One and done is good for me.

I wrote these words in a blog on 11/8/2016.  WHY don't I listen to myself.....   This was the first time I did R2R2R.    

But then Covid-19, races canceled, epic challenges that included Everesting, and one of my business partners mentioned R2R2R, and my gut reaction was NO!!!  But almost immediately, I knew I was in.  The FOMO would have been too much.  Recovering from my broken toe, I knew the prep would be tight.  

My approach to R3R3R was to enjoy it, no goal for a PR and embrace what it brings! Be thankful I can do this, appreciate the amazing people that are with me and make the most of whatever the day brings. 

Goal accomplished!  

We had a group of 9, with 7 of them looking to dig deep and see what they could do.  I wanted that to be me, but it was just not in the cards right now, that my friends is maturity or wimping out. Alex and I had a plan to listen to your bodies, be safe, embrace what the day brought!  We were thrilled to go someplace! 

The planning was necessary and reminded me of what else I miss; packing, weighing nutrition and counting calories, etc

I packed 4500 calories- planning for an extra-long day; turns out it was a long day 

• 4x PBJ Sandwiches 1200
• 2 Packages Organic Poptarts 800 
• 2x Salted Watermelon Shot blocks 400
• 1 packet Yum Butter 1080
• Black Licorice 400 
• Cliff Bar  250
• 4 GU's  400 

  
  

  
  
  

Alarm off at 3:00. Grabbed my overnight oats with blueberries, which froze because I turned down the fridge wanting my post R2R2R Local Roots Kombucha to be icy cold, Priorities!  The room did not have a coffee maker, thank you Covid, so I had cold coffee with cold/frozen oats.  Not a great start to the day, but seriously 1st world problems. 

Our crew of 9 met a 3:30 and pilid into Lauras SUV, and John drove us to South Kaibab. He was regrettably not running due to a foot injury.   We are psyched and ready to go.  The temp was not too cold, so we opted for long sleeve tech t over:

• Camo running shorts
• compression socks (3/4 length)
• Do Epic Shit tank
• NYX Buff
• Baseball hat 

We did a "hoorah"  cheer and took off.  Within a few miles or maybe 500 feet, we were dropped by the rest of our group, who are kick-ass trail runners.  I was scared of falling, we all know how frequently I fall, and well, I wanted to make it to mile 48.  Alex and I both did fall early, but nothing too bad.  And let's be honest, I suck at trail running and it pisses me off!  I am scared and want to run fast and then I trip and I am scared.  I am a water mammal, but really I want to be a cheetah.

Down we went, nearly 7 miles in the dark on a sketch trail, and at least 500 people or maybe 50 people passed us.  We decided we were likely the slowest people in the Canyon that day.  The sunrise at Phantom Ranch was as stunning as I remember.  No pictures can portray stunning beauty!  I am not a nature kind of girl, you will not catch me a lookout point, or admiring the view, but the Grand Canyon, this is stunning!  

Temps were warming up, and we filled up our water, started on the calories, and started the next 7 miles toward Cottonwood. This is the "most" runnable part of the Canyon, and we ran where we could, and power hiked where we couldn't.  It was clear to me that my legs were not fresh; this was not going to be an epic day of "crushing it"  A month of BINGO, along with a long ride the weekend prior, did not help freshen my legs. 

The key was Alex and I was on the same page; we were looking to enjoy the day and stay together. There was a lot of, "should we run now?" Ok, let's go, "are you okay if we power hike this""  We were well matched for the adventure.  We suffered for sure, but not in that deep dark place I go when racing. which I miss, not going to lie. 

After Cottonwood, you have 1.5 miles to Manzanita, and then it gets f'ing real.  5.5 miles up to the North Rim, and it's steep, and I was slightly grumpy at times.  You climb up to over 8K, and the altitude is real.  I felt reasonably good, other than my heels were on fire, the start of 4 of my 9 blisters.   We took a reasonable break at the North Rim, it's a surreal feeling of WOW. We just did Rim2Rim!  And as soon as you start to relish in that, you realize you are half way, as in holy shit we have to go back.

This is when Ironman's brain kicks in, stay in the moment, and focus on the next stop.  5.5 miles down to Manzanita, which we rolled through and stopped at Cottonwood to refill and take a break.   It was getting challenging; my feet were on fire, hot spots all over, and I knew they would suffer.  My legs felt tired, but okay.   That kind of yes they hurt but we can hurt like this for a long time. 

We trudged on chatting,  meeting friends, soaking up the beauty; this was the point that we could have "gone for it,"  but we both knew that we were going to keep trudging along; next stop Phantom Ranch!   On the one hand, we are "almost done." On the other, these will be the hardest miles of the day.   9 miles to go, a few rolling and then 7 miles of "dead man walking" out of the Canyon.  I took off my shoes and socks, and it was not pretty; dirt pouring out, blisters on blisters, bloody toenail, and not a lot of options. I lubed my feet, basically rubbing the dirt into the blisters with the lube, and returned the stiff rank sock to the discussing foot.  It was clear, my feet were not happy!  

9 miles in 4 hours and 20 min, yep do that math; it was hard as fuck and 100% mental, one foot in front of the other, and just get it done.  I kicked a rock, and it was searing pain, like my toenail ripped off, lots of F-Bombs, and we just kept going.  It's dark now, so the views are gone. All you can see are headlamps up and down.  When I'd see a light way ahead, I would then look down and realize there were just as many behind us.   We were yo-yoing with a few groups, there were the hares and we the tortoise.  They would run past us, wave and say hi and then we would see them splayed out at the water stop, we would make a quick stop and keep rolling, the would run past us, well you get the picture.  BUT, after the last stop, which we rolled through, 1.5 miles to go, they NEVER pass us!   Yass!!!  Not that it was a race, but well we beat someone anyway. 

When we knew we had to be close, I heard "our" whistle, the one John and I use in stores, when we get lost, my heart lept, OMG, we are close, and soon thereafter, we hear his voice. OMG, we are nearly done....it seemed like forever, but soon enough, we saw John, and just like that, we were OUT!  The finish is very unimpressive, you are trading in the dark uphill, and then suddenly, you are out.  But FUCK, we were done!   

R2R2R is physically challenging for sure, even if we only ran 15is miles, but it's mental,  It just never ends.  There are no aid stations, there is no way out except on your feet, so you do mental gymnastics to stay in the moment and just get it done!  You want to quit many times, you want to end, but there is only one option, just keep moving.  

I'd love to say we crushed it, left it all out there, dug deep, but I did not, and I am a bit disappointed, looking back.  My head was not in "race day mode"; I did not prep for that mentally or physically.   The rest of our group went for it, turned themselves inside out, but well, I did not.  It's easy to say coulda shoulda, but I did not.  

My feet are trashed, hard to walk due to the blisters.  2 toenails are lifted due to blister under the nails, it's not pretty.   My feet don't like 17 hours..... 

I am tired, yes, sore, yes, but not destroyed!   Alex and I had a great time, and we are in one piece!  So that is a WIN!  And we crossed the Grand Canyon twice, so not total slackers.  I will find a way to do that this year; I need another "leave it all out there" event, as I did Everesting.  

So mentally, I am going to start working on that... It may be 4.4.48, or it may be a 50K.   Most of my training has been long, slow distance, so my brain is not in the "hurt locker" mindset, but after a bit of recovery, it's time to get back to that place.  I am looking forward to pushing the limits... I want to feel that pain, push through it, and keep going! Sick I know. 

Calories:  total 3450 - I did not feel like I needed any more, likely the pedestrian pace. 

• 4x PBJ Sandwiches 1200
• 2 Packages Organic Poptarts 800 
• 1x Salted Watermelon Shot blocks 200
• Black Licorice 400 
• Cliff Bar  250
• YumButter 400 

Fluids:  12 liters of fluid

Sodium: 6600 mg 

- 3am: 1200mg salt tabs

- 5am- 900 mg Nuun + 300mg salt stick   = 1200

- 7:00 - 1500mg Precision Hydration  -

-11 am 900 mg Nuun 

- 1:00  600mg salt stick 

- 3:00  1500mg Precision Hydration 

- 5:00  600 Nuun 

Here is our packing list; it's a start and something to go by.

It was still 48 miles and 20K of elevation, 10K up and 10K down in 17hours...so there you have it! 

Who the Fck invented Burpees?

The Burpee is named for a physiologist named Royal Huddleston Burpee. For his Ph.D. thesis at Columbia University in 1940, he invented the exercise as a way to assess the fitness of non-active adults. Burpee made participants perform only four Burpees at a time, and he actually specified that the movement should not be performed for a high number of repetitions. He was testing  generally unfit people and he warned that Burpees could be harmful to the knees and back and detrimental to those without proper core strength.

Well, F you Royal Burpee!

Okay, not really, but man, they are HARD.  As the NYX Endurance athlete prepares for September BINGO, we are ramping up your burpees.  See, depending on which card you chose or which card your coach chose for you,  there is a day with 100, 200 or 400 burpees in one day.  Right? You can all thank Laura for this insanity. 

So we are training for our day of burpees.  Much like we are building up to 200/500 or 1000 squats, 100/250 or 350 push-ups, each week we add more so when the DAY comes we crush them, don't get injured and possible just survive.

Personally, I am absorbing the squats, push-ups, wall sits, planks pretty well but not the burpees they still feel just as hard as day 1.   Why is that?  Because they target your entire body- upper, lower and core + cardio.  The cardio + lung workout is a bonus.  They are anaerobic, the respiratory and circulatory systems are working hard to compensate for the lack of oxygen in the muscles, that is what HURTS SO GOOD.  I have found if you yell FU Larua, that helps a bit. 

When recently asked,  'will this help my Ironman?" The answer is yes!  Going anaerobic is good, and something few triathletes do ever and think how easy other strength moves feel after burpees.  

And in case you were wondering what the Guinness Record?  The most burpees in 12 hours is 5,657.  So NYX Bingo players, NO COMPLAINING on your burpee day.    

 

 

 

Anger, fear, frustration, accepance

I wrote a blog on 4/5 about where you are in the COVID process. If you missed it here, it is.   Honestly, at that time, early in this process, we all assumed that by now, we would be back to "normal."  

Clearly, we are NOT!   For me personally, I have accepted the canceled race season, let's face it, there will no significant races in 2020, but there are some small local races, there is a way to race if you really want to.  I'm finding that most of my athletes and most of the athletes at NYX Endurance are not holding out for a race this year.  

What I do see is that we are athletes, we want to remain fit, we are motivated to train!  And we can create our OWN fun, get stronger along the way and crush goals.  My coaching has evolved from periodized training, tapering, and racing to working with each athlete to find what they want to do, what excites them, what scares them, what do they want! 

Me personally, I started by creating some personal goals; running 5.4.24, running 5 hours every 4 hours for 24 hours in April,  May was Everesting, climb 29,029 feet in one day on my bike, and then I was planning 4.4.48, and I broke my toe!  Plans changed, I rolled into 10K swims, monster days on the bike, pivoting to have fun and keep going.  What started out as my why, were soon embraced by most of our athletes, in one form or another. The camaraderie, goals, and finish line "feels" were there.  

Now, we have a goal to create challenges everyone can do, we have options so each person has their own goals!   We grew into this and its the best thing ever! 

Along the way through this pandemic, I co-founded a fantastic company!  NYX Endurance with 2 other coaches who inspire me every day.   NYX is a COVID baby, and I am thankful for that.   We are building something really cool, and what we are seeing, triathlon is not just swim bike run.  Its community!   It caring about each other, supporting each other and stepping out.  So without races, we have close to 50 athletes training and embracing our crazy ideas!

September is BINGO, we have JV and Varsity.  25 squares of fun and adventure.  Everything from 2 hours of stairs with a weighted backpack to a fast 1 mile run to 1000 squats to 100 mile rides to a 70.3 in one day to max 1 min power to 15 min of single-leg bike drills.  Some squares are quick and fun, others are a big ask.   We created a JV and a Varsity Card, so if 1000 squats are too much, you can choose another option. Don't want to do the swim row, don't.   Every athlete chose a card, JV, or Varsity and then worked with their coach to decide how many rows/columns they wanted to tackle!   And of course, there is the Black Out option. 

 Everyone has their OWN path, we took August to train for this.   So we have workouts that include 400 squats in one day, stair climbs, push-ups all day, and more.   A mantra of NYX embraces the darkness, so we have a run in the dark. 

Because we realize not everyone wants or needs a coach, or maybe they have a coach who is less fun and creative,  we offer the NYX MOB, join for $10 a month, and you can play BINGO along with us, and join all future challenges.   Our goal is to push some to the extreme, motivate some to do more than they have before or to offer just enough to keep others moving.   We even have an app to keep track of, thanks to the wickedly talented Alison! 

As a coach, this is incredibly fun!  We are training for events, executing events, and getting strong!   SAF strong as fuck  Thanks to Laura, who is a strength monster, hence the 1000 squats!   Coached athletes and MOB members get access to a free coached Zoom Strength session every Thursday, led by Laura.   

I had to write this blog today to remind me how excited I am.  I woke up in a foul mood, frustrated with the f'up situation we are in with COVID, as you may or may not now, my other business is contracting meetings and events.  What hat means now is canceling and moving meeting, which I am going to say, simply sucks!   I do see some hope in 2021, but getting there is rough.

So to plan for BINGO, work alongside coaches who motivate the fuck out me, is why I have a smile on my face now!  

We have so much fun, pain, and suffering planned for the rest of the year!.

We have a small group doing R2R2R on 10/10!  And then I need to embrace the darkness and knock out 4.4.48 the infamous David Goggins event. Run 4 miles every 4 hours for 48 hours. 

The tale of the stolen sign

We have had this sign for a few months, happily sitting in our front yard.  Friday, I was driving home from my weekly Social Justice Run,  Run4Breonna, when John called and asked if I noticed our sign was missing? 

What, NO, I had not noticed.

He went to our cameras and we quickly found the feed of the thief.  Car drives by, U-turn to the front of our house, conversation with passenger, and he gets out, rips the sign out of the yard and puts in his backseat.  WHAT?  Let me go back a few weeks, this same car, stopped one afternoon and left a note in our library, on a cocktail napkin, that said All Lives Matter.

Clerly we have a racist in our hood and now he is stealing.

So we went to work.

1- Poste a video and 4 clears shots of the car and the man, stealing our sign, asking for help in identifying him.

2 - Ran the neighborhood the next day  and aha!  John fondd the car in a driveway.

3- With the help on the internet, one you have an address you have a name and off he went.

4- Next we paid $4.99 on ReverseWhitePages and found a phone number.

5- Meanwhile NextDoor has blown up, eventually topping at 181 comments and it was insane,  No one identified the culprit but man there were many many tangents and it got ugly. Politics, racism, accusations, name calling and it went on and on.

6- Called the number, no answer, shocking.

7 -Sent a text and asked him to call Julie Dunkle.

8- 3 hours later a call comes in from a blocked number and it was HIM!  He immediately apologized, no excuses, took ownership and says he put an apology in the mail wtih $20 to replace the sign.   

9- I accepted his apology and did not engage further.

10- He asked how we found him?   Ah video cameras + internet and it was not hard.

11- He then asked if I would take the post down.    

So, that tells me, someone in the neighborhood saw the post, recognized him and reached out to him.  While NextDoor can be out of control, it did the job!  Sure we found him but I am guessing his response to me would have been a bit different without the public shaming.

Many on NextDoor wanted to put Social Justice and BLM signs in his yard, expose his name and address and more.  But I updated my post with " We have found the individual who stole the sign and have come to a peaceful resolution"   I left that up for a while but eventually deleted the entire post as it was out of control.   

To say I was shocked, minimized that for sure.  I am relieved and feel confident that this individual will think twice before he says  All Lives Matter and I am confident he will not be stealing signs.    

Of the 181 comments, that was about 60 people and 90% of them were cordial and rational so I am feeling good about my neighborhood.  I dont mind people with differing opinions or politics, but I do mind hate speech, name calling and beligerat behaviour.

Thank you Encinitas4Equality!  

FORM Goggles for Open Water

I was gifted a pair of FORM Goggles literally days after the pools shut down from COVID.   With great anticipation, I waited for the pools to re-open, while the goggles collected dust.  I used them while swimming tethered and it seemed the clock was slow, but really it just a testament to how boring it is to swim in place.  People complain about a treadmill, swimming tethered is 10x worse.

I digress.  I was able to be a part of the beta test for the FORM Open Water Swimming upgrade. I was excited.  The initial pairing, app, etc was a bit of a challenge for those of us who don't live in the tech world, but I figured it out and now it is quite easy using the app store, etc.  

I programmed my goggles to show running time, and then to cycle through distance, pace per 100 and average pace.   

1- the only time I would really want this data is in an Ironman and well at this rate the next race will be in 2022, so by then I bet the kinks will be worked out

Swim 1- paired my goggles and headed to the water.  Started on my watch and off I went.  For 4 minutes I could see all my data and I ran into my swim partner and a buoy, distracted much?  Suddenly it lost signal, hmm, I trod water and stopped my watch and restarted and nothing.   So for the next 41 minutes, I could see a timer but no other data.  I hit 2 more buoys and my ran into my partner twice.  I was not impressed.

Swim 2- upgrade to app and firmware and I am ready to go, swimming alone, less hazardous and my partner was "busy" LOL.   Paired up and off I went, I had full data for 11 minutes and it was interesting to see the pace and distance.  I decided that current pace needed to go and all I wanted was average pace, distance, and time.  Well, when I turned I lost everything so it did not really matter what I wanted to see.   My brain began to adjust to the running clock and I did not collide with anything.   Reported back and was told that likey the issue was bi-lateral breathing.   Well, I am not about to change my stroke for more data.

Swim 3- I changed my mind, I will change my stroke (for this test) and breath, right side only.  For 12 minutes I had data, time/distance/average pace per 100 which started at 2:20 and jumped to 1:05.  Now I love the goggle, see how fast I am going (LOL), and then nothing, disconnected.  Now my neck is sore from breathing on one side only and I still don't have any data.

0-3 and I am out.  I see now they have launched the  OW Upgrade. Well best of luck. 

2- these are pricey,  so I would put them under your cap because if a wave knocked them off, your race just got even more expensive.   Plus you will need to think about throwing them in T1, not that I do that. I carefully wrap up my gear and put it away.

3- If we ever have a mass start or a race, I'd hate to have them knocked off.

4- Wear these a LOT as it takes your brain a while to get used to the numbers running on the side.

5- Pool use- I have only been back in the pool twice and I was already worried about the walls and flip turns after 5 months of OW swimming.  But I will give them a go next week and see how I like that.

I enjoy coming into the wall and looking at the clock and either being happy or sad when I see the number.   My first pool swim I was so confused when I did my first 200, I was sure I swam a 2:44-46 and I saw a x9 and at first, was "yes"  2:39 but then I realized it was 2:49, I had to really sit for a minute and realize oh ok, I missed the send-off and was much slower than I thought.  Maybe that OW swimming is not translating to pool fitness, or maybe it was my first pool swim.   Who knows.... its not like I have a race to worry about.

 Another Review 

In other news, my toe is healing and I am running!   Man, I am happy about that... I am SAF (sore as fuck and slow as fuck)  but that is okay!  I am running, did I mention that.  

And I have big big news....but that is another post!  #embracethedarkness 

Recovery, EAT UP

We all know I blew up yesterday, well you know if you read my previous blog.  The key to a solid recovery is not blowing up, but if or when you do blow up, bonk, overdo it, etc.... Be sure to work on proper fueling.

Post-ride I  was hot AF, was being hassled by a creeper in the parking lot,  who asked if I needed help changing. Seriously this dude in, of course, a big ass truck.  He was leering and chatty.  Les came over, all 5'2" to offer support and then a big dude walking by asked if we were okay, thank you humanity.  We were fine; it was noon at Kit Carson Park.  But, I digress, I was NOT hungry or thirsty, but I know I needed both calories and fluids+ salt.

I picked up a Mobile Order for a Venti Iced Mocha with Coconut Milk for the drive home, and that was a good start.  After a shower, I managed to put away

24 oz water with 1200 mg of sodium/electrolytes
12 oz with 2x NUUN
16 oz Kombucha 

All within 1 hour, + the venti mocha, and I did not pee for at least an hour, so yes dehydrated. 

Then
2xBeyond Meat burgers with avocado on a pretzel roll
1 large sweet potatoes, cut and tossed in oil and crisped up for fries with copious amounts of ketchup 
2x Vegan Carrot Cake cupcakes, courtesy of Leslie, which I had frozen. 

I did add 2x Guinness, which did not likely help my recovery, but man, they tasted good, and well, they were liquid and cold.

I then had dinner- large salad with black beans, quinoa, Daiya cheese, avocado + Seite chips, and 1/2 XOXO Chocolate bar.

Today I had a fantastic swim, elliptical, and strength workout.  So the moral of my story is....there were no magical supplements or shakes, although I do often have a vega shake, good clean food.   I used the Hypervolt + did my few yoga moves.  

It was not the 5-hour ride, I ride that time often, but it was the intensity that was the game changer!  

So my point is..... 
Don't bonk, but if you do, do all you can to recover the right way!  

Just because you are fitter does not mean you are faster!

Can we talk about this kit?  Best kit EVER
Betty Designs #DES 

Jan 17, I rode Palomar as part of BiscayCoaching's Tri Camp, it was day 2 of camp, so I was holding back a bit.  I started off controlled and built into the ride. With other riders ahead of me, I could see I was reigning a few in and picked it up every 30 min.  I finished strong, feeling good, and with just the right effort.  

Palomar Mtn, South Grade, (Taco Shop to Summit Stop Sign)  https://www.strava.com/segments/24481470
11.58 miles
4,188 ft
7% grade
1:34:29
188 watts
HR: 154 

Today I wanted to break 1:30, and I did not really had a plan.  If my average power was 200 watts, I should be under 1:30.  So I started off much harder than last time, mistake #1.  I was at 210-215 for the first 15-20 minutes and had an inkling that was a bit much, so I dialed it back a bit.  I was making good time and feeling good for 30 minutes.  Redflag #1 my HR was high 160's, mind you the temp was 30 degrees warmer.   Around 35 min my legs were screaming at me, yo idiot slow down, feeling the work, so I dialed it back to 200w.  My HR was now 170 and climbing, I chugged 24 oz with 800mg of sodium and ate 200 calories. I can tell you this was not nearly as fun as in January.  I am sweating a river, the high was 95, and my legs are not operating.  At 1 hour, I realize breaking 1:30 is going to be tough, my HR is at 180, and my power is around 195, I keep pushing for 200 but am watching my average power slowly drop.  Guzzle more fluids and should have eaten more food, but 180bpm my stomach is revolting. I am now taking it .5 miles at a time.  The last new miles are the steepest, and I know breaking 1:30 is not happening, but I think I can still PR.  I stand and sit, stand, and sit and just want to survive.  I have one airpod in, and I am screaming at Siri, next song, next song as nothing is playing that helps.  I see the green signs and try to sprint, but alas, I limp across.   

1:32:19   (2:10 PR)
195 watts
HR 171

I had to bend over and recover, I was shattered and pissed.  

After I inhaled a cookie and finished another 24 oz, I was beginning to feel better!  400 calories much needed.  

I was psyched to see Les summit her first Palomar! 

Traffic was not bad for a Saturday and a holiday!  The observatory was closed, I think that had a lot to do with it.  And the store was closed.  NO Fritos!  I knew it was closed, wished I had brought some, nothing like salt/fat/carbs!


I am happy with the PR and am motivated to have another go! 

Sat Aug 1!  Round 2
Better pacing and maybe a bit more rest week of the "attempt." I am hoping to have a good crew out there that day; some going for the first time, some looking for a PR and some just out there because they want to suffer.

Moral of the blog...... You can be fit as fuck, but if you don't pace well, that fitness will never be realized!   Remember this when you race.  I  athletes who have high fitness, sometimes the best ever, overbike in a 70.3 OR overbike the first 1/2 of an Ironman and then blow up. Why, "I felt so great"  That is the idea, you are tapered and ready to race. You SHOULD feel great, you should be holding back, that is the strategy of long-distance racing.  And why with a Power Meter, this is no excuse!