Meeting some new friends on Sonoran desert trails

Well I went in search of Javelina this morning, and I found them!

Just like that, I was on the trail for all of 5 minutes and I ran into a herd of the little spiky fellas. And they were very friendly: one of them seemed intent on coming with me for my run.
He was pretty fast too:

But I carried on my way, enlightened by the experience of the desert wildlife, and I got to see the sun rise above the McDowells which was beautiful:

It was just so much more enjoyable than the 38 degrees yesterday. If I lived here, I'd definitely be out on the trails before work. Plenty of people were, but none on my Javelina trail. It was a great way to quiet the mind and appreciate the world before the craziness of the day takes over.
Amusing comments I got today were (on the run, I was wearing Texas flag running gear) - 'I don't know whether to salute you' ! and from the guy at the pool 'I've never even seen a Javelina, let alone a herd of them.'
I'm suffering a lot with allergies here, either to the pool, the air quality or the air conditioning. So I've prescribed myself a trip to a sushi bar later with double doses of wasabi!

Onwards and a rest day tomorrow....

Beating the heat...

Well, I've been here in Arizona now for 5 days, and I've got just another 11 days to be ready to smoke the competition at the 70.3 World championships in Las Vegas, Nevada. I chose to come out here and train so that I could try and get my body used to the conditions. Life seemed so easy training in the benign London summer. (What summer? ) but here its a rather different matter.

I can say that I am loving it here, the change of environment, the culture of enjoying the outdoors, plus some absolutely inspiring views and training venues... take a look at these:

I'm in Scottsdale, and I've always loved the desert here. Lots of spikey things, including Javelinas - I saw one on my Sunday ride. Like a pig but with spines. Plus I also saw a mountain lion which was just magical. We are close to a range called the McDowell's and the wild animals seem to be fairly close to humans - particularly around dawn and dusk.

I'm pleased to say that I'm eating healthier than ever - shopping in a great farmer's market and cooking all my own food in a bid to try to show my host how eating lots can be healthy! I don't want to get on my high horse, but it does seem that there are misguided views that prevail about what is healthy here.

Why have a bottled salad dressing or a fat spray for your food in place of natural ingredients such as olive oil and real butter? Why drink cans of soda, so-called energy drinks full of nasties when some orange juice with a small amount of salt tastes just as good. No sweeteners, no additives. I am using only single ingredients, and putting together meals quickly that keep me feeling full of energy but not bloated. Oats with fresh fruit, yoghurt and agave nectar for breakfast. Plenty of salads, sweet potatoes with some leftover steak and black beans, with some home made tzatsiki to top it off for lunch. Fresh fruit is easy to come by (raspberries for $89c!), avocadoes, lovely big tomatoes, fresh basil and some mozzarella.  Roasted aubergine, peppers and onions with some couscous is another favourite.

So far, I am managing to stay perfectly hydrated (mind you, this means bathroom trips through the night) and my sweat rate is up to that of a local now. After about 10 mins on my bike its like someone turned a tap on. Today was my second big test, after an 80km ride Sunday which caused me to lie on the sofa for the rest of the day. The challenge this morning was an hour 30 ride into an hour's run. My least fave pre-race session even when its normal weather. Unfortunately I can't say that the run was anything other than miserable. I managed to lose 3kg of fluid in the hour I spent gently cooking at 38 degrees. (oh, and I was drinking electrolytes throughout the run). What's worrying is, I got home at 10:20am. On race day its likely that I will only start the run at this time!!

I think what's needed is a really strong mind. I know I've done all the training. My body is ready for this, like never before. But I've got to toughen up when that little voice says 'I can't,' I need to block it out and replace with 'I can'. I am sure that some amount of dealing with conditions is in the head.

So the next 11 days will be for training the mind. Building Callouses as Chrissie would say. And maybe searching for a few more Javelinas amongst the cacti tomorrow.... time to hit the trails I think...

Exciting times leading the European rankings!

How hard is it to find something motivating now that the Olympics is finished? I tried 2 approaches:
Firstly I raced (now that is a surprise, for me!) and secondly, I boosted my confidence by checking the Ironman Age Group Rankings.... more of that later.

This weekend was the Thames Turbo Club Championships down at Worthing Standard Distance triathlon. This race has history for me - in 2010 I was just about to take the lead on the bike when I punctured, and couldn't finish. In 2011 I was the female winner, but in a great twist, the organisers run a men vs women format, where the women start first, with the men going off at the time of the gap between the male and female winners the previous year. The first across the line wins £100 cash. So, after I won in 2:25 last year, and Colin Dixon powered home in 2:01, I felt that the 24min gap was a great chance for me. However, I hadn't banked on one Yvette Grice, a top British pro who chose to enter the race in the final week for no doubt the same reasons as I did. So the race was well and truly on with me wearing number 1, and Yvette number 2. She also rides a Blue Triad, so it was all down to the two Blues and their riders.

After a low-key beach start of only 29 women, I found myself swimming back with the current, speeding along, and coming out with no one in front of me, or so it seemed. Until the Turbo supporters informed me that Yvette was long gone, with a lead of 2:15. I was kicking myself for letting that happen, but with a 20:35 swim, a massive PB, there wasn't much more I could have done....

So I tried to nail the bike, hoping to reduce that lead, but in fact, when I saw her at the turnaround it had only extended by another minute. Onto T2 and I was feeling really strong, but the gap was 4 mins now... so i had my work cut out. However, I had the run of my life, crossing the line in 37:51, after at least one 6 minute mile (wind assisted) so again I couldn't have worked any harder, but sad to say the £100 was still Yvette's by a clear 6 minute lead. Both of us had managed to cross the line before any of the men, and the closest woman was a further 6 mins back. So I rationalised the defeat with the fact that Yvette has been a pro for many years, and has some amazing performances - including a win at IMUK, while I produced an 11 minute improvement on last year, it just wasn't enough.

It was wonderful racing in great conditions with all my club mates around, and I shouted as loud as I could for the athletes still running, before we all went for a well deserved fish and chips, and a cheeky ice cream. I was thoroughly exhausted, considering the race was so short, and needed my easy day on Monday.

Here are some photos of the race and the finish line.

So, what to do come Monday, tired and lacking in BBC Olympics Breakfast to wake up to? .... well, I checked the Iroman.com website and guess what I found? I have made it to Number 1 ranked athlete in Europe for my age group. This is a great position to be in before the World 70.3 championships in Las Vegas, and of course I'm dead chuffed. It might also help me to approach potential sponsors so I'll be writing off to a few this week.

My coach Tom Bennett has also been plugging the success so it has helped me forget being beaten at the weekend now... and of course that experience has taught me to always respect the competition, and that I really enjoy the chase. There would be no fun without something to aim for, right?

We could be Heroes....

Well I've been pretty quiet, not just because I'm glued to the Olympics, but its actually been quite a struggle to get my normal hours of training in, plus trying to fit in seeing as many live events as possible. And I'm pleased to say that my Dad is now home from hospital so I'm visiting him as well, before I head over to the US for the final build to Las Vegas. Life is good, body feels great (apart from being beaten to a pulp daily) and I'm more inspired than I ever thought it was possible to be!

Its been a totally amazing Olympics, as we all know, and to have been in London, with some events flying right past my front door (the two road cycling races, and the Time Trial) just makes it even more special. I was already an Olympic-obsessed fan, and this Olympiad has exceeded all expectations.

Here are some highlights that I witnessed:
- the road races were all about celebrating the success of British Cycling with all the local residents of South West London. My whole street it seemed was in the Olympic spirit and came out in their union flags on the first weekend.  The atmosphere was so amazing, despite the gold going to Vinokourov in the men's event, we could still revel in Lizzie Armitstead's silver the next day. I actually watched the men's finish from a local church, who were very welcoming to anyone who wanted to watch - even with beer and crisps (check the photo out!)  And as for Sir Wiggo of Kilburn, and his dominance by 42 seconds on the Time Trial? Well, we renamed Hampton Court Bridge in his honour!!

I managed to get tickets for the Tennis on the first Monday. This was truly amazing, again because of the atmosphere, and everyone just being able to enjoy the big players in the colours of their home nation without as much of the stuffiness of a Wimbledon Grand Slam. For me, the most special part was being able to get really close to my sporting idols. Check the photos out....

Tuesday marked some rowing at Dorney, and I was just so pleased to see so many of my idols who came to their fame while I was still rowing, some 10 years ago, still racing. Alan Campbell of course is a local Tideway Sculler, who I used to train with, and he symbolises the spirit of giving it everything on that one big day - even having to be lifted out of the boat by Sir Steve Redgrave after his final. Here he is winning his semifinal.

After Tuesday of course, the gold rush began, and we had to be near a TV at all times just to keep up! I am so proud of our Velodrome, Rowing, swimming, track and field and Equestrian teams - its been amazing just watching performance after performance where individuals and teams have delivered on the day.

One thing I have noticed is that, in every event that we have excelled, there has always been a game-changer, a father figure, or matriarch who has inspired the future performances. Take the cyclists following in the footsteps of Chris Boardman,  David Millar, then Sir Chris Hoy and Vicky Pendelton. Then there's Jess Ennis emulating Denise Lewis's success, and our gymnasts following Beth Tweddle's leaps and bounds.  I know this sounds obvious as someone has to get there first, but look at the differences in ages of our Dressage Team, the pro helping the newbie in our Women's 470 class (Saskia Clark and Hannah Mills), and of course the women's pair of Helen Glover and Heather Stanning. Clearly the Brownlee's have been setting the pace for each other now for some time, so to see them take it home to a gold and bronze yesterday in Hyde Park was very poignant.

There is something in here about believing in our own performance. We as a nation are so keen to be the underdogs, and its been wonderful to see us actually, for once, trusting in our own ability. That is what it takes to see someone else perform and think 'I could do that'. Just to believe is half the battle. We could all follow the footsteps of our heroes, if we only believe.

I am fuelled in every session right now by the amazing performances of team GB, not to mention the other athletes from around the world who are laying it all on the line for that one elusive gold medal. So onwards and upwards, I feel that each of us can be inspired in our own way by what we see at London 2012. And just remember, the only failure here is the failure to do your best. That is what I shall be aiming for at Las Vegas. And meanwhile, just one last little race on UK soil this weekend - at Worthing. A bit of fun, but I will still be trying to nail it, as always!