Tag Archives: ironman

 

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OMG!  Thats all I have to say about this swim.  Have you ever had a workout and you .... manage to get home and think to yourself .... "ok, that was it.  i quit!"  Well .... the only reason I didn't quit today was because my Coach told me no "what ifs". It's kind of funny really.  Tori and I were talking on the phone about our medical conditions and how we were just F this and F that because really ... we are dealing with some things that just blow.  Being fatty fatty when you are working your tail off and the meds don't give a shit. CHUNKY MONKEY We are talking about ... sweating 5 pounds to look good at the dance.  We are FREAKING talking about have NO NO NO NO clothes to wear.  Seriously people.  It's one thing to not have NO CLOTHES and go to Walmart to get somewhat cute sweat shorts that leave pink fuzzies all over everywhere to fill in the gap.  IT IS COMPLETELY ANOTHER THING to think about ... and almost need to order new training gear.  WE ARE TALKING ... MOOOOOLA.  And defeat.  I came from pretty heavy anyway.  I had to work my tail off to get to 150ish.  Quite a feet for me.  Didn't come easy.  I wasn't one that could just eat and eat and not gain.  I look at potatoes and gravy and my arse gets bigger. #nmf  (and I love me some steak, mash potatoes and gravy." OK!  So that is the blog about.  Coach told me that sucky ass swim was a win.  I believe him.  I trust him.  I do.  He's my guy.  You want someone to help you with training, get a good guy (or gal).  One thats real and knows when to give you a hug and not tough love.  And knows when to tell you to get your shit together.  Good coach.  Anyway.  This story is kind of funny in parts.  And I just want to share it with you, to inspire you to never quit, but maybe reserve the right to hit the pause button.  It's hard to share ... as it's all my glorious warts out in the open and as a coach ... it's hard to not relate being a good coach with ... preparing well.  But I'm so far from perfect.  hahahaha.  Namaste that beetches!  So .... the story goes ... I have a heart condition right now that is pretty in your face, I'm on two heart meds that really aren't working that well.  Tho the cardio dude says go train, blah blah blah.  He doesn't get it.  He kind of doesn't really listen.  Its pretty terrible really when those of us that are really trying to get treatment of those that DON'T GIVE A SHIT.  I'm not smoking.  I'm not eating my weight in bon bons every day. I never sit on my couch ... makes me mad. (another story). So this heart condition.  Meds.  Things act up interestingly enough when my body change orientation.  Standing to laying down. The other night in bed readying my heart (while mediated^2) was trucking away at 125.  Nice. So I pop another pill and hope it helps. (I try to find balance but if anyone knows me ... I get pretty mad when I can't workout at all.  After all, it's suppose to be good for you.  I've really toned it down, do start stuff.  Rest, blah blah blah) So .... the team meets up to get in an OWS. Hahaha. I LIVE IN KS.  It's FORKING windy here.  And today ... dude the weather people tripped everyone out .... HUGE STORMS BLAH BLAH BLAH .... drama drama drama.  The radar was so clear.  What the hell.  It was super windy tho.  SOOOOO that means.  Rough water. Ok ... so what.  I can do rough water.  I'm good with it.  RIGHT! A bit of background.  I did almost drown as a kid.  My triathlon world started with wanting to learn to swim.  I use to be a complete DISASTER.  But I did the work.  My coach NEVER left my side.  NEVER.  Meaning he never gave up on me.  And didn't ... kind of be condesending ... like some do/did/blah. #nmf SO GUESS WHAT I DID! More background.  hahaha. This is the funny part.  I DNF'ed my first race at NOLA 70.3 last year.  Mostly due to the stupid crazy swim conditions and I AM NOT A QUITTER!  Seriously tho, those at NOLA '16 know what I'm talking about.  A recent version of the Titantic.  Due to panic ... I gave myself pulmonary edema.  (Panic from childhood PTSD and the conditions and jumping into hell.) So ... that shook me up, but ROCKED OUT mass start IMMW months later.  I know how to do chop.  And my coach knows I do. However, enter in new heart meds.  Blah blah blah.  F'in blah. OH!  I forgot to tell you that I decided to wear my NOLA swim cap.  Flipping the bird that that episode of life.  I was pretty confident that I could do it.  I had warmed up.  Felt good.  e.t.c. LOL.  This is kind of how I roll .... roll my eyes at karma.  She's pretty good that slapping me down quick and fast.  You'd like for a smartie that I'd learn to be less .... whatever. So ... start off. Calm. I get in the water first.  Because I'm ready. No hesitation.  Waiting for the rest of the team to get in the water cause my feet are getting cold.  And we go.  BOOM!  I'm hoping my 920 doesn't jack up the yards again and I have to call Garmin again.  Easy peasy.  Calm ... and it sneaks up on me.  Just the ... I can't get in enough O^2.  I rest a bit.  Coach is telling me to breathe.  What he's really saying is CALM THE F DOWN KISSINGER. ;) I was pretty calm.  Next time I rested I told him ... I just can't seem to use my legs.  So in chop and my new fast mode of swimming, no legs sucks.  So ... and it continues to sneak up on me.  I rest.  Talk myself into slowing down the breathe.  And continue.  I'm still pretty sure at this point that things will calm down.  (yeah, I did run and warm up before I put on my NOLA cap). And then around the bouy I start to cough and spit up crap.  GREAT.  I know what this is.  Fluid in the lungs.  The pulomary edema.  Coughing. Spit up. More coughing. Rest on the kayak.  More coughing.  I know I'm done at this point.  But I'm stubborn. I needed this swim. I've been having this mental dilemma of quitting tri for awhile.  Short fast stuff is out.  Long stuff apparently.  Fix the heart.  Maybe revisit later.  Cardio dude says I don't have to.  blah blah blah.  Give the meds time to work.  Blah blah blah. So.  I hit the PAUSE BUTTON.  I decide to swim to shore, let the kayak support help all the other swimmers.  I walk around the water in the stickers .... OH MAN THAT MADE ME MAD ... holding my darn wetsuit off my chest because I literally was feeling like shit was going to go south.  Coach is yelling at me to breathe.  a.k.a CALM THE F DOWN KISSINGER.  And I'm mad.  Trying to calm down.  Being mad makes it worse.  Crying. HOT F'IN MESS.  #nmf So I get to the boat ramp.  Chat with Nemo, my friend and team mate.  And coughing my head off think ... caffeine.  I need coffee now.  FYI. Thats the quickest way to fix pulmonary edema, due to this swim bs.  To stop it.   So I decide I'm going to starbucks. But I don't.  I wait.  And cry.  Think about leaving.  Stay and cry.  Because it's my team and ... I stay for the whole practice.  It's what you do. You're injured.  You show up and help. You do something. You don't quit. So coach tells me .... chills.  It's the meds.  You can do this. You know you can.  Stop thinking of the what if's.  We will figure stuff out.  It's a win. You showed up.  You got in the water.  You tried. It's a WIN today.

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This morning .... I didn't want to get up.  But the loudest voice in my head said ....

GET UP!  IT IS TIME TO HUNT

A bit about me.  I'm your classic HOT MESS train wreck.  I stub my toes daily.  Whack my  new apple watch on a wall corner, repeatedly (daily).  Break stuff because I don't read instructions and just roll through life a complete hot mess.   Smart but can't spell, caring but a little loud and straight forward.  I'm fine with who I am.  I say the F word.  A lot.  And I'm ok with that too.  I do try and ... not offend anyone, but crap ... sometimes it just rolls out my mouth like water in a mountain stream. I live by hope and faith. I LIVE OUT LOUD, DREAM BIG and always try and help those in front of me.  I have acknowledged and come to know the voices in my head.  I lovingly refer to them as the "voices at the roundtable".  I try and get to know each one, give them respect and acceptance.  They all seem to have something valuable to say at various times.  I usually end up getting myself into a place in life that I become exceedingly unhappy if I try and ignore or quiet one of the voices.  ( .... no, I don't have a personality disorder ... )  ( ... or maybe I do and I'm in denial.)

TODAY I experience .... ZEN.  HARMONY.  BLISS.

A huge moment of clarity.  God talking to me.

The Universe lovingly holding me in my space.

A miracle.

2016 and some was stupid hard.  I can not believe the amount of stupid mistakes that I made.  The places that I allowed myself to go.  I will love and cherish the day when I look back and say to myself .... "I wouldn't change a thing."  I am not at that place.  But I will get there.  Where ... I can look back and say ... ok, I learned that and that.  And by learning I mean ... I saw the lesson, I worked on it and I made a permanent change so I didn't repeat it.  I Evolved. At the beginning of 2017 I decided to make some serious changes.  Put my money where my mouth was and do the things that I coach people to do all the time.  Mostly to honor my values and dreams.  Change the things that are holding me back.  Be strong.  So .... I moved to a different city. Back to where my friends and tribe are.  I got a divorce to clean up some personal stuff.  And I decided that I wasn't going to play small anymore and try to stick with the things that I value instead of doing shit half-ass because .... of blah blah blah.  In all this work ... I needed to do some clean up.  Pay some prices and what not.  Well ... the other day I went in to see  my cardio doc.  And yep, what I had suspected, was true.  I had broken my heart.  Yes granted, it seems that I have a genetic disposition for getting these heart issues that are kind of a big ass deal.  Atrial rhythm issues suck, are in your face and F me, are kind of scary.  And lets just say it OUT LOUD.  It's your heart. The soul of you.  All the time I was living 1/2 ass and what not, I knew in the back of my head I was paying a big price, but was too chicken at the time to pony up and do what was needed.  Pause on the "don't be too hard on yourself" thoughts.  You don't know all the details, and sometimes we really do need to take responsibility for our part in stuff.  Learn the lesson.  Make the changes.  Move forward.  Evolve. Holy crap, BK, heavy stuff .... where's the BLISS moment .... So today ... instead of letting myself sleep in and rest, waiting for today's call from the heart doc telling me when he's going to fix my heart next week, I GET UP.  Because that STRONG voice, the WARRIOR at the roundtable, the DARK WOLF (who I love and adore), tells me to ...

GET UP!

IT IS TIME TO HUNT

And the white wolf, (the magic maker and create-er) whispers along side ... it's time to evolve BK.  Do it different. So I get up.  And I'm glad that I do.  I get into the pool.  I start swimming. I have this love/hate relationship with circle swimming.  Usually I'm the slower one, and always holding people up.  Well ... seems that I'm getting faster in the pool and that isn't the case anymore.  Which is awesome.  It was hard tho ... the new heart meds make you a different athlete, so ... it was like swimming in a stranger's body.  Sort of.  But ... I adjust and do the best that I can.  And log in the back of my head that maybe I need to do better warm ups before I get into the H2O. Everyone leaves.  I'm still swimming.   The busy-body voice that is yacking about getting stuff done says to hurry up and get done.  But ... something caught my awareness.  I'm not quite sure what it was.  I've NEVER experienced it in the pool last night.  Now thinking about it ... maybe it was the by-product of practicing the Ganesh mantra in my quiet-time bath last night.  Or the meditations that other luvies are sending my way.  It was so profound tho .... A bit of back story.  I almost drowned when I was little.  Ha.  It's funny that I've always said that I was raised by wolves, meaning that in a negative context but .... I very closely identify with wolves as ... who I am.  Ha. So I was raised by wolves.   And coincidently, I have been drawing them a lot lately. Uh.  Anyway, my story with swimming has been a complete train wreck sprinkled with many panic attacks, kayak rescues and such.  And I'll throw in that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the ocean and for most of my life I have been sooo afraid of the water.  Such a big fat lie I've been carrying around forever.  I WILL BE SURFING in 2020 after IM New Zealand with my peeps! So for me to be COMPLETELY CHILL in the water having this .... PROFOUND and GRACE FILLED moment is truly a miracle.  During a time that I'm getting ready to roll into heart surgery.  Letting someone put me under, control the fact that I'm alive or not and selectively burning my heart ... to fix it. THIS moment was filled with .... thoughts of complete safety.  And lets just say this out loud.  I have not felt safe. Completely safe.  EVER. Maybe a brief snack here and there.  Today tho .... thats the only thought that was really in my head.

YOU ARE COMPLETELY SAFE

While swimming.  hahahaha.  So ... I swam and swam.  And swam some more.  To soak it in.  I literally felt like I was bathing (and more) in ... maybe that is what a little person feels like in there mommas womb. It was that intense yet gentle and peaceful at the same time.

PEACE.  SAFETY

It was so cool.  And most definitely what I needed for my soul today.  I know that it's the Universe.  Has my back, as always.  Hope and Faith.  My PEOPLE praying and meditating for me.  My coach being there for me.  Who's sort of like my big brother.  My decision to be faithful and hopeful.  And who knows what else the Universe mixed in there for me.  I have faith that it's good and true tho.  The feedback was most honored, tells me the decisions made yesterday are on a true(er) path.  Thought I'd share.  I hope that if you need peace and safety, you find how to open yourself up and allow yourself to experience it.  ~namaste #nmf

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[podcast src="https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4898486/height/90/width/480/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="480"]

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[podcast src="https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4883485/height/90/width/480/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="480"]   Moira Easton Horan, Amy Stone and  and Kristen Larimer chat about the logistics and everything to do with Ironman Lake Placid. Coach BK offers free athlete health assessments, which includes an online form to fill out and a 30 minute rockstar chat on the phone to go over the form results.  Coach BK will provide 3 action steps to help you get to the next level of your training.  START HERE >>> Athlete Health Assessment Form    

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[podcast src="https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4833834/height/90/width/480/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="480"]Coach BK and Mandi Twist chat about the logistics and everything to do with Ironman 70.3 Steelhead. Coach BK offers free athlete health assessments, which includes an online form to fill out and a 30 minute rockstar chat on the phone to go over the form results.  Coach BK will provide 3 action steps to help you get to the next level of your training.  START HERE >>> Athlete Health Assessment Form

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[podcast src="https://html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4817201/height/90/width/480/theme/custom/autonext/no/thumbnail/yes/autoplay/no/preload/no/no_addthis/no/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="480"]Coach BK and Bob Seehohar, author of the fantastic book, Metabolic Efficiency training chat why it is so important to become more FAT ADAPTED. Part 2 will contain more information on the eating strategies included in the book. CLICK here >>> for a Free Athlete Health Assessment with Coach BK to fill out an online form and chat with her on the phone for 30 about where you are right now as a person and athlete. Health Assessment More information on Metabolic Efficiency here >>> Metabolic Efficiency     MORE ABOUT THE ENERGY SYSTEMS OF THE BODY

Your body has several ways of turning the stuff you eat into the stuff you do. All of these metabolic energy systems are switched on during physical activity, but each plays a different role depending on available energy and the specific demands of the task. Each burns a particular type of fuel at a particular rate — thereby affecting fat loss and muscle gain in a particular way.

• The adenosine triphosphate–creatine phosphate (ATP-CP) system, or phosphagen system, supports very brief, high-intensity activities like a single-effort vertical jump.
• The glycolytic system provides energy for activities of slightly longer duration and lower intensity like strength training.
• The oxidative system supports long-duration, lower-intensity activities like walking or distance running.

>>> READ MORE

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[iframe style="border:none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/4804740/height/100/width/480/thumbnail/yes/render-playlist/no/theme/custom/tdest_id/297231/custom-color/#87A93A" height="100" width="480" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen] Coach BK and Coral Owen chat about the logistics and everything to do with Ironman Louisville. Coach BK offers free athlete health assessments, which includes an online form to fill out and a 30 minute rockstar chat on the phone to go over the form results.  Coach BK will provide 3 action steps to help you get to the next level of your training.  START HERE >>> Athlete Health Assessment Form    

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Photo: Shutterfly

Learning to swim and swim efficiently can be a frustrating and difficult task. When swimming, you really can only focus and work on one or two things at a time.  This really isn't any different than anything else.  Like learning to read or write, you have to start with step 1, master that, then move to step 2.  Becoming impatient and skipping steps just doesn't work.  With the endurance swimming, this just results in less efficiency and more "work" you have to do, leaving less energy for the bike and run later.  And perhaps leaving you frustrated with the whole swimming thing and maybe not putting in the time that you need to. The below swim skills ladder will help you to understand the priority of the skills needed become an efficient endurance swimmer.  Start at the bottom of the list and make your up.  Ask yourself, yes or no. Stop at your first no.  This is wear you need help. An aside .... if you don't know the answer ... this is the time that you get your phone out and have someone video your swim.  Then send my way.  Having someone else look at your swim form can be very helpful.  I have seen great improvements from just a change or two. Go through the list of skills below, notice where you answer "no" or are unsure.  If you are trying to improve a skill become a skill that you haven't mastered, you will not be learning efficiently.    Working on the drills that go with the specific skills, really slowing down and paying attention, can greatly improve your swimming.  This means that you become more EFFICIENT and faster.  Don't go into the swim drills thinking you are just going to get them over with.  Study them.  Pay attention to how they feel and work to replicate that feeling in your swim stroke.  Doing this will change your stroke permanently and help you to proceed to the next skill. [box] START at the BEGINNING (bottom of the ladder)!!!! Pull: Do fingertips point down and elbow stays high? Catch: Does the wrist stay unbent?  Do you feel the water under your hand/wrist/forearm? Reach: Do hands extend forward above the shoulder and slightly down? Entry: Does the fingers enter slightly down? Recovery: Are you leading with the elbow on the recovery? Finish: Does your hand exit the water past your hip? Is your elbow dropping? Center line: Do you avoid crossing the center line with your hands? Rotation: Are your shoulders and hips together, rotating on each stroke? Bilateral breathing: Can you breathe to both sides? (Either every 3 or 2 strokes.) Head position: Do you look down at the lane line? Balance: Are your hips near the surface when you swim?  Can you feel your heels touch the surface of the water? Kicking: Can you kick / propel yourself down the lane with a kick board? Breathing: Are you exhaling under the water?  Are you gasping on the inhale? Floating & relaxing: Can you float forward and streamlined like Superman? START HERE!!!! [/box] If you are unsure if you are doing any of these skills, I offer swim analysis virtually.  Connect with me!  Check out this example!  

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