I think I've been converted...

So I have to say I'm one of those people that when I go to a restaurant I like I usually order the same thing every time.  Because if I know I like it and it's good why mess with it? Right?  Well I have been wearing the same brand of tennis shoes for over 15 years!!  Yes, a few times I tried to switch to a different type maybe because they were on sale or I finally found a women's shoe that wasn't in pink but every time I'd go running back to my old shoes in pain! 

Being a part of Team LC has taken me out of my comfort zone and in a good way!  One of our great sponsors is Hoka One One sent us not one but TWO pairs of shoes to try out.  I will admit I was a skeptic at first as I have always found myself in pain and my parents had bought some and I kept saying "I think I'd trip with those" the soles looked thick.  BUT I have tried both of them out on the treadmill and the road and it was AMAZING!  I couldn't believe it!  For the record there was no tripping involved.


One of the first things I noticed is the bigger toe box which was perfect for me.  My other shoes my pinky toe was always the first thing to wear through the shoe.  The bigger toe box on these gives me the room I need without having to buy a bigger size than I need.  Also the appearance of the sole on the outside is just that appearance.  The inside is actually a lot lower than it appears.  There was a lot of cushion while being a very light shoe.  I'm really digging these shoes and can't wait to get some more miles on them.  So I got out of my comfort zone, tried something new, and was pleasantly surprised.  Now I just need to add some elastic laces and I'll be race ready!

Happy Training!!!

It's getting hot in here!

It's getting hot and as much as I would like to take off all my clothes I tend to stick to social norms so sorry no peep show!  How does heat affect training?  Well I've been thinking about that a lot lately.  While I'm not proposing a scientific look at this right now I just wanted to know the basics for myself.  (this is where I tell you to go to talk to your doctor or nutritionist for advice).  My doc said something interesting that got me thinking.  When I said I was drinking electrolyte drinks he mentioned that was not enough to make up for the salt loss during sweating.  He said I'm only helping to partially replenish the salt and water that comes along with these drinks further dilutes the salt in my system.  So that is why for the first time in all my years of triathlon training I decided I needed to seriously consider salt tablets.  Someone finally got the point across in a way that made sense to me.  So my dizziness might mean I need salt!

Here are some things that affect me:

• I'm vegetarian and don't eat too many processed foods which means the amount of daily salt consumption is already pretty low for me.  (maybe this explains why I now have to hide the soy sauce in my fridge to keep my son from grabbing it and chugging it straight from the bottle?  he's begging me for more salt?? no just a toddler thing?)
• I've had heat exhaustion several times in the past which might make me predisposed to becoming a victim again. 
• I hate water and don't drink enough during the day as it is so I need to make it a point to force it on myself (I say as I'm getting up now to go fill up my 32 oz bottle as I just realized I have only had caffeinated drinks so far today!!!)
• So for me my fueling issues seem to be more towards salt and hydration problems not fuel and calories.  Which the light headedness had me fooled.

Your body always has to work a lot harder in the heat to pump blood since a lot of energy is being expended on sweating and keeping cool.  This is why I love winter sports it feels easier!

So I'm going to try and focus on these things and see how it helps me this summer.  Now I just need to look up ratios for salt intake vs how long I'm working out for in the heat.  I'm thinking my new partners at Pacific Health Labs might be able to help in this department!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!  Happy Independence Day!!  We had some fun with a run and the heat was staved off by some nice cool watermelon at the finish!  I ran his one for fun and was so excited when my son decided to sprint it in with me to the finish!  He got a little distracted by some ducks but then started chasing me down again once I reminded him what we were doing!  My dad was out there and finished strong so proud of him, he hates running but keeps doing it so he can continue to tri!  My mom got her walk in after helping me take care of my son during the race.  We like to stay active!

Happy Training!

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
I hope you will support them too. Team LC: Facebook  Twitter  Instagram
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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!