Escaping Winter - Training Camp!

It's about time I get back on the 'blog' wagon, and it seems that training camp is always a time that I  feel like sharing.

To rewind a bit first:  This has been the best winter of my adult life :)  I have the best man I can imagine, a lifestyle I wouldn't trade for anything in the world, and am healthy!  Putting on the snowshoe races proved to be just what I needed to stay busy and motivated during the coldest January we have had in WI.  We had growing numbers and I am PUMPED to find out that the Snowshoe National Championships are in WI next year!  SO I will do my best to make at least one of the Snowshoe Scurry races a qualifier.

Additionally, on the training front, I have been able to get in a great groove and am probably in my best 'winter' shape ever.  This has got me super excited to start racing but also motivated to continue to try and make some improvements all around before rushing into anything.  There is always so much work to be done!!

So last week I was able to visit my sister and her great fiancé Travis in the Miami, FL area.  We had a great time running, laying on the beach, and checking out their favorite restaurants.  I do love a recovery week :)

Now I'm here in sunny Tucson for my 3rd adventure at Cliff English's pro camp.  He puts this on for his athletes each year and it's a great time to get some face time with coach (only a couple athletes actually live here) and reconnect with everyone from previous years :)  I am excited to get to it all this week, especially getting some miles in on my new Trek!!

Check back all week for stories, pictures, and video!  You can also find another perspective from fellow camper Chris Bagg

Thanks for stopping by!

Jackie

It's FULL ON Winter!

Well, my FB and twitter feed is full of people pictures of the temperature and weather....in their car, on their phone, from the TV...it's pretty crazy around here.  But, we live in WI, where we should expect it to be cold, so let's just move on.


I haven't posted since IM Cozumel, which feels like it was a year ago!  I took a really nice few weeks off and enjoyed the holidays and some fun with friends and family.  It felt great to take it easy!!  I'm back into a bit of training now, but have also kept very busy with planning of the Snowshoe Scurry.  This has been a fun new project and I'm so excited with how it's going.  We have snowshoe races every Sunday in January here in the Madison area.

If you live here, I hope you will come check it out!!  This Sunday we are at Donald Park.

In other news, I am still in the works of planning the 2014 race schedule, but right now I am looking at a spring IM (which I haven't done in a few years!), some 70.3 in the summer months, IM WI and then maybe one more IM at the end of the year again.

If you know me, you know I am always thinking and planning new projects, businesses, or you name it...well, this works well as a pro triathlete, since we truly have to get creative with how we make money....since we all know there is actually very little money in triathlon.  Because of this, I have added a 'Donate' button to my blog here to try and raise funds to pay for my pro license this year.  It costs $800 just to race pro on the WTC (Ironman) circuit.  I know I am very lucky with Sponsors   and am lucky to be living my passion but I am also very thankful and appreciative of all of the support I get and believe that relationships are truly what make the world go round!

Thanks for reading :)

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.
Buddha 

Ironman Cozumel 2013

Hey!  I made it to off season!!

I was lucky enough to travel to Mexico again for my last race of the year.  Ironman Cozumel is truly an amazing race, venue, and community.  The volunteers go above and beyond and the community support top notch, a close second to Madison (of course).  I came into this race feeling more fit than last year, and with another year of racing under my belt I had that much more experience of how to race and make it the best race possible.  I didn’t go into the race with any expectations except to execute the race the best I could.   I ended up in 8th place (made enough to pay for the trip!) and am overall happy with the day....like every race, I learned plenty of lessons :) 

Pre-race prep with Jennifer - nice easy ride to the east coast of the island. 

We found a pool!  Super happy for this since the Ocean was 'closed' because of the current and waves. 

On our way to Bike/T1 drop on Saturday 

SWIM:  The swim was shortened due to an unsafe current and swim conditions.  After my struggles in the current last year, I was actually happy to hear this news.  It seemed like a logistical nightmare to have everyone get to the T1 (old swim start) and then re-load on busses to the new swim start 1.9 miles down the road, but somehow they seemed to pull it off flawlessly.   It was an in water start and a point-to-point swim with the current.  All went fairly smoothly and I had some nice feet to hang on almost all of the swim.  I came out in 37:22, a perfect spot right with the girls I wanted to be with! 

BIKE - 3 loops, 112miles, 5hr14min:  I flew through T1, determind not to let this group leave me in the dust.  Since racing with power at Ironman Florida and Rev3 Florida in November, I had a good idea of where I wanted to be and luckily the girls were riding in just that zone.  It is truly a completely different race when you’re out there as a pro.  It can be a lonely bike ride, which is why you see small groups form during the race.  It is amazing how just having  1 or 2 other people in your sights or nearby can make it seem easier.  The headwind was much worse than last year on the far side of the island.  I think it’s a 12 mile stretch, but it felt like FOREVER.  By the 3rd loop there were some serious packs (peleton’s) of men age-groupers catching up, that proved to be extremely annoying, disruptive, and dangerous.  They were riding with no regard what -so-ever to the rules of passing, drafting, or even just general cycling ettiquite.  There was almost no way out of it and at many points I found myself just riding on the far left (oncoming traffic) lane to avoid getting mixed in or knocked off my bike.  Ugh.  Finally an official did show up and threw out plenty of warnings, however I only saw 1 penalty go out.  

Out there on the bike is where I think I started to chip away at my chances for an awesome race.  Between the wind on each lap and trying not to get hit/mixed up with the guys on the last 20 or so miles of the ride I completely ignored nutrition.  I wasn’t used to the gatorade so I wasn’t drinking much, it was windy so the sweat was evaporating quickly, and I just didn’t eat enough calories.  I got off the bike in a deficit, which made for an extremely challenging last leg of the race.  

RUN - 3 times out and back:  I knew I was already in tough shape starting the run, but sometimes I can salvage things.  I pushed all my worries aside, reminded myself it was the last race of the year, and planned to give it all I could.  I left T2 with another pro (girl in red, Celine I think, ended up 4th) and thought “ok, run with her”....this was not a good idea!  Another lesson - stick to YOUR OWN RACE.  Chick went out hard and stubborn me was like ‘Just stick with her, you’ll settle in’.  First mile was ~6:30 and yep, then I knew I needed to not worry about this chica.  Maybe she would die and come back to me :)  After that first one the miles really just got slower and slower as the marathon went.  I was taking everything I could at the aid stations thinking something would get some snap back in my legs, but nothing worked.  I slugged it out, and experienced what it feels like to bonk and cramp during an Ironman.  I don’t wish this upon anyone!!  One false move, or running too fast and one or both quads and/or my right hamstring would just shut down.  Wow, it was tough.  I went through the 2nd loop still in 5th or 6th and knew it would take all the mental and physical gusto I had left to keep a run going for the last loop.  I was on the aid station to aid station plan, which soon turned into the walk the aid station plan, which turned into only walk once between aid station plan.  It was not pretty...and I know it never is toward the end, but this was a new version of the ‘Ironman shuffle’ that I really hope to never do again.  I ran (and walked) a 3:31 giving every single thing I had and managed to hang on for 8th place.  

Overall: 9:27, (swim 0.5mi short), 8th place woman

This race panned out much differently than I thought it would (obviously didn’t envision the run going that way), but I am very happy with how it turned out.  I love racing as much as ever!  There are lessons to learn at each race, and just because it doesn’t go as planned doesn’t mean it isn’t a success.  This was another lesson to me in racing my own race and another true test of mental toughness and motivations for finishing.  When your body wants to give out and stop so bad YOU have to be the one to make it go.  No amount of cheering, support, friends, or anything else can make you go.  The motivation and drive has to come from you.  How bad do YOU want it?  What are YOU racing for?  You need to be so strong in your conviction to complete what you came to do that you can’t be derailed, whether it’s finishing the race before the cutoff, reaching a time goal, or improving in a certain area, fully commit to it.  

ANYHOW!  I am excited for off season and to get back at it for another great year next year.  Huge thanks to everyone for the support throughout this entire year:  Mark (love you), Cliff English Coaching, Timex Multisport Team, Powerbar, Endurance House, Speed Cycling, Computrainer, Rudy Project, Powertap, Peak Performance Massage, and everyone else who had a hand in helping me live my passion.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  

Thanks for reading! 

Ironman Cozumel Travel Guide

This post may be a couple days late for some traveling to Cozumel this year, but some things may still come in handy.  This is my second year taking the trip to Mexico for an end of the season race and I know there are many people, like me, looking forward to some warm sun!

Travel Logistics:

• Avoid Flying with your bike - it turns into a HUGE hassle.  I use Tri-bike Transport. 
• Flying into Cancun is generally cheaper and makes for a bit of an adventure getting to Cozumel.  When you land, collect your luggage and find the ADO bus  (ask for 'ahh-deh-oh') to take you to Playa Del Carmen for the ferry.   You will be approached by MANY taxi/bus drivers from private companies wanting to take you to the ferry.  You can haggle price with these guys, and if you are a small group, this can be an affordable option.  If you decide on the bus, you can purchase the tickets online before your trip, but I think it's easier to buy them when you get there incase you have delays in travel or get there early.  After an hour bus ride you are dropped at the bus stop in Playa Del Carmen, which is just a few blocks from the ferry stop.  You can easily purchase ferry tickets as you approach the ferry. 
• If you have ever had motion sickness, take precautions for the ferry ride.  I like the motion sickness bracelets, or just regular dramamine.  It is ~45min ride to Cozumel.  
• When you get to Cozumel there are plenty of taxi drivers waiting there to take you to your hotel/house/condo.  You need to have the address of where you are going (and maybe even a map so you can point to where it is if you don't know much spanish) and make sure to have pesos to pay them. 

Ferry to and from the Island!

Entrance to the Ferry in Playa Del Carmen

Money: 

• Check with your debit card on charges for using ATM in Mexico, most charge a small fee and something like a 3% charge for the total removed.  There is an ATM right by the ferry at Playa del Carmen if you didn't get to convert any money before that. 
• You can bring cash to the airport and use a money conversion station there...usually a small fee associated with that, but nice to have it done.  
• Any taxis and many vendors are cash only in Mexico.

Plenty of nice relaxing ocean front space...especially on the southern part of the island. 

Phone: 

• Probably best to keep your phone off.   Even with an international plan, there are usually some charges still associated with calling, and especially data usage.  Things that seem very simple, like checking Facebook, add up on data very quick....for example, Verizon charges $5.12/MB.  Accepting texts are much cheaper than sending, and this is a cheaper option than calling... (on Verizon it costs 0.05 to get a text, 0.50 to send, and 0.99/min to talk)
• Most hotels and condo's you stay will have wifi, so just take yourself back to the pre-smart phone days and do your computing on the computer, and use Skype to talk to your friends and family at home :) 

Race Logistics:

Swim start at Practice swim pre-race

Nice paved bike path to ride to swim start from town!

• The swim start and T1 are a few miles south of the expo/finish/T2 area.  There are plenty of shuttles provided by the race and hotels that leave from the main expo area to get you to the pre-race dinner and swim start race morning.  You can ride your bike to the pre-race swim if you are up for it, or you will probably have to get a taxi.  This is one of the the only Ironman races where I think it somehow works to go without renting a car....BUT if you need one, you can find one from most major hotels that have daily rentals available. 
• Separate transitions means that when you drop of that T2 bag you will not see it again until during the race...make sure everything is in there that you need.  
• 3 lap bike and 3 out and back run = an awesome race with tons of spectators.  This is a good thing.  This race rivals the BEST crowd support of any Ironman. 



Athlete check-in. 



T1, hanging bags that you grab on the way to the changing tent. 



Great bike racks! 

• They give you water in bags on the run.  Yep, bags.  You have to bite off the corner and try to  spill water into your mouth.  It's great, ice cold water. 

Where to stay: 

• Cozumel has PLENTY of places to stay for all sorts...there are your all-inclusives which tend to be busy with people and entertainment, there are homes for rent or small condo style rentals.  Last year I stayed in an AWESOME place, Villa El Encanto.  It's a small place, with ~8 condo's where the family that runs it lives on the same property...gated, pools, hammock, very tidy, nice rooms, and a perfect location for the race.  Very competitively priced and walking distance to the grocery store.  I like the condo/home rental for racing so I can cook my own food :) 

The bakery section ROCKS. 

Peacocks roaming at Villa El Encanto!!

VERY relaxing :) 

Thanks for reading and let me know if you have any questions!  I may learn more on this trip and update my post.  Happy travels! 

Florida Train-cation / Racing into shape

After all the fun in Hawaii (2 glorious weeks!) at the beginning of October, I realized it was time to get down to some business to get ready for my last race of the season, Ironman Cozumel.   I love racing, so of course I had to plan some epic training around some races to get motivated!

THE PLAN:  Wisconsin is cold...so I thought it might be nice to get a bit more outdoor training.  I volunteered to drive my grandma down to her winter home in Naples, FL...IF we could detour for a couple days for me to do part of Ironman FL :)  She agreed.  After Panama City Beach, it was a day drive to Naples, a week of training, then Rev3 Florida Half Ironman (just over an hour from grandma's) and I fly home Tuesday.  Sounds good, right??

IRONMAN FL:  I executed my plan of trying to swim hard and just survive the ocean swim (more on this coming), bike hard and try to 'stay in the mix' and run a couple miles.   WELL....I did get dropped from the pack I wanted to swim with, but it was still an ok swim.  I was happy with my starting position and did get out well...I only got dropped really when we had to get out at the end of the first loop, run around a table, and get back in.  This just zapped my energy!  FL Ironman was my first bike under 5 hrs (4:49) and I am happy to report it was competitive w/the other women pro's, which were also fast due to the great conditions!  Another plus is that I felt just fine getting off the bike (maybe a little light on nutrition, but ok).   Props to my friends that raced and fought for some awesome PR's and finished strong!!

Side note on the Ocean Swim:  I get motion sickness and often puke in salt water swims.  I have notoriously had horrible ocean swims (3xKona and Cozumel last year) and really want to fix this!  The only way I can figure is just to do more of them, since I don't actually live by an ocean to train in.

MORE DRIVING:  After Ironman FL, we booked it (9 hr drive the day after the race) to Naples, FL.  I was SPENT and immediately zonked out for 12 hrs when we finally got there!  Anyhow, it was a nice week of some volume, sunshine, swimming outdoors, and flat bike rides.

REV3 Half Ironman Venice, FL:  This was today.  Solid training day and made some monies.  I did have a horrible swim, which sucks.  It just was not going well right from the start....no good explanation, but I think when I got dropped and was swimming solo I was probably swimming just a little crooked here and there :)  Anyhow, it was a solo mission on the bike...really, I only passed a couple people and only got passed by a couple.  TONS of turns and 180 degree turn-arounds which I really don't think are good for me, but I tried to be technical :) I got off in 9th I think and just wanted to finish the thing.  It was getting hot and I forgot my hand-held bottle so I was really noticing the distance between aid stations!  I was using all my normal cues, but I just couldn't muster the normal 1/2 speed that usually comes pretty easy.  Oh well, hung on and even passed a girl in the last mile to take 8th.  Maybe I can just run that speed twice for a full!!  

swim: 29min :/  bike: 2:28  run: 1:30 :/   overall 4:34 (I think)

GOING HOME and MORE!  I am excited to get home for a little bit of normal life :)  I've got 2 days then Mark and I are off to my girl Christine's wedding in Colorado next weekend. Then it's 10 days home before Ironman Cozumel where I get to celebrate a Mexican Thanksgiving for the seconds year in a row.

Thanks for following!!

AND my usual Thanks to my sponsors!! Check them out HERE on my NEW website!!

Huge thanks to Eric Engel for re-doing my site - please consider him if you need an update or site made.

Check out pictures from my travels and follow me on Instagram:  http://instagram.com/jackietrigirl

2013 Kona Hawaii Report

Well...we are FINALLY home from one of my favorite places to visit - Kona, Hawaii.  This was my 5th year going to the Big Island for the Ironman World Championships, and I can safely say we packed plenty of new experiences into this one!  I actually feel like I could be a tour guide or trip planner for Kona, I've got this down!  Maybe there will be more on that in the next post :)

If you are following me on twitter or instagram you have probably seen plenty of updates...but here are some of the highlights!

1.  Mark made it through his first Ironman race in Kona!  This was the main reason for actually being in Kona this year, so obviously this is a big one :)

Age-groupers getting in for the swim

Happy Campers at the Finish Line!

2.  We hiked --  After a winding drive around the north most point of the island,  I emerged from the back of the SUV slightly car-sick, but excited for a fun new place!  We made it to Pololu Valley where we  hiked down to the black sand beach and up the other side of the valley.  This was a super scenic hike anyone can do!

We also had a short hike up to an awesome view point at the visitor center at Mauna Kea - super steep and windy, but worth it!  Mauna Kea is a volcano standing 13,803 ft above 
sea level, its peak is the highest point in the U.S. state of Hawaii.

3. We swam with dolphins!  We hopped in Kayaks and traversed Kealakekua Bay to the Captain Cook monument....getting lucky with a couple pods of dolphins joining us on the way there and the way back!

4. We got 'stranded' for 2 extra days.  We first tried to leave on a red eye Thursday night.  After a dead battery, maintenance, and sitting/waiting on the plane for OVER 3 hours, our flight was cancelled.  After waiting in multiple lines, we made it to our new home at Waikoloa Village where they put us up for a couple days.  It was a pain to be up all night with a cancelled flight, but we certainly made the most of our 'bonus' days on the island :)




5.  Charter fishing boat!  We went out with Captain Shawn of the Night Runner, per a recommendation, and it did not disappoint!  They were all about catching as many fish as possible of all different types.

Check out a couple videos of the fun!

Thanks for reading and let me know if there are other things from Hawaii you want to hear about!!

-Jackie

Ironman WI - My First IM WIN!!

WOW!  So I'm writing here about my first Ironman VICTORY, right here on my home turf in Madison, WI.  I'm so happy and thankful I don't know where to start!!

This year certainly started slowly - if you read any of my earlier blogs this year it was a long process getting back into 'race' shape and getting my run back up to speed.  Winning an Ironman was the farthest thing from my mind in February, where I could barely run a 7 minute mile!  I put in a lot of work this year, day in and day out, and even though I was tempted to try a earlier IM, I waited until Ironman Mont Tremblant (IMMT) in August.  At that race I felt it, I was ready.  My run was back and I my mind was strong to push through an Ironman.

This was my first time racing Ironman WI since 2010 (where I was an age-grouper and raced in prep for Kona that year) and it was just 3 weeks after IMMT, which would make it my shortest time between Ironman races.  In 2011 I raced Ironman Lake Placid and then 4 weeks later went on to have one of my best races at Ironman Louisville - putting up my fastest run (at the time) and somehow nabbing 2nd place.  So with that in mind, I was hopeful for this short turn around between races!

Ok- so I have a TON to say....but I'll go through the race quick here!
SWIM:  Love the 1 loop.  Don't mind the chop, as it favors 'swimmers' and usually leads to a larger gap from the 'non-swimmers'.  I got out hard (too hard) and was quickly in recovery mode - reminding myself I was in an Ironman and not a swim race :)  I settled it as much as I could w/the choppy conditions and found myself behind some feet that were just swimming all over the place!!  We did not swim straight AT ALL...BUT it's pretty crazy how swimming alone in a straight line is just way harder and no faster than drafting easy on some feet that just happen to be swimming a little whacky.  So I just went with it and had a fine swim.  At the last turn bouy I bailed on my crazy lead train and took a beeline to the finish, in hopes of losing as little time as possible to the lead girls.  Time: 57:00

BIKE:   I headed out 3rd female on the bike and was on a (controlled) mission to ride smart and not lose time on the ride.  I ride on feel, and the plan was to just push the bike harder than I normally do in Ironman.  I was feeling great, loved the support on the course, and knew it was going well when I was nearing the end of the first lap and wasn't getting passed by any women!  YAY!  So I kept on with the 'harder than usual' effort and stayed on the hydration/nutrition, just trusting that if I kept the fuel going in no matter how spent I felt at the end of the bike my fitness would take me through the run.  I certainly had some low points in the ride, like everyone, but just pushed them away and kept on the mission of finishing the ride strong.  Time: 5:27:30

RUN:  This is where you find out what you're made of.  This run happened to be one of the toughest IM runs I have had.  I thought I was coming off the bike in 3rd, but someone dropped out either at the end of the ride or in transition, so I was in 2nd, only 5-ish minutes down!  At that moment I was thinking 'oh man, I think I can do this!'.   So this run was interesting because I was pretty sure I would catch Malaika, however I knew there were strong runners coming from behind...and for the first part of the run I really didn't know how much space I had.  So goal 1 was to catch Malaika, then it was to maintain so I didn't get caught!!  It was a serious mind/body struggle, with my body wanting to stop SO BAD.  My legs have never felt that awful during a race.  I kept my mind from wandering and just kept at it, concentrating on nutrition and keeping 'steady'.  My newest saying is "just like this, all day long" which seems to work :)  Wow, so here is where I was SO THANKFUL to know so many people!  I took in each and every cheer and tried to truly BELIEVE what people were saying.  Each time someone told me I could do it, I tried to take that and literally run with it.   The last few miles were a mix of amazing and painful.  The crowd support was UNREAL and my legs were each like 50lb cement blocks :)  I was convinced I was running 11 minute miles (turns out I wasn't, but geeeez)!!  Time: 3:16

FINISH:  AMAZING!!!  I was told I had a 5 min lead on 2nd, but still found myself looking back in the finish shoot in complete disbelief that this was actually happening!!  I was greeted at the finish line by my Grandma Mary, Aunt Kiki and Mark :)  I was interviewed by Dave Erikson, the Madison Newspaper and taken to drug testing.  

THANK YOU!!!  Friends, family, training partners for loving me and keeping me motivated! 

SPONSORS: Timex, QR, Shimano, Blue Seventy, Rudy Project, Powerbar, Computrainer, Powertap, Nathan Hydration, Training Peaks, Peak Performance Massage, Speed Cycling, Assocaited Podiatrists

I would not be doing this without the support of my amazing sponsors!!!!  

Thanks for reading....more to come :)