A long way back

Foot surgery Dec 3rd 2010.

I figured I needed a coach to get back to triathlon training safely and without re-injuring myself. I hired Bill @ Camelback Coaching late January and have received 6 months of training plans from him since. Six months...two of base 1 building, two of base 2 building, and 2 of base 3 killer hard workouts. February 7 through race day, August 14th, have all been mapped out for me...and I have followed his plan.

How do I feel....I feel like I am in the best shape of my life. Last month I was tired all the time and grumpy. This month I have had an excitement that I haven't had before. Probably because it is my last month before my first 1/2 Ironman. I am ready. I have done the work. I am going to fully enjoy my last rest week of Bill's plan and next week is some short sprints in all disciplines. Then...off to Seattle with my guy.

Thanks to my support group...you know who you are.

XOXO

Rest week is finally here

I am ready for a rest week. I have had three tough weeks of training that ended today. Starting tomorrow I go into 7 days of 1/2 distances in all three sports with easy effort.

It is hot, like really, really hot. Yesterday at 5:00 am when I was headed to my girlfriends house for a 3.5 hr ride it was already 87 degrees. And once the sun comes up the temps skyrocket up. It was 114 outside at 3:30 before a small rain shower started and cooled it off to a balmy 112. Getting up at 4:30 am to be out the door between 5:15-5:30 has been the norm over the past three weeks of training. I will have to remember this tough summer training when I think about signing up for another race with the bulk of my hard work in high temps. This morning I ran my longest run to date....9 miles. I lost three pounds of water even after drinking a full bottle on the run.

So it's finally here....7 days of a chill training schedule. And it's here right in time for my birthday week! 36 on Thursday...oh boy! I am sleeping in until 5:30 every morning, eating and drinking what I want and giving myself a spa day. Doesn't that sound nice...yes it does.

Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

What is Multiple Myeloma?

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, (MMRF), just posted this tweet on twitter....what is Multiple Myeloma. Here is their link that describes the disease: http://www.themmrf.org/living-with-multiple-myeloma/newly-diagnosed-patients/what-is-multiple-myeloma/

Thank you again to those who have donated, I am now up to $1851. My Aunt Linda made a generous contribution last week. Thanks Linda! I got the email from the MMRF race coordinator, Jane, that it was time to register last Thursday. So it is official....I am registered for the NYC Marathon on Nov 6th. They have the charity racers register after all of the racers that won slots are completed.

Last Sunday my long run was 8 miles. The nice things about having my 70.3 August 14th is the run build is perfect for the NYC Marathon. Most Marathon training plans are 18 weeks long, and around week 6 you are doing a 13 mile long run. That will be August 14th for me....perfect! I started my base building the end of January for my triathlon season. Come November I will will be close to a year of training. I should be ready! The worst part is training in the summer heat. So early wake up calls are the norm now until late fall...yippee.

I taught a yoga class at the local Lululemon store last Sunday. It was a blast. The yoga studio I teach at was the featured studio for the month of June. I led the students, (mostly beginners), though a modified Bikram class for one hour. My Lulu wardrobe is pretty advanced, so in exchange for teaching the class I got to add one more piece to my collection :-)

Long hot days, lots of time in the pool and naps.....ahhh summer time.

Have a great rest of your week.

ACA

20 weeks and $750 to go!

Thanks to my generous friends and family, I only have $750 to go to reach my Nov 6th, $2500 goal for the MMRF! My step father Barry, the LaPan's and my friend Wendy all donated this past week! My donation only yoga class got pushed back to August or Sept (not sure yet) instead of July, but that should be a great class and a sure way to put some $ in the MMRF bank! I will give more details when that is firmed up.

My mothers passed away 12 years ago on the 17th of June. She was only 52. This year alone the MMRF has opened 30 clinical trials, (there were two when my mother was alive), they have helped to advance eight new drugs into phase 3 trials, (the last stage of clinical testing), and they have founded two new companies focused on developing new treatments. That is a success story in itself. The MMRF is making progress and great strides each year to find a cure!

On a lighter note, Mike and I went to Vegas this past weekend for some fun and a spa conference I attended. Saturday night we saw "O". Wow....a yoga teacher/swimmers dream show! It was amazing. And I thought I trained hard for my sports....not so much!

But before we left town I did complete a 56 mile bike ride in AZ summer weather. It's going to be a long summer as it is already supposed to get up to 108 today. My 70.3 isn't until August 14th. I am envious of my friends doing earlier races this year.

Be well

ACA

Home is Where the Heart Is

I love recovery weeks. My coach puts in one recovery week a month. Perfect time to head to Tennessee to see my Dad and Kathy.

I have been here since Weds morning....it is already Sunday...time flys too fast. I had some great talks, walks, meals with my parents. For years now, whenever I am home, my BF Brandi (pictured here) comes up from Atlanta and spends the weekend with us. She came up Saturday morning with her funny dog, Vinnie and we had a great time eating, talking, and drinking Vino. We are both headed back to our respective homes today.

It is hard to leave.

My Mom made a needlepoint years ago and framed it for me- it says "Home is Where the Heart Is". Since Mom passed away in 1999, I have lived in Boca Raton, Miami, Jacksonville Beach, and Scottsdale. I have spent so much time in Tennessee with Dad and Kathy over the past 15+ years that I feel at home there. So many memories and good times we have had in Tennessee, (aka Camp Anderson). Over the past three years I have been creating a home in Scottsdale. The last 18 months I have really considered Scottsdale home. I found Mike, made great friends, bought a home and have a real sense of community there. This is the first location that I have felt this way in my adult life. TN is home because Dad and Kathy are there, Boca Raton was home when my Mom was alive , but Scottsdale is MY home. I do however wish my TN and Scottsdale homes were closer in distance. But I come back to, "Home is Where the Heart Is" when I get sad (like now) and that gives me peace.

To close I want to honor the 18 Soldiers and Marines killed in Iraq and Afghanistan this week. Sending prayers to their family's and communities.

View Photos from Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival - Saturday

View Photos from Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival - Saturday

Deuces Wild Triathlon

I skipped a week....whoops ;-)

It's been busy. Every day seems to fly right on by.

This past weekend was my Olympic distance Triathlon prior to my 70.3 in August. It was quick after the Tempe International Triathlon (3 weeks). All in all, I felt ready for this race. My weak link right now is the run, but I was able to work myself up to the 6.2 miles last Sunday. My coach has been slowly building my runs weekly as I took so much time off from feet issues last year. It's crazy to think I have only been back running for 16 weeks.

Deuces Wild Triathlon Festival...http://trisportsracing.com/
A bunch of my friends attempted to do this races last year, (a nasty stomach flu took most of them down), so I had a good idea of what it was going to be like. It is a race in elevation (6300 ft), a lake swim, (COLD), a fast rolling bike course with a few good climbs, and a sun exposed moderately hilly run through the park.

I drove up to Show Low Friday morning, (a beautiful three hour drive) quickly unloaded all my gear at the house, and then headed over to the race site for packet pick up and to scope out the scene. When I say it was windy, I mean it was windy....30 mph sustained winds. It wasn't supposed to be much better on race day either. There was a horrible fire about 50 miles SE of Show Low and because the winds you couldn't smell the smoke. But you could see the dense smoke clouds in the distance. After packet pick up my roommates Jamie and Byran and I had a carb loaded dinner and went to bed early.

5:00 am wake up call, (not that bad actually) and off to the race to get transition set up by 6:30. I put on my wetsuit and was in the water for a 8:08 start. My coach said that it would be harder to breathe in this water bc in higher elevation there is less O2. So I was supposed to start slow and build. Well I started slow and within two minutes I was gasping for air. Now I can swim upwards of 60 min at this point continuously....but after two minutes I couldn't breath!?!?! So I did a mix of backstroke and free style until the torture was over 1500 meters later. Plus that water was freaking cold....58 degrees! Because I put my wetsuit over the timing chip I didn't get a number for my swim split, but with transition it was 40:17. Not my best as I was hoping for 35 min with transition.

Next up the bike....
It felt great to get out of that damn water and move on to something I was comfortable with. At this point (9 am) the wind was really blowing. I heard that during the bike portion of my race there was some 40 mph wind gusts. I biked my heart and lungs out...literally. I passed several girls in my age group that passed me in the swim, and many men who started 4 min before the women's swim start. I ended up with a 1:23:28 time averaging 18 mph. With that crazy wind I was ecstatic to place 5th out of 18 in my age group on the bike.

Lastly the run.....
So I started off with severe cramps in my diaphragm and stomach from pushing so hard on the bike and not drinking enough. With those wind gusts drinking and holding on to my bike was not fun. I had to walk/run most of the first two miles. It sucked! I just wanted to be able to run the whole damn thing. Once I got over the cramps I was able to hold on to a slow but steady pace. I really had a hard time breathing throughout the run course. There was a nice big hill that they had you finish on and that was a partial walker for me too. But when I walked I was seriously power walking ;-) Still....not cool. I had a 1:09:43 run time with transition included.

I have a whole new appreciation for altitude racing. But, I did it and really enjoyed the race, my friends, and meeting new people. I was so impressed with the Tri Sports company out of Tucson who put this race weekend on. There were four races on Saturday and Sunday they coordinated- a 70.3, an Olympic, an Xterra and a Kids Duatholon. All went off without a hitch.

My total time was 3:13:29 12th out of 18 in age group. I wanted to finish in 3:00, but did not happen in Show Low for me this year. I am proud I finished and was able to keep my shit together in the moments I wanted to quit. Mental training at it's finest.

Onward....

Family

My Dad and Kathy were here this week....yay! Every time I am with them I am grateful. I have been blessed with a loving, supportive family who enjoy each others company and cherish our time together.

I used to feel guilty about this. My Mom was not here and I was enjoying my step mother and father...what about my loyalty to my Mom? Well, I got over that after a few years because I know my Mom would just want me to be loved and happy. Of course, I wish she was still here.

A huge thank you to those that donated this week- My step-father's parents; my best friend, Brandi; one of my other closest friends, Melissa and Matt Hudson; and a friend of a friend, Melisa, who lost her aunt to Multiple Myeloma. I am 53% of the way to my goal, and that is looking good! I am doing a Karma Yoga class on June 26th at Flooid Yoga where all proceeds will go towards my fundraising goal. More on that in the next post.

To recap my training this week....

I ran my longest long run this am- 5.5 miles to total 15 miles this week; I rode over 100 miles on my bike in 6 hours; and a few miles logged in the pool. I am in training for a 1/2 Ironman too, so I am doing the multi-sports until August. But I think it is kinder on my body than just running alone.
After my sprint triathlon last weekend I was so sore for days. I think I accumulated quite a bit of lactic acid from going as hard as I could. That has worn off, and now I am back to training for the Olympic I am doing in 2 weeks.

I hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for your support to find a cure for Multiple Myeloma.

1st Sunday recap

Fist of I have to say I am BLOWN away by the donations I received last week. I am 46% to my goal, so maybe $2500 is not a big enough goal? It's not like I am going to be doing the NYC Marathon more than once in my life! And, if I hadn't mentioned yet- 93% of each donation goes directly to the MMRF. Only 7% goes to the administrative fees, 93% goes directly to research!

I was with my friend Wendy the other day and she was telling me about a long-time client who is getting ready to have Hospice step in. He is in his last stretch of cancer that has spread to his brain. It is Wendy's first experience with someone close to her that is going to loose his life to cancer. When I was listening to her speak so many memories flooded my mind. I saw my Mom suffer. Suffer to the point of complete despair. My Mom had to go through the pain of her bones literally breaking in half. Multiple Myeloma is a blood cancer. The blood becomes thick with blood proteins, then the blood stop being able to pass through the bones and finally they break. It was painful and flat out torture for her. When it got too hard to care for my mom, my step dad and I turned to Hospice. Barry and I would not have been able to get through this without is Hospice. When I get brave enough, I want to get involved with that amazing organization.

When my Mom got diagnosed with MM the MMRF was not yet formed. The clinical trails were rare and impossible to get in, and there was limited drugs for patient care. But because of the work of the MMRF and the donations from people like us we can help the lives of people with MM for the better.

From the bottom of my heart, my mom, my step father and I thank you for donating.

In other news, I did my first race back since foot surgery on Sunday! It was our annual club championship triathlon, Tempe International. I hadn't raced for exactly one year. Nothing...no bike events, run events, or triathlons. Last year I did the Olympic distance, (1500 meter swim, 26 mile bike and 6.2 mile run), but this year I went for the Sprint, (400 meter swim, 12.3 mile bike and 3.1 mile run). I am not quite up to a 6 mile run yet, and I wanted to start back slow. But I raced hard, and finished 5th out of 30 in my age group, (1 second behind the 4th place girl....how does that happen???). I was able to catch up with a lot of my acquaintances in the club and it was a great time.

Next up is Deuces Wild Triathlon in two weeks.

Until next Sunday's recap....please keep donating and have a great week! The link to my donation page is easily found on the right hand side of this blog's page.

XOXO

ACA

Reflections & time to start the work

Mothers Day....so bitter sweet. I am a lucky woman, but something is missing. That missing piece is my mom, Patty. I know I am lucky to have had her in my life for 23 years, but now that I am 35 that gap of when I knew her, and when she passed is growing so big. I can see pictures, read letters, and wear trinkets and belongings of hers that she either gave to me, or were passed on to me. But that is not her. I miss her smell, her touch, her laugh, her energy.

I told my family, friends and work that I will be raising $ for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in which I pledged to raise $2500 in order to secure an entry spot to the NYC Marathon on November 6th. I got mixed responses and that is understandable. Some are concerned that I will be pushing my feet to hard after all I just went though. Some were excited for me that I can run a race that is extremely hard to get in, and some just understand that this is the way I work...I am athletic, compulsive and goal oriented.

So it is fitting for me to launch this fundraising effort on Mother's Day. And I have to acknowledge my amazing step-mother, Kathy, who has given me more that I could have ever asked for in a mother, a friend, and a constant source of support and love. She has had her own journey to battle with the cancer monsters and she is a fighter. She is so brave and so full of life that we all just knew she wouldn't be brought down by it.

I saw my dear friend Melissa Hudson the other day when I was in Florida. Melissa and Matt's infant son Harrison had a undiagnosed form of muscle neuropathy and required 24-7 care. Harrison passed away one month ago. I asked Melissa how she and her husband Matt dealt with raising money when there are so many causes, and money is too tight for most people. She said because people that love you will want to help, and because even one person dying is too many.

Here are some statistics I found on multiple myeloma and why it is so important to keep raising money for research to support clinical trials. There is no cure yet for multiple myeloma.
Multiple myeloma is a relatively uncommon cancer. In the United States, the lifetime risk of getting multiple myeloma is
1 in 159 (0.63%).
The American Cancer Society's most recent estimates for multiple myeloma in the United States are for 2010:
About 20,180 new cases will be diagnosed (11,170 in men and 9,010 in women).
About 10,650 deaths are expected to occur (5,760 in men and 4,890 in women).
The 5-year relative survival rate for multiple myeloma is around 35%. Survival is higher in younger people and lower in
the elderly. 5-year survival rates are based on patients diagnosed and initially treated more than 5 years ago.
The recent improvements in treatment may result in a more favorable outlook for recently diagnosed patients.

Thank you for your support. RIP Mary Patricia McCarthy..i.e. Mom

Pulled the trigger

I got the idea last summer that I wanted to start fundraising for the type of cancer my mother passed away from 10 years ago. I contacted the Multiple Myeloma foundation and found out they have a charity race team for many organized events, and also have a race your own event. So with my interest in Triathlons and fun group of friends doing the CDA Ironman I signed up for the race and pledged to raise $2500 for the foundation. Little did I know that that race would not happen for me because of the neuroma surgery I needed to have, and the time it would take to heal and get back into shape.

Fast forward 9 months....I was contacted by the Multiple Myeloma foundation group that they had spots for the New York City Marathon on their MMRF Charity team. So here we go.....it's on like donkey kong! I am going to be hitting up my family and friends, doing some yoga and Ayurveda workshops and massages all to donate to the MMRF for my goal of $2,500 by November 5th.

I think that this is great timing bc it was just my mom's birthday last Monday, and it is Mother's Day coming up. What a great way to honor her memory by helping to raise $ towards finding a cure!

Oh, and I do have a big race before that...Lake Stevens 70.3 August 14th to keep me off the coach and on my way to doing my first marathon ever.

To my mom!

Stepping out of my comfort zone

Recapping my trip to Lenox, MA for work....

I have been anticipating training on the Ayurvedic treatments since I begun my position with Tara Spa Therapy one year ago. I have done all the education for these treatments, studied and am well versed with the products. But I have not practiced them on an actual person outside of the original classmate that I practiced with in school. So when my first experience as a Educator was booked at Canyon Ranch, Lenox I couldn't have gotten a tougher team to train. These therapists are some of the best in the country. And yes, they don't know what I know, nor have they had one year of product knowledge training and time to work with this line...they do still touch the human body daily and I do not.

So I get to Canyon Ranch, one of the best facilities for Integrating health, fitness, nutrition and Spa in the country last Tuesday, March 1st. The training was all day Tuesday and Wednesday and it went pretty good. Of course I would be the toughest critic. After reading the evaluations it seemed that the group was happy with me as their trainer, but frustrated in Canyon Ranch's lack of preparation (15 people in their couple's room and no room to move around) and there protocol was not quite reflective of what was really being preformed in the treatment rooms, (as was told to us by their senior most therapist when she came in the training room to assist).

I was able to enjoy the Canyon Ranch facility on Friday and I took a yoga, a spinning class and swam in their pool. The food was amazing and healthy which I was able to enjoy the whole time I was there.

Onward to Kriaplu.....

Kriaplu is a really cool place. I fell in love with it when I visited last year and luckily with my perseverance I gained them as an account so that I could go back to and train. I started off this experience with a great weekend workshop for myself with an experienced Vinyasa Yoga teacher from Boston, Natasha Rizapolous. She was truly amazing. After a satisfying yoga weekend and again great healthy food, I had two days of training their massage and retail teams on our aromatherapy line. These are not hands-on classes where I am teaching a technique like at Canyon Ranch, but a lecture style class with handouts and power points. Though keeping an audiences attention for two hours, and standing up on front of 10-20 people is still daunting. So I taught three two classes at Kriaplu and they went quite well and we had fun.

Moving on to Cranwell Resort and Spa.....

Another new account that I found in Lenox, MA. This account is more of a typical resort spa with not much focused on nutrition or health but pampering and beauty. Cranwell does have a decent gym and a indoor pool which I used twice. Cranwell is historic hotel and has a lot of character. I came right into Cranwell on Tuesday teaching a night class and then did two more yesterday. These again went really well and we even had some fun and lots of laughs. By the time the last one was over I didn't want to say another word for the rest of the night.

Three accounts in one town, two full day Ayurvedic trainings, six two hours classes....check...check...check....
These past few days have allowed me to push to a place that is uncomfortable, but a place where growth is possible. And right now that is what I am striving for....growth. Didn't someone say "do one thing every day that scare you?" Well I definitely did that.

And today.....

I am on a Peter Pan bus headed to NYC with two large duffel bags in a rain storm.....scary! Tomorrow I visit another account, the Trump Soho. I will be hanging out with my parents and family this weekend...so excited. Next week is a big PA push of accounts to visit and train. Eight more days and I am home!

XOXO

ACA

Blogging on the to-do list!

Well it has been three months to the day that I had my Morton's Neuroma removed surgically. So much has happened since then.
Personally I am happy and in a great place. My boyfriend and I fell back into each other happily and naturally after a tough few months apart. I have come to realize that not only is he my friend, and my partner but also my teacher. Mike shows me different ways to look at situations that are not my natural way, and this, although hard at times, has been helping with my own growth as a person. I have always heard that couples should help each other grow...well this has been my case with him.
Physically I am back to being super active. This makes me sooooo happy. Since Jan 5th I have been back on the bike, walking, walk-running, swimming and doing yoga. My foot still feels weird and numb in some areas, but wow....that damn thing is GONE! Every step, every petal stroke, every moment I was on my feet the Neuroma was there to remind me of it's presence. But no longer! I would suffer the four weeks of surgery recovery anytime again over the year of torture. Some people live with these for years! Since I had mine diagnosed I can't believe how many people i have talked to that also suffer....just get the surgery people! Though I did do orthotics, cortisone, and alcohol sclerosing injections prior which is the standard protocol.
As I mentioned in prior blogs I was signed up for a 1/2 Ironman and a full Ironman this year. The timing of those two events with my seven months off running and four off my bike was just not worth torturing myself to "finish" these events while not being truly ready. I decided to sign up for a different event and pull out of Oceanside and CDA. I am doing Lake Stevens 70.3 August 14th. This gives me five more months of building back my base and training tri-sports. Why this venue? Well it's a combo of great timing for my physical capabilities as well as a vacation for Mike and I to take together. Mike is from the Seattle area, (where this event is held) and we are going to explore for a full week after the race. We have been talking about going to Seattle for at least six months now, and the race, flights, and accommodations are booked!
Happy Friday...till next time.

XO

ACA

It's a New Year

I didn't give myself any New Year's resolutions this year. In Mexico with my friend Krista I was telling her that I tend to reflect more about the year that is ending than make resolutions to have to stick to. One of my favorite spiritual teachers said once that we should use our birthdays as a New Year celebration and to put thought into growth and changes then.
So this year I just want to start out on the right foot. Literally....
Last year I had a stress fracture (twice) in my right foot (big toe) that lead to a case of plantar fasciitis for six months. In my left foot I had a morton's neuroma that ended up getting so debilitating I opted to have it surgically removed on Dec 3. There were six shots, rehab, orthotics and numerous podiatrist appointments all prior to surgery.
This year I am determined to take care of my feet and let them start to support me again. No more shaky foundations! I tend to think of situations metaphorically as well, so feet problems are often referred to in this way as not being able to move forward. One of the affirmations I found in a book I have says that with feet issues you should say to yourself, "I walk fearlessly forward though life". I like that. It is a positive and confident statement.
Last week I walked on the beach in Mexico, I got back on my bike for a short hour ride after two months off, and I went back in the yoga room for two Bikram classes. WOW! I thought that it would take me two months to get back into exercise, but it didn't! Not to say that I am pain free...but I can do things again and that feels so good!
So to recap my remedies that I found effective post surgery in case anyone wants to get a few more natural remedies in their regimen:
Traumeel both oral and topical ointment (homeopathic remedy for trauma and inflammation with Arnica)
New Chapter: Zyflamend Capsules (combo of anti-inflamatory herbs)
Natural Vitality: Calm (magnesium supplement)