Important Questions

The Rev3 folks sent out a questionnaire to the athlete's asking a few random questions.

Here are the questions and my answers!

What song is playing in your ipod RIGHT NOW (the song you most frequently listen to before a race)?

My husband just resurrected an oldie but goodie- Bombs Over Baghdad by Outkast- great song to get pumped!! 

Non pump-up music currently rotating are: the new Shins album, Tune-yards, Civil Wars, M83 and Alabama Shakes

What is the last book you read?  

Since I have almost no time to read books printed on paper, I love listening to audiobooks during my runs/rides, and the last book I read/listened to was called 'Cutting for Stone' by Abraham Verghese. I've also been enjoying a Norwegian author, Jo Nesbo, and have finished a few of his books recently as well. 

If you could be any character in fiction, whom would you be? 

Book- Huck Finn. I grew up as a tomboy and loved the idea of a river adventure. Or Hermoine, 'cause magic is awesome and I want to fly!

TV/Movie- Either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory 

What would we find in your refrigerator right now?

STRING CHEESE, orange juice, milk, eggs, salmon, grapes, spinach, peppers, cucumbers, beer and ice cream 

Gluten free or bring on the gluten?

 Wheat and my GI tract are not friends. Not celiacs, just happier being wheat-free. 

Favorite beer? 

So...despite being 'wheat-free' I still drink beer every so often :) Favorites are Bell's Two Hearted IPA and Dark Horse Brewing Company's Crooked Tree IPA (both Michigan beers)

Favorite candy? 

Chocolate covered almonds and Reese's pieces

Post race indulgement? 

I give up the wheat-free thing and eat McDonald's cinnamon rolls while eating a Reese's peanut butter cup flurry. After EVERY race :) 

Best training tip?

Quality over quantity. 

Least favorite thing about racing? (nerves, taper, waking up early, etc)

Pre-race nerves...makes me puke :( 

How do you push through the pain during a race? 

 Challenge myself to go just a little bit harder.

Naps or no naps?

Saturdays -- always, and if I had the time, I would nap every day. Occasionally I'll curl up under my desk at work and snooze for 20 minutes -- but don't tell anyone! :)

Experience the seasons or chase summer?

I love summer, but my dog looooves snow, so for her happiness, I will experience the seasons. Shoveling snow is good core work, right?

What would you do if your were not a pro triathlete?

Well, I am only a professional triathlete in my 'spare' time. When I change out of spandex, I don the garbs of a poor graduate student- lab coat, geeky glasses and everything. I am in my 5th year as a PhD student in Neuroscience at the University of Michigan. I am studying the role of the basal ganglia in internal motivation. 

And in conclusion, here is my newest Cody adventure: taking a ride in a motorcycle sidecar! Cody is now demanding we ALWAYS travel this way:

Dreaming of Knoxville

My my, time flies.... my conscious brain has been in denial that April is coming to a close. My sleeping brain however is very aware that Knoxville is creeping ever closer, and that means the pre-race dreams have begun! Each night, a new tri-related dream/nightmare awaits, and each night I ride another race-related crazy-train. Some dreams involve me repeating previous mistakes -- such as not realizing my wheel is rubbing my bike frame, or purchasing new goggles the day before the race and actually using them for the first time on race day :) Others are totally bizzarre and have me WINNING. Haha! Only in my dreams.....


The reality is that Knoxville will be my first ever race as a PROFESSIONAL triathlete.  Me? A 'Professional' Athlete? I still don't really believe it....maybe it will finally sink in as the gun goes off next Sunday morning....but until then, I'm still just a Professional Nerd. 

Hey look- there I am!!

Since it is my first race, both for the season and as a Pro, my goals are to have fun, first and foremost, to not race like an idiot, and to learn as much as I can from the experience. Since the only Olympic distance races I've done were part of the American Triple-T, where I raced back-to-back Olympics on the same day (with an uber-hilly Half-Ironman on tap the next morning), I don't have a solid sense of what paces to expect. And that's fine- with how well my training has been progressing, I am looking forward to just that-- NO expectations-- just race. HARD. It will be fun to see if I can mentally and physically push myself way out of my comfort zone! 


I am also SUPER excited to race my first Rev3 event! Without even having met anyone in person yet, or having done an event, I've been extremely impressed with their race organization. Must be why 28 female pro's are signed up to race!  


And since I haven't posted in a while, here is my latest favorite picture of the snuggly-cuddle-bug Cody:

"Life is Good"

And with that, I am off to clean my bike and get race-ready! Bring it on, Knoxville!!

Week In Review

That's right- warmer than San Diego!

Another week of training is in the books! And what an amazing week we’ve had. Michigan decided to skip over spring (and winter, I suppose) and head straight to summer. This was the 5 day forecast (and since then, it's only gotten warmer- 84 degrees, as I type):


Going into last week, I had high hopes for massive volume and quality sessions, and for the first half of the week, I was crushing it- great pace on my runs, and some strong watts on the bike.  Wednesday night I caught some type of stomach bug/food poisoning and it’s amazing how one day of feeling crappy can derail your training for days. Despite that, I got in some quality sessions on the bike, and got to ride outside lots :) I know global warming is *technically* bad, but it sure does benefit Michigan in March!


Last week, I decided to join the 21st century, and got an iPhone 4s. I am in LOVE :) The camera on the 4s is truly amazing, and despite the fact that I'm typically a crappy photographer, I was able to take these pictures on my rides around Michigan:

...but the lake is so pretty!!!

I LOVE green barns. My goal is to own one, someday

Cody doesn't always like to get her picture taken, but she hasn't totally figured out that my phone is actually a camera (it's the flash she hates)- so, I've had a ton of fun taking pictures of her gorgeous little face:

And finally, here are some cool pictures I took at our local cemetery. The fog was clearing just as we were walking through, and Cody found this interesting toy on the ground.

Winter is Dead

Onto this week! I am on track to have my biggest volume week this year. Now that the racing season has kicked off, every time I read an article about an event, I get butterflies in my stomach! Eeeek! I have to keep reminding myself, as I read about the women's pro race, that I will BE with them- racing as a 'Pro'. Somedays, it's extremely motivating and exciting, but I will admit there are days where that prospect is terrifying. Either way, it certainly keeps my life interesting!