The Reveal

Once upon a time there was a little girl who dreamed of things that were pink, sparkly and fast. 

source

She told her husband on each of the last two Valentine's Days, that the only carbon she wanted was in the form of a beautiful bike-forget diamonds.
The old saying "Diamonds are a girls best friend" did not fly with this girl.
Her best friend was her bike. 





And she longed for a pink Quintana Roo cd0.1 for an eternity
(or so it seemed).
As much as the little girl loved the pink camo Quintana Roo cd0.1, it's majestic beauty was far, far from her (budget) reach.
But the little girl BELIEVED that some day her "prince(ss) would come" so she continued to hold that deep, deep love for the pink QR.

Then one day, not too long ago, a glimmer of hope sparkled in the distant waters and she thought that maybe--just maybe--she could make yet another dream come true!!
..and with that hope, a new dream started to form.

A dream that was flat black, silver, white with just a dash of pink. 
Could it be that this NEW Quintana Roo would steal the little girls heart?

As fate would have it, she was able to ride this beautiful steed for several weeks and it was LOVE LOVE LOVE. They fit perfectly and the little girl could go so much faster!!
But with a sad and heavy heart, the little girl had to give back the loaner steed and it was back to reality.
No pretty, fast, beautiful Quintana Roo to ride in the weeks that followed.

She rode several other bikes but nothing was like that QR she sooo loved.

Then the little girl's Fairy-Godfather, Fairy-Godmother and Fairy-Uncle (yes-all three. It's my fairy tale!) appeared one day and told the little girl that because she had been very, very good girl they were going to help her make her dream come true.

And so it was meant to be.
A little tweak here and a little more carbon there....and it was perfect.

I am so grateful and thankful for all of the wonderful people who have made it possible for my dreams to come true this year.

First, my Mom and Dad (Rick-O Racing) , I love you and I could not do any of this without you both. Thank you to my husband and my in-laws too! I am so lucky that my entire family supports my crazy triathlon dreams.

To my amazing Coach Sonja- whom I just adore and appreciate so much. Thank you for everything and for  helping me raise the bar on my own dreams. You inspire me daily and I still wonder how I made into your stable :) xo

To Kompetitive Edge and Ryan, thank you for being the dream weaver and artist behind my beloved bike. You will forever be "Uncle Ryan" to my second baby.

To Rev 3 Triathlon, I am so happy and so proud to be a part of the REV3 Family. Being a part of the Rev 3 Team is a giant dream come true!! Thank you for believing in me.

Three Kona Things Thursday

How much KONA can I fit in one post??

Hmmmm-I have lots to say....

Coach's feet post Kona -ouch...but this has got to be the best picture ever!!

Kona Thing #1

First and foremost, CHRISSIE!!

Yes, as in Chrissie Wellington. As you know, we are bff's.

Yes...we are. Do I have to put up pics again??

And you probably know that she freaking KRUSHED IT IN KONA.

Now, on any given day she is an animal. A powerhouse. Just an insanely talented athlete.

This woman is made of pure guts.

Well, if you had any questions just how tough this gal is then listen up.
Remember that "little bike crash" Chrissie had just before Kona? Well, there was some pretty good road rash but she did not disclose the extent of her injuries. (read about it HERE)
but here's a line from the article that will sum it up for you-

"...doctors discovered tearing in an intercostal muscle and her left pectoral...The swim that sent Wellington to the hospital five days before the world championship was her final session leading into the race. She missed several swim workouts that week."

yup, she came from 12 back to fight for the win.

Kona Thing #2
I have to give a big shout out to several ladies who kicked A$$ in Kona over the weekend.

And how about my super awesome amazing COACH Sonja!!

photos courtsey of Sonja Wieck

Hello!! Sonja totally rocked it in Kona and finished in 10:08:44-and just check out that finish photo!!
She's amazing-I love her spirit and energy.
Swim- 1:06:42
Bike- 5:26:36
Run- 3:30:16

I am so psyched & honored to call her Coach!

Then there is Maine great, Angela Bancroft.

This summer she did Lake Placid in 10:19 and then went on to finish Kona in 10:26:00
Swim- 1:04:41
Bike- 5:37:15
Run- 3:34:57
I am so proud of her-she is such an inspiration to me.
If Sonja was not my coach, Ange would be sitting at the top of that very short list.

Then there's Mary-IronMatron- another Maine connection and awesome lady!
Mary finished Kona with a smile and executed her day as planned. She finished strong with a time of 11:21:19. Congrats Mary!!

I enjoyed following the Pro's and those triathlon buddies who were competing in Kona on Saturday!

Kona Thing #3:

I am sure most of you are aware that like the prestigious Boston Marathon, Kona is the "mecca" race for triathletes. And like Boston, you need to qualify to race unless you (Boston) run for a charity or (Kona) get a slot via lottery. This week WTC CEO Andrew Messick announced that you can now get a Kona slot if you complete 12 or more Ironman races. The more IM's you do, you will move to the top of the lottery list.

“We’re changing how our lottery works,” Messick explained. “For athletes who have done 12 or more Ironman over their career – and who are still racing – we are going to make sure that they have a chance to race Kona.

“It might take a little bit of time to cycle them all in but we feel that you should have an opportunity to race Kona once in your life if you’re a serious triathlete, are serious about the sport, are dedicated and are loyal but you just happen not to be fast. I believe that being a long term triathlete and demorating by doing twelve or more fulls…you deserve it as much as people who are super quick.

“We’ll start by the people who have done the most and start ticking them off every year and eventually we’ll get through all of them.

I get it. I really do. I have no issue with those who run the Boston Marathon as part of a charity team. I can see how this gives those triathletes who have a ton of money to spend on 12+ races who are dedicated to the sport a chance to race Kona.It just reeks of another way for the WTC to make even more money (well, they are a business and Ironman is a brand). Remember Access Ironman??

But for ME personally-
these feet will not run from Hopkington to Boylston Street until these feet run fast enough to qualify for it.
and respectively,
these arms will not stroke

these legs will not pedal

and

these feet will not run

the hallowed grounds Ali'i and Queen K until I qualify.

I might be 99 years old but...that is how I feel about it FOR ME.

(feel free to ask me again when I am 60 and still gunning for a Kona slot!! lol)

Speaking of an insane amount of Ironman races...

I have someone to introduce you to very soon.

He is on a mission and looking to break another world record.

Not for his own sake but to help a great cause.

Find out why he is Tri'ing to Give a Dam.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did you enter my Tough Chik giveaway yet?

There is only a couple more days to enter-

make sure you check it out

My Secret Weapons

Love.Hate.Sex.Pain.
This is a song by Godsmack. I love it. It's angry. It's raw. It gets me moving.
It's one of those songs I strategically put on my play list for speed work, racing or the end of a long run so I can kick it up a bit. I find that there are just certain songs that tap into my primal side and bring out the fire in my soul. This is one of those songs.
Love. I love running and I love a good run that just leaves me feeling sooooo good when I am done.
Hate. I hate running on the TM but it is a necessary evil.
Sex. A good run is right up there on the list-some runs, well see Love.
Pain. I am learning to deal with the pain. Some days, I welcome it with open arms.

Last weeks speed work run was on the treadmill-the plan was a tempo run, 1 mile warm-up, 3 miles in the 7's and then a 1 mile cool down. I like doing speed work on the TM because it really allows me to control the pace. I can forget about staring at my Garmin and just focus on my breathing, my form and my thoughts (training the mind!). I am sure as I become a better athlete and runner, I will be able to do this more effectively on a track but for now, the TM is my tool of choice.

Even though I was really tough on my legs last week, I felt really really good for that run-I felt strong physically and mentally. I know now that it was because of the awesomely awesome PUNK ROCK RACING tech tee I was wearing-

Happy Me post tempo run with Lola



Swining Lola-her tee says "if you think IM cute, you should see my Daddy"

 Yup. The tee shirt gave me superpowers. I felt so badass in that tee shirt I felt that my run should reflect that! I mean, I am no EMZ by any stretch of the imagination (on the TM or otherwise) but I'm working on it *wink*wink*
So my tempo run went better than planned and I ended the last mile in the 6's-which for ME, is a good day. It was one of those Love.Hate.Sex.Pain. runs and it was awesome.
So combine a little good music with a hot Punk Rock Racing tee and you got a great run folks! That is the secret combo to get my legs moving on the TM. Shhhhh. Let's keep it our little secret.

What is motivating me this week?
Sonja Weick's performance at IMAZ. Seriously, this gal is just a rockstar!! You can read all about it here-The Prequel, The Swim, The Bike, The Run.  Congrats Sonja-you are such an inspiration!

Michelle Ford's amazing legs! I don't wanna "lift" a pic of her without her permission but oh-my-oh-my, she has got some awesome legs (you can check 'em out yourself here). Oh, did I mention that she just qualified for KONA at her first 140.6? Yeah, another rockstar!

Random side note: So yeah-now I have two new people to stalk goals to achieve! With Emz abs of steel, Michelle's chiseled legs, Sonja's guts...I am building myself a little FrankenJen triathlete/runner monster! he he he

I had really great quality workouts last week since hubby was on home on vacation. I was able to sweat out all that pie and gravy. I am hoping to keep the quality up there this week now that he is back to work.

The Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge! I got in 30 miles of running, 32 miles of biking and 3.5 hours of iron time. This makes me happy--I want to be even happier this week. I am happy to get my nutrition on track and eating good quality clean foods always makes me feel amazing.

I'm putting together a fun giveaway to celebrate 100+ followers! Will have many more details to come...

What is motivating YOU this week??