30 May 09: Bike Envy and German Machines, Part II

Posted on 30. May, 2009 by hillarybiscay in Blog | 2 Comments

Today I am suffering from extreme bike envy. The Dresdner boys are out for a 5+ hour ride and I am not allowed to go. Coachie said no; I have two runs and a swim instead. It just doesn’t feel right not to spend all day Saturday on my bike. Today is a beautiful, sunny, blue-sky, ride-in-shorts-and-singlet kind of day, and there’s nothing I’d rather do than be outside seeing the countryside all day! But it is for times like this that I really need my coach. I know he is right, as usual, because I found myself getting a bit crabby with the German Biking Machine himself yesterday, and this can only mean one thing: I am still a bit tired.

To keep me entertained this week while I haven’t been… Read More

28 May 09: The Week After Ironman…

Posted on 28. May, 2009 by hillarybiscay in Blog | 5 Comments

We are five days post-race and I am back in Germany, feeling great. Some post-ironman weeks feel better than others; but even when I think I am feeling normal as early as four days post-race, I try not to get too excited, because I have learned that sometimes everything can come crashing down a few days later. That said, this week has been on the less-painful side as far as post-race weeks go.

I spent the two days after the race doing some recovery training and eating enough for three people. This is pretty normal for me; in fact I think it helps me to recover more quickly. Or maybe I just tell myself that so that I can eat things like Snickers ice cream, chocolate mueslix, baguettes with… Read More

Ironman Lanzarote Race Report

Posted on 27. May, 2009 by hillarybiscay in Blog | 9 Comments

On Saturday I recorded my 35th iron-distance finish, and in doing so, finally had my own experience of one of the most legendary ironman events: Lanzarote. It is often called the toughest ironman on the circuit; and with its long, mountainous climbs totaling more vertical feet than any other ironman bike course, Lanzarote’s is generally accepted to be the slowest and most challenging 180-kilometer ride in an ironman. Despite the fact that this sort of bike course doesn’t suit my strengths, I had heard way too much hype about Lanzarote not to have a crack myself one of these days…My pre-race course scouting seemed to confirm that this race was the real deal, and in some sick way, I was thrilled.

Race morning I was checking over course details in the program one… Read More

24 May 09: Loved it!

Posted on 24. May, 2009 by hillarybiscay in Blog | 11 Comments

I just wanted to check in and thank everyone for their pre- and post-race  messages. It really does push me along out there to know that people are cheering online and sending support from all corners of the globe. Thank you, thank you!!

There hasn’t been time yet to write up a full race report, so in the meantime I just wanted to let you know that I did in fact survive the Ironman Lanzarote experience and loved nearly every minute of it, except for my little flat-tire drama on the bike ride. I thought I would up the race’s degree of difficulty a bit for myself since it wasn’t tough enough already… I thought, what could possibly make the legendary Mirador de Haria switchback descent even more scary? Oh, that’s… Read More

22 May 09: Let's do this!

Posted on 22. May, 2009 by hillarybiscay in Blog | 1 Comment

Well it is the night before gametime here in Lanzarote and I am ready to get the show on the mountainous, windy road! After a couple of easy days and a little pre-race carbo-loading, I feel like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man; but I know by now that this is a necessary evil in the pre-race fueling process.

Today was refreshingly stress-fress, as we dealt with the obligatory pre-race bike crisis (this time a race wheel spoke had broken in transit) and packed all of my bags yesterday! So today I even had time for more pictures….I just had to share one of my beautiful new custom Zipp ZedTech wheels with pink accents. I will be using an 808 rear and 404 front wheel for this race–THANK YOU ZIPP!!… Read More