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2nd at Ironman Louisville

I’ve just returned home from my second Ironman of the Year, Ironman Louisville.  Last year we were treated with low humidity and a high of only 80 degrees.  This year, no such luck!  The actual high of 97 degrees, combined with very high humidity made the feel like temp well over 105! Last year was one of those days where I felt amazing all day.  I finished 3rd, felt amazing on the run, ran a 3:04 and set a new run course record.  This year, I moved up a notch, but it was a brutal brutal day in every way.

The swim went well (for me!) I was happy to see that all those 30×100 main sets are paying off and I knocked 6 minutes off of my 2009 swim split.  But most importantly, I was only 8 minutes down from the main contenders.  The women’s pro field was small, but stacked with very fast swimmers.  After a few yards, I found myself in a 2.4 mile solo TT.  I felt so much stronger and faster than last year, but about a kilometer or…

Kelly Gets 5th at Ironman Lake Placid!

It’s been a crazy busy month!  But all good things; lots of travel, training and a few races.  After RI 70.3, it was Ironman Lake Placid time; not for me but for Kelly this time!  We went out to Lake Placid a week early.  For Kelly it was to relax and for me it was to smash myself!  I got in a great week of training.  I rode the course on Thursday with some good hard efforts thrown in.  I’ve ridden this course sooooo many times and I love it.  To mix things up and challenge myself or shall I say smash myself even more, I rode the second loop backwards. This meant I got to go up the Keane descent at about 4 1/2 hours into my ride, fun stuff!!  Then Saturday, I rode the course again with fellow K-Swiss athletes; Heather Jackson and Hillary Biscay and our friend Allan.  Up until this year, when I suckered Kelly into racing LP , I did  most of my training alone, so I really enjoyed training with friends a having Heather smash me to bits!!  The run…

RI 70.3 Race Report

I’ve been back running for 3 weeks now and my foot seems to be 100%.  I was excited to get back out on the race course and decided 2 weeks ago to race the Rhode Island 70.3 .  It is very exciting to see so many high caliber 70.3 races popping up on the east coast.  A 4 hour drive beats a 6 hour flight any day!! Plus, my car doesn’t charge me $300 to travel with my bike. 

I made the trip down to Providence with  my friend Angie, on Friday night.  Saturday morning we drove out to Narraganset to get some training in on the course.  We’ve been having quite a heat wave here in the Northeast and it was a hot humid morning, but i’d take that over cold rain any day!  Race prep workouts felt great and we capped off the morning with some body surfing! 

Sunday morning came way to fast as we had to wake up at 3am, eat breakfast, drive 1 hour to the…

Bouncing Back

Yes, usually when I stop blogging for a while, it means things are NOT going well! It’s been a rough 6 weeks, but I am finally feeling good and bouncing back!   I struggled with a foot injury leading up to FL70.3 and racing on an injured foot was definitely not a good idea.  The race pushed me over the edge and I was officially on the “injured wagon”for a good 5 weeks .  As a triathlete, not being able to run isn’t the end of the world, because we can usually swim and bike enough to keep from getting too depressed.  Unfortunately for me, it was my foot, and I had to scale back on biking and be very careful with swimming, because even kicking hurt it!  After  a great 10 mile run last weekend, I can confidently say “I am healthy again!”

Last week was a great week of training, not just because I am healthy, but because I am training again with Kelly!  Kelly is training for Ironman Lake Placid. She is on a roll, incredibly strong in all 3!  Our goal has always been…

FL 70.3 Race Report

I’m back home and recovering from a so-so day at the Florida 70.3 last weekend.  I decided 2 weeks ago that I would head out to Disney and give the race a go.  I’ve bee battling posterior tibialis tendinitis in my foot since Ironman New Zealand, so training has been a little rocky. I had to sit out on some of my favorite spring races, so I was excited to get out there and race.  

The swim, was not good, but I didn’t let it affect me negatively like I have in my last few races.  I just boarded my Parlee  and hit it hard.  I felt really strong and felt like I was moving pretty well.  I started to get a bit discouraged when I didn’t pass many women on the bike.  Then we hit the first of 3 out and backs and I saw why.  There were many pro women mixed in riding in small packs with the pro men.  It was really frustrating to see that at every out and back.  I just kept my head down and kept pushing.  I entered T2 in around 11th place-not good.  I…

Spring is Here!

I am sooooo excited that the snow is melting and the temps are rising.. finally!!  I had a great weekend of training.  I realized while I was out climbing App Gap that is has been 6 months since I have been able to ride outdoors in Vermont! We”ll that’s a little stretch.  There were a few days back in October when temps were tolerable, but I was nursing an injury and had to pass.  Last Saturday, we had a record breaking day so I suckered Kelly into a nice long ride up App Gap.  It was a beautful ride and it was awesome to be training with Kelly again!

Training is going really well.  It’s amazing how much you loose in a 2 week recovery block!  I’ve been back at it now for 2 weeks and the speed is slowly coming back.  I have 2 more hard weeks to go then a rest week leading up to the TX 70.3 National Championships.  Who know’s maybe I’ll sucker Kel into it!

New Website!

My new website is now up and running! However, I just noticed that my IMNZ race report was not uploaded. So, I am reposting it:

2010 is now underway and I am happy to report a podium finish in my first race of the year. Throughout my training cycle and race week, 2 questions seemed to pop up over and over again. Why Ironman New Zealand and how does a Vermont girl prepare for a winter Ironman? There are many reasons why I chose to go back to Ironman New Zealand. New Zealand is a beautiful country and is one of the most active geothermal and volcanic areas in the world today. The swim is held in Lake Taupo, the largest fresh water lake in Australasia and was created by the world’s largest volcanic eruption of the past 5000 years. The beauty of the island combined with the exceptional race management, made Ironman New Zealand an easy choice.

As to how a Vermont girl prepares for a winter Ironman, well that was easy to answer too – I want to…

Back at It!

Yup vacation is over! I had a great little break after Ironman New Zealand. I love training camps, traveling and racing, but I do get a bit homesick! The week after the race included alot and I mean ALOT of sleeping, a great ski day up at Smuggs and even an 80’s flashback Bon Jovi concert with a few highschool friends. Fun stuff, but now it is back to the grind!

It feels great to get back into my training routine. I’m back working with my swim coach, and did my first hard run since IMNZ. It wasn’t pretty, but I’ll come back! I’m now running in the new 2010 K Swiss shoes and they are really reall sweet! The Keahou II has great cushion, but also has a fast and responsive feel to it; a great combo and therefore a great shoe for both long runs and tempos. My plan is to spend the next few weeks working on getting some zip back in my legs and racing a few 70.3’s over the next few weeks.

I…

New Bike Sponsor

I am very excited to announce my new partnership with Parlee Cycles! I made the trip down to Peabody, Ma a few weeks ago to visit the Parlee crew and saw firsthand the fine craftsmanship that goes into Parlee bikes. I’ve been training on the TT bike for a week now and have been very impressed. It is incredibly comfortable, which as we all know is essential for not just a strong bike split, but also a strong marathon! I am proud to partner with a company who is just as passionate about cycling and triathlon as I am. Check it out:

I am fortunate to be working with many of the same companies in 2010; K-Swiss, Zipp, Sram, PowerBar, Fuel Belt, Blue Seventy, Vasa and my awesome local bike shop, The Ski Rack in Burlington VT. I am so gratetful to have such an amazing support crew and look forward to a great year!!