Great White North Triathlon Round Two Report

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Danelle Kabush

It amazes me how we can push ourselves in a race, and then be hobbling around within minutes after finishing. This is what usually happens to me after these 2km swim/90km bike/21.1km run races, most commonly known as the half-ironman distance. For me, my second one in three weeks and last of the season (thank goodness!), was a, as expected, tough day! After a post-race day of total uselessness and complete mental and physical depletion (thanks kids for enjoying two rainy day afternoon Monday movies with me and bringing me Kleenex when the tears flowed during Black Beauty!) I am feeling much more recharged today!

For my second time at the Great White North triathlon, I got my wish from last year, a dry, mostly sunny day. However, the difference this year was a new course, with changes including a one-loop swim (although apparently it was as much 300m too short of 2km), a two loop (or rather out-and-back) bike, course, and a two loop (out-and-back mainly on the paved cycling paths) run.

This year race start was at 7:30am so after less than 6 hours of sleep I was still feeling groggy before go time. I was also still in the port-a-potty line up when they called everyone out of the water at 7:10 saying the swim warm-up was over, doh! I guess I wouldn’t even get a warm-up to help me wake up! No matter, at least I still had time to get my wetsuit on and get down to the beach! And the positive was that the water was warm enough that is wasn’t too much of a shock to the system to dive in with hundreds of others and start swimming like crazy to keep a straight line and not get clobbered in the head too many times! On the 900m stretch to the first buoy things got pretty chaotic about half way there when everyone merged together where a little point of land stuck out into the water. The buoys were hard to see with the sun and I felt like I kept getting boxed in behind people. A not very smooth or straight swim to say the least! On the way into shore I also went too far right and was yelled left by the volunteers in kayaks. Finally out of the water, I was happy to be rolling on my bike but my legs weren’t feeling great.

Annette got out just in front of me but slowly lost me and gained about 3min on me by T2. A newcomer to Alberta, and to triathlon in general, Karen Thibodeau (3rd in 2012 at Ironman Canada and this year’s Victoria Half-Ironman winner), already had at least a five minute lead with her mad swimming ability, and she only gained time on the bike. Meanwhile with lots of cross winds and rolling hill it felt hard to find a rhythm for me on the bike and to stay focused. One plus of mountain biking, there is no time to forget you are in a race with all the excitement the trail alone brings let alone the competition. So hands down to all the road triathletes out there who do so many of these races in the not so comfortable TT position staring at pavement for hours at a time. During temporary lapses of focus I was thinking of when I might sell my TT bike, ha, but focused on pressing on!

Into T2 finally 2h36 minutes later. My amazing ball of energy friend, Suzanne, who though injured at the moment, made the trip with Coach Cal and I as moral support! As I struggled to get my run bag gear open, she let me know I was in 8th place and 13 minutes back. Ooooookay, must be a worse day than I thought. Turns out there were some relay team women in the mix and I actually was starting the run in 5th place. Some work to do regardless! Well, turns out my run legs seemed to be working fine. By the about the 13km mark I had moved into 2nd place (though I still was confused and thought I might be in at least 3rd until after I crossed the finish). I managed to cut 6 minutes off of Karen’s lead with a 1:24:29 run so I was happy I still had the energy/fitness to do that at the end of a long race. I also timed it well and crossed the line just as the sky opened up with a whopper of a thunderstorm downpour, nice!

Congrats to Karen on the smashing win, and to the rest of the ladies on the podium: Lindsey Adams in 3rd, Kristina Schultz in 4th, and Sharon Styles in 5th. Congrats also to my amazing coach, Cal who finished 8th overall in the men (he is not slowing down one bit at age 45!!) as well as the 20 other CSR athletes who raced, many of who set PB’s for the distance! It is so much fun to know and cheer so many others on course, the fun of racing local!

I was also excited to win to ATA Iron Challenger for some extra cash, and a great way to promote racing locally in Alberta!

Next up: Xterra Mountain Championship, Beaver Creek, Colorado, July 20th

Chinook Half Race Report

Posted on June 16, 2013 by Danelle Kabush

Over the past few years, I’ve done at least 1 or 2 half-ironman distance triathlons throughout my Xterra race season. The longer distance race is a great fitness and mental toughness test. This weekend, the Chinook Half was probably my most enjoyable half-ironman triathlon race to date.

The race takes place in the south of Calgary, so only a 20 minute plus drive from my door at 6:00am on a Saturday morning. At the 8:00am start it was cloudy, pretty chilly (8 degrees air temp and 16 degree water temp) but with my Orca Alpha wetsuit and Neoprene cap on, after a bit of a warm-up in Midnapore lake, it seemed tolerable enough for a 2km swim. Once we were off I found myself swimming with Emmanuela from Regina, and with her swimming just a bit quicker I decided to stay on her feet and conserve a little energy for a long morning at the office! I was the 2nd women out of the water by 9 seconds (time 31:21), and found out after the race that there were cash primes for the swim, bike, and run. It would have been nice to have known this as I may have pinned it instead of staying steady into shore, oh well! Since my fingers were pretty numb, a big thanks to the great volunteer wetsuit strippers who got me out of my wetsuit and going again in no time!

After one trainer ride on my TT bike on Wednesday to make sure it still works, I set on the bike with my new Giro TT helmet courtesy my Luna team. I love the built-in eyewear, and I also felt like Darth Vader on a mission as I could hear my breathing extra loud. The bike is longer than usual for a half by 6km, so a 96km ride. I put my vest on in transition afraid I would be cold, but the sun came out on the bike and it was just fine! The bike is very scenic and is an out and back on the rolling and scenic 22x highway with the Rocky Mountain back drop. I started to feel my unused TT riding muscles like my gluts and hips pretty quickly but tried to just relax and keep a good but strong cadence. About 15 min into riding I passed Emmanuela on one of the rolling hills and knew I was then the first female, okay just 85km or so to go and hold this position! On the way out the headwind was narly and the false flats and uphills made me feel like I was going nowhere fast. I just tried to stay in the aero position as much as I could, and not cook my legs too early.

Leaving T1 equipped a little different than usual!

At the turnaround, I could see Annette Kamenz was not far behind, a super strong rider from Edmonton. I had to get moving, and at least it felt like I was with a nice headwind on the way home (and a 20 minute faster ride on the way back thankfully and total time of 2:47). Soon Annette sling shotted by me on an uphill and I was determined to keep her in sight. When she had some shifting trouble on the next hill I got by again but not for long. Coming up on 20km to go I still had her in sight. However after that point it got tough as we were coming up on all the Olympic distance triathletes on the way back as well; their race had started 1h15 later than the half. I went as hard as I could to keep contact because I didn’t want to have to dig myself into a hole on the run, and couldn’t remember how strong of a runner Annette was!

Coming into T2 my coach, Cal told me I was 1 minute down. Not bad, I thought. And Annette took longer in transition so when I came out running I saw her almost right away. I was surprised how good I felt running right from the start. As I came up on Annette I contemplated being more conservative to start and hanging with her pace for a bit, but realized I just needed to go my own pace. The sun was still out, the temperature was PERFECT, and I was looking forward to discovering the course on the first of the two loops for the run. After running on the bike path through the neighbourhood for a while we descended into beautiful park Fish Creek Provincial Park. I loved the fact we got to run a few kilometers on shaded dirt paths next to a creek. It was so pretty. There is one out and back point near the end of the first lap and there I calculated I had about a 2 minute lead, no time to take it easy for sure. The lap ends with a nice steep climb back up to the start/finish area. It was fun to see so many friends out watching and racing as I started out on the lonelier second lap. The first lap was full of racers finishing the Olympic distance triathlon.

As usual my legs were starting to hurt and I was started to feel hungry. My own coke had run out and the aid stations weren’t doing much for me but I knew I had enough fuel in the tank to finish! At the second out and back I saw my lead had extended to 6 minutes so I knew I could enjoy the last few kilometres to the finish. As I neared the finish I noticed J-F and the kids had made it watch and was happy to see them after hobbling around a bit at the finish (run time 1:29). J-F, Zoé and Nico had all come down with bad colds on Thursday and Friday so I was just crossing my fingers I would hold it off until after this race. Race morning I woke up with a niggle in my throat and even as I was doing the race, especially by the run, I could feel my throat getting worse. Thankfully my body held up to get the job done but now I’m down for the count with a cold too. Ouch say my nose, throat, back, butt, and legs today but as it always goes, “this too will pass!” 🙂

Thanks to Mike Bock, the race director, for putting on such a great event, with tons of awesome volunteers out there. Thanks to Rose Serpico of Tri-It for encouraging me to enter this race just a few weeks ago and go for the Alberta Iron Challenger (see photo below). Of course, a little financial motivation doesn’t hurt. And thanks to Coach Cal for coming out to watch and giving splits! And of course, thanks to my wonderful team Luna for supporting me with the gear to jump in these crazy road events every so often!

Up next (body permitting): Rundle’s Revenge in Canmore – time to hit the dirt for a weekend of mountain bike and trail running race-training!

Tropical Storm, Raging River = Go With the Flow!

Posted on June 12, 2013 by Danelle Kabush

If there is one thing I’ve learned after many years of racing and learning from the athletes I work with on mental preparation, it is that there are things you can control, and many you cannot when it comes to competition. If you focus on the “uncontrollables”, stay fixated on them and waste emotions on them, you will definitely be using up valuable energy needed to perform on race day! Be ready for anything and whatever will be will be! I like Will Gadd’s philosophy (a rock star rock climber from Canmore); he believes in the “positive power of negative thinking”. In other words, think of everything that could possibly go wrong and be ready for that!

In my first year of racing Xterra, and at my first East Championship race in Richmond, VA eight years ago, while my bike arrived, my luggage got lost and never made it to me before the race. In the two days I had before the race I was madly running around to find rotors, run shoes, a helmet and other race gear, as well as trying to learn the tricky, twisty, “hard to remember what comes next” technical course and feeling pretty nervous about it and the open water swim in the river with a current. The night before the race I had no appetite, barely ate dinner, and went to bed with a horrible headache. Not surprisingly, the next day I felt super flat in the race and had nothing left in the tank, especially by the time I hit the run!

On my first day back in Richmond this year on Friday the rain poured down like cats and dogs all day thanks to Tropical Storm Andrea from the south. Pre-riding was out as the course trails in the James River Park System were closed. Plan B ended being lots of chilling, going to the coffee shop, a short run, and a quick swim in an outdoor pool at the country club with the other Canadian girls in town (thanks to Mel for this rainy fun swim date!). On Saturday, the rain FINALLY let up before noon, and (gasp!) the sun started to come out! Brandi and Chantell had arrived and had not yet seen the course, so Katie and I took them on a ride of part of the drenched run course, and scouted out some of the mountain bike trails. There were draining incredibly fast so we were excited that at least the full mountain bike course should be open for the race if the rain held off and it got to dry out for the rest of the day and night.

Meanwhile, the James River where we were to swim, had risen over 8 feet higher from the rain! It was ugly mud brown and flowing fast. Surely the swim would be cancelled and it officially was by Saturday evening (the only other time it had been cancelled in Richmond was back in 2003). The swim course at this race is already shorter to begin with, and most of our times are roughly 6 minutes faster than the regular full distance swim. With the swim replaced by a 1.6 mile run, the long and technical mountain bike course favored the strong riders more than ever! I knew the run start would give me a small advantage but hardly any over the strongest riders so it wasn’t going to make it any easier! I was either indifferent to the decision or just in my learned Zen, go with the flow, What-ever mindset, ha!

Our Pro race began at 8:00am. I ran in 2nd for the women, 30″ behind Leslie, and once out on the road over the river, Brandi and Mel had passed me before the first section of single track. I kept them in sight as long as I could but a few too many bobbles and unforced errors – to borrow from Tennis – yes I was in full control of my bike but many stupid mistakes over many obstacles added to precious seconds and contact lost over time. Soon Shonny was on me too. She rides as smooth as she talks with her Texan drawl and went by me and onwards to the front of the race with a lead over Leslie going into T2.

Next to creep up on me was my other Luna teammate, Suzie, on the second lap of two. I kept her in sight all the way into transition and managed to bridge back up within a mile into the run. Then it was on and up the Mayan ruins, which makes the legs cramp big time and feel like crap for a few hundred metres. With about 1km to go, I was getting some cold shivers in the crazy humidity and I got another split that I was 25 seconds from 4th place. Unfortunately I was still 20 seconds too far by the finish and had to settle for 5th, but happy to be back on the podium!

A big thanks to Chris cubed this weekend: our team mechanic Chris for the wonderful race support, Suzie’s bf Chris for the great help and feeds, and Shonny’s gf Kris for all the great laughs! Our mechanic Chris even jumped in the race, and rode the course blind and rocked it! Thanks also to our local Luna Chix Richmond team Audrey Kane for the homestay! It’s only uphill from here and I’m happy about it as far as Xterra goes!

Next up: A local one, Chinook Half, June 15

Floating through the Miles

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Danelle Kabush

We’ll be thinking of you this morning as you float through the miles. That was in the email I read from my parents at 6:00am on Sunday. It put a smile on my face and I decided it would be a good motto to run with in an hour when I started the Calgary half marathon race, along with thousands of others starting out in the full marathon.

After a few days of nonstop rain, we were lucky to wake up to a sunny morning, although still rather chilly at 7:00am. I have to say running races like this one are pretty cool when you can feel the energy of joining so many others setting out with the same goals for the day, finish and finish as strong as possible. After all, how often do you see this many people hanging around in the porta-potty lines at once!

We lined up to start and I set myself up behind Lucy Njeri Muhami who had come out from Toronto to race. With her PB of 1:12 I knew I would be racing for 2nd. She was tiny and ran so effortlessly. I enjoyed watching her back for about 1km before she pulled away. After that I settled into my own rhythm but turns out a guy named Elmostafa Ansom of Cochrane, AB was into the same pace. As we rolled through the zoo in the first few kilometres I noticed even our breathing sounded exactly the same and we were knocking elbows several times during the race. Weird, but always good to have a pace buddy! When the marathoners tagging along behind us turned south, we crossed downtown on 11th into a slight headwind and hit the 10km time split in 38:15. I was slightly behind my pace a year ago at all the time checks but also feeling way better, and did kind of feel like I was floating along rather smoothly. Heck, I’ve been a runner since the age of 12 so there must be some long-term payoffs to knowing how to put one foot in front of the other with some decent technique and muscle memory!

Through 14km or so the sun was shining a bit warmer and it is always so cool to have such major roads like Memorial (paralleling the Bow River on the north side of downtown) closed off just for us to run on. I saw Lucy a good few minutes ahead approaching a turnaround point but as I made the turn the 3rd and 4th women didn’t look too far off. I knew I would need to keep the pace strong to defend 2nd place. I felt like I still had another gear in the tank if needed which was a nice feeling. Back under the Centre Street bridge we merged with the 10k runners for a few hundred metres of gong show, tricky passing before having our own half-marathon lane all the way into the finish. My running buddy dropped off the pace and I was on my own. One young dude seemed to just saunter by with about 600m to go and said good race. I stayed in contact and said no way are you going to take me here with this short of a distance to go. I mustered up what felt like a sprint finish to pass him back and crossed the line in 1:21:34, and in the money, woot woot!

Congrats to everyone who ran and many of my training pals who set personal bests. A huge shout out to a record-breaking weekend by my training friend Myron and 9 others. They broke the Guinness record for fastest linked marathon by a group of runners tied together with leashes around their waists. The old record was a group of five who ran 2:57; the new record is 10 guys who ran 2:55:23, while impressively raising nearly $100,000 for research into mitochondrial disease! Read more here.

Of course a few shout outs to the moms: Congrats to Pauline, the third placed women who has kept up some solid run training with 2.5 year old twins! Lisa Harvey, mom of two and our Olympic legend in Calgary won the 10k in 36:22, with Chantell Widney, a mom, was hot on her heels in 36:30. Watch for Chantell racing the Xterra East Champs with me in Richmond, VA on June 9th!

Thanks to the Calgary Marathon for a super well organized event! Next year will be the 50th year of the Calgary Marathon so should be pretty special, apparently it is the oldest marathon in Canada!

Women’s Podium

A Bit of a Bust in Bama

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Danelle Kabush

Lesson #1 boys and girls: ALWAYS pack your wetsuit when traveling to a triathlon race! EVEN if you’re revisiting a venue where the water has been pretty much as warm as bath water on the same date over the last seven years! Otherwise the saying, “You can’t win the race in the swim but you can loose the race (or feel out of the race/contention) in the swim” will ring even truer!

I wasn’t the only Pro in the Xterra field who had traveled to Pelham, Alabama for the Xterra Southeast Championship without a wetsuit. Others had wrangled up, borrowed, bribed and begged for a wetsuit but in the final countdown to the gun it was only my teammate Suzie and I still left with bare arms and legs on the 8:30am start line Saturday morning. Either way, whoever took the water temp must have had a pretty faulty thermometer because the water was no where near “wetsuit cold” anyway! I’m usually the first to get cold and loose feeling in my fingers, so not the case here!. I tried to focus on the positive, at least I wasn’t overheating in a wetsuit as I felt like I was being left behind long before the first buoy! As a side note, the buoyancy of a wetsuit can help you swim at least 4-5 seconds faster per 50m.

The other excitement for race morning was doing some last minute tire changing to prepare for new wet and slick trails from the all night thunder storms. As always, it was amazing to have our Luna team mechanic there supporting us and virtually eliminating any pre-race bike stress! While I’m not typically one to do a rain dance, I was feeling kind of excited about the new challenging element to the day! Brandi and I checked out the first 10 minutes of single track before the race. What our homestay Jerry would say was somewhat true: “when wet, the roots here slippery as a boogers on a door knob!”, but as long as you had even a teeny bit of Mo, Flow and Finesse it was all good! Otherwise, the trail seemed to drain pretty well and some corners were even tackier for better cornering. It was only the many super greasy bridges that took many people out!

While momentarily feeling pretty discouraged and left behind in the swim by my self-induced disadvantage, I put aside millisecond thoughts of quitting and focused on swimming as hard as I could, if only to get on my bike and start having fun sooner!

With a bit of a cluster the first half of the bike and a few “we lost a few more on the bridge back there” shouts (LOL) I got through the first 30 minutes of pure single track unscathed and upright. When out on the double track I did notice my legs were lacking a bit of punch and weren’t feeling stellar. Especially up the long double track climb, my usual strength. No matter, it was fun and down blood rock I caught up to super mom of 5-month old Torin, Emma. On the next uphill section she slowly gapped me again (come on legs!). Near the end of the ride I tried to stay positive when someone shouted to me, “Stay in it!!”….hmmm…will I even be IN this race on the run!

After a Clif Espresso Shot at the end of the bike and a cup of flat Coke downed in the first half mile of the run I was starting to feel pretty good! It also helped that the temp was cooler than the usual 95F. Unlike in Vegas, I at least felt like I was moving somewhat quick on the 2-lap run course, other than when I had to back track and retrieve my shoe from the one huge mud hole! I caught Christine in the second lap and ended up 9 seconds short of Emma at the finish for 7th place for me for the day. Emma had a stellar race with the 3rd fastest run split and I can’t say I was too surprised. I remember how awesome I was feeling at 5-months PP with Nico at the 2010 Xterra Worlds until a flat on the bike put me out of podium contention. Go postpartum pregnancy hormones + hard work of course!

Up at the front of the race Lesley Paterson took the win by running down Melanie (who had the fastest bike split and turning 40 the day before – woot woot!) after T2. I was also super proud of my super mom/friend Brandi who took 3rd with a fantastic overall race and the use of her mad skills on this real mountain bikers course in front of my Luna teammates Shonny and Suzie in 4th and 5th.

For sure I’m disappointed and starting the race with a disadvantage before the gun even goes off is a mistake I don’t plan to repeat! But I put in my best effort for the day despite the circumstances and had a blast pre-riding and racing the awesome trails at Oak Mountain State Park. I would highly recommend this event to anyone! Between the pre-race birthday pedicure party and post-race Margaritas, and way too much laughing all-around I’m good to put this race behind me and look forward to seeing all my Xterra friends again in Richmond, VA in three weeks! Thanks to our homestay hosts Jerry and Kathy who have put me up and at least 6 or so other Pros ever since I first started coming to this race in 2006!

Luna loves Bama

Next up: Calgary Half Marathon

Athlete-Mom Interview: Susie Mitchell

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Danelle Kabush

Let me introduce you to Susie Mitchell who I met through the magic of this thing called the World Wide Web :). Susie hails from Dublin, Ireland, where she works as a Fish Vet and lives with her husband, Cormac and their 11-month old daughter, Tori. Remarkably just 4 months after giving birth to Tori, Susie won the World Masters Track Championships in Cycling in the Individual Pursuit event! What I love about this interview is the passion and energy that exudes from Susie as she writes and tells us about her athletic journey, which she enjoyed all through pregnancy and straight into the life-changing transition of motherhood. I loved hearing about how her coach creatively adapted her training through pregnancy as well. Read on and be inspired by Susie’s story!

1. What was your life like athletically (or otherwise) before having your
daughter?

I played a bit of hockey and soccer in school and college but not seriously. I was always into running to keep fit and some mountain biking for fun, but I really only got into competitive sport in the last 6-7 years. It all started when my husband persuaded me to get involved in adventure racing. Adventure races are multisport events; they usually involve navigating around a course by mountain biking, hill running and kayaking. They can have all sorts of stuff mixed in depending on the race, such as abseiling, shooting, archery and swimming. The events I participated in usually lasted anything from 4 – 36 hours, some individual but mostly team events (mixed teams of two-four people). I used to race with my hubby and our team name was “Grounds for Divorce” – for obvious reasons! While I was on my multi-sport buzz I also did a few Xterra triathlons – I really loved them but there were very few of these organised in Ireland at the time and I think even less now. So in summary I really was a bit of a jack of all trades, relatively competent at everything but not particularly strong at anything. I did manage to podium in some of the races however, to be honest the standard in Ireland isn’t that high. Small pond and all that.

2.How did you get into cycling? How and when did you decide you would compete in Track Worlds at 4 months postpartum?

As I said I started out doing a bit of mountain biking. That was about 10 years ago. We went camping in Wales for a holiday and rented mountain bikes and I loved it. In fact I bought my first mountain bike on the way home! When I got involved in the adventure racing, I started to take the mountain biking a bit more seriously and put in a bit more time in the saddle. It was the only kind of biking I had done up to that point, but in January 2011 while on holidays visiting relations in New Zealand, I got the opportunity to try riding on an indoor velodrome. It was something I had always wanted to do since watching the track racing the Beijing Olympics in 2008. It was such a buzz I was immediately hooked! I discovered when I returned to Ireland the following summer we actually had an outdoor track in Dublin and started to go to the training sessions. I seemed to be relatively good at it from the start so I shelved the adventure racing to concentrate on track cycling. I went to the World Masters in Manchester that same autumn after just a few months of riding on the track to compete. It was my first time competing on an indoor track. I was actually about 7 weeks pregnant at the time but was in denial about it partly because I wanted to compete in the masters so much. I didn’t win any prizes but didn’t shame myself either and probably more importantly didn’t fall off the bike! It was fabulous just to be there and try competing in some of the different events.

Masters sport is fantastic as it opens up the door to serious competition for everyone no matter what the age. Even though part of me was sorry I hadn’t started track racing when I was younger so I could have had a right crack at it, masters sport gives you the opportunity to compete on an international stage at any age. It was a super experience and I made up my mind there and then I was coming back with a vengeance the following year to make my mark. I wasn’t sure what I’d be able to do as I knew it would only be a few months after giving birth but the Masters became my goal for October 2013. I told everyone I was planning to go back, and most people looked at me like I was mad, knowing it would be pretty soon after having the baby. This of course just spurred me on and made me more determined. Having a goal like that really motivated me to train right throughout my pregnancy and to get back to training very soon after having my little girl Tori too.

My coach (Hugh Byrne) could see I was serious about continuing to train right through pregnancy so he resigned to support me, even though he had never coached a pregnant athlete before. Firstly he helped me devise some guidelines to enable me to cycle safely right through the pregnancy. He reckoned it was also a good opportunity to focus on improving some of the technical aspects of my biking. For instance he devised some sessions for me to do on the stationary bike in the gym to improve my leg speed / cadence which is really important for the track. He also sent me to get a proper bike fit and on a course on visualisation which gave me something else to work on. All these little things kept me focused. Aside from that I was also in the gym once or twice a week cross training and doing weights and core work. I had never done any weights before and actually just started lifting when I was pregnant. When I look back now I really think all the core work and weights I did throughout stood to me and enabled me to make a speedy recovery post birth.

3. What was your training like post-childbirth?

Despite all my plans for a natural childbirth I ended up having an emergency caesarean section which was a bit of a shock to say the least. I felt OK physically within a few days but I was floored mentally after having the baby – partly the shock of the responsibility and I’m sure my hormones were all over the place. Having a section hadn’t been part of my plan for getting back training but I quickly decided to focus on the positives (easy to sit back up on the bike) and was back on the track 2 ½ weeks after having the baby. The first day I got out on my bike again was a turning point for me mentally and I started to cope with being a new mom a lot better. I suppose it was the longest I had ever gone without exercise in my life which had also been taking its toll on me mentally. Getting out doing my own thing was also a bit of a relief from the intensity of minding a new-born and gave me extra energy. In training, I took it pretty easy for the first few weeks, always listening to my body and letting it be the guide of how much to push myself. Then after three weeks on the bike I felt a significant change, suddenly I felt stronger and more up for it. Trying a few sprints on the track, I could actually feel the strength coming back. I knuckled down to some more intense efforts then and about 6 weeks after giving birth won my first ever National Medal on the Track, a bronze in the Olympic Omnium. My fitness of course was still lacking but I did pretty well in the short timed events which would be my strengths (the 500 time trial, the 3km pursuit and the flying 250m) then was able to use my brain to do OK in the bunch races – the Omnium allows you the chance to play other people off against each other which worked well for me and much to my complete and utter shock left me with a bronze medal!

As the summer went on, to enable me to get in training sessions during the day while I was on maternity leave, I started to take Tori to the track with me. I was really reluctant at first as I felt it wouldn’t work. But with a little encouragement from my coach I tried it out. The track was an ideal place to bring a baby, as it is a pretty secure environment and I was always able to keep an eye on her. I bought a pop-up tent to put her in if it was windy or cold or she wanted to sleep which worked really well. To my surprise I nearly always managed to get a pretty decent session in, with her either sitting in her chair watching me and my teammates whizz by or asleep in the tent!

4.How did it feel to win the masters title so soon after having Tori?

Winning the individual pursuit in the masters was a real shock. I knew I was starting to go well as had just won bronze in the nationals in the pursuit. However, based on my times during the summer, I was hoping at best to scrape into the bronze medal ride off but realistically felt I had no chance of a medal. The hardest part was trusting my coach and putting in a serious taper but it paid off, everything came together on the day and I had the performance of my life. I actually think I would never had done it had it not been for the pregnancy and becoming a mum. I don’t know if it’s the post pregnancy hormones, the fact I had limited time to train and had to train smart or if it just gave me a new way of looking at things but I rode my heart out that night to win the title, shaving a further 2 seconds off my PB that I had set that morning in the qualifying rounds. It of course was one of the best personal achievements of my life, but it was made all the sweeter because I had done it with Tori on board! Podium Masters 2012

5.What are your current training/racing ambitions for 2013?

I’m trying to get in as much training as I can but obviously between being back at work part time and minding a baby it’s not possible to do all you want. Such is the lot of many athlete moms out there! I’m trying to focus on quality rather than quantity and do targeted sessions where I can. I really worked hard over the winter on trying to build a better aerobic base and improve my lactate threshold, I was definitely lacking in that at this stage last year. I have just started doing some racing on the road for the first time in the last few weeks and it’s a steep learning curve. Coming from the track where it’s more about pure power, you really have to learn to mind your energy when switching to the road, not to mention use your brain a lot more. I prefer the criterium racing, it’s a bit more like the track I suppose, short, intense and less brain power required! I’m really still very much focussed on the track however and am just using the road to sharpen myself up. The track racing season is starting up again now that the weather has improved so it will be back to more specific training in the next few weeks.

My ambitions for 2013 are to significantly improve my person best times particularly in the individual pursuit and the 500 time trial. I will compete in the Nationals here in September but my main focus will be the World Masters in Manchester in October so I will be building towards that. I just want to train hard and see how fast I can go, to get the best from myself, and if that’s good enough to win another rainbow jersey and retain my title all the better.

The other thing that’s keeping me busy at the moment is I’m writing a book. I found that when I got pregnant I really struggled to find good advice on what I could and couldn’t do. Opinions are varied and much of the advice is over conservative. I found a way in the end and I’m writing about my experiences now. Basically I’m writing the book I would have loved to have read when I was pregnant. Of course every woman is different but it’s a story about my experience and I want to get it out there to show women what is possible. It wasn’t part of the plan but he world masters is making a nice chapter at the end!

6.How do you balance family/work/training/competing?

Hmm – Without a doubt this is really the hardest question to answer. Can I pass?! I’m not sure my hubby would say I’m the best person to ask! It’s a constant challenge to try balance everything and is occasionally a bone of contention with us. My husband is into sport too and needs to get out training so sometimes it feels like were living in a revolving door, as he comes in I go out and we don’t spend as much quality time together as we used to before Tori came along. It’s important to be aware of this and try make time for doing stuff together to. I don’t know if it would be easier to have a partner who wasn’t into sport – yea it might make the scheduling of training sessions easier, but I think there is an understanding there when both love competing and we do cut each other some slack! As for competing we usually go alone as it’s just easier at the moment. Also Cormac is into adventure racing which is not a spectator sport. Hopefully when Tori gets a little bigger she will enjoy coming to the track to watch me race! Poor thing, she probably won’t have a choice!

7. Any tips or advice you would have for other moms with goals of getting back in shape or even competing again after having children?

The first thing is know you can do it, it is possible. Sometimes it takes a bit more planning and time management (and an understanding spouse). You just have to be a little ruthless about it occasionally!

If you’ve just had a baby, it’s good to get back into doing some training as soon as you feel able for it. The best advice I got when training either during pregnancy or post-partum was “listen to your body”. If you feel up for it you probably are. You definitely do get an aerobic boost after pregnancy for a few months and you can get your fitness back a lot quicker than you would expect by taking advantage of this time.

Another thing is get help wherever you can. My mom for instance was great, mining the baby for an hour or two and letting me out for a spin. I know everyone won’t have that luxury but anyone who offers to help – don’t turn them down (as long as you know them!).

It’s really important when time is limited to train smart. You don’t need to put in massive numbers of hours to get really fit. Even short sessions can be really beneficial, especially if you work at a higher intensity, and it all adds up. Don’t ever think, I won’t bother going for a spin I only have 45 minutes. Get out there, warm up and do 4 hard 5 minute intervals. They will probably benefit you more than 2 hours easy on the bike. Also consider cross training as it might be easier to fit it in. For instance go to the gym when it’s dark and do half hour on the rowing machine and a half hour of weights.

I found my rollers (stationary bike trainer) absolutely essential in the first few months after having Tori. Many afternoons while she slept I would crank out a session. You have to prioritise this for it to work. Have gear and bike at the ready, just ignore the housework and get spinning the minute the baby falls asleep!

If you want to get back competing it’s essential to set some goals to focus on, be this targeting certain races or setting new PBs, it really does help your motivation to have something to work towards. I think it must work on a subconscious level. The most important thing though of course is to enjoy the training while getting there!

Thanks for sharing Susie. Please check out Susie’s personal website: www.pregnancytopodium.com

Athlete-Mom Interview: Kelley Cullen

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Danelle Kabush

Let me introduce you to Kelley Cullen from New Castle, Colorado. She is a mom of two, and races for the HoneyStinger Bontrager Offoad Team. A super skilled mountain biker and ex-competitive swimmer means Kelley is always a threat on the Xterra circuit, one highlight being a 4th place finish at U.S. Xterra Nationals in 2011.

Below she talks about her athletic evolution through mom-hood so far. My highlights from this interview are her take on “training” versus “exercise”, not comparing yourself to other athletes (or even athlete moms), finding the balance to do what’s best for you and your family, and going with the flow, or rather unstructured life of being an athlete with a family!

Read on and ride on….

1. What was your life as an athletically (or otherwise) before having your children?

I grew up with 8 siblings in a very diversely active home in Spokane, Washington. One of my brothers tried out for the Green Bay Packers NFL draft, my twin sister is a professional enduro motorcycle rider, another brother is on his way to the University of Oregon on a full-ride football scholarship, and my youngest sister (who still has two years of high school left) hopes to play softball in college. I was a competitive swimmer growing up, but burnt out from swimming too much around age 16. My mom encouraged me to try something new so I started running. My last two years of high school I ran cross-country and track while still swimming half-heartedly. I loved the new change and ended up choosing to run cross-country, indoor track, and outdoor track for Montana State University in Bozeman, MT. Upon graduating college my identical twin sister and I decided to move to the Roaring Fork Valley in Colorado and that’s when I discovered mountain biking. That was the beginning of a whole new kind of adventure that I have not stopped enjoying trail riding/running!

As far as triathlons go, I started out doing the kid’s triathlon in Coeur d’ Alene, ID. In high school I decided to try some longer races in and around the Spokane area including Troika 70.3 on a crappy 30 year old borrowed ten speed road bike with cracked tires and no back brake. In college I continued to do triathlons in the summers. The summer of 2002 I qualified for the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii. After that race, though, I realized how much I despised road riding. I sold my road bike and never bought another one.

I am married and have two kids now; a 3.5 year-old girl and an 8 month old boy who was born on Labor Day. Obviously things are quite different then when I first began riding mountain bikes and running trails ten years ago. Ninety percent of my training now happens on a spin bike in our living room during a nap time or pushing/pulling the Chariot on paved paths and county roads.

2. What motivated (or continues to inspires you) to get training and racing again after one child? And then two? How does life with one versus two compare?

As any pregnant lady would agree to I wanted to lose the extra baby weight, fit back into my clothes, and feel somewhat normal again! Being a stay-at-home mom exercise is an outlet for me and I look forward to it every day. I have always been a highly competitive person who enjoys challenges. Competing just adds a whole other level of challenge, fun, adrenalin, focus, and motivation.

3. Did you train during your pregnancies? What was/has your training been like post-childbirth?

Yes. However, I strongly discourage using the word “train” when you’re pregnant. It’s easy to become obsessively worried about losing endurance fitness, muscle strength, gaining too much weight, and feeling like you’re not getting enough training time in. I preferred to use the term “exercise” instead. My only objectives for exercising were to maintain some level of endurance fitness, maintain a healthy pregnancy weight, promote the healthy growth of my baby (if you’ve read Dr. James Clapp’s book Exercising During Pregnancy you know what I’m talking about), and most importantly to help me feel better emotionally and physically. Before I had my second baby I trained about 10 hours/week on average very consistently with a coach at Carmichael Training Systems, but that has changed. I only put in about 6-8 hours/week now and most of that takes place on a spin bike, pulling the Chariot, or running with the Chariot. Having a three-year old daughter I often find myself bagging my training to spend a little one-on-one with her. Each day is full of so many unpredictable variables such as kids waking up early, disrupted naps, cranky kids, kids needing attention, unplanned outings with friends, etc. Therefore, I do not train with a coach anymore and do not follow a structured training plan. I just make the most out of the time I have when I have it and rest when I’m tired.

4. What are your current training/racing ambitions for 2013?

I had big ambitions such as winning the TEVA Mountain Games UMC, finishing top 7 at as many XTERRA regional races possible, and top 8 at XTERRA nationals. The reality of family life with another little one has changed things a bit. Due to our family lifestyle, chosen commitments, work obligations, and financial limitations, racing full-time seriously is not logistical nor realistic for us anymore. So, I have decided to finish out this year’s 2013 season with a few races but without a serious outlook. That means no pre-riding, no special periodization to my training, and choosing races that allow us to make family camping trips out of them such as XTERRA Moab and the HoneyStinger mountain bike race in which my husband and I will race as a duo together.

5. How do you balance family/work/training/competing?

I used to teach kindergarten but am currently a stay-at-home mom. Family always comes first. I have two kids and a great husband whom I devote my attention to first. Training and racing are scheduled around that. Most of my training happens sometime during the day to allow my husband time when he gets home from work to get a bit of exercise in too. Oftentimes my training rides/runs with the Chariot take place after I have taken the kids swimming at the Glenwood Hot Springs pool where we have a family pass. While my legs usually feel like crap after being in the hot water I find that my kids are content to sit in the Chariot, eat snacks, take naps, and simply hang out. Obviously it’s not the most effective way to train, but when you have kids you’re training with it works pretty darn well.

6. Any tips or advice you would have for other moms with goals of getting back in shape or even competing again after having children?

First, I would encourage all new moms to read Dr. James Clapp’s book Exercising During pregnancy. Also, take out the word “training” and replace it with “exercising” when you are pregnant. Make sure that you keep a healthy balance of your time devoted to family, work, training, and racing. I would sometimes find myself comparing myself with other professional mom athletes and wanting to race and do as much as them. But, I had to be mindful of the fact that our family lifestyle was not the same as their’s. So, plan to be mindful of your family’s lifestyle and your time. Also, plan to be flexible with your structured training plan if you have one. And, don’t run too much with a double Chariot! I have Plantar Fasciitis tendonitis in my foot due to the 70 pound stress load from when I started running hills and intervals with our Chariot late last winter. In fact, I have only ran two times since late December and that included XTERRA West Championships this past April. That probably explains my terrible run split at the race!

Thanks Kelley! You can follow her adventures on her blog here!

First 13.1 Miles of Pavement Pounding for 2013

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Danelle Kabush

Fact 1: Running races usually hurt pretty good especially when you try to go hard

Fact 2: Running races usually aren’t that much fun until the post-race satisfaction fun

Fact 3: Walking down stairs or doing much at all is particularly painful the day after a pavement pounding race!

The Final 50 metres of Ouch – thanks Mark Wild for the Pic!

Despite all of the above, I still toed the line here at home in Calgary for the annual Policeman’s Half Marathon with about 1300 others yesterday morning at 8:00am just as the kids were getting up and having pancakes with the babysitter. I have done this race two or three times in the past and the weather has never been great. Last time I competed in this race it was a full on snow storm!

Yesterday, it was maybe 4 degrees C at the most when we started with a rather chilly wind kicking up. I was started to regret my choice to wear shorts as we lined up. I thought I might try to stick with my coach, Cal off the start but he took off like a bat out of hell and later told me he went through the first mile in 5:35! Good choice by me!

Although I did see him up ahead several times during the race I could never quite close. A few miles into the race, there were a few other women still around me but soon it felt like no (wo)man’s land. I bridged up to a guy in a bright green shirt and decided to stick to him and hopefully get some draft into the headwind sections. He was running super relaxed and thanking every group of volunteers we passed. Wish I had the breath to do so as well! Turns out bright green shirt guy was named Mark St Amant about to set a PB by 12 minutes!!! Awesome!

Despite doing a short warm up before the race, my legs felt much less like ice-cold bricks and I finally did start to feel warmer overall by about the 8km mark. The sun sort of came out for a bit as we ran on the bike paths around the south side of the Glenmore Reservoir. It was awesome seeing all my CSR training buddies not racing out on course cheering too. At the 12-13km mark I finally decided to try taking a gel during a running race and not gag. To my surprise my Clif Chocolate Cherry Gel (new flavour this year!) with caffeine went down pretty well and hopefully gave me a bit of a boost to get through the finish line at the 1:23:38 mark for 11th overall and 1st female – a PB on this course for me and a good test to give myself a bench mark before my next half marathon run race one month from now!

Why did I just do this again?

Congrats to everyone who came out and all my CSR training buddies who set PBs as well! Grabbing the kids for some pancake brunch after rocks too! Winning a few free pairs of shoes from Foranzi’s Tech Shop was pretty sweet too!

Post race team CSR pic

Of course us Tri-geeks have to get a post race spin in too!

Xterra West Championship Story

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Danelle Kabush

Well, the first race of 2013 is in the bag. It was hot, windy, and dusty but I focused on enjoying life in the in the desert for two days between leaving and returning to mid-April snow storms in Calgary, gheesh!

l-r: Melanie McQuaid, Suzie Snyder, Lesley Paterson, Shonny Valandingham, Me

The full-distance Xterra race went off at 10:30 am, a later start than usual. It was already heating up pretty good (the high reached over 90F (28C) by midday). Once my Orca Alpha wetsuit was on, to avoid boiling over I was happy to slip into the cool 57F water for a warm-up, while it was cold to the face at first, once swimming a bit it was perfect. Once the Pro wave was away and swimming I was happy to find myself still with a pack of swimmers and getting some draft by 400m in, woohoo. I stayed with my small pack. After the second buoy in the one lap swim we headed back to the start against a headwind and bit of a chop. I unfortunately lost my pack and was back about 25 seconds by the finish. I kept stroking hard and had a good swim time relative to the competition for me in the end.

Once on the bike I was feeling better than I thought I would for getting the winter cobwebs and the first sensations of race pace pain out of the way. I focused on climbing smooth and steady and was having fun on the descents. My Maxxis Ikon tires were perfect for the loose rocky descents, and my Luna team Orbea Alma 29er bike was feeling light on the climbs. I also absolutely love our new Shimano XTR Shadow Plus rear derailleur. (It has a one-way friction clutch that only engages when the derailleur’s cage moves forward, which typically (and frequently) happens when the bike rolls over rough terrain like on this Vegas course. It practically eliminates slap and, because it keeps the chain under tension, it also limits the chance of a chain dropping off the chain rings!) Other than the fact the wind was getting crazy and came close to blowing us off course on the open moonscape. I made up a few spots by the end of the bike as started the run in 5th place.

Unfortunately, I also started the run thirsty in the heat, unusual for me and not a great sign! With a good swim, and a pretty decent bike for me on this repeat course, the run is what was the most disappointing. It was definitely a real struggle in the full hot sun. With virtually no flat running, and steep ups and downs, I did not feel like I was moving fast at all, and my coordination was not good for descending. I almost fell flat on my face a few times but saved it! In the end I came within a minute of catching 4th place Mel McQuaid but it wasn’t enough. Lesley Paterson’s fitness is on another planet right now and she finished 4th overall and destroyed the women’s field with a 12 minute lead on 2nd place, my LUNA teammate, Suzie Synder, followed by Shonny Vanlandingham in 3rd. But overall, I am satisfied given the month of crazy travel I’ve had with work and team commitments coming into this race. It was a solid start and I’m looking forward to building fitness and form (with more outdoor training time if spring ever arrives here at home!) with over 6 months of racing still to come, woohoo!

Thanks to our Luna team mechanic, Christ Mathis for supporting the Luna team this weekend!!

And big congrats to the other moms in the Pro Division, Kelley Cullen (6th place, mom of two, youngest just 10 months old), Emma Garrard (7th place and mom of 4 month old Torin), Brandi Heisterman (11th place, mom of two), Caroline Colonna (12th place, mom of two)!!

Next up: Policeman’s half marathon here at home on April 28th

Athletic Intelligence?

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Danelle Kabush

We’ve all heard of IQ, most of us have heard the term “emotional intelligence”, and in the sport world, the term “physical literacy” is often used to describe the foundation of athleticism necessary for any sport. Physical literacy is developed best when an athlete is exposed to a healthy variation of physical skills during their athletic development such as gymnastics, skiing, swimming, and soccer, skills which cover the four fundamentals: agility, balance, coordination, and speed.

But what about intelligence when it comes to the mental skills side of sport? I’d like to call this athletic intelligence. Why? Because most of us can think of at least an athlete or two who has all the physical ability in the world but for some reason their “mental literacy” may be preventing them from reaching their physical potential. On the other side of the coin, we may know an athlete who by most accounts is far from being the most gifted; the strongest, fastest, most coordinated or technically proficient in his or her sport, but due to mental strengths overcomes and performs up to or beyond their predicted physical potential. Perhaps this can be attributed to a higher degree of “athletic intelligence”.

So what defines athletic intelligence? Are you born with it? Or can you develop it with a strong work ethic? Like most things, it is likely a combination of nature and nurture. Regardless, I would define athletes with a high degree of athletic intelligence as having most of the following abilities:

The ability to be a true performer on the athletic stage; whether projected through a quiet confidence or a cocky swagger, they carry themselves with poise and composure through all the highs and lows of sport. Whether they feel like it or not, they know how to act like a champion summoning the right thoughts, emotions, and body language needed to perform their best on any given day. True performers also genuinely love to compete and “put on a show” for any audience that is interested!
The ability to stick to the optimum pre-performance strategy, as well as quickly refocus positively on the next best strategy mid-performance if needed.
A high “coachability”; such athletes learn quickly and implement new skills from a coach’s instruction, as well as demonstrating a high self-awareness and ability to effectively communicate important feedback to a coach. Highly “coachable” athletes maximize their interdependence with others and get the most out of training and/or competing with others.
The ability to focus on intrinsic motivation to continually self-improve (whether they are a developing athletes or World Champions) versus focusing solely on achieving results. This is done by focusing primarily on improving personal skills, competing against the clock and/or course and skills needed to master the most current challenge.
The ability and understanding that mental toughness is built through hard and persistent day-to-day training. There are no magic formulas for competition day other than knowing you’ve prepared your very best.

All of the above may be summed up by the following quote:

Don’t aim at success-the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue…as the unintended side-effect of one’s personal dedication to a course greater than onself.” (Viktor Frankl)

Move fast. Think slow.

Reflections on the mental side of sport, performance and wellness.