Abu Dhabi & Desert Duathlon race report - coming soon!

I have been a little delayed in sharing my stories about racing in Abu Dhabi and my experience at the Desert Classic Duathlon, just a week after racing A.D. I promise to get some pictures and stories up very soon!

In the meantime, just training and working away...getting ready for Wildflower!

Lisa

Abu Dhabi, here I come! Race plans...

Race prep for Abu Dhabi International Tri is going just as planned; this will be a great race against a stellar field of women!
I've been busy registering for my races coming up in the next few months - I'll be racing for Rev 3 series points and this race series is definitely worth going to! They are incredibly responsive, organized and put on a really fun race. Check them out.
The 30th anniversay Wildflower triathlon is also on the list - all the former champions of this race are invited back for the anniversary race, so you have to be there to take it all in. A prestigious race in a great location with a wonderful vibe - not to mention a really tough course! See you there!

Long ride prep for Abu Dhabi International Tri

First super long ride of 2012 in the books in preparation for the 200k bike leg of the Abu Dhabi Iternational Tri on March 3. This was a very successful ride for me and confirmed that all the training and racing I've done last year and the year before are really starting to pay off. (thanks Coach Torsten of High on Tri Coaching!) I'm getting much stronger on the long rides and I'll need this strength and power to produce a great bike split in the UAE!
I am so grateful for our awesome, awesome multi-use trail system in Tucson! Wow, how lucky we are. A good 2 hours of my ride today was on car-free, stoplight-free paved trail. Just wonderful. Matt Zoll and the others at Pima County Bicycle and Pedestrian program deserve big hugs anytime you come across them! I am also lucky to be a part of many of these trail efforts whether it is through design with my landscape architecture firm LJ Design, or through my outreach efforts as a League Cycling Instructor for Pima County. Every city should be so lucky to have people so dedicated to improve cycling in their area.

2012 thoughts - small town athletes

So, here we are at 2012 - getting ready to gear up for a new season and looking forward to some great results and opportunities to promote great products!
I recently returned from visiting my hometown in Illinois. I am from a very, very small town and although the amenities are few, the feeling of community is still strong. I always take the opportunity to catch up with neighbors and friends and check in with my high school track/cross country coaches as well.
It's always funny to run on the old routes I used while training and developing as a runner; they all seemed sooo long and so hard when I ran them 20 years ago! Now they are easy jogs to and between the small coal mining towns that are each a few miles apart from one another.
It's always easy for me to look back and think "wow, if I only had a lap pool growing up, I'd be a better swimmer now", or "if we only had an all-weather track surface to run on, I'd be a faster runner", or "if I even knew the difference between a road bike and a mountain bike, I'd probably be a faster cyclist". And, those statements may be true. But, what I am reminded of time and time again is that where I came from made me the person and the athlete I am today. I am the runner I am because my past track coach in junior high made me run the mile in a track meet where we needed someone to fill in (thanks, Mr. Rutherford) and I clearly wasn't being productive trying to be a 400m runner and long jumper!
This early success in the mile moved me toward running the mile and 2-mile in high school. To these events I thank Mr. Jack Burns, Mr. Joel Blevins, and Andy Easton (Jr. & Sr.). I'm not sure how much any of them knew about distance running, but they offered their advice, time and effort to help me along. We didn't have a cross country team in high school, so we created one. I WAS the cross country team for at least a year and Mr. Burns would drive me around to meets all over the state, in his own car, on his own time, just so I could race. All of these coaches dealt with me participating in other sports during the year too; basketball, soccer, softball - and never once accused me of not being true to running. These coaches and supporters were as close to me as family; that's the joy of being from a small town. When I go to visit, I walk in the back door of people's houses. I frequently don't have to knock and I can walk to just about anyone's house within a few minutes. These same people come together to help each other when we need it with no thought of ever being repaid for their time or effort. That is why I'm happy about where I grew up, because I do the same things now even though I live in a much bigger city.
Oh sure, I look back at our old track, weight room and workout facilities and chuckle. My high school finally got an all-weather track a few years ago and moved the weight room to a new and bigger spot - but they still use the same pieces of equipment I used almost 20 years ago! They still don't have a lap pool, a probably never will. I can tell no one rides a road bike around town because the cars literally pull waaay off the road and wait for you to pass by on your bike; they don't know how to drive with cyclists on the road and don't even try it!

Do I think that where I grew up and the lack of these amenities hinders my athletic ability now? I'll let the timeclock be the judge of that.

Do I think that where I grew up made me a better person and taught me that friends, family and community can take me to places I could never go on my own - both in life and in athletics? Absolutely.

Here's to all of us who grew up (or are currently growing up) in small towns!

And, a big thanks to all those who have supported me though the years to get me where I am today, both in life and athletics. Your support and dedication not only to me, but to all the other young athletes that make their way through our schools cannot be measured and is appreciated beyond words.

Great electrolyte/energy drink mix

So, I've found my favorite sports drink, ZipFizz. Comes as a powder in a tiny little tube, mixes up with water in seconds, tastes great, has a huge amount of vitamins, loads of B12 and fewer calories. Perfect for training and racing! I like to take a couple tubes with me on my long rides and use it to refill my water bottles while I'm on the road.

Check out the comparison chart as it is matched up against other energy drinks.


My favorite flavor is Pink Lemonade....mmmmm....

Rev 3 Cedar Point race report

Well, I'm back and almost recovered from Rev 3 Cedar Point, a 140.6 race in Sandusky, Ohio. From my first dealings with the race staff to post-race and awards, I thought this was a very well-run race. I plan to do it again and more of the Rev 3 series races. Check out my banner at the transition - now that is just cool. There was really bad weather in the area in the week leading up to the race, with 5' waves crashing on the shore of Lake Erie. That would not have bode well for me, for sure! But, race day saw the lake nice and calm - except for 30' or so off shore there was a thick, black muck that we all had to run through to get out to the water! The muck came in with all the bad weather...
The bike course was a nice rolling one, but it is one of those sneaky courses that can make you think it's easy so you go out and hammer it, only to wonder what happened to your legs in the run. With a few stomach issues on the bike, I was a little slower than normal, but I think the less intense bike split helped me more when it came to the run. I felt great on the run (well, as great as you can feel during a marathon) and was able to make up alot of ground and overtake 4 girls - to capture 4th overall in 9:49.

My homestay family was AWESOME! Many thanks to Don, Sheri, Justin and Coley for opening their home to me. They are a lovely family, running around to different sporting events with the kids, school, and keeping it all together. Not to mention that Sheri raced the Rev 3 Half then promptly had to go to a soccer game over an hour away. Now THAT's a full distance triathlon event!! I had "congratulations" signs hanging for me in the house when I got back from the race too! Here's a picture of me and Sheri - look out ladies, she's a fast one!!

Jr El Tour program - bike and helmet fitting day!

I had a great time fitting helmets for this year's group of Jr. El Tour participants. Check out their website or Facebook page for more information. It's so great to see how excited the kids are to get on those bikes! I don't think they like the idea of having to wear helmets, but I try to make it fun for them.