PURE

I have recently partnered with PURE, a company that encourages a healthy and active lifestyle and helps keep us going throughout the day with healthy, organic bars. Pure bars not only taste delicious, but are made with 100% natural ingredients and contain a healthy proportion of carbohydrates, protein and fats that sustain you for a quick meal on the go or a healthy snack option. For me, Pure bars are essential when I am on the road or traveling on a twelve hour flight overseas. When you are fueling your body correctly you not only feel better, but as athletes we are able to perform at our potential!

It is exciting to be part of a company that shares the same values as me. I am very passionate about sharing with children and adults about being healthy and active in mind, body and spirit! The other day, I had the opportunity to speak to a youth triathlon club; ages 5-14 about my career as an elite triathlete. I shared with the children five tips for a successful triathlon season, but I truly feel that these tips can be helpful for anyone at any age in trying to accomplish a goal in any type of sport.

1) Don’t forget to fuel your body correctly! Without proper hydration and nutrition, your body will not be able to perform to it’s best abilities. Eating healthy will also keep your body healthy….it’s no fun being sick! PURE offers a perfect snack while outdoors. P.S. Don’t forget to hydrate---
2) Be a good sport! It is important whether you are running on a trail or playing soccer with your friends to cheer on your teammates or friends. If you are outside on a jog, encourage other joggers with a hello, a good job or a smile----these small little gestures can go a long way.
3) Be safe! If you are out biking for example, always wear your helmet. If you are going swimming in a lake, never swim alone. The outdoors is a great way to be healthy and active, but remember to plan accordingly.
4) Set goals! Success is not an accident. It takes hard work and planning. Be sure to write your goals down and to tell others about the goals you want to accomplish---goals next month, next year or ten years from now.
5) Have Fun! Spend time outdoors with family and friends or maybe some time alone.

I believe following these five tips can help you live life to the fullest. To find out more about PURE: please go to the website: www.thepurebar.com. Oh, and my favorite bar flavor….hard to pick just one because they are all so delicious, but I would have to say Chocolate Brownie (how can anything with the word chocolate not be delicious?). My husband’s favorite is the Cranberry Orange. Try them all and see which one is your favorite….

Update

Update:
The past ten days have been very busy…it seems like I have been away from home for much, much longer, but it was only July 21st that we left Colorado Springs headed for London! Since London, I have been in St. Louis and Jacksonville, Florida visiting family and friends and attending a wedding in Florida. The start of the trip went very smoothly and I loved the fact that I had a direct flight from Denver straight to London. London was a great city, with a vast amount of historical as well as modern landmarks.
The triathlon took place in Hyde Park, which was a huge park right in the middle of the city. The swim course was a two loop swim in a calm, weed-ridden pond (of course you don’t notice the weeds too much while racing). The bike was a fairly technical eight lap loop course around the park and the run was a flat three loop course. I went into the race expecting of only compete in 2/3’s of the event. Ten days prior to the race, I strained a tendon/muscle in my calf and I wanted to give my leg a chance to fully heal and not damage my leg any further so that the later part of my season would be compromised. Nate and I still felt traveling to London and competing on the swim and bike would be important since this is the site of the Olympic venue and experience on the course is important for future preparations.
The swim was fast, but I was able to get to the buoy just behind Emma Moffett and Laura Bennett. I exited the swim in second position, just behind Laura. Once on the bike course, the plan was to do as much work on the bike possible to keep any groups behind separated and to help out the Americans in my group by allowing them to do less work on the bike. At the start of the bike, I rode on top of my pedals through the first turn and up a gradual descent. When I was ready to put my feet into my shoes, I lost some valuable time struggling to strap my feet in; however, our group was motivated to get moving and several women in the pack were really working hard to stay away from the chase pack. Our lead extended from 50 seconds up to two minutes from the middle to the end of the ride.
Once out on the run course, I ended my race there. Unfortunately, I was not able to finish contributing to my overall score in the rankings; however, I felt the smart move is to heal now and have a more successful end of the year.
While in London, I was able to get excellent treatment Alex Keith the chiropractor and Robby Dolby, massage therapist, so I am happy to report that I have been back to running for the past several days now!
Watching the men’s race the following day was extremely exciting and great to see such a wonderful crowd supporting triathlon. This is great news for what kind of support triathlon is likely to have for the Olympics and beyond!
Since the race, I have been enjoying a visit to St. Louis and Jacksonville. In St. Louis, Nate and I went to Six Flags with my family….it has been years since I have been on roller coasters! We also helped my Dad get fitted on his bike with clip-less pedals. He was on a pair of my old Sampson pedals and really picked up the new shoes quickly! He rode 17 miles with me and was able to keep up with a smile on his face the entire way…minus one small set back---climbing the hill back up to my parents house he snapped the chain! Nate and I mentioned that he was producing so much power and his pedal stroke that he broke the chain. As a result, he went down on his elbow. Fortunately, he walked away without any injuries, but this was his first official, “crash”.
This past weekend, we had our last leg of the trip to Florida where we attended Andre Lapar and Kathy Hunken’s wedding. We had a blast at the wedding and got a chance to see friends, dance, and enjoy some wedding cake! It was extra special to see them exchange vows, since three years ago Nate and I introduced Kathy and Andre to each other at the St. Anthony’s Triathlon in St. Petersburg, Florida. I have to say that about the only activity we did not enjoy this past weekend, was going for a run at 12:30PM with a heat index of 110 degrees! All I have to say is that I do not recommend, however; sleeping in was worth the cost of having to run in the sauna. Today we went running along the beach shore, which was much, much more comfortable having the ocean breezes blowing on you for much of the run. Both runs were ended with an immediate jump into the pool and today; into the ocean. Nate caught a couple waves, losing his shorts in the process---but, fortunately, he found them before he had to scare anyone off the beach. The rest of the day will be spent heading back across the country and back to some quality training in preparation for the final part of the season that will quickly be approaching. I have Chicago next up on the agenda at the end of the month.
Hope everyone is enjoying summer and don’t forget to take a moment to relax before the remainder of the summer season flies by!

Lifetime Fitness Triathlon

LTF Triathlon
7:03AM sharp (three minutes behind the pro men) was the start of the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon and the second race in the Toyota Cup Series. This was my first race in the series and the goal of the race was to defend my race title from 2009. The field was relatively small this year, with many other races occurring around the world, but none the less many talented women were at the start line.
The swim was a one-loop course in a calm, warm lake. I have to say that I could not wait to get out of the 82 degree water…it felt warm for racing. I tried to swim with Sara McLarty, but was unable to swim with her for more than 200meters. I exited the swim with a group of other athletes, including Rebeccah Wassner, and had a solid transition through T1.
Once out on the bike, I focused on high cadence riding to make sure not to fatigue my legs too much muscularly. I also wanted to ride as technically smooth as possible, avoid course potholes and try and catch Sara McLarty up the road. I felt much better out on the bike course, than in the warm water and was able to catch up to Sara around mile 18. We exited transition close together and I was ready for my final leg!
On the run course, I started off at a good pace; knowing talented runners were behind me. I had about a 50 second lead over Wassner off the bike. On the second lap of the run, I saw that my lead was extended a little bit, so I felt at this point I could relax a bit and really think about my form the last two miles of the race. It was great to cross the finish line accomplishing my goal….and I finished one second faster than last year…I guess that shows consistency. I finished in 2:00:49 in 2010 and 2:00:50 in 2009!
I had a great time visiting family and friends in Minneapolis and I am very grateful to have so much support on and off the course. After the race, I got a chance to spend time at my in-laws lake house and enjoy the beautiful MN summer afternoon. Sunday I had an early morning back to the airport and headed back to Colorado for a brief block of training before I head to London next week. This was my fourth year competing at the race and this is one I definitely mark as a priority that I don’t want to miss! The crowd is great year after year and the sponsors and race directors do a fantastic job putting on a great event for the Pros and Age Group athletes.
I also can’t thank all my sponsors enough for all their support this year. This was my first chance to check out the new expo set up at the Toyota booth. I love the set up….with my new Fuji on top of the Camery. Also, at the end of the year, a gear gift package is up for grabs with my sponsored product in a drawing taking place. I will be in Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas at the expo’s the day before the race, so stop by the booth and check out all the prizes you can win and meet Andy Potts, Hunter Kemper and Craig Alexander as well!

What's Been Up

The past couple of weeks have still been busy as ever, but racing season is now well under way….in fact, I already hit the half-way point! The past couple of weeks I have been focusing on my next couple of races in July; Lifetime Fitness Triathlon on July 10th and the London WCS race on July 25th. With what has already been a long season of racing a travel; I have spend the past couple of weeks getting back into some base fitness to carry me through the end of the season. With racing, I sometimes encounter little bumps in the road and I had to take a couple weeks off running post Madrid/Des Moines to get over some tendinitis in my left foot. I have been back to running for the past couple of weeks now and ready to finish the season strong!

Earlier this week, I spend a few days in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho for a TYR photo shoot. We arrived at the end of the Ironman last Sunday and got to see some age grouper’s finishing up their day. I have to say that Coeur d’Alene has to be one of the most beautiful places in the country (at least this time of year!). Lakes, mountain pines, and fresh air are plentiful and what a great place for some amazing pictures. I arrived back home on Wednesday night with just one week until I leave for Minneapolis. The fast forward button has been set on the remote control since spring and I feel it is still flying by so far this summer!

Shortly after I return home from Minnesota, I am co-hosting a webinar with Bob Seebohar on July 12th. You can learn all about race day nutrition and what might work best for you. For more information and to sign up for the webinar; click on the link: July 12 Race Day Nutrition registration link: http://bit.ly/bx3pbz

I will keep you posted about my Minneapolis race…goal is to perform my best and also defend my 2009 title!

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!