Lance Armstrong

Lance, signing autographs prior to a stage in the Giro d'Italia
Getting directions to the start of the race stage for the day.

Hanging with the leaders of the Giro, during Blockhaus - a grueling climb!

Lance's special bike for the Giro.

I will admit it, Lance Armstrong facinates me. He fascinates me on many different levels.
1) As an athlete, he ranks up there as one of the all time greatest. Right now I am in awe of so many - Micheal Phelps for 8 gold medals, Bolt for 19.19 sec 200 world record, 9.58 100 sec WR, Lance Armstrong - 7 Tour de France titles. In time I am sure I will find new athletes to admire, as I am sure these records will change. But right now, I find it awesome and amazing that they are gifted with such talent - something I am not!
2) Not only is he a world class athelete, but he did it after he beat stage III testicular, brain, and lymph cancer.
3) No person right now is so known worldwide. He has been known for awhile in the cyling realm, but this year he has also put CANCER on the map with his Livestrong Foundation. By creating this:

This wristband has become a worldwide phenom. You see everyone wearing these, not just Americans, but also Italians, Spainards, Jamacians, etc. You see athletes, nonatheletes, children, parents, pretty much every different type of person out there wearing these bracelets. Nothing else in the world has come close to unifying people. The Livestrong Foundation had reached supporters and rasied awareness on a worldwide level. The battle against cancer has a long way to go, but Lance Armstrong is doing an awful lot to combat it now.


I have been very fortunate this year in that I got to see him race in Italy. I will also get a second opportunity to see him again this year. He is to be one of the speakers for the Pelotonia Ride taking place in Columbus this weekend (8/30/09 and 8/31/09). This is another fundraiser to raise money towards the battle with cancer that Lance Armstrong will be riding in and speaking at the opening ceremony. I have raised over $1,500 from friends and family toward this cause and will ride 100 miles from Columbus to Athens. To read more see this website: http://www.pelotonia.org/ride/riders_profile.jsp?MemberID=4370&RiderName=Ann%20Kurtenbach

My guess is that I won't see him on the bike - I think his pace is a little faster than mine! But, I am excited to hear him as a speaker and am interested to hear what he has to say.

Stats for the week:

Monday: 6 mile run (1:01)
Tuesday: 3000 swim, hour on the bike
Wed: rain forced me inside - hour on the trainer
Thursday: 3000 swim, hour run with last 10 minutes in zone 4 HR
Friday: rest
Saturday: 12.5 mile run, no timing

Century Ride

I hit another milestone today! Thanks to the FIT group I was able to complete my first century ride. 100 miles, on a bike, hilly course, in 90 degree weather. Not ideal, but I did it! I even had enough energy left to finish with a 15 minute transition run. Followed up with a celebration at Vaquero. Fajitas Suprema and 2 beers later, I am now ready for bed. The time on the clock says 7:38pm. No pictures today because once again, I left my camera at home!

Stats for the rest of the week:
Friday: rest
Saturday: 2 hour run
Sunday: 100 mile bike, 15 minute run

Support

Kewpee Tri/Du 2009

Antrim Tri/Du 2009

Sprink 5k 2009

Cap City 1/2 Marathon 2009
Last Chance for Boston 1/2 and full marathon 2009

Columbus Marathon 2009

Columbus Marathon 2009



I couldn't do all of the training for these races without a buddy system. These groups/people are what help me to get out and do all the training that I need to do. I don't think that without them I would have been able to come as far as I have and will need them to continue my training through the year. These groups are as follows:

1) Running: MIT (marathon in training) see the website for specifics http://www.premierraces.com/mit/index.htm
2) Swimming: Masters Swim Group at the Dublin Rec Center
3) Biking: Several groups have been helpful, but mostly these 2; FIT (friends in training) http://friendsintraining.blogspot.com/, Tri-Tech group http://www.tritechmultisport.com/

I also want to give a shout out to COTT http://www.cott.us/ which is the Central Ohio Triathlon Team. I think this is a great organization and although I am not an official member, I have gone on a few rides with them and hope to be able to do a few more.

All of the above pictures are of various MIT members. You can see the large of array of races that they have helped me or have participated in - and that is only a few! Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of the rest of my groups - no one wants to get there picture taken in their bathing suit and I keep forgetting to bring a camera with me on the rides! However, I hope to have a few more to post by the end of the year. Many thanks to all of my different training friends - I couldn't do all of this craziness without you!

STATS for the week:
Monday: 6 mile run
Tuesday: 3000 swim, hour bike
Wed: 30 mile bike
Thursday: Brutal 3000 swim, 60 minute tempo run

Why Do I Tri?

Many people have asked me lately why I want to do a full Ironman. This is an interesting question, especially when I can recall saying "There is no way I would ever do one of those, that is crazy" just a few years ago. There are a few reasons that I think are behind my sudden change in direction and new found goal of trying to complete the Arizona Ironman this year:

1. The more races I watch, the more confidence I have that I can do one of these. The first one I watched, I was in awe of all the athletes that were able to complete this race. They came in all shapes, sizes, ages. The oldest finisher was 80 and he finished 10 minutes prior to the youngest, who was 18. I was still amazed though that all these people were crazy enough to try this and finish - including my boyfriend, his brother, and one of their good friends. After spectating for more and more events, however, I really have come to recongnize all the different people and levels of people that do these races. And as I have done more races, I have gained confidence, that just maybe I can do this too.


2. Because I can. Humanity, or mortality if you will, has been on my mind alot in the past year. It started when my boyfriend's mother was diagnosed with cancer last year. We watched her struggle with her humanity as she battled cancer with chemo and radiation. She put up a very good fight, but in time, cancer claimed her humanity and she passed away in June. Watching someone you love die, affects people in a lot of different ways, mourning is also very different in each individual. But, eventually you start to look at your life a little differently and really think about it and question if there is anything you can/should do differently. Last October one of my friends was diagnosed with Lymphoma. She started chemo shortly after that and has put up a phemoninal fight with her humanity. I just found out that last week she had her first clear scan and at this point in time is cancer free!! Last, I have watched my father go from a very large and healthy man to one that is frail and tires easily. He has Parkinson's, severe spinal stenosis, and seems to be losing weight at an alarming rate. Despite this all, he still makes it out to golf at least once a week, goes to exercise class 1 -2 times a week and will take time to talk with his daughters (if they take the effort to do so). Despite all the obstacles thrown his way, with my mother at his side, they are battling with his humanity.

So as I have watched friends and family alike battle different ailments, sleep for days, battle GI problems, struggle to walk up stairs or take a 10 minute walk, etc. I realized how healthy I am now, and that may not always be the case. So, while I have this healthy body, I really need to see what I can do! So why not try an Ironman?

Map My Ride

Due to the majority of my cycling group being out of town for the Sylvania Triathlon today, I was on my own for my long ride this weekend. I opted to try a new website to help me figure out a route that I could ride that would be at least 40-50 miles. Very cool site: http://www.mapmyride.com/ I was able to get a very nice route put together that gave me about 45 miles.

Unfotunately, I didn't check the weather prior to mapping my ride. It was hot, humid, and windy today. Although I didn't have an actual stat, I would have to guess there were 15-20mph winds with wind gusts greater than that. There were no relaxed flags today. At least this is what it felt like for most of my ride! And, unfortunately the route I chose only gave me tailwinds for what felt like 5 miles of a 45 mile ride. Needless to say, it was a very slow ride and I was whipped at the end. I am pretty sure I thought/said "this is ridiculous" and "why is there all this f***ing wind?"" at least a dozen times on my ride. In fact, my mantra by the end of the ride was "I hate wind." So, I try to tell myself that the wind will only make me stronger, help me train better, blah, blah, blah - I still hate it! I really hope that I don't have alot of headwind on either my Pelotonia ride or the Ironman . . .

As a reward to myself for doing this ride, I decided to try a new recipe inspired by the very large melon that my boyfriend has in the fridge. The recipe comes form a cookbook called Local Flavors by Deborah Madison.

Melon Salad with Thai Basil
1 large shallot, finely diced
juice and zest of 2 limes
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup cilantro leaves
1/3 cup thai basil
1/4 cup mint leaves
1 jalapeno chile, finely diced
1 tsp. minced ginger
1 small garlic clove, minced
1 TBS nut or olive oil
1 1/2 to 2 pounds melon, chilled
1 bunch arugula or watercrest

1. Put the shallot in a bowl with lime juice, zest, and 1/4 tsp. salt. Finely chop the herbs and add them to the bowl along with the chile, ginger, garlic, and oil. Stir and taste for salt.
2. Halve the melon, remove the seeds, and cut into wedges. Slice off the skins, then cut the melon into bite-sized pieces.
3. Pour the dressing over the melon and toss well. Season with pepper. Arrange the greens on small plates and spoon the melon into the center. If the melons are extra-sweet, add an extra lime wedge to each plate.




Stats for the rest of my week:
Wed: 60 min easy run
Thursday: 60 minute easy bike
Friday: 1:45 minutes on treadmill run (out of town for CEU)
Saturday: rest
Sunday: 45 mile bike (2:52) in the wind

Recovery

Now that the excitment of the weekend and my big race have worn off, I am in the recovery phase. This is a new area for me because I need to figure out how to balance recovery, but also still be able to train. The Arizona IM is just a little under 4 months away and I have a big weekend coming up at the end of August. I will be doing my first century ride for Pelotonia followed by a 1/2 marathon the next day. See these two websites for more info on these events:
1) http://www.pelotonia.org/ride/riders_profile.jsp?MemberID=4370&RiderName=Ann%20Kurtenbach
2)http://www.spiritofcolumbushalf.com/

So, I have backed off on the miles this week and trying to do all "easy" workouts. It is frustrating though - how come "easy" always ends up being slow? Here is a summary of my week thus far:

Sunday: Rest day - consisted of sleeping in late, going to the beach and jumping waves for about 25 minutes, laying out for a bit, long lazy lunch, then a 5 hour car ride home.
Monday: Slept in, easy 45 minute bike ride, easy 35 minute swim, 60 minute massage, celebration meal - went to Whole Foods and had good salad, pasta dish, bread/dipping oil, and few glasses of good wine. Followed this with freshly baked cookies and peanutbutter choc. ice cream once I got home.
Tuesday: I started off the morning with an easy 2500 swim with the masters group followed by an easy 30 minute run. Legs still sore, so I didn't push it anymore today.

One other thing I am trying to balance with training is eating well. This is difficult because I love sweets! I have never met a cookie or brownie that I could turn down. Problem is that so many of these have simple carbs, bad-for-you fat, etc. So I have been trying to cut back and searching for recipes that are at least a little healthier. So I was very happy when I found these little gems. . .

Nutty for Oats Cookies:
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
4 TBS unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 large eggs
1 cup oldfashioned rolled oats, ground for 30 sec. in food processor
1 1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1-2 cups chocolate chips (giradelli brand 60% bittersweet make all the difference)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, lightly grease 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Cream together the peanut butter, butter, sugar, vanill, salt, and the baking soda in a medium bowl. Beat in the eggs, scraping the bowl once incorporated, then the ground oats, old-fashioned oats, and chocolate chips. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake cookies, reversing the pans midway through, until they're barely set and beginning to brown around the edges, 11 to 13 minutes.
Last, but not least, enjoy with your favorite beverage!

Steelhead 70.3

I did it! I completed my first 1/2 Ironman! My stats are as follows:

Total time: 6:38:19
Swim: 40:07
Bike: 3:17:46
Run: 2:27:11
Transitions: t1=7:19, t2=5:56

It was a great race and it was awesome to see so many people out there racing - Mario, Greg, Jason, Dan, and Tasha. I saw everyone except Mario at least one time. I would also like to give a huge thanks to everyone that came out to cheer us on - their support meant so much more to me than they could ever know! So thanks to CT, Liz, Michelle, Scott, Jenny, Kim, Fred, Josie, and Henry.

The following pictures are of various points in the race - thanks Michelle for taking such great pics!

Liz, Michelle, and Jenny - our dedicated fans!
The swim start - wave 13 (Dan is in there somewhere)
Me on the bike course!
Dan starting the run course and looking strong

Here I come - almost to the finish line!


Just a few things I learned along the way:
1) I can get seasick on the swim. The waves in the water weren't bad, but the swells not only made it hard to see the buoys, but they also made me sick. I came out of the water gagging and praying that I would make it to a trash can to get sick (I did). Made for a much longer transition than I would have liked!
2) I hate wind. Especially a headwind, with gusts, the last 20 miles of the ride.
3) I did better on the run than expected. I thought it would take me at least 3 hours. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I finished in just over 2:27.
4) I thrive on the cheering and support from my friends and family. The smiles you see on my face - all because of the cheering I received as I was going by everyone. All very much appreciated! I also can't thank my bvoyfriend (CT), family, and friends for the support they give me during the training season. I definately couldn't do this without that