Hy-Vee Tri

Race Report
This past Sunday, I competed in my fourth Hy-Vee Triathlon. Although this was
my fourth time competing in Iowa, this was only the second time on this exact
race course. The race began back in 2007 in downtown Des MOines. The following
year it was moved to West Des Moines because of flooding and last year the course
was changed once again so that the swim, bike and run were all completed near Raccoon
River Park and made the race very spectator friendly. This course consisted of a two
lap swim, an eight lap bike and a four lap run.

Weather this year again proved to be a challenge. Des Monies was hit with heavy rain the days leading up to the race. As a result, the kids triathlon was cancelled and the Age Group race was cut back to a sprint distance to try and fit everybody in beforea dangerous thunderstorm rolled in. Fortunately, the weather held out for the elites;although the park was turned into a swamp!

I went into this race with a fourth place ranking as my season has been strong prior to the race. I started off the swim in decent position; although I was not able to get on the feet of Sara McLarty and Hailey Peirsol. Those women were battling out the swim for the $5000 swim
prime! I exited the water in third position, but leading the large pack of chase women. We were just under one minute down on the two American women. We had about a 300 meter run into
the transition area and once out on the bike really wanted to push the pace quick.
On the bike course, positioning was critical as the course was extremely narrow to accommodate a large pack of women. I tried to push the pace on the first lap and get our pack a little smaller;
however, with the flat roads attacks were unsuccessful. A group of athletes were working well to paceline at the front; however, our group had to be quite pedestrian through the transition
area since it was a very narrow technical section to be safe with our large pack. I again tried to attack towards the end of the ride to try and bridge up to Sara and Hailey; although I was
still unable to get away! Behind us, some of the key players; including Emma Snowsill and Barbara Riveros were only 30 seconds down at the end of the ride.

I really focused on being in the lead heading into transition every lap and at the last lap I was in great position and in the lead; however, once I took my shoes off few women passed me right before exiting the bike. Once I started the run, my legs did not have the normal "pick-up" that they have felt most races this year. I struggled to find my form the first mile and saw the women
in front of me getting farther and farther away. It was one of those days my legs felt FLAT...could not get my heart rate up and could not get those legs moving. I was frustrated with the result of finishing 16th overall, but I have to realize that not every race will be great. Sometimes you learn more from the performances where you fall very far from your goals.

I think the all the travel thus far this season is finally catching up to me. Now it is time to get back into some consistent training the remainder of the year and to gear up for the races towards the end of the season. Although I did not have the performance I was looking for, I truly enjoy the Hy-Vee experience. The staff, volunteers and citizens of Hy-Vee and West Des Moines go above and beyond making sure each athlete has a wonderful experience. I enjoyed the family time and the cheering from friends and family who made the trip. Nate's 30th birthday was the day before the race, so it was nice to spend his birthday with smiles, cake, and laughter with family!
Now I am back in St. Louis----I am quickly remembered by the familiar heat and humidity here at my hometown!~ Six races down and at least seven more to go....so just about half way through with 2010...time sure does fly by.

Madrid

This past Saturday, I competed in my third World Championship Series race for the year. This was my third time back to Spain; as I competed previously in ’06 and ’09. This year, conditions proved to be warmer than usual with temperatures in the low 90’s and water temps in the mid 80’s. Fortunately, Madrid’s climate is similar to Colorado in that it is a very dry heat, so my body is more adapted to this type of weather. Next weekend I will be racing in Des Moines, Iowa…so I will be prepared for the heat + humidity of the Midwest.
All the race action took place at Caso de Campo Park in downtown Madrid. The race started at 1:15pm; however, this was 5:15am back home in Colorado. My nutrition prior to the race for breakfast at 10:30AM was 2 pieces of peanut butter and jelly toast, 16 oz of EFS and 6 oz of Pre-race. I also made sure to take my Mulit-V supplement. Since my body felt like it was getting up at 2am, I wanted to get some Pre-race in my system early to help “wake” me up. While arriving at the race course, I continued to drink another 16 oz of EFS drink and 100 cal of EFS gel flask. At this point, my body was nutritionally ready to go!
The swim was two loops in a large pond, eight loop bike that included a 1500meter climb, and a mostly flat 4 loop run. On the swim, I was first at the turn buoy, but was very cautious about expending too much energy too soon with the warmer conditions. I led the first lap and settled into second position on the second lap behind Jessica Harrison of France.
We had a 300meter run to T1 and all went smoothly. I got on my Fuji SL1-RC outfitted with Zipp 404s, Oval handle bars and ISM Adamo Racing Saddle; working on the first lap, but also conscientious of staying within myself. I had a gut feeling that if I really attacked the bike and pushed the climbs I could dehydrate myself for the run portion. Near the 6th of 8 laps, a large group of riders all merged together, so I made sure at this point to stay near to front to avoid any crashes. I led up the climb on the 7th and 8th laps and rode strong, but did not attack. I wanted to maintain my lead heading into T2; however, with 800 meters to go on the bike I was stuck behind a group of riders and unable to come off in front. There was a crash right near the finish, which was very scary, but I was lucky not to be in the path of the crash. I was very aware of my nutrition during the race and made sure to drink every last drop of my 20oz water bottles. I drank two full bottles of EFS lemon before I exited my bike.
I dismounted the bike near the top 1/3 of the pack, but I had trouble racking my front wheel into the rack and lost a few precious seconds. I started the run relaxed and at a comfortable pace. I didn’t worry about surging up to the leaders too quickly. By the 1k mark a group of six of athletes was running together at the front and I continued to run with this pack until 1 lap to go on the run. At this point, I was beginning to feel the effects of the heat and unable to respond to any surges.
I finished in 5th position, and I am happy with my progression so far this year. I will continue to be working towards my goal of a podium finish in the next two WCS races (London and World Championships in Budapest). Congratulations to the winner, Nicola Spirig…that’s two wins in a row for the Swiss team.
Currently, as I type I am ready to get off the plane!!! I have been up for nearly two days straight with a few power naps in-between, so I am ready for a good night sleep tonight. Tomorrow I will get this body moving again and flushed out so I can get in the last bit of prep training before Hy-Vee on Sunday. Hy-Vee is always a special race for me since it is so close to my hometown I have many friends and family members making to drive to Des Moines to watch the race. Nate’s 30th birthday is on Saturday, so it will be a nice way to share the birthday with family---and hopefully a nice paycheck the following day!

Recovery

Earlier this week I spoke with graduate and undergraduate students pursuing a sports medicine/athletic training degree from the University o f Alabama. Of all the schools in the country, I thought it was quite ironic that I had a connection with their college town (Tuscaloosa was the sight of the 2008 Olympic Trials and upcoming US Nationals in September). I spoke with an athletic trainer who works with athletes at the Olympic Training Center on a daily basis. I was there to give an athlete’s perspective. The topic: recovery….if there is one thing I have learned the over the past six years being an elite athlete; it is the importance of listening to your body and techniques to properly recover.
I have heard the saying, “It’s not how hard you train, it’s how hard you recover.” The past several years I have realized how true this saying is to reach your top potential and to try and avoid injuries. Of course pushing our bodies to the limits on a weekly basis, injuries due occur throughout an athlete’s career. However, with proper recovery techniques, these injuries can be greatly decreased.
Thinking back to my college days and running at the NCAA level, I realize now how poorly I was at recovering. I did not have much knowledge on nutrition, proper sleep, and stretching techniques…just to name a few aspects. In fact, recovery based training is scientifically proven that it really works, where as ten years ago this type of training was not too well known.
The training center in Colorado Springs has an entire building devoted specifically to recovery techniques. Three years ago, this center opened to all resident athletes and available for athletes to use as much or as little as they choose. Athletes are allotted 90 minutes of massage per week. In addition, the center is equipped with a dry and wet sauna, cold bath, hot tub and a yoga or stretching room. Recently, Norma-Tec pants have been added for athletes to use post workout or between workouts. These pants help flush out waste from the legs, similar to a massage. With nutrition being a fundamental key to recovery, the center is stocked with bars, fruit, and plenty of fluids. If an athlete chooses to take advantage of all the recovery tools, this can definitely give he/she the extra edge needed to perform at their best.
Just as training can be individually based, I feel recovery works the same way. A certain recovery technique that works best for athlete A, may not work best for athlete B. Find what works best for you! Some of the key recovery techniques that I use and pay attention to: 1) nutrition/hydration: making sure you are fueled properly pre/during/post workout. Fueling within 30 minutes with after finishing a quality session is key for the muscles to recover. 2) sleep/rest: The best way for the body to recover is quality sleep. Sleep is one of the best ways for me to listen to my body and know that I am properly recovering. If I begin to have consecutive poor nights of sleep, this alerts me I may be “overtraining”. 3) massage: This is a great way to flush the legs after travel or tough training. I feel massage is a great way to prevent injury as well 4) ice bath : After a high intensity bike or run session, ice baths are a great way to help flush out the legs and get them ready for another challenging session the next day 5) strength training/stretching –I spend time daily working on my flexibility and strength training all the “little” muscles to help prevent injury and improve my performance in addition to strengthening the large muscle groups 6) compression tights—I find these are great for travel or after a key workout…they keep the blood flowing in the legs to speed up recovery. If for some reason I can’t prop my legs up after a tough workout and going to be on my feet; the compression socks are a must.
Good luck with your race season and don’t forget to recover!

Seoul: World Championship Series Race #2

This past Saturday (technically Friday night in the USA), I raced my second WCS race of the year. The race was in downtown Seoul, South Korea. This was my first time to Seoul; however, in 2007 and 2008 I spent a couple of weeks in Cheju in preparation for the Beijing Olympics. Cheju is known as the “Hawaii” of Korea as it is a tropical island south of the mainland. Cheju is a beautiful island landscaped with tropical greenery, mountains and bright blue oceans. The look of Seoul is much different than Cheju in that it is a massive city with a population of over ten million people and an extensive city skyline.
The race took place at the Han River with a start time at 10:25AM (a 15 minute delay due to trouble closing the streets). The swim was a 1000meter loop followed by a 500 meter loop in the chilly 15.2 degree water. This was my first WCS race to wear my new TYR Hurricane wetsuit, which felt smooth and comfortable in the water. I had a great starting position and almost immediately was on the feet of Kerry Lang, who was having a great swim. Once we reached the first bouy, Kerry was on the feet of Hailey Peirsol and I was in third. By the end of the first lap, we had opened up a 15 second gap and extended the gap to 28 seconds once we exited the water and headed off onto the bike course.
I felt very strong on the bike on my Fuji SL 1 RC and wanted to push the pace to make the girls behind work and chase. I realized that I was going to get caught by the larger pack of women behind me; however, I was prepared for an attack once the groups merged. I wanted the bike to be hard and aggressive and with the tight corners in the race I felt a breakaway was possible. I attacked shortly after the packs merged, but unable to get a response from any of the other women to attack with me. We still had a chase pack behind us, so I felt it was important to keep the tempo of the group high to keep the second pack from merging. With so many strong riders in the second pack, we were unable to hold off the pack with two laps to go on the bike. Throughout the bike, I again tried a couple more unsuccessful attacks, but really focused on getting off the bike in front. I was happy to have another strong transition and able to execute my mental game to prepare myself for a successful run.
Once out on the run course, Emma Moffet took off very quickly. I ran the first 2k very hard and really wanted to get as close to Emma as possible. Right around the 4k mark, I started to hurt and around the 6k mark was really struggling to hang onto the pack. I think I may have burned one too many matches for my run legs during the bike segment and also took out the run very hard at the start. I ended up finishing 10th overall and remain in 8th for the overall WCS rankings. Congrats to Daniella Ryf for the win and an amazing spring finish! The goal of this race was to be aggressive throughout the entire race and see what would happen. I love to push myself from start to finish and although I may have pushed the envelope a little too far on the bike, it is important to know where your limits are and to test your body.
I have included a picture of me across the finish line, yes, looking a bit fatigued. I noticed my time on the clock reading a 1:55…and crossing the “finish” line seeing a 1:49….however, my overall time reads a 2:02. Once seeing this picture, the moment all came back to me; I was standing on the timing mat with a load blaring noise going off (my chip was hitting the map but not shutting off!). So, lesson learned…make sure you cross the timing matt completely when you finish and do not just STAND on the timing matt!! At least no one was close in front or behind so I did not lose a finishing spot!
Nate and I head home today and back to the US. It has been a whirlwind of travel and racing the past six and a half weeks, and now time to settle a bit and get back to some consistent training.
Also---I want to wish all mother’s out there a Happy Mother’s Day (the most important job in the world). I know I would not be where I am today without my mother’s love and support growing up and continued love and support today.

WCS #2 Approaching….

In a few days, I will be traveling back across the Pacific once again, but this time to Seoul, South Korea. Less than three weeks ago I raced the first World Championship Series Race of the year in Sydney, Australia and finished in 8th place. Sydney was an amazing city and I would have loved to stay an extra few days and vacation; however, this is not exactly in the training plan at the start of the season. I quickly returned to the US and suffered for a few days from jet lag and travel. But, once I felt recovered, I was anxious to get back into some quality training in preparation for Seoul.
On April 25th, I raced in the St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida. The goal of this race was to be able to incorporate a tough workout into my training block ----and there is no better way to get in an intense quality workout than jumping into a race!! Florida felt much like Sydney, warm and humid… I did not have to pack any cold weather gear.
Speaking of packing….I will have to prepare much differently for Seoul. Cool and possibly wet conditions are likely for Korea and I will make sure to bring my arm warmers, rain jacket and tights. I will definitely need my TYR Hurricane Wetsuit, as I have a feeling the water is going to be COLD. I think one of the unique characteristics of triathletes is our ability to adapt to adversity. I can’t imagine too many other sports travel several weeks apart to different continents and race in quite drastically different conditions. I love a challenge and look forward to getting out on the start line and putting forth 100% of my effort; both physically and mentally.

St. Anthony's Triathlon

Race Report: St. Anthony’s Triathlon
This past Sunday, I competed in the prestigious St. Anthony’s Triathlon. The race is beginning to have a hometown feel to me, as it was my fourth time competing at the race. I missed last year after undergoing surgery in Feb. or 09’ at DISC Medical facility in CA for a nerve entrapment release in my leg. This was the first time we stayed in downtown St. Pete’s and experienced the atmosphere and flavor of city.
The race is EARLY, especially traveling from Colorado with a 6:55AM start (which is more like a 4:55AM start; however, once race morning arrives any feeling of tiredness is replaced with a rush of adrenaline!) I woke up at 4:40AM; had my normal breakfast and walked the .8 mile to the transition area to get setup. It is still very dark at 5:30AM, so fortunately Nate had his flashlight to help me get all my gear set up in transition. Around 6 AM, I started my warm up and ran down to the swim start, followed by some activation, drills and strides. I wanted to make sure to get in the water and test out a couple of runs into the water since it was a beach start. The water felt very refreshing at 74 degrees vs. the muggy, humid 76 degree morning.
The men started promptly at 6:52 and we began just three minutes behind. I had a decent start, next to Laura Bennett who is one of the best in the world at beach starts. She had a body length on me after the run into the water, but I remained calm and got right on her feet for the first 400meters of the swim. After the first couple of buoys, I took over the swim lead and swam at a comfortable, but strong pace. The swim started off fairly calm, but the waves definitely picked up the second half of the swim. As I approached the steps to climb out of the water, I was grateful a couple of volunteers were there to help me onto that first step, as I was feeling a little dizzy from the waves at that point.
Once out on land, I focused on getting my TYR Sayonara off as quickly as possible and strapping on my Rudy Project Wingspan TT Helmet. I felt comfortable on my Fuji D-6 with my 921 Oval Aerobars, ISM Adamo saddle, Zed Tech 404 and Sub9 disc. I also loved my new pedals from Sampson Sports; Stratics S6, which are lightweight, yet have a great platform for power. The bike was a bit windy (wind from the south), so the first 15 miles of the bike were challenging. I focused on making sure all my corners were smooth and keeping up a high and steady tempo. At two points on the course (around mile 3 and mile 17), I could see where the other girls were located. I noticed I had about at least a minute lead over the next girl, so I continued to ride at my pace and made sure to hydrate in preparation for the run. I drank 36oz of EFS fluid while on the bike course, much more than most races beginning at 6:55AM due to the high humidity in Florida!
Heading into T2, I focused on starting the run off at a high tempo pace, especially thinking about my form. The run is an out and back, so I only could see the other competitors at the half-way mark. I noticed I had a lead by a couple minutes, so I knew if I could keep everything together at that point, I should break the tape in first. I was very glad to get to that last stretch of the run, knowing that I accomplished my goal for the day! My time was the second fastest for me on that course (although it is tough to compare overall times because conditions change so much from year to year!).
After the awards ceremony, we headed home back to Colorado. This made for almost two days in one, but it was nice be able to spend my recovery day on Monday at home. The travel home was much easier than the travel to Florida….we had to drive in a snowstorm up to Denver last Friday! Yes, Colorado can still get pounded with snow at the end of April!!! Hopefully, that snow was the last!!! I am now gearing up for my second WCS race in Seoul, Korea on May 8th. Recently I have been doing lots of traveling and racing, but this is my last race for quite some time (five weeks). I will spend most of May and part of June training for the races upcoming in this summer.
Best Wishes
Sarah

Sydney Race Report

This past Sunday (technically Saturday night in the USA), I raced in Sydney, Australia on the 2000 Olympic course. This was my first visit to the city and I have to say it is one of the most beautiful cities I have visited; with the blue Pacific Ocean at an arm’s reach, a centralized botanical garden and friendly downtown atmosphere. The weather was pleasant, although on race day; temperatures were about fifteen degrees above normal, which made for a more challenging day.
The race began at 9:50 AM (the men raced earlier in the morning at 7AM). The swim was a two loop 750meter lap swim in Sydney harbor. The water was cool, but felt refreshing with air temperatures in the mid 80s. Some of my teammates and I were lost heading to the race meeting and missed the first two minutes, so as a penalty we were moved to the last start swim spot. I have to say, it was nice not worrying about where to go on the pontoon, but instead immediately going to the open spot. I was second out of the water, behind Laura Bennett.
Once out on the bike course, I followed my plan to push the pace to try and separate the packs even more after the swim. This race however, the swim was strung very close together and the course was difficult to get away due to a long downhill and many strong cyclists in the large pack. Early on a few attacks were attempted and quickly swallowed up…and due to the high wind, no one wanted to be up front. Needless to say, all the groups merged and it can down to the run. On the bike I always made sure to stay near the front in case a break occurred and also stay towards the front heading in to the technical transition to avoid any possible crashes as much as possible. I feel the best moment in my race is tactically setting myself up into T2. I rode up to the front on the last downhill and pushed the pace into transition. This allowed me to get off the bike at the front of group and start at the front rather than having to spend energy to run up to the group.
The run was challenging, windy and warm with a long hill on each of the four laps. I worked the first 5k to hang on to the leaders. Just before halfway, I was gapped by a group of four leaders and found myself running in sixth position right behind Kate Roberts. The biggest mistake I made in this race was settling behind Kate Roberts into the headwind and not surging to try and get closer to the leaders. Unfortunately, this allowed two other women I had previously passed (Norden and Harrison) to catch back up to me. On a positive, I felt much stronger on my new running form and felt like I had a faster kick at the end, although I got beat out by a lean! I finished 8th overall and hope to improve on the rest of my WCS races the rest of the year.
After a long travel day or (days), I got back home last night and was very happy to sleep in my bed...and not try to sleep on an airplane. I finally had a full night of sleep last night as well after consecutive nights of waking up at 2-3AM due to jet lag. In a couple of days, I should be back at it with training hard and getting ready for my next race. Next up on the schedule, I am racing the St. Anthony Triathlon on April 25th. Since I have another World Championship Race at the beginning of May, I am going to use this race as a tough training day in the middle of my training block preparation for the WCS race in Seoul.
Best Wishes...