ICON XTRI Livigno Italy - Travel + day 1

 

With a 6:30pm flight out of Atlanta, we were able to get in a workout on Saturday morning (8/26). Karel went for an hour run (7.97 miles) and I did a 90-minute workout on the trainer (MS 6 x 90 sec high cadence w/ 2 min EZ spin. Then 4 x 4 min steady effort w/ 2 min EZ spin). I watched the live broadcast of the 70.3 World Championship while on the trainer. I did a quick 2.4 mile/19 min run off the bike. I felt really good for this brick workout. 

We ate, finished up last minute packing, said good-bye to Karel's mom and all our furries and left for the Atlanta International airport around 11:15am. 

It's always hard to leave Campy, especially since his dementia is getting worse. He threw up bile twice on Monday and wasn't eating (and was really lethargic) which wasn't like him. He really enjoys his walks throughout the day but something was off. He's also been coughing for over 2 weeks. We had him on a med for it but it wasn't getting any better. I made a vet appointment for Thursday (when our vet was back in the office) and she worked me in for blood work, Xray of the lungs and an overall check up. I didn't want anything to suddenly happen to him while we were away so the vet visit felt like a priority. Thankfully, his blood work and organs looked great. Although his brain is struggling, his body is still showing up for life. She gave him a steroid shot to help the coughing (it was our 2nd resort, first we tried an antibiotic pill) and that seemed to help. We go through a lot of diapers each day but it's worth it for this not-so-golden anymore, golden nugget. 

Karel's back has been bothering him since Breck Epic so I drove the 3 hours to the airport.
Whenever we fly international, I like to get to the airport around 4 hours before our flight take off. This gives us plenty of time for delays and there is less waiting/lines. We also like to check in first before parking the car as this is easier for us than lugging our bags and bikes around the airport (and on the shuttle). We drove directly to hourly parking and brought in our bikes and bags to the terminal for check in at Virgin Atlantic. 

I really enjoy watching travel vloggers on YouTube (I really like Kara and Nate) and I've learned a lot about travel hacking with credit card points. In other words, saving a lot of money on travel with the help of being savvy with credit card sign-up bonus's and understanding the perks of each credit card. I told Karel to give me three years to see if I can pull off some travel hacking and it only took me less than a year to book our first first class international flight with money and points. I do a lot of research and plan well in advance. I booked our tickets in the early sprint/late winter for our September flight.
I transferred points from AMEX to Virgin Atlantic and booked 2 upper class seats for ~$800 each and ~65,000 credit card points. Compared to an economy ticket on Delta (which is what we usually fly), I saved us over $800 (total). With our upper class ticket we got lounge access to Delta Sky Club (which we have already thanks to our biz Amex Platinum Credit Card), 2 free checked bags up to 70 lbs each, priority boarding, priority luggage and the best part, lie-flat seats. This 8.5 hour flight took us from Atlanta to London Heathrow. Originally I booked our next flight on British Airways from London to Milan w/ 15,000 points but after hearing a lot of stories about lost luggage (and bikes) with BA from London, I decided to go with a more reliable airline (Swiss). I spent a little more than I would have liked but it gave me peace of mind knowing that there was a better chance of our luggage (and bikes arriving). I booked two business class seats (so that we could get the priority luggage and extra weight w/ 2 free bags) on Swiss from London to Zurich for ~$250 each. I booked a flight 6 hours after arriving in London so we would have time to go to the Virgin Atlantic arrivals lounge after getting our luggage and going through immigration and also in case of any delays. In total, I spent ~$2200 on flights to get us to Zurich from Atlanta. The flight would have been ~$500 less had I not changed to Swiss but I was really worried about our bikes not arriving. I can't wait to share about our flight home from Milan to JFK (it was less than $200 thanks to points...and on Emirates business class!). 

After checking in around 2:30pm, we drove 6 miles to off-site parking. 

I booking off-site parking online a few days prior to our trip (Park 'N Fly Plus, free airport shuttle to domestic). I was able to save $63 by booking in advance. We got on a shuttle right after parking and got dropped off at the domestic terminal (no shuttle directly to international). We went quickly through TSA (thanks to pre-check, well worth the $85 for 5 years and our Amex card covers the cost) and then took the plane train to terminal F. We had to wait over 20 minutes to get into the Delta Sky Club (it's somewhat small for a lounge compared to domestic and very busy) and we were really hungry. Once we got in, we got some delicious food and worked on the computer for the next 2 hours until our plane boarded at 5:45pm. 

I was so excited to board the plane. We went to our seats and Karel was surprised by all our amenties and our seats. He never really knows what I plan for our trips - he is just wants to show up and not have to worry about travel planning. I love travel planning so it works out. 

The flight was a bit bumpy but overall it was incredible. Many people said once you fly first class you'll never want to fly economy again. Although the staff, lie flat bed w/ a comfy blanket and pillow, wide screen TV, delicious vegetarian options, complimentary PJs and extra perks were great, I don't feel like we always have to fly first class. I consider this a luxury (and something to check off our bucket list) and I will only "buy" first class seats if I can use points. Otherwise, it's not worth the $5000+. I actually saved money with points and paid less than had I purchased economy seats so I consider this a big win. 

Karel wasn't able to sleep as his restless legs were bothering him throughout the night. I slept on and off for a few hours. The PJs were SO comfortable. 

When we arrived in London, we went through immigration, collected our luggage and "left" the airport. We had access to the Virgin Atlantic arrivals lounge (we could store our luggage/bikes there) so we had breakfast in the lounge. Our flight arrived almost an hour early and since I slept through breakfast, I was pretty hungry. 

The Heathrow airport was huge! We used a cart to carry our bikes and suitcases from one terminal to the next. It took us almost an hour to get to the desk to check in for our Swiss flight. After checking in and dropping off our bikes at oversized bags (which we do at every airport when checking in), we went through security and had a choice of a few lounges to go to. It took us about 20 minutes to walk from the A to B terminal and we went to the Singapore Airlines lounge. Neither of us were hungry but Karel got a coffee and some juice. We both took a long nap as we had over 2 hours until our flight was boarding (it was delayed by 40 minutes). I set an alarm on my phone so we wouldn't oversleep on the couches. I had a light lunch and then we walked the 20+ minutes back to terminal A for our Swiss flight. 

The short 75 minute flight to Zurich was smooth. We were served a meal (Karel had tuna and I had a vegetarian meal that I requested online in advance) and then tried to nap a bit. We were both super exhausted. The nice thing about our business class seats on Swiss was no person in the middle seat. I think it's a bit wasteful (they may as well just make bigger seats) but Karel was happy about it (he isn't peopl-y :)

Once we arrived in Zurich, we went through immigration, collected our bags and bikes (we have an Airtag on all of our pieces of luggage and although not 100% reliable, it does give peace of mind to kinda have an idea where everything is). We walked to the rental car area, checked in at Alamo to get our automatic SUV (we usually get a manual for Karel to drive but got an automatic in case I need to drive). We left the airport around 6:30pm, made a few wrong turns leaving the airport and finally hit the road for our 3 hour drive to Livigno. The drive took a long time due to the mountain passes, construction lights and a 3.5K one-way tunnel. We also had to pay a toll of $17 to enter Italy from Switzerland. We arrived exhausted around 9:30pm. 

We checked into our hotel (Hotel Sporting) and the staff was so nice. They took care of parking our car, took our luggage (and bikes) to our room and left us with a spread of food as we arrived after dinner (Italians express their love and kidness through food). We weren't too hungry as we ate a lot of great food over the past 24 hours but we found some room for a little of everything. Around 10:30pm we went to bed and slept until 9am (11 hours). 

8/28 - Monday 

We woke up to rain on our first offical day in Livigno. We went to breakfast downstairs and were quickly reminded how much we love the hotel food options in Europe (we had our first experience during the Haute Route Alps and then in Molveno for Xterra worldss). I opted to stay in a hotel for 7-days during our trip as we could get all three meals included (Full board) for a small extra charge. At ~$200/night, I consider this is a great deal as we can eat, sleep and rest well.

The hotel also has a spa that we can use anytime between 2-8pm. We were slow moving in the morning and really tired but we managed to find some energy to get outside for an easy ~34 minute, 4 mile run. We warmed up pretty quickly despite it being in the 40's and a little rainy. The views were spectacular. I didn't feel impacted by the altitude at 6000 feet which was a great feeling compared to how I struggled at 9600 feet in Breckenridge a few weeks ago. 

After the run it was time for lunch (12-2pm) but we weren't hungry. We waited until 1:40pm and then decided to get a light lunch in the restaurant. I couldn't finish my first course (they offer 4 courses but we only had 2 + dessert for lunch) and the waitress was concerned I didn't like the food. :) I politely told her that I was full and getting on the new time zone. The presentation of the meals was amazing and everything was so tasty in the perfect portion. 

Karel getting his afternoon espresso. 

We both took a short nap and I had to force myself to wake up so that I could sleep in the evening. Karel built the bikes and around 5pm we drove a few miles down the road to the Aquagranda facility by the lake. This aquatic center/gym was massive! We paid $15 each to swim (a lot of money for one swim but well worth it. The only package we could buy was 10 passes each but we knew we wouldn't use them all so it wasn't worth it) and made our way to the 50-meter pool. I'm always taken back by the locker room situation in Italian pools as there is often one big changing area (private rooms with doors) for men and women. But it isn't unusual to have men and women taking showers, changing and drying hair in the same space. It's just normal in many places of Europe. 

We swam ~3000 meters with a mixture of sets. Again, I felt really good (similar to the run)  and the altitude didn't bother me. I was really amazed with how good my body felt while exercising - it must be from all the great food. I didn't want to swim because I was so tired and it was cold and rainy out but I was so thankful we went. We had to pay 1 euro for parking (per hour, first hour is free). I didn't have my phone in the pool area so I didn't get a picture. The water was 78 degrees F but it felt a bit warmer. It was the perfect temperature. The pool wasn't crowded (we had our own lane) but there were people in each lane. Everyone in the entire pool area (hot tubs, water park, pools) are required to wear swimming caps. I saw a lot of Ironman and triathlon swim caps. 

We drove back to the hotel and we had a good appetite for dinner. The chef prepared me vegetarian meals that were not on the main menu and they were delicious!! The veggie burger was the best I've ever had. After dinner we were ready for bed. Dinner is served 7-9pm and although it moves quickly from course to course, it's still kinda late for us. But our bodies are still adjusting to the 6 hour time difference. We went to bed around 10pm. 

I've been taking pictures of all the delicious food that we've been eating. I'll save those pics for their own special blog after we finish our trip. 

'23 Breck Epic - Stage 5 and 6

 

Stage 5: Wheeler Mountain
25 miles
5300 feet
5.89 mph
4:15 time
21st 40-49

Karel heard the horror stories about Wheeler. Although his body was extremely tired, he mentally prepared himself for a lot of hike-a-bike up the Wheeler trail. The state was set up as a "time trial" so that the early single track wouldn't get too crowded. Although his mind was in a good place for the uphills, he was not mentally (or physically) prepared for the downhills. He said it was the scariest routes he has ever done and he just wanted to finish. I think his stats tell the most. When it takes over 4 hours to ride 25 miles and when you can accmulate 5300 feet in only 25 miles, you know it's a really tough course. Here's Karel's recap of stage 5. 

Since I had completed my big workouts, I was really looking forward to seeing Karel in action today. I left our place around 7am and drove to the trailhead on McCullough Gulch Road. A little after 7:30am, I started my 3 mile, 2300 feet hike up the mountain. It took me around an hour to make it to the first top of the mountain (~12,750 feet). I had my USWE hydration pack with Skratch Clear to stay hydrated and also brought some snacks and a bagel sandwich with PBJ. I waited around an hour before I could see the pros far in the distance. 

I didn't know what to expect but I have never see so much suffering. Although almost everyone was in good spirits, there was a lot of huffing and puffing to ride, walk, push the bikes up the mountain. 

I had a lot of fun cheering for the riders. The scenery was incredible. 

Eventually I saw Karel and he was in a group of 6. He wished he had different shoes as his MTB shoes are very stiff which makes it hard to hike. But he felt pretty good walking his bike up the hill. Although some sections were rideable, it was either too steep or too rocky to ride through. Some of the male pros were able to ride most of the way but the majority had to get off the bike and walk. 

Around 10am I made my way down the mountain. I had a lot of fun cheering for everyone as I was jogging down. The trail was narrow so I did a lot of stopping to make sure the riders had plenty of room to push their bikes up the mountain. It took me ~43 minutes to run down the mountain. I ended up with 6 miles of run, hike, walk. 

I drove back to our place, got my bike and rode to the finish of the stage, ~3 miles away (up Ski Hill). I waited and waited and waited for Karel and I was surprised that it took him so long to finish. I was really worried that he crashed or had a mechanical. When he finished, he rode over to the field and couldn't wait to get off his bike. He said that he got very dehydrated and messed up his fueling. He also mentioned how scared he was on the bike during the descends. He was completely empty - mentally and physically. 

We rode the 3 miles back to our place and as Karel rested, I drove to the pool around 3pm for a 3600 yard swim. I picked up Chipotle for Karel (and me) on the way home and also stopped at the grocery store to get a few things. Karel was really exhausted, he didn't sleep well and had no idea how he would get the energy to complete the last stage. 

Stage 6: The Gold Dust Trail
31.8 miles
3500 feet
11.6 mph
2:44 time
11th 40-49
16th GC (overall in AG after 6 stages)

Karel woke up very sore, tired and exhausted. But with his stage racing experience, he knows that you can never count yourself out, no matter how horrible you feel. You just have to show up and do the best you can. I had a really good feeling about stage 6 as I felt like the course suited Karel was some long steady climbs up gravel-like roads and single track to start and finish (and throughout the stage). Plus, no matter how tired Karel is when he races, he always finds a way. I felt like he was going to deliver something great on this last stage. 

Here's his recap of stage 6. A completely different Karel from the previous stages :) 

Karel left our place around 8am as his start time was in the 7th wave. This stage had a "time trial" start in groups of 10 because of the tight single track to start. 

My plan was an easy 2-3 hour ride. I hadn't made my way all the way around Dillion Res so I was looking forward to riding on the bike path that I hadn't seen before. 

I surprised Karel and watched him start the race and a little before 9am, I headed out on my ride. 

I really enjoyed my ride. I still can't get over all of the bike paths that connect from town to town. 

I rode 36 miles and less than 5 of those miles were on the road. Everything else was on a bike path. 

I returned to Breckenridge at the ice rink before 11am and waited ~45 minutes until Karel crossed the finish line. I was so relieved to see him as every stage had me nervous about a crash or mechanical. 

I could tell with his riding style and expression that not only was he happy to finish Breck Epic but he had a great stage performance. 

Karel placed 11th in his age group on the last stage and he said he felt pretty good and was able to pass several riders in the last climb. 

After hanging around at the finish for a little, Karel was eager to get to the local french bakery. The service was slow but the pastries were worth it. 

We rode back to our resort (one last time up the hill). 

And Karel was officially DONE. 

Although it was incredibly difficult, Karel said he would do it again. He learned a lot and he would have approached it differently with training, gear/equipment and tactics. 

At 6pm he went to the finisher banquet/awards. I walked around the town while Karel was at the banquet in the hotel. Karel received two black and white pictures of him after the first and second stage, as well as a cardboard cut out to frame the picture and bib plate. 

He also received a belt buckle as an official Breck Epic finisher. 

6 days
~227 miles
~26 hours
~33,330 vertical feet
relieved, exhausted, broken, sore, proud.

The only way to discover your physical and mental limits is to pursue challenging goals.
Doing something hard will quickly expose your weaknesses and reveal your strengths.

Breck Epic tested Karel’s mind, body, fitness commitment, character, problem solving skills and abilities. Although it was incredibly hard, he rose to meet the mental demands and physical rigors of the 6-day Breck Epic mountain biking event.

Push past your self-imposed barriers and crush those hard, scary goals.

'23 Breck Epic - Stage 3 and 4

 Stage 3: THE CIRCUMNAVIGATION OF MT. GUYOT
42.6 miles
5:00 time
6115 feet
8.5 mph
Crossing the Continental Divide twice today.
17th 40-49 AG

The fatigue was building going into stage 3. This stage required a lot of hike-a-bike. Here's Karel's recap of the event. 

Before stage

After stage

I left our place shortly after 7am to drive to the Buffalo Trailhead in Silverthorne for my run/hike workout. It took ~30 minutes to get there and I wanted to arrive early as the AllTrails reviewers said the trail parking lot is small and fills up fast. I arrived around 7:45am and there were several spots open. I packed a lot of snacks and drinks for the day as I knew I would be exercising for most of the day. 

My plan was to do a long run of ~2 hours on the trails before hiking up Buffalo Trailhead. I chose this trailhead because it had an elevation gain of ~3000 feet in 3 miles. For my upcoming ICON tri, I cover 3000 feet in the last 6 miles of the marathon. This was a great opportunity to practice hiking on tired legs and to also see how my body does with the altitude while running on the trails. 

I started off with a 11 mile, 2:15 hr trail run with ~1400 elevation gain. I ran the Lily Pad Lake trail twice and ran the buffalo cabin trail to Royal Buffalo and back. I stopped at my car twice to refill my flasks. I wore my Naked Running belt and used two 10 ounce Nathan hard flasks. The trails were very technical so I had to walk a lot. It was very peaceful and the scenery was incredible. I read about moose sightings but I didn't see any. I was on alert as I didn't want to encounter one and her babies. 

Then it was time to hike. My legs felt pretty good after the run. I swapped shoes (more grippy trail shoes), put on my USWE hydration vest, refilled my flasks, grabbed my hiking poles and set out up Buffalo Mountain.


This is what I climbed up.

I made it two miles up before the trail turned into boulders. The first mile I was making great pace but in the 2nd mile, there was a lot more elevation gain and I could feel the altitude. I was able to make my way up some of the boulder sections but it was difficult to make out the cairnes to lead me up the steep rocky mountain. I really wanted to see the mountain goats at the time but I was nervous to climb the boulders by myself. It was much more difficult than I anticipated. I was bummed I didn’t make it to the top. The four mile hike took me 1:56 and I climbed almost 2000 feet up in an hour (11,000+ elevation).

After the run, I had a snack and recovery drink and drove to the pool (which was in the same town). The swim felt really good on my body and I felt like I was able to swim a bit better than the prior days. The lap pool wasn't busy. I swam 4050 yards and did a few sets throughout the swim. Afterward, I picked up Chipotle for Karel, got a few things at the grocery and then drove back to our place just before Karel left for his meeting at 5pm.

I looked forward to hearing about Karel's race. I tried to time my swim so that I could hear that Karel finished before I got to the pool. Thankfully, he finished as I was finishing my hike. Somehow he found the energy to go for a 3 mile run after his stage. 

When I got back, I mixed together rice and tomato soup (and a veggie burger) for dinner. We were both pretty exhausted in the evening. Karel was struggling to sleep as his body was exhausted. I was sleeping ok - a little restless throughout the night. 

Karel officially reached the half way point of the event. 
Stats so far:
~124 miles of mountain biking
~14 hours of ride time
~17,200 feet elevation gain

STAGE 4 – AQUEDUCT
46.5 miles
4:48 time
6332 feet
9.65 mph
11th 40-49AG

This was a good stage for Karel. Interestingly, many riders who excelled on stage 3 struggled on stage 4. Karel was really finding the terrain technical and difficult but this stage seemed to suit him well. 
He was feeling really sore and tired but he was able to put together a great ride for stage 4. 



Today was my big day of training. I was looking forward to the ride but also a bit nervous to ride so long and so far all by myself. My new friend Tommy suggested the Copper Triangle route (79 miles) and said it was a great route. I decided to start the ride from Breckenridge which would add at least 30 miles to the ride. This made for a long ride but I loved it. I was a little nervous when I got on the first main road but then I realized that the cars were very used to cyclists. I felt very safe throughout the entire ride. I had plenty of fluids and nutrition with me so I only had to make one stop to refill bottles. I stopped around 4:15 into my ride (in Minturn at a gas station), just before approaching Vail. The section from Leadville to Minturn was about 30 miles and it was really windy. I was in a valley and those miles seemed to take forever. The scenery was incredible and I really enjoy riding through the different towns. I made sure to take a picture of each town that I passed by/through. When I got to vail, I started the longest climb of the day, which happened to be on a bike path to Copper Mountain. 14 miles of climbing with several steep grades. I just couldn't believe that I was doing this on a bike path. The paths are really well marked and it makes it easy to go from town to town. The trail was also really busy with lots of people/families on bikes. There was one section of construction but other than that, the trail was well maintained. I felt like this was the first time that I could push a little more power.  Karel texted me that he finished and I was very relieved to hear from him. It was hard to focus on myself when I knew he was out racing. I felt really good throughout the entire ride and was able to finish feeling strong into Breckenridge. After the ride, I went for a 43 minute, 4.7 mile run. Legs were tired but I made it. Karel wanted pizza for dinner so I ordered him pizza and walked a mile (there and back) to pick it up for him. It felt good to loosen out after my long brick. I ended up riding 116 miles in 7:05. The elevation gain was around 7800 feet. Suprisingly, this didn't feel like a "hilly" ride as there were only a few longer climbs. Here's a video on Instagram that I put together from my ride. 

Karel went to bed feeling very anxious and nervous for stage 5: The Wheeler "time trial." He was warned in the athlete briefing about the difficulty of the route, all the hike-a-bike he'd be doing and the technical descending. 

'23 Breck Epic - Stage 1 and 2

Stage 1: Pennsylvania Creek 
37.7 miles
3:42 time
5207 feet
10.1 mph
10th 40-49 AG

The stage started at 8:30am at the ice skating rink a few miles away. We set the alarm for 6am. Karel left around 7:30, which he said later on was too early. As he was warming up, I got ready for my ride. I left around 8:00 on my road bike to see Karel one more time before he started. During Karel's race, I went out for my ride to Loveland Pass. 

Pre Race

Post race

Here's Karel's recap of the event.  

This was a really big deal for me to go out on a ride by myself on roads that I didn't know. Unlike Karel, who will ride anywhere, I am not as adventurous on two wheels. As I'm riding, I'm thinking about not getting lost, wondering if I am allowed to bike on certain roads and worried about the unknown. I have gotten a lot better, hence why I had the confidence to go out solo and climb a mountain. 

I plugged in a route to Loveland pass on my computer that I found on Strava. Because much of the route was on the bike path, it didn't require too much navigating. I rode from Breckenridge to Swan Moutain to Keystone and then got on the main road and started the ~8 mile, ~2400 feet climb to the Loveland pass (which sits at almost 12,000 feet). The climb was steady and averaged around 6-8% with no steep pitches. There were some cars but I never felt unsafe. The scenery was beautiful. I wore my USWE hydration pack as I wasn't sure where to refill bottles. The bike path through Keystone was beautiful. When I got on the climb, I could feel the altitude. I only had one effort and I tried to keep it easy. Interestingly, as I got to the top, I felt like I could ride a little stronger (perhaps it was mental that I knew I was almost at the top). The temp started off a little cool but I warmed up quickly. It's interesting how 50 degrees at altitude (and in dry conditions) feels so much warmer than where we live. 

When I got to the top, I took a picture by the sign and chatted with another guy (Tommy) who I passed on the way up. He is somewhat local and he connected with me via Strava/IG and gave me some suggestions for other rides. I put on a jacket, gloves and arm warmers for the descend (which I had tucked in my hydration pack). The descend was fast. It took me an hour to climb up and 15 minutes (33.5 mph average) to descend down. 

As I was making my way back on Swan Mountain, I realized I had been riding for around 3 hours and I was wanting to ride for at least 4. I extended my ride on the bike path through Frisco and Dilon reservoir. The bike path around Dilon res was twisty and a lot of fun. My ride was 4:41 and 70.6 miles and 5700 feet elevation gain. After my ride I went for a 6 mile/55 minute run. It was tough running off the bike with the altitude, especially back into town. Between my bike and run, I chatted with Karel on his day (he also did a short 3 mile run off the bike). After my workout, it was time to relax before spending the rest of the day on the computer. 

Karel attended the nightly meeting at 5pm outside the resort. I was looking forward to stage 2 because I was volunteering at aid station 2. 

Stage 2: The Colorado Trail 
44.9 miles
5:17 time
8.5 mph
5800 feet
33rd 40-49

A few weeks prior to the event, I completed the volunteer form for Monday. I was assigned aid station 2. I was really looking forward to this volunteer position because I have experienced the kindness and support of volunteers in aid stations (triathlon, mountain biking, gravel biking) and their help is really appreciated.

We woke up a little before 6am and got a little work done before the day started. Karel left a little before 8am and rode to downtown for the start. I walked down to the volunteer area behind the resort around 7:30am to get my volunteer badge. Around 8:30am I left for my volunteer duties. I decided to ride my bike the 7 miles to the aid station instead of driving as I wanted to spin out my legs, get some fresh air and use today as an active recovery day. The weather warmed up quickly and it turned out to be a warm and sunny day. 

I helped set up bags for around an hour and shortly after 10:30am, the first pro riders started to arrive. It was fun running to bags, grabbing bottles and handing them to the athletes. Everyone was really nice. As the hours passed by, the athletes were not in as much of a rush but they were still very appreciative. 

I was getting a bit worried that I didn't see Karel when I thought he would be coming by. A friend from Greenville, Naomi, who was in the race, told me that Karel had a few flats. I felt so bad for Karel. When he finally rolled in, I could see the frustration and sadness on his face. I filled up his hydration pack, handed him a bottle of coke that I brought with me and collected his trash from his pockets. 

I volunteered until 2pm (with only a few riders left on the course) and then rode back to the resort. I felt really sad for Karel but he didn't let it get to him. He was just exhausted for being out on the course for over 5 hours.  Although I brought snacks and drinks with me, I was pretty hungry when I got back to the room. I made us veggie burger sandwiches on bagels, served with chips.

Karel attended the briefing at 5pm and I got some work done before bed.

Pre Race


Post race

'23 Breck Epic - Travel, Fri, Sat

 

8/10 - Thursday
We got up around 2:45am to leave for the airport at 3am. We are so thankful that Karel's mom is here through all our trips to take care of our furry crew. We made the 30 minute drive to the GSP airport and Karel dropped me off w/ our suitcases and bike cases before parking the car in the economy lot. I've booked all of our GSP trips for the first flight out as it makes for smoother travel with less chance of delays/cancellations. The check-in process was smooth and no issues (or charge) with our bike cases on Delta since we have all of our checked bags/bikes at 50 lbs. I love traveling with Delta as they are reliable and always kind and helpful. 

TSA was quick thanks to our pre-check status (highly recommend for the one-time payment of $85 for 5 years). We were through security shortly after 4am and waited for the Centurion lounge to open at 4:30am. I was able to get a little work done on the computer in those 30 minutes. Thanks to this credit card, we have lounge access at Delta Sky Club, Centurion and many others, which makes for a more enjoyable travel when we have access to a quiet place to work (with free Wifi), unlimited food and as many espressos as Karel wants. 

We had a little over 2 hours in Atlanta so we want to the Delta Sky Club and had breakfast and got some work done. Then it was time to board our flight to Denver. Our flight was ~50 minutes delayed due to storms but otherwise, it was a smooth morning of travel. 

I got my period the day before we left. For some reason, this months cycle left me feeling really awful. I mention this because the flight from Atlanta to Denver had me feeling really stiff and my right knee was really bothering me for some reason. The 3+ hour flight to Denver was uncomfortable for me and I couldn't wait to get up and walk around outside. 

When we arrived in Denver, Karel collected our suitcases and bikes and I took the shuttle to the Peaks Parking lot to get our rental SUV (I reserved on Turo as it was a lot cheaper than renting a car at the airport). I found the SUV, put my bag in the backseat of the car, plugged in my phone from the passenger side (after folding down the backseats) and went to the drivers side to get in the car to pick up Karel. When I went to the driver's side door, I couldn't get in. The door was locked. Before freaking out, I rushed to the passenger side. Locked. I checked all doors and the trunk - locked. Somehow, the keys were in the car and the car was locked. I panicked. I didn't have my phone and I had no way of reaching the owner of the car or Karel. Thankfully, there was a guy cleaning out a car a few rows down and I asked if I could use his phone to call Karel. The guy mentioned there was a free service for lock-outs so he let me borrow his phone to call. I thought I was going to be saved by this service but the lady on the phone told me that because it wasn't my car, she couldn't order the service. At this point, I feel completely helpless and I started to cry. She passed me over to the manager and he was very helpful after I told him the situation. Around an hour later, someone came and unlocked the car (which was pretty impressive to see :) I finally picked Karel up after 12:30pm (over 90 minutes after we landed). 
I was so exhausted from everything but Karel helped me through it all. 

Karel was really tired so I started the drive. We stopped for lunch around 50 minutes into our drive at a Himalayan restaurant. It was SO good. We love this type of cuisine (so many great flavors) and enjoyed a basket of Naan and we each got a delicious bowl of curry (mine had chickpeas and Karel had chicken). 

After we ate, we drove to Frisco and met up with our friends Peggy and Anthony as they were driving to Avon. We chatted for about an hour outside of Starbucks. It was so nice to see them (and meet their dogs). Around 4pm, we drove across the street to Safeway and got a lot of groceries for our apartment and then drove into Breckenridge. The air was refreshing at 9,600 feet. 

We checked into the Beaver Run Resort (host resort of Breck Epic) and unloaded all our stuff in our room on the third floor. I really wanted to do some type of exercise but my knee was really bothering me. We opted to take a walk but then it started to rain. I guess it was a sign to rest. I unpacked my stuff, we had a light dinner and then went to bed around 9pm - we were exhausted. 

8/11 - Friday
Karel had a hard time sleeping but I slept pretty good. I woke up around 6:30am (Karel was up around 5:30am). We spent a few hours working and Karel built the bikes in the morning. I was craving a swim but unfortunantly the local rec center pool (2 miles away) was closed for renovations. The next option was ~15 miles (~30 minutes) away in Silverthorne. At least I had another option. I drove to the pool around 10:30am and purchased a 6-visit pass for $70 (normally one visit would be $14). It was really important to me to swim throughout our trip, even though the pool location wasn't ideal. Swimming at 9,000+ feet was challenging and I needed to give myself a lot of rest. I wasn't able to do any intervals so I just focused on swimming easy and moving my body. The aquatic center was very impressive but the lap pool only had 4 lanes (and was warm). I swam 4,600 and then went to the hot tub to stretch. while I was out for my swim, Karel did a 3-ish hr, 25 mile mountain bike ride on the first stage of his event. He said it was really technical. 

After the swim, I picked up a few things at the grocery and then drove back to Breckenridge. At least the drive was really pretty. In the afternoon, I went for a bike ride to spin my legs. I was so impressed with the bike paths around the area. I biked 2 hours (35 miles) from Breckenridge to Copper Mountain - all on a bike path. It was incredibly beautiful. It felt really good to spin my legs. I wanted to do a short run off the bike but then it started to rain. I guess it was a sign that I needed one more day to let my knee calm down. It was nice to have a full kitchen (minus an oven) in our studio. The resort was like a hotel but the studio made it feel more like an apartment. We walked around in the evening and then went to bed around 9pm. Suprisingly, I was sleeping much better than I anticipated at altitude. 

8/12 - Saturday
I was planning a long ride to Loveland Pass (12,000 feet) this morning but the weather forecast didn't look ideal. I wasn't sure how my knee would do with a run so I spent some time doing ECFIT mobility and foam rolling before I went for a run around 9am. Karel left a little before I did. Since we were staying at the top of a hill, all of our running was net downhill to start, then a tough run back uphill to where we were staying. The terrain is very deceiving too as it doesn't look hilly until you start running or biking up the incline. It's more like a false flat. My knee ended up being just fine for the run and I was so thankful that I took those two days to let it calm down. I think my hips/SI joint got irritated from all the sitting and due to my period (loose ligaments). I ran 5 miles out and back and I could really feel the altitude coming back. I had to do a lot of walking. I wasn't worried about pace but just focusing on staying fueled/hydrated and enjoying the run. I ran 10 miles in 1:28 with almost 1000 feet elevation gain. I got a bit of work done before heading to the pool (30 minutes away) later in the afternoon. I swam 4000 yards and it felt really good to loosen out after the morning run. The aquatic center was really busy with kids playing on the slides and in the various pools but thankfully the lap pool wasn't too busy. While I was swimming, Karel picked up his stuff at registration and then attended the nightly meeting at 5pm (to learn about the upcoming next day stage). Karel made pasta for dinner (he made chicken for himself and I cooked a Beyond Beef burger). 

Our Epic and Xtreme events

We are approaching our last key events in our 2023 season. I will be participating in XTRI ICON on September 1st and Karel will be participating in Breck Epic on August 13th - 18th. These events will test us mentally and physically and we are excited (and nervous) for the unknown. If you'd like to learn a bit more about these events, I'll share some info about the events. You can also follow me on social media (Instagram and Facebook) as I will be sharing updates from Karel's race (and then Karel will share updates from my race). 

KAREL: Breck Epic - Breckendridge, CO

• ~220-240 miles
• ~40,000 feet of vertical gain
• All stages start at ~9,600 feet

1. Stage 1: Pennsylvania Creek, August 13th 35.7 miles, 5700 feet
2. Stage 2: The Colorado Trail, August 14th: 42.5 miles, 6565 feet
3. Stage 3: The Guyot Loop, August 15th: 40.5 miles, 7100 feet (crossing the Continental Divide twice)
4. Stage 4: The Keystone Loop, August 16th: 42.3 miles, 6473 feet
5. Stage 5: The Wheeler Loop, August 17th: 24.6 miles, 5227 feet - Time Trial 
6. Stage 6: The Gold Dust Loop, August 18th: 30.2 miles, 3740 feet 

MARNI: XTRI ICON - Livigno, Italy 

• September 1st (Friday)
• 5am start time
• Average air temp - 36-57 degrees F
• 2.4 mile swim in Lago Del Gallo - ~60 degrees F
• 121 mile bike, ~16,400 feet elevation gain
  -Starting at 6000 feet
  -Up the Forcola pass 
  -Bernina pass (switzerland)
  -Into St. Moritiz to Zernez
  -Fuorn Pass to Val Mustair 
  -Prato allo Stelvio (48 mountain switchbacks, second highest pass in Europe at 9,000 feet)
  -Bormio to Foscagno pass
• 26 mile run, ~4,920 feet elevation gain
  -Primarily off-road
  -Last 6 miles has an elevation gain of 3600 feet
  -Crew support (Karel) is required in the last 6 miles
• Finish at Carosello 3000 (9130 feet) 
• Winter/rain gear is required throughout the race in case of rain/snow

Proactive blood testing - why I recently got my blood tested

 

Blood analysis provides an opportunity to look inside your body, giving insights into your diet and training and their effects on performance and health. 

When athletes consider blood testing, it's usually during a time of illness, a drop in performance or injury. In other words, it's done as a reaction to a physical setback. However, don't wait until it's too late. 

Anytime you are about to experience a new type of stressor (ex. new training block, return to training after injury, overcoming an illness, approaching a significant increase in training volume, altitude training), a blood test can give you valuable information about your current state of health. The only way to know what's going on in your body is to test what's going on inside your body. Many times, early diagnosis of a condition is easier to treat before complications develop. Sadly, athletes will only consider blood testing when symptoms are significant - but at this point, health may be severely compromised. Although blood testing may look expensive, costly and inconvenient, it's a simple way to stay on top of your health. 

From August 10th until August 20th, Karel and I will be in Breckenridge, Colorado. The town of Breckenridge sits at 9,600 feet above sea level. Greenville, SC sits just below 1,000 feet. 

Karel will be participating in Breck Epic - a 6-day mountain bike stage race. Originally, I was going to also participate but I was worried about performing at altitude and also decided that I wanted to focus on XTRI ICON which is quickly approaching on September 1st in Livigno, Italy. While Karel is racing, I will be helping him out however I can, and training. Although I am not going to Breckenridge to intentially train at altitude for performance gains, this opportunity will give me a good understanding of what my body can do physically at a high elevation. Livigno sits at 5,958 feet and I'll be cycling up to 9,000 feet. 

Anytime I change my training location or routine, I always get a bit nervous for my body as it tries to adapt to new stressors. For the past four years, I've remained healthy and uninjured (minus one sickness in October 2021 due to COVID). My body is in a great place physically and I've been so happy with the training and racing I've been able to do over the past few years. But training at altitude worries me. 

At around 5,000 feet the body senses changes in the oxygen level. As you gain elevation, the pressure in the atmosphere decreases. Although the percentage of oxygen in inspired air is the same at all altitudes (~21%), the fall in atmospheric pressure at higher altitudes decreases the partial pressure of inspired oxygen (how many molecules of oxygen are in a given volume of air). Because there is less pressure to push oxygen molecules together, there are fewer oxygen molecules in the same volume of air, reducing the oxygen availability in the air reduces the oxygen saturation in the blood and brain of unacclimatized people. The next time someone says that there is less oxygen in the air at elevation, you can correct that person and say that it's the pressure in the atmosphere that decreases at higher elevation. Because of the reduced air pressure at high altitude, the volume of air you breathe into your lungs contains less oxygen molecules in each breathe. 

To help the body adjust to lower oxygen levels, your body is forced to change its physiology (acclimatization). The first change is faster and deeper breaths to take in more oxygen. This can lead to shorteness of breath and feeling lightheaded. Heart rate will increase to supply more oxygenated blood to the tissues. The higher the elevation, the dryer the air. This means moisture avaporates more quickly from the skin, which can lead to dehydration if fluid intake is not a priority. Increased urination is a response to changes in the body's acid/base balance, which can also increase the risk for dehydration. Low oxygen can affect brain during sleep and the altitude can suppress the appetite. And lastly, with less oxygen reaching the muscles, which means a decline in performance compared to what you can do at sea level. Altitude sickness is a common concern and symptoms begin 6-48 hours after exposure. Symptoms include headache, nausea, lethary, dizziness and difficulty sleeping. 

Many athletes opt to train at altitude before competing at sea level because of the beneficial adaptations that influence endurance performance (although not every athlete is a good responder to training at altitude). Adaptations include: 

• Increased hemoglobin concentration (protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen)
• Increased thickness of blood (more red blood cells)
• Increased red blood cells (kidneys sense oxygen deficiency in the blood and secrete the hormone erythropoietin (EPO) which stimulates the bone marrow to accelerate the production of red blood cells)
• Increased capillary density (improves the delivery of oxygen and nutrients to your muscles)
• Increased tissue myoglobin concentration (better supply of oxygen to the cells in your muscles)

For those who can train at altitude for 3-4 weeks, the greatest benefit is more red blood cells which allows the blood to carry more oxygen. When returning to sea level, the muscles get an extra (natural) boost. 

Although I'm not going to altitude for specific changes in my physiology, I know I'm going to be physically impacted for ten days. Because of this, it was very important that I do not go into this high-stress training environment with any health issues. 

That's why I reached out to Athlete Blood Test. 

As a long time partner with Athlete Blood Test, the team provided me with two complimentary Iron panel blood tests. As a 31-year lacto-ovo vegetarian female who menstruates regularly each month, I was most concerned with my iron stores. Iron is a necessary mineral for production of red blood cells. Altitude increases the body's need for iron. However, you do not want to supplement with iron unless you have a blood test that tells you what you are deficient in. Ferritin measures the body's iron stores in the tissues (not blood) and is a more sensitive test for iron deficiency.

Because my last blood test was on June 27th, 2022 (over a year ago) and since then I reduced my iron pill dosage from daily to once every week (since my iron and ferritin stores were in a great place), I wanted to check in with my body to see if I needed to adjust anything before and during my time at altitude. I also wanted Karel to get tested because he will be the one racing and if he had any nutrient deficiencies going into the race, that would have severely compromised his performance and health. 

The process of getting our blood taken after receiving the confirmation of our Athlete Blood Test was super simple. I scheduled an appointment for me and Karel at the nearest Lab Corp (~8 miles away) and we were in and out in less than 15 minutes. A few days later, I received an email from Athlete Blood Test with our results and detailed feedback on my labs. 

Here are my recent (and past) lab results. Last year I had my blood tested before we participated in the 7-day Haute Route Alps. Currently, I'm in the last part of my build to XTRI ICON and I've done a considerable amount of endurance training and racing this year. In the past year, my numbers are trending down. Although I feel great (healthy, strong, fit) and I'm performing really well, I don't want this decline to continue in route to my event on Sept 1st, especially after being at altitude for 10 days.
I'll be taking Iron again (every other day this week and then daily while at altitude). I take Thorne Iron Bisglycinate. I'll also be taking Vitamin B12 from Thorne. I do not take any other supplements. 

As for Karel, his labs are in a great place. He was supplementing with iron once a week since last year to get his ferritin levels up. He experiences a lot of nerve issues (foot/hand) and iron can be related to restless leg syndrome. Again, you should never supplement with iron unless you know your numbers. As you can see from Karel's labs, his ferritin levels have doubled in the past year. He still experiences RLS every now and then but it is considerably better since last year. 

If you'd like to read more about blood testing and altitude, the Athlete Blood Test has a great article on this topic. 

While I'll be training carefully while I am at altitude, I have peace of mind knowing that my body is in a good place nutritionally and physically. 

Test, don't guess. Be proactive with your health. Spending time, money and effort on preventative health can keep you healthy so you can continue to enjoy and get the most out of your active lifestyle. 

If you are interested in getting your blood tested, I have a few great discount codes for you to apply: 
Iron Panel for $90
Use code TRIMARNI15 (for single panels)
Use code TRIMARNI25 (combo panels: gold + bronze, etc.)

Is your diet too strict?

When someone expresses dietary struggles to me, I often hear responses like "I need to be more disciplined" or "I feel so out of control, I need to get back on track." While it's advised to adapt a nutritious diet for health reasons, eating healthier should never become rigid and extreme. And unless you adapt your eating in a way that honors your hunger, makes you feel satiated and aligns with your personal health and activity goals, you may find yourself with a lot of food-related guilt, shame, deprivation, and a feeling of failure from an unstainable style of eating.

Signs that your eating style may be too strict include:

• watching the clock for permission to eat
• having an off-limit food list
• only eating conditionally (ex. reward food)
• developing a fear of "bad" foods
• avoiding social situations involving food
• feeling constant hunger
• difficulty focusing, headaches or lightheadedness
• avoiding foods that you enjoy
• eliminating food groups or certain foods from the diet
• feeling out of control when eating a certain food
• desire to eat perfectly

The need to be so in control around food (and body weight) often leads to most out of control behaviors. Trying to eat in a way to fix your body into a specific weight, size or look that society views as ideal can lead to feeling out of control around food. In order to feel good about your food choices, it's important to welcome all foods. And to do this, you must be able to tune into your hunger and satisfaction signals. It's nearly impossible to feel in control around food when you are starving. Keep yourself fed and nourished throughout the day by honoring your hunger.

Signs that you are letting yourself get too hungry include: 

• poor concentration, dizzy, lightheaded
• tired, sleepy, sluggish
• hangry, irritable, moody, cranky
• stomach making noises, feelig empty
• low blood sugar, feelig shaky, tingly lips, salivating 

Individuals who try to sustain a strict diet often have standards that are too high (and unrealistic). A perfect day of eating should involve foods that you enjoy, those foods should make you feel satiated and energized, and those foods should fulfill your nutrient and energy needs. You don't need to only eat for health, you also need to eat for enjoyment. Putting limits on what you can or should eat can lead to out of control behaviors, followed by a lot of guilt and shame.

As a final note, the foods that most people feel out of control with are the foods that most people try to avoid - often containing sugar, salt, carbs, and fat. As a result of feeling out of control with certain foods, it's normal to want to set an off-limit food list (to reduce the risk of binging). However, this only leads to overeating. This is a cycle that continues until those "bad" foods are taken off an imaginary forbidden food list. Yes, donuts, muffins, bagels, chips and ice cream can be on the same food list as salads and quinoa. Once you level the food playing field, you can decide what foods make you feel good, rather than feeling controlled by certain foods.

If you feel like you've been trying to follow a strict style of eating, which could be leading to feeling out of control with certain foods, remind yourself that a sustainable style of eating should never involve discipline, willpower and rules. Give yourself unconditional permission to eat all foods.

Also, for a delicious Chanterelle mushroom pasta, check out our latest newsletter HERE.

Quality training starts with the daily diet

 

Are you struggling with any of the following during your workouts?

• Low energy
• Slow recovery
• Dehydration
• Early fatigue
• Low blood sugar
• Hunger
• GI issues

A quality training session begins with the daily diet.

If you are going long hours without eating, restricting carbs, ignoring your hydration needs and/or not planning well-balanced meals or snacks, you will struggle to perform to your potential.

As a result, you may blame sport nutrition products or seek supplements to "fix" an issue that started well before you began your workout.

Because it's a lot easier to fuel and hydrate a body at rest than it is during exercise, take advantage of the many hours when you are not training to maximize your glycogen stores, provide your body with adequate calories, vitamins and minerals, supply your muscles with protein and meet your hydration needs.

A body that is well-hydrated and fueled going into a workout will outperform a body that begins a workout in a compromised state. 

Effects of fluid intake and dehydration on physiology and performance

🧂More sodium isn't the solution to your struggles in the heat and humidity.

Around this time of the year, I often receive many emails from athletes struggling with sport nutrition while training/performing in the heat and humidity. With good reason, dehydration is a major contributor to health, performance and GI issues.

As a result, many athletes believe that they need to consume more sodium during exercise. While sodium is important, high heat and humidity lead to two major problems in the exercising body:
1) increased core body temperature and
2) dehydration

Interestingly, the athletes struggling the most (ex. vomiting, cramping, stomach pains, nausea) are already consuming a lot of sodium!

 

For those who constantly obsess over sodium, it's important to understand the basics of sweat:
💦You do not lose salt without fluid.
💦Sweat is hypotonic (water loss is greater than solute loss).
💦To effectively rehydrate during exercise, you need sodium and carbs to help with the absorption and retention of fluids.
💦Carbs, sodium and fluid (in the correct concentration) are needed to support a body in motion.
💦A well-formulated sport drink is the most practical way to meet fluid needs while keeping your muscles hydrated and fueled.

💧Understand your predicted sweat rate.
💧Plan ahead.
💧Stay diligent keeping up with your plan (carry, stop, refill, repeat).
💧Stay disciplined to avoid overdrinking.
💧Keep yourself cool.
💧Pace yourself.

And if you aren't keeping up with your fluid and carb intake in the 72 hours going into a long workout, you are already behind and at a performance dissadvantage. 

Why we fell in love with Bend, Oregon

We just returned from a week-trip to Bend, Oregon. We followed that up with a few days in Salem to support our athletes at Oregon 70.3.

Oregon is known for an outdoorsy lifestyle and we witness this first-hand during our recent trip to Bend. As it relates to living an active lifestyle, one thing was evident – the way in which communities and streets are designed.

How many times do you commute, run an errand or go somewhere that is less than 5 miles away? How many times do you drive a few miles in order to start a workout? How often do you ride a bike, other than for exercise?

There’s a good chance that you will say that it’s not safe to ride a bike where you live or to where you need to go. In many states, the prevalence of physical activity is higher in places where there is little to no access to safe or convenient places to be active – like community parks, sidewalks or trails.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease and Control), common barriers to physical activity include lack of time, limited social support, lack of motivation, fear of injury, high cost and lack of nearby facilities. While an individual makes the ultimate decision to or not to engage in an active lifestyle, community-level barriers can make this decision even more difficult.

I can’t get over the network of neighborhood greenways for walking and biking across Bend. Everywhere we went, there was a well-maintained (and wide) bike path. The bike paths connected so that you could essentially go anywhere by bike or foot. Cars stop at every crosswalk for walkers, runners and bikers. There are even off-road paths to play on throughout neighborhoods and alongside the paved trails. Kids are riding bikes, families are on bikes and people of all ages are on bikes. It was clear that Bend encourages and promotes healthy active living. There are also countless roundabouts, which promotes lower driving speeds and traffic calming, which made for better traffic flow and safe path crossing for pedestrians.

During our time in Bend, it was so easy to live our active lifestyle. The area was safe, the people were nice, there were dogs everywhere (usually off leash and well behaved) and people loved to be outside. We biked everywhere.

While it was easy to “fit in” during our train/race-cation, it got me thinking about the phrase “work hard, play hard.”

This saying refers to having a good work-life balance and prioritizing career growth and personal enjoyment. People who embrace this lifestyle want to develop healthy habits and make time for the activities they enjoy while feeling fulfilled with their career/work. Unfortunately, far too many people work way too hard at a career but never make (or find) the time for play. Did you know that, according to a survey from the Pew Research Center, that only 48% of US workers say they use all their allotted vacation days each year?

It's not uncommon to work too much and not enjoy life. Even if you love your job, you may find that there’s too much work to do and not enough time. Relationships suffer. You don’t sleep well. You aren’t present for loved ones. You miss out on opportunities. You are constantly stressed, anxious and overwhelmed. Your mind is frequently consumed with work-related thoughts. The American work culture rewards working long hours and constructing one’s identity closely around a career. But, at what cost?

I was speaking with our Airbnb neighbor in Bend and he was telling me about a trip that he and his family were about to go on. It involved camping, biking and hiking. He was also telling me about his job as an intensive care nurse. The owner of our Airbnb was hiking with her husband in the Dolomites (Italy).

If you are interested in adopting a work hard, play hard lifestyle, you may benefit from how other successful professionals maintain a healthy work-life balance.

1) Assess how you spend your money. Did you know the many people spend more than $300 a month on eating/ordering out? That’s over $3000 a year that could be spent on other activities. A budget can help you feel more in control of your finances and make it easier to save money for important things in your life – like travel and hobbies.

2) Assess how you spend your free time. Estimate how much time you spend on meaningless activities and how much time you spend on hobbies, activities and interests that bring you joy. This can help you make smarter decisions on how you spend your free time.

3) Make a list of your interests. Use your free time intentionally to create meaningful experiences outside of work. You may consider investing in a cleaning or lawn service to help free up your “free” time for more important activities and hobbies.

4) Schedule your work time and play time. Scheduling your playtime is important. Include meetings, projects and commuting in your work calendar but also block off time for play time outside of work.

5) Learn to say no. It’s hard not to feel bad about disappointing others or turning down team members but saying no to additional tasks (especially if you are at your max mental or physical capacity) can lead to burnout, anxiety and stress. Know your priorities. Saying no is not an excuse. Provide a sound reason for reaching your bandwidth and being unable to take on anymore tasks. And yes, not interfering with your free-time is a good reason to say no.

I want to encourage you to make the most of your one and only life. My dad passed away at the age of 67 years due to cancer. He enjoyed every day of his life. He had a lot of hobbies outside of his job as an optometrist. He was also very healthy and active. Life is short. Be sure to enjoy it.

To read more about our trip:
High Cascades 100 mile MTB Race Recap
Travel to Bend

2023 High Cascades 100 MTB event

Pre-Race
I was a bit nervous going into the High Cascades 100. We had reconned the back half of the course but the first ~45 miles were all new trails for me. The routes in Bend are incredible. Over 900 miles of single track MTB trails! But the conditions are very different to what I am used to – sandy, jagged pointy rocks and loose dirt. I was also nervous about the start of the race and having 350+ athletes to navigate around going into the single track. I prepared my bottles the night prior and got 2 bags ready for the bag drop (aid station ~45 and ~81). I used a 1.5L plastic water bottle for my hydration pack (either INFINIT Fructose 360 calories/hr or Never Second C30 Berry, 360 calories per bottle/hr) and a sport bottle of Mexican coke (diluted with water). I started with my USWE hydration pack with INFINIT Fructose and a bottle of Never Second C30. I also carried a Power Bar, PB Clif Bar, Power bar chews, Gu aminos and a Never Second Gel.

We woke up at 3:45am and ate our normal pre-race foods. We got ready around 4:45am, did a bit of foam rolling/mobility and left our Airbnb on our bikes, just before 5am. The sun was starting to rise so it wasn’t completely dark. We were in the company of other athletes riding to the start. It was a little cool in the morning (mid 50’s) but it wasn’t too bad for the 1-mile bike to the race start at the Bend Athletic Club.

We dropped off our bags in their respective UHaul trucks (Karel only used the 48-mile bag drop) and then I went to the potty once more. We lined up near the front, in the company of some well-known names like Heather Jackson, Sarah Max, Eric Lagerstrom and Sonya Looney. It boggles my mind to think that over 350 people register for this event. And the only distance is 100 miles! And the event had over 40 females! The race director (Mike) is phenomenal. His communication via email was incredible. We would receive emails almost daily on the week of the event with updates on the course, event and any other important/safety details.

The ride started at 5:30am and it was a neutral start for a few miles until the road went up.

Miles 0-20
The first ~9 miles were all climbing. The route started off ~6 miles on pavement and it was a beautiful start as the sun was rising and we were riding through Tetherow on Skyliners Road. We then turned off onto a fire road (gravel, dust, dirt) for ~3 more miles. The first 9 miles were fairly fast, averaging around 17 mph. I was in the 3rd group from the front and it was a small group, with Sonya Looney. There was ~10 of us and the effort felt manageable. My legs were feeling really good climbing. On a steeper section, Sonya rode away. We then took Tumalo Creek to Mrazek Trail for ~6 miles which was all single track. My skills weren’t the best and I was passed by several guys on the twisty/technical sections but I was able to always catch back up anytime there was a steady climb. Everyone was very nice and would ask to pass when there was a chance to pull over. It was back on another forest road (where I caught up to all the guys who passed me) and then back on Mrazek Trail. At this point, we had been climbing (with just a few quick downhills) for 20 miles and ~1:43 (11.7mph).

Miles 20-48
I had been doing a good job staying hydrated, even though it was cool out. It’s very dry in Bend (low humidity) but it was super dusty which made me thirsty. Karel was in the 2nd group to the front but he was careful to not overdo it. He wanted to pace himself so that he wouldn’t blow up or aggravate his back so he made sure not to do anything crazy in the first few hours. There were several sections that Karel had to walk his bike over and many that I had to walk my bike over throughout the event as there wasn’t a clear line to take and we didn’t want to jeopardize a fall or something breaking on the bike. Luckily, there wasn’t any hike-a-bike. All the obstacles were relatively short and required a quick hop off, carry the bike over and then back on the bike.
The first technical descend was Farewell. And as the name implies, it was technical for me. There was a drop off on the left and a tight single track with many loose rocks and tight (very tight) switchbacks. I stopped several times to let other riders pass me. When I finally made it down this 3.4 mile, 20-minute technical section, I was relieved.
The next few single track trails included Tumalo Creek (which had a .3 mile required Chill Zone due to hikers), Skyliners Trail and Upper Whoops. This was a mix of twisty single track through the trees, beautiful views and then some fun jumps and berms. Then it was on to another forest road to Swede Ridge Loop Trail, Swampy Loop Trail, Flagline trail, Swampy Dutchman Trail. Although my skills were not the best, I found myself in a similar group of riders (all guys) where they would pass me on the technical sections (specifically downhill) and then I would catch back up anytime the road went uphill. I really worked the uphills as I felt that was where I could gain the most time and be competitive in my age group.
When I got to the first aid station, the volunteers were incredible. They grabbed my bike and helped me refill my hydration pack. I needed to pee but I didn’t see anywhere to go (there were a lot of people there as spectators were allowed) so I waited until the next stop. I grabbed my bottle of coke to put on my bike. We received chain lube in our welcome packet and Karel advised that I put some on my chain if it starts to sound like it’s getting dry. I decided to lube my chain at this aid station to be on the safe side. I also had tools, a spare battery, CO2, tube, and a plug in my hydration pack in case of an emergency.

Mile 48-70
After a few miles of descending, we got onto the main road (Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway) before crossing the road and making our way to Funner. Funner made its way into Lower Storm King and at this point, I was in familiar territory. There were still a lot of sections that were too technical/rocky for me to bike over so I had to get off but overall, this section was fun. There were a lot of berms and jumps (I don’t jump, just roll over). Then we went into Catch and Release for more climbing. I felt a bit more confident in the back half of the ride as I knew the route and there was a lot of climbing. It was starting to get a bit warm out as it was nearing the upper 80’s and I had been riding for almost 6 hours. Karel likes to know where he is at while he is riding so he leaves his computer on a screen that shows mileage and time but I don’t want to know. I leave my computer on the map setting and just focus on the distance for each segment that I am in. Neither of us have power so we don’t go by any metrics other than feel. The course was really well marked. Mike did a great job putting arrows and ribbons for the course and a big yellow NO sign for any other area that we shouldn’t take. There were also signs letting us know that an aid station was ahead. After passing the 58 mile/88 mile split sight (heading the 58 mile route), it was time to climb. Almost 13 miles of almost non stop climbing on single track for almost 90 minutes and almost 1800 feet of elevation gain. Much of the race was held at ~5000+ elevation, getting close to 6000 a few times. The next 3.5 miles were on Dinah Moe Humm and took us to the next aid station. I was running low in my hydration pack and even though the next aid station was 9 miles away, I didn’t want to ration my fluids, especially with it being so hot and dry out. I filled my pack with Heed (which did not taste good) but sipped on it anyways. I was still feeling really good with my energy and my mood was good. I used a bit of water to cool myself at the aid station and also finally went pee (in the bushes).

Mile 80-103
I was looking forward to the next 3 miles as they were on the road with a beautiful view of Mt. Bachelor (with snow on top). It was warm with the sun beating down at 95 degrees. But thankfully there was a bit of tailwind. I passed a lot of guys on this climb and at this point, I was passed by two females but passed one who was at the previous aid station. I really worked these 3 miles as I knew we had some descending on a fire road after the climb. Somehow I got off course for a few minutes and turned myself around. I have no idea how I missed the big pink arrows but I think I was getting into my pocket to get some chews and must have looked down for a second and missed it. I’m so thankful I had the gut feeling that I was off course. I was a little upset that I had worked so hard on the climb to get off course for a few minutes but I was back with the guys that I had passed. The next almost 6 miles were pretty fun. A lot of descending on fire roads. Although it was still hard to descend as you are in a squatting position which puts a lot of weight on the legs. My neck was getting a little sore so I would stretch it out every now and then. Karel was feeling pretty good throughout the ride and he also didn’t have any low energy issues. He did a great job with his hydration and fueling. He had a lot of fun in the technical sections and anytime there was a sign that read ‘Danger’ I would think “don’t die!” and Karel would think “fun!”
Tiddlywinks was a very fun trail which then brought us back to Lower Storm King. Finally I was back to the split and took Catch and Release back to the main road. I stopped quickly at aid station 81 as I wanted to make sure I was well hydrated for the final stretch. My refill stops were at 5:13 hrs, 7:53 hrs and 8:49 hrs. I made all my stops really quick. Once I got back on the paved road, there was a little incline before a long stretch on Cascade Lakes Hwy. The roads are extremely bike friendly and there were even people in their cars honking and cheering as we were racing. The last 5 miles were fast – I time trialed it and pushed as hard as I could (19 mph for almost 5 miles). The final stretch was a small path/trail behind the Athletic Club and then I crossed the finish line after 103 miles and 9:29.48 moving time (9:49 total time with stops).

Karel went back to our Airbnb to shower (we were so dusty and dirty!) and then came back to see me finish. A friend, Kristen Yax, who lives in Bend came to the finish and we chatted with her for a while. We got a free burrito at the finish and then biked back to our place to clean up and rest before the awards at 6:30pm. 

I still can’t believe we rode 103 miles off road on our mountain bikes.

Prior to the event, we couldn’t believe that over 350 people sign up for this event. But now we know why.

The trails in the Deschutes National Forest are incredible. The nature is beautiful, the volunteers were awesome, Mike (the race director) was amazing with his communication, course signage and attention to detail and the people are so nice (and love being outdoors).

My skills were not the best on the technical features, as I’m not used to riding on dusty, sandy and jagged rock trails, but my climbing legs showed up so I took advantage of my strength any time the trails went up.

Karel paced himself well. No crashes and felt stronger as the race went on. He squeezed into third place in the last hour. 

We both fueled and hydrated well and didn’t have any low moments throughout the race. There were five aid stations. We both utilized the bag drop (our own nutrition) at mile 47, stopped to refill hydration at mile 72 and I used the bag drop at mile 81.

I love the heat (dry or humid) so I welcomed the 90-degree temps. With much of the ride above 5000 feet, we didn’t feel affected by the altitude.

Karel placed 3rd age group (40-49) in a competitive field in a time of 8:24.07.

I placed 1st age group (40-49) and 6th overall female in a time of 9:48.56.

It was a challenging and fun day.

This year has been all about stepping out of my comfort zone. Off-road racing (gravel, Xterra, MTB, trail running) requires a tremendous about of strength, skills, durability, resiliency, mental toughness and endurance. In these events, feeling a sense of accomplishment doesn’t come from metrics, paces or overall placement but in overcoming the challenges of the day and reaching the finish line.

If you are feeling complacent with your sport or struggling to find your “why” for training and racing, I encourage you to explore what lies slightly out of your comfort zone. You’ll still have to train very hard but you’ll be motivated by self-improvement and feeling like a beginner again.

RESULTS

 

Here's a video I put together on another ride that we did later in the week. We did 3 x 4+ hour MTB rides while we were there. We love Bend! 

Hello from Bend, Oregon

 

Oregon has been a bucket list state that I've wanted to visit for a very long time. When we were planning our 2023, our focus was selecting different or new events. We only planned one on-road triathlon (IM 70.3 Blue Ridge for me) and the rest were all off-road events. We love triathlon and our swim, bike, run lifestyle but to keep our spark lite for structured training, it's been fun having a different focus for this year. 

Around 2020, we watched a YouTube race recap of the High Cascade 100 MTB event. This was before I started mountain biking. We fell in love with the scenery and the enormous task of riding 100 miles on a mountain bike.  Karel wanted to the Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder 5-day stage race in June and our athletes decided on Oregon 70.3 in late July as a team race. The High Cascade event never left my mind. When I realized that the High Cascades 100 MTB event was a week before Oregon 70.3, we decided this was the year that we should do the event. Just adding to the list of "first time" events for 2023.

My recovery after XTRI Canadaman was slow to start but a week after the race, I was beginning to feel much more normal. I didn't try to rush the recovery but just listened to my body. 

The hardest thing after the race was Campy's health. After returning home from Canada, I noticed that Campy was not acting like himself. He's been showing signs of Cognitive dysfunction syndrome (or doggy dementia) since November. He gets stuck in corners or stares at the wall. He barks at nothing and he gets very confused and disoriented. He drinks a lot of water. He wears diapers all day (and night). However, through this all, he is still eating well (just picky and wants to be hand fed), enjoys our company and enjoys his walks outside. 

But Thurs, Friday and Saturday were not great days for Campy. It was really hard to see him so out of it. I was really struggling as I thought it was nearing the end for my furry best friend. But on Sunday, he turned a corner and was acting better. He still struggles with his dementia (and he can't hear or see well) but it wasn't as severe as it was for the past few days. On Monday and Tuesday, he was much more spunky. I was ready to cancel our trip but Campy made it clear that he was doing much better. This chapter of our life is really, really hard. I'm trying to enjoy every moment with him and leaving him is so incredibly hard. We are so thankful for Karel's mom, who is staying at our house (we flew her in from Czech) until September, for taking such great care of Campy and our four cats. I've been very stressed over Campy's health for the past few weeks as I know we will have to make some hard decisions sometime over the next year. 

A little update from our trip......

We flew Greenville - Atlanta - Portland on Wednesday. We rented a car and drove 3.5 hours to Bend. The scenery was incredible - from the lush forest to desert-like land to seeing snow-capped mountains. We made a stop at Trader Joe's to get a few groceries before arriving to our place. 

After arriving to our Airbnb in Bend (near the Athletic Club of Bend) and after unpacking, we went for a jog around town. Alongside being tired from waking up at 2:15am and traveling to the West coast, the air was dry and it was warm out. But it was still nice to move some blood, get outside and see new sights.

On Thursday, we spent some time getting caught up on work. It was nice to have a 2.5 hour layover in Atlant to work on the computer and then to have free wifi on the flight to Portland (Delta).
Around 8am, we went to the Juniper Pool for a swim workout. The pool was beautiful (25 meters). It cost $8 person to use the facility. It was so nice to swim outside. The water was the perfect temperature. After our swim, we said hi to Erig Lagestrom (Paula had just left for the locker room) after our swim and he gave us some suggestions for where to ride. We picked up some delicious breakfast options from Nancy P's after our swim. Karel built our mountain bikes and we drove 3.5 miles to park across from the Welcome Center to recon some of the course. 

We rode a little more than 4 hours and covered 40 miles and almost 4,000 feet elevation. Much of our ride was over 5500 feet. The terrain is more flowly than what we are used to and very sandy/dusty. We drank a lot. The scenery was incredible. Even though we rode until almost 5pm, it didn't feel like a long ride. We had so much fun on the trails. The course was well-marked and I also had the course file downloaded into my Garmin. 

After the ride we drove back to our Airbnb and Karel rinsed off our dusty bikes and I picked up pizza from Pacific Pizza Brew. 

This morning we went for a swim at Juniper, we worked all day on the computer and this afternoon we rode our bikes a few miles to pick up our stuff for the event at Sagebrush cycles. We weren't too tired/sore from the ride on Thursday. It's going to be a very long and hard day (likely over 10 hours for me) and while I'm nervous to do something for the first time, I'm looking forward to the event and seeing more of this beautiful area. 

'23 XTRI Canadaman Race Recap - 26 mile run/hike, 4500 feet

 

26 mile run, 4545 feet – 6:00.00

• New Balance Fuel Cell Shoes
• HOKA trail shoes
• Women's Distance Carbon Z Trekking/Running Poles (105 cm)
• Naked Running Band
• Naked Running Vest
• Camelback
• Nathan hard flasks (10 ounce)
• Naked running soft flasks (17 ounce)
• 100% gloves
• Roka sunglasses
• Cooling towel
• Marmot Women's GORE-TEX® Minimalist Pro Jacket
• Nutrition: NeverSecond C30, NeverSecond Gel, Powerbar chews, Skratch Orange, Gu Aminos, Pretzles, Coke, water

Mile 1-3.7 – 219 feet, 9:51 min/mile
Woods and gravel

As I left the transition area, I was looking forward to the first off-road section. I assumed it was all gravel but first I had to make my way through the woods. There was barely a path in the woods. The ground had a lot of roots to run over. It was actually a lot of fun but it required a lot of work to get through. The course was really well marked with pink flags at every turn and keeping us on the path. Once I got through the woods, I was looking forward to getting on the gravel. Only to see a super steep hill. I walked up the hill as it was very steep and I wasn’t even a mile into the race. The gravel was also very rocky and loose. Once I got to the top, I was looking forward to finally running but I found myself shuffling my legs down the steep, switchbacks lined with loose rocky gravel. Finally after almost a mile and a half, I was able to settle into a normal running rhythm on packed gravel. The next 2 miles went by pretty quickly as it was a straight gravel road (net decline) and I could see Karel and the parked car in the far distance. He ran over to me asking if I needed anything and I told him I was good and he could drive ahead for a mile and recheck there. Our plan was for him to leap frog me in the car and to drive ahead each mile on the road and also before/after each gravel section. I was sipping my sport drink flask along with water. It was humid and a little water (low 70s) so I was glad I had my cooling towel on. Karel would wet it every now and then it helped tremendously.

Mile 3.7-10.5 – 138 feet, 8:41 min/mile
Road
Although my trail shoes would have been helpful in the previous section, I was happy to have my road shoes on for this road section. Looking back, I would have made the same decision to keep my road shoes on until mile 18. This section was all road, slight decline with a few long uphills. The nice thing was that there was tailwind and it was fun to see the other athletes riding on the other side of the road. I had one quick potty stop in the woods (normal BM) but no nutritional issues. I was dealing with some side stiches in this section – likely from being crunched in the aero position in the last 10 miles and also navigating through the woody/gravely section before the road. Karel was strategic with where he parked the car and I would continue running, only grabbing what I needed. I had all my flasks filled so Karel only had to hand me things. I had a few sips of coke throughout this section and continued to sip on my sport drink and water. I thought I was going to feel more tired (sleepy) but I think taking 3 Gu Aminos every hour on the bike and then a few throughout the run helped my brain stay focused. This part of the marathon was the only section that felt similar to a stand alone Ironman. I was a little nervous about the next off-road section as it was the longest section that I would be without Karel. At mile 10.5, before turn on to the gravel road and saying good bye to Karel until mile 15, I took off my Naked Running band and put on the Naked Running Vest with 2 x 17 ounce flasks (one sport drink and one water). I also had a few chews and a gel with me if I needed it. I found myself only wanting liquid calories. It was also really nice to see my friend Mary along the course and also to see Trimarni team member Jeannie on the bike as she was riding strong in the headwind. 

Mile 10.5-15 – 516 feet, 11:19 min/mile
Gravel, grass, field
This section was very pretty. There were times when I was in a wide open field, sometimes running by a creek. Other times, running on a tractor-groomed grass trail with trees hanging over me. These 5 miles had everything. There were two big hills (a 1.5 mile gradual rolling climb to start and then another mile climb near the end which was up and down) but otherwise it was fairly flat. I was surprised to see an aid station before the grass/field section but it was welcomed as I was by myself and had only been passed by one guy since I started running (on the road). I walked, shuffled and ran the 4.5 miles and I was really looking forward to seeing Karel and knowing that I only had ~2.5 more road miles until the trail started. The funny part in this section was a volunteer at the aid station telling me (first in French until I asked in English) that the bridge looks broke but a man fixed it so it’s safe to go over and I don’t have to run through the creek. I laughed as I was carefully running over the wooden bridge. I never thought about what mile I was on or how many more miles I had but instead, just focused on each segment (off-road, road or trail). Although my legs were starting to really struggle by mile 15 (~2:25 of running), I worked through all my niggles/side stiches and I felt like my form was much better and it was a lot easier to run (minus my quads screaming at me).

Mile 15-17.6 – 174 feet, 10:28 min/mile
Road
This 2.6 mile road section was hilly. I had Karel load me up with two fresh soft flasks and I didn’t need him much throughout. It was actually better for him to keep driving so that I could keep my rhythm and just make it to the trail section. Although my legs were hurting, I feel like these miles went by the fastest (mentally). 

Mile 17.6-20.3 - 572 feet, 19:35 min/mile
Hiking Trail
Across the street from the trail entrance, I changed into my trail shoes, put on a visor (less warm than the hat), wet my cooling towel and got two filled flasks (one sport drink and one water). I had a gel and chews with me. I wasn’t allowed to sit in the car (per the rules). I was really looking forward to tackling this section knowing that in a few miles, Karel and I would be finishing the race together. This section was very hard. It was muddy, slippery and very technical. The rocks were loose and big and there was a lot of climbing. I tried to run when I could but most of it was shuffling. I was passed by a group of guys near the end which was nice to have some company. The trail was very beautiful and I tried to put myself in a place of going for a hike and just enjoying the scenery (while still “racing”). I had given Karel my phone as I didn’t want to carry anything extra but maybe it was good that I didn’t have it because I would have been tempted to take pictures of the creek. I picked up two small rocks for my dad (I like to collect rocks from places I visit and put them on his grave site). Finally, after almost 50 minutes (and ~2.5 miles later), I saw Karel standing outside of the woods. We shuffled to the aid station which was right before the actual trail up to the observatory. All I had left was ~5 miles and over 2500 feet of climbing. 

Mile 20.3-26 – 2566 feet, 24:19 min/mile
Hiking trail
I put on my camelback (with skratch) but looking back (after running past two aid stations up the mountain), I would have kept with only two flasks and had Karel carry a bit more and relied on the two aid stations for refilling. My quads were absolutely screaming at me (similar to the last few miles of an Ironman) but the difference here was that I had to climb up a mountain – over slippery roots and up and over big boulders. Karel was super supportive and he was really keeping me going. The first mile took me 20 minutes and then next mile was the hardest and it took me 30 minutes! These miles were never ending. The trails were really technical since it had rained so much earlier in the day but there were still several places where you could run. The backpack (and my tired body) made it hard to run but I tried to shuffle whenever I could. We were stuck behind the group of 4 guys (who were chatting) and while it was nice to have some company, once we passed them, I really started to pick up the pace. Perhaps that took up some time. The hiking poles really helped me get up and down the big rocks as I was using them for stability and also to help my tired legs move forward. I wore light gloves to help protect my hands in the case of a fall and to hold on to trees. Karel sprayed bug spray on me before the previous section. The air was warm/humid and it was cloudy so we couldn’t see any of the views. Karel was somewhat familiar with the course as he ran it all the day prior so he was helping me stay focused. I was passed by a few speedy male runners and kept looking over my shoulder wondering if the 2^nd place girl was getting close. Although I had a 30-minute lead, I was still worried. Although I was running (well shuffling/walking) as fast I could, with less than a mile in the race, I was passed by a female. It really hurt me mentally and I felt so defeated. I had led the race for over 13 hours and with less than 20 minutes to go, I moved into 2^nd. Karel was helpful as my mind was just as tired as my body and we kept on fighting. 

Even though it was nice to have Karel’s company, we didn’t do much talking. It took me over 2 hours to climb this final section and I could feel it. When we got out of the woods/trail and on to the road, it was so foggy I couldn’t see the finish. I kept asking Karel “where is it??” and he would say “it’s right there.” I power walked my way up the hill until I could finally see the finish and started shuffling/running. I finally crossed the finish line and couldn’t wait to sit down and collapse after 13.5 hours of racing. I ended up being the 2^nd female and 8^th overall. Missing the overall win by 5 minutes.

I was interviewed by some of the media/staff and changed into some dry clothes (which we brought with us in Karel’s hydration pack). I couldn’t believe what I had just accomplished – it was harder than I imagined. We waited until the 3^rd place female finished and took a podium picture. We then waited for our friends Russ and Mary to finish. We then boarded a bus to take us down the mountain to get to our car. And just like that, my first XTRI event and 20^th Ironman was complete.

This was the finish of the race - the ASTRO Lab of Mont-Megantic. Karel took this picture on Saturday. Sunday (race day) was very cloudy. 

Total: 13.37.59, 8^th overall, 2^nd overall female, 2^nd age group (40-44)

We arrived back to our Airbnb around 8pm. It was a long day after leaving the house at 3am. Karel unloaded the car with all the stuff that he collected throughout the day. As part of his crew responsibilities, he had to collect my swim gear in T1 and all my bike gear (and bike) in T2. I ate some leftover pizza with a glass of milk when I returned home and took a shower and then went to bed. I slept a little throughout the night but my legs were throbbing. Spending 6 hours on my feet for the run was tough. It was a similar soreness feel to an Ironman but I didn't have the empty feeling inside like I do after digging so deep in the Ironman run. Because of all the walking, steep uphills and downhills and terrain changes, it wasn't the same effort of an Ironman run. I was also really sore in my neck muscles. I felt a little down about not getting the overall win but I kept reminding myself of the achievement of finishing and doing something for the first time. I could not have done this without the support of Karel. This is one of the perks of XTRI - your family/friends can be very involved in the race. Karel said he was emotionally and physically exhausted as if he did the race because he was so invested in my race all day. He knew without his help, I couldn't finish but he also got to see me race up close all day. That's a very different feeling to a normal Ironman where family/friends can only see you a few times throughout the day. 

I got out of bed around 6am and shortly after, we started to pack up the house. I was moving very slow and it was very hard to walk downstairs. My quads were so sore, I had trouble making steps. I remember a similar feeling after 2017 Ironman Chattanooga. Around 11am, Karel packed up our bikes and we loaded the car and cleaned up the Airbnb to leave for the awards ceremony at 12pm. I loved our Airbnb - it was the perfect home away from home for our race-cation. 

The awards ceremony was mostly in French. I think they gave up translating into English 😄. We had some light food at the banquet before the awards were given out for the Solo Point Five and the Xtreme tri. We also watched a great recap video from the race. I received the most amazing gift......all things Maple! 

Maple butter, maple syrup, maple candy, maple water and a $500 gift card to a local bike shop. 

After the awards ceremony, we said good bye to Jeannie and our friends Mary and Russ and we made our way to Montreal to the airport hotel (Marriott - I used points from this credit card and booked via the hotel portal on the CC website and got a great deal - the room was just over $125 when normally it is over $350!). I was hoping to be at the hotel around 5pm but after a very long drive to Montreal (over 3.5 hours), we decided to stop for dinner in downtown Montreal at a vegan restaurant (Archway) that I found while driving. It was nice to stretch the legs and get some fresh air. I really wanted a veggie burger with fries but this place didn't offer it so we both went for the mushroom "steak." It was super flavorful! 

We arrived to the airport hotel around 7pm. Checked in, unloaded all our stuff in the room, returned the rental car and walked back to the hotel. The reason for booking the airport hotel was our 6am flight on Tuesday (July 4th) morning. The hotel was attached to the airport so it was worth the convenience after getting up at 3:15am to check in at 3:30am (you go through customs in Montreal to get back to the US so always plan for extra time). The flights to JFK and then to GSP went smoothly and we were back home by 1:30pm. 

We flew in Karel's mom (from Czech) in early June and she will be staying with us until mid September (89 days - she can only stay 90 days on her Visa). She is taking care of our furry crew when we travel this summer. Plus, she's great to have around :)

If you'd like to listen to my entire race recap, you can check it out here.

'23 XTRI Canadaman Race Recap - 111 mile, 9000 feet bike

 

Photo: Triathlon Canada

111 mile bike, 8993 feet elevation gain – 6:33.10 (6:21.03 riding time, 17.5 miles), fastest female, 6^th fastest overall

• Ventum One w/ Podium 90 rear and Podium 60 front Boyd Wheels
• Gearing: Front 39/53. Rear 11-32
• Tubeless: Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR 700x25
• Giro Helmet
• Bont Cycling Shoes
• Nutrition: 3 x 26 ounce of 360 calories Infinit Fructose, 2 x 26 ounce of 360 calories Neversecond c30 Berry. 1 Never Second bar, 1 bag Powerbar chews, a few sips of coke, 1 bottle water.

I had the course downloaded in my Garmin Edge computer and I knew every mile of the course from our recon the previous days but the course was still very well marked and there were plenty of volunteers at the intersections. There were also kilometer markers every 5K. I was very impressed with all the signage on the course and around the venue. Some of the roads were very smooth and well-maintained but overall, the roads were semi to very rough. 

 

Mile 0-9 (16.5 mph, ~1000 feet)
Pouring rain and very hilly. The climbs were between 1-2 miles and the grades were around 11-14%. The hills were long and steep and the downhills were steep and fast. I focused on heavy feet and light hands as I was descending in the rain. It was hard to see because of the strong rain. I kept my shield on my helmet (magnet) until the rain stopped. My legs felt good and I was passing several athletes from the half distance (they started at 4:45am and their course started the same as the xtreme but had a turn around mile 25ish). 

Mile 9-28 (21.6 mph, ~310 feet)
The rain was still coming down hard but this section was fairly flat. I was able to settle into a good rhythm and I focused on riding strong to cover this section as fast as I could. I was looking forward to seeing Karel around mile 28 as he was waiting for me at aid station 1 to hand me another  bottle. I had finished my first bottle between the aero bars by the time I got to Karel and tossed the bottle and grabbed my next one.

Mile 28-62 (17.7 mph, ~2266 feet)
Karel and I rode this segment on Thursday and as I approached it on race day, I felt like this was going to be a long segment. While it took me almost 2 hours, it was actually one of my favorite sections of the entire course. Once again, the hills were steep and long and the downhills were fast but the rain had started to stop. I really enjoyed the scenery of farms and riding through the small towns (each with a beautiful church). The roads were really quiet and I never thought about the fact that I was racing the bike starting at 5:30am. By the time I reached Karel at the next aid station (mile 62) it wasn’t even 9am.
Once the rain stopped, the wind started to get stronger. We had a bit of headwind and sidewind but I felt like I was able to stay in control and ride strong. My legs still felt great and I was in a great headspace. Even though I hadn’t seen another rider since ~mile 20ish, I still felt like I was racing. I would check in with my metrics every now and then but I was more focused on riding well and keeping up with my nutrition. Around mile 50 there was a very steep and long (~1.5 mile) climb with a super fast and bumpy downhill (I lost a bottle on the downhill). Between mile 50 and 62 I started to chew on my Never Second Bar. I also took 3 chews every hour. I sipped my sport drink every 15 minutes (4-5 gulps).

Karel stepped out in the middle of the road to let me know where he was at each aid station. This  made our stops/hand-offs very efficient. He did a great job navigating the side roads (driving) to get to each aid station. He had all of my nutrition ready and I got off my bike at this stop to stretch and have a few sips of coke from a bottle. Karel refilled my hydration system on my Ventum with sport drink and I opted for a bottle of water between my aero bars as it was started to get a bit warm and I also wanted to sip on it to digest the bar that I was chewing on.

Mile 62-85 (17mph, 2083 feet)
This section was hard. I was passed by one guy and it was really nice to see another athlete on the course. At this point I was the 3^rd athlete on the course and I had a lead of over 20 minutes on the next female. One of the race favorites (Lynn B, a previous Olympian) got off course and she eventually DNF. Once I got back to the area by the lake, it was time to tackle those 8 miles of long hills once more. Then it was more long hills (most of which were over 12% grade and over .5-1 mile) to get to the town of Val-Racine. Although this was a tough section, I was still feeling good. I didn’t have any low moments and I felt like I was riding really well. I was also really enjoying the bike. I made sure to say hi to all the cows. I felt like I could hold good power up the hills and I was taking advantage of each downhill. There was a gravel section (~10 yards) in the road (road work) and a wooden bridge to cross before getting to the town to see Karel and I was a little nervous about a flat tire but all was good. I wasn’t planning to stop when I saw Karel at this aid station but I opted to stop and fill up my hydration system (instead of doing it as I was riding) and get another bottle of water.

Mile 85-101 (19.3 mph, ~991 feet)
This section went by where we were staying and I knew I was nearing the final stretch. I wanted to get as much of a gap as I could to the 2^nd place girl so I pushed this section. There was a lot of wind but I was feeling confident with my skills. It was only in the upper 60s (temp) but it was humid and I was feeling warm. I was prioritizing my liquid calories and taking a few sips of water to wash down pieces of bar or chews. I felt like I was doing a good job with my nutrition as I had peed a few times (on the bike) and I hadn’t had any low moments. It was cool to see the solo point five (half distance) athletes running on the road as I was biking. I was getting cheers from a lot of the runners. When I saw Karel at the final aid station, I tossed my water bottle and didn’t grab anything from him. I didn't want any extra weight going up the final climb. It really helped to look forward to each aid station to see Karel and he did such a great job “feeding” me.

Mile 101-111 (13 mph, ~1197 feet)
This section was very tough. Straight headwind and it was getting stronger as I got closer to the final climb and transition area. I tried to stay as aero as I could, which was tough as all I wanted to do was sit up and stretch. The nice thing was seeing some of the run course (miles 3-10) and knowing that I would have tailwind for this section. I was really happy that even with this strong wind, I didn’t have any low moments and I was feeling energized and strong (just moving slow through the wind). Throughout the entire race I kept getting cheers from other support crews and the support really helped in this final stretch. This was the only stretch of road on the course where the support crew was allowed to drive on the same stretch of road that the athletes were biking on. I saw the sign to New Hampshire (4K) and knew I was close to the final climb. The last climb was so hard. Over 18% and almost a mile in strong headwind. I knew I wouldn’t gain anything by going hard up the climb so I tried to take it easy as I slowly pedaled my way up the climb. Karel was there cheering for me and since I was the 2^nd athlete nearing the transition (one guy ahead of me got a flat tire a few miles from the finish and he was changing it on the side of the road) I also had a small group of spectators giving me a cheer to get to the top.

The end of the bike was pretty spectacular. There’s a huge cross and it’s on the top of a hill and the wind was howling. Karel had all my stuff laid out in the white tent (I wish he took a picture, it was so organized!). I changed into compression socks, changed out of my kit and into tri shorts, a clean sports bra and a tank, put on a hat, grabbed my sunglasses and put on my Naked Running belt w/ 2 flasks. I also put on my cooling towel. Karel rubbed PR lotion on my legs as I was putting on my NB Fuel Cell Running shoes. I used the port-o-potty at the transition area before starting the run. The organizers did a great job with potties all over the bike course and also put signs out any place there was a public restroom for us (or the crew) to use. I was a little nervous and a lot excited to start the run.

If you'd like to listen to my entire race recap, you can check it out here.

'23 XTRI Canadaman - Race Recap pre-race and swim

 

Pre Race
I was nervous. Very nervous. I was about to do a lot of things that I’ve never done before. Even though this was my 20th Ironman distance triathlon, the event felt very unfamiliar to me in many ways. But that is exactly why I signed up for XTRI Canadaman – do challenge myself and to do something that I’ve never done before.

Come race day morning, we had seen almost all of the race course. We either drove or biked every mile of the 112 mile course. We swam in the lake (twice) and we drove the run course. There were ~8 miles of the run that were on private land (and off-road) so we weren’t able to see those miles. The last ~8.7 miles were all off-road, on very technical (and hilly) trails. Karel did his “long” run up and down the mountain on Saturday so he was able to tell me all about miles 18-26.

We had to attend a mandatory pre-race briefing at 3pm at Centre sportif Mégantic (downtown, by the lake ~25 min drive from our Airbnb in Val-Racine. The meeting was not very informative as it was mostly in French and only provided a few pieces of info about gravel on the road in a few sections and wearing the live tracking device. I picked up my timing chip and the meeting was complete at 4pm.

I didn’t sleep too well the night before the race (which is to be expected). After a full day of carb-loading, I laid down around 6pm and tried to fall asleep around 7pm. When I finally fell asleep, I woke up around 11pm and then tossed and turned until my alarm went off at 2:15am.

We woke up to light rain (which I expected thanks to the Epic Weather app) and although it was a restless night of sleep, I woke up feeling less nervous. The day was finally here.

I had organized all my gear the day prior and Karel had everything loaded in our rental SUV. I also prepared all my nutrition the day prior and kept in the fridge in different bags and on race morning, Karel put everything in the SUV, along with his gear, nutrition and snacks for his day of supporting me. I put on my bib number tattoos in the morning after putting on my race kit.

Karel said all the right things to keep me positive and calm as we drove to the race. I ate my pre-race meal in the car around 2:55am (2 Belgium waffles topped with PB and syrup and a side of cherry yogurt) and then braided my hair. When we arrived to the race venue, parking was easy. Karel parked near the exit so that he could easily leave the race venue to make his way to the first aid station after I got on the bike. It was raining when we arrived, then it stopped, then it poured. I put my bike on the closest transition rack near the exit. With only ~80 athletes in the xtreme distance and ~100 in the solo point five (including relays – this was the half distance), the transition area was small and there was plenty of space (although somehow the racks still seemed crowded as everyone wanted to be near the exit). I had my bike gear in a bag as Karel was going to lay out my T1 gear as I was swimming. For the next 30 minutes, we hung out under a tent and listened to the pouring rain come down. I put on my wetsuit, inflated my buoy (with light inside) and grabbed my cap and goggles.

I walked down to the water edge around 4:15am and stepped in the water. It was the perfect temp – upper 60s. The air was also around 60 but it didn’t feel warm.

I lined up on the front line and at 4:30am, it was time to start the race.

                                         

Swim – 1:04.49, 3rd overall

• Roka Maverick X2 wetsuit
• Roka F2 goggles
• New Wave Swim Buoy
• White light (for inside buoy)
• Castelli Tri kit
• Compress Sport Calf Sleeves
• Born Primitive Sports Bra

The swim was a two loop swim with a short run on the beach between each loop. When I started the swim, I felt a bit of panic. My body was not comfortable with swimming in the dark and it was early so I needed to give myself time to settle into a rhythm. After a few minutes, I found myself feeling much better. I felt like the swim was slow and hard. Although the buoys had lights on them, there were also kayaks with lights. This required a lot of sighting to stay on course. Once I made my way around the two turn buoys and started to head back to the shore, it started to get a bit brighter out which made it easier to sight. I wasn’t sure where to exit the water so I needed to sight a lot as I was nearing the shore. I exited the water and jogged along the shore before getting back in the water. I felt a lot better on the 2nd loop but it still felt slow. And when I saw my time of 32 minutes after the first loop (I don’t wear a watch when I swim the full distance because I don’t want to see my swim time but I noticed my time on the official race clock) I knew this was a slow swim. I usually like to build my effort in the back half of the swim but I felt like I only had one speed. I thought I was behind the lead group of swimmers but when I exited the water and ran to my transition area, Karel told me that I was 3rd out of the water.

Karel had my transition area laid out perfectly with my shoes, helmet, socks and tracking device. He put the tracking device (which we were required to wear) in my left rear tri kit pocket and my nutrition (gu aminos in a baggie, Never Second bar and Power Bar chews in my right rear pocket). As I was swimming the 2nd loop he turned on my computer, turned on the navigation (bike race course) and turned on my front and rear light (both required).

Although it was raining on and off during the swim, it had stopped raining when I got on the bike. But that was short-lived as it started pouring within a mile of the bike.

If you'd like to listen to my entire race recap, you can check it out here. 

2023 XTRI Canadaman - travel and course recon

 

I booked an early flight to Canada on Delta which had us leaving the house at 3am (waking up at 2:45am) on Wednesday June 28th. We would have left on Tuesday but Karel flew home from Bend, Oregon on Monday after completing the 5-stage Oregon Trail Gravel Grinder and I wanted to give him a full day to recover at home before flying again. Karel came home exhausted after riding 363 miles with 32,681 feet of climbing. He finished 5th in his AG (45-59) and had his best placing on day 5. While the scenery was stunning, the event was very hard and the wild weather (sun, rain, hail, cold) added to the adventure.
Karel had a nasty crash near the finish of stage 1 when he was having a bit too much fun descending and overshot a turn. From sleeping in tents to climbing, climbing and more climbing, I ‘think’ Karel had a good experience but I know he’s relieved it’s over.

We arrived to the GSP airport around 3:45am and had no issues checking in and going through security. At 4:30am the centurion lounge opened so we were able to get a small meal and coffee. We boarded the plane around 5:15am and our short flight to ATL left around 5:30am - we both slept during the flight. 

When we arrived to ATL we made our way to the international terminal and went to the Delta lounge (which opened at 6:30am). Our Amex plat business card gives us lounge access to most lounges which has really made our traveling experiences a lot better. We had another bite to eat and got some work done during our 2 hour layover. 

We boarded our flight around 8:15am and left a little before 9am. We were both still really tired so we slept during our 2 hr and 45 minute flight to Montreal. 

The point of entry/border control process went smooth and didn't take us more than ~20 minutes. There were kiosks to scan our passport and take our picture and then we showed our receipt to the officer which let us through. Our luggage came quick and so did our bikes. The biggest delay was the rental car process which took us over an hour as the Budget/Avis (we had Budget) staff was very slow with the 3 customers ahead of us. Finally, nearing 1:30pm we had our rental car (Jeep) and made our way to Lac Megantic. 

We stopped at the IGA grocery store in Sherbrooke which was ~1 hour outside of Lac Megantic. Since the town we are staying in is very small, we did a big shop before arriving. Although everyone speaks French in Quebec (and some English), everyone has been really nice. The drive took us ~3 hours and we had a bit of rain on and off. I was worried about the forest fires and smoke but the air quality was fine. The scenery reminded us a lot of Lake Placid as we were driving which gave us a great feeling that we would like this area. 

We had a little trouble finding our Airbnb in Val-Racine but around 5pm we found our home for the next few days. The house I booked looked older online but it is actually very new and modern. It's on the top of a gravel hill and is surrounded by trees. After unloading groceries and our luggage, we were both extremely tired but we knew we needed to move some blood after a long day of travel. We went for a jog for ~30 minutes and it felt good to move the body.

Karel made some eggs and veggies for dinner and we had that with some bread and then we went to bed around 9pm and slept in until 6:30am....we both needed it! 

On Thursday morning we worked on the computer for a bit and around 8am Karel put the bikes together (he has his gravel bike, which he didn't unpack after Oregon) and around 9:30am we drove ~20 minutes to Lac Megantic (race venue) for a swim. 

I was a bit worried that the water was going to be really cold but it was actually perfect in the upper 60's. Karel brought his wetsuit so we swam together for ~20 minutes and then I did a bit more as I wasn't ready to stop swimming and needed a bit more time to get a good feel for the water. I wore my buoyancy float as it's required during the race (along with a light since we start the race at 4:30am). As we were swimming they were setting up the transition area and putting out the buoys for the sprint race on Saturday. Everyone was very nice and thanked us for visiting the area for the race. 

After the swim we got our bike stuff on and went for a ride. The plan was to ride the big loop outside of the lake which was miles 30-69. But to get to mile 30, we had to bike 4 miles to the town of Lac Megantic and there was some construction so it was a big of an adventure to get to where we needed to get but eventually we were on the course. 

The course is hilly. I wouldn't call it rolling as the hills are long and can be very steep. It was also windy as we were riding. The road surface was smooth in some sections and really rough in other sections. The scenery was incredible as it was a mix of mountains, lakes, farms (and cows) and wide open roads. The course is pretty straightforward in that there aren't a lot of turns so you see the road ahead of you for miles and miles. 

Having said all of this, I feel this course really suits my strengths, style of riding and what I love in a course. Karel rode his gravel bike and his legs are still pretty smashed from his race (and the travel) but it was good for him to also see the course as he will be driving as my "crew" and providing my bottles at the aid station stops (there are 4 of them) throughout the bike. The cars were really respectful as we were biking. 

After 45 miles and 2:43 and 3500 feet of elevation gain, we were back at the car. My legs were a bit tired to start but opened up nicely and I felt good throughout the ride. There was one big kicker of a climb (long and steep) around 81km but the view behind us was incredible. 

As we drove back to our Airbnb we were able to see the bike course from mile 70 until 86. More looooong hills. 

Here are a few more pics from the bike course. 

If you are interested in following me on Sunday, the event starts at 4:30am EST (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26 mile run). To follow, here's a link to live tracking. 

2023 XTRI Canadaman - my 'extreme' training plan

 

Although most XTRI events have a similar distance to that of an Ironman distance triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, 26.2 mile run), the demands are much more extreme. Extreme triathlons are almost always hilly. and the terrain and weather conditions can be..... extreme. For example, the 112 mile bike course at Canadaman has almost 8,000 feet elevation gain and the run (which includes a lot of trail running and hiking) has almost 4,000 feet elevation gain. The water is predicted to be cold (in the 50s) when we start the swim at 4:30am and it may be very windy and a bit rainy throughout the day. 

My approach to preparing for Canadaman was not too different than what I would do for a standard Ironman. It takes a very strong, powerful, efficient and resilient athlete to complete an Ironman distance triathlon but for an extreme triathlon, I believe that you must be physically fit but also mentally strong and emotionally resilient. Since my training playground (Greenville, SC) is very hilly, all of my outdoor training requires strength. I feel this has helped me stay injury-free over the past 4 years and has contributed to success in the Ironman distance. I don't train to be fast, I train to be great at not slowing down (aka fatigue resistance). 

I started my season focusing on strength. One key weekly workout that I feel really helped was a 3-4 mile run to the Furman gym. An ECFIT heavy lifting session (~30-40 minutes) and then a 3-4 mile run home. I also did a lot of mountain biking and road biking this winter, which requires a lot of power and strength. I also incorporate group riding (road bike) into my weekly routine. Group rides force me to push at higher intensities than what I would do alone. 

The truth is that I didn't do any epic/extreme training sessions throughout the year. Instead, my focus was on consistency.  Although I coach myself and write my own workouts each week, I was able to stay extremely consistent with my vision/plan for training. I also know what my strengths and weaknesses are and I'm not afraid to prescribe myself workouts that I don't like (but know I need).

Since February, I've participated in 8 endurance events. 

• 2/25: Pleasant Ridge MTB - 5:52, 57.2 miles, 5942 feet elevation gain 
• 3/25: Whole Enchilada MTB - 5:24, 51.5 miles, 2398 elevation gain
• 4/1: Saluda Redbank Gravel - 6:07, 95.8 miles, 4928 feet elevation gain
• 4/30: 6 Gap Gravel - 7:24.01, 91 miles, 10,755 feet elevation gain 
• 5/6: Whitewater Off Road Triathlon - 2:44.56, ~4400 feet elevation gain 
  
• 5/20: Xterra Oak Mountain Triathlon - 3:31.17, ~2100 feet elevation gain 
• 6/4: IM 70.3 Blue Ridge - 5:02.17, ~3588 feet elevation gain
• 6/10: Belgium Waffle Ride NC - 10:30.59, 132 miles, 14692 feet elevation gain

Each of these events has provided me with training stress and racing experience. Since XTRI events are often held in extreme weather conditions, I've had a lot of experience racing in "bad weather." I can't tell you how many times this year I've raced in the cold and in the rain. Not only have I been able to work on my mental skills, but I've learned how to dress strategically for specific conditions. 

The other benefit of racing so much this year is being able to practice and fine-tune fueling strategies that I can use during XTRI. Knowing what, when and how much to fuel and hydration is critical in an extreme race, especially since these events are 100% self-supported. I must plan my nutrition and my crew (Karel) must provide it to me at designated spots. Racing for 5, 6, 7, 10+ hours has given me valuable insight on how to best fuel the day before, the morning of and during a long distance event. This just can't be replicated in training. 

Going back to consistency, despite racing 8 times, I was able to stay very consistent with training. I also focus a lot on frequency so that I am not a weekend warrior (my weekly swim, bike, run miles are spread over 3-4 workouts over 7 days, not just from megaworkouts). 

Monday is always an easy day (likely a swim or spin) and Friday is also an easier day after a hard morning masters swim. I usually run 4x a week, swim 4x week and bike 3-5x week.

Here's a snapshot at my training. Of note, this doesn't include time spent strength training and mobility. Also, my biking miles are a mix of road, gravel, mountain bike and 1 weekly trainer ride (usually around 60-90 minutes). I rode my tri bike 2 times before IM 70.3 Blue Ridge and once before Canadaman. This is because I've learned that my hips/back/glutes/neck is happier when I don't do long tri bike rides. Lastly, my "biggest" workouts were events (except my final prep weekend, which I'll get to below). I never ran more than 2 hours (except for my final prep weekend) and most of my "long" runs were ~1:40-1:50 but included specific intervals throughout the run. I run off the bike at least twice per week (sometimes 3 times). 

2/20: 18:27 weekly hours, 18025 yards (swim), 133 miles (bike), 9.51 miles (run)
2/27: 14:53 hours, 15400 yards, 114 miles (bike), 32.2 miles (run)
3/6: 18:52 hours, 15725 yards, 169 miles (bike), 26.7 miles (run)
3/13 (travel): 19:50 hours, 7700 yards, 208 miles (bike). 34.5 miles (run)
3/20: 18:23 hours, 19050 yards, 96.3 miles (bike), 29.8 miles (run)
3/27: 20:02 hours, 14300 yards, 196 miles (bike), 31.4 miles (run)
4/3: 18:16 hours, 14475 yards, 193 miles (bike), 29.4 miles (run)
4/10 (Trimarni camp): 16:54 hours, 16408 yards, 157 miles (bike), 25.3 miles (run)
4/17: 18:01 hours, 14936 yards, 165 miles (bike), 31 miles (run)
4/24: 20:52 hours, 15667 yards, 188 miles (bike), 22.2 miles (run)
5/1: 17:17 hours, 15154 yards, 99.7 miles (bike), 28.6 miles (run)
5/8: 18:24 hours, 16275 yards, 178 miles (bike), 31 miles (run)
5/15 (taper for Xterra Oak Mountain): 12:58 hours, 12770 yards, 16.5 miles (bike), 16.5 miles run)
5/22: 19:44 hours, 17958 yards, 200 miles (bike), 30.3 miles (run)
5/29 (taper for 70.3 VBR): 14:45 hours, 7795 yards, 158 miles (bike), 28.6 miles (run)
6/5: 21:59, 10750 yards, 168 miles (bike), 19.8 miles (run)
6/12 (final prep): 22:27 hours, 17074 yards, 196 miles (bike), 38.4 miles (run)
6/19: (start taper): 15:31 hours, 14950 yards, 140 miles (bike), 24.8 miles (run)

For my final prep, I did a dress rehearsal to practice in gear similar to race day and to test my nutrition on similar terrain The weekend workouts were: 
6/17: 5:19 bike, 85.8 miles, 7100 feet elevation gain
         + run off the bike, 59 minutes, 7.04 miles 
6/18: 3:25 trail run/hike (testing hydration packs and using hiking poles), 18.6 miles, ~2000 feet elevation gain

I'm feeling very healthy, strong and resilient and I am very proud of and thankful to my body for what it has allowed me to accomplish over the past 6 months. 

2023 XTRI Canadaman - what's an XTRI event?

Over the past few years, I've tried a lot of new things. Gravel racing, mountain bike racing, Xterra racing, stage racing. Being a beginner means embracing failure and struggle but I've also learned a lot about myself. I also learned that the more variety I have with my training and racing, the stronger I become in mind and body.

Over the past several years of Ironman distance racing, I have learned that the harder the course, the more excited I get to train and race. As I searched for "hard" triathlon race courses to add to my bucket list, the Norseman triathlon in Norway always seemed to come up first in my google search. Everything about that race was everything that I don't enjoy (cold water, cold temperature, wind) but I kept coming back to that race and thinking "I need to do that."

The Norseman triathlon is part of the XTRI series. The XTRI series originated with Norseman Xtreme Triathlon in 2003. Jumping off a ferry into 50-degree water, cycling over 10,000 feet elevation in cold, wet and windy conditions and then running over 4600 feet to climb a mountain to reach the finish line. Although the distance of XTRI events may be similar to a standard Ironman distance triathlon, these events are much more extreme.

The XTRI events have small fields, often with a max of 150-250 athletes. Every participant is required to have a support crew as the race is entirely self-supported. Besides designated transition areas, there are no catered aid stations. You are on your own from start to finish with specific areas where you can receive nutrition from your crew. The races are held in beautiful locations with extreme terrain. Most races include trail running for the marathon portion and will finish with some type of epic climb/hike to the finish line. Conditions can be extremely hot to extremely cold and everything in between. Often, the swim starts very early (4-5 am) and the water temperature can be very cold (50-60 degrees F).

With races around the globe, the trademarks of an extreme triathlon include cold water, strict time cut-offs, a lot of elevation gain on the bike and the run, utilizing a support car and crew, a mix of running terrain, a crew member to accompany you on certain sections of the run and beautiful scenery. Every race ensures that you will feel and see the local community as you race for 10+ hours.

Because the Norseman still feels a bit too extreme for me right now, I will be dipping my toes in the waters of Lac Megantic, Canada on July 2nd for my first XTRI event. Karel will be my support crew throughout the race and he will also hike the last 8.5K of the run with me to reach the finish line at the summit of the Mont Megantic Observatory. The bike has 8200 feet of elevation gain over 112 miles an the run has ~5000 feet elevation gain over 26 miles. The race starts at 4:30am.

This event will be a great learning experience for me because on September 1st I'll be participating in Icon Xtri. Although Canadaman will feel a little more extreme than a standard Ironman, Icon will be the biggest athletic challenge that I've ever taken on in my life. Located in Livigno, Italy (at almost 6000 feet), I'll be swimming 2.4 miles in the fresh water of Lago del Gallo. I'll be cycling 121 miles up the Forcola pass, into Switzerland to climb the Bernina Pass, then down to St. Moritz to climb the Fuorn pass, descending to Val Mustair and then back into Italy. To finish the bike, I'll be climbing over 48 switchbacks up the famous Stelvio Pass (second highest pass in Europe at almost 9000 feet). The bike course will cover over 16,000 feet elevation gain. And then its time for the marathon, which is a mixture of road and trail running, finishing with a 10K, 3600 feet climb to the finish line which sits at almost 10,000 feet high.

Canadaman XTRI will be my 20th Ironman distance triathlon. I've really enjoyed my preparation for this event. I'm excited for an athletic challenge that will feel a little familiar and a lot different to what I am used to. I'm also looking forward to sharing this experience with Karel. Although we've raced on the same race course many times, we've never raced "together" so I look forward to having his support throughout the race and sharing the final 8.5K climb/hike with him as he helps me get to the finish line. 

What's wrong with my appetite?

 

Can you relate?

You finish a long or hard workout and you have no appetite. You'd think you'd be ravenous after a tough training session but eating is the last thing on your mind. Even worse, the thought of food leaves you feeling nauseous. But come the evening or the next morning, you are starving and you can't seem to stop the nagging hunger pangs and fill the bottomless pit in your stomach. 

If you said "that's me!" you are not alone. Having a decreased appetite after certain training sessions is very common. However, just because this is a normal phenomenon, this doesn't mean that its ok not to eat. The food you eat post workout provides the fuel to power future workouts and gives your muscles the nutrients needed to properly recover from the previous session. 

Here are a few reasons why your appetite is blunted post workout: 

• Internal body heat - Contracting muscles produce heat. Around 20% of the energy produced by contracting muscles is used for muscle contraction and the rest is convereted into heat energy, which results in an increase in body temperature. 
• Blood flow - A normal effect of exercise is the diversion of blood away from the gut so that more oxygen can go to the working muscles. Less blood flow to the gut means less hunger sensastions. 
• Dehydration - Staying hydrated is critical for optimal body functinoing. Dehydration can make you feel tired, nauseated, fatigued and sleepy. 
• Nutrient deficiency - A decreased/poor appetite is common in several nutrient deficiencies such as iron, magnesium, B vitamins, folate and zinc. 
• Hunger hormones - Ghrelin is a peptide hormone predominantly produced by the stomach. It plays a key role in stimulating appetite and energy intake. Intense or prolonged exercise supresses ghrelin. 
• Dieting and/or body image concerns - You are disconnected from your body's cues. You've conditioned yourself to ignore your hunger cues and undereat to meet your body composition goals. 

For athletes focused on performance, health and sport longevity, consuming nutrition and fluids post-exercise is critical. Insufficient energy intake may impair tissue repair, induce excessive fatigue and reduce the ability to stay consistent with training. While counterintuitive, you need to take in calories even when you aren't hungry. 

This is called Mechanical Eating and it's the opposite of Intuitive Eating. 

Intuitive eating means eating only when you are actually hungry and honoring your body's hunger and fullness cues to make food decisions. While this may work for the normal population, avoiding food after intense/long training due to not being hungry will compromise training adaptations and your ability to perform well in your next workout. 

Mechanical eating means having a specific plan as to what and when you will eat when you don't experience hunger cues. 

Because proper recovery can help with performance gains, building lean tissue (strength gains), optimizing health and reducing the risk for injury, it's important to have a plan for post workout nutrition when you lack an appetite to eat post workout. Consider liquid calories as a start and aim to eat smaller carb/protein portions every hour in the 4 hours post workout to help with recovery. If you continue to struggle with your intake post workout, reach out to a sport RD to help create a personalized plan for your needs.