A Subtropical SUGOI Splash!

I'm back from a week in Naples, Fla., visiting my parents. (Photo taken by me at Sugden Regional Park.)
**Thanks Mom & Dad!!!**

The kids and I spent most days swimming, biking, walking/running and taking it easy. The boys were thrilled to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse each morning (we don't have cable at home). So while they watched Disney I'd sneak out and run two laps around the association's loop.

But I left the laptop at home... and therefore have fallen behind on some great posts in the works.
Please forgive me Renee, Jessi, Jen & Brenda!!

So, for now, I give you an underwater photo shoot with my oldest son (8) and I. So much fun!!

Left: I tried to get the disposable camera half under water, I was surprised I caught him in the air. Right: We think his hair looks like a pineapple or something... thoughts?

Left: my new pink goggles. I have huge goggle fit issues.

Right: My new SUGOI Turbo Swim racer which I purchased about a month ago. I really like the design and fit of the suit. My torso is long, so not all suits work. I think it's the straps, they look like an elastic headband and the give they provide help the suit settle down & fit properly.

And the last highly-skilled underwater move from our mom-son photo shoot is called...

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The Pig Nose!!!

Questions for You:

- What's trickiest in terms of fit? Goggles? Swimsuit? Jeans?

- What move/trick would you do?

New Year: Head to Toe!

We celebrated the New Year while in Florida on a family escape! Our drive from Wisconsin to Florida and back was 3,000+miles. We love to road trip and thankfully beat the ice storm on the way down.

I opened a present early and was able to test them out on the long drive and after a marathon-like day trip to the Magic Kingdom. Hubby bought me my first compression-type item. (Picture: My calf likes its De Soto Compression Recovery socks.) I'm excited to test them out with different variables. So far, I like the squeeze!

I bought a few more things to try in the New Year:

2 beautiful tops from SkirtSports.

For me, it's the year of the bike, so my new pink cycling jersey will get good use! And the blue top has cool tattoo detailing that I am soft for, I had to buy it. I can wear it while leading my weekly Village Bootcamp workout or while picking up the kids from school.

And from SUGOI, I bought this incredible Brand Champions hat! It's called the BC Rocket Cap. I love the colors, design and material. I was surprised how perfectly it came out of the bubble-mailer. For me, the bill was exactly right, no bending necessary. I also like the reflective strip. I have a few other items in mind, but some are sold out, so I'll have to wait.

Questions for You:

- What's new in your New Year?

- Do you have a main tri focus for 2010?

photo credits: by me

My Incredible Tri Shorts: SUGOI

This summer I received an amazing pair of SUGOI Velocity tri shorts. It was my first piece of SUGOI clothing and my first official tri shorts, even though I've been a triathlete for 14 years! Over the years I've worn a swimsuit, bike shorts or plain spandex for triathlons of all distances. Not any more!


WOW - tri shorts are incredible! And these slinky shorts soon became my "Mrs. Incredible shorts" AKA Elastigirl from The Incredibles. The Hydro-Shifter fabric is amazing -- it's made to cut through water and air and it feels awesome against my skin. (Picture: right, me goofing around in May with my new shorts. Left, below, free download from The Incredibles site.)


Recently I applied to become a SUGOI Brand Champion. It made sense. I loved my shorts and Brand Champion athletes receive discounts on special training and racing gear. Hmmm... More tri shorts!! Brand Champions also receive support at major running and triathlon events in North America. I was happy to find out this week that I'm on board with SUGOI Brand Champions -- thanks SUGOI!

SUGOI's roots: SUGOI is a Japanese word that means incredible. !!!
SUGOI's mission: to Fuel Personal Bests
SUGOI Brand Champions program: "is geared toward supporting athletes who choose to wear SUGOI and inspire others on a daily basis."

Other SUGOI Brand Champion Athletes:
KatRunsAntarctica
Kelownagurl
This Runner's World
Checkout the complete blogroll for SUGOI Brand Champion runners and triathletes @ the SUGOI Brand Champion site. Or add your link below in the comments! Meet SUGOI's own Incredible Jane and apply to be a SUGOI Brand Champion here.

Questions for You:
- Did it take you 14 years to discover tri shorts? :-)
- What is your favorite piece of tri gear?

Photo credits: Free download from The Incredibles official site.

Race Report: Devil's Challenge Triathlon

Fourteen years ago my hubby and I got engaged before racing my first triathlon -- The Devil's Challenge, Baraboo, Wis. Ken and I raced together (he waited for my swim wave to catch his.). After crossing my first finish line, I knew I was in love - with Ken (of course) and with triathlon.
photo: Ken & I 14 years ago on our mountain bikes at Devil's Challenge. It was also my birthday.

Devil's Lake State Park provides a challenging but beautiful venue for a late season Wisconsin race! The triathlon is part of the Wisconsin Triathlon Series.

photos: Left- Ken took this while playing with the kids during my race. center- end of the swim. right- starting the bike.

Over the years, we've come back several times and have brought friends and family with us. Last weekend, we drove over for another, but I'd be the only one racing this year. Lucky me! It was a bizarre event this time:
- The water was shallow this year, so I picked up all sorts of weedy trailers during my swim.
- Right before the bike mount line, I saw my visor. It was riding along on my clipless pedal...
- I started my bike at 23+ mph, and slammed right into the long steep hills. Ouch. The hills hurt. One of the race directors told me a CAT 1 cyclist did the bike in ~43 minutes. It's challenging. I hope to improve next year.
- I got pinched twice by cars. Once by a RR track and once coming down a hill into the park.
- I felt best about the run. I've been working on my lean and turnover and felt the run went well.
- For the first time, I won an award. I got third in Athena. And while we were still on site, I missed the awards ceremony because I had no clue I'd placed. The race director let me pick up my award post-race -- yippee!

photos: left: me on the run wearing my SUGOI Velocity tri shorts. I wear these shorts everywhere! I was so fast Ken blurred the photo. center - Dad & I post race. right- my 3rd place award.

It was a great day for racing! Thanks again Wisconsin Triathlon Series!

Question for you:

Have you celebrated a birthday, anniversary or special occasion with a race?

"I'm Amazing--I Finished a Triathlon!"

I love crossing the finish line! Yesterday, I had another chance to do so. My hubby and I drove to New Glarus for their 2nd annual Alphornman triathlon.

It was small, about 140 people from 6-7 states. No timing chips. No T1 or T2 times (they were added to bike/run). The event served Spotted Cow beer, fresh cheese curds and polka music at the post-finish festival. Yum!

We've done many triathlons, but this would be our first with an outdoor pool swim. Ken was coming off a year of iron-distance training. I was coming with a few weeks of prep phase training. It was an incredible morning and we were excited to discover the course. Actually, I don't like going in blind, for any distance event, but I'm working on that.

I wanted to connect well in the swim, keep my cadence over 80 on the bike and use my new "light" running form on the run-walk-run. My target time was 1:50, not a PR, but what I thought might work given the hills and my fitness. Ken was secretly hoping to be Top 10.

We arrived about an hour pre-race (great parking), checked in and set-up our gear. I wore my SUGOI Velocity tri tank and tri shorts (Big thanks to SUGOI & Outside PR & Sportsmarketing. I call it my Elastigirl suit from The Incredibles.) Ken swam in his Zoot tri shorts.

The swim went well. I was in the 2nd wave of swimmers and we had 4 swimmers in my lane. I lost count of my lengths, but they had a volunteer helping us know how many we had left. Once done, I threw myself out of the deep end and jogged across the marked route to the transition area. Swimming in tri tank/shorts made T1 quicker. It was so fun to be racing again.

The bike was good. It was windy and hilly. But the road quality was excellent and I saw fewer than five non-race support vehicles the entire time. For me the climbs were challenging, legs burning, crazy breathing, doing my best. Ken stayed aero his entire bike except five minutes.

My run-walk-run was OK. I think my second half was faster, so I was pleased with that. I smiled crossing the finish and was grateful for the opportunity to race again. Ken was in the last swim wave, so I waited to see him come in on the bike and start the run. Then I packed up our gear while enjoying the gorgeous Wisconsin morning.

As I waited, I struggled with my finish time (1:51:45). I'm an IM triathlete, I should be faster right? I'm getting my USAT Level 1 Coaching Certification, I should be faster? I have a tattoo, I should obviously be fast. While I'm being somewhat silly here, I do have these nonsense discussions with myself post-race. I want to be faster. I'm just not there yet. Some things I can't force. (I had PF for 6 months last year.) For me it's a mix of strength, confidence, aerobic capacity and mental skills, all coming together.

Ken finished strong with a 2nd place agegroup and 11th place overall. He missed Top 10 by 1:47. He immediately thought of one place that ate time. We moved on, overall very happy with the race and being able to be there together.

We walked over to the food tent and enjoyed our post-race meal: hotdogs, fruit, chocolate, beer & cheese! It was great. As we ate, a lady doing her first triathlon approached the finish line area. As she ran down the street she called out, "I am amazing!!! I'm finishing my first triathlon!!!"

I immediately teared up, the way I do when watching the Olympics. At the same moment I was both happy for and envious of this woman. She knows she's amazing and she was able to shout it out as she became a triathlete.

Question for you:
Have you had a finish-line moment like this? As an athlete or as a spectator?

p.s. If you missed Steve in a Speedo?! Gross!'s post on his SUGOI Velocity tri suit, check it out here. WARNING-this post gets somewhat intimate!

p.s.s. The New Glarus Brewery was amazing! We stopped after the event. I don't think Ken liked this sample, the Dancing Man maybe.

photos: by me/us.