slammed on the beach that day in the open water, due to the high surf from the hurricane in MX ,and to be careful.  This planted a tiny seed and grew into a reasonable decision.

what I want to avoid

My back is not 100%.  When I move a certain way or the wrong way I can feel a twinge or sometimes shooting pain.  I am 75% better and mostly feel great but can tell there is still healing to be done.   So after a lot of thought I decided to NOT do the OW swim.  If I got hit by a wave or tossed in a certain way and tweaked my back I would be beyond frustrated.  This is what it means to be 48, no risks, slow down and be careful.   Getting old is really fun..

Instead I went to Hux's Labor Day "Fun"  6k in the pool later I dragged myself out -no injuries - just really sore and tired shoulders.   Probably a better "topping off the training" swim for an Ironman.  I headed up to Oceanside to see the swim and yes was feeling wimpy and a jealous..... in a normal scenario 8-10 ft conditions would be right up my alley.  Tough ocean swimming is super fun!  I was extremely proud of 2 of my athletes who took on the surf, prevailed and even PR'd in this 1 mile swim.  Congrats Lisa and Marcus.

RE:  IMLT (ironman lake tahoe)  I am all in!   After 6 days off 100% off of training (after my last post) my back eased up and the pain was nearly gone.  I did a test run and it was ok and the pain did not get worse.  2 week end's ago I logged a 51/2 ride and a good T run + 18 mile run the following day.  With that in the bank and no additional (back/sciatica) pain I was back in!   Pulled off another solid week and a lower volume weekend this past weekend and am feeling good  Swim and bike are rock solid, my run is the ?.  I don't have any speed and the long runs are just slow - slower than they have been in a long time.   I can only hope my back holds up....

But well... I am going with it and will see what day brings!   As the saying goes..... Anything is possible

17 Reasons You’re Not Getting Faster 

warning- if you are not a triathlete, skip this blog :) 

I read articles daily from Triathlete, Ironman,com, Outside Mag and many other triathlon/fitness related sources.  Thanks to my family I read articles (they deem worthy) from the NYT, WSG and other such heady sources.  

But this article, published yesterday online, is one of the best I have read in a long time.  Hit the nail on so many heads, so to speak....  

I'll answer each of these personally and than make my "coachie" observations.... I do challenge YOU to read each one and have an honest conversation with yourself.

1: You don't practice transitions-  when I was new to the sport I practiced a lot- I was that nerd that on a Friday before a race would jump in my pool with my wetsuit ON, run to the driveway, strip and hop on my bike, ride around the park and then transition to my run.  I would do this time and time again. Mind you I was racing Sprints and Oly's but I did do this before a 70.3.  So....since then I can tell you I have practiced on 2 different occasions - both with my Coach  Mike Ricci - who happens to be quoted in this article.   Is this necessary for Ironman, I say NO.  But for 70.3's and anything shorter absolutely- think about an extra 1:00 off your run split- you'd take that right- well than practice a few times before your next race.

2: You are not drinking enough coffee-  NO way.... I excel at #2

3: You are going too hard on recovery days.  Guilty for many years but I get it now.  Frankly my hard days are so hard now, I cannot go hard on recovery days.    A good analogy here is many, many triathletes train every day at a 5 or 6- steady steady when they should be training some days at a 1 or 2 so on the other days they can go 9 or 10. When recovery days are too hard you cannot dig really deep when you need to.  When I do a recovery ride my watts are 40+ lower than Ironman watts.  

4: You're not committed enough.  I'm committed, just ask my husband -  I think he wishes I was a bit less committed.  But you know who you are - late night before a key session?  you need 100% of what you have to make it happen- 7 beers will not help!  Off season, get drunk and fat! 

5: You are not fueling long rides properly.  I have this nailed- 200-250 calories/hour without fail, after a solid (clean breakfast) of 300 or so calories and a thoughtful dinner the night before.  But I see so many who skip breakfast or throw down a pop tart, bring 1000 calories on the ride and only consume 400 on a 5 hour ride.  About 4 hours in they bonk hard.   Steady calories are key- no 700 calorie dump 3 hours into the ride with a sandwich.  Practice it!  

6: You're not doing this swim session: 1500 yard TT  I admit I am NOT doing THAT swim session but I do a lot of suffering swim sessions.... the bigger point here I think is not going quality sessions that test your true fitness against the pace clock

7: You approach your run training wrong.  Before I even read this I was nodding my head yes, because I am somehow sure I assume I must be approaching run training wrong.  Well I take that back  "triathletes must do hills"  I do hills, love hills and especially hills OTB (not) 

8: You're not doing yoga.  UGH right I am not doing yoga and I should be doing yoga.  enough said

9: You're not maintaining your bike: I sort of maintain my bike, as in I clean it when there are copious amount of sugary substance running down the frame and jamming my components.  BUT I always get my bike cleaned and tuned pre: race- thank you Nytro!   Light road grid = 1-3  watts- Clean your bike or pay someone else to do it

10: You're cutting corners:   ie: not warming up, cooling down or strength work. Dang it here again we see a quote by "Ricci"  “When you’re working out in three sports, you need to be careful of all the moving parts, which isn’t easy,” Ricci says. “Working on your limiters, mobility and strength are all important.” He recommends out of season, lift three times per week with core work and mobility every day. During the race season, strength train twice a week, with mobility and core work every day.  This is a big one for me - strength that is - I don't do it.  I do mobility every day, I do core 2-3 x a week and I do strength 0 x a week.  October this will be in my wheelhouse and I am committed to carry through 2016.

11: You can't turn off the internal chatter.   Like at mile 10 of the Ironman " I suck at running"  "why didn't my parents put me in Steeplechase- they are all the fast runners" "  I will never run like X I am too big"    etc.... Working on this one for positive mantras

12: You are too competitive.  I reigned this one in years ago.  Early in my racing I would continually "win the workout" and than upload my workout with a litany of excuses as to WHY I rode so hard, when the workout was not that hard.  My coach at the time Kevin Purcell responded one time with " do you want to win the workout or qualify for Kona.  It's your choice but you can't do both"    Roger that.. I learned to let others go.  So my riding partners now probably calling BS, admittedly there are days I cannot let others go but on the days this is imperative I don't put myself in that situation - because I know sometimes I just can't do it/

13: You are choosing the wrong races. I get this one.  Hard, hilly and cool weather that is my strength! Thus my best races have been CdA, St George, Wisconsin. Whistler and hopefully Tahoe.  But next May I am toeing the line at IM Texas because my coach is making me  so I can "learn" how to race in hot, humid conditions.

14: You're too hairy - LOL Marcus?   Not an issue

15: You're racing too much - HA considering I have raced once in 9 months I'd say NO.  This has never been an issue for me- frankly I probably don't race enough.  I have athletes who are prolific racers- it makes it hard to nail quality workouts, prepare for races etc.... there is a balance to be had- find what works for you and your coach.

16: You don't know your "why"   I know mine...  Because I can, because the bar can always be raised, because there is no other feeling like finishing an Ironman and because I love to go hard!

17: You are not using technology to your advantage.  As the owner of a power meter, Gramin 1000 and Garmin 920xt - not an issue.  I use it, understand it and am continually learning more about it.   If you have a power meter, make sure you are getting the most out of it.  What is your FTP? How often are you testing it?  What is your cadence, HR zones, do you use them and how?   Be a student of the sport. When I bought a PM I bought  Training and Racing with Power  and I read everything training peaks had to offer on the topic.

So my takeaway is..
1- get back to yoga
2- commit to strength
3- drink more coffee - ok not really
4- work on the positive mantras
5- clean my bike
6- while not address- work on my run form- I know it as does anyone who sees me running :)