Schools out FOR-EVA…. SCHOOOOOOOLS OUT for SUMMER! Well, mostly forever. 🙂 Just working on dissertation edits these days. No more work for this girl, either, so Coach Dai has decided to give me a full time job as an athlete. I’m often exhausted, but what I’m finding very surprising is that I’m able to make it happen! It’s amazing; I feel like I can’t possibly put out one more quality workout but I drive to the pool or the track or the group ride and I just sort of do it. My body adjusts, I talk myself into and it just happens! Of course, they aren’t ALL quality workouts but more often than not I am surprised by my own endurance, my own ability to survive. Justin and I have continued to volunteer with the LIFT program and these folks have really been a source of inspiration. They show up each week and take steps toward living a healthier life and, for those who have made the journey from unhealthy to fit, we all know that those first few steps are the hardest!
Took a few hours of time in between my training to play around with a friend who is working on her photography skills. How amazing is she? I LOVE this picture! Thanks, MC!
Another gorgeous image by MC. Isn’t First Landing State Park beautiful? I know there will be plenty of fabulous places to train in San Diego but I’m going to miss training in this park!
Coach Juliet met me for an open water swim in washing-machine conditions. I wimped out after about a half a mile; was already too tired from the rest of the week to keep fighting the waves! She said it still counted as a check in the box for an open water swim, though. 😀 Boy was the water ga-ross that morning!
Kicking of the June LIFT program! The skinny guy on the upper right with the poofy blonde hair? He belongs to me!
So it rained a little bit on one of our group rides… and I MAY have taken a little bit of tire spray because I was so desperately trying to hang on to Coach Dai’s wheel… but hey, I finished a solid ride and only had to floss a tiny bit of gravel out of my teeth and scrape a smidgy widge of mud out of my eyebrows…
The most recent LIFT session (this last Tuesday) started with some basic nutrition education. The participants had fantastic questions about how to modify their current eating habits and how to make better nutrition choices in difficult situations! We wrapped it up with a short workout including some squats, lunches, air-boxing and (my fav) planks! Look at me, planking, in the bottom right! I have to say, I prefer the elbow-based plank. 😀
Out for some mile repeats in the rain… No excuses – National Championships, here we come!
In addition to our inspiring LIFT friends, I had the opportunity to compete in my first ever triathlon relay with some of the most amazing female athletes that I know. As the bike leg competitor, I’ve been motivated by their talent and hard work to really push myself during my training rides and it definitely paid off. Sadly, Justin and I forgot our Bedgear pillows for our overnight travel and both had a terrible time trying to get comfortable with our flimsy hotel pillows. 
Oh well! We had a ton of fun and dominated the all-women’s relay!
I tried beet juice loading for the first time for our relay. Juliet was nice enough to make me some fresh beet juice in her juicer and I supplemented with Biotta (Biotta is also easier to travel with since it doesn’t have to be refrigerated until opened). By the end of the week, my stomach was accustomed to the juice and I had no GI problems whatsoever. I did feel a bit like a vampire, though.
I arrived at packet pick-up for the Jamestown Tri to find that the Dai Roberts Group is branching out!
Pre-race and team “Some Girls Chase Boys; We Pass Them” is ready to swim, ride, run!
My favorite race sherpa pulled double duty and looked out for Coach Juliet’s belongings during her swim. Her family of 6 was spread all over the East Coast and had a variety of activities going on but she still showed up with her A game… and then sped how to get two kids ready for prom!
Off the bike and into transition! It was fun being able to go all out on the bike and not have to worry about the run portion! (Of course, Dai made me go for a run afterward anyway.) I was HAULING @SS in this pic because I knew I just had to get to Renee and pass off my timing chip!
And here we are after Renee finished the run and put an additional 13 minutes between us and the second place relay team!
And we got all of our skinny butts onto the podium at the same time! I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THESE WOMEN!
So, relay is over and I’m wrapping up a recovery week before heading into another few hard weeks of training. My bike split on the relay had an average pace of almost 22.2 mph and I was surprised/startled to hear Dai tell me afterward that 22mph was my goal pace for Nationals. EEK! He wants me to swim AND do almost the same pace on the bike AND then run a competitive 10k? At first I felt discouraged because that seems nearly impossible but I’ve adjusted my mindset and I’m just going to focus on doing all that I can to make it happen. It won’t be easy and it isn’t guaranteed but I’m going to do all I can to make myself a top competitor at the USAT National Championships in August. I’ve reeled in my cheat-eating so my nutrition is spot on and I’m doing my best to execute every workout as-written or as close to as-written as possible on the day. Plenty of rest, plenty of fluids, etc. And each week, I have the LIFT program to put things in perspective, since that is the charity for which I am going to dedicate my race in August. Justin and I are planning to donate a dollar for every woman in my age group that finishes BEHIND me at Nationals so I won’t just be passing another chica in my age group, I’ll be earning another dollar of funding for the LIFT program.
In the spirit of relocating on the other side of the country, I’m going through my closets and sorting clothes to donate to LIFT. In addition to financial support, the program is also in need of shoes and clothing. Many of these individuals don’t own a pair of running/workout shoes. Can you imagine starting your fitness journey when all you have to wear is a pair of worn out work shoes or sandals? Donations can be dropped off at any of the Jim White Fitness Studios locations. To contribute to my fundraising campaign, please click here! Our last donation was 7 days ago! We need your support! Please consider donating TODAY or commit to matching our donation dependent on the number of age groupers I beat at Nationals (which would certainly encourage me to finish faster)!
Courtney Makes Lemonade 