Tri Talk Tuesday- Bike Maintenance

Once again I'm excited to join in on Tri Talk Tuesday with Cynthia, Courtney and Miranda. For those who are new to TTT: each we several triathlon blogs get together and link up with one another to discuss a topic related to triathlons. If you got to one if the pages I mentioned above you'll be able to check out the other links. To go back and read my previous TTT posts click Tri Talk Tuesday at the bottom of this post under "label."

Thus week's topic is BIKE MAINTENANCE. I have to admit I'm not really one to be discussing bike maintenance. The extent of my "bike maintenance" goes like this: "Honey something's wrong with one of the gears on my bike!" My awesome husband is the one to fix it and if he can't, the bike gets a visit to our local bike shop. With this post I felt I should leave up to the High Gear experts so I called in Cindy Alward who runs one the best bike shops in town; Here are some important tips on bike maintenance:

• Before any event/race have your bike mechanic evaluate and adjust your bike. Make sure everything is well tuned and nothing needs replacing.
• Inspect your chain, gears, tires, etc. Last minute orders can be very stressful if you wait until the last minute before a big race.
• Check your seat pack make sure your spare tube is good. If you use co2 make sure you have plenty. Things to carry tube, tire boot, tire levers, small multi tool, patch kit. Pump/and or co2 inflater or refer to my previous post  here.
•  The night before check tire pressure (proper psi is usually stamp on tire and hard to read) clean and lube your chain (lube usually needs dry time). 
• Most importantly practice changing tire ahead of time, know how to remove and replace your wheels.

And here is a little graphic I found that will help you get familiar with all those confusing bikes terms. Start using them to really impress your friends! Thanks again to Cindy on this post and be sure and like her Facebook page! High Gear

Credit: Aaron Kuehn

Visit these links for other triathlon blogs and posts

Nuun Energy Giveaway

Over the next week I'll be enjoying some much needed Mai Tai family time in Hawaii. So in my absence, I thought I would host a giveaway.

Aloha and good luck!

Have you heard of the new Nuun Energy tablets? These are tablets you drop in your water bottle that fill you with electrolytes, B vitamins and caffeine. At the beginning of the year I stopped drinking soda. However I still have days when I need a little caffeine boost. With Nuun Energy I don't get all the added sugars or synthetic chemicals as I would in diet sodas. Does the word energy scare you? Well just in case you are worried about getting the same jitters from those "giant can" drinks; you won't. One tablet to your water bottle is equivalent to half a cup of coffee. And one tablet only has 8 calories!

I haven't been able to find Nuun Energy in any stores in my town. I hope that will change because the Cherry Limeade Energy is my absolute favorite now. My husband prefers the Lemon Lime. Want to try them? Here is your chance, just follow the prompts below to enter my Nuun Giveaway.

The winner will receive:

• Nuun Energy water bottle
• Lemon Lime Nuun Energy tube
• Cherry Limeade Energy tube
• Tri-berry Nuun Active tube (no caffeine)
• Nuun decals
• Nuun temporary tattoos (not shown) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway




Must reside in the US.
Must be over 18.
All entries will be verified.
Winner will be notified via email provided. If no response within 72 hours a new winner will be selected.

I am a Nuun brand ambassador. All opinions are my own. I love the product and want to share it with you!

Tri Talk Tuesday-Training Update and Goals

As part of this week's Tri Talk Tuesday we are discussing our triathlon goals. Once again I am linking up with Miranda, Cynthia and Courtney. If you get a second and love to read triathlon blogs I encourage you to check out their pages. If you have triathlon blog, please link up with them.

Before we discuss goals, here's a little update on where I am at with my 70.3 training:

I haven't officially started my "paper schedule" training just yet. That will begin in mid June because I will be about 16 weeks out. My 70.3 race date is October 5, 2014. If you start too early you run the risk of burning out which frankly I admit I'm a little burnt out. BUT (big but here) I'm taking some much needed time off because I'm still on restriction from running for at least another 3 weeks due to the knee injury. Right now I am half-ass focusing on the swim and bike. I'm doing swim drills in the pool and find it enjoyable. I'm not following a schedule and am just exercising to release tension. I'm not running but I want to. I'm being patient and trusting what my physical therapist is having me do several times a week.

So where does that leave me with my goals? And have my goals changed this year?

My goal of shaving 45 minutes off my 70.3 time isn't looking too good. The bike course is tough. I rode it and it was painful. I also worry that the run will really slow me down with the knee issues that have come up this year. It's also a completely different course than Vineman. We are no longer comparing apples-to-apples here.

A few steep climbs but only a few hundred feet here.

Good god, what was I thinking?

My new goal is to finish (and that's all). My goal is to be able to run the majority of the run course and stop if it gets painful. However a goal for the swim is to perhaps shave a few minutes off my previous 70. 3 swim time (45 minutes) because let's face it, the swim course doesn't change all that much. Vineman was a river, Silverman is a lake.

Lastly since this is a late season tri, my goal is to end the season with a smile and perhaps add some new bling to hang on the wall. Ironically as I was writing this post my Vineman shadow box fell off the wall and broke.

Wonderful. That can't be a good sign.

What are your goals? Have they changed from the beginning of the year?

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day was very special this year. The boys (and hubby) spoiled me. On Friday I had a special party at Dylan's school. Tea, cake and serenading me with songs made this Mama's heart melt. Sunday morning the boys played together very nicely, put away all their laundry and helped me clean the house. Later we hosted a fun BBQ dinner with my Mom, Dad, Grandma and our dear friends. It was all I could ask for and so perfect!

Happy Mother's Day!

Tea with Grandma and Mommy.

Spoiled by my family. A new bright yellow purse (totally not like me as I always have black), a matching wallet and some very special cards!

And here is a very special video I shared on my Facebook page. I love this video it just made my heart melt. So many times as Moms we think we are doing it all wrong. This video proves that your children think YOU are doing it just right. Get the tissues ready...

CurrexSole Review

Years ago when I first started running I was fitted (for shoes) and had my running form analyzed at a specialty running store. While buying the shoes I was encouraged to purchase custom insoles or orthotics for my shoes. I was told I have a very high arch and I would be much more comfortable in an insole and perhaps prevent injury later on down the road. After looking at the price of the insoles (another $50 bucks) on top of the $100 I was already spending, I decided nope I don't need them. Mistake

Flash forward a few years and here I am currently suffering from a knee injury. What is the knee injury from? How did I get it? I don't really know except that the only time it hurts is while running 2.5 miles or longer. About the time I discovered the injury I was also given a pair of Currexsole RunPro's to review. I wish the timing had been better.

I wore the RunPro's only three times and so far they were extremely comfortable. (Technically by doctors orders I'm not supposed to run but I did sneak a run three times). Did my knee still hurt? Yes, I'm injured and haven't let it heal properly so I wish I could say they fixed my pain but my reviews are honest. The insoles have a very high arch to them so upon first using them I thought they felt strange. But after a few steps they were extremely comfortable. I have also put these in my cycling shoes and like the way they feel. I've also noticed that my toes no longer go numb at the end of Spin class like they usually do. Strange but the only change I have made is the Currexsole. I did note on the website they have specific cycling insoles as well. 

Will I continue wearing them? You bet. I'll just wait to run on them until my knee is properly healed. I will gladly comment on this post later on as to how they feel or feel free to send me an email.

You can purchase the RunPro's here: Shop Currexsole RunPro

Disclosure: A benefit to keeping a blog about training for triathlons is a chance to receive various products to use and review for my readers. These products are often provided for free or at a significant discount to me. I don't receive additional compensation and I'm not under obligation to provide a positive review of the product. My opinions on the product are entirely my own. Some of the products I review may work for me, but they may not work for you. 

Esprit de She Triathlon- Race Recap

This past weekend was the Esprit de She Triathlon in Tempe. While I originally signed up to race the Olympic distance, I ended up dropping down to the shorter distance of the Sprint. With the knee issues I was having I knew I would be taking it easy and going much slower on the run that I typically do. While that would have been ok in normal temperatures, it's already full blown summer in Phoenix. A high of 100 was predicted that day and the thought of taking longer on a race during that heat just didn't appeal to me!

Since this was a destination race, it meant a "girls weekend" was in store. We loaded 3 bikes and all our stuff in the back of Hillary's SUV. To my surprise everything fit.

It fits!

After a 2 hour drive and a quick stop at Triple Sports to get Hillary a wet-suit for the season, we finally made it to the hotel. Getting out of the car and feeling the blistering heat make me nervous, very nervous. I quickly checked the weather and of course the temperature was going to be just as hot for our race. We checked in at the Esprit de She expo. They had a great expo with all the big vendors and we were even allowed to check our bikes in to transition the night before. The bikes were racked and we could enjoy a nice evening of carbo loading. 

Packing up

These were the tri tops they gave us as swag. I was impressed with the quality. 

The next morning we woke and walked over to the race. It was wonderful not having to worry about bringing our bikes and being so close to Tempe Town Lake.

Nervous pre-race chit-chat about it already being 80 degrees (at 5:45 am).

We got to transition just 15 minutes before it closed (oops should have noted the night before). I felt rushed but was able to get everything set up just the way I like it. I felt bad because I really wanted to check my friends' transition areas for them since this was their first triathlon. Thankfully they did their homework and knew how to set them up. 

Everything I need in one little area.

SWIM: Half a mile: (17.19)

The swim was a typical open water swim with a wave start. The water was perfect but I still wore my wetsuit. I can finally say: I am comfortable swimming in open water with a wetsuit. The horn went off and I made my way up towards the front of the pack right away. I was pushing it on the swim. It was my intention to push my self on both the swim and bike during this race. Normally I hold off if I know I am going to have a long day ahead of me. I caught up to one wave and then another. I didn't see that many purple caps and wondered if they were already done. As I climbed up the steps I got a little dizzy and felt the wetsuit strippers tugging at my suit. This was the first race I have done where they have volunteers get your suit off for you. They instructed me to sit on the ground so they could tug it off but I have a system and didn't want help. I probably sounded like a witch (with a b) because I yelled "no I got it!" and continued to run up to transition while still wearing my suit. Later I found out I was in the top 50 (out of 250) for the swim so you can bet I was proud of that time, especially when this was a weak area for me last year.

T1: 2:44 See it's under 3 minutes and I got the suit off myself? Really I have a system and I don't like to change it. I guess I am stubborn.

Bike: 12.4 miles (45:18)

The bike was fun. I pushed my cadence on this ride. I felt comfortable on the turns and liked my average speed I saw on my computer. The course was mostly flat which was nice. (I'll have my share of hills at my Half Ironman in October). 

T2: 1:51 This transition went smoothly. I racked my bike, grabbed a drink, a GU, switched shoes and was off and running.

Run: 3.1 miles (36:45) The run was exactly as I expected. With the knee issues I am having I can run about 2 miles until it starts to hurt. It did exactly just that. I jog/walked the remainder of the distance and finished the race.

Total time: 1:43 (with personal records on the swim and bike legs)

After the race I met up with other friends while Christy and I waited for Hillary to finish. She did the Olympic distance so it look her longer. After she crossed the finish, we enjoyed the post-race mimosas they offered to all the racers.

Christy, me and Shaynee

All in all fantastic race. Very well organized and the little details like the great food, personalized bibs and numbers on the bike racks did not go unnoticed. We will certainly be back next year. I'm also really proud of my friends for doing this race. I know it was completely out of their comfort zone and I do love the fact that they did it and did well. Cheers!

Enjoying the Mimosa's when Hillary finished.

Cinco de Mayo cocktails

Happy Cinco de Mayo

In honor of running the Hood to Coast this summer on the Nuun team...I came up with a few Cinco de Mayo themed cocktail recipes using the electrolyte tablet: Nuun. The benefit to using Nuun as the mixer is less sugar, less carbs, less calories (only 8) and you get vitamins in your drink! Who wouldn't love that? And because of the electrolytes you receive from the tablets perhaps you avoid a hangover? Who knows?

But always remember to drink responsibly: be of legal age and never EVER drink and drive!

Nuungria

Nuunarita

Coffee Date #2 Link-up

It's that time again for another Ultimate Coffee Date Link-up with Lynda, Jill and Nikki. I can't believe a month has already flown by. Grab a cup of coffee and join me for a chat.

If we were having coffee I'd tell you: Since our last coffee chat my knee is still bothering me and this worries me. I did go see an orthopedist who happens to be my friend Melanie's hubby Dr. Trainor. The visit was encouraging as he didn't think it was a tear or anything serious. He also took X-rays and everything looked normal. I may have just overworked it and perhaps the pounding of the pavement and all the running in poor form may have crept up on me. He is going to send me to Physical Therapy for about a month and after this race tomorrow I am to lay off running for awhile. Yes I am still doing the race tomorrow. It's just going to be a "shuffle, shuffle, jog, walk" at the end. I also have to really correct my form and not land so hard on my heels. Wish me luck at the Esprit de She Triathlon tomorrow morning.

If we were having coffee I'd tell you: The school year is winding down for the kids and that means our Maui vacation is less than 20 days away. I am really looking forward to spending time with the entire family. It's a big, big trip with a lot of family members! There will be 13 of us going in all. We just finished up swim lessons for D and that makes me feel so much more comfortable now. He's much more confident in the water and I hope he won't stand around the pool in socks and sandals like he did the entire week in Cancun one year.

Seriously kid, take the socks off and get in the water.

If we were having coffee I'd tell you: my Whiskey Off-road race went really well last weekend and I finished. I took it slow and didn't panic when I came to the spot where I crashed just weeks before. I did get off the bike and walk that section though. The race course was challenging and I was elated when I crossed that finish line! It was so inspiring to see my family and dear friends screaming for me when I came around the corner at the end. I would do it again next year, maybe I'll bump up to the tougher course? P raced as well and did great despite the BLIZZARD (yes blizzard) we had that day and being sick with a head cold. The boys also raced (they had beautiful weather) and received their medals which made them so proud. It was an awesome biking weekend for the entire family.

Finished and I got the glass!

What do I pack in my tri bag?

click on the image for a larger view

This weekend I am racing my first triathlon of 2014. I am doing the Esprit de She triathlon. Esprit de She is known to put on a good post race party complete with massages, healthy food to munch on and champagne! I am excited to getaway with my girlfriends, race and celebrate. 

Since this is a destination race for me, I must have all my gear packed up and ready to go ahead of time. Here is a list of items I pack in my tri bag:

The easiest way to start packing is by breaking down each event and what you need. I start it all off with my awesome Ogio bag. This thing is big and it holds everything. My favorite feature is the armored pocket on the side to hold gadgets and sunglasses. It's a hard shelled pocket built into the bag so no need to worry about your items getting crushed.

1. SWIM wetsuit, Coeur tri kit, 2 pairs of goggles, swim cap (in case race doesn't provide), jacket for before the race.
2. BIKE  bike shoes, socks, helmet, sunglasses, bike bottles filled
3. RUN   running shoes, visor, race bib belt, gels or blocks
4. MISC:  sunscreen, hair ties, towel, an extra set of contacts (I'd be blind if I lost one).

There you have it. And it all fits nicely in this bag.

What do you pack in your tri bag?