My friend Amy & I at the carbo dinner

This year marked my fourth trip over to France for Ironman Nice. When people ask me what it is I love about this race, I always find myself a bit flummoxed. Let’s see. . .the French Riviera, the most stunning bike course I’ve ever ridden, good wine (post race, of course). . . The list could go on & on. What do I not love is the real question!

I speak embarrassingly little French, in spite of this yearly pilgrimage, but I’ve found that as long as you’re up for a little adventure, you can make do quite well with a lot of hand gestures & a few handy phrases. See below.

Bon chance—good luck! The French can be so friendly. No, really. I heard this often before the race.

Allez, Allez!!—Go! Go! They love their endurance sports here, and one of the best parts about this race is the tremendous crowd support from spectators along both the bike & run course. It’s the closest I’ll ever come to knowing what it feels like to ride in the Tour de France.
La vie est belle—Life is beautiful.

Showing off the aero helmet. . .I think all this tapering is getting to me.

The French have a way of reminding me that there is so much in life to be thankful for. If you don’t know what I mean, perhaps you haven’t tried a banana nutella crepe lately?
Merci beaucoup—Thank you very much.

Thank you is the first word you should learn in any language when travelling. Well, actually, maybe bathroom is first—le toilette in French—but Thank you is a very close second.
I would like to say a big merci beaucoup to Andy, my friends, family, training partners and sponsors for all of their support, making it possible for me to travel to amazing places in the world to do the coolest job in the world.
Tu me manques déjà!—I miss you already. Today I leave Nice for—don’t hate me– a whirlwind trip through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, & Brussels before catching up Le Tour for a day or two, then flying out of Paris. Until next year, I will miss Nice. But, before I even left, I was already missing everyone at home. So, until next week, tu me manques déjà!
Bisous (kisses),

Katya

  I arrived Tuesday night after a, thankfully, uneventful sojourn from San Diego.  This was a special relief, as Sally (my car) decided to choose mile 2 of the trip to debut the emissions hazard light on the dashboard.  The manual seemed to suggest that this was either a) no big deal because maybe the gas cap was a little loose or b) A really, REALLY big deal, and you should stop driving immediately, even if it seems as if your car is driving just fine.

Hmm, with no further clues to go off of–other than that I am, generally speaking, incapable of fully replacing the lids on most things–be it jars of peanut butter, water bottles, or what have you–I decided to go with the assumption that gas caps would be no different.  Choosing option A, I continued on my merry way.  The car hasn’t exploded yet, and anything that happens after the race is, well, after the race, so I’ll worry about it then. . .

 It really only should have been a 6 or 7 hour drive, but I managed to make a full day excursion out of it, stopping for a long swim session, longer Trader Joe’s shopping extravaganzza, and bathroom stops at nearly every available gas station along the way.  Pre race hydrating does not make for efficient road trips. 

Wednesday was the LifeSport Ironman preparation camp.  Super starOlympian, Lisa Mensink, and I were lucky to be able to help out with the camp–it’s always a lot of fun to meet other athletes who will be out there sharing the day.  We did a bit of course previewing, a swim session with drafting and technique work, and received lots of great last mnute guidance from Paul.  I think we all left feeling better prepared and more inspired.

Thursday and Friday were full of short “activation workouts” (short, mostly easy workouts, with the exception of a few tempo efforts to keep your body from going into hibernation mode during taper), checking out the course, and general pre race hoopla.  Other than that, there’s not much other activity to report.  Beth aptly compared prepping the bike/run gear bags to an exercise in quantum physics.   This made me feel slightly better about the seemingly ridiculous amount of time it takes to prepare oneself for an Ironman.

Here are Bessie & friends warming up for their spectator duties on race day.  See you on the other side!  Best of luck to everyone racing this weekend!

This was a nice bonus race, asked for and approved by Coach Paul on Thursday night for a Friday morning departure.  It seemed the perfect way to cap off the Tuscon training camp, especially since it was “on the way home” (if you disregard the fact that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, that is).   With that in mind, I figured it can’t hurt to ask!

Since it was just 2 weeks out from St. George, I wasn’t fully expecting a “yes”, but the best preparation for racing IS racing, so perhaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised.  I got the go ahead, with the caveat that I had to run EASY for half of the run.  With a hard group ride, followed by a building tempo run, and long swim already on the schedule, I was essentially just turning the day’s normal training into a catered event with training partners and crowd support. . . yes, please!

After a longish car ride, made longer by the 2 hours of traffic encountered going over the Hoover Dam, we made it just in time to grab our race packets from Pete, the super accommodating race director.  After the morning’s track workout and the long drive, a shake out workout was definitely in order.  The only problem was, it was already o’dark thirty, so the planned 1.5 hour ride was clearly not happening.  Instead, the 4 of us settled on a 30′ spin around the lit parking lot of the expo, some of us–ok, just me–in jeans and flip flops, which seemed more fitting for the level of exertion.   Hillary and I had a good laugh because back in the day, this would have been a completely normal experience for the two of us.  We all followed it up with a 9pm makeshift dinner at Trader Joe’s, and headed for the hotel for a few hours of much needed sleep.

There were a few other debacles, but suffice it to say, it all worked out in the end.  The race course itself could not have been more spectacular–crystal clear and glassy reservoir swim, followed by a challenging ride, full of rolling hills and steady climbs, and capped off with one of the best run courses I’ve ever experienced in a triathlon.

I found feet in the swim; even more pleasantly, I found legs right away on the bike.  Just after halfway, I took the lead, and was able to enjoy the run as the course wound upwards from transition to a perfectly groomed trail that wrapped around the rim of the reservoir wound through tunnels before hitting the turn around.  I was lucky to finish in the lead, but much more importantly–since the main goal was St. G prep–I felt strong and finished with more in the tank.

Now, the goal is to take that training and confidence into THIS weekend’s race! Tomorrow, we leave for Utah.  Good luck to everyone racing this weekend!

20 x 400 in hot pink sports bras and knee high argyle socks, that’s what!

For our final morning workout in Tucson, we decided we needed to do it up right.  Target obliged with the hot pink sports bras, which were just begging to be purchased.

There’s nothing better than a trackfest to ensure that you got what you came for.  I was pretty sure that it had already been a very solid week of training chasing these gals around the roads and pools of Southern Arizona, but this final workout left no doubt.  You know it’s never a great sign when you loose count on #8 (luckily Hillary and Amy were there to correct my “halfway done!” proclamation).

All done!  Umm. . .can you tell who has been wearing the one piece?  the whiteness of my stomach is nearly blinding!

We got lots of attention from the fellow morning runners, one of whom asked if we were “warming up for a track meet?”  We decided to ignore the fact that our all out 400s looked like warm up pace to him, and instead focus on the fact that he seriously thought a coach might let his team run in this sort of team outfit.

In some ways, he wasn’t too far off, as the 400s were a warm up for the ALL day car ride to Lake Mead, just outside of Vegas for the BBSCTRi Half Ironman Race!

Hillary & I K-Swissed out Near the top of Mt. Lemmon

I’ve survived nearly a full week of training camp in Tucson–this was my closer to home substitute for the March camp in Australia which I reluctantly decided to give a miss when I switched my plan from IM Australia to IM St George.  My partner in crime for this adventure is Amy, a good friend who just did her first Ironman race this winter, but is already well on her way to full time IM racing gig.

I knew there must be something to the desert training, as T-town has quietly been amassing an impressive collection of world class triathletes–Hillary Biscay, Chris & Marilyn McDonald, TJ Tollakson, Samantha McGlone, and Leanda Cave, just to name a few.  Hillary and I have been great friends since long before our days as pros–before we followed training plans, knew how to change a tire, or had any clue what we were doing, quite frankly.  I credit Hills with inspiring me to sign up for my first Ironman, Ironman Coeur d’ Alene in 2003, where we earned the matching nickname “BH” or “Better Half”, as we were quite inseperable–pre race, at least.

It’s been slightly more difficult to keep up with her (in more than one sense!) since she began her world tour of Ironman domination, but it’s always fun to try!  So far, the pre St. G camp highlights have been:

$4 yoga with Hillary, Amy, and Samantha the first night upon arrival.  Perfect way to stretch out from a looong car ride, and about the same cost as mat rental for a class in SD.

Saturday Shoot out Group Ride.  Besides the ridiculously bumpy roads (seriously, did someone forget to tell them about Obama’s stimulus for road repair? for one or two sections I actually wished I’d brought my mountain bike) was a really fun, really tough group ride.  I’ll admit, even the cracked and pothole filled roads added to the rugged charm, though it’s much easier to admit now that I’m on the safer side of the day!

Sunday loooong ride with Chris MacDonald, aka “Big Sexy” and Jake Rubelt, a former cycling pro and now coach (who is still darn fast, btw).  I’m sure it was a beautiful route, but for 120 something miles, I saw little else but their back tires.

3 hour run on the rock and cactus studded trails. . .which left me with a little souvenir to take home after taking a little tumble late in the game.

Mt. Lemmon–the 25 mile climb that’s a fixture of Tuscon cycling.  Most importantly, there is a stop at the top known (for good reason) as The Cookie Cabin, which features dinner plate size cookies.  We topped that off with a treadmill smashfest, then

We capped off this last day of T-town training with a track session this AM– 20 x 400 on 1′ rest.  Company for this was a treat in and of itself, but we decided to jazz it up a bit with some eye catching matching outfits. I’ll post some pics from that soon–camera is in the other car and we are rushing out the door–on to the next stop. . .

The road adventure continues! We (Hillary, Amy, Chris McDonald & I) are off to Vegas for a very last minute (yes, sort of a trend with me) race–the BBSCTri Rage Half Ironman.  for me, it’s just a training day–no race wheels, aero helmet, taper, or expectations–other than to have a blast!

Now, more about ME; )  The little more than 48 hours I spent in NYC were pretty awesome.  In between filming the Tone Up Challenge, watching Venus beat out Kim Clijsters at the Billie Jean King tennis show down in Madison Square Garden, I also squeezed in dinner with college friends, a beautiful 14 miler in Central Park, an artsy fartsy exhibit/party hosted by Gilt (if you don’t know what Gilt is yet, your bank account is very, very thankful!). . .oh, yes, and a spot on ABC News Health Segment.

It’s largely about my experience with Chronic Fatigue, and how I gradually was able to resume exercising, plus a few exercises from the Tone Up Challenge–which is a program that incorporates some first steps that are good for anyone who is ready to begin or resume exercising!

Warning. . .it’s a little cheesy–TV is hard!!

*The FCC requires me to state that I am a payed spokesperson of Dickinson’s Witch Hazel!. . .doesn’t mean it’s not good; )

After much deliberation, I will be sticking close to home for the first part of the season, anyway.  The original plan was to head over to Noosa, Australia for the LifeSport pro team camp, followed by IM Australia.  Noosa is one of my favorite places on earth and my coach and teammates my favorite people; but in the end, I couldn’t resist the temptation of time at home, a hometown race (CA 70.3), and most appealing of all, Ironman St. George.

I was having serious pre-race envy listening to everyone’s description of the brutal new course, so I signed up for the insanity!  On May 1st, I’ll be there along with a few thousand friends to validate it’s claim as the hardest IM in North America.

A few other updates (the first one should explain the draught). . .We’ve moved!  After 6 years of toughing it out, I finally came to terms with the fact that as much as I love my bikes, no triathlete should be without a garage.  Ever.  There was a little separation anxiety the first night, but they are now sleeping soundly in their own special place. Outside.  Better still, our new place is awesome! 2 blocks from the beach, fruit trees in the back yard, and just down the street from a trailhead that leads to my favorite run.  Oh, and only a 5′ walk from Pizza Port–SD’s best pizza and microbrewery.  Paradise was worth the wait!

This week I’m heading to NYC for an exciting spokesperson opportunity withthe Women’s Sports Foundation and Dickinson’s Original Witch Hazel Toner.  They’ve partnered to launch the “Tone up Challenge”, a new program designed to get women exercising.

More details soon.  Right now, I’m off to bed, as the 5.5 hour ride and 1.5 hour run coach has on my program for tomorrow is guaranteed to make sure I earn that nap on the plane.

Happy training!

Personally, I think Forest Gump had it only partially right with the “Life is like a box of choc-o-lates” quote.  Sure, it’s true that you don’t ever know exactly what you’re going to get–after all, even a cartographer (that’s a map maker–I looked it up) can’t reasonably be expected to decipher those little diagrams that come in the chocolate box.  And, certainly life is full of surprises.  It’s been said that life’s one certainty, is its uncertainty. I couldn’t agree more.

On the other hand, if you’re reaching your hand into a big box of yummy chocolate, do you really care what you’re gonna get?  I mean, except for the yucky strawberry flavored ones; those are disgusting.  But, everyone knows you just spit that kind right out, then reach for another.  No harm, no foul.  No reprecussions.  Life’s not like that.

Clearly, the impending V-Day holiday and heavy training has me thinking a little too much about chocolate.

In between bouts of all out suffering on the “Wednesday Ride” (it’s a group ride that leaves @ 8:15 from Carlsbad Starbucks on a certain day of the week, just in case you’re in the area and looking for a tough one), I had the realization that in many ways, group riding is perhaps a better model for life.  Here are my deep thoughts from the bike. . .

Life is like a group ride because:

>You never know exactly what you’re going to get, but it’s guaranteed to be friggin’ tough at times!

>We can accomplish much more, much faster with others than we can alone.

>Both hard work and smart decisions can really pay off.

>When you fall off the wagon, the best thing you can do is work your butt off to get back on as quickly as possible.

>Things will go more smoothly if you stay towards the front and pay attention.

>Nobody likes a jackass.

This all made sense and seemed rather profound at the time, but keep in mind that 99.8% of my blood was being shunted to my legs, and my heart rate was near it’s max. . .

Whether your life seems more like a group ride or a box of chocolates today (or better, still, a box of chocolates after a group ride!), make it sweet!