Torpedo water bottle review

Ok so I wasn't going to indulge in getting an aero friendly water bottle thinking my half iron distance in May would be my last long race for a while.  I plan on concentrating on sprints until my son gets older and I have more time.  But thanks to being part of my ambassador team for Team LC  I get to experiment a little.  Besides every once in a while I will still have time for a long ride.  I'll be the first to tell you staying hydrated is the hardest part of training for me to remember especially in the hotter months.  So I ordered the Xlab Torpedo from TriSports which by the way they have very speedy delivery.

First impression, it was very easy to install and I didn't have to read a manual or anything for it.  It has 4 Velcro tabs that lets you secure it around your aero bars.  It sits sideways hence the torpedo name which allows for use with the narrower aero bars that can't fit the older version of the bottle that sits in between. 

So within 5 minutes of opening the package I was ready to roll!  The bottle can come out of the cage without having to take the 4 velcro straps off in between rides.  The straw is very long and you have the choice of two holes to use it with depending on how close you need it to your mouth.  Since this was just a test ride with it I had the pleasure of being slapped around by the straw on my ride.  But I will be cutting it down so that it is the right length for me.  There is a stopper for the extra hole and a plug for where you pour the water in.  Neither of these leaked for me on the entire ride which is nicer than the other version because even with the sponge that one use to splash on me quite a bit.

The issues I had with the bottle seem to be due to the aero bars that I have on my bike.  They are kind of short so with the water bottle on there I can't wrap my hands completely around the aero bars which lead to my shoulder hurting.  So for my next ride I'm going to see if there's any way to push the cage back.  Also as I was going down a hill I'm not sure if it was a combination of the speed (45mph) and hitting a bump at that speed but the water bottle flew right out of the cage into the middle of the road!  So I'm not calling that a malfunction yet and will give it another try.  I was only going that fast because of silly pride.  A guy got pissed that he got chicked and decided to pass me and you should have seen the ridiculous aero position he was trying to hold in order to stay ahead of me.  So silly me wanted to show him I had no problem keeping up.  It's like dude it's just my bike it's meant to go fast down the hill chill out!  :-)  For half a second I thought about not stopping to pick up my water bottle but in the end I did because at a $50 price point for this cage and bottle it's not something to bat my eyes at that easily.


Photos from my ride, not relevant to the review but hey a day outdoors is a good day!

Tri Team LC

So I have announced that I was lucky enough to be chosen to be part of this year's Tri Team LC ambassador team but I haven't really given much details about it.  Why?  Because I wanted to take some time to process it and write down what it meant to me.  Let me just start by saying the timing couldn't have been better.  But let me back up a bit.

A little (ok a lot) about my triathlon history

From Ironkid to Ironman and beyond!  My dad was doing this tri thing before anyone really knew who they were.  Back when Bud (the beer) use to sponsor all the races and people looked at us weird when we'd borrow one of his bags with the Bud logo all over it to carry around our school stuff or toys.  At the time I never thought anything about it you mean not everyone's dad does these?  Then he started us off by entering us in our first running race when I was about 7 and my brother was 5.  Then Ironkids came along and at the time I didn't really get why I had to do them but I went along with it.  I even remember placing 3rd in my age group and thinking darn it that means I have to go to nationals.  My brother was always having fun making faces at the camera, singing, not a care in the world.  See my brother has what I call natural talent.  He was doing adult tri's by the time he was 11 (not sure they let you do that now) but I remember a kayak having to follow him to make sure the current didn't get crazy.

Well triathlon welcomed me into womanhood in way that could rival any little girls worst nightmare about it.  I was crossing the finish line of a race, didn't know that that time of month had started in the middle of the race, a nice woman came up to me and asked where my parents were (they were looking for my brother who was also doing the race and I don't think they knew I had finished) then she said we needed to find them and a change of clothes.  I looked down and of course entered into instant panic mode!  She calmly found them for me and helped me handle the situation.  Yes, I still kept doing them after that!  I did a triathlon in Cartagena, Colombia with my dad and my brother and I don't remember much about it but now looking back I'm not sure how the heck we did it there thinking the roads are crazy but come to find out they are starting an IM 70.3 event there soon I believe.  I don't think my family in Colombia really realize what I do.  The younger generations get it and are starting to get into it but the older generations call everything from a 1 mile run and on a marathon. :-)  I remember my grandmother asking me why I lift weights I was a girl after all but somehow I knew she was still proud of me. 

After doing these for a little while I took a little break probably to show my rebeloious streak but we were always a very active family.  That had stayed instilled in me from a very young age.  Then in college I saw a triathlon PE class and told my brother he had to sign up for it with me.  I used my dads old time trial bike to see if I really wanted to get back into it which meant my front wheel was lower than the back and the gear shift in the down bar between the legs petrified me so I did the whole race in the hardest gear, thank goodness it was a sprint.  My brother did it on an old mountain bike and still placed.  Well, while in that class the instructor showed us one of the IM Championship videos.  I bawled like a little baby, until the lights came back on of course, and decided two things.  I wanted to get back into this thing called triathlon and I have to do this for those who can't and inspire those who can.  Little did I know at the time IM would be in my future.  So I got my first tri bike and was off.

Triathlon has been such a big part of every stage of my life that it has truly helped to mold me into the person I am today.  I have my parents to thank for showing me this sport and that an active lifestyle is essential.  But I know not everyone has that kind of support in their lives.  So anytime I have the opportunity to talk someone who is hesitant to do their first tri I get so excited!  I plot and plan each time someone shows even a little bit of interest.  As we speak I have planned a lunch with a friend at my house to watch the IM Championship re-airing and she said she hasn't done a tri yet just tried the duathlon but was thinking about it!

I remember driving to a race with my dad when my mom called me and told me my grandfather had just passed away.  I was very close to him and this had me on the verge of a breakdown.  But she said

I'm telling you not to make you sad but so you can do this race in his name.  So I went out there and pushed myself the hardest I had ever pushed myself and still have the bib hanging with my others that have on the back who I dedicated that race to.  Another year I was really struggling with trying to figure out who the heck I was you know graduating from college finding a real job, now what.  I did about 13-15 races that year in the local circuit and placed third in my AG for the Southwest challenge series and felt so proud because I knew how hard I had worked to get there.  See I'm not one with natural talent I have to work very hard to be average.

The first time I decided to do a full IM I decided to raise funds and awareness for Toxoplasmosis which affected my family very closely so it meant so much to me to hand over that check to the research institution that I had picked and still get letters from them every year on their progress.  I also received a very kind email from a mom who's baby was just dealing with the same thing and thanking me.  I also said never again to IM!  I had proved it to myself.  But when my at the time 65 year old father who had been out of the sport for a while said you've inspired me please do my first IM with me how do you say no?  So I did another one. This time I found out that I was about a month pregnant after the fact.  So I have a little ironbaby!

After having my son triathlon slowly got me back to feeling like my old self and like I hadn't completely lost all of me and who I am.  Now going through single momhood and being concerned about my son's cough that we just can't seem to figure out triathlon has helped me stay strong and know that I can survive this chapter in my life too because if there's one thing I know I will keep putting one foot in front of the other and making forward progress for as long as I am allowed.  I will never remain stagnant and watch life pass me by or pity myself for anything that life throws at me.  My son thinks his mom is strong and I will prove him right!!!  He tells me I still coughing mom but I get better soon!  Now when I'm out there training I make every workout count because when I spend any time away from my son I know I want it to be for something that will make me be a better mom and this does in every way imaginable!  When he sees me lace up he asks if I'm going for a run and when I say yes he says OK mom have fun I love you see you later!

So 2 half iron distances 2 full iron distances and over 70 sprint and olympic triathlons later spanning 25 years of my life I am proud to say I'm a triathlete and am so happy for the people this sport has brought into my life and the strength it has given me.  I find courage and pull from that to apply to that job I think I don't have a chance at or swim across that like I'm terrified of, confront my fears, embrace the good and know that no matter how hard something feels right at that moment we have it in us to get past it.  To dig deep push on and excel.  See you on the other side!

When I did this last half I guess to prove to myself that I still had it in me even after my body had forever been changed by becoming a mom I was completely spent, deflated and downtrodden with how that tri had gone and just thought it figures it's pretty much a metaphor for how my life was currently going.  Then just as my trashed race brain was trying to convince me to give up or at least give it a rest for a while that I was no longer cut out for this tri thing, that very same weekend I got the magical email saying I had been selected as part of Team LC and that I would have to agree to enter at least 4 races that season.  Tri was not done with me and I'm so happy for that!

A little bit about Tri Team LC and the athlete behind it Leanda Cave and her foundation

What sticks out the most for me is the idea of empowering women through triathlon.  Because that's exactly what it did for me.  To help even in just a little way to help spread this message makes me happy!

"Spearheaded by Four Time Triathlon World Champion, Leanda Cave. TEAM LC was created as an women’s ambassadorship program for both elite as well as amateur age groupers."  By the way Leanda is amazing not only as a triathlete but as a human being!  

Just a few of the What we believe in:

• Creating opportunities for achievement
• Creating a supportive environment to help realize personal and professional goals
• Increasing women participation in sport and female leadership in the business world

"The Leanda Cave Foundation is a non-profit, organization dedicated to creating new opportunities for women of all ages in sport through triathlon."

So please take a moment to visit the webpage and like their FB page!

http://www.triteamlc.com/foundation-1/

https://www.facebook.com/Team-LC-982248718489581/?fref=ts

Thank you to our sponsors! This wouldn't be happening without you
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The Fun is BACK!!!! Run to Break the Silence Duathlon Report.

Hallelujah!!!  The fun in is back!  The old Natasha is slowly but surely emerging!  Yes, that may mean that my mashing on the bike is back too but to heck with it!!!  I'm having fun out there again and I loved it!  This race was full of so many great surprises I am still smiling!

Signed up last minute when I found out Run to Break the Silence had a duathlon in addition to their 5 and 10ks.  I also convinced my dad to sign up last minute!  He never knows what I'm getting him into until it's too late! :-)  But he's a good sport!  It was a quick 20k bike and 5k run.  Here's the race at a glance:

•  Mass bike start (that's a good way to get a triathletes heart pumping fast!)  A late comer decided to jump out in front of me as we had just started!
• Out to Jemez dam and back, beautiful views and some nice little hills packed into that course
•  The run was uphill on the way out and glorious downhill on the way back, it was a hot one but I didn't care 
• There were only 52 or so entrants which made the mass bike start manageable
• So many friendly faces
• Things for the kiddos to do while they were patiently waiting for parents to finish
• Nice after race food
• Cool mugs for overall finishers, I was a little jealous but gives me something to aspire to :-)

My brother went out there with my son so I could do the race.  I know I've mentioned it takes a village to raise a triathlete! There was a newbie there that was very embarrassed when he tried to rack his bike and almost caused a domino effect when it fell and you know how some triathletes can be with their bikes.  I quickly showed him the trick on which end of the bike seat would ensure it stayed up and he asked me about the race.  I was so happy to help him out and calm his nerves before the race and saw him on the course several times where we shouted words of encouragement.  I love seeing races through the eyes of a beginner the combination of excitement and nervousness is palpable!

Just as the race was about to start someone came up to me and said Hi Natasha I don't know if you remember me... I recognized her voice right away, and said her name with her.  It was a close friend of mine from middle school!!  Not only had she moved to the area but she had just gotten into the sport about two years ago and was loving it.  Talk about an awesome surprise!!!  We hadn't seen each other since college.  More shouting on the course as we saw each other!

My dad did awesome and even though he hates running and I know he was cursing my name as he had to run up that hill he picked up his pace when he saw me and again more shouting on the course exchanging words of encouragement!

Now one of my friends, btw can I call us friends at this point? let me know if I'm out of line :-), who is super fast, dedicated and disciplined in this sport who is always out there racing and an awesome tri mentor gave me a high five that topped all high fives I've ever gotten during a race.  And you know those top finishers don't always have time to do this!  :-)  He'll know why I'm making such a big deal about this high five! But thanks for the motivation.  Again more words of encouragement shouted!

Do you see a theme here?  I was having fun and happily hooting and hollering!  At first on the bike I was carefully trying to make sure I kept a high cadence and shifted up when necessary but then I said screw it let all my careful numbers and close watch out the window and just race like you use to!  SO I did I raced for fun.  I'm not racing to place OA I'm racing because I love this sport and the people it brings me closer to!  So yes I mashed on the bike but I've never had so many high fives, ass slaps, or cheering during a race.

Oh yeah and my results: (sure I can work on a few things but there's always room for improvement it's what keeps me coming back)

Happy Training!

Vacation from my vacation!!!!

I'm ALIVE!!!!  Ok I'm being a little over dramatic but this was one of the most emotional roller coaster rides of a vacation I've been on.  Silly me posting before I left thinking getting in a workout would be my biggest problem while on this vacation! :-)  So that I don't bore or overwhelm you I will try to break it all down.

What happened (cliff notes version): 

•  Flew out 2 flights turned into 4 delayed flights, floods and thunderstorms in Houston, no hotels available, some lost pilots, broken plane parts being retrieved from a hanger, a child that through such blood curdling tantrums that everyone went running and I couldn't try to figure anything out over the screaming, pissed on twice, lost luggage, almost 24 hours later we arrived to our final destination, Palm Beach Shores. (at one point was booked on flight right back to ABQ was just going to call it quits)
• Spent the 1st day recovering and waiting for our lost luggage and finally got in the water around 4 or 5 pm.
• Went to urgent care because my sons cough (which I've been dealing with for 2 months) turned for the worse over night.  They scared the you know what out of me saying I need to go to the children's hospital emergency room because he had whooping cough
• Went to emergency room where they laughed and said they could have treated him there he had croup and needed some steroid shots to help him breathe. (I did not laugh)
• Were told not to let him in the water because it would irritate his lungs and needed to see his pediatrician in 2-3 days
• Booked flights home early because what's the point of staying at a beach resort if you can't get in the water
• Spent each night with a toddler coughing directly in my face as he didn't want to let go of me all night and woke up to turn on the shower at 1 or 3 am so we could let the steam build up in the bathroom and relieve his coughing a little bit.
• Got home and I and his grandma were sick, she had to go get checked out.  I'm answering work emails while running errands.
• Cried, laughed, and created memories

What I learned:

• Always pack more food than you think you need when traveling with a toddler, thank goodness I did this right!
• Pack a change of clothes for yourself in your carryon!  I packed one for him but not for me so I had to spend TWO DAYS smelling like PEE!!!!
• Bring ear plugs for everyone around you
• You can't control human nature but you can control how you react to other humans.  Some strangers will be so kind it will make you want to cry, thank you to the mom at the Houston airport that lent her little girls stuffed puppy to my son and distracted him while I tried to change our flights!!  Thank you to the SW workers that helped us get there!  Other strangers will be mean and not have an empathetic bone in there body, no thank you to the SW workers who blew us off and that said it was weather related delays therefore they couldn't help us even though they clearly announced there were other issues, and to the lady who made a big deal about my son screaming and hurting her ears but turns out she's the only one who had ear plugs available and later used them.  TRUST me I wish I had brought enough for all of us.  I promise I don't just LET my child behave that way I was trying to set him straight and calm him down but being sick and stuck on a plane and in airports doesn't always bode well for a small child who doesn't understand what is going on.
• Always plan a recovery day once you are back before going back to work
• Always pack your phone charger in your carry on since that's what we all use for directions and to communicate.  Dear sir who was trying to get a hold of me to confirm he could deliver my lost luggage I left a message asking you to call our room because my phone was dead.
• You can still enjoy a few nice beach swims and pool jaunts in the mist of it all.  My little guy finally learned how to hold his breath under water while we were there before he got sick.  He really enjoyed the sea turtle sanctuary.  So yes while the bad felt horrendous he is young enough that I hope he will only remember the good because that's what we took pictures of and that is ok!
• In the end all I care about is that my kiddo was ok!!!  I love him and he seemed to enjoy himself despite all the mayhem.  I could learn to let things roll off my back like he does!!

So Natasha did you get any workouts in?

Yes, somehow I did!

• Weight room 1x
• Beach run 2x
• Ocean swim 2x
• One of those times I swam a sprint as I saw a manatee in the water directly below me.  At first I didn't know what it was and just swam as fast as my arms and legs would carry me but then as I noticed the blob follow my every move and the current pull me back not letting me get away as fast as I wanted to I decided I needed to turn around and face my death head on, which is when I realized it was just a manatee!!!  So while I was relived to see the friendly endangered creature instead of a shark I still got out just more peacefully.  Not sure they would ever do anything to a human but I didn't want to find out what I'm guessing roughly 300-400 lbs could do to me if it wanted to!
  
  
  
  

There you have it!  My vacation or so it was called!  Can I go back to work now??!!! 

Vacation + Toddler = No training?

I am so happy for my vacation and my son is beyond excited that he gets to go on a plane and see the ocean!  I am happy that my big race is over so I don't have to worry about any long workouts, but I would still like to maintain some sort of base even if I only have sprints planned for the rest of the season.  What am I going to do about that you ask? 

This was from last year's vacation his 1st time at the beach!

• If my son says run I will run around chasing him, if he says he wants to get back in the ocean or pool I will go, if he says he wants to jump like a frog I will do it, if he says he's tired and doesn't want to walk I will carry him on my shoulders instead of taking the stroller (shoulders actually worked way better for me on this last trip than even the kid backpack)  Essentially my son is so active that if instead of saying mommy is tired and needs a break I just get up and do this automatically will add to my daily movement.  This kid wakes up going 100 mph and while on vacation it usually starts between 5:00 - 5:30 am since he's not in his own room.
• I will take some printouts for workouts I can do in the room while he is napping or maybe even pack my jump rope.
• I will sneak out for a quick run or open water swim since my mom will be with me she is usually super supportive of exercise.
• I will check out the hotel gym and maybe get there a couple of times after I've put my son to bed.
• Most importantly I will not freak out and I will be absolutely fine if I don't get a workout in everyday I mean come on it's vacation which for a mom means work so I won't be sitting still much anyway.
• Last I will try to eat light!  It's a hot summer beach so fresh fruit and light salads sound appealing anyway.  We got a place that has a kitchenette so we'll make sure to stalk up on healthy foods so that it's ready at arms reach instead of indulging every night eating out.  Besides I'm still trying to teach my son that when you eat you sit still so it usually involves taking a bight and running around before coming back for more so I usually don't get to concentrate much on my own food, lunch at work is my real vacation!
• Oh and with any luck they'll have bike rentals on the beach with a kid seat!
  

My child is forever curious and I love that! “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
― Albert Einstein

How do you stay active while on vacation?

Happy Training!