Ironman Florida Race Report! Last One Fast One!

Sometimes you need a little time to digest just what happened in your race. This race report has been rattling around in my brain for a week or so, and I’d better get it written down before I wait any longer.

The Short Version

Swim 1:08:32 / T1 6:06 / Bike 5:52:05 / T2 6:07/ Run 4:33:48 – Total time 11:46:38


The Long Version

I signed up for Ironman Florida with just at 4 months to race day. My “mentee”, Margaret had signed up for it the year before when the Alabama Triathletes were there volunteering at bike special needs. I watched an old DVD while I was on the trainer one day, and it inspired me to do “one more Ironman”.

My Mentee, Margaret after a lake swim!

I wrote out a detailed training program for the 4 months, and pretty much followed it to the letter. Monday was a swim only day, so it was kind of a rest day, but other than that I think I only took 4 or 5 days off completely from any training. But I believe I trained smart. I like having a plan that is consistent week in and week out. Sometimes it makes it difficult to get training partners, because it is rather rigid, but for me it works best knowing that on Tuesdays I have my long run, Wednesdays are a swim, mid-distance ride, and run off the bike if I feel good, etc.

So here is how my week was laid out:

Monday: Long Swim (not a continuous long swim) 5000 yards.
Tuesday: Long Run

Wednesday: Swim, Mid-Distance Ride, Transition Run (only 1-2 miles if I was feeling good)
Thursday: Mid-Distance Run (this started 4 months out at only 4 miles, it was the longest I was running)
Friday:  Swim, Short Ride (23 miles), Transition Run
Saturday: Long Ride with the local bike group
Sunday: Recovery Run

Once the long rides became longer than the typical Saturday Druid City Bike Club rides I switched them to Friday. Up until then I would ride the typical 50 or so with the group and then head out for some more miles. I also wanted to do my long rides on my tri bike by that point, and not on the road bike. So I scoped out the flattest roads I could find, even if that meant multiple (and I mean multiple) loops on the same roads. I parked at a place along the course so I could stop at the car to refuel my hydration. I trained with the same thing that they were serving at the race. This way I didn’t have to worry about bringing my own on race day. I had a plan and stuck to it. One e-Gel at the bottom of the hour, a salt pill at the top of the hour, and the Gatorade Endurance. I also had some mini Payday candy bars that I took when I felt hungry. When the weather was hot I tried to get one bottle of water and one bottle of Gatorade per hour. Once it cooled down some I decreased that amount somewhat.

Refuel after a long ride!!

I built my midweek long ride from 50 miles, which was the typical group ride distance, to 70. It took 6 weeks of increasing the distance to get it to 70, and then that is what I did every Wednesday following a swim with the Crimson Tide Masters. That swim was typically 3000-4000 yards.

The swim was the easy part for me. Monday I did a longer swim, in the month of September it was a 5000 yard swim. Not a straight swim, lots of different intervals, varied through the weeks. I don’t believe in the long straight swims, the main set needs to be close to what you will be swimming in the race. So on these days the main set was about 4000.

Now for the running…I have “bad” knees. I’ve written about them before, two micro-fracture surgeries, one in 2002 following IM Florida, and one in 2008 following IM Louisville. Last December I had one more for a torn meniscus, removal of a loose body, and some debridement. My longest run training week was 31.4 miles, and my longest run was 17. Every Thursday was the mid-week long run which I built to 8-9, typically this would have built to 12-13, but here is one of the areas that I held back. My long run was on Tuesday, trying to keep it from being back to back with the long ride is better for the knees, giving them some time to recover.

The RACE!

We're here!!

We got to Florida on Wednesday, rented the most amazing house from VBRO, it had a giant Swim Spa Hot Tub, a fenced back yard, and it came with a golf cart, so it had a one car garage! (Perfect for the stinky bike post race).

Got Bill a VIP pass to make the day easier!!

Thursday Bill, Margaret, and I went to the Ironman Village to get our race packets, and do a little shopping. The “expo” was a little unimpressive, but we did spend some time in the Normatec Recovery Boots. These were amazing, would love to have had these during the training. The next day was bike and gear check in, all went smooth.

Pre Race Practice Swim!

Race Morning:

I had a very uneventful race morning, which was good. Dropped off the special needs bags – nothing special in them. The bike SN had a PayDay, a couple gels (in case I dropped one while riding), a tube, quickfill, and tire irons. Run Special needs had another Payday, a gel flask, and a short sleeve shirt.

I had my wetsuit, goggles, cap, and a can of Skin Slick with me, so before I put my wetsuit on I sprayed everywhere that there would be possible chaffing. A guy saw me, and asked if it was lube, and if he could use some. So I sprayed his neck for him – one of the best things about Skin Slick and TRISLIDE (other than the fact that they work amazingly) is that you can share it and not have a stick glide toughing someone other than yourself.

Warmed up some before swim start, this is important to me because of the wetsuit freak out that I experience. Margaret and I did two ocean swims when we got to Florida, and my new Roka wetsuit with its very flexible upper body felt great.

IM Florida is a two loop swim, I lined in about the middle of the first corral of swimmers. The time for this group was actually 1 hour or less, but after talking to my friend Becky who has done a bunch of Ironman races, she reminded me that people lie. There was a very old man in front of me in the corral, absolutely no way he was swimming a sub one hour. After the gun went off I scooted around him because he was walking super slow and I didn’t want to get stuck behind him. I had absolutely no bumping or issues on the swim. I started on the right hand side of the corral and angled in like Becky advised. Only one time did a man cut in front of me (twice) as he was zigging and zagging. I did the roll over his back with a backstroke and kept on my merry way! Came out of the first loop in 32 minutes but had a tough time angling back to the course once I started on the second loop. So my second loop even though I swam straighter was slower than the first. Bill found me in the corral just before the gun went off, he said he had been looking for me for an hour. He asked what time I thought I would swim and I told him 1:10. Total time 1:08:32.

Running to the change tent on the asphalt was tough. I stepped on a rock or something and the ball of my foot behind the great toe got bruised. In the change tent no one was there to help me so I just was going to stand up and get ready, so I dumped my bag by a trash can. Then changed my mind and sat in a chair a few feet from my pile. A volunteer then came over and shouted “WHOSE STUFF IS THIS??” I said it was mine, and she got onto me saying it couldn’t be in the aisle (it wasn’t) and that the aisles needed to be kept clear. I said “Thank You For Reprimanding Me!” She then apologized and said she thought one of her people did it… yeah right, there was no one helping me remember? I finished getting ready, and carried my shoes with me until I got to my bike. (No bike shoes allowed to be attached to your bike.) Transition time 6:06.

Onto the bike ride!! Started out and felt great! My right piriformis had been bothering me in the few weeks leading up to the race, and I felt it twinge, but then just backed off and it went away. In all of my training rides I followed the exact same protocol. Easy ride for the first 2 hours, and then increase and build speed. In training this meant in the 17+ mph, but this was a race so I held it closer to 18. I don’t wear a heart rate monitor but I could tell that I was riding easy. Within the first 5 miles a woman in my age group went by me, DRAFTING. Uuuuuuggggghhhhhhh!! Just after she passed me, I could still see her up ahead, a marshal came by and waved to me! I waved back and said “old lady in the white jersey drafting”. They zoomed up and rode next to her for a long time, maybe a mile or so. I didn’t see her at the first penalty tent, so I don’t think she got dinged. And who knows if she continued to cheat later on in the ride. Why why why….

I was totally planning on stopping to use the bathroom, went by mile 20, 30, 40… I guess I just wasn’t paying attention at the aid stations because toward the beginning of the bike I never saw the port-a-potties. Margaret and I had talked about peeing on the bike and I wasn’t planning on it, but did it anyway… ewww gross. I just rinsed after wards with water. They say in Ironman if you don’t have to go at least 2 times during the bike then you’re going to be in trouble on the run. Well, not to worry, I think I went about 5 times. Guess I was well hydrated…

Bill, Margaret and I talked about bike times before the race and I didn’t think a sub 6 hour ride was possible, but I was happy to see that I made it with 8 or so minutes to spare!! Yay!! Right before I got off the bike I had an average of 19.1, that made me unbelievably happy. I was hoping for an 18.5. Bike time 5:52:05.

I could have easily kept riding. In the three other Ironman races I did, I couldn’t wait to get off the bike. I’ve actually described it as dislodging the bike from your body. But on this day it felt like I could have ridden another 40-50 miles! Nothing hurt, I was really comfortable. This goes to show you just how much a good bike fit is worth. I got mine from John Cobb years ago on this bike and it was the best investment ever! I ride a Cobb V-Flow saddle, and have for years, I am biased but I honestly think that Cobb makes the best saddles out there!

T2 was also uneventful, I kind of wish the nice volunteer didn’t help me. It almost felt like it slowed me down, she knelt there holding things out for me, but in a really strange order. I sprayed my feet all over with TRISLIDE - bottom of the feet, heels, between the toes. I had also sprayed them the day before and put my socks on, then took them off to put in the transition bag. This way there was a light coating inside the socks. I did this before every one of my long runs and never had one problem with hot spots or blisters. Proved again in the marathon!! T2 6:07.

Our numbers both added up to 19 - Prime Number!

I had dorked my watch coming out of the swim so when I was running out of transition I stopped it and switched to run mode. But like an idiot, started it as I ran out of the changing tent. Then I stopped at the port-o-potties while still in transition and my watch kept running. What an idiot.

Saw Bill as I ran out and stopped to give him a kiss and a sweaty hug! As soon as I started running I realized that the bruise on my foot was going to give me some problems, it was hurting bad! And I had put some different insoles in my Hoka Bondi running shoes because I had been having some plantar fasciitis problems, and while this worked well on fresh feet, it did not when my feet were slightly swollen from the bike. My little pinky toe on my right foot (the same one as the bruise) felt buzzy and numb. I tried not to think about my feet and after a while (like 10 miles) I stopped thinking about them.

Bill brought Bogey out on the run course!
He got lots of pets!

Becky and I not only talked about the swim start but a lot about the run too. She said if you want to have a good Ironman run you’ve got to keep moving. So I only walked enough to get two cups of water or Gatorade down at each aid station. I had my e-Gel flask and mostly used water. By this point the sweet Gatorade starts to get cloyingly sick tasting. The water cups were paper and made the water taste bad, so I finally started getting a cup of ice and a cup of water and pouring the water into the ice, that way it was colder and didn’t taste as bad.

Lap 1 Feeling Great!

I had my watch set to alert every three miles to remind me to take a gel, and I was taking one salt pill per hour. Before the race I talked with some of my friends at work and felt that I would be okay in the marathon as long as I didn’t cramp. Well, around mile 18 or so I felt the twinges of a cramp in my upper left leg. Not so bad as it shut me down, but bad enough that I knew if I stepped wrong it would seize.

Just before the turn around in the State Park there was a tent for Base Performance. Margaret uses Base salts and gave me a little vial once, I tried it but didn’t like it so I gave it back to her. On lap one of the run (Florida is a two lap out and back course), I took one of the vials and had a few licks but then ditched it at an aid station because the salt was irritating my tongue. But on the second time I went by the tent, just after my leg cramp I stopped for a second to try and massage my leg. One of the guys, who I later learned was Matt Miller, came sprinting over to me. “Are you cramping?” “Yes” “Have you taken any salt?” “Yes I just did.” “A salt pill, that will take like an hour to work. Here take 6 licks of this, and drink this down and I promise you won’t cramp for the rest of your race.” I looked at the little bottle of light pink liquid, couldn’t read the label, and thought for a minute that this might really mess up my stomach. Then I thought... what have I got to lose, I have to do something. So I took the 6 licks and drank the little magic bottle of liquid. And guess what… no more cramp. It was like magic, and I am now a believer.

Lap 2 after the Base Salts!

Without a watch running constantly from the beginning of the race I had to keep switching mine to look at clock time. I thought we started at 6:40 am, so I kept doing the math in my head of where I was and my predicted finish time. By this point in time you can calculate it, but then a mile later you’ve forgotten what you were thinking and have to do the math all over again. If I’m running 10 minute miles it will take me an hour to run 6 miles, but it’s really 11 minute miles at this point so I need to add 6 more minutes…so it will take me 66 minutes at this pace to run 6 miles. Then another mile goes by and you do the math all over again. And all of a sudden I realized that I was going to break 12 hours if I could hold on. At mile 24, the guys were out there with the glow sticks, also known as “THE STICK OF SHAME”. My friend Laura named these, that if you were out on the course after dark you had to carry the stick of shame. It’s also a tradition to toss it to a kid before you finish, so it’s not in your finish picture. Well the guy offered me the glow stick and I remember saying “I don’t need one, I’m about to FINISH!

Running down the finish shoot, and knowing I broke 12 hours was pretty emotional. I honestly did not think I had that in me. My “best” race scenario was to finish in 12:30. I did it in 11:46:38. After I crossed the finish I turned and looked back at the clock, and started crying. My marathon time was 4:33:48, just 10 minutes slower than in my very first Ironman when I was 31, 25 years ago this year. Bill was right there at the sideline and called out to me. It was so great to have him there and see what I worked so hard for these last few months. I was dedicated, I trained hard, I raced smart, I stuck to my plan. A 13 minute PR from my very first Ironman! It all fell into place for the best race of my life.

My retirement race, what a way to go out.

I placed 3rd in my age group at an IRONMAN.

I still can’t believe it.

I was hoping, hoping, hoping to be in the top 5.
.
But I got 3rd, me it may as well have been 1st.

I have lived the Tri Life for 33 years.

The best sport in the world!

Thank you for coming along on my journey.

Margaret and I both placed 3rd in our Age Groups!!!
Her first Ironman!!

Some super cute deer we saw on our
easy ride a couple days before the race!

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!

Swim Challenge Complete!! VENI, VIDI, VICI!!

33,000 YARDS DONE and DONE!!

Last week I took on “The Bat Cap Challenge”! A Swim Challenge Week of some mega yardage; more distance than I’ve ever swam before in a week. Why you ask? Oh, I don’t know…who doesn’t like a challenge? We’re triathletes after all, we LOVE challenges! 33,000 yards is double that of any other week I've ever swam! By the end of the week I was certainly tired, but very happy and felt really good!

I don’t know very many other people who would agree to do something like this with me. It seems like one of those things that people would say, “Heck yeah, I’ll do it with you!” but then find excuses and no show. Margaret enthusiastically agreed, and was there for all six days of the challenge, even if it took me picking her up on the way to the pool! I was thankful she hung in there! Margaret is a sophomore at the University of Alabama, and a member of the triathlon team, but she swam age group swimming growing up, coaches little kids in summer league, and understands swimming! More than once I was so appreciative that she understood swim workout lingo. To someone who doesn’t do a lot of typical sets it can look like hieroglyphics!

Posing, but not POSERS! We did the yards!

I posted our daily workouts on the last post I made so if you want to see them you can find them here. 

Just a brief recap of the yardage:

Day 1: 5000 (we did 5100)
I felt great this day, and the main set of fast 200’s and 500’s was Margaret’s favorite of the week. I came home and ran 4.4 miles and had a good pace! Pretty happy!

Day 2:  5100 (we did 5100)
6 x 100 at Max effort in the main set took its toll. I rode 23 miles after, even though I wanted to go home and take a nap. That afternoon I felt like dirt! How was I going to do 4 more big swims? Took some Recover-Ease, and the next morning was back to new!!

Day 3:  4500 (we did 5000)
I don’t remember much about this day, we hit all the intervals and even shortened the interval on the pulling. This was supposed to be a shorter day, because tomorrow was the big day. No running or cycling after this day.

Day 4: 6400 (we did 6800)
Why you ask on the biggest day of the week would we add 400 yards? Margaret pointed out that if we did 6800 we would be at 21,000 for the week. Of course being over-achievers, we did it. Our main set today was 10x400 on a 6:30 interval. The goal was to hold pace. In other words, try and hit the same time for all 10. I thought about it the night before and decided I needed to hit 5:40-5:45 on all of them. I put on my Tempo Trainer, and concentrated on keeping my stroke long. I went 5:44 on #1 and #10. 5:40 on #2,3,4,7. And 5:41-5:43 on the rest. I was incredibly happy! Great day! Came home and did a ton of housework and felt fine!

Day 5:  4000 (we did 6000)
Again here we go into the Over Achievers Club! Good main set today (this was one of the workouts that I took from Krista’s challenge week). This day included something that we did a COSST called a Locomotor. 25/25, 50/50, 75/75, 100/100, 75/75, 50/50, 25/25 – it’s a continuous swim going fast/easy, we wore fins. Makes an 800 go by very quickly and keeps you thinking! Ran 3 miles when I got home, and again was trashed that afternoon. Only one more day!

Day 6: 5000 (we did 5000)
The pool doesn’t open until 7:30 on Saturday, so we got a later start than usual. We were planning on riding at 9:30 with the Alabama Triathlon Team so we needed to get done. Rode another 23 miles after, and I felt like I was bonking at the end of the ride. I don’t eat breakfast before we swim at 6:00, and if I run or ride after that an energy bar usually does the trick. I think the reason I felt bad this day was because of the later than usual swim start time. I should have had more to eat on the way to the ride. Lesson learned.

Still smiling after 6800 yards! TRISWIM to the rescue!

We asked someone to take some pictures of us when we finished to commemorate our Challenge, unfortunately she seemed afraid to get too close to the water and the pictures are a little blurry. Margaret is officially a TRISWIM fan now! We would be smelling like a bottle of Clorox had it not been for the shampoo, conditioner, bodywash, and lotion!! Use the discount code: "AMBFRND17" for a 10% discount code at SBR Sports, Inc.

UA Triathletes are powered by Honey Stinger, too! #stingorbestung #HShive

The girl in the front, in the red helmet is Jessica, the president of the UA Tri Club! She qualified for KONA at IM Florida last year!! Warren, the owner of VELO City Pro Cycle and I have offered to give her a bike fit to help her positioning on the bike! Also known as a Cobb Cycling BIKE FIT!!

End of The Year - Beginning of The Year

How was your 2016? I’ve read a lot of people claiming “good riddance” to the end of last year. Glass half empty people? Of course in every year there will be the good, the bad, and the ugly. Let’s try to concentrate on the good.

2016

I found a fantastic Podcast called “Tower 26 - Be Race Ready”. Gerry Rodriguez has been a swim coach for many years, and coaches a triathlon masters in California. These podcasts are amazing! I listened to them while I was running and then came home and wrote down the “workout of the day” that he outlined. If you’re a triathlete, whether or not you swim with a master’s swim program, do yourself a favor and check it out. A mass of valuable information!

Here is one of my favorite workouts from the Podcasts. I named it the” Foundational Swim” because he outlined it in that particular Phase of the year – here is the main set of the swim, it doesn’t include the warm up, drills, cool down, etc.

                                                EZ      ½ IM      EZ       Fast

                                                100      100       100       100

                                                100      200       100       100   

                                                100      300       100       100

                                                100      400       100       100 

The intervals you want to use for this base from your typical 100. For instance, for me I swim my 100’s on 1:30, this give me anywhere from 5-10 seconds of rest (bringing my 100 in on the 1:20-1:25). The EZ 100s would be your 100 interval plus 20 seconds. Using these numbers, the EZ send offs would be 1:50, and the ½ IM pace and the Fast on 1:30. On round two the ½ IM pace increased to 200 – 3:00. Round three 300 @4:30 etc. If you’re training for an Ironman as the season progresses you could build this to 600. Making the entire main set 3,900.


Okay… next thing that I discovered this past year. This one is very uncomplicated. Blue Dawn dish washing liquid for your hair. WHAT???? Wash my hair in Dawn? Yep… about every 3-4 months I wash my hair in Dawn. It deep cleans your hair, takes out all of the built up product and leaves your hair silky smooth. Of course use your favorite deep conditioner after you wash, leave it on for about 5 minutes. (word of caution for color treated hair – it will lighten your hair).

Speaking of hair, another discovery was TRISWIM shampoo and conditioner. I got some in a race packet and at also at the Masters Coaching Swim Certification that I did a couple months ago. THIS STUFF ROCKS!! If you haven’t tried it you’re missing out. If you’re a Masters Swimmer you get a discount code when you renew or sign up for USMS for the SBR products, which include the TRISWIM shampoo, conditioner, body wash, TRISLIDE, and FOGGIES.

I get a rash on my neck sometimes from the chlorine levels in the pool, and this seems to really help! It detoxifies, hydrates, and nourishes the skin! "Chlorine Out... Nutrients In!"




I mentioned getting my USMS Masters Coaching Certification!  Coaching adults vs. kids – one of pieces of advice that they gave us in the clinic… “Masters swimmers get up in the middle of the night to come and swim, make sure that every day you make a connection with each and every swimmer. It may be a correction in technique, or a simple recognition of a good job, and a Good Morning”. The quickest way to lose adult swimmers is for them to think no one cares that they are there.” Hey… we all need an “at a boy” (or girl). The thing I like the absolute least about a swim coach is when they write a workout on the board and say nothing else during the entire workout. I’m probably on the opposite extreme of this, my swimmers would probably tell me to leave them alone! So whenever the Masters Coach no shows at our practice I get my chance to write the workout! I really miss coaching!! Oh… the other bonus of getting certified is that the folks at TRISWIM reached out to me (as a coach) and asked if I wanted samples for the team!!! Heck yeah! So I was able to get some product for my friends!! BONUS!

ZOGGS Goggles would be on the list of favorite things. I bought two pair, the Athena and the Podium. The Athena is a soft frame, one-piece goggle (meaning the nose piece isn’t adjustable). I didn’t care for these so much, I have a small nose bridge and haven’t had the best of luck with getting a good seal with goggles that don’t come with various nose pieces. I gave them a good try, but they’re living in my swim bag as emergency goggles. But then I tried the Podium goggles!!! They come with 3 nose pieces so you can get the perfect nosebridge width.

These are AWESOME!!! The lenses are super clear (as is with all the Zoggs products – it’s one of the things they’re known for), but the best part is that the nose piece. The ends that snap into the lens are round like a ball, so they swivel almost 180 degrees which means they really contour to the shape of your face. I just love them!



2017

2017 ZOGGS Ambassador!!

So when I saw that ZoggsUSA opened applications for Ambassadors I took a chance and sent it in! And got selected! Sweet!! We haven’t received our Ambassador package yet and they haven’t told us what is expected of us but I am excited to be involved in something related to swim! Ironically, their office is located in Northridge, California. I looked up the address…it is about a mile and a half from our old house in California! We actually used to ride our bikes as kids over to the little strip center where the office is! Go figure!



More good news – I’m back for year 4 with The COBB MOBB!! Most people in the triathlon world have heard of John Cobb and Cobb Cycling. If you’ve followed my blog you’ve seen me post photos at racing in the kit. I refer to him as the GURU of bike aerodynamics! I had the honor of being named The 2016 Cobb Mobb Top Female Performer last year, and I am very excited to be welcomed back for another year with this great team! I got my friend, Jenn to apply and she was selected, too! But… she is moving to Wisconsin this month…. (insert extremely sad face here). So my training partner is gone, this is definitely not good news. I was really looking forward to us representing the Cobb Mobb and representing at the local races.

I’ve ridden on a Cobb saddle from way back in the day when I bought my Javelin bike from him in 1999. Back then he was taking an existing saddle and custom cutting the wings off the back of it, so the hamstrings would not come in contact with the saddle at the back of the pedal stroke. The result was a narrow saddle and you can see it in the original V-Flow. I read people’s questions in tri forums and Facebook pages talking about the width of their sit bones and how they need a wider saddle. In actuality, when you’re in the aero position, your sit bones are not in contact with the saddle – you are rotated forward and you don’t need a wide saddle. In fact, on every pedal revolution if your hamstring at the glute insertion is coming in contact with the saddle it can inflame and irritate the sciatic nerve. Saddle comfort is very individualized, at Cobb Cycling they have a number of different saddles, experts to help you find the best one for you, and a 60 day comfort guarantee.

V-Flow

This past year I finally took the advice and ditched my usual cycling shorts and rode only in my Cobb tri shorts. I’ve suffered with saddle sores for the entire time I’ve been riding, were talking 31 years! Voila, no more saddle sores for me! The bunching of the thick material on regular shorts was the culprit in my case. Cobb Saddle + Cobb Shorts = Pain free riding! If you’re having issues with comfort on your bike you should do yourself a favor and reach out to Cobb Cycling. And if you’re a female they even employ a Women’s Expert so you don’t have to discuss our specific issues with a guy. (903) 253-8555 - ask for Rachel! Check out the website for contact information as well as a lot of great articles about fit and comfort that may help you!


I was also picked to represent HERevolution for 2017. This company has a great backstory. I think Darcy, the owner and founder of HERev says it best:

“Today, HERevolution is solely online offering exclusive HERevolution Apparel. Our focus is to offer you bold, bright designs, maintaining high quality, supporting American made and sizing, while embracing eco friendly choices. Our fabulous partner, Zoca Gear, employs and manufactures here in San Diego, California, uses eco-friendly water base ink, and adheres to true American sizing. This is very important to us at HERevolution. I believe the slight extra cost is worth supporting these ideas.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle is a routine we strive to implement. Every garment is shipped to you in the original packaging from our manufacturer. We use minimal recyclable packaging.

HERevolution celebrates women in sport and every goose bump, tear of joy and adrenaline rush we experience from both our own accomplishments and others. We have a sport that every woman can participate in and it is our heart and soul that brings us together to find camaraderie, friendship, growth and empowerment.

We embrace women sharing the love of our sport, on and off the course. Supporting others' endeavors makes them feel good which makes us feel good. Believe me when I say you will feel “the Love” when you wear HERevolution Gear. So, represent well, and share the love."

#RevItUp Ladies

Major Tom

And last, but not least for 2016… another knee surgery. #groan. In November I sat cross legged painting our deck and the floor of our screened porch. I actually remember thinking that I hadn’t been able to sit like that in a long time. Tiny bit of history – micro-fracture knee surgeries on both knees, the left in 2002, and the right in 2008. I don’t know if I did something to my left knee by sitting like that or not, but the day or so later I felt it buckle, and then swell up. Long story short, the doc found a loose body in my knee, a torn meniscus, and a lot of junk in there from all the years of running and racing. On December 30th I had arthroscopic surgery to debride, do a partial removal of the meniscus, and remove Waldo from my knee. It will be two weeks tomorrow, and I am happy to report that the recovery from this surgery (compared to the micro-fractures) has been a breeze! Hope to be in the pool, and on the bike in the next few days. Running in another week or so! Gotta get ready for the season!!

                           So cheers to 2017! Hope to see you at the races!!

Bye Jenn! :(

COBB MOBB 2017

• Want to be a part of an awesome team? 
• Registration is open for the 2017 Cobb Mobb! 

"We are thrilled to announce the 2017 Cobb Mobb Team registration is now open!!! We have HUGE plans next year and looking for passionate people that love triathlon and want to keep the fun in the sport! We encourage all levels to apply, looking for cheer and race support, and open Internationally! Spread the word!"

Registration Link


#thecobbmobb #cobbcycling #comfortequalsspeed #swimbikerun #triathlon #ironman

It's The Off Season... Or Is It?

I follow a couple of Facebook pages and have been reading a lot of people mentioning the lack of motivation to train now that the season is over. Another common question I see is people asking what others do during the off season.

So the question arises, is there really an off season for triathletes? I would call it more of a time to re-energize. Take a couple weeks off completely after your last race and do nothing. I lasted only one week being out of the pool, and then went back. Two weeks off running. And in all honesty I still haven't been back on the bike, but I was having some knee pain on the bike at the end of the season and I wanted to give it a little more time so I would be able to tell if it was an over use, or an actual injury.

The off season for swimming is an excellent time to work on your technique. The people who don't swim at all during this time of year are really doing a disservice to themselves. Stay in touch with the water, even if you're only going to get to the pool twice a week. Swim fitness goes quickly for most people, so don't forgo this part of your training. Remember, when you're doing swim drills, please don't do them on an interval! When you swim a drill and put a time constraint on yourself you rush, and with drills you want to do them slowly! If you do swim by yourself and need to see some good balance, and technique drills check out the Tri Swim Coach App.

Cycling through winter can be tough, the cold temperatures make it difficult to get out the door, and that is even in the South. Most people resign themselves to the trainer in winter. If you are lucky enough to be able to get out with friends and ride don't turn it into any kind of a training race. Learn to enjoy just riding, and being able to catch up with your buddies! Then after the first of the year start incorporating some harder work into your cycling. Here is a great little App for What To Wear Cycling.

Many people run a marathon or half marathon during the winter. The best time to run long is when temperatures are nice and mild. I had a friend once say that the best time to run a marathon is the first of December, or end of November. Train through the fall, run your marathon, then relax for the month of December. Enjoy the holiday parties not having to worry about leaving the party early because you've got a long run the next morning.  After New Years (and your New Year's Eve celebration) get back out there and start running again. Hey.. what better day than an easy run on New Years Day to start the year off right!

Give your body and spirit a chance to heal with some easy training. Don't stress out if you gain a couple pounds over the winter (a couple....).

The people I've known that don't do this, they're the one's who stay strict and rigid all year long don't seem to last very long in the sport. It's just too hard on yourself (and your family) to be like that year in and year out. Give yourself a little mental, and physical break and it will make you start to look forward to those hard training sessions for the next season!

Cheers to all, and enjoy the season!!

P.S. Registration for the 2017 Cobb Mobb is open!! Do you ride a Cobb saddle? What are you waiting for?? #ComfortEqualsSpeed

Tri The Gulf and Possum Town Triathlons!

Two final race reports!

Tri The Gulf! Dauphin Island Triathlon!

I finished up my 2016 race season with a great new race at Dauphin Island, Alabama called Tri The Gulf. I enjoy first time races; they did a nice job with this one. A couple little things that could use improvement, but overall I would highly recommend this race. Of course it helps that Dauphin Island is our favorite vacation beach. We rent a beach house here every year in the summer. It’s a family friendly, pet friendly, laid back beach. We even made the trip here after we moved to North Carolina for our annual beach vacation. If you’re looking for bars, and restaurants, and amusement parks then DI is not for you. There is one little store called Ship ‘N Shore, they have a little grocery section and a big hardware store in the back.

Bill wasn’t able to make the trip so I stayed the night before with one of my friends from Jr High! Lisa and I were Gautier Jr High cheerleaders together and we’ve kept in touch. She and her husband live in Mobile. We had a great visit, it was like we see each other every week. Love friends like that; when you don’t see them for years and pick up exactly where you left off!

Got to the race early (as usual) and they parked those of us that arrived early at the far back of the lot. I overheard some people around me talking about how why is it that the early arrivals get parked the farthest away? I wondered the same thing, get there early… relegated to the farthest parking place.
It was a little windier on race morning than the day before at packet pick up. Wind was out of the south east at about 10, made the thought of going up and over the DI bridge a little scary. But that was one of the best parts of the race, the chance to ride over the bridge twice for the out and back.

When my husband and I vacation on the island and drive that bridge at night, it feels like you’re going over the edge at the top, so I had really looked forward to cycling on it! It did not disappoint!
Racks were numbered by range, and numbering was the “Line Up as You Sign Up”, meaning if you were the first person to register, you were #1. I signed up pretty early and was #15, great rack position by the bike in and out. Just before transition closed I watched at a guy with a number in the 200’s came and put his bike on the rack……really?? Thought about letting an official know, but it’s his problem not mine, if he feels good about himself with “not doing the right thing” then I’m not going to be the one to rat him out.

We had a little bit of a wait before the swim start; they had to make sure that the traffic control on the bridge was set. They closed vehicle traffic to one lane, and had a police escort for the cars, taking turns going and coming on to the island. Really well planned!! They started us in time trial for the swim, but instead of going one at a time, we went by twos (brilliant idea!). Cut the swim start for the last competitor by half the wait time. Cajun Timing does a very professional job. They announced that the swim was wetsuit legal, saying it was 77; I decided to go without mine and just wore the speed suit. I’m glad I did, the water temperature was perfect for swimming hard. I must have passed everyone except one woman (#8 – she wore a full sleeve wetsuit and came out second). Had a good swim! 1:24/100 yard average, but this included some pretty shallow water where you needed to do several dolphin dives in and out.

Had a really good T1, 32.2 seconds which included fumbling with the speed suit on my ankles, it was a pretty good run up the beach and on the boardwalk they had built, so I was a little shaky taking off the suit. I noticed only one other set of wet footprints and that was how I knew I came out of the water second!  Had the fastest T1 of the day!! Felt pretty good on the bike, and on the flats was averaging 22-23 mph. Could see the woman ahead of me, she was powering away. That’s okay, I overheard her saying something in the swim line up about bike racing, and she was really tall and strong. Ended up with a 20.5 average on the bike, happy with that with those two big climbs.

Just before the end of the bike course two or three guys passed me, one was Joey Lee. His wife Casey and I are friends, we cheered each other on as he went flying by. I saw Casey on the bridge too, and we yelled for each other! I love seeing friends at races, and I am so glad that they were there! The ride over the bridge wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, nothing worse than some of the hills that I ride in Tuscaloosa. The wind was a little scary, a gust got me and I had to take one hand off the aero bars for a bit on the downhill.

Back through the neighborhood and into transition. Off onto the run, the first mile was straight down the Dauphin Island Golf Course fairway, it took some navigating to avoid the soft sand, but it wasn’t bad. Then up to the bike path that runs along the main road on the island. I was in familiar territory, because I run this path daily when we are on vacation! A new race but being familiar with the run course was great!

I’ve gotten into a bad habit in my racing this year, it started with Sunfish. When my heart rate gets high, I walk 10 or so steps. I did it twice in the race...this came back to haunt me. Really need to break this bad habit. When I came to the second aid station on the run there was a little boy holding out a cup of water, and behind him a little girl, I tried to get it from the girl and she had pulled it back just before I reached for it thinking I was taking the first cup. I heard her mom yell “Girl Power – Thank You!” and then the little girl “I’M SORRY!!”, she was so cute!!  I finished the run with an 8:04 mile average.

Awesome post race food and drink! They had jambalaya, and shrimp and grits, beer, sodas, and sports drinks! We got a finisher’s mug, and a medal that doubles as a bottle opener – great swag! The pool was open for us, so Casey and I went and cooled off in the water! Awards were held quickly, no waiting around for hours (more kudos to Cajun Timing!) and Lisa Ann McCall (RD) for doing a great job. The awards were some very nice handmade pottery just for the race!

I finished 4th Overall Female – AND MISSED 3RD BY 1.5 SECONDS! Remember when I said it would come back to haunt me? The girl that placed 3rd has beat me every time this year, darn it! NO MORE WALKING!

Along with the awards they gave special awards for the fastest male and female swim, bike, and run. AND my friends Casey and Joey Lee both won the swim prime!! Very cool!! I had the 3rd fastest female swim, 8th fastest overall swim!! Some people I know seem to always talk about what went wrong in their race, make some excuses for one thing or another. I like to find the great part of my race and dwell on that!

Casey and Joey Lee - Fastest Swim of the day!

I loved this race! I would have to say it was my favorite of the year! The venue, the race course, and OH.. the spectators!! The people that live there had tshirts on that said “LOVE WHERE YOU LIVE!” They were out in force all along the course, cheering and taking pictures. On the bike in, I saw a woman taking pictures on her phone, and when I ran in she said “Got you that time!” I waved and smiled, and it gave me a little added boost for the last section of the run!

Award and Swag!

Possum Town Tri – Columbus, Mississippi

Possum Town was another great race for me this season. I will be adding it to my schedule for next year, too! Columbus is within race morning driving distance, so no overnight hotel stay! Save money, race more! Bill was able to go with me to this one! When I was warming up on the run I found a little path that led to a nice little dock surrounded by lily pads. It was secluded and peaceful back there, so I told him about it so he could check it out while I was racing, next year bring a fishing pole!

This was another “Line Up as you Sign Up” race, so I was up toward the front. I tend to sign up early for races, it not only keeps me motivated in my training but also allows me to save money before the price goes up. The savings usually pays for an additional race per season! The water was a little murky, but it had been raining in the days leading up to the race so it had the water stirred up. 4th fastest female swim on this day!

The bike course was flat and fast! Averaged 21.3 mph, I think that is the best for the year for me. One tiny section that was rough, but overall a really fun course.

Smiling at Bill!

The run was also flat!! We lucked out with an overcast morning on race day, if the sun had been out this could be a pretty steamy run! No shade, but since it was an out and back with one little dog leg it was a great course to see your friends and competitors! I was the first female across the line and got a lot of cheers from the crowd, and was even interviewed by the local paper. I didn’t think my placing would hold and I was right, I ended up 2nd overall female. The same woman who beat me at Dauphin Island was over 5 MINUTES ahead of me!

All three top females were over 50 at the race! After we stood on the podium for our picture I reached over and shook hands and congratulated the other women. Now… this is an observation that I’ve noticed, you rarely see anyone acknowledging or congratulation anyone else anymore. I think this is sad, and telling of the times. Another thing that I can’t control others, but I can absolutely try and lead by example, who knows maybe it will spread. I always say that “We’re not putting food on the table” with our racing, these small races are fun and while we are competitive and want to do our best we should be good ambassadors for the sport. If you’ve read this far down in this blog post, I challenge you to cheer on your fellow competitors and show your sportsmanship at the end of the race!

Possum Town had a good post race party, beautiful awards, great swag, and a good course! It will be on my schedule!

Oh.. post race note. One of other local Tuscaloosa triathletes also did the race, he typically has been doing only Ironman and half Ironman races. He made a great comment about not realizing what he has been missing by doing smaller local sprint races, seeing everyone out there racing and doing their best was inspiring for him, and he said he will be adding some “non-branded” races to his schedule!


Lesson today: Be gracious. Be a good ambassador. Be friendly.


The off season has begun! Time to work on swim technique, and lay the base for 2017!

 See you at the races!