Brussel Sprouts

As a child, I used to refuse to eat brussel sprouts... because, well, honestly, they were gross. However, I have to say, I am now a HUGE fan and I seriously want to plant a stalk of them. I love putting them on the grill - a little salt, pepper and olive oil, and just letting them roast away. Amazing!

Moral of the story... don't be afraid to try things more than once... sometimes you may just find out that you really like it after all!

Cutting hair...

Today's project - cut my boyfriend's hair.

The longer I am out of college, the more I am realizing that taking courses on "Fountains in Central Italy" and the Psychology of "Children and Television," while super interesting, have little application post college. I cannot believe I was allowed to graduate from college, let alone high school, without taking basic courses in cooking, home and car maintenance, tax paying and interviewing for employment. The first time I had to file taxes was an enormous wake-up call for me and being "self employed" with a million write offs did not make things any easier. I'm now also thinking that I should have been educated in basic hair cutting, sewing, carpentry etc. You know, all the little "do it yourself" things that can help a poor post grad scrape by.

Anyway, this was not my first venture into hair cutting and after a slow process, as I was afraid to cut too much off too fast, the hair looks fine and I have a happy boyfriend. I think I may have grown a few grey hairs in the process, but a bit more practice and I think I'll be able to add it to my list of "skills" alongside milking a cow, baking a mean banana bread and saying the alphabet backwards.

Social Network

I went to see "The Social Network" yesterday -- another kind of rainy day here in LA - super weird. It was kind of funny to watch a movie that started down the hall from you when you were in college. I am member number 719 on Facebook -- so... I've been on the "social network" since probably about day 3 and I can remember my roommates telling me to sign up to support Mark and Dustin. I have watched it go from Harvard... to Yale/Stanford... and then the World. No one ever could have imagined it would be where it is now back in 2004.

But before Facebook, there was most definitely "Face Mash" and I have to say I was never offended with the site and rather found it humorous. I was for sure on it and definitely checked in on my rating status - I mean, please, who didn't? I do believe the site was up for more than a few hours though and it's unlikely that anyone was woken up at 4 in the morning to worry about the Harvard network -- but good dramatic add for the film.

As for all the talk about the movie being a "character assassination" of Mark Zuckerberg -- I disagree. What successful person - especially in business - hasn't had to be tough, a bit crude and perhaps more directly honest than most people can handle at one point or another? People just don't like to hear things about themselves... and, as he noted, people like things to go their way and often have a hard time coping when they don't. So, of course, they are going to lash out and blame it on other people. The guy is smart, and yes, perhaps he had some moments that were less than "perfect", but he was barely in his 20's and dealing with a heck of a lot when all of this went down. I think he handled it all pretty darn well. I just wish it had been my idea! I mean, don't we all? In the end, I walked away from the film thinking he was kind of a "bad ass" and really admiring him for sticking to his guns, for standing up for himself and his idea and for not letting anyone take it away from him.

Anyway, if you haven't seen the movie yet - do. It's a good flick, even if you didn't live down the hall from Mark and co. in college.

The only other thing the movie did for me was to remind me that I really need to get back in touch with my roommates from college! I can't believe we are approaching 5 years out already!! CRAZY!

Sugar

I happen to have a seriously bad sweet tooth. Recently, I have been reading more and more about the negative effects of consuming too much sugar - be it raw, regular or really any kind. It is recommended that we consume about 24g of sugar per day. This, I have come to find, is easy to do in 1/2 of a meal. So, my recent project has to been to limit my sugar intake and to assess whether or not I notice any side effects or serious benefits. It's all part of my "clean up" process as I ease back into training for 2011.

Have a quick look at some of the labels of the foods you eat... I bet you'll be shocked at how much sugar is added and contained in things you would never assume to be loaded with it.

Outside Magazine - Videos etc.

So, if you haven't grabbed the print edition yet, there are some photos and fun videos now posted on
Outside Online and the behind the scenes footage! Check them out!!

Thanks Outside (and everyone involved in the shoot)!!!

Day 3... and OUTSIDE MAGAZINE!

Ouch. That is about all I can say right now.

So, yesterday, I was eager as ever and took off running trying to run "slower" as per my coaching request. Got about 5k in and realized I was running almost race pace... just chugging along at a good clip. But by the end of my 5 mile endeavor my legs were screaming at me. A very loud WTF!! Ha! Today, they are sore... so sore. I still got up, out the door, and ran. 3 days down... many many more to come :) I'm still as excited as ever but laughing at my eagerness and my body feeling like it has never run before! How a few weeks of down time can totally wipe the slate clean.

In other news -- check out the OCTOBER issue of Outside Magazine. I am featured in the XX Factor as one of the new "goddesses of adventure" ... I am in amazing company with the likes of Torah Bright (gold medal snowboarder) as well as three other incredible women. It was a total honor to be asked to be in the issue and I've been waiting SOOOOO patiently for it to come out!!! So, CHECK IT OUT!!!!

Day 1

First day back to training.

Confession - I was supposed to run early in the day today. But, I didn't get up until 10 and then was running errands etc. I put the run off until 5 tonight, which, albeit was later than I was supposed to run, made me happy because I kind of like running at that pre-dusk time of day.

Confession 2 - I ran last night. I had to blow off some steam so I just went out in the dark (in the semi-ghetto) and ran... kind of fast... which you would probably do if you were running there in the middle of the night.

Anyway, day 1 is in the bank. My body is now saying "WTF" meanwhile my soul is screaming "F*ck YEAH!" I'm really looking forward to the direction we are headed and having so much time to try to get things accomplished.

Day 1 - complete.

Oh and if you are "bored" stop by the LA Triathlon website and check out the video I made for them!! The LA race is here on October 2nd!!!

A pass on Budapest. A leg up on 2011.

Check out the great article that USA Triathlon put together about my brother, sister-in-law and me.

So, obviously, I didn't go to Budapest. After a lot of thinking and a very shaky few weeks of training, I made the decision that it was in my best interests to not race at the Grand Final. It was anything but an easy decision, however, I have no regrets about making it. At this level, you cannot race unprepared and with the month of August being as it was, there was no way I was going to be prepared enough to be satisfied with my performance at the Final. I was also worried that racing again would set my recovery back even more.

After long discussions with coaches, friends, family and people I trust, it became clear that taking time off now and getting back to work for 2011 was far more important. So, that is what I am doing. I am taking a real step back - mandatory time off - and I will be back building up for 2011 before most other people have even shut their 2010 seasons down.

I know I have a lot of work ahead of me this off season, so I am actually excited to have almost 6 months until I have to think about racing again. It means that I can finally take the time to do the work that I have been discussing with my coaches but have not been able to do amidst the world travel and races. Having the extra time means we can do things right and really monitor my progress to make sure my body can keep up with the work and stress levels. There is lots of "new" ahead of me... and I can't wait!

tortoise vs. hare

The only way to look at the last few weeks is to see it as an opportunity to grow and to learn about myself as an athlete. I've basically had to put my training on hold for the last 2.5 weeks which has been very frustrating for me but my body has given me absolutely no other choice. Now, just under 4 weeks out from Budapest, my body is finally turning the corner and starting to give me the okay to do some work.

It took me a while to regroup and to understand how I could take this setback and use it as I move forward, but I now see it as a great learning opportunity. Preparation for races is rarely going to be perfect and, often times, when we think it has been, we end up having the worst performances at the races. I don't know if that is pressure or expectations or simply believing that we have done all the right things when we have forgotten to do the most important thing of all... rest. This lead up to Worlds will be far from "ideal" in anyones interpretation of "triathlon training" but that doesn't mean that I can't have another solid performance on the day. It is a good lesson to learn, heading into a big event, to feel unprepared and to adapt along the way to do the best I can to be as prepared as I can possibly be. Who knows, it could be Olympic trials in a year, only 4 weeks away, and something like this could happen. If it does, I will be doubly grateful that I was patient and took the time to learn this lesson now.

I do need to say thank you for all of the positive words of encouragement and support from everyone close, and not so close, to me. Having the reminders and the people to lean on through all of this has certainly made it a lot easier.

Sometimes, you have to go slow to go fast. And, even if I don't go all that fast at the end of this, realizing the importance of taking the time to really assess how I'm doing and how my body is coping is a lesson that will keep me injury and illness free down the line.

In other more "fun" news: my website is officially under construction... yes, finally! It will be www.jennashoemaker.com and should be launched in the next 2-3 weeks!!

Post London

London was a tough race for me. I had a terrible swim - was pulled under a number of times at the first buoy and never recovered - and was then not able to work on the bike to ride up to the front because we were trying to make sure that the Americans finished as high as possible and since there were other women up the road, I had to sit and wait.

When I crossed the finish line, I was so exhausted I started crying.

Since my return home, my body has had a hard time recovering. I think the physical and emotional stress of the racing along with my allergic reaction just really took a toll on my body.

With Worlds and a whole number of other events coming up in September and October, it has been stressful for me to be home and not be able to train immediately the way I want to. But, sometimes, rest is the best remedy. So... I'm resting.

As a measure to make life simpler, I am also going to step away from my blog, facebook, twitter etc. and just try to focus on training, healing my body and getting myself ready to race. So, look for updates from me... later... I don't know when I'll return... but a short time away will probably be good for me.

So, until then...

all the best.
Jenna

Hamburg WCS now on to London WCS

Last week, I raced in the Hamburg World Championship Series event in Germany. I love Hamburg and was really happy to have the opportunity to come back to Europe to race the event again this year. The crowds are always fantastic and the atmosphere is so inspiring.

I had a rough few days leading into the race. I broke out in an allergic reaction to something, still undetermined, about 2.5 days before the race, and by race day was covered from neck down with hives. I took some benadryl and other legal allergy medications to try to keep them at bay, but they were pretty much out of control. Fortunately though, they were not itchy just ugly to look at.

I was also really nervous heading into the race. I felt very unfit and unprepared, despite knowing that my training had been going really well and that I was very fit by most peoples standards. After a few good chats with my trusted "inner circle" I managed to calm myself down a bit.

The race was chaos. I had a clean start but was attacked starting around the 200m mark and by the time I hit the first buoy, I found myself being dragged down repeatedly. I tried to get to the outside, so I could at least swim forward, but this was to no avail. Every way that I went, I got grabbed and pushed under. I was actually fearful that I was going to drown for a little while. It wasn't until about the 500m mark that I was actually able to even start swimming. At that point, it was damage control. I started to work my way up, through the bodies, trying to limit my losses. At the 1000m mark, the re-entry, I was well back. However, knowing that I have a strong bike leg, I tried to relax and just get to the end of the swim in 1 piece.

I exited the water, climbed the stairs and made my way to T1. Then "wham" I'm on my butt in the middle of the blue carpet. I stepped on a piece of blue tape they had holding the carpet down, slipped and totally ripped my knee open. I hopped back up and gathered myself for what I knew would be a hard first few laps on the bike. Head down, I bridged up to the group ahead. Realizing I was not at the front yet, based on who was around, I followed another attack and bridged through another group. Now, by lap 3, it was a waiting game for the run. I tried to stay out of trouble - ended up sitting at the back for a while as the group slowed and sprinted in and out of corners. On the last lap, I moved to the front, but as quickly as I got there, I was at the back again. So, I resigned myself to getting off the bike at the back.

I settled into a good strong rhythm on the run and started to pick women off in front of me, one by one. I had a plan and going out too hard never ends up well for anyone, so I wanted to try to "build" through the run. I managed to pick a few women off and wasn't caught from behind. I finished the race in 23rd position, 3rd American, with a run split of 36:44 - which is over 75 seconds than I ran on a shorter course last year. I was pleased with my performance and considering the "adversity" I was dealing with leading into the event, I was pretty pleased with how I rallied and pulled through. It was another solid performance that moves me to #31 on the WCS rankings leading into the race in London this weekend.

Now, I am in London - staying across the street from Hyde Park - preparing to race stop #5 on the WCS series. This is the "test event" for the London Olympics and as such, everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, is here. I am ranked #31 and will be wearing #29 - so only 2 women in the top 31 in the world are NOT here. So, it will be FAST, FURIOUS and a whole lot of FUN!!!

I race tomorrow at 1:06pm GMT and the event will be live online on www.triathlon.org. Definitely check it out... you don't want to miss this one!!!

Packed up for Europe

I'm all set to travel to Europe later today for the Hamburg and London stops on the World Championships Series tour. These will be my last two events before the Grand Final in Budapest in September. I love racing in Europe because the crowds are loud and the atmosphere is fantastic.

I've been pretty busy the last few weeks. I took a trip down to Chula Vista as I mentioned to do some training with my new running coach. That was extremely successful and we are making some very solid progress. I then went to Big Bear for the 4th of July which was incredible. It was nice to get away and to spend some time with friends - even if I did have to ditch the fun every few hours to get another workout in. It was also a "mini altitude camp" since Big Bear is at about 7000 feet. Now back in LA, I've had a few photo shoots - a real one, more details to come, and one for more personal stuff - and I have just been trying to balance everything so that I can have 2 more solid races.

In the past, I have raced with the pink and blue ribbons on my suit to honor breast and colon cancer and to help raise awareness for these 2 terrible kinds of cancer. I am now also supporting Millions From One which is an incredible charity. The mission is to find and get clean water sources for people all over the world. Just by purchasing a $10 bracelet you can help more than 3000 people get access to clean water. As a triathlete, swimming in bodies of water all around the world, I know how important clean water is. Every year people get sick after races, even when we are in places that you would think should be relatively clean, which just goes to show that it doesn't take a third world country for the water quality to be poor. So, if you have some time, I recommend checking it out and supporting the cause!

Updates... Madrid, Hy-Vee and Philly Insurance Lifetime Series Triathlon

Madrid: A strong day at the office, with plenty to still work on. I had a good swim but just missed the back of the front pack as we headed up the hill the first time. My pack was motivated and we closed the gap to about 20 seconds by the 5th of 8 laps. At that point, I decided to attack and bridge the gap to the front pack on my own. It was a successful attack and even though in the end both packs came together, I was really pleased with my ability to take my fate into my own hands. It gives me a lot of confidence in my cycling ability. I had a solid run, but the oppressive heat was hard to deal with and the poorly placed water stations didn't help matters. I finished the race in 27th place as the 2nd American.

Screen capture from triathlon.org of my attack and solo bridge to the front group.

After Madrid, I hopped on a plane and headed straight to Des Moines, Iowa where I spent a week preparing for the Hy-vee Elite Cup race. I spent the week just outside of Des Moines enjoying the open spaces and crazy lighting storms. I had never raced Hy-vee before and was really excited to race "on home soil".

Hy-vee: I had a really good opening lap of the swim and although I fell back a bit in the second lap, I was just on the back of the front pack as we ran through transition. Unfortunately, as I went to mount my bike, the motorcycle cut me off and I missed the pack. I worked with two other American women and we bridged the gap to the front group. Staying out of trouble, and avoiding a very wet and slippery blue carpet, we rolled into transition and headed out on to the run. I settled into a great rhythm and slowly picked women off. At the end, I had a sprint finish with another American and ended up in 18th as the 4th American with #2 and #3 finishing in 16th and 17th, 5 and 1 second in front of me respectively. I was really pleased with how I ran and the improvement I am seeing in only a few weeks under my new coaches.

After Iowa, I spent a few days in LA before packing up and heading down to San Diego to train at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista for some quality 1 on 1 training time with my running coach. No sooner did I arrive, did I get an email from Lifetime Fitness asking me if I would come race the Philadelphia Insurance Triathlon - the first event of the 2010 Race to the Toyota Cup. It was an offer I couldn't well refuse, even though I was worried about how prepared I would really be to race again. With the help of Felt, Zipp and my very good friend and mechanic, I got my DA setup in a matter of a few days, boarded a plane and headed east to have another hit out.

The Philadephia race is a fantastic event with a very tough but fun bike course. Unfortunately, due to some pretty tragic circumstances, the race was changed to a duathlon - that meant 5k run, 40k bike, 10k run. My initial reaction was quite literally "damn it" but then I took a few deep breaths and realized that it was an incredible opportunity for me to try to take some of the hard run training I have been doing and put it to work.

Philadelphia: I took the first 5k out very patiently as I was instructed to do. By the 2k mark, I was catching and passing many of the women who had taken out the first mile a bit too fast. Coming into transition I had worked my way up to the 2nd and 3rd place women and was about 30 seconds down on the leader. I took off on my bike and by 15k had caught and passed the leading female cyclist. I kept pushing the pace and came into transition about 20 seconds ahead of her. I lead out onto the 10k run and tried to gradually ease into the run with the hopes of bringing it home faster in the second 5k - which I knew would be an ask for me as 15k of hard running in 1 race is quite a bit. At the 5k mark, I was passed and a gap of about 15 seconds opened up. Keeping as close as possible, I tried to pull her back in the last mile, but was pretty fried. In the end, I finished 2nd, 15 seconds behind 1st and about 5 minutes ahead of 3rd place with the fastest bike split by almost a minute!! (I'll be uploading data from my Garmin edge and 110 watch this week.)

My brand new Felt DA and Zipp Sub 9 disc.

So, all in all, another great day at the office even on really short notice and with some last minute changes to cope with and a great weekend with family in attendance and a fantastic home stay courtesy of the President of Philadelphia Insurance and his family (Thank you!).

Right now, I am ranked 25th on the Olympic points rankings and am holding the 3rd spot for the US. I am 39th in the World and 4th in the USA.

Next up: Hamburg World Champs Series and London World Champs Series races. I'm eager to get back to Chula and back to some hard work before heading off to Europe!!!

Some links to articles and photos from the Philadelphia race:
Cooling down after the race.
Article from the Daily News
Article from another Philly paper.

New blog posts and upcoming races/TV spots

New blog post up on Garmin Website. Check it out and check out the new 110! It's a fantastic watch - super easy to use - and the same size as a dress watch. Much more convenient than its now gigantic seeming predecessors.

All is well in Santa Monica. Although the weather has been a bit chilly here, I can't complain, because it has been perfect for training. I'm currently preparing to head over to Spain early next week for the Madrid WCS race there on the 5th of June. It will be live online so be sure to head to Triathlon.org to catch the action.

Also, check your local listings for the 2010 Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon. It will start airing on network television around the country in June. I got my hands on the show already, which I believe aired on Universal or Versus already and I got a fair bit of coverage in the hour show. It is really exciting, and great publicity for my fantastic sponsors! (thank you!) After watching the show, you'll probably understand why Alcatraz is my favorite course to race on!

New Interview on Slowtwitch

Thanks to Timothy Carlson there is a great interview posted on Slowtwitch now. It talks about Alcatraz, my progression as an athlete, the recent coaching turmoil, my relationship with Jarrod and the path forward. Pretty much... my life in a nutshell!

Let me know what you think!

Big thanks to all of my sponsors, friends, family and fans for the continued support!

Next up -- Madrid World Champs Series followed by the Hyvee Elite Cup race in Des Moines, Iowa!

Girl Power

So, I'm all for women getting excited about becoming involved in all things "active" but I must say that sometimes I have to laugh at some of the "unique" female inventions out there. Personally, I prefer to just train like a guy. I don't need a form fitting and flattering silhouette when I'm training - I'm out to sweat as much as possible, not look good - and I think a bush and a few leaves will totally sufficient for emergencies!!

But in the vein of "are you serious? this must be a joke" - take a look at a few of these interesting inventions...

Now women can finally wear bib shorts and pee without all the hassle of unzipping your jersey...
And to be sure you don't make a mess on the road, all you need to do is carry the go-girl in your back pocket.

Images from the Escape

I finished 2nd at The Escape From Alcatraz Triathlon in San Francisco over the weekend.

After exiting the water in the top 3, I had the fastest bike split, fastest T2, second fastest run (including the fastest female ascent of the crazy sand ladder) and ended the day 13 seconds behind the winner, Leanda Cave.

It was a great day in a great city racing my favorite race! I can't wait for 2011 to get back out there and try to climb up to the top of the podium!

Off to Alcatraz!

I'm off to San Fran today for the Escape From ALcatraz race. Yay!
It should be a great weekend with a bit of super hard and cold racing!
I have some family up that direction, so I'm looking forward to seeing them as it has been a few years now.

The week has been pretty good. There, as always, was a bit too much drama around the coaching change, but I've set that aside for the time being so I can focus on the task at hand. I have some feelers out there and am not going to be quick to make any decisions since this is a very important one. It definitely makes feeling out the rest of the season a bit more difficult, especially when there are deadlines for race entries etc., but it will all come together, I have faith.

I think I've been fighting off a bit of a latent illness, perhaps something linked to the travel back from Australia. I have woken up in a sweat a few times this week, more so in the last 2 weeks, but training has been good, so I'm just going to get out there in San Fran and have a go. I've definitely learned to watch myself, to monitor my body and have adopted the philosophy that more is not always better, especially going into a race!

A thought for the day...

I've been doing some research on the alkaline acid diet and the benefits that considering the PH level of my body may have on my performance and overall well being. It has been suggested that keeping the body in a slightly alkaline state can help to prevent diseases and illness. When the body is in an acidic state it produces acidic waste and actually starts to kill off good cells.

I'm not one to just believe everything, and all the fad diets out there, but I find the idea behind this eating system to be pretty thought provoking. I am going to try to be a bit more conscientious about the types of foods, and combinations, that I put in my body and see if there are any noticeable benefits.

"...even the most nutritious foods can turn to poison in the system if eaten while a person is in a negative frame of mind. Never eat when angry, worried or extremely tired."

An interesting thought to consider. Food is meant to be our fuel but in many instances we eat for pleasure more than for purpose or to fill an emotional hole rather than to fill a caloric need.

Homeless. Coachless. Planless?...

I'm now back, more or less, settled in LA. I'm living with my wonderful "adopted family" here. Being back has been really nice and very refreshing for my soul, so to speak. It is nice sometimes to step away from the training pressure cooker and to surround myself with friends and family who have nothing to do with triathlon. They threw me a birthday party earlier in the week which was so nice and it was a great chance to bring together a whole lot of people that I hadn't seen in quite a while.

A few days ago, my coach informed me that he no longer wishes to work with me. Apparently, my time is up. I had seen this coming for a month or so now so it wasn't a complete shock. As per his usual form, he tried to put some of the decision on my training partners, but based on the outpouring of support from them, I know that many of them are pretty upset about it and sad that I won't be a part of the squad anymore. I appreciate what he has done for me and obviously, based on my results, I have taken large steps in the right direction, but I don't appreciate the reasons or the manner in which things have ended.

Instead of being upset, I see it as an opportunity. A number of athletes had told me in the past that you have to keep moving forward and keep seeking new knowledge as you develop, so, at some point, it is good to change coaches. So, my plan forward is in the works. I've spent the last week working towards the Escape from Alcatraz race and have spent a bit of time reflecting on and thinking about what I need as an athlete and what it will take to be on the start line in London. I have ideas and hopefully some of those ideas will come together to create a really unique and exciting path forward.

For now, I am bracing myself for a very COLD swim and a great weekend in one of my favorite cities, San Fran!