Exceptional year for fitness and recover

December thoughts

Pam Kallio

USAT Coach , USA Cycling Coach

Yesterday and today marked another first for me. Yesterday, I competed in the 109 mile Tour De Tucson race. This was a major cycling event with almost 9000 total entries. With a new a new job, my training was not what it should have been, but with the help of MAP I still managed to place 8 th out of 51 in my age group and in the top 1/3 overall. It literally was the Tour De Tucson as we started downtown and went south to the southern edge and then turn east to the Catalina Mountain foothills, then North toward the Tortolitas and back West toward to Tucson Mountains and then south again to end up at the finish line downtown. The amazing thing to me is that as fast and hard as the pace lines and pelotons were, I never saw a cyclist down that there were not at least 4 or 5 other cyclists stopped with the person until medical help could arrive. Cyclists were courteous and yelling “right turn” or “bottle” or pointing out other road hazards. With a view of all the mountain ranges that surround Tucson this was a challenging, but well laid out and beautiful course to ride. Unfortunately for me, my eyes were glued to the road and the wheels and bikes surrounding me so I did not take in much of the scenery!

I have renewed respect for cyclists and especially “tour” riders. The 109 miles did not intimidate me as I have done 10 full Ironmans, hence I was not too concerned with a real lack of training. The BIG difference is that cyclists ride those 109 miles without the help of aerobars! We triathletes are spoiled and I will head for my aero bars at the first opportunity. Wow! Is it ever harder without them. Aero bars are not allowed at all in the “tour” for safety reasons, but with the wind in my face and a speed of 16 mph I was sure wishing I had them! It was a great race and gave be a lot of confidence in my bike handling technical skills.

Today I volunteered in the womens change tent at Ironman Arizona . Last year I placed 3 rd in this race and lost my Kona Slot by 21 seconds after spending 25 minutes in the Med tent with hypothermia after the swim. Getting on my bike last year was one of the hardest mental challenges I have ever faced. At an Ironman with 2500 entries there were only a handful of bikes left in transition after my stint in the Med tent. It was either quit then or give it everything I had for the rest of the race. I did, and it still left me 21 seconds short of my dream…but I came back this year as a volunteer to help this year's women as they entered the change tent shivering after the swim. I was able to give them hugs, warm their bodies and minds and remind them of the months of training that they had put in and that the day could still be theirs. There were tears of frustration and just plain emotion as they shivered and shook as I put their socks, shoes and so forth on for them and sent them on their way. There is still some special quality about an Ironman, that indomitable spirit that lies within that allows a normal human being to beat all odds and over com e. Just watching brought respect and tears to my eyes.

For those of us lucky enough to be on the BodyHealth-MAP team, I saw David Minkoff out of the swim with an excellent time of 1:14:52 and onto the bike. I am writing this now as he is out on the run. He too is hoping for a Kona slot..May the Kona Gods add wings to his feet. He was off to a great start with a fast swim and a stellar bike time of 6:03.

I am looking forward to the 2010 race year and like the rest of you will be planning my “A” races and working on my weak areas to improve for next year. I hope you all have an excellent Holiday season. We all have so much to be thankful for, even with the economy down and many that I know have lost jobs, we still have much to be thankful for on a daily basis. Triathletes are by nature a self centered lot, and Ironman triathletes are the worst, but one thing that I am thankful for every day is that I “can” swim bike and run. There are many who would love to but can't. So as you count your blessings, even if you are not as fast as you would like to be, be thankful that you “can” be out there training.

Happy Holidays and Train Safe

Pam

Pam Kallio
USAT L2 Triathlon coach
USA L2 cycling coach

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