Faster Than Your Eyes Can Blink

Take a millisecond to blink and...it's over! That is how this season felt.  I started racing in the end of February and finished up my last race about a week and a half ago at the end of October--I never thought 8 months could feel so fast (hopefully it goes that way when I'm pregnant someday?).

I originally gave myself a November 1st deadline for this post...wanting to have the season fresh in my mind and not let too much time pass before I took a second to reflect on the past 8 months...but of course, I procrastinated--mostly because I hate goodbyes and I feel like this is somewhat of a goodbye (or at least I'm hoping).  No, I'm not saying goodbye to triathlon, this sport can't shake me that quickly, I hope to be saying goodbye to the "rookie-ness".  I hope I can take all that I learned from this season and apply it to next year and the year after that...etc.  The reason I write race reports (and encourage others to do so) is not because I feel like a self-important celebrity who has millions of fans and followers, it's because I like to look back on the past and take lessons from it.  Each race has so many lessons and it is so easy to forget all of them.  When I started this blog it was private so NO ONE could read it and I would write how I felt at different races and what I ate beforehand so I could look at it later and see what worked for me.  I have since archived those blog posts somewhere offline so that no one can read how ridiculous my thoughts are before, during and after races. I still look back at those offline posts and even at the posts on here and read valuable nuggets that I wouldn't necessarily remember had I not written them down!

Aside from the performance benefits of documenting your races, it really is fun to look back and reflect on different trips and experiences throughout the triathlon season.  All triathletes, no matter the distance or level of racing, put their heart & souls into their training.  Many people go to bed early, refuse that shot of vodka, and stay in on Friday nights, all for the sake of training.  There are definite costs associated with training and racing--what better way to know the sacrifice will pay off and "keep your head in the game" than to look back at the highlights of your trips to races and your racing experience.  I get super stoked when I look back at posts from good races or even just fun trips that didn't necessarily have my best race attached.  When I am having one of those days where I say to myself, "What am I doing with my life?" I have all of these great accounts to look back on and realize I'm having fun with my life!

So now that you understand the why...here is the what...What happened this season? What lessons did I learn? What do I look forward to next season?

What happened:
I raced my "rookie" season and made lots of "rookie" mistakes, but also had a blast learning and living! (for a more detailed report...there are many blog posts from the season :) )

Lessons I learned:
-It's not as easy as it looks to put together a race where all three sports turn out to be stellar performances
-I'm NOT invincible, care needs to be taken to give my body the recovery it requires to match my level of desire and drive
-Focusing on training and racing does not equal shutting out the rest of your life outside of training and racing

What I look forward to:
-Taking the racing experience I gained this season and applying to all of my races next season--hopefully yielding some new results (and new lessons) !
-Taking a different approach to training: being mindful of the recovery work and workouts, not just the quality sessions; not putting blinders on towards the rest of my life, consider the whole picture
-Something I look forward to always: making new memories, and learning new lessons

So, the moral of the story... stop and smell the roses, create tiny pieces of your experiences that you can look back on and be thankful for!

Photo Highlights!

Thank you so much to my coach, Brian Grasky (graskyendurance.com), for great season with lots of improvement and more to come in the future!!

Thank you to my sponsors, XTERRA wetsuits and Trisports.com...getting me all the right gear to race fast this season!

Thank you to my family who has always supported me in my athletic endeavors.
And, of course, thank you to my wonderful boyfriend and biggest supporter, Lucas <3

Here's to the off-season! (Even if it is only a week or two ;) )


@nicoletruxes

XTERRA Lava Pants

Recently, XTERRA Wetsuits launched a new product that is truly unlike anything else out there right now.  This hot new item are the LAVA Pants (wetsuit pants)--they are thick and extremely buoyant and are recommended for use instead of a pull buoy.  When I first got them I was hurt and unable to swim, bike or run, but I was really excited to try them so I thought, "Why don't I try them for water running?".  It turns out, these pants were unknowingly MADE for this purpose.

The Lava Pants!

First off, just to clarify, water running is where you run in relatively deep water, where you can't touch the bottom.  You still go through the same motions as you would running on land, it just prevents you from further injuring yourself because you aren't pounding your muscles and joints.  Usually to help you stay on top of the water, you wear a floating belt.  I personally find these belts extremely uncomfortable and very unnatural feeling so I 'm usually stuck water running very hard to stay on the surface--this makes it difficult to do variable speed workouts.  The lava pants solve this problem--you can go easy when you want and hard when you want and still have a natural feeling run in the water.

There are two main reasons I like the lava pants for water running:

1. It allows you a more natural feeling than the water belt, but still keeps you on top of the water the same way.

2. It allows you to really vary your speed while trying to do a workout--you can focus more on your form during high intensity intervals and then during rest intervals you really can take a rest and not struggle to stay on the surface.

After being able to really shift intensity during my workout, my coach suggested using resistance to further simulate an actual workout on the road (or track).

So, for those of you who are injured, or need to take some time away from running on the road...I HIGHLY recommend the lava pants as an addition to your training arsenal :)

Want to try your own pair, click here!

Happy [water] running!

A Wild and Crazy Week!

Last week I had what I would call the ultimate bike/tri-nerd week...everything was all bikes (and sunglasses), all the time.  I attended both Interbike and the two-day Outdoor Demo preceding the major bike convention.  For those of you who are not ultimate bike/tri-nerds...Interbike is a very large bike industry convention--

Some Expo fun with the Rudy Girls!!

everyone comes to show off their new stuff for 2014 to all of the Retail Buyers in hopes of getting their gear in some new stores for the upcoming year.  I also learned that Interbike is one very large party--it takes place in Las Vegas, which I now find to be very fitting :)

I had the privilege of spending the week working for Rudy Project with a really fun group of people! Thank you all for a great time, and a wonderful experience!!

After a week of walking, talking, laughing, stickering, selling, and overall just being social I was EXHAUSTED, but I couldn't rest yet...I returned home late Friday night and had the day to get set to race in my hometown at the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon in Tempe!

Me, Moka, Hannah and Reba across the front!

It is always a great thing to have a race in your hometown--eat at home, sleep in your own bed, have all of your family and friends there.  I was at even more of an advantage because I live about 2 miles from where the start line was!  I have been excited for this race for months! I LOVE racing at home :)  So when I woke up Saturday with a gnarly cough, I told myself, "I'll be fine, I just need lots of sleep tonight!". So I went on with this mindset until I crossed the finish line the next day.  I was not going to let anything get between myself and racing at home!  When I finally came to terms with being sick, the verdict was that I had bronchitis so a Z-pack and some serious sleep were in order!

Rockin' my Rudy and definitely in a world of hurt!

I won't bore you all with the gory details of my race (because I assure you it wasn't my best!), but I will mention a few highlights: I completely forgot to take off my speedsuit...so I raced in two suits the whole race :). I managed to have relatively fast transitions despite being a little confused and out of it the whole race, but this was probably mostly attributed to leaving the speed suit on ;)  Also, I finally got to try a new kind of bike rack in transition--it was the kind you set your wheel in rather than rack your saddle on, very cool!  Did I have the best race of my life? No, definitely not :) Do I regret racing? No, definitely not :) I'm so happy I had the opportunity to prove to myself that I can race under any conditions.  While I did not have the most spectacular race of the season, I still went out there and had a good time!  

Still in my Speed Suit :) oops!

I'm looking forward to the end of October where I'll be competing in my final race of the season...I can't believe my first pro season is almost over--it went by so fast!!

Until next time :)

@nicoletruxes

A Lesson in Patience and Perspective

Normally around this time I am deep in the heart of race prep--fast track workouts, ferocious bricks and lots of recovery--but since you can't always control what is ahead of you, instead, I am slowly but surely becoming Aqua-jogging State Champ material.  Yes, you guessed it, I've got a little bit of an injury going on.

There are two main reasons I wanted to write this post:

1.  Injury is part of the game--you push too hard, and don't listen to your body then you have no choice but to..."Go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200"...but seriously, you're forced to sit it out
and let your body recover.

So yes, it's part of the game.  Luckily this is my first time dealing with an injury related to triathlon.  I have a mild overuse injury in my hip that will go away soon enough with proper rest and TLC. I did make one big mistake in dealing with injury already, however.  I was on my way to a speedy recovery and figured that since it only hurt a little bit this meant I could go a little harder--this eventually resulted in a piggy-back injury in my foot/ankle.  While this injury is also mild and I will recover "soon enough" I could have entirely avoided this by truly listening to my body.  So I guess the first big reason I wanted to share this experience with you all is--- have PATIENCE! I know it's hard, most of us that compete in this sport love it because it entertains our type A personalities.  The same drive that inspires us to push ourselves to the absolute limit acts as an Achilles Heel when it comes to injury.  I think we sometimes feel that we are superhuman and if our body gives us one sign of recovery, this must mean we are ready to push the limits again--WRONG, be patient!  Because I lacked patience with the initial injury in my hip, I now don't get to compete in the race I was most excited for this year--Chicago.  A large portion of my extended family lives in the Chicago area and this race is a "home away from home" for me and because of my lack of patience I don't get to compete this year.  So let this be a lesson for all of you---patience is key, your body will recover just let it!!


2.  Injury is NOT the end of the world.  There are so many reasons why a small injury can be a good thing.

Believe me, it feels like gloom and doom to find out you are injured (even a minor injury).  Two days feels like two months and a week feels like a year when you are pulled away from your regular training regime (welcome to my life the past couple of weeks!). It can be quite depressing, however, there is a BIG world outside of triathlon and taking a step away can put things in perspective.  It is so easy to put ourselves in this myopic view of the world when training for a big race (or season), but to be honest,

Quick Read w/ lots of Awesome Recipes

there are a lot of activities, people, things that you don't realize you are neglecting until all the training hours are taken away.  For me personally, these past two weeks have been filled with hobbies that used to be a high priority--drawing, music, reading, cooking.  Not to mention having the extra energy to devote to relationships (Lucas, my family) has been really nice. Do I miss the sweaty, mind-testing hours of training? HELL YES! Am I hungrier than ever to get back to training and do all of the little things right? HELL YES! I'm enjoying my time away, stopping to smell the roses, but I'm also counting down the days until I can build back into some beastly training sessions.

So the lesson has be learned and my world has been put in perspective, but it is all part of the journey.  Even though I'm super bummed about the timing of everything, it could be so much worse! I'm lucky that I can make these realizations without having a HUGE career-ending injury and hopefully by sharing this experience with you it will add to your arsenal of lessons that you can draw from in your own training!

So please, enjoy the heck out of your next long run for me!

Until next time :)

@nicoletruxes  

Rookies and Reunions

Last weekend I competed in the New York City Triathlon.  This race has you dive into the Hudson River, ride up the hilly Mosholu Parkway to the Bronx and then run a loop around historic Central Park!  This was not only my first time competing in this race, but my first time to the Big Apple!  Definitely an awesome experience!

Allie and I after the race!

I was lucky enough to meet up with some familiar faces in the city.  My long-time friend and fellow swimmer, Allie, was kind enough to host me at her apartment and take me around the city for the weekend. I was extremely excited about this because it’s been 10 YEARS since we’ve seen each other!! I had a classic New York experience on our Subway rides- maintenance, a street dance, and a new definition of personal space :) I also have some family that came to support me at the race and would later show Allie and I to an AMAZING East Side dinner post-race!

Little Blue was such a trooper and a welcomed ball of energy!

The race itself was really exciting:

First of all, the bars in Phoenix close at 2 so I was expecting an empty train for Allie and I. Little did I know... in NYC the bars close at 4 so there were PLENTY of people on the Subway when we were en route to race start at 3:30am! Funny stares and some sentiments for good luck made for a fun ride :)

Overall the race went really well.  I've been improving every time I race this season in one way or another, but I'm still a rookie and there were a few big signs in this race ;)

The Swim:

First sign of “rookie-ness”-

Yes, there is a current in the Hudson, but not all currents are created equal-- I learned this the hard way.  After reviewing video of the start I was right out in front with the lead girls, but they caught the stronger current closer to the middle of the river and were on their way to some super speedy swims!  I still had a decent swim and felt smooth in the water, but know for next time to find the fast lane ;)

The Bike:

After coming out of the water further back than I wanted, I was on a mission for the bike.  I knew this was a challenging course compared to what I’ve been used to racing this season so I was prepared to feel the hurt! I gave it everything I had, but I'm learning that the bike in a non-draft requires much more self-focus than a draft legal race where there are so many things going on you don't notice your exertion level!

The Run:

Second major sign of “rookie-ness:-

Like I said…I was really excited, the energy at this race was so high and I was really feeding off of it.  I took my first mile out in my best mile time ever (I’ve never raced a mile on the track, so the time is not that impressive, but still a little more quick than was advisable!).  This momentum really carried me through the first 4 mi…but as you can imagine, all good things must come to an end, and my runner’s high ended right between miles 4 and 5.  I hung on and fought to the very end, but unfortunately for me, it came down to a sprint finish…Meghan Newcomer had a fabulous finish, edging me out for 5^th by 1 second--congratulations Meghan! 

This was by far one of the most exciting non-drafting triathlons I’ve ever done!  The energy of the volunteers, spectators, and other racers was tremendous! Thank you for a great event everyone, I definitely will make the trip back to NYC some time in the future!!  Also, a big thank you to my sponsors Trisports.com and XTERRA wetsuits and of course my coach, Brian Grasky, for the continued support!!

Post-race with my awesome support crew :) Thank you guys!

Big&little excited for some gelato!!

Some non-race fun :)

After the race I got to experience a little bit of the city itself.  Allie and I went to dinner and gelato with my cousins Anna&Blue and their adorable baby- little Blue!  If you're an East Sider, or just in the city to visit, I highly recommend Pala--AMAZING pizza and pasta with Gluten Free and Vegan options (they even have Daiya cheese!!!)

Waiting in line to see Aten Reign

We also had the luxury of visiting the Guggenheim! Anna works there and was able to explain the background of the featured exhibit, Aten Reign by James Turrell.  The whole museum was really amazing, but I highly recommend stopping in to experience Aten Reign yourself--it's the only work of art I've ever enjoyed laying down, and it is amazing to see what can be done with the right amount of light and space!

                Learn more about the exhibit!

Sunset over the city

Catch you next time :)  @nicoletruxes

XTERRA Wetsuits are the BOMB!

Quick run I took at lunch along the cliffs in La Jolla

Just a few days after I touched down in Phoenix, after racing in Dallas, I packed up and left for San Diego.  This time, no racing involved, just smiling... :)

XTERRA Wetsuits had a two day photo shoot, in their hometown of beautiful San Diego.
Their goal was to gather images for use on their website and other media purposes.  We all had the pleasure of working with Tim Tadder, who aside from being a kick ass photographer is a very entertaining person!!  The first day of shooting was on location, meaning at the beach!! This provided all of us that were taking part in the photo shoot the opportunity to actually test the wetsuits in action!  Usually having a wetsuit on for 5-6 hours at a time would be a nightmare, but I honestly forgot I was wearing one--the swim cap got uncomfortable before the suit ever did!

Not only were the suits and photographer awesome, but all of the people involved in making the shoot happen were amazing.  Both Tim's and XTERRA's teams were extremely organized which actually allowed us to get out early from the shoot the second day and allowed me to get back home to Phoenix before midnight :)  Thank you all again for a wonderful experience!

The Group from Day 1! 

Now that you know how awesome these people are...let's focus on the suits...

The first suit I got to test was the Vendetta, which is XTERRA's newest suit; extremely light weight, thin and buoyant. How can it be thin and buoyant? It has air pockets built into the suit so the material is flexible and keeps your body in an ideal position on top of the water.  I was blown away! I'm not usually a fan of wetsuits at all, but this made swimming in a wetsuit very comfortable and the mobility in this suit was unmatched by any I had ever swam in before.  This is the suit I will be racing in from now on (that is until XTERRA decides to come out with an even more genius suit)!

Me, Sarah, Jenny || Day 1

The other two styles of suits I got to test were the Velocity, which is XTERRA's speed suit and the Vortex which is XTERRA's best-selling suit.  I was very impressed with both.  The speed suit fits just like a fast suit meant for swimming only--it has a nice light weight build with hydrophobic properties on the outside of the suit.  The zipper in the back makes for an easy exit out of the suit in T1.  The Vortex was more comfortable than any of the wetsuits I had tried prior to this photo shoot.  It was flexible and buoyant and although it was heavier than the Vendetta, I was still able to wear it for >5 hours without noticing any discomfort!

Wearing the Vector Pro!

Another exciting piece that made an appearance at the photo shoot were the all-new Lava Pants... I  won't give too much away as they are not yet available, but after picking Glynn's (Turquand, co-owner) brain about this new training tool, I am very excited for it to become available!!  Check out xterrawetsuits.com and facebook.com/xterra.wetsuits for updates on the pants' upcoming debut!!

Jenny, Me, Kelly || Day 2

And now you get how awesome these products are...I have an important announcement to make!!

I have teamed up with XTERRA wetsuits for the 2013 season!  As I mentioned above they provide the most flexible wetsuits on the market and they really know how to hire great people, so their customer service is absolutely top notch.  Click their logo to the right and use the code SA-TRUXES to get a huge discount, and take advantage of their 30-day return policy (take it for a spin, see if it fits, if not exchange it for your best fit!) !!  Feel free to contact me with questions about my experience in the suits!

Until next time :)

Location Day 1

@nicoletruxes

Racing in the Lone Star State

It seems like it has been about a month since I race in Dallas on June 1, but in reality it has only been a day more than a week!

The Thursday before the race, Lucas and I stepped off a plane into muggy Dallas, TX to get set for the Pan American Cup taking place on Saturday.

The venue for this race was definitely one of the nicest I have been to!  The logistics were amazing--the airport is an easy 20 minute freeway drive away from the hotel and the race itself takes place at the hotel--virtually no travel once you're there!!

Convenient Swim Venue!

Leading up to the race I knew weather was certainly going to be a factor, the forecast kept changing from no rain and super hot, to a higher and higher chance of thunderstorms every day.  The day before it looked as though the women would finish just in time for the storms to start, but the men would not be so lucky.  In actuality, it was just windy and threatening to storm while the women were racing (thank goodness for clouds), and then the sun decided to come out right in time for the men's race.

The water temperature of the lake was perfect, practically pool water, which I was super excited for--no shivering; off to a good start!! The method of start for the swim was a dive off the side of the lake, which was also much to my advantage with my swimming background.  The only unfortunate thing about the swim is that it ended up being a couple minutes short, and I really wish I would have kicked it up a notch a little earlier before exiting the water.  Regardless of the length and late acceleration, I came out of the water 3rd!  I haven't been in the front pack of a swim yet in an ITU race, and this has been a point of frustration for me coming from a swimming background; definitely a highlight of the race!

Transition was kind of crazy and an obvious point of improvement for me in the future; it's not my skills that are lacking anymore, it's my intensity.  The other girls had such ferocity running into and out of transition, whereas I look like a little girl running through a daisy field...  Building this aggression in transition will help me to get a better position earlier in the game and not have to fight for the spot I want!

The bike was a good experience.  In the previous two draft legal races this season I have been in small packs of 3-5 where it is very easy to organize and work together (as long as everyone is willing).  This pack was 10 right out of transition and 11 by the end of the bike.  The benefit to this large pack was the amount of energy I saved in the draft, however, the downside was the lack of organization.  It was tough to make any moves to get further away from the packs behind us.

Finally the run... I started out a little behind because I made a silly move on the last lap of the bike.  I was near the front most of the final lap and the final turn was very close to transition.  Right before this turn, everyone rushed to the front to get into T2 first. If I would have been smart, I would have maintained my position, instead I watched everyone go by me--don't know what I was thinking! I didn't think twice about it while in the race and moved on--I had a plan for the run, I was ready to have a good run off the bike for the first time this season.  I started out strong and made up some of the distance that I lost out of T2.  The first couple of laps were good, I could feel my energy building and I

On the run, probably before I bonked :)

was slowly getting closer to the girls in front of me.  The fourth lap came around and I was starting to get that fog where you know you're racing, but you just can't think anymore (aka brain running out of glucose!) and next thing I know volunteers are yelling at me because I'm running on the wrong side of the road! Ran into a little bit of a bonk... I tried my best to snap out of it; grabbing cold sponges and water at every station.  The girls from the pack behind me were starting to get dangerously close. I told myself to hold them off as long as possible... sure enough, lap 5 started and I was passed by the first girl of the second bike pack and I knew there were others behind her that could very well run me down.  I told myself, "2500 meters left, no one else passes you!" I tried to stick with the girl that passed me, but she was going WAY faster than me and instead I settled into the best pace I had left and held my position to the finish.  I've never felt so unstable crossing a finish line, and realized it was a lack of nutrition that really restricted my performance.  I was still extremely excited because I went 4 minutes faster than in Sarasota (I didn't know the swim was short at the time) and I still felt I raced the best I could.  I ended up 11th, which is the highest finish I've had in an ITU race so far this season :)

Lessons:
-Even when it's hot and you don't feel like taking in nutrition, you still need it!
-Transitions are part of the race, obviously when you're trying to catch a pack, but for optimal positioning as well!!
-I am finally becoming a swimmer again! :)

Lucas, best support crew ever :) <3

Thank you to my wonderful boyfriend, Lucas for coming with and making this trip essentially stress free!  Thank you to my coach, Brian Grasky for continuing to make me faster, and thank you to Trisports.com for your support this season!
No race is ever perfect, and this one was certainly far from it, but I came away from the experience excited for my next opportunity to race this format and it certainly solidified my desire to race the ITU circuit!

Until next time :)

@nicoletruxes