Lifetime Fitness Kids Triathlon Clinic

Last Thursday I did a Kids Triathlon Clinic at Lifetime Fitness in Las Vegas, NV. With over 50 kids and adults present, we went over everything from nutrition, recovery, and mindset to transition setup and training. I had a great time with the kids; it brought back great memories of working as a pediatric physiotherapist. I made sure they were up on their feet, had their brains firing and their bodies moving. :)

                           We had a great group of young triathletes!

It was a great chance to encourage others, young and old, to take up this wonderful sport and pursue their dreams. My message to all of them was to have fun and to find the passion that lies within you - whether it be triathlon or something else entirely. Never give up and don't worry about the outcome, but rather how hard you pushed yourself individually. 

     I was very excited about whatever I was talking about...probably recovery (sleep)!

I hope this clinic is just one of the first of many for me. Inspiring these kids and answering their questions was a big highlight.  One of the funniest questions asked was, "do you run fast when you race...or really fast?" They also wanted to know what the reasons are to do a triathlon; there are many answers to this questions, but the most important reasons are to have fun, be healthy, and challenge yourself.

                               Ryan and Justin  lending me a hand.

We chatted about what it takes to do your best in triathlon. I spoke about the four pieces of the pie: nutrition, training, recovery and mindset. While we talked about nutrition, the kids got to eat their tasty Beanitos, Core Power drinks and Gu gels. Ryan and Justin helped go over some key pointers for setting up a transition area. For recovery I explained a little about how to prevent injury by doing other exercise and gave ideas for strengthening their bodies. We also covered the best recovery of all...SLEEP, watching movies and hanging out with their friends. The kids had a lot of great ideas for this one! 

Overall we had a great time and I couldn't be more happy with the turnout. I'm pretty sure I saw a few upcoming triathlon stars in the mix! :) A big thanks to Renee, Eddie, Justin and Ryan Carroll for their amazing help for the clinic! Ryan and Justin were my two right-hand boys and helped with the presentation. Heck, they could have done it themselves! They answered questions, chatted about their new Pearl Izumi tri kits, and explained how to set up a transition. They are future triathlon stars!

A huge thank you also goes out to all the sponsors that helped out for this event. The kids were ecstatic with all the goodies they received, and everyone left with a big bag of new schwag.

                                                        Schwag!

Sponsors: Pearl Izumi, ISM Seats, Rudy Project, Punk Rock Racing, GU Energy

Supporters: Sable Water Optics, Bonk Breaker, Larabar, Trisports, ClifBar, Xlab, CorePower, Beanitos, 

Also, a big shout out to Jayne Furman, photographer.

70.3 St. Croix

I traveled from the St. Anthony's 5150 race straight to St. Croix on Wednesday. After a hard Olympic-distance effort, it worked out well to travel straight to the island - not only for the race, but for much needed rest! Luckily I travel with an entourage of helper monkeys who massage me and feed me grapes to speed my recovery.

St. Croix is a magical island to me (magical as in amazing, not Harry Potter). I think I was born to live by the ocean; I absolutely love it. It feels like riding a unicorn over a rainbow while eating a Nutella sandwich. OK, I guess that is a little Harry Potter. I now consider my homestay to be extended family, so it's always a pleasure to go somewhere when you have family waiting for you!

Me, Andrea Rowley (my homestay mom), and Jen Fletcher

There was pouring rain all weekend, so much so that there were huge puddles we had to race through. I was sure I was going to find Ahab fighting Moby-Dick in one of those puddles. It made it like an extra event because I had never really raced in conditions like these before! Race day we were greeted with mud, muck, rain, humidity and a technical bike course. With the terrible conditions, I was "lucky" enough to only suffer a flat tire, which happened just six miles from the finish of the bike leg. It was a bit tough down some of the technical descents, but it was either try to fix it and lose precious time or ride it like I stole it!.You know I chose to ride it like I stole it! Even the run was a bit technical, with the puddles we had to run through and the wet grass and mud.  Next up is the Columbia 5150!  

A huge thank you goes out to all my sponsors and supporters. I'm one lucky gal to have such a great support team. I'm over the moon about getting the course record in such crazy conditions. I'm sure it also had to have been who I was with all weekend: my adopted family, the Rowleys - Andrea and Andrew. I sincerely thank you for everything.

You can find more great pictures of the race here:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/News/A_70.3_St._Croix_gallery_2752.html