Austin 70.3

I raced Austin 70.3 over the weekend - a race I've wanted to do for a long time - and it lived up to its reputation of being one of the most challenging half Ironmans in North America. The bike course was on beautiful country roads outside of Austin with an endless number of rolling hills and some short challenging climbs, and the run was a hilly 3 lap course mixed with cross country trails. Definitely one of the harder races I've done in a long time!

Since pulling my hamstring in the middle of the summer, I’ve had to make some changes to my race schedule, and so I was very happy to be back on the start line again before the end of the season. I had a good swim coming out of the water in 8^th place out of 25 pro women, and a solid bike coming into run transition in 11^th place. The lack of run training over the summer took its toll on the run, but I was happy to hang onto 15^th place with some exceptionally strong runners in the field.

Next up, it’s back to San Diego for a short off season break, and then back to training to get ready for an early start to the 2016 race season.

A special thanks to my awesome coach Julie Dibens and my training group in Boulder as well as to my sponsors TYR, Cervelo, First Endurance, Fuel Belt and Saucony.

Summer in the Mountains

I've been in Boulder now for almost 6 weeks, and training has been going great so far. I switched coaches this year to be coached by Julie Dibens, and it's been great to be back in a group environment having regular contact with a coach and training with other athletes who are working hard day in and day out.

A couple of weeks ago, I did the 5km Carter Lake Crossing and came 4th in the women - one place out of winning money, but a great swim workout. Swimming 5k in a pool with regular breaks is really different than swimming open water in a race and always hoping that the other side of the lake is not tooooo far off!

The bike training in Boulder is also amazing. There are no shortage of open roads or long mountain climbs, and I love heading off on my bike knowing that I can do a 4 or 5 hour ride and not have any traffic lights. Riding up on the Peak to Peak Highway at 10,000 ft of elevation or climbing up to Estes Park at 7,500 ft are two rides that I'll never get tired of.

Boulder Bound

I've just arrived in Boulder for another summer of training, my third summer in a row here. The quiet roads leading out of town, the long mountain climbs and the endless running trails make it my absolute favorite place to train in the summer. It's become a sort of second home to me with lots of great friends and training partners, and a pretty fun place to be in the summer.

I had a great last three month training block in San Diego with my bff Rebecca Preston who came over from Australia to get ready for IM Texas. We did a lot of great bike training in those three months which made up for my low run mileage due to a hamstring strain. Thankfully, my hamstring has now come around again, and I'm back to building up my run base to catch up with my bike fitness.

First up on my agenda upon arriving in Boulder today was to get my bike fit checked by Mat Steinmetz on my new Cervelo P3. I also switched saddles this year to the ISM Attack which I love, and so a bit of fine tuning to my bike fit was due. Also in the photos below is my new training/race kit for 2015. Thanks Wattie Ink!

I'm excited for a great summer of training in Boulder and the start of my race season next month. More to come on that soon!

Chiltonic

This past week, I tried out a new form of recovery called cryotherapy. Well, new for me, but it's actually been around for over 30 years, first developed in Japan to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis and then spreading to Europe to help Olympic athletes recover faster.

Anyone who knows me knows that I detest cold weather and would much rather bake in the sun than go anywhere that even remotely resembles winter. Yes, I know, I grew up in eastern Canada, but I grew up in very toasty indoor temps. Anyway, I had the opportunity this past week to try out a new cryotherapy clinic in town called Chiltonic. The treatment involves spending 3min in a cold chamber cooled by nitrogen vapor to an average of -150 degrees Celcius. The cooling effect on the body helps reduce inflammation, pain and soreness associated with training and injury, and helps promote recovery after a hard workout.

I actually, believe it or not, enjoyed the cryotherapy and did not offer all of my life's savings in exchange for an early exit. What really surprised me most was how good my legs felt the next day. I had purposely timed my session after a hard 4hr ride, and the next day I had none of my usual post ride leg fatigue and soreness. If anything, I felt like I had come off a day of recovery. Definitely a great way to chill and recover after a hard day of training!

HAPPY 2015!

Since January is just about to come to an end, I'm squeezing in a first blog for 2015 before the calendar switches to February!

As 2014 was coming to a close, I decided in early December to head to Arizona to do a 6 week block of training and some strengthening/PT at Endurance Rehab in Scottsdale to get ready for the 2015 race season. After being in the sport for over 15 years, I've learned how important it is to get back in the gym in the off season, get treatment for any lingering injuries, and take the time to build up a good training base. For the last month and a half, I spent three afternoons a week at Endurance Rehab doing core and strength exercises, I had some awesome swim training with the Phoenix Swim Club, some great base building rides north of Scottsdale and some great runs along the Phoenix Canal. Outside of San Diego and Boulder, Phoenix is definitely one of my favorite places in the US to train. Not to mention that it's warm in winter!:)

I drove back to San Diego a couple of days ago, ready for some good winter training and to start gearing up for some early spring races. Happy 2015!