FYI VOTE TILL JUNE 15TH!!!!

Polls wont close until JUNE 15th so please dont forget to VOTE FOR WITTMAACK! :)

Memorial in the MASS!

Hey everyone!! Happy post Memorial day!! Sweet signs of great weather and sunshine!!! Hooorayyy!!! I went up to visit my buddy in Mass this weekend...outskirts of Boston. Just beautiful!! Got in some great training in prep for Eagleman in TWO weeks!!!! i can't believe how close it is!!!! Went up Thursday Eve and trained through Monday AM....at which point i drove back to Jersey to mom's place and ate myself into a sweet fat trance of Memorial justice. haha...it was perfect. Last good fat meal before i attempt to drop weight for Eman. Train heavy...race light. :) So Thursday I trained at Cadence in the AM-then drove up. Friday I got in a Run (just 30 min), bike (1 hr 30 min flat), swim (45 min). Saturday i did a race in the AM--duathlon--short and fast as hell...I'll revisit this--but 2m run 12m bike 2m run. Then I came back and rode an additional 40m hard with some great climbing. Sunday i got up and did the Boston Half Marathon--not hard-took it really easy. I ran it "bandito"...just hopped in the masses at the start. It was awesome!! SOOOO beautiful....the course and the weather. The weekend wasn't a lot of "volume" per say but it was a lot of quality and perfect for wrapping up a very intense training block. I'll start the taper this week-i think...gotta check my schedule. The duathlon on Sat was GREAT training and hard as HELL. I essentially red lined my HR for the entire duration. Mind you-I hate short course. It is SO hard for me as I am just not that speedy--like the kind of speedy you need to be to win those events. Either way-I had the fastest overall female bike split--my cyfac "cadence" (as she is called) is RIPPING fast. My run to follow suffered as I just couldn't keep my HR in check. I left T2 in second place and got passed in the last .20 mile by a girl who had a full 1 minute on me in her run split...in other words she was running over 30 seconds a mile faster than me in the second run...she was bound to catch me--as the run was only 2 miles. I just couldn't hang...i gave it EVERYTHING i had and I knew she was coming and making up ground but I just couldn't get to the finish line fast enough--my HR was like 210 and i was seeing spots and my mouth looked like a st. bernard. It sucks when you are passed in that state but she deserved the win. I ended up in 3rd place overall and lost to 2nd place by 6 seconds. the girl who won the race was running 5 min miles--i haven't seen that kind of speed....ever. But i smoked her bum on the bike.... :) Thanks to my Cyfac and my handy dandy computrainer training!!! :) Doesn't really matter though as she still won...takes some good sticks to run that fast.
Not nice to be back in dirty jersey but at least its Tuesday so we're almost to the halfway mark of the week! NICE! Monday's are always a treat to have off!! My training is going to be really reduced in volume and upped in quality. lets keep our fingers crossed that i have a successful taper and hopefully i'll see the lava beds of KONA at the finish line at Eagleman.

eagleman FULL SPEED AHEAD

so im recovered from the Devil.....didn't take long. Concentrating on getting ready for Eagleman. Laser focused. This week was my first real week back as last was used to flush any fatigue out from the race. I feel good. Im doing everything I am supposed to--i've SWAM EVERY DAY>>>>CAN YOU BELIEVE IT???!!!! I know i know...pigs do fly. But I made a commitment that I have to do everything I possibly can to get myself ready for this race....that means swimming every day. I've done a 180 on my diet...lots more water...MINIMAL caffeine-i was a diet pepsi junkie....and i'm making almost all my meals...lots of salmon, tuna, chicken breast and TONS of fruits and veggies...fresh fruit smoothies. I'm trying to get at least 8-9 hours of sleep when i can. I'm pretty sure I am right where I should be. Next week will probably be the most important building weeks to sharpen my speed. I may head up to Lake Placid with my buddy over memorial day to kick my butt and do some epic training. That would be my last set of monster sessions before I would move into the taper. I'll be ready.....it would be AMAZING to get my Kona slot at Eagleman....but I have to win my AG. Never know who shows up....we'll see. It would have to be a perfect day.

How are you all?? I am missing your comments!! Are you reading? Are you voting???? Please take a moment to vote for me! This is the year to go to KONA!! I need your support and your help!!!
PLEASE send an email to triathletemagcontest@gmail.com with the name WITTMAACK

Looks like the poles are open till Monday 5/19.

Thanks to everyone that is lending their support! It means so much.

VOTE VOTE VOTE

NO NO NOT FOR OFFICE!! The poles are open and I NEED YOUR HELP!! THE TIME HAS COME!! I need you all to send an email to triathletemagcontest@gmail.com with my name (WITTMAACK) as well as the name of another athlete of your choice. Cadence is sending 2 of us to race Lake Placid this year for a chance to qualify for KONA. Only 2 of the 6 of us get a chance to go! Without your help and your VOTE....i will be dropped from the CKC and will be void of the chance to win an all expense paid trip to KONA!!

Please believe in me...read my blog...read my Triathlete mag submissions....and in the spirit of spring and good will...CAST YOUR VOTE!!!

Hope to see you in Placid and keep you all posted on my journey!!

Dancin with the Devil.

HEY HEY! So this past weekend, I ran my first half ironman since Clearwater.....it was Devilman in NJ. I did this race mainly as a measure of my current fitness. My important races are Eagleman and Lake Placid. The race was tough....like really tough for me. They dont call it DEVILman for nothing. I never really felt like I could get in my groove. I never felt fluid or smooth. I felt flat. In fact I dont think I ever really felt good on the bike--my hip flexors and my arse and the rest of the one million muscle groups ached right off the bat. The winds were hellacial. They were relentless and never let up. It was great training-but certainly played with my head. Furthermore--this race was the poorest run event i think ive ever done. There was 1 bottle drop on the run...and if you missed it you were screwed!!!! You hit it 2x--mile 20 and 40. I just dont think that was fair. The run was the longest half ever!!! Probably because of the lack of mile markers...they were totally sporatic-mile 2 marked...mile 6...mile 8...very frustrating as you couldn't click off your splits. The aid stations were also pretty poor--only gel at a few and then just water and gatorade--No frills is one thing-but it was very hot out there and this was bad. I prepared to be able to hit an aid station at every mile and have a gel. Therefore--my lack of calories hurt me. Heres a little recap-

swim--well this has always been a real struggle. I have spent a lot of time in the endless pool and working with my coach on stroke imporovement. I felt pretty good in the water...other than the fact that it was like swimming in an oil tank. Gross is an understatement. I came out and clicked my watch--just over 31 min!!!!!!!!!!! wow i was pumped. My time on the books is 33 but thats because we had to run across a field before crossing the timing mat. As it turns out--i dont really believe that i swam that fast. The swim times for everyone were really fast--so either the course was short....or there were a lot of really great swimmers. Id like to think the latter is true.

t1--apparently i was blowdrying my hair and enjoying a mani/pedi. the longest t1 ever. im usually pretty quick....dont know what i was doing

bike--just sucked. achy. flat. WINDY. miserable. i wanted out of that saddle. i kept thinking i must have flat tires or something...i just couldn't get up to speed!! going out for the second loop i became a bit more focused on the task at hand--i passed a girl that has beaten me numerous times before which helped me keep my eye on the prize...as it turns out-i had the second fastest bike split (only a few seconds from 1st). ...so i can't be pissed at the time especially with the air force winds. clocked 2:31 but then again had to run a ways to the timing mat--so 2:33--still felt terrible and i know i can rip a MUCH faster split.

t2--i dont even know...i was just thrilled to be off the bike...

Run--i wanted to be done after the first mile. i was pissed the miles werent marked. i couldnt clock my splits and i stopped trying. it was hot and i was exhausted. I wanted more gel. i wanted cold water. i wanted a buffet and a good nights sleep. my mind was everywhere. i would be focused...then id lose it and start to think about how LONG the run was....how far i was from the finishline.i kept telling myself to just keep going. KEEP GOING>>>keep your eye on the prize.. it was hard. so hard. i was counting down the miles...counting down the minutes. I could see a woman in front of me but i just couldn't reel her in. To be honest--i couldn't even think about trying to reel her in...i was just too spent and the only thing that mattered was finishing.
time 1:39--i am really upset with this time...i am much faster than this...i just didn't have it.

Overall time 4:49:30 5th woman overall. (1st and 2nd place were Pros) i looked at my watch with a little less than 1 mile to go....i wanted to just get in under 4:50. It took everything in me to get there. I am proud of myself for sticking it through and not leaving anything on the course. There are no excuses or wandering thoughts of whether i could have gone harder here or there....i did what i could and i have to be pleased with that.

I met some great folks after the event--BIG shout outs to Tara, Jay, and Stephanie They were totally great and its soo cool to be recognized at an event for being a part of the CKC. I hope we can all keep in touch and see each other at future events. They crushed it out there and should be very proud of their performances.

Next up--Eagleman. Time to get focused and dial in on my training. Eagleman is a Kona qualifier. Game on...i gotta get sharp and i gotta get fast. Lets see how the next few weeks play out. Right now...i gotta recover. my body feels like crap. i need more sleep and a years worth of massage. Stay tuned! Keep reading...and keep your comments coming! i love to hear from you!!!

and remember to keep your eye on your prize!! Keep training hard! Keep focused! Keep up the good work! I can remember when i DREAMED of going sub 5 in a half. I remember when i went 4:45 and felt great. I can't believe that i can now go 4:49--and have a super crappy sluggish race. Its a testament to hard work. it means that if i have an amazing day-i can go 4:35-- just keep going -just keep dreaming--never quit and put one foot in front of the other.