Upon my departure from college and as I approach entering the real world...a great way to keep in touch with friends and family. Although I will be living farther away...you will all be closer to my heart.

Friday, June 29, 2007

OFFICIAL WEBSITE LAUNCH

www.saramclarty.com is officially up and running!!!! Go check out all the hard work that my Aunt Jan has put in and made so pretty! We are still working on getting everything perfect (if you find a defunct link or something, let me know:)...I'm sending her a ton of photos, an updated bio, more info on my sponsors, and all that good stuff! It's even got a page that links straight to this blog...so you can change your 'favorites' from www.saramclarty.blogspot.com to JUST http://www.saramclarty.com/ (so much shorter)!!!
Thanks so much Jan...you rock!!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

I'm Human

I know, professional athletes are supposed to be super-human, right? We never get tired, we workout all the time, we achieve amazing performances all the time...yeah right!!
Today was one of those days when everything from the past month caught up to me. The lack of sleep...the different time zones...all the travel...the three 2-hour races...the training...it hit me like a bag of bricks today!
Lets see, it started at swim practice this morning. Cliff had a lovely 5K swim practice on the board. The main set was over 3K...I haven't done an entire swim workout over 3K in like four weeks! I was going pretty good at the beginning...but then around 4K I called it a day! I didn't blow up, I didn't die, I didn't even slow down...I just knew that if I kept going at the pace I was holding, things wouldn't be pretty:)
So, I turned the last part of the main set into my warm down and watched everyone else finish the practice strong (good job everyone else:)! Before I went to swim practice this morning, I glanced at my workout schedule and saw that we were heading out for a 2.5 hour group bike ride...immediately after swimming...I left the pool, grabbed some chow, lathered on sunscreen, and donned all my bike gear.
It was so much fun to ride with 15 friends and teammates...we headed out east, away from the steep mountains and into the rolling plains. Some of the ride was on roads I've never been on and that was very enjoyable! 2 hours of riding and I was still feeling good...talking, laughing, climbing well, enjoying the sunshine...and then it turned into a death march home! I wanted to kill every bump in the road, every slight incline, any whisper of a head-wind.
Eventually, we turned back into the OTC and I was home. It was lunch time so we all headed straight to the cafeteria for some chow and chatting. I was the first one to depart the group table and make my way upstairs where I stumbled into my room, shut the door, rolled onto my bed, and was dead to the world for 3 HOURS!
A 3 HOUR nap! That's just impressive...except for the two trips to the bathroom and the one 10 second phone call when my Dad rang (he is heading down the Grand Canyon tomorrow so I didn't want to miss his call:)...I don't think I moved a muscle! Forget about the afternoon run that was on my schedule (fortunately, it was pouring rain by the time I woke up:)...I was concerned about having enough energy to shower! But, I think I'm slowly recovering and Jasmine just stopped by to say that she was heading down for dinner...so I'm off for some more chow time!

Monday, June 25, 2007

Edmonton WC Photos


Swim...it seems that I got to draft this time! I actually remember chasing this duck for quite a while...every time I looked up/forward I would almost swim into him:)



Bike...climbing the big hill one of six times. There are actually four women in this photo, I just can't tell who is perfectly aligned behind me!



Run...heading out of T2 at full speed! That is the eventual race winner on my right side...one day I'll hang with these ladies for more than the first 100 meters:)
Click here to check out the updated Triathlon World Cup Rankings...I broke into the Top 25 (at #24) for the first time ever!!

Edmonton World Cup!

I had an amazing race today! After leading out of the water, I was reeled in by the chase pack of 6 other women on the bike. We worked beautifully together and dismounted with a 2+ minute lead over the chasers. I was running in fourth place for the first lap, fifth place for the second lap and finished the third and final lap in SIXTH PLACE!!! My best race ever...best world cup ever...just basically really happy with my race!!
I celebrated with a few friends tonight at the Ruth Chris' Steakhouse next door...delicious food. I'm about to fall asleep for some well earned ZZZ's...and head home tomorrow!

Friday, June 22, 2007

Made It To Edmonton

What a day of travel. It was supposed to be short and sweet. I've been traveling for the past three weekends and I was looking forward to this short trip up to Canada...well, we can always dream!
I woke up this morning, jogged for 20 minutes on the treadmill and then swam for 30 min in the pool. I grabbed some quick breakfast before loading my gear into Kelly Reed's hulking SUV. She was so awesome to drive me to the airport (instead of the early OTC shuttle) and I checked in smoothly at the airport.
The COS to DEN flight was uneventful. We arrived on time and I had one hour until my connection to Edmonton...or so I thought. As I waited at the gate, watching the mechanics literally replace an entire ENGINE of my plane for FOUR hours...I finally gave up on being frustrated, resigned myself to the fate of missing the pre-race meeting and just hoped to get to the hotel tonight in one piece.
So here I am...chilling in my hotel room with Timmy O (my roommate for the short weekend)...relaxing after a yummy dinner because I did make it to the pre-race pasta party on time:)
Tomorrow it's back to seriousness as I swim and ride on the course before more relaxing for Sunday's mid-day race!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Lots Of Links

Click here for my latest Elite Update on USAT's website...it's about the Hy-Vee World Cup last weekend in Des Moines.

Click here for the LIVE TriCast time schedule of the Edmonton World Cup this weekend...I'll be there racing racing in the cold weather starting at 1:30pm on Sunday.

Click here to get to the ITU's webpage to watch/listen to the live broadcast on Sunday afternoon.

Click here for the 2007 Rio Pan American Games website...the triathlon race is on July 15th at Copacabana Beach!

Hot Here...Cold There

I've actually been paying attention to some weather forecasts lately...and here is the summary:
This weekend in Colorado Springs the temperature is expected to get into the 100's on Saturday and Sunday.
Those same days in Edmonton, Canada (where I will be competing on Sunday) have a predicted high temperature of 68 and 58 degrees...with a 65% chance of rain!!
I'm doing a little dance in my head right now...oh yeah...sweet...perfect...dream race conditions! I thought for sure that all my luck had run out for this year with the cool weather in New Zealand in March and the freezing rain in Vancouver in June...but I have no complaints about this weather forecast for race day!
Back to the COS weather...summer has officially arrived! I've complained in a few earlier post about the lack of warm weather and sunshine this past spring but with the temperatures soaring into the 100s, I'll keep my mouth shut for a while before I get into how hot it is now:)!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Almost Forgot

So...have you ever heard of Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil?!?! There are songs about it...people take vacations to it...it's warm, sunny, beautiful (see photos).





Why do I care about this section of beach in South America? Because I am going to be RACING on it on July 15th in the PAN AMERICAN GAMES TRIATHLON!!


Did totally forget to mention that little bit of EXCITING news after the Des Moines race last weekend? Well, let me fill you in on the details:


In Honolulu last month at our National Champs...Julie Swail earned the first slot. With Laura Bennett winning the race (and being the first American woman across the line) she grabbed the second slot. Sarah Haskins earned the third and final slot through a complicated points system combining our Honolulu and Des Moines finish places. I was officially awarded the 'alternate' slot by way of the same points system.


So that was pretty cool and I was proud to have even come close to making the team with all the strong American women out there. I had stated my 2007 Triathlon competition goals at the beginning of the season. One goal was to finish in the Top 10 at a World Cup...see Vancouver...goal ACCOMPLISHED! Another goal was to improve my 10K run split...see every race but Des Moines...goal ACCOMPLISHED! I'm working on another goal which is to qualify for the USAT Elite World Champ team...as the 4th ranked American woman, I am on track to make that team!


Qualifying for the Pan American Games Team was a very important goal on my list...and since I got a phone call on Monday from Laura Bennett and she told me that she was giving up her slot so that I can go compete...goal ACCOMPLISHED!!! Yep, I was an alternate for one day and now I'm an official team member. My paperwork is being processed...as soon as I get back from Canada this weekend my passport will be sent off for a Brazil Visa...I'm training for the flat course...and I'm planning my travel plans to Rio via Washington, DC for processing and outfitting!


But the saying here is "take it one race at a time" and I've still got the Edmonton World Cup this weekend. I leave the Springs on Friday morning, arrive in Edmonton at 2pm...just in time for the mandatory pre-race meeting at 5pm!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Hy-Vee Photo Blog


It's a Dustin McLarty/Hunter Kemper combination Wheaties Box cover!

That's me leading the pack of women into shore at the end of the first lap. Also, notice my MOM cheering on the sidelines in the "Team Ol'McLarty's Farm" t-shirts!


Sweetland, Haskins, Luxford, Zeiger, McLarty, Bennett, and Harrison...the lead pack of seven women powering up the Capitol Building hill. The wind was blowing crazy hard from our left side in this photo...I'm loving my position in the pack right now!


I MADE IT!! Now, just let me hang out here on this fence with an ice bag for a few minutes! Notice the two other American women in the photo...race winner Laura Bennett and fourth place Sarah Haskins!

Me and my Mom! Thanks for coming to Des Moines and cheering!

So Hot...But So Successful!

Yesterday was the BIG Des Moines, Hy-Vee, World Cup Triathlon. With a start time of 1:30pm, we weren't expecting anything but brutal HEAT and HUMIDITY...and that's exactly what we got (with a little extra 25mph winds thrown in)!
Almost 50 women were on the start line...and less than 30 made it all the way to the finish line. The most exciting news is...I was one of the finishers! Usually, when a race story involves heat, I'm telling you where and when I had a mid-race meld-down. Not this time...I ruled the swim, took my pulls in the 8 women lead pack on the bike, and made it through 4 hilly run loops around the city.
My sincere thanks go out to the race committee and race director (Bill) for recognizing how important cold water and ice was going to be during the run and making sure that we had enough to stay below boiling. I might have only drunk a few ounces of water during the run, but I poured about 5 gallons over my head and into my suit!
I finished in 17th place (fastest swim time, third to last run time:) and earned some more of those important Olympic, World Cup and ITU points. My USA teammates had performances all over the spectrum...most importantly was Laura Bennett's domination of the run for the race WIN!
Yes, you read that correctly, we had the stars and strips flying, the National Anthem playing, and an American on the top of the podium! Congratulations Laura...you are amazing!
Also in the 'amazing' category is Sarah Haskins-Korteum who raced her way to a 4th place finish!
My family was also in Des Moines to watch me compete...and it was great to hear my mom, dad, and brother on the sidelines cheering for me...thanks McLarty family! We celebrated Father's Day after the race at a nice restaurant and then spent some time together on Monday morning by hitting 9 holes of golf. Apparently, my family is taking up golf...news to me...I just went along with the adventure and swung at the little white ball. Sometimes it went where I was aiming, and sometimes I missed the ball completely!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Going Green (cont.)

After hanging out in a couple of great coffee shops/cafes in Vancouver last weekend, I came to the conclusion that I use way too many disposable coffee cups for my hot chocolate endeavors. I use them in the OTC cafeteria, when I go out with friends, when I travel, etc. So, to try and cut back on my contribution to garbage dumps, I was wandering in Target yesterday and picked up a really cute ceramic coffee mug. It's light blue and has 3 or 4 inspirational quotations written on the outside. I wanted a travel mug...something with a lid to minimize spillage...but none of them are microwaveable.
Anyways, the point is that I'm going to use this re-usable mug now as often as I can instead of the paper or Styrofoam cups. This is the latest SMALL step that I am taking to reduce my negative impact on the environment.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Des Moines Info

This weekend is the Des Moines, Iowa...Hy-Vee...Triathlon World Cup! I leave on Thursday morning for a quick flight to Iowa.

Click here to watch the pre-race video on ITU's website (scroll down on the pop-up window to watch the video...it isn't actually about the Hy-Vee race, it's about all the BIG stars that are going to be racing...see if you recognize anyone:)!!

The race will be broadcast LIVE on the Internet during our race (hopefully they will have video and audio feed this time). Click here to see what time it will start where you live!

In addition to the ITU Internet show, NBC will air an hour long show of the World Cup (at a later date: Sunday July 15 at 13:00 CST). Put that on your calender RIGHT NOW!! They say that there will also be live reports and some race footage being shown during the race on local NBC, during the US Open golf...someone push 'record' on their TiVo!!

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Photographer In The Right Spot, Right Time


Someone in this photo looks a bit 'off kilter'.......


Oh yeah! She totally slid out!!!
I thought this was a sweet sequence of photos that show how slippery and wet the roads were during the women's race. (Quick note regarding this athlete...she got back up and finished a great race!)

Vancouver Photo Post



The Women's World Cup START in Vancouver...a few quick steps of running before diving into the cold, cold water of English Bay...that's ME closest to the camera!

One awesome "Flying Mount" by yours-truly! Sent to me by someone unknown who was taking photos at the race...thanks!


The Sara(h) Show...we like being off the front in Canadian World Cups with cold, wet weather and a BIG hill on the bike course!



Americans with 'hardware'...two Silver medals (Andy and Sarah) and one Bronze medal (Matty).



Sarah, Marla (assistant coach), me, Becky, Jasmine, and Bec at the post race party (on a sweet yacht/boat)!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Redemption At Last!

I just finished the Vancouver World Cup Triathlon...well, a few hours ago...and I had my first TOP 10 finish!! I was 9th place overall...it was awesome!
We started at 12:00 noon...and I finished about 125 minutes later...final time of 2:05:??. I was off the front with my teammate Sarah Haskins during the bike and she ran to a silver medal!
The guys race started at 3:00pm...and I was on the course cheering for all the USA guys. All six men had great races...Andy Potts was the other silver medalist and Matty Reed was bronze!
I'm heading off to the post race party (on a boat) in a few minutes and then packing for an early morning departure back to COS tomorrow.

Saturday, June 09, 2007

Frigid!

I just got out of a scalding hot shower and I'm finally getting feeling back in my toes and fingers!
At 9am the swim course was open to train on. It's only a 500 meter walk from the hotel to the starting line on the beach. Since the weather is cold and wet outside right now, I elected to walk to the beach with my wetsuit already halfway on! It's the perfect pair of warm pants:) All I needed was for one of our coaches to carry my shoes and jacket while I swam the 1500 meters 'horse-shoe-shaped' swim course. The swim exit and transition area is actually about 800 meters down the road from the swim start.
I could not believe how cold the water was! It doesn't help that we have a beach start...you get to slowly walk into the water and feel it creeping up your legs and into the back of your wetsuit. (In races like Alcatraz and normal ITU World Cups, we dive off a high platform and the cold is just one whole-body-shock...short and quick.) When I finally got up my nerve and dove underwater to start swimming, I got the worse 'ice cream headache' from right at the top of my nose between my eyes...SO PAINFUL!
After lots of shrieking and screaming with the other girls, I settled into a comfortable rhythm and felt great in the water. I think the body of water is called "English Bay" so I assumed it would be more salty, but it wasn't too bad. It was a murky brown color but not dirty. Unlike most World Cup races, we are not getting out of the water to start a second loop...and the swim prime line (where I get $500 for crossing first) is actually at the finish of the swim and after a 200 meter run up the beach (better get running fast:)!
Now that I'm finally warm and clean...Jasmine and I are going to spend most of the rest of the day relaxing in our hotel room. There are 50 channels on our TV but none of them manage to show anything interesting so we are probably going to purchase a movie or two and chill in our warm beds!

Thursday, June 07, 2007

IronKids News!!

The 2007 IronKids race schedule is posted on line!! They just announced that the season opener is going to be right here in my backyard...Prospect Park, Colorado Springs on July 29th!
As of right now, I am planning on attending 4 of the 6 races. COS...ATL, Georgia...Austin, TX...and the National Champs in Tempe, AZ. The two races in September I plan on being overseas competing in my own races (bummer, I know:).
Speaking of my own racing...I'm packed up and just hanging out wasting time until my 2pm shuttle to the airport. I'm flying from COS to Denver to Vancouver, Canada today. I get into town around 8:30pm...just enough time to grab some dinner, check into my hotel, maybe unpack my bike, maybe not, and get a good night's sleep!
The weather looks like its going to be cold and rainy all weekend, especially on race day. I've got lots of jackets and pants and warm socks packed to keep warm before and after the race. The start list is online and they have already given us numbers...I'm number 24 for the Sunday race...we start at 12:00 noon in Vancouver. The online LIVE coverage starts at 11:45am on the West Coast...2:45pm on the East Coast...and if you happen to be in Sydney, Australia the coverage starts at 4:45am on Monday morning:)! Click here to get to ITU's website to find the live coverage!

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Vancouver Pre-Race Video

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Lesson Learned!

Do NOT go see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 and drink two bottles of water during the first hour of the movie! You will highly regret this decision around 2.5 hours when there are still 20+ minutes left of good drama/action/love story!
But...DO go and see Pirates of the Caribbean 3 because it's a great movie, funny story, and great way to kill 3+ hours of your day off.
I had a fantastic day completely off from training today...perfect time to rest my body mentally and physically. I slept in late, visited my nutritionist, started some laundry (5 washers), drove up to Old Colorado City, wandered the streets and did some shopping. I was looking for a business that I had been to a long time ago where you paint pottery and then they fire it for you. Unfortunately, when I got to the building, it was a different store. So I just wandered the streets and started getting some ideas for Dustin's Birthday (fast approaching on the 9th of June) and Father's Day. Right when the rain was about to drop...I found the pottery store in a different location! It was perfect timing, I went inside and painted a plate for a few hours as the rain drenched COS.
When I started getting hungry, I headed back to the OTC for a quick lunch before my scheduled massage time. I didn't have my favorite masseuse...but I still got to relax for an hour. After my massage was over, I got back in my car and headed to the movie theater to catch Pirates 3 (see above:). Eventually, the movie ended and I went back to the OTC for dinner (and 3 more loads of laundry). My perfect day off ends with some computer time and another long night of sleep!

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Run, Run, Run...

...run, run, run, bend down, untie my car key from my shoe, open my car door, slide inside, close the door...the next instant the sky lets loose with TONS of HUGE rain drops!
Talk about perfect timing on my run this afternoon! It was bright and sunny when I woke up from my mid-day nap at 12:30. I stuck my hand out the window to get an idea of the temperature, got dressed, and drove down to the MVT trail for a 70 minute run workout. It was warm and sunny for the first 35 minutes as I headed north. Even when I turned around, the skies didn't seem very threatening. It was when I got within 2 or 3 miles from finishing that I realized that the sun was completely gone and had been replaced with very dark and menacing clouds that rolled off the mountain peaks.
I have learned that if the storm is coming off the mountains...HURRY UP! Because even though it is now June and officially SUMMER...there is still a unusual amount of snow still on Pikes Peak (and the other peaks in the area) so anything that drops out of the sky is going to be fierce and very COLD! (Recall my bike ride adventure in the hail earlier this week:).
Backing up a few hours in the day...before my mid-day nap I completed morning swim practice (which was actually my fourth of five brick workouts this week). It was another swim-bike session where we bring our bikes on the pool deck and ride the trainers hard for a few minutes to simulate race-day effort. Since my next race is in Vancouver, Canada and the water is going to be very cold...I took my wetsuit to the pool for the first brick. I haven't been in a wetsuit since the race in New Zealand 2 months ago so today was a reminder that sometimes swimming involves additional equipment (and it can be VERY hot if the water is not cold)!
After warming up for 45 minutes...our brick workout was: 2 x (500m swim, 10 min bike). Only the first one was in a wetsuit (you try putting those things on WET!) and we did the swims in 'draft packs'. In my situation the term 'draft pack' means: "line up behind Sara and let her pull you for the whole swim":)! No complaints from me, this session was supposed to be 'race simulation'. I just couldn't believe how HOT I was after swimming hard in a warm pool, in a wetsuit, and then biking hard with no wind! I went through an entire water bottle during the 10 minute bike ride...not drinking, just pouring it all over my head to get some relief.
So I've looked at my training schedule for next week and after I finish tomorrow's workout (brick number 5!) it's all downhill to the race on Sunday. First, Monday is a day off...and I've got a massage scheduled. Tuesday is a bit of everything to loosen up after the massive day of slacking. Wednesday and Thursday are short but have some efforts at race speed to make sure everything is working and feeling fresh. I travel to Vancouver on Thursday afternoon. Friday and Saturday will be typical pre-race days...seeing the race course, going to the meetings, relaxing, stretching, etc.