June 29 , 2009

Yeh, it's been almost 6 months since I have posted anything on my site.  I was starting to get emails from people asking if I was still even alive!?!?!?  Yes, still alive.  But the last 6 months have been the some of the hardest days I've ever dealt with. 

My recovery has been very hard on me.  I never expected to be humbled this much by a surgery, but I was.  I never expected to not be able to do the things I wanted to do, but I couldn't.  I've been thru some pretty severe injuries in my past, and surgeries for that matter (had double shoulder surgery in college for swimming injuries), but nothing would have prepared me for what it's like to deal with a major knee overhaul.

I'll spare the details, but in a nutshell I was non-weight bearing for quite some time on my left leg.  The poor limb atrophied so much that I started looking like a freakshow.  My right leg was bearing the brunt of my hobbling, jumping, balancing, etc... and was getting bigger.  My left leg was withering away to a flabby stick.  Not exactly a very sexy look in shorts or a mini for that matter!  Plus my left leg / knee was healing so I couldn't do that much movement on it anway.  By the end of the day I was in so much pain, and stiffness would set in, that I didn't want to try and do any PT / Rehab exercises!

I tried my best to keep up some cycling (trainer inside), swimming and worked hard on my strength training.  I was water running, walking and trying to do some elliptical work.  My goal was to be in decebt shape when I was able to start back with some legit training, and not come from ground zero.  Having been thru surgery before, I knew how beneficial it would be for me to be as strong and fit as I could be when my recovery time was over.  However, it's very hard to keep focus and faith in one's goals when you can't really see the light at the end of the tunnel...much less have what seems to be a realistic goal.

Fast forward to now.  It's Monday, June 29th and I just hit "enter" on my computer for the Couple's Tri on July 12th.  I'm really not quite sure what to expect for this event, given where I'm currently at with my recovery.  Here's what I'm able to accomplish to date with my "training/recovery":

Swim : 3.5k to 4k swim workouts 3-4 times per week (anyone who knows my swim training will realize that this is my normal amount of swim mileage.  I only swim 3 real swim workouts per week with 1 recovery swim after a run workout....that's all I have ever managed to get myself to do after spending so many years in a pool prior to triathlon.  I don't swim over 4K but once or twice a year....cause someone forced me to.  I go insane after an hour!  Thus, my swimming is where it would be otherwise...except that I can't kick normal yet with my left leg.  I'm still lop-sided with respect to that.)

Bike : 3 sessions per week.  Ranging from 1 hr to 3.5 hr max.  Just learned to stand up for climbing a couple weeks ago, so that's still very spastic and weak.  I've been doing any moderate climbs seated prior to this.  I don't have a powermeter on my bike as I don't want to know.  My only goal right now is getting my left leg strong again and using 360 degrees of my pedal stroke. Oh, and not fall over trying to get up any hills!

Run : Well, this is the worst one of the three for now.  I'm still learning motor skills again with respect to my running form, and being able to place my leg/foot where I want it to go.  I'm concentrating on form so much when I try to run that it has become more mentally exhausting then physically at times.  I'm up to a 5 mile run right now, at a very slow 9 min mile pace.  I can't run any downhills yet, but it's coming along.  I did my first transition run off the bike this last Saturday.  I did a 2.25 hr bike on hills, then ran 15 minutes on my treadmill afterwards and didn't experience any pain.  I was so proud of myself.  I'll keep adding on to that run time each transition run and slowly build my way up to about 30 minutes in the next couple weeks.

Ok, so that's where I'm at right now.  It's progress, but for someone who prides themselves in their endurance ability I'm still very humbled and have a long way to go.  I have absolutely no expectations for the Couple's Tri in a couple weeks...only to be able to participate and enjoy being out there with my friends and training group, Texas Iron.  I'm just antsy to be a part of an event again, and have fun with it.  I am no where fit enough to even try to go for the top spot, or even top 10 at it.  It will just be good to be out at an Austin event.

In terms of my knee and it's healing...it's doing great.  I am not experiencing pain 24/7 anymore and I'm starting to be able to get around without any help (ex: still needed to use hand rails for stairs or adjust my footing to step down from something).  My mind isn't on my leg/knee every second of the day anymore because it's not hurting like it was.  I can actually sleep, walk, chill out, exercise, etc... without the constant thought of "My knee...my knee....my knee....ouch...ouch....".  I'm very encouraged, and starting to believe that this whole process was the right thing to do.  I can tell my joint is going to be stronger in the long run from all of this, but I'll be honest there were plenty of times I questioned why I had to go through this experience and have such major surgery performed.

I'm going to take each week as it comes, and I have my small goals to reach before the end of the year.  In terms of events, I am keeping my expectations realistic and not forcing anything.  If things go my way, and I can race at a level I feel is adequate for my abilities, then I will look at adding in some more local events as well as the Longhorn 70.3 and more.  I do have one secret goal in mind for the turn of the year, but that one will remain tucked away in my personal vault and not verbalized to the world for now.  ha!

Thanks to my friends for their support.  I know I haven't been the easiest person to be around at times!  I will always be greatful for your support.  Check back again for more on my progress, and what my plans are for the remainder of the 2009 year.  Cheers to all.

Fish

January 19 , 2009

I am still a FISH!!!!! YEH!!!!! 

Today I swam, and it was one of the most glorious swim workouts I can remember having in a very long time!  I definitely wasn't in the ball park of any amazing Olympic Trials qualifying standards or anything, but I was moving pain free through the water and without anything attached to me.  YEH!!!!

So my journey from hospital surgery room, less then 2 weeks ago to the day, to now has been really hard on me mentally but faster with regards to my progress then anyone would expect.  Most people who have been through the procedure I have would still be on their back in bed but here I am able to get in the pool and crank out 2.5K without issues.  I'm definitely on the road to recovery.

I thought I would share how my 13 days from surgery have played out, just so I can kinda brag about my progress a bit (hee hee):

Tuesday, January 6 - 5:45 a.m. arrival at Seton Southwest Hospital.  7:10 a.m. get my last shot of "go to sleep juice via IV" that I remember as I am wheeled out of day surgery and say good bye to my husband.  I pretty much went blank after that.  11:30 a.m. - wake up in recovery room INSTEAD of day surgery, look at the clock, look around me and proceed to utter the words "Oh SHIT!  This isn't day surgery recovery!"  I am then told what they did to me and that I will at least be spending the night here.

Wednesday, Jan. 7 - Still in hospital.  Still doped up, still not able to eat much of anything or drink much of anything.  Worse thing is that they want me to do the bed pan situation for pee-pees. NO WAY.  I can pee in the woods, on the side of the road, in my wetsuit, you name it, BUT I AIN'T peeing in the bed pain if I don't absolutely have to.  The poor nurses hate me because everytime they come in to check vitals I ask for the 20 minute production help to get me to the potty.  Everything connected to me has to come with me, and I can't put a foot down, and I can barely get my ass on to the toilet, and my lovely stylish hospital gown is wide open in the back for everyone to see.  It's a great little trip I make every few hours but dare I say it again, "I AIN'T PEEING IN THE BED PAN!"

My friends, Matt and Laurie, stop by that afternoon with the most glorious gift anyone could imagine at that point.  A Starbucks Latte!  I am in heaven for the 10 minutes I sip that puppy down.  Sad thing is that I'm full after it.  My poor tummy is now tiny from all the stress and lack of food (no food prior to surgery per orders, and then day of and after not much either).  However I love them to death for bringing that bit of orgasmic caffiene paradise my way.

Late afternoon Jamie is able to take me home, finally!  I don't really remember much of that and getting into bed.  I was looking forward to some soup and my own bed sheets.  I quickly dozed out into my druggy state again and was off to sleep for a few hours.  My knee is strapped into a machine that keeps it moving constantly all night long.  It actually feels better to be in this contraption then to be still, so thus I sleep with it during the next few nights.

Thursday, Jan. 8 - Tuesday, January 13 (one day in between noted below) - I am stuck at home, no weight on my left leg, and only able to get around via crutches for a couple minutes at a time.  I can't get food for myself very well, much less a drink, and I'm using my what I now call my "elliptical" contraption everyday for hours so I can get to the 120 degree mark quick.  (the machine starts off at 0 degree bend in the leg - straight and flat, and then assists your leg into a bend per the angle you set it at)  I know that if I can do 120 degrees without any issues I will be released to start doing some movement outside of just this thing.  My daily showers are regulated to fanagalling myself into the shower and then sitting on my lawn chair while I wash myself down.  Not a pretty scene at all.  Poor Jamie is at wits end trying to take care of me and all his other responsibilities, but I know that if I can get myself up and going sooner things will be better for everyone.

I work on my core work via sit ups, back raises, medicine ball twists, and upper body strength work this entire time.  I'm determined to not let my core get out of shape and be another issue to deal with once I get back into things.

Friday, January 9 - First visit to the doctors.  My friend Matt is kind enough to drive me to it because Jamie is out of town for the weekend.  This is the first time I will see my incisions and stitches.  I watch, as the dressings are pulled away and then get to view my 4 cuts.  Not as bad as I thought.  One is a little bigger then I had hoped for but overall I'm not upset by the site one bit.  My swelling isn't as bad as expected either.  THANK GOODNESS FOR COMPRESSION TIGHTS AND SOCKS!  That's all I have to say.  I am a true believer in what they do and will NEVER be without!

Wednesday, January 14 - Visit to doctors to get my stitches removed. He's once again very happy with my progress and per our discussion allows me to get on my trainer to spin without any resistance.  It was like heaven to my ears!  He also did the first injection of three that will help to heal the joint, and encourage the cartiledge to grow back faster, as well as lubricate things.  It's a very expensive injection routine but one that has had tremendously great results. 

When I get home that afternoon I get on my trainer for a 20 min spin.  Let me tell you that I probably managed about 20 total rotations for that 20 min spin.  My knee and legs were like "WTF are you doing?"  Not pretty and DID NOT feel good at all. 

Thursday, January 15 - I get back on the trainer for the 2nd time and it was like a night and day difference.  WOW.  I was spinning with a normal stroke within the first couple minutes.  AMEN.  I can move again.  I spin for 30 min without any resistance.

Friday, January 16 - 45 min spin, stroke improving

Saturday, January 17 - 70 min spin, still getting smoother and better

Sunday, January 18 - 30 min spin, using as recovery day

Monday, January 19 - The day I was looking forward to per my doctor's orders.  This was the first day I could get into a pool.  I met Jamie at the YMCA and we went into the pool together.  I hobbled on my crutches and got into the lane with him, just hoping I could make 1k or even better 2k.  I pushed off and it was the weirdest feeling to be moving through the water, finally moving my whole body, without anything attached.  I did a couple turtle turns at the wall for the first 100 and then said "F" it and went for a flip turn.  That was much better then the turtle turns for me because it didn't put any pressure on my knee joint.  I would only push off the wall with my good leg too.

Long story short, I cranked out a lovely 2.5k workout and was like a giddy kid again.  What amazed me more was that my knee actually feels better then before I started the swim workout.  I don't know what happened to it but it's almost like a bunch of crud just loosened up and let me move things again.  It felt great!

From surgery to swim workout in 13 days.  I am back, and it's only gonna get better.  YEH!  I'll keep ya'll posted.

Cheers,

Fish

January 14 , 2009

Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and enjoyed some time with their family and friends. 

So my world has been very interesting these past few weeks.  I did a few local running races towards the end of 2008, and actually did quite well in them (2nd place overall female at the Decker Half Marathon Challenge!  woo hoo!) but my poor body was screaming at me the whole time.  Seems my left knee has been very angry with me for the last year and got out of control after a couple of my runs in November.  Come December I was in severe pain and during the Decker race I about started to cry towards the last 2 miles of the course. 

Long story short, over the course of the last couple weeks I tried to get things under control with a shot in my knee and some rehab work but didn't have any success.  I went in for surgery last Tuesday morning, planning only to have a simple scope done, and ended up staying in the hospital for 2 days.  My knee was demolished and "pure spaghetti" to quote my doctor and husband.  I went from what was suppose to be a quick in-and-out procedure to a full fledge down and out for the count while we really dig on her.  Besides cleaning up the pure mess behind my patella, getting rid of a bone spur, and doing away with inflammation I ended up having a cartiledge transplant.  Seems that "bone on bone" feeling I had was just that!  Bone on bone!!!!!  No cartiledge to speak of!  The process is medically referred to as an "OATS" procedure.  My doctor was awesome and explained everything to me and his decision to go ahead with that process vs. other things he could of done.   

Thus I've been heavily sedated and under the effects of drugs for the last week.  Let me tell you it sucks to be stuck in your house and completely dependent on your family and friends to do anything for you.  Seems I can't put weight on my leg for a few weeks and I'm stuck on crutches to get around.  Showering is anything but simple, yet very entertaining to watch from my husband's point of view!  I hobble in, get situated on my plastic lawn chair, and proceed to wash myself from ground level.  The dogs thing I'm nuts!!!! ARG.

I hope to be up and back at it as soon as I can, but I also can not rush this healing process.  We have to let the cartiledge "take" and begin to grow back in.  Any rushing of the process (putting weight on it too quickly or starting back with training too fast) can interfere with the goal, so patience is a virtue for now.

I'll update my plans for racing this year once I have a handle on my situation and when I can feasibly get back into things.  For now my immediate goal is to get back on my trainer soon and start swimming in a week or two so I don't turn to complete mush. 

Thanks for the support from my friends!  I couldn't have gotten through this without you guys.

Hugs and safe training!

Cheers,

Fish

September 2, 2008

Well, the last couple weeks have definitely been a roller coaster of emotions.  I headed up to IM Canada in top fitness condition only to be left puking my stomach contents out all over the climb to Yellow Lake (part of IM Canada bike course).  So in a nutshell my Ironman race went from leading out of the swim and on to the first part of the bike, to cramping up at the base of Richter, to falling back from first to 8th or 9th within miles, to puking my entire tummy up, and eventually not being able to take anything in for over 2 hours and coasting back into town for the last 10 miles of the bike.  Hows that sound for fun?  I ended the day early, before the marathon even started, and made the call to tuck my tail for a few weeks and come back stronger for another fall Ironman.  I hate making decisions like that, as I always regret not finishing a race, but on the other hand it was the right decision as a professional and I do not regret it in that perspective.

I kept things light in terms of training between last weekend and this past weekend as I had made the call to keep a start at the Austin Tri an option.  I knew my body wasn't recovered at all from IM Canada in less then a week, but I also knew I could probably muster up enough to give it a shot at the podium.  Even though I didn't do much in terms of training, I did work my ass off for our first retail expo with Hill Country Running Compnay.  Between packing, inventory, getting ready, hauling, loading, lifting, setting up, and then being on your feet from the butt ass crack of dawn until night for the expo was the biggest training day I experienced since prior to my IM taper!  But it was worth is and we had a great showing.  Our friend Julie, from Avia, came out to help us and it was extremely well recieved by everyone there. 

How did that Austin Triathlon go on Monday?  Well, you can find out on my race report page

Next up will be the Longhorn 70.3, Palu Duro Canyon Trail Race, and then Ironman Florida in November.  Check back on how things are doing and train safe!

Thanks for the support and well wishes from my friends.

Cheers,

Fish

July 22 , 2008

So if you ever want to truly appreciate what effort, time, and man power goes into putting on a race then you need to become a race director.  This past weekend was the inaugural Pure Austin Fitness XTERRA Austin, and I am the race director for this event.  It's been in the planning for months, and we have a great XTERRA team crew here in Austin to help put it on.  However, when it comes to actual race weekend words can't explain how exhausting it is to produce the event.  I think Jamie and I will need weeks to recover our loss of sleep.  But it's all worth it in the end when you have a great event, and the athletes enjoy the race!  So all in all it's completely worth every penny of effort spent.

The event was a huge success, with only a few minor glitches here and there and those are things we can fix for next year.  Overall the comments were very positive and people are already anxious for 2009.  I on the other hand will need a few more nights of solid sleep before I can say I'll be "anxious"!  hee hee  Pure Austin Fitness XTERRA Austin race site link

The weekend before I raced at the Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island.  It was a tough race, but overall I'm pretty satisfied with my effort and place.  I posted a podium finish, with 3rd overall amongst some speedy ladies.  The massive hill on the run course, which you had to go up and down TWICE, killed my legs so my run time is pretty pathetic by my standards.  Got lots to work on there before IM Canada in a few weeks.  You can read more on my race via the Race Reports page.

Bentley and I on the bike course at Ironman 70.3 Rhode Island

Lastly, prior to the Rhode Island race, I finished out the Vasque trail run series with the last of three 30k trail races.  I finished in 3rd place amongst an amazing field of endurance trail running ladies on the Saint Course.  I have been using this series as a training venue for my long course racing, and to gain more experience in the ultra trail races.  I was quite happy to have posted the podium finish, which gave me the 2nd place overall title for the series.  Can't complain with any of that seeing how I never rested for a single one of the 30k races, and most followed a Saturday of long ride workouts.   My plan is to add more of these events to my plate over the winter, including a 50 miler and 100k!  Craziness, I know!

Now it's time to log a couple more weeks in prep for Ironman Canada.  I've got some more work to do, and I'll probably work in a couple local short events as speedy workouts.  Check back for updates and thanks for the support!

Cheers,

Fish

May 26, 2008

It's the morning after Cap Tex Tri and am I feeling it!  WOW that took a lot out of me yesterday.  The heat and humidity was brutal, but that's what Cap Tex is all about (no suprise there!).  I had to fight hard for the win, with some amazing women nipping at my heels, but I managed to make it to the finish line first.  I will soon post a better udpate on what's going on in my life these days (lots of craziness!), but here are a couple articles and pictures that race today as the post race recaps.

Happy Memorial Day and I hope you are enjoying some time off with your friends and/or families.  That's what I'm finally doing today!

Cheers,

Fish

Jay Janner/AMERICAN-STATESMAN

An exhausted Andrea Fisher tries to cool down in a tub of ice after winning the Capital of Texas Triathlon women's championship in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 51 seconds on Sunday.

CAPITAL OF TEXAS TRIATHLON

Fisher, Serrano survive heat, humidity to claim crowns

By Brom Hoban
AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Monday, May 26, 2008

Despite steamy conditions at the Capital of Texas Triathlon, hometown hero Andrea Fisher held off some strong competition to win Sunday, leading from start to finish, while Mexico's Francisco Serrano passed Austin's Brandon Marsh late in the race for the men's title.

Fisher, one of the best swimmers in the sport of triathlon, took advantage of her strength. She finished the 1,500-meter swim in Lady Bird Lake in 20 minutes, 26 seconds — the eighth fastest time of the day. Scrambling up the banks of Auditorium Shores, Fisher wasted no time in the bike transition, and had at least a two-minute lead over Austin's Desiree Ficker heading into the first of the four 10K bike loops.

Both women, established world-class Ironman competitors, averaged nearly 24 miles per hour on the bike course, which looped around the Capital, came back down Congress Avenue and then did an out-and-back stretch on Cesar Chavez.

Still, Fisher gave nothing up, and headed into the run with a decent cushion on her pursuers, which now included Beaumont's Peggy Yetman.

Both Yetman and Ficker are extremely good runners, and they attacked the 10K run intent on catching Fisher. The run course is two 5K loops, and by the end of the first one, Ficker was closing hard on Fisher.

But Ficker, who ran the Olympic trials marathon just a month ago, may not have been fully recovered. She began to feel the effects of the high heat and humidity four miles into the run, and ended up dropping out with heat stress.

In the final mile, Fisher, who won the event in 2002, began to feel the effects of the temperature and humidity. But she held together, holding off the fast-closing Yetman by 16 seconds to win in 2 hours, 9 minutes, 51 seconds. She then spent about 10 minutes cooling down with ice packs in the medical tent.

"I was just trying to stay cool on the run," said Fisher. "I was dumping water on my head, trying not to overheat, because I know I sweat heavily and lose a lot of salt. My strategy was to keep it at a tempo pace for the first loop, and to hold on for the second loop, because I knew it was going to be brutal."

In the men's race, 2004 and 2005 champ Marsh, looking for his third victory, was first out of the water in 19:13, eight seconds ahead of James Cotter. But Marsh picked up another 15 seconds transitioning to the bike course, and built his lead ever further on the 40K bike course.

Marsh headed out on the run course, about a minute ahead of Serrano, who had the fastest bike split of the day (56:47) passing a struggling Cotter in the process.

Serrano averaged 5:39 a mile for the 10K and caught Marsh at around four miles into the run, holding the lead to the finish in 1:55:22. Marsh was second in 1:56:17.

"I knew I had to catch Marsh as soon as I could on the run," said Serrano. "I've been racing pretty well all year long, hoping to make the Mexican Olympic triathlon team. I'm pretty confident I can make it."

Andrea Fisher, Francisco Serrano Claim CapTexTri Titles
by Wish, 5/26/2008

Conditions were hardly ideal for the CapTexTri on Sunday morning. But after a string of brutal weather—including last year’s deluge which forced the first cancellation in the race’s history—the 3000 participants were owed a decent day.

And nobody had better days than Andrea Fisher of Austin and Francisco Serrano of Mexico. Both took top honors in the elite division of the CapTexTri which consisted of a 1500-meter swim in Lady Bird Lake, a 40-K bike leg and culminating with a steamy 10-K run.

As expected, Fisher, the 36-year-old former UT swimmer, was the first woman out of the water with a superb swim (eighth overall).By the time she climbed onto her bike and exited the transition zone on Auditorium Shores, the woman known simply as "Fish" had a solid two-minute lead on fellow pro and Ironman veteran Desiree Ficker of Austin.

Ficker always gives away time on short-course swims, but is a strong cyclist and one of the best runners in triathloning who invariably comes from behind in the latter stages of races. Especially in hot, humid conditions like Sunday.

But on the bike, which consisted of four 10-K loops in downtown Austin, Fisher gave nothing away and maintained her lead on Ficker and 40-year-old Peggy Yetman of Beaumont as they began the first of two 5-K run loops that would decide the race.

After the first 5-K, Ficker had narrowed the gap on Fisher, but was uncharacteristically struggling in the thick humidity that blanketed the course. With just two miles to go, Ficker called it a day and dropped out due to the oppressive heat.

Fisher was battling her own heat-related demons too, but was able to hold off the hard-charging Yetman by 16 seconds to win her second CapTexTri in 2:09:51. Mini Pizzini, 45, of Dallas, was third in 2:15:50.

After finishing, Fisher headed straight for the ice tubs in the medical tent and dumped ice water over herself for 10 minutes before speaking. "I knew it was going to be a brutal race," said Fisher, who along with her husband Jamie Cleveland, a past CapTexTri champion, own Hill Country Running and the Texas Iron training group. "It was so warm that I was dumping water all over myself trying to stay cool on the run."

Also trying to stay cool was two-time CapTexTri winner Brandon Marsh of Austin. Like Fisher, Marsh was the first out of the water and forged a solid lead over James Cotter and Francisco Serrano on the 40-K bike leg.

Even though Serrano had the fastest bike of the day, Marsh still held about a minute lead as he left the transition area for the 10-K run. But Marsh, a 34-year-old pro triathlete and coach, is considered one of the best short-course runners in the sport and also someone who deals with heat about as well as anyone can.

Not on this day. Serrano caught Marsh about four miles into the run and put almost a minute on him in the final two miles as the Mexican won in 1:55:22. Marsh held onto second in 1:56:17 and Cotter claimed third in 1:59:02.

The masters men were led by 44-year-old Ahmed Zaher of Dallas in 2:04:04 with John Trowbridge, 45, of Austin, second in 2:05:40. Todd Gerlach, 40, from Austin, was third in 2:08:25. Tough Tim Terwey of Austin (2:14:07) won a great battle with Mike Buonauguria of San Antonio (2:14:52) for top 50+ honors.

The women masters were led by Yetman and Pizzini, but Melissa Ruthven, 41 of Austin, had a great day to finish fifth overall in 2:19:55, followed by 47-year-old Anne Stevenson in a terrific time of 2:22:47. Sharon Sander, 46 of San Antonio came next in 2:24:17.

The CapTex Tri was the second race in the six-race Texas Triathlon Series. Next up is the Couples Triathlon on July 13th at Walter E. Long Park in Austin.

View Slideshow

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Greetings!  Well the winter has flown by and I've had a blast with trail runs!  I did two 50k trail races this past winter and I'm now hooked for sure.  My aspirations are to complete a 50 miler, 100 miler and one more "epic" run adventure in 2010 (I'll confirm this one down the road and let you know what I'm talking about). 

I've also had my first triathlon race(s) to blow out the pipes for the year at the Lone Star Triathlon Festival.  I did the sprint race on Saturday and then the quarter on Sunday.  I actually felt great for the sprint on Saturday and took the overall win, but come Sunday it was a different story.  I was leading the race and didn't feel too bad but then my front wheel flatted and I lost oodles of time changing it out.  You can't really "come back" in a short race like that with a flat but I mangaged to hang in for a 4th place finish.  It was a tough women's field for that quarter race so I can't complain at all. 

I was scheduled to race at the Aflac Irongirl race in Las Vegas this coming weekend, with a stellar invited women's pro field, but unfortunately I've come down with a case of bronchitis.  I've had to withdraw from the event and I'm super sad about that as I was looking forward to the race.  I'll take some R&R and get myself better while I do some re-arranging with my race plans.  Check back for updates on that.

Lastly, if you live in Austin stop by my new venture: Hill Country Running Company.  We opened our doors last week and things have been going well.  www.hillcountryrunning.com  

Happy Training!

Fish

Friday, September 21, 2007

A lot has happened since the last time I posted anything.  Let's see, I'll just make a list to recap things quickly:

1. Jamie and I packed up our current house

2. Jamie and I loaded up our RV and drove from Austin, Texas to Penticton, Canada for IM Canada

3. On the week long drive up to Canada Jamie and I came down with bronchitis

4. I start IM Canada and ends up pulling out after the bike from being way too sick

5. Jamie and I drive back to Austin via a couple stops in Yellowstone National Park and North Texas State Parks

6. Jamie and I MOVE everything we own into our new home

7. Jamie and I now live in their dream home (still needs a lot of work in terms of unpacking and landscaping) and things are settling down a bit...for now

That's where I'm at right now.  I little dishevelled but all in all I'm so happy to be in my new home!

The dissapointment of Ironman Canada was really hard to deal with.  I was ready for that race, but I do know I made the right decision by pulling out.  I was able to recover properly and thus I'll be racing in Kona no problem.  Had I tried to gut things out I know for sure that there would be no way I could head out to Hawaii...I'd be in bed with pneumonia.

On the flip side of things my fitness is really good right now.  I think it was the boost of "race fitness" from doing what I did at Ironman Canada (swim and bike) and being able to bounce back quickly after my sickness.  This last weekend we headed out to Burnet, Texas for our insane double training weekend.  We do a supported VERY hilly ride on Saturday (101 miles+) and then a nasty little sprint triathlon on Sunday morning (Burnet Tri Hard Challenge triathlon).  I love that weekend as it really pushes you mentally...especially getting up the morning after a hard 100+ mile bike ride to race.  I actually posted a faster time than the past couple years and felt great the whole weekend.

A few of the Texas Iron group at the Burnet Triathlon

Now I've just got a couple more weeks of training (fine tuning I should say) before I head out to Kona.  I'm really excited to race in Hawaii this year because I literally don't have any expectations.  No pressures, nothing.  I am fit, but I want to just go out there and execute to the best of my ability.  I also want to have fun, and that's the biggest thing I haven't had happen in a long time in Kona.  This year's race is about celebrating my fitness, my journey, my experiences and to have fun.  What happens in the end is anybody's guess, but I know that if I enjoy myself things will conclude with a happy ending.

Mahalo and tune in to www.ironmanlive.com on October 13th.

Cheers,

Fish

Sunday, July 15, 2007

This morning my lovely hubby and I raced at the Austin Couples Triathlon.  What a hoot!  What a hot morning!  I love doing races like that in my own backyard, but this morning I couldn't believe how freaking humid and hot it was.  I had gone for a 10 minute warm up jog prior to the race start and I literally had lost gallons just by sweating!  Then getting into the water didn't help matters much more as the water temperature was pretty toasty.  However, Jamie and I had a great day and I actually felt really strong during the whole event. 

I was happy to feel good again in my triathlon element as my last two races were a complete disaster.  First off, my Muskoka race was terrible.  After some bad travel up there, and lack of sleep, I didn't perform nearly as well as I should have.  I did gut it out and finished the race, in 7nth place, but felt terrible afterwards.  The travel back home didn't help matters anymore as we experienced even worse circumstances.  That really didn't help me to recover and perform well again the following weekend at Buffalo Springs 70.3.  By the end of that race I was ready to call the season right there and go on vacation...FOR GOOD!  I took the next week light, got sleep, and tried to let go of everything that had happened.

After another week Jamie and I were off to IM Austria with our travel group from Premium Plus Sports.  We had 29 athletes in the group racing at IM Austria, with 12 being Texas Iron athletes alone!  I love the chance to go over there and help out with the tour group, but I love training in Austria most of all.  I had about one week to get in some good miles and start my build for Ironman Canada.  (Yes, Canada....it wasn't originally on my game plan but after much soul searching post 2 distasterous long course races I realized I need to do an IM race prior to Kona.  I need the race, the fight for the finish, and the race fitness from the event heading into Hawaii...thus I'll be racing at the 25th anniversary of Ironman Canada in August!)  It was awesome training, especially since I got to share some of it with my hubby. 

On the last day of our trip we decided to be spontaneous and our long ride.  I knew "kinda" the direction of this very old castly (when I say old I mean old!  Built in 1248!) I told Jamie to head in a certain direction, towards a certain mountain ridge while trying to cross over a river.  We had no idea of what roads we were on but this was an adventure and something that we both were having a blast doing at the moment.  We headed down random bike paths and small roads in the general direction of my navigation skills.  I was suprised that he was trusting me so much on this one.

Trust me...we're on the right path...I think?

As we were starting to get a little dismayed in not finding a castle, we rounded a corner and out of no where it appeared!  OH MY GOSH!  How cool was the site???  I actually suprised myself in finding the darn thing, but what an awesome sight it was as we came around this small village road.

I knew that there was a small cafe in the castle so I convinced Jamie that we needed to make a trip up to the top of Landskron and have lunch.  We headed off to the castle gate entrance, at the base of that BIG ASS hill but were stopped by the security guard.  He told us we couldn't ride our bikes up the hill (it's about 20% grade) and that we could only walk to the top.  Ok, so now that we are totally on this be spontaneous kick, we hid our bikes at the base of the hill and walked to the top, IN OUR FREAKING SOCKS ON A ROCK HIKING TRAIL! 

When we finally got to the top we dined on the most yummy Wiener Schnitzel, potatos and a giant glass of Coke.  I don't know if it was the view, the adventure, or the food itself but that was one of the most tasty lunches I have ever had.  Jamie and I just sat back, took in the view, and giggled continuously about our castle adventure.

We made our way down the mountain side (yes, my feet were SCREAMING AT ME BY THIS POINT) and headed back into Klagenfurt, where we were staying.  I have to say that was one of the most memorable long rides I have even done, and the fact that I got to share it with Jamie made it even more fun!  I also think that it energized me again for the reasons why I do this sport.  Why I love to take my bike on a ride, even if I'm not quite sure where I'm headed.  Why I love to take off into the woods for a long run, not knowing what I might encounter along the paths.  I love the fact that I can do these things, and I don't take it for granted one bit. 

Thanks for reading and I'll update you on my IM Canada build as it progresses.  My next race will be at the Steelhead 70.3 at the start of August.  I'm excited to head back up to the event as I really enjoyed my experience last year.  Cheers and happy training.

Fish

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Holy smokes.  it's been a long time since I've posted an update.  WOW.  Sorry about that.

Things have been pretty crazy these past couple months.  Our big hometown race, Capital of Texas Triathlon, got cancelled due to terrible race morning weather.  It was pretty sad not to see the event go ahead in some manner but I can understand why the race officials made the decision they did.  You basically needed an Ark to get around transition by 7 a.m. and Town Lake looked more like a class 3 rapids then a calm dowtown river.  I felt so bad for all the athletes who put in so much time, effort and made some big sacrifices to train for this event.  I hope they can channel their energies into another event and not be discouraged by the unforseen circumstances.

How am I doing?  Well, I've never been fresher.  Literally, it's June and I've raced one time.  Go figure?   My first few races didn't happen because my coffee table decided to take my knee out.  However that's all healed up and I feel great.  The one race I did get to do, Gulf Coast, had me sidelined to a 2nd place finish due to a flat tire that took way too long to fix.  Let's just say I'm itching to go.  I had made the decision to race only one Ironman this year (Kona) so I gues you could say I'm just easing into the season.  Anyhoot, I'll be happy to get things going next weekend at Muskoka.

Speaking of Muskoka, this is going to be an interesting adventure for me.  I watched my husband, Jamie, race there when we first met.  We were actually only dating for a couple months, and a long distance relationship at that!  I flew up to Toronto, he picked me up, and we spent the weekend at the race.  He raced and I just did some training while I enjoyed the cooler temperatures.  Yet I always kept the thought in the back of my mind about actually doing the race some day.  Fast forward seven years and now I'm doing it.  It's actually an interesting format because it's set up like the Lifetime Fitness Challenge.  The pro women will be given a pre-calculated head start from the men, but the race distance isn't like any other race.  It's a 2k swim, 55k bike and 15k run.  To make matters worse, I'm RACING MY HUSBAND!  Yep, for the first time we are actually going to race against each other.  Of course there is a waiger being made between us, as to who finishes first: the size of Jamie's new flat screen TV that will go in our new house.  I CAN'T LET HIM BEAT ME!

After that weekend I return home, take a couple days to recover and then head up to Lubbock for BLST 70.3.  I'm actually pretty excited about it because my friend and training partner Louie signed up for the race.  You don't understand!  This guy is so hard to get to commit to a race that it drives all of us nuts.  He'll train with us in full on Ironman training and then doesn't race.  It'll be good to get his ass out on the race course at a major half Ironman.  I'm excited to see how it goes for him.

Well, that's about it for now on the racing stuff.  On the personal side I'm in the process of trying to sell my current house and finish building our new house.  Plus we are traveling our asses off these days so I'm savoring any moment I get to be at home.  I can't wait to get the whole sell a house/build a house/move to storage/move to house epic out of the way.  Moving really makes you realize how much shit we accumulate in life.  Really, do we need all this stuff?

Thanks for reading and happy training!

Cheers,

Fish

Monday, April 2, 2007

Wow am I tired!  I didn't even race this past weekend at the Lone Star Triathlon Festival, but I am just wiped out.  Jamie and I both went down to help support the race and our many Texas Iron athletes who were racing.  We also had a run aid station on both days so there was a lot of work to be done.  We drove down in our Airstream on Friday, set up camp in the parking lot at Moody Gardens and got ready for the two days of racing.  Jamie raced in the sprint on Saturday, while I helped run our aid stations on both days.  I had originally planned to use the weekend as a final tune up for Ironman Arizona, but alas I am regulated to letting my knee heal with some time off.  However, here I was thinking I would have an easy weekend but I honestly think I'm more tired, sore and worn out from being out on the course during the entire weekend.  Yep...somehow I still manage to whine even if I'm not training or racing!

Anyhoot, our Texas Iron athletes rocked both days both in racing and by volunteering.  I love the support they give each other and how they all give back to the sport.  YOU GUYS ROCK!  If you want to check out Coach Susan's photo album from the weekend you can here  I also posted some of the photos on our Texas Iron site under Athletes 

Just to clarify what I'm doing in this picture:

I'm shaking Cowbells on my belt

for the athletes as they came thru our aid station

"MORE COWBELL!"

I'm back home and taking another day off in order to recover from the weekend.  I'll start back into things tomorrow, and by the end of the week I should be up and running again!  WOOOOHOOO!  Jamie and I are planning to keep with our annual Hill Country tradition and head back down to Kerrville for the Easter Hill Country ride this coming weekend.  It's three days of awesome riding around the Fredericksburg and Kerrville landscape, and it allows us a chance to kick back and relax.  Plus it gives me a great reason to eat like a piggy over the Easter weekend.

For now my race plans are to stick with Gulf Coast Triathlon as my first race of the season.  I chose to head back to Panama City, Florida this year as it's my 10 year long course triathlon anniversary .  Gulf Coast was my first long course race, and in my mind the first race I had really ever trained for.  I wanted to celebrate my 10 year anniversary by flogging myself at the May 12th half Ironman and reflect on how much I've grown since the first time I raced there.

Congratulations to everyone who raced at the Lone Star Triathlon Festival.  Kudos to Keith Jordan for another awesome race and special thanks to all the volunteers. 

Cheers,

Fish

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

D-Day.  That's what I kept telling my husband today was.  Today was the day I would get my MRI diagnosis and my decision would be made. 

I met with Ted Spears, my ortho, this morning and we went over my MRI images.  Good news is that I don't have any structural damage to my knee joint which would entail surgery.  THANK GOODNESS!  Bad news is that I will need to stay off my knee in terms of any weight bearing activity for a couple weeks.  My lateral knee has some extreme swelling and inflamation that needs time to heal.  Sadly I have to wait a bit before I can start racing, so no Lone Star Triathlon Festival or Ironman Arizona for me.  UGH.

The thing is that I'm actually ok with that.  When I originally looked at what races I wanted to do this year I had contimplated not doing an Ironman until Kona anyway.  I will need a couple weeks to make my decision on any adjustments to my racing schedule, but for now it looks like I may only add in a half IM or similar distance during the second half of April.  For now I'm going to let my knee heal and stick to cycling, swimming, weights and water running. 

Thanks to everyone who has been super supportive!  My sponsors rock and my friends are awesome.

If you are racing at the Lone Star Triathlon Festival be sure to hoot and hollar as you pass through our run aid station.  You'll be greeted by our "Western Theme" volunteers and I promise it will be the best aid station out there!

Cheers,

Fish

Monday, March 26, 2007

What a fantastic weekend we had in Alexandria, LA.  Jamie and I hosted a triathlon weekend for Run Wild, a fantastic running and fitness store located in Alexandria.  Elizabeth and Don Cassano brought us in to work with a group of local and regional triathletes.  We did a lot of swimming, bike skills, transitions, running, form work and then closed off the weekend with a tough transition workout (bike to run repeats).  It was fantastic and we really enjoyed making new friends in Alexandria.  You can find out more about the Run Wild store, and all the local events they help to put on via their website Run Wild.  I hope to post some pictures from the transition workout on our coaching site Texas Iron within the next few days.

On a personal note I'm having a tough time this past week.  I did a very dumb ass move about 2 weeks ago and now I'm paying the price for my lack of coordination.  Right before our camp I was logging a lovely little trainer session in my living room.  Well low and behold my Dumb Ass self somehow unlocked the skewer on her bike and long story short went tumbling into the corner of my SOLID WOOD COFFEE TABLE!  My leg never clipped out and I was stuck on my side, leg twisted, knee into the corner of the table and my dog skimpering away in fright as I almost came crashing down on her as well.  My knee turned black and blue on the side and I did experience a bit of pain in the side of my joint, but I brushed it off to a normal bruise and tried to blow off my "one man crash" while nursing my ego.

Fast forward....

Now it's 2 weeks later and I'm in some terrible pain.  Last week I trained thru things as it never seemed to get any worse for the time being but it also never got any better.  I can run, ride and swim but as the week progressed onward, even with a few days off from running, I started to really feel it .  By Friday I tried to log a wimpy little 30 minute run and was cursing as I finished back at home in pain.  Frig!  So the weekend was spent workout free, which was fine because we were hosting the camp in Alexandria.  However my knee turned into a grapefruit on Saturday and by Sunday evening, after I got home, I was hobbling into the house. 

I met with my trusty ortho doc this morning, Ted Spears, and we have an MRI schedule for tomorrow morning.  He's pretty much ruling out, but not completely, a tear based on my reaction to his pushing, pulling, turning, pushing and poking some more.  We think it may be a bone chip/fracture in the joint at worse case, and at best case it's a BIG BAD ASS joint bruise which is much easier to fix at this point in time.  I won't know the final diagnosis until Wednesday morning, so until then I'm stuck only swimming and doing some upper body weights.  Even as I sit here writing this entry I'm pissed off from the constant pain.  My husband suggested I start drinking, heavily....which at this point is starting to look like a very good idea.

I still haven't ruled out any of my upcoming races yet.  I'm schedule to race this coming weekend at the Lone Star Triathlon festival, and then two weeks after that I have Ironman Arizona.  If I only have a joint bruise and no break/fracture/chip then I'm racing.  If it's the worst case scenerio then I'm most likely off to surgery in the next week.  ARG.  But I'll take it in stride and not worry too much for the time being.  Some extra rest never hurt anyone and besides, it's pouring rain outside right now so who would want to go ride or run anyway?

Stay tuned....

Cheers,

Broken Fish

Friday, March 23, 2007

WOW.  I've only been home a couple days and it's been crazy.  I've been trying to catch up on work so much that I haven't had a chance to update everyone on our camp.  Now I'm running back out the door to do another camp in Alexandria, LA this weekend.  Life is crazy and non stop, but that's how I like it.  I promise to post an update next week, but for now you can catch some of our pictures from our Texas Iron Tough as Iron camp, courtesy of our lovely photographer Susan Farago.  She's so awesome about documenting all of our adventures.  Susan even made a friend out in Kerrville on the last day of camp (see below).

Texas Iron Coach, Susan Farago, with her new friend

Check back as I promise to be better about my updates, but for now click here to view the camp slideshow.

Cheers,

Fish

Thursday, March 8, 2007

I'm heading off to Lost Maples State Park this weekend for the ever so infamous Leaky Death Ride Weekend.  Then next week we have our Texas Iron Tough as Iron Endurance Camp in Kerrville, Texas.  I'll have lots of photos and a full recap after those weekends, which I'm sure will entail many hillarious adventures.  We have over 47 athletes coming down for the camp and the bike routes are going to be awesome!  Not to mention the trail runs in the park after a killer long ride.  Check back after the 18th and I'll try to get an update posted as soon as I can.

Train safe!

Cheers,

Fish

Thursday, February 1, 2007

What a winter we are having.  I can't believe how cold it has been by "Texas standards".  We've already had a major ice storm that shut us down for a few days, snow, cold sleety rain and very chilly morning temperatures.  I've broken out more winter apparel these days then I'd like to see.  I know.....I shouldn't complain at all, but I feel really bad for my friend Tereza.  She's down here for two months training for Ironman South Africa, and the first couple weeks were spent on the trainer.  However, things are coming around and she's been able to get some quality time out on the road so I know she's gonna kick ass next month.

I started back into a training regime at the start of the year.  I took a really nice, long and healthy break after Ironman Florida and I'm so glad I did.  I feel a lot fresher, happier and ready to ease back into things this year.  My ultimate focus for this season is Hawaii in October and giving it a full fledged concerted training focus.  All races, events, etc... that I do this year will all be in the grand plan for a solid October race.  My wonderful husband has already committed to helping me have more time to train and focus this year by taking a large load of the business requirements (coaching, training sessions, talks, etc..)  We also hired 3 more AWESOME assistant coaches to help out with the work load, so I've got a great set up for this season.  It's exciting!

Since "easing" back into things, Tereza and I have already done a 25k trail race and I just ran the 3M Half Marathon last Sunday.  The trail race was a freaking riot!  It was in Bandera and it's so much fun. We've made it an annual training event now.  We had a lot of Texas Iron athletes out there camping, running and volunteering.  I posted some pictures from the event on our TI site at http://www.texasiron.net/TxIronAthletes.htm I had a pretty decent run considering I hadn't run over 2 hours prior to that day.  I felt great up to the 2 hour mark and then the weight of 20 lbs. of mud stuck to my shoes took over.  The last 30 minutes were so rough and hard.  I could barely lift my legs and make it up the last few climbs.  Tereza came by me at one of the muddiest and hardest sections and I thought I was going to fall over.  She came in first and I came rolling in a few minutes later.  Wow did our legs hurt after that one.  A couple weekends later I ran the 3M half and I can honestly say that it was one of the hardest half marathons I've posted in quite some time.  I have no idea why I felt so bad out there on race day, but I'm chalking it up to a mental victory in that I managed to finish.  Oh well, it was one of those days.  ARG!

My plan is to use the upcoming AT&T Marathon, on February 18th, as a base run and put in some more bike miles with Tereza.  Come March I've got a couple mega training weeks to focus on my build for Ironman Arizona.  I'm really happy that I've got a good amount of time to build into this early season IM race and not rush things.  It'll definitely pay off in the end.  I'm also super excited about our training camp in March http://www.texasiron.net/TxIronTrainingCamp.htm as I'll get to do some mega miles with the athletes who attend.  I can't wait.

I'll be good and update my news section as often as possible this year, so check back regularly.  Thanks for your support and train safe!

Cheers,

Fish

Congratulations to Andrea for being named in the

2006 City Sports Best of Texas Polls!

Andrea was awarded as one of the Clif Bar Athletes of the year:

Best Female Triathlete category.

Texas Iron won big as well in the following categories:

Best Male Triathlete

Best Triathlon Club

Best Triathlon Coach

Best Swim Coach

Best Bike Coach

Best Run Coach

December 2, 2006

Ahhhhhh!  I love the off season.  I love not feeling guilty about not working out.  I love eating foods that I would normally leave out of my diet during the season.  I love sleeping in late.  I love wine.  I love spending quality time with my husband and pets.  I love everything about this time of year!

I took two weeks completely off after Ironman Florida and enjoyed the freedom.  I hosted the race commentary for the Silverman Triathlon, which was awesome!  I had the chance to see Las Vegas, tour the course for the race and spend some time with my friend Amy who came out to cheer for some local athletes.  I'm thinking I need to put together a team for next year if they open up the $100,000 challenge to women as well.  We'll see if it becomes an option for 2007, and if it does I'm all over it!!!!

After a couple weeks of doing absolutely nothing I started to squeeze in a few light workouts here and there.  I did some water running with one of my athletes, Ainsley, and I have been doing some light trail runs from our new property.  Jamie and I purchased a lot, here in Austin, that backs on to the Green Belt.  We are starting construction this month and our new "dream home" should be finished by May or June.  We can literally run out our back door from this property and be on the gorgeous Austin Green Belt right away.  I can't wait to move in!

We also took a few days and went out to Fredericksburg, Texas for the Thanksgiving holiday.  For four days all we do is sleep, hike, eat, shop, sleep, and eat some more.  It's so nice to get away, plus we love heading out to Enchanted Rock for some hiking and trail running.  This year Jamie brought his climbing equipment and managed to show me some basic rope ties and moves.  I sorta felt like an idiot cause the rock face he had me "climbing" was prety much walkable.  There were kids and grandparents walking up the same slab I was trying to conquer in my full on harness, ropes and shoes.  I told Jamie I would love to go climbing again, but I HAVE TO DO SOMETHING HARDER then what he had me learn on.  We'll see what he puts me on next....

I am starting to think about my race plans for next year but I haven't made any definite decisions yet.  The only thing that is for sure is Ironman Hawaii in October.  I took my year away from racing in Kona and now I'm ready to go back.  I'll do an early season Ironman but again I just don't know what my final plans will be.  The only thing I do know is that I want to include a lot of fun races.  Fun races?  You know....the kind of triathlon that makes you love the sport!  The kind of triathlon that brought you into this sport.  The kind of triathlon that makes you smile even though it was tough as shit to finish.  Yeh, that's what I mean by fun.  2007 will be a very interesting year.

Happy holidays to all and I wish you safe winter training.  Enjoy!

Cheers,

Fish

October 23, 2006

Ok, so it's been some time since I've posted an update.  Part of that problem was because my laptop computer crashed, leaving me helpless in terms of posting updates.  Tim, our loyal webmaster, was already getting emails by the dozens from me just for our coaching site that I didn't want to bother him anymore then I had to.  But now things are back to working order and I'm able to post the latest and greatest from the Cleveland/Fisher household.

Training was slow going after IM Wisconsin.  That race absolutely took more out of me then I had planned.  The cold weather and brutal conditions didn't allow my body to bounce back like normal after a typical Ironman race.  It literally took me a few weeks before I was even functioning ok.  But once the crud came off me I was back into the swing of things.  The race fitness has kicked in and I feel groovy.  I'm now into my taper for Ironman Florida so it's time to rest again.  The training between these two Ironman races has been very different then what I've done in the past, but I'm confident that it will pay off big come November 4th. 

On another note Ironman Hawaii took place this past weekend.  I was squirming in my seat as I watched the race unfold.  I chose not to do Hawaii this year so I could refocus on myself and bring my Ironman preperation in another direction for a season, but IT WAS KILLING ME not to be there.  I watched the women live on the internet and all I wanted to do was jump into the race right that second.  At least I know I'll be anxious to get back out on the Queen K come next year.  For now I'll need to keep my focus on Florida and close out the season strong.

One of my athletes, Chris McCambridge, absolutely KICKED ASS in Kona.  I've been working with Chris for years and if you asked either of us how long we've been together I don't think we could answer that question.  I've watched her grow as an athlete and it's just been amazing to see her get faster and faster with time!  She won the women 60-64 age group and became an Ironman World Champion!  Her splits were just amazing, and when I talked to her about how her race unfolded I was so proud of her determination.  She was being chased hard on the marathon, and when the splits started to get close she was able to dig deep and put time back on the other women.  That's a huge accomplishment for Chris since she doesn't think her run is her strength.  Chris biked 6 hr 18 min and ran a stellar 4 hr 50 min marathon.  Her final time was 12 hr and 52 minutes.  She's an inspiration to me, as well as countless other athletes who have watched her become the best in the world.  Chris, you're a rock star!

Chris kicking butt in Kona!

Jamie and I leave at the end of the week in the Texas Iron silver bullet (aka: our Airstream trailer) and will arrive in Panama City on Sunday.  It's such an awesome way to travel and the best part is we get to stay right at the race site.  There's a lovely RV park right across the street from the run start, so talk about convenient!  I know...it sounds so red-neck to say we're staying at an RV park but I'm telling you that since we've been racing and traveling in our trailer our lives have been so much better.  I get my own home at the race and it's got everything I could want.  So feel free to wave if you see us hanging out at the RV park and stop by for a visit. 

Lastly I need to mention my new sponsor.  CycleOps is going to work with me, as well as Texas Iron for the next season.  I'm really excited about this new relationship because I'm a big believer in power use on the bike.  I've been training with my Power Tap for the last couple years, but have not been able to race on it.  Both Bontrager and CycleOps are partnering to provide me with my first wireless PT race wheel!  In Florida I will be able to use a Bontrager Aeolus race wheel with the built in wireless Power Tap hub.  How freaking cool is that?!?!  It's going to be a big help for me come race day and I can't wait to see the outcome.

Off to chill out for the rest of the evening.  It's my day off and I'm planning on a nice little nap.

Cheers,

Fish

August 28, 2006

YEH!  Don't you just love it when you finally hit TAPER TIME!!!!!  Well, that's where I am and I can honestly say that I'm thrilled to be here.  The funny thing is that I actually feel great heading into this IM taper vs. some of my past experiences.  Normally I'm so trashed that I can barely get out of bed, but this time is very different.  I chose not to race a lot this year and instead focus on my training/fitness build through out the entire summer.  By doing this I was able to put in some amazing training weeks and boost my overall ability to handle the volume and intensity better.  Thus why I feel solid and so good right now.  Plus, I stayed healthy. 

So things are going perfectly for me right now as I get ready to race in Madison, Wisconsin.  Jamie and I are loading up our Texas Iron 28 foot Airstream and we'll head out of town on Friday this week.  We are actually heading down to Kerrville, Texas for the Rio de Vino triathlon on Saturday.  I love the town and have had some amazing training trips down here (see July 7th entry) so I only thought it appropriate to do a sprint race at my favorite park one week out from Ironman.  The race is at the Kerrville-Shriener Park, where we always camp when we go down to train, so I know I'll feel right at home.  After the sprint race on Saturday we'll hang out, eat, chill and get Jamie ready for a mountain bike race on Sunday morning. 

When Jamie is racing on Sunday I'm planning to head out for a short bike ride followed by a swim in the Guadalupe River.  After that we'll pack things up and start driving north to Madison.  Our plan is to be in Madison by Tuesday mid-day at the latest.  Then I have the rest of the week to chill out before I race on Sunday.

The womens field looks pretty solid for IM Moo this year.  It'll be good though.  It will push me, and doing well amongst this field of women will show just how much work I've done this year.  I'm excited and ready to rumble.  Let's hope the Wisconsin cows are ready for our invasion.

See you in Madison or follow my day on www.ironmanlive.com on September 10th.

Cheers,

Fish

August 6, 2006

Andrea has posted her race report from the Steelhead 70.3 triathlon under "race reports"

July 7, 2006

What a week it's been.  Jamie, myself and few other Texas Iron athletes headed down to Kerrville, Texas for a little training trip.  We had 8 total riders start a VERY challenging 106 mile route on Saturday.  Now when I say challenging, I DO MEAN challenging.  We rode through various small towns, or I guess I could just say there was a small sign with the name of a town on it but I hardly ever saw any towns to match the signs.  If we were lucky we would see the remaining foundations of what use to be a town, but it still rocked in terms of bike routes.  Most everyone ran off the bike for a quick transition run and then it was time to chill out at our trailer in the park.

The next day was a long run day.  Jamie logged 23 miles, I logged 1 hr 50 min (some of my run was on trail so I have no idea how many miles I ran) and Louie logged a stellar 2+ hr run.  We threw ourselves into the Guadelupe River for a solid 45 min swim and then it was time to chill out again.  Tomorrow was going to be killer....

The next ride day (day 3) we logged 126 miles on a route that took us through Lost Maples, Leakey, Hunt and Ingraham Texas.  We estimate that we climbed somewhere between 10,000 to 11,000 feet during this ride.  I have to put out a special thanks to Louie for dragging my sore and tired ass back to home base in Kerrville.  At one point I wasn't sure if we were going to make it back before dark since we originally thought we were only riding 100 - 110 miles.  The epic ride was one for the books and one that will definitely make Jamie, Louie and myself stronger for it.

The next day (day 4) was our last riding day.  Louie and I set out on a 50+ miler while Jamie went longer at 64+ miles.  All of us had very sore butts by this point, but once you got going your saddle area just sorta went numb again.  When we finished we had 6 x 1 mile repeats thru the park on a hilly run route.  Louie is running so well these days and again kicked my ass.  The sun was out, I was tired and became VERY whiney (yes...imagine that....me whining....) but the bugger made me stick to it and I cranked out 6 very solid mile repeats. 

The last day (day 5) was just Jamie and I.  We did a short 45 min trail run in the morning, then logged a solid river swim after it before we headed back to Austin.  By this point we were both tired and ready to let the last few days of training set in.  We managed to put in 19-21 hours of training over the course of 4 days time and we were both extremely proud of ourselves.  We love training out of Kerrville and we are currently talking about a possible training camp for next year.  That will be something to discuss and plan out for 2007!

I'm off to Ironman Austria on Monday with a travel group from Premium Plus Sports, then I fly directly to Lake Placid, NY to watch IM USA.  Jamie is racing (Watch out guys!  He's in top shape!!!!) as well as many of our Texas Iron athletes.  I'll be hootin' and hollering out on the course all day.

Cheers,

Fish

une 25, 2006

Check under Race Reports for Andrea's recap of Buffalo Springs 70.3

June 16, 2006

It's hot.  It's really hot here.  I'm talking late summer like heat, with heat index numbers into the 100 + zone.  My dog won't even go outside.  She sits at the door wimpering because she knows she'll just explode if she steps outside.  My plants are dieing in the backyard because it's so hot (or maybe because I forget to water them?  Who really knows...but for now I'll blame the heat)

This time around I may actually be ready for the heat in Lubbock.  This time around I may actually feel "cold" while I'm running in the Energy Lab 2 (the out and back section of the run at Buffalo Springs Lake Triathlon).  So a quick request to Mother Nature about the weather in Lubbock next weekend:

BRING ON THE HEAT!!!!  BRING ON THE SUN!!!!!  BRING ON THE WIND!!!!!!  Make it a scorcher.  I'm ready for it!!!!!

Oh, and for all of you racing at BLST 70.3 this year....WEAR SUNSCREEN!!!!!! 

C yah in Lubbock.

Cheers,

Fish

May 29, 2006

Cap Tex Triathlon

So my report is short.  Very short.  Had a great swim, felt awesome on the bike while leading and then 2.5 miles into the bike I managed to pick up a piece of nylon black rope and chew my back derailer to bits.  I couldn't even bend it back at all.  Everything is gone.  So my race ended in a 2.5 mile barefoot walk back to transition.  Oh well....

Jamie won!  Even after going of course twice (swim and bike) the bugger managed to pull off a great day.  So all is not lost in the household. 

I'm off to Iowa for a week or so to help take care of my grandmother.  I'm not looking forward to the work we (my family) will need to do with her house and other matters, but I am looking forward to some cooler weather. 

Next race....Buffalo Springs 70.3

Cheers

Fish

May 23, 2006

Post Baja 70.3 Race

It's two days post Baja 70.3 and my body is starting to come back to life.  The course was a killer one in terms of the bike, so I'm planning on a bit longer recovery time from this race than I had originally planned.  Otherwise, as a whole, I'm quite happy with how things turned out.

Jamie and I arrived in Ensenada, Mexico on Wednesday afternoon.  We immediately passed out on the bed and ended up sleeping most the remaining day away.  We rallied on Thursday and headed out for a quick peek at some of the bike course.  The race had changed the bike from a two loop to a single loop which we discovered made it over 3000 feet of climbing.  However, what goes up must come down and the decents were a bit intimedating.  The turns didn't have guard rails on them, and peeking over the edge of the road you could see the trashed vehicles around 200 feet below.  I have to admit I got a bit nervous regarding my bike handling skills after seeing the decents.  It would make for a very interesting race day.

Sunday morning came and we headed out into the harbor for the 1.2 mile swim.  The female pros were starting two minutes behind the male pros, so I had no one to draft off of, much less site from either.  I swam as best I could and tried to keep on course as much as possible, but my overall swim time wasn't that spectacular.  I had hoped to put more time on to the rest of the women's field by T1 thus I wasn't a happy camper when I saw the rest of the field running into transition as I was leaving. 

Heading on to the bike I had my plan in mind.  I would take it out comfortable and easy for the first ten miles or so, then start building into things.  Desiree passed both Kate Allen and myself before we turned into the hills, and then Kate and I rode together for a bit.  The first major climb was going to be my warm up for the rest of the hills, but by five minutes into the climbing my legs and back weren't giving me positive energy.  I kept things dialed back a bit more and simply spun up the rest of the climb in an easier gear.  Once I got on to the flatter section near the top I was able to open things up a bit.  Eventually the big decent came and I was hoping to overcome my "brake-a-rama" needs.  Sian Welch was riding with me at this point and that helped my confidence.  She literally flew down the decents as I tried to stay with her.  I never get to practice this type of turning and decending back home so all I could do was hope for the best.  I made it to the bottom, hit the turn around and then prepared for the climb back home. 

Heading back to town was brutal in terms of climbing.  There seem to be another hill lurking behind every turn and by this point I was starting to crater on my climbing ability.  I hadn't trained in preperation for this kind of riding and I could tell I wasn't ready for it.  The positive thoughts were flowing and I took great pride in being able to really push the flatter sections, but by this point I was starting to hate hills all together.  Then the final decent came and I was home free.  Thank goodness!

Heading into T2 I was in 4th place behind Mirinda, Desiree and Carolyn.  Now it was time to run and hold on to finish in the top five.  I had Kate Allen, Kate Major and Sian Welch behind me ready to go so I needed to be smart.  My game plan was to run 1.28 to 1.30, with a 45 minute first loop.  I was a very happy girl when my legs were feeling groovy from the start.  YEH!!!  Both Kates caught me near the end of loop one, but I had hope for loop two.  Nearing the final turn around I was actually starting to put some time back into the gap between Kate Major and myself.  My thought was to start pushing things after the final hill and see if I couldn't start to close the gap.  I dug in and picked things up, but after a few minutes I realized that I was going to blow up if I went any harder.  I backed off, regrouped and then kept on my steady pace for the remainder of the run.  Kate dissapeared down the road into the rest of the runners and I stayed in the same position.

I finished in sixth place amongst a very competitive field of females and I ran my goal time of 1.30 (actual split times posted from the race are not all correct).  So in all I'm content with the day.  It's a good stepping stone back in terms of recovering from my last major race and moving forward with the remainder of my season.

Now it's time for a quick vacation in Cabo before we return back home.  My next two races will be the Capital of Texas Triathlon and Buffalo Springs 70.3.  Thanks to all the Texas Iron athletes who raced in Baja and cheered for me on the course.  You guys rock and congrats on conquering a very difficult half ironman course.

I'm off to relax, have a margarita by the pool and let my sore legs heal from Sunday's adventure.

Cheers,

Fish   

May 13, 2006

Ok, I'm ready to rest this week.  The past couple weeks have been filled with strength and quality workouts so needless to say my legs are ready to rest.  Especially after the past week and a half.  I managed to log some great tempo bike / tempo transition run workouts with Louie, one of my training partners.  We spanked ourselves on a few rides lately, and then managed to run well off the bike (including a run workout at Wilke Hill....THE HARDEST AND STEEPEST hill in Austin!)  Plus I'm on new medication for my asthmatic problems and I can honestly say I feel like a new woman!  Even Jamie has noticed how much better my training and workouts have gotten in the last couple weeks.

Today consisted of the Rookie Triathlon this morning (a short sprint race just south of San Marcos- 300 M swim, 11.5 mile bike, 2 mile run) where Desiree put me to the test.  My legs were screaming at me the entire course so I have no idea how I even held on as well as I did.  She didn't catch me until just before the turn around on the run.  I slowed down for a tiny bit after that, and then actually started to put some time back into her as we approached the last turn of the run but by this point it was too late to do anything.  Des won, I placed 2nd and to be quite honest with you I was totally happy with how it turned out.  Given the fatigue I have right now I was totallyl stoked to have held on as strong as I did.  Now I can't wait to rest this coming week and race at the Baja 70.3.  The women's field is going to be a killer one with the likes of recent St. Croix winner Miranda, Kate Allen, Kate Major and Des.

After the race a few of us, including Louie (he's a glutton for punishment!), rode back home to Austin.  The ride was about 53 miles and we somehow managed to put forth a solid effort on it.  There were many sprint to the county/city signs thrown in through out the ride, including 2 successful efforts by me!  I love trying to win those sprints!  Jamie pulled the group of us back and we all hung on for the ride.  It was a very solid day of training, and now I'm exhausted.  The rest of my evening will consist of eating, watching tv, and laying on my couch.  How wonderful does that sound?!?!?!

A few weeks back Jamie and I raced at the BTU Triathlon in Bryan, Texas.  Neither of us had done any speed work prior to race day (we were still in the post Ironman recovery time frame) so it was a true test of will.  Brandon and Amy Marsh put us to the test and we barely managed a double win on that day.  Jamie woke up sick and I was still recoverying from a gastro-sickness and bee sting.  Neither of us wanted to toe the line that morning, but we did, and it hurt (no...strike that....IT REALLY HURT) to race.  The margin of victory on our end was very small (measurable in seconds) but we did what we needed to do on that day and I'm proud of both of us for it.  It's amazing what you can get your body to do if your mind is determined enough. (below are pictures from the BTU race)

We leave on Wednesday for Baja, and then after the race we are taking a week vacation in Cabo San Lucas.  It's going to be AWESOME!  Jamie, myself and two other couples are renting a villa for the week.  I can't wait to park my sorry sore post Baja race butt on a pool chair and drink fruity frozen drinks all day long.  It will be the perfect post race recovery vacation.

Off to that couch which is calling my name right now. 

Cheers,

Fish

April 21, 2006

WOW!  I can't believe how long it's been since I have posted an update.  Sorry about that. 

So my first big race of the season was somewhat of an interesting day.  I raced at Ironman Arizona and to make a long story short I was having a terrific day that ended in the emergency room of the local hospital. 

My swim wasn't anything to write home about and I partially think it was because I over heated in the water.  I love my new Helix wetsuit, but should have opted for a sleeveless version on race day.  I tend to have major issues swimming well if I get too warm in the least, and half way through the swim I was blowing up.  Anyhow, I exited the water and quickly worked my way into 2nd place on the bike.  I felt awesome on my Lemond and was super excited about the prospects for the day.  During the last hour of the bike, while still in second place to Michellie Jones, I started to feel really weird.  My chest was beginning to get tight and I felt like needles were stabbing me all over.  I dialed it back and bit and just attributed it to the heat of the day.

I got off the bike into T2 and noticed that I was starting to wheeze and cough.  No worries, I'll just use my inhaler and build into the run.  I had built the perfect lead on the women behind me that I could definitely afford a couple minutes on my first few miles. 

After running 4 miles, with a heartrate of 183+ and a 9.30 mile pace, I was really starting to wonder what was going on.  I had never felt this bad, nor run this slow in my life!  I just kept telling myself to suck it up and get over this bad patch.  Soon everyone and their mother was running by me like I was standing still.  I remember getting to mile 7 and then that's about it.  Next thing I knew I was in an ambulance covered in electrode patches, and IV drip and a nebulizer (spelling on this one?).  I saw the patches on my chest and asked the guys if I had experienced a heart attack and they said no...just a major asthmatic attack and vomiting.  In a few minutes I was in the ER room, having medication shoved into me thru my IV and a barf pan on my stomach since I couldn't seem to keep anything in me.  Sounds attractive eh?

So that's how my wonderful IM day turned into a miserable hospital visit.  Needless to say I'm pretty upset, but I'm licking my wounds and I'll move forward.  I've got a few appointments with specialist here in Austin and I hope to get my current asthmatic problems under control (it has increasingly gotten worse over the past 2 years so it's time to call in the big guns and get me back up to par)  It's so early in the season that I can't let this one get me down.  Obviously I'm fit and ready to rock' n' roll per how I was doing in the race, so I'll just have to "unleash hell" at my next big one (I love that line from Gladiator!  hee hee).  I'll race a couple local events back home as I prepare for the Baja 70.3 and the rest of my season.

Thanks for your support and a big special hug to my husband, who by the way ABSOLUTELY ROCKED AT IM ARIZONA WITH A 9th PLACE OVERALL.  He's my inspiration, my training partner, and the sanity behind me being able to do what I do. 

Cheers,

Fish

February 19, 2006

I just got home from running the Freescale Marathon.  WOW was it cold!  I'm not talking just a little bit chilly cold...I'm talking freezing with 10-20 mph winds and freezing mist.  But none the less the race went on and over 10,000 runners took to the streets of Austin for the full and half marathons. 

I talked Tereza (see below) into doing the full marathon as well.  She had a long run scheduled for today so why not just run it?  Actually, I sorta tricked her into it because I went ahead and signed her up online and accidentally put her in the full marathon instead of the half.  So Tereza, my friend Scott and I all started in the front staging area for the elite runners and we took off on our "long training run" at 7:30 a.m.  Scott and I averaged around 7.20-7.30 for the first half, and then he ran into some issues but eventually finished things out strong in a sub 3.45.  I kept going on and tried to pull out a 3.15, but my 2 potty stops put me at 3.17.  I've realized that it's much easier to "potty" in IM when you are wearing a bathing suit vs. a marathon when you are wearing 10 layers of clothing in order to stay warm.  Tereza did awesome and ran 3.23!  Tereza and I were both totally happy with our runs after the major training we did this week and no rest going into the marathon.  Now we get a couple days to chill out and let our legs be happy again.  We've decided that shopping is the perfect way to to do this so we're scheduling in shop-a-thon at the local outlet mall during the next day or two.

My other recent adventure was my trip to Gatorade last week.  I headed up to Chicago on Thursday, did some preliminary testing at the labs, and then got ready for my big day on Friday.  When Friday morning rolled around I headed over to the Gatorade Institute for a half Ironman in their lab.  No joke!  I literally did a half IM in the GSSI lab while they poked, measure, read, did blood draws, etc...  The room temperature was 83 and the humidity was set at 60% in order to replicate the typical summer conditions I would endure at a long distance triathlon.  I have never done that much inside before so I was definitely going a little bit stir crazy, but the results are going to be awesome information for me to use with my training and nutrition (for both in and out of competition).  Jamie, my husband, heads up later this week for the same testing.  It'll be interesting to see how he fairs doing a race intensity half Ironman inside.  He can't even ride a trainer inside for more then 20 minutes!  hee hee

I leave for IM New Zealand next weekend, so I'll need to start packing for that trip.  It'll be an easy pack since I'm not racing, only being a tour guide.  I will make sure to leave plenty of spare space for all my shopping treasures I tend to find in Taupo during my free time.  I seem to bring back lots of lollies (candy) and wine that you can't buy in the states.

Well, I'm off to put my tired legs up for a much deserved rest.  I'll check back in after I return from New Zealand.  Congrats to everyone who ran in the Freescale Half and Full Marathon!  Cheers and safe training.

Fish

February 5, 2006

Well I'm back into the swing of things and getting ready for the 2006 season.  My training buddy from Canada, Tereza Macel, has ventured down south once again to take in the Austin atmosphere.  I'm really excited because I love training with her!  We beat the crap out of each other in our sessions, but it's all great.  We get along wonderfully and I'm anxious for us both to race at Ironman Arizona in April.

I'm also off to the Gatorade Institute in early February to do some testing.  Both Jamie (my husband) and I will be evaluating our sweat rates, calorie needs, and electrolyte loss as well as other variables that come into play for our longer events.  I know this is going to be critical information that will help resolve my nutrition issues I have been experiencing during the final stages of my full and half Ironman races.  In other words I'll be able to back up the later part of my races (AKA the run) with this info!  

After that I will return back to Austin and run in the Freescale Marathon on February 19.  This will only be a training run for my Ironman build, but I'm excited none the less.  I plan to tag along with my friend from Dallas, Scott Powell, as we take a 26.2 mile tour of the beautiful city I live in.  I'm a little worried since the last time Scott ran a marathon, in Las Vegas, he was dressed as Elvis!  I wouldn't make a very convincing Elvis, much less Priscilla!

At the end of February I head off to Ironman New Zealand as one of the tour guides for Premium Plus Sports Travel.  It's really fun work since I get to take the US athletes on course tours for the Ironman race while I get away from things.  I also get to do some awesome training while I'm in Taupo, such as riding the 100 mile loop around the lake and running on the Ironman New Zealand course.

Once I get back home from New Zealand Tereza and I will finish up the remainder of our training block and then it will be time to let all the work sink in.  I plan to race in an Olympic distance race approximately two weeks prior to Ironman Arizona.  I love doing a shorter distance race, two to three weeks out from my Ironmans, since it gives me a chance to blow off the cob-webs.  It's also a great way to build in a transition workout and give myself one last fitness boost before the rest of my taper settles in.

So that's what I'm currently up to, and I'll update this section regularly as I progress through the year.  Thank you for taking the time to visit my site. (It was recently redone by my webmaster Tim and I'm very grateful for his time and effort.)   Thank you to all my friends and sponsors and I'll see you at the races.

Cheers,

Fish

SimplyStu goes to Trek World Headquarters and talks about Andrea's and Jamie's new Lemond Tri bikes (oh yeah, Lance's bike too!). Catch the latest Podcast on iTunes or download the interview here.
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