Willy Porter: Best of Austin Live Music!

Derick won on this one. It was about 8:00 pm on Friday night,, and we had debated going to see Willy Porter live at the Saxon Pub in Austin. We try to take advantage of the Austin live music scene, but by virtue of our (my?) lifestyle, we sometimes fall short (combined with the fact that it is not cheap to see good live music). Tonight we went to see decided to venture out. Saxon Pub is a small little bar, with a bit of a cozy, cabin kind of feel. I knew a few Willy Porter songs that I had heard from the CD Derick bought last summer. We had caught the song "How to Rob a Bank" when we were back in the mountains of North Carolina on a local public radio station.

Needless to say, he completely blew us away. While we do not see live music often in Austin, we have picked some damn good ones... Brandi Carlile a few times, Robert Earl Keen, Indigo Girls, James McMurtry, & Mason Jennings, to name a few. I was resistant to going out, seeing that it was 8:00, and I was crouched down on the couch with dinner, comfy clothes and a tasty beer. I have this weird thing that if I am not out by dinnertime, I usually don't want to go anywhere...anytime past about 7:00 and am then in for the night. But I rallied, figuring I had no real 'good' excuse to get to bed early tonight, knowing that it was better to spend a few hours expanding our minds than falling asleep on the couch to a mediocre movie. We headed to Saxon Pub around 8:30 and were in for a treat.

Succinctly, he was incredible. Absolutely raw talent. A hell of a good sense of humor. He plays a guitar like a mad man. It was just Willy, his guitar, his voice and occasionally, a harmonica. Willy was scheduled to play at 9, and, god forbid, he was out at 9:00! No 'opening band'. Don't get me wrong, an opening band is not a bad thing, but to me, 'no opening band' says that the artist does not think so highly of himself that he has to have someone 'open for him', thus making his fans wait even longer to hear him. Come on people, who does not like sleep? Big point #1 for Willy. He can improvise (he devised a song on a whim by topics presented from the crowd that included yoga, neopolitan, hula hoop, crack, & jack rabbit). My face hurt from laughing so much. When it came time for Willy to wrap it up (which he prompted after 75 minutes of straight entertainment), the eager crowd which had grown since the start cheered him onto more. Willy did not walk off stage, making us cheer him back, which again to me implies being highly fond of oneself and letting the crowd know it. After 30 seconds or so of loud cheering, he motioned 'one more?' to us and continued to stay on stage. He then did an amazing song about the midwest (he had me at 'Wisconsin') and how he was driving through Kentucky one night and encountered Jesus via a large truck; and he proceeded to have a deep conversation with Jesus, and his father. You had to be there...

I had to smile and appreciate my husband after this show; as Derick was correct in thinking that this was going to be a good one. From what Willy told us, he is originally from Wisconsin (hence his nice humble roots!) but seems to tour quite a bit (www.willyporter.com). If you enjoy a good singer-songwriter, and truly entertaining music, and a good time, check him out. You'll leave simply 'feeling good' about the world and you'll think twice about what 'fame' and talent really have to do with eachother. Because from my view, he is one of the most unrecognized talents out there.

View of the World from a 15-min Mile

I have been forced to really slow down this past week. It has been very refreshing, though when I see friends out riding and running, I do get a bit envious, especially with the amazing weather we are having. BUT, it is only January and it is a long season. The past four days I have enjoyed 1 hour long walks each day. It is incredible how pleasant and invigorating simply 'walking' really can be. I frequently just walk from our house, in a 4-mile loop that involves no lights or intersections, and watch the cars, the people and life go by me. It is much easier to 'think' when you are walking vs. running or cycling. When (if) I take my Ipod with me, I find myself advancing my song choice from The Killers to Tom Waits; or from Lady Gaga to Simon and Garfunkle, from Ben Harper to The Avett Brothers. A bit of a more mellow tone, yet one to keep me moving along. Today, I took the walk down to Town Lake Trail, which anyone in Austin knows is a hugely popular running trail. I started at 6:15 and finished about 7:30, so I saw it turn from dark to light; to go from the anonymity of solitude to the light of day when people 'notice' eachother (I must say, darkness is nicer in the morning, when the added fear of tripping is taken out of the equation with a decreased speed).

I have had a few setbacks in the past 8 years of triathlon, the most notably being in 2005 with a double compound fracture of my arm, which included 3 surgeries spanning 9 months. This past gall bladder surgery is seemingly minor (or so I hope in another weeks time!) but each and every time, I find that the first few days are extremely frustrating, and then after about a week I fall into a great routine. I actually start to 'enjoy' the setback, or maybe I just find a way to accept it because that is the only option. Try to take any setbacks you encounter this year (we'll all have some at some point, won't we?!) and make them into a positive. When it comes to injury, the best question to ask is, "What CAN I do?" Use the down time, and the change of pace and make yourself better in some facet, even if it is not in just a physical way (ie: swim better, cycle better, etc). I have devoted some more time to a class which I signed up for at Texas State this past week as well; finally cracked the books from having signed up in December (not a good idea before the holidays!). It is actually pretty easy to find some good out of what may seem 'bad' initially!

Thanks for stopping by... time to indulge in a taste of a new beer, "Hercules Double IPA" from Great Divide Brewing Company. We'll see how the lack of gall bladder stomach likes THAT!

Cat Attacks, Surgery and Flip Cup...

My belly is sore, it feels full and I look about 2 months pregnant (or so I would guess). I had gall bladder surgery yesterday and had the little green sucker removed (did you know they take it out through your belly button?). It was a tough decision to make, as it was not 'essential' that I have it done, but I feel that based on the past 5 months, it was the smartest thing to do. So, to catch up on the past 1 month of my life since I have been a lazy-holiday-blogger, this is how it goes.

Derick and I flew to Indiana on December 21st, to spend a solid 2 weeks with my family. My parents built an amazing cabin in the woods outside of Bloomington, Indiana and it is the perfect place to kick back and relax for the holidays. Our flight there was quite eventful, as we took our 20# cat, Corgi with us. Who travels with a 20# cat, you ask? Well, seeing that it was cheaper to take him than board him for 2 weeks, we opted to take him with us. He had a full on freak out when going through security in Austin, got extremely spooked and tried to escape Derick's arms (they MAKE you take the cat out of the bag). Derick tried to control (not lose) him, and he was hissing, biting, etc so I jumped in. Derick finally got his bag and we got him inside of it, at which point he hunched into the corner, paralyzed. He got Derick's arms and hands pretty bad, and my right hand and right foot. This was on Monday; I did not 'walk' normally until about Thursday. Lucikly I had taken my bike with us, since I knew I would have surgery post-vacation, so I was able to ride on the trainer for a few days when I could not swim or run (barely walk!). We even went on antibiotics to be safe; I guess that cat bites are not something to be messed with. SO... despite the rough start to the trip, everything else was great. We did some amazing runs in Brown County State Park, I got to visit my incredible 96-year old grandmother in Columbus, Ohio and also caught up with my sisters and of course my parents for a few weeks.

We arrived back to Austin on Monday, January 4th and I went into surgery yesterday, January 6th. Derick, myself and my doctor had come to the conclusion that the 'incident' back in Canada with the stomach pain was likely related to this; as I had similar pain one month later, only to have an ultrasound to show that I had gallstones. I did not want to kick off my 2010 season knowing that there was a chance that this could yet again interfere with racing, or worse, I'd have to get this done mid-season. I hear the recovery is to be taken seriously, so I am here at home relaxing in some good weather to do so (low 30's, wind and expected to be in the 20's the next few days here). We did however get some crazy fun in on New Years Eve, as we (along with some friends) introduced my parents to the game 'flip cup'. Nothing like watching your 60-year old parents battling it out for flip cup!

The next week or so will entail a lot of relaxing, finalizing my season plans for 2010, and trying to crack the books as I registered for an Abnormal Psychology course (correspondence) from Texas State. I am also finalizing sponsors for 2010, thanks to a ton of help from Chris McCrary at Katalyst Multisport, and I look forward to what this year has in store!

Best to you and yours for a wonderful new year. Anything's possible!
Thanks for reading,
Kelly

The Finish Line

Let's talk about The Finish Line; of any race, be it an Ironman, marathon, or 'just' a 5k. While people are all unique and there are few things that we can ALL agree on, I have to wonder if a poll were taken, how many people would agree that one of their favorite parts of a race is the sight of and the approach to The Finish Line.

You know that feeling...when you round the last corner, and you know what is just ahead. Your body hurts (or it should if you have been going hard enough!) and you want to find that one last gear in your body. Maybe you are shooting for a certain time, and you know you are going to barely make it. This past weekend, at the Decker Half Marathon, the last few miles I realized that a 1:22 was a good 'in race goal' (that being a race whereby you only really set a goal time once you are almost finished with it, often the kind of race that you are just racing to race). The body started to fatigue, and I realized that I needed to wait until the very last mile to drop any hammer in me. And it was such a low-key event, that even the last 1/2 mile, I could not 'see' a finish line. The clock ticked away, and I knew that even a 1:22-high was not happening. So, I pushed in for about a 1:23.04 (ish). But that last turn, seeing The Finish Line is such a great feeling. Whether this was your first time to do the distance, or you are just out to race and have fun, The Finish Line seems to make it all worth waking up early for.So as I sit here contemplating doing the Jingle Bell 5k on Sunday, I looked at the course map. I tried to recall how it looked last year when I did it. I can recall some false flats on the course, and appropriately, I recall feeling a bit sick from having pushed too hard too early within the race. Will I go out again this year? I think so. Because even though it is only 3.1 miles, the feeling of pushing the body to it's limits (for that day), the burn in the legs and lungs, the support of all your fellow runners out there doing the same thing, and of course that Lovely Finish Line make it all worth it. And try to smile if even just a bit when you go under It. The race may have been perfect, it may have been disappointing; it may have been 'raise your arms up'-worthy or it may have been 'I cannot wait to stop this' miserable; but the important thing is that you went out, set aside the nerves and fear and you did it. Every finish is something to be proud of.

December, Decker Half & Acupuncture!

Derick winning the Decker 1/2 Marathon - December 6, 2009

I love December! Not only is it my birthday (which at 32, while I am not phobic of growing old, it is not quite as exciting as say when I was 21), but it is the one month of the year whereby I do what I WANT TO DO each and every day, in terms of 'training' (if you call it that). I am horrible at taking time off, or even taking a day off, but when I have complete and total flexibility at simply being 'active' each day, I am in heaven. What has that consisted of lately? If in the pool, anywhere between 2k and 3k, if running... usually anything from an easy 30 minutes to 1 hour or even hill repeats for fun, and cycling, lots of time catching up on old 90210 re-runs or Ellen if I ride in the morning. If I had my choice, I would swim, run and do yoga all the time! But ya know; to do triathlons, I have to ride the bicycle. Not that I hate cycling, it is just that we all have those activities (or an activity) which just makes us feel good. For me, that is swimming and running.

Also in the month of December (and January), it is fun to just jump into races. I took this idea to an extreme this past weekend and 'jumped into' the Decker Half Marathon! If you live in Austin, you know that this race has a reputation for always having shitty weather. I did it as a 20k back in 2007, and it was about 75 with 90% humidity. This year, it was about 42 with rain! A rather chilly race, but fun nonetheless. Derick and I were quite lame especially for us, who never pass up a good time, and bailed in a pretty big party on Saturday night which most all of our good 'triathlon friends' in Austin were fully partaking in. He is doing the Distance Challenge (a series of races culminating in the Austin Marathon in February), so I knew he would be up for the Decker 1/2 on Sunday. So, I figured I would follow suit and race with him. It felt great, surprisingly, as I told myself "I do not want to hurt today" going into it and I really did not hurt until the unrelenting hills and cold took a toll on the quads at about mile 11. We both came away with wins, which was fun (Derick in a 1:12, and me in a 1:23) and had a great time catching up with many friends other crazies who were out there racing as well. I kind of like really bad weather for racing, because it becomes a race of RACING. You kind of forget how you feel and everything being 'perfect' and you deal with the conditions. And, the dirtier, messier and more uncomfortable you get, the better the food and hot shower is after the race! THANKS to Leilani and the gang at RED LICORICE EVENTS for putting on a great event!

And I cannot mention Decker Half without mentioning the wonderful care I received 2 days post race. Karen Smith is a local running coach, great friend, running nut and acupuncturist who has helped me out for the past few years, poking needles into me and making me feel good when the body is a bit out of whack. I had a session with her on Tuesday post-race, when my quads were quite recked and my lower back was still a bit tweaked from the traveling for Thanksgiving. If you have not had acupuncture before, you need to try it. It is such an amazing experience. She has one needle she calls the 'better than drugs' needle. :) This one goes right between your eyes; this is usually put in after all other needles are stuck, and then she leave the room for 10 minutes or so while you take a 'nap'. Yesterday, she worked on my front and back side, so I had two 'naps' and it was the deepest 10 minutes of sleep (?) I have had in a long time. Hard to explain, but very much like an out of body experience. Interestingly enough, when she put in the needle referring to my gall bladder, it was very painful (as I am scheduled to have my gall bladder REMOVED in January due to gallstones). I repeat... FASCINATING! Thank you Karen!

That is about it going on in Austin. As I said earlier, jumping into races at this time of year is fun. I may hop into the Jingle Bell 5K on Sunday which benefits MADD. It is a festive event and it sure feels good to go out and push yourself until you feel you'll puke! Even in the off-season! Oh come on, you know what I am talking about...and if you don't, go and hop into your local Jingle Bell 5k!

Thanks for stopping by... Happy Holidays! Indulge a bit. It is good for the soul.

Dirty Duathlon...There's no crying on trails...

It is good to sometimes do things that scare us.
We all know this to be true, but it is easier said than done.

This past weekend, I decided very last minute and very decisively that I would do the Dirty Du here in Austin, put on by Jack and Adams. It was out in Smithville, which is about 45 minutes east of Austin. It had been raining most of Friday and Saturday, but Derick and I decided to head out to camp and race on Sunday despite the (high) possibility of substantial mud. We arrived at about 6:00, with some Little Ceasers pizzas for all (supporting good friend Pat Evoe a bit) and just in time for the bike toss contest. Yes, a bike toss. Everyone takes turns throwing a mountain bike as far as they can. Jack Murray has always been the champ of this, but I believe he may have gotten shown up on Saturday night...yes, by Chris Vasiottis, with a throw of 29 feet 12 inches. A heavy mountain bike! Imagine. I however was saving my energy for the 5k run, 12 mile mountain bike and 5k run on Sunday. And, I was enjoying drinking Dales Pale Ale and watching the festivities.

We hit up the little local bar at the campsite (see pictures above, I made a little friend there!) and were off to bed at about 10:30, in my opinion, pretty darn early for camping but that is comparing camping to what we did in Colorado with our wild and crazy friends where most nights of camping ended with a bottle of whiskey being passed around. I slept great and was up at at'em by 7:30 am for coffee, oatmeal, and some mountain bike shifting practice as I had not been on it since about February.

To make a long story short and to put it mildly, I don't know WHAT I was thinking by jumping into this race! The mud was unreal, and it ended up taking me (brace yourself) 2.5 HOURS to mountain bike (or rather, hop on/hop off) 12 miles. It was mostly single track and there were many water (stream) crossings, but 12 miles?! In 2.5 hours? It was probably the longest I had ever been on (or off) a mountain bike, but it sure did feel good to run the 5k on either end. The 5k run was on a different course, which had it's own fair share of steep, muddy hills as well. There were at least a few times I found myself pushing my bike up a very steep muddy slope, while battling sliding back down a few times. I did not cry; I whimpered a few times, and twice (to be exact) I almost cried. But, I didn't. The pedals whacked my right leg quite a few times as well, as evidenced by the scratches and bruises on my leg, and the tendon behind my right knee is not only bruised but sore to the touch (imagine throwing one leg over and back off of your bike probably every 5 minutes for 2.5 hours!). But, I am alive, I am in one piece and well, I have to think that my mountain bike skills got at least a smidge better after Sunday!

Point being... it was fun, despite the fear, despite the getting passed by most people out there. I was able to get extremely muddy, which is very fun, and I learned it is easier to pedal through large bodies of water and piles of mud than to get off and run the bike. The nerves were similar to when I did a rope swing with Derick back in September. We climbed up the rock, and I realized that once up there, the only way down was grab the rope and hang on (and let go) for dear life. (I did ok, minus a slight bit of whiplash). I committed to the Dirty Du and I was going to complete it, even if I did suck! Once I fully get over the soreness then I think I'll realize truly how much I loved it. I think. And that it will be a long time until I do another mountain bike event. At least, until I can ride it a few times.

Someone once said "Do something every day that scares you." We may not be able to do this EVERY day, but it is wise advice to adhere to, every so often. Out of the fear comes growth and this can only make us stronger. And who doesn't like to feel strong?

Clearwater 70.3 Worlds...A Steady Improvement!

Photo from Competitor.com

Clearwater 70.3 World Championships. I have done this race 4 times, all 4 times they have held it (2006-2009). I am on a steady progression of improvement, but at this rate, it will take me 6 more years to win the event! My past finishes have been:

2006 - 4:36 (18th)
2007 - 4:26 (16th)
2008 - 4:24 (14th)
2009 - 4:19 (you guessed it...12th)

I went into this event coming off of a great season, excited to compete, and ready to make a jump in my finishes. I was hungry for a Top 10 finish (ideally, Top 6) and I felt prepared to put up this performance. Unfortunately, the desired place was not in the cards, however as the race unfolded and I reflect upon it, I have nothing to be disappointed about.

I went with my parents (which is tradition, this trip gets them out of the Indiana November gloom!) and my husband Derick, and we all arrived Thursday and settled in. Friday was the typical pre-race meeting, transition bag preparations, bike racking and as much rest as possible. It was very convenient that we stayed in a small local motel which had a kitchen, so we enjoyed a pre-race dinner of spaghetti, salad and bread all in the comfort of the balcony off of our room. Good meal, small glass of wine, and relaxing evening, and I felt ready to roll the next morning.

I woke up on Saturday a bit sluggish; but, no worries. This is fairly common and not often a prediction of what will happen on race day. I arrived to the transition area (which was a 5 minute walk) with plenty of time to spare and the buzz of excitement got me ready to go. The swim had been diverted from the ocean to a small bay, due to choppy water conditions. I was actually pleased with this, as I tend to get pummeled a bit in the ocean. I suited up in my Zoot long-sleeved wetsuit and was ready for our 6:45 swim start; a short swim warmup and I felt ready to go. Beautiful morning! The sun came up just as the gun went off. Unfortunately, my speed did not go off quite as readily. I fell into the second swim pack, but never quite felt strong and relaxed. Small mistake on my part, the water was about 70-F and I wore a full sleeve suit. I get warm very quickly, and I think I would have been better off in my sleeveless suit. I used the full sleeves because I have been told they are 'faster', however, I think comfort is very important, and I may have been better off keeping my core body temp a bit lower. In any case, I tried not to let it get to me, but upon exiting the swim up the short ramp, I actually felt quite tired and a bit dizzy. I ran through and grabbed my T1 bag, but got to the change tent and realized I had the wrong bag! Probably only cost me about 20 seconds, but still frustrating. Good thing was, it lit a bit of a fire under me to hurry it up and keep my head in the game.

I got out onto the bike and knew that I had my work cut out for me. I was not sure how far ahead the lead women were, but I expected it was a couple of minutes based on how the swim felt. It took a few miles to feel my heart rate settle down, but I did relax and got into a good rhythm. At first, I thought I may have to write this off as 'one of those days' where nothing felt easy and the result would not be good. But, the legs seemed to come around and I started to feel stronger. I stuck to my regular nutrition plan, about 6 gels over the course of the 56 miles, and tried to keep my distance from the swarms of professional men that cycled by me early in the ride. The majority of the ride, I was alone, which was alright with me as it kept me out of the 'packs' that form on this course. Despite still being quite a ways behind the lead women, I finished the bike feeling strong and ready to see what my running legs had in store.

The transitions at this event are great. Volunteers grabbed my Orbea Ordu upon entering T2 and racked it for me, while I just bolted to my T2 bag and headed to the change tent. I quickly threw on my Jack and Adams visor, Zoot Ultra TT shoes, and Gu flask and bolted out of there for the 13 miles left of my season.

The run in Clearwater is, in my opinion, deceivingly tough. You run flat for about 2 miles then head up a long bridge, and run down the other side, to continue through about mile 4, when you head back up the bridge towards transition for the second loop. While most of the run is flat, this bridge gives you 4 pretty long hills and can really sneak up to zap your energy mid- to late-run. I started out at what felt like a strong yet controlled pace, still not feeling 'snappy' as I would have liked, but trying to just stay positive and focus on running some women down. I did not check too many mile splits, as I moreso wanted to find a smooth rhythm and a strong pace to settle into. From my perspective, a half-ironman run is really a "controlled hard" pace. It is right at the point where I feel if I pushed much harder, I may blow up, but a pace that seems sustainable for at least 6 miles; at which point, I'll try to pick up if I can. I came through the first loop having caught a few women, and I believe being told I was in 12th place about 6.5 miles in. Not where I wanted to be, but little I could do other than keep on running. I believe I came through the first half in about 41 minutes or so. Not quite the pace I was hoping for, but again, doing what the body was giving me on the day.

The second loop was pretty uneventful. I think I caught one or two more women but the next one up ahead was Kelly Couch, who was having a very solid day up ahead of me. I could tell I was putting time on her, but I was likely going to run out of real estate. At the 12 mile mark, I gave it absolutely everything I had left, looking at my watch and aiming to run the fastest possible last mile. I did not see the 13 mile mark, but I came to the finish line in just over 6 minutes, so that last mile really was dropping all that was left in me. Kelly had about 15 seconds on me at the finish, but I knew that I had left it all out there.

It was great to be greeted by my parents and Derick. The day was gorgeous, the race was solid and given how I felt, the result was good. I ended up 12th, which given my past finishes, I should not have been surprised! I wanted to be in the Top 10 (solid in the Top 10) but on this day, 12th was the best in me. The time was 4:19, just a minute off of what I did in Augusta but on a very legit course (fast swim in Augusta). Given this fact, I'd say this was PR for the distance, and was a 5 minute improvement on past Clearwater races.

I am sure you may be wondering about the 'drafting' out there. This is something I am so tired of thinking about, but to touch on it, yes, I know that it went on and I also know that I was nowhere near any of it. Maybe I just did not have the 'chance' to be up there mixed in, since my swim was mediocre today (about 90-seconds back from the top pack). But had I of been up there, I will say I would have had a hard time getting pulled along to a ridiculously fast bike split, something which I know I could not ever do on my own. I finished the bike in 2:25, the best I have done on this course, and I ran a 1:23, also a PR run for this course, on yes, tired legs (as they should be). Unfortunately this is what the event has come to; you are either up in the mix, or you are not. I was not. However, I cannot walk away upset at my finish, because I know that it was my finish, my race and my effort. Either the event will change (hillier course, more strict rule enforcement) or it will remain a fast albeit drafting event.

Needless to say, the weekend was a great one, and I have so much to be proud of. I feel I have finished my most successful season of my 8-year career as a professional, and I am excited at what 2010 has to hold. I have the most supportive network of people around me, from my sponsors (Zoot, Jack and Adams, Hill Country Running, 3 Cosas, Orbea, Gu, Suunto, Go with the Flo, Alcis, Advanced Rehabilitation, and Katalyst Multisport) to my incredible parents to my husband Derick to my amazing friends. The day in Clearwater did not feel as 'easy' as I would have liked, but that is the beauty of sport. You prepare your best, you do all you can in your power to be 110% on the day it matters, and despite how you feel, you get out there and throw it all on the line. You take the good days and run with them, but you get stronger from the days when it does not come easy. This event made clear what I need to focus on for 2010, but first in order is some down time, rest and recovery and focusing a little bit on my life outside of triathlon. And, of course, some reflection on what a great season '09 had been and excitement at what 2010 has in store.

As always, thanks for reading and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Stop to appreciate all the good in your life.
And, jump into the local Turkey Trot. It makes the food and drink taste that much better.

Take care ~ Kelly