Trip-Tips

I am receiving so many great questions! Thank you. I have recently improved my site so that I can more quickly post answers here so please keep sending them via email.

Ironman Baja

[update: June 03, 2006]

Baja 70.3 turned out to be a total blast after a somewhat squirrelly beginning…...flying into San Diego on Southwest Airlines (my fav airline! :)) the Thursday before the race, I decided to hitch a ride with the race management down into Mexico instead of renting my own car. Longtime racing buddies Michael and Amanda Lovato arrived later that afternoon so I had an enjoyable time people watching and even making a few new friends with other airport dwellers waiting on arrivies…..Michael and Amanda arrived, we all loaded up the van and barreled off into traffic with our driver Pablo leading the way. There was an unusually long backup leading up to the border and I could tell my the looks of Pablo’s furrowed brow in the rear view that this was not something he was used to seeing. Pretty soon the traffic was at a complete standstill, drivers were getting out of their cars and were conversating on the road. The scene was turning into a San Diego to Mexico bloc party! After a while there was one lane to the far left moving at a decent pace so we naively hopped into the lane. Michael jokingly remarked "watch this be the u-turn lane back into the US. Ha!". Much to our disbelief, this turn out to be true! Once we made it to the border, we were immediately redirected by several extremely grouchy and authoritative border patrol officers, suddenly we were heading at 70 mph back to sunny San Diego! Evidently there had been a shooting on the border that had closed it down and kept it that way until 10 pm that night. Next plan of action was to find a place to stay so we could get a good night’s rest and retry our entry the next day. Luckily the ever-so generous Roch Frey and Heather Fuhr opened up their doors and bedrooms! to all of us, including Pablo. We all had a healthy dinner and a good nights rest. The next day we got in a run with Heather then headed to La Jolla pool for a short and refreshing swim workout. Our next challenge was going to be fitting two more passengers and two more bikes into our already crowded van! Somehow we fit everything in with Mirinda and Paul as new additions to our crew. Mirinda and I had to slide out the van windows Daisy Duke style whenever we had to stop. Yee haa!

Once we arrived in Mexico everything began to run smoothly. I was having a great time trying to use my rusty Spanish to navigate around town. I was having a great time hanging with Michael and Amanda and had neighbors Bryan Rhodes and Torrenzo Bozzone to keep things amusing. My hotel was EL Casa Del Sol (house of the sun) and was the cutest little wood cabin of a hotel room I have ever stayed in. I recommend this place for any Ensenada visitor. My body and legs were really coming around and I was starting to get fired up for the race course…my dad arrived and we took the Lovatos out on the race course. Can you say CLIMBING?? Holy man, there were huge ravines and we were all getting really nervous as you could see cars that had bit the dust going over the sides (no guardrails by the way!) and were lodged waaay down below in the ravine. An occasional cross here and there was a curt reminder of how careful we would need to be on those climbs and descents. At one point my dad started to get anxious driving and refused to look over the edge anymore. We were going to be in for some fun on race day….I was nervous but excited, hills are my strength and I was up for the challenge…now if I could only keep myself from bowling over a cliff!

The night before the race Bryan R. decided to provide us with a little pre-race "entertainment" and had purchased some firecrackers to set off before you we went to bed. I learned the difference between "fireworks" and "firecrackers" that night….the latter being the one we did NOT seem to have in our possession. Torrenzo was in charge of holding this mild little number while Bryan lit the wick and I watched. Halfway through the launch Torrenzo seemed to get a little freaked by the power of the cracker and let go. What ensued was the the loudest BOOM! I have ever heard outside of Black Hawk Down. I ran for cover and every door at the peaceful "Casa Del Sol" opened simultaneously while smoke and fireWORK shrouds ridded the air. Once the smoke cleared we could see the remains of a chair cushion now looking more like grated cheese and Torrenzo guiltily holding the cracker launch rod while Rhodsey cackled hysterically in the background. Luckily we were let off the hook with several "muy lo siento"s and $20 to replace the chair…..nothing like a little prerace explosion to get everyone fired up!

Race morning arrived without any glitches and soon enough I was down in the water ready for the 7 am start. At 7:30am we were still all standing out there, hey but it’s Mexico and I am all down with being late- at 7:45am Greg Welch announced the start and we took off into the chilly bay. My plan was to go out hard and gain a good position, I am much more fearless in the all women starts, which we had, and was really happy to see that I was well up in the lead pack. We headed out into the actual ocean and the water became much more choppy, siting more difficult but I held my form and stayed strong. I could see that Wendy Ingram was directly in front of me, which I thought was a good sign as she would be a stealthy navigator and swift swimmer. There were a few rough patches when I seemed to swallow way more sea water than one would say was healthy, but in general I was very happy with my swim and more importantly with the way I felt. I exited the water behind Wendy with Mirinda Carefrae on my feet. Seeing her results in St. Croix I knew I was going to have to book it on the bike or she would catch me on the run!

Onto the bike and I was having a total blast. I was moving up quite quickly and feeling strong and powerful. Once the climbs began I tried to focus on my form and on climbing efficiently. I moved into first place for the women and enjoyed the presence of the lead female motorcycle. The bike was course was incredibly scenic and beautiful. Yellow daisies lined sections of the course and once the first set of climbs ended it leveled out to a high plains section that resembled a different planet. Amazing what changes in altitude do to the topography. The halfway point was marked by the steepest and most treacherous descent conversely with the hardest and most grueling climb back out. I enjoyed seeing the men on the way down and my other female competitors on the way up but was a little concerned by the looming presence of Mirinda- she was only 1:30 back. I tried to work it on the way back and enjoyed seeing all the age groupers and hearing their cheers. Anyone attacking that bike course deserves huge props!

Into transition and out on the run the huge shouts from the crowd could not overcome the pain on my legs. I could feel it would take me a while to transition into my running form after such a difficult bike ride portion. I tried to hold off Mirinda but she came by me so fast I had absolutely no response! After a few miles I started to feel a lot better. The sun came out and I buried me head down, determined to fight all the way in to the finish….you never know what could be happening up ahead. Many of the guys, other pro women and age groupers were extremely encouraging. There shouts and yells that kept me going the whole time and the massive swell of noise both times into transition on the two loop run course gave me goose bumps and brought tears to my eyes. In my suffering I could see it on the faces of the others out there with me and I could see the spectators relating to the suffering, inspiring them and making them proud. It is these things that I love most about the sport of triathlon- we are all in the suffering together, young, old, pro or amateur. We are all suffering and we are lucky enough to have people cheering us on who can appreciate it- how cool is that??!!

In the end I was unable to catch Mirinda but was happy with my second place finish and the effort I gave to achieve it. Once I across the finish line I was awarded the most soothing massage I can remember and was even able to give my sketchy Spanish a whirl over the mic to the crowd. My words probably translated something like " I would like to thank all of you grandmas and grandmas very much for having me in Ensenada" but I think they all got the point and seemed to like it :)

Next up is the Cap Tex Tri In Austin, my favorite hometown race! and then Eagleman 70.3 where Mirinda and I, joined by Natascha B. will go at it once again.

Muchas Gracias Ensenda! Ciao!

IM Arizona Race Report

[update: April 17, 2006]

"Winners are not those who never fail, but those who never quit” 
 
I learned the true meaning of these words during Ironman Arizona last Sunday. There were 26 foam cardboard mile markers lining the marathon run course, neatly mounted into the ground with thin metal stakes. Beneath each number a small motivational quote was written, small enough that you had to really focus in to read each one. This one came at just the right time and place…..
 
The day began with the beeping of a 3:50am alarm, I awoke with a sense of quiet excitement and felt relieved that the time had finally arrived to compete. With so much going on leading up to the race, I was relieved just to be able to finally get out there and enjoy the work to be done. After a quick breakfast of raisin toast, peanut butter, honey, coffee and Recover Ease. I adorned the clothing I had laid out the night before and was out the door loading up the car. Once all the gear was in, with several quick checks to ensure I hadn’t forgotten any precious items, my mom, Paul and I set off towards the race site. My mom had printed up shirts saying "Fly Des Fly " for she and my Dad, I would be happy to see that shirt many times throughout the upcoming day. I had been listening to the Phoenix station "Energy" in the days previous this morning, they pulled through with INXS and my mom joined in with improv of her own motivating version. Transition set up went smoothly, I am always happy to be finished with the sometimes stressful race morning tire pumpage, traumatized by past episodes of tire explosion. With Zipp wheels hard and ready and the Guru Crono loaded down with tons of liquid, Nuun for the hot day, etc, I set out to the edge of the water for preparations for wetsuit fitting. This year I am racing in a new Blue Seventy Helix, which feels sleek and fast in the in the water. I got the wetsuit on and had some body glide smeared on my neck….there was no turning back now! I had a few moments to bid farewell to Paul and my dad, as Paul Huddle corralled us into the starting area. One of the best advantages to racing as a pro is that we can start 15 minutes before the rest of the field in an Ironman race. Gone are the age group days of thousands of bodies thrashing against mine…or so I thought. 
 
Black Eyed Peas "Let’s Get it Started" began blasting over the sound system, the lyrics bounced off the water, 30 second to start…..I could feel my heart pumping hard in my chest. I took a few deep breaths, pedaling like a frantic puppy in the water, "5-4-3-2-baam!" the canon went off and I took several strokes directly on the heels of Andrea Fisher. My plan was to go out at a fast pace and then settle into a pack, on the feet of whoever I could stay with. Suddenly, I felt two strong "whacks" against the center of my forehead and then the sensation of a strong hand gripping my shoulder and pulling me down in the water, hard. I had suddenly become a part of someone else’s swim stroke! I felt myself being pulled under water and all I could think about was how much I wanted to reprimand whoever this monster was. Coming up for air I was so frustrated to see not only my dunkee but his compadres sail by as I bobbed and gasped. I got back to the swimming but with less conviction and more hesitation than before….I finally settled into a comfortable pace but to my dismay could tell I had lost major time, time that I was only going to get back with a jetski…... a few minutes went by and I could tell I was losing more and more ground as throngs of swimmers seemed to be going by. Nevertheless I settled onto the heels of a perfect kicker, not too much splash but not too little and stayed there for quite a while. I started feeling really good again and pulled up next to my silent companion, we swam side by side together until the turn around buoy in what almost felt like a romantic interlude. It is only so often you are breathing that close to someone else’s face! Side by side we swam through the murky water, around the turn buoy and back onto the other side of the rectangle. As time went by I was feeling stronger and stronger but I could see the splashes of where I knew I should be and they was way, way up the hydrotrail. Trying to regain a positive frame of mind I focused on swimming in a straight line, which was much easier now that we were out of the sun-stream, and swimming next to my companion. It seemed that when swimming next to each other we fed into each other’s energy, picking up the pace of the entire mini-team trailing on our toes behind us. I began to see the line of red buoys which I new dictated the finish. We swam under several tall bridges and I enjoyed the feeling of the shade there as the water temperature was now feeling quite warm in my Helix suit. Under the last bridge I heard several broken but familiar voice tones, "Go" swim, breathe "iree!", "Go" swim breathe "iree!". I could hear Ma Ficker yelling at me from the bridge! 
 
I rounded the last red buoys, made a sharp 90 degree turn and headed for the exit stairs. At this point I could not wait to get onto my bike…..There is always a moment of vulnerability when leaving the water. I usually experience a limp body sensation as my legs prepare themselves to be called upon for duty. As if I were a goldfish flipping itself out of its bowl I landed limply on the steps, thankful for the good strong yanks by the sturdy arms of the "swim stair volunteers". Back on my feet I bid a silent "thank you" and began the trek down the carpeted runway, into the waving hands of the "Wetsuit Strippers". I love this time that we share together, the strippers and I, with the suit off I could run free and I made it safely to the change tent. Such royal treatment! Through the tent, bag open, Rudy aero helmet on, this time the "Bike Rack Volunteers" were at my service and standing with my bike…..out of transition I spotted Paul and he yelled…."4 minutes down off Michellie!". I had some work to do. 
 
Due to my high sweat rate and previous difficulty in hot races, I had loaded up my Bento box with a trusty M and M’s canister topped full of Endurolytes. Once out onto the bike course, with a few good miles under my belt already, I looked down for the little blue canister. To my dismay it had vanished! This would be one moment in time that over the last week I have lost sleep over. At the time the "I’m invincible and dumb" attitude crept in and I decided I would be just fine without my salts until the bike to run tent. In my dormant state I realize how foolish this all was but at the time I got too carried away. I was feeling strong and fluid on my bike, plowing slowly through the women’s field and picking off the girls one by one. I was really enjoying myself out there, enjoying the wind, the tailwind, the cacti, the age groupers out on the course, etc. I was feeling strong and confident until mmm, say around mile 90 or so. Suddenly it was as if I had jumped the slow train….I was looking down, more and more concerned with the whiteness covering the my top and legs. I began feeling extreme nausea, until dry heaves began and I was turning into a miserable version of my previous self. Several of the women I had passed were coming back to me and passing me with ease, age group men were coming by me at increasing speeds. It was as if someone had hit the FF button everyone but me, I was left there in SLOWMO. My wonderful longtime racing companion Dave Dorneas came by me with about 10 miles to go and yelled out to me "You can tear it up all over this run course Des!!" . Those words cut into my fog and I felt a glimmer of hope again. He was right, despite the way I was feeling now, I could still possibly turn things around on the run. I tried as hard I could to stay close to Dave in those last few miles, thank goodness for Dave! Making it into transition I was worried. I felt wobbly and nauseas and very nervous about running a marathon in the heat that was going on out there. Once in the tent I headed straight for the M and M’s salt, 5 down the hatch and onto the business of putting on the Asics shoes, visor, etc….. 
 
The crowds were yelling tremendous cheers as I left transition and I could hear the voice of the Ironman, Mile Riley yelling for me over the loudspeaker out of transition. I ran by Carri and Tony, they both looked so positive and hopeful, I just had to believe I could turn this day around…..Churning through the first few miles, I could feel the salt working into my veins. I began to feel strong and fluid once again. Miraculous! I began picking up the age group men and pro women who had passed me in my state of biking duress. How fabulous it was to be feeling alive again! I gradually started moving up in the women’s field. I was seventh place off the bike and within 10 miles had moved into second. Many people were struggling with the heat, as the temps soared into the 90’s and there was no shade on the three loop course. The miles seemed to be ticking by and I was blowing through the aid stations, again in wise retrospect…..too fast. Looking back I wish I had been more patient and taken my time moving up instead of blowing out the first few miles as if I was in a 10k. Live and learn…..In second place with Heather Gollnick following closely behind, I began to loose a little of the energy I had…..unsure of the miles left and more aware of the way my body was feeling, A few more miles went by and Heather slowly began to creep back onto my tail. I could see her back in sight again on the turns and I new I was in danger of losing my second place gain. I loved the run course in that the three loop circuit enabled the support of onlookers to wash over our weary bodies. However this time, with one full lap to go, Heather came on strong and passed me back with a vengeance. The cameras were right there to catch the move and I tried my best to stick with her surge…..to no avail. 
 
I knew I had gone into caloric deficit and needed to refuel. I began grabbing oranges, gatorade and coke, taking in whatever I could to try and regain some strength. My legs were going back into shuffle mode again…..how maddening! I began imagining losing not only the third place I now had but the entire finish, I was feeling that downtrodden. I passes my parents, passed Tony and Carri, I could see the worry in their faces and I wanted so badly to show them I would not fail. My friend Todd passed me, "Fight through it! " He yelled. I didn’t have a fight to give. Tim Deboom passed me, almost into his finish, "Quick feet Des, quick feet". I wished I could find those. The miles wore on, slower now than before and Hilary Biscay passed me with about 10 miles left in the marathon. I was feeling so low. I could see her little pink skirt swooshing up the hill and I willed my legs to move, to lift, to do anything but the pathetic shuffle they were committing to in that moment. It was at this very moment I spotted the sign, I have to admit I was thinking about bagging the day, calling it quits. "Winners are not those who never fail, but those who never quit”. There it was, a simple rapid flash of white foam cardboard and printed lettering. But the message could not have been more astute. The next aid station I told myself, walk it through, drink until you have more strength. Two cups of Gatorade, a few endurolytes down the hatch, one full cup of cola in the hand. I walked and drank, walked and drank. This drama was taking place on the largest uphill section of the loop. It was at this section I spotted Paul, who yelled out some appropriate butt kicking sayings… I attempted the running once again. It was as if the Bionic Woman had come to rescue me! I was running again, and running fast! Unbelievable! I passed an entire troop on that last hill many of whom offered cheers of support (thank you!), relieved to see my transformation and hopefully motivated by it themselves. Paul started yelling, "third place is yours, you can get it back!! Young -weh!!". I wanted it back…..bad. 
 
I had about 5 miles left to run at this point, I was running fast and thought I could catch Hillary, I was just worried there was not enough time. Miles clicked away once again and I could finally see the little pink skirt again, up ahead in the distance. I had visions of a dramatic finish, sprints to the line that you see in results so close it makes you cringe. I was within seconds of her now, one final turn, a little uphill and we were home free. Hillary must have heard the commotion behind….she spotted me as she turned up the hill and turned it on, pulling away. One last mistake, I grabbed drinks at mile 25, the drinks seemed to slow me, I had expended so much effort to catch her again I did not have very much left. She was pulling away, out of my grasp, way to go girl…..before I knew it, it was over, in a flash, Mike Riley was yelling my name and I could see the outreached hands of the crowd. Everything was looking so white and fuzzy, I could not wait to get to line and just stop. I crossed the line in 4th place…..I had done all I could do on that day.

Congrats to all those who toughed it out in that heat, especially to Michael for his big win, who so generously gave me helpful and thorough advice on my taper. Awesome job! I would like to thank all the wonderful people in my life and on my support team who have helped me get this far. Without the help of my friends, family and amazing sponsors I wouldn’t be in this incredible place in life. Tri Dubai, Guru, Asics, Zipp, Recover Ease, Rudy Project, Inside Out, Blue Seventy, Nuun, Jack and Adam’s (way to go guys!) I am forever thankful. You guys rock!! To all the people who cheered in the heat of Tempe and handed me countless amounts of sponges and water so generously, especially those kiddies out there, I am so thankful. I have a lot to improve on, I will not quit.

Ford Half Ironman

[update: March 21, 2006]

I am back in Austin after racing in Saturday’s Ford Ironman 70.3 aka Ralph’s. I placed second to Michelie Jones with Erica Csomor placing third. The weekend was a good one in general, it was great fun getting back out and racing again after a long winter and to don my new Tri Dubai Team uniform for the first time was really exciting.

Ominous weather reports were flying around Friday before the race….all I could think about was the way I was shivering last year, how everyone was saying it was a fluke of a day, but here we were right back with the exact same weather! I vowed to be better prepared this time and I put shoe covers over my bike shoes and arm warmers under my new Blue Seventy Helix wetsuit. The first few minutes wading into the water was like stepping into a bucket of ice! Treading in that water was brutal, I was very happy once the cannon went off. I have had long time anxiety about open water swimming….I am so used to getting brutally passes by what seems like packs of people often times in the first 300 meters! However my pool swimming has been feeling strong lately, particularly over the last month, so I tried to use a positive approach this weekend. I felt extremely strong swimming and enjoyed it immensely! I kept expecting the throngs to go by but they never did! What a great feeling to come out of the water on the feet of Michelie, it was the best open water swim I have had. Usually I am praying for the end of the swim thinking "Get me out of this stuff and onto my bike where I belong". This weekend was the first time I actually enjoyed being in the water and was sad when the swim came to an end. My new wetsuit felt amazing and fast but I must have buckled it up too tight….I am walking around with what looks like the remains of a rope strangle!

Out of the water the numbness in my feet and hands set in…..such numb hands in fact that I realized I had not buckled my Rudy Project aero helmet properly. Whoopsie, a quick dismount to fix it and biking again I was off. Michelie was riding strong up ahead of me, I told myself that no matter what, I would keep her in my sites and key off of her. This plan seemed to work pretty well until my legs started to numb up. The bike was feeling so hard I began wondering if my brakes were rubbing on my Zipp disc! I became so paranoid that at mile 20 or so I got off to make sure. Blast, no relief there. My brakes were right where they were supposed to be…..The bike continued to feel hard and I started counting pedal strokes, taking 10 hard at a time, trying to focus on something else other than the pain in my legs. Meanwhile Michelie’s pink uniform was losing its brightness and she was sneaking farther and farther up the road. My Austinite friend "Marky V" came by me just before the steepest hill out there and we both were struggling up the vertical punisher. Ouchers! He had a much better up and over method than I did and pretty soon he too was gone into the distance…..alone for the last 20 miles or so I tried really hard to stay mentally focused and began looking forward to that run. I started getting really hungry out there and started thinking about what I was going to eat once I ws finished!

I enjoy the run portion of a triathlon the most in that you actually have contact with people. I was looking forward to the crowds, Carri and our friend Chop were both out there, as well as my Dad, Tony, and Normann. It is also nice to see all the pro men, to see how their race is unfolding, and to see the various age groupers I have gotten to know over the years.

Back into transition Tony Deboom was right there by my shoes, bright red Asics Racers Carri said looked just like "Dorothy’s ruby slippers" and I asked him "How far is she?". "Three minutes" was the response…seemed like a lot but I was determined to catch her and hoped that my run would feel a tad bit easier than that brutal bike. It did….just not fast enough to catch the lady in pink. Normann was out at the turn around 3 mile point and I was still feeling pretty strong. I asked him "How far?" "Two minutes, and you look better!" was his response. Oh wow! I had made up a minute in three miles? I was wondering a little bit who was trying to be nice to me :) regardless, I tried hard to catch her. She seemingly had put on the turbo because I could no longer see her up the road…..still I buried my head and tried to keep a positive frame of mind. I thought about Natascha Badmann and how she is always smiling away out there. I tried to smile too but I think it came out more like a grimace…...

The volunteers and people on the course was amazing. It was so adorable hearing the kiddie volunteers get excited if you grabbed water from them. I grabbed water from one early on in the race and he yelled "YES!!’. It made me laugh. There was one party animal playing the Rocky theme song, he was yelling like crazy, I think I saw a large beer in his hand. I tried to take in drinks and calories, so much cold out on the bike has left me in a deficit. I was hungry! My dad was also out there and recruited about 20 people to yell my name at one point, that also made me smile a bit. With three miles to go I could see that unless Michelie was forced to some tragic meltdown I was not going to catch her. On a good note I could also see that unless I was forced to a tragic meltdown Erica was not going to catch ME. With second place in the bag I could relax a little bit, and enjoy the last three miles as much as possible.The sun was out in full force now….strange to be pouring water over my head to cool off after beginning the day with thermal tights on! Normann came up on me with his bike and I was very glad to see him, he has such a great happy energy about him. I was also very glad for my 2nd female bike lead, he was gently asking the age groupers on their first lap to move to the side as I passed. They all did so with huge grace. Thank you to any of you reading this!! I was grateful!!

Not a bad day’s work, there are some good signs for my upcoming Ironman Arizona. I am hoping to have a more "on" day as the lady in pink will also be there in full force I am sure of it! Well done to Michelie, you are an amazing competitor.

Thank you to all for the support I had out there on race day. To all the people who cheered and competed themselves. To my amazing new team Tri Dubai, your support is like a big warm hug; to Asics for providing me with "Ruby Slippers" and anything I else I need at the drop of a hat; to Guru bicycles for my machine the Crono, that moves me along even when my legs won’t! to Recover Ease for getting me through my tough training regimen; to Blue Seventy for the best wetsuit I have ever put on- the Helix! I love it! ;to Nuun, for making all my water taste yummy and for keeping me properly hydrated; to Badger Ford for giving me an adorable blue hot rod to zip around town in!; to Zipp Wheels for my super stealthy wheelset; to Run Together/ Tri Together, for providing me with inspiration! ; to my friends at Jack and Adams, for providing me with the best bike service ever and for giving me a safe haven to take my bike to; to Gilbert for providing me with the best run workouts on the planet and inspiration daily through his presence alone; to Karen at "Go with the Flow" for providing me with wonderful care and taking me to that happy place; to Lucy and Carl at Massage Therapy for keeping my muscles feeling like butta; to AJ at Advanced Rehab, Cassidy with Massage Ball, and of course, Pieter (Stroopenwafles!) at Concentra for keeping me fit and healthy…..to Carri, Paul, Cindy, Ashton, Christy, David, Mom, Dad, Robby, Flynn, and all of my other wonderful caring friends and people in my life. I am so blessed.

On to to rest up for Ironman Arizona!

Thanks for reading,
Desiree