Archive for May, 2010

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Lose the training wheels

May 31, 2010

People everywhere are jumping on the fundraising bandwagon. Whether it’s Haiti or Katrina amazing people around the world are doing things to help. Some of these folks do it for the attention it brings  them. Look at me, I raise money for charity…… but if I have the opportunity…… am I willing to get my hands dirty? Am I willing to do something I won’t receive public recognition for? Am I willing to do something just because….. the kid whose life you will affect forever?????? 

 Who taught you how to ride a bike? I remember my father running down the street holding onto the back of mine. I remember asking him if he was holding on, and he said he was….. but his voice was too far away to be behind me. I remember being too afraid to look but I knew I was two wheeling. It was as if my Dad had sent me on my way.  

I have ridden thousands of miles since. In several states and countries. There are things I see on a bike that I will never see from a car, relationships I have formed. 

I met my husband while I was riding my bike. :-)  

Our son is nine years old and is still on training wheels. It’s no big deal to us, but it’s a very big deal to him. We have special adaptive equipment that we work with, attachments for his bike and a giant dose of love. My philosophy had always been…. he will ride when he is ready. 

Do you understand what it is like to have very minor physical challenges as Luc does, or very big ones like many other children have? Do you ever think about what it takes to hold a pencil, turn the page of a book, feed yourself? 

It took Luc months to stand on a pair of rollerskates. MONTHS. how long did it take you? 

Those who don’t understand ask me if we have ever worked with Luc on a bike. If you only knew. If you only freaking knew. I won’t even give that question my time. 

This weekend he will be competing in the kid’s race at the Keuka Lake Triathlon. He’s too big for training wheels. So I will be walking behind him as we ride this bike, and how much do you want to bet….. some ultracompetitive parent will accuse me of trying to give Luc an unfair advantage? 

This is an attachment attaching to the rear fork and seatpost. I walk behind him and balance him with the upright bar.

 

I think ”unfair advantage” would be me riding my Cervelo P2 Carbon Fiber bike with my Bontrager race wheels, and aero helmet with the tandem bike that we have attached. This is giving a kid a chance to belong. 

If you are coming to the Musselman, Luc is doing the kids race there as well. He is attending the Lose the Training Wheels Camp the week before. He may very well be on two wheels by then! I hope you can give him the biggest cheer in the world. You have no clue how hard he’s been working. 
 
Do you take your physical abilities for granted? 

Luc faces a lot of challenges every single day. Do you ever think twice about being able to hold a pencil? He has to  think, and he has to work at it. Do you have to think about tying your shoes? Luc does. He’s nine, can’t tie his shoes, but we are getting there. He understands that he’s just on a different path. But I will tell you this….. he appreciates these little things more than any other kid he knows.
 
Have you ever had the feeling that you don’t belong? Try being Luc for a day. (crazy thing is, he handles things better than 100% of adults I know…. including me). Society is not kind to kids with special needs. And let me tell you…… he’s far from being severe, imagine being a kid in a wheelchair. see how kids treat them. 

 We need your help. This July UNYFEAT (Upstate New York Families for effective autism treatment) is bringing an amazing camp to Rochester. It’s called Lose the Training Wheels Camp. Its for kids of all ages who face challenges….. much like our son Luc faces…… here these kids learn to ride bikes. TWO WHEELERS. 
 
When this camp announced it was coming to RIT the week of July 5th, I needed to learn more. It’s an incredible program that began with one camp and is expanding throughout the country,
 
Do you understand the freedom two wheels provides for every person in the world? If it means that much to me as an able bodied person, what does it mean when kids like Luc can ride two wheels?
 
I imagine it’s the closest thing to flying and being free from the disabilities that these kids face.
 
I personally will do anything in the world to help them find that feeling.
 
Check out this video for exactly how they train these kids to ride two wheels. Get your Kleenex out! This is Sarah’s journey, watch the whole thing…. she gets her wheels!
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOPYBEYS6bA&feature=related
 
Please consider the gift of your time. Money is a wonderful thing, it helps these causes continue, but nothing replaces and is more amazing than the gift of your time. we need volunteers to help run this camp so that each child has the opportunity to gain their wheels.
 
Can you donate one hour on one day? can you donate one hour for five days? Camp is Monday through Friday, there are several 75 minute sessions throughout the day. The first one begins at 8:00am. Please consider giving an hour to come and help. Please consider donating your lunch hour for one small week of your life.
 
Camp is located at the Rochester Institute Of Technology here in Rochester.
 
I know, during the work week is difficult. It’s not easy for my family either, but it’s a cause that’s worth it. 
 
 If you are interested in donating an hour or donating 20, please send me an email, maryeggers ”at” gmail ”dot” com. Obviously you need to be local. You can donate one hour, one day, the whole week. 

This is a cause that I believe so much in. That my company Train-This is adopting, and I hope you will as well.
 
Here is the link to the program: http://www.unyfeat.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22:lose-the-training-wheels&catid=1
 
Please consider donating your time. Together, imagine what we can do. we can help these kids get their wheels. 

Imagine this: 30 years from now a child you helped get their wheels, teaches their child how to ride a two wheeler. Their child asks them when they learned to ride their bike. They reflect on a wonderful week of their life, when some stranger gave up a part of their day. They will remember your name.

Posted in Family | 4 Comments »

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Enthusiasm!

May 31, 2010

“If you can give your son or daughter one gift, let it be enthusiasm” anonymous. I think I have done pretty well on that part so far:

Can I tell you how excited I am? My Achilles is feeling great. No pain to touch, I think our little protocol worked. Only 6 more days until I get to dive back in. I tell you it kind of stinks to feel that at day 7 of 14, only because I have to wait. Ho Hum. But this week is again light and I will take advantage!

Not before a nice easy swim in the lake this morning! We are gathering at 7am. If you are an early bird and a coffee drinker like we are, then please come on and join us! We meet at the boat launch next to the Muar House cafe.  Most days we swim….. some days we don’t. If it’s too cold we make the workout a recovery day and we take the time to do what is most important: spend time with good people.

I am feeling really good! That’s how you know that recovery works…… you start to feel like you are chomping at the bit. You know what I am chomping at the bit to do??? R.A.C.E. With the wizard’s approval I will be hopping into 2 more races before the Musselman. I have worked hard for 20 weeks and I want to have some fun.

To me there is nothing more fun than a race. It’s like a party to me and a test of myself all at the same time. Sprint races…. balls to the wall.

The Musselman this year? OMG it will be a ridiculous amount of fun. Not only is Kim racing but the ‘Cuse ladies: K. Roe and the Miss Julie Rosa are a coming to do the double Mussel! How in the hell am I going to race when I will be having so much fun? Racing with such a classy group of girls is an incredible treat! This is the classiest women’s field the Musselman has ever had. HANDS DOWN. I can not freaking wait, if I have not mentioned that before!

Winning is nice, I have done that plenty of times in my life. Won, qualified, heck I have even won a race flat out against the men as well. Nothing, and I mean nothing compares to the relationships and the people you meet along the way. That’s what I believe to be so special and beautiful about multisport. Even the insane triathletes I love. (because of course we aren’t talking about me….) When I finally do leave this earth I have a feeling no one will study my tombstone for my athletic achievements, I’d like to be remembered within the relationships I have made along the way.

There are just things that are unsaid between us, like the appreciation of a beautiful long ride. The lake at 7am. The feeling of being in it all together. We share victories and we share defeats. In 2008 when I suffered the concussion of my life and subsequent miscarriage and bike crash…… it was in the pool that I found comfort. It was on the road that I found healing. It was in racking up miles that I found my way back.

I didn’t need to sit around and talk about it. I didn’t try to escape it, but I was able to move through it. No one had to do anything but just be there. With me, spending miles and laughing. There’s a lot to be had in these miles we travel together. Strength, healing, pursuit, and faith. It’s so absolutely awesome.

I so absolutely adore the athletes that I have the opportunity to work with, who have become my family, to the folks I have met along the way…. one became my husband…. one became my son’s godfather….. and many became part of the extended family that the Eggers are so very blessed to have.

Whether the water is actually warm enough to swim in is not a worry that I have. I am on almost complete rest this week. If I swim, I swim. If I sit on the beach and laugh with my friends, excellent. Maybe we will even do a little of both.

One thing is for sure…… we will bring a pretty big dose of enthusiasm. Love for movement, love for life and an appreciation for the serenity of what we get to see this morning!

Posted in My Training | 2 Comments »

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Two week break

May 30, 2010

Don’t forget tonight at 8pm is our FREE webinar: They changed the drink at Ironman; the sky is falling! We will contrast and compare the major products and their ingredients and realize, this is a good thing folks!
Click here to register.

 With over 65 people attending our webinar this Wednesday: The Keuka Lake Triathlon; your first Tri. we’ve opened up a few more spots! Click here to register!

Our Ironman Lake Placid series continues on June 9th with IMLP course review! Click here! And then on June 16th Proper Pacing and Execution on the IMLP course! Click here! Again…. FREE!

Next Saturday at Keuka College I will be presenting two clinics: All about transitions, and All about Powermeters. We are offering them free, please click here for details! Have we lost our minds with all this free stuff? 

Lastly, welcome to race week! The focus on the blog this week will be race specifics. Have a question you’d like addressed? Shoot me an email at maryeggers ”at” gmail ”dot” com.

Have we lost our minds with all this free stuff?? No, we just want to spread our multisport love!

Due to some minor Achilles tendonitis, we pulled the plug on yesterday’s. It was a sprint race, and it just wasn’t worth the risk.  On the Richter scale of 1-10, 10 being season over, it’s a 1. But it’s the one I tore on 06, and I am just not one to mess with that. My partial tear took 4+ months to heal, a full tear is a year. I have Ironman Florida in 6 months, a sprint race is just not worth that risk. When it coms to injuries I have learned the hard way, being on this side is better than the other side. You don’t push through things. Never works. So we are nipping this in the bud early. We launched into the mid season break a week early, and it’s a good chance to pull myself together and get ready for the 20 week push through to Ironman Florida. At first I was concerned about the break, it’s just so weird to take this in JUNE. Truthfully since December I knew it was going to happen, so I have had it on the radar for some time.

Essentially week one is over and done with, week two will entail a lot of work. Train-This work, work on studying the next block, rehabbing my Achilles, getting my annual haircut (no… seriously)…. a massage, some ART, clean my house, and get stuff done. I have a billion appointments to make.

I have enough to do.

The two things I will really focus on are my Achilles rehab and continuing nutrition.

Achilles Rehab: I am a self proclaimed AT expert. As I said I partially tore my left Achilles in 2006, and it healed well. Two Tuesdays ago some tendonitis came on rather suddenly. The tendonitis is at the insertion point to the bone, so care is needed.

How do we rehab this? Well, I believe that immobilization of it was necessary. Think about it, what do we do when we have some tendonitis? We stretch it, anger it, irritate it. Touch it, massage it, test it out. So it reacts with inflammation and pain. Yes all that stuff is good but you have to be a little bit hands off with things. You work them and let them heal. Just like training, just like the rest of the body.

My Range of Motion is perfect. I can pinpoint the pain, and I won’t go to ART until Tuesday or Wednesday. Once we decided to bag the race I went into rehab mode. So here is my protocol, it works pretty well:

1. I wear my Dansko’s all the time. There is a slight lift to the heel, and they are nice and stiff. This takes all strain off the AT when walking, working, etc.

2. Immobilize as much as possible, no running  but I bike, but am careful not to plantar or dorsiflex too much. Swim… yes but push off with one foot, being careful not to overcompensate and cause injury there. I am to completely rest next week aside from 2 bikes and 2 runs, so the immobilization for 3 days won’t be hard.

3. Ice. I will diligently ice for 3 days as much as possible. There are times I personally feel heat is better, but for right now with acute pain I ice ice ice. Frozen corn on AT.

4. Motrin (which is ibuprofen and Advil). I take 10mg/kg Q 6 hours. during the day.

5. Continue to take 2 grams of fish oil.

When the three days are up (this will be Monday) I will begin some range of motion exercises, I will being double legged calf raises and then begin ART. from there I will play it by ear. Because I have been through this before I feel like I am very well aware of how to handle it. The improvement we have had thus far is big, so I am extremely confident we are on the right path.

The second thing I will focus on is nutrition. Currently sitting here at about 17-18% BF we need to be at 13% by IMFL. ow we put the big squeeze on. If you have not heard me talk about the Core Diet then you just need to click the link. I have macronutrient goals for every day and i shall hit those. I also will do a 2 day fruit and veggie cleanse, I love doing these. Whether it actually cleanses you is up for debate, but the way I physically and emotionally feel is unbelievable!

So that’s that. That’s where we are headed. Again it is weird beyond weird to take this break when everyone else is knee deep in Ironman training. We get back to everything pretty quick.

Yesterday however I had a treat. A three hour ride, and I had an afternoon on a weekend….. alone? My son went to the Rochester Ribfest with some friends. He’s getting to that age when…. he can go by himself. The friends he went with know him, they love him, we are so grateful for these people, we call them the gang. They just rope him in and have fun. It was hard, because I thought… geez I should be going with him……but my husband reminded me….. let him go, it’s ok.

I headed down to Conesus Lake. What I love about where I live is that I can ride from my door step on wide shouldered roads. There were roofers out roofing, folks hanging at the post office drinking sodas, and at the local church a bbq was being set up. People were waving and smiling.

I swore I was going to stop this ride and take pictures. But the rhythm of the pedals and the sun on my back and the serenity I feel when riding was too good to pause.

My bike and I have officially made amends.

I am sorry to park him aside for a few rides this week. Which is a good thing. Because when we reunite, we have loads of miles to ride. Because in November we are once again headed to the redneck Riviera for my fifth Ironman. Something about the panhandle and the folks there grabs me. I have no idea why.

Game on for Ironman Florida!

Posted in Coaching Files, My Training | Leave a Comment »

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My eating disorder and my recovery

May 29, 2010

Don’t forget! Tomorrow night, Sunday May 30th 8pm Free webinar: They changed the drink at Ironman! The Sky is falling! Let’s talk about what that means for you and your ironman! Click here to register, and again it’s FREE!

We haven’t talked about eating disorders in a while, specifically mine. It’s the number one thing I am asked about. For 10 years I engaged in Bulimia Nervosa. I won’t say that I suffered from it because I chose to stick my fingers down my throat. I brought it upon myself. I don’t like when people feel bad or give me empathy because I had an eating disorder and although I did conquer it and I do a lot of speaking about it…… I chose to stick my fingers down my throat.

What I would like to be able to do is tell you exactly how it is that I recovered. And how I have stayed recovered. It’s a little complicated. I want it to be more back and white. I want to give you a five step instruction process of how I did it.

There was no good reason for me to even have an eating disorder. I grew up in a good home, I have two great parents. My brother and I had a very difficult relationship that still lasts today, but what siblings don’t. While I don’t blame him there were things that he did, like the simple act of name calling at a young age that did point me to the eating disorder pattern of thought.

I was always pretty normal looking, when I was at my sickest with Bulimia my body was normal but my face was gigantic from all the fluid shift.

I hit rock bottom. Absolute rock bottom. It was a horrible place to be but still my parents were my safety net. They got me help, every time, they supported me, every time. They helped me recover every time I had  a relapse (and they didn’t always know I was having one, I liked to hide this whole thing). And I took it one day at a time and I recovered.

I can say that I am free from “those thoughts”. If you have or have had an eating disorder you understand. Those thoughts are gone. That’s why I swim, bike and run, and practice yoga. Through movement my head gets cleared. The thoughts stay away, and I stay healthy.

Pregnancy was tough, post pregnancy was more difficult but that’s another story for another day.

What I want to talk about today (finally!) is the changes that have happened over the past year that I have been working with Jesse Kropenlicki, whom I like to refer to as the Wizard, and the QT2 team.

When I started working with The Wizard I learned that there are four pillars to a program: Training, Pacing, Nutrition, and Fueling. We pay big time attention to each of those. The nutrition has been absolutely paramount for me and my life in general.

I am much leaner in the year I have been training with QT2. My body composition is quite different. I still hold a giant amount of muscle mass. In fact every single time I am in the gym some meathead will approach me and ask me if I am a body builder or that I should be. The number one issue preventing me from ever doing that is the nutrition protocol they have to follow. No offense, but it makes them insane. I work with a woman who does quite a bit of figure competitions and when she is preparing for a show she is out of her mind. She knows it, she hates it and afterwards she is always surprised at it.

I work with a wonderful athlete who has made the switch from bodybuilding to endurance sports, she went to QT2 to help her redefine her nutrition, because all she really knew was the bodybuilding way of eating. I can see an incredible change, like a balancing out of her mind…. as she has evolved.

I had a pretty bad eating disorder which meant I was pretty out of my own mind. I don’t need to be involved in a sport where I have to drastically alter my nutrition like that, because I know what it does to the mind. I finally explained that to one body building guy to get him off my back. I thought he’d be offended….. and he actually stepped back and said…. wow, I totally get that!

Besides, I am an outdoors girl.

Anyhow…… I still carry quite a but of muscle, too much for what I love to do but that’s life. We are working to try to strip some of that.

The Wizard so brilliantly developed the Core Diet. Which has absolutely changed my life. It’s not Atkins. It’s eating very healthy. while I have been recovered from Bulimia for a very long time, my body still was deprived of many of the micronutrients that I had deprived it of for so long. I feel like every single day that I eat in the core, my body is just sucking up the minerals and nutrients that it never had.

I can’t tell you how good I feel.

So what’s this Core Diet? Click here to learn. It’s getting your carbohydrates, protein and fats from better sources. Whole food. Here are the guidelines I follow:

1. four fruits a day
2. Four veggies a day
3. Low Glycemic foods < 55 throughout the day.
4. Consume high glycemic foods in workout windows, and during training.
5. Eat every 2-3 hours.

When you are a QT2 athlete you go through an extensive dietary analysis. You can also get this done like my athlete did, just visit the Core Diet site for details. Some people think it is pricey but if you add up the money you spend on ridiculous supplements and such, it’s cheap. It’s worth it.

Remember: your race day nutrition will also be dependant on how good your nutrition is in general.

As an athlete you also are created a race fueling plan. I right now know my fueling plan for every distance race I do. This used to be something I struggled with, now it’s just second nature.

The core Diet has taught me how to eat. It’s got me eating fruits and vegetables I would have never eaten in my life. I feel incredible. My blood sugar never bounces around. I feel …. gosh I just feel so freaking good, for an entire year I have felt GOOD every single day. If you’ve been around for a while you know that hasn’t always been the case.

I feel like this is what you should learn in recovery programs. Instead they fill you with Ensure and high glycemic foods. I am not a fan of how recovery programs work, and to be fair I have done nothing to help change it.

Sometimes athletes come to me in the hopes I can fix their eating disorder. I can’t. I can’t turn off those thoughts. I can however help them get started…… go to the Core Diet. plug in the nutritional holes that you have. Get on a balanced eating plan. spend the damn money and do it right. Your body and your health is worth it.

If you can begin by healing yourself physically, then the emotional part is going to start coming along as well. When you are physically nutritionally balanced, your mind will begin to even out.

In a nutshell, that’s sort of in a vague round about way how I am recovering from Bulimia Nervosa.

Posted in Nutrition | Leave a Comment »

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Ironman switches drinks! The sky is falling!

May 28, 2010

Before we begin, I have a few things for you. And a new webinar at the end of the post here!

 A video of my coach Jesse Korpelnicki talking about Ironman Nutrition (there are actually four good lectures here but knowing the panic state everyone is in, watch this one). I will say with great bias that I have been working with Jesse for a year and his nutrition plan both on and off the field have helped me achieve what no one in the medical field has ever been able to do: balance to a body that was very imbalanced due to Bulimia.

Rich Strauss of Endurance Nation, always has good practical advice.

Gordo always has good sound advice as well.

And some great tips on nutrition in general, very much in line with the Core Diet, Chuckie V has some very good stuff here.

I have this vision of the bigwigs at Ironman sitting back in their big leather chairs around a big table, laughing. What better way to throw all of Ironman Land into a great big tizzy. Change what you are going to have on the course about 8 weeks out. Because my Ironman is not till November, because this will be my fifth Ironman…. I tend not to worry about this stuff. 

Yesterday I attended a retreat for our emergency residents in Bristol. I walked into the retreat at 1:30pm. At 2:45 pm I walked out. I had fifty two emails from my athletes, other athletes, other coaches…….

THEY CHANGED THE DRINK AT IRONMAN.

At first I thought it was one of Kevin McKinnon’s April Fool’s jokes. Remember the year he stated that the Ironman Lake Placid swim would be three loops to make it more fair? I was able to freak my entire team out on that one.

Then I realized…. no joke. They did change it. What a bunch of jerks. And it made me laugh. The perfect way to freak out a few thousand people who have searched the globe to find gatorade endurance….. than to pull a switch last minute. In Ironman land it was last minute.

But let’s all take a deep collective Ironman breath here. It isn’t like the ingredients are going to differ that much.

Now as someone who has experienced GI issues in a race, I think that where this truly all begins is in our head.

Oh.my.god.i.don’t.like.the.flavor. That’s the beginning of the downward spiral. What the mind says is going to be the roadmap for how the body reacts. Think of eating a sardine. Pick up a can, you have created your physical reaction right there (repulsion!) and this thing cold taste like heaven!

So start with your head.

Okay, let’s begin with what we know. Ingredients. This new drink is not going to contain ingredients different than what exists. Here is what we know is in the products we do use. Each of these are the powder form and each serving size is one scoop.

Here is a link to the new Ironman Powerbar Performance yadda yadda yadda yadda drink.

Carbo Pro

Ingredients: on the website there is no ingredient list, there is on the cannister. I happen to be out. I am interested in knowing if it is only maltodextrin….. there have to be a few more in here. However Carbo pro’s big claim is that it is a clean source of fuel,

Macros: 115 calories / serving, 28grams CHO / serving,

Gatorade Endurance:

Ingredients:  Sucrose, dextrose, citric acid, sodium citrate, monopotassium phosphate, salt, natural lemon & lime flavors with other natural flavors, calcium lactate, calcium silicate (a flow agent), magnesium oxide, yellow 5.

Macros:  50 cal / serving. 14 g CHO / serving, 14 g sugar / serving

Power bar Endurance

Ingredients: C2 Max Carbohydrate Blend (Maltodextrin, Fructose, Dextrose), Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Chloride, CALCIUM SILICATE, Magnesium Citrate, Potassium Citrate, Natural Flavor, Turmeric color.

Macros: 70 cal / serving, 17 grams cho / serving, 10 grams sugar / serving.

Accelerade

Ingredients: Sucrose, Whey Protein Concentrate, Fructose, Maltodextrin, Citric Acid, Sodium Chloride, Lecithin, Natural Flavor, Magnesium Oxide Vitamin E Acetate, Ascorbic Acid, L-Arginine, Monopotassium phosphate, FD&C Yellow 5, FD&C Yellow 6.

Macros:  120 calories / serving, 20 grams cho / serving, 20 grams sugar / serving.

Now personally of all of the above even though I do use power bar endurance, my favorite is carbo pro. It’s flavorless, it’s cleaner, etc. But that’s not the point.

The point here is that if you look at all of the above products, the ingredients are not that different. There is a taste difference. Accelerade tends to not seem so sweet, while Gatorade Endurance seems very sweet. But if you look at the macros Accelerade seems to have more sugar per serving. Does it matter for taste if it’s fructose, dextrose, or whatever -trose? I have no clue.

So really, breaking it down, and feel free to disagree with me…… these products are not that different. So let’s calm down. Breathe in, breathe out. By this stage of the game if you are competing in Lake Placid…. you have trained on some sort of product. Even if it is a different one each week. You have used something in line with the above, unless you are drinking orange juice. And then you are up a creek. Call the Hoad if you are (love ya Hoad!).

Because all craziness truths truly begin on Slowtwitch, I hopped over there to see the panic attack what was going on. I am copying and pasting a thread from Dev Paul because when I read this I wanted to stand up like a woman in church and scream HALLELUJAH!  To me D.P. is a Gordo like guy, he shares his knowledge and has a good head on his shoulders. Please note his contact info and free triathlon camps at the end of his post: (he does mention The Wizard in here: Jesse, my coach, and the key to the statement made is KEEPING YOUR INTENSITY IN CHECK)

Lake Placid 3k/180k/21k June 10/11 2010 Epicman Hill Climb + WhitefaceFree camps:

A few years ago, Darcy from Infinit Nutrition Canada asked me to try Infinit. I like how I can pack 500-700 calories in a bottle. I’ve done IM’s where I got all my calories off Infinit.

However, I told Darcy, “I don’t care how good Infinit is, I will still use ON COURSE NUTRITION to supplement Infinit”.

Now lots of people are running around trying to figure out how they can get access to Powerbar Perform to “test it out in training” before they race on it. While I don’t have an issue with testing out products before using it on race day (good plan) and as much as I’d love to blame all kinds of products for my problems on Ironman courses related to nutrition, the bottom line is that:

“Products never create Problems…I create my OWN Problems”

A couple of years ago, I was visiting at Tom Evans’ place before Ironman Canada and noted that he had one water bottle holder on his race bike. We joke around that on ST there are many dudes loaded down with week of groceries on their bike, and he said, “I just need one bottle. Ride hard for 2-3 hours. Stop in the middle, get a sub and drink, fill up my bottle and finish my long ride. If I can digest that, I can process anything on race day”. His point was that it is never what you take in that makes you sick, it’s just that the intensity is TOO HIGH.

I’ve never seen anyone get sick at Turkey Dinner or MacDonalds (OK, maybe a few) when the intensity is low (sitting around), but all kinds of tri guys (including me many times) and gals get sick off gatorade/infinite/powerbar stuff on the bike leg at triathlons!

I know Jesse Kropelnicki has his athletes including pint size folks like Cait Snow take in up to 600 calories an hour. Mark Allen did the same “back in the day”. Strauss tells us to top out at ~300 per hour cause being slightly under fuelled is better than overfuelled and you’re never more than 5 minutes away from “fuel top up”. I think Jesse’s approach is awesome if you can keep your intensity in check, however, I’ve had better success recently with the Stauss approach.

Bottom line, is I strongly believe you can work off “any on course nutrition” if you balance the intake with your pace, be it powerbar, gatorade, or infinit….in fact in my last half IM at Wildflower (going off the top of my head), I used 700 calories from infinit, 200-300 from Gatorade, 200 from powerbar and another 400 from powergels (leveraging calories from all companies).

….and yes, Darcy does support me, and I love the flexibility of Infinit as it is the equivalent of electrolytes+bars+gels+drink in one convenient form factor, but being flexible enough to use ANY on course nutrition by matching intake to pace is key to long course tri success.

Don’t get sucked into believing that you can only use products from one vendor…your stomach has evolved for many generations to be able to break down a variety of nutrition…in the end most of this stuff is maltdextrin, dextrose, corn syrup, electrolytes and preservatives, with slightly different types of packaging.

Dev

http://www.kestrelbicycles.com |www.infinitnutrition.ca | http://www.nineteenwetsuits.com
Perform.Powerbar courses and its gonna be WTC because they can’t get Gatorade on some knotOK guys….now everyone is going to get twisted in a

I love his point. When I think back to all of the times I have had GI issues, my intensity was not in check. Now what could we mean by intensity over the course of 140.6? Let’s go through a little Mary Eggers made scale (usually translates into highly thought out and well funded clinical research study my best guess)

In this study we give Joe triathlete a scale of 1-10 on the heart rate Richter scale. 10 being too damn high for an Ironman event.

In the morning Joe triathlete arrives at the race site nervous. Heart rate 6. Gun goes off. Heart rate 7. Swim loop one complete, Joe begins to relax. Heart rate 4. Loop two done, the Ironman has officially started, heart rate 3. We are good!

Runs out of the water, through the screaming crowd, heart rate 5. Into the changing tent. Heart rate 6 where he struggles with his clothes. Gets on bike rides out of town and blasts through the first 10 miles of the course to the descent into Keene. Heart rate 6. He is trying to drink the on course nutrition and his stomach seems funny. Damn the new product! Blame game begins! Mental game as I spoke of before starts!

Heart rate 7!

So this effect can snowball throughout the race. The intensity even though he is not pushing the pedals beyond his parameters …. is too high. He let himself get nervous, panic, and them everything began to fall apart.

You have to keep yourself in check. Calm down. This is the Ironman, it’s a long day. It’s a series of events that make up this day. It’s not going to come down to one drink. It’s going to come down to a lot of things. The ingredients in this new Ironman power bar drink are not going to be that different from what you have been using. Stop putting so much power into a drink. Put that power back into yourself.

With that being said, let’s take a good in depth look at what this is all about. Think of me as your Ironman psychotherapist. I am highly qualified. Join me this Sunday night May 30th at 8pm Eastern Standard time, and let’s talk about it. Let’s get this silly little issue, which really is not an issue, out of the way so you can get on with your final preparations for one of the most amazing days of your life!

Click here to register, it’s free. Because we are nice like that.

Now trust me, Ironman is changing. It’s not the way it used to be. The fees are higher, everything is branded, and don’t be suprised when they make you get the tattoo, as your new finisher’s medal, and pay them a lot of money for it!

Posted in My Training, Nutrition | 4 Comments »

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Diagnostics

May 27, 2010

A few items of business before we get started today! 1. We are super happy (an about to be pun) to announced that we’ve partnered up with a fabulous little company called “Awlays Happy Never Satisfied“. Waaaayyyyy back in 2003 when I worked on the Pediatric IMCU floor I worked with a terrific gal named Becky. She earned her Masters and moved away. Through the magic of FaceBook we have reconnected. She and her beau Ed have this amazing little company which makes amazing silkweight tshirts and gear and such. The best part? They are locally made in Indiana. no big box store stuff here!  They are the greatest example of the little guy type of business and they are more than just making t shirts. Becky and Ed also sailors and currently run Sail 22. Not only do they do this and make great gear….. check out their sites for their water and land adventures all over the place. And stay tuned because we will be sporting some of their awesome stuff real soon! Thanks Becky and Ed! (Also we have an RSS feed to their site in the right hand column)

 2. Don’t forget about our upcoming webinars! Please check out www.Train-This.com for details. From beginner triathlon to Ironman nutrition, pacing and IMLP course review, we have you covered!  

I’d also like to thank Chuckie V for nearly shutting down our site yesterday! We were lucky enough to be awarded the “Link of the day” on his esteemed blog  which is a lot like being awarded homecoming queen, we definitely appreciate.

 I have been a long time stalker admirer of Chuckie V, ever since that fateful day way back in 1999……..

 I stood on the curb at the Hawaii Ironman waiting for my husband to go by. I remember laughing my ass off as I watched this tall lanky guy walking the course, drinking a beer out of a glass beer bottle. Now that’s a guy who doesn’t take himself seriously…. I remember thinking.  Little did I know I was witnessing a very controversial moment in the Hawaii Ironman history…… Chuckie was banned from Hawaii for a year due to that. I seem to remember (and correct me if I am wrong) that the reason was for accepting outside assistance.

 What?  

The guy was walking. Someone offered him a beer. I have been in that position, had someone offered me a beer I would have taken it too. Watch out leaderboard! That’s the big secret for a magic come from behind by over an hour win!I did not take a picture of that memorable moment. Instead…. I took this one:  

 See that our hands are about to connect?

 This is the love of my life Luc Van Lierde moments after he secured his victory at Kona.  Interestingly I was also photographed in the background of this man for both Triathlete and Inside Triathlon Magazines that year. Um, I also might have named Luc after him. There actually is a story as to why I did insanity but that’s another inspirational based post for another day.   

Had the beer actually worked for Chuckie V, as the officials seemed to worry it would…… then this would have been Chuckie and not Luc and our son would have an entirely new identity. But these were the days before digital cameras (1999) and I didn’t think to waste film on a beer drinking guy.   And Luc Van Lierde was better looking. Sorry!  

Onto the point of todays incessant ramblings……. As usual the Wizard provided me with terrific insight. To me… yeah I cracked. So what I cracked. Caused by: overtraining perhaps? That’s never enough for the Wizard however as he did a careful analysis of the past few weeks. The Achilles issue he is referring to is some minor tendonitis of my left Achilles, the kind of pain that’d be no problem to run through….. but since we are on a 2 week break here we figured it would be smart to rest. (remember that big push to IMFL).  

Easy to see what did you in from both the Achilles, and burn up point of view.  Take a look at the 14, 15, and 16th training block.  You moved some workouts around and ended up with back to back key days on 14 and 15, and then another solid day on 16.  No good! 

Never move things around to end up with key days in the same sport back to back.  See my recent blog post……that’s you!  You are better off missing one of the workouts.  Live and learn!  Also, don’t be afraid to ask me about a move. 

The blog post he is referencing is right here…… that spells Mary Eggers all over it! 

I am typically not one to move workouts around. I am not one to complain. I hate moving things around, as they are planned that way for a reason. I have been working a ton from home lately and had some schedule changes I had to roll with… I got into that silly little habit…. Well if I trade this for that and that for this, I will get my workouts and volume in and I am all set.  I looked at the the little picture and not the big picture. Even worse, I should have spoken to the wizard before I moved anything. This is why I hired him….. to help me. He wisely pointed out that I feel the need to carry the burden all on my own (such a martyr I am). I took some time and reviewed the weeks. As a big picture. I re read his blog three times.  Got it. Got it. Got it.

 I am supposed to be a coach, but I realize I have stepped too far into the role of athlete. As an athlete I too, need to take responsibility for my own training. I gave too much of it away and dind’t think about how it all fit together. Each block we review together so I do know the purpose. I need to think about that…. When I go moving things around.

  There were a few weeks I could have missed a workout. But like many of you that makes me insane. I don’t like to miss.  

Lesson learned. Loud and clear. No wonder. Good thing I learned that lesson right now.

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Wednesday in Time Out

May 26, 2010

Yes, I am in time out. I guess time out is the new politically correct way of saying grounded. When I was younger my parents grounded me and didn’t hesitate to spank me when I did something wrong. The days when children respected adults and going to the principal’s office wasn’t to hang out like it is today. When I was young, the principal’s office meant one thing…. My dad was going to kill me. I think I only went once in my life. 

 I will say that triathlon “time out” is a lot different. You don’t get here by doing something wrong. You get here by pushing the edge, cracking as I like to say. Still as I am here in time out I walk that fine line of feeling like I failed and feeling like I succeeded. 

 The rest is taking effect however. Now that I have recovered from the 27 hours of LOST…..( I mean it’s a week of mourning for that…… never understood Trekkie’s until I became a LOSTIE… that’s for damn sure.). My legs are feeling better and more importantly so is my mind. 

 This and next week my instructions are to take it easy (aside from a little all out sprint effort on Saturday), get things done around the house (isn’t that what my Curt-Mudgeon husband is for?) and rest up. I have been warned that when the 20 week push starts, it starts. We drop the volume a little bit and hit the intensity. We squeeze the diet. We take a trip into the pain cave. 

 I am looking forward to it. 

The heaviness in my legs is leaving, my love for my bike is returning, and even through I am only on day five of time out, I feel the craving for the volume returning. 

In the meantime I am working my butt off on the business! Our Train-This team uniforms came in…. here are some o the pictures: 

Luc with his shirt and our new banner!

 

Kim modeling the trishorts and jacket!

 

Mike in tri shorts and jacket!

 

Solevig, Alexa, Gretchen and Joe at the Spring Classic

 

We are pretty delighted with how the team gear came out! And our team looks stellar in them! You will see the gang at the Fly by Night Duathlon this weekend, and in big force at the Keuka Lake Triathlon next weekend! In fact we will have a little tent set up, please stop on by and say hi! 

Until then, I am in time out! Well, at least till Saturday! 

I stole the following from Alexa’s blog….. HILARIOUS! 

Posted in Coaching Files, My Training | 3 Comments »

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How to succeed in business without knowing what you are doing

May 25, 2010

I am really pleased to announce that we’ve brought Kelly Covert of Syracuse, on as the newest addition to our coaching staff! Kelly is the author of  www.trimommylife.blogspot.com , she’s the host of the Aflac Iron Girl Series, and she’s a member of Team Trakkers. She’s also a member of the Train-This Triathlon team. I have been so honored to work with her, and I am even more honored that she’s joining the company. She recently attended her USAT Certification and she’s got one heck of an eye for athletes of all abilities. Shoot us an email if you are interested in working with her. Please check the Train-This website this week for more contact info!

Way back in 2004 my good friend Rich Clark (one of the owners of Score-This!!!) and I were talking about setting up Train-This, really it was his idea and the name began as a joke. We talked a lot about our visions for multisport in this area. I began racing before there were timing chips, before there ever was the Score-This multisport Series. There were maybe 3 triathlons even in this area! So we go back a long time. A very long time.

Multisport is very different than regular business world. Multisport is a relationship based business. Those who have narcissistic, take -em-over attitudes don’t last very long here. Cut throat ideas always fall apart. That kind of stuff always takes care of itself.

When I began Train-This, I didn’t have a big grand marketing scheme. I don’t have an MBA, I have a BS in Nursing. I don’t have any business experience, but I have people experience. I had a lot of good resources around me. So I looked at all of the people I look up to.

I looked at my parents, the morals and ethics they taught me: treat others well, always be fair, and let the bad people destroy themselves. I looked at my coach at the time, Doug Bush of Endurance factor….. he taught me a lot about the business of coaching and what to aim for. I looked at Gordo….. who really believed in sharing knowledge and experience rather than taking over the world. I looked to Lisa Bentley, who is my all time favorite triathlete. She’s positive no matter what. She practices what she preaches, and she’s fair.

I looked at all of those people and decided….. that’s the way I want to run my business. I want to have good people around me. I want to be fair. I want to teach. I want to learn. I want to build a community of athletes who come together. When an athlete and I part ways in an athlete / coaching relationship….. you stay part of our alumni if you want to. Come out, play, have fun. More important than making money…. is building relationships. Over the years we have really been able to build some good ones. Which came into play this week in fact, with our new business venture. But that’s another story for another day.

The athletes on our team are very close. They are family. I learn from them, I hope they learn from me. Their victories are mine as well. Their failures are mine also. Athletics is so much more than execute the time, we have to take care of each other.

I often get asked about my business model. I often get asked what my rates are. Ask me, and I will tell you. Are you a new coach? Let me give you some tips from what I have learned. I have had people use my little business model and they realize that they only can succeed hen they are their true authentic self.

There is not a lot of drama in triathlon coaching, believe it or not. In this area we are so fortunate to have great people. From Buffalo to Syracuse we have great mutisport coaches. We’ve traded athletes, referred athletes, used each other as resources. I am hoping to be able to put together a Spring 2011 conference for all of the local coaches. Wouldn’t that be a fabulous opportunity to meet, share, collaborate?

I think so. This is a business and community I am honored to be proud of.

This weekend I had an interesting experience however. These don’t come along often but I think there are big lessons to be learned from them. There is a young coach to the east of me, who apparently is getting started in this multisport world. man I love that. It’s awesome to work in this business.

This new coach set up a Face Book page and has used some of my athletes in his pictures. I think it’s great. I think anytime putting up pictures of what our sport represents is awesome. It’s more than trophies, it’s more than winning. t’s about friendships. Whether they “belong to me” or not…. doesn’t matter. It’s the community that matters.

Then things got a little strange. My athletes tend to get protective of me. we all collaborate and share things. We are all friends and I am very proud to say it. so when this particular new coach…. began inquiring to one of his friends that I coach about my prices….. I thought…. hey that’s normal. but geez, if this guy wants to know, he can ask me. I don’t take offense, I don’t take it personal….. how do you know the going rates here if you don’t ask?

So this new coach, goes to another one of my athletes and tells that athlete I coach a different athlete for free. No big deal. Untrue, but no big deal. But weird. I wondered what his angle was? I figured that he just didn’t know me and might have been shy to ask….. so I sent him this email (names changed for identity protection)

As you are aware I currently work with Jo Jo Athlete, Speedy speed  and Jack Fast. I am understanding that you have inquired about the rates I charge for the athletes that I coach. Since I also understand that…. for some reason…. you have decided to ask my athletes, tell others, and give false information…. I thought you might be interested in asking the source….. which is me.
 
Within this industry this kind of behavior is generally viewed as someone attempting to drive a wedge between an athlete and their coach. But since we don’t know one another, I would like to make the assumption that you were just curious as I see you are doing some coaching yourself as well. Plus I am unbelievably fortunate to work with some very good people, they get a little bit protective. Our team is a bit like family.
 
Currently I charge XXXX  per month. It depends on several factors: does the athlete have power I need to analyze? Do they live locally? That kind of thing. I also do give discounts to folks for various personal reasons. I  think coaching should be affordable for everyone.
 
Again I am not sure why the inquiry, or the reason for telling another athlete. Since we don’t know one another I am going to assume that you were …. just curious….. not trying to cause any harm. This isn’t Venture capital after all… it’s a sport for everyone and a sport where anyone can follow their passion and help others through coaching. Within Western New York there are several excellent coaches, and it had the opportunity to turn into a cut throat business if you look at  a map, but incredibly it has not. It’s a field where we utilize each other, I have sent athletes to Jimmy, he’s sent them to me, I have asked Cinderella  for advice…. it’s really a terrific community up here.
 
If you have any questions about my business however, please feel free to contact me. either at this email or at the phone number below.
 
People will often ask us how we have built a successful coaching company over the past 5 years and I say this: we are fair, we are honest, and we are ourselves!

The intention was to clear the air, invite discussion. I am not in to drama but I am certainly into…. if someone has a question….. just ask! So his response was this:

I actually know a few more of your clients and again that is not an issue.  I hear great things about you as I told Frank.   I have no intention of taking your clients and have nothing to gain by saying this. It was something that I heard and as I told Frank I would be flattered.  I have no time to start coaching any time soon.  When I do I am going to try to concentrate on Jr. and already have a way to try to develop those athletes. 

I also would never train friends.  I don’t believe that it would be effective or good for either parties.  I may give them a tip from time to time or help them with an issue if needed.  This area had plenty to offer everyone and I don’t see how me hearing something like this would make one bit of difference.

I had to smile because his response was backhandedly flattering. Obvviously he didn’t answer the question.  I probably made him nervous. Word travels fast when your actions aren’t ethical in this community.  I don’t think I accused him of poaching, yet he was apologizing for it. But the reason I share this entire example with you is for a few reasons, the big one being that this so rarely goes on in our area that I felt the need to grab is by the horns and learn the lesson! but if you are considering getting into coaching, or are curious about the business, here are my tips on how to go about it:

1. If you have a question… ask. This area is filled with so many great coaches and athletes. Align yourself with the good folks and good things will happen for you. By digging around….. and people noticed….. you establish yourself as someone who has poor ethics. Which is what happened.

2. Know your limits. . There are athletes who will do well with me, and there are athletes who won’t. Know your limits. I was contacted by a very talented junior athlete who in all honesty has a good shot on the ITU circuit. However, I don’t think he and I would have made a good fit. So I referred him to another local coach, who has experience with juniors and at the OTC. Know your limits.

3. Be a good force in the community:  Work with the other entities in the area, see what you can do to help build our sport. Don’t tear down businesses, athletes, coaches or whatever, partner with them. I am a huge believer in Karma. I think that the good that you put into the world will come around to you when you need it. It just came around to us this week. But again, I digress.

4. Be fair and be honest. I think that one explains itself.

5. Focus on your product, not externals: Like i said I don’t regularly get caught up in this type of drama, but it happens so rarely that I think it’s so good for all of us to learn from. You succeed by building yourself and business from the inside out. Not by threatening, imitating, be yourself and they will come. However you can’t get into a tizzy every time someone like this comes a long. You have to take it for what it’s worth and get back to what you are focused on. You can put one of the athletes I coach on your website all you want, but at the end of the day what matters is that I give my best as a coach to this athlete. Who is appears they are aligned with isn’t worth anything. When my head hits the pillow I rest easy when I give my best to my team. I don’t think I would feel good as a person if I were trying to seem like I coached someone I didn’t. But that’s me. Focus on your business. Focus on your core values. These types of people, their behavior takes care of itself.

Is this a good business model? I don’t know. I make this all up as I go along. I look to my mentors, I pray on things a lot……. what?…… yeah…… I pray. I am not one of these people who come around during the day and invite you to revivals….. but I am a person who has an extremely strong faith. I have to, if you know what I have been through you know that when all else fails…. you learn to live on faith.

I pray pretty much on everything. Every decision I have to make I pray on. And when this interaction occurred this weekend I prayed on it. What should I do with it? It’s such a small piece of the pie of life, I wanted to just move on. But I realized not only can I learn from this….. maybe something similar has happened in your life. Who cared if it’s multisport or at the corner diner. ever been in this situation? well here are my thoughts. Here are my beliefs. agree or disagree, maybe I can offer some insight. More often than not, because of something I write someone will shoot me an email and offer me some insight. And for that I am so grateful.

So that’s the business lesson of today. The lesson is that this is a different field than medicine, stock market, resturaunting…… this is multisport. The business of people. The business of relationships.

I smile as I think back to those conversations with Rich, heck we have them every now and then. It’s always the greatest check up for me. Treat people well, accept the feedback when you can do better, and keep building community.

We’ve built a company that’s seen 100% growth annually for the past five years. so we must be doing something right! As for this young coach…. we don’t worry about him. He will grow, he will learn….. sometimes the hard way…… sometimes the easy way……. but what’s important is that he is young and he has the greatest lessons ahead of him!

Posted in Coaching Files | 5 Comments »

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27 hours for LOST

May 24, 2010

Let me begin with the finale of LOST. L.O.V.E.D. it. I loved it. LOST is the only TV I watch. So to sit in front of a tv for 4.5 hours last night and then go to work all night (staying up 27 hours straight) was a bit of a marathon for me. I fueled it well. Coffee, water, and food in the Core. I thought it was a beautiful end. Here is what one of my athletes KH write and I could not have said it any better:

That in the end its faith vs science; the island
can’t be explained through science as much as scientists wanted to
understand and harness it, it can only be understood through faith. I
know they didn’t give me answers about where the island went or how
the explosion changed everything (I think it was the catalyst for
‘building’ the place where they meet in the afterlife) or why the MIB
was smoke, but again, I think if you accept the end that they waited
in death for each other (something unexplained and completely based in
faith/suspension of reality) then you have to accept that the island
is what it is–a source and protector of life etc.

I loved it. I loved that it ended with Jack on his back in the bamboo
just like it started. I loved that I got to have all my favorites back
in the room together.

So good. So well said K.H.! I never understood what a Trekkie was until I became a LOSTIE. I have never been this obsessed with a freaking TV show….. and I don’t know if I can ever have this level of involvement again.

Unless they produce a cops and robber show featuring Sawyer and Miles……

Moving on.

As my teammate mark so brilliantly put it, I am in time out for my bike throwing across the lawn contest last week. Else during that 4.5 hours I would have been on the trainer. During this time out the Wizard has instructed me to catch up on some things around the house, which he doesn’t really understand that means everything around the house!

Sunday morning however I did get to enjoy a great brick, just endurance based 90 min ride / 30 min run. It felt very good. My legs felt lighter. I kept a solid pace. I was smiling. It’s highly unusual for me to ever think or feel anything negative about my bike. If I had to choose one of the three sports of triathlon hands down it would be the bike. But Sunday we were good. We were definitely good. I am definitely where I need to be at this exact moment.

So things are moving along! We have some exciting news forthcoming, including the addition of another coach! Stay tuned to hear WHO!

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The Wizard Makes It All Better

May 23, 2010

I had a really good phone meeting with the Wizard on Saturday. I cracked three days short of the completion of a 4 week 20+ hour build with a lot of intensity and volume. Smile Mary…… you did good. It’s funny because when you toss your bike across the lawn you feel this crossover mix of feelings…… achievement and failure. Failure because I should have nailed that ride, achievement because I have not cracked like that in ages.

More importantly however is that I again was reminded of why I went to QT2 and to Jesse in the first place. They are here to help me. He pointed out some truths in my life….. maybe these are truths in your life as well. If you are like me you tend to shoulder a lot. You tell people not to worry, you’ve got it covered, you can handle it. You get to a boiling point and then have a moment of pure breakdown. for me it was in training that the breakdown happened. For you it might be in the grocery store. I don’t think it matters where, or which category in your life….. but it happens. To all of us.

The Wizard told me I have to lean on him more as a coach. and it’s true. I think that often I am afraid to bother him. I keep thinking…. geez this guy coaches some really big name athletes, ones who have won Ironmans, one who is likely headed to the Olympics…. who the hell am I? Some amateur girl from Rochester who is learning to find her way again after she’s endured quite a bit in her life. I have to remind myself that to QT2 and the Wizard I am an equal player. To this team it does not matter than I am not as quick as Cait Snow. I am equally as important. I’m not in over my head, I have not gotten onto a team I don’t deserve to be on.

I am on a team that is here for me. Just like in my life. I am part of a family that is here for me. It took me a long time to learn not to attempt to bear the cross all of the time. It’s taken me a long time to understand that my sport …. it’s okay to lean on my QT2 family. It doesn’t mean I fail…. it means I am family.

Yet I hate to say I need to lean on anyone. I mean, I have a very good life. I have been through some health issues, some pretty darn big ones. I have an incredible husband, a wonderful son, I have a business that is exploding, a nice home…… I have several jobs, and I love the community that I live in.

I don’t have anything wrong. My biggest issue this week is processing a three thousand uniform order for the athletes I coach. (have you SEEN THEM? THEY ARE AWESOME!).

It’s taken me a long time to understand and to learn that just because I don’t have anything catastrophically wrong with my life…. it doesn’t mean I have to carry the world on my back.

The funnier thing is that I don’t know where I learned that from. I have a supporting and loving family, I always have had that. I have 2 excellent parents who raised me to be someone they are proud of. It’s not like I was abandoned as a teenager and have been on the streets. I have had a good path.

But again….. it doesn’t mean I have to be ten feet tall and bullet proof. I am learning that as I have expanded my business, as I have been working with my incredible business partner Jackie. As i have allowed myself to let go of some of the things i can let go of and hand them to her. We have formed an amazing partnership…… and wait till the fall when we can tell you what we have coming…. it is going to be exceptional!

It doesn’t mean you have to be either.

It was funny because after he pointed that out in me, a few things, thoughts and such…. clicked into place. Okay. Got it. Good points. He’s right.

And this is why the Wizard is my coach. Because I need someone bigger than me to kick me into the reality of things.

We traced back through the past few weeks and he pointed out the signs of where this crack began. I have not been sleeping well, and I am a good sleeper. He did ask me if I was watching TV instead of sleeping… ha ha! I WISH!….. But I have been waking earlier than normal. He pointed out my excellent mile repeats last week, then we looked at how I physically feel. In the end of it all, we have been training about 20 weeks and I am right where….. I should be.

So……. we launched into recovery three days early. I rest up and rest the week, race next Saturday. Then one full week off. At that point I should be 100% rebooted. At that point we have 20 weeks until Ironman Florida. It seems like a lot, but I have a lot do get done. I have races to race, miles to cover and body composition to improve.

I smiled after I hung up the phone. Yep, that’s why I came to these guys. They’ve helped me more than they know.

Posted in My Training | 1 Comment »

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