Sunrise

A few items of business to begin with today!!!

Yoga for athletes!!! We are beginning our 2010-2011 season on Tuesday 5th from 7:30-8:45 pm. The Yoga for athletes program we have developed is for both beginners and veteran yogis. Flexibility is not a requirement (or else I would have been kicked out long ago) . Through the three week session I will teach you a 25 minute power vinyasa yoga sequence targeted to help maintain flexibility, range of motion and help strengthen the muscle groups used and abused by we athletes. In conjunction my amazing sports dietician friend Lori Boone will teach you how to fuel your workouts, how to fuel your day and will teach you which supplements and such are crap.

All you need is $45 and  we can rent you a mat! This 25 minute sequence you will be able to bring home!!!!

Please click here for more information or call 248-9070 to sign up!

Don’t forget also, to stop by Train-This for information on our beginner triathlon program and swim program!

The week is going well. I am feeling good, and taking it one day at a time. I will let you know though, these early morning outdoor swims are something I will truly miss. I swim at Midtown Athletic Club in their amazing outdoor pool. It’s open until October 31st.

Almost daily I arrive at 6am to an 82 degree pool (when it’s 50 outside this is heaven!) and a lifeguard who is happy to be there. Have you ever experienced a happy lifeguard? Some days I am solo in the morning, others there are a few other souls. But I love it. Love it.

I swim in the fresh air. I see the sunrise every single morning from the pool. It’s absolute heaven to me.

Since I have begun in this sport no one has ever really cared about my swimming. I can swim an Ironman in 57-60 minutes without a lot of preparation. Being that I am a strong swimmer my previous coaches have said….. do what you think you need to do in the water. If I am given permission to be lazy in the water…. I will be.

My swim coach cares about my swimming. But more than my times she cares about my technique.

The Wizard……. son of a bitch this man cares about my times. Especially this season. As we get closer to Ironman Florida he’s laid down the law. He wants times reported. I am being held accountable. Throughout the past few months it’s been a good thing. My swimming mojo has been reignited. Just because it’s a strength of mine doesn’t mean we can skate it.

The Wizard is even using my swim progression set with me (Wizard approved). remember the progression?  NOW….. this set is not about seeing how fast we can swim the 100’s. It’s about pacing them exactly. I have been able to nail the set thus far. I have the second day of the set tomorrow morning. And I can’t wait

When I was younger it was give me yards. Now it’s give me work. I can get away with swimming less but putting much more focus into it. I don’t have to swim 10K + per day…. I am probably averaging 13K per week (don’t tell my college coach). Sure I am about 10 seconds off my collegiate 100 yard swim but….. I am a triathlete now.

Be sure to stop on back tomorrow, I am going to share a swim analysis video that i did with one of my athletes, it will give you an idea of just how important technique is in the pool. So many athletes don’t have to train any harder to get faster, they just have to train smarter.

Today’s little bag o’stuff!

I’ve got two things to tell you about!

1. Train-This swim Program! We are very excited to announce a winter swim program for anyone who is interested in improving their swimming! This program will be offered on Thursday mornings at Nazareth College and it’s coached!

Please click here for more information!

2. Beginner triathlon program! This program is targeted for the beginner triathlete who is interested in giving the multisport lifestyle a try! Coach Jackie will teach you everything you need to know about becoming a triathlete and will prep you for the Eastside YMCA indoor triathlon this December! Space is limited!

Please click here for more information!

The week is going well so far. Thursday is where things should start to feel a little tough!!!! I brought one out of the archives for this morning…..

Santa Tracker

 I can’t think of anything I want for Christmas. I honestly have everything I could ever need. What I do know however is that my little boy Luc has instilled that feeling within me. Perhaps it’s his amazing sunshine personality. Perhaps it’s his absolute love for Christmas…. perhaps it is because he is the bravest little boy I have ever known in my life.

Have I ever told you that I named him after Luc Van Lierde? Have I ever told you that in the NBC video of the 1999 Hawaii Ironman, I am in the finish scene with LVL? (In the crowd). And in Triathlete and Inside Tri…. I just happen to be in the background there?????

Make your own conclusion……

He’s just 7 years old and truthfully he’s been through his fair share of stuff. Whatever he faces however he comes out the other side with a great big smile.

 The day after his very first triathlon this summer, Luc broke his leg. He spent eight weeks in that cast, and you know what? It was just a broken leg. Bones heal. How did he handle it? He just did. He learned how to scoot on his butt, he learned how to use a wheelchair and he learned how to use a walker. When kids would stare and people would look at him with wonder, he would simply tell them “I broke my leg.”. I might have snarled and said “What are you looking at????”

On October 11, 2004 Luc had open heart surgery to repair an atrial septal defect, a hole between the two top chambers of his heart. We had known about it since shortly after he was born. On the spectrum of heart defects this was the best one to have. It was almost considered a sew and go. Except that they cracked his chest open and his heart was stopped while he was on bypass for 30 minutes.

During that 30 minutes my heart was stopped too.

 When he arrived to the PICU later that day he was still intubated (had a breathing tube). He didn’t look scared. When they asked him to look at his toes, testing to see if he had regained control of his neck yet…. instead of looking at his toes he pulled up his feet.

When they extubated him he sat upright. With a fresh incision on his chest. I was told that in 10 years of PICU nursing, my friend Bill had never seen a kid do that.

I marvel at Luc’s attitude, his brightness, his lack of fear about anything. He is a kid who speaks his mind and if he has a question, he will ask you it.

I don’t know how this little guy became so amazing but I am learning so much from him.

This year for Christmas he wants nothing more than a Polar Express Train. Nothing else. Just a small train please. He’s been wearing a Santa hat for the better part of a month now. They even allow him to wear it all day at school.

This morning he woke me up…..

“Mommy!” He whispered….. “Look out the window!” I came to the window wondering what he had seen. “Look” He pointed to the sky. “Very small Mom.” I squinted. “If you look very closely Mom, you can see his sleigh.” He touched my shoulder. “But only if you believe.”

I believe little buddy, I smiled and hugged him. I want that magic forever.

Do you believe? Well just click right here to track Santa for yourself on Christmas Eve. Call the phone number and speak to one of the Santa Trackers and I promise, you will believe too!

My path

“There is nothing fun about a six-hour workout.” My friend insisted. “There just can’t be.”  

I hear that a lot. I am told that Ironman training just can’t possibly be fun. I don’t do Ironman every season. I don’t turn out successive ones, I did do the double in 2007. That did not fare well for me in 2008. Now I can’t say that was due to the fact that I did two in one year, but I got sick. I got injured, not because of overtraining. But because I was knocked out during the Ironman. I left it in an ambulance without any idea of who I was.  

I did my first Ironman in 2002. That was a good 7-8 years after I was already in the sport. After I had my first child. So the Ironman and I have been around one another for a while. I can not imagine what mental state I would be in if I had done one annually since.  

What’s been fascinating to me this time around is the journey back to health that this process has been for me. I have has faster seasons, I have had much slower season. The path I am on is a good slow steady rise. The most important thing to me is that I am healthy.  

the wind beneath my wings.....

 

Emotionally I have had great balance. This far int0 my recovery I damn well better have. When I was 20 I was at my sickest with Bulimia Nervosa. It had been 10 years, yes, that means it started when I was 10. I remember at age 20 feeling dead. The lowest point of my life. Physically damaged, emotionally…… just not even there.  

I remember being told I could run again. I was home from college for good now, not well enough to go back. My swimming career abruptly ended. I still got into the pool but although I had run as part of swim training….. running took on an entirely new meaning for me. I didn’t think. I just ran. I fell in love with the serenity it afforded me.  

I didn’t have any big problems that I needed to work through. Except for the fact that through ten years that began too young I was slowly killing myself. Running gave me the platform just to be there. I saw things that I had never seen before. That I never was able to see along the bottom of a pool. I discovered parks. Trails. Roads. NEighborhoods. It was like running brought me to a place…. a place I still can’t describe….. and I didn’t have to think. I could just be.  

I was numb for a very long time. Healing took me years.  

I don’t have an obsessive compulsive personality (honestly, people who do frighten me, they can just fall off that deep end so quick!) , believe it or not. I have a personality that feels too much. Running at the time didn’t  help me not feel….. it helped me feel good.  

I will never forget the first multisport race I did. How amazing I felt. I remember my first marathon. The fact that I did it for the Team in Training way back in 1996……. for a man with Leukemia who was helping me heal without knowing he was. The way it allowed me to feel.  

It made me feel good.  

The journey, the process had always been what’s captured me. I have never felt that compulisvity (and yes I made up that word) to get it done, or have I done enough, or am I good enough? I have had good days and bad days over the years. My self esteem doesn’t teeter on my overall placing. What happens happens.  

I just love what I am doing.  

If I did successive Ironmans I am not sure I would feel this way. I see a lot of overtrained overspent athletes who do them over and over and over. I think I find such joy in them because I do space them out. I do dial it back. I don’t worry about it. It doesn’t scare me.  

It’s like I have this match to burn and I know exactly when it is I need to burn it.  

I do find a six hour workout to be fun. When I am on the bike for 5 I don’t think about much to be honest with you. I put my eyes on the road and I pedal. I feel the feeling of the effort, and I ride it like a wave. In all honesty…… and this is the truth….. there isn’t usually a point where I wish I was off of the bike. My crotch never bothers me (if that doesn’t prove I have been at this forever I don’t know what does!), I make sure to move around so I am not locked in position. I love to look to my left or right as I am riding and see the lake.  

Often I think it’s the ocean. But it’s Lake Ontario. Yeah….. I know.  

I find the challenge of the training fun. As I look to these two big weeks I don’t feel pressured. I don’t worry will it be enough. I do take it one day at a time. One workout at a time. If something does get missed I don’t worry about it. It’s life. Things happen.  

I don’t have a panic button. It’s just how I am made.  

This time around I am living the whole Ironman package more than ever. What I love the most about it is the direct correlation between my training and my health. My nutrition and my health. How it all relates to my mental state is evidence that this time around it’s a really good fit. There’s the balance between my ears that I love. I am in one of the best places I have ever been.  

I do find this long stuff fun. It’s because I don’t spend every single year inside of it. I save it for special occasions. I love the opportunities that each season allows me. As long as you keep the goals new and interesting you can have that as well.  

But for now give me a six hour workout. Preferably a 5 hour bike and a 60 minute run off of it. That’s my favorite one yet.

Deposit

“NICE FREAKING WORK.” I said to Matt as we high-fived. He smiled.

“That was harder than Placid.” He said. Almost looked like he surprised himself.

We rode up on the parkway. Coach T taught me that in 2007. Back and forth. Back and forth. The wind was freaking wicked. There is some elevation. The gains are between 356-387, in Florida it’s about 161. But it’s the same position. forever.

The workout for me was 5:07, final 77 minutes tempo. One hour run, first mile tempo. Matt’s was slightly different but the same volume. It’s lonely up there, cars are even sparse. That’s why we were there. You eventually settle into your own pace, lose track of the other. occasionally see each other in passing, but other than that it’s you and the road.

This is the stuff that Ironman is made of.

My first mile off the bike was to be in zone 2. The Wizard has his own heart rate zones. Our zone 2 is your zone 3. We will just call it tempo. My first thought was that The Wizard was on crack if he thought I could…. whoa… wait a minute…. I ran a 7:44 first mile off a 5:07 bike. That’s good for me. Real good for me. For the rest of the hour I settled into my zone 1 (endurance / aerobic pace.) Which has dropped from 9 to about 8:30. I’ve never been a terrific runner but this season I’ve seen the progress. My target marathon at IMFL is about a 3:45. I am on pace for that. As long as I pace that bike correctly I should be able to hit it.

Matt’s targets were a bit different. It was awesome to be the coach and to watch him execute. This is all coming together for him in a big way. We are going to push his edge a bit, this is the day we’ve been saving it for.

This past week was a balanced week. This current week is a run focused week. The Wizard gave me the totals. It’s funny, I never look at the totals of my own week. It’s all in his hands. I focus on the day to day execution. At the end of the week I review and I still never total up the miles, just the hours. I review whether I hit paces or didn’t. Whether I recovered well or didn’t.

This coming week I am running 62 miles. I don’t know what I am running normally, but between you and I 62 miles scared me. I have never run that much in a week. Add in normal cycling and running volume and that stops me dead in my tracks. Next week during the bike focus we bring the run down and ramp the bike to 260 miles. The bike miles don’t scare me.

The idea…. if it weren’t obvious is to break me down a bit. I don’t think that will be much of a challenge. At the end of this 3 week overload is a great big rest week. We will do a typical linear taper that will last 10 days.

The most important thing during these next 2 weeks is how I manage recovery. I am a working Mom. It’s not like I have all day to lay around and sleep to recover, so this is why it’s even more crucial. Recovery comes in many forms, and the easiest one is nutrition.

When you have a 23 hour training week …. you’re tired. The good meals take time to make. The easy stuff to grab would be the chips. Except we don’t have chips here. Sunday I spent an hour putting together meals for the week, that I can grab and either heat up or just eat. This week eating in the core is more critical than ever.

I will be also spending much time in an ice bath. It only takes 15 minutes. I have to plan them all out still but at the end of the workout, usually around 8am is going to be when they happen. The benefits of ice baths can be explained right here. I begin by getting into am empty tub with a pair of bum huggers, a hat and a sweatshirt. I then begin to fill the tub with cold water and as it’s filling I add the ice. It’s not easy. In this fall weather it’s not fun. But for me the benefits are worth is.

I don’t have time to get massages, but I will on that recovery week! In the meantime I am best friends with my roller. I use this one. I use this map to teach me where to get to where I need to work. Honestly the only thing that is tight are my hamstrings. You’d better believe I pay close attention to my Achilles!

I also take 1,000 mg of fish oil and glucosamine. In addition to a multivitamin that’s all I take. I get the rest from whole food nutrtion. The benefits of fish oil are here.

The best recovery tool I have? Sleep. I am not working evenings or overnights this week, so remaining on a strict schedule of sleep will be easy. That means I am to bed early. Tonight will be a 10-pm, but the rest of the week 9pm. Towards the end of the week, let’s not even try to fake it….. it will be 8pm.

To summarize here are my recovery tips, not in any particular order:

1. Eating in the Core
2. Ice Bath
3. foam roller
4. Fish oil
5. sleep.

Some might say that I take this Ironman thing seriously. If I am going to ask this much of my body…. again….. then I will treat it right. If I am going to ask this much of it then I have to take care of it.

Five weeks Ironman. Five weeks until you and I meet again. It’s been a while. Honestly I hope it to be a while after this. (I have speed to attain with all this base). You and I have had a good long run together. We began this back in 2002. I left you last time in an ambulance. Not this time.

I am putting the deposits in the bank of Iron. On November 6th you and I….. we will withdraw all of it.

Fifty seven degrees

“It’s 57 degrees in this ice bath.” I texted Kim. “I’m dying. If you don’t hear from me in 30 minutes call for help.”  

“Stay in.” She texted back “The rewards are worth it.”  

She’s right. They are.  

I will be the first to admit that a 57 degree ice bath on a 95 degree day feels like heaven. On a 57 degree day it’s a struggle. But the rewards are great, at least for me they are. Today’s another big day and I need to be as fresh as possible.  

I love this weather. It’s my kind of racing weather. Add a little bit of rain and I am about guaranteed a personal best kind of day. That’s the way I am with this stuff. There was a good segment of tempo scheduled. I felt like a bear in a cage as it got closer. The week long illness has passed and I was feeling good. I’ve gotten all volume in, just easier, so yesterday morning when I woke up, feeling so much better I thought….. game freaking on.  

You know those sessions. Where hours pass and the only thought that passed between your ears is swoosh…. swoosh….. swoosh. Where you feel totally connected, unbelievably present, where you have blinders on and all you see is the pavement in front of you. You wait for the clock to tick down. Tick tock tick tock. Until then hold the effort, feel the effort. Be the effort.  

IMFL swim!

 

As much as I love my Garmin and my powermeter I don’t look at it much. If they die in a race I am all set. I can feel where I need to be. I can shut the world out and tune into it. It’s like a dial on a radio station. Turn it ever so slightly, a little more, a touch more and there it is. The music is crisp and clear. No distractions.  

Then it’s tempo time. Head down. Feel the effort come to me. I wait before I look at the gadgets. I wait a good ten minutes. I feel it ride to meet me, I feel my body dive into the wave, I feel it surround me, and then I close the latch on the door behind me.  

It’s the box of hurt I have entered into. I don’t hurt that badly in here. I find that sweet spot and I stand right on the edge of it. I stand right on the edge of backing off and of opening the door for more air. It’s a wickedly fine line. I can feel it without my HRM or powermeter telling me where to be. I own the damn thing.  

In the box of hurt it’s dark. There is no light. It’s just you and yourself. It’s the moment of truth. Will I hide behind the gadgets or will I take the risk. Go a little harder, feel myself teeter on the edge. Dare myself to find a reason to quit and a reason to go on. Dare myself to be turned a little bit inside out.  

It’s almost like a drug…. this feeling. Its just me out here. I don’t have doubt. I only have belief. I am on my own personal edge, pushing it further and further back. Because one day soon I will need this line in the sand and I will need it to hold me I will need it to help me and I will need it to drive me forward.  

For me this is where the Ironman is made. These three weeks of big volume and razor sharp focus. I don’t allow anything outside of me distract me. I don’t take my eyes of the finish line. I can’t even hear anything except the road beneath me.  

What a privilege to be able to do this. That’s what always comes to my heart first. What a privelage.  

What a drug. That’s the second thing that comes to me. Ironman is my weakness. I try very hard to stay away from it but when I am getting ready…. geez when this happens….. I am ready to sign up again. But I won’t. Ironman taunts me. Romances me. Peels me like an orange. Dares me to walk away. Dares me to come back.  

Thank you to the man who makes it all possible!

 

I am not afraid of the Ironman. That left me in 2002. I am swept away by the Ironman. Each time I try to resist. I hold onto the palm tree for dear life against his powerful force.  

I don’t know what comes over me when I am on that course. You will see me smiling. You will always see me love the entire day. I am not a different person on the course, I am the same way I am right now.  

Whew.  

Damn you Ironman. Damn you.  

If I was a smoking kind of a girl right now I’d need a cigarette.  

When the tempo session ended, I smiled. Nailed it. It’s all within me. I know it’s all…. already there. I just have to pull it all out. I went inside for the ice bath. The 57 degrees of heaven. Crucial to my recovery. I stayed in there. I might have let out a few screams, without knowing that I was no longer home alone. Met by the giggles of Luc and his friend Maddie. Thank God she knows me.  

Finally my 15 minutes were up. I emptied the tub and began the hot water. And smiled.  

Oh Ironman…. I thought…… you do this to me every time.

The rewards

I have to share this video…. if this doesn’t represent how many of our conversations seem, then I don’t know what will!

I am up early this morning, with finally…. a clear head. My flu has lingered a bit this week, I fought friday with a fluctuating fever. This morning it’s gone. The cloudiness has passed and I am good to go. I got through workouts this week, a bit easier than desired, but I got the volume in without compromising myself.  It’s a fine line we walk… training while sick. My rule is this: if the illness is above the chest (respiratory) I go easy, below the chest (GI) I rest.

In this life, I have been around the block a few times. A few too many times. You know what I have learned….. life is like a boomerang. You get back what you give out. You give out negativity and it comes back to hit you in the head. You give out your authentic self and that’s what will come back to you.

I was rewarded with that yesterday by my Train-This  Team. How did I get this lucky… is what went through my head. Yesterday I was glad for it. Talk about a rally of love. Thanks team. You guys amaze me every single day. I am always reminded of this: actions speak louder than words. When evil comes at you…… sometimes you just have to stand back, let that boomerang make its turn and come back and sink the source. So I did.  It circled back…… and it’s not a worry any longer. We had a scary situation come about yesterday and I am blessed….. really blessed to have amazing people to lean on.

I have seen the Ironman bring out the best and the worst in people. My first Ironman brought out the worst in me. This ironman journey however has lasted a long time, and I have been able to experience it on several different levels. At the end of the road I may have a bunch of Ironman medals, wins, records, statuses…… but what I will remember the most are the people I got to share them with. amazing, amazing people.

Sometimes without realizing you even ever needed it, you need that boost of the people who love you. I guess I was due for a boost. And when people get a little crazy like that you have to realize this: it’s not you….. it’s them. They likely see something within you that they don’t like about themselves. That’s where the anger begins.

Taking the high road is not always easy. There are just not people up there! But let’s do it anyways.

Because we’ve got just too much going on around here to waste time on the negative things. We need to keep throwing that boomerang of positivity out to the world. We’ve for lots of miles on tap this weekend. A long ride with Turbo Curbeau. A long run. Some exciting changes to plan for, and why yes….. there is an Ironman just 6 weeks from today!!!!!

These three weeks are the biggest and most important weeks of training. I am headed into an overload block, which means more hours than I have ever done. Ideally we will then reap the benefits as we head to Panama City Beach. I will share with you how I fit it all in, because as you know I too am a working Mom! I am a morning person, so getting up at 3am to ride at four is not a problem for me (means I am in bed by 8!)

So here is the upcoming week, I will save you the boring details of each specific workout. My tempo and easy days are indicated, and weeks, I have a hard week of swimming! I also train between 18-20 hours a week as a baseline, so this is not a big jump up from that. This is how I fit it all in, and how the Wizard lays out the week. I believe this is a 23 hour week. Let’s hope I make it!

Monday: 1 hour speed set swim, done at 6am.

Tuesday:  4am tempo bike 1:30
                     5:30am tempo run 1:05
                     8am  45 min tabata swim

Wednesday: 4am 1:30 recovery bike
                          6am 1:20 speed set swim
                          8pm 35 min run

Thursday:     4am Bike 2:00
                          6am tempo run
 
Friday:           5am 35 min run
                          6am speed set swim

Saturday:   beginning at 5am 5:30 tempo bike  / 1:10 tempo run

Sunday:  beginning at 5am 1:30 run / 1:30 bike / 1:30 run

We will talk about the following week next week.

SIX WEEKS!

The Wizard

For the past 15 months I have been working with Jesse Korpelnicki of QT2 Systems. Many of us on the team like to refer to him as the Wizard. Why? Work with him a while and see. I am really lucky. I get to work with one of the best coaches in this sport. He’s the coach of Cait Snow and a few other damn good pros. The fact that he coaches little ol me, is something I do not take for granted,

When I began working within him last May the biggest goal was to get me back on my feet. I had been sick and injured. This season the goal is to do Ironman Florida and PR against my previous best time on that course. We are so there I can taste it. I feel better prepared than I have ever felt for this event.

I am already looking to next year. You have to in this day and age when WTC wants your first-born. Based on how IMFL goes I have a plan A, plan B and Plan C. On November 7th I will know which of the plans we will execute.

Stolen picture from CW: the Wizard holding the book and Pat Wheeler to his right

I am at the point in this plan of saving mary that I am setting the bigger goals again. It’s not to get back to where I was, because where I was wasn’t a healthy place, as it’s been evidenced. It’s to be the best athlete Mary Eggers can be, as there are still a load of years ahead of me to do well.

I believe in long term coaching relationships. That may translate into a warning for the Wizard: you may be stuck with me for a while. When I am coaching I like those long term relationships as well. It takes me time to get to know an athlete. The athletes who have been with me a while…. man I know them better than they know themselves.

I would say that the Wizard knows me pretty damn well at this point (and I am not so deathly afraid of him!). He’s exactly the kind of coach I respond to. He’s a bit hard ass when he needs to be. Just like I was in labor.

My doctor was a serious hard ass. She supported training during pregnancy. I did the swim portion of three relays. When I was in labor for 18 hours she didn’t hold my hand. She told me to focus. She told me to push. She even told me to eat the pain.

She told me to eat the pain? Hell yes she did (I had an epidural…. so it was easy).

When I messed up my swim intervals yesterday I got an immediate email with a scolding. And it was deserved. I had forgotten how to swim that first set. Lack of focus. When I went to Masters instead of his swim workout, I got an email. (I had stated I wanted to swim Masters after Ironman Florida…..). He tells me when it’s time to man up.

At the same time I can lean on the Wizard so to speak. Now, I am not an athlete who is spooked by the Ironman. I don’t worry. I don’t send him emails of have I done enough? He has walked me through some tough training weeks, he’s walked me through the flu, and he’s walked me through nutrition.

I have to give him 100% credit for bringing me back to health and for bringing me to the level of performance I am dreaming of. Because truthfully we are just getting started. That’s the exciting part.

The systems he’s developed and implemented in the QT2 system work for me. He’s changed my running form. He’s changed the way I ride a bike (in control). He’s been the one coach who has woken up my swimming mojo since college. Sure, i can skate through a sub 60 min Ironman swim, but he’s got me reaching for more. He’s got me thinking of winter swim meets. No one has been able to ignite that within me.

I have worked with some really good coaches. Kevin McKinnon. Doug Bush. Trevor Syversen. These guys all have similar qualities so it’s natural that the coaching style I work well with is that of the Wizard and Qt2. I like it straight. I like it rigid yet flexible when needed. I give detail and they give me detail.

It’s been an absolutely amazing 15 months. I am entering into the hardest 2.5 weeks of my entire life in terms of training. And I am ready to get into the box of hurt in the four corners of hell with three school busses driving by.

I am ready for IMFL. I am more than ready to execute the race I am prepared to. I am ready to set my goals higher. He’s gotten me back on my feet. Gotten me healthy again.

It’s time for more.

THANK YOU COACH.

Stay tuned!

Who Nellie! Things have finally begun to slow down this week, so many great things are currently happening, many of which have to wait a bit!!!! But here is what I can tell you:

1. My coaching stable is currently full. However as you know I have two talented USAT coaches who work right along with me, Jackie D and Kelly Covert. They are amazing. If you’d like to join our triathlon team please shoot me an email and I will get you in touch with them! If you aren’t sure of who seems like the better fit, we can help make that decision for you! Our business is growing faster than we expected it to, so we are adding a fourth coach in the coming year. Who might it be? He possibly has the same last name as I do. Maybe! This season we’ve got a lot to look forward to, jackie is heading to her USAT level 2 in october and I in January, we’ve got indoor cycling events and even some swim stuff going on! Stay tuned for details and bookmark our website!

2. Are you an athlete looking to dip your feet in triathlon and not yet sure where to begin? Stay tuned, we are about to roll out a beginner triathlon program to prepare you for the YMCA Indoor Triathlon in the beginning of February.

3. Don’t forget that our Yoga for Athletes Program begins on Tuesday October 5th. It’s $45 for 3 week sof yoga and nutrition! Click here for details on that!

4. Lululemon Rochester opens today!!!!!!!! As a very proud Lululemon Ambassador, I will be there this afternoon to check it all out, and no worries, i will grab some pictures! I will be teaching some free yoga classes at their spacious yoga studio and some indoor cycling classes this winter too! To check out the calendar of free community classes please click here.

Gosh it’s been busy!!!!! And believe it or not there is more coming down the pipes. How will you ever sleep wondering what’s coming next?????

I didn’t want to leave you in suspense, sleeping of not being able to sleep, as I forgot to post a picture of the gorgeous Zipp Super Nine that I will be riding at IMFL…….

I want to extend a huge thanks to the guys over at Nice Tri…. as they are the ones who hooked me up with this beauty! I will also be riding a Zipp 808 too!

You know why I really like these guys? No really, not just because they are hooking me up with a smokin’ set of wheels. They are good people. really good people. They are getting into coaching as well and I foresee some great clinics and webinars with these guys.

I am an incredibly fair person. I believe in the best part of people. I believe in second chances. I wear my heart on my sleeve much too often. I seek guidance in business because if I really did things the way I want to do them….. I would be broke.

I put great trust in people and I do get burned. I got burned this week in fact. I don’t understand dishonesty. I don’t understand manipulation.  Because I don’t I will likely never make a million dollars as a triathlon coach. But I love what I get to do. I adore the triathlon community more than anyone understands. I have been a part of it for 15 years now and I will be part of it for a good 70 more. My place is defined in this community and I know that by being me, and not skewing myself for profit, or for any other reason, we will continue to be successful.

That’s why I click so well with the Nice tri guys. I think we have the same values. I think we have the same ethics. So I really look forward to working with them and helping their business grow.

You and I have so much to talk about, a lot of training stuff. Off-season, TRX, swimming, cycling, running, power, pace, nutrition. And we have Ironman florida. Tomorrow a little coarse review blog on that!!!!!!

Stay tuned, things are just getting good!

Hit me with it

Those were my words to The Wizard. Hit me with it coach. I spent the weekend with a fever of over 102 for almost three days straight. To make matters worse I spent Saturday doing clinics (and I love doing clinics, click here for some footage of our swim clinic!!!), driving to Syracuse, driving home, and announcing for 8 hours on Sunday. I wouldn’t trade any of it. I knew I was blowing a weekend of training but I knew that with a fever, and the Wizard agreed, we just had to sit back and let it ride itself out. I don’t mega dose in vitamins…. the body only absorbs X amounts of certain vitamins so that’s pointless. I spent Monday on the couch, aside from a swim. By Tuesday I was revving my engines ready to go. The Wizard was careful to check back with me constantly and not even give me a week until he was sure I was 100%.

I don’t mess around with being sick. I take it very seriously. Perhaps it’s because in my life I have gotten very very sick, I know what my body can fight off and I know how my body will heal. It won’t heal by pushing through a four hour ride. That will buy me a week in bed.

I think it’s because I have been so sick at points in my life that I appreciate the good health I have now. I have been able to restore my body to an entirely new level, thanks to The Wizard and learning to eat in the Core. Go through a few years of not having your health, and you will appreciate it more than anyone when you restore it.

These three weeks are the most important. They are scheduled out. Even sleep it scheduled out. Curt has dipped into off season for a few months and has given me his full support. As if I didn’t have that before!

I hit the water with Masters this morning. I needed to be back in my lane. I felt incredibly good, the water felt good in my arms. I felt smooth. I felt like my swimming is spot onto where it needs to be right now. The swim captain is returning to form from her surgery. I lapped her on a 500. It was by far the most difficult pass I have ever had to make. I thought about not passing her. I knew she would slap me in the head if I didn’t. I should be swimming well, I am six weeks out of Ironman. She just had surgery.

I made the pass. Like a good swimmer does, she did not stop at the wall. As I pushed off she was right at my shins. Stay with me stay with me…. I was thinking, knowing she was thinking…. hold onto her hold onto her….. that’s when you know you have a good teammate. You use each other rather than despise each other in the pool. She calls me on the carpet when I am slacking. I do the same to her. I can’t wait till she’s up to speed again. It should be another week.

My Powermeter came back to life, is calibrated and set to go for the big dance. I have a date with it this morning. Two hours steady effort into a one hour  5 X 1 mile repeat run. I am chomping at the bit to get this started. My pre workout fueling is on the way in.

As I said these next three weeks are important. My plate is cleared. My focus is on. I eliminate distractions. I drop excuses. I won’t be on the other side of the finish line saying…. I don’t feel 100%……. I am up a few pounds…… I am this, I am that………. my job as an athlete is to control what I can control. The weight continues to drop. I will feel 100% because I will rest enough.

I will never allow excuses to get in the way. They don’t exist when I want something this much.

I am about to say something horribly snobby. Elitist. Rude. But I am going to say it anyways. I love (insert sarcasm here) when athletes who have done one Ironman give me advice on Ironman. Sorry. It’s the truth about the way I feel. I am toeing the line of my 6th.

I have experience. I have the experience of stumbling through 13 miles whole vomiting and a medical bike escorting me. I have the experience of completely messing up that first Ironman. I always feel bad for those who completely nail that first one. The lessons I learned from  blowing that first one…… are ones that drove me to understand the rest of them. I have blown, nailed, and even DNF’d the Ironman. I’ve qualified 3 times. I have done it all.

I know what I need to do in this race. I know what it will take. I know what is in my control and what is not in my control. Oddly I don’t get nervous. The big scary monster that Ironman was that first time….. it left me at that first one. Then you know you can go the distance, then you learn what it is that YOU need to do to execute.

I love this race. I love this distance. It turns me inside out throughout the preparation and the execution. It focuses me. It drives me. Every single time I have hit that finish line it feels awesome. From the big flop to the first sub 11 hour finish. There has never ever been a  time I have walked away from that line disappointed. Because win or lose it’s a giant achievement and there are lessons presented to you along the way.

I do not take this for granted. EVER.

The Wizard is hitting me with it. I have paces and targets to nail. I am 100% ready to nail those. We are ready. I am ready.

6 weeks.

My secret life as a yogi

I’m a yogi. And I don’t really want you to know that. It’s like my little secret to life. It’s where I get the attitude that I have from. It’s how I “do it all”. It’s how I work in a pediatric emergency dept. It’s how I can stay on my bike for 6 hours and not be bored. It’s how I have survived everything I have been through. It’s my religion and my faith. I don’t find God in a church. I find him on my mat.

I am also a yoga teacher. But I am not your typical yoga teacher. Since 2005 I have proudly taught at Breathe, a family owned yoga studio, juice bar, wholefoods cafe, boutique, spa…. and well my home away from home.  I have never been to India. I don’t plan on ever going. I have never taught yoga in Africa. I am not a vegetarian. I am a republican. I might even be part of the tea party actually. I believe in a person’s right to bear arms, I am in favor of the war. I drive an SUV.

Like I said, I am not your typical yoga teacher.

I teach Baptiste Power Vinyasa Yoga. An example of that that looks like can be found in the below video. This is not me teaching, just a video I found on youtube that gives a good example of how the class looks and flows. The room is kept at 90 degrees. It’s athletic. It’s dynamic. It’s as powerful as you make it.

I don’t play what you might consider yoga music. I play Coldplay, Dave Matthews, I do use Krishna Das. Some classes I play nothing at all. I read a passage at the end of every class. I om three times in the beginning and three times at the end. I don’t mind if you take a break. I don’t mind if you take your practice further. I want you to be creative on your mat. I want you to ignore me and listen to where your spirit guides you. You can never offend me. You can come in late (just don’t toss your keys on the floor). You can leave early but you miss the best part of class when you do.

Like I said I am not your typical yoga teacher. I make no apologies for that. I don’t really talk about chakras and that kind of stuff in class. I teach about alignment and breath. The rest is up to you to find.

I developed the Yoga For Athletes program that we teach at Breathe.  I developed the program we use to teach the Rochester Rhinos and many sports teams around the area. In fact if you are interested we have a session coming up. My amazing sports nutrition / dietician friend Lori Boone and I teach a 3 week series focused on teaching the Yoga for Athletes sequence and teach you about sports nutrition. It’s three Tuesdays beginning October 5th, for 90 minutes. You leave with a 25 minute power vinyasa sequence to practice at home and knowledge of how it will directly enhance your athletic performance. You will also learn how to fuel your life and your sport and know which supplements are crap and which ones are the real deal.

If you are interested in that please click here. If you are interested in having me come to your group to teach you the sequence, shoot me an email. Maryeggers “at” gmail “dot” com. I developed this sequence specifically for athletes who don’t have time to get to the studio. I do this sequence 4-5 times a week at home. Click here for the podcast example of it. And check back because we will be adding more in the upcoming weeks.

Yoga is my biggest secret. I don’t mind keeping it that way. When people hear I teach and / or practice I hear it all. Oh I am not flexible. Oh I don’t have time. Oh this….. oh that…… I am okay with you writing the end of the story before you have ever opened the book. Because what matters is that yoga is one of the things that saved my life.

I can’t tell you exactly how. I can’t tell you exactly why. I can give you an example.

An associate (I like to say friend) of mine sent me an email yesterday, and revealed a change of direction. Which for them is a wonderful wonderful move. Except that weeks before we had talked for an hour and a half about the future in which they were going. I spent time planning, listening, thinking, planning in the weeks that followed. I bought the song and dance. In the meantime while I was getting ready they knew their direction was about to change. Yes, it’s business. I got too invested. I got too trusting. Yes, it’s life but when an email was sent about it rather than a conversation…… I will admit to you it hurt me.

Now…. let’s get one thing straight…… I take business personally. I wish I didn’t. But in this line of work I am invested in people’s lives. It’s my strength and my curse.

So what do I do with that feeling of hurt? I step on my mat. That is where I work through and allow it to disappear. It had nothing to do with the person….. just how I feel. And I can’t carry that around with me. In thirty minutes those feelings dissipate like a stone thrown in water. The ripples spread and it goes away.

It’s gone.

That’s just an example of what yoga does for me. Yoga is why I don’t worry. Yoga is why I don’t fret about the Ironman (that and just plain experience). I don’t sit and stew. I move and breathe. Whatever it is …. it says behind me and I walk off my mat without it.

It’s just the way I roll.

I am also excited to let you know I am a Lululemon Ambassador for the new Lululemon Rochester store that’s opening in two days!!!!! I will be teaching community classes there (yoga for FREE) and much much more. I have been wearing Lululemon since 2004, we sell it locally at Breathe. The clothing is nothing new to me. It’s the mission of Lululemon that I appreciate so much. It’s the manifesto, pictured below.

You want to make a breakthrough in your performance both physically and mentally? Step on the mat. read the manifesto. Come to yoga for athletes. I have given you all the other reasons why I love yoga. I haven’t even touched on the physical. The increase in range of motion. The injury prevention. The strength you will gain without ever lifting weights.

But then again…… that’s part of my secret.