Hurdles are there to jump over, not to stand in front of and wonder....

I grew up a gymnast and made a quick and happy transition to a sprinter and hurdler in middle school.  I loved hurdles - specifically I loved the 300m hurdles.  It's one thing to sprint 100% for 300 or 400 meters, it's another to gracefully get over 10 hurdles in the process.  I also ran the 200m and 4x400m, but there was something so special about a really good 300m hurdle race.  It took more patience to become good at racing hurdles... you have to learn not to "stutter" before the hurdle, you have to have no fear and trust that you will get over that hurdle without a problem.  You have to focus on more than just running form but also on form while getting over the hurdle.  That patience I learned while working to become a good hurdler is something I am re-learning today as I struggle with a different kind of hurdle - an injury just 11 weeks out from my first Ironman.  

Hey Nicole Kaes...remember these days?!

A few weeks went by with my back and glute feeling a bit off, but I truly just thought I was just tight from lack of good stretching and dealing with a lot of stress and less than optimal nutrition.  We were in the midst of deciding to move, signing papers and making plans to move, and trying to fit in training all while Anthony was out of town for work for a few days.  Ohhhh and preparing to race in a week...  So when Friday of race weekend came around neither Anthony nor myself were feeling particularly in the "race mindset."  Saturday morning we picked up Anthony's younger sister, Heather and we headed to Charlottesville with a full car (the 3 of us plus Brutus!).  We spent Saturday afternoon/evening checking in and getting our packets, driving the bike course, and then exploring the UVA campus a bit with Heather.  Wow, Charlottesville and UVA are GORGEOUS!! 

Come race morning I was not really feeling particularly nervous or excited which is 100% unlike me on race morning.  Normally I am jittery, nervous, anxious, excited, and just super duper curious as to what my body will allow me to do in a race setting!  This morning was not like that - I was just calm and not a confident calm, just an abnormal calm.  It was a beach start and it took me about 10 minutes to start to find a rhythm in the water...after I found my rhythm I was a happy camper, but I had a bit of the swim where my right leg felt a little tingly which I found odd but attributed it to it being my first wetsuit swim this year...On to the bike. 

I came out of the water feeling really good and energized - I definitely didn't push it on the swim... I just wanted to feel good when I got out so I could race the two legs that I was strongest.  I was soooo ready to hop on my bike and get to my happy place riding.  I knew the course from driving it and I was SO excited to ride it - it was a really pretty ride!  The half to 2/3 of the ride felt really good I was holding my goal normalized power without a problem.  Somewhere along the way my legs just stopped feeling strong.  I knew I wasn't pushing too hard, I was pacing well, but something felt off.  I kept pushing as best as I could knowing that I could make up a lot of time on the run where I am the strongest.  

I got to transition and I was ready to run.  I started off and I had to slow myself down in order to keep the goal pace of 7:45-7:50 for the first mile.  First mile - 7:45 and felt great.  Took a 10 sec walk break to reset and get ready to pick it up for the next 5 miles.  About half way through mile two, I started getting on and off sharp pains in my right glute.  By 2.5 or 3 miles in my right leg and foot were going numb and the on and off sharp glute pains continued.  The rest of the run was a run/walk. I was so disappointed, but the glute pains were not something I could push through, so I walked when I got the sharp pains and jog/ran nice and easy when I could.  So much for 7:30 average and a sub 7:00 last mile........ I am glad that I pushed through as best as I can, but Monticelloman Olympic distance race did not turn out nearly like I had imagined... 

And so after a day of being in denial that anything was really wrong, I made a doctors appointment after searching for the perfect orthopedic.  I will say that I LOVE the doctor that I found - a super fit former Division 1 swimmer and a female!  What I didn't like...her diagnosis.  After looking at x-rays and lots of talking, she is having me get an MRI and believes that I have a herniated/bulging disc.  There is no way to know whether she is correct until I get my MRI on Wednesday night, but in the meantime I am only "allowed" to swim and cycle easy for maintenance.  

My amazing coach has me walking Brutus a lot, swimming, and re-focusing my left over energy by getting creative in the kitchen.  The hope is that I will be able to get back on the saddle for an easy ride this coming weekend.  I am SO bummed that I will not be able to compete in Raleigh 70.3 (I was SO excited to ROCK this race), but I am trying to look at all of the positive things and I am so so so excited to cheer on Anthony at Raleigh!  

Views from todays 4 mile walk at Burke Lake Park with Brutus

I had a great weekend full of lots of long walks with Brutus in the amazing weather, but it was SO hard to see all the cyclists and runners out on the trails.  If there is one thing I am totally ok with, it is being patient in order for my body to get healthy and happy again, but man is it frustrating.  I am not trying to get out there and run or cycle hard, but I am so envious of those who can.  I have never been injured so close to a key race and it is truly a mental battle.  Staying positive and trusting that my coach has a plan that will get me to IMLP happy and healthy is really hard.  I have accepted that my goal may truly have to be "just to finish happy and healthy" with no set time or place in mind, but just knowing that it is only 11 weeks away and I will not be running for at least four of those is really hard for me to wrap my head around.  

In the past few days I have learned a lot about the mind and getting over hurdles mentally and learning to just trust the plan and your body.  Life gets bitter sometimes, but I am thankful that I have a body that is as healthy and strong as it is and I am going to grow a lot from this experience.  There is always fall to rock a 70.3 and in the meantime I am focusing ALL of my energy on getting healthy enough to cross the Lake Placid finish line on July 27.  I am learning that my mind is a lot stronger than I thought and getting over this hurdle is teaching me a lot about myself....I will have quite the journey to reflect on during those 140.6 miles in July!

I can't thank my support system enough as I get over this bump in the road... you have all been so amazing and your positive energy has really helped me stay optimistic and keep my eye on the prize of IMLP...hey until there is an MRI to give a true diagnosis, for all I know it's just a big knot that a massage will fix...right?! ;) 

Ready For a Week Of Recovery (And a Weekend In The Life of A+P)

After a good stretch of training hard and smart, it is time for a week of recovery!! We are so excited to head to St Croix for the USAT Coaching Clinic.  We love learning more about the body and mind, especially as it relates to training and we LOVE helping others to reach their fitness goals or find a passion for fitness.  The human body is truly amazing and allows us to do such amazing things, as long as we treat it right.  This coming week of recovery is just what our bodies are asking for – some nice active recovery swims in the sun, perhaps an open water swim with the US Virgin Islands Triathlon Federation (this would be our first OCEAN open water swim!), hiking, EZ jogs while the sunrises or sets, moving our body as active recovery in the sunshine is exactly what we need before we head into our “build” phase of training.

Here’s a quick peek at a current training weekend in the life of A+P Nelson:

Friday: 2500-3000yd swim after work (warmup, 12x50s with fins every 4 descending, Main set – ladder 100,200,400,200,100 w/out fins, 400 kick, cool down) followed by an hour strength & stretch session

Saturday: 3 hour trainer ride for Peg and 4 hour outdoor ride for Anthony (it was  bit cold for me to head outside on the bike – I’m a bit of a sissy when it comes to cold, especially on the bike!)  Ride included an hour of 5min on/off intervals at high Z3 and 2x20 mins at low/mid Z3, majority of the rest of the ride was steady upper Z2.  Followed up with a good 20 minutes of stretching and some homemade whole wheat pancakes with fruit, maple syrup and pecans! Trigger point therapy later in the day/evening.

Sunday – Run-Bike-Run Brick.  Thankfully it was warm enough to be outside for this workout, just had to wait until a little later in the morning.  2 mile EZ run with Anthony & Brutus, 1:30 ride outside with Anthony – Main set was 2x20 min at Z4!  I stayed on Anthony’s wheel for the first 20 minute piece and did the second piece solo.  My legs were ON FIRE after these two 20 minute pieces! Not gonna lie, I was a little nervous for the upcoming run and what my legs would (or wouldn’t) let me do.  Steady Z2 ride home.  ~50 minute run.  Comfortable warm-up with stop for some dynamic stretching – feeling pretty good, I found my legs quicker than anticipated!  Main set: 4x1 mile each faster than the last with 30 sec walk in between (90 sec before the last mile) 7:52, 7:26, 7:21, 7:14.  EZ cool down jog/walk.  Stretching and trigger point therapy throughout the day after this workout.

Wow, what a great weekend that was – I am so thankful to be able to share some of my training sessions with Anthony (& Brutus!).  What an awesome feeling it is to feel so strong for Fri, Sat AND Sundays workouts.  I stayed in the game mentally, fueled right before, during, and after each workout and stretched and used trigger point therapy to recover as well as I could for the next day’s workout.  Training hard and recovering hard really pays off.  Your body tells you what it needs if you listen and in return it will let you crank out some awesome workouts and make some serious gains!  I love a weekend full of moving my body and pushing my limits!  I hope you all got to move your body and show it some love this weekend. :)  

Do you find time to stretch and show your muscles some trigger point love?

How do you recover?

What's your favorite meal after a morning/afternoon of moving your body?

Respect Your Goals (& Homemade "KIND" Bars!)

“The first step in achieving your goal, is to take a moment to respect your goal.  Know what it means to you to achieve it.” – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Respect your goal.  Anthony and I have lots of goals – life goals and fitness goals – and we always make sure we take time to recognize what it takes to achieve these goals and why we want to achieve them before we attack them.  When you know why you are going after something and are aware of what kind of work and sacrifices it will take, the journey becomes much more meaningful.  

Be clear about your goal but be flexible about the process of achieving it.

The big fitness goal that we are working towards right now is Ironman Lake Placid.  Why do we want to achieve this goal? There are so many reasons, but to list a few: we love endurance sports, we love challenging ourselves, and we love that feeling of completing a race that we worked so hard to train for.  Training for an Ironman is a whole new ball game.  A marathon takes about 16-18 weeks of training and the longest week (for us) is about 55-60 miles (no more than ~8.5-9 hours).  We are 5.5 months out from Ironman Lake Placid and our training weeks are currently between 11 and 14 hours.  To stay motivated and stick to a training plan, we have to constantly keep our goal in mind and we have to continue to respect that goal and what it means to us.

Achieving a big goal like training for an Ironman has some serious ups and downs.  After “the worst training session ever” we have to wake up and approach our next workout with an open mind.  We must believe that it will be better and stay motivated enough to push ourselves through regardless of the outcome of yesterday’s workout.  These are the times when a support system comes into play.  When I doubt myself, Anthony always picks me up reminds me that it’s a new day and that I am strong.  He helps me to attack my next workout like that bad day never happened.  He also reminds me after my awesome workouts to REMEMBER them and stock them away for when I’m having one of those bad days.  Yeah, I am pretty spoiled to have Anthony by my side setting goals with me and helping me to respect and achieve those goals!  Our coach is pretty darn supportive and motivating as well! :)

Another aspects that comes into play when working towards any big goal is FLEXIBILITY.  A work meeting runs late and you can't fit in your evening workout or you get a cold and have to miss a few workouts or you have to get into work super early and can't make that morning workout or a family situation comes up and you have to miss a workout or a stress fracture keeps you from running for six plus weeks...the list goes on and on and on.  Flexibility is key to success when it comes to big goals.  Ups and downs are all a part of the journey to great achievements.

What is your current fitness goal?  What does it mean to you to achieve it?  Do you want to run a 5k? Feel comfortable sitting at the front of yoga class? Boston Qualify at your next marathon? Finish an Ironman? Run your first sprint triathlon?  Qualify for Kona?  Whatever your goal is – make sure you respect it!

If you want to qualify for Boston, you can’t run just 4 days a week and ignore tempo and interval runs.  If you’ve never run a day in your life and you want to cross the finish line of your first 5k without walking, it’s going to take time and commitment and it’s going to be frustrating.  If you want to finish an Ironman, you can’t just workout a few hours a week.  If you respect your goal, understand what it will mean to you to accomplish that goal, and are flexible along the way, the commitment will come naturally and the outcome will be amazing. 

Know what you are capable of and respect yourself enough to know that with hard work and persistence, you can and you will accomplish your goal.  You may fall a few times along the way, but if you get back up and continue working towards that goal, your perseverance will pay off and you WILL accomplish that goal.  As you work towards your goal, you will learn a lot about yourself along the way and you will grow so much.  Setting goals and sticking to a plan to accomplish them, while being flexible, is what has kept me happy and healthy - without a goal in sight, life tends to lose a bit of its purpose.  Keep working towards that big goal!  Respect it. Give it time.  Be flexible. Work for it!

What is your current fitness goal?  How do you stay motivated?  Do you have a good support system?  What does it mean to you to achieve your goal?  

p.s. I made these Homemade "KIND" Bars this weekend and they were AMAZING I made Almond Coconut and PB Dark Chocolate - can't wait to try the others!!  http://www.theyummylife.com/Homemade_KIND_Bars

Staying Motivated Through the Winter Months

It’s been a long, cold, and snowy winter.  It’s not very motivating.  It makes it harder to get out from under the covers in the morning and harder to get motivated to get that workout/training session in.  What’s the best way to get past the lack of motivation?  Keep your eye on the prize!! Whether it be a marathon or a 5k, a sprint triathlon or an ironman, a bike race or a duathlon…. Sign up for a race and keep your eye on the prize!  Everyone has different goals and whether yours is to cross your first 5k finish line, cross your first triathlon finish line, or run a PR marathon or Ironman time, signing up for a race is a great way to stay motivated through the winter months.  And try to remember that a good sweat session can help you overcome the winter blues!! 

“Tomorrow’s battles are won in today’s practice.”

Still having a hard time staying motivated?  If your budget can make it work, I highly recommend hiring a coach to help you reach your goals and not only stay motivated, but use these winter months to get faster and stronger! If you can’t afford to hire a coach, find a friend to train with you!  It could even be a friend that lives across the country, just knowing that your BFF is training to run by your side at a race may be enough motivation, plus you can help each other to stick to a plan! It is hard to lose sight of your goals when you have a training buddy and/or coach to hold you accountable.  I have the luxury of training for all of my races with my hubby by my side, so we keep each other motivated and on track with training sessions, nutrition, and rest and recovery!  Along with not losing sight of your goals, it is equally important to remember why you have those goals…because you love to move your body and train and race.  Make sure you and your training buddy remind each other that you are lucky to have a hobby you love and even luckier that your body allows you to push it every day!  

“The key is not the will to win. Everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.”  - Bobby Knight 

Training for a race without a support system can be hard.  If you don’t have a friend or family member to share the process with, get on social media and I can assure you that you will find a zillion people that will support you on your journey and inspire you with theirs!  Just remember that if you want something, you have to work for it.  A great race doesn’t just happen, you have to put in the work and stay motivated.  Do that 15 minutes of core work instead of sitting on the coach for an extra 15 minutes – you can even watch TV while you do it! 

“There are no shortcuts to any place worth going!”

In other news…Anthony and I are taking advantage of a great opportunity to head to St Croix at the beginning of March to get certified as USA Triathlon Coaches!!  We are looking forward to learning even more about the sport and the amazing human body and we are SO excited to start helping people to accomplish their athletic goals.  From crossing that first 5k finish line to crossing that first sprint tri finish line to working towards goal times and PRs in all distances, we cannot wait to be able to help age group athletes accomplish their goals!!

85 and Sunny in St Croix!

A new perspective

When Anthony and I decided to sign up for our first Ironman, I was not 100% sure what to expect of the training process.  Now that I have a better grasp on what it takes to train for an Ironman and what the next 5.5 months of my life will be like, I could not be happier.  When we signed up, I saw this goal of completing an Ironman as a check on the bucket list.  Check the box and move on, but now I have a whole new perspective.  I am realizing that a goal that once seemed close to impossible is actually what I am meant to be doing (and not just once)!  So far, this journey has been so fulfilling.  I thrive on this lifestyle and I am so happy that I can share it with Anthony.  Sure it may be “lame” to go to bed early pretty much every night and wake up before 5 am on a regular basis during the week, but I love it.  I feel healthy and strong and there is no better feeling than that!  Plus it feels so good to get to work at 8 and already have 2 hours of training complete!  Aside from finding such happiness in this lifestyle, I have learned so much!

What I have learned so far on this journey (besides realizing that this is the lifestyle Anthony and I were meant to live!):

•      It is AMAZING what the body will allow you to do if you treat it right.
•     Having big goals is so good for our mental well-being.
•     Being a little selfish in terms of your health and wellness makes you a better person – a better wife, husband, friend,…etc.
•    You are stronger than you think.
•     Training with someone you love makes the process even more fun!
•     While our society seems to thrive on burning the candles at both ends while compromising our diet and sleep….a healthy diet and adequate sleep (7+ hours!) will make the hours that you are awake much more productive…GET GOOD SLEEP & EAT WELL.
•     Ironman training is expensive.  There are two of us.  We both love the sport and all the gadgets that help us train better & smarter.  Did I mention the gear you blow through when you’re training?  We need to win the lottery.
•     Our vacations will likely be planned around races for many years to come.
•     If you put in the work, you will see progress.  It may be a slow process, but you’ve got to trust the plan, you will make gains!  I am amazed with how much more comfortable I am in the pool…I actually look forward to my swims now! 
•     I want to coach some day.  I want to inspire people to get fit, help people complete goal races with confidence, get inactive people active, get active people faster & stronger.  I love seeing people outside & at the gym moving their bodies and I would LOVE to be able to help people accomplish big fitness goals whether that’s a first 5k or an Ironman!
•     Training for an Ironman is more fun than I ever imagined and I never want to lose sight of why I am training...because I LOVE IT & IT'S FUN!
•     Training for an Ironman means making sacrifices and the people around you may not understand completely...be understanding of the fact that they don't understand - triathlon is not their lifestyle.
•     Stretch.  I have always known that stretching is the answer to less injuries, but this process has just made it even more clear how important it is to stretch and foam roll.
•        I’m not sure how married working couples with kids train for an Ironman and make enough time for family, but someday I may be soliciting those couples for advice!!

Get outside, move your body, be a little selfish & start working towards some goals that scare you a bit!

See you out there! 

Respect Your Body…It's The Only One You Have!

After three amazing, healthy, and strong weeks of officially training for IMLP, I came down with something.  I coughed myself to sleep, woke up covered in sweat..it was not pretty.   I was on the verge of having to make a doctors appointment and I haven’t been to the doctor for illness in YEARS.  I was BUMMED.  Thankfully I have a wonderful husband, a wonderful coach, and a wonderful furry snuggle buddy (and a little self confidence ;)) who helped to remind me that I am STRONG and that a few days of rest to let my body fight to get healthy would be ok.  It would not set me back, but rather give my body a chance to recover and rest and come back to training right where I left off.  When I am back to healthy again I will have all of this wonderful pent up energy to put back into training.  Trying to push through training when I am sick or not 100% would take energy that my body needs to heal itself.  And so today is day three of resting.  I know that if I would have pushed to workout yesterday or today (when I am starting to finally feel 1000x better) it would take away precious energy that my body needs to heal.  I am respecting my body, something that most of us are not always very good at, right?

It can be so tempting to just push through illness.  To just keep on going full speed – work 8 hours get the workout(s) in, cook, clean, get laundry done, check off everything on the “to-do” list,  not get enough sleep or rest to let our bodies properly fight off the illness, life’s gotta go on, right?  I have pushed through far too many “mild colds” that have gone on for days or weeks because I don’t let my body rest and use its energy to heal.  This time, I was sick…it was no mild cold and three days later I am almost back to normal.  How? By RESPECTING my body.  By resting, hydrating, getting nutrients and getting a little more sleep than normal.  All of the energy that I normally use to workout for hours each day, I let my body use that energy to get healthy.  I fed my body the nutrients it needs to fight off germs and illness.  

My body naturally woke me up before 7am today, which is a really good sign! I was able to take Brutus on an extra long Saturday morning walk and get my healing body moving.  I am hopeful that tomorrow I will be able to hop on the bike for a nice easy ride with no intensity and on Monday I hope to be back to a normal training plan.  Respecting what my body needed to heal really paid off.  My body is something I am extremely proud of and so so so blessed to have.  Not because of the way it looks, but rather because of what it allows me to do.  So much of what I do is dependent on this wonderful body that I am blessed with and I look forward to spending many many many more years doing the things I love (with the people I love) thanks to my wonderful body.  

A wonderful (almost 100% healthy!) Saturday morning

So I have a challenge for you:  love & respect your body!  Think of all the things your body allows you to do and learn to love it for those things, not hate it because it doesn't look “perfect.”  If you are respecting your body by moving it like it wants to move, feeding it like it wants to eat, and giving it time to rest and sleep; and in return it is allowing you to use it to do what you love, then it is perfect!

Getting into the Christmas Spirit and 5-week Transition Plan

It feels like it’s been forever since I have had a morning like today to enjoy my coffee on our own couch while writing our grocery list for the week.  For the past month we have been  traveling to Ohio, San Francisco and Tucson all while trying to complete a 5-week triathlon transition plan.  While all of the traveling and visiting family and friends was SO MUCH FUN, it is so nice to sit on the couch with my coffee and plan groceries for a normal week!  But this stress free morning will soon turn into a day filled with training and holiday chores….

All of the traveling and busy weeks has made getting into the Christmas spirit a lot harder for me this year.  Brain storming gift ideas and shopping has felt like a chore, not to mention addressing Christmas cards and wrapping said presents.  Usually, I have shopping done and presents wrapped under the tree the first week of December which gives me 3 more weeks to just enjoy the season and get in the spirit…. Not this year.  I know this all will change as soon as we are in Ohio with family, but having all of these “chores” to do and with such a short timeline, it’s easy to lose sight of what the season is really all about.  (Hint: not gifts or holiday cards!)

What it's all about:

Meanwhile, as I struggle to get into the holiday spirit this year, we are having no trouble transitioning into training for a big year of races!  As I type this, Anthony is down at the gym about  2.5hours into a 3 hour ride on the trainer and after I grocery shop, we will be switching places!  Perhaps some Christmas music for the hour warm-up portion of the ride will help me to get into the spirit!  Today’s three hour ride will end week four of our coaches five week transition plan.  (Highly recommend the plan which can be found on here: www.trimarnicoach.com) 

Replacing some interval runs with some family trail runs in Tucson - SO FUN!

One of the many BEAUTIFUL views from our ride to the top of Mt. Tam in San Fran

We will take the week of Christmas to enjoy the time with our family and head to the gym (hopefully with family!) whenever we find time, who knows maybe I’ll finally get my mom to join me for spin class ;)!! The start of 2014 will kick off IM training with our coach.  I have a funny feeling that the first half of 2014 is going to fly by and that Lake Placid finish line is much closer than it seems!  Knowing just how much training we have ahead of us, I am definitely excited to spend some QT with family over the holidays as we won’t be seeing them nearly as much this year as we have in the past couple of years.

         And so I will try to stop stressing about gifts and wrapping and sending cards out “on time” and I will shift my focus to what the season is all about: family, love, giving, gratitude, laughter…. Not holiday cards, wish lists, or pretty wrapping (although these things do make the season a little bit better, they are not what it’s all about!)

“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.” –Roy L Smith

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.” –Burton Hillis