The Hamster Wheel by Courtney

When I became a triathlete, I was a full time graduate student. Though I was very busy, I was also busy on my own schedule. The earliest I ever had to be anywhere for school was 8 a.m., which leaves tons of time for a morning workout and I often didn’t have anywhere else to be for the rest of the day so… 2.5 hour brick at 10 a.m.? Sure, why not. It’s a great break for the brain before jumping in to hours of dissertation research. It was a nearly perfect Tri training schedule. And then… I made my dreams come true and was accepted into the Navy Clinical Psychology Internship. With that came a return to active duty, a real paycheck (yay for not living off of student loans anymore) and… A full time work schedule.

One of my favorite moments in grad school – holding a human brain.

My first week of internship, I sat in my office crying, texting Coach Dai saying that I didn’t think I could do it all. After about a month, I finally started to fit the pieces together but I can’t say that the struggle ever ended.

Since I’ve returned to full time work, I’ve constantly felt like I was on a bit of a hamster wheel. Wake-up, workout, work, workout, eat sleep and shower multiple times a day. Sometimes, I feel like Justin and I just sort of high five each other a couple of times a day in passing and then do long bike rides together on the weekends before we tag team meal prep and cleaning. *sigh* It’s exhausting.

I doubt that I’m the only one asking myself why I do it. To a certain extent, I’m almost on autopilot these days but there are moments when I wake up with the 4:20 a.m. alarm and they “whyyyyyyyy?????

Teamwork makes the dream work! So lucky to have this teammate.

Here is my answer to this question:

First of all, I love it. I love that I don’t look at my body as attractive or unattractive, I look at it as fit, capable and strong. The same thing goes for my mind. It isn’t a matter anymore of whether I can or can’t do something; it’s a matter of “how hard and how long do I have to work to accomplish it?” For someone who has struggled with poor self confidence and, at one point, depression, this is a huge deal.

I love the people. Some of the most amazing people have come into my life through sport. My husband, my very best friend, would never have become a part of my life if it weren’t for sport. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon hitting refresh on my ironmobile app as I watched my friend Anne’s splits from Ironman TX pour in and I felt a connection a connection to those splits! I felt joy and excitement at seeing her crush her goals! I’m getting goosebumps just remembering it as I type. That kind of connection is something special and I cherish the feeling that the triumphs and failures of my past and present training partners are mine as well. Where else can you get that sense of community? Maybe the military but… I’ve already got that covered and it’s not quite the same.

Throwback to some quality time with like-minded peeps in Virginia Beach

Clearly, I have no intention of giving up triathlon any time soon. So how does one manage the hamster wheel of training, working full time and maintaining relationships? Having the support of my husband is a huge plus but that requires that I am mutually supportive. We work as a team to plan ahead and prepare meals. He shops, I cook for the most part on the weekends but during the weeks he prepares most of the dinners. He also pours coffee down my throat in the morning to get me out the door to master swim. We have like-minded friends and we prioritize recovery, which means that most of our socializing during the season is done during our workouts because the rest of the time we are sleeping or eating or working. We prioritize paying for services that will make life more manageable like doggy daycare and lawn services. That means less money for eating out, buying new gear or remodeling our hous, and we both think it’s worth it.

Our local Tri family in Pensacola makes the sacrifices of training and racing so much easier. A good support system and training buddies are absolutely priceless.

What do you do to make the hamster wheel more manageable? How do you balance the drive for performance with family and work responsibilities? Let’s have this important conversation!

West Florida Wheelmen Wednesday Night Ride by Tara

No matter where you live there's always a weekly World Championship Ride.  In other words, a balls-to-the-wall, ride til your heart explodes, vomit in your mouth, quad thrasher.  In Greensboro it was The Farmer's Market Ride, in Wilmington it was The Wrightsville Beach Loop (and sometimes the first 25 miles of the Sunday century ride).  Here in Pensacola, we have the Wednesday Night Wheelmen Ride.  I've been told that "you haven't really ridden in Pensacola until you do the Wednesday Night Wheelmen Ride."  Well, now that I'm a 3-time veteran, I can tell you that this sh*t is no joke.

The very first time I ever went to this ride I knew I was in for some hurt when the organizer, laying down the ground rules, announced, "This IS a drop ride."  Everyone gathers for this ride at 5:15 in the big parking lot behind WSRE on College Blvd. just 200 yds from the light on 12th Ave.  Roll out is at 5:30 sharp.  I find the gathering of riders quite humorous b/c it reminds me of this scene from Anchorman:

when all the news gangs roll up and prepare to kick the crap out of each other.  See the similarities:

Each team rides to the ride in their team kits, in preparation for battle.

The ride starts off deceptively slow....a pack of 30+ riders going 17-18 mph and it lulls you into a false sense of security.  At the back of the pack, you're thinking, "this isn't so bad."  Just wait.  About 15 minutes into the ride, the ride really starts with an all-out 1.5-mi sprint (I'm guessing on distance here) on a very curvy road by the airport (Jerry Maygarden Rd).  Everyone else freakin' flies around the corners

looking like this:

I'm more like this:

So, unfortunately I usually fall to the back of the pack during the initial sprint.  (But, I will say it's helping me improve my bike handling & cornering skills.)

Then, there's a long section of flats and false flats.  This is the really tough part to stay with the A group.  I feel like if you can make it past Johnson Ave then you have accomplished a lot!  After that comes the hills.  Yes, there are some actual real hills here!  A nice series of rollers, where you can tuck in and get a bit of a reprieve on the descents.  However, by this time in the ride you can probably taste blood in the back of your throat and you are probably dehydrated because it's almost impossible to find time to drink water in between your gasps for air and precious oxygen.  Your final nail in the coffin is the last big hill up Langley Ave.  People like to sprint up this; I think winner takes KOM (not sure b/c I've never been remotely close to being the first person up it).

So, you make it to the top of that last big hill and you start to think you've done it.  But, it's not over yet.  There's still time for one more tour down Jerry Maygarden.  Your best bet is to latch onto someone's wheel and don't look at your speed.  Maygarden dumps out onto Summit and people like to have some fun on this road - it's the last real chance to launch an attack and challenge others to a sprint.  Now, once you get to the end of that road, then congratulations you have pretty much finished the ride!!!

Everyone meets back in the WSRE parking lot to recap the evening's main event.  I've heard that it's not uncommon for riders to rehash the ride's happenings for the next few days.

So, the gist of it for me is that it's really damn hard.  I keep coming back because of the peer pressure - just kidding, I keep coming back because it is fun (in a sick way) and I know it has to make me faster and a better all around cyclist.  I have been riding my Felt F75 road bike on this ride because I feel like it's safer than bringing the tri bike out (although plenty of people successfully rock this ride on their tri bikes - kudos to you).

I hope I encouraged you to embrace the challenge of this ride and I hope to see you out there next Wed!  Here's what some of my fellow GCCTriathletes have to say about it:

"It's a great mid-week fast tempo ride that EVERYBODY needs to do."  - Patrick

"I was definitely nervous at first and a bit intimidated.  I wanted to push myself and knew I would probably get dropped and I wasn't sure how others would react to me trying to hang with the feast kids.  Everyone has actually been very encouraging and supportive and it may be one of the friendliest sufferfest rides I have ever done."  - Courtney

"It's like an unsanctioned bike race between shops." - Bryan

"As a new rider this ride definitely intimidated me a lot.  The fast paced and technical course that we ride has helped me to become a faster and more confident rider.  The group is very encouraging and looks out for each other which feels great as somebody that is new to cycling."  - Justin

"It's a damn hammer fest!  Kind of like an F1 for cycling."  - Brandon

Triathlon Packing Checklist by Tara

Have you ever gotten to a race and realized you've forgotten something???   It's such a horrible feeling!  Chances are you've experienced it at least once, or if you're like my GCCTri teammate Allison Doize, then this has happened to you at every race you've done in 2016!  ;-)  

Allison & I after NOLA 70.3 (she forgot her helmet at this race)

Even though I've been racing triathlons since 2008, every time I pack for one I think to myself, "Dang there's a lot of stuff to remember!!!"  Triathlon has 3x as many sports as running, but it's more than 3x harder to pack for a tri compared to packing for a running race.  Due to this fact, I decided to make life a little easier on myself a few years ago by creating a triathlon packing checklist (really the alternative was to end up like my buddy Teddy who owned double of everything after his first season of racing, after having to pay full price at every expo for whatever piece of gear he had forgotten at that particular race).

Allison at Tri The Island - she forgot biking shoes & rode clipless pedals w/ sneakers and placed!

Here is my triathlon packing list for you to copy, edit, and share as you wish.  I hope it helps decrease the headache of packing for your next tri because triathlon is supposed to be FUN, not stressful :)  Note that wherever you see (   ), use that space to write in how many of that item you need to bring.  Also, I have it broken down by swim, bike, run, & race-specific because when traveling a lot of times you want to bring extra gear for the practice swim/bike/run in the day(s) before the race.

Packing List for Triathlon Equipment

Swim

• Swimsuit
• Goggles – 2 pairs
• Cap – 2 pairs
• Wetsuit - sleeveless
• Wetsuit - long-sleeve
• Speedsuit
• Anti-fog spray
• Cold Weather Gear
• Neoprene Cap
• Booties
• Ear plugs
• Petroleum Jelly

Bike

• Bike
• Helmet
• Biking Shoes
• Water Bottles (     )  
• Jerseys (     )
• Shorts (     )
• Sports Bras (     )
• Socks (     )
• Bike Pump
• Chain Lube
• Tools
• Spare Tubes - 2
• CO2 Cartridges - 2
• Cold Weather Gear
• Arm Warmers
• Booties
• Mini Booties
• Tights
• Long Gloves
• Balaclava
• Winter Jersey
• Wind Vest
• Wool Socks

Run

• Sports Bras (     )
• Underwear (     )
• Socks (     )
• Running Shoes 
• Shirts (    )
• Shorts (     )
• Hat/Visor – (     )
• Fuel Belt & Bottles
• Cold Weather Gear
• Running Tights
• Running Gloves
• Long Sleeve Shirts (     )
• Rain Jacket
• Fleece hat/headband

Race-Specific

• Race top
• Race bottoms
• Aero helmet
• Towel for transition
• USAT card
• Race Belt
• Socks
• Sports Bra
• Team Hat/Visor
• Bento Box
• Race Wheels
• Ankle Timing Strap
• Aero Water Bottle
• Pre-race clothes/shoes
• Post-race clothes/shoes

Other

• Garmin 920 & charger
• Ipod & Charger
• Suntan Lotion
• Sunglasses
• Body Glide
• TriSlide
• Recovery Tights
• Recovery Top

Nutrition

• Power Gels (     )
• Cliff Shot Bloks (    )
• Skratch mix packets (   )
• Cliff bars
• BeetPerformer Beet Juice