My To 10 favorite training/racing items plus 5 that I am looking forward to trying...

My top 10 favorite training racing items (in no particular order):


1.) My new set of Zipp 404's - So fast!

2.) Saucony Fastwitch 4's - Light as air and fast as heck! (http://www.saucony.com/)

3.) Saucony Transit Short Sleeve shirt - Like the Fastwitch 4's, light as air.



4.) Foggle by TriSwim - Eliminates foggy goggles. (http://www.tri-swim.com/)




5.) First Endurance Multi-V - first multinutrient vitamin clinically proven to enhance endurance.
(http://www.firstendurance.com/)

6.) TriSlide by TriSwim - Spray on lubricant.

7.) Aqua Sphere Kayenne Goggles -Most comfortable goggles I have owned.


8.) Beaker Concepts Hydrotail rear hydration system - Holds 2 bottles and all my tubes, etc.

9.) DeSoto Sports Seat Pad - Gives 5mm of extra padding for those long rides:)


10.) My trusty Sony Walkman mp3 player - For those long runs




5 Things I am looking forward to trying this season:


1.) EFS Grape Flavored Drink by First Endurance - Hoping to finally find a drink to fuel my
races without causing GI issues.

2.) Blue Bud bluetooth headphones by Jaybird - Ordered these for a birthday present back in
January and the release date has been pushed back until July. Looking to lose the wires
during my runs.

3.) Timex Ironman Global Trainer - Garmin type device made by the people at Timex

4.) Additional Swim Stroke Analysis - Pretty self explanatory

5.) Rev3 70.3 race - Looking forward to competing in a Rev3 event after hearing so many good
things from various reviews on the Rev3 group! (http://www.rev3tri.com/)



Train hard, race fast and do it with a smile on your face:)

Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face...

And punched in the face is how Sunday's race started. Looking back, I probably could have trained a bit harder, but I really thought I was ready. I was hoping to finish Sunday's NOLA 70.3 race in a pedestrian 6:15. Not fast by most measure, but a pretty good time for me.

Last year ended kind of bitter sweet for me. I finished Ironman Louisville in only my second year, but ended it by walking almost the entire marathon. The nutrition plan I had been working with all summer, failed miserably on race day. I ended up throwing up 6-7 times in the first 10 miles. Even with all of this, I was hooked. I finished with a smile on my face and a hunger for more.

Back to Sunday...I was in the 3rd from last wave to start. As the morning went on, the wind began to kick up....to the point that when we started to wade out into the water, there were 3 foot swells. I didn't know that could happen in a LAKE! At first, I though it was kinda cool....yeah that ended quickly. I was soon tossed on top of other swimmers and then punched in the face. It was like I had never swam before. I remember my very first race and the hyperventalating that accompanied the swim. Sunday was that times about 10. I actually grabbed onto 3 kayaks to gather my wits. Being from Memphis, we don't get to swim in too many waves. Not the swim I was looking for, but in order to always try to learn from bad times, I now know how to swim in waves. Whatever doesn't kill me, only makes me stronger:)

The bike was pretty uneventful. I was aiming for 20 mph and finished at 19.4. The run had its problems again. Off the bike, my legs felt great, but my stomach did not. I felt bloated and somewhat nauseous for most of the run. This is two straight races this has happened and has lead me to reevaluate my nutrition plan and to also focus more on my running. I have never been a fast runner, but in training, I also have never had these issues. Back to the drawing board!

Despite the issues I had during the race, I continue to be sucked in by the sport. I got to see Trakkers Elite members Dede and Jacqui finish in he top 8 (Dede smoked the swim)! I caught my brother on the bike and was able to do the entire run course with him. I smiled a lot and thanked a ton of volunteers on the course. Overall, I had a fun weekend. And as always, continue to be hooked on this sport....whether I have to go back to the drawing board or not:)

Go Team Trakkers....and down with K-Swiss/Trek:)

Saucony apparel review

I thought I would give a quick review of a recent purchase I made of some Saucony running apparel. In the past, I have held no real allegiance to any type or brand of running shoes. I have tried all brands. I have been fairly loyal to Nike running apparel though...until now! About a week ago, I received my order for a Saucony Transit short sleeve running shirt and a pair of RXT Burn run shorts. They ROCK!

The shirt is a basic technical fiber shirt that is ridiculously light weight. It is as light of a shirt as I have ever worn and yet continues to do an excellent job of moisture management. On top of this, it adds a layer of SPF 50 protection from the sun.

The shorts are great as well. Much like the shirt, they are very light weight. I personally like a longer running short, so these particular ones, have a 7 inch inseam. It has a boxer brief liner, 2 side pockets, and a zippered back pocket.

After having worn these for a couple of runs now, I am officially a Saucony convert and plan on making more purchase from them n the near future. Thanks Saucony! Check them out at http://www.saucony.com/

Deep Thoughts of a 3 year old...

So in the last week or so, I have been asked some pretty interesting questions by my 3 year old daughter that I have not really had an answer for, so I thought I would throw the questions out to the group.

Here they are:

1) Where does the Easter Bunny live? Should be an easy one, but I can honestly say I don't know the answer. Maybe a hole in the ground? Maybe at Santa's house? Don't really know.

2) Why did the Easter bunny have shoes on and walk on 2 legs when he visited my school instead of hopping? Good question actually.

3) If the Easter bunny likes carrots so much, why does he bring us eggs and candy? Because they taste better? I am not sure.

and finally my favorite...

4) I had some bird poop on my windshield and she asked what it was. I told her plainly it was bird poop and she quickly asked me how do I know it wasn't angel poop since they fly too. You know, I didn't actually see the bird do it so maybe...........

Isn't it great to experience the minds of kids!?!?

That is all.

Keep training and keep smiling!