Article 1- Pre Rev 3 Middlebury

This was my first published article which I wrote as a preview for the Rev 3 that was in Middlebury (my home town).

So, what’s a triathlon? A sport that combines three disciplines of swimming, biking and running has become a passion of mine since I began competing at the age of 15. Here in the greater Waterbury area, where my triathlon career commenced, I see it has become a passion of many others.

In returning back home to visit, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at just how many people I see out biking and running, the growth and excitement of the Waterbury YMCA triathlon club, and the several kids camps promoting health and wellness. It is evident that the sport of triathlon has changed our community and the lifestyle of many individuals. Triathlon is on the rise.

Whether an outlet to staying in shape, a platform for competitive racing, or a way of meeting new people and traveling, triathlon gives something back to everyone. Athletes from various backgrounds and avenues jump into triathlon to take on the challenge of mastering all three sports. Since I began competing, through many experiences and much guidance from coaches and peer athletes, I have been able to develop a regime and continued education of how to carefully balance the training for swimming, biking and running. Each year I have made the commitment to stay focused on my personal goals and enjoyed the many varied challenges. Like many, the sport of triathlon has airlifted me to a state of fulfillment and continues to be the air under my wings.

We will be welcoming some of the world’s most seasoned triathletes to the Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury, CT as the venue for the Rev 3 triathlon festival this weekend. Saturday will provide an Olympic distance race- a .9 mile swim, 24.9 mile bike and 6.2 mile run for the athletes competing. Sunday will be what some believe is the ultimate test of endurance, even for the professional athletes such as Olympian Matt Reed and 2010 Ironman world champion Mirinda Carfrae. The half-ironman distance race will encompass a 1.2 mile swim in Lake Quassapaug, a challenging 56 mile roller coaster bike course and a 13.1 mile run to the finish.

Both events on Saturday and Sunday will allow hundreds of athletes to participate and experience a variety of accomplishments, ranging from finishing their first triathlon, winning their age group, or grabbing the tape for the prize purse. Whatever their goals are for this weekend, all athletes will have their own unique experiences, have some fun competing and for sure feel compete gratification in seeing their commitment to hard work come through in their performance. Then, the celebration of wellness that triathlon embodies can continue!

Back in Colorado

I have had the MOST incredible summer. Driving across the country was quite the adventure, and I absolutely loved visiting my family back in CT, as well as spending the past two months in Santa Barbara with Chris and his family. I have been surrounded by wonderful people and this summer has been filled with sunshine and smiles. It is great to be back here in Colorado, and I can't believe school starts in less than two weeks. WOW! Time flies when you are having fun.

My training has been going really well. I am enjoying each training week and the challenges they present, and feel like I am getting stronger and more confident in where my fitness is at. Sure, I would have loved to have been racing a bit more this summer, but I am glad that my coach and I decided that there was no rush, and it would be smarter to invest my time in training and getting race ready before toeing the start line again. I have decided to go back to Kelowna to race this year, and am excited to see the incredible home stay family that took me in last year. It is a beautiful venue, and a well run race, so it should be great to go back to a familiar course.

Besides training the past few months, I have been writing articles for a newspaper in my hometown- the Waterbury Republican American. I am going to post a few of my articles here on my blog for you to enjoy! These articles are directed towards individuals who are new to the sport of triathlon, with advice on how to get started and ways to prevent injury, train for specific race distances etc. I hope you enjoy reading these, although they may be a bit boring for those of you more experienced triathletes. Anyways, I am excited to have been given the opportunity to write for this newspaper, as the area where I grew up is booming with triathlon fever, and the sport is surely on a rise. It is so exciting to see more and more people getting involved and adopting the triathlon lifestyle.

I hope you are all healthy and happy! Put a smile on.

Jessica

Patience is a virtue

In the past three months, my health has come full swing and I am very fortunate for this. After visiting with many doctors while home in CT, the common thread seems to be that my body needs to just sort itself out and it will take some time to feel completely like myself again. With this being said, training has been getting better each week and I am thoroughly enjoying each session and genuinely having fun. This is a big step for me considering where I was at early March and even into April this year. Since training has been going well, my coach and I decided that I should give racing a go, so I traveled to Monroe, Washington this past weekend for a draft legal event.

It was the first year there was a triathlon at this location and I think USAT did a fantastic job in choosing a venue. The swim was in a small lake, the bike was on some smooth flat roads, and the run was on a path around the lake. Overall, very spectator friendly, a component of draft legal racing that is important in drawing in crowds for support. I was happy about where I was at mentally going into the weekend, and my body felt great too. I can't say that I felt 100% confident in where my fitness was at, but I have to accept where I am right now, and realize that I am moving in the right direction. We all have setbacks, and it is just about overcoming them and being patient in getting back to where you want to be.

Overall, the race wasn't at all what I was hoping for. I had a great swim and came out with the front group, which is something I had struggled with in the past. Besides my swim, it was a very tough race and I just kept moving backwards. I ended up alone on the bike (never a good thing in draft legal races), kept losing time, and had to serve two penalties (not sure what for!) on the run. Between feeling mentally and physically defeated, I was very disappointed in my performance because I know I am capable of much more.

I spoke with my coach after the race and she told me that racing in Monroe was just an indicator that I am not ready to be racing yet, and there is no rush to be toeing the start line. After a setback earlier this year, it may take some time for me to perform at a high level again. My coach and I decided that I won't be racing for awhile, and instead, just trying to make leaps in my training and gain strength. I will be doing some local running races and open water swim races here in California.

The good news from all of this is, I am more patient than ever, so fortunate for my health, and I am having fun and smiling a lot. For now, it is important for me to listen to my body so I can get back to my base and keep building to reach my highest potential. I know that being patient now and properly gaining strength will bring me to the destination I hope for down the road. So for now, I am just enjoying the journey and grateful for all triathlon has given me.

Thanks for reading!

Jessica

Home is where the heart is

The past month in CT was wonderful in every way. I was overdue for some quality time with my sisters and parents, and after having a rough start to the season with my health, it was great to be with the people that love me most. Chris and I drove to CT from Boulder, and stopped in Knoxville for him to race. He did great in his first pro race against a stacked field of athletes and I am really proud of him! I don't think I have seen any athlete push themselves as hard as he does, and I really enjoy watching him race because he has so much fun out there and has improved so much over the past year. Once we arrived in CT, I knew it would be a fun couple of weeks.

The time in CT included yummy home cooked meals (thanks Mom!), hanging out with my sisters, attending the twins soccer games and swim meets, baking, a trip to NYC, zip lining, bike rides with my Mom, a fun race at Lake Quassapaug and some great training. I also had a few doctors appointments while I was home with other neurologists, and all news is good news. I have been able to monitor my energy levels each day, and be very careful in listening to my body. I am feeling better each week and training is going really well under the guidance of my new coach Joanna Zeiger. The doctors were unable to really conclude what affected my health early March, but are optimistic in stating that I am okay and my body just needs time to sort itself out. This whole situation has made me realize that we certainly aren't invincible and taking care of ourselves is the most important thing as athletes.

I have been in California for a few days now and am loving it here! I miss my family and had an emotional departure from CT, but am happy to have had a great few weeks with them. You don't realize how much you miss your family until you are fortunate enough to spend an extended period of time with them. Sure, I miss my sisters and parents all the time when I am out in CO, but being in CT made me realize just how special family is and how much love there is at home. There is absolutely nothing that compares. Home is truly where the heart is.

Smile big!

Jessica

Summer Plans!

Hello from Colorado-

Although I love it here in Boulder (besides the wind right now!), I will be off to CT in a week to spend some time at home with my family. Chris and I will be stopping at Tennessee first so he can tear it up at Rev 3 Knoxville, and then we will be back in Connecticut for three weeks. I can't wait to be at home with my sisters, go blueberry picking, have home cooked meals, take another trip to NYC and train at sea level. Chris and I will both be racing the Rev 3 Olympic in Middlebury, which will be great! It should be fun to race in my home town with my family and friends cheering on the sidelines. After CT, I will be off to California for most of the summer to spend time with Chris and his family. Santa Barbara is beautiful and I am excited for some amazing strawberries and ocean swimming. It should be a great few months of driving across states, training in the sun and spending time with some very special people. :)

Jessica

A quick update!

Hey everyone

Collegiate Nationals.was a tough race individually, but the team did fantastic and we took the title again :) I have decided not to race Wildflower because it is in the middle of finals, and I thought that based on how I felt racing at Nats, a good solid block of training would be more worthwhile then trying to race again.

Hope everyone is doing well and your season has gotten off to a great start!

Jessica

A new outlook..

Hello!

I recently got back from Tucson, AZ where the CU Tri team had a training camp during Spring Break. The Buffs dominated in Lake Havasu at our Regional meet winning both the men's and women's divisions. We went down to Tucson after for a few hard days of training at sea level (YAY!) and we all had a great time. The sun was shining, it was warm, and we enjoyed pushing each other with a little extra oxygen. My favorite part of the trip was climbing Mt. Lemmon, which was about 25 miles up from the base, and a little over a 5 hour ride total to and from our hotel. It was an epic day for sure.

Being in Tucson was great for me, and I had my first few hard sessions back after being in the hospital. The first week in Boulder I eased back into training and just did some very easy swimming, biking and running. I was very happy to be feeling good training in AZ and I know that having my teammates by my side definitely helped me get back into things and deal with the pain from working hard. I was nervous for my first few hard workouts back, because I wasn't sure how my fitness would be after sitting in a hospital bed for awhile. However, I was very pleased with my training in AZ and will give everything I have on race day in a two weeks.

I spoke with my Mom about Collegiate Nationals yesterday for awhile. After discussing the race with her, I realized that this setback I have had has really changed my outlook quite a bit. Usually, I experience incredible nerves and tension going into a race, especially Collegiate Nationals because I feel like I am racing for individuals outside of myself- my team! Sure, I am still nervous for April 9th, but I am SO happy to be healthy and SO happy to be racing. Besides, I won't be alone out there on race day in Alabama- I've got the incredible Buffs!

Go CU! 11 days!

Jessica

Health Comes First

Hello to my followers-

Wow! What a couple of weeks it has been.

Two weeks ago, I felt fantastic and training was going better than ever. I was extremely excited about how I was feeling during training sessions, was eating well, recovering well and overall, anticipating a fun trip to Lake Havasu for the first race of 2011. The start to my racing season has now been pushed back a bit. About a week ago I went into the ER with incredible fatigue and memory loss, and a couple of hospital visits later they found abnormalities on an MRI in the parietal lobe of my brain. The doctors believe that I caught a virus that caused post infectious inflammation on my nerves, muscles and a spot in my brain.

This was a lot to take in and I experienced an array of emotions. Initially, what crossed my mind was when I could get back to training again, or if I would be able to race this upcoming weekend. How incredibly naive of me to be thinking of that, I know! But over the course of a few days in the hospital, I was able to evaluate just how important my health is above everything. Triathlon will always be here, so for now I am taking care of myself and easing back into things. Like I have always said, I want to be doing this sport forever, so however long it takes to get healthy is how long it will have to be.

Stay healthy and be happy!

Jessica

Never lose sight of your Beginner Spirit!

Hello everyone!

Today, someone very special in my life shared something very valuable. After picking up my boyfriend from the airport, we were discussing Lance Armstrong and his career on the car ride home. Chris told me about Lance's bike and the quote that is printed on the top tube reading "Never forget your Beginner Spirit." I pondered the meaning of this, and how applicable it is to my personal career as an athlete so far. I think back to the year I started triathlon, the outlook I had on the sport now, and how different things are now. With more experience, and more pressure in competition, I believe that it is easy to occasionally lose sight of the reasons why I started the sport in the first place. I enjoyed the conversation this morning with Chris, and I appreciated him sharing this little piece of wisdom with me. It has been on my mind all day, and it has allowed me to evaluate where I am at now with the sport, and what my outlook is moving forward. With Lance's advice, and Chris's revelation of this quote, I can see how important it is to stay connected with your roots, and never lose sight of them. Sure, Triathlon still brings me a great amount of joy and happiness, and I know that acknowledging the experiences I had as a newbie, will only strengthen my connection with the sport. It forces me to fuse the present with the past, and find an athlete who continues to challenge herself, while smiling and never losing sight of the spirit that launched her triathlon career four years ago.

Smiles!

Jessica

January Jumps!

Hello!

January has flown by. With 2011 in full swing, the racing season is truly just around the corner. My first race this year will be the CU Tri Team's Regional Championships in Lake Havasu City, AZ. This will be my first year racing Regionals with the team, so I am very excited for the trip.

It has been a great month- adjusting to a new school schedule, and conquering every day with a positive attitude and an appreciation for this wonderful life. Training has been going well, and the weather has been quite cooperative. I can't complain!

This semester has been really exciting for me because I am attempting to add another major (or switch majors) after realizing that I've always had a real interest in writing. This stems from my enjoyment in blogging here, as well as from my history of savoring various writing classes. So, I am taking some Journalism classes at the moment, which are both challenging and rewarding. We will see what life brings next. Until then, I wish you all happiness and enjoyment in everything you do!

Jessica

Gratitude, Gifts and Gusto

Happy Holidays to everyone-

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas with family and friends, and the holiday was filled with lots of love and happiness. Home has been great so far, and I have really enjoyed spending time with my sisters while we are all in the same time zone. There have been lots of laughs and smiles in the midst of shopping, playing Wii Just Dance (probably the most laughs here) and just relaxing at home. I have also really enjoyed going to the pool with Hannah and Scarlet and seeing how much they have improved. Prior to heading out to CO, I always used to coach them with their swimming. Now, I can see that their work ethic and dedication has taken them far in the sport. It is truly awesome to see hard work and commitment at their age!

It has been pretty cold here in CT, and unlike the powerful Colorado sunshine which melts away snow within hours of it falling, it seems to linger here. We had a brutal snowstorm on Sunday with wind gusts up to 60mph, and a total of 18 inches of snow accumulating. Unfortunately, the snow still is everywhere, roads still icy, and freezing temperatures still evident. An all time high is expected tomorrow at 48 degrees, so maybe we can have the luxury of wearing only two layers instead of three :)

Training has been fun! I haven't been able to ride outside, so just enjoying lots of trainer rides and movie watching. Even though the cold weather isn't very appealing, running in it doesn't seem too bad. Once the blood is flowing, if dressed properly, it is pretty comfortable. I have been enjoying lots of scenic, hilly roads that Middlebury has to offer, and taking advantage of sea level running time. We did our traditional 5 mile Christmas run, and this year, all the girls came! To break tradition, we refused to wear Santa hats and instead watched my Mom wear hers the whole way as she insisted tradition could not be broken. Swimming hasn't been equally as fun, as the pool at the YMCA I swim at is about 10 degrees too cold. Everyday when I go to swim it takes me about 10 mins of standing on the side of the pool to convince myself to jump in. Besides the hypothermic water conditions, I have felt great in the water and strong. I think it is rewarding to train in different locations and different conditions every once and awhile, to challenge yourself.

On a much more important note, the trip home has been most enjoyable because of the time spent with family. With the holiday season, and the start of a new year tomorrow, I am able to reflect on all the relationships I have with family and friends. I am just so fortunate for the love that surrounds me and appreciative of what the people in my life have given me. Happiness, courage, support, and LOTS of love. 2010 has been a great year, and I know 2011 will top it :) Bring on the new year!

Happy New Year to everyone!

Jessica

Holiday Update!

Hey everyone-

Can you believe it is almost 2011?! Scary. The year has gone by so quickly, and I anticipate the same happening next year. I really love this time of the year, mainly because it is a time of evaluation and decision making for the upcoming months. 2010 was a big transition year for me, since it was my first time racing U23, as I aged up from Junior racing (Sprint distance) to racing Olympic distance draft legal. I was very happy with the steady improvement I saw throughout the season, and very excited to see consistent results.

I will be updating my blog with some plans for 2011 soon, after finals are over! Just a brief glimpse into the future- it looks like I will be a part of the Timex Multisport team again for 2011, and I am SO excited to be a part of such an awesome crew. Until the next blog update- I will have my nose in some books, squeeze some quality sessions in and be enjoying the holiday season. Happy belated Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and so very soon, Happy New Year!

I will be back soon! :)

Jessica

Pics from Alabama