Nine nights spent in my own bed during the month of July! The month was full of exercise, laughs, more exercise, food, more exercise, recovery, crazy cool hotels and well you get the picture..lots of exercise! Here's a quick peak at life on the road. The fanciest things in life sometimes are the simplest...
July kicked off with a trip to California to race 70.3 Vineman, you can catch up on the details in my previous blog post, No Longer Last on Land
West Coast Lesson 1: The daily grind; just getting through life and forgetting the raw love we once had for our jobs & hobbies. We become complacent with what is comfortable. Kate, thanks for reminding me the importance of stepping outside of one's comfort zone. As I watched you prepare over my week spent in CA for your "1st" 70.3 with excitement, nerves and fear...it reminded me to always cherish the love I have for our sport and to go outside that comfort zone, whatever it may be and not look back! Embrace the emotions and roll with em'! Surround yourself with those that have great energy! Thank you and a big congrats to you!
Racine 70.3: The Monday after Vineman I landed back in Dayton to spend 3 nights at home before heading off to race back to back weekends at Racine 70.3. Paul was the official sherpa for the weekend, he only failed a few times..notably not having cash to pay the enormous amount of tolls...so far I haven't received a bill in the mail so we are good to go! He made me cook my own breakfast too, that's ok though...not sure he could of made the killer box mix flap jacks like I did! I decided the sherpa could then sleep in the kids room;-) Paul scored extra help with Megan, Matt and Nolan traveling to join the party, they fought over the car bed! Everyone enjoyed spectating my 1st professional duathlon and I enjoyed their cheers! Having the support of my family and friends makes this racing journey so special and such a blast! Couldn't and wouldn't want to do it without you all!
Central Time Lesson 2: You can't control everything, flexibility is the name of the game. Racine proved to be one of those experiences where you have no control so you smile and go with the flow. The weather over Lake Michigan took control of the morning and we had multiple delays which meant a second breakfast and nervous time back at the house with the family. Finally at 10am we had ourselves a duathlon. The change in the race logistics and distance gave me a chance to test my raw bike fitness. Out of a chaotic morning I discovered new limits on my bike, good things come out of not so perfect situations sometimes. I didn't podium for my first duathlon but lessons were learned and new race strategies will help me in the future! You save quite a bit of energy when you can take a deep breath and learn what you can and cannot control. This holds true for day to day training and life, you'll save yourself quite a bit of stress.
The Blue Ridge Parkway Trip: Home late Sunday night from Racine and back up at o'crack of dawn Monday morning to head to Virginia where the wheels would start spinning again mid afternoon. Monday would be a "recovery" ride on the Blue Ridge Parkway. 5 days of riding starting in Virginia and ending in North Carolina, not a single stop sign (well one for construction), views like you wouldn't believe and more hills than you can fathom. 5 days of 325 miles on the bike with 35,000 ft of elevation gain! A self supported adventure full of fun and hard work!
East Coast Lesson 3: Surround yourself with friends more experienced & stronger than you and share in the goal of making you better! This will only make you stronger and help you grow in your sport and life. Yeah it's fun to win and be the fastest at your group ride or run and be on top but it's "fun" to suffer & try to keep up too, for that is when you become stronger! I'm not above accepting a push up a hill when I'm hitting my limit! Thanks to Andrew for the training trips & sharing his expertise from his many years of racing & training. A big thanks to Jeremy, of Mind Right Multisport, Ruben & Glen for all the fun, encouragement and training lessons. One more lesson learned..a very important one...it's ok to order 2 dinners and desert in one sitting...you'll have way more energy the next day! I had to keep up with the boys somehow! Surround yourself with the best to become your best!
The Smartwool Ride to OR: After the Blue Ridge fun I made it home for 4 days before heading west to CO! I rested the legs as much as possible before joining the Smartwool crew and friends to bike from Steamboat Springs, CO to Park City, UT in 4 days. This meant another long week of saddle time! Four days of 400 miles and 14,000ft of elevation. From mountains to farms to desert and back to high alpine the views were awesome, the lack of oxygen invigorating and the people absolutely wonderful! I was completely spoiled by the amazing trip put together by Smartwool and Iconic Adventures! I didn't have to think about a single thing, other than staying up right on my bicycle!
Mountain Time Lesson 4: Remember training should be fun! This trip allowed me to take a deep breath, meet new people, enjoy epic aid stations in the middle of nowhere, listen to jammy packs while climbing mountains, soak in mountain streams and reservoirs post rides and enjoy what I would consider summer camp for adults! Mix up your training it is good for your heart and soul and it still can benefit you! The miles flew by having so much company!
July, thank you for the lessons & fun! The month was challenging, invigorating and beyond memorable!
August I must say is all about "Home Sweet Home!" I am extremely lucky to have amazing friends throughout the country, but coming home I am so thankful for the support system here that keeps me moving along! Pretty thankful for my own bed too! I'm enjoying a big training block now leading up to Ironman Wisconsin September 11th.
Remember, training & life should be very serious! Have fun & be safe out there, Nickie