Find your why?

so proud of this crew for kicking ass

I would call myself highly motivated, I love to train, I like to suffer and sweat!  And when I am in shape and not injured, it's an addiction.  Coming off a frustrating 2nd 1/2 of 2019 with a hamstring tear, pulling out of Kona, and not racing the way I hoped I struggled 3rd quarter of 2019. I did my penance.  12 weeks off, no running, no biking, and mind-numbing and challenging PT.  I came ba

Love that we can do epic shit together

ck slowly and with a plan to kick ass in 2020! 

I hired a new coach, and we were on a journey building to some big races.  

And then COVID-19.  Over 50,000 Americans have perished, the economy has tanked, my business included, and of course, races canceled. 

I understand process goals, and I am all about the journey, but I wanted, needed a why.  


5/4/24.  More on that in my previous post  

We did this on 4/25, and I am at a loss for words as to how magical it was.

• It was not as hard as I thought, and most agreed, there is something about the 3+ hours to recovery that allows you to recharge
• I loved every single run-  
• 4am with John and the dogs
• 8am I met my athlete and friend Alex 1 mile in, and we ran together for 3 miles, and I finished with John
• 12:00 John and I hit the coast, it was 84 and hot, and we synced up with Hillary and Erin
• 4:00 repeat of 8am with Alex
• 8:00 dark and John was now very sick from a Celiac reaction do 3 of us met at the Park and Ride and ran to the coast and back, anything to avoid Saxony hill at that point
• 12:00 5 of us met at the Y and did a coastal run and back to the Y, wishing we could sneak in a swim 

Post-run was about virtual high 5's and a fantastic vegan/GF cobbler Alexis, one of my athletes delivered to my door still warm at 11:15 pm.  Can I just say I love my athletes. Kasey taped a Good Luck sign to my garage door. 

that time Mike "fricking" Reilly joined our zoom call Ironman Voice 

5/4/24 started as a personal challenge with one friend, and it grew to a few more, and then 2 other D3 coaches, Laura and Alison joined and some of my athletes and some of theirs + 25+ other friends and friends of friends.  It was growing every day.   

By Friday, it was magical, I was a 

coach - coaching my athletes, I could
see our athletes and others finding their purpose, an event filling a void that COVID-19 has created. The pre-race jitters, the camaraderie of the pre-race, during the race and the finish line,  maybe it is virtual or not.   

d3 pre-"race" zoom

We did a zoom call Friday night and at 3;50am before run 1, and the energy was there that race energy. I could see it in their eyes and feel the excitement.  The banter and enthusiasm were there all day through texts, insta, and FB posts, I was so thrilled to see it unveil.  No one complained. It was about the journey.   Just before run #4 we did a zoom call and had a special guest, Mike Reilly agreed to join us, the voice of Ironman.  It took the even to the next level; he was motivating, real, and brought the crew to tears! We all hung up and ran leg #4, knowing there will be another finish line.

I am so proud of everyone who conquered this!!  I have new virtual friends and am thankful to everyone for coming along on this journey. I am sad it is over, but I am so inspired for the next opportunity.

maybe my nutrition was NOT spot on

And for those of you who know me well....stay tuned!  There is one on the books for Memorial Day Weekend!  

My food log
3:30 am Coffee + coconut milk and nut pods creamer
4:50 post-run Vega Sport Protein + cinnamon raisin bagel with copious amounts of almond butter.  24 oz fluid with 2x Nuun + coffee
8:50 post-run 2 cups white rice with coconut oil + salt. BCAA recovery drink + 2x Nuun- 24 oz + coffee
12:50 post-HOT run- 24 oz NUUN + 600mg sodium tablets.  And mistake #1, 6, yes count them 6 pancakes with Miyokos butter and syrup.  I was starving, and this hit the spot.  
3:50 pre-run #4 Reign Energy Drink. What could go wrong with THERMOGENIC FUEL

Ignite your workouts by adding fire to the fuel!

Introducing Reign Inferno,dont judge " a new thermogenic fuel that burns calories & accelerates metabolism. Each can is packed with 300MG of natural caffeine, citrulline, green tea extract, BCAAs, l-carnitine, electrolytes & 0 sugar. "  I drank 1/2, and I felt like a million $$$.   1/2 bag dark chocolate covered pretzels.  Run #4 was the best - feeling overall

4:50 Post-Run 2 cups trader Joes miso soup + 18 oz and Nuun. My stomach is suddenly not so happy, I am hungry but not sure how it my stomach was doing.  Went for more white rice + plain pretzels and dark chocolate. + immodium and Alka Seltzer, can you say triage? 

8:50 stomach was sloshy and not so happy.   I laid down for a bit and fell asleep and woke up feeling totally normal.  Went for another bagel, no nut butter + rest of the Reign, and a Coconut Chocolate Gu.

12:50am Run was great, stomach fine, and then consumed copious amounts of vegan cobbler!   Still hungry added a cinnamon roll with nut butter and 1/2 Guinness and rolled into bed at 2:30.

Need to rework the plan for the future, but all in all minimal GI distress.  And as for Sunday.... it was a day-long buffet. 

5/4/24

   Why this? Why now?  

Racing as we know it as come to a grinding halt, and there is not a clear picture on when it may return.  7 weeks ago, I was focused on Oceanside 70.3, Belgian Waffle Ride, and Ultraman Canada, and now all those races are gone or rescheduled.   Will they even happen on the new dates?  Hard to say.

I think we all went through phases of acceptance.   One race canceled, and then we would look forward to the next one, then that canceled and so on.  I soon realized I needed a WHY.  More than I love training, more than I want to be fit, more than I am in a good groove with my coach and building fitness is a great way... I needed an event of sorts.  

David Goggins, one of my hero's, is known for doing epic events!  One of them is 4/4/48. You run 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. So, 48 miles of running 48 hours. I am not in the proper run shape for 48 miles in 48 hours, so the idea of 4/4/24 was birthed, and that grew to 5/4/24. 30 miles in 24 hours!

Coach approved! That is my coach approved, and then it was about bribing recruiting others. An event like this elicits a sharp reply, either F yes I am in or F NO. It's amusing, very few people said, hmmm let me think about it, And so it grew...we are now well over 50 people from Canada to Mexico and across the US. 2 fellow D3 coaches are "in," and we joined forces with Team HPB, THE Smashfest Queen. So with 6 coaches, 50+ athletes, friends, and friends of friends, we will embark on this adventure tomorrow at 4am PST. We all run, virtually at the same time! We have a zoom check-in before run #4, and I am sure there will be lots of social and fun along the way.

4am

8am

12 noon

4pm

8pm

Midnight

This is not for everyone, and that is okay! But for those who are on board, we are excited and united. I have that nervous feeling before a race, and its been fun chatting with my athletes about the plan, nutrition, hydration, etc. Its very "race" like!

So this is how we are currently dealing with COVID-19. You can take the races away, but cannot take the will to compete out of us. We are competing against ourselves, no one wins or gets anything for going fastest. It's a personal quest. And I cannot wait.

#morecarbsplease

Where are you on this grid?

I received this a few days ago, and it has been resonating with me.   It's an interesting graphic and one we can all relate to right now.

Fear Zone- this hit all of us at different times, in different ways.  As you recall, mine culminated in chardonnay and purple hair, others in their own creative melt down's.   I can say I never hoarded or complained all the time, but I surely did transmit fear and anger to my husband.  I was guilty of forwarding as well.

Learning Zone-  I feel like most of us are hanging out in this zone right now, and it's not the wrong place to be.   I am in between Learning and Growth.      Friday, I felt like I was in the growth zone and killing it and then one minor issue and whamo I am thrown back into fear zone.  So it's a ping pong effect.     

Looking at  " I practice calmness, patience, relationships, and creativity,"  Well shit, let's be honest. I did not hang out there much before COVID19, so to ask that now? 

I made this graphic my screen saver, "nerd alert," so I see if every morning and try to start my day and hang out in the growth zone as much as possible.  When I get sucked back, I also realize this is temporary, and I will claw my way out of the fear zone.

Where are you?  Also, what if you are in the growth zone and your partner is in the fear zone?  asking for a friend, I think we are all moving in and out of zones, but let's keep working to keep learning and growing.

I took a break from my daily NPR and NY Times Podcasts, just too much right now.   Last night I listened to Brene Brown's latest pod,  Anxiety/Calm- Over/Under Functioning.  It's a good one!  Finding ways to stay positive, look forward are part of self-care!

And keep the humor coming!