Long over due 2010 recap & TEM intro

Seems as if I cannot seem to make the time to blog. So many irons in the fire and the last thing I feel like doing at the end of the day is more typing but I have gotten some gentle nudges to keep this up so I will make another attempt.


Instead of a 2010 recap, all I will say is WOW, what an awesome year. Sure there were some highs and lows but overall it was another great year for the Ironclad athletes. Lots of PRs, tickets punched for World Championship races and folks applying the basic principles for healthy balanced nutrition to get the most out of their bodies.  I was overjoyed to relive my Kona experiences though two athletes who made the very first trip to the Big Island for the Ironman World Championship. A belated and long overdue public display of affection to Michele S and Bill B for enduring and finishing he grandaddy of Ironman. I am blessed to have been a part of the journey with you.


There were many other memorable 2010 performances but when I look back over the year and think about the one performance that I was most proud of as a coach it has to be at Ironman Florida were Marc S executed the perfectly paced and fueled Ironman. Rarely does an Ironman go exactly as planned but in Marc's case he hit or exceeded all the times we had trained for without any GI issues or bad patches in the race. He trusted the preparation and excuted the pacing plan ( giving his best on the swim, riding strong and steady on the bike and holding back a bit on the first half of the run) to finish sub 10:25 with a monster new IM PR. So here is long over due PDA for my man Seaverson, way to go and glad you are on board for the 2011 pain train heading to Lousiville.


As for me, well I finished up the 2010 season racing the Myrtle Beach Triathlon and got a spot for the ITU Long Course Worlds which will be held in Henderson, NV ( just outside Las Vegas) in November. That will be a tough course since its a 4K swim, 120K bike and 30K run. I am still IM Retired but this race is between the 70.3 and IM distance which means some dedicated training will be in order. I also managed to participate in he final 70.3 World Champs in Clearwater. I say participate because it was still a very uncomfortable race for me. My hamstring issue is now resolved but I am having a rough go finding the joy with running......that is going to have to change soon if I want to swap my participant hat for the competrtor cap in 2011.


So here we are in 2011, and there is so much to look forward to. The year started off heading to Colorado Springs for  the inaugural USAT Youth/ Junior Coaching Certification Clinic. I was asked to write the chapter on nutrition for the coaching manual and present on the topic to over 40 of the top coaches leading the way in youth and junior development in the country. After the coaching clinic, I attended the USAT High Performance Team (HPT) Symposium which brought together coaches with existing HPT programs and coaches who had applied for the designation in 2011. I am happy to report that my partnership with fellow coach Marc Bonnet-Eymard in forming the Triton Elite Multisport program was one of five programs to receive the HPT designation for 2011. To find out more about the TEM mission and my passion for working with junior and developing elites please check out our webiste at www.tritonelitemultisport.com. 


The year is off to a great start so hope to keep the momentuem going!

Update coming soon>>>>>

Really it is! Just going to get Clearwater off my plate then will use my "free" off season time to update :-)

Quick Review on 2010 to date.

Well my one resolution to keep this blog, in particular, up to date has failed miserably!

I am not one who likes excuses but mine is I…….been busy folks! Unfortunately when things pick up, the first thing that goes is pleasure writing. Unless its training plans or correspondence with my athletes and fellow coaches its just not going to happen.

Being a "facts" and "get to the point" kind of gal that I am, writing for me is not about entertainment or to brag about my life via a blog. Quite frankly, writing is a task that takes way more time than I would like and I suspect its because I am not a natural wordsmith who can type 100 words a minute……still a "hunt & peck" typer :-(

Any how, I do have some folks that like to know what I have been up to so here is a recap of the first half of the year:

Coaching

There have a some changes on my coaching rostering and I must say its all been good. I have said this before but I am blessed to have such a hard working group particularly this season. There have been so many PRs and successful races that it would be too long to list to give "shout outs" but a belated public congratulations to all my IronClad peeps for working hard, racing hard and putting forth your best effort.

In addition to being swamped coaching and with nutrition consults, I have been really enjoying planning and implementing some things for the USAT Florida Region in my 5^th year as the Regional Athlete Development Coordinator. This year I have finally found the right support system to help with planning and implementing a Junior Skills Camp, Junior Development Race Series, Junior Regional Championship , Junior Elite Select Camp and Florida’s only Youth/ Junior Elite draft legal race coming up this next month. Its kind of crazy that I devote so much time to the developmental athletes particularly since I do not have kids!

Training / Racing

The year got off to a good start but then I suffered yet another set back. I strained hamstring mid April during a sprint tri and that pretty much took the wind out of my sails and forced me to scrap most of my racing plans. I did manage to do my annual trek to the Gulf Coast Triathlon in May. Fortunately the race was not affected by the awful oil spill that has tainted the Gulf. Under some of the toughest conditions I can remember ( this was my 9^th start) I had a decent race but was limited by the lack of run training and I really view it as a lead up to the big race for the early season, the Hawaii 70.3.

After Kona last year, I did say I was done with Ironman and I still am. I for some reason felt compelled to go back to the Big Island and conquer the climb to Hawi Long story short is was an OK race, no PRs or age group hardware but I did manage to grab a spot for the Clearwater 70.3 World Championship so we will see if I can get my body put back together to at least have a respectable race in November. I can now officially say IM DONE WITH THE BIG ISLAND.

Now with the first half of 2010 in the books I can only look back and say Geez, what a crazy 6 months but truth be told, I would not want it any other way J

Now who wants to bet how long it will be before I post something on this blog again……

2009 in the Books!

As they say time flys and 2009 (with its ups and downs, highs and lows) sure did. But before I can look ahead to 2010 I have to wrap up a couple of things from 09.

Since I have failed to blog since the Kona experience, I realized I did not give a much deserved public display of affection for two gals that successfully completed their first Ironman in Panama City on November 7th. HUGE props to Krista Eyler and Rose Laurence for putting in the work and trusting me enough to help get them to the start line.

Once the start gun goes off , the Ironman becomes an internal mental game as well as a physical test of endurance and fortitude. Coaching only takes an athlete so far, it provides the recipe and directions on how to bake up the satisfying, rewarding experience and provides the fullness of a job well down. Unfortunately some athletes decide to tinker with the recipe by adding some ingredients of their own ( meaning doing something they did not do or try in training) or try to tweak the directions ( alter pacing or nutrient timing) which can result in a less than desirable outcome. Good news is these two woman followed the recipe! They "planned the work and worked the plan" and in the end got to hear what so many triathletes wish to hear: You are an Ironman. So again ladies, helmets off to you for strong finishes....Congratulations Ironwomen!

November also saw the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Clearwater come and go. I opted to sit the race out because the hip issue was not fully resolved and I had not put in the desired level of training to be worthy of another World Championship start. The bright side of that decision is I got to watch so many athletes go on to fantastic finishes. My husband David had a another strong performance and I was happy to see a future IronClad athlete Jeff D have a phenomenal day.
One of the sweetest parts of the day was also watching and encouraging Kevin Collington to run and fight for that 6th place overall finish. Remarkable performance and it validates that he could be a 70.3 guy but first things first....he's going to pursue London 2012. Kevin's come along way in the past 3 years and I thankful to have had the opporuntity to be a part of his development. As it stands, Kevin has chosen to take a different direction in 2010 so I would like to congratulate him on a solid year and wish him well in 2010 and beyond!

So now that 2009 is about to close, its time to think about whats next? Well I can tell you personally I have yet to wrap my brain around any particular race. Its surprising but I do not have ANYTHING athletic on my 2010 calender, meaning I have not filled out one race application! Kind of odd but also kind of liberating.

I know I will be racing but right now I am focused on getting all the exciting professional things I will be doing planned. I am also FINALLY running again without any pain or slightest bit of discomfort. I am being very conservative with my running right now so when I feel I can put forth a respectable run off the bike then it will be game on. For now, just going to spend as much time as I can on the bike, get back to regular swimming and enjoying training with some of the old and new athletes I am fortunate enough to coach.

This Kona photo below sums up how I feel about 2009. Exhausting and exasperating at times but overall hugely satisfying!!



Oddly enough I have to say 2009 was a good year and I am hoping 2010, with it being a new decade, brings even better times.

For those of you that read my blog, thank you!
In 2010, I am actually going to work on being better with updates plus I will be launching a new nutrition only blog....IronClad Nutrition. I thought its about time I share some of the tips, tricks and concoctions that help fuel strong athletic bodies........ so stay tuned for that link.

Here's too a happy, prosperous New Year!