January 2015

On New Year’s Eve, Patrick and I flew from Minnesota to Australia to join the Wollongong Wizards in Falls Creek, Australia. I am so happy to be back with the Wizards. I missed not only the people, but also the structure of training.

While at home over break, I got married and felt like I was constantly traveling for work/sponsors. Time flew by in Minnesota. Patrick and I were at our St Paul, MN home for 66 days in 2014. Travel can get tiring and it makes me miss the repetitiveness of training.

In Falls Creek, we build slowly into training and take the altitude into consideration (1600m). It’s enjoyable to have time to watch TV and catch up with the Wizards. Currently I’m watching Suits and some of ESPN’s 30 for 30 shows. It’s a slow paced life, and something I need after a busy year and busier off season.

In 2015 I will be focusing on the WTS series, but my main focus will be to qualify for the Olympic Games. I will target the test event in Rio. In order to achieve my goals, I have a lot of hard work ahead of me. It won’t be easy, but I’m motivated. In training, there are a few things I want to accomplish this year.

In my swim, I want to build strength and focus on technique and the process instead of outcomes and the time clock.

On the bike, I want to push the limits both physically and mentally. In the off season, I was determined to master cylcocross and mountain biking. I am no off road expert, but I’m learning. In 2014, I rode more than I ever have, and I loved it because I felt myself get stronger, faster, and gain new skills. However, there was one strength workout I never mastered. It was an uphill 15-22 minute effort where cadence was structured (i.e. first five minutes at cadence 50-60, five minutes at cadence 60-70, etc.). I had target power numbers to hit, but week after week, I never came close to the power outage Jamie wanted. The last time I attempted the workout I was riding up Urbassa in Vitoria. It was a beautiful day, but I got to the top of the hill, and started to break down. I was upset. I’ve failed workouts before, but I rarely fail the same workout over and over and over again. Hopefully this year I’ll get the opportunity to beat this workout.

In the run, I want to be consistent.

It will be a tough year. New players will be in the game, along with experienced ones. Everyone will have their eye on qualifying for the Olympics. Let the fun begin!

This was my first day in Australia: January 2nd. I was excited to see two Wizards: Grace Musgrove and Aaron Royle.

First run of 2015 with the Wollongong Wizards

This is a new addition to our Australian home in Wollongong thanks to the Allen Family. I love it!

A rainy walk back from the trails in Falls Creek with Ellen Pennock.

Sponsor Highlight: Mark Holowesko and the Bahamas

Generous, humble, competitive and fair describes one of my sponsors, Mark Holowesko. An article, “The Ironman of Hedge Funds” from The Bahamas Investor, describes Mark really well. At the end of the article, John Smith wrote that Mark was not given any breaks, only opportunities: “Mark always took opportunities and developed them.” Mark is now giving other people (including me) opportunities. And I do not take his opportunity for granted.

Patrick and I flew from snowy Minnesota to sunny Nassau (in the Bahamas) for a long weekend. I told Mark (who lives in Nassau) it’s my favorite trip of the year. I’m not sure if he believes me. However, after reading this, I think it will be hard for anyone to disagree.

The trip started with a sea plane ride to Highbourne Cay. If you are wondering where to go on your next holiday, I’d highly recommend Highbourne Cay. The Bahamas are a beautiful, relaxing, surreal place; but to truly experience everything the Bahamas has to offer, you have to travel to the smaller islands. Although we could have ridden our bikes on Highbourne Cay, we didn’t travel with them. Instead, we spent time driving golf carts to our cottage, which overlooked the ocean from the east and west. We had bonfires at night, ocean swims during the day, and boat rides.  We drove the golf carts to Xuma (the restaurant) where we ate unlimited lobster, fish, and guava duff. Guava duff is a dessert native to the Bahamas. After my first piece, I started to go through withdrawal thinking I wouldn’t be able to eat this dessert again for at least another year. By my third serving, Jarrod Shoemaker gave me a look of disgust and said, “You’re eating more?!”

After a day of spear fishing and deep sea fishing, we did a point-to-point open water swim in the ocean. A boat dropped us at the start, and we swam right up to the door of our cottage. There were about 20 of us that did the swim race, with a few others joining for fun (Patrick even grabbed some fins and swam).

Swimming and running on the island were easy. I hadn’t been swimming much back home because it’s cold, and I don’t have my Wollongong Wizards to train with, but when given the option of swimming in the ocean, I couldn’t resist.  

I could have spent the entire day on the island, but we were fortunate to take a boat to a sand bar. It was like our own personal beach in the middle of the ocean. We saw nurse sharks, real sharks, blue fish, yellow fish, jelly fish, and many other sea creatures. After two days of pure bliss, we headed back to Nassau. The pro athletes spent the afternoon helping out at a kids’ triathlon camp. I was amazed with the turnout! For such a small island, there are a lot of athletes and people passionate about sport – and this was touching to see. The following day, we did the UWC Bahamas non draft Olympic distance triathlon. Although we had some pretty famous triathlon pros racing, we weren’t the most famous athletes, as Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki did the triathlon as well.

Following the race, we took a boat ride to another beautiful beach where I was happy to get pushed overboard. Mark Holowesko truly gave us all an opportunity of a lifetime and we took full advantage. He sponsored (funded) the UWC Bahamas triathlon and also graciously housed us. Mark is one of my personal sponsors, helping to fund my dream of competing in triathlon. I take his opportunity and invest in what makes us (my team: Patrick, Jamie, our sponsors, and family) successful. We take control of what we are doing and pursue excellence through hard work and strong ethics, just like Mark does.

Seaplane

Swim race start, Photo thanks to Paul Phillips

Patrick swimming. Photo thanks to Paul Phillips

Bonfire. Photo thanks to Paul Phillips

Patrick and I stole Wynne McKenzie - she's such a cutie, and a good baby!

Picture from the sandbar. Photo thanks to Paul Phillips

The Bahamas are beautiful!

Fall Update

Relaxation, joy, and love have filled the past few weeks and months. I am still trying to keep in shape for the UWC Triathlon Bahamas on November 9th with one of my sponsors, Mark Holowesko, but my form is not anywhere near peak. I train once or twice a day, when convenient, and I am usually joining others in their workouts. I’ve been able to ride with Patrick almost daily, run with Olympian Carrie Tollefson and other local Minnesota runners, and swim at the University of St Thomas. In order to push myself, I’ve been entering some local running and cyclocross races. The most enjoyable race I did was a 50 mile gravel road race (the Filthy 50).

Patrick and I had a very big day on October 4th: our wedding. It was absolutely perfect! We went for a ride the day before with friends and family who were in town. It was a beautiful fall day, until the snow started to fall 15km into the ride. It was actually quite pretty with the fall leaves and big white snowflakes.

Patrick and I were so blessed. The community and our family and friends pitched in. We said we didn’t need any decorations; however, friends turned Rivers Eatery (the wood-fired pizza place we got married at) into absolute perfection. A local farmer saw our party tent in the back of the restaurant and asked what was going on. When he heard it was a wedding, he hopped in his car, drove to his farm and picked up hay barrels and pumpkins to decorate (it’s an amazing group of people in Cable, WI, and that’s a big reason why it’s our favorite place to vacation). Other friends (Trudi Rebsamen, Dennis Kruse, Tom Schuler, and Deb Wood) even went so far as to press beautiful fall leaves for table decor!

I wish I could describe the atmosphere when we walked up to the altar. The room literally roared with love and support. It was the most exhilarating and happiest moment of my life. No WTS win, Olympics, or other event could ever or will ever compare. I couldn’t have been happier with the night. Molly and the Danger Band played live music throughout the night and we left a little after 1am. It was perfection.  

Before the wedding, I just wanted time to hurry up so Patrick would have no time to change his mind. If you have ever met me, you have likely met Patrick as well and know how amazing he is. He’s been completely selfless the past two years and has done everything to help me live my dream. Thinking of everything he has done for me and invested in my (and our) future brings me to tears. Words can’t describe how incredible of a man he truly is and I’m so excited for our life together.

The morning after the wedding Dennis, Trudi, Steve Tilford, and Billy Stolte cooked breakfast for us and our families. It was a great way end to an unforgettable weekend.

For those of you who like short summaries, here’s a recap of my thoughts after these 2014 events:

• First day at training camp in Falls Creek, Australia: I am so unfit and I really hope I don’t get dropped again on our 20 minute runs.
• Auckland WTS: Maybe I’m not cut out for triathlon. Mentally, I just don’t know if I have what it takes.
• Cape Town WTS: Physically I’m not strong enough. I thought I was ready, but these girls are on a different level than me.
• Yokohama WTS: That was amazing! I want to do that again.
• London WTS: I don’t feel well.
• Chicago WTS: I can’t believe I just did that!
• Hamburg WTS: That was hard.
• Edmonton WTS: Where is Jamie? Where is Patrick?
• Wedding in Cable, WI: Thank you, Patrick, for choosing me. I’m so happy we are family.

This was my first ever roll out and I loved it! There were close to 400 people racing the Filthy 50.

This is the pack I ended up riding with for most of the ride. The Filthy 50 was super fun!  

This is at Green Acres Cyclocross race. Photo from Green Acres Facebook Page.

Green Acres Cyclocross course. Last year I was nervous to go over this ramp. This year I loved it! Photo from Green Acres Facebook Page.

Green Acres Podium.

Lots of people raced at Green Acres. It was a beautiful weekend. Photo from Green Acres Facebook Page.

The wedding guests who didn't care how cold it was and decided to join us on a mountain bike ride.

Our group bike ride before it started snowing ....

The Lemieux and Jorgensen families. Thank you so much for all of your hard work! Especially Jane, Nancy, Elizabeth and Paige!

Jonathan Pavlica did a great job taking pictures of our wedding. If you would like to view public wedding photos, you can view some here: http://jubilation.pavlicaphotography.com/the-wedding-weekend-in-cable-wi